Wedding Series #4

Tags

Bridemaids, Craft Blog, craft project, DIY Wedding, Dreamcatchers, Flowergirls, hand made gifts, Lotales, wedding, Wedding Blog

So here we are… 4 months in and its been a fun, creative and organised month for this little bride-to-be… I have been busy crafting, creating and making spreadsheets! (Every good bride needs a spreadsheet to two)

Plus I have discovered another thing I LOVE about being engaged…sharing details and talking weddings with other brides to be!!! I don’t know what it is about talking to another bride that slightly trumps non engaged folk… maybe it’s because you’re excitement is contagious, maybe it’s because there’s no fear you’re going to bore them to death, or quite simply that it’s reassuring to compare stories and check you’re doing everything ok! I’m lucky in that one of my best friends got engaged days after we did, as is getting married a month before, so whilst our weddings may be worlds apart (I am so excited about her big day) our timetimes compliment each other which is rather handy! Also my lovely friend and work buddy also got engaged over the Christmas/New Year break but has booked September (this year) for their big day… She is whizzing through their to-do list and it’s so exciting catching up and hearing her ideas. She also happens to be a fellow creative and super talented babe so I can whole heartedly recommend checking out her awesome blog and enjoy her weekly wedding series!

So, back to the matter in hand and this post’s purpose… Inspired by my bridesmaid cards, I have been doing some more work on our invitations (I obviously can’t share anything till I’ve sent them out) but it’s so much fun!! haha… I really am loving designing these and think I’ll be pretty sad when it’s all done. One thing that’s struck me is how much information there is to include with a wedding invite! We’re going to be sending our proper little bundles when the time comes! Super happy, lovely, fun filled bundles of love and joy and all the good stuff!

But anyway, enough of that… I will want to say more if I keep talking and I’ll save that for another post….

I mentioned in #3 that I was going to make an alternative for my mini maids to carry down the aisle and the crafter in me has had a busy few days making some very special gifts…

I decided quite early on that I didn’t want all my minis to be in the same dress, to to all look like little clones of each other, they’re all such individual characters that I want their little personalities to shine though… all the mischievous, sassy, headstrong, twirling qualities that make these little ladies who they are… but I still felt they needed something to unite them all and carry in that bridesmaidy way.

Whilst mini posies and flower wands are cute they don’t really suit the vibe Maxwell and I are wanting for our wedding so I have taken a bit of bohemian inspiration and decided that they would all carry dream catchers instead. I adore a dream catcher and of course this could also be a gift from me to them that hopefully they’ll treasure forever… if they don’t end up being used as frisbees, which let’s be honest is a possibility!

I didn’t just want to buy them as that didn’t feel special enough, isn’t really how we do things AND I wanted to create something a little prettier so… for my #4 Wedding offering I thought I’d share with you all my step-by-step guide to making my flower girl bohemian flower dream catchers…. (catchy title I think you’ll agree)

Here goes….

First up you’re going to want to be all prepared and get all your bits together! You’re going to need: Ribbon (I used velvet), wool/string or similar, flowers (faux, paper etc), beads, scissors, wooden rings (can I recommend embroidery hoops), double sided tape, pliers and feathers (not shown).

Your first job is to apply some double sided tape to the outside of the wooden hoop, don’t go all the way round, I worked in about 10cm lengths at a time. Peel off the paper backing and you’re ready to start binding (ps, don’t worry of your tape is a bit wider then the wood)

You’re then going to start binding the hoop using your ribbon of choice, keep the ribbon taut and overlap slightly each time. Pass the ball/spool of ribbon through the middle of the hoop each time. (you will notice that it get twisted so every now and again just let it un twist!)

Keep going all the way round till you reach the starting point. Go as close as you can without over lapping!

You’re then going to want to cut off about this much… roughly… better to be over generous then be left short.

Make a loop for a handle and then securely knot at the base.

Apply some more double sided tape to the left over bit, peel off the backing paper, tightly wrap round and trim off the excess.

Now it’s time to create the middle of your Dreamcatcher!

Choose your string/wool and tie it securely onto the hoop.

You then need to start making loops around the edge of the hoop… its a bit tricky to explain so I’ve taken alot of pics. You basically want to loop it back on itself to keep it in place. Use 2 (as shown or 3, which I found worked better) fingers as a guide to keep your loops evenly spaced…

Keep going all the way round… when you catch up with the starting point go the the middle of the hoop to make your next ‘knot’. By the way, I am definitely not a professional and I’m sure there are much better ‘how to’s’ out there to explain this part of the process!

