With school having just started, there have been some amazing times, but there has also been some hard times. Returning to school was great, seeing friends, realizing I love all my classes, and being involved in SDT again. Yet, I also got a really difficult phone call, on a day that started like any other, going to class, going to the gym and getting back and ready for my next class. The one call I never really expected, was that my childhood pet, my only pet, my Chairman Mao had just died. 

Everything stopped in that moment, I couldn’t believe what I had just heard, and I just couldn’t keep my composure. This was the kitten that I had adopted from the Bartlesville SPCA, that cat that had been with us in 4 different countries, and had always been my baby. He was such a huge part of my life, and my family’s life. It was extremely hard, and still honestly is. 

Though that same evening, my friends were instantly there for me, bringing food/wine/support. It was such a great moment to have friends there to be able to comfort me while I was having such a hard moment, even when I hadn’t asked for anyone to be there, or for anyone to do anything. I truly appreciate everything that my friends do for me, it was such a great support. I absolutely love my friends, and am so grateful for them. I can’t be thankful enough to have such a great support system, and such a great roommate who dealt with me being in such a funk. 

I am so grateful for all of my friends, and my boyfriend, and am grateful they are always there for me. It makes going through tough times easier, and I am so ever happy they are in my life. 

Having just returned to Houston from Milan less than a week ago, my mum and I have been keeping busy (as usual). With trips out to the ranch and running errands, there has been no time to be jetlagged! We are now getting ready to pick up friends from the airport and tomorrow head off on a road trip along the west coast. I am excited to go, I’m always excited to re-visit some of these places and see things you hadn’t noticed before. 

I had a great time in Milan, though way too short of a trip back home! I definitely didn’t get to take as many strolls around the center of town as I may have like, and I’m not quite sure how the weather would have really allowed for that… But, next time I plan on spending a little more time enjoying the center of town and walks around some of my favorite streets. Maybe I’ll even get to enjoy my Macarons and not leave them in the fridge in Milan. 

Though this summer has been busy, it has been good. Here are some of the things that have brightened up the summer…

• Getting to spend more time with my Nonna 
• The beautiful lilies I had next to my bed for almost a week, making my room super inviting
• Having amazing gelato whenever I wanted/could
• Having skype/facebook to communicate with Nick

I hope everyone’s summer is going well and everyone is enjoying whatever they are up to this summer! 

xo,C

I have been at home in Milan for some of this summer, and with my mother and a family friend, we have been traveling around Italy, and went to Assisi, Naples, Pompei and Sorrento. They were all absolutely gorgeous in their own ways, and all had very different a distinct feelings to them.

Assisi was our first stop along the way, and driving to arrive into the city was daunting (seriously glad I was not driving). The roads are thin and two-way, but look like a small one way street in the states, but we got up to the top of the hill that the town is located on, and I was immediately won-over by the town. It is absolutely beautiful and what I think most people think of when they think of small towns in Italy. 

Naples was an interesting city, the traffic is crazy and definitely has its own way of working - not something that you probably find anywhere else in the world! It had a different charm than most cities, but the people are also one-of-a-kind, the type that I don’t think you could find anywhere but Naples. We took an interesting tour of the underground part of the city - a part of the city that has been there since the Greeks and the Romans, people have been finding that their home is being built about the largest stages that were built in the Roman times, an idea that is fascinating - the city has been building up and up, yet many times we don’t truly know what the foundation of these homes are being built upon. 

Pompei was reachable along the metro/train line that runs in Naples, and it did not take too long to reach, again an interesting view into the past, it was absolutely astonishing to see how long the structures of the past have lasted, how long will that which is modern construction last? Some of the frescos still in tact, and even some of the tiling on the floors - I was amazed, and so happy to have seen everything that was there.

