Thursday, January 31, 2013

The Spanish Steps!

Me in front of the Spanish Steps after a long day of shopping on Via del Corso during the last days of Saldi! 

I have become an Italian!

Over this past weekend, I became a real Italian…I started wearing house shoes! Whenever I go to my cousins' house they always are confused when I don't have any shoes to wear around their house. When my sister and I stayed with my Aunt Dora and Uncle Peter two years ago, they even gave us sandals to wear from our room to the bathroom. I never really understood this until now. For some reason it just doesn't make sense for me to walk around on the cold tile floors of my apartment everyday when I could just slip on house shoes :) 

Forever young...

I was listening to ‘Forever Young’ (the 1D cover it obviously) and it really got me thinking. I don’t want to stay young forever, I want to dive into my life, I want to start living. For the past four years I have been longing to be older, to go college, graduate, get a job, move to NYC, get married, have kids, travel the world, and grow old with my family. But then I really thought about what makes being young so amazing and so desirable. When you are young, the world is at your feet and your dreams seem possible (or at least too far in the distance for you to really care). That is the feeling I want to have forever. I don’t want to let my mistakes and regrets pull me away from my dreams because right now I know I can accomplish them if I really try. Maybe I will live in Queens and not Manhattan at first, maybe I won’t find my dream man in my twenties, but that doesn’t mean I should give up or settle for something else. I think that if more people remembered the feeling I, and most of my peers, are experiencing right now they would realize that you don’t have to be young to do what you love and what you have dreamed of.  I am in Rome and I am enjoying every second of it! I don't want to belittle the work I did to get here, but honestly I wanted to go abroad and all I had to do was do it! I want to make sure I always 'just do it' because that's what living is all about isn't? 

**This is an updated repost from my old blog, but I thought that it captured how I am feeling right now

Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Lovely Finds!

 These boots were only 8 euro on sale!! I love them! 

These shoes were only 15 euro and they will help me with my new edgy look :) 

I have a shoe problem! Three pairs of shoes in three weeks…maybe I should stop…but the deals are just too good!! 


Always remember...

'In all affairs of life, at every moment, we have a choice.'

Electric Lemonade!

Not as good as I had hoped, but it wasn't terrible! I love lemonade so my standards were pretty high and this fell short. Haha 

Monday, January 28, 2013

Grocery Shopping!


 Before I came to Rome one of the things I was most looking forward to was grocery shopping! Luckily, since I have been here I have found three different stores near my apartment and an open-air market! Friday I enjoyed going to all of them :) The pictures below show what I bought!



Lovely find!




Oh my gosh!! I can't even explain how much I love this jacket!! I got it from Zara and it was on sale for 30 euro and it was originally 75 euro! I got so many good deals from Zara this weekend I can't even believe it!

For any Made in Chelsea fans, I feel like Rosie when I wear this :)

p.s. more photos of my other lovely finds to come!

Friday Night Dinners :)

 My delicious ravioli! It had sausage, mushrooms, and cheese on it and in it! 

The Tiber at night! 

Did you ever just have one of those days?

One of those days where everything goes wrong? You wake up late, your hair looks like crap, you get lost when you try to go shopping, once you find your way nothing looks good on you, and if it does look good it is too expensive…Well, yesterday my day was the exact opposite of that! It was perfect! My friend Areeya and I went shopping on Via del Corso and didn't get lost! I found some many great pieces and they were all on sale! To make it even better, my hair looked fabulous!! It was amazing :) I love days like that!

Pictures of my lovely finds will be posted soon xx

Lazy days...

My afternoon on Friday :) 

Saturday, January 26, 2013

Sweet of the day!!



We all got to pick our cannoli shell, filling, and topping :) SO GOOD! 

