To romance

By: George Gordon Byron

Parent of golden dreams, Romance!
Auspicious Queen of childish joys,
Who lead'st along, in airy dance,
Thy votive train of girls and boys;
At length, in spells no longer bound,
I break the fetters of my youth;
No more I tread thy mystic round,
But leave thy realms for those of Truth.

Mountain moments

This cute little owl lives in a tree outside our cabin living room window! We've named him Scruffy. :)

AMERICA DAY THUS FAR:

• Apple cinnamon pancakes
• Jump started a car in our church parking lot.
• Wore an American flag shirt for 20 minutes.
• Finger-licking-yummy barbeque with friends.
• Sparkler photo shoot
• Considered celebrating our country by watching Abraham Lincoln slay vampires. 
• Canceled this idea. 
• Plans made with brothers to watch Mel Gibson show the British who's boss.

It was a terrific July day if I do say so! I hope you are also celebrating in your own way wherever you are! And by the way, if you have a chance to switch on NBC and watch the fireworks display that's happening in Manhattan, you won't be disappointed (: 

Twiddling my thumbs

Just waiting for the little bro to show up...
 
Bleh.

A casa

Let me just say it feels wooonderful to be back in Philadelphia.

Looking forward to a summer full of:

The people I love
Starbucks
Kayaking
Bonfires
Roadtrips to and from Georgia 
Visiting family in DC
Visiting friends in Chicago
Visiting godparents in Ireland
Walmart (it's crazy the things you start to miss when living outside the US)
Political debates
Glee
Pancakes

Oh, and a whole'lot'a Yankee games.

Cute watercolor by PAPERFASHION.

Why I look like a lobster

I'm not here. You didn't see me. If anyone asks, I'm studying for the huge exam I have on Monday. But first, I just want to post some pictures of how beautiful life has been here in Rome lately. Yesterday I spent all day with my visiting friend from Chicago, biking aaall around Rome. What doesn't come across in the pictures is how agonizingly hot the sun has been here.
That's it. Enjoy! And I'm off... (insert puff of smoke here)

We wanted to park our bikes like the mopeds ;)

    

Pringle Lips

Last night the air was warm and sticky. Did that keep us from the beach? Eeeehm no

Our favorite statue
pondering the infinite.

Peace and Goodness in Assisi

I am one lucky girl. I spent ALL Sunday in Assisi with 3 friends, climbing its stone walls, frolicking though its hazy fields of olive trees, and daydreaming on its medieval rooftops.

I didn't take any pictures. My camera's been out of battery, which has been tortuure, but at the same time I think it has been good for me to just sit back and appreciate the beauty of what I see instead of obsessing over the perfect shot.

Luckily, Assisi has not changed a bit since 2010. So I hope these pictures from my last trip inspire someone to go!

Dear Rome...

...Stop it with the cuteness already.

Brucia, brucia, brucia

'The only people for me are the mad ones - the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn, like fabulous yellow roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars."

-Jack Kerouac