S'mores Halloween Costume

This year we decided to be S'mores! I am the Hershey's, Clark is the Graham Cracker, and Knox is the marshmallow! I actually was planning on doing a different DIY costume this year but that other one was a little too intensive and this one was way simpler and I had almost everything on hand to make it. Besides doesn't Knox just make the cutest marshmallow ever! 

DIY Costumes: 
Marshmallow
-We used a 'king size' pillow. King size meaning it is longer than a normal pillow and wrapped it around Knox with some tape and velcro.

Graham Cracker:
- Two cardboard pieces measuring about 30 in x 30 in.
- A permeant black marker to draw on the dots and dashes.
- For the straps we used Heavy Duty Duct Tape. We taped the tape together so it didn't actually stick to us and then tapes and stapled (for extra support) to the cardboard on the inside.

Hershey's Bar
-Two cardboard pieces measuring about 25in x 50 in
-Dark brown paint  (cost me $8.00 for a pint, paint here in Italy is expensive)
-Letters
      -I found the correct font that is used on the Hershey's Bar and made the letters 11in tall in Photoshop and I printed one letter per regular piece of paper and cut them all out and used double sided tape to stick them to the cardboard.
-Straps same as above: For the straps we used Heavy Duty Duct Tape. We taped the tape together so it didn't actually stick to us and then taped and stapled (for extra support) to the cardboard on the inside.

We wore this costume to Trunk or Treat and it was great. I love doing a theme with my car if we do trunk or treat so this year it was camp fire. I painted a campfire and we got actual firewood and marshmallows and acted like a real fire. Unfortunately, no dogs were allowed at this event so we couldn't bring Knox all dressed up in the marshmallow but people still got the idea. This was going to be our only costume this year but sometimes I just can't help myself. Did you see our costumes from yesterday? HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

love, Carlee

Forrest Gump, Bank Robber, and a Beanie Baby

Hey all! My favorite holiday is Halloween. I just love it. Since we just got to Naples, Italy a few months ago we don't know lots of people so I was worried that our Halloween would be fairly low key. I basically just want any excuse to dress up in costume and be festive on holidays. There was a trunk or treat placed which is the first costume I came up with, which I will be sharing tomorrow. And then on Wednesday, Clark said there was a family fun run that we could dress up for and bring Knox. Clark had to go so I was like this is perfect. So I scrambled  a little bit and came up with these costumes which turned out wonderful! I just couldn't help but do Knox as a beanie baby. I am sure you have seen that super cute dog as one floating around Pinterest. Also Clark won a 4 day weekend pass because of our costumes. That means he gets Friday and Monday off when we decides to cash it in and we can go travel somewhere! Definitely worth it! 

Forrest Gump running version
-We had the beard from last year from Clark's Castaway costume. (bought on Amazon)
-We had the hat from Clark's Forrest Gump costume last year. (bought on Amazon)
-Clark already had the shoes and white socks
-Had the red soccer shorts
-Bought the yellow polo from the NEX for $11

Bank Robber
-Leggings, tennis shoes, and shirt I had.
-Clark's black had and gloves
-Bought the mask for 1 euro
-We had the Nike bag, I just flipped it around and printed a $ sign and taped it on the bag.

Beanie Baby
-Cardboard heart (we still have a bunch of cardboard boxes from our move so I used those to cut a heart)
-T Y. I found the correct font online and printed the letters out at home.
-Red paint I already had.
-Used doubled sided tape to tape on the letters.
-I used a zip tie to secure it to Knox's collar.

These costumes all combined cost $12. I only bought the yellow polo and the mask. I kept the mask and put it in my Halloween bin, I am sure I will get more use out of it with a costume in the future. And Clark actually likes the yellow polo and it going to keep it to wear. So a win win win and didn't waste any money. I like when costumes are cheap, creative, obvious, and fun! 

I have another family costume I will be sharing tomorrow! 
love, Carlee

Naples National Archeological Museum

This was actually a few weeks ago (read like 2 months ago haha) we went to the National Archaeological Museum in Naples.  We actually took the metro from Aversa Centro which is about a 30 minute walk from our house all the way down to the museum metro which is right outside the Archaeological Museum. So it was really cool we got to do the whole day just using public transportation which was nice because it's a headache to drive downtown Naples and it's also kind of expensive to park at the airport and take the bus over. It's doable I mean you could do it but this was kind of fun because we paid the five dollars for there and back and we got to see some of our lovely town as well but it's nice to know that we can hop on the metro and get to downtown Naples.