Sorrento was the last trip that we took while down south and it was beautiful! We just walked around and shopped a little bit, we visited a shop where a man, and 3 prior generations of his family had been making small wooden boxes (usually music boxes, but some were not) that were some of the most amazing things, all having been done by this man himself. The best thing about this visit to the store though was being given the chance to see two boxes that had been made by his grandfather, one a music box that played for 15 minutes, and the other a make up box; both absolutely stunning. The rest of our time there was spent enjoying the scenery, my taking quite a few photos and shopping for lemons (even buying one the size of my head!) 

We ended the week with my parents’ 30th wedding anniversary, with a trip around the town of Milano in a tram that has been converted into a small restaurant, 24 of us enjoying a great evening with great food. I have had a wonderful week, and got to spend wonderful times with family and friends. 

I hope that everyone’s summer vacation is going wonderfully. 

xo,C

I am going to try and update this blog every Saturday, keeping myself on a good schedule, fingers crossed it’ll work! Its been an interesting time since last week, I was in California for a few days which was really nice, but cold, which I definitely was not expecting, but it was alright. We got to see the family, and had Fenton’s sandwiches and ice cream, so good, and some shopping (always fun). 

I really enjoy spending time with my grandparents, I think its extremely important to spend time with them, and they’re always so great to be around. My dad’s side of the family is a lot larger than my mum’s so its always interesting when visiting because there is always someone else visiting, and there are just always a ton of people around, but its nice. Being able to spend time with family, even if it doesn’t happen often, is really important. 

Here are some good things…

• Having been able to see some of the extended family
• Excited to try out the new sugar scrubs I made
• New really cute shoes my parents got me
• Seeing and catching up with a friend
• My car being fixed 

I hope that everyone is having a great summer, I miss everyone from school so much, and can’t believe we still have so much time between now and when we go back! I also hope everyone enjoyed getting through Rapture today ;)

xo,C

I have been so caught up with everything happening at school that my blog got neglected, I hadn’t even realized it had been so long since I posted. Things at school were definitely hectic, things were up and down, and changes were happening, but in the end, all were for the best and were learning experiences as they happened.

Its been an interesting time, and the semester was long, but its finally summer 2011! and I am so excited to see what it has in store, which its already had quite a bit! My car when we got home decided not to work (and is thankfully with a mechanic) and I got a new computer, which has literally over 6 times the amount of storage as my old one, and does not seem to overheat within two seconds, making my life a million times easier. 

So far though, here are some things I am thankful for:

• The plumeria (my absolute fav flower) scented candle I bought today, which smells amazing
• Being able to get relaxing manicures and pedicures with my mother
• Being able to read as many books as I want, whenever I want
• Having my own bed and room that I can do whatever I want in, and have it as I want it
• Skype, allowing me to talk to friends that I’m nowhere nearby, and having a good texting plan/bbm to allow the same things

I definitely am already missing my friends, its been weird to not call them and be able to go meet somewhere on campus at any time, but its been good to be able to talk to everyone as I want to. I am looking forward to the rest of this summer, which should have a lot of traveling, and having new experiences. I am also already excited for my dorm next year and sharing it with a great friend, along with having good friends living in the floors near us. 

I hope everyone is enjoying their summer already, and that the summer continues to move along in the same great manner. 

xo,C

Even though it is midterms time, it is almost spring break, and I know that everyone is really happy that they just need to get through the next week before being able to just sit back and relax for a few days. I am so excited to be able to see my parents, relax, have a good birthday, and not have to worry about everything involved with college life… oh, and enjoy the sun. How could I forget that?

Things have been stressful and filled with a little less sleep than I’d like, but it’s always good to have friends to be around… Being able to just call a friend and have someone to grab lunch with, to stay up with you, or to chat with, it just makes getting through the most stressful days that much easier. 

The things that I have been thankful for recently are…

• an ongoing facebook thread with a few friends that never fails to make me laugh
• being able to call on friends and be able to grab lunch/coffee/just hang out and talk for a while
• oversized cupcakes made in muffin pans
• the fact that i am officially one week away from cuddling mao.

