Kayla Riley Blog

So it’s officially 2012.  I feel like 1995 was just yesterday.  Where does the time go?  Remember the fuss over the millennium?  Well now it’s 12 years later and what are we gonna do about making it a great year!?

I’ve made a couple goals for the year.  I like to call them goals rather than resolutions, think it gives off more of a positive vibe that will make me want to work at accomplishing them.  People give up on resolutions so soon into the year, but we all want to strive for better things in life personally or with career, so calling them goals helps me to stay focused on the end result.

Not to be a downer but I believe this year is still gonna be tough economically for us here and around the world.  It’s gonna get worse before it gets better.  You may disagree with me & I hope I’m wrong but right now that’s how I feel.  So my goals for 2012 are to keep me on track for the more simple things in life.  We’ve all become the victim of instant gratification & spending too much, I’m the first to admit it for myself.  But I want to get back to the idea of what my grandparents taught me about living within my means.  They came to America for a better life, leaving war behind & working hard for what they wanted & that made them amazing examples of what the USA was all about.  This will not only help me in my own life, but I truly believe that if we all can start to think/act this way, it can help us as a whole, as a nation.

So what are my goals for 2012…?  First to learn Italian.  Seems irrelevant to what I was just saying, but here’s how it ties together.  I see a future with my Italian and his family doesn’t speak English.  As much as I love being in the US, I am a proud American, I’ve fallen in love with an Italian & will con’t to spend time in Italy.  I can’t rely on him trying to translate everything, it will just make us both miserable.  It’s a language that I’ve always loved even when I wanted to study it in high school.  Now it’s a perfect excuse.  I’m 2nd generation American, raised by immigrants & love that European lifestyle and he’s traveled all over the world & has adapted to the US a bit that it makes a good blend.  When we go home to his family’s house it brings me back to that simple life, reminding me of what’s important… family, friends, visiting together, enjoying each other’s company, not sitting in front of a computer or TV.

Second, is for me here at home and involves you!  I need to be better at staying in touch with you and keep ya entertained.  Again, it doesn’t seem to match with what I just said, but that’s what I’m supposed to do, right?  Entertain…?  Technology can separate us so much, but in this field, I believe it can help us stay closer together.  And if keeping it all in balance, it will be just fine.  I’m not too terrible with Facebook www.facebook.com/officialkaylariley or Twitter www.twitter.com/thekaylariley but I know there’s so much more I can do.  We’re all over North America having fun, rockin out & since I can’t always see you in person, I can at least make you feel like we’re hanging out in person.  I’m not super tech savvy so you’ll have to bare with me as I start to get myself up and running, but I promise you I’ll get there.  I need a little more time to fix up my website www.thekaylriley.com but the progress has already begun.  I’ll get better at posting pictures and want to work at uploading more videos too.  Maybe I can even do some live chats once in awhile as well.  I’m working at getting better with all this, see I wrote a blog :) and I give you permission to call me out if I’m slacking.  haha… One good thing about posting my goals out for the world to see, is it makes it more of a realty so I can’t screw up now LOL… 

One of the most important things in life is family.  I’m focused more than ever on family this year, the one that I see regularly, my immediate family, my Italian family but also my extended family who rocks out with me every day…YOU!!  

I wish you a joyous, safe & metal 2012!!  Kayla

We enjoyed a nearby pool for the afternoon the next day as Leo had made plans for a soccer game with cousins & friends.  His young cousins (10-13 yrs old) were so excited to play with him, it was nice to see the family interaction.  One thing I noticed, is how respectful the youth is to their elders.  The boys barely knew me but they came up & greeted me with the traditional 2 kiss Italian greeting saying “ciao.”  Not that I wanted to be the elder haha… but there’s such a nice respect there with me as well as with the aunts & uncles.  It’s something I find lacking nowadays back home.

I made some phone calls back home & watched the game while drinking some wine.  Great ending to a great day!!

Into our final days of vacation, we made sure to hit some other spots that we talked about & have yet to visit.  First, we went to visit some of Leo’s cousins in OppiCompo.  This is on the east side of Italy, I think near the “heal of the boot” haha and along the Adriatic Sea.  Nice to spend time with family although I’m getting to that point I’m ready for home.  The couple has 2 young children and the whole family seems so sweet and cool, I know I’d enjoy their company more when I can talk more Italian with them in the future.  So we spent some time on the beach, swam in the Adriatic (although I like the Mediterranean better) enjoyed another typical Italian lunch (oh my goodness I have to stop eating haha) & conversation.  Thankfully they invited over another couple who knew a little English so I was able to speak & be more myself.  It was a great day but next time, we’ll spend more time with them & I’ll know Italian.

