It's a good day...

It's a good day...

Because I gave my bangs a trim,

And these 3 dresses are on their way to me!

via Macy's

via Macy's

via Macy's

Exciting, huh? :)

Ciao Bellas!

xoxo

A Few Things I've Learned Living In Sicily...

I haven't been in Sicily long... just about 7 months, but these people and my experiences here are making a huge impact on me. I don't get to spend as much quality time with the Sicilians but I cherish it when I do. It's funny how just spending time in a different culture teaches  you so much... Here are just a few of the things that I've learned living here, from the Sicilians, my life here, or exploring the island:


1. Celebrate.
Sicilians celebrate a lot, celebrate random things, celebrate life, celebrate everything. Sicilians have festivals to celebrate anything from chestnuts, to honey, to death... yes, death. They also celebrate life, birthdays, flowers, and well... everything else. With parties, feasts, festivals, or just by laughing and enjoying it with a GOOD glass of wine (and telling you ALLLL about it). From this, I have learned that life is to be celebrated... it is worth being celebrated... every day.

2. Be proud.
Sicilians are some of the most prideful people I have EVER met. They aren't conceited... but dangit if they aren't PROUD. They are proud of Sicily and all it has to offer. Sicilians absolutely love to tell you about Sicily, where to go to see the best of it, and how to get the most out of your experiences here. They love to take you out into the countryside and offer you the freshest fruits, nuts, and berries right off the vine. They adore showing you the views of the mountains and the seasides or the vineyards and letting you taste their homemade wines and pastas. Sicilians have taught me that you don't have to have everything... you just have to know how to take pride in yourself and your country. Be proud of who you are and where you're from.

3. Getting lost can be a good thing.
Something the Sicilians tell us before every trip, "Get lost together..." At first we were completely opposed to the idea... who wants to get lost in a completely foreign land? And then it happened. We got lost in Venice... and it wasn't that bad. Actually, we found the most amazing restaurant, and we got away from the touristy BS, and we found some unique shops, and we found the "real" Venice... and it turned out to be pretty amazing. Then we got lost again in Barcelona, and again in Paris... and you know what? Same thing happened. We loved it. Sicilians are pretty smart... When you get lost (unless of course you are in a REALLY SCARY NEIGHBORHOOD and/or ALONE) you find some really neat stuff and you stop caring about the touristy BS... and you just have fun TOGETHER. Kind of romantic actually... :)

4. It's not ALL about work.
Don't get me wrong... Having a job is a GOOD thing. But Sicilians aren't exactly known for their hard work... and um, you know how Mexicans take a Siesta after lunch? Yep, they have that here too... Sicilians know how to work when it's time to work and how to have FUN when they are off! Also, they take a ton of vacation days... and I mean tons. The whole month of August to lay out on the beach? Sure, no problem. That's my kind of life. :)

5. DRINK!
No, not like a college frat boy... but at supper or with friends. Don't become a sloppy mess but enjoy the wine and have a good time. These people DEFINITELY know how to make wine, how to enjoy it, and how to have a good time. I've never been more inclined to sip wine -- at almost any time of day -- and I've never enjoyed it so much.

6. Coffee is amazing, but Starbucks didn't invent it.
Did you know that coffee existed before Starbucks? I didn't (kidding...) But now I know how to enjoy many different kinds of coffees... not JUST my regular at Starbucks :) Because of this culture, I know how to use a REAL espresso maker! Not the fancy-schmancy electric ones from a dept. store that cost hundreds... but the little ones you use on the stove! Oh, and I know how real coffee tastes... not watered down "Cafe Americano" -- hehe!

7. Be generous... but also don't be afraid to ask for favors!
I have never in my life experienced such giving people... and the friendships they gain from it are the best. Seriously, our friends here are willing to give rides to/from the airport, cook and deliver meals, help us find the best stores, take us to the right mechanic, help us when we're stuck in the language barrier, even loan us their VEHICLE, and basically be on call 24-7 for anything and everything we could possibly need. But what do they expect in return? Friendship!! And it's worth it! But along with this I have learned that asking for favors is ok! People don't mind helping out. We would never have experienced half of the things we've done if it wasn't for a few favors along the way!

