BIG NEWS: Bringing My Business to Turkey!

Do you ever have this moments where you freeze and wonder "how the hell did I get here"? Well...that's been happening all to often to me lately. As I stand in the dark of an old, tattered tailor shop owned by he old, five-foot Turkish man next to me, I have to backtrack on how I actually got here.

Rewind to this passed Summer during one of my "girl-power-Sweetie-you-can-do-anything-in-the-world-you-want-to-do" motivational talks from my Mom. "You need to start taking advantage of living in these amazing places and find a way to incorporate them into your business plan". She was right. I have always dreamed of designing some of my own looks to sell on my site, and honestly, Turkey couldn't be a more perfect place to make this a reality.

Turkey is one of the largest textile exporters worldwide and I'll never forget how many beautiful, unique, one-of-a-kind fabrics I had seen there the last time I called Turkey home. As a store owner, I am always struggling finding unique special occasion looks that feel different from anything you can pick up in a mall. Pre-store owner, I had an even more difficult time with this. When I have the rare opportunity to really dress up and go somewhere fabulous, I want to feel like I'm wearing something one-of-a-kind, without fear of walking in to someone else in the venue wearing the same dress. These Turkish fabrics could make fabulous clothing pieces, so different from anything you could ever find in America. My mom sparked an awesome idea, and I was hell bent on making it happen.

I reached out to a few contacts I had in Turkey, but no one quite knew where I should begin. I was on my own to get this ball rolling. About a month ago, D's parents came to visit from Lithuania and we were walking them through the small streets of our "downtown" area. We passed a series of tailor shops who looked like they were making custom men's suits and I caught the eye of one of the old men who was working the store inside. "Come here a minute", I told D (I'm sure he only obliged thinking I was about to get him fitted for a new custom suit). I took out my google translator and asked the old, adorable man if he knew anyone in town that made dresses. Suddenly, he looks in my eyes and turns the shop's lights off. Hmm.... this could really go one of two ways here. 

To my relief, the old man waved for us to follow him as he lead us into the street and locked his shop's doors behind him. We then found ourselves following this precious old man weaving through the downtown alleys, up three flights of stairs and into, what we thought, was someone's apartment. He opens the doors to reveal a small seamstress shop with two women working on their sewing machines. He exchanged a few words with them and they ask us to have a seat, and the old man is gone before I can even thank him/give him a huge kiss on the cheek like I wanted to. I take my translator back out and tell the women I own a store in America and would like to have some of my own designs made to sell in my store. She says, confidently, that she's up for the job and sends me to a fabric store down the street to get some fabric for her to make a sample of which I picked up, extremely impressed by, a few days later. 

Next up was fabric shopping, and I know Istanbul is home to some of the best in the world. I called up my sister-in-law and asked if she minded taking some time off work to meet me there and I'm so lucky she agreed. She's super creative, brutally honest, and has an incredible sense of fashion, all the makings of a perfect shopping partner. We arrived to Istanbul on a Sunday night and had until Friday to get all of our shopping done. I had plans to use a local travel guide a friend had recommended to accompany us on our shopping trips to translate/help us negotiate pricing, but unfortunately she fell through at the last minute.

After several bottles of rose at dinner, D's sister had the bright idea to ask our Turkish waiter, who spoke little to no English, if he had any english-speaking friends who could join us on our shopping extravaganza. A few minutes later, I'm on the phone with our waiter's bestie who has agreed to meet with us at 10 am the following day and bring us to the fabric shop's I had researched. Again, this could really go either way here. We met Omer the next morning, unsure if he was a nice Turkish boy or a closet Ted Bundy, and we were relieved to learn he definitely wasn't the latter. 

