Our First 24 Hours in Firenze, Italia

Our first 24 hours in Firenze, Italia has been an absolute dream come true and a very surreal experience. Practically everything we do and every place we go is all for the first time.

Here is a quick tour of our house, a walk around Firenze, grocery shopping, visiting the local flower shop, making our first dinner at home and hitting the club!

Thank you to everyone who has believed in us, supported us and helped make this dream become our new reality.

My 30th Birthday Weekend

I'll preface this post by saying that I've never been one to make a big deal about my birthday regardless if it's considered a milestone birthday or not. Brandi on the other hand is the complete opposite and would never let me turn 30 without doing it right. Originally, we were supposed to be in Italy and knowing her, she had something already planned. Since our departure was delayed, we made the last minute decision to head to Las Vegas for the weekend to watch the NASCAR races. 

We headed out mid-afternoon on Friday to beat traffic and although it was my birthday weekend, work still had to be done. Luckily I'm accustomed to working on the road...literally. 

It's not a Vegas trip for us unless there is documentation of some bed jumping. Oddly enough, this is the same hotel we stayed at a few years ago when we went to the NASCAR race. 

 

As we were walking through the MGM, we found out that Tabu allowed guests to enter for free and girls drank for free from 10-11pm. That obviously meant that Brandi was getting drinks for the both of us. On top of all the beers we had already had, we got smashed. Let's just say we woke up the next day not having any idea how we got back. BLACK OUT. 

Saturday afternoon was spent at Las Vegas Motor Speedway courtesy of John Pangilinan for the NASCAR Nationwide Series race. As you can see below, we were in good company.

Something that caught my eye during the race was that #3 Austin Dillon was in the pit at the same time as one of my favorite drivers, #88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Years back, I actually worked with Austin and his team since the company I worked for was his primary sponsor. Very happy to see him doing so well. Sometimes I get reminded of where I started and where I am now without even realizing it. Time sure has flown by!

   

I mean...I don't think I really need to explain this. It's so full of awesome.

She needs no introduction...she's my everything! #Blicious

After we got all cleaned up, we decided to go get married again. Getting married in Las Vegas has been on list of to-do's and since it would be the last time we'd be there for a long time, it was a must. Took a bootle of Veuve to the dome right before we left. 

        

I can honestly say that getting married in Las Vegas was a pretty exciting thing for us. The entire time we were there, we couldn't stop smiling, laughing and just being B'Squared. A Little White Chapel will always be a place we remember having so much fun. 

   

The drive home was anything but boring. I know that's hard to believe when it's typically spent being hung over, tired and stuck in traffic for one reason or another. We ended up getting stuck in some gnarly traffic because of an accident. Before we knew it, we made the decision to follow a bunch of other cars who had gotten off the freeway, drove over a bridge and into the desert. There was a service road about 10 miles long filled with hills, bumps, ditches etc. I'll be honest, there were some fairly sketchy times where the traction control light was going bonkers and a wheel or two were off the ground. Definitely the craziest drive home from Las Vegas that either of have had. 

On Monday, my actual birthday, before we went to dinner, Brandi got ultra creative and taped 30 balloons with 30 things she loves about me. Who knew there were so many??? Given our living situation at the time, I really have to hand it to her for pulling this off. Not to mention, a beer cake? I'm not a big cake lover but c'mon, what's not to love about that? After that, she took me out to our favorite sushi restaurant, Shiki Sushi. On order was this massive beer pitcher just for us...but mostly me. 

Although I am not big on the attention that birthdays bring, I just want to thank Brandi for making my 30th everything I could've wanted all in a single weekend. A Las Vegas getaway for the two of us, an awesome hotel room, 2 NASCAR races, great dinners, clubbing and getting married again all made for a birthday that I'll never forget! 

Florence In A Nutshell

Over the past several months as Brandi and I have been preparing for our big move, I've tried to find as many articles, videos and any type of review about Florence as possible. Although we feel plenty comfortable learning about the city, the people, the culture etc. as we go, we're trying to gather as many resources of information and tips as possible. I suppose you can never be too prepared when moving across the world. At the same time, there are certain things that just need to be learned as we experience it. That's all part of the fun!

