Rome Favorites

Time is getting closer so I wanted to share some of our favorites of Italy as you finish planning your trip. First up is Roma!

• Gusto (http://www.gusto.it/) - This is my favorite pizza place in Italy. They also have great bruschetta! It's fairly priced and I think they have english menus available too. The space is really cool inside and is centrally located. We'll be going there at least once with my parents in September!
• Campo de' Fiori (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Campo_de'_Fiori) - Whenever Alberto and I are in Rome, we spend a part of the night having a drink in my favorite square! It is always very busy with lots of good people watching. There are tons of small cafes and bars to grab a seat outside and enjoy Rome!
• Old Bridge Ponte Vecchio Gelato (http://viatraveldesign.com/archive/8D83DA4C41F7C046/) - If you are in the mood for a LOT of gelato head to Ponte Vecchio Gelateria just outside the Vatican walls. For only a couple euros you'll get your money's worth of gelato!

Of course you can't miss the Colusseum, Spanish Steps, Pantheon, Vatican, etc.... Rome is one of my favorite cities so I hope that if you are going there, you'll enjoy it too!

Friend Shower and Bachelorette

Last weekend my friends threw me a wonderful combo shower-bachelorette party. It was a lot of fun! We started out at Carrie and Jen's house and then headed out for a yummy dinner. Afterwards, we went to one of my favorite bars, Merkles, for drinks and dancing.

The next day we headed to Twin Lakes to meet Carrie's parents and enjoy an afternoon of tubing and boating. Unfortunately the weather wasn't so great, but we still had a lot fun hanging out. I'm still sore from all the tubing and falling into the lake.

Thanks to all my great friends for such a good time!

Pictures -->

Wedding Showers

I think the concept of having a wedding shower is American, but if this concept is alive somewhere else let me know. When someone throws the bride (and sometimes groom) a shower, it is a party before the wedding to celebrate the couple and usually give them gifts off the registry.

On July 26th, my aunt Sandy threw me a shower and most all my aunts and girl cousins were able to make it. It was a beautiful party at a restaurant in Northbrook. The food was delicious and there were fun games and prizes! When I brought home everything that I received from my family at the shower, Alberto was in amazement. Since the concept of a shower isn't in Italy, he didn't know what to expect. He had fun for hours unpacking all his new kitchen toys!

On August 1st after my family from Buffalo came into town, the Bryzinskis and Janowskys threw Alberto and I a shower. This time Alberto was able to enjoy opening the gifts and celebrating with good food. He loved it!

Pictures are posted on the right hand side of the blog -->

Chicago Party = Success!

Yesterday was the family BBQ for my (Kim's) side of the family. All week long, we had been monitoring the weather hoping we would have nice weather. Early on the weathermen were forecasting rain, but slowly their forecast changed. We have the most perfect weather ever and we feel so lucky! The day before was gloomy and rainy, and we had 80 degrees and sunny. Couldn't have asked for more!

I hope that everyone had a nice time at the party! Alberto and I definitely did! It was really nice to introduce Alberto to the Ostman and Sparkes sides of my family. There were about 60 of us there total, which turned out to be the perfect size for the venue.

I've posted some of the pictures that were taken that day on the slideshow gadget on the right hand side of the page -->

Check it out!

Invitations are in the mail!

It's been a long time since the last post, but we have mostly been working on invitations and finalizing everything for the Chicago family party.

On Sat., we dropped all the invitations in the mail so you should be receiving them in the next few days (for those in the US) and weeks (for our international guests).

For everyone outside of the US and Italy, please feel free to let me know if you are attending via email (if you haven't already). We weren't able to find stamps for the response cards for all the other countries.

We can't believe it is about 2 months until the big day. We hope everyone is getting excited!!

Introducing....my bridesmaids

Maid of Honor: Andrea Marinaro

First off is my bestest friend in the whole wide world and long time travel companion, Andrea Marinaro. I met Andrea in college through our sorority, Chi Omega. One day she came to the room that Heather and I shared looking for Heather. I trapped her there and eventually we became best friends. We've been all over the world together and have LOTS of stories that are at least entertaining to ourselves. Andrea is especially looking forward to the wedding in Italy to go back to her homeland. One area that might be challenging is that her name is a man's name in Italy, so I've already taught her how to say "I am a woman" in Italian.

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La mia migliore amica in assoluto e compagna di viaggi a lungo tempo, Andrea Marinaro. Ho incontrato Andrea al college attraverso l'associazione universitaria Chi Omega.
Un giorno è entrata nella stanza che Heather ed io dividevamo in cerca di Heather. In quell'occasione l'ho imbrogliata e successivamente siamo diventate amiche. Assieme siamo state in giro per il mondo e abbiamo un sacco di storie che ci tengono compagnia. Andrea sta aspettando con ansia il matrimonio in Italia per tornare alla sua terra di origini. Un'area che potrebbe riservare delle sorprese è il suo nome che in Italia è un nome maschile per cui le ho già insegnato come dire "sono una donna" in italiano.

