By nature I'm a bit of a homebody. I like being home with my honey and the fuzzy kids. Whether it's cooking in the kitchen, sitting around reading, or watching things on YouTube, I'm perfectly happy just being home.
But my desire and comfort with being at home now has to be counter-balanced with this amazing time in our lives when we have the opportunity to live and and work in Italy. It's incredible and we are so blessed!
I truly believe that we all need to recharge and relax so I don't feel guilty one iota if I spend a rainy Sunday in my jammies. But I've just got to make sure that doesn't become my default on the weekends.
I think Tom and I have been successful so far in setting an intention every weekend to do at least one new thing whether it's visiting a new store, going to a winery or taking the boys on a new hiking trail.
This past week has been particularly full of fun, new adventures and great fellowship with new friends so I thought I'd do a bit of a photos of the week wrap-up to share what we've been up to. Sorry for the lengthy post. I haven't learned how to make slideshows yet but with posts like these I probably need to try and figure it out.
Last Friday: Express Yourself!
Kristen, one of my co-workers, invited me to a Corks and Canvas class at the Arts and Crafts Center on base. I think these events are pretty popular in the States but this was my first time doing one. Our class was about three hours and in that time we drank some wine, ate some snack and got to do some painting.
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| Here is our model painting. I was VERY excited to see that it included sunflowers. |
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| First step in the process. Maybe looking a bit sci-fi-ish. |
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| Sky painted and starry night added. Not loving my moon. Looking too much like a banana! |
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| The finished painting and my color palette. |
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| Kristen and I modeling our finished paintings. |
Saturday: Time to Stroll
Saturday morning Tom suggested we take the boys for a hike up in the hills near our house. We had a really nice time and bonus...the trailhead is only seven minutes from our house! Close, convenient fun...gotta love it!
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| Where's the squirrel? Got Henry's attention! |
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| It's looking like Fall around here ya'll. |
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| Happy Boys |
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| Love this photo of Henry |
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| Almost have everyone looking at the camera but Colt's not cooperating. |
Monday: Cooking Up a Storm
Our friends Pat and Chris were hosting some friends visiting from Germany and decided to schedule a cooking class with
Lucas. Lucas offers foodie tours around the area and cooking classes in his Vicenza apartment. I had met him before for a cheese tasting and bar hopping tour but I hadn't done one of his cooking classes yet. They asked if I wanted to participate so I took half the day off Monday to hang out in the kitchen.
On the menu - stracchino bread (cheese bread), risotto with truffles, baked chicken, filled with pear and wrapped with parma ham and covered in creamy, cheesy bechamel sauce, and semifreddo al amaretto for dessert. Yum!
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| Peter making the bread. We're all supervising. Making sure he does it right. |
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| Wrapping up the chicken. |
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| I'm stirring the bechamel sauce. Slaving over a hot stove! |
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| The risotto. Love the copper water pitcher and glasses. |
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| Chris serving up dinner. Completed bread, chicken and risotto. |
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| The cooks. Great time, great food and great fellowship! |
Thanksgiving Day
Just a couple days later we gathered at Pat and Christina's home for Thanksgiving dinner with them and their friends Axle and Gisela.
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| Before-dinner prosecco |
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| The beautiful table setting and Thanksgiving Day friends. |
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| Let's eat! |
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| I made my usual pecan pie contribution. |
Friday: Market Time!
The day after Thanksgiving Tom stayed home with the boys and I headed out at 4:30 a.m. to catch a bus trip to Innsbruck, Austria for their Christmas Market. First full-fledged Christmas Market of the season. Had a great time hanging out with my co-worker and his family. They moved to Italy just a couple weeks before us and are the proud owners of an Australian Cattle Dog named Aussie. Kindred spirits!
We did a personal, English-language guided tour of the Imperial Palace and learned a lot about Marie Antoinette's mother, had a fancy lunch, and walked 5.5 miles through Old Town, along the river and around the Christmas Markets.
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| It's Innsbruck baby! Great Old Town and very walkable city. |
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| With Jeff's wife Kamlyn and their daughter Maddie. |
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| The famous Gold Roof - 2,657 fire-gilded copper tiles. |
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| Nutcracker stand-in for Tom. |
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| Delicious lunch at the Goldener Adler - venison and spaetzle |
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| Still early in the day so no crowds yet - what a view! |
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| Someone cracked a joke but can't remember what it was. |
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| Starting to look like Christmas Time. |
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| Swarovski Christmas Tree...Swarovski Crystal Factory is located near Innsbruck. |
So there you have it. My week in photos. Hope you enjoyed.
And how am I spending my Saturday you might ask. It's overcast, rainy and almost 1 p.m. I'm sitting here in my jammies, drinking some Irish coffee and writing this blog post. Ciao!
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