We also got to visit Matera.  Hoping to be there during the day & to enjoy the sunset there, traveling also with Leo’s sister, Donatella, we got a late start and was only able to make it there for the evening.  The history of Matera is that the city is carved outta the stone of the mountain.  Most cities are built onto a mountain, but here everything is built from the stone… the restaurants, houses, hotels etc.  It is so beautiful I couldn’t stop taking pictures.  One spot was more beautiful than the next. 

Matera has also been used in many movies.  The most recent & popular is The Passion of the Christ.  It was cool to walk along the stairs & streets where they filmed.  I could remember certain scenes from the movie as I stood in particular areas and could feel their presence.  Definitely cool!!  We enjoyed dinner here with some local wine & I discovered I like tomatoes haha… then made the ride back home.

The final full day was the ride to the Amalfi Coast.  We basically drove the whole coast.  Coming from the south side, we stopped in Rovello for lunch.  The views are so breathtaking & the food is delicious.  If you’re along the water ya gotta have seafood, so we devoured bowls of mussels & clams & pasta and were stuffed for the day.  Walked around Rovello for a bit then hopped in the car to drive into Positano.  We mostly walked around here.  Not ready for food, we just wanted to enjoy the scenery.  Lots of shopping to do here too, but it’s touristy so watch how much they charge ya if you ever go.  We also walked up the Stairs of Love.  There are 500 steps up the mountain & they say there are so many stairs to climb that you have time to fall in love while you walk them.  I asked Leo if we were gonna fall in love more while climbing the stairs & he replyed well maybe not but we might fall outta love haha… Well we climbed it and are still in love!

Next we drove into Sorrento… there’s so much traffic during August along the coast, it took forever.  Much better off driving on a bike or going a different time of year.  But it was great once we got there.  Our first objective was getting gelato.  When Leo was working on the cruise line years ago, they ported in Sorento often that he knew where some good spots were and where to get the best gelato.  That was my dinner.  The cone was huge with 3 flavors and absolutely delicious!!  We walked around shopping for some gifts to bring back and then had to get back in the car for the drive back. 

I think the only thing Leo and I would work out a little better next time is less driving.  It definitely took away from some of the fun.  Live and learn!

The next day was my final day in Italy.  I was ready to go home, but oddly enough I felt like I was home.  As much as we did sightseeing & touristy things, it was a lot of family time, so it just felt like you went to your parent’s house for 10 days.  I didn’t’ exactly miss NYC or my home, I just missed being able to be myself and what was familiar to me.  If I knew how to speak Italian I think I would have felt differently.  My priority now that I am home is to study Italian.  I have to if I’m gonna survive next year!

We had a wonderful lunch with the family before Leo and I drove back to Rome for me to fly home.  I thanked his parents for their hospitality, Donatella for speaking English & Italian with me and said next year I’ll speak better Italian so we can get to know each other better.  And I said it all in Italian!!  Not perfect, but it felt good to speak to them.  I even got a “Brava” from Leo haha… After taking some family pictures, I loaded up the car and said my goodbyes.  Leo’s mom even cried a little.  That warmed my heart.

Nothing like making out in the airport saying goodbye to your love!!  I knew I would see him in NYC in just a couple of days.  Leo watched me enter security and I was off.  I slept most of the way home but had a layover in Casablanca.  Five hours in a dirty smelly & desolate airport in the middle of the night, I didn’t exactly feel comfortable.  It’s a Muslim country & nothing against that but I stood out like a sore thumb.  And again most people didn’t speak English so I walked that airport up & down a bunch of times to figure out how to check in my connecting flight.  Even tried to eat something before the flight to kill time and the food was gross.  I left beautiful Italy with their delicious food to this… haha…I never wanted to get home even more than then.

There’s really no place like home.  Wherever home is, wherever you’re most comfortable, there’s nothing like it when you’ve been in places that are foreign to you.  Overall the trip was amazing, I love Italy and Leo’s family but when the Customs agent says “Welcome Home” it’s a damn good feeling!!