Again just keep following this process working in a clockwise motion… This one is all a bit uneven but trust me it looked ok in the end!

I found as I got nearer the middle my fingers became too big and a pair of long nosed or snipe pliers became very handy! You’re gonna want to / have to stop when you’ve got a small circle left in the middle.

Conveniently this hole is the perfect place to top a lovely bead! Once you’ve gotten into the swing of things you can include smaller beads actually in the web too which looks pretty good if I do say so!

Next you’re going to want to grab a selection of flowers. I used faux and mainly paper ones as I thought they were nicest… If possible you want to find ones with wired stems, if you can’t find those, you can DIY this stage by wrapping wire round the stem yourself. Think of where you’d like you flowers and you can start applying them…

Starting one flower at a time you’re going to want to use the wire to secure the flower in place… Pliers very handy I should add…

I can also recommend adding lots of texture and different lengths so it looks more natural!

And voila all done… cute huh?

Next you’re going to want to grab so feathers… This handy pack was perfect for what I wanted!

The final stage is to add the tassels/feather bottoms… so cut a length of the same wool you used in the middle and loop it round the edge. Do some on the side, some on the bottom your choice of where and how many!

Then on one of your strands thread a bead and apply a short length of double sided tape. I trapped the end of the feather in the tape and encased it by rolling up the double sided tape between my thumb and forefinger.

You can then slide the bead down over the top of the tape/feather end and secure in place! (ps, you’re gonna want a bead with a generous hole!)

Then it’s time to let your creative juices flow and keep adding, I didn’t do mine all symmetrical and even but if your OCD tendencies are a bit stronger then mine knock yourself out and make them even!

Once you’ve finished all your tassels, well you’e finished!!

How cute do they look? I’m super happy with them, I also chose a mix of emerald, cream and grey ribbons, and have made sure they’re all different as the little ladies who will be carrying them!

So there you have it, I hope you enjoyed this little offering and I’ll be back soon with more wedding updates and what I’ve been up to! x

NB: Oh… I forgot to say, Bar the beads (which I saved from an old bead curtain) you can get all the other bits from Hobbycraft & The Range

 

10 Most Wanted: Minimal Jewellery

Tags

10 Most Wanted, blog, fashion blog, gift guide, gold, high street shopping, jewellery, jewellery selection, Lifestyle blog, Lotales, Lotales 10 Most Wanted, minimal jewellery, rose gold, silver, style blog, Uk Blogger, window shopping

Hey….

I hope you’ve all had a fab weekend?! I wrapped on a big project yesterday which has been awesome but a bit all-encompassing so it’s been nice today to finally have a bit of me time and do a little blogging….

I thought I’d treat you to a Lotales 10 Most Wanted as it’s been a while….

A couple of weeks ago I brought a really beautiful but simple pair of earrings

Cute Huh?! I think they were a few quid from Primark but I love them!

Getting all inspired by super minimal jewellery I thought I’d share with you a few favourite items I’ve been lusting over recently.

click on the links below to find where to buy them, prices starting at just a couple of quid too so great if you’re looking for some inspired Christmas pressies & stocking fillers!!

one | earrings. two | cuff. three | snake chain. four | earrings. five | necklace. six | necklace. seven | wrap around ring. eight | bangle. nine | earrings. ten | earrings. 

nb. All links were working and right at time of post.

A weekend with my lover…

Tags

Anniversary, beach days, blog, blogging, boyfriend, Camping, couple, east wittering, Get away, girlfriend, Lotales, love, love story, mini holiday, relationships, stubcroft farm

As you may know I recently celebrated 3 years with the love of my life.

We decided to mark the occasion by disappearing for a couple of days… With fingers crossed we packed a tent, our bikes, a few essentials and headed down the coast a little to the Witterings.

We have a little campsite we love over there called Stubcroft Farm, and luckily they managed to squeeze us in…. After a horribly wet Friday at the America’s Cup we revelled in the sunshine at the beach, I’m even proud to say we both went in for a little swim, though I’d be lying if I said it was warm!

As the tide came in and the sun started to set we packed up our bikes and headed to the campsite via a local pub!

