What a week of strange weather all around our country! Sometimes I feel a bit guilty sharing beautiful sunny photos of Phoenix. However, when others are under snow and in cold temperatures, I am hoping my photos are uplifting and a reminder that Spring will eventually arrive. Another Saturday Meanderings is here where we talk about new and exciting things this week.
Pizza from Italy
Italy is one of our favorite places to visit and there is nothing better than eating pizza there. Often we found a cobblestone alley restaurant serving wine and food, loving the ambiance of this country.
Did you know you can actually order pizza from Napoli, Italy? From the website of Talia di Napoli, “We’re bringing authentic neapolitan pizza straight to your door. Each one is all-natural and completely handmade in the heart of Southern Italy.”
The pizzas currently come in an 8 pack and you can select the type you like. My order consists of 4 Margherita and 4 Primavera pizzas. They are very well packed and frozen when they arrive. And you get 10% off on your first order. Price-wise they are less than our local pizza shop.
We tried one for lunch this week and you can definitely taste the wood-fired flavor. I believe I over-cooked mine a bit and next time, I would add additional toppings. But all in all, it is so fun to get a pizza directly from Italy, where we have so many fond travel memories.
For more information on Talia di Napoli, click here.
Local Farmer’s Market Find
Since COVID, I have not been going to the Farmers Market as often. Right down the street, the Uptown Farmers Market is really one of the best. And it is so well run, especially during COVID.
Since I am in an apron many hours a day, I did treat myself to a new one. One of the market’s vendors, Aprons by Lee, has a wonderful selection. Lee loves fabrics and hand makes each apron. The pockets are lined and she will make custom aprons too.
Aren’t these cute? One for me and one for my dog-loving daughter.
Dreaming about a Vacation
Has anyone taken a river cruise? Highly recommended by my friends, Sam and Melody, I am investigating a potential Christmas Markets river cruise at the end of this year. It is a cruise down the Danube and stops in places like Vienna and Budapest. Prices seem fairly reasonable right now. Hopeful that travel will open up later this year, I may just take the leap!
Tablescape Photos
My neighbor’s granddaughter is in town for a few months and she is helping me with some aspects of the blog. We did spend a few hours one afternoon, playing with different table settings. I cannot wait to show all of them to you, but here is a preview.
The soft blue Indian block tablecloth is again, from my friend, Darviny from @dayswithdarviny. Red Swiss polka dot paper placemat is from Hester & Cook. I am trying to step out of my comfort zone and do something other than a white tablecloth. The dishes are vintage Brown Westhead and Moore Cauldon bowls from England and a gift from my friend, Sandy.
Computer Glasses
Lately I notice my eyes seem to get tired, especially after a long day on the computer. This week and a visit to my eye doctor, we discussed getting computer glasses to relieve eye strain.
Since I do wear one contact lens in my left eye for seeing up close and one lens in my right eye for seeing far away, I did order new computer glasses. The prescription will change in only one eye so I can do up close work on the computer, and be tinted for blue light protection.
Not inexpensive, but we only have two eyes and it is important to care for them. Once I receive the new glasses I will let you know if they improve my eye strain.
Spring Will Come
No matter what is happening in our crazy world, nature is a constant reminder that life goes on. Here are some photos of things that are reminders that Spring will come~it does every year.
A Big Heart
My middle child, our daughter, Julianna is an animal lover. Even as a little girl, she rescued birds that fell out of their nests and I remember finding a a pigeon residing in her room. Sigh.
As an adult, in addition to working full time, she fosters rescue dogs. This young woman has a gift. She will get a dog who is scared, unwanted, or abandoned, and then provide them structure, shelter, food and love. Within a short period of time, it is amazing how these dogs transform.
Her latest foster, Peaches, is one of a kind. We are hoping our neighbors adopt her as I am growing rather attached to this sweetie.
Blog Updates
I have been working on a re-design to the blog website, but naturally having technical difficulties. In order to fix them, I may be down for a few days some time in the future. But hopefully I will be able to give you a heads up beforehand.
Again, I cannot thank you enough for all the support, kind words, recommendations, recipes and thoughtfulness you have shared with me. It always warms my heart to hear your stories of something that inspired you from my blog.
With that, I wish you the best of weekends. It will be a gardening one for me as it is time to plant the Spring beds.
Be safe, be warm and most of all, be healthy!
Tanya R Lochridge says
First…give your daughter a big hug and thanks from me for fostering rescue pups, working with them and helping then to have a a great life in their forever homes. It’s a really tough thing to do; but when it all goes right, even with all the tears, the pay-off is wonderful. Sending thoughts of your neighbor welcoming Peaches into their family — that way you’ll be able to see him. Pizza from Italy! I’m such a nerd; my first thought was how do they transport it packed in dry ice by air. Maybe I’m stuck in the dark ages when you could not air-freight anything with dry ice! But that aside, what fun! In ,my last few years living in NYC, I was exploring and planning on moving to Venice to further my study of jewelry making. Somehow life had other plans so here I am still longing for an extended stay in Venice. I do so enjoy your Saturday Meanderings — I love seeing your life there and all the beauty that surrounds you, natural and man-made. Thanks for sharing.
Just a side note: good luck with the revamp of your online store. I may have a suggestion for you…I have had my online jewelry store for three thousand years and I am still really happy with it. Let me know if you might be interested in learning more…happy to share the goods!
