(Brisa Starr)
I have so much I want to share… from our daily life living in Italy, now that the mandatory quarantine is done, to how I manifested our amazing apartment, to all of the new novels I’m writing and are scheduled to publish.
Today, I share a single picture. It, for me, represents an aspect of quintessential Italy: cobblestone, Vespa scooter, view of the rolling Umbrian hills, historic buildings. The air and awe of Italy.
As you know from my last post, we have arrived in Italy. We are required to stay in our apartment for two weeks. And I have to say I am relieved at this forced quarantine.
Relieved(!) because it took away any tantalizing tickles to explore our new town, instead of staying home and setting it up, unpacking, and getting settled.
It allowed us to really get to know our new home.
It also gave me the space and time to get back into my writing groove that was disrupted by travel. So I am loving the quarantine, and we only have a few days left.
Um, loving our lives in Italy. The magic of this life, this town, is already permeating my bones, and we haven’t even left our castle-cave-like apartment.
Our apartment is indeed magical all on its own just from living inside the walls of it (we think the building is ~700 years old!)… Can you imagine the history? The families who have lived here? I’m blown away and brought to tears just pondering the thoughts.
Plus? Our apartment comes with (many) cats outside our windows and Italian clay tile rooftop views and precious cobblestone streets outside our front door that I glimpse when I take out the recycle or accept deliveries.
I am so lit up, like Christmas time in Rockefeller Plaza. I love our apartment, our town, our landlords, our life!
And?
I manifested this awesome sh*t! So I’m empowered even more!
Turns out Amazon in Italy has Amazon Prime, so I’ve ordered many things. On one delivery, the post lady kept saying under her masked face “Tanti scatoli!” (many boxes!)
And it dawned on me that I’m no longer a digital nomad.
I have a home base. We’ll continue to travel, especially to explore Europe for anywhere from a week to a month at a time (though not anytime soon, ahem, Covid), but we’ll have a home to come home to with things when we do travel.
I made a frittata, which came out beautifully. Six eggs, a handful of freshly grated white cheese of some sort, plus a handful of freshly grated parmigiano, and some herbs.
I haven’t used an Instant Pot in years, but here’s a link to many recipes I wrote when I had one back in the states.
And I’m also in love with my desk and office chair where I’ll be writing the next 50 books.
And our printer! You know you’re not a digital nomad anymore when you have a big-ass laser printer.
Our landlords—who have been so amazing and wonderful and kind and generous—they’ve been bringing us tons of fresh, organic produce from their garden. Every day! Talk about abundance! I’ve got it right here. And it’s different every day: figs, peaches, tomatoes, asparagus, chard, grapes…
They live in the same building as us, so I don’t know where their garden is. (I think they live in the apartment above us. Which is nice because we have a family to get to know, and they’re right here if we need them. That’s nice when moving to a foreign country.)
For example, it can be very helpful when we have to file paperwork in the town and get our health cards and identification cards to have a local here will help to the process. We are so blessed.
In other news: I finished editing my sixth steamy romance novel while in quarantine here, Count On Me.
I just started novel number seven, Playtime! I dictated 10,000 words just today. The muse is real here.
I am so very, very close to publishing Coffee Self-Talk on Amazon. Thank you to everyone who has been writing to me and asking me about it!
It’s coming! It’s coming!
… in a couple of days! Stay tuned to get your hands on my book that describes a 5-minute routine to transform your life. It transformed mine! I’m living proof.
Movement is a part of my every day, and I’m still as madly in love with my Apple 3 watch as I was when I first got it (read why I love it so much here). Some of the best money I’ve ever spent.
So my watch basically makes sure I work out, and with quarantine (and gyms not open, not that I’d want to be in one now anyway), we’re making a home gym where I do progressive calisthenics and use bands for staying toned and tight. I bought this mirror too because using a mirror motivates me!
I also highlighted my own hair with an at-home bleach kit I brought from the US. The results? Well, if I wear it a certain way, I can maybe get away with it.