We pitched the tent and lit the BBQ… Our first evening was spent lounging in the setting sun, baking spuds and playing games…

Sunday, well that was a different story completely…. It rained…… ALOT! after a lazy morning and some alfresco breakfast cooking we escaped the tent and headed to the nearest town for some lunch, a milkshake and an afternoon cinema date!

Luckily when we left the rain had stopped so back to the tent we headed for a chilled evening, a few games, a few gins and a good old macaroni cheese supper!

Monday was our anniversary so after cooking my lover some breakfast and having a lazy morning we packed up the tent and spent the day browsing charity shops and taking naps on the beach….

Heading back to reality we headed home mid afternoon before having ourselves a little date night at Southsea favourite Rosie’s.

I dunno about you but it was a pretty perfect way to celebrate 3 years of being his miss! ❤

 

America’s Cup

Tags

America's Cup, America's Cup Portsmouth, Americas Cup races, Blogger, blogging, Boats, Dark & Stormy, days out, English Weather, family time, Lifestyle blog, Lotales, portsmouth, Racing, southsea, southsea coffee company, The Wave Maiden

At the end of July a pretty big event happened in our sweet little Southsea. The America’s Cup came to town….and so did the rain.

As it was our anniversary weekend we decided to get away from the hustle and bustle but not wanting to miss out on such a big event we decided to check it out on the Friday with Mumma Lo…. I believe it was the qualifying rounds… but don’t quote me on that!

We began our day with a sneaky little cuppa hot chocolate and some toasted nibbles at our favourite Southsea Coffee Company! After that we braved the awful weather to meet my very sensibly dressed Mumma….

We eventually found the entrance and made our way to the sea front to ‘see’ the boats…. now it may of just been me, but there was hundreds of people (also sensibly dressed) staring out to sea looking equally baffled as I was…. after clambering onto a wall and joining lots of other bemused looking people we quite quickly gave up and made the sensible decision to head to the Dark and Stormy bar….

£24 later with 3 rum punches in hand we enjoyed a slight let up in the rain and hung out with a couple of pirates which was fun and much more interesting then trying to figure out what was going on with the boats…

After that, we had a quick a stroll round some of the tents and headed back to the waters edge to get a couple of snaps of the ‘race’ then promptly gave up, drenched to the bone and blooming cold we sought out a comfy sofa and some beer and cheesy carb fuel in the awesome Wave Maiden!

Now, I’m sure on saturday, when the sun was shining and everyone was smiling, the day and the event was amazing and enjoyed by all, but I gotta be honest with you…. I’m not convinced……. Till next year hey!

3 years a Miss…

Tags

Anniversary, boyfriend, Lotales, love, love story, milestone, relationships

Today, today’s a special day. Today marks 3 years of being his ‘Miss’. Three years ago I remember sitting on the roof of his boat and him asking me to be his girl officially. It was without a doubt the best thing I ever said yes to.

I adore this kind man more then I can say. He makes me so very happy and I cannot wait to spend the rest of my life being his girl. It’s hard to think of all the little things that make what we have so special, but maybe it’s the little things that matter the most.

The fact I can be myself with him and I know he loves me, that my insecuritues and habits add to his love rather then hinder it. I love how we talk of the future and have joint dreams and abitions.

It makes me so very happy that I know my friends and family adore him too, he’s a quiet soul, a thinker, a player of Lego and the cutest of lightweights. 

This man of mine makes things with his hands, likes to fill our home with old trinkets, has a thing for waistcoats and on special occasions asks me to do his hair. 

We giggle a lot, he still makes my heart swoon, we are silly and kind and cute with each other…. There is occasional bickering, and teasing and sulking, but it makes us who we are, two hotheaded star sighs (an Aires and a Scorpio) that actually balance each other out and never fight. 

So on this special day, whilst we’re off doing something fun, I will thank this beautiful bearded gentleman that I get to call my own and thank the lucky stars that fate crossed our two paths. 

He’s to another 365 days of being his ‘Miss Ami’ 

X always 

10 Most Wanted: Topshop

Tags

10 Most Wanted, bags, bikini, blog, Blog community, Dresses, Fashion, fashion blog, Fashion blogger, high-street fashion, Lotales, Lotales 10 Most Wanted, shoes, shopping, style, style blog, Topshop, window shopping

I am broke as a broken thing, my bank account is a sorry state of affairs so obviously I’m doing what all fashion addicts do… I’m window shopping…

I headed over to high-street favourite Topshop and am lusting over their current collections! Here’s a few of my favourite things!

