Hi everyone! It's been a while, I know...
This blog really isn't something I've been cultivating lately and wish I did. I have loved sharing my life with everyone who visits here and I enjoy feeling a bit of a community here. But, sadly I just don't take the time to blog very much anymore.
So since the last time I DID blog, let me fill you in on life.
I attended CHA in Anaheim, California and had a BLAST seeing all my friends and all the new products coming to stores near you soon! Here's a few photos of my favorites:
My friend Heidi Sonboul's new scrapbook company, Chickaniddy.com
Love the new "color magic" stencils from Heidi Swapp!
The gorgeous booth of Spellbinders! Just amazing.
The DIY shop from American Crafts.
And I of course have to share this picture of my travel companions to Italy this summer! So excited to have them teach at my 3rd Annual Creative Retreat in Italy this May!!
In January we took the family to Pasadena for the weekend and went to the Rose Bowl Flea Market. We've been before and loved it so we thought we would make a weekend out of it... and it was a BLAST! I love that the girls like "junking" and it was so much fun to walk around for hours and hours looking at everything there!
We were READY to go!
Just LOVE all the old windows and pedastals.
Oh
Oh, I wanted one of these signs SO bad...
My "cool cat" and her new pair of shades. :)
January went by in a flash...
Then February was here and I'm not sure I was ready for it. You see, Victoria was LEAVING this month and we were going to miss her dearly! We took her to Italy on February 8 and I was not looking forward to LEAVING her there...
We tried to have as much fun together before she left and then had a going away party for her and had some of her friends surprise her before she left on her new adventure:
Enjoyed some great time close to home...
Had a fun day in Coronado...
Had to make a day trip to Little Italy before we left!
And had a great last night together out at Gourmet Italia with friends and family!
Then it was time to say goodbye and off to Italy we went...
As we flew over the Alps, it was so beautiful to see God's creation, covered in SNOW! We were SO hoping to see snow while we were there...
The next day we headed to Como to see some friends and it DID snow! The snow was so light down where we were that it melted by the time it hit the ground, but all on the mountains was a beautiful covering of snow and it was BEAUTIFUL!
Here's some of my sweet friends with me at the scrapbooks store in Como! Germana (in the middle) is actually kind enough to teach a class at one of my Creative Retreats this summer and I am SO excited to share her work with everyone! She's very creative!!
We were in Lake Como for about a week and since not a lot is open at that time, it gave us a chance to really explore the area and take LOTS of photos. Rebecca brought her good camera she got for Christmas and had so much fun with it. She really has an eye for photography and I love some of the photos she took on this trip! Here she is just starting out and figuring out some of the things on her new camera by the lake.
Our Initial seems perfect here... We're moving in! :)
Everywhere you turn in this beautiful place is just stunning. We had never really ventured far from the city centers on Lake Como and this was such a great trip because we really got a chance to explore and walk around all the little villages or "hamlets" on the lake.
Of course we also had a blast on this trip because we got to spend time with friends. That was what I really took away from this trip the most. We have made so many GREAT friends here and being able to come here in the wintertime when they are not working allowed us to really spend a lot of time with friends and get to know them even better. That was truly a blessing.
We had so many fun lunches, dinners and just time to explore new areas with friends. Riccardo took us to Lecco for dinner one night and I have to say it became one of my new favorite cites on the lake! I don't think it gets a lot of recognition, but the city center is just beautiful!
One of my dear friends who I am so sad to say is not going to be working at the GHVS any more, invited us into his home for dinner one night. It was such a joy to spend time with him and his wife! They are so welcoming here and truly friends that we will have forever.
But the REAL reason we were here was to take this grown up girl to college in Italy! (maybe not in Rebecca's mind though... hahaha) But the day had arrived and we took the journey to the college and dropped this girl off. I have to say it went really well and I didn't really cry until we got back to Lake Como and I looked at the photos we took. She's an adult now and it's going to take some time for me to realize that, but a friend really made me see that on this trip and I thank him for that. We've raised these girls to be woman who love the Lord, who love others and who can stand on their own two feet. So now it's time to let her go and let her make a life for herself. We are SO proud of her and the decisions shes made. I know she's loving Italy and is having a great time getting to know the language, making friends, and oh yeah... studying! :)
So after we got back to Lake Como, Rebecca and I had a couple more days to explore.. The days went by fast, but we were so thankful to have time to see so much beauty here...
The last night we were again invited out with friends. But this group was a bit different. The girls have become very close with some guys in a singing group and they invited us to dinner in the tower. We had a great time and loved all the singing and food! They are just another reason we love this place.
How can you not love this place? I feel so blessed to be able to come here every year and be a part of this place. I really love Italy, but more than that, I love Lake Como. I took a chance a few years ago starting a business doing Creative Retreats here, wanting to bring people here and see what I love about this place as well as bring people here that want to CREATE in this environment. I am SO thankful to everyone who has come here with me, who wants to come here some day with me and who supports this dream of mine!
And thank you for coming to my blog and sharing in my journey...
Hugs,
Laura
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