I hope that everyone is getting through their exams/assignments and looking forward to spring break! 

xoC

It seems to be a lot harder keeping up with this blogging thing than I had initially thought, but I am sorry for the long time between posts… 

This has been such a busy, hectic time. But, things have been good and there are a few things I am really thankful for…

• The warm weather we are experiencing out here in DC
• The fact that the food trucks are always outside of my 1245 on Mondays when I am running to get to class and need food between work and class
• The amazing Valentine’s Day Dinner my boyfriend took me to at CoCo Sala 
• Having a long day weekend where I will be able to pretty much just sleep and enjoy the hopefully awesome weather
• The fact that right after we are done with our exams, Mariel and I will be enjoying really nice new nailpolish from Deborah Lippman 

I am so excited for this new weather and for this hectic week of exams and papers to be over

I hope everyone is enjoying their week

xo C

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I can’t believe that I am still in Washington, DC at this point… I was supposed to have left here on the 18th, and had so many cancellations and delays that I am still here, luckily, in a hotel that was provided for me, but still, it isn’t home… 

It was hard to stay positive as that was happening, but as things are looking up, I’m being more positive… So here are some things that I’ve been thankful for in the past few days:

• The fact that I at least was given an opportunity to have somewhere to stay
• Having my parents there to try and help me at all hours, even staying up all night to ensure that I could come home to enjoy Christmas at home
• Having Nick’s parents trying to help me, which made me feel so much better
• Being able to talk to Courtney for over an hour on the phone, keeping me company! 
• Getting food everyday provided
• Getting calls from my parents and being able to call them whenever I wanted to talk 

I am so thankful for my parents, they are always there for me, and in situations like this, I know that they are the reasons that I can get through it without an immense amount of stress. Having parents that will stay up all night to help or stay on the phone for over an hour with you or checking in on things to make my stay at the airport in Frankfurt easier… All of these things make everything so much easier, and I appreciate it so much, I am so happy that I will be seeing them again soon! 

Also, having Nick’s family looking out for me so much made the day that I found out there were more delays easier, knowing that they cared so much about what I was going to do on Christmas, and making sure I wasn’t alone, it was such a great feeling.

I hope that everyone is having an amazing vacation at home, that getting home was not as stressful as this situation has been over on my end. I hope that everyone is enjoying time at home, seeing old friends and getting to spend quality time with family. It is such a great chance to relax and have some down time between semesters, and I hope everyone is enjoying it as much as they possibly can! I can’t wait to see everyone back at school in January :)

Much love, C

So, I missed Thanksgiving for posting, but I was in Sacramento with family (and the boyfriend!) and didn’t have strong internet service for my laptop. But, it was a great time, so good to have a break from being on campus and having time to spend with family that I do not get to see all that regularly. It was so great to see everyone and spend a nice week relaxing, and even playing laser tag! 

Nick and I also got to spend a really fun day in San Francisco where we saw a lot of really cool things, and met some really cool people. We decided to walk most of the way around San Francisco, and that was the best idea - even if it meant seeing a little less of the city. Usually when I go I spend a lot more time using public transportation to get around the city, but walking made it so I got to see a few more things and some beautiful views from on top of hills. 

we also got on the wrong highway and ended up in Treasure Island, but look at the view :) 

It’s finals time, and super stressful, but it’s still a great time of the year - even though its FREEZING! So, here are a few things I am happy for at the moment:

• GOING HOME NEXT SATURDAY!!! I cannot wait to be back in MILANO!
• Having friends to be able to spend awesome mornings with, that include unsuccessful trips to package services AND being yelled at by crazy men
• starting a new job and getting awesome work experience
• having a great neighbor across the way to do cute crafty projects with and have good conversations with
• having a boyfriend that will help you carry big boxes across campus
• it’s almost CHRISTMAS!! 

There’s definitely a lot more, but I should probably get back to homework? I hope everyone is doing well with their studying and their exams! 

xo, C