A dance in honor of Halloween

Happy Halloween!

World Champions

This is a guest post from Anthony



The Phillies have won the world series!

It's been a long timing coming and it is pretty awesome. Listen here for Harry's ninth inning call.

Happy 19 months Sofia!

Our little girl is 19 months old today!!! Of course we had to take the monthly picture with her doggy and she would not let go of her book, so we included it in the shot as well. She's such a little ham these days and whenever I pull the camera out, she doesn't even look in my direction anymore and just says "cheese." I think she's over the million of pictures that have already been taken of her. I was happy to have gotten this picture because her smile is just overwhelming!

Patiently waiting for daddy to come home

Sofia visits America's First Zoo

We went to the Philadelphia Zoo yesterday morning and we're pretty certain that Sofia had the best time. She was great for us as we strolled her around from exhibit to exhibit and when she was ready to walk on her own, she did a pretty decent job of staying near us and not running around like crazy. It was the absolutely perfect day to be there with sunny skies and ideal fall temps AND it was Boo at the Zoo, so we were able to check out a bunch of great costumes too.

Can't wait to take her up in the hot air balloon in the future


The awesome elephants


Trying to make sense of these huge creatures


Finally! Out of the stroller and walking with daddy


Ducks! Her favorite!


How cute are they?


She ran right into the petting area and then when a goat ran up to her, she quickly attached herself to Anthony!


My little girasole


Where are the otters?


One dove right down in front of her - she was so excited!


Ciao Philadelphia Zoo! Until next time.

Jones' for a great meal?

Anthony and I had a truly fabulous time at dinner last night for our 5th anniversary. We checked out a new restaurant (new for us) in Philadelphia, Jones and from start to finish, everything was perfect. The restaurant specializes in a comfort food menu and the items range from baked macaroni & cheese, burgers, potato pancakes to meatloaf & mashed potatoes. My first visit to a Stephen Starr restaurant and I was not disappointed in the least and look forward to checking out their brunch menu in the future!

Happy 5th anniversary to us!


Despite the very rainy weather, we took a little drive through the city after dinner and managed to catch a not-so-great shot of the emblem on the building where Anthony works downtown...Go Phillies!

Happy 5th Anniversary to us!!!

October 25, 2003 seems like just yesterday and here we are 5 years out and still happily married. Back in May we went back to Aruba where we honeymooned 5 years ago, but tonight we're going out to dinner, just the two of us.

The past 5 years have found us traveling within the US and over to Italy 5 times together now, fixing up our home, changing jobs and most importantly, turning our family of 2 into 3.

Happy Anniversary Anthony, I love you so much and look forward to making more memories together!

Smiley

Mail Call

More mail for Sofia...her favorite!

A cute little Halloween card...


and stickers!!


What more could she want?

Happy Birthday Dad!

Hope you have a great birthday Dad! We love you very much...especially Sofia!!!

Forever in Blue Jeans

"As long as I can have you here with me
I'd much rather be
Forever in Blue Jeans"

Gotta love Neil Diamond AND Sofia in her little jeans

Apple Crisp

Ingredients:

8 small or 4 large apples
1 cup flour
1 1/2 cup sugar
1 Tbsp baking powder
1 egg
1 1/2 Tbsp cinnamon sugar
2 Tbsp butter, melted

Directions:

Peel, core and slice apples and place in a bowl. Mix in 1/2 Tbsp cinnamon sugar until most of the slices are covered. Place apples in an 8 in greased square pan.

In a bowl, combine flour, 1 cup sugar, baking powder and egg. The consistency will be fairly crumbly. Pour evenly over apples in baking dish. Mix together 1/2 cup sugar and 1 Tbsp cinnamon sugar and sprinkle over flour and apples. Drizzle 2 Tbsp melted butter over entire pan.

Bake at 300 degrees for 1 hour or until browned and crispy. Serve warm and enjoy!

A fair and friends

Yesterday was a very busy day for us since I had an all-day craft fair during the day and then at night we went to hang out with friends. Sofia and Anthony came to the fair to show their love and Sofia was all over the place! She was not interested one bit in my table but wanted to run around and check everything out. Which is exactly what she did and I think the other vendors enjoyed her darting from one table to the next.

In the evening we went to hang out with Katie and Emma Tropiano for some playtime and dinner. Sofia has been practicing "Emma" for some time now and she's got it pretty much down pat. The whole drive there was "Emma, Emma, Emma" and one of the first things she said this morning was "Mommy, Emma?" So cute!