There has been plenty of sleepless nights where Brandi wakes up to find me reading The Florentine at odd hours of the the night...or morning. The fact is, there's never a time when we aren't thinking about Italy. The Florentine is an english speaking monthly newsletter packed with all sorts of goodness about the city. Everything that they write about has definitely added some reassurance for us and excitement. We really don't know much about how the city functions and what it has to offer outside of the few days we spent there so this helps give us some insight on what else we can expect to do, see and eat.

I've also found a two part video titled 'Florence In A Nutshell' that walks you through the city with explanations of the most popular sites to see depending on how much time you have available.

For anyone planning on visiting us or just wants to see where we'll be for the next few years, I suggest checking these out as they've been very resourceful for us so far. It's also helped us find out about other places that are nearby and can make great weekend getaways. As awesome as Florence will be, there's a growing list of places we can't wait to visit. 

As the last few weeks for us here in the states wind down and we continue to check things off our massive 'Italy To-Do List,' we still pinch ourselves and wonder how we became so lucky. 

Every now and then, the stars align

Boy and girl meet by the great design

Could it be that you and me are the lucky ones

[Lana Del Rey - Lucky Ones]

In other news, we are going to pick up the only other girl Brandi will ever allow into our marriage...my Honda Civic. Within the past 2 weeks, she's been on the receiving end of more attention than she's had for the past few years. With the exception of being detailed, she's pretty much ready to be stored safely while we're gone.

Brandi and I have some pretty exciting plans for the near future (no, it doesn't involve having kids) and plan on continuing to share different tips and insight on how we've prepared for a trans-atlantic move. You never know, you may end up needing it one day. This time last year, moving to Florence was never even a possibility...now look!

Until next time...

One Step Closer To Italy | Moving On

For the past few months, Brandi and I have steadily packed, made countless trips to the Goodwill Donation Center, gone through who knows how many rolls of packing tape, kept Sterilite in business with our bin purchases and raided all of the boxes from her office. But this past weekend it hit us, it was  time to move. Fortunately for us, Brandi's parents have allowed us to to move in with them until we leave so that our townhouse can be remodeled for new renters. They've also allowed us to keep all of our belongings and my beloved Honda Civic there as well. Talk about life savers! I had looked at a few storage units to fit all our stuff / the Civic and lets just say the in-laws are saving us about $350/mo. for 2 years! 

I don't think Brandi or myself were really prepared to actually leave what we called home for the past 6 years. We've been so consumed with work, packing, holidays and focusing on all of the necessary things we need to do for our upcoming move that we forgot what was actually about to happen come last Sunday night. After 3 full days of moving our stuff, we were ready to go back to pick up our cats and lock up the house for the final time. The last 2 things in the refrigerator were 2 beers for us. Not only were they much needed after moving for so long but it would also be the final time we would cheers each other in this house. Tears were shed, memories were shared and laughs were had.

I wish I could count how many parties, dinners and different types of memories that had been created here. So many friends and family members had helped us create moments we'll never forget and hopefully they'll never forget either. From a random night by the fire to getting engaged, we did so much here. From good times to bad, this was our home and I'll never forget it.

As we inch closer to create new memories in a new home, I just wanted to take a minute to thank Brandi, our friends and family for helping us make the last 6 years in that house a wonderful experience!

2012 | Year in Review

If you would've asked me 1, 5 or even 10 years ago if I'd be where I am today, I would have laughed at you...pretty hard actually. I'm not talking about where I am as in where I stand, but where I am with myself. Where I am with my marriage. Where I am with my career. Where I am with my mind. Where I am with my emotions. Where I am with me. 

Here is a small glimpse of what I was fortunate to live out in 2012.