How amazing are those mustard snakeskin platforms!!!

one | beach coverup. two | necklace. three | bikini. four | lipstick. five | boots. six | shirt dress. seven | platforms. eight | playsuit. nine | bag. ten | bra top.

NB. all items in stock and links working at time of post!

10 Most Wanted: An Elephant Special

Tags

10 Most Wanted, ASOS, bikini, blog, Blogger, blogging, elephant, Etsy, fab, Fashion, Fashion blogger, jphn lewis, Lotales, Lotales 10 Most Wanted, ooh deer, primark, shopping, style, summer fashion, thrifty shopping

So last week I brought the most beautiful dress from Primark. Anyone who knows me knows I’ve gotta bit of thing for elephants… don’t ask me why but I just kind of love them, so this dress ( a black and white printed smock dress (no.2) ) was an instant love, the kind of ‘new buy’ that you change into the moment you get home!!

I love it so much that it’s inspired a whole elephant themed 10 Most Wanted!!! I do hope you like…..

one | gold choker. two | printed smock dress. three | smart elephant cushion. four | cardboard elephant trophy head. five | matches. six | vintage brass elephant. seven | david hunt tantor lamp. eight | asos bikini. nine | gold candle. ten | jade bead charm bracelet.

NB. All links were correct and items available at time of post!

An Italian Love Story Pt 2

Tags

Bloggers Holiday, Dotty Dishes, food, food blog, holiday, italian food, Italian Hospitality, Italy, Italy Blog, Lotales, Rustic, Spongano, Stella and the Stars, The Magpie Mother, tourist, travel blog, Traveling, vacation, wedding

Well, If you haven’t guessed, it’s definitely wedding season over here, 2 weeks one of my bestest friends got married to the man of her dreams… My instagram account is starting to resemble a wedding business! So whilst love is in the air, and I have a rare bit of time off I’d like to get back to our Italian love affair (my one this time).

I adore Italy, I have already been to Milan, Rome and Verona, and still want to see more. Obviously the food speaks to me, the way they enjoy food and the social side of food, good, indulgent, healthy, simple… Mmmmm…. But also the ambience and culture, The slightly run down-ness, the colours of the buildings, the architecture… oosssh, I love it all!

I had never traveled to the southern, more rustic part of Italy before and it lived up to every expectation that I had… Our home for the vacation set the tone; laid-back, rustic, real…. no fancy stuff or mod cons (hot water was even a bit of a luxury)

On our first night, after checking into our fabulous Air BnB (You can read about it here) we took a stroll around Spongano. It’s beautiful, sleepy little village centered around a square with a church, a restaurant, a bar and a couple of shops and thats it… the next village, and the one after that was pretty much the same.

We ventured into the only restaurant Spongano played host to, a charming little family run place called ‘Picalo’, we struck lucky in that they were launching a new menu that night, so as long as we didn’t mind sampling their new menu then we could eat. Of course, we said no problemo and went on to enjoy a lovely evening of mixed antipasti, a pasta course of local semolina pasta with incredible tomato sauce, then some sweet treats and a few bottles of homemade lemoncello (and that’s a whole other story).

The next day, after a house breakfast in the courtyard (a ritual I still miss) we hopped in our hire car and headed to the beautiful coastal town of Castro. Our trip coincided with the annual water bike championship, so with the sounds of jetskies in the air we strolled around the marina and enjoyed the views with a cliff top pizzeria.

In the eve we all doned our gladrags and headed to the soon to be Mr & Mrs Hunter-Felton villa for a few cocktails and our first experience of Italian hospitality, the drinks flowed freely and platter upon platter of incredible food came from the big mumma Italian kitchen. The cocktail party was lovely, a beautiful way of getting to know the rest of the wedding crowd before the big day. Adding to our bloggers holiday, I had the pleasure of meeting the charming Emilie from ‘Stella and the Stars’ (a fabulous interior style blog for those not in the know) and her beautiful daughter Stella, who was everyones best friend by the end of the holiday!

Then of course, the big day happened… which I’ve already gushed over.

On the Saturday morning, after a house breakfast courtesy of Beth (I definitely recommend travelling with a food blogger) the whole household headed to the big pink house for an all day pool party.

