So darling, throw away the key

As you stroll along the Ponte Vecchio, you will notice hundreds and hundreds of padlocks clumped together on chains. Legend has is that if you and your loved one attach a padlock to any surface of this famous bridge and throw the key into the Arno river, your love will last forever. Everday as I walk side by side with the river I glance at this bold statement and the people who have fled to Florence in order to lock their love away.I can't help to daydream about all the different kinds of love, people, and stories that had stood before the Arno river sharing a truly magical moment together. I think about how long these locks have been here and if the couples that threw their keys into the river still feel the same way they did in that one second when their keys hit the sparkling blue and green water. And since today is Valentines day and I am in fact a hopeless romantic,I choose to believe that their love is securely latched for all to see.

Happy Valentines day my darlings.

sending you all my loving.

the family that eats together stays together

There are things you do because they feel right and they may make no sense and they may make no money and it may be the real reason we are here; to love each other and to eat each other's cooking and say it was good. - Brian Andreas

Every week we switch off making dinner for the boys and the boys making dinner for us. So on Wednesday night all 7 of our boys piled into our little home as we made them gnocchi with a homemade alfredo broccoli sauce, mozzarella with basil,oil, and vinegar, and bruschetta from scratch.( I was proud of myself for that one, since it was my baby.) As we sat around our living room watching Italians funniest home videos, laughing, and sharing a meal together, I realized how in only a few short weeks we have made a little family for ourselves. And with that, I couldn't help but feel extremely blessed.

Guilty Pleasure

As I mentioned in the previous post, Steph and I have become quite the Gelato concours. Our favorite has to be the Gelato shop on our street. It is only 1 euro for a cone filled with sweet wonderful goodness. Yesterday after a long walk around the city, we justified stopping and getting our favorite snack for the 5th day in the row. Am i ashamed?... not even a little bit.

currently thankful for

- warm jackets

-cappuccinos

-1 euro croissants

-getting out of class early

- Lauren, Stephanie, and Evan

-having internet at school since my home is still like the stone age

- being able to talk to my darlings in the States

- Glee voiced over in Italian

- new friends

-getting Gelato everyday on my way home with Steph

- listening to Sufjan Stevens as I walk to class

- pasta tuesdays

- Italian Beatles cover bands which I will be seeing tonight.

it's the freakin weekend baby gonna have me some fun

This weekend was perfect. from start to finish. so here is the breakdown of our lovely 3 days.

Friday: After getting a glorious nights rest, the girls and I woke up to pure sunshine. So we got ready as quickly as we could, left our big coats at home and went and met up with the boys for the chocolate festival which was heaven on earth. Then we all decided to hike up to piazza michelangelo to gaze at our beautiful city of Florence, where we sat in the sun soaking up every bit of beauty we could. The day continued when we went to a karaoke bar, where the ladies killed it with hit me baby one more time. ( dedicated to Paige Milgrom of course) And the boys didn't do so bad themselves.

Saturday: The morning kicked off with Steph, Lauren, and I making the boys a old fashioned american breakfast of eggs, bacon, potatoes, and toast. The day was followed by laying around before heading out with the gang to explore the town.

Sunday: Since today is in fact my wonderful roommate laurens birthday( happy birthday lo!!) Steph and I spent sunday wandering around town searching for a gift for Lauren. After we found something we though was perfect for her we rewarded ourselves with McDonalds french fries and milk shakes. then we ran into the boys as we splurged on H&M goodies for ourselves. The night was finished by going to our favorite spot the club house where we all watched the super bowl and feasted on hamburgers, hot dogs, and buffalo wings.

So Thank you weekend for being so good to me. You were truly loved.

Please enjoy some of the pics I snapped this weekend.

Photos by the great Evan Trine.

well thank you IPhone.

well since I am such a slacker on the photo front. ( which I am kicking myself about) Please enjoy the lovely view of Florence via my IPhone. And I have to say it's not tooo bad.

Purple toes for dayz

When you happen to walk an average of 3 miles a day in newly bought Steve Madden boots, your feet will start to feel the repercussions of it, I know mine do. With every step on the beautiful cobble stone streets, my feet seem to scream out with agony. I feel as each toe is saying "why, why are you doing this to me? Do you hate me this much?" The feeling eventually turns from pure pain into numbness, this is where I find peace, cause after all I can't feel them. Because Lauren, Steph, and I try to avoid complaining ( cause after all we are in the MOST beautiful city ever) we have coined the phrase purple toes. simply meaning. my feet hurt so much that they have changed from their soft pale nude color into a bright purple due to the swelling. So every now and then while we are making our trek from our lovely little home to the other side of the river, one of us will turn to the other and gracefully recite the words "purple toes." and when you just can't take it anymore it only takes on simple phrase... "purple toes for dayz." And let me just tell you, there is no such joy as ripping dem boots of your feet, and slipping into a nice cozy pair of socks, and like that the toes stop yelling and are happy.