A creamy crunchy yogurt bowl, an update on our Italian residency, and a new playlist to keep you movin'.

Plus, a bit of This & That.

This is 41

A note on this 41st birthday of mine to say thank you for being such an important and uplifting part of this community. So many of us have never met in real life, yet our lives have been connected for years. Some of you were my virtual mom group through all of my pregnancies, giving me tips, talking to me at the 2am feed, and offering understanding during times that were new and overwhelming to me, while others have been my foodie soul mates, sending me recipe inspiration, restaurants I must go to, or thank you notes for creating dishes children will actually eat. The conversations are real, intimate, and inspiring. I am grateful for all of you. Thank you for the tremendous birthday love this week. It filled my cup. x

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Yogurt with Puffed Farro, Pomegranate, and Pistachio

This week, I discovered the most delicious puffed farro cereal at the supermarket. A brand called Poggio del Farro, their organic puffed farro cereal comes in a variety of flavors, including chocolate and berry. With a perfect amount of crunch and sweetness, it's delicious with some milk or as a topping on your favorite yogurt. If you can't find puffed farro, look for puffed wheat and puffed rice in the cereal aisle. Here is my favorite combo right now.

YOGURT WITH PUFFED FARRO, POMEGRANATE, AND PISTACHIO

• Greek yogurt or yogurt of choice

• Puffed farro or other puffed cereal

• Pomegranate seeds

• Pistachios, roughly chopped

• Blueberries or berry of choice

• Hemp Seeds

• Honey

In a bowl, spread a thin layer of yogurt. Top with puffed cereal, pomegranate seeds, chopped pistachios, blueberries, hemp seeds, and a drizzle of honey.

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The Residency Appointment

We are coming up on two months in Turin. Next week, Andre and the boys will finally have their residency appointment with the municipality, and I will simultaneously file for my residency attached to their application. It's the first step in the Jure Sanguinis process (obtaining citizenship by descent) and must happen before the 90-day stay in the Schengen region is up. It's been very stressful the past few weeks as we scrambled to find an Italian lawyer in the region who could help guide us through the process after several false starts with the wrong assistance.

Andre initially hired a relocation company in Turin to help him with residency and submitting his citizenship kit. We had already paid Italian Citizenship Assistance while in the United States to prepare the entire kit. Andre felt it was pretty straightforward for someone to handle locally and we didn't need a law firm. As the weeks pressed forward, it became apparent that the case was complicated because we also needed to file various applications for me to stay. The consequences of a wrong step with this would be severe. If not done correctly, I would violate my 90-day stay or have to return to the US for three months without my family before I could fly back to Torino. Andre felt the relocation company lacked confidence in this component and decided it would not be a smart move to continue with them. So began the journey to find an attorney in Italy.