I was not born with the wanderlust. I am a homebody through and through. Ask anyone who knows me and they will confirm it. I love my cottage and my small town. Hands down, for me, home is simply the best.
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| Love Garland |
It's primal.
I miss my father and his big hugs, I miss my grandmother and her giant pots of sauce, I miss loud family dinners, conversations laden with thick accents and stories of the old country. I find myself homesick for a place I've never been...of course, it's Italy.
Now, even though I am Sicilian, it's not the island that I long to visit, but the region of Tuscany instead. Perhaps because I already live on the coast, I find myself drawn to the pictures of mountains, open spaces and fields full of colorful blooms.
Besides, I don't look Sicilian.
My blond hair and green eyes set me apart from my clan. I think my true ties lie north...again, that pull toward home. Spectacular.
I fantasize about living abroad. I am not interested in a vacation. You don't visit home, that's not the same. I want to live there in a fabulous villa. It doesn't have to big, I am a cozy type of girl.
I want to spend days, surrounded by atmosphere that is void of strip malls and expressways.
I want to shop at the local market, instead of the crowded superstore
and then come home and cook my own meal in my fabulously rustic kitchen...because of course, in Italy, I'd love cooking!
I want to stroll through uncluttered streets and chat for hours in a small café.
I want to sit in awe of nature, relax and enjoy my home ~ away from home.
Oh ~ and I'd wear great shoes, too!
I mean I'd be in Italy!
And yes.
They'd be red.
Did you really expect anything else?
😉😉
It looks so lovely, Kim. I can see why you are drawn to it. That market looks like such a wonderful place to buy fresh ingredients for supper and then prepare it in that charming kitchen ~ so nice!
ReplyDeleteOh JoAnne, can you imagine that kind of market? I would go just to shop for produce and flowers! Ha! ;)
DeleteI found myself saying, "YES", "OUI", "SI" all along, as I agree with you that I long to be somewhere void of strip malls, traffic and artificial flavors. I too am a homebody, loving the cottage my husband and I built together, but like you, I am pulled to France - the South of France. My roots are Mexican and Spanish from Spain, but what is it in us that longs for something else? Did we live a past life? Is it just a human trait to long for what is unreachable? Whatever it is, I love it, because without dreams, we would not stretch ourselves to make ART, which is what I see here today - a post of poetry. Thank you dear Kim, and it's so fun to learn more about YOU! LOVE THIS! Thanks for coming by and enjoy all the other posts. Some people are not ready yet, but we've got all week to enjoy.
ReplyDeleteHave fun! Anita
Anita, thank you for the lovely party and for your very sweet and thoughtful comment! This post was such a departure for me, I usually blog about very tangible things. I had so much fun looking through photos of faraway places and dreaming out loud about a life so very different than my suburbanized own....if only! I am having fun reading everyone else's posts and making some new friends along the way! So glad I decided to "vacation" with you!
DeleteIt all sounds so wonderful Kim...Italy, beautiful Italy...I've popped across via Anita's blogger party...such fun!
ReplyDeleteYour post was beautiful Catherine, you are lucky to have experienced the real deal! Thanks for popping! ;)
DeleteHello Good evening!
ReplyDeleteThanks to Anita we can enjoy this holiday in Europe with funny Link Party which organized
Thank you very much for sharing your story and your photos. Italy is always wonderful, true
you have a fantastic Friday afternoon
Luisa... from Madrid ...
personally selected products
Good evening, Luisa! It is a very fun party ~ I am enjoying my "travels" immensely!
DeleteSuch a restful, enjoyable post. But Kim . . . hhmm . . . you don't look Sicilian! Have a great weekend, all.
ReplyDelete50% Sicilian, 50% Albanian, Cheryl. It's not fair, I should at least have the lovely olive skin! ;)
DeleteOh that's simply gorgeous! I would love to visit there. How could you not want to visit such beautiful country, and were cute red shoes.
