"Did the whole place for forty seven dollars" -Ted

Oh Ikea... how we love you!

After watching Ted, we realized it was time to go to Ikea...

Seeing as how Ikea is Swedish, there had to be some around here! We found it a few days ago, but they were closed for an Italian holiday. Cayman says they need to broadcast these days so we don't waste time our precious American time by going into public on them (everything is closed!). So we made our way back to the beloved Ikea after shopping around online and picked up a few things for the house.

A fake Persian area rug! Cayman looked at real ones at a market, unknowing of the price... come to find out they're about $3,000 for a small one! We'll stick with Ikea's!

And so it begins...

Cayman- hard at work!

We both are tired of throwing our jackets and coats on the ground of on door handles, so we figured we'd get a coat rack! How European of us!

We picked up some posters in Rome and again in Paris. Finally framed and ready to be hung!
We finally have an entertainment center! Before it was just: TV on the ground with a pile of cords next to it. This looks so much nicer!!!! 

While Cayman was slaving away on the entertainment center, I made dinner! Sautéed chicken with Italian herbs and olive oil and yellow rice and black beans for sides! 

We picked up an area rug, a coat rack, entertainment center, coffee table, end table and three large poster frames for around 350 Euro! The house with be complete by the time I leave!

Christmas has come and gone...

It's now the 28th of December and Christmas spirit has come and gone! We didn't do much this year since we (me) are wanting to save money (aka I don't have any). Next year, we'll have a nice Christmas with lots of gifts under the tree since I'll have an awesome new income!

Cayman scored and got me the Chanel perfume I've been drooling over! Fancy, Fancy! He said he couldn't remember which one I liked, so he smelled them all and picked which one he liked! He even called it "Grown Up Bree." Always nice to have a man with taste and one that likes what I smell like! I picked out a few things for a couple's photo-shoot I want to do. I got a cute matching bow tie and suspenders set from H&M here in Italy and an American Apparel jacket that he desperately needed!

We decided to just fill stockings, which was an easy way to keep cheap (kind of!). I ordered our custom stockings on Etsy.

Sorry for the picture on the ground... I managed to put away all our decorations today!

Preparation

67 days until I arrive at Basic Officer Training in Alabama. Just enough time to do INSANITY 60 DAYS! I feel like a spokesperson for their product, but after day two, I am feeling it. 

Day one was a basic (yeah... okay!) fit test to see where you are and to begin your chart for progess. After waking up the next morning, I almost felt like giving up. Then I realized I actually am doing this for something VERY important. I am doing it for me... but I am also doing it to prepare myself for the physical torture I will endure in training. 

(and who doesn't want a bangin' bod in the winter!)

Day two, Plyometric Cardio Circuit. Once again, Insanity, you have made me drip sweat. I thank you for that. 

Here are a few pictures after my workout and maybe to help me gage my progress. 

The Great Outdoors!

Being outdoors is something we both love and I am eternally grateful for that common denominator! We've gone hiking, rock climbing (I attempted), and just general explorations of where we live around Italy.



We spotted this guy on the road when we were heading home. This is a spotted salamander, they normally live in wooded areas and come out when it rains a lot. This was the first week I was here and it rained a lot! He was rather creepy and walked similar to an alligator.

[caption id="attachment_300" align="aligncenter" width="200"] Hiking in Dardago[/caption]

We hiked to a climbing area in Dardago. When we got there we found this pooch patrolling the cars, we thus named him Brutus. Brutus followed us all the way up the mountain, effortless climb for him, extreme death climb for me.







 

In my attempt to be in shape, I promised myself that I would run down the mountain every day. Well, I've been here a month and a half and I've done it... twice.

So this is what the end of the run looks like! Then I had to run/walk back up the mountain to our house, which is only about a mile and a half, but the incline is really steep.

Life in Italy

Well, it has been almost a month and a half since I've been here in Italy and I absolutely love it! I love being with my husband, I love being in Italy, I love traveling all over Europe, I love making new friends, I just love it!

I flew in from JFK in New York to Rome, Italy. I was supposed to fly into Venice (which is an hour south of where Cayman lives but the flights were all booked). So Rome it was! After flying to South Korea twice, this flight was a breeze! There was more turbulence, but I obviously made it okay!

My experience in the Rome airport was rather disturbing... I felt like everyone in Italy was allowed to carry guns freely and got many weird looks since I was sitting in the same spot for over 6 hours.

Once we got back to Aviano, which is where he is stationed, we relaxed and met up with some new friends! It's weird meeting people in real life after knowing/talking to them on Facebook for months.

[caption id="attachment_293" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Took this the first weekend I was here in Italy, we live on this mountain.[/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_295" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Hiking up the mountain, find out this is why the road has been closed.[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_296" align="aligncenter" width="201"] We went to Lake Barcis (which is a glacier fed lake) with a few friends! It was too cold for this Florida girl![/caption]

[caption id="attachment_294" align="aligncenter" width="206"] Stopped off the road to get some PDA in.[/caption]

Lake Barcis, Italy

Life After College...

