The Girl

I talk with my hands a lot.
I like avocados and I try to add Cheese & Garlic to everything I eat.
I am obsessed with all thing plaid but that doesn’t make me a punk. Been there, done that.
I broke my middle finger on my right have when I was 2 years old. It never healed properly.
I eat Pasta once a week.
I go through colour phases. I’m currently stuck on grey.
My family had a dog named Benji. He was cute but absolutely psycho.
I am passionate about checkered Vans. I do not own enough of them.
I’m a Taurus and was born in the year of the Bull. I’m 4 horned.
I’m covered in freckles, but not ridiculously.
I’m a classic Italian house wife even though I feel to young to admit to that.
I make meat balls by hand.
I am obsessed with the Food Network. Guy Fieri is my hero.
I love with all my heart.
I am passionate with an ounce of rage.
I have a soft spot for stuffed animals.
I like to pretend inanimate objects have feelings and personalities.
No matter how many times I’ve seen it, I will always stop to watch The Godfather on TV.
I love Wikipedia.
I beat Thyroid Cancer.
I’m comfortable in my skin.

The Husband

Mr. Ciavarro and I met through our blogs. Shocking, I know!

We technically met on Granville street while walking to a Matthew Good concert. We were both seeing other people at the time.

Since the concert was a pseudo blogger meet up we both ended up knowing a bunch of people who were there because of their blogs. We went back stage and hung out and then met up later that weekend with all our blogger ‘friends’.

From then on communication only occurred through blogs and the occasional MSN convo. That was until I was about to leave for Australia and he felt an impromptu lunch date was in order. By this point we were no longer seeing other people.

So we went for lunch, I went to Australia for a month, and then we went for beers when I got back. We were becoming fast friends.

It was then time for Italy to play in the World Cup, something we were both looking forward to greatly. So it became tradition that we watch as many soccer games together as we could and then go out for beers in the evening to discuss the ones we missed. A bonding over all things Italian was quickly coming to the forefront. But it wasn’t until later in the Summer during a Godfather marathon and some cured meat eating at midnight that our friendship started to become something more.

A year and a bit after that we got engaged, and 9 months after that we got married. Crazy Italians.

He’s pretty much the greatest thing that ever happened to me. We live cozy, silly lives in our cave like apartment. We’ve already picked out the names of our children and have planned out the next two years of our lives. You might think we are nuts, but we wouldn’t have it any other way.

The Family

I come from a very large Italian family.

My Dad is the youngest of 10 kids and my Mom is the eldest of two. This means I have numerous Aunts & Uncles (otherwise referred to Zia & Zio), countless 1st cousin, and a growing number of 2nd cousins.

My Mom came to Canada from Italy when she was 5 years old; my Dad on the other hand was born here. When my mom immigrated a large part of her family did as well, but most of them landed in Australia. This means that the majority of her side of the family all lives down under.

I’ve been lucky enough to have spent both a month in Italy (twice!), and a month in Australia visiting family. I hope one day to take the hubbie and our kids to visit them as well. As Italians, family means everything and there is nothing I want more then to have a big one of my own!

The 9 – 5

I work in the fashion industry. Yes, the exciting and illusive fashion industry!

Vancouver’s Fashion Industry isn’t as big and exciting as other Canadian markets like Toronto & Montreal. It’s small and charming and everybody knows everybody else.

I graduated from Kwantlen University College in 2007 with a Bachelors of Arts in Fashion Design and Technology. As part of my fourth year graduation project I had to design and produce a line of clothing for a niche market. You can read all about that here. 2 days after graduation I landed and started my current job. Pretty sweet deal if you ask me!

I work for a local vertical retailer as their Design & Production Assistant. This means I organize fabrics, order notions, pick thread colours, visit factories, quality control garments and source a bunch of stuff. Since our design department is quite small, I basically do anything that is needed of me. Sometimes it gets busy and stressful, but mostly it’s a great way to learn a whole bunch of things at once.

Hopefully, in the next little while I will be starting something of my own. Maybe a little more ‘craft’ then ‘fashion’, but creative none the less!

The Blog

After having several half assed put together websites over the years I finally started blogging back in early 2005 when MSN offered a space for people to post pictures and write blogs. I was new to the whole thing but I ate it up. 

I was also a huge fan of Matthew Good and reading his blog, as well as those he linked, inspired me greatly. It was in the Summer of 2005 that I made the official jump to Blogger. 

Since then this blog has followed me through all of my life’s events. Relationships, school, my first ‘Real’ job, family events, parties, weddings and much more. My blog really is like my diary.

Slowly, but surely, as this blog grows with me, things will be added to it. Fashion posts, food stories, favorite recipes, photos, and inevitable, baby talk!

My goal is that in 20 years I can come back here and read my old stories. I can reminisce about old adventures. I can remember what it was like when I first met Chad. I can laugh at pictures from parties. I can smile at all the friends this blog has helped me gain, and I can remember all fun I’ve had over the years. 

The Nick Name

In elementary school my best friend gave me the nick name Smelly Danielly Welly. I’m not really sure why she did but I always thought it was cute and endearing. It was not because I actually smelled, unless I did and no one ever told me, but that’s not the point. I thought it was cute! 

When I signed up for my Hotmail account back in high school at some point I filled in a bunch of information and I stuck in my nick name ‘Smelly Danielly’. When I got my MSN space it automatically named my blog my nick name and I couldn’t change it. I wasn’t too impressed with this as I did not really want people to think I was some sort of crazy. However, people started reading it and then started linking me under my blog name. 

When I made the move to blogger I figured I keep the same name as people already knew who I was. I thought it was kind of catchy and would make people remember me. I figured I’d use the name as my ‘marketing tool’. It definitely grabbed peoples attention!

Since then, I’ve actively been called ‘Smells’ or ‘Smelly’  or a variation there of by many people. It’s always been used as a term of endearment. I still find the name cute and probably always will. 

I will forever be Smelly Danielly.