Italia: Day 2b - Florence

Welcome back to our sister European adventure through Italy.

We left off on the train from Venice to Florence.

The train ride on which we saw snow!

[turns out it is really difficult to get a picture out the train window!]

 We made it to Florence, and also past the snow. :)

We hopped off the train, debated walking to our b&b, took one look around to see a crazy sea of mismatched streets, and decided to catch a taxi. That ended up being a wise decision!

We made our way to our hotel and got checked in with Guiseppe -- he was awesome!!

He spent so much time with us, drawing out a map for us with all his favorite places, answering all of our questions, and passionate about everything he talked about. Guiseppe made the experience for us!

We stayed in La Diva room. It was pretty fun. And had the most pretty little outdoor area for us to sit at.

disregard that little 'second toilet.' but notice the rad towel warmer. it actually worked pretty well!

 After setting our stuff down, we headed over to a little chocolate shop,
which Guiseppe referred to as "the best chocolate in the world."

And it didn't disappoint. :)

really have the cutest sister in the world.

 Then came dinnertime. Enter dinner fiasco #2. :)

Guiseppe recommended 4-5 restaurants for dinner. Which didn't look that far away from each other on the map. So of course, I suggest we walk by all of them, look at the menus, and decide which looks the best and go there. Carly, on the other hand, suggests picking one and going there since it was getting later.

Well, we did it my way.

We should have done it her way.

We embarked on what felt like the sketchiest part of our trip, as we watched the city shut down as it got dark. As I turned us the wrong direction a few too many times and we ended up far from where we should have been. I think we must have walked a couple miles total. And we ended up back where we started. 

Needless to say, we weren't too happy.

But we managed to enjoy a romantic meal just the two of us anyways. :)

[this was taken in the daylight the next day but this is the restaurant we went to]

[we ordered much less food this time. at least we learned one lesson :)]

Our first night in Florence was a little rough, but overall we ended up really liking the city.

And we liked our company. :)

A Thankful Heart: New Life & Coffee Dates in Red Cups

Today, I had the blessing of making house visits and visiting special people in my life.

First, I spent the morning with my special friend at home on bedrest.

We celebrated her birthday with peppermint lattes and lots of girl talk on her comfy couches.

Sipping coffee, doing her dishes, sharing in her nursery room joy,

and talking about the future of children and the treasure of new life.

Laughing thinking back over the journey of life we have walked through together 

and how we ended up where we are now.

I loved every minute of our time together.

The Lord is molding her heart for the little one still growing inside her 

and I am so excited for her to get to experience being a mom. 

She's going to be amazing at it.

 [from her baby shower last week]

Then I visited my little buddy Adrian and his mommy Nicole.

I used to have the privilege of watching him grow up every day.

Now I get to jump in for snippets every once in awhile.

It was so fun to watch this little 2 1/2 year old jump around, dance, laugh, ask for tickles, and tell me all the words he knows. And it was so special to catch up with his mommy and hear about the family and wedding plans and silly kid stories and yummy dinner ideas.

All over white peppermint mocha frappuccinos.

There's something about sharing coffee with friends that creates a bond.

Especially on day one of red cups.

It is so exciting to think about the future, to share dreams with each other, to laugh,

to plan and then say - Lord take my plan.

Today, I am thankful for new life. 

And getting to see and share in it over red coffee cups.

Divine cups of coffee

A few weeks ago, my sister and I decided to take our pups on a cousin walk. This is a newer thing we've been doing to try to warm Baker up to the thought of having to share his auntie with a cute little rambunctious Ava. ;) So far... well, each day is another step.

Regardless...

We decided to walk so we would pass Starbucks close to the end of our walk. We decided we would pick up a few drinks to go.

But once we got there, we said to each other, "should we stay or go? ehh... let's just sit for a few minutes."

As we discussed something related to the amount of cream vs sweetener vs extra pumps required to make our iced coffees just right, a young woman walked up to us from her car. She said, "can I pet your dogs?" "Of course!" we said. She sat down at our table with us and we introduced the animals.

As I said "and this is Emma... she's really shy..." I watched my sensitive intuitive puppy walk right up to this girl and sit quietly in front of her. And she just stayed and let this girl pet her.

After a few minutes of petting her and talking about how much she loves animals, she told us she lost her kitty the week prior. Then she told us she was on her way to spread her dad's ashes. He had died in the hospital about a month prior. She talked about how she had to speak and was having a hard time, and about her kids and how they were coping with the loss of grandpa. And she said how much she has missed having a pet since her kitty ran away. She said, "I pulled up and saw your dogs and I said to my husband, 'I have to pet those dogs.' And he said, 'I know.'"

We spent about 10 minutes listening to her share her story. We shed tears together and we talked about life. And the whole time, my skiddish Emma sat faithfully and let this woman pet her. Finally, she said she should probably go get her coffee and head to the ceremony. As she got up, I caught a glimpse of the tattoo on her arm with scripture on it.

After she walked inside, Carly and I looked at each other in amazement. I said we should have prayed for her. Carly said she was thinking the same exact thing. We decided we still needed to. I told her about the verse on her arm.