We walked through the old streets of Sultanhamam, an area overwhelmingly dominated by local men and women in hijab, and began negotiating deals with Omer, and our waiter friend who also joined. So confused as to what two Western women were doing wandering these streets, every few feet or so we'd be surrounded by a  group  of young Turkish guys who were clearly asking our Turkish guides who we were and what we were doing there. Another, "wow how did I get to this exact moment" moment. At the end of the day, it was a successful shopping trip and Omer was invaluable not only for his translation skills, but for his chivalrous acts of carrying our heavy shopping bags throughout the afternoon.

 

 

The next day, I had an appointment to meet with a shop owner in the "Grand Bazaar", the most famous shopping bazaar in the world, who was selling hand-made, woven Turkish textiles. We stepped into his shop and were completely awestruck by his gorgeous fabrics, all with their own unique prints and colors. Ibrahim, the shop's owner, walked me through all his fabrics and taught me all about the history and culture behind producing each piece. His fabrics are hand-dyed and woven using the same techniques since the 19th century. Each roll of fabric is unique, and he never repeats the exact style twice. I knew I had to have some of these gorgeous prints, and I can't wait to see how incredible they will look once they come to life.

The most beautiful shopping bazaar in the world 

After Ibrahim, we shopped in a few more fabric stores in the Grand Bazaar, stepping inside what we thought would be a small space, that somehow continued to stretch, floor by floor, until what seemed to be forever. We left Istanbul on Friday with hundreds of yards of stunning fabric, endless epic stories and a huge sense of pride for being two 20-something year old girls able to negotiate business deals in a male-dominated foreign country.

Ibrahim's store

After returning to our city with all the fabric, I now had to find enough workers to help me crank out my designs by my trip home in two and a half weeks. After several samples, fittings, google translations and laughs, I now have there local seamstresses and tailors working for me to make my designs a reality for my trip home December 2nd. 

This has been such a fun process that's invaluable no matter the success of my designs. I am so grateful for so many of the local people here that have been extremely helpful in making this a reality.  From the sweet old tailor who literally closed his shop down to help someone he didn't know, to one of D's teammate's neighbors who speaks incredible English and has become my local translator/negotiator. I couldn't do it without the Turkish people being so open minded to my crazy ideas in spite of the fact that I can't speak their language. I'm happy to be able to bring some jobs and money into this town that has been so kind and welcoming to my family and the families of all the Americans on our team. I can't wait to show you all my designs when I unveil them this December!

A  little time for sight seeing at the Blue Mosque 

If you're reading this and have some crazy idea brewing in your head today, go for it. If I can get clothes made in a foreign country, you can do whatever in the world you set your mind to. Thanks Mom.

One Week In & Disaster Strikes

Saturday morning started early for me with a 5 am wakeup call to bring D to the gym for an away game flight. After dropping him off I went back to sleep and woke up to a phone call from him a few hours later. "Did you see what happened?... there's been a bombing in Ankara". Immediately I turned on the news and to my horror, he was right. Two bombs detonated in the middle of Turkey's capital at a peace rally that morning, killing nearly 100 people and injuring over 250 more. My first thought was grief and sadness for all those innocent people and their families and my second was "Shit. I really hope my mom doesn't watch the news today". 

Ever since moving overseas three years ago, I've always been faced with mixed opinions of family and friends. While most think it's exciting and the opportunity of a lifetime, others worry for me and ask if I'm scared or feel safe abroad. I never quite understood their premise there. In America we can no longer go to a movie theater, attend church or send our kids to elementary school with peace of mind. To be honest, I actually feel safer living overseas. The thought of a bombing in my current country is undeniably alarming. However, violence, no matter how different the motive behind it may be, takes place in every country in the world today and that's unfortunately the society we live in.  

So here I am one week into my new city in Turkey and we are struck with a major national tragedy. D's away game was cancelled today as the country will spend the next three days in national mourning. Of course my mom inevitably heard the news and called me panicking, as any  mom would. I'm hundreds of miles way from Ankara, where the bombings took place, and I can assure you all I'm safe and sound in our little city of Giresun. (FYI- Turkey is a HUGE country. This would be like me calling a friend in Southern California after the Oregon shooting last week asking if they were okay). 

