::: like this dress :::

from here

too bad its $360.

magazines.

how many magazine subscriptions is too many? these are the magazines that i for sure get every month, either by subscription or picking them up at the grocery store. every few months i pick up a wedding magazine too, just because i really enjoy reading them and seeing all the new things.

what is your favorite magazine?

random thought.

if this is what pictures look like to us from decades ago, i wonder what our pictures will look like to our great grand children? i wonder what technology will bring to the photography world....?

Tripod

Tori & Woods: This is a public declaration that I miss you & would prefer you in driving distance. Or even a phone call away. And Woods, I sooooo mean it.

Sweet jump,

Abby

tomato and goat cheese tart

Scott made these tomoato and goat cheese tarts last night, from our new Barefoot Contessa "Back to Basics" cookbook. I recommend them! They were delicious with a glass of sangria!

brit and paulie

i think, if i remember correctly, i was the first to photographically document this couple, in November of 2007. We were at Mi Co, of course, and I remember Brit being embarrassed that I asked to take a picture :) tee hee. now they are

congratulations friends. we are so excited for you!

happy weekend!

we hope your weekend is as exciting as a ride on the coast in a convertable....

as relaxing and contemplative as an afternoon on the beach...

as playful as an hour in the ocean's waves....

and as beautiful as watching the sun set over the waters.

happy weekend!

white : of the color of pure snow, of the margins of this page, etc.; reflecting nearly all the rays of sunlight or a similar light.

if i could add anything to my wedding, it would have been a patio at the fort worth club, overlooking the city, with this fabulous dance floor. gosh i love black and white.

i am missing the wedding. the wedding planning. the wedding hype. it was so much fun!! i want to do it again :)

it was such a perfect night.

Teefy-ing

I can't say she was in a good mood when she came by, but she sure is cute. I think her locks look red, but will eventually turn blonde. And her Papi will have to dish out moola, just like Tom and Deb did for Cara, T, and I. . . for braces. She's almost 11 months. 

i don't understand.

I don't understand, I can't understand how Scott thought I was attractive 6 years ago....

but I am thankful.

this is us on the night he asked me to be his girlfriend.

i need this on my bed...

Torino, Italy

What we drink in Italy. Cappuccino.

I hate waking on vents or anything that I could fall through. This was something or other in Torino and I started to sweat when we walked over it. 

DeCiccos are famous Italy!

We fell in love with this lil Italian cutie. She said some Italian words to us but we couldn't respond. Tori snapped a picture. 

Here are some pictures from TT and I's day to Torino, Italy. It used to be the capital of Italy, but now Rome is. Doi. We had a great day. Today it's raining so we slept a lot and walked around Novara, Italy. It's dreamy. We ate gelato and went to lunch with Scott Andrew.

Ciao,

Abby + Tori

From an American's Point of View

We find these to be true of Italians –

1. They are not friendly. Not like Texans, or Americans for that matter. You may receive a “Ciao” when entering a store but that’s it. Not that Tori and I have much to offer past a “Ciao” or anything, but it would be nice to smile when passing. Or wave here and there. We naturally throw our hand up, as a sign of “thank you”, for not running us over, and allowing us to cross the street. They don’t return a smile or a wave back. It’s okay we say to ourselves, “they are just not friendly”.

2. Scott warned TT and I to not expect lines at stores – the grocery store, the pharmacy, or gelato lines. There are no lines, you fend for yourself. So we fend.

3.  I am chubbed on carbs. Pastries for the morning with a cappuccino, pizza/panini for lunch, and pasta for dinner. Carbs I say.

4. Wine is cheap. And tasty.

5. Everyone, both young and old, skinny or heavier, eats gelato, everyday. I found the most tasty combination on a cono (cone) – “fruits of the forest”  and “lemon” in Torino, Italy. Tori was jealous.

6.  Everyone is very posh. They dress nice. Scott says they don’t leave their house unless they are put together. My madre is very good at this. I feel like she wakes up as a beauty queen but I feel that I didn’t inherit her jeans, so I take some work. Tori and I work on this.

7. Tori made a friend on the plane. He lived in Torino, so when Tori and I went to Torino yesterday, we spent a couple hours with him. I asked him if everyone is that wealthy or if they are like Dallas citizens. What is that? Well, everyone acts like they have money, but they don’t. We call them $30,000 millionaires. He confirmed that Italians are the same way. Scott says they are more like $10,000 millionaires. Simone is her friend’s name and he said they are bad at budgeting and spend their money until it’s gone.

