My Packing Progress

Here's a video on my beginning stages of packing! It's still quite a mess but I thought it'd be fun to record my progress. Enjoy!

Ciao, Erica

Surprise, Surprise!

Yesterday evening my wonderful Mom planned and hosted a surprise party for me! Yesterday marked the one-week point until my departure so it was a perfect time to celebrate :)

Robbie and I had been hanging out all day and I was told that the two of us and my parents were going to go out to dinner that evening all together. Robbie and I got ready and drove up to my parents house, were I suddenly noticed an unusual amount of cars parked near my house. As we got closer I started to recognize a lot of the vehicles and realized something had to be going on. I turned to Robbie and he just started smirking. 

It was so much fun! There were friends from school, work & family friends there with their kids and neighbors. It was such a fun group of people. My mom made delicious food (like she always does)! And I had such a good time. It was a beautiful evening and I was happy to be able to celebrate with everyone, one last time before I embark on my 4 month trip.

THANK YOU, MOM for the wonderful party :) You are such an awesome hostess & Mother xoxo

Ciao, Erica

 I love the band The Weepies and while listening to their song Hideaway I noticed a lot of the lyrics remind me of myself and my upcoming trip. For example..

I'll make my own way
In the wide world
Just know I don't want to wander too far

&&

I try to be honest
I try to be kind
And honestly leave when I know that it's time
I know that it's time

 Also, the music video is so cute, so I thought I would share it :)

 

Ciao, Erica

Two Weeks

Two weeks from today I will be on my way to Italia! (Technically it's two weeks from tomorrow, but when I'm really excited about something I tend to round down days). 

Since my departure is so close, it got me thinking about saying good-bye to friends and family while I'm away for four months. This didn't really hit me until I had to say good-bye to one of my favorite families that I babysit for. I babysat for them on Thursday and they will be leaving to go out of town soon and so we will not be seeing each other again until I return home in December. 

The girls I sit for are Katelin and Sheridan and they are SO adorable! (Once you see pictures of them you'll know why it was sad for me to say good-bye). I have been babysitting for them ever since Katelin was born (She's almost 4 now) and I love hanging out with them :) 

They also LOVE my iphone & taking pictures with it, so I have some really cute shots of them :)

They are going to grow so much over 4 months while I'm gone. I'm excited to see how big they get :) 

I'm sure there will be another sappy post like this one with pictures of my parents & friends that I will miss. I know it's only four months, but there's so many people I'll miss! I'll make sure to take a lot of pictures these next two weeks so I can do a post on all the amazing people I'll be thinking of while I'm away.

Ciao, Erica

17 More Days

I can't believe that something that I have planned for almost two years now is finally just DAYS away!

It's so hard to grasp that in just 17 days, just over two weeks, I will be on my way to ITALY!! I have so many emotions running through me. One minute I am smiling ear to ear thinking about all the fun I will have while abroad, and the next minute I'll be sick to my stomach with the thought of doing something so different and so unknown. 

I wanted to create this blog to show everyone what I will be going through, leading up to my trip, while I am abroad and what will happen once I return home. I thought this would be a good way to remind myself of all the wonderful adventures I will be going on. ("Inspiring Destinations" if you will). 

I will keep you all posted on the craziness that will be my next two weeks. Shopping for last minute things, packing and so one. Stay tuned!

Ciao, Erica