ReplyDeleteI agree, Mary!! I must confess that I am not a huge fan of flying, but this trip may just be worth it...but only if I can wear those shoes! ;) Thanks so much for coming by! Have a great weekend! Kim
DeleteAbsolutely loved your post! I am so with you on not being a travel hound. Though the few trips I've taken at my spouse's insistence have been dreams come true. I'm not a bit Italian but Moonstruck is my all time favorite movie - hands down - so I'm with you on that too!
ReplyDeleteSO much in common, Jayne! SO glad you popped on over! :)
DeleteWhat a wonderful dream! Made even more special by wearing red shoes...my favorite color of shoe. Of course, the red shoes you show will make it difficult to walk on the narrow Italian cobblestone streets. :)
ReplyDeleteMay your dream become reality one day.
Joining you on Anita's grand tour.
Judith
Haha! Agreed Judith...not the most practical choice! In reality, I would probably be wearing the same boring white skips I wear on my middle aged feet everyday, but that picture isn't any fun! ;)
DeleteAh...Kimmie...this post is me, through and through. So beautifully written as well! Love the red shoes! ;) xoxoxo Jen
ReplyDeleteThanks Jen! It was a fun one to write about...and dream about! Especially the part about the shoes!! ;)
DeleteYou should probably take that trip one of these days at least for a long vacation. Who knows what you might discover?!
ReplyDeleteMaybe Stacey...I am not a big fan of flying and that is a LONG flight. Maybe someday with the right prescription...uh, I mean motivation! ;)
DeleteKim, I so enjoyed your wishful thinking process and dreamy scenes of Tuscany, and of course, I can relate, living in Greece, and it is EXACTLY as you describe it, and it's what keeps pulling me back to the island, even though my entire extended family, and now my only daughter, is across the Atlantic! I hope you get to wear in those red heels, my friend, as those cobblestone streets are just as tricky, as they are charming! LOVED this post!! Ciao, bella!
ReplyDeletePoppy
Poppy, I feel the lovely calm and charm of Greece through your beautiful posts. Your photos and words convey it so well. There is a harried feeling here in the states, at least where I live. Rush, rush, hurry, hurry...even during summer vacation with the kids, there is always a clock to punch. There is also a lack of respect for history, buildings are torn down so quickly here and replaced with bigger, better (by who's definition I am not sure!). I have lived in the same town my entire life and honestly, there are very few streets here that look the same as they did even 20 years ago. Maybe I am just getting old and long for simpler times and meditative places...or maybe I am getting wiser and have decided to seek them out~ even if I get blisters from those heels while I am looking! ;) Thanks for you comment. I always look forward to reading them!
DeleteI know exactly how you feel, Kim. I'm the same way about Ireland, my "home away from home". I hope, for both of us, that we get to spend some time at "home" someday!
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like a plan, Nancy! Oh...Ireland, huh? That's another place I would love to see, lovely green hills and more charming accents! :)
DeleteHello Kim, I too, wrote about Italy, especially Tuscany and the movie, Under the Tuscan Sun. We both share the same dreamy destination and I hope to make it a reality in the near future. Love the red shoes. Your photos are dreamy and entice me to know more. It's a pleasure. Coming over from Anita's CCC.
ReplyDeleteThanks Linda! Wouldn't it be wonderful if they were my own photos from my own dream vacation? Oh well, until then, I am thankful for Pinterest! I bet I could find very similar shoes at the mall...then I'd at least have half the dream down! ;) Thanks for the visit!
DeleteSo nice to meet you Kim. I can't tell you how much I enjoyed your post on Tuscany... That is where I have sent Bebe for the link party.
ReplyDeleteI also love Under the Tuscan Sun and Moonstruck... It always tugs at my heart, especially the music.. I would love to have a small Villa there.. Our dreams of Tuscany seem to intertwine.. Thank you so much for sharing these wonderful photos.. Oh! I LOVE the shoes...
I am now a happy follower...
