happy december

it is december 1^st!

Christmas is just around the corner!!

to kick off one of my favorite times of the year

i decided to share some pictures

from our most recent trip to

Vienna’s Christmas markets.

yes

plural

markets.

we went to four different markets in Vienna.

all were simply charming

and unique to their own theme

because i am running out the door

to a

welcome home/see ya later/happy thanksgiving dinner

i will have to share with you the different markets later

 happy december

roma

so i finally did it

a month and a half later

i uploaded my pictures from rome 

to my computer

now

if i only had time to edit all 700 plus photos

but alas 

i must work

so here are some of my favorite

actually a minimal amount of my favorites

due to the slooooow internet in my little italian village

if i haven't said it before

i will say it now

i love the colosseum 

it amazes me!

a candid moment of two of my favorite people

trevi fountain

another one of my favorite places in rome

a simple picture

yet it's one of my favorite

traditionally 

i am not a 'big-city' kind of gal

but 

there is something about rome

that i love

and 

despite it being a large city

i find myself 

dreaming about living in an apartment

looking over the trevi fountain

and

spending countless hours 

walking the streets

finding new wonders

and 

eating a lot of gelato!

more rome pictures to come soon! 

promise!

croatian beauty

mi nonna 

grandmother

mi cugina

cousin

mi zio

uncle

are in town

for a holiday

(vacation)

so 

we went to croatia
we left at o'dark thirty
and yes, that's really a time
to begin our adventure

isn't italy beautiful at o'dark thirty?
as the sun decided to warm the day
the scenery became became more breathtaking

this was in slovania i believe

the drive alone was beautiful

but when croatia welcomed us 

 she was exquisite!

we spent about six hours exploring the coastline

and seeing the sights

and more sights

a very unique sight

then there was this fish net

and not just any fish net

a red fish net

with a puppy laying on it!

i've photoshopped this one

to bring out the red

 i could post pictures 
all day long
but venice is calling my name
so

arreverderci 
and i promise to post more about the beautiful croatia later


ciao from aviano!

mother's day bouquet

last week

i mentioned 

{my rose bushes}

and sunday

there were so many in bloom

so i cut a few

picked some flowers from the field by our house

i like to call it baby's breath

but i could be wrong

put the flowers in a vase

tied a ribbon around the vase

and called it a bouquet

then thought

"it's mother's day. if my mom was here i'd give them to her"

but

sadly 

there is 5,442 miles between my mom and i

not that i'm counting

and 

as tempted as i was

to keep the bouquet

i couldn't

i knew a very good mom

who has a very good kid

and it was mother's day

so when chase and his mom came over

before church

i asked chase to come in

without his mother

i needed to discuss why he didn't pick up all the {dog poop}

we quickly filled out a makeshift card

then he carried the flowers to his mom 

who was patiently waiting

and 

of course she smiled

mothers give selflessly 

and without reserve

they deserve flowers everyday!

i think that is the true reason my mom grew roses

to have flowers daily

happy (belated) mother's day

remember to hug your mom more than you think you should

and tell her you love her with every hello and goodbye

escaping

today

was a much needed

and unexpected

escape

an impromptu invite

to explore 

some wineries in the region

by way of  

a 2011 bmw convertible 

no less

sorry captain, had to brag on your ride

led to

an afternoon of new faces

new wines

new places

and

a much need break

the best part

it's only thirty minutes

away

every now and again

you have to do something

that reminds you 

you are in italy

so with the top down on the car

our hair blowing in the wind

the captain and i set out!

first stop 

was 

{imagredi}

a vineyard 

in domanins

the landscaping was so unique

with the vines

growing in a star pattern

the grounds were simply breathtaking

the wine was exquisite 

a nicely wrapped souvenir full of wine bottles

and 

the people
were
so nice

our next stop 

was 

{Cantina San Martino}

sadly

this winery was closed

i know 

i about cried

so we just took pictures of the outside

which 

of course was lovely

our tour guide

the wonderful

emanuel

i believe this is how you spell his name

took us to

Valvasone

which i titled

the cute medieval town on my iphone google maps

we walked around the town 

viewing the sites

enjoying the day 

taking pictures

and more pictures

but with scenery like this

you just have to keep snapping away!

sadly though our trip had to end
so

we finished the tour

with a stop at 

{il bosco di arichis }

an agriturismo

an agriturismo is probably best explained

as a farm

that serves food 

and usually

 has some lodging accommodations

by this time

i forgot i was a tourist

and sat there enjoying my wine

so please feel free to look at the website for pictures

trust me on this one

take a look!

as the captain and i 

returned to my home

i was greeted by 

a beautiful yard

with fresh potted flowers

yes,

 my hubby sent me away for the afternoon
to indulge in some wine
cheese
the italian life

and while i was gone

he mowed, potted some flowers, and

bribed some kid with two new games on the ipad

to pick up dog poop

thanks chase!!

today 

was a much needed escape
so thank you captain for the invite
thank you emanual for showing us around
thank you chase for well you know
doing the dirty work at the house
and 
thank you kenneth for making me go
and 
escape


love love love from aviano

foods of aviano...part quattro

it has been awhile

since i've posted 

about the 

{foods of aviano}

but 

trust me

i'm still eating

and 

enjoying the wonderful food here!

because i know the breakfast of champions

is tiramisu

or cupcakes 

i decided to start your day off right 

with a pictorial menu

of your breakfast choices

should you decide to come and visit

without fail

tiramisu

but for those who desire

more omega-3's

fish

did you notice the fish eating the rubber fish

italians do have a sense of humor!

of course 

any american would love

pizza 

for breakfast

the tomatoes make it a healthy choice!

how about

a pisatacchio cookie?

and for your last choice

and my favorite!

cupcakes!!!

these were made by me!

and they are delicious!!

you too can make them 

just follow this 

{reciepe}

they say breakfast is the most important meal of the day

and

i've given you plenty of options

so

eat

drink 

coffee preferably in the morning

but the italians have wine at nine am so why can't you?

be merry

and have a beautiful day!!

stillness and bliss

{lake barcis}

is breathtaking

i've heard rumors of such

but i had to investigate myself

so

like any good parent to four-pawed creatures

would do 

on a nice weather day

we loaded up the pups

and headed 

about thirty to forty-five minutes up the the road

and 

discovered

{lake barcis}

i am not a fisherman

but i was quite jealous of this man fishing

he looked so relaxed

lake barcis 

can best be described 

as peaceful

i caught myself walking quietly 

so not to disturb the silence

or the ducks

even the ducks had that look in their eye

like "shh.... don't you know this is a quiet place"

another view

even admiral enjoyed the quietness

however he became quite bored with it

the highlight of his trip was the gelato shop

filled with kiddos begging to play with him

admiral and maik were good sports

posing for pictures

and more pictures

i must remind myself maik was trained to attack

don't ask to much from him...

i want to make it known

right here

right now

i've found my retirement home

see that white house

that's it! 

my future home

hey a girl can dream!

after an hour long walk

around the lake

and a hundred or so pictures later

we decided to say 

"arriverderci" 

to lake barcis 

and like any good parent

to our four-legged creatures

we

watered our pups

and headed to the gelateria!