Love.is

love is....

when one of your best friends blows air into a ziploc bag so that she can safely travel back with two Kinder Sorpresa eggs from Italy because she knows they will put a HUGE smile across your face.

that amazing person would be one of my bestest friends, Lo, as she returned recently from a trip to Italy with her husband & family.

what?, you may ask, exactly is a Kinder Sorpresa?

while studying abroad i used to wander the cobblestone streets of Florence, Italy with what were soon to become some of my dearest friends in the world. we would take advantage of traveling just about anywhere once the weekend arrived, and with traveling came countless times that we were left to wait in transit for either a train or bus, etc. we filled that time with games, stories, & much laughter....

along with an occasional Kinder Sorpresa --- 'Kinder' being the brand name of this milk & white chocolate goodness, and 'Sorpresa' meaning 'surprise'!

once we unwrapped our delicate chocolate eggs,,,

we would then crack the egg in half........only to find a plastic morsel with some sort of toy, puzzle, etc. inside it!

it always amazed me by how something so small could contain at times quite an intricate toy once assembled. Kinder Sorpresa's were a gentle tap into our inner child... and even to this day, when my best friend pulled these out from her purse with a huge grin across her face, i couldn't help but feel giddy & wonder what surprise lay inside!


below, is the surprise i received in the egg i opened up. i think i am going to save my other egg & share it with a loved one so that they, too, can experience love & happiness through something so very simple, and sweet.

i also happened to find this, what i think is, an uber cute commercial for Kinder Sorpresa. the song is not in English, but you don't need to know the words to understand the message.



love is also....

genuine smiles & laughter that make you laugh & smile uncontrollably. that is exactly how i felt when i watched my nephew, Preston (you might remember Preston, Alexa & Steve from this previous post) swing with his Dad while visiting in town this weekend.

i also felt my heart feel full of love as he was embraced by his parents....

...and let out the most happy smile EVER!

to me, love is the innocence & incredible curiosity of a child, as well.

last but definitely not least, how can you not melt at this smile?!!!! Preston with his Mom... he radiates L.O.V.E. .... and i just love him so much!