8. Babies... Everyone loves them!
Sicilians absolutely ADORE babies... and it doesn't matter WHOSE baby it is. Seriously, they will walk up and pick up a RANDOM STRANGER'S child to love on him. And they have absolutely no shame in pressuring young couples to have babies for them to love on :) When I first arrived in Sicily, Claudia picked us up from the airport and gave us flowers and 2 "good luck for babies" candies! Hahaha... and sadly she could only find blue. Eeek!

9. Cooking together is quality time.
Every time I'm around Claudia and her family, she or her daughter's always ask me to "cook with them" lol At first I found this strange, being invited over to make Tiramisu... and eat it... and go home. Weird? Not here. Cooking together is FUN and you do a lot of learning and talking... so you aren't JUST learning how to cook, you're also learning about each other.

10. Sleep is important, but fun is more important.
As I said before, Sicilians take a siesta (called Reposo here though) after lunch, so they obviously see the benefit of sleep... but they stay up LATE! They don't eat supper until around 9PM and are often up late partying, entertaining, or just hanging out at the local Chiosco (a "hut" in which they sell drinks and snacks). Oh and did I mention that the bars and clubs here stay open until 6AM... and some are open 24 hours a day! Say what?! Yeah... apparently fun (aka drinking and being with friends) is more important that sleep... but they do make sure to get plenty of sleep ;)

I hope y'all enjoyed a few fun facts that I've picked up from living here... 

Ciao Bellas!

xoxo

Friday Fun... and some randoms :)

Guess where I've been all day?

Yup, laying out in the sun!

The temperature has been perfection and the skies have been CLOUDLESS!

Nothing but perfect laying-out weather...

Oh and check out that adorbs headband... it matched the bottom of my bikini :)

Since I'm enjoying the beautiful sunshine, I don't really have too much else to share with you

But I did promise some bday pics... so here goes:

Hubby's Birthday Cupcakes

Baseballs and Atlanta Braves' A!

Oh and there wasn't room for 26 candles so I did 2 on one and 6 on the other :)

Soooo creative. 

Not.

Hubs blowing out his candles :)

That's one HANDSOME 26 year old!

[P.S he wouldn't let me post this pic of FB because he "didn't want people to think he wears Ed Hardy"... ehhh? This is an at-home-only t-shirt ;) ]

The cuppycakes... He took them to work the next day to share with co-workers :)

Baseballs, Braves, and Love :)

Oh and in case you were wondering... (which I'm sure you weren't)

I'm getting a pretty good tan already! Woo!

Ciao Bellas!

xoxo

It's Ok Thursday!!

Yay! So excited to be linking up again :)

So, let's get on with it.

It's Ok...

That I haven't been blogging as much recently... I've had a lot going on!

That I didn't cry watching "Act of Valor"... I was surrounded by people, mostly "tough" Navy guys, so I just blinked back the tears.

That we're considering moving (still in Sicily)... As much as we ADORE our home and community, Aaron isn't loving the commute/traffic and we could use a little more room!

To not talk to my family very often... I know they miss me (and I do miss them) but I just can't force myself to deal with mom's drama. Ugh.

To be obsessed with the ravioli in pistachio cream sauce that I ate at Aaron's birthday dinner... OMG I need more! 

That I didn't take any pictures at the dinner... :( Oops!

To reeeeeally not want to do school today since I'm having yet another migraine. 

That I have a secret... and I can't tell ANYONE yet :) baha!

Ciao Bellas!

xoxo

Guess who had a birthday?

Yup, that sexy beast!

aka the love of my life :)

I'll be posting a few pics of his birthday soon...

BUT warning, there are just a few... because instead of getting to celebrate his bday properly, we took our friend Nick to the Emergency Room! :\

I'll fill you in...