Enjoy your weekend
Penny
Thank you, Penny! I am not following the adventures of Bebe and friends as well! I am so impressed with your craftsmanship! Amazing! Seems like those movies inspired a lot of us! :)
DeleteWow I love your colourfull pictures and last week I see the dvd under the Tuscan Sun again... it give me a summer holiday feeling,,, I love the scene that she stopped the bus and buy the house... I dream to go there...
ReplyDeletegroetjes van Marijke
www.bij-marijke-thuis.blogspot.nl
I love that movie! I like when the bird makes a mess on her and the old woman proclaims that she is the one for the house~ It's a sign. That is something my grandmother would've said! Thank you for coming by! :)
DeleteYES,That would be the LIFE a home in a distant land!LOved how your pulled toward TUSCANY as I did get to live there for a little while..........in the early 90's.You either LOVE it or miss the efficiency AMERICA has to offer!I always said, the Italians were 20 years behind in that department!Beautiful POST, beautiful photos.........and I'm a CANCER a HOME BODY TOO by chance do you have a birthday this month?!!ANITA sent me........I'm LA CONTESSA number 26 on HER LIST!
ReplyDeleteI think I could do without American efficiency for just a little while...I would at least like to try! ;) I am a Pisces...a dreamer by nature. I think it fits, especially for this post! Thank you so much for coming by...I loved your fairytale wedding! Fabulous!
DeleteSo sweet, Kim… Perhaps one day, you will visit your home ~ away from home. It would be so lovely there! Your images of Italy are breathtaking! ♡Dawn
ReplyDeleteThank you, Dawn! It really would be a dream come true! Maybe someday....
DeleteThank you, Kim for your visit and most kind words! I am so happy you enjoyed little Bebe... I find it delightful that you had a little mouse house when you were a child... I have sent Bebe all over the globe on adventures..
ReplyDeleteEnjoy your weekend
fondly,
Penny
What a world traveler! I will have to take a peek at Bebe's other fabulous trips! Thanks! :)
DeleteHi Kim,
ReplyDeleteLovely to discover your blog and so neat to meet you here at the party.
I enjoyed seeing all the delightful photos of Italy - hope you get to wear the red shoes around the streets there.
Thanks for sharing and hope you are enjoying the weekend
Carolyn
Thanks Carolyn! I enjoyed your post, as well! I just love traveling around to all the different blogs, discovering new friends! I hope you are enjoying the weekend as well! Ciao!
DeleteGreat post. When you decide to go I would recommend that you visit Orvieto. My youngest daughter spent her semester abroad there for college and absolutely loved it. It is where the 'slow food' movement started. She took lots of pictures and wrote a blog while she was there. There is a link to her blog (Europa) on my blog if you are interested in seeing all the places that she visited while she was there. My older daughter has visited twice and has a dream of someday having a second home there. It is good to have big dreams. I hope that she achieves it.
ReplyDeleteLorri, what lucky girls you have! What a fabulous experience it is to be able to live abroad and visit! I do hope you daughter does achieve her dream of a vacation home...and I will check out that blog! :) Thanks!
DeleteThis is lovely. I lived abroad in Germany for many years and miss it. But I long to live in a small cozy town where everyone knows each other. You make me miss that even more with your post. Visiting from the link party. Beautiful post.
ReplyDeleteAh, I envy your time abroad. I bet it was a wonderful and cherished adventure! Thank you for your visit and your comment, it's always lovely to make new friends! :)
DeleteHI Kim, what a lovely journey to Tuscany!
ReplyDeleteI have not been to that region and I love seeing all of these glorious images!!
xoxo
Karena
The Arts by Karena
Europe: Simply Irresistible!
Karena, your post of Italy was captivating, as well...makes me want to travel to Italy even more now!
DeleteThat would be my dream come true! You made me miss home. LOL There is so many places and small towns in Spain that look just like your pictures, places that it seems like time never passed. Lovely post, Kim!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Maria. I am glad you enjoyed the post, it was a bit of a departure from my usual how-to...but I had fun dreaming! :)
DeleteKim,
ReplyDeleteOh my, I love the way you think! You make me long for that experience, the quiet beauty and appreciation of it.
