Archive | weekend

"Happy Day!!!"

November 26, 2012 at 9:46 am

How many of you woke up this morning and thought, “Oh bummer, the long weekend’s over! No more Thanksgiving for a year!” Some of you trudged back to work or study, others watched our spouses trudge off and turned around to quiet houses without cozy adult companionship.

Well, Lena has a message for you if you’re down. Her new word… er, phrase gave me warm fuzzies this morning as the week began without our Elliott/Daddy at home.

In other news, how many of you are doing some Cyber Monday shopping today? Last year I took advantage of Black Friday/Cyber Monday in the States to get some amazing deals on yarn for my Etsy shop and to buy cloth diapers at a great price from here. This year in Italy… hmm, no online purchases yet, but I’m very tempted by all the cute baby clothes and darling wooden toys at serious markdowns on Totsy.

Anything tempting you? Or do you avoid that craziness?

9 :: in holidays, Lena, video, weekend

Mt. Etna in the autumn (or… hiking with kids)

November 8, 2012 at 2:40 pm

The weather these days in Sicily is just perfect in every way. Clear, refreshing days with big bowl-of-blue skies and light breezes. Rain once every week or so, just enough to turn the earth green again and give you reason to break out your cooler weather gear. And then there are the hints of changing color on Mt. Etna, which we are taking every opportunity to see.

Last Saturday we joined our dear friends the Arthurs for another hike on Mt. Etna. It was a perfect day: a picnic, a fireplace (even if we forgot marshmallows), a beautiful climb, and a magnificent view. Oh, and kids wearing themselves out with happy play!

Elise in her new hat

Mama Arthur and her brood

Lena and Lucas

The fire builders and their helpers. (Josh: “It’s easier to wear Elise’s hat than carry it for her.”)

How young families hike.

The final push and then the summit.

Beautiful Sicily!

“There’s our town, guys, can you see it?”

my gentle husband

we three and Mt. Etna

9 :: in friends, hiking, Mt Etna, Sicily, weekend

fall color in Sicily

October 29, 2012 at 3:41 pm

Ever since I returned to Sicily last week, I’ve been feeling sad about leaving beautiful fall color behind in Virginia. We love living here, but there’s just nothing like autumn on the East Coast. I think it’s the rich color saturation of everything: leaves, clothes, sky, scarves, apples, boots, lipstick, pumpkins.

Last week my friend Becca mentioned that there is fall color on Mt. Etna, the highest volcano in Europe, which is just a 45-min drive from our house. Quick, gather a crew and let’s go hiking! With two of our closest family friends here, we drove up to the slopes of the volcano, picnics packed and children in tow.

Aren’t the kids cute? Elliott and I got to see what “hiking” will look like in a few years when Lena’s a little older and we add a babe or two to our family! These are some rockstar parents, folks.

I’m linking up with Weekend Update Blog Hop and The Weekend File.

11 :: in friends, hiking, Mt Etna, Sicily, weekend

a little Virginia autumn for your weekend

October 26, 2012 at 2:39 pm

^ “Umm, Mama, I’d really like to go on a walk with you but I just have to figure out how to bring all my shoes along too.”

The weekend before we left Virginia and returned to Sicily, my parents, siblings, Elliott, Lena, and I drove to a pretty little getaway in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Elliott and I swung by UVA to pick up my sister Emily on our way to the house my mom had rented for all of us. We soaked up time together with hikes in the mountains, leisurely meals and conversation indoors, and quiet moments around the fire pit or in the hot tub outside. Lena especially enjoyed the huge walking stick bugs (“bee! bee!” and giggles) that her daddy caught for her.

I’ll leave you with a portrait of a blogging couple. This is how we spend many evenings together but usually no one else is around to say, “Aww, you two are so cute with your matching computers!” and take a picture.

5 :: in family, Lena, Virginia, weekend

October Saturday on Capitol Hill

October 1, 2012 at 11:30 am

Happy October, everyone! My cousin Katie (visiting from Oklahoma), Lena, and I drove to my old ‘hood of Capitol Hill on Saturday to soak up the season. Have you ever been to Eastern Market in D.C.? There is no place I’d rather be on a Saturday morning in the fall! The market glowed with color and beauty at every turn. The sellers’ wares sparkled in the sunlight, hot apple cider wafted through the air, and the flea market was in full swing. We crunched leaves underfoot as we bit into crisp apples from a farm stand. We ate breakfast with my brother at Jimmy T’s, met up with my brother-in-law as he headed into Peregrine Espresso for coffee and emails, and randomly ran into an old college friend as he walked out of Groovy with his wife.

This is my neighborhood, my heart cried (and my mouth, as my cousin Katie will tell you). I love Sicily, but I think I left a piece of my heart on the Hill. It’s bittersweet to come back to this place where I once belonged, where Elliott and I shared our newlywed days and memories, where I spent a long year while he was on an unaccompanied assignment in Egypt. Lena’s first home was our condo on Capitol Hill. Every block between our old home, church, and Barracks Row holds a dozen memories.

Will we come back to the Hill after our assignment in Sicily? Will we choose to come back? What do you prioritize in a home, in a neighborhood, in a community, in a city?

Do you return to the places you know because they were good to you before? Or do you choose the unknown?