It's Tuna Tuesday

Every year I try to out do myself for Ryan's Birthday with a big surprise. Two years ago I had big flat screen TV and matching stand delivered to the apt. Ryan was exhausted from the night before and happened to be asleep when it came. When he woke up I blindfolded him and placed him in front of the TV for the big reveal. He loved it!

Last year I got all of his best friends together at his favorite pizza place for a surprise dinner. They are Italian so their arrival times kept getting later and later. Back at the ranch I tried to stall him. Eventually he said he was starving and began to make his way down to Vesuvio's. Halfway there I told him I had to come back to change my shoes, and that he had to come with me. Eventually we made it to the restaurant and he was surprised. I also bought him a meat grinder. He had been talking about one for months. Now we make homemade ground beef.

Surprising this guy on his birthday is a challenge. This year his birthday is this Thursday. Last week I tried to secure a reservation at his favorite seafood restaurant for Thursday. Ryan loves the fresh tuna at this place. The problem was Claudio, the chef/owner, could not be sure he would have tuna on Thursday. He could promise me tuna on Tuesday. I made the reservation for Tuesday feeling secure in my efforts to surprise Ryan. He would never suspect a surprise dinner the Tuesday before his big day. Then the unexpected happened:

Me: Hi honey. How was your day?
Him: Fine. I bought fresh tuna for dinner
Me: But my friend Yumi is making us dinner. She wants us to meet her family visiting from Korea
Him: Oh can we go another time. I got fresh tuna from the pesceria. It's tuna Tuesday!
Me: But she made all this food
Him: But it's tuna Tuesday....

We went into the kitchen to inspect the tuna. It did look quite fresh.

Him: See, it's tuna Tuesday
Me: I lied. I made reservations at Claudio's. It's tuna Tuesday...

He vacuum froze the tuna. We leave for Claudio's in a few minutes.

Vicenza Highland Games

The year is 2013 and I am sitting in the Great Town Hall meeting known to all throughout the Kingdom as the Info X. As is customary, I was sitting close to the front of the Great Hall as the leaders of our clans regaled us with tales of their accomplishments. After a time the first Highland Games were announced. I lept at the opportunity to be part of the momentous occasion unaware of the athleticism planned for the day.

Two days before the games the events were listed:

Run 5K 

Scale a 7ft wall

Crawl through a mud pit

A stone throw

Wade through an ice bath

Climb over a car 

Slide through muddy tubes

Navigate a tire maze

Terrified of the majority of the events, the ice bath elicited the most apprehension. As the day drew near I intensified my fitness regimen. On the day of the games we dressed ourselves in raiment according to our lineage. 

The 5k caused me to draw labored breath. The sight of the muddy tubes gave me slight pause; I pushed forward. At the stone throw, my mate located a small stone for me. I threw it. Hard. Missing my mark I received a penalty of five push ups. Undeterred I pressed onward. The other members of my clan dug deep to encourage me even as I questioned my motivation in the dastardly mission. At the base of the seven-foot wall my countrymen provided foot and shoulder to hoist me over the wall. Once on the other side I landed squarely upon my feet and ran, stretching my legs wide to reach the next obstacle. 

When we came upon the ice bath I was near delirium. I waded into the water until I was chest deep. The passage of the other clans created a churning current. My mate shouted over the waves, but I could not hear of what he spoke. The water was a cleansing of the mud and grit. I emerged renewed. Climbing over the length of car was all that stood between me and glory. Once over the car I set my sights upon the finish line, and ran there with the swiftness of a cheetah. 

After the Games

Makeup, hair and a new purse

It's been an eventful few weeks.. again. GEN Ray Odierno came to Vicenza this week and I briefed him on some of my work. This was a big deal for me and all of my colleagues. He took lots of notes and asked informed questions. It was very exciting.

As much fun as that was, I'd rather write about my new hair. I love my new hair, and I think it looks great. In addition to my new hair I have been wearing a lot more makeup. For along time I shied away from anything more than a natural look. More than once friends have chided me that I should wear brighter colors, but I always stayed with muted tones..until now!

I invested in a set of Realtechniques make up brushes, and a few other necessities. I typically used whatever brushes came with the products I bought. I didn't understand the difference a good brush can make. A few hours of youtube makeup tutorials and in person discussions with with a dear friend and I was in the fast lane. I love these brushes. My favorites in the bunch are the stippling on the far left and the buffing on the far right. I use the stippling for my blush and the buffing for my foundation. It took me awhile to get here and I still have a long way to go, but I am certainly on my way!