There are places like home… (The study abroad curse: Part 2)

So, I have almost been here three weeks and I have to say I am feeling pretty at home! Yes, there are things I miss my family, my dogs, my friends, Taco Bell…Haha those are the big ones. But there are also things I don't miss at all. I don't miss drama or having to deal with everyone's opinions when I want to do something or go somewhere, etc. I don't know if that is selfish but it is nice just having to worry about me. I have friends here but there isn't drama (at least not yet) and there aren't any expectations of how I should act or how I should feel, I am just being me while figuring out who that is.

So for the past three weeks I guess I was caught up in that isolation (even with my daily messaging to my family). I let myself forget about problems in Pittsburgh and just focus on Rome. Today I was hastily brought back to reality. I realized I have to do my housing forms, my FAFSA, scheduling…everything.  I also realized that just because you aren't seeing the problems of home doesn't mean they aren't still there.

I guess the point of this post is just that it is hard balancing your life abroad with your life back at home. And it is even more difficult when your life abroad is starting to feel like home but you don't want your old home to feel any less special.

p.s. when I say home in this post I mean my dorm room
p.p.s. I won't even get into Home #1: my family house Home #2: School Home #3: Rome. I will save that for another post haha

Friday, January 25, 2013

Walks along the Tiber

I love walking along the beautiful Tiber river…at least when it isn't raining :) 

High Five for Friday!!

1. I love that I get to see my cousins at least once a week now that I am in Rome :) 
2. One of my favourite sweets, a nutella doughnut! 
3. I am so excited for my Art History class because almost every class we go on site and study the buildings of Rome!
4. Last night for Aperitivo I got a peach bellini because my mom recommended it and it was very good! 
5. After dinner last night my friends and I went and got our first canolis in Roma! They were amazing! 

Pizza, pizza, pizza!

My favourite pizza place! I have been going there almost everyday because it is the best and it is on the way to school! 

Not exactly sure what this is but it was just cheesy mashed potatoes fried…needless to say it was AMAZING!!

Thursday, January 24, 2013

A beautiful day in Roma!

My morning class was cancelled today so I got to sleep in! In the afternoon, Sophia and I went to Campo di Fiori for some shopping and lunch :) It was fabulous! 

Almost Friday link up!

Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Lovely Spaces


English as a foreign language

After spending more time with my Italian family, I have begun to see how they view American culture and the English language. It is quite interesting to hear them try to repeat the English words that they ask me. Plus, it is even more interesting to try and hear English from a foreigner's ears. 


As I looked through my cousin Peter's English textbook, I couldn't help but laugh at the fact that the picture of a 'hamburger' has chicken on it.

 What made this even funnier was that day my cousins started asking me how big the hamburgers were in America. At first, I thought they meant if they were popular but then I realized they actually wanted to know how thick they were…like all hamburgers were one size haha. 

Also while I was helping Peter with his homework, he had to do an activity about fashion and every time he read the word 'clothes' he would say 'santa clause'…I kept yelling at him because I thought he just wanted to distract me from his homework, but then around the third time I realized that he was saying 'santa clothes' because he thought clothes and clause were the same word! 

Lastly, Tony, Peter, and I were driving near their house and it was raining outside. Tony was telling me what the word for puddles in Italian is and then I told him it was 'puddle' in English. A few minutes later he told me the word for pot holes and then again asked what it was in English and I told him 'pot holes'. He then paused and looked at me like I was crazy. He again pointed to a pot hole and asked me what it was and again I repeated the word 'pot hole'. He still looked confused and then asked me why in English we have the same word for both of them. It then occurred to how similar the words 'puddle' and 'pot hole' sound. 


Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Buon appetito!

I am eating too much good food here in Roma to be able to dedicate a post to each amazing dish, so I            decided to make a series called 'buon appetito'! 

Going from left to right:
1) Pasta Carbonara made by my cousin Maria! It was delicious! 
2)My lunch yesterday: a salami sandwich, fresh strawberries, and milk!
3)My lunch today: Pineapple yogurt, fresh tomatoes, and a panino from my place :) 
4) My lunch on Saturday: A cheese and prosciutto cotto panino from the centro commerciale Rome.

