Friday, June 13, 2014


Ciao from Italy!!

When I first started doing my Creative Retreats in Italy I was only doing it once a year.  As you can imagine it's a lot to put together and I want to make EACH retreat a special occasion!

But as I was planning for this years Creative Retreat in May, I knew that was when the girls were still in school and I figured I would hang out in Italy after the first week was over and until school was out and they would come with Lance and we would enjoy our summer vacation here.  But the more I thought about it, I decided to open up a 2nd week right after the first one since it SOLD OUT so fast and since I was just hanging out here by myself… Why not have some FUN with more ladies??

This 2nd Creative Retreat was a bit different though.  I wanted it to be more casual, less classes and more exploring and I have to say I was SO blessed by the ladies that came this week!  It was a small group and so I wasn't sure how that was going to be... and I have to say, I LOVED IT!  There were two ladies who had been to my first Creative Retreat so they knew each other and had loved it so much they wanted to come back and then they both brought friends.  What a JOY to know that they had such a great time here and wanted to now share it with their friends… So we had a blast this week together!

I have to say this is such a wonderful job for me.  I get to be in a place I love and has become a 2nd home to my family…  I get to share this place with other people…I get to share all my favorite places,  all the people who have become like family to us here, and we get to be CREATIVE in such an amazing backdrop…  AND I get to watch people from all over the world get to know each other and make lasting friendships!!  How wonderful is that?  I LOVE to hear stories of friendships that have developed, vacation plans made with these new friendships, plans to meet in New York, or plans to go see where each other lives…  It's just AMAZING to me that my little dream of hosting events in this part of Italy has grown into something BIGGER then "my" dream…  

That is why I will be doing my CREATIVE RETREATS next year AND as hopefully many years into the future as I can!

So here are some photos from my 2nd week, I hope you enjoy them.  

Don't forget to scroll down to the bottom of the blog post for some of the EXCITING DETAILS of the 2015 CREATIVE RETREATS!!!


George's house… actually he owns the 4 houses around this house too.  Must be nice...

Enjoying the pergola on the first night with a light dinner and gorgeous view.

Had a beautiful day on the lake.

My friends boat as we left Bellagio for a fun afternoon!

These wonderful ladies enjoying a view of Villa B.

Sitting on the terrace enjoying a beautiful day!

Getting to know these ladies was a pleasure!  Such wonderful people...

Taking a little break as we walked up some of the many, many steps here.

The most relaxing place for lunch.

Enjoying a walk through Villa Melzi with my friend Rita as our tour guide.

Enjoying the beautiful views of the lake.

Another amazing village on Lake Como.  


So many, many pictures I could share with you but it would be an overload of photos…  Needless to say, it was another wonderful week and I'm so glad I got the chance to have a small group here!  I've had my Creative Retreats here, I've organized my husbands business retreat here and next summer I'm organizing a family reunion here too!  It's fun to change things up a bit and bring different groups of people here.  And if anyone is every interested in me hosting an event for YOU, I'd love to!  Don't hesitate to email me if you have an event you'd like me organize on Lake Como. 

And speaking about events…

I am SO EXCITED to announce the dates for the 2015 Creative Retreats!

Next summer I am going to be hosting 2 CREATIVE RETREAT WEEKS in Italy!


The first week will be June 13 - 20th, 2015

and

The second will be the week of June 20 - 27th, 2015

and...

**In addition to these two weeks, I will be hosting a mini Creative Retreat in Paris, France!!

Yes, I am very excited about sharing my love of Paris with you as well!  This will be a smaller group and it will be for 5 nights, not a whole week like my Creative Retreats in Italy.  But as most of you know, I've been to Paris many times and would love to host a mini Creative Retreat in one of the most beautiful cities in the world!!  

I will be posting all the details about EACH week on here and on my FB Page very soon!  If you want more information, just email me and I will put you on the INTEREST LIST. 

The 3 events will be available for SIGN UP's in mid July, (next month)  so make sure you check back for the details as I update this blog and the Registration page!

Hugs to all,

Laura