Bologna

Bologna is not just an unappetizing piece of meat you put on a sandwich. It is also an amazing city in the North of Italy. My family and I were able to visit this past week and my husband now raves about it being his favorite city to visit, even over Florence and Verona. The history runs VERY deep. This poor city was taken over by so many different people it makes my head spin. The Romans, Etruscans, Celtics etc. It therefore has amazing architecture, food and culture. They also have so many "in the world" titles to brag about as well. The oldest university "in the world." The longest stretch of porticos "in the world." The fifth largest church "in the world." It also holds a special place in my daughters heart because it is home to her favorite food dish "in the world." Bologna is certainly a foodie's dream. The ragu sauce that us Americans like to chomp on is a bastardized version of the original Tagliatelle alla ragu or the better known Pasta Bolognese. It it just as amazingly tasty as you would imagine. Our visit began as we drove to the north of the city and parked in an underground garage under the piazza 8 Agosto. It happened to be market day and we only walked through a small portion because it was enormous but if you are a shoe person, this is your heaven on earth. Rows and rows of beautiful Italian made shoes for much less than you could get anywhere in the States. My husband pushed me along with horse blinders so that I couldn't get distracted. You could easily spend the entire day there.

We walked the gorgeous porticos that seemed to last for blocks taking in the city's architecture, locals and traffic. In Italy you must watch yourself crossing any street. Scooters and bikes and pedestrians buzz around like fruit flies on an old apple dancing around smart cars and buses. It is very chaotic.

We walked straight to the Piazza Maggiore, the heart of downtown. It was almost completely destroyed in WWII but has been beautifully restored.

This is also where Basilica di San Petronio is located. It is enormous and unfortunately they do not let you photograph inside. The front was being restored so no photograph was taken. The whole piazza feels medieval as if you could see a princess walking about but of course as soon as you walk into the library it's contemporary decor pulls you right back into the 21st century.

That is until you look down through the glass floor and see Roman ruins right under your feet. The city is full of many ruins and open to the public. Two meters under the city is well, an entire other city. The Europeans just built right on top of existing homes and streets, etc. Unfortunately there are no tunnels to take you under but there is so much information available at the library you hardly need to. There are also two or more free museums that I hear are amazing. Next time we are there, that is on our list of things to do! Of course we stopped for our pasta ragu and a small break for your two very tired troops.

We then headed toward the University to check out the scene. It is like most school campuses. Full of life and graffiti.

We also saw the two famous towers of Bologna.

Then, we got lost. Which I always think is part of the fun because you then see some unexpected gems.

That was the end of our fun day in Bologna. I would recommend 2 days here especially if you want to visit the museums and many church's. I can't wait to go again.

Fiesta

For the fiesta weekend I ate way too much food. What's new? I was also very disappointed to find out about this holidays NON-meaning. Cinco de Mayo really doesn't mean much to Mexico but it's still a good reason to party I suppose. Here is some Mexican inspired food I made and stuffed my face full of!

The Pepito! Toasted bread smeared with re-fried beans and melted mozzarella with marinated flank steak and avocado. I also made these adorable sombrero cookies with Rolo's, butter cream frosting and sprinkles. OLAY! I used THIS butter cream frosting recipe but cut it in half as I knew I wasn't going to need much. I put it all in a plastic bag and cut a small hole in the corner to pipe just enough under and around the Rolo as well as on the edge of the cookie. I then "sprinkled" my sprinkles on. I would pipe 5 and sprinkled 5 at a time because otherwise the butter cream would harden before the sprinkles had a chance to grab on for dear life. See recipes for the Pepito's HERE...and sombrero sugar cookies HERE. This recipe called for white sugar but I used natural sugar and it tasted amazing. Hope you had a great weekend as well!

The Count Down

We now know we have one year left to live in Italy. This of course gives me mixed emotions. I am so ready to spend time with friends and family in the States but I really LOVE it here as well. Life is a little slower and the food is heaps better. In the four years we have lived here I have had two adorable babies. I was pregnant or breastfeeding for almost all four years. Well this milk well is now dry and its time for Mama to have a little fun. Responsibly of course :) We haven't been able to do much traveling which I have a serious bug for. We have little funds and big responsibilities at home but still with that being said we pledge to travel at least once per month to somewhere we haven't been. Even if it's just a 30 minute drive and only for 8 hours. I'll try to keep you abreast of every where we go! I'm happy I can share with you some of the places in this amazing country you may not see otherwise.