The Italian hospitality continued this time with the help of an outdoor pizza oven. The day was spent in glorious sunshine, surrounded by beautiful friends and newly weds, with great food and delicious drinks and a few dive bombs for good measure.

Sunday was a fun-day… this time we checked out Otranto, a nearby village…. the greying clouds were ominous when we arrived, and half way up a stack of steps leading to a fort, after the loudest clap of thunder I have ever heard, the heavens opened and we spent a funny 5 minutes taking shelter from the almighty rain that turned the steps into a waterfall…. A slight ease up in rain and we took our chances and legged it to a nearby restaurant (Il Castello), luckily, this restaurant had cover and good food.

By the time we’d finished up, the clouds were gone and the sun was back where it belonged… we strolled down the pretty little streets until we found the sea, a gelato bar and the most amazing antiques market. (yes unpractical gifts were purchased… Kelly definitely won thought with a wooden keg and glasses!)

We rounded up the day with a drink in a harbourside bar (very modern/chic….not really our thing) before heading back to to the car and returning to the villa. A catnap and a change of clothes later we headed out to a nearby village for (I quote) the best pasta in the region…. The restaurant was called Trattoria Iolanda in the village of Lucugnano and the pasta was mighty fine. I rewarded my taste buds with a change from the usual tomato sauce and had an incredible chickpea and ‘noodles’ in broth, it was incredible!! I also sampled some horse-meat (a local delicacy) and it was scrumptious! We returned home happy and full and has a good nights sleep!

Finally Monday was here and our Italian adventure nearly at an end… Once the villa was tidied, the final breakfast enjoyed, our bags packed, we bid our Italian home a goodbye and enjoyed a leisurely roadtrip back to the airport with regular stops along the way…. First port of call was Lecce, A bit too ‘big city’ for me, but our next stop ‘Polignano A Mare’ was just beautiful. After a bit of a hunt for lunch, we had a speedy pizza lunch and dipped our toes in the Mediterranean sea at the prettiest little beach cove you ever did see!

Then it was back in the car, back to Bari airport and home for 2 sleepy travellers.

Italy, we love you and we will be back! x

10 Most Wanted: Hats

Tags

10 Most Wanted, accessories, day at the races hats, fascinators, Fashion, fashion blog, hat shopping, hats, Lotales, Lotales 10 Most Wanted, online shopping, shopping blog, style blog, the perfect hat, wedding hat shopping, wedding season, window shopping, wish list

So… It may have come to your attention that I’ve attended a wedding or two recently… Now anyone who knows me knows I love a good wedding…. and a big part of that is choosing an outfit, and a big part of the wedding outfit is a fabulous hat!!

I enjoy wearing hats, its something we don’t really do much, so when the opportunity presents itself, I think we should grasp it with both hands!

Whilst browsing for appropriate hats I really started appreciating the fine art of millenary… so without further adieu, here’s my Lotales 10 Most Wanted Hat special…

one | red shantung disc. two | felt cocktail hat with bow. three | ribbon twist fascinator. four | black slim bow disk. five | yellow beret with bow. six | straw saucer headpiece. seven | felt beret with feathers. eight | large saucer with loops. nine | ruby felt percher with rose and feathers. ten | square cocktail hat with silk twist.

All items were in stock and links correct at time of post.

Please feel free to share any of your favourite hat stores with me!

An Italian Love Story Pt 1

Tags

Blogger, celebrate, friends, italian wedding, Lifestyle blog, Lotales, love, married, Southern Italy, Spongano, Summer Wedding, Tenuta Lucagiovanni, wedding, Wedding Blog, wedding blogger, wedding post

So…. after our Rotterdam Wedding adventures (which you can read about here and here) we headed home for approximately 12hrs, then turned around and headed straight off again, this time to the beautiful south of Italy.

Last time we were celebrating Merel and Marcel, this time to celebrate the wedding of Liam and Lacey… (Loving these couples and their matching names!) You could say the new Mr & Mrs Hunter-Felton have a bit of a love affair the region of Italy in which they chose to get married. They took their first joint holiday there and got engaged there, so it was an obvious choice for a beautiful wedding… I’m sure the fact they are massive foodies had something to do with it too!

