Tag Archives: family

here’s how we do it…..

28 Dec

so i know everyone has their own family traditions, but i’d like to share how we do the holidays.

the big day for us is christmas eve. we start the festivities off at my parents house for lunch,

which means i get there around 11:00am to help prepare. this meal consists of all fish,

traditionally  seven to be exact, but who’s counting?

for starters, (and my most favorite) pasta with lobster sauce

then there’s shrimp scampi, fried shrimp, calamari, bacala , cod cakes and crab legs.

everyone’s favorite side….. fried broccoli and cauliflower!!!

i know it sounds stupid, but these suckers are addicting,

and we make enough to have leftovers to carry on to the night festivities.

which brings us to what we call midnight pizza’s

(even though we don’t eat at midnight, the name just kinda stuck)

this is the party where we invite our friends to join in on the celebration.

so basically everyone gets to make their own personal pizza with all the fixings. it’s a fun hands on,

kinda mess, but always a good time kind of thing.

this year we added an ice cream bar with little waffle bowls and an endless amount of toppings!

we exchange gifts, the kids play games and everyone has a jolly good time!

so now it’s about 10:45pm, and i bet you thought the night was over…… wrong.

the husby and i then go to his aunt’s house to do the whole christmas celebration with that side of the family.

we’re talking a full meal plus gifts and the usual table talk.

we rounded out the night at about 2:00am,

only to walk up at 8:30 to be at my sister’s house at 9:00 for breakfast and to watch the little ones open up a few gifts.

now’s the time when we get a little break. the husby and i go home, exchanged our gifts

(which we only do stocking stuffers, but i must say, the husby is a way better shopper than me)

then we relax a little, only to then again head back to my parents house for christmas dinner.

this meal consisted of lasagna, prime rib and some veggie sides of green beans and potatoes.

all this eating and parting brings us all to one place….. the couch in a food coma.

it’s always such a good time celebrating the holidays with all your family and friends, and it sure does go by fast,

but, i must say, i am always happy to see them go.

(i’m exhausted!)

…….

what fun and exciting traditions do you guys have?!

cheese

calamari

love

aftermath

what a ham

falala

seafood

jingle bells bottom

flying high

toppings

ice cream bar

mama

white pizza

the girls

camera man

dear friends

presents

gifts

faces

heavy lifting

family

breakfast

playing

love

the end.

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two thanksgivings are better than one……

24 Nov

while most of you are preparing for that one day a year where you eat turkey with all the fixin’s,

bake pies and while setting that endlessly long dinner table, i was preparing for that day twice!

ahhhhh, thanksgiving! who doesn’t love it?! and even better christmas follows!!!

so this year the husby and i celebrated the holiday, tuesday night with some of giuseppe’s family, and thursday with mine.

my contribution to both celebrations was of coarse dessert!!

i made, pumpkin pie, pumpkin cheesecake and chocolate chip cookies….yum!

i have so much to be thankful for this year, and i’m so happy that we get this holiday every year to remind us of how fortunate we are.

here’s so pictures of both of our thankful days!

hope everyone had a memorable thanksgiving with your family and friends!

   

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thankful…..

15 Nov

so i’m sure you all have seen this november thankful a day thing.

well i love the idea but as life would have, i’m a little behind on starting it.

so i thought, with thanksgiving being only  a week away,(whaaaaatttt???)

what the heck, why not start today, and sum up the month with just a few of the things i am most thankful for.

so here it goes:

  1. my husband aka. husby, who i love to the moon and back, without him my life would be dull, lonesome, and so incomplete
  2. my family, for their love and support and who provide just the right amount of chaos in my life that i couldn’t be without
  3. my friends, (you know who you are) to laugh with, shop with, cry with, drink with, relax with, dance with, dine with and be myself with
  4. my pups, who have turned me into a dog person (never thought that would happen) and are the best when you need a little snuggle time
  5. italy and all my in-laws there, first to italy for delivering me my husby, and to the family for excepting me and taking me into their’s like i was one of their own, even with these thousands of miles between us.
  6. my life, i feel so fortunate to have the life i have and the people who are in it. i wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world
  7. my career, not many people get to go to a job that they love every day and that’s exactly what i get to do
  8. and last but not least…… you…… i love that i get to share our life’s little adventures, and that you guys care enough to read it. this blogging experience has been such an awesome outlet for me and with out you guys, it wouldn’t exist, sooooo i think it’s here to stay! thank you my blog loving friends!

xoxo, gina

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my favorite trick or treater’s….

1 Nov

so halloween has come and gone, and quickly i might add.

and even though i didn’t think of a clever costume (i was still festive ) and the husby had to work,

it turned out to be a pretty spooktacular evening with my favorite trick or treater’s!

look how creepy my nephew looks in the back like a shadow

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pumpkins galore….

