HAPPY 21ST TO SEIGS AND SAM!! OFF TO IRELAND I GO!!

So hello everyone! Short update today!

First off, HAPPY FINALLY 21^ST BIRTHDAY TO MY FAVORITE ROOMIE KASIE SEIGLER!!!! Wish like no other I was not missing this birthday!! A 21^st birthday is very special in a girl’s life. Everyone knows mine was!! Haha : ) And also happy 21^st birthday to Sam too! Can’t wait for Palermo in a week!

Last night was fun, we all went out to dinner and margaritas at the favorite Mexican restaurant here! Then to a few other bars! I left about 2 so I could get some sleep and still wake up early enough to pack and work out before leaving on the train!

SO this morning I woke up and packed.. Which was rough because RyanAir has such strict regulations for carry ons : ( !! And I am going to go work out soon when Alexa gets back from class! Spartacus…….twice in 1 week. My body is glad I am not able to work out tomorrow!!

Well, I leave on the train at about 3, then have to take a bus to the Milan airport when I get there, fly out of Milan, and get into Dublin a little after 10 probably. Haven’t flown in a while so lets see how this goes!! Then turns out plans have changed. I am going with 6 other girls that are studying abroad in London and Rome. We are staying with one of the girl’s cousins tonight and Friday in the Galway Islands and then going back to Dublin on Saturday, staying in the same hostel as Tricia : ) and I will get to spend the whole day Sunday with Tricia too once the other girls leave cause I couldn’t fly out till late again! : ) SO once I get to Dublin tonight, I have to catch ANOTHER train to Galway. Ughh can’t wait to get all this sitting time over with. Hopefully my iPod holds up all weekend!! Haha! Luckily I have music on the blackberry! And then I come back Sunday night really really late. Okay, more like Monday around 2 am or so. A few of my friends are going to Sicily this weekend and flying back into Pisa too around the same time I am apparently so we are hoping to catch the train back together to Florence! 9 am Monday morning, I don’t even know if I am going to go to sleep really. Might just come home and write the blog and pass out way early Monday night. Haha! More legit of an idea I think. We’ll see.

Well hope everyone has a good weekend, I doubt I will have computer access to update this or my facebook so I will be disappearing till Monday, but I will be safe and have a ton of fun and take 1,000 photos undoubtedly. Haha! Can’t wait to share all the stories of the weekend, but considering I probs won’t want to leave Sunday………this weekend time better not fly!

But at least PALERMO, SICILY IN 1 WEEK TOO!!!!! YAY!

Love and miss! 

1 MORE DAY TILL DUBLIN, SAM'S & SEIG'S 21, and 2 TILL IS SEE TRISH!

Happy weekend to me, Happy Wednesday to you all!

Well kiddos, it’s my weekend and off to the Dub I disappear tomorrow!

Seig’s 21 tomorrow! I could cry at how sad I am missing it.

Well this morning was a rough one; was having the weirdest dream of my life and overslept my alarm. Finally woke up and ran down to school to print my boarding passes and bus pass for DUBLIN tomorrow. Then I went over to Italian. Haha, I have such great priorities. I realized when I was sitting at school that there was the NEW SVU up already on the website, so I wouldn’t leave school to go to Italian till it was done downloading. HAHA! I made it on time though so NBD!

Then I came back and worked out. Nevermind, I spoke too soon. Knee issue is back and with a vengeance. Hello Monday Doctor appt. when I get home!

Well then I went back down to school and met with my group so that we could continue to plan the farewell party at the end of the semester. I am in charge of the event invitation and logo. I bet that shocks no one! I love that stuff.

And then I came home and made dinner and watched SVU and just finished writing Seig’s lonnnnnng happy birthday wall posts!

Tonight, I am going out with my friends to celebrate Sam and Ainsley’s 21^st birthdays and to celebrate Seig’s birthday for her!! Haha! We are going out for margaritas of course, then off to everywhere else! It’s going to be a blast! We all haven’t been out together since before break really! Yes, I’ll be careful!!

I leave for Dublin tomorrow afternoon but I will probs update this thing real quick before I leave so Monday’s isn’t SO long. Who am I kidding it’s going to be so long and I am going to have SOOOO many photos.

I AM SO EXCITED! 2 days till I get to see Tricia too! I cannot wait to see her and of course tackle her with the biggest hug ever!

I cannot believe how fast this week has already flown and that it’s almost April! I register for my last semester of classes at MSU next Thursday. WHERE IS THE TIME GOING!?

Well until my short update tomorrow, hope you all are having a great day! : )

Miss and Love!

BTW! JUST GOT THE CUTEST VIDEO OF MY LIFE SENT FROM MY COUSIN TO ME FROM MY PAPA! I WANT TO CRY!!!!!!!!!!

DUBLIN IS CALLING MY NAME!!

HOLA.

Well, happy Tuesday! 1 class away from my weekend….and DUB!

Well, today hasn’t been a very eventful day but considering I won’t be blogging all weekend, here ya go.

So today, woke up went to hospitality accounting. Joy of my life. Not. But got that class over with and went and bought my train ticket to Milan so I can fly to DUBLIN.

Then I went and did my brother’s Spartacus. I am on a work out kick, trying to get into shape for summer : ) !!

Then I came home and got ready to go print out my boarding passes…..for….. DUBLIN!! And then had my baking class.

Not a very good class I would say. We got our Midterms back. What a freeking joke my friends. It’s like PED at MSU all over again. I still have my scholarship so far so whatever!! But as for what we made, my worst nightmares in 2 dishes. We made a cake that was kind of like the set up for tiramisu. We put sponge cake on the bottom (gross), a whip cream mix with chocolate, more sponge cake doused with rum and sugar mix, another layer of whip cream mix with pastry cream, and then topped with more sponge cake and rum mix. Then we froze it and coated it all in rum mix and whip cream when it came out of the pan. DISGUSTING! I absolutely hate creamy stuff and cake. That cake had cream and cake. EWW. Then we also made an almond short dough into little cookies like we did in the beginning of the semester, now that stuff is delicious. I could eat that dough plain! But instead of just eating the cookies, we mixed ricotta cheese, candied fruit, and whip cream together and froze it and put the cookies on top. Then we took them out of the pan and covered them in a pistachio sauce. The only part I ate of those was, well the COOKIES!! Haha So in the end, not the best baking class so far!!

Now I made dinner, first dinner on a Tuesday after baking I have really ever had to make! Haha

And now I am going to work on some homework and add photos from today to facebook!

Other than this…….

3 DAYS TILL DUBLIN! 4 DAYS TILL I SEE TRICIA! 3 DAYS TILL LITTLE MISS SEIGY SEIGS TURNS 21!! ALMOST 1 WEEK TILL SICILY!

It’s so weird to think Sicily is one week away almost, Sam and I booked that trip like the second week we were here. So weird how time flies. SO weird to think I only have like 5 more weeks of classes till finals too.

I have 2 papers due in May……guess I need to start on those too.

Anyways, short blog today, hope you all are having a great Tuesday! Love and Miss! : )

4 days till the DUB!!!!!

Monday March 28, 2011

Well Ciao Caio everyone..

Back to school, back to school, to prove to everyone that I am not a fool, got my lunch bag packed, my shoes tied tight, I hope I don’t get in a fight……….(it’s from Billy Madison, random but I always sing that to Seigs when we go back to school!!)

Well yesterday pretty much accounted to nothing but skype sessions, cleaning, and catching up with Alexa when she got home!

Skyped Krobbie, Mom & Dad, cousin Abby, Aunt Lisa, and Abby Werner (finally!!).. So HAPPY to hear their voices and see their lovely faces!!

Finally went to bed last night and woke up this morning to go to Special Events.. That class annoys me. Haleigh and I have agreed you cannot please our teacher, she’s practically fresh out of college and thinks she knows everything.. no matter if we would have copied word for word out of HER notes or the book, she would have put extra stuff down to count points off on our midterm. I’ll get to my grades in a second.

Then I headed to Italian and caught up with everyone’s spring breaks. One of the girls in my class went to China to visit her boyfriend and she said it was a lot of fun but a long plane ride. Some of you may know, I actually thought about studying abroad in China.. She said no one spoke English though, so her boyfriend had to translate everything for her. But I was so jealous cause she said there were Subways and other American food chains there and I was like ughh…… what I would do for a Subway sandwich!! Then another girl went to the Maldives and she said it was SO hot but so much fun and she got to scuba dive like 7 times! That had to be awesome! Seemed like the big trips everyone went on were to Greece and Spain though overall. A lot of people are coming back so tan…….I am so jealous!! But I had a great Spring Break too so looked like everyone else did too! Italian went well, but I am still confusing things with Spanish. 4 years of Spanish then coming to this doesn’t really work well.

Then I headed to go workout, I am still sore from Thursday so it was rough!!

Then I had to book it to Customer Relations! Caught up with that class and my teacher taught me how to get to Milan’s airport on Thursday! Finished up that class and he ended up telling my friend and I our grades on our accounting midterm too!!

SOOOO everyone wants to know my grades right : ) !! GOOD reports! I only have Baking left, which I will find out hopefully tomorrow!

