the balcony scene

loyal waves crash touch

laughter-- pull away with faith--

to return once more

::

and other times life sneaks up like a huge wave knocking me down, throwing me far off course and leaving me there to see the beauty that exists but just out of reach...

all year long i thought the waves that would touch me this summer would be in maratea italy with all my friends to celebrate the marriage of two dear friends maria teresa and christophe.... but headaches and instability in this life of mine left me ashore. maria teresa and christophe have their wedding today and i won't be there.... au moins, later this week my norwegian friend will arrive from the wedding to california to give me the full report over kaffe. but i won't be in italy today and there was not question in my mind, i planned to be there for them. but life has crashed down on me multiple times since then.

and you may remember a little website we were making together for their wedding.. ya... it's still sitting there.. with one entry {ooops}. perhaps we can turn it into an online guest book / photo album for those who were there in person and in spirit. still can't think about missing their day, it makes me too sad.

dear friends that live so far that oceans get in the way and physically divide us, but at the same time, could never keep us apart.

these are photos from the last time i saw mt and chris last spring in paris. last farewell glimpses taken from the window of a train after years of friendship, two weeks of just-like-it-used-to-be, and this lovely afternoon spent in the sunny garden of their versailles house....

::

i'm not super sweet on wedding inspired stories, but their story is simply perfection and cannot be overlooked. two of the most genuine, generous, fun, funny, sweet, adorable, charming, vivacious, delightful people...

literal sunshine in my life and over my rough oceans.

you guys have brightened my life. and i'm not just saying it, i really really mean it. i wish you all the happiness. but it's been there and will be, it's already written for you.....

footprints trace those in

smooth sands deep that time will tell--

the hours-- yours to make

::

love to you mt and chris
et a tres vite j'espere...
bisoubacikisses
x c

{the first & last photos were taken in maratea italy and i absolutly love them :: by design monkey}

blogging amoreeeee.

remember the italian wedding i was talking about a while back?
well here they are, literally too cute for words,



my italian friend maria teresa and my french friend christophe




they're getting married this summer in maratea, italy, the
beachside village where maria teresa spent her childhood summers......



this is not only a destination wedding, but a destination to which friends will be traveling from all over the world ((yes, this is the group of friends i love to talk on and on about...we all met in paris over the course of about five years..a lot of stories to be told....)) anyway, since this destination wedding is a big deal for so many of us, i took cue from maria teresa's lively emails loaded with information on where to stay, what to do there etc.... and offered to make them a wedding website. this is common practice in american wedding culture ((not that i'm an expert, but i've noticed a trend..)) largely on account of the wedding industry i assume, however in this case, i really thought it could be beneficial, and fun. and after trying to figure it all out, i decided that with a group as social and socially networked as ours, a blog format would be the most exciting format to present the information, post photos before, during and after, and for everyone to interactively follow the path up to the day. a sort of gradual guest book/journal if you will. and an easy way for both mt and i to post from different continents.

and thus i'm on my way, creating it and gathering info, i will share more when i know more
((or, i guess, when i've done more)) but think we're gonna have some fun.

ciao bellas, c

still thinking about italy!!

alla luna

O graziosa luna, io mi rammento
Che, or volge l'anno, sovra questo colle
Io venia pien d'angoscia a rimirarti:
E tu pendevi allor su quella selva
Siccome or fai, che tutta la rischiari.
Ma nebuloso e tremulo dal pianto
Che mi sorgea sul ciglio, alle mie luci
Il tuo volto apparia, che travagliosa
Era mia vita: ed è, nè cangia stile,
O mia diletta luna. E pur mi giova
La ricordanza, e il noverar l'etate
Del mio dolore. Oh come grato occorre
Nel tempo giovanil, quando ancor lungo
La speme e breve ha la memoria il corso,
Il rimembrar delle passate cose,
Ancor che triste, e che l'affanno duri!

to the moon

Now that the year has come full circle,
I remember climbing this hill, heartbroken,
To gaze up at the graceful sight of you,
And how you hung then above those woods
As you do tonight, bathing them in brightness.
But at that time your face seemed nothing
But a cloudy shimmering through my tears,
So wretched was the life I led: and lead still ...
Nothing changes, moon of my delight. Yet
I find pleasure in recollection, in calling back
My season of grief: when one is young,
And hope is a long road, memory
A short one, how welcome then
The remembrance of things past - no matter
How sad, and the heart still grieving.

g i a c o m o l e o p a r d i

translated by eamon grennan

eccitazione!!! emozioni!! excitement in the air....

My charming, vivacious and ever-so bellaaaa Italian friend Maria Teresa and her equally as charming French boy Christophe are having their wedding this July in Italy. This morning I received an enthusiastic email detailing some info for the event. Immediately if not sooner the festivities played out in my head, dancing with the color and laughter and rhythm, the intermingling of languages and energy that inevitably comes alive amongst such friends.



Suddenly I was inspired to write about it and all of this before I'd even had my coffee. And I intend on writing much more.....actually not quite sure how I'd go about stopping myself. Until then, here are some photos of Maratea, the seaside village of Maria Teresa's childhood memories, where the festivities will take place. It seems to be situated right about where the bottom laces of the boot might cross....


ciao!!!

c