18 Oct

we had a little pumpkin party over here this past weekend. i went a little over board in the pumpkin purchasing department.i just couldn’t help myself, they were all staring me down at the store. and all those goodies you saw from the last post, i made for this party. (check them out here ) i also bought carving stencils, tools, and pumpkin gut scrappers, along with paint and brushes. i love getting family and friends together, and decorating pumpkins just made it feel a little more like the holidays!!

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the count down…..

20 Aug
get me out of this funky…..
august has seemed to put me in a strange mood.
maybe this heat has finally gotten to me.
i’ve been feeling uninspired and unmotivated.
thus leaving my blog a little uninspired and unmotivated.
but september is right around the corner and i couldn’t be happier.
so, to try to pump myself up,
i have decided to make some goals for the month ahead
…..
september’s bucket list
  • walk the dogs at least 3 times a week
  • wash my makeup off every night
  • finish one of the many books i have started
  • try 3 new recipes
  • put the majority for my pictures in albums
  • organize the pantry
  • watch less television
  • clean out the closet for fall
  • save money for a big trip

…..

i also thought it would be a good idea to write down some of the things that i am grateful for this month

  • my husband, who is 31 days smoke-free and going strong. he inspires me everyday to be better
  • my parents who have been away for the summer. so glad to have you home. sunday’s feel right again
  • my pups who love me unconditionally
  • all my family for the good times we have when we get together
  • my niece and nephews for always putting a smile on my face
  • my friends that are always there for me and allow me to be my self

i’m starting the count down

11 days to september!!!

my 25th birthday

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… the 4th …

5 Jul

we had ourselves a nice little 4th of july at my parents house yesterday, which also happened to be my dad’s birthday and my mom’s return from her 2 week trip to italy (so happy to have her back).  just some close friends and family with good food and fun. we barbecued some chicken, burgers, lamb chops and steak sandwiches. i made all the desserts, which were italian cream puffs and an angel food cake trifle, 4th of july themed, of course. after all the yummy food, we got a good laugh with everyone playing the Wii, just dance 3. we ended the night with our little baby fireworks for the kids. only thing missing from the night for me…. sparklers…. not one single sparkler in the pack, so sad. overall the day was great and i am so thankful that i got to spend the holiday with such amazing people.

…..

yummy steak sandwiches on a pretzel roll

brother playing grill master

red, white and blue cream puffs

nico liked the happy birthday song so much that we had to sing it like 5 times so he could blowout the candle

mom and sister dancing

brother and cousin dancing

the husby resting his scorpion leg

our little baby fireworks. yay!!!

p.s. so happy to have pictures back!!!

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men of the house

18 Jun

hope everyone had an amazing “papa’s” day!

here are some pictures of our fun day.

all the grand kids with nonno

hysterical

antipasto

beef stew

… all the papa’s with their kids …

my brother mimmo with nico

my brother-in-law frank with gino and gianna

where it all began

my doggy daddy
giuseppe with rocky and bruno

…..

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… papa …

17 Jun

…..

there are many names for this man

father

dad

daddy

pop

dada

 my personal favorite, and the only one he answers to

…papa…

now this didn’t just become my favorite name over night, it was instilled in me from birth.

you see, when you are raised in a tradition italian house hold, no other name is acceptable,

and if you did use any of the other names, you just got a confused look like,

“are you talking to me?”

i always wanted to create “father’s day ” cards so i wouldn’t have to cross the father part out, to put in papa.

made for a shabby looking card. non the less, it was “personalized”

…..

 how lucky am i to grow up with such a strong, hard-working, loving, supportive “papa”

who would do anything to give me the world and more.

and in his own way, though he may not realize it,

did.

i am so thankful to have him in my life and should dedicate more days to honoring his existence.

happy father’s papa’s day everyone!

hope you all have a great day with your families.

…..

… i love you papa …

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…soiree…

12 Jun

…..

sunday afternoon we celebrated my birthday with family and close friends.

we had what one friend called, “adult kid food”

pizza, coonies (pork and veal hot dogs), fruit cups, and of course birthday cake!

(there was much more, we’re italian, so we always over do it)

it was really nice just relaxing outside on what turned out to be the most perfect day.

the kiddos played on a mini water slide, while the adults chit chatted on cozy patio furniture.

we finished the evening with card games and scrabble.

(genevieve kicked our butts)

i am so thankful for having such an amazing family and friends, and i could not imagine sharing my special day with anybody else.

… just wish my mom could have been there…

so thank you to all who came to celebrate with me.

i love you guys!!

…..

bacon wrapped dated made by genevieve

panzanella salad

ombre birthday cake made my me and genevieve

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