Your pinterest pins were gorgeous!
And if that is your kitchen in the first picture, love it love it love it with that red wreath and the 'love' on the white background!
Am adding you to my links - Anita's link party is a wonderful way to meet such interesting and creative new friends!
Constance, thank you for your kind comment. I have to thank Anita for hosting such a lovely party, I too have met so many new creative friends! What fun! :)
DeleteHi Kim, I drank in every word! I can see you in Italy and with your blond hair, what a hit you'd be. I know, my roommate during art school was a blond who didn't have to speak Italian, she spoke biande! And the kitchen, wow, nobody does a kitchen like the Italians. I also wrote about Firenze as part of Anita's party, hope you will stop by.
ReplyDeletexo Mary Jo
Mary Jo, that sounds fantastic! Who wouldn't want to be a "hit" in romantic foreign land...I've already got the shoes! ;) Thanks for coming by! :)
DeleteOh my, Kim, you had me with you through the whole journey. You wrote that so beautifully and the images are so striking. I have always longed to visit Tuscany and your intimate look at it makes me want to live there as well. Thank you! I am new follower :)
ReplyDeleteRobyn, I would be decorating and shopping my way through the region...I am sure you'd be cooking your way through! Thanks for the visit and the follow! :)
DeleteI enjoyed so much the photos you showed here, Kim. I watch Under the Tuscan Sun at least 2 times a years just for the beautiful scenery and the richness of life in Tuscany. The Europeans really know how to slow down and savor life. My mother's father came to America from Belgium and held on to many of the customs of "the old country". He had a large arbor covered in grapevines in his backyard. We used to sit under it and eat lunch. He made wine from the grapes. I loved spending time with him; he was never in a hurry. xxx ~ Nancy
ReplyDeleteI would love to never be in a hurry, Nancy...it sounds divine!
DeleteWhat beautiful pictures! You may be a homebody, but I still sense a little wanderlust there...what could be better than a visit to your HOME land...Italy! Thanks for sharing! xoxo
ReplyDeleteMaybe a little bit of a wanderlust, Sandy! I guess I have selective wanderlust! ;) Thanks so much for the visit and for taking the time to comment!
DeleteHello Kim!
ReplyDeleteI am so pleased to meet you, via Anita!
Giant pots of sauce and loud family dinners? Be still my Italian heritage heart! I miss my grandmother so!
The images you chose to take me to your dream destination are beautiful. I feel that I fit right into your dream!
I'll be back for more visits, as I am your newest following friend!
~Lynne
withLove!
Hello Lynne! Thanks so much! I miss my grandmother, too...and my dad and all the traditions they took with them. Dreaming helps me to remember and keep it all close! :)
DeleteA little bit late but......Wonderful post ...great party !!..thanks for Anita !!!..love Ria...x !
ReplyDeleteNever too late, Ria! The door is always open to friends! Thanks for popping by! :)
DeleteAhh...this is my kind of dream... :)
ReplyDeleteSo nice to meet you here, Kim...I'm still making the rounds of Anita's party...
What a rich and beautiful heritage you have! Those images are stunning, and the life you speak of pulls me in as well...
Abbracci,
- Irina
I am drawn to this dream especially in summertime for some reason! I think it was the perfect time for Anita's lovely soiree! Thank you for your visit and lovely words! Ciao!
DeleteThis is such a wonderful post! I've never been to Italy but I totally want to go! Maybe even find that lovely alley way and market :). I dream about living abroad in England somewhere, even though I could never see myself leaving my home. But still--there are always dreams!
ReplyDeleteI agree, there are always the dreams, Carrie!! Just close your eyes...
DeleteI didn't know you were Italian Kim?! I dreamed of Tuscany too although there's not a hint of Italian blood in me, I love the laid back look of everything, as if time goes much slower there and everyone seems so relaxed.... hope you get to go someday soon deary and tell us all about it here!
ReplyDeleteIt does look like a dreamy destination, doesn't it? Ah well, maybe someday! :)
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