Venice Beach (Venice Beach, CA) | January 2012

Skyping with Brandi While She was in Florence, Italy on a Business Trip | January 2012

Pirelli Supercross Event at Dodger Stadium (Los Angeles, CA) | January 2012

Brandi and I made the Switch from Droid to iPhone (Woodland Hills, CA) | February 2012

29th Birthday Dinner with Brandi (Studio City, CA) | March 2012

Snowboarding in Big Bear (Big Bear, CA) | March 2012

Sanctiond Launch Event (Los Angeles, CA) | March 2012

Formula DRIFT - Round 1: Streets of Long Beach (Long Beach, CA) | April 2012

Brandi's 29th Birthday Dinner (Thousand Oaks, CA) - April 2012

Long Beach Grand Prix - Formula DRIFT (Long Beach, CA) | April 2012

Stagecoach (Coachella Valley, CA) | April 2012

Formula DRIFT - Round 2: Road to the Championship (Atlanta, GA) | May 2012

Calamigos Ranch Lunch Date (Malibu, CA) | May 2012

9 Year Anniversary Dinner with Brandi (Tarzana, CA) | May 2012

Sunday Funday (West Hills, CA) | May 2012

Memorial Day Weekend (Oxnard, CA) | May 2012

Formula DRIFT - Round 3: Invasion (West Palm Beach, FL) - June 2012

Forza Horizon Launch at E3 (Los Angeles, CA) | June 2012

Formula DRIFT - Round 4: The Gauntlet (Wall, NJ) | June 2012

Justin and Samantha Welcome Their New Baby (Los Angeles, CA) | June 2012

Brothers of the Sun Concert (Anaheim, CA) | July 2012

Formula DRIFT - Round 5: Throwdown (Seattle, WA) | July 2012

Touring Seattle with Brandi (Seattle, WA) | July 2012

Tourists In Our Own City (Los Angeles, CA) | August 2012

Forza Horizon Q&A (Los Angeles, CA) | August 2012

Formula DRIFT - Round 6: After Dark (Las Vegas, NV) | August 2012

 1 Year Wedding Anniversary (Malibu, CA) | September 2012

Formula DRIFT Demo at the MavTV Indcar 500 (Fontana, CA) | September 2012

Rascal Flatts Concert (Irvine, CA) | September 2012

Pirelli Miles and Meals Cookbook Launch (Los Angeles, CA) | September 2012

Steve and Jenny Choi's Wedding (Malibu, CA) | September 2012

Formula DRIFT - Round 7: Title Fight (Irwindale, CA) | October 2012

Off to Italy with Brandi (Los Angeles, CA) | October 2012

World Travelers (Lugano, Switzerland) | October 2012

Our Final Dinner in Italy (Florence, Italy) | October 2012

House Hunting in Italy (Florence, Italy) | October 2012

2012 AFSP Out of the Darkness Walk (Culver City, CA) | October 2012

2012 SEMA Show (Las Vegas, NV) | November 2012

2012 SEMA Show - Last Work Trip of the Year (Las Vegas, NV) | November 2012

LA Unbound's 'Best of Unbound' Show (North Hollywood, CA) | November 2012

Friendsgiving at Brett's (Sherman Oaks, CA) | November 2012

RECARO LA Auto Show Event (Los Angeles, CA) | November 2012

2012 Motor4Toys Event (Woodland Hills, CA) | December 2012

Formula DRIFT - Hurricane Sandy Relief Fundraiser (Irwindale, CA) | December 2012

My Beautiful Nieces Nika & Giada (San Jose, CA) | December 2012

 My Brother's 40th Birthday (San Francisco, CA) | December 2012

Stone Family Vacation - Christmas (Palm Springs, CA) | December 2012

With everything I've done this year whether it be personal or work related, I've never felt as proud or as motivated as I am right now. However, I could have never done it alone now would I want to. There is one person who, on a daily basis, pushes me beyond my limits and way beyond what I feel is my potential. She shows me a new light, a new perspective and a fresh way of approaching what life throws at me. She makes me feel unstoppable. Without her, I can honestly tell you that I have no clue or inkling of where I'd be or what I'd be doing. But I know one thing, it wouldn't be this. I've never felt so rich - not financially, but physically, mentally, emotionally. 

Thank to everyone who has been a part of making 2012 one of the best years of my life. Most of all, thank you Brandi for not just allowing me to pursue my dreams, but for pursuing them together. You're a dream come true and I'll love you til the end...

Here's to many more memorable times, experiences and love to share in 2013 and beyond.