I’m aging. It’s a little weird to think about that, but it’s true. I no longer have patience for certain things and my priorities in life are changing. Along with that, I’m realizing that good friendships really are hard to find and it is important to grow the good ones and leave the unhealthy ones as fast as possible.
We just had our anniversary! 11 Years of friendship. To some it may not seem like much, but to me it is a LOT. I met Adrienne when I started working at the National Ballet of Canada. One day, when there was a massive North American power outage, everyone in the office walked home, including us….together.
When I moved to Italy, she printed me every single email exchange we had ever had over the course of our friendship, in a book format. It remains one of the best gifts I have ever received. She’s an archivist, a virgo and a new mom with a panache for jewelry and home decor (her Pinterest is AMAZING btw)!
Changes
When I got pregnant with Zeno I definitely noticed a huge change in a few of my friendships. Women I thought were close to me disappeared, but not all of them…..
Gillian (you’ve met her, she’s Canadian and lives in Rome!), and Adrienne have remained. Through the mommy-friends “dating” process I’ve also met some incredible ladies who are now some of my closest friends, even if I can NEVER finish a conversation with them.
Friendship interrupted.
I’ve gone ahead and filed this post under Chiacchiere, which means Chit Chat in Italian. Fare due chiacchiere, is what one friend would say to another when they want to chat with you to see how your life is going. Now that Adrienne and Gillian are both moms we usually chat when our kids nap, because when they are awake conversations go like this:
“So how are you d…….. don’t touch that. Please don’t put that in your mouth. I would like YOU to NOT put that in your mouth, PLEASE. Did you hear what I said? This behaviour is unacceptable……
What was I saying? Oh wait, were you saying something?”
wash. rinse. repeat.
The Friendcation
There’s no better way to stay connected with friends than to go on vacation together. Provided everyone has their own place to sleep (if you are going away for more than 3-4 days!) and freedom to follow their own schedule!
Adrienne, Paul and their new baby Polly met up with Marco, Zeno and I in Copenhagen for a family friendly vacation. In two weeks of physically being in the same city, with our husbands to help with the kids, we were able to chat (if only briefly,but often) and its made me realize that vacations are the perfect time to reconnect with friends.
The Reason We Dressed
We managed to find a lot of moments to be together in Copenhagen even though we were both also doing our own things. We managed to fit in walks,coffee breaks, museum going, lunches, dinner’s in, dinner’s out and even a road trip to see some Vikings.
This afternoon was passed in Copenhagen’s Kastellat, a fortress that once protected the city and is now frequented by tourists because it houses the famous statue of The Little Mermaid.
What We Wore
The first time I ever stepped into PreLoved was with Adrienne in Toronto’s Queen West district. Adrienne is wearing a Pre Loved sweater, and for those of you who have never heard of the brand, they salvage used clothes, take them apart and then sew them back together in new designs.
I have a few Pre Loved items from “before they were big”, now they are making international waves and are loved by celebrities and fashionistas alike.
The brand is NOT CHEAP, with a reworked sweatshirt costing around $120! But their efforts to reduce clothing waste make for very imaginative designs and you can often find them on sale to!
Their physical location in Toronto is GONE, which makes me kind of sad, since one of my favorite memories was going in and trying on clothes with Adrienne, then deciding not to buy anything since it was too expensive! We did, however, go shopping in Copenhagen!
Have you ever gone on vacation with a good friend and their kids/family?
Have you noticed that your friendships have changed since becoming a mom?
Blogging Questions!!
I’m happy to announce that I have readers and they ask questions!! I usually get a few emails a week, but this week I’ve received a ton of emails from readers including people who are coming to Bologna and Modena, people who read my review of the Francescana and want to know more about the food scene in Modena AND a friend and reader wrote to me about her recent dilemma with her wardrobe.
I LOVE getting emails, and will work on posts to provide answers to the best of my ability, or put together a list of resources of other bloggers who can help!
I usually only work on the blog from about 5 am to 8:30 or from 1 am to 3, so even though it may take me some time to put together a response …..it is coming! Thank you for your continued support, I’m so happy I started Reasons to Dress and that someone out there is enjoying it!
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