I am living my Happy Sexy Millionaire life. And I’m so happy, I could cry sparkly tears of joy and bliss. One of the most exciting updates with my life is that the apartment I am living in, in this amazing hilltop town… I friggin’ manifested it, from the beautiful decor, to having screens on our windows (not so common in Italy)! It worked! I did it!
When I started blogging about my decision to be a Happy Sexy Millionaire, the point was to share the journey. The things I’m learning and manifesting, the life. So with that, coming soon I ‘ll share the story about manifesting my amazing apartment in Italy.
Also, I update all of my Instagram accounts, so if you’d like to stay in touch between blog posts, that’s where you can see more.
Ciao, baby!
After six months in lockdown in Arizona, last week, we finally returned home to Italy. Where a new apartment, in a new town, awaited us.
The journey included transfers in New York and Amsterdam, so three legs in all. Safety was a primary concern. We didn’t want to get coronavirus.
Standing at the ticket counter to check our bags in Phoenix, things were already off to a bad start.
Mask compliance on the first leg of our trip, once we were on the airplane (Phoenix to New York) was good.
But crossing the ocean (New York to Amsterdam)… not so much. This was KLM (Royal Dutch Airlines). We complained to a flight attendant about one loud guy who wasn’t wearing his mask. She made him put it on. Later, he took it off. But at least he was in business class, and they closed it off with thick curtains after takeoff.
Later on, when most people were asleep, I walked back to use the lavatory, and observed about 50% of the passengers were not covering their noses. We never saw the attendants enforcing mask compliance, other than the guy we ratted on.
Transatlantic flights are… long. But I made good use of my time editing my romance novel. That was the fun part of the trip.
Wearing a mask for about 23 hours (door to door). We started the journey wearing N-95 masks (to protect us) with a cotton mask on top of that (to protect others), plus face shields (to protect us). Some people might say it’s overkill. A lot of dead people said that, too.
And if I’m an asymptomatic carrier, I don’t want to give it to anybody.
I will admit, however, that the double mask and face shield was hard to keep on the whole time, because it got quite warm and the shield kept fogging up. Though Greg wore his most of the trip, plus goggles. He’s a rockstar. He got a pressure wound on the bridge of his nose, like those pictures you see of doctors in the red zone. He says it hurt so much at times, it felt like his nose was broken. And that was just one day. The doctors have to endure it every day. They’re heroes.
Food and beverage service on our flights: Coffee was offered on only one of our three flights, and food was limited, so I was glad I brought instant coffee to add to my bottled water. It was better than nothing.
We also brought tons of food with us, which gave me a workout carrying that through four airports, but it was worth it to have food.
I had times where I only wore the cotton mask (there was nobody sitting near us on the transatlantic flight, except the guy in business class, behind the curtain)… the flight was maybe at 25% capacity, lots of empty seats. I wore the N-95 and face shield in busy areas.
They took our temperature in JFK before boarding the flight to Europe. They took it again in Amsterdam, before we boarded our flight to Rome. Then, when we arrived in Rome, they took our temperature before we went into baggage claim.
Our groovy, designer cloth masks were not acceptable for Italy. Before boarding the plane to Rome, we were required to don the standard, blue surgical face masks. No problem, as we had some with us, as a backup.
No crowds! No packed seating at the gate. No mad rush when they call your zone to board. No shortage of overhead compartment space. No running out of hand towels in the lavatory, or overflowing of the waste bin thingy.
In fact, the lavatory never got disgusting, even by the end of the flight. The floor wasn’t covered in piss, or whatever that is, by the end of long flights packed to the gills. And disembarking was a breeze, no standing in the aisle like cattle, waiting for people in front of you to deal with their carry-on luggage.
Best of all, we had plenty of room to stretch out on seats, for two of our three flights (the longest legs, too), so you know… yin and yang.
On the transatlantic leg, there were four empty rows of the middle section of the wide-body airliner. My daughter slept laying down, like it was a couch. So did my 6′-tall husband, for a solid 5-6 hours. Which made his journey much more bearable.
And then?…
Cuz we made it to Italy! We moved into our new apartment, and it’s lovely. Stay tuned for updates on our 2-week mandatory quarantine and how things are while living in Italy.
(Hint: so far it’s awesome!)
We booked our flight.
