From La Sposa to La Mamma

Yes, I know what you're thinking. I thought the same thing. From la sposa to la mamma so quickly! Well, it seemed that Mimmo and I finally got our honeymoon over Christmas & New Year's when we took a trip out west to my home- the great state of California. And, right towards the end...after the trip up highway one from Los Angeles through Santa Barbara, Big Sur, Monterey, & Santa Cruz. After Yia Yia's annual Christmas party where Mimmo was initiated into my big fat Greek family. After we cooked an authentic Neapolitan Christmas Eve meal with all the seafood trimmings. After the speed-through touring of all the bay offerings - the wine country, the s.f. ferry building, north beach, & the golden gate bridge. After all that...

We rang in the New Year and Mimmo's last night in California with a truly special night at Jill & Mike's home. It seemed the perfect ending to a perfect trip and a really beautiful & peaceful way to enter into the new year with good friends, good wine, and the most amazing seafood risotto that any of us had ever tasted (yep, Mimmo cooked it!). And, as Jill said "It must've been that risotto..." for we returned back to Italy a week and a half later to find that we were left with a little memento of our California trip. I found out that I was pregnant! And, according to the calculations, this bambino was conceived on that very night - New Year's eve! What a gift to start the new year! So, from la sposa to la mamma...here we go!