All posts tagged: life abroad

Coffee & Reflections: Ciao 2014!

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Well, hello friends. I hope you have all had a wonderful holiday season with friends and family. Christmas has come and gone, but my beautifully lit tree still stands, proving us with warmth and cheer, reminding us that the holidays are not quite over (which I’m actually happy about). As I sit here and sip on my delicious cappuccino, and enjoy the peace and quiet of our home this morning now that my in-laws have left, I thought about how this year has literally flown by. We’re about to start a new year and a new chapter in our lives, which made me start to think about all that 2014 entailed.

When European Winters Happen to California Girls

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It snowed today for the first time this winter and basically… … This just captures it all. As a California girl (who’s also lived briefly in Thailand and Florida, i.e. tropical places) living in Milan, I can’t, for the life of me, figure out how the women over here manage to look so glamorous in their high heels and cute little stylish jackets – prancing around the cobblestone streets (a feat of its own without snow) – while I’m simply trying to stay warm and comfortable and avoiding, as best possible, to not die of hypothermia or lose my toes to frostbite.

Laundry in October

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For those who haven’t lived abroad, you’re probably wondering what this post can possibly be about. Well, basically, October is an awkward month for doing laundry, as is the spring. Contrary to what many people from the States might imagine, many Europeans (as I learned from having spent long periods of time in France, Italy, Switzerland), and actually most of the world, aren’t big on dryers, so if you’re living in a typical apartment or house over here, you won’t have one. (Unless you’re an ex-pat or something, then it’s an entirely different story).