torino, italy

this picture is from torino, italy.  we only were able to spend a day there, but i really loved it.  the morning really was as beautiful and magical as the picture makes it look like.  no, i take that back.  it was much lovelier than that. the street performers' music filling the square, the fountains, the happy, smiling people, and the warm sun on our skin... i would have to say that it really was one of the loveliest mornings of my life.

i went to an italian restaurant with my parents tonight after the basketball game and it made me miss italy... everything about life over there was just a little bit slower, more old-world, more quaint.... i miss the personable, passionate people, the incredible architecture, the balanced lifestyle that is just part of their culture, and the food.... i know i was complaining about the lack of variety in the cuisine over there, but since being back in the motherland (america), nothing has really tasted very good to me (yet i keep eating like there's no tomorrow.... go figure).  but i have come to think that it was worth every pound i gained.. or didn't, i don't know-- i am still too scared to step on a scale!! :)

back in action

my dear friends,

it sure has been a long time since i've posted!! i write to you from my kitchen in utah! i'm drinking a diet coke and eating kettle corn.

i asked sweet paige to do a guest post while i was traveling around in europe after my program ended, and i was expecting a post along the lines of what she does on her own blog, but instead, she surprised me with an absolutely lovely post about why she loves me... and while i have been deeply touched (over and over again, actually) by her kind words, if you read between the lines, that post that she wrote actually tells much more about the kind of person that SHE than it does anything about me at all.

i am so so lucky to have paigie as one of my very best friends. (and i am far less idealistic than she wrote me out to be, i'll tell you that right now!) 

not only do i love paige for loving me, but i think even if she didn't like me, i would still be incredibly drawn to her lovely, fascinating charm, like everyone else is (boys and girls included).  watching paige be paige is like watching your favorite character in a movie...  she is incredibly fun, unique, and inspiring.  she is the dearest, most wonderful soul.

paige, thank you a million times over for that incredible post.  it was a huge overestimation of who i am, but it sure does give me something to strive for.

besides for striving for that ideal, i have another goal.  as of late, i have been absolutely horrible about keeping up with all things electronic..  this blog has been neglected, texting has been all but dropped from my life, my email inbox has become very cluttered, and calling people back has been a total joke.....  spending time with my family has pretty much taken over completely.  and while all the family time is not a bad thing whatsoever, i still think that i need to get it together in the technological area of my life....  i'm sure its starting to seem rude on my part (which was never my intention, of course).

and as far as the blog goes, i think it might help me to remember:
ultimately, i started this thing to capture feelings and sources of personal inspiration...

so after contemplating leaving the blogging world completely, it just took remembering that to realize that i want to keep it... and i'll try really hard from now on to be a better blogger!!  (again, eww, what an ugly word "blogger" is, don't you think?! haha)

in other news.....

my dear friend drew is finally HOME!  what a joyous day it was!

my brother christian's team had a great win tonight!   read about it here.  

-this is a kinda funny quote from the article:

"Lone Peak coming in they were the No. 1 team — we were the underdogs … we were second place to them, but now we're No. 1 place to them"

-and here is an insanely scary/funny picture:

i mean, look at that face!!  the kid's name is tj haws, and he is on lone peak's team.  he is an INCREDIBLE player (and he is only a sophomore!!)... that guy sure has some fire in him!!  hahaha, look our #2.. poor kid! i'm pretty sure i would be terrified if that scream was happening in my own ear!

Hello one, and hello all! What a wonderful pleasure to be a guest on this delicious blog...

This is me..Paige Tueller (doin' the dishes )..and I am claiming myself as one of Kate Clark's best friends ( in fact, Kate might have taken that picture of me).... and just in case you don't believe that I really am Kate's friend....Here we are together... smiling like the great friends that we are.

Do you know what it is like to have a friend? But not just any friend... a friend like Kate Clark?

Have you ever even had the pleasure of knowing someone, who is as good and pure of a person as Kate Clark?
(If you haven't...then I am SURE Kate Clark, my best friend, would be more than willing to be your friend. And I will too.)
I am the friend who gets really emotional about my friends, because I love them so much. And I want Kate, and anyone who may be reading this- I know there are thousands of you out there :) - to know what a great friend Kate Clark is to me.

Everyone loves Kate. Everyone. And if you don't love her..you don't know her...even though I am sure there are some of you that love her, that don't know her at all!
She is so beautiful...just look at her...