Special Events- B

Italian- A

Customer Relations- A

And HOLD UP.. everyone.. Shelley got a what in Hospitality Accounting? An A? No way? YES WAY!!!!! Shelley freeking Santel got an A on an Accounting test! That NEVER happens…… but it did now : ) !!!!!!!!!

So, we’ll see how baking goes tomorrow!! Hopefully good! Cannot wait though, I LOVE that class!

Otherwise, after class I came home, ate (I was starving!!), caught up with Bess and Alexa, and now I am working on homework and writing this! I hope everyone has seen the latest photos on facebook from last week!

On another note..

DUBLIN. Practically 3 days. Am I excited? Excited doesn’t even cut it. I cannot freeking wait!! I cannot believe I am finally going!! Seems like I have been waiting forever for this trip!! I get to see Tricia on Friday too and I cannot wait to see her and tackle her with the biggest freeking hug ever!! I will def. try for more than 500 photos and I will probably cry when I leave Sunday.

Thursday and Sunday are going to be LONG days for me! The Milan train station is an hour away from the airport. So I have to take a train from Florence to Milan, then another hour train ride to the airport, then get on the plane to Dublin and not get in until 10:05 pm. It was my only option to get in on Thursday so I had to take it! Then Sunday, I only had one option too and that was to fly into Pisa not until 11:35 pm, so I have to still take a bus or a train back to Florence! Ughh.. then I have a 9 am class Monday morning. JOY! But it’s all for Dublin so I DON’T CARE!!!!! It’s going to be so worth it!! : )

Umm.. Practically 3 days till my best friend and favorite roomie turns 21!! Seigs- you know I want to cry that I am missing it. Expect the longest wall post ever on your facebook Thursday.

Sicily is in almost a week too, and like Dublin, I AM BEYOND EXCITED!!!!!!! Like Dublin, I will probs cry when I leave there too. Dude, I will have gone to the 3 places I had to go to while I was here by next weekend. I cannot believe this. I will have gone on the Sound of Music tour, Dublin, and Sicily. This is not my life!!!!!!!!!! I am dreaming. I have to be.

Anyways, hope everyone is having a fantastic Monday! Love and Miss!

back to the 7 hour time change kiddos!

Well Happy Sunday everyone!

So what’s new with Shelley since Friday morning?

Well. Friday, finally woke Nikki up and went to the market for one last time so Nikki could get her strawberry muffin she loved so much. Then we went and got our bus tickets for Siena. We still had an hour or so to kill so we went and downloaded the new SVU to watch Friday night when we got back!

Then we took off on the bus ride to Siena. It was so weird going back because it was over a month ago that I had last been there. I wasn’t the tour guide when we went before so I kept forgetting all the places we went before when it came to the good shopping spots. We walked around for a bit and then sat and people watched in Piazza for a little bit. Then we walked around some more, checking out the bakeries and shops! Nikki picked up a few cute things to bring home like a travel journal she was going to write in on the 10 hour flight back to the states! Then we decided to head back to Florence and it was quite chilly so we ran home and got our jackets before going to dinner.

I wanted to take Nikki to go try my beloved kebabs but she doesn’t like lettuce on things sadly, so that kind of cuts out the point! Haha So instead we went to my favorite sandwich place and got pizza. OMG the pizza was delicious! It was legit pepperoni! We loved it!!

Then we came back and Nikki packed up since we were leaving so early in the morning for the airport. Then we watched the new most screwed up SVU I have ever seen in my life. Nikki and I thought we would have nightmares!! Haha

Then the morning quickly came and we took the 7 am bus to the airport. I was like in a sad mode trans! We got to the airport and Nikki checked in and then we waited by security for a bit. It was SO weird. I literally was standing there like I am supposed to go home with you right? 8 am came and she went through security. I didn’t for the life of me want to say goodbye but of course had to and cried. Then I proceeded to try and hold back the tears and walk back to the bus stop. I turned on all my sad songs on my iPod and cried on the bus and on the walk back to my LONELY as heck apartment. None of my friends that got back Friday were awake so I got home and quickly went back to bed. It was so quiet sadly. Then I finally woke up and ate lunch and showered having some kind of intention to do something with my life.

FAIL. I had absolutely no motivation. I sat in bed looked through my iPhoto and went through photos from home and then MASTERED my budget. I swear I could be an accounting major now………..just kidding. But, ughh I was so homesick. My mom texted me and was like skype? And I was like awesome let’s hold back the tears; SO I tried my best. Then my cat came on the screen and my dad and I was like COOOOOL this is helping! NOT! Haha. But I needed that skype session to help me feel better! Already a planned thing either my beloved Cheesecake Factory that Sunday I come home or I told my Dad it could be Chinese Buffet cause I need some good Chinese food back in my life. I already told everyone, I am eating like a fat kid loves cake when I get home and devouring so much protein and cookie dough….. it will be amazing.

Then my friend Sam called me and asked what I was doing that night and I was like nothing!!!!!! And she was like well you want to come to apertivos with us and I was like HELL YES I need to get out of my apartment!! Haha. So then before I left, I FINALLY got to skype with my favoritest roommate KASIE freeking SEIGLER FINALLY! Thankfully our stupid internets worked enough! I wanted to cry but I was so happy to see her!! She then of course was going to Qdoba, not just Qdoba- MY Qdoba with Krob and Lynn. Thanks for always talking about it facebook guys, makes me miss it that much more! Haha. I told Kasie she had to tell them I missssss them so much if you recognize anyone! haha

Then I went and met up with Sam! I was SO happy to see her and we quickly caught up on each other’s spring breaks! Sam went to Dublin and Barcelona so of course I wanted to hear all about that! 4 days my friends!! Then we walked to meet up with Ainsley and Amy to go to Apertivos. (What is Apertivos? I know.. haha. It is where you go to certain restaurants and you buy maybe a 7 or 8 euro drink and then you get buffet style food.) I had never been before, so I was excited! However, all of the places we checked out were too crowded so we decided to go back to Il Gato where Nikki and I had gone on Monday. I wanted to get the tortellini again, but on Monday I wanted to get the Cannelloni, but they were out of it, so that’s what I got this time. It was really good but not AT ALL like American Cannelloni.  I was kind of sad. Not nearly as cheesy, but it was still good but VERY hot and def. burned my tongue. Haha. SO we all caught up on everyone’s awesome spring breaks and OMG it felt so good to be around them again after my moping 2 year old filled day. HAHA.

Then none of us really felt like going out anymore, so we tried to go out for the nutella crepes Nikki and I had the other day too, BUT the place was CLOSED. I wanted to cry, I was so excited on our walk there. So then we decided to go back to Sam’s and we were going to watch The Italian Job. However, we found this cute little gelato place on the way and stopped and got crepes there. Mine wasn’t nearly as good as the one Nikki and I had. So I am def. going to have to go back soon to redeem the amazingness of Nutella Crepes. Then we went to Sam’s, but we couldn’t get the movie to work so we all just sat around and chatted.

Then reminding ourselves, Daylight Savings Time for us was this morning. So yes kiddos, we are back on that stupid 7 hour instead of 6 hour time change sadly. I hate it.

So I got home, changed my clocks and went to bed. This morning I woke up with every intention of going back to bed soon enough but ended up skyping Krob! Loved it and def. needed that skype session too!!

After that, I did all my laundry since I had so much and then went back to bed, woke up ate some lunch and caught up with facebook. My friend Valerie told me there is a Nutelleria in Bologna that I am going to check into. OMG I am so in love with that stuff now, I crave it. I am buying a crepe machine when I get home and will make so many DELICOUS nutella crepes.

Then I decided I needed to do something with my life and like last Friday before Nik got here, I OCDingly cleaned our apartment. Let’s just hope it stays that way. It’s amazing how dusty things get here and how much we have to sweep. Then I went out and picked up a few things and now I am writing this.

SO what else is new?

Well, yes everyone as of the 24th I have been here for 2 months already and I have 49 days left since many people have asked when I come home (May 14). I don’t have my flight after Madrid set up yet, but hopefully I will have an idea soon. Still very early!!

Yes, I miss America like I said before but I am not ready to come home yet. I still have so much to do and so much to see!! I’m paying probs over 20,000 for this, so I am making this worth it!!!!! Haha

Dublin is in 4 days almost and like 5 days till I get to see Tricia!! I cannot wait! Sicily is in less than 2 weeks! Canoli for breakfast, lunch, and dinner here I come. Sam and I are so ready!

I have many small souvenirs bought now since Nikki and I went shopping but I have many more to get in Dublin and then many in Sicily for myself. I am so excited!!

Tomorrow-- classes start back up and I get my midterm grades! BAHHHH WISH ME LUCK AND PRAY FOR ME!! Hopefully I did well!!

Thursday is going to be one heck of a day trying to get to Dublin because Milan is a long train ride, then I have to take another train to the airport, and then the plane to Dublin. But it is going to be so worth it! I just wish the Murphy Clan was all here to go with me and Katie Hogan could return to Dublin to go with me too!

Also, once again asking the do I have a boyfriend yet question? Nope. Men here are so not legit. They are so disgusting and so rude/degrading.

