Italia Part 1 - Food

Its kind of hard not to think of food when one mentions Italy... and we sure did consume a lot of it whilst there....From the brioche, cornetti's, gelato, pizza, pasta, antipasto, cured meat, cheeses, olives, bread and biscotti it was hard to make a choice sometimes!!  Fortunately (or perhaps unfortunately), our cousin owns not one but two pasticeria's and it was a morning ritual to head to his bar for a Calabrian Breakfast.  Sometimes I'd get a brioche and iced coffee, other times I would get a gelato filled croissant with an espresso....One thing is for sure.  It was always delicious.  Here are some snaps of the amazing food that I remembered to capture, when I wasn't busy stuffing myself silly!

xx

I'm grateful for family adventures....

Yep, more travel photos, as I join with with Maxabella via Beetle Shack for today's Gratefuls...

Because of course I'm grateful for...

Family Adventures!! Travelling with kids is not for the faint hearted.  It takes organisation plus, it takes a whole bucket load of patience and more, and it also means going with the flow and allowing your guard down (and breaking routine frequently) so that you can indulge in the spirit that is adventure and holiday fun.  And that's exactly what we did.  We adapted to the way of life of the Italians, and my kids did super well.  We had fun, and enjoyed everything together as a family. And we were never in bed before midnight!  We soaked up all that this holiday had to offer and more...

The memories we created will be with us forever and a joy to reflect on in years to come. 

What are you Grateful for?  Join in! 

xx

Arrivederci Italia

Yes, were home!  Wow - words cannot really express just what an adventure we had.  Here a few random shots....I'm not going to bore you with my whole collection of snaps...but I may share a few little stories next week....

To fill you in a few details though here's a little snapshot in words

 - weather - perfect!

 - food - sublime

 - plane trip - long (and exhausting!)

 - family - oh just adorable!

 - the kids - they did really well (with a few moments of hysteria thrown in for good measure)

 - budget - stuck to (phew!) 

 - how many gelatos? - I stopped counting after the first week!  Eeek!

 - disasters? - Just one.....will tell you that story next week (now looking back, quite funny ;-)) 

And yes, it's nice to be home....there is no place like home (Dorothy was right!).  The jet lag has, well, lagged around but slowly slowly we are getting back into the swing of things.  I'm looking forward to visiting all my favourite blogs and seeing what you have been up to.....but now I'm off to have some ice-cream and home-made caramel sauce (not mine!) 

xx

Ciao from italia!!!!!

Just a quick hello to blog land.... We've been in Italy now for two weeks and are having a blast. I've tried blogging before but had some difficulty and still can't upload any pictures....but believe me, the sights are amazing. Anyone know how to add pics from an iPad, let me know.....

It,s festival time here so lots to do and the weather is spectaluar. Kids are adapting to the Italian way of life too.....

Hopefully I'll have some pictures to share soon...


Ciao ciao
Xx

I'm grateful for....{ciao ciao}

Source: sterlingstyle.net via a s h l e e on Pinterest

Yes, joining in with Maxabella Loves as I have every reason to be Grateful! 

Today I'm Grateful For....

1.  Overseas Travel....depending on when you read this post - me and my little family will be taking off on the beginning of our overseas adventure. 

2. My pocket Italian translation book -So che inizialmente sarà la mia bibbia, ma I' la m. che spera di guadagnare la fiducia per lasciarla è e per comunicare appena il colloquio!

3. reunions and new family - during our travels, we will be reunited with family already known, but will get to meet others for the first time.  

xx

Join here

xx

English translation for number 2

"I know that initially it will be my bible, but I'm hoping to gain the confidence to just leave it be and talk the talk!" 

house quirks

 

Source: goodmorningandgoodnight.com via Cindy on Pinterest

I've realised lately my house has quirks - many of them!

You see, in my preparation for heading off on our overseas travels, one of my tasks includes doing some much needed preparation for the house-sitter. Yes, that includes cleaning the fridge, mopping behind the washing machine, getting the cobwebs in the far corner of the hall and so and so on.

Then I began to think "Oh i must tell her about the door that doesn't shut quite right" or "the kettle lid is broken" or "I tend to keep my towels over here - not in that cupboard", "that light switch is broken", "the floor boards over there are loose (don't worry about that!)"  and "that room has a lean - so drop anything, and it will roll to that corner over there" etc etc etc...