8. When you withdraw Euro from the ATM, they give you big bills. Every time we go to pay for something all I have is a 50 Euro bill or a 20 Euro bill. They look disappointed in me and I look to Scott to say sorry. Then Tori intercedes and ends up paying for me. TT and I went into the bank in Torino and the bank teller gave me smaller bills. They even seemed frustrated. What do they expect? Seriously, isn’t that their job?

9. The Italian men are very attractive. Or sexy. All TT and I can say is Ciao or smile at them. So we are safe. Then after every attractive Italian man, TT and I discuss how if we were with Woods, she would be hitting on them. And then I say how uncomfortable I would feel, because normally I shy away. She would have their numbers and a date already set up by the time we would leave a gelato shop.

10. There are no options really in coffee. Maybe three. So I drink a cappuccino everyday.

11. Scott has an older larger apartment. It’s great. I think it’s funny because we sit in the tub and hold the showerhead when we are sitting down. So basically it is a sit down shower. I make a mess and water is everywhere. I think Scott thinks I’m an idiot. I think in the updated apartments in Italy, they have stand up showers, but this is different for me.

12. Scott stays on a second floor and leaves the windows open in the bathroom and the two bedrooms. I used to complain, or regularly do with Brit, how loud Anita (my home) is. I can’t fall asleep at times because the damn motorcyclists rev their engines. Apparently it’s so much worse here in my opinion. These loud, immature men drive loud cars that keep me up. For this reason, I sleep on the couch. I actually used Woods’ earplugs last night and it was okay, but I haven’t decided if I’ll do this again. Thank you bebe Woods.

13. Driving home from Switzerland, in a very small, ghost-like town, I saw three prostitutes. How do I know? Well they were dressed as so, in white mini skirt dresses and go-go-like boots. Tori and I wanted to save them, but instead we talked about how prostitution is illegal but they don’t prosecute or really do anything about it. Tori was bummed she didn’t actually see them with her eyes. It was dark. Poor prostitutes.

14. They are horrible drivers. End of story.

15. They walk a lot. With their families. Teenagers with their friends. The elderly even walk. Tori and I think they are so mobile.

16. Apparently you live with your parents until you get married, because naturally, they cannot afford the lifestyle they live. The apartments in the city, where 20’s want to live are expensive.

17. It is a low birth rate country.

18. Scott says women are mole-y. As in moles on their faces or bodies. Woods?

19. Men are very metro, which naturally I feel as if they are homosexual. I think this is very narrow minded of me, so I have branched out. Men here like to dress nice, sleek, and wax their eyebrows and tan in tanning salons. In Dallas, most men are gay if they engage in such activities, but Abby has grown up a little, and is happy to say that not all metros are gay. Be proud.

20. Their markets or grocery stores are tiny. I feel like I am about to get run over by someone else. And you have to pay for your shopping bag. 1 cent euro. And you have to tell them how many shopping bags you want. So TT and I try to load up before we head home, but wouldn’t it be embarrassing if our bag broke? you can pack up your groceries into your bag, the clerk is on to the next customer. Very fast paced.

Ciao from Italy,

Abby + Tori + Scott

P.S. – I just read this to them, confirming the information that I wrote. Tori said you forgot to mention the unspoken rule – Don’t look at men in the eye and smile. This means you want to have sex with them. So TT does it all the time.

P.P.S – PDA is rampant. People young and old make out all over the streets. Yesterday Tori and I would say “12 o’clock” or “3 o’clock” to watch some love story unfold. Often times it was teenagers. They would kiss, pull away, almost walk away, and then come back to one another. Often times we saw way too much action. Or we were just jealous. 

Photos

Day 4 & 5

I just wrote a two page narrative. Then I lost it. So you will only be provided with photos.

Quick facts -

We went through most of Switzerland.

We drove through the Alps of both Italy and Switzerland.

We stayed in a hostel in Interlaken, Switzerland called the Funny Farm. 

I popped a squat in Switzerland.

We took a train shuttle that carried us, while in the car, on a train for 15 minutes in a pitch black tunnel through the Alps. We ate goat cheese, sausage, and spent both Euro and Franc!