It was canceled.
Cuz. Covid-19. And America’s very, very uncool response.
We rescheduled.
We’re now leaving earlier, August 17.
We came to Arizona to visit Mom Feb. 3 for a 1-month visit. Here we are, six months later, not leaving until mid-August.
Initially, we waited as Italy fought to control the virus.
But by the time May rolled around, and it was getting under control in Europe, America was going downhill. Fast. At the time, I didn’t know if we could even get back into Italy (I have Italian citizenship, Greg doesn’t).
And…
We have not left my mom’s house since March. Greg, Kamea, and I have stayed home (only going outside to swim and walk and bike) but NO contact with the public since MARCH! (Greg suited up to buy a WiFi router when ours konked out, but that’s been our only foray outside the hermetically sealed compound.)
I’m so busy writing steamy romance books I wouldn’t go anywhere anyway. No distractions, no choices. (My mom does all the shopping, and well, Amazon.)
With daily new cases hovering around a very manageable 250 for the entire country, and mask wearing mandatory in all indoor environments, the borders have opened to EU and Schengen area visitors.
An American in Rome
With their robust contact tracing and testing, they’re keeping it under control.
So I thought, fuck it, let’s book flights and get home. To our beloved home, Italia.
Once we arrive in Italy, we are not allowed to use public transportation to get to our home in the medieval hilltop village where we rented an apartment. We would normally take a train from Rome, but that’s not an option. So instead, we’re paying $400 to hire a driver with a Covid-ready (?) van to transfer us.
At least it’ll have room for the 4th suitcase. I have things to bring:
Eye Armor, RAD RED NIGHT GLASSES, non-toxic water-based nail polish, collagen protein powder, new clothes, new beauty products, and lots of books on writing!
For starters, we have been over-the-top blessed with the most amazing landlords. Although we haven’t moved into the apartment yet, they live upstairs from it and have been offering us all the help we’ll need.
The amazing people who own The Beehive Hostel in Rome (Americans who have lived in Italy for about 20 years, I think) also live in the same little town we’re moving to. They’re getting groceries for us and will have our home set and ready for us to move into when we arrive.
This means I don’t need to pack toilet paper in my suitcase!
And during our quarantine, they’ll shop for us every couple of days. How blessed we are! God I love Italy – the hospitality is so glitteringly heartwarming.
We haven’t stayed at that awesome hostel yet, but we plan to many times over the next year, as we explore every nook and cranny of Rome. I can’t wait to write steamy romance novels set in Italy. Mamma Mia!!!
We opted to fly Delta Airlines domestically as they’ve been touted as the airline taking the best precautions for Covid-19.
I’m approaching it with masks (N95 with cloth on top, because N95’s only protect the wearer), face shields, and hats. I’m bringing bleach wipes with us. I’m bringing hand sanitizer. My family is taking elderberry before, during, and after travel (apparently one of the BEST forms of protection), this zinc, and glutathione (all Chris Masterjohn Covid-19 recommendations).
No sugar (easy for this naughty, dirty carnivore gal).
Plenty of rest before, during, and after travel. (My rad red glasses ensure that!)
And? Meditation, filled with shimmery, golden thoughts and visions for health, happiness, and longevity (you know, Happy Sexy Millionaire sh*t). I mean, like, here’s why I’m so happy despite a pandemic.
I’ll update you from the ground in Italy!
As of now, Italy reopened its borders to travel for people from the European Union and the UK.
And even though Kamea and I have dual-Italian citizenship, it’s unclear whether we’d be allowed in because, right now, Americans are not allowed. :( Because of Covid-19 and America’s response to it.
As soon as they say “SI, BENVENUTO!” then our plan is to return to Italy soon thereafter. My preference is the first week of July but who knows. Sometime this summer though, right!? PLEASE?!
Our souls crave Italy, and I long to feel the inspiring energy of it tickle my fingers for writing.
I’m excited to move to the magical, medieval hilltop village where we rented an apartment, long-term(!) — one that I manifested by the way (details later).
It’s been a wonderful whirlwind of five months here in Arizona. I became a fiction writer! We spent tons of time with my mom and step-dad. And we had beautiful late winter and spring weather.