I officially graduated from USF in Florida in August of 2012!

I officially got my career job on September 10th, 2012. Not too shabby, I'd say!

I have been in application process since April of 2012 for a position in the US Air Force. It has always been my back up plan, until recently when it became my only plan. To think about the future was something I did often, always applying for jobs and sending out resume packages. Being one of the younger graduates at just over 21 years old, I was looked at in a different way, almost like I was rushing the "growing up" process.

At the end of April, I went to the recruiter and began my application process into the United States Air Force. This was a long, tedious process lasting until September 5th, when the results were supposed to be announced. To say the least, they weren't. On September 10th, after following a blog more then I'd like to admit, my recruiter called with the good news! I got the job. It is a flight position (aka I will be in a plane) called Combat Systems Officer. This was mine and Cayman's dream come true. We are now a stable couple with stable incomes!

Moving on... Cayman and I tied the knot on August 25th and it was amazing. I'm sure everyone says their wedding day was but mine truly was. Great friends and family from both sides came together as one, with some rough patches here and there, but it was still a beautiful day!

Here are a few pictures from the big day (and a few from the honeymoon), enjoy!!

[gallery orderby="ID"]

DIY Wedding 101

I am pleased to announce... a few weeks late... that Cayman and I are getting hitched!! August 25th, of this year!

I wanted to write up a few blog posts about our wedding since it will be done in two months! Wednesday the 25th of July marks the one month point and things will be getting CRAZY!

So far, I've been crafting a lot! I have been on Pinterest more than I'd like to admit and Etsy.com even more! I was never really into Pinterest until now, but I see why people are addicted! There are so many GREAT ideas out there!!

Here are a few of the things I've made to make our wedding personal and to keep me busy during the summer!

Enjoy!

Wedding Date Banner. Made with burlap and card stock, connecting each with twine.



Monogram K for Kidwell. Card stock with buttons (navy for our color).

Thrifted old lace napkins and used embroidery hoops to create vintage pieces to hang from the trees!

Thrifted for $3.00 silver serving trays and purchased chalkboard paint at Joann's for I believe $6! EASY and CHEAP chalkboards!

Mason Jars galore! I used lace material to tie a pretty vintage bow around the jars for cute and easy centerpieces!

Stole this idea from Brides magazine! I am using a hand-me-down birdcage for card holder and made burlap letters that says "Cards."

Thirfted this old trunk for $18.00 to put wedding favors in! We ordered bottle koozies and program fans!

ETSY IS MY WEAKNESS! I ordered all the bridal party's flowers from NH Creations on Etsy. They are dried flowers!

Appreciating Nature

Once in a while, we need to go to a river and launch a kayak into the glistening waters. It really is a relief to know that we still have the capability to do this, being a university student, I can rent a kayak for a mere $5.00, so there is no excuse to not do it more often. It was a beautiful day out on the Hillsborough River, in Tampa and I managed to kayak for the whole allotted two-hour time slot. I snapped a few shots of the river and my feet, these pictures are always so cute.

(baby gator!)

Lessons of the Day:

Guys like hitting on girls that are kayaking alone.

Where there is a baby alligator, there is a momma alligator.

Nature is beautiful.

Future

Graduating in 60 some days and now I have to start thinking about getting a real job. 
Oh the real world! 

Applications sent to:

NBC Universal for: Public Relations Rep., Human Relations Rep., Social Media Rep. 

Participated in a MTV Made Casting Call! Maybe I'll get that, wouldn't that be exciting! I opted to be "made" into a Fashion Intern at NYLON Magazine. It's only been my dream since mid-highschool age. I never really read magazines before then and this was the one I picked up when I did. Love the collaboration of New York and London style. 

I'm still planning on moving to Italy for at least 90 days, since my passport will allow that! But we'll see where I end up afterwards! Maybe I'll be a Mrs. and I'll stay there...or maybe I won't be and I'll come back and get a big girl job! 

WE SHALL SEE.  

but for now, I will drink.

South Korea pt. 2

A few months late, but here we go...

I was in South Korea from December 15 until January 7 and it was one of the most amazing trips of my life. When I visited in May, it was summertime, not too hot, but in December it is completely different. I arrived on December 16th after an 18-20 hour plane ride around the world, leaving from Orlando, Florida to San Francisco, California, then into Incheon, South Korea. The plane ride over the Pacific Ocean is always the weird one, 12 hours of constant chatter from the person next to me really makes the trip. In May, I was stuck next to an over excited little boy who had obvious had too much caffeine for his age and made those 12 hours of my life probably the worst ever. This time around, I was next to a 24 year old Texan, who was relocating to teach English abroad in Seoul. It was interesting hearing about his pre-adventures and what not and I gave him some good tips since I had been to Korea once already. I got to the airport and went through all the securities and what not and then BAM! REUNITED!  Cayman was there waiting for me, like the perfect boyfriend he is! We had coffee at the airport, then left on a shuttle to the hotel which was on the oceanside. He booked the "Executive Suite" and online it seemed VERY nice, but of course it wasn't what they offered, but it was still very nice! Heated floors and a big jacuzzi bathtub.