Realtechniques brushes

In addition to my recent investment in makeup, I try to experiment with different looks.  I don't think I'm quite there yet. Most my looks are still very similar. I need to work on using different colors. The problem is I buy more of the same because I like it. I have to push out of my comfort zone if I want to achieve different looks.

I bought this very unusual purse. I actually wear yellow and grey often enough to have a yellow and grey purse. Today I went overboard and was a little too matchy, but it should be a great addition to my Spring wardrobe.

I only have an accent in London

Brick Lane

It's been a busy few weeks. Trying to keep up with it all has been nearly impossible. Work has been wonderfully busy. I want to say it is the most fulfilling part of my life right now, but Ryan might read this someday...

Other than sprucing up my make up collection I decided to go to London to get my hair done. I know it sounds crazy, but it became necessary. I was on youtube watching makeup tutorials, Jeni is my current favorite, but there are others. I stumbled upon Andree on youtube, then migrated to her blog. Suddenly we were emailing each other a few times a day, and then I bought a ticket to London. Yupper, I bought a ticket to London.

Ryan has never been to London. He's been to Cambridge a few times, but never to London, so I figured kill two birds with one stone. Hang out in London, meet my youtube/blogger "pen pal" and have her do my hair. I think that's three birds.

Boy oh boy did I have fun. We stayed at the Hotel Tune. It was the smallest hotel room I have ever seen in my life. The only thing smaller could be one of the hotel drawers they have in Japan. We flew in on Friday evening. On Saturday morning I woke up feeling like it was a very important day in my life. I checked to make sure I had the tube and overhead Google maps Ryan printed out for me and left him sleeping in the tiny hotel room. I wanted this adventure all to myself.

I ran to the station, stopped at the Starbucks stand for..for..I had no idea what to order at Starbucks. I have not been to a Starbucks in a long time and the barista's British accent only added to my confusion. I ordered a hot chocolate and then it was the barista's turn to be disoriented. My accent confused him. LOL Anyway, I got my hot chocolate to go, marveled at all the adds for American movies I had never heard of and reviewed the hair inspiration pictures I sent Andree. The salon was easy to find, Andree looked just like she did on youtube and her blog. She took my coat, and introduced me to my wash girl. To everyone there I had an accent.

How odd! I don't really have much of an accent so this was different. Wash girl offered me a cup of tea and it came with milk, sugar and cookies! After a pleasant wash and blow dry Andree got to business. My hair turned out great but, the best part was talking to her about hair, make up and other youtube bloggers. It was like talking to an old friend. It was the best day of my life..other than my wedding day of course in case Ryan is reading this.

You are making me blush

For the past year I have been focused on my physical health. I started lifting weights twice a week. Taking a daily multi-vitamin and a host of minerals and supplements. Through trial and error I have found a regimen that works well for me. It includes collagen, cod liver oil, a multi-vitamin and as much water as I can drink. Most days that's about 75 ozs.

The results have been extraordinary. My joint pain has disappeared, random breakouts are far and few between, and most importantly my immune system is stronger than it has ever been. Once upon a time I was the girl who walked around with a box of tissues because I always had a runny nose and was getting over a cold. Those days are gone.

With a more even toned complexion and less joint pain I have shifted my focus to make up. I have always loved make up, but I go through phases when I focus less on it or get into a rut of using the same eye shadow, mascara, lip gloss over and over again until I visit a make up counter and the salesperson introduces something new to my palette.

This shift was not so much prompted by a visit to a make-up counter as much as it is a new friend. Since I have been here, almost three years now, I have made lots of friends, but none of them passionate about make up and fashion. She challenges me to do better, make more of an effort and take it to the next level. Now that's what friends are for! Today she recommended I get of the individual lashes ball, oh and do something about my gray hairs. For the record my gray hairs are the bane of my existence.

I enjoy the influence. That brings me to my new blush obsession. A few weeks ago she asked if I wore blush. My response was hesitant. Blush on my skin tone can be a tricky affair. In general it should be warm, not cool, and highly pigmented. A good blush can be cream or powder, and it should compliment your undertones. If you are staring from scratch those requirements can easily scare a novice away. For starters what is the difference between a warm and cool colored blush? The words"highly pigmented"gave me pause and although I think I have yellow undertones, that knowledge did not help me understand what colors would work on my skin.

Illamasqua Hussy

Me wearing both...

Bobbi Brown Apricot

Enter youtube. I found a plethora of helpful videos and ordered two blushes from Sephora.com. The most popular blush was Bobbi Brown's Apricot Powder Blush. Illamasqua is another favorite. The popular Betray cream blush was discontinued and they sent me Hussy Powder Blush instead. At first I was furious, but at home I applied it and saw gorgeous results. A week later I went to drugstore.com and ordered a few of the popular drugstore brands. They should arrive this week. Next stop Ardell lashes.