We went down to Aci Trezza to watch Nick and a few other guys we know surf.

We have been having 60 MPH winds lately so the waves have been insanely BIG

and of course, perfect for surfing.

The only drawback to this is that Aci Trezza has quite a few rocks in the water.. both below the water and sticking up

See what I mean?

Anyhow, Nick got caught in a wave and was thrown into a rock (the one in the pic... I know it looks small but it's not... it is big enough to CLIMB on), luckily he was okay other than a gash in his head and a banged up hip. As hubby said, it could have been much worse.

We carted him off to the ER... we were a good 30 minutes from base but opted for the Base Hospital instead of going to an Italian hospital... So the poor guy had to suffer for a while. 

But after a couple of hours he was good to go... with only 5 staples in his head!

Poor guy!

Honestly though, he is lucky to be alive. The waves were huge and he could've easily gotten hurt much worse! It was SCARY to watch... I stayed up last night replaying it in my head... It was so scary to be watching and know what was coming and not be able to stop it. :\ When he didn't surface after the wave washed away, I honestly thought he was gone. That is the worst feeling ever.

BUT he got up... Climbed up the rock... and was ok.

THANK GOD.

Ugh... so enough of that. I've already worried myself sick over the "what ifs" and wondering what I would do watching Aaron in that situation... :(

Since Aaron's bday dinner plans were botched, 

we hope to go out for a good celebration sometime soon! But until then...

Happy 26th Birthday to the love of my life, my best friend, my husband!!

I love you more than words could say.

CIAO BELLAS!

xoxo

Friday Nail Files Link Up

Please excuse the creepiness of these pictures... lol

Too lazy to use an actual camera and upload pictures! :P

Anyways - I am LOVING this dark purple (so dark it looks almost black)

but Hubs didn't love it so much, so I put sparkles over it today :)

Happy now Hubs? hehehe

Polish:

OPI Lincoln Park After Dark

and Wet N Wild Shine sparkles

Ciao Bellas!

xoxo

You should totally be jealous...

Look where I'm blogging/doing homework from today...

Yup, the patio!

It's warm and sunnyyyyy today :)

 How bout another one for good measure?

hehehe

Ok, done bragging now :)

Happy Tuesday everyone!

CIAO BELLAS!

xoxo

Throwback Thursday :)

I found a new link-up (Thanks Monica!) that I thought was too cute to pass up!

Enjoy!

Monica's new link-up is Throwback Thursday... LOVE!

Basically you post a pic & a memory that goes along with it...

BUT I'm a rebel I couldn't choose just one!

It's ok though... because they're from the same time :)

Yeah.... not really sure why I'm kissin' a girl... ha!

And notice the big freakin' brace on my ankle... lol!

One of my closest friends... Heather!

We had sooo much fun... always!

So... the memory that goes along with this?

I guess it's not just one individual memory... just the memory of that year.

A lot of bad things happened that year (broken bones, broken hearts, and  my broken family)... 

but thinking back on times with Heather and times we spent having SO much fun cheering, I can almost overlook the sadness/pain and remember how much FUN it was to be a High School Senior. 

We had a BLAST. We were inseparable. We were goofy.

I probably spent half of my nights at Heather's house... or her at mine.

We were competition cheerleaders... and although being the "Captains" came with a lot of responsibilities and drama, we made it fun!

I honestly can't think of a time that I was more "in my element"... I loved cheering (even if THAT's the reason I broke 5765619984 bones that year... ugh) 

That year was our last try to "make our mark" on our tiny little town... and I think we were kindof successful... But I wont get into all that ;) 

My point?

I never ever ever want to relive my high school days. EVER.

But the memories of that year are some of the best of my life...

and some of the FUNNIEST.

I had no idea who I was, I had no idea where my life was going...

and honestly, I didn't really care.

I just wanted to have fun :D

Totally worth remembering!

CIAO BELLAS!

xoxo