Thanksgivingness

This Thanksgiving was made extra special when our friends Giovanni and Elena announced that after 10 years of trying to adopt, they succeeded! In February they will fly to China to pick up their 18 month old baby girl!

The rest of the story goes like this......

a perfect foggy thanksgiving morning...

acting tough cutting onions, and crying....

no more space!

stuffing chopped, mushrooms are stuffed

it takes 3 guys and a bottle of wine to stuff a 16 kg turkey

awkward moment

meanwhile, Erin's setup crew

Roby, Marco E., Marco P., Aldo

our little artists get the party rolling

5:30pm the hungry folks arrive

6:00pm, Turkey di San Pietro takes center stage

and plenty to keep the people lubricated....

smiles with Matilde and Maria

Giorgio, getting ready to walk...

si mangia!

...about 70 of them

the Pasta Fresca family cues up

Ella's hungry enough to eat a bench...

upclose plating

applause to the chef!

bambini take the stage

turkey tan

Ella with her "anna"

Valeria's Panna Cotta

Cincinnati cupcakes

apple pie by yours trully

yummers!

RIP Turkey number 8.

Eat, Drink & Be Thankful

Gearing up for our 8th Thanksgiving in Pecetto. Thankful for all the friends who will be joining us, and thankful for all our friends who have been in the past. Thankful to our families, who are the reason this holiday is so special to us.

Tutti Santi e Tutti Colori

 This weekend was the perfect mix of fall. Halloween costumery, jumping in fall leaves on a sunny hike in the alps, passaeggiata to get burgers in Torino, and all this while Ella had some mysterious form of the stomach bug. 

Tinkerbell leaving glitter and pixie dust all over Pecetto

Our Tick-Tock Crocodile, Peter Pan, Captain Hook, and Tinkerbell

"Arghhhh!" and "you can fly!"

Witches in Never Never Land

Mommy heads to a Halloween Party, while poor Barney Rubble has to work.

The guy on the right is dressed as a "southern american"

Lovely day for a hike

Giorgio loves his new vantage point

Rolling down the hill, Ella obviously isn't feeling well. 

Cheese! and Polenta!

Back on the trail home, we get the a necessary boost from wild Thyme liquor

Shoulder rides.

Rolling in the leaves. Ella gets into it this time.

belgian invasion

Dear friends Ann-Sofie and Kris, (ex-torinesi) visited us this past weekend. They came back just in time for one of our favorite wine festivals, and with the excuse that they were running lowing on wine. Their little boy Emile is one month a part from Ella. Ann-Sofie and I had our baby showers together when they were still living here nearly 3 years ago. Their adorable 5 month old Juliette also tagged along. She almost never slept, but enjoyed the chaos around her, and the attention that big brother gave her, or Luca who would constantly check in on her, tickle her, and entertain her with toys. It was fun to reunite the kids now that they're old enough to play together, fight over toys, and all this in 3 different languages!

4 little monkeys jumping on the couch

Tractor model Ella, Emile at the helm, and Luca loading up the wagon

the Langhe, beautiful in the mist

Ella's belgian twin

curly heads in the tub.

Hip Hip for Poppie!

Poppie showed up for the last 3 days of our visit with Nonna. After 12 days of golf in Scotland, i think he was looking forward to some down time, little faces, and better food. With only 2 full days together, we opted to focus on good food, and good wine. First stop, Langhe wine country.

Last one off the plane, with his 50lb body bag (golf bag) trailing behind him

the kids sporting their scottish hats

pretty in cashmere

touring the Rivetto cantina with Signore Rivetto (Doc)

the original cantina

Serralunga D'Alba in paint and in the fog

Luca scales the Barolo castle wall

Poppie carving Luca's scary face

Cappucci time at Ristretto

Carmine & Piera treat us with 200gr of Truffels and Risotto, living like kings

Buon Appetito

Happy October! 

In the end, even Poppie ate shavings of truffel, Piera brought some cooked peas as back up.

It's always so fun to have the nonni here, but it also means we have to say goodbye. The moment always comes when the kids run across the hall to the empty apartment and realize that they really are gone. By now I should know that life is full of welcoming and goodbyes, but it never gets easier. The good thing, is in 2 short months, we will see them, along with the whole Ellingson clan, to ring in the New Year in the french Alps. Life's not too bad afterall.