Although we were far from the action, Ankara does have two basketball teams and if you're interested to read an account of another American wife who is currently living there, you can do so here.

She ends her blog post about this week's tragedy with a beautiful verse that comforted me to read and that I will pass on to my mom and anyone who spent time worrying this weekend about D or myself.

6 Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank Him for all He has done.7 Then you will experience God's peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.


Philippians 4:6-7 (NLT)

I debated writing this post as I didn't want to bring attention and cause fear and panic among my friends and family members who weren't aware of what happened on Saturday. Ultimately, I decided this is a huge piece of my life here. You guys often get to see the glamorous sides to how we live, the traveling and awesome places and things we get to experience. However it's important you get to see the whole picture. As much fun as we have living this lifestyle and all the positive wisdom that comes along with it,  it's moments like these that make me experience real growth.

I find comfort in knowing I am exactly where God wants me to be right now. I get to live in a beautiful city with my husband, while he gets paid to do what he loves. We are surrounded by awesome teammates and wives this year, and I thank God every day for this opportunity he has given us (and for all our family and friends at home who love us enough to worry.)

Season 4 Begins: The Return to Turkey!

There's nothing we overseas basketball wives look forward to more than the start of Summer. After 9-10 months away from family, friends and normalcy, we're practically begging for it by season's end. This Summer was one of my toughest to date. In the midst of the happiness in preparing for my mom's wedding, we were hit with the sudden and tragic loss of my grandfather. After burying him just a week before my mom tied the knot, we were then pushed back into wedding mode (ready or not), and after her wedding was over, I was flying over the pond to Lithuania for my sister-in-laws! Fast forward through a trip to Lithuania, Paris & Barcelona, I was suddenly back home and (pleasantly) surprised with the news of my brother's engagement.  He eloped a few weeks later and we through a small dinner party for him the following week. SO three weddings, a funeral and trying to squeeze in any bit of working on my business that I could, (while still trying to see all of our loved ones all over the USA), it was an emotionally exhausting summer. 

This summer was the longest I'd ever spent back home since moving overseas three years ago. Five months of people speaking English, being able to find what I want to cook in the grocery store, and not having to rely on anyone else in the world to get through my day. As much as I appreciate these little delicacies, oddly enough I start to miss the uncertainty of life overseas. I feel spoiled & unsettled by how easy life is. We call it "reverse culture shock", and it was slowly taking over my brain my last few months in America. 

D ended up leaving for Turkey in the middle of August to head to training camp, and I was set to join him the last day of September. One of the hardest parts about our lives is how much time we have to spend apart. Hats off to all of you long-distance couples, because I know so many of you do it for way longer than we do, you're the real MVP.

As this is our fourth season overseas, D pretty much knows the drill of how I will harass him with questions about our new city/living situation until I know for sure what I"m getting myself into. "Can you find ____ [insert: hot sauce, kale, good wine, brussels sprouts, chicken without feathers]"?, "on a scale of 1-10 how many dirty looks will I get going to the grocery store in lululemons"?,  "do you see me and the team manager going out for lunch dates and splitting a bottle of merlot or will I never hear from him all season"? "any cute grandmas in our apartment building that want to teach me native recipes"? You know.. the essentials.

D stayed in a hotel until right before I got here and had the daunting task of finding an apartment that he knows I wouldn't torment him about. After viewing several different places (and sending me one grainy photo from each.. seriously I hate men sometimes), he found us the perfect place! 

