Stow Away

My flight leaves in about 23 hours. I'm packing up my new suitcase (which, unfortunately, seems to hold less than I need it to), trying not to forget anything important. My beastly cold seems to have almost disappeared. And by almost, I mean that I can sort of taste food and I'm only blowing my nose about half as often now. Sigh. On the plus side, Mother Nature seems to have gotten the memo about my trip, and the weather is going to be absolutely lovely while I'm in Italy. It's even going to be 60 degrees in Annecy on Saturday! I'm really happy that we're spending so much time outside of Milan this time. It's not that I don't like Milan, but I've been sick for so long (today is Day 11) that my energy level is really low right now, and I think the fresh air of the country and the mountains will be really nice.

I still have to pack a pair of shoes, some pants, and ALL of my toiletries (including my hair straightener). There'll be some extra room in it on the way home, because right now Flavio's Christmas presents are packed in there. For some reason, he never got the package and it was returned to me a couple weeks ago.

Well, I'm off to get ready for work. It's unfortunate that, with everything I still need to do, I have to spend 8+ hours at work tonight. I guess I'll probably stay up all night and sleep on the plane. See you all in a week!

Ridic. Sick

I'm on day 7 of a beastly cold. The first couple days, it was just a sore throat and a little cough, but I wanted to nip it in the bud (since I'm traveling soon), so I stayed home from work. Day 3, my throat didn't hurt as much, and I thought I was getting better, so I went to work. BIG MISTAKE!! There are about a hundred people sick at work, and it just made my cough worse. Monday was a holiday and Tuesday & Wednesday were my days off, so I figured all of that R&R would help me kick this thing. Not so much. :\ It's strange...I wake up feeling OK, but as the day progresses, I get completely worn out and I end up feeling worse. Anyway, I stayed home again tonight, but I absolutely have to go back to work tomorrow, whether I'm feeling better or not. I'm hoping that I'll be well by Saturday or Sunday. I caught this from my mom a couple days after she got sick, and she was feeling a lot better today.

On a happier note, I'm so excited about my trip! I started packing my suitcase this afternoon, and lately Flavio & I have been discussing our plans for each day. Lake Como and Annecy are definitely happening, and today there was a little bit of talk about taking an express train from Annecy to Paris. I would absolutely love to see Paris, but I don't know if we'll actually have time for it.

My lovely irises are beginning to wilt, but I can't bear to throw them away. I wish I had a flower press! Maybe I should dry them out?

In Bloom

Well, the blue flowers opened up, and I was surprised to find that they weren't tulips at all! I love irises. In fact, I bought some the day I met Flavio. I'm not very good at arranging flowers, especially with this bouquet...I cut the tulips' stems too short, and they're getting lost among the irises. Still, it's such a beautiful bouquet, and it means so much to me. ♥

Brenta Beret

[ raveled. ]

I knitted this hat to wear during my upcoming trip to Italy (T minus 11 days!!!). 'Brenta' is the name of the Metro stop in my sweetheart's neighborhood. As much as I've been hoping for an early spring in Milan, it doesn't look like it's going to happen, so this beret should keep me just warm enough. The pattern is Porom by Jared Flood, and the yarn is Sublime merino cashmere silk dk. This was a really quick, fun, easy thing to knit. The only mod I made was to use size 7 needles for the ribbing instead of size 6, because I don't have a size 6 circular...although actually, I'm really glad I used size 7 because I wouldn't have wanted the band any tighter. Quelle hat hair!

P.S. Yesterday I got the most beautiful surprise at my doorstep...two dozen of the prettiest tulips you've ever seen! I was so happy and surprised, I cried. Nobody's ever sent me flowers! And the card was just brilliant...'I love you every day more.' ♥

The blue ones haven't opened up yet, but I'll post another picture when they do.

He Beat Me!

Last night, my younger brother asked his girlfriend to marry him, beating me to an engagement by about 3 weeks. Well, I'll beat him to marriage because I'm sure their wedding probably won't be until next year, whereas Flavio and I are itching to take our vows, like, yesterday.

Congratulations, Tyler & Jessica!!!

All You Need Is Love

I saw these miniature carnations at the store today, and I thought they'd be a pretty way to wish my mom a happy Valentine's day. Although I usually don't like the red-pink-white color combination, I think this bouquet is pretty perfect. And we love the way carnations smell! So fresh and bright, compared to the heavy scent of roses.

The next week will be so beautiful here, even if we do get some rain. I wish it would last, but I'm crossing my fingers that at least we won't get any more snow. I'm ready for spring!

Ch-ch-ch-changes

I'm working on a new knitting project now. No, I haven't finished my socks. I haven't even finished the instep decreases on the first sock. I don't know how it happened, but I lost my 5th size 1 dpn. One minute, it was in my hand, and the next minute, it was gone. I've looked everywhere, but I can't find it! And right now, I don't really have the money to go buy a new set (mostly because I know I won't make it out of the yarn store with just the needles). So I've started a new project! It's a little lace-edged cardigan for a baby girl. I'm trying to decide which buttons to use...leaning toward the silver ones with engraved hearts.

Yesterday I got about 10 or 11 inches chopped off my hair. I really wanted to look nice with long hair, but I didn't, and it was such a pain in the neck to take care of. Now it's back to the way it was my senior year of college, and although it's a bit shorter than what I really wanted, I love it. I think it'll be the perfect length by the time I'm in Italy (3 weeks!!!).

As for my 'big exciting secret news': I'm getting married! Well, we're not engaged yet, which is why I didn't want to share this news until I got back from Italy. But we've already started planning our wedding, which will be later this year. As I'm sure you can imagine, planning a trans-Atlantic wedding is a logistical nightmare. After abandoning several plans, we decided to have the wedding in Italy. Talk about 'big exciting'! Unfortunately, this plan is in limbo right now due to the terrible state of the economy (and the fact that my dad really doesn't understand how expensive weddings are!). So I'm a bit disappointed about it all, and of course I'm really excited to get married, but I'm not really excited about the wedding anymore.