On a positive note, my knee is getting a little better knock on wood, may not need to go to the doctor after all!! And Nikki brought me a few things I told my mom to pick up for me like Vitamins!!!!!! Gum!!!!!! AMERICAN Chapstick!!!!! And earplugs. Haha! Now I feel better!

I heard it’s supposed to snow in MO today so hope you all are enjoying that! Summer will be here soon enough and somehow everyone’s favorite Shelley will be home soon enough too!! Haha I know you all just cannot wait………..or at least I hope : ) !! Cause I cannot wait to give everyone the biggest hugs of their lives! Summer of being 21 and not seeing anyone besides Nikki and Tricia all semester, I will surely make this summer be the best summer ever!!

Love and miss! Stay warm! Stupid landlords turned off our heat here so it better stay warm here!!

DUBLIN. This time next week. YA!

Well, Happy Friday everyone!! This week has sadly flown by too quickly!

Yesterday was a fantastic day, it was so nice out! So Nikki and I woke up yesterday and I went and did the Spartacus workout, paying for it this morning. Walking Siena today, I will be as sore as I was last time. Haha!

But then we walked over to the other side of the river. Alexa had climbed the steps to the Piazza Michelangelo not too long ago and she said it was gorgeous. So that’s what we did. It was a long way up and it was super hot out. But we finally made it to the top and the view was even more spectacular than the view from my balcony! Haha. If I get adventurous one day, I would LOVE to take my computer up there and skype people to show them the view!! It would be worth it for sure! The view was incredible, we could practically see everything!! I got some awesome photos I cannot wait to put on facebook! We have really lucked out with the fantastic weather this week, that is for sure!! So then we sat on the steps for quite a bit and chatted and just enjoyed the view. Hopefully I got some kind of tan?! Haha. There was a big group of students next to us all drinking wine and just hanging out, def. a good idea to share with my friends when they return!! Haha!

So then we left and walked around for a bit on the other side of the river and stopped and Nik got this puff pastry thing filled with apple that was sooo good! I love puff pastry! Then we decided that those students had the right idea and came back and sat on my balcony for a bit before going to dinner and just drank wine and listened to music! It was so much fun. I am going to love this balcony now that it is getting warmer out! Hopefully it stays this way!

Then we went to Tiajuana’s for Mexican! I miss Qdoba. I finally got to try these quesadillas everyone keeps getting that were so good and of course the peach margaritas were absolutely delicious!!

Then we came back and just hung out for a bit before bed!

Today we are going to go to Siena and do some shopping! I know I have already been before, but it’s a good shopping place since Nik has money to spend and plus it’s just a pretty city. So I am excited!

Other than all of this,

Yes I know most of you have seen my latest facebook status. Well both, the one about Ameristar sending me e-mails all the time, making me think when I get home-- I should win big. Let’s hope it happens. Everyone knows I’ll need it!! Haha

Other status being yes I am homesick, or AmericaSick if that’s what you want to call it. I love having Nikki here and I don’t want her to leave but I keep feeling like I will be going home with her tomorrow morning! But all in all, I really am not ready to come home yet! I still have so much to do before I leave! Dublin next weekend, which everyone knows I am more than excited about, same for Sicily in 2. And the Lerici and Portofino the next, Cinque Terre and MTV Concert the next and Easter the next, and then Briana and I have amazing plans for our last few nights here.

Um……I know I have failed to mention this one. Apparently the word around town is----- Mtv is going to have a huge concert coming in April with possibly Lady Gaga, Ke$ha, and Rihanna among others………….Um…………Seeing Lady Gaga in Florence? Yes I am staying. Haha! We are already joking about camping the night before. We are getting great seats!

SO I still have a lot to do before I leave that I am excited about. But everyone just better know, yes I miss everyone and America. Honestly I was telling Nikki yesterday, I don’t think a lot of people realize how great Americans have it and how easy life is in America. Not to say I hate it here, cause I love it here. But I’m just saying I can name a whole list of things that are so much easier (CHEAPER!!) in America. Haha! Plus food wise, I can only take so much pizza and pasta. Someone give me BBQ now. I swear when we were walking last night, there a BBQ scent coming from somewhere and I wanted to cry. Haha While most of my friends will be snacking on chips in the Summer, I will be the one walking around with sliced meat from the deli, dipping the meat in KC Masterpiece. Not kidding. Haha!

But anyways.. Hope everyone has a great Friday today!

Wishing the Murphy Clan was with me next week!

Well Ciao Ciao Ciao..

Short update for everyone! Well yesterday, Nik and I went and waited in line to go to the Museum to see David and the rest of the artwork. It was pretty cool, Nikki was more interested than I was because she loves art, as to where I was going to see David for my mom! Haha! But it was pretty neat all in all. It’s amazing how people can sculpt/paint like that! Unfortunately you are not allowed to take photos anymore, but I have my ways! Haha

Then we went and found a place for Nikki to try these waffles that are everywhere in Florence. Alexa and I both have both been wanting to try one for a while. They are these big Belgian style waffles that you can either get plain, with nutella on them, syrup and sugar, or gelato in the middle or on top. They smell insanely delicious. Nikki and I decided the waffle was just okay though and that the nutella crepe was 10x better!!

Then we went into the Duomo and looked around. For how big the Duomo is on the outside, the inside is not that big. I guess the museum in the back takes up a lot of room? I don’t really know. But it was really neat on the inside and reminded me a lot of St. Peters Basilica (Aka The Vatican), just with less sculptures and art. It was super cold inside though!

Then we went and walked around Florence some more trying to decide what we wanted to do for dinner. We still had a bit till dinner time, so I went and worked out real quick then we came back and began Divine Secrets of the YaYa Sisterhood. Then we went to Dante’s, which is the place I have talked about before where they give you a bottle of wine between every 2 students. I changed my normal order up to the Spicy Salami pizza, which was delicious and Nikki got the pork and potatoes that she said was really good!

Then of course we had to end the night with some gelato! I still cannot change up my order away from cheesecake and cookies! It is just so good. I wish they would have this gelato in STL, but I doubt it!!

Then we came back and finished the movie before going to bed!

I ended up calling my friend Sandy from work last night, and I swear it is so weird to use my phone for one to call people and 2, it feels so good to HEAR people’s voices than just emailing and texting!!

Well today, Nik and I plan on crossing the river and exploring around there! I am taking her to the Mexican restaurant we always go to with the amazing margaritas tonight! I cannot wait for some of those peach margs! I have already said when I get back to the states no more margs, SO I must enjoy them now!

Other than all of this, it felt so weird to not have school this week and to have to cook dinner Tuesday night since I didn’t have baking! Haha

Not ready to go back to school next week that is for sure, not ready to see these midterm grades nor am I ready for Nikki to leave already! Hopefully I did well though on the midterms!

1 week till Dublin, 2 till Sicily and almost a week till I see Tricia!! Get ready for those blogs that is for sure! Katie Hogan- wish you were here to come to Dublin with us!!

But until later, hope everyone is doing well in America!

Love and miss! 

NUTELLA filled crepe. best ever.

Well hello there my friends,

Sorry for the lack of updates this week! Nikki’s been here and we have been pretty busy!!

Well Sunday night’s dinner went superbly well! We ended up making the gnocchi with meat sauce and bread! It was DELICIOUS. I will perfect that recipe, as well as a spinach version by the time I come home.

Side Note: I am already dreaming up dinner parties of me cooking and baking for people, so be ready.

Then we went out and Nikki got this chocolate filled cookie that was so good. She is still on a mission to try many different baked items for her work at home! Then we came back and went to bed.

Monday morning we woke up and I took her to the Central Market, inside and outside, because I love that place. I had to resist getting any more dried fruit even though I am craving it tremendously. My dried fruit guy even was ready to go get me my kiwi and melon! Haha. I showed Nikki the biscotti place that on some days has really GREAT biscotti and she ended up getting this strawberry muffin that she said was VERY good and now she wants to go back for another one! Then I went and worked out real quick so Nikki could get on the internet for a bit since mine here absolutely sucks.

Side note: Yahoo texting has its days, so there’s a 97% chance you will get my message, but I will not get your response L! SEIGS & KROB, so sorry for this never working L.

Then we went around shopping for a bit and picking up a few souvenirs for me. I am finding it so hard to figure out what to get my brother and my dad because I don’t want to just get them a t-shirt!! Haha! My mom will be easy since I am going to Dublin! Def. had to stop by this bakery where Nikki got a crunchy chocolate baked good that was not very good, but also a pastry cream filled donut that was very good! Then we found our way to this restaurant I have been told is SO good called Il Gato, apparently they have very good bread and everyone told me correctly cause it was DELICIOUS and warm too! Nikki got the Spaghetti Bolognese, which was of course very good and I got this Tortellini with Vegetable Sauce that was absolutely insanely delicious! I will never get anything besides that from there again!

So then we went and ended the delicious meal with some of my life changing gelato. Of course I got my usual and it was absolutely delightful!!

Then we came home and watched the Blind Side. Haven’t seen that movie in a while, shocked? But I loved it of course!!!!

Then Tuesday morning we woke up and tried to go find this other outdoor market down by my friend’s apartment, I failed the first time trying to find it on my own and we failed again yesterday! Haha So we ended up going to the grocery store for a few things and got chicken to make with our meal for last night.

