August Recap and Our Engagement Story

I'm back!! After a very exciting, eventful August, in which I took a (much needed) blogging and social media break, I'm back in Rome and to a hopefully consistent posting schedule.

This summer was crazy for a variety of reasons but it was also amazing. We spent plenty of time around Rome and its nearby beaches, I got to see my family after 10 months away from the States and my FIANCÈ proposed to me while surrounded by my family. It really couldn't get much better.

Today I'm sharing that whole story along with some photos from the amazing 2 weeks we spent stateside.

Our trip was initially supposed to be 3 weeks long but it had a bit of a delayed start due to our standby airline tickets. My awesome flight attendant friend was kind enough to give us a couple standby tickets for a Rome-Boston flight, which would've been significantly cheaper than buying tickets full priced. Unfortunately, many airlines in August and the summer months overbook their flights and so we had a very low chance of ever boarding a plane because of the lack of seats all around. It wasn't until we switched over to Alitalia that we had any luck and eventually got our trip underway.

After the craziness of a week spent in the airport, we also decided to rent a car and drive up to Maine where the rest of my family had rented out a house for the week and arrived at 4am the next morning. While it wasn't the easiest trip, the amazing coastline views, fresh seafood and uninterrupted family time completely made up for it.

Most of our time in the States was spent at home with my family, catching up on doctor's appointments and running errands but we also made a trip down to Nantucket to see my grandmother (hi Nina!) for a couple days and enjoyed the foggy, rainy weather on island more than anything after the insane heat in Rome.

I also get in plenty of time with my dog who is just the sweetest ever and was kind enough to make sure I got daily workout in with grueling sessions of fetch.

Food included all the Mexican, Chinese, and American breakfast I could get. I managed to stay away from all pasta and pizza and got a nice break from Italian food. However, we did host a family meal where Edoardo and I made everyone (11 people total!) the Roman classics of carbonara and amatriciana. With some imported guanciale, pomodoro and pecorino, it was as authentic as we could make it and everyone really enjoyed the meal. The chefs were a *bit* stressed about timing the two pastas simultaneously and measuring ingredients without a scale but we managed to pull it off and were told it was a success.

At the end of a very low-key trip, we planned a family dinner and forced by Mom to get a family photo together for the Christmas card. Now, family pictures are not the easiest for my family and we've had many breakdowns over the years during these shoots. Basically the goal is to get in, take the picture, and get out as soon as possible without anyone killing each other. So you can imagine my surprise when in the middle of one of these picture sessions, Edoardo hops in the photo and then, surrounded by my whole family, gets down on one knee and proposes. While I was too shocked to say anything at first, my sister Rebecca started screaming and my brothers backed away like he had the plague. After I said SÌ and we took all of the necessary pictures, we went out all together to trivia night and celebrated by losing miserably. It seriously was a magical day and I am so grateful that he decided to propose with all of my family around and have them be so involved.

Fast forward a week and we're back in Rome! I have the Italian wedding of my dreams to plan and some very happy (almost) in-laws. When I do start the planning process, I'll be sure to keep the blog updated with my progress for anyone interested in doing their own Italian destination wedding or who just wants to sit back and watch me attempt to plan everything in a different language.

(For more pictures from our trip, click to the right on the carousel above)

Thanks for reading! Are you all caught up with La Vita Roma? Take a look at one of my most popular posts recently, my take on a Trastevere food tour, or finish out the gelato season strong with my favorite gelato spots in Rome, or if you're just planning your trip to Rome, check out my guide to 72-hours in Rome.