The archaeological Museum is very cool it's definitely worth the trip. Make sure to check when some exhibits are open or close there were some things that were closed when we were there but we did get to see the secret room. The secret room is kind of all of the naughty inappropriate stuff that they found at Pompeii there are lots of penises and sexual stuff but definitely worth it to go in and see some of the stuff. The obviously were very comfortable exploring their sexuality. Or maybe they just kept all the sexual stuff in a secret room haha.

We did get to see the sundial room which was awesome and their was an exhibit in there as well. There were these gold leaf crowns and just a really amazing stuff that they found at Pompeii we actually haven't been to Pompeii yet (I have now, yeah late on posting these) but we did the museum and we done now Vesuvius so now the next stop is definitely Pompeii. There's also lots of replicas because of Greek statues these replicas are very very old and made just a few years after the originals and they were found at Pompeii and other Roman and sites but they are like the Romans replicated Greek statues I guess that's a better way to put it. There is a lot of the museum that isn't even open and I don't think even has exhibits in it I'm so they're definitely could be more to it but it's pretty good for what it is. A lot of the artifacts are from Pompeii and Herculaneum so if you are into the Italy history and archeological it is definitely worth it. It does cost 13 euro and I don't have any recommendations for parking because like I said we took the metro.
love, Carlee

Grape stomping

This outing is from September 3rd! Ahhhhh so long ago. - We did another USO tour which is a company on base that does tours and stuff around the area and we first did the Amalfi Coast tour with them. This one was for grape stomping, grapes harvesting, and wine tasting and included lunch at this really cute little vineyard at the foot of Mount Vesuvius. There was three dates for the grape stomping on the one we went to was on September 3 and the ones later in September were adults only which I would definitely recommend doing that adults only. We were on one with kids which is fine but there was way more kids than I expected but we couldn't do one at the end of September because we are going to the United Kingdom and Ireland. It was still a lot of fun and we got a grape stomp and we did white grapes because the guy said that if we did purple grapes that are feet would be blue which I was kind of disappointed I was like I want my feet to turn blue haha. But they don't not make wine that way anymore it's more for like a fun tradition for nostalgia and it was a really good time and that's how people originally did it .

This venue does make their own wine and you can only get it at their Vineyard so it's very cool it's very exclusive a lot of people we know that are in Italy and some of her friends are actually collecting wine to take back to the states with them when they go home. So we were like they would totally love this place you can only get this Italian wine at this place it's like so exclusive. Lunch was also amazing, they brought us tons of wine to taste and kept filling up our glasses. Not going to lie we were a little tipsy by the time we were done. We had great cheese, bread, pasta, and also a really yummy 'cheesecake' type dessert that I guess is traditionally made at Easter but now in Naples they make it year round because so many folks like it. We love Italy! 
love, Carlee

Gates of Italy v. 01

A new feature here on the blog just randomly found itself. There are many pretty gates and doors here in Naples, Italy. If I am being honestly mostly gates because thievery is high here in Italy so people have a double layer of protection between their house and the road. Anyways, here are the first nine gates of this feature. These ones were actually all taken around my neighborhood. I love taking Knox on walks and still do. We are getting used to the narrow street with no sidewalks and sometimes I get side eye glances as the only blonde within 500 meters but thats okay we enjoy ourselves tremendously. 

I love the bright teal gate and the gray arched gate with the pink and orange building. I took a couple of these gate photos back in September like the one of the giant red gate and I have been walking around the last couple days and for the life of me, I can't remember where that red gate is. I know it's somewhere close to my place but I can't seem to find it. One of these days it will sneak up on me I bet. I also love love love the mustard color tiles around the old wood arched gate. We pass it everyday on our way to and from base and I love it. They sure do know how to do a color gate and building here in Italy or at least Naples! I already have a new stash of gate photos. Getting the best ones ready for next time. 
love, Carlee 

Rock of Cashel, Kilkenny, Wicklow

Love this photo. It was the last photo that I took on my big camera and I just love Clark's beard. 

Last photos from our Ireland trip! We saw Rock of Cashel and it is truly amazing. We went on the free tour that was provided and it was so information. Myth has it that if you wrap your arms all the way around the stone and can touch your figures on the other side, you will never have a tooth ache again. Clark can do it, (see the photo above.) Another myth is that if you can jump all the way around on one foot then you will get married within a year. 

We also stopped by Jerpoint Abbey and we had the whole place to ourselves for a while which was awesome. Ireland is so full of history and charm. And the last two photos are from Wicklow National Park. We made a quick stop there before heading back to Dublin. Ever seen the movie P.S. I Love You. Well they met in Wicklow National Park. 

Okay, that's it for now. We loved Ireland. So many nice people and pretty murals. Great food and good drink. Dancing, laughing, tours, museums. Many many sheep, but also pigs, horses, geese, goats! I am basically an animal whisper now. Jk they mostly hated me. 

love, Carlee