I know everyone’s wondering with all this eating, how am I not getting insanely fat? Umm.. because I keep working out. Haha. Gotta burn off these carbs! I feel bad since Nikki is here for working out but I can’t lose my momentum! Lol Esp. with Dublin next weekend.. I only work out for an hour so its not too bad!

So then came back and got ready to go do some more shopping!! So we went around to a few new and different places and picked up more souvenirs. May be weird, but I know when I was little my family always used to pick up magnets for my grandma and pas. SO I got these 2 really cute magnets to give them of places in Italy and I love it because I can say I have been to every place J!!!!! So then we kept walking and walking and stopped by this bakery where Nik broke the rules and got another chocolate filled cream puff and boy that thing was CHOCOLATE!!!! But still good of course. So then we went around to a few more shops and Nik stopped and got the best Nutella filled crepe I have ever had in my life. Definitely going back there hopefully today to get one for myself!! Haha! I am still thinking about how good that thing was!! Haha. SO then we walked around for a bit more and made our way home to cook dinner!

I ended up having some of my delicious leftover tortellini and made a salad. I MISS SALAD DRESSING, oil and balsamic just doesn’t cut it. And then we made chicken—of course would have been much better with some KC Masterpiece. Nikki had bought some fresh pasta from the market with sauce and then cooked chicken too! Everything was very good, but Nikki made the mistake of putting too much salt on her chicken and she wasn’t kidding!! That piece of chicken was pure salt sadly!! Haha

SO then we were going to watch All About Steve and see if everyone is correct for that being a terrible movie, but it messed up cause my internet stinks. So we ended up watching Taken. I don’t know why I brought that movie, nor do I know why I watched it AGAIN being here. Haha. Gives me the creeps that is for sure!!

I made it through the night though without any nightmares, so we will see how Nikki is when she wakes up!! Haha

Otherwise today we have a few things planned if everything goes right! Finally going to go see David. My mom has reminded me many many times to go see it for her, so I need to do so!! Haha

Well, besides all of this!

Definitely have a few things to add to the list of things to get when I return to the states:

1. Pasta attachment to my orange kitchen-aid- not only for pasta but for making danish and croissants too!!
2. Crepe maker—Nutella filled crepes anyone??
3. Pastry bags with tips—Cookie time and Canoli time!!!! Along with others!

YESSSSS. Cannot wait to bake and cook when I come home. SO many recipes to bring home and perfect. Top on the list is croissants! Cannot wait to make those again!

Next weekend is Dublin and I cannot freeking wait, then the next is Sicily. I cannot wait to see Tricia in almost 1 week! It has been far too long!

I am not ready for Nikki to leave yet and it’s already Wednesday. Thankfully in a way most of my friends here come back Friday or Saturday sometime, so I won’t be sitting around moping ALL day after she leaves and then mope again when she goes to Taco Bell without me when she gets home. Haha

Well I will try and update this thing again soon!

Love and miss! Ciao!

i dream of the days croissant making with my kitchen aid.

Sunday March 20, 2011

Well Friday night I basically called it an early night.... Still feeling a little under the weather from the night before and watched Divine Secrets of the YaYa Sisterhood. Such a good movie by the way. However, couldn’t fall asleep till like 2am and I don’t know why L. Then I woke up Saturday morning and cleaned the apartment to get ready for Nikki to see it J.

Then I left a little early to make sure I could get to the airport in time to pick her up! Took me forever and a day to find the right bus stop. Finally one of the bus drivers who was done with his shift led me to the right stop! Luckily when I got to the airport, I found my friend Caitlin who was waiting for her parents so I didn’t have to sit there for almost an hour by myself. Her parent’s flight and Nikki’s flight got in around the same time so I waited by the gate with her and when she saw her parents, I’m not going to lie, I kind of teared up a bit. Finally Nikki came out the door and OMG I was like NIKKKKI and gave her a big hug and yes I cried of course. I was SOOO beyond happy to see her. Then we caught up a bit, she was definitely in better shape then I was when I got into Florence that is for sure, but then again I was sick that whole first week when I got here. Then we caught the bus back and came back to my apartment!

Then we got ready to go to Gusta Pizza that I am obsessed with. So we walked across the river and looked around and then went and got pizza. I got my normal margarita pizza and Nikki got the ricotta, salami, and mozzarella calzone. Everything of course was delightful as usual!! Then we went to my life changing gelato place and I got my cheesecake and cookie gelato and Nikki got the strawberry and chocolate gelato. SO good of course. Then we came back and Nikki wouldn’t admit she was jetlagged but she was! Haha! So she called it an early night, NBD cause I was tired too, but I was staying up to skype the Murphy clan at 10:30 from my Grandpa’s 91st birthday party J! So I stayed up for a bit, watched Golden Girls of course and finally got to skype with the whole family!

It felt so nice of course to see them and hear their voices and of course I cried when I saw my papa! He is just too cute. He kept saying it’s papa and I kept saying I miss and love you of course!! Geez, I miss family birthday parties, but I am so glad I got to see everyone even if it was via computer! Can’t wait to come home to Keith and Megan’s wedding, Murphy weddings are always so fun J!

Plus I also missed last night my best friend Krob’s shot night L! Very very sad missing that too, but probably no thanks to my great advice she made it to the 21 shots! Good job krobbie!

Then this morning, Nikki and I woke up and went grocery shopping for what we were going to cook tonight J. Then we came back and ate lunch and then walked around for a couple of hours. Our feet hurt so bad haha! We got lost around the back streets of my apartment, but NBD we found our way to the river and home no problem. Nikki works for an Italian bakery in STL, so her boss gave her the mission to go to every bakery in town and find things they should make at the bakery. J SO we stopped by this one bakery we found and she got this chocolate filled cream puff she said was really good!

So now we are just resting a bit and are going to cook dinner soon. We are going to make potato gnocchi (my favorite) handmade by us J with meat and tomato sauce. I am so very excited. Then we have bread and are going to make a salad. J! We are both so excited. Nikki has never had gnocchi before so I am eager for her to try it!!

Then tonight we are going to eat on the balcony and drink some wine and probably watch Blind Side on my balcony! It has been a gorgeous day so far so hopefully it stays that way! Just a tad bit windy though!

Anyways, it feels so weird having Nikki here cause I feel like on Saturday when she leaves, I am going to go home with her, but I am not L! Haha! I will cry of course. I am glad that she is here during the middle of the semester though, so I kind of get that at home feeling.

Speaking of crying, I am just going to put it on the record now, everyone better get ready. I probably won’t even wear any eye makeup that Saturday I come home because I will be a wreck when I see my family and ditto for everyone else. And be prepped for me to tackle everyone with the biggest hug ever, just saying. Haha!

Hope everyone is having a great weekend! Miss and love!

NIKKI COMES TOMORROW!!!!!!!!!

Well hello my friends….

So yesterday, HAPPY St. PAT’s Day, a day late. Hopefully everyone celebrated it right with toasts to Pat Hogan of course. I cannot believe it’s already been a year. I remember it like it was yesterday! L Love you Hogan family!

Well, what did I do yesterday on my first day of spring break besides count the days and hours till Nikki Austin will be in Florence with me J! Woke up and then went and worked out with Alexa and then came home and showered. It is getting so ridiculously nicer out! I love it. And then went to school to work on a few things and download some Golden Girl’s episodes and finally found a way to download Divine Secret’s of the YaYa Sisterhood! Can’t wait to watch it tonight before bed!

Then I went home and got ready to go out to dinner and margs with the girls to celebrate St. PAT’s Day and 150 years of Italian Independence Day! Peach margaritas.. that’s what everyone wanted and so did I. Whoopsies on not getting the regular since they’re the closest to green!

Stupid me didn’t bring any green clothes with me, def. going to have to stock up on that in Dublin in 2 weeks J! But I had a headband on and wore an orange shirt and then Haleigh gave me her shirt that had green in it! I hope my fam had fun in the parade yesterday.. From photos, I can tell my Uncle Ron had a nice time. Haha! Next year St. Pat’s Day is on a Saturday….. I will be legal.. It’s going to be AMAZING.

Then we all went out to a few bars and then I came home. Definitely not a good morning, but it wouldn’t be the day after St. Pat’s Day without a hangover right!? Haha! I’m legal, I can say it! Haha!

Pretty much everyone left for Spring Break today. Alexa, my roommate, left for the Canary Islands and Barcelona and Bess, our other roommate, left for Spain. Haleigh, Ainsley, and Briana are all going to Greece and Amy is with her family in Venice and other places. Then Sam and Chris are going to Barcelona and DUBLIN J!

What am I doing? Aaaaaaa. NIKKI WILL BE HERE and we will cook together, eat on my balcony, go get my gelato (probs every day), shop, explore, go to every bakery imaginable, take 500 more photos of Tabacchi stores we’ll see around every corner for Terri, and lots more. I am soooo excited! She is on her way to Chicago now and leaving at 8pm!

Soo after a rough morning, stupid me went and worked out. Then I went to the market, and like I texted Alexa, I bought an unhealthy amount of dried fruit that I must resist eating all the time. Then I came home and did laundry and went to sit on my balcony J.