Some of my favorite moments of the whole trip was seeing Leo for the first time in the Rome airport, drinking wine on the Spanish Steps, looking at the stars in San Gimignano, riding on the back of the bike along the hills of Italy, Matera, telling my first story all in Italian to Leo & his sister, hiking thru the cascades & San Fele, dancing on the beach in Calabria & saying thank you to Leo’s family all in Italian the day I was leaving.  Il mio Principe, grazie mille per una vacanza bellisima!!

Pictures and videos are posted on www.facebook.com/officialkaylariley

After a few days in Monte Sirico & Atella, enjoying the countryside of Italy, we made our way even more south to Calabria.  Leo and I were meeting up with 3 other couples to enjoy the beaches there but also to do some rafting.  A few hours in the car we finally made it!  At this point Leo has been doing so much driving that I was happy he would be able to chill out on the beach.  One thing I noticed different about the beach there is the sand. It’s mixed with black sand & rocks so it’s ridiculously hot sand you have to walk to the water with your flipflops on & leave them by the water while you go for a swim.  No one seems to bother with your stuff, so ya just go along with it.  Or you burn your feet!  Calabria is off the Mediterranean & the water is crystal clear.  You spend most of the time out in the deep area, maybe 12 ft down but you can see the bottom.  Not used to that swimming in the green Atlantic haha… but definitely better you can see what’s around you.  The sun is hot there that you sit under umbrellas that are already set up for you.  Rows and rows of umbrellas and lounge chairs, I can get used to this.  Plus Italians like their dance parties on the beach.  Never saw this before, but there are people who organize dances or dance lessons on the beach.  The overworked American here would rather sit on the beach, read, sleep & do nothing…haha… but the more we hung in the sun & enjoyed the music the more we all got our groove on & danced on the beach.  Hey, when in Rome… or Calabria!

Dinner out & then time for sleep, we were up early for rafting.  If you’ve never gone rafting & you should, it’s such a great time!  A little workout and fun with friends & beautiful clean water, it’s perfect.  Excited for rafting, I unfortunately had one of those moments again.  The instructor is going over all the directions & cues all Italian & I can’t understand what I’m supposed to remember for when we get on the water & I broke down.  This is now day 12 & if you’ve ever traveled to another country with a language barrier, you understand, but it’s so overwhelming to not understand & communicate.  It builds up and ya gotta release it somehow. 

Ultimately, our instructor went over things with just our raft & not the entire group & I was more comfortable with what I needed to know & ended up having a blast!!  I’m awaiting the pictures from the experience.

Afterwards we grabbed some lunch, which wasn’t the easiest to do bt the hours of 1-5 in the summer in Italy.  Everyone’s on their break but found some food & then went to ride go-cars.  These are the go cars that are motorized, low to the ground & you race them around the track.  I’m not really interested to do it, so of course Leo made me drive.  I did ok but the wheel is tight, hard to drive and it’s tiring, so Leo took over the remainder of the time.  He went so fast, I was screaming.  Thought I was gonna flip over haha… Good thing to wake our butts up from a long day.  Now the drive back home…

The family & I wake up early and got ready to make it to the church for the wedding.  Leo and I are a touch late but it was nice to be inside the church he grew up in.  Of course everything being in Italian I couldn’t understand much but surprisingly I managed to recognize certain parts of the mass where I was able to respond in English.  After the ceremony we all gathered outside the church to throw rice at the couple & then hopped in the car for an hour drive to the reception.  I walked into the place and felt I had walked into My Big Fat Greek Wedding.  I know it’s not Greece but the decorating was over the top similar to the movie.  I also noticed how the girls who knew the bride were also very attentive to her the way the wedding scene was in the movie.  Gave me a small giggle to myself throughout the day. 

Traditional Italian weddings are all day!!  We started with the antipasti, then the pasta, then fish, then lemon sorbet to cleanse the pallet (forget what that’s called) & then the meat.  (and I think I forgot a dish in there too).  That’s all inside, then you go outside and do dessert… more pastries & the wedding cake, café & aperitif.  I was stuffed and exhausted.  Ya get tired 1. because of the long day but 2. because it’s hard to social & be yourself when you can’t communicate with the people around you.  Thankfully I found a couple from Canada and was able to speak some English for some small conversations thru the night.

We got back to the house around 1am, and I find out there’s another tradition for a wedding.  Everyone in the town has to go the newlyweds’ house & the wife has to cook her first meal for the town.  OH MY GOODNESS!!  WOW!  Weddings are a huge deal in Italy!  I decided it was just easier for me to go to sleep than have Leo keep translating for me, so I passed out while Leo made an appearance.  I saw him when we woke the next day.

