Upon turning 29 a couple of weeks ago (Feb. 14), I began reflecting upon the life-shifting happenings of 28 (I can just hear all of my astrologically-inclined friends exclaiming, "I told you so!" -- Saturn's return and such).

This was 28 (in a nutshell):
- Shortly after turning 28, I decided it was time to leave NYC, the city that had been my home for the past five years.

- I said "I'll be seeing you!" to my chosen New York family and to the city that had exploded my heart wide open at the ripe age of 23!

​- My heart led me abroad for a wild Summer, beginning with a dear friend's wedding in Ireland, followed by one incredible month of backpacking around Northern Italy, ending with a father-daughter trip from Barcelona, through Scotland and into England, where I had my first international gig in an adorable Cotswolds town called Witney. 

Ireland

​Italy (hardly scratching the surface!)

Barcelona, Scotland & England

These friends (& Lily) made my 29th birthday such a special one!

I'm filled with great anticipation & curiosity for what's on the horizon.
​(Including a new endeavor writing a children's book!)

On the Northwest coast of Italy, at the edge of the Ligurian Sea, sits a town called Imperia. It was just the beginning of my second week of travels in Italy and I had arrived via train that day to Imperia. After a late dinner and full glass of vino in town, I made my way back to my home base apartment nearby. Suddenly, and with gusto, I was overcome with the desire to go for a Midnight swim. A gravitational pull took hold as I whipped on my swimsuit, grabbed a towel and sped back out onto the nighttime streets, all inhibitions fully dissipated-- I raced to the sea. 

Landing upon a pebble beach cove, I stopped dead in my tracks. The brightest, pinkest, largest full moon I'd ever seen hovered just beyond in the dark, night sky! I dropped the towel, gingerly wobbled across the pebbled ground and plunged my way into the chilly waters.

Fins sprouted as I swam further and further out, doing flips, floating, diving under the surface, listening to the sounds of the tiny crustaceans below. 

I wish words could do justice to the magnitude of the moon that night. It was as though this giant light ball was only slightly above the water, close enough to swim to, reach up and touch. Besides its gorgeously bright pink color, this moon radiated such tremendous power and a sensuous, feminine energy I'd never quite felt from the moon before. I bathed in its reflection.

The next evening, whilst chatting with two new friends in Imperia, one friend exclaimed, "You went swimming by yourself at night?! In the ocean!? But there are URCHINS!!"

I laughed, only then quickly to pause and realize, "Oh, sh*t, she's right. There are urchins!" Not to mention other sea creatures along with the whole swimming alone at midnight part. All I can say is that my typically more cautious nature had catapulted itself out of some window that evening!

I had great expectations to be blogging all throughout my travels around Italy and other parts of Europe this Summer. However, the Universe seemed to have other plans for my time abroad. The same night as the full moon, my laptop completely stopped working. Not going to lie, there was an initial panic, but after many attempts to try all of Apple's suggested tips for "when your MacBook won't start up," I let go.

Ya know, I am grateful that the crazy full moon energy sucked all of the juice from my laptop! Regardless of whether it was the full moon or merely a random technical difficulty, I was given more than a month without the use of my laptop. No Netflix (aka Gilmore Girls) before bed and no hours spent in front of the screen, writing and editing while I could be out eating my second gelato of the day! In the meantime, one very large handwritten journal was filled, people were observed and a book was read in its entirety.

Life continues to teach me to trust. Trust in the gravitational pulls, in the intuitive whispers and in seemingly serendipitous happenstances. 

Tanto amore (much love),
​~K~
​

If you've ever seen the movie, "Under the Tuscan Sun," you'll most definitely remember my favorite, fantastico character, Katherine. She's the free-spirited, sensual, confident woman for whom the leading lady of the story, Frances Mayes, observes eating gelato as though she's making love to it. Frances is immediately enthralled by her. She's everything Frances wishes to embody. Actually, I should say, Katherine gives Frances a glimpse into the parts of herself that have gone dormant. 

Slowly, throughout the story, Frances reignites her senses through the manual labor on her newly, spontaneously purchased Italian villa, the explosion of flavors in the food and wine, and most importantly, falling in love again with her Self.

This (below) is from the moment of my first Italian gelato.
​
Two scoops. One, cioccolato (chocolate), and the other, Nutella bianca (white nutella). I sat, with my legs crossed (like a lady), on the side of some old ruins in one of Genova's piazzas. Suddenly, I realized I was making audible sounds, taking deep breaths and smiling as I savored this brief love affair.
​The melted gelato dripped down the side of the cup and onto my fingers, which I had no shame in licking afterwards.

Ah, okay Katherine, I get it now...

Enjoying a nettarina on the terrazza.

And the moment I've been waiting for and rehearsing for months--
​"Un caffè per favore"

My first pasta in Italy!
Ravioli di manzo con ragù
(Beef ravioli with ragu sauce)
Paired exquisitely with a vino rosso from Multipuciano