But this beauty comes totally from within, and just shines right out through her bright beautiful eyes..( boys always love those eyes) and her beautiful smile.
This beautiful girl has a heart of Gold. She LOVES life...she loves people..she loves culture...she loves her family, and she loves her friends. She wants to make the world a better place..and NO DOUBT, she will.
She has countless talents... I mean..I don't think there is one thing that she isn't good at! She can Sing ( like an angel), she can dance ( yes you can, kate) she can crack a joke ( and they are dead on!) she can cook, she can listen, she can understand you and give you advice. She can make you laugh..she can pick up on any good joke. She has an awesome sense of humor.
She is smart. So smart..and she does excellent in school. She is a good writer...she is ambitious and inspiring. She is loving and kind to EVERYONE...the tall and the small..and everyone in between.
She is tender hearted
She is a hardworker
She can go to bed at 5 am and wake up at 8 and do that the whole week...( beats me...)
She is Slow to anger, quick to forgive and love
Patient
Submissive
Supportive of her friends and family and any good cause 
She has a strong testimony and it is the most genuine and true thing I have ever heard when she talks about it.
 She is so understanding and non judgmental of other people. She can see things from their perspective, and she is sympathetic and kind.
She handles things so well..she handles correction so well..Somethings that she handles with a soft smile and "I'm sorry"..I get mad for weeks over!!! ;) 
 She is so fun. She can be silly, and she can be goofy...she can laugh and laugh and laugh.It is so fun to laugh with Kate.

I mean, when she walks into a room boy's jaws drop..they "ooo"and they "aaaw" and they flawk from all angles!!( I mean this sincerely even if it comes out silly)They are completely bamboozled by her beauty...and then they talk to her, and can't help but fall in love...Because she is just truly so so great.


She is the most wonderful wonderful wonderful friend.

I want to be like her. She inspires me and lifts me up when I am feeling sad. She supports me, and listens to me, and loves me despite the things I do all of the time that are hideous and annoying and dumber than dumb.

Kate, I love you so so much. You are such a wonderful friend..and such a wonderful person.
You are amazing. You have already done so much...and you  will go on to do so many wonderful things in your life..I just know it.
I love you I love you I love you. And I cannot wait to see you again when you get back from Europe!

Love, the guest,

Paige Marie

p.s. Before I go, I must remind you and thank you for your forgiveness for the countless times that I would put on full thermals and a hat scarf and gloves...then turn the heat up in our room to 100 degrees (because it was the middle of winter and freezing) then we would wake up a few hours later...DRIPPING in sweat...peeling off the layers...turning the thermostat as low as possible and open the window next to our bed......a few hours later we would wake up Shivering and teeth chattering...absolutely FREEZING as the ice cold snowy weather was being blown onto us from our window....I would then close the window..turn up the heat to about 80 degrees and the process would be repeated the next night and the next night etc etc.

 

 

 

time keeps on slipping...

 finals week is upon us here in italy.

its crazy and wonderful how short our semester is cut here (you have to get a visa if you stay in an EU country longer than 90 days... so BYU made our program 86 days to sidestep the hassle of us having to obtaining a visa).  

so for me, that means a week and a half of post-program travel time and the longest christmas break that i have had since i was in preschool.  i really couldn't be more happy about it.

here is my schedule for the next few weeks:

monday: hum201 research paper due.  review session for hum201
tuesday: cooking class.  final cooking course paper due.
wednesday: review session for italian.  final exam for hum201. final exam for hum 280R
thursday: final exam for italian.  cook an american thanksgiving dinner in italy.  last day in siena.
friday: leave siena early in the morning and go to venice, stop at palladian villa on the way there

saturday: museums and church visits in venice.  last day of the program.
sunday:  meet up with my mom and my brother will in venice :)

~travel with them!  venice, rome, and paris.  possible day trip to florence while we are in rome.

sunday: mom and will fly home. i fly to sweden, meet up with my friend maggie. stay with friends in stockholm.
thursday: fly home! home sweet home.

so, though i plan on updating here and there over the next three weeks, if i go MIA for a while... that is why.  maybe i'll see if i can get some people to do some guest posting if the crickets start chirping too loud over here.


i still plan on sharing photos from all of the places that we have traveled here, though, so stay tuned over then next month or two for those!  some fun videos will be on the rise as well, including one crazy one from a soccer game that we went to this weekend.  IT WAS AWESOME.

and... at this point, i might as well leave you with a few more links, right? 

• if you are at all into fashion, style, photography, or just good humor, please read garance dore's blog.  she is so funny.  

• if you ever are going to want an idea or inspiration for nearly anything, you should get into pinterest if you aren't already. let me know if you need an invite.  its a gold mine of creative ideas.  you can see my boards here. 