I finally made it to our city on Tuesday after a less than easy journey (lets just say I'd rather sit through an entire season of Keeping Up With the Kardashians than ever do that trip again.) The long JFK to Istanbul flight was rather painless as anyone knows I have severe narcolepsy and am able to sleep just about anywhere. After landing in Istanbul, I for some reason had to collect all my luggage and push it, UPHILL, from the international to domestic terminal to catch my next flight. After arriving drenched in sweat from an uphill climb in an un-airconditioned airport, I barely made my connecting flight and looked as if I had just competed in the Hunger Games. I was then seated next to a Turkish girl in her twenties who was so scared of flying that she actually asked to hold my hand for the duration of the flight. Here I am sitting, fingers interlaced, with someone I just met when I think "does this type of weird shit happen to other people"? As soon as things can't get weirder, she pulls out something from her pocket and offers it to me. I've never taken a xanax, but I can honestly say that after the day I had, I was rather hopeful that's what my new friend was offering me. Unfortunately, it was just a piece of the most tasteless, chewiest gum I've ever come across, and after sneaking Tucker onto my lap, I realized this girl is exactly who they make emotional support animals for.

I arrived in Giresun and was greeted by my handsome husband, flowers in hand. He took me to our new home and I'm so excited to spend the season there. Our apartment is on top of a hill right on the water and we have the most amazing views of the Black Sea and the city landscape. The only downfall is the 97 steps it takes to actually each our front door, but I've learned to just squeeze my butt-cheeks and repeat the mantra "Rock.Solid.Ass" with every step. 

Still not finished but a little peak of our apartment!

I truly believe with every season that we spend over here, God has his reasons for putting us in each place that he has. After living in the most beautiful city on Earth last year, it'll definitely be a transition and a learning experience adjusting to life in Turkey again. Walking through the city center, hearing the call to prayer over the mosque speakers and seeing the people take their shoes off and get on their prayer mats, it's a surreal experience. I never imagined I'd live in some of the places that I have, yet every place has turned out to be such a learning experience for me. I know God has some plans for D and I here and I'm eager and anxious to see what they are.

On top of Boztepe

Foot washing station outside the Mosque

the view from our balcony

On the gondola in Urdu!

Turkish Pizza is a thing & I'm into it.

The Waiting Game

First off, apologies to the six of you outside of my bloodline who actually read this, as I was terrible at keeping up with my blog this season. With that being said, I promise to do a better job at posting this year. 

The summer is always a crazy time for us, and this one's been no different. D arrived back from Italy just in time for my mom's wedding (and unfortunately the funeral of my grandfather). We typically stay in the US for the majority of the summer, as the thought of another transatlantic flight makes me want to, well...die, however, this year we needed to head to Lithuania for D's sister's wedding. After her beautiful wedding and a short trip to both Barcelona and Paris, we headed back home to Florida. 

D's sister was such a beautiful bride

Our family at my mama's wedding!

 It's always difficult for us balancing our summer schedule between traveling all over the US to see our loved ones while still fitting in time for me to work on my business and for D to train and work on his game for the upcoming season. Needless to say, our lives are far more hectic and busy in the summertime than they are for the entire basketball season. 

Summertime can be extremely unsettling for overseas basketball players and their families in general, as it begins the period I like to call "the waiting game". The end of the season and start of summer marks the time where we must decide our next move for the following season. I always have friends and family ask about free agency in Europe and how it works so hopefully I can clear it up for you. 

D's agent is in contact with teams across Europe and they reach out to him with offers that he then presents to us to choose from. This can be an extremely stressful period, as you're pretty powerless over the entire situation. If you're lucky, you'll have multiple offers to choose from and can get it out of the way early on in the summer, however this isn't always the case. I've had friends not know where they were going until late August some years, forcing them to pack up and move within a day or two. 

Luckily D was contacted by a few teams early on this Summer and toward the end of June we signed a contract with a team in Giresun, Turkey! We had a great experience the last time we lived in Turkey, although with a different team,  so we're hoping to enjoy it equally as much this time around. Typically when we're in the negotiating stages with a team, we immediately google the city to find out as much as we can about them. This is often a hilarious time that we get a lot of laughs from. "Well, I know this place looks terrible but it is the chestnut capital of the world, so that's super cool, right?!" I'm also the member of a Facebook group full of basketball wives where we all exchange questions and information about all the teams. It helps to know what you're getting into before arriving. (True story: We once researched a team and couldn't find anything about the city besides how to order a mail order bride from its borders....needless to say we didn't sign there). 

