Living in Italy - One Year Later

It's hard to believe a year has passed since my family and I got off the plane that brought us to our new home. Living in Italy has been whirlwind of wonderful, crazy, confusing, frustrating, and at times very magical moments. It took us about six months to really feel settled and at home. Home...My home is in Italy... There are still moments when I pinch myself to make sure it's not a dream.There are many things I love about living here and a few I could do with out. So I of course, I made a list.Why I love Italy

1. It's Italy. Need I say more? The blessing to have this experience is one I'm not taking for granted.
2. I am surrounded by antiquity. When you stroll though towns on cobblestone roads you can't help but think about all the people that have gone before you. In short, the history.
3. I've had to put myself out there and it's totally been worth it.
4. The wine. Ohmygosh...the wine!
5. "Domani". Italians are very laid back. I love how they enjoy and appreciate living and aren't afraid to put things off till "domani" (tomorrow). They don't rush to drink that cup of coffee on the run. In fact I think they only time they do rush is when they're on the road. It's made me appreciate the simple things even more than I already did.
6. Market day. Antique Market Day. Artisan market day. Festivals. etc. etc.
7. They take serious steps to conserve and preserve. From the recycling to the infrequent use of paper cups and utensils (I've yet to see them in a cafe).
8. Scarves. One of my favorite accessories is also considered one necessary piece of clothing for Italian women. Yay!
9. Pizza with mushrooms from my favorite Pizza place = heaven.
10. I'm actually getting to use the Italian I studied: four years in high school & 3 semesters in college. Over the last year it's vastly improved.
11. Gelato. Gelato. Gelato.

What I could live with out or miss the most about the States

1. The toilets. I absolutely dislike the toilets here. They're designed in such a way that one constantly has to take a toilet brush to them if you know what I mean. Oh and then there's the squatty potty.
2. Getting used to things closing in the middle of the day for "riposo" was really challenging at first and it still can be at times.
3. The lack of big box stores like Target. Oh how I miss Target and their cute home decor items and way affordable t-shirts I also would be remiss if I didn't mention the CLEARANCE items. The Italian sense of decorating style tends to either lean toward the ultra modern or somewhere in the 70's or 80's and there is no "clearance" section. There are two major times of year when the stores have major sales. January and July.
4. I know I'm surrounded by cafes that serve excellent coffee and I am a bit of a coffee snob...Yet as much as I'm embarrassed to say it, I miss Starbucks. Sometimes you just want a cafe latte to go. NO such thing here. [Except for the coffee vending machines which, by the way, make excellent coffee. (See number 5 above).]
5. Converting the Dollar to Euro. I hate that right now we get only about $.71 to every €1,00. Needless to say, I shop online a lot.
6. Closets. I miss closets.
7. Cellular telephone service. It's "no buono".