La dolce Vita

Okay, so this topic is not one on the list I shared from yesterday, I will get to those later in the week. But I wanted to share this today, because as you will see at the end, there is a fun contest (all you have to do is leave a comment to register to win - no blogging necessary) to win a cookbook.

For those of you who know me, you know I love ALL things Italian. I have always secretly wished that I had Italian blood flowing through my veins, so when we visited Florence and Rome in May of 2006, I truly got a thrill out of Italians thinking I was one of them (the brown hair and eyes threw them off). Of course, they knew right away when they tried to speak to me and I had that deer stuck in headlights look, that my Italian was minimal to say the least. Learning Italian is on my list; I'll have to share my "to do list" someday. Back to my topic...

I have romantic notions of moving our family to a villa outside of Florence and owning an olive grove where we produce amazing olive oil.

There are so many levels of why this is absurd; to just mention two reasons - funds (a major factor) and the fact that I lack the green thumb to even keep a house plant alive - not to mention I know absolutely nothing about plants. Since the villa/olive oil scenario will probably never come to fruition, I will hold out hope that Jeremy will someday get a job in Italy (anywhere is fine - I am not picky) - a girl can dream - right?

I would love to raise my boys in a culture where they truly enjoy all aspects of life. Italians really enjoy food; by eating what is in season and foods produced or grown in Italy. Life just seems slower and to use a cliche they "smell the roses". Can you imagine taking a whole month out of the year off for vacation? In my fantasy world, we would live six months in Italy and the other six in the good ole' USA. Playing pretend it still fun - even at 35! ;o)

I know that not even in Italy, it is as idyllic as it is in my imagination. To keep things in perspective, I have found a few expats who blog about their lives in Italy. Here are a few of my favorites that I think you will enjoy checking out.

At Home in Rome

Bleeding Espresso

Italian Trivia

Lucullian Delights (Ilva is originally from Sweden - her daily photos of life in Tuscany, plus her yummy recipes, keep me coming back)

At Home In Rome, is hosting a contest where you can win an autographed copy of the cookbook Dolce Italiano. If you go the link, you find out all the information on the contest. Also, while there you can read a three part interview that Shelly did with the author. It is worth playing along even if you do not win, because you will get ten delicious Italian dessert recipes. Just in time for the holiday baking season - enjoy.