Monday, March 30, 2009

Ciao Bella

Well it seems that my declaration that spring had sprung was a bit premature. I should have known better, I am not a rookie with Illinois weather, I have lived in the Midwest for many years and yet I went and assumed that spring had finally sprung.


My husband Jim and I drove up to Chicago this past weekend to attend the much anticipated wedding of my good friend Dianne's oldest daughter, Emily,to a young Italian man named Simone. The couple met when Emily was studying in Italy for a year. After several years,and many late long distance calls later, Simome asked Emily's dad for her hand in marriage. (so traditional)

Simone and Emily

The weatherman had predicted snow of up to six inches... but we assumed (there is that word again) that they were wrong. We drove up to Chicago on Saturday morning and arrived at the hotel at about 12pm. Perfect weather, perfect timing. I was able to change my clothes and catch a breath before the 3:30 ceremony. After the ceremony we went back to the hotel for a little while and then on to the reception.

The picture below is a photo of Dianne and myself...... (My husband Jim is off to the side keeping time with the DJ.)

Everything was so perfect and there wasn't a dry eye in the place.
Jim and I had such a great time visiting with old friends and meeting new ones. About twenty of the husbands family were able to attend the wedding and we so enjoyed meeting them and trying out our Italian. ( a very short conversation but every word was followed with a hug and a kiss..love that!)


Jim was helping me with my nose above, just as my sister-in-law took this picture. Thank goodness he fixed it for me. Whew!

After such a wonderful day and evening, imagine my surprise when we woke the next morning to this beautiful sight. Yes, I said beautiful!!!!!!

So I am reminded again, that happiness comes from within (another duh, I know) ...and no matter what the weather is or what other frustrations might enter my life, if I feed my soul on a regular basis with love and laughter, I will be able to handle any hurdle that might cross my path.

Ciao Bella!!!

22 comments:

  1. Wonderful photos and thoughts!!!!!

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  2. I LOVE these photos! You and Jim look like such a great pair, and that photo of Emily is just as joyful as a bride should be.

    I like to think that the city dressed in white in honour of her special day--very pretty!

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  3. Kay D;

    Thanks so much for your great comment!

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  4. Susan;

    I loved your thoughts on the City dressing up in their honor. What a perfect tribute!

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  5. I really loved seeing photos of you and Jim of course but it was extra fun to see a photo of Dianne, too! Wow! It's been such a long time. Please tell her I said, Hi. Do you know how Nathaniel is? He and Jon used to be good friends.

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  6. Kay;
    I thought that you would love to see Dianne again,she was so happy that night.
    Nat has a girfriend and might be the next to get married.
    I remember the three musketeers on their first day of preschool!

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  7. Beautiful photos Peggy. I love a wedding and have never seen a bride be anything but beautiful. I also love Italy and Italians too. you look gorgeous as usual and its so good you have a lovely man to fix your nose - now that does come in handy. Have a great week!

    Oh and the snow picture was postcard perfect!

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  8. Ciao lilly;

    Thank you for your wonderful comments. I love weddings too and the Italians just put the icing on my cake.
    Oh gosh the cake, it was delicious. Chocolate with whip cream frosting between each layer. Yum...
    Jim kept eating my cake. I love him very much but I draw the line at sharing my cake!
    You have a great week also.
    Ciao Bella!

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  9. Ciao Peggy! What a great post! Marvelous photos! What a fun time for you and Jim and I'm so happy for you! There is just no one like the Italians! Loved my visit there many years ago. Enjoy!

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  10. Ciao Bella to you too Sylvia;

    We did have a great time. The grooms pareent are having two additional receptions in Italy in May. The Mothers is first and then the Fathers is the next day. The parents are divorced and the father is remarried. Sounds like fun to me!

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  11. Hi Aunty Peggy, Just wanted to drop in and say, "HI!" Totally agree with you on the snow. I was in denial too and woke up to KC telling me it was snowing. No really?!

    KC still loves playing with the dinosaur remote. Thanks! Tif

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  12. Ciao Tif:
    ( I'll get over my Italian phase soon)

    Denial is the perfect word for my feelings on the snow.
    I am so over it for the season.It did look pretty and clean and it melted here pretty quickly. I wish that all the snow would do that, Be clean and leave quickly!
    I'm glad that KC still plays with dino.
    Nice to have you still living here in the midwest with me. A kindred spirit.

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  13. A wedding for me this weekend, too. Snow in the mountains here, cold rain down below. I wan to go for a walk!

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  14. Standing ovation for getting a man to a wedding that is not his own. :) Hubby declared he would be present at ours, but wasn't really interested in watching others. At least he's still here. ;)

    Looked like a lovely time, even with the sugar coated trees...we keep getting rain. As a pollen sufferer, I find that beautiful in it's own way. :)

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  15. What a wonderful wedding! We are supposed to be up to 79 Sunday here in the Deep South! I am looking forward to a glorious weekend, and I am going to plant my tomatoes.

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  16. Julie;

    Wow...79,.... it's only in the 50's here, but I'm sure not complaining!
    Have a wonderful weekend. I can almost smell your tomatoes!

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  17. Hope;

    Well it was a little bit of a struggle to get him to go at first, but once he was there, he had a great time!
    I wish that he would remember these "good times" so that it's not a stuggle at all!
    I'm a dreamer, I know! Never going to happen that way.
    Rain washes away pollen....I like it too then.

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  18. Linda;

    Have a great time at your wedding!
    I highly recommend them,had so much fun that I'm still singing some of the songs that were played!

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  19. Peggy that is such a lovely piccie of the bride and groom, so full of joy. Has anyone ever told you that you have more than a passing resemblance to Diane Keaton?

    You woke up to a similar sight to us Saturday, only we had 25 inches, did you see the piccies on my blog further down?

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  20. Ciao Sarah:
    I did see the pictures on your blog. Just didn't catch that you got 25 inches.Ours was gone by the next day, I doubt that yours was...sorry!
    BTW Congrats on your new Visa status.
    My friend that saw my picture said the same thing. wow!

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  21. Hello Peggy! I loved your photos... especially the one of your husband "fixing" your nose. Lol! Thanks for visiting my blog. I'll be posting more photos of our Hawaii trip soon!

    Debbie

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  22. Debbie;

    Thanks for visiting me too. Love to meet new friends.
    I'll be back to your's to see your photos for sure.

    Thanks again!

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