So as my mental list got bigger - i began to write it all down....all of it.

Gee my house as quirks.  It's the way I know and no other, but to someone who doesn't live here, how would they know all this stuff.  It's like the manual to my home.

If you had to write all your little house quirks down, what would be on it?

Any cringe-worthy?

Like all the bedrooms in my house have broken lights! Yep, we just survive on lamps!

Imagine if  I lived in the house above - now wouldn't that be an adventure?? 

xx

{and the winners!}

Source: delaneygates.typepad.com via Connie on Pinterest

Ok, so my birthday has come and gone....

And the Giveaways on my blog have ended....

So the exciting part of finding out who each of the prizes were going to....

I used a very technical system - a vintage bingo set!

So it's time to reveal the winners

The Bakers Delight Giveaway - $5 voucher coming to these winners

1 - Lioness Lady

7. Lou

9. Frog goose & bear

13. Eco MILF

14. Kymmie

The doMore $150 voucher goes to comment 9;

Kymmie

Hubby got the draw the winner for the $100 Myer voucher which is number 43;

The Provincial Homemaker

And the pack of crafty goodness goes to comment 8;

Emma @ Frog, goose and Bear

Congratulations to all of you!  And two multiple winners!!  

And thanks to all of you who stopped by to enter....

I'll be in touch with the lucky entrants to discuss getting your loot to you! 

xx

Don't miss out {giveaway reminder!}

(beach of Capo Vaticano, Italy - where we will be staying very very soon!)

My four giveaway's end tomorrow at Midday, so if you haven't already, enter away, and if you have entered but want more chances, just spread the word (twitter, facebook, or blog) for more entries.  Because - you have to be in it - to win it! 

You'll find

Bakers Delight Giveaway here,

$150 doMore voucher here and

$100 myer gift card giveaway here. 

And the crafty goody bag here

Good luck

xx

my creative space {when more, is, more!}

Nothing is going on here in the singular!  phew, now that I see all the multiples lying around my house, I can understand why I've felt "in production".....

You see, I crafted (no pun intended) a little idea to make some gifts to bring with us overseas.....And when I thought about our lovely ladies in their stunning Italian village....I thought to food, which made me think of cooking....which of course.....make me think of aprons.   These eight aprons, are now safely packed ready for their italian food adventure! 

And for the younger, girls in the family......a little drawstring bag....with little sleeve for a pen or pencil.

Perfect for glasses, a notebook, camera or change. I made eight, but only needed five, but already the other three have been allocated to some special recipients.....I'm kicking myself i didn't make nine so I could keep one myself! 

And then, well, I couldn't stand looking at my bowl overflowing with lemons, that I just had to make some Lemon Butter! 

Yesterday was my Nonna's 81st Birthday, so the kids and I made some hummingbird cupcakes with cream cheese frosting to take over for morning tea......yum!!!

I finished off some adorable snack mats for the kids.....and no I don't have three kids.....but again, this extra one will have a new home soon!  See I just can't help myself, I'm always making MORE!

They have a plastic covering, so just wipe clean.  My kids LOVE them!  No need for a plate, just sit the snack on the mat and they love sitting a cup on the circle....

My inspiration for these came from here (I changed the wording though)

Actually the only thing singular in my creative space, is this one pair of baby booties I made....but then again, there are two of them.....

More is more, when it comes to craft and you can find so much more in this creative hub...

Speaking of more....check out all 4 of my giveaways! 

You'll find
Bakers Delight Giveaway here,
$150 doMore voucher here and
$100 myer gift card giveaway here. 
And the crafty goody bag here

xx

wordless wednesday {my brown-eyed girl}

(join in)

easing into it.....

I'm easing slowly back into routine here....

With a son who has four days of Kinder, Mondays are our full day together, so it was like getting a little extra day of holidays....

....plus, I'm not getting to used to the routine.....we head off on our overseas trip very, very soon!  So I think my brain is quite happy to stay in holiday mode...although the packing has me a little baffled.....

So, whilst I pack, I'm enjoying just sipping tea from this glorious op-shop find last week....with my new found favourite tea - Lady Grey!

What's your favourite tea?
What are your travel tips with kids?

ps - Don't forget about my giveaways....four of them!

You'll find
Bakers Delight Giveaway here,
doMore voucher here and
$100 myer gift card giveaway here. 
And the crafty goody bag here