Italy 2019

Montepulciano where they filmed "Under the Tuscan Sun"

It's been years since Bill and I took a long trip just the two of us. Over the years, we have had a few little getaways and left the kids, but because we always wanted to take Morgan and Dylan on great adventures, we took them with us on most of our vacations.

They are both in college, so we decided to take a trip to Italy, just us two! We packed so much into this trip and walked between 15-20 miles each day. Our journey began and ended in Rome where we definitely did some of the touristy things. We visited the Colosseum and Vatican City where I stood in awe of the Sistine Chapel. We took photos in front of the Spanish Steps and threw a coin into Trevi Fountain. We ate lots and lots of food and drank wine and had gelato and quite a bit of espresso.

On this subject, I offer advice to anyone who has never been to Italy... don't eat at the touristy spots! The best Roman cuisine is found in the neighborhoods where Romans eat. If you are walking along near Vatican City or Spanish Steps and there's someone outside the restaurant trying to lure you in to eat there, don't go! And if that person is super good-looking and it's only 6:00 (real Italians eat after 8 p.m.), run! Our favorite meal in Rome was at a neighborhood called Trastevere which is a bohemian area with a super funky vibe. We stopped in to have pasta and we ended up sitting in this adorable restaurant for almost three hours where no one was speaking English. We returned to this neighborhood a couple of days later to eat by the river and listen to live bands. A young and fun crowd of Italians sat on the steps of Piazza di San Calisto and I wish I could have stayed forever.

As much as I enjoyed Rome, my favorite part of this trip was Tuscany. I had never been to Tuscany and had always wanted to go. We went via bus and made a few beautiful stops in Umbria on the way. We visited and toured Montepulciano, a medieval hilltop town surrounded by the most beautiful vineyards I have ever seen (no offense to Napa, but Italian vineyards are perfection). This adorable town is known for its vino nobile red wine which I must say was delicious. We also visited Montalcino for wine tastings and some seriously delicious pasta. And one of my two favorite gelato spots was found in a town called Pienza.

About gelato... so many of the gelato shops are fake crap. If you find a gelato shop and notice that the gelato is fluffy and super colorful, that's not your place. You want it to be fresh and natural. You know that bananas are not yellow, right? So if your banana gelato is yellow, that stuff is fake. There is a really great gelato shop not far from Trevi Fountain in Rome too. In fact, I might have liked it just slightly better than the one in Pienza. If you're ever there, it's called Gelato di San Crispino.

Now, sadly I'm back in Fort Worth, Texas, but I plan to recreate Italy in my kitchen. I will begin with Tuscany because I'm in love with it and the food there is like a taste of heaven. I found a site today to help me with this task and I hope things go well. I did bring back some wine from there. This one is Brunello which kind of likes to compete with the Vino Noble. I liked them both.

Italy, I know I'll return because I threw that coin into Trevi Fountain. Until then, thank you for the warm welcome and the beautiful time to escape. L'Italia è bellissima.

Walking through Montepulciano

Winery in Montalcino

Another Montalcino winery

Colosseum

Vatican City in the Papal Palace

A Visit From Morgan

The most beautiful and amazing young lady on Planet Earth came to visit this weekend. My daughter, Morgan (AKA Conchita), drove up from college and my heart was so very happy. This momma misses her kiddos so very much.

Although we no longer live in The Woodlands, the only home my kids have ever known, it really made me happy to hear Morgan continuously say "I'm glad to be home". Fort Worth is home now. It didn't really hit me until our house was finished and we moved in. Being in that apartment downtown, waiting for the new Casa Crews to be built, made it feel like the move to Fort Worth was fake. It didn't hit me until we moved into our house that this is now home. But I worried that the kids would not think of it as home. They have never lived here after all. But now I know this is definitely home for us all.

The weekend was filled with watching great movies, playing Scattergories, and eating lots of great food. Here are the photos and recipes (including a fabulous chocolate martini):

Chocolate Martini Recipe

1.5 oz Godiva Original Chocolate Liquor
1.5 oz Crème de Cacao
0.5 oz Vanilla Vodka
2.5 oz Half & Half
chocolate syrup

Mix all ingredients in a cocktail shaker filled with ice and shake well
Rim the chilled martini glass with chocolate or swirl in the glass
Pour martini in and enjoy!

Breakfast Quesadillas

Ingredients:
Flour tortillas (I use the small street taco size)
Grated cheddar cheese (or Monterrey Jack or any Mexican cheese)
Crispy bacon (I use turkey bacon)
Scrambled eggs (I make sure these have plenty of salt and pepper)

Instructions:
Place one tortilla into frying pan
Layer with cheese, egg, bacon and then more cheese
Place second tortilla on top and cook on about medium heat for about 2-3 minutes
Flip over and cook an additional 2-3 minutes

Serve with salsa, sour cream, sliced jalapeños, avacado, etc.


Other greats we enjoyed this weekend included spaghetti and meatballs, baked Ranch chicken, and some seriously delicious guacamole.

Thanks for coming to see me Conchita!

#casacrewsfortworth

WD-40!

Now, don't go believing all the myths. WD-40 will NOT cure arthritis. WD-40 does not contain fish oil (don't believe the lie that you can catch fish with it). It does it contain silicone, kerosene, water, wax, graphite, chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs). In fact, it's a totally safe product with more than 2,000 uses.

WD (Water Displacement) 40 (40th formula) was developed in 1953 by the Rocket Chemical Company and founder Norm Larsen, as a degreaser in the aerospace industry. You can read the full history here.

And if you want to know the tried and true uses for WD-40, check out their site here.

Casa Crews Fort Worth

We have been moving since June! When we decided to make North Texas our home again, we had no idea that it would take us so long to figure out where to live. For months now we have been in corporate housing (although we have been paying for this ourselves, so it's been "fun" throwing money away every month).

Honestly, living downtown and being able to walk to Sundance Square or hop on our bikes to ride down the Trinity River to grab a bite at Woodshed Smokehouse, has been a blast. Being downtown has been convenient for Bill who works downtown and has the best commute ever. There is a lot of action and much to do. But we are beyond ready to be done.

It took a while, but the new Casa Crews is built and we're moving in. The neighborhood is a master planned community with some great amenities. Miles of hiking and biking trails that lead straight to the Trinity River, a private boat dock (we are on the lake), fire pits, beautiful pool, and my favorite part of all, the neighborhood herb garden from which I will pick fresh herbs any time I please.

It's all very pleasant, but there is something missing. Well, there are two things missing. Their names are Morgan and Dylan. It feels so strange moving into a new home without my kids. I still have their stuff (most of it, anyway), but I don't have them. Dylan will be here for most of the summer and of course, I'm setting up "their rooms", but this Casa Crews will be missing two of the most important Crewses in the world.

We are in our act two. We can do this. And I'll be back once we are all moved in and cooking our first meal with some of those fresh herbs.