All in all we had 5 days of Italian sunshine (with the odd downpour thrown in for good measure) We arrived on the Wednesday, checked into our amazing Air B&B, a charming 18th century masseria located in a small village in the heart of Salento which goes by the name of Spongano and explored the local area and the charming local restaurant.

Team Spongano was an almighty collective which in addition to the boy and I included my dear friends Chloe (aka the Magpie Mother) and Steve and their girls Iris and Matilda, the beautiful Kelly and Charlie, and new friends Beth (aka Dotty Dishes), her husband Steve and their friend Alice…. It was a full house, but a fun house!

The wedding took place on the Friday, so that left Thursday to explore Castro and enjoy an evening cocktail party at the soon-to-be-marrieds villa, Sunday was spent enjoying an all day pool party at the grooms brothers Villa and Monday we explored our way back along the coast before finally heading home.

Like with Rotterdam, I’ll split the post in two so not to bombard you with photos (It really is such a pretty place and the food…. So. Much. Food!!)

We’ll start again with the reason behind the trip the grand wedding!

Our bride and groom were married in the Tenuta Lucagiovanni and oh my gosh….. what a sensation wedding venue. In a cue for the loos with the wedding planner, she described it to me as “the Italian equivalent of the Ritz, that people flock from all over Italy to get married there”, and it’s not hard to see why!

We arrived through rows of olives groves and were met with an imposing wall which gave nothing away of the luxury which lied within… we strolled towards the venue and the first space we encountered was the main square, a space with seated areas and a covered veranda. Milling around and meeting other beautifully dressed guests it wasn’t long before we were ushered towards the meadow and to take our seats ready for the ceremony.

Seated outside, the sweet smell of flowers and sounds of the harpist we took our seats and smiled at the groom who waited with an excited/nervous smile on his face!

Lacey arrived and looked every inch the italian bride in her stunning gown from Anya Bridal and huge flowing bouquet beaming from ear to ear!

The ceremony itself was a funny thing…. The typical looking Italian Mayor oversaw the vows and these were then translated to English for us. It seems Italian wedding ceremonies involve a lot of bylaws and bureaucracy…. At some point though, it was all made official and the newly wedded Mr & Mrs Hunter-Felton shared their first kiss as husband and wife.

As they walked back down the aisle as a Mr & Mrs they were showered in rice (an Italian equivalent to confetti) we were then offered a selection of drinks and canapés and presented with a beautiful paper parasol for all the female guests.

Everyone made their way back to the main square where a bar and 2 food tables had sprung up. We enjoyed the antipasti course with an aperol spritz in hand whilst lounging around the square in the beautiful sunshine. The food, as expected was incredible… freshly made mozzarella and breads on one table and a selection of fried and freshly cooked morsels on the other….

A inspiring mix-up to the traditional english way of doing things, was that the speeches took place then too! With all the guests relaxed and drinks in hand, this made the whole formal speech scene so much more relaxed and enjoyable!

After the speeches were made and many laughs were had, we headed parasol in hand to the orange garden to find our seats for dinner. This beautiful square garden was laid out with tables round the outside and a little table for two for the newlyweds (another nice touch I thought, giving the couple some special time alone together to reflect on the day before rejoining their guests) The food continued to be incredible, The pasta course was a local semolina pasta with a tasty tomato sauce, The main course was a choice between local speciality fish (which I opted for) or steak… all was delicious and washed down with many glasses of cool white wine which seemed to be topped up every time an impeccably dressed waiter walked by!

Another lovely touch was the favours for the boys (don’t want them feeing left out) ordered and made especially for the wedding by a local olive oil grove, we tasted ours the other day and its incredible!

As the sun started to set and parasols were put down we left the Orange Garden and headed through the stunning house to secret garden where the bride and groom cut their cake, without a doubt, the biggest wedding cake I have ever seen!!

In addition to cake, there was fresh fruit galore, a selection of other cakes and a gelato bar. Maxwell is still raving about the pistachio icecream!!

Making the most of the generous free bar, a glass of prosecco in hand, the crowds gathered to watch the first dance. From that moment on we barely left the ‘dancefloor’.

It was such a fun wedding, so indulgent and opulent but also so personal and ‘them’. Having the whole day outside was glorious and I smile just thinking of the day, the love, and having a jolly old time with some my closest friends!

I’ll post about the rest of the Italian holiday soon, but till then, arrivederchi.