My little table at the craft fair - I sell note cards and photography


Hanging out with the girls and Daddy and his friends

The Pitocco's come to visit

My parents and younger brother, Antonio, came up to visit for the day yesterday along with friends of the family from the days that we lived in Italy. They now live in San Angelo, Texas and we haven't seen them in about 10 years. It was great to see them and they were very excited to meet Miss Sofia! After a wonderful lunch at La Locanda, I took everyone for a drive into Philadelphia by Anthony's work so they could meet him (also for the first time) and by some of the highlights of the city. Of course I took them by Geno's! Everyone was still too full from lunch to indulge in cheesesteaks and cheese fries though - next time!

At lunch at the restaurant

Parmigiano Predicament

Like any good Italian, I absolutely can not live without cheese. Whether it be provolone, grana padano, pecorino romano or, of course, parmigiano reggiano, I have to have it just about every night with dinner (and sometimes lunch too). But unfortunately for me and just about any other cheese lover out there, the state of this "luxury cheese" is in trouble. Financially, the company is flailing as the price of the cheese has dropped consistently for the past couple of years but the costs of producing this mouth-watering goodness are still on the rise.

Italian law-makers are banding together to devise a plan to save the cheese and the hundreds of employees who could lose their jobs. Apparently, less Italians are keeping parmigiano in stock and the famous Italian cheese is overflowing in US groceries causing the drop in prices. Thankfully, food is a very important topic within the tiny boot-shaped country of mine, and this crisis too shall pass. Hopefully, or I'm going to need to start stockpiling!

Back to the Beach - The Italian Version

While in Abruzzo, Anthony, Sofia and I spent two nights in Alba Adriatica, a beach town about 45 minutes from his family's home. Because we arrived late the first night, we only were able to take a short walk up and down the lungomare which consists of bars, restaurants, shop after shop and arcades - where, Anthony has told me, he put in a lot of time during his summers in Italy. After we put Sofia to bed, Anthony and I played a couple hands of Scopa before hitting the hay ourselves.

After a heavy rain throughout the night, we decided against the beach in the morning and took a drive through nearby towns instead, where, funny enough, the skies were crystal clear and not a drop of rain was found. But before leaving the beach, we made a couple stops to get some pictures of the deserted town.






Finally, the sun comes out! We took a walk along the beach after our siesta. It was still a little windy, but the sun had warmed everything up at least and Sofia LOVES the wind so she had a great time.

Wind in our hair


Despite the weather, we had a great first day in Alba

Nature Walk

This morning Sofia and I met up with Maria and Ethan for a nature walk through Valley Green. Both kids had a great time playing in the leaves and the occasional rock pile while the mommies loved that their little ones were getting some good clean air hopefully guaranteeing a good afternoon nap.

Collecting leaves


Having fun down by the river


Smiling for the camera


Ethan loves giving hugs - he is so adorable!


My little girl walking amongst the leaves

What a difference a year makes

Anthony and I got to looking through some older pictures of Sofia and came across this adorable one that was actually taken this very day last year. She was cutting her first tooth, but still looks like a happy little baby!

Il Gran Sasso

On our drive back from Castelli, we can't help to stop the car a few thousand times to take in the wonder of this mountain range. It's pretty majestic from any angle, but mid-day with the clouds barely resting upon them, they are a sight unlike any other.

Chit Chatting with Sofia

Jewelry - a girl's best friend

Sofia loves playing with the necklaces and bracelets Marie gave her Wednesday night and runs all over the house with them. She is very sharing and gives me one bracelet and necklace to wear while she plays with the other set. Sofia is not a big fan of putting the necklaces over her head yet and would much rather just rest them under her chin - it's a pretty funny site to see!

Buon Appetito!

My in-laws took us all out for dinner to celebrate our anniversaries Wednesday night. Anthony's parents celebrated their 39th anniversary the end of August, my sister-in-law and brother-in-law celebrated their 1st anniversary a couple weeks ago and our 5th anniversary is in 2 weeks. We went downtown to an up and coming Italian restaurant that was beyond adorable, Le Virtu.

On top of the ambiance and friendly staff, the food was very good. My in-laws are friends with the head chef and she made sure to load us up with a bit of everything from the tasty appetizers, pastas galore, meats, seafood and delectable desserts! The restaurant has received a ton of great reviews, so if you're ever in the area I definitely recommend checking it out.


Can't believe we're coming up on 5 years of marriage!

Going to get daddy

At least a couple times a week after Sofia's dinner, her and I set out for a walk to meet Anthony on his walk from the bus stop. I don't bother with the stroller and now with the leaves falling everywhere, she's free to run and collect "leafs" for her daddy. I usually spot him first (just because I'm not 1.5 years old doesn't mean I can't be excited to see him too) and as soon as I say "who is that?" Sofia starts shrieking. Provided that there are no cars around, she will take off in the direction of her daddy to give him hugs and kisses!