I am so happy the weather held up, I skyped everyone at work and it made my day! SO sad AMY had to miss it (she never listens to me when I say she needs to work till 5) and I missed Sandy too, and others! This has been such a terrible week and between skyping them, Nicole after, Nikki coming, and skyping my fam tomorrow, it definitely made me feel so much better. I absolutely loved hearing their voices and seeing their faces instead of just texting and emailing! Such a big difference. I wanted to cry, but I was too smiley. I got to show them all the view from my balcony to help them feel like they were here J! Haha! Definitely will have to do that again sometime soon, especially after Dublin and Sicily.

Then I finally got to skype with Nicole for once!! SOO happy to hear her voice and see her face too! Def. some good catch up time and cannot wait for St. Pat’s Day next year already!!

Then I made my dinner of fresh ravioli J! Now I am updating this.

I am saving the cleaning for tomorrow morning before I go meet Nikki at the airport J.

Tomorrow night I get to skype my entire family while they are at my Papa’s 91^st birthday party J! I cannot wait to SEE my papa now! I got to hear his voice Tuesday and now I get to see him J! YAY! And I cannot wait to see the rest of the fam as well!

Well what else is new in my life?

Well, I am glad this week is over.

My knee is not doing so good and I am awaiting that doctor appointment when I get home. Probably a slight surgery awaiting me. At least it’s not my foot. HAHA!

I have wanted to add this in here for a while but especially after today I am def. adding it now.

Today before I skyped with work, I looked out over my balcony and was like is this my life? Honestly, I am literally speechless. I was like I am sitting here, on a balcony overlooking all of Florence, am I dreaming cause this cannot be my life? I go to school practically less than 3 days a week and almost have a 5-day weekend and I am living in freeking Florence, Italy for 4 months. Plus I will get to spend a whole week in Florence with my best friend. What the heck did I ever do to deserve this opportunity is beyond me, literally. Nikki being here next week and walking around Florence is going to be so weird. That’s like a dream I can’t believe is reality. Traveling in a foreign country with friends is like something you just dream of, but never happens…. But I get to live that dream for a whole week. I cannot stop thinking about how 3? years ago when studying abroad got into my head that it was a dream that would probably never come true. Not many people really believed I was ever going to go through with it, part of me is shocked I did too and not many people thought I’d even go through with it even though I was accepted and already paid the $800 acceptance fee, but here I am going through with it. I am so beyond happy and pleased that I did go through with it. I remember on the flight here when I got on the plane to Madrid from Miami sending the last mass text of I’m on my way, miss and love youuuu because after I sent that I was like get me off this plane I am going back to STL! One in particular text I will never forget from that day is the one I sent Carol at work because when I texted her Boarding in 10, I’m crying, that was the biggest understatement of my life. I was balling in the Miami airport when I got on that plane because I didn’t know if I was doing the right thing by coming here. But here I am today to say, I would have hated myself for not coming here. I will never regret this. I do miss the heck out of America, but living in Florence for 4 months? I can handle it without a doubt. It may be horrible to pay this off, but along with my blackberry, car, and MacBook, it will be the best thing I ever paid for.

Also, random thought. I don’t have one bit of a clue what I would do without internet and my macbook. Seriously, without Yahoo texting, Skype, and Facebook, my life would be horrible. Going from having everyone in constant availability to talk to/always around to not having anyone here that I know in a foreign country is not the best feeling. I am so thankful for technology it’s not even funny!!!!!

Anyways, with Nikki being here next week I do not know when I will update this thing, but I will if I can! Can’t wait to share all the stories of our adventures!!

Love and miss! Have a good weekend and week ahead! DUBLIN in 2 weeks and getting to see TRICIA J! SICILY with Sam, canoli for breakfast, lunch, and dinner in 3! I’m ready.

HELLO SPRING BREAK! NIKKI COMES IN 3 DAYS :)!

Wednesday March 16, 2011

Hello everyone.

So Happy Wednesday. Happy Spring Break for me J & Happy Weekend for me too J!

Well, MIDTERMS IN ITALY ARE OVER! FINALLY!

This week has not been the best week considering every day I have gotten some kind of bad news from home and plus that issue with my knee has become a problem.

Monday morning I had my Special Events exam. Not too sure how it went of course. Then I went to the library to read some of the Hospitality Accounting book because that midterm would be the next day…… yes I went to the library and yes I read. What is my life coming to? Haha! Then I had my review in Italian, of course I was scared for the exam. Then I went and worked off some stress in my workout and went and took my Customer Relations exam. That one again, not too sure how it went. They do a lot of short answer and essays here.. I miss my multiple choice at MSU. Haha!

Then I went over to my friend Valerie’s apartment to study for our Baking exam. Yes everyone I had a midterm in Baking…………crazy I know. BUT, to make my day of bad news better—Valerie has been here for over a year so she has this phone hookup to her computer that she can call the states unlimited for 20$ a year. LEGIT? I think so too. Well, I was asking her what the little thing that was hooked up to her computer was and she told me and was like do you want to call anyone…….and I was like OMGGGGGG my papa!! SO I called my papa, I was literally in tears. Words cannot describe how great it was when I got to hear his voice and talk to him. He was quite surprised by my phone call of course. Plus, I get to skype him now on Saturday at the family birthday party for him because he’s turning 91 J! I cannot freeking wait! Then we studied a bit, really not knowing what to study. Then before I left, she was like do you want to call anyone else, I felt bad asking to call anyone else but I wanted to call my other grandma and papa and she was like you can if you want!! And I was like BAHHHHH of course I will. Once again, she was very surprised to hear my voice and I was so happy to hear and talk to her!! I miss my grandparents so much. I will ball my eyes out when I see them again, GUARANTEED. Then I raced home, I felt like a 5 year old in Disney World. I was literally on top of the world in happiness after getting to talk to them! It has been far too long! So of course I had to tell Alexa all about it, text a whole bunch of people, and of course change the facebook status! HAHA! SO that definitely made my day, week, and year getting to call them J!

Then I tried to study for financial accounting and baking again. Emphasize try because how do I study for accounting and baking.

Then Tuesday morning, I woke up and studied some more for hospitality accounting again. Then I went to take the midterm. Seriously. I don’t even want to discuss that midterm. Too many words to describe it to everyone.

Then I went to the market real fast to calm myself and pick me up some of my beloved dried kiwi, melon, and fresh ravioli along with other things.

Then I went to workout real quick before going back to school to meet up with everyone to study for baking. I looked at everyone and was like geez I hope my days of watching food network pays off. HAHA! But we ended up having an hour and a half of class before using the last hour to take the exam.

Well, in class I looked like the stupid American. Monday night I checked my syllabus and it said we were making biscotti. Come to find out in class, I asked when we were making biscotti since we were making cookies and Chef looked at me like we are. HAHA! Then Valerie informed me Italian biscotti is like American cookies. Crostini is actually American style biscotti. I was so disappointed cause I was all excited for biscotti. L However the “biscotti” we were making was very good. Valerie and I made these chocolate type cookies with chopped hazelnuts in them. OMG the cocoa powder here is like nothing I have ever seen before. We also made 2 types of short dough; one was whipped with lemon zest and another plain type. Everything was so good. We put strawberry jam inside the whipped short dough. Check out the photos on facebook!

Then we had the test. We tried to get out of it but it didn’t work. Never have I ever had exams like these I had this week!!!!

Then I went back to my apartment to catch up with everything and looked over Italian.

Then this morning I woke up and started studying for Italian again and went and took the test. It went okay I guess! I will wait till I get the tests back, I don’t want to jinx myself L! HAHA!

Then I worked out, stress relieving workouts are so nice sometimes and now the problem with my knee is back in full force. Doctor appt. will await my homecoming. Now I am back at school for internet and working on stuff for classes next semester and updating this.

Tonight we are all going to Gustas for dinner J! I cannot wait! LOVE that place and I cannot wait to take Nikki and Tricia J!

Tomorrow is St. Patrick’s Day so of course I am going to get everyone to toast shots of Jameson to Pat Hogan! SO happy to hear Saturday night went so well! Still so sad I missed it!

Not only do I get to skype with my Papa Saturday J and the rest of the fam too! I get to skype with SEIGS FINALLY on Friday plus I get to skype everyone at work from home J! YAY for skype!

Well, other than all this heck of a week, what else is new?

UM NIKKI AUSTIN COMES IN 3 DAYS TO SPEND A WHOLE WEEK WITH ME IN FLORENCE J! CANNOT FREEKING WAIT! I cannot believe the time is already here. I remember getting here thinking it would be so long before she would be visiting!!

Today I literally put on the idea table of what I am going to do with my hair when I get home. I frequently go through old photos and I need a hair cut………SO BAD! So bad. I am pondering chopping it when I get home. I have 2 months to decide.

Yes everyone 2 months till I come home as of the 14^th. Are you ready? Am i? Sorry but not yet.. I still got Dublin and Sicily and a week with Nikki, along with other places to go! But yes I do miss America, so yes I am not going to stay here the rest of my life. I got dreams in America to accomplish.