• i'm obsessed with hailey haugen and her brother/sister-owned company, haugen creative.  i've spent in inordinate amount of time watching her vimeo videos. 

• i know i've talked about him before, but i'll say it again: seth godin is such an interesting, smart man. see what i mean by reading his blog.  you especially need to do this if you are interested in business, marketing, advertising, progressive thinking, or creativity.  so many good things to think about and apply to daily living, even.

ok, i'm off to write papers.  ciao my friends!!

subzero pictures + one of my favorite links

i know that i said i would do a post about italy today, but iphoto has become "unreadable" and has stayed that way for the past six hours, so we will have to see how it is feeling tomorrow.. i'm not too worried though.  worst case scenario, i will have to import the photos to my computer again using my external hard drive.  thank goodness for back-up!  

 

nick, me, caroline, sophie, christian, and will

these are a few pictures from my last night before flying out.  my family had a little farewell celebration for me at subzero.. that crazy place where they use liquid nitrogen to freeze your ice cream!

i am so excited for the holiday season, to be able to spend more good quality time with my family.  oh, how i love them so.

and if you are bored...

has anyone else been won over by Real Simple?  at home, i love the magazine, and since being abroad, i have loved their website.  so many useful, interesting articles.. such as 18 common phrases to avoid in conversation.  have fun exploring that site!

until tomorrow, ciao!

a month of thanksgiving

today i am thankful for my friends from home. 

i am thankful for drew (the one who is on a mission and coming home a week after i get back!).  he made me read this quote again today... and it was exactly what i needed.

People are often unreasonable and self-centered.
Forgive them anyway.
If you are kind, people will accuse you of ulterior motives.
Be kind anyway.
If you are honest, people may cheat you.
Be honest anyway.
If you find happiness, people may be jealous.
Be happy anyway.
The good you do today may be forgotten tomorrow.
Do good anyway.
Give the world the best you have
and it may never be enough.
Give your best anyway.

For you see, in the end, it is between you and God.
It never was between you and them anyway.

Mother Teresa

this is from our trip to sweden a few years ago

i am thankful for paige and maggie.  we did a three-way skype call last night and it was so fun to see their faces and have a conversation with the three of us all together!

this is such a funny picture.. i didnt even realize that the screenshot had worked until after we had all hung up.  we were actually a lot happier to be talking to each other than we look here, i promise!

i am thankful for erin lee, my soul sister.  we don't see each other as much as we should, but i love that girl with every last part of me.

this is from london town.. shout out to my girls on the london study abroad program!! ;)

i am thankful for those of you who read this silly little blog of mine.  sometimes i wonder why i have it... but then i get a comment or two and there is something about having people on the other end, behind a computer screen somewhere, sharing in these adventures and thoughts of mine.  especially receiving emails from readers... i like it.  all of it.. please, never hesitate to say hi or ask questions.  i love hearing from you.


more italy stuff coming tomorrow.. ciao for now! 

perugina chocolate factory tour

our main reason for going to perugia was to tour the perugina chocolate factory.  it wasn't actually IN perugia, and it was a little bit of a hike to get out there, especially considering we accidentally got off at a bus stop miles away from where we needed to be... and then realized, in this residential, off-beat part of town, that the next bus wouldn't come for an hour.  well, it was a memory.. and as you can see, we got there eventually :)  it was well worth the time it took to get there.

no photos were allowed in the actual factory, so that's why you are only getting to see the museum/chocolate tasting ones...  they set out trays of like ten different kinds of chocolate on the counter, and we got to try as much chocolate as we wanted! 

i have realized that i am by far a dark chocolate fan over any sort of milk or white chocolate..  (though the swiss chocolate that i got gave dark chocolate a run for its money... but i'll tell you about that later!!)  ciao!

perugia

after the program day-trip in assisi, 14 of the 19 of us wanted to stay a night in perugia... so the bus dropped us off there on their way back to siena.

you can see assisi off in the distance... its the little white dot at the base of the mountain.  it really is like a castle on a cloud!

this is lucy earlier in the evening.  sweet picture, huh?  later that night, from the rooftops, you could see so many stars!  it was fun to talk and hang out up there.

in the middle of taking her make-up off....

she can be so emotional sometimes.

"drama drama drama"  ;)

morning sunlight

the next morning, on our way to tour the perugina chocolate factory, we ran into an antiques fair

we were able to stay a couple of house, and it was so fun.  there were so many cool things to look at.

i loved these trees! they were all twisty and turn-y and a lot of them had moss growing up the sides of them.  so beautiful.