so much to say

Well I havent been able to update in a while because Luciano and I have relocated to our new apartment!! We found a small place in a great location of milan (porta venezia) It makes it much easier to get around and the area is very alive with plenty of things to do. I couldnt be more thrilled. For being in such a great area and practically new, the price is a steal (for milano) So recently I picked up a few jobs to help pay for the apartment (and for a little pocket money hahah) One of those jobs, is modeling ( i recently got my first editorial job!! with janet sport) I mostly run around the city and go to castings and go-sees, in the evening I tutor a young girl who just moved into the area from london. Then once a week, I teach private english lessons to two middle age Italians who need english to improve their career. Its tough constantly "on the go" but I really enjoy the work.

Last monday I had a casting in Rome for a movie (who knows if i got the part) but I did have enough extra time to explore the city. Before that I worked at Cosmoprof in Bologna, where I had my hair cut and styled on the runway (that was a first haha) (crappy link)

A few days ago the book that I was illustrating for finally came out!! I am so thrilled to hold my hard work in my hands. I will have to make a speech on the book in a month or so because there is a presentation. Ill try to have my sloppy Italian phrases documented. haha

Luciano is busy too, he is studying hard for his exams and finding an internship or possibly even work as a psychologist. Busy as our lives are, we are learning to take time out for ourselves- like walking to the park, going out for coffee, and making dinner together.

This past weekend Luciano, his family, and I went to their cabin in the northern part of Italy for a ski competition (of course I didn’t enter ahah) We had a great time (it was so cold) and ate wonderful fresh food. Lu ended up winning in his age group! (congratss)

OH! Soon enough will be our one year anniversary!! Time just flew by huh? Lu and I are planning on renting a car and spending a long weekend in the tuscan hills while staying in a bed and breakfast farm. I will definatly have to upload pictures of tuscany.

Now that I have the internet I'll have no excuse not to update anymore.


Im finally what i always wanted to be.
a pokemon trainer!!

thanks for following my blog!
xoxoxoxo
amanda jane

Lets hear it for the boys

Happy Valentine's day!!
This year I decided to make it all about Lu
Of course i made him a card and all that
but the best part was the surprise breakfast in bead!!
I used heart shaped cookie cutters to create
a heart shaped oatmeal pancake with strawberries on top
i got a recipe online for a greek yogurt parfait
with hand made granola, dried fruit, berries, and honey.
fresh squeezed orange juice and a large cappuccino.
I have to say he really enjoyed the american-style breakfast
(good thing i made seconds)

other news,
Luciano and I are relocating to finally have our own apartment,
with my new job we will bring in more cash and lus parents are going to help us out too.. its time for us to really start living on our own
We are very excited!!
we will move into the new place in a few weeks,
Ill have to upload pictures after we unpack

keep following
xoxoxoxo
amanda jane

what's goin on

well not a lot of events.. but i thought id update anyways

good news:
luciano is doing great with school!!
studing all day (at least 5 hours non stop)
and he has been awarded with a 30+ (A+)
in his latest exam in philosophy of the science in the contemporary age
wooo go lu!! he has a few more exams coming up so it wont be for a while
until we can relax.

bad news:
my job hunt has been pretty lame-ish though
lu and i have been looking for work for me
(all over italy) and we havent gotten anywhere it seems.
wish me luck!(gulp)
so we have been looking into me continuing my studies
this was the work i did for the company


good news:
the book that i illustrated for is coming out soon
and i have to prepare a speech at this presentation for it
its going to be in italian and lu will help me with it
(ill try to convince him to tape it so you can see me!!)

more good news:
well since lu and i aint got no money in the bank
we need a job. and fortunately our jogging every-other day
and not eating anything yummy is paying off
a few agencies are interested in us
we have the meetings with them this week!!
(ps elite said no, turns out we are both 3cm too short to do runway
lovvveee it)

so really not a lot of excitement at the gregoretti-givens house
but hopefully something will come along
keep following
xoxoxo
amanda jane

top it all off

the last days of the year 2010 finished wonderfully
Luciano and I took a trip to the italian alps in sauze d'oulx
there we stayed at his dad's cabin and spent
the days with his little brother and sister
I had my first skiing lessons and did pretty well
so hopefully one day (after a few more lessons)
ill be able to ski on my own!
we stayed only a few days but had a lot of fun,
lucianos dad drove us directly home to milan
and lu and i were finally able to spend time alone
our new years consisted of a wonderful four course meal
(that luciano made for me)
and relaxing in each others company with a glass of champagne
it was pretty easy but just exactly what we needed
thanks for following
xoxoxoxo
amanda jane

that time of year

christmas cooking!
since luciano just got back from thanksgiving
he was "inspired" by all of the new foods he tried
mostly from the giant pumpkin pies
so on lu's day off we decided to make some american desserts
lu tackled the pumpkin pie
and i had to make decorated christmas cookies for him
they turned out pretty great!
we shared them with our friends and family
which enjoyed the new tastes as well

ill upload the pictures of our triumph













xoxox
amanda jane

fair play

Yesterday Luciano took me to a fair in the center of milan
it was cold, rainy and crowded but still really exciting
we walked through the tents set up in the streets
they sold many different things from hand woven baskets
to hand made coconut treats!
it was nice to get out of the house
even if its into the cold weather
but i bundled up nicely in an old vintage fur coat
(my sister still insists that i smell like a grand mom when i wear it hah)
when we finally got home lu cooked a wonderful meal of orange salmon
get my omega 3s in my diet (dork)

xoxoxo
amandajane

snow way

the first snow in milan this year (that i got to see hah)
the weather is pretty cold outside which has turned lu and i into genuine hermits
which is okay i guess since lu had some hard core studing to do,
and i really needed to actually sit down and use the italian book lu bought me
instead of using the excuse that watching the tv helps me learn
ehhh

oh yeah and my eyes are healing up great!! you can barely tell that i had the surgery just a few weeks ago!!

besides that, there is really nothing else to say
i hope everyone is enjoying their december weather!