Studying abroad really makes you think about who you are as an individual person. Without your friends, family, house, school, who are you? 

Photo credit: Tumblr 

My family

This weekend I spent Saturday and Sunday with Tony, Maria, and Peter! I slept over their house Saturday after a long day of shopping and eating! Then, on Sunday we went to see my Aunt Dora and Leena. As we walked into the apartment my cousins yelled surprise! They had come to spend the afternoon with me :) It was amazing to see them after two years and it was even better because I didn't expect to see them there! 
Leena, Maria, Andrea, Aunt Dora, Johnny, and Peter  

 Me, Leena, and Maria

More pictures of my weekend will be coming soon! 

Lovely Spaces

After two weeks of cold and rainy weather, the sun has finally come to Rome! It is so nice to open my shutters in the morning and see some blue skies, even if it is still a bit cold! 

Monday, January 21, 2013

Treats and Sweets!

Best chocolate cake I have ever had! 

Friday night dinner!

The place we went out for dinner on Friday was so cute! Plus, the food was delicious! 

 I got gnocchi, it was amazing! I couldn't even finish it!

The group :) 

Sunday, January 20, 2013

Treats and Sweets!


I feel like there are a lot of these types of posts lately, but I don't care! I am eating well here in Rome and am enjoying every bite of it! I am not exactly sure what this sweet is but when I went into my usual place, everyone was eating it and/or ordering it! I thought to myself, 'why not?', and quickly ordered some before it was all gone! 

Adventures with Hope and Sophia!






Finished one week of classes!!




On Thursday my friends and I went to aperitivo! For those who don't know, aperitivo is when you can go to a bar during certain late hours and after you buy a drink you get unlimited food! I loved it! The food isn't of the best quality but it is a decent meal and a drink for around only 7 euro! 

Lovely Find!

Shoes from a shop near the Trevi Fountain! 

Perfectly Roman

This is a video of me and Sophia walking through the Piazza near our place the other night! Kids were playing soccer, it was fantastic! 


My schedule!!

This post is dedicated to my sister because she cannot seem to remember my schedule :) 


Friday, January 18, 2013

High Five For Friday!!

1. I won free cappuccino for the rest of the week at my school in Rome :) I don't like coffee but I am going to get my free cup everyday! 
2. My roommate Sophia and I walked around the Colosseum today! It was amazing! It has finally stopped raining in Rome…just praying we don't get snow next week. 
3. I love my family.
4. Friday night in Rome :) 
5. I can't even explain how delicious this gnocchi was…so good!

Thursday, January 17, 2013

'I love me more'

I don’t understand why so many people think girls have to have a boyfriend or be looking for one! I know I rant about this a lot but I came home from class and my parents somehow started to give me advice on how to “meets boys”…ugh! I tried explaining to them that I like focusing on things in my life that I feel are most important. Family, school, work, study abroad, and friends. And if I get a boyfriend that’s fine and if not that’s fine too. I think they get it now…thank goodness. But then it got me thinking about why I don’t particularly care if I have a boyfriend. Suddenly, a line from Sex and the City popped into my head, “I love me more”. That seems a bit selfish, but I just keep thinking about my life as a whole and I realize that soon after college I will probably get married and start having kids, and from that point on I won’t be able to say “I love me more”.That’s the simple truth. At this point in my life, I don’t want to want or need some else to make me happy. And I don’t want to give someone the power to make me sad and lose focus of my goals. 

Treats and Sweets!!

Strawberry Gelato..sooooo good!!! 

Quote of today!

It is easy to be the person you have always been, for it requires no change, no self-reflection, no growth. it may appear that changing yourself requires giving up something. In reality, there is no need to give up anything--you must simply add to what has been.

FOOD in Roma!

My first homemade lunch in the apartment! 

Colleen's Salad!  

I made dinner last night for everyone :) 


Outfit of the day!

Shirt: Forever 21
Pants: Marshalls
Shoes: Shoe Carnival 
Bag: Aldo Shoes