Chloe says
Wow, pizza right from Italy, that would be pretty fun! I know how you feel about having different weather than what you hear what is going on in the rest of the country. I have been enjoying some cooler weather here in Florida….well, for Florida standards!
Nancy S. says
Yes! River cruise! We did the Viking Nuremburg to Budapest a few years ago for our “big” birthdays & it was great. Can’t wait to do another. We’re doing it again in Oct. 2022 on Avalon as a chartered concert cruise. Same start & end but different stops in between. If you have a choice, go Nuremburg to Budapest, not the other way. 2 reasons–1) it’s downstream, so less time is spent moving the boat & more time at port & 2) Budapest is so beautiful that it would be anticlimactic to end in Nuremburg. Not that Nuremberg isn’t wonderful, but not as spectacular from port as Budapest is. Our cruise ended up with a late evening cruise just up & down the river; cheese & bread on the upper deck, with all the lights–the city & bridges are all lit up! And like Sylvia, we want to do the Douro; hopefully in the future!
LA CONTESSA says
AHHH ITALIA!
WHAT A GORGEOUS FAMILY!
I WAS LUCKY ENOUGH TO LIVE OUTSIDE FLORENCE, ITALY IN THE EARLY 1990’s……….
I BEING THE AMERICAN did not want to come HOME!
THOSE ITALIAN S have the food and FAMILY LIFE DOWN!
LOVE THE CATS NAME!
THAT IS THE NAME OF MY CHIROPRACTOR!
Chas Greener says
Wow-what a trip! I know you built some amazing memories and those are the best part of traveling with family. I love reading your Saturday adventures, great finds, and wonderful reading. Thank you for sharing.
Mary Crozier says
Chas, keeping our fingers crossed that we all can safely travel again soon. Thanks for being so generous with all your comments and help!
Debbie says
Awe, I love peaches cutie I’ve been thinking about thise glasses also, let us know. Yum pizza from Italy would like to try that !! Have a great rest of your weekend
Mary Crozier says
Debbie, yes, I will definitely let you know if the glasses work. Plus my eyes seem a bit red lately too. Hopefully they will help. Talia di Napoli makes getting the pizza very easy so hopefully you try it! Thank you and have a great weekend too.
Barbara at Mantel and Table says
Mmmm – Pizza from Italy – how fun!! My mom used to go on river cruises a lot, and she loved them. I bet you’d have a great time, there are so many good ones out there!
How sweet of your lovely daughter to foster rescue dogs – Peaches is adorable!
Good luck with the technology, and Happy Saturday my friend!
Mary Crozier says
Barbara, how fun that your Mom went on river cruises. This will be our first, but just being together with family in a completely different location will be very fun. And we will celebrate Scott’s big birthday we missed last year and his 2021 birthday. Have a wonderful weekend, my friend.
Sylvia says
Hi Mary,
I did a Viking Christmas market cruise (looks like the same itinerary) with my mother, sister and daughter about five years ago. The markets were quite difficult for my then 85-year-old mother to navigate with the huge crowds and cobblestone streets, especially in Vienna and Nuremberg Also, in December the sun rises at about 8 am, sets at about 4 pm and its very cold, so no enjoying the scenery from the deck with a glass of wine in hand. However there was plenty of time for onshore exploring and the onboard experience was great. I enjoyed it so much that when friends asked us to go with them on the same cruise in May we signed right up. Unfortunately, that trip was postponed due to Covid.
We took a credit and are using it for a river cruise in Portugal this coming October (fingers crossed). We still intend to do a warm weather Danube cruise with our friends sometime in the future.
Mary Crozier says
Sylvia, I wish we could go down the Danube in the spring or summer, but we will be celebrating my husband’s big birthday in 2020 and another in 2021 ( a two-fer!). With two working adult children, the holidays are the best time for them to take time off of work; plus our college sophomore will be just over finals. It will be cold, but such a treat for us who live in Phoenix with moderate weather. Your trip to Portugal sounds wonderful and yes, I am keeping fingers crossed that we all can be traveling the world again soon. Thank you so much for the information.
Patricia says
P.S. Please keep us informed about Peaches. She looks precious.
Mary Crozier says
Patricia, Peaches is such a cutie-pie. I will definitely keep you posted!
Patricia says
I adore river cruises and can hardly wait for my next one. I have cruised on Uniworld several times and highly recommend. When deciding, you need to look thoroughly at the day itinerary. Some are better than others and give you the options which could address you interests.
My first cruise was on the river Seine in December, so we did have the Paris Christmas market which to me was too commercial. I hear that the Danube cruises are best for Christmas markets.
My absolute favorite river cruise was Tulips and Windmills in early spring which was full of interesting day trips, including Keukenhof Flower show. I felt dropped into Flower Heaven and took the option to stay all day. You can not do that flower show justice in a half day session.
Once you have traveling by river and been so well pampered, it is hard to travel otherwise.
Keep in mind that the Christmas market cruises are pretty much just Christmas markets every day due to the time of the year. I would be happy to answer any questions from my email if you want.
Bon Voyage!
Mary Crozier says
I’ve never been on one and it is very exciting to be planning some travel….finally! Thanks for offering to help with questions. Just starting the process so there is a lot I don’t know.
Thank you so much.