Here are some images of Giresun based on my [not very] extensive Google Image Search:

 

 

As this will be our fourth season overseas, we've learned so much and come so far since we started this journey three years ago. My main priority when we first moved overseas was to live in a great city. Not knowing much about European Basketball, I automatically assumed the best teams would be in the best countries & cities and the worst teams would be in the less desirable areas. Boy was I wrong! I now go into every free agency, still hoping to live in a great place, but with a much wider list things to prioritize. Our list typically looks like this:

1. The Overall Basketball Situation. This is the most important factor for us and what we take most largely into account. This can encompass everything from expected playing time, the coaching staff,  management staff, quality of the leagues the team plays in, etc. 
2. Financial Stability of the Team.  Sadly, a lot of teams in Europe can be delinquent on making payments, so it's absolutely essential to do your research and be sure the team is going to be financially secure and able to consistently pay on time. 
3. Teammates. Unfortunately, this one is pretty impossible to predict until arriving, unless you already know someone on the team, but having great teammates & families makes so much of a difference. With an awesome group of friends around, even the most uninteresting city can be a blast. 
4. Location (including weather, proximity to an airport, quality of the apartments we're given). Although no longer #1, this is still a huge priority. We spend over 9 months overseas every year and love living places with a lot to see and experience (not to mention our friends and family are way more likely to come visit when we live somewhere desirable to tourists). You can be in the greatest place on Earth, but if basketball isn't going well, or you don't have friends to be around, it really defeats the purpose. 

**(some other factors that aren't quite as important, but still of high priority include: accessibility of various hot sauce brands at the grocery stores and the availability of retro Jordans to purchase.)**

Congratulations you have your list, now pick 1-2 of those things to make a reality. Unfortunately, no team ever aces all of these factors, so you have to weigh your options and decide which one works best for you based on your own needs. Additionally, its super hard to predict many of these things until actually showing up for training camp. A city can look great, or terrible for that matter, via google images, and you could be pleasantly surprised upon arrival.. or quite the opposite. 

D's short summer will come to an end in just 2 weeks when he'll head over to Turkey for training camp. Fortunately, I've already been in touch with two wives who will be on our same team next year so I'm exited to meet them and have them for support. I'll keep working until late September and then fly over to join D in Giresun! Turkey was definitely the most interesting and different place I've ever lived, so I'm sure there will be no lack of material for the blog this season. Stay tuned for updates on this next chapter of our lives. XOXO

El-Jubble..Huh???

Have you ever read a book and in your head pronounced a character's name extremely wrong, only to find out how off you are when its been adapted into a movie? You kinda feel like your whole life's been a lie. Anyways, I first heard of Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia, when I had to learn every country's capital in my college Geography class. Like any rational human being, I pronounced it el-jubble-jannah, but luckily never had to say it out loud. Fast forward to my first year living in Europe where I somehow read something about Ljubljana and asked D a question about the city. He bursts into tears saying "WHAT THE HELL DID YOU JUST CALL IT"?  D (and the rest of Europe) are always making fun of Americans for our lack of Geographical knowledge, but honestly I felt like he should be impressed I had heard of the place to begin with. Besides, how was I supposed to know have of those letters were silent? Anyways, the correct pronunciation is lube-lee-annuh and ever since that day, whenever I have a "blonde moment",  D refers to me as an "el-jubble-jannah".

Naturally since this word has become such a household name of ours, I looked forward to the day I could travel to this mystical city. I had heard amazing things about it and now that we're just two hours away we made sure it was on our bucket list this year. 

I love getting to see cities before they become huge tourist destinations. Tourism in Ljubljana is on the rise and in five or so years, I'm sure it'll be a completely different city. We stayed at the most gorgeous hotel and paid a fraction of what it would cost in a major European city. Gotta love that.