We had dinner there and left the next morning after breakfast to head back to Songton, which is where the Air Base is.   My dinner=Beef Bulgogi and Rice

Isn't he so handsome???

When we got to base, we unloaded all my crap and met up with some of his friends. I've met most of them when I visited in May so it was like a great reunion. I love those boys, they're all so unique and hilarious! I was reunited with his small dorm room, that we'd be sharing for the next three weeks. I felt like I was back in freshman year again. We went downtown and got some kebabs, there's a small Turkish place called Mr. Kebab that has these great bites! DELICIOUS!

The next three weeks were full of hanging out inside and outside, we didn't travel around as much as before because he doesn't have a lot of leave to take since he took off time in May and August when he came home. So we made due with the weekends! Around base, there are lots of shops with just about everything you could want. Fake purses, McDonalds, paintings, clothes, EVERYTHING! I only ventured out twice while he was at work, because 1. it's really cold out and 2. i was scared. Haha! I'll grow some when we get to Italy, I'm just a Nervous Nancy!

I know he LOVES ME <3 <3

There is a market downtown, where all kinds of people come around and sell a variety of things. This woman was posted up on a corner selling vegetables and fruits. PDA is not a big thing in South Korea, so we had to keep it PG on the Subway! I can't help it, he completes me <3

Another thing I loved about going off base was...

PUPPIES!!!

Cayman tells me that they sell these puppies for food, but SERIOUSLY?! Who could eat these cute little babies! And they were expensive! Like 300,000 WON which is roughly $300 USD. I asked the guy selling them what their breed was and of course, he didn't know.

 It started snowing the second week I was there and until I left, it was great! I haven't been around snow like that before so I would play around in it when we walked outside and I could tell I was annoying Cayman, but he just doesn't understand! I love the snow. Its fluffy, white, pure feeling, I could just eat it up!

and i did...

We went snowboard on Christmas Eve. How perfect. I've never been before, but Cayman has. He told me too not wuss out and ski, so I was a big girl and opted for snowboarding. Hardest thing ever. I feel more time then I can count. I bruised my tailbone. IT IS POSSIBLE. And it hurt so so much! Cayman laughed when I showed him, it was pretty sick.

Our Ski Pass

Waiting our turn on the ski lift

Being cute on the ski lift!

THANK GOD I splurged and bought these boots, end of story!

Lugging these things around=strong ankles

I don't even want to talk about it... This is the toilet.

We went to dinner on Christmas day with a bunch of his guy friends and we played dress up! It was so cold, but I still tried to look nice! So, this is us in the cab on the way to dinner! We ate at a Brazilian Steakhouse, where they bring you a lot of meat. The best part=dessert=grilled cinnamon pineapple. DELICIOUS!

We went ice skating at a place called the You and I Center. I'm going to relate it to our YMCA type of place. It had pools, ice rinks, work out rooms and a daycare/school. We tried to find it one night after he got off work, but they had already closed. So we tried again the next day. We skated for a couple of hours, getting blisters and meeting cute little Korean University girls. They wanted to hang out with us on New Years, but we already had plans. They loved my red hair and pale skin.

We had to wear these stupid helmets, I think only because we were American!! Jerks!

Christmas Day! I got Cayman a pair of nice Diesel Jeans and some other clothes and small things, we HAD A LIMIT! And he surpassed his...

This is me, being super dumb and excited for my new MacBook Pro. This is my Christmas present, Birthday present, and forever present. He's too good to me!!

We ate at an Italian restaurant downtown, it's weird eating around there because they try to be multicultural. It's rather funny.

They had a cute set up, cute artwork and chairs. It was very "Vintage"

A face!

I'm so blessed with an incredibly gorgeous boyfriend!

My last request was to visit a Dr. Fish pedicure salon. This is an odd practice that is mostly illegal in the United States because of health codes, but it's tradition and something you HAVE to do in Asian countries. They have a tank with these weird fish, called Dr. Fish. They are actually  two species of fish: Garra rufa and Cyprinion macrostomus. They are small fish that eat away calluses on your feet, it felt like little vibrators on your feet. Weird but so cool!

That was an end to a perfect day. Cayman really didn't want to go and his friends were making fun of him for me asking/begging to go. They said it was disgusting and we'd get an infection, but WE DIDN'T! I loved it, it was a great bonding time and we did something fun together that we've never done with anyone else-that's what I love about it.

I love doing new and exciting things with Cayman, I love traveling with him and seeing the world. I cannot wait to get to Italy! Its about 100 days from now and I'll be boarding a plane to live in Italy temporary with the love of my life.

I left Korea on January 7th, I started Spring semester the next Monday, talk about hitting the ground running!

It was a great trip, yes we had our trials, but doesn't every one!? I love him just as much as I did before and that'll never change. He holds the key to my heart, forever.

Next stop: Aviano, Italy - June 11th 2012