Now we’re at Day 7 of the trip, just a day for family.  We enjoyed the big Italian lunch and then went off to Leo’s grandparent’s house as it was his grandfather’s birthday.  His grandmother was so sweet to me, sitting next to me speaking Italian even tho I couldn’t understand, showing me around the house & even giving me a gift that she had been probably saving for the last 10 years.  All along it was great to meet Leo’s family but the language barrier was starting to wear on me.  I knew it wasn’t gonna be easy but I didn’t know it was going to be this hard.  By the end of the night, I broke down.  It’s so frustrating to want to speak and get to know important people in your life and not be able to communicate with them.  Leo said “tomorrow will be better.”

And it was… for the rest of the trip he knew exactly when I was starting to have those moments of frustration.  No words needed to be said, he just knew how to change up the situation and make me feel better.

We decided to going hiking!  I had the whole day to speak English and enjoy being in Italy.  We hiked through the mountains and cascades.  We were tempted to go into the water for a dip but it was so cold that we opted to just sit on the side with our feet in.  Then we went into San Fele and started climbing the city.  Got all the way to the top of the mountain right around sunset and man was the view worth every drip of sweat and achy bone.  I have pics of this and a video of the top of Sand Fele at www.facebook.com/officialkaylariley.

Next stop… Calabria!

With a beautiful drive north to Tuscany & my luggage finally in the car with us, we made our first stop at the Cecchi Winery for a tour & wine tasting.  The grounds are just beautiful!!  I have pictures of the whole trip posted under 2 photo albums for Italia at www.facebook.com/officialkaylariley.  From there, we made our way to the apartment the vineyard had reserved for us.  First off, the apartment was fantastic.  Old world Italian, just the basics you need for a home but the views were the selling point.  To wake up every morning to the quiet of the vineyards and the bella vista was such a nice treat!

That evening we got all cleaned up and went out for dinner in San Gimignano.  It’s a cute little city where we once again had an amazing meal.  The next day we made the drive into Firenze.  First order of business was getting some gelato.  I’ve been in Italy for a few days now and have yet to eat me some gelato!!  Had chocolate & hazelnut and it was the best tasting gelato ever haha…

Leo and I spent the whole day in Florence… walking around, shopping for leather goods & taking pictures.  We met up with one of his good friends, Antonio, for some traditional Firenze food for dinner.  Delicious meats that are cooked over coals, perfetto!

The first 4 days of Italy have been wonderful, but it’s time to meet the family!  The next morning, Leo & I got in the car and drove 7+ hours south to a town called Monte Sirico. 

Arriving at the house, Leo’s family welcomed me, of course, all in Italian.  I’m learning the language but really am not that great so the most I could say was “piacere” which means “nice to meet you.”  Ultimately as the days go on I picked up more Italian & am continuing my studies, but the language barrier was tough.  Touristy spots, one can manage, but in the heart of southern Italy, I really needed to know Italian.

Anyway, we settled in with the family for a bit and then we hopped on the Vespa for a short ride along the hills of the town.  There’s nothing better than hugging your man on the back of a bike overlooking the hills of Italy.  Damn! I am a lucky girl J

The day ended with a visit to a family party then enjoyed a winebar and then it was off to bed as I had a traditional all day Italian wedding to attend the next day.

It had been months that my Italian, Leo and I have talked about me visiting Italy to meet his family and the time had finally arrived.  Leo left for home 10 days before me and I was on my way to the airport.  I was filled with so much excitement to not only be on a much needed vacation but to experience my love in his home country.  Of course with bad weather coming from the west my flight got delayed in Detroit and I missed my connection to Rome.  Definitely a buzz kill!! Luckily I was able to de-plane and rebook a flight that would have me transfered in Amsterdam.  Note to self, connect in Europe if possible.  Those flights 99% of the time don’t get screwed up and Amsterdam is way better than Detroit haha…

On a side note, I said a small prayer in thanksgiving to the lady who helped me rebook my flight as she bumped me up to Business class to Rome without telling me.  What a nice surprise!!

Now landed in Roma, I can’t find Leo & I have no luggage cause it’s still on the flight to Detroit.  I have no cell phone and just wandering the airport looking for Leo.  Finally, just like that, as I’m looking to my right a man in front of me turns around & stops to look at me and it’s Leo.  We had this sigh of relief, kissed, hugged tightly.  I was on vacation in Italy!!