The main square

Love locks on one of the many bridges

D and I 100% judge a city on how good its food is. Slovenia has amazing Mediterranean cuisine with Italian influences. They really pride themselves on their olive oils and we tried some of the best I've ever had (In fact it took everything in my power not to steal every restaurant's olive oil off the table and stash it into my purse). We were blown away by how good the food was. 

Ljubljana is a small city and everything is easily accessible on foot, which is so nice. The main center is situated around a river with the city's old castle on a hill perched behind it. Its beautiful and reminded me of a mix between Prague and Vilnius, completely different from anywhere I've ever been.

On top of Ljubljana Castle

The city center with the castle behind

If you ever have a chance to go to Ljubljana, jump on that!  I had hyped this city so much in my head after using its name so often, and I'm happy to say, it did not disappoint! I will continue to (proudly) call it el-jubble-jannah and encourage you to do the same. 

Fish En Papillote

Fish en Papillote

When I'm looking for meal ideas, I usually require they hit a few of these categories: easy, inexpensive, healthy and fast (with bonus points added for  using the least amount of dishes as humanly possible). This recipe is a big win because it fits all five of these criteria. Being from Florida, I'm a huge seafood fan and living in northern Italy, where seafood is EVERYWHERE, has only grown my love for cooking fish.

This dish probably takes a total of 20 minutes form start to finish and its super easy to make for one person or a large crowd. It's become my go-to meal for when D's on the road and I need to cook for just one. 

Besides being ridiculously easy and yummy, this recipe has a very chic French name that makes it sound much fancier than it really is. So you can invite someone over for dinner and tell them you're making "Fish en Papillotte" which really just translates to "fish cooked in paper". I usually use Salmon for this dish but lately I've been sending D to our favorite local fisherman's shop to pick up the groceries and he came back with some mysterious (and amazing) white fish that worked out just fine as well. 

Fish en Papillote

Ingredients:

• 2 Fish fillets of your choice (one per person)
• 2 Zucchinis, sliced (one per person)
• Half a red onion, sliced thin
• A handful of fresh basil, chopped 
• A couple handfuls of Cherry Tomatoes, halved
• One lemon, sliced
• 4 Garlic Cloves, peeled
• Olive Oil
• Dried Rosemary & Thyme or Herbs de Provence
• Pesto (store bought or homemade), find my favorite recipe here: Arugula & Toasted Walnut Pesto (OPTIONAL) 
• Parchment Paper

Directions:

• Take a large piece of parchment paper and fold it in half. Channel your inner Kindergarten-self on Valentine's Day and cut a half heart shape into the paper. Repeat for however many servings you're making.
  
  
  

  

  Pathetic attempt at a heart.. I know.

• Toss your zucchini, red onion, basil and tomatoes in a bowl with olive oil, salt, pepper and some dried thyme & rosemary (or Herbs de Provence)
  
• Unfold your parchment papers (noting how awful your heart shape looks), and divide your vegetable mixture evenly onto each sheet. Add a couple garlic cloves to each portion.
  
• Top the vegetable mixture with a few slices of lemon
• Season your fish fillets with salt, freshly ground pepper and the dried herbs & place on top of your lemon slices
   
  
• Top with pesto (optional) or a drizzle of olive oil or white wine if you'd rather
  
• Fold the other half of your heart piece on top of the fish and seal the sides making small, overlapping folds until the entire side is closed up (Click Here for a much clearer instruction of these steps) *it's important each pouch is sealed well so the fish will steam properly
   
   
   
  
   
• Bake at 450 degrees for 12-15 minutes depending on the thickness of your fish  
•  

  

  I love to serve it left on half of the parchment paper

  

  Yummy!

Recipe Notes: If you don't like zucchini, asparagus works really well with this dish! I love doing a Mediterranean style en Papillote with asparagus, capers, olives, tomatoes & feta :) There are tons of different combinations that will work with this same technique. 

Please give this easy recipe a go and I promise it'll become a part of your dinner (or lunch) rotation! 

XOXO