A few moments later, the woman walked out with her husband and we stopped her. "Are you a Christian?" "yes" she said. "We are too. Can we pray for you?" "YES! please! oh you want to?! thank you!" and she sat down so quickly. Emma quickly walked back to her and sat down. And we prayed for this young girl. For her heart. For her words. For wisdom and comfort and peace. For healing. For protection. For her children. For her family.

At the end, we looked up with tears in our eyes and all gave each other hugs. "I'm Jamie" she said. "I feel connected now!" she said. We said goodbye.

As we watched Jamie and her husband drive off to her dad's service, we again looked at each other amazingly.

1. we were not even going to sit. we sat for a few minutes just on a whim.
2. emma never sits that still with strangers. she's always so skiddish. but she's also the most perceptive animal i've ever known and she knew something was going on and Jamie needed her.
3. we both knew we needed to pray. and Jamie knew she needed to be prayed for.
4. we all took leaps of faith. and God made Himself SO real, so present, so loving, so true.

We slowly made the walk back home. But we were different. We watched a little miracle happen. In all of our hearts.

This is the evidence of God at work.

A thankful heart: Morning Coffee

This morning was a [really] early morning, as I woke up to read for a nursing class I took today.

[I realize I should have started reading sooner... the good news was it was fresh in my mind :)].

Two days ago, I purchased coffee mate french vanilla coffee creamer. 

Which just so happens to be the best way to drink coffee, in my humble opinion.

[unless it's blended, of course].

Last night, as I set my alarm for eeeearlyyy,

I smiled thinking about the cup of coffee I would enjoy while reading.

And when I woke up, I smelled the brewing pot.

I poured my coffee into my cute coffee mug and added my yummy creamer.

And I read as I sipped my coffee.

And I was happy.

I typically have coffee and read my Bible in the morning,

but since I've started working earlier, I usually take both to work with me.

It was so fun to cuddle on my couch with a blanket and coffee today.

Today [and always] I'm thankful for my coffee... with yummy creamer... 

in my cute coffee cup... in my living room. 

sigh....

{san fran/san jose}: Caffeine Frenzy Galore

On our recent trip to Northern Cali, we managed to fit a whole lot into less than four days:

family time, shopping, meals, sight seeing, celebrations, hanging out, church, chatting, a little sleeping...

and coffee dates.

J and I were pretty much up for anything on this trip, which made it extra fun for us.

My one goal was to drink as many flavored coffee shake-type drinks as possible from different places.

Although my dreams of swimming in frappuccinos to my heart's content didn't exactly pan out, 

we did manage to make it to a few hit spots both old and new.

#1: Starbucks in the San Diego airport

  and on the plane :)

#2: Nob Hill Chill at Ghiradelli square

 #3: Blue Bottle Coffee in San Fran

 [i admit... i got the lemonade... wasn't in a real 'hot-coffee' mood, but J's was great!]

 #4: Starbucks in SF Union Square

 #5: Malt in downtown Los Gatos

 #6: yumminess at Great Bear, a favorite of Sam and V's... and mine :)

 we took these to the park, because how cool is coffee in the park?!

#7: Peet's Coffee in the San Jose airport 

{this is lacking a photo, but trust me, it was awesome}

As for my favorite? 

Great Bear. 

Wish we could have gone every day :) Thanks S and V for showing it to us!

If you ever find yourself in Los Gatos, stop in for a serious treat :)

Week past and weekend to come

Monday: Homemade Mexican fiesta... successful at that!

Tuesday: Free Coffee Bean summer ice blended drinks

can i just say... cookies and cream ice blended? A-MA-ZING. my new favorite fo-sho!

Wednesday: Meeting a nice new doctor, 

having mrs. dr smile and say "i should have known" when i said i'm an RN, 

and entering into the Sharp healthcare system [as a patient]

thank you, work health insurance. this is a first for me.

Thursday: Haircut and catch up with my friend Kelli visiting from Sac-town

it... is... too... short! this happens everytime. a picture will come soon.

Friday: Super sale at Kohls...
$10 free coupon + shirt with no tag + guy at register quitting his job = free for me.

Followed by a night with no plans! 

And here's how this weekend is looking:

a little organizing this and that

a little cleaning here and there

a fun car trip with mom and Carly to north county 

celebrating my friend Casey at her bridal shower with my mom

a trip to paper source {!!!!}

church, church, and more church (in a good way)

some Bible reading

some bill paying... call me crazy but I actually like paying bills

some time with my hubby

our Hispanic pastor/friend's birthday party!

some blog catch up - reading and writing

american idol watching

and possibly some card making

Happy Saturday!

Back on the farm

Remember my amazing friend/past roommate/RA buddy/bridesmaid, Brie?

Well, she's back on the farm now. 

I had the honor of having coffee with her while she was home over Christmas break. 

This girl is so real and so encouraging. She challenges me to live fully. 

Praying for you B. 

Praying that God would guide your hands and your thoughts this year, and that you would find your nitch. 

Praying for peace and blessings and protection over you.

So proud of you, friend.