My name is Jillian. In Italy they pronounce it Gee-lee-Aan. Sometimes to make everyone’s life easier I just introduce myself as Giulianna.
Born and raised in Canada. Married to a Belgian scientist who happens to be the calmest, most patient, most incredible guy in the world. Lucky me.
Currently living in beautiful Northern Italy (for more than a decade). If you’re curious about the region I live in check out an article I wrote for one of my favourite magazines SisterMag here.
Mother to twin daughters (12) and a son (10) who happen to be the smartest, most creative and most loving kids a mama could hope for. Again…lucky me.
In love with baking, cooking, sewing, chicken raising, gardening, traveling, photography…
Contact: jillianinitaly@hotmail.com
Find me here as well:
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I also write a bi-weekly Traveling With Kids column here.
Jillian In Italy 
Dear Jillian,
very nice to find you!!! I have triplets and I also feel very happy about it. I feel like a special person who will see these wonderful little people grow.
I’m italian, but i lived in the States as a student.
I’m live in north est of italy, perhaps we will meet one day.
Love things you do.
Triplets! Wow…you must be super-mom. I had 3 kids in 2 years and I thought that was a lot! Great to be in touch with you. If you’re ever around Lago Maggiore let me know! Jill x
Ciao Jillian, my wife and I moved from the US to Italy last year and are living in Arona. We have 4 littles ones so everyday is an adventure for us. We started a blog to capture of families adventures, check us out. Maybe we can meet up for a caffe sometime.
Awayinitaly.com
Chris and Family
Neat! I go to Arona all the time and love it. It would be great to meet up for a chat sometime. You can send me an email with your details to jillianinitaly@hotmail.com Take care!
Italy….we have a sabbatical coming up in a few years and spending it in Italy is one of our options. I spent 10 days in Rome a few years ago at a conference – the food was amazing and the city so beautiful. Lovely…
If you have a sabbatical year coming up I think Italy would be a great place to go. So much culture, good food, great weather, fantastic shopping…etc etc. We’ve been here for over a decade and love it (most days). Italians love kids and family time is of the highest priority. Thanks for visiting Sandra!
Hi. I live in Italy too and have one son (7) and a boy and girl who are twins (2). Look forward to reading your blog.
Neat! Where do you live in Italy? And more importantly how are you coping with your twins?? I also have a 