Little Man Party!

My son just turned one! We had a great "little man" party with little man food and cupcakes and a really fun photo booth. I think the adults had more fun than the kids at points. I was getting a few questions about how I set it all up so here you go!





































































I decided upon the little man theme because my little guy is well...not petite. So to outfit him to look like a little man I bought him a "tie" onsie and bib to rock on the big day. I chose a color scheme based on the invitations I ordered. Red, light blue and black.

I decided that a little man party should have little man food. So men like...beer...ok root BEER floats. The root beer float station was a hit! Don't forget the whipped cream and cherries. Men like burgers and fries...ok sliders and curly fries. Little sliders with pickles and all the fixings. They were really great but I made way too many. I estimated one per child and two per adult. Then of course for me its a necessity to always have fruits and veggies. Another side...hmmm well my husband loves chips and dip so I thought little individual dips would be fun. It was a little time consuming but well worth it for the 7 layer Mexican dips. I would definitely make them again especially for smaller gatherings. For dessert it just made sense that everyone would get their own little cupcakes. I made all chocolate cupcakes with butter cream frosting. I split the frosting in half and used food coloring in one batch to make it light blue. Sprinkles on top and they all looked wonderful!

For decorations:

I glued toothpicks to "cupcake toppers" and put them in the fruit and veggies.

I punched circles out and strung them along twine for garland.

I hung a happy birthday sign over the food table so it didn't look so bare above.

For the photo booth I chose a corner of the house that doesn't get much traffic. I set out props that made for good "little man" pictures. Hats, glasses and ties. I knew everyone needed some whiskers so I set out chocolate mustache pops. I hung a blue sheet that matched the party colors and made a garland from twine and crepe paper. We set up a tripod but with the different heights for adults and kids we ended up holding the camera the whole time.

The party was so much fun and really not too much work to put together. I hope your next party is a blast too!




The chocolate mustaches were from Bon Bono at Etsy

The invitations and cupcake toppers were made by Belva June at Etsy

The Happy Birthday sign is from Cow Country Creations at Etsy

Onsie and bib made by Chic Couture Boutique

The plates, napkins forks and knives: Oriental Trading

Recipe for the 7 layer Mexican dip from The girl who ate everything

Valentine Garland

Happy Valentine's Day! Here is a fun and easy craft to make with your loved ones. This is sure to spread the spirit in the house.
Supplies:
We used twine but ribbon or even fishing wire will work.
Paper, various colors
Heart shaped cookie cutters (if you don't have this, draw one, cut it out and trace it)
Hole punch or exacto knife.

We wanted various shades of pink red and orange so we got a couple sheets of each folded them in half and traced the cookie cutters. We cut them out with scissors and punched them with the hole puncher on either side. If you do not have a hole punch use an exacto knife to cut two parallel 1/2" cuts. Run the twine in through one hole and out the other. Continue until you have the perfect amount of hearts for you. String them on the mantle or a door. Anyway your heart desires.

Happy Valentine's Day. Hope its full of hugs and kisses!

My Memories Suite Digital Scrapbooking Software Giveaway!

Congrats to "The Doherty Clan"!!! You won!

Thank you to all who entered and don't forget there is a coupon code at the bottom if you would like to purchase it!



I have been given the opportunity to give away one My Memories Suite Scrapbook Software Pack! (a $40.00 value). I was able to use the program this past week and it was so easy and fun. My sons birthday is in a couple of weeks so I thought I would create a page in honor of him. What do you think? I used an already put together page and customized it as I wished. I added more photos and text and embellishments and the best part is no sticky glue fingers. Scrapbooking via PC is definitely for me. There are so many creative ways to use this software. I think I will print and frame it to have out at his birthday party.

So how do I get this? you ask.

Easy! This Friday, January 27th, I will choose a random winner from the comments under this post.


To enter please visit www.MyMemories.com and choose your favorite digital paper pack or layout, then comment on this post telling me which ones you like best. ( Make sure you leave your email address if you have an anonymous comment.)

For extra entries:

Follow the My Memories Blog:
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Make a separate comment on this post for each that you do!

If you simply cannot wait, no sweat! Here is your very own Share the Memories code that provides a $10 discount off the purchase of the My Memories Suite Scrapbook software and a $10 coupon for the MyMemories.com store - $20 value! Feel free to share it with family and friends.
Code: STMMMS47841



Click here for the My Memories Suite link

Good Luck!

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