New Here? Catch Up!

I've been blogging ever since we moved to Italy in July 2011.  Since then I've written about our move, our travels around and beyond Italy, and the mental/emotional process of becoming a new mom at home.  I've also shared favorite recipes, talked about everyday life in Italy, and walked through the grief of losing my little sister Julia this past summer.  Here are all my best posts in one place, organized by topic.


Moving to Sicily

• Our house hunt
• Our Italian villa before we moved in
• Moving in to our Italian villa
• All moved in (and ready for Christmas!)

Everyday Life in Italy

• How to Make an Italian Espresso Like an American
• Winter Storms in Sicily (or, The Day Our House Flooded)
• Granite (Italian ice) in our little town of Motta Sant'Anastasia

Losing My Sister (July 2012)

• Lament for My Sister
• Letters to Our Sister 
• A Day in the Life of Grief
• "Find Thy All in Me"
• The Road Untravelled
• Thankfulness in the Midst of Grief
• Photos from Home

Favorite Places in Sicily

• Catania for the fish market and beach (also here and here)
• Taormina for the classical Italian town feel, magnificent views, beautiful beaches, and delicious granite!
• Pedara for a mountain town experience
• Mt Etna for a chance to climb an active volcano!  Again here.
• Alcantara Gorge for magnificent natural scenery, hiking, and swimming
• Agriturismo Borgo for a farm-to-table Italian meal
• Caltagirone for Sicilian ceramics
• Scala dei Turchi for beautiful rock formations to explore on the beach (near Agrigento)
• Agrigento for ancient Greek and Roman ruins
• Siracusa/Syracuse for more ancient Greek and Roman ruins
• Ortigia (inside Siracusa) for a classical Italian town, a great little beach, and the best pizza I've had in Italy
• Fontane Bianche beach and Noto beach south of Siracusa

Traveling in Italy outside Sicily

• Venice Part 1, Venice Part II, and Venice Part III (we loved Venice and these links include information about the charming apartment where we stayed for a long weekend)
• Vicenza for Palladian architecture
• Rome Part I and Rome Part II for Christmas 2011
• Tivoli Gardens (outside Rome)
• Assisi, home of St Francis of Assisi
• The Adriatic Coast and Verona
• Naples
• Herculaneum (a town buried by Mt Vesuvius)
• The Amalfi Coast: Positano, Ravello, and Amalfi town
• Dolomite Mountains for dairy cottages and friendly neighbors!

Traveling in Europe

• Bosnia
• Dubrovnik, Croatia and all over Croatia
• Macedonia
• Montenegro and Kosovo
• Albania
• Skiing in the French Alps
• Malta Part I and Malta Part II
• San Marino (tiny landlocked country in northern Italy)
• Driving from Italy to Germany
• Edelweiss (military resort in Garmisch, Germany)
• Driving through Germany, Lichtenstein, Austria, and Italy in one day!
• Crete (Greece) Part I, Part II, Part III, and Part IV

Favorite Recipes

• Soft Gingersnaps
• {Chocolate Chip} Pumpkin Bread
• Old-Fashioned Soft Pumpkin Cookies
• Christmas Wassail
• Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting
• Sicilian Blood Orange Salad
• Blood Orange and Strawberry Marmalade
• Chewy Lemon Cookies

Life as a New Mother

• Starting a series on Becoming a Stay-at-Home Mom (and being unemployable!)
• Budget Baby
• Realities and Ideal-ities
• Taking Your Baby to the Hospital
• The Cloth Diapering Post
• Lena's 1st Birthday Party!

Book Reviews

• Book review of Simplicity Parenting 
• Book review of Bringing Up Bebe

Life in the Military

• Naval Air Station Sigonella (Sicily)