If you don't post a pic on FB did it ever happen?

At the end of every year I set goals for myself. Milestones as well as small personal achievements populate the list. I did not create a 2013 list, and I'm not sure why. (Wait, I do. I was too busy having a good time in Vegas and New York to worry about making lists...) Instead while we were in New York over the holidays we agreed that we need to make a greater effort to travel, especially during the low season when tickets and hotels are cheapest.

The trip to New York was eventful and upon my return to Vicenza I was easily engrossed with work. A week before Martin Luther King Jr. day Ryan asked what happened to our grand plan to take advantage of the long weekends. I did some research and found a pair of cheap tickets to Barcelona. With the tickets out of the way I went apartment hunting. This site is my favorite. It is easy to navigate and the owners are responsive. Within 24 hours I found a terrific two bedroom apartment in the Born district of Barcelona. It's a trendy neighborhood with an obvious bohemian bent. Lots of narrow streets lined with tatoo parlors, bakeries and art galleries. Surprising little squares populated with seesaws and running children.

The apartment was exactly as it was advertised. A perfect, modern hide way with all the amenities we needed. A spacious fridge, large bathroom with a heated towel rack, Wifi and a huge bed. There was the issue of the fifth floor walk up, but it was quiet and peaceful up there. We even had a second bedroom, but the apartment wasn't quite big enough for us and another person.

We immediately spotted Mosquito on our first venture around the neighborhood. I love Asian food but, most of the time I think Vietnamese is my favorite, but don't hold me to that. The shrimp dumplings at Mosquito were delightful. Robust flavor and good construction do a good dumpling make! The beef Pho is also another treasure. A complex broth with tender beef served with a plate of Pho fixins: cilantro, basil, bean sprouts and a few scary slices of chili peppers.

There were a few other restaurant visits on this trip, but it is easy to say this was the most memorable. 

Upon my return one of my friends asked if I took pictures of anything else besides food. I did but, I didn't post them on Face Book. Which leads to an interesting question: If you don't post a picture on Face Book did it really happen?

Two weeks of mostly eating

I am back after two exciting weeks of mostly eating in the States.  It was actually a little over two weeks but, I am the only one counting. They were exciting weeks because Christmas eve, Christmas Day, a trip to Vegas, my birthday, New Year's Eve and New Year's day were included in the trip.

This was my first Christmas at home with family since I moved to Vicenza in 2010. It was the longest time I spent in the States since then. Not much has changed. What has changed is my awareness of the diversity of the people, places and things to do. I could go on here for hundreds of words detailing my first visit to Italy in 1993 as part of my college's undergraduate program, and how that semester abroad radically changed the course of my life, but I won't. I will say that I have been fascinated with Italy and Italians for as long as I can remember. At times the intensity recedes about the country and it's people, but it always returns.

All that being said, living here can be a hassle for a few key reasons that were highlighted after a brief jaunt to my NYC hometown. First things first: food.

As we drove past Red Lobster I stared longingly out the window, and said, "Wow, Red Lobster! Sure wish I could go there..." My dad chuckled,"If you want we can stop at Red Lobster for dinner?" My response: " I wish! It's 5:30 pm. No restaurants are open at this hour." My dad looked at me as if I had gone mad. Of course it was open and crowded. There was a 15 minute wait to be seated. Eating at restaurant anytime, day or night, that you want. One of the many things American city dwellers take for granted. In Italy most restaurants and shops close from 2 pm to 4 pm for reposo. Gives them enough time to eat and take a nap in the middle of the day. I forgot Americans do not indulge in the ubiquitous Italian practice.

Another change I noticed at home was how nice everyone is. New Yorkers are infamously rude and mean. I think we earned this back in the bad old days of the 1970s and 1980s when New York was sort of a scary place. Things began to change in the 1990s and the people of my hometown have grown to be much nicer. For the most part strangers were super nice and curious about me. The curious part was a little of a surprise. Everyone assumed I was from somewhere else.

Perhaps it was my wide-eyed expression when I walked into the new Joe Fresh store on on Fifth Ave. Or my confusion about when I would receive the $5 coupon I would earn if I signed up for a Duane Reade card. Upon bumping into my former boss from Deutsche Bank outside of Lord & Taylor she hugged me and remarked that I looked very foreign. The irony of her comment is that I was not wearing the fancy little Italian coat I bought in Vicenza. Instead I was wearing an old coat I bought at Macy's years ago but, it had a hood and it was freezing in New York so  I wore it.

The trip to Vegas was much tamer than in the past, but much more rewarding visiting with Ryan, a Vegas virgin who fell in love with the place with the same intensity I did my first.