After filling out paperwork to get my luggage back we were off to the hotel and to enjoy Roma.  The Bed and Breakfast wasn’t quite what Leo had expected but I didn’t care, I was in Italia.  Checked in and went out walking.  Enjoyed a nice dinner of 3 types of pasta dishes and great wine of course.  Afterwards, we walked around, picked up another bottle of red and sat on the Spanish Steps talking and drinking.  Leo kept me up long enough that the jetlag wasn’t too terrible for the next day.

Visiting Italy years ago one stop I didn’t get to make while in Roma was the Scala Santa.  These are stairs that have been preserved and believed to be stairs that were apart of Pontius Pilate’s Palace where Christ had walked.  The tradition of the stairs is that you must go up on your knees.  Leo & I walked around reading the history and decided if we were to do this, we’re gonna do it together.  Agreeing we walked over, knelt down on the first step & began our journey up.  There are a total of 28 steps.  Each step Leo and I said our own prayers and intentions.  At first it’s not so bad, but then your knees start to hurt & you start sweating cause it’s hot.  The steps are deep so you start shifting to relieve pressure and your shins start hurting.  And then just like that it becomes easier and easier to go up.  At times, Leo & I held hands other times we were on different steps.  I never thought it would be such an emotional journey but it was & it was beautiful, even more so that I did it with Leo.

We spent the evening enjoying Trastevere and walking around, but then it was time to get some sleep as we had a drive north to Firenze & Tuscana… 

I have kicked off the summer well so far.  With the launch of my jewelry line, some time off for Independence Day & my birthday, how can a girl complain.

Thank you to everyone who came out to the jewelry launch party at Tammany Hall.  It was a huge success!! We had 185 people come out to celebrate and had an amazing time.  Now that the 4th of July holiday is over, we have to go over the details of the party.  Proceeds from the raffle sales we did will go to the Wounded Warrior Project so hopefully we’ll have a nice amount of money to donate.  Keep you posted.

It’s becoming tradition to spend the 4th of July weekend with my family.  We toast to our country and our troops but also its right before my birthday, so we celebrate that too.  Had tons of fun with my nieces and nephew, sister & brother in law, Mom & Dad and my love, my Italian, Leo.  Enjoyed pool time, a little croquet (kinda tipsy croquet I should say, haha) We adults know how to have fun with these games!  And finished off the weekend with fireworks, of course!

For the past week, I haven’t had any internet at home.  Issues with the connection but finally getting fixed and can get a new blog to you.  Now it’s back to work and the focus is on to continue to market the Kayla Riley Jewelry Collection and to keep rockin the airwaves.  www.thekaylariley.com

Well, this is it!!  Months of planning and preparing…finally the big launch of my jewelry collection.

Couple of nights ago, I went downtown with my girl Raven to hand out flyers for Monday’s event and it just got me so excited and pumped for the night.  My whole NYC crowd was out, we shared some drinks, enjoyed great music & I went home feeling confident if was going to be a successful night.  I hope I’m not wrong haha…

To everyone who’s been involved with making this night happen, I can’t thank you enough.  After tomorrow, gotta figure out the next plan of attack.  How am I gonna get this jewelry out there so it becomes the next BIG THANG!!?  

Stay tuned…

So I just got back to NYC after being away for 10 days.  I got the getaway started with Rock on the Range in Columbus OH.  I had my girl, Shannon, with me and we killed it at the festival.  Had so much fun meeting listeners, hanging with the bands and having girl time.  Moonshine cherries were a huge hit among the bands that passed by our SXM table for interviews.  We’ll have to think of another cool treat for next year.  And the end of the day, the bosses were happy and the fans were thrilled!

From Columbus I flew into San Francisco.  This whole part of the trip came because friends of mine were getting married in Napa Valley.  I met my Italian, Leo, there and we took on the adventure having never been to either.  Leo is a sommelier, so putting him in Napa is like putting a kid in a candy store haha… We had some great great hookups to wine tastings and tours.  Favorite vineyards:  Cade, Flora Springs, O’Shaughnessy, Ladera & Berringer.

It was a fantastic trip but it also feels good to be back home.  I’m planning a big event to launch a new jewelry line and it’s time to focus on the details.  It’s happening Monday June 27 at Tammany Hall and I’m having some cool guests to perform for the night.  You might want to make some plans to get into NYC.  Just saying… more info to come on www.thekaylariley.com

Also, I posted pictures from the whole adventure at www.facebook.com/officialkaylariley.