It's hard to believe, but it’s been a year since I last posted on this platform. And three years since I picked up a paintbrush and started creating art again. In that time, I feel like I've lived multiple lifetimes, and it’s probably time for an update.
After our time in Hawaii, Jon and I moved to Washington, D.C. I landed a job at Compass Real Estate in Arlington, Virginia, and spent seven months working there. D.C. quickly became one of my favorite places. We lived in Rosslyn, just across the bridge from Georgetown, and biked over religiously to say hi to Abe and grab a latte at Compass Coffee.
During our time there we were planning our international Italian wedding. I’ll need to dedicate a separate post to that, as well as to Italy itself. If there’s one thing Jon and I excel at, it’s research—ask us about Italy, for Americans, we know it well.
The wedding was a true dream come true. We had both of our families along with a few friends there to celebrate with us. After the trip wrapped up, we headed back to D.C. for a brief two-week period before making our big move. With six suitcases and Franki we boarded a plane on July 15th, bound for our new home country: Albania.
(right off the plane, seeing Albania for the first time)
It’s hard to believe that we've already been living in Albania for six months. Time has flown by, and in that time, we’ve embraced every adventure this place has to offer. And I’ve been painting—often, and a lot. It’s been an incredible creative outlet during this time of transition, and I’ll be sharing an update on my latest works soon, with pieces available for purchase.
What I love about Albania so far: The people are welcoming and I always feel safe and at ease. The food is inexpensive and dinner out can cost less than $25, including appetizer, entrees and a local bottle of wine. I love shopping for fruits and vegetables. Everything is cheap, organic and incredibly fresh. The weather here is wonderful. It is just now getting a bit chillier, but it's mostly sunny and clear. Living here we have easy access to flights all over Europe. Just a few weeks ago we flew to Italy for a $18 flight. We head to Vienna Christmas markets next week!
Looking forward to continuing this journey and sharing more updates along the way! More to come!