Speaking of dreams-- besides making the trip to Texas this summer to visit friends from here, my dream of going to Paula Deen’s restaurant WILL hopefully get accomplished. People keep talking about it and I am like I have wanted to go forever, so I am going to try and do so.

WELL I will keep it at this for now and update again tomorrow.

Love and Miss. It’s finally warming up here!! YAYA!

Happy birthday to my lovely grandma. Miss you every single day.

Sunday March 13, 2011

Happy Sunday to everyone…. Rainy Sunday here. I wish it would warm up here that is for sure!

Well, not too much more to report, but nevertheless there are a few stories to share from the past 2 days + misc. info.

Well I stayed in Friday night to start studying and procrastinated by watching Little Fockers…….btw if you haven’t seen it, that movie is terrible.

Then Saturday, Sam and I took the bus to Lucca and rented bikes and rode around the outskirts of the city. When I checked the weather, it was supposed to be 58 and partly cloudy. FAIL! Too bad it was like 42 and mostly cloudy. So disappointing but at least it didn’t rain. Why I still don’t want to be a meteorologist so I could get paid to lie, I will never know. But it was still a lot of fun! And we both got our workout in towards the end because we had to book it back to get back on time! Then we walked around for a bit and came back to Florence. Definitely had to nap on the bus! Haha

Then I came back and skyped with my Mom to discuss DUBLIN! Such a frustrating mess it has been trying to book this. All my options were so different on timing and finally I was able to book Milan to Dublin for March 31. J I am so excited and cannot freeking wait!! Now I just have to figure out a way home! Haha!

Then I met up with my friends and we all went out for a bit last night!

For the record, I will add this in now, especially after last night. I have gotten the ? asked a number of times of how are the men here, coming home with a boyfriend? Married? -----Well my friends, I am here to report, Shelley will NOT be coming home with any Italian man. Italian men are PIGS. I swear after last night, the next guy to say ciao bella or whistle at me, I was going to punch them. I am going to count the next time we all go walking how many times it happens. I was beyond annoyed considering the boys ranged from 15 to 70. Now will I come home with some Irish man or man from Sicily? I can’t say for sure. J HAHA!

But anyways, then I woke up today, did laundry, and then met Briana and Haleigh for a nice American lunch at the best burger place in Florence because the sandwich shop they said I MUST try that beats my sandwich place is closed on Sundays L. The burger was delicious however!

Then I came back to my apartment and skyped my mom again! I love this time change now. We are only 6 hours apart until Italy does their time change at the end of March according to google. It was frustrating last night trying to figure out if Italy does Daylight Savings Time. Haha

Now I am going to start studying for these midterms. Wish me luck and pray for me that I do well please! J

Otherwise, Nikki comes in 6 days. Tears are ready to start at how excited I am to see her and how excited I am to explore all of Florence with her!! J

It has kind of been a rough day for me today not being home on a day like this one. Today would be my grandma’s 92^nd birthday, as some of you know, so I can’t lie and say I didn’t cry my eyes out this morning L!

Midterms are till Wednesday, so I won’t have much to report over the next few days but I will blog if I feel the need to!

St. Patrick’s Day is Thursday and I am so excited! We are all ready to celebrate but I am sad I will miss another year of being in the Dogtown parade with the good ol’ Murphy Clan! Cannot wait to see photos of our new float! I will be there next year for sure!!

Anyways, hope everyone is doing well, Love and Miss you all J!

I want some fish from a fish fry. Yes please.

So let’s not lie.. this is the first Friday I have been in Florence and I don’t like it. I miss my day trips/weekend trips. I only stayed this weekend because of midterms next week L. This is like the same feeling I had freshman year when I was so used to going home for the doctors every weekend and then the first time I stayed in Springfield on a Friday, I was like what do I do.

Well last night, my friends and I went to Gusta’s pizza for dinner. UMMMM…….. multo bene. I have NEVER had pizza that good. I will be a RETURNING…..and returning……customer. Nikki and I will def. be going there in less than 2 weeks. Haha But Alexa was so right when she was raving about this place. I got the Gustapizza, but next time I will just get the margarita pizza. The Gustapizza comes with tomato sauce on this fresh dough and then baked and then mozzerella and parmesan and arougala and cherry tomatoes thrown on top. I realized I am really not an arougala fan but the rest was MULTO BENE (means very good J). They make their pizzas fresh in front of you and use their special oven, which cooks it really quick. I cannot wait to go back!!

Then we all went back to Amy and B’s apartment and chilled before going out for a bit.

I was super upset when I got home because Bess and I realized there was NO water at all. We have no idea what was wrong, but luckily when I woke up at 6 it was working J.

SO today I really have not done much. I woke up at like 10:30 and decided I needed to do something with my life and went and did Spartacus…….tomorrow when I wake up……ummmm……..there will probably be tears of soreness shed.

Then I went to the market and then went to look at the shoes I want to get. They are so cute but everyone knows Shelley fails at walking in heals, and I mean fails. But these shoes are so cute………I need to learn how to walk in heals without ruining the bottoms after wearing them one time.

Then I came back and went to school for internet to research for tomorrow and budget.

Now I am back home and staying in tonight to study for some of these midterms. Studying is such a foreign concept I do not know how to do.

Plus—I finally finished watching Eat, Pray, Love. OMG I LOVE THAT MOVIE. And BTW I actually googled today “Read Eat, Pray, Love Online”……. Failed, but I do plan on reading it. Shelley reading a book besides a cookbook? That’s a whole new concept. What is wrong with me?

But tomorrow, my friends and I are going to Lucca and we are going to rent bikes to ride around on for a bit! I am super excited cause the weather is supposed to be 58 and partly cloudy. Then we all have nig plans for going out tomorrow night.

Besides all of that.. update on anything else.

Dublin will be booked by next week J!!!!!!! Nikki comes in 8 days. Tears could be shed now at how excited I am for her visiting!!!!!!

Midterms are Monday thru Wednesday and I am scared. Pray for me.

I wish I was at home on Fridays………why? Fish fries.

Yes, most of you have pointed out that I am already halfway through this trip and it is depressing like no other. Come the 14^th, I will have 2 months left and I am thoroughly sad about it. But these next 2 months are going to be EPIC. Nikki coming for a whole week, Dublin, Sicily, Tricia coming for a week, Lerici & Portifino, and then maybe some other day trips. Briana and I have already planned out how we are going to make the last 3 nights after finals unforgettable and I am beyond excited for it. Somehow though it has not seemed like time has passed by super fast. Rome was only a little over a month ago and it seems like it has been so long ago actually. Last semester flew by faster than this but that’s because it was so horrible and fried my brain.

Anyways, hope you all have a good weekend! I will probably update this again sometime on Sunday when I procrastinate from studying. Seigs- wish you were here to help me procrastinate like usual L.

Love & miss.

MID TERMS ARE JUST NOT LEGIT.

Hello my Americans.

Well, sorry once again for the no blog yesterday. Not much to report.

First of all HAPPY 21^ST BIRTHDAY TO 3 of my best friends—Tricia, Stacey, and Chelsea!!!! Wish I was with you guys to help celebrate L! But nevertheless, Tricia will be in Florence soon enough J!

Anyways, yesterday I pretty much woke up at my normal 6am after a night of pure hell, thankfully feeling a million times better! It was a horrible night of coughing and my fever breaking, I guess? I don’t know.

But I went back to bed to catch up on my zzzzzzzzz’s and woke up again and did laundry and went to Italian! Oh that mid term is going to be so not legit.

Then I went and worked out, I have to keep it up or all these carbs will get me J! HAHA!

Then I went over to school and worked on my awesome budgeting skills and figured out the Dublin situation! That is soon to be booked thankfully! I cannot wait!!

Then I went home to make dinner and finally got to skype with Hogan, Krob, and Nikki! Long awaited skype sessions! So sad I am missing Trivia night this weekend L! But then I got ready to go over to Amy, Haleigh’s, and Briana’s apartment because Haleigh’s family is in town and she wanted to take her sister out before they went to Rome today! It was a fun night! Her and her sister are absolutely hilarious!

As for today, I woke up and met up with Haleigh and our other partner for our project in Special Events and then came back and worked out with Alexa.

As for tonight, all of us girls are going to Gusta’s for pizza! I am sooooo excited. I am sitting at school now and it is not a good idea because the cooking classes are well, cooking and I am CRAVING this pizza. HAHA!

But then we are all going out after and hopefully another Secret Bakery J! Cannot wait!

No real big plans for the weekend though with Mid Terms next week. Nikki comes in 9 days and I am super excited it’s not even funny! Sam and I may go to Lucca on Saturday if the weather holds up otherwise I have to start cracking down and studying, even though I don’t really love doing that. HAHA!

Hopefully it starts warming up here! We are having weather like MO does, hot then cold, etc. It STINKS!

Anyways.. Hope you all have a great day! And pleaseeeeee keep praying for me with Mid Terms being next week! I need all the luck and prayers I can get!

Love and miss!

i hate being siiiiiickkkkkkkkkkk!

Hi people!

Well. Today. Oh today, not a good day for Shelley.

Woke up at my normal 6 am and wanted to cry. Felt like absolute crap. Class at 9am? Ya right, like I ever skip class.

