So... I vaguely remember having an epiphany last night...

and coming up with a very funny blog topic (or 5) while stumbling walking gracefully home...

but seeing as I can now barely remember the 30 minute walk home

in 5 inch heeled boots, on a cobblestone road, downhill... 

... all while dodging crazy Italian drivers... 

I will instead share with you the AMAZINGNESS that lead up to the walk home.

and the reason(s) why I cannot remember most of the walk and after... hehe

I give you: Sicilian NYE!

The night actually began with what Aaron likes to call "the crisis"...

and by that he means his wife (yep, that's me) was sitting on the bed in nothing but a towel (hair still dripping wet) with only 30 minutes left to get ready in tears because she had no sparkly shoes, skirts, dresses, pants, and/or leggings to wear on NYE.

I never said I wasn't a drama queen.

Actually... I'll just go ahead and admit it... I AM a drama queen.

But that's neither here nor there.

I had no sparkles! Not even anything colorful or fun...

And honestly... I'm going to have to be frank with you guys...

I freakin' gave away OVER HALF of my wardrobe to move here. NO LIE.

I moved here with 2 suitcases in tow. THAT is IT.

so... my wardrobe is a bit slim. ESPECIALLY in the fancy/sparkly/fun areas... 

That just wasn't important when I was trying to stuff MY ENTIRE LIFE into 2 SUITCASES. Just sayin'...

(no worries though... because of "the crisis" I have decided I MUST go clothes shopping SOON... Italian clothes are good, right? hehehe) 

But this isn't a rant about my wardrobe...

So I'll just stop there.

Somehow (after a million wardrobe changes) I managed to find a suitable outfit... with no sparkles... and after our friends waited for 20 minutes a little bit, I was finally ready to go!

And we began our night dining in down town Acitrezza...

Kurt, Aaron, Kathy, Nick, and Jess at NYE supper :)

Aaron got his faves

Zuppa di Cozzi & Spaghetti a Vongole

(Mussle Soup & Spaghetti with Clams!)

Nick & Jess are always silly...

 Jess and I both had Spaghetti al Pomodoro

Pretty much... spaghetti! :)

And there was a really Pissy Pussy hangin' out in the restaurant...

He loved me... and we shared bread under the table all evening <3

Love you, Pissy Pussy!

Jess and I were having fun... 

Can anyone spot the reason why??

Here's a hint:

Bahahaha! 

We were at the restaurant (don't ask me the name... "something something de Trezza") for like... 2-ish hours? We basically sat around talking, drinking wine & champagne, sipping espressos, playing with the Pissy Pussy, and having fun with the Italianos... 

Our next stop was called "Go Go Bar" or something along those lines...

When we walked up to the door, it looked as though the staff was having a private party inside so we started to walk away... but the bartender came out and said "Party is in here!" (ok, this isn't sounding as funny as it was... imagine a small drunk Italian man saying this in funny accent...) and we proceeded to have a half-convo (in broken English/Italian) with him about not being part of the private-Italiano party... he assured us we could party anyways... and we were greeted by lots of applause upon entering.

I may or may not have bowed, curtsied, and blown kisses...

No big deal...

Partying at the GoGoBar

LoveLoveLove

Kurt&Kathy

If you look behind them you can see the Italians partying it up!

They were playing 70's & 80's hits and singing along BADLY... and by badly I mean the words weren't even right... Instead of "all night long" in one song they thought the words were "Oh my yo"... whatever that means... it was quite entertaining! :)

Nick & Jess

I am a sucker for a "Frozen Fragola"

aka Strawberry Daiquiri... Fragola = strawberry in Italiano!

And Jess was creepin' hard... hehe

We went out on the balcony of the bar for New Years!

My kiss :)

Nick & Jess

Happy New Years :)

Whoops... it was on Fireworks Setting :(

No, not a fire... FIREWORKS everywhere!

So many and so BIG that they sounded like BOMBS!!

I am so lucky to say that I rang in the New Years on a balcony in Sicily with the love of my life and some of the most amazing friends ever... I am so very blessed!

The plan after GoGoBar was to head to a popular club semi-close down the street...

On the way we found a party IN THE STREET!

What is up with the Sicilians and the partyin' in the street?? 

Nick joined in the fun... 

And he was very popular with the ladies.. bahaha

they were taking his pictures like he was a celeb!

We still don't know why... they were CRAZY about him...

legit celeb status.

Oh and there were old men...

Dancing ON the benches...

More of the crowded "street party"

and yes, that is Nick still partyin' it up with his lady-friends... bahaha

After a little walk (FML) we finally made it to Manteca!

Which btw is open until SIX AM! Crazy...

We left at 3AM and they were still going strong.

Hubs was looking SEXY in his suspenders :)

Italians are WEIRD.

Don't get me wrong... I love them.

I haven't met a single one that I don't love.

But they have weird things about them....

for instance, there were old men & women in the club.

As well as KIDS.

And this ladies, is what we nicknamed "the dancing queen":

Yeah, bad pic... but you get the idea.

She is ALONE and dancing her pretty little heart out... BADLY.

She looked as though she was having a SEIZURE mixed with something from a Shakira video...

Surrrriously.

Oh and I'm 93% sure that I saw a Mob Lord...

approx. 5ft4in tall wearing a $10,000 suit with a MODEL on his arm...

Yeah... MOB LORD.

Or either that model look alike is stuuuupid and he's RIIIIIIICH out the ass a very sweet guy... 

ya never know.

But I am still 93% sure he was a Mob Lord.

It IS Italy, ya know?

Anyhoo, enough conspiracy theories...

this is Manteca...

That's Nick... enjoying the party again. hahahaha

Aaron joined him while Jess and I rested our feet from the 875756 mile hike finished our drinks

Their bromance is really flourishing :)

I'm not sure if this is Nick making fun of Aaron...

or thanking him for forcing him to go to the gym with him now... 

But this was the last pic of the night...

The rest of the night was spent dancing (until 3AM mind you) our hearts out

and drinking fancy shmancy drinks....

a wonderful way to ring in the New Year!

Arrivederci 2011... and Benvenuto 2012!!

After consuming many glasses of wine and champagne at supper,

a Frozen Fragola and some other mixed drinks at the GoGo Bar,

and sipping on a few more Jack&Cokes, champagnes, etc. at Manteca...

the walk back home is a blur and I barely remember changing clothes, chugging water, and getting in bed.... (sheeesh! It's almost like reliving life at UGA... hehehe)

We managed to sleep in til 1PM today... and spent the day watching a "Best of 2011" movie marathon... Aaron was pretty hungover alllll day... but for some reason I almost NEVER get a hangover (lucky! Knock on wood!!) so I just catered to his needs all day... lols

And cooked a "lucky" supper of greens, blackeyed peas, cornbread, and talapia! 

I hope you ladies had a wonderful NYE as well! 

Happy New Year!

Ciao Bellas!

xoxo