But it’s time to go. Soon.
As many of you know, my family currently lives in Italy, and they’re having a serious coronavirus outbreak (888 confirmed cases and 21 deaths, as of this writing).
As luck would have it, we left Italy just before the outbreak. We flew to Arizona for our annual family visit at the beginning of February.
We were prepared though, purchased heavy-duty masks to wear in trains, planes, and germy-ass international airports.
Here we are at the airport early February, wearing our masks. We estimated that just under 10% of the people in the airport were wearing masks.
I imagine it’s very different now with many more wearing masks and rubber gloves.
As we’ve been in the USA for almost a month already, the time is winding down for our scheduled return to our home in Italy.
The question is whether we head back or delay a few weeks (or more). COVID-19 coronavirus isn’t very dangerous for people in our age cohorts. And, thankfully, it hasn’t killed a single child yet, out of 2800 fatalities worldwide.
But the potential disruptions — due to quarantines, hoarding, retail closures, and who-knows-what-else if things go sideways — are enough to make us none to keen to return to Italy just yet, at least until the contagion starts to wane.
Because we’re entrepreneurs (digital nomads, until recently), we’re able to delay our trip if necessary. This is one of those hard-to-quantify benefits of internet-based self-employment.
I’m grateful we have the ability to have freedom with our schedule. Usually, it’s just a nice convenience, and makes me feel like I have multi-millionaire-level freedom. Or as they say, “fuck you money.” But if the shit ever hits the fan, it’s nice to know we can get the hell outta Dodge, if necessary.
Of course, America isn’t immune from Coronavirus. And the time may come fairly soon when Italy seems like a safer place to be.
We’re keeping out options open.
For now, here’s how we’re doing our best to stay healthy in the U.S.
While I’m in America, I’ve loaded up on vitamin C. I’m a huge fan of high-dose vitamin C to fight bacteria and viruses. Liposonal vitamin C is reputed as the best form for maximum absorption (this vitamin C) and it’s my favorite.
I also ordered my favorite herbals shots from Dr. Schulze’s (they’re so potent they make your hand stand on end).
Sleep is one of our best allies to a robust strong immune system, too, and I’m ensuring we get our zzzzzzz’s.
You probably just whizzed past that last paragraph with a subconscious nod of “sleep is good” approval, but did you really stop and take a moment to commit to getting EIGHT f*cking hours, every single night? If yes, bravissimo! If not… well?
Anyway, I make it a priority to get eight hours every night.
Of course, we’re also practicing excellent hygiene by handwashing and not licking the equipment in the gym. ;)
Seriously though, we’ve been using the alcohol wipes provided by the gym on pretty much every piece of equipment we touch with our hands. And then wash our hands after.
We might even take a few weeks off from the gym completely, given that it’s the only place we frequent with lots of other people. Daily. And this coronavirus is believed to have up to a 14-27 day asymptomatic, contagious incubation period. Meaning some of the people you see around you might already have it without knowing it. That means that an outbreak in our area could be happening, and nobody would know it yet. (Especially due to the lack of testing that’s currently happening in the U.S., due to a shortage of test kits.)
In fact, I saw a few people at the grocery store wearing masks here in Sun City West, AZ. Good for them, as the elderly want to take extra smart precautions.
Most importantly, I have a strong attitude about health and I don’t let fear take the driver’s seat. We’re simply being smart with precautions, but not letting it create angst in our bellies.
As I read updates in the news, it’s all about fear and that doesn’t help anyone.
We can be smart and not let fear rule at the same time. Keeping a mantra of “I have a strong body and a powerful immune system” is perfect in times like these.
I will not be afraid, she vowed, wrapping the familiar words around her heart.
Throne of Glass (an awesome book I’m reading with my daughter)
I also take extra time for gratitude every day, because gratitude has been shown to increase our immune systems.
When we eventually do head back to Italy, our suitcases will be loaded with vitamins and supplements, beauty products, books, and our favorite snack bars that are not easy to get in Italy.
We are all healthy and grateful for that, and we’re sending out our energetic prayers for everybody else in the world.