Finished the Amanda Knox movie (Side note: NEVER watch that WHILE studying abroad.. I trust Alexa and Bess (my roommates) so no worries, but seriously.. being not too far away from Piragua…… it freeks me out like Taken freeks Alexa out. We both were like YOU WILL NEVER BRING A GUY BACK TO THIS APARTMENT! And I was like girl, no worries!! Even if I did, I would stalk him when he leaves and if he calls anyone I would have the Italian police here in like 2 seconds!!!! (Scene out of Taken made me come up with that!!).. Speaking of, never watch that movie while studying abroad either. Alexa and I had the safety talk last night.. We both are OCD about locking the doors, we live on the fourth floor, and our door is not even close to being one you can break down. So we both do feel a lot safer due to that!!)

Anyways, went back to bed. 8:35 rolls around, class at 9. I was like UGHHH I guess I will get ready for class. Went to financial accounting.. Midterm next week. PRAY FOR ME in general for next week. Ughh I am stressing. Then I went and worked out for some stupid reason I will never know. Then I went to the market to get my dried kiwi and melon and pineapple. I am obsessed no thanks to Alexa!! It is soooo good. The guy knows Alexa and I now and gave us both flowers for National Woman’s Day J! He is so cute!

Then I came back to the apartment and cleaned for a bit and went to baking. I don’t know why but for some reason I was so excited for today. I LOVE that class now! Valerie and the others are so awesome! And I am so jealous of Valerie because she works for a bakery here in town! I would obsess over doing that! She loves it!

So today we did not make the extra danishes like we were supposed to, NBD, we had enough of everything anyways. But we made a cake in honor of National Woman’s Day with sponge cake, pastry cream, and some type of special alcohol. It turned out really neat, but I don’t like cream or cake…… and do not like putting alcohol in deserts. Then we made the rest of the puff pastry into rectangles and baked them. Then Chef cut them into circles and put powered sugar on top and put it back in the oven to caramelize. Then he mixed some of the pastry cream with whipped cream and did layers of the puff pastry, cream mix, and then he tempered some dark chocolate into 2 circles to go on top. It turned out really cool looking but I didn’t try that one either!! Then we made these grahm cracker looking sandwiches filled with cut up sponge cake and pastry cream mix. Again, didn’t try that one. Then Valerie and I, besides the prepping the puff pastry made…… APPLE STRUDEL!!!!!! Omg I was like where is Ainsley (who I went to Vienna and Salzburg with!) We are both obsessed and would go back to Salzburg in like 2 seconds just for Strudel and Shnitzel and Sausage!! Not even kidding! But we made the strudel with the leftover puff pastry and apples, sugar, raisins, lemon zest, bread crumbs, and walnuts and rolled it up! It looked so good and tasted great of course! I was all over trying that one! Plus we all ate the left over puff pastry sheets like pigs! Happy Fat Tuesday BTW! J

Another successful baking class, but I wish I didn’t feel like I was going to pass out the whole time.

I raced home and jumped right into bed after grabbing some juice. I feel like I have a fever, I have a horrible headache, and the onset of a cold. I will pay the person who wants to bring me Bread Co Chicken Noodle Soup and a LARGE cookie dough sundae from Culvers. If you bring me one from Ted Drewe’s I will buy your ticket round trip! HAHA! I wishhhhhh!

But seriously…… I am craving so much American food right now. I would pay 50 dollars for a bottle of KC Masterpiece or some China King Crab Rangoon.

Anyways.. Please do pray for me when it comes to Mid Terms. I am afraid. I have one in baking and I told Valerie WE ARE SO STUDYING TOGETHER! SOOO hopefully that will help me J!

Otherwise pray for me that I get better. I would do anything to curl up in a ball and watch an SVU marathon right now, I won’t lie.

Hope you all are doing better than myself though J!!!!!

Love and Miss.

Somebody mail me cheesecake.

Well happy Monday to you all Americans.

Sorry I got lazy this weekend and haven’t blogged but here you go with a long one—it’ll keep you occupied for a bit.

Well Thursday night, all of us girls went to Dante’s for pizza and wine! It was a lot of fun and of course the food was so good! I just love my prosioutto pizza I always get! Then we all got the most delightful gelato we have ever had! I got this cookie gelato that was insanely amazing! Def. taking Nikki there when she comes J!

I can’t tell you how lucky I am to have met Haleigh, Briana, Sam, Amy, and Ainsley like I did in Rome/on the tour! I don’t know what I would be doing here without them! We are already planning out how to come visit each other this summer! Haleigh, Briana, and Amy are all from Texas, so it won’t be too bad for me to go visit this summer. And it will give me a reason to somehow get to Georgia because I am dyiiiiiing to go to Paula Deen’s Restaurant. But Ainsley and Sam are both from Boston, soooo that trip with ESD in the fall to New York is going to pay off for me J! HAHA!

Anyways, then Friday morning 4am wake-up call for Alexa and I to get ready for Parma and Modena! It was a day trip we prepaid for before we came here and I have been EXCITED like no other ever since I signed up for it. Alexa and I both thought we were just going to the parmesan cheese factory and the balsamic vinegar factory, but we went to both of the those and went to the procioutto factory. Plus, I didn’t know we were going to get an awesome lunch too!

So Haleigh, Ainsley, Alexa, and I all got on the bus to take a mini nap at 5:30 am! We arrived in Parma at about 9 or so and went into the room before touring the factory where we all had to put on these plastic coats, booties over our shoes (which I thought was the hat L haha), face masks, and a hat. It was soooo funny! We all looked like doctors prepping for surgery! Apparently with my sunglasses still on everyone told me I looked like either a terrorist or a KKK member. Whoopsies L! It was funny though!

So we all walked into the factory and OMG I never in my life have seen so much cheese!! It was not a very big factory, but we went into the main cheese making room where a lady began to tell us what is going on. The first room was where the cheese was actually made. Parmesan cheese is actually only made of a few things and aged for years. So what we saw was the fresh milk being poured in and then heated up until the pro cheese maker decided it was time to use this special tool to break up the curdling process. It was so neat to watch! Then we went into a room where some of the cheese was being stored and the lady explained to us what special stamps and tools are used-- which makes it legit parmesan cheese. Then we went into a room where the cheese was put into big pools to soak in salt water for a long time! And then we went into a room filled with towers of cheese that could probably solve world hunger. I am not even kidding, Ainsley and I counted like 840? Or so HUGE bricks of parmesan cheese on just one side one of the columns! It was ridiculous! This was the room where all the cheeses were stored to age for years upon years! Seriously though, there were so many rows, so if you times like 840 by like 30+ columns= start of world hunger to be over. HAHA. But it was super neat to hear what makes parmesan cheese legit. Then the lady took us back into the big room to watch the workers use HUGE cheese cloths to pull the actual parts of the cheese together! It was super cool! But there is so much milk mixture left over that they use for a variety of things, for example- butter. The whole process of how parmesan cheese is made is so fascinating and so time consuming but so worth it! I was like someone give me some spaghetti J! Haha! Either that or a big plate of my Aunt Lisa’s ravioli from The Hill J! But then we all walked back into the room we started out in and got rid of our gowns and what not and waited to try the cheeses! The lady brought us a brick of cheese that was 2 years old and another that was 5; therefore we could taste the difference. I definitely liked the 2 year old cheese better and boy let me tell ya, that stuff doesn’t taste like any parmesan cheese in America. HAHA! But then they also gave us “goodie bags” filled with pamphlets about parmesan cheese and how it is made and cool yellow snap bracelets (which we all decided we will wear out to a club one night), a pen, and this legit parmesan cheese breaker-upper knife. J totally awesome! Then we all walked out to the fresh air!!!! It smelled so funny inside obviously with everything going on! But we also went into the mini store they had which was pretty neat, but expensive of course! REAL cheese is pretty pricey! I def. have a new appreciation for parmesan cheese after all of that!!

But then we all got back on the bus so we could head to the procioutto factory!! We all took another mini nap on the bus towards Mondena, which I didn’t even remember falling asleep! IT WAS FREEZING when we got there. When I left STL, I was leaving snow behind I thought. NOPE! Snow everywhere. Haleigh somehow champed walking the whole day in a sweater. I was so cold though!

But we walked in and Ainsley and I automatically decided the owner was going to be our new boyfriend! He was precious! It was so neat because he didn’t speak any English, so one our supervisors had to translate the whole time. The place smelled so funny and there were pig everywhere!!!!! Another way to solve world hunger could have been found in that factory too!! The factory was very interesting but smelled really funny and was super cold in some parts! Procioutto is such a long process too!

Then we all headed up to the restaurant attached to the factory for lunch! We walked in and it totally felt like we were back on the way to Rome where we got that “light lunch”. We were all careful at how much bread we consumed this time just in case! Alexa said she wore her leggings that day just in case we were eating like that again! HAHA! But they had parmesan cheese chunks, walnuts, bread, bread with meats on top, water, and wine ready for us! It was all so good, besides the wine. Then they came out with the pasta dish and parmesan cheese J which was SOOOOO good. Then they came out with a big plate of procioutto for everyone.. It was okay, for some reason I didn’t like it as much as usual. Then they came out with salad. I MISS MY AMERICAN SALADS! I MISS SALAD DRESSING! Vinegar and oil on top of lettuce and tomato chunks is not a salad for me L! Then they came out with a plate of mixed deserts that were DELICIOUS! We don’t even really know what was in any of the things but they were good! The one lemon thing was absolutely amazing! They also had something that reminded me of banana chocolate chip cake that was good too! Overall lunch was filling and the bread was amazing of course. Ainsley and I def. got a photo with our boyfriend before leaving and he was so excited! HAHA!

Then we left and were off to the balsamic vinegar factory! Took another mini nap on the bus of course! We got there and literally the factory looked like a house! It was really pretty on the inside and one of the head ladies brought us upstairs to show us the barrels full of balsamic vinegar. I am not a big vinegar fan so I didn’t really know any of the info she was telling us. True Modena balsamic vinegar actually is only sold in special bottles by the heads of Modena and basically all supermarket/anyone else’s bottles are made with so many different ingredients and preservatives + wine. True balsamic vinegar is strictly only cooked grapes and then aged for 12+ years. There were 2 kinds this place sold and it was the 12-25 year old bottle and then the 25+ year old bottle. They can both be found at William Sonoma (my home away from home) for 200+$ I think. This stuff is legit. There are a few families in Modena that make the vinegars but only the heads of Modena can bottle the true balsamic vinegar in the special bottle and then stamp it. The place also sold other types of vinegar that we tried but it wasn’t considered true because they were all under 12 years old. The barrels they use are never washed due to flavoring and worth thousands of dollars. The one she told us was worth 30000 euros aka 41400+ dollars because it had been used for over 100 years. We were trying to figure out their security rules because it didn’t seem like they had many and for that thing to be worth so much, I would be shocked at no one trying to steal it. Balsamic vinegar takes over 12 years to make and takes a lot of work because the vinegar has to transfer a barrel like every year. Each barrel is left with an open square and with the evaporation that happens, each barrel has to keep being refilled with a certain amount from another barrel and then the last BIG barrel in the row gets the new stuff to be aged for many years. The oldest bottle they had was almost like 150 years old I think. The vinegar in the glass bottle once opened can be used forever pretty much and you only need like a drop or so because it is so strong! It was really neat to learn all of this being the food junkie I am. But then we all went downstairs for a tasting. They gave us all spoons and brought around 4 of their not-true vinegars and then they let us try the 12 and 25 year old ones. My favorite was a white grape vinegar because it was slightly sweet and didn’t have such a tang! Then they let us all buy any if we wanted to at a discount! HAHA for that. But then they gave us these chocolate cookies that were delightful!

Then we all got on the bus to come back to Florence. We all fell asleep and when we woke up, we ended up being stuck in a traffic jam for like a half hour bumper to bumper. It was horrible. No one knew why we were stopped and then they turned on Madagascar and we knew we’d probably be stuck there for a while. Eventually we started moving and then when we did, we never saw an accident or found out the reason for why we were stuck L! I hate when that happens!! We finally made it home and Alexa and I were exhausted and stayed in and went to bed pretty early obviously after waking up at 4am!

Saturday…..oh Saturday, what a day it was! Woke up and showered and straightened my hair for a horribly long amount of time. I miss my Chi too much these days!!

Finally met up with Haleigh, Briana, and Amy at the train station for our train leaving at 12:18. Supposed to be there by 2:30………not at all. We have absolutely not one bit of a single clue how we messed up. NOT A CLUE. We ended up at the end of this one train’s stops and realized we had to get on another train, then we had to get on another train. It was RIDICULOUS and we were so frustrated. I texted my mom and was like this better be worth it!! Haha! But we FINALLY made it to Assisi about 4pm and it was cold and rainy. All of us just wanted to go home- we were so annoyed, but then we checked return trains and the one left at 5:17, the other at 7:17. So we all were like we’re making the 5 one because if it took that long to get home, we were leaving early. So we raced to the St. Frances church, which was absolutely gorgeous and huge! I got a few photos, but I am waiting to get the ones Haleigh took because I know my mom wants them! The church was huge and so cool to go look at! I picked up a rosary for my mom’s teacher aide and then a key chain for my mom because I didn’t know what else to get since she has so many rosaries! But then we tried to race back to the bus to make it to the station.. totally failed. So we all went to McDonalds for dinner. I haven’t had McDonalds in like 3 years, so they all witnessed a historic moment. Seigs knows there was only one reason why I would ever eat McDonalds again, but I had no option this time! It was good though! Then Haleigh and I split the Brownie McFlurry that I said America was slacking on, which isn’t true because it wasn’t that good and their ice cream tastes whipped-creamish. NOT okay, everyone knows I hate whipped cream! So then we all sat around for a bit and chatted. We realized they had wifi so Briana and I went up to ask for the code to login and the guy looked at us and said it was only for Italian customers really rudely and walked away. Briana and I were like did that just happen? And I go could I have said discrimination? HAHA! We both found it hilarious but at the same time we were both like WHAT!?!? SO then we left and walked around to try and find wine to drink on the way back……..long day, we deserved it. Totally failed at that! So we went to the train station and waited by the fire for our train to come! Somehow this one was straight to Florence and we made it back about 9:45.

I raced home to get ready to go out because we weren’t going to let our day damper our night we had planned. I made it back over to their apartment and we all then went out to this club called Space, which is one of those things that you have to go to experience at least once if you’re here. I didn’t really want to go, but Amy and Briana convinced me to! And yes, I know everyone wants to know this, yes I also danced with the hottest Italian ever but he was from Milan so no he is not my boyfriend now. HAHA!

Then it quickly became 3:30 am and it was time for SECRET BAKERY! Every other time they have all gone, I usually am home in bed by then but I said this time I was going to go! The Secret Bakeries are the bakeries around town that are literally a secret and you just have to luckily know people who will tell you where they are. They are open in the middle of the night because they actually are making the pastries and what not for the cafes around time. It was so worth staying up for! I got a plain croissant and then Briana got a chocolate one and Amy got pizza and Haleigh got a croissant too. I swear I could have eaten like 17 of those things, they were to die for!! I cannot wait to go back probably this weekend! Haha! Cannot wait to bring Nikki to one too!!

Then we all went to bed and I woke up at about 11. Shelley Santel slept till 11 and stayed out till 430? Historic moment.

So I showered and did laundry. Then it was absolutely gorgeous outside so I walked around for a bit and then went over to their apartment again because we all were going walk around and shop! It was so nice outside-- we wish everyday would be like that! I finally wore capris and my sperries legitly because it was so nice out!!

SO we walked around for a bit and I found some really adorable shoes I am going to get! Then Briana and Haleigh were going to a church service at 6:30, so they wanted a snack. There are these things Alexa and I are waiting to get on National Waffle Day, they are these waffles you can get filled with gelato, nutella, syrup, or other things that when you walk by the stores, the smell of them automatically makes you want one! I can’t wait to get one soon!

Amy and I however wanted dinner and definitely, finally Kebab-ed it again! I had a mad craving for meat, def had to be filled. OMG it was so good as always!

Then I came home and skyped my mother and father, once we got it to work and I got to skype with Krystal, from my work, and her son Luke too! It was precious! I cannot believe how big he has gotten and I am so glad skype finally worked!!

This morning was rough. I am starting to get sick and I hate it. Special Events was a disaster because I was so out of it. This is review week since mid-terms are next week so I better start studying L! How do I do that again? Someone want to come help me?

Then I had Italian, which was dreadful cause I was so tired once again. Then I somehow made it through my workout and raced back for Customer Relations! Then I came home to finally eat dinner and start writing this! Haha!

Overall it was a pretty legit weekend spent with good friends! Yes Assisi was like an epic fail, but I hope to go back someday with better plans of getting there and on a day with better weather of course! I am so done with the cold!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Assisi looked really pretty and everyone else said it is amazing, so hopefully one day soon we will return!

As for this week, hopefully my sickness goes away and Wednesday night we decided this past weekend, we are going to finally all watch Shindler’s List because both Briana and I are huge World War 2 history buffs. Then Thursday we are all going to the best pizza place apparently. Alexa described it to me and I am so excited for it! Then we are all going go out for my friend Chris’s birthday apparently! Sam and I possibly might go to Lucca on Saturday. Monday I have 2 midterms so I avoided planning anything big for the weekend!

Less than 2 weeks till NICOLE AUSTIN arrives in Florence!!!! Kleenex boxes are ready!

Almost a month till Sicily, less than a month for the still being booked Dublin!

St. Patty’s Day in Florence is planned and ready to be celebrated with shots of Jameson just for Pat Hogan J! I am so sad I am missing trivia night this weekend L!

But otherwise, more to come, this is getting long and I really want to watch the Amanda Knox movie Alexa told me about!!

More tomorrow. I AM SO BEYOND EXCITED for my baking class tomorrow and I don’t even know why J! But Valerie and I might be going to her bakery afterwards for canoli- that is only if I don’t eat too much in class J! HAHA! So doubtful that I will be getting canoli!

Miss you Americans J!

Tomorrow I will discuss baking and how I have completely planned out how to better my cheesecake making lifestyle. YAAAAAA I miss my kitchen-aid, my orange one.