My Rooms: Sarah Kiep

Sarah and I also met in college through Chi-Omega my last year at Iowa. We've lived together for over 5 years in various apartments in Chicago. She has always been the best roommie and friend to hang with at home. Sarah is a loyal and dedicated sports fan. Her favorite teams include the Chicago Cubs, Bears and Blackhawks. But we share a mutual adoration for our beloved Iowa Hawkeyes and have been known to attack a basketball and football player or two!

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Anche Sarah ed io ci siamo incontrate al college attraverso l'associazione Chi-Omega durante il mio ultimo anno in Iowa. Abbiamo vissuto assieme per oltre 5 anni in diversi appartamenti a Chicago. E' sempre stata la miglior compagna di stanza e amica con cui accompagnarsi a casa. Sarah è una fedele e accanita fan sportiva. Le sue squadre favorite includono Chicago Cubs, Bears e Blackhawks. Ma nutre un'assoluta adorazione per i nostri amati Iowa Hawkeyes ed è nota per aver aggredito uno o due giocatori di football e basketball.

Heathie for Prez: Heather Link

Heather was my first roommate and friend in Chi-Omega. I think we first bonded on the dance floor at a frat party after I joined the sorority. She has her signature moves and definitely likes to bust a move to good music. Heather, Andrea and I lived together our last semester at Iowa and I remember her studying so much that she fell asleep with all her books in bed with her. She's the busiest and most motivated woman I know. And I'm sure after she's done raising her kids, we'll see her in the White House.

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Heather è stata la mia prima compagna di stanza in Chi-Omega. Penso abbiamo legato la prima volta nella sala da ballo ad una festa della fratellanza dopo la mia unione all'associazione.
Heather, Andrea ed io abbiamo vissuto assieme il nostro ultimo semestre in Iowa e ancora la ricordo studiare così tanto da cadere addormentata con tutti i libri nel letto con lei. Lei è la più impegnata e motivata donna che conosco. Sono sicura che dopo aver cresciuto i suoi figli, la vedremo alla Casa Bianca.

Italian Wedding Site Pictures!

Ok, I'm finally back home and able to load up some pictures! In this picture, you can see from the entrance of the castle the courtyard. In the middle is the bar and on the left are some tables and chairs to relax in. On the right is "Cupidos" where the dj will be set up and an area of couches for lounging are around. There will also be room for a small dance floor. I almost broke my first rule of wedding planning and had the dj on the other side of the courtyard. But everyone knows that the key to a good party is to have the dance floor as close to the bar as possible!

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Ok, sono finalmente tornata a casa ed ho potuto così "uploadare" alcune foto. In questa immagine si puo' vedere il cortile dall'entrata al castello. Nel mezzo c'e' il bar e a sinistra alcuni tavoli e sedie per rilassarsi. A destra c'e' il "Cupido" dove il dj organizzerà un'area di divanetti per distendersi. Ci sarà anche spazio per una piccola pista da ballo. Ho quasi rotto la mia prima regola della pianificazione del matrimonio posizionando il dj dall'atra parte del cortile. Ma tutti sanno che la chiave per una festa ben riuscita è di avere la pista da ballo il più possibile vicina al bar!

If the weather is good (fingers crossed!), it should be a really nice area to have the party after dinner. Lots of places to sit either close to the action or further away. Here's a closer picture of Cupidos. At night, they'll put some cushions on those benches, so it should be comfy! Under the sign is where the DJ will be set up. I'm trying to get his playlist now, but let me know if there are any special requests! You know that there will be at least 5 times the electric slide will be played!

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Se il tempo è buono (incrociamo le dita!), dovrebbe essere una zona veramente gradevole per avere la festa dopo la cena. Ci saranno molte zone dove potersi sedere vicino al centro della festa o ad una certa distanza. Questa è un'immagine ravvicinata della zona "Cupido". Alla sera ci saranno dei divanetti con cuscini per cui dovrebbe essere confortevole! La zona dove c'è il cartello è dove si metterà il DJ. Sto cercando di ottenere la playlist, ma fatemi sapere se avete richieste particolari! Lo sapete che ci saranno almeno 5 occasioni per suonare.

From the bar, you face more seating on the first floor and the stairs to the 2nd floor where the restaurant is located. On the top floor is a large veranda with views of the valley and mountains.

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Dal bar potrete vedere ulteriori posti a sedere al piano terra e le scale al primo piano dove si trova il ristorante. All'ultimo piano si trova la grande veranda con vista sulla vallata e sulle montagne.

View of the courtyard from on top of the veranda. Throughout the night, you'll have access to the entire castle. There is lots of space and beautiful views!

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Vista del cortile dall'alto della veranda. Durante la serata avrete accesso all'intero castello. C'e' un sacco di spazio e delle viste meravigliose!

View of downtown Montecchio Maggiore

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Vista del centro di Montecchio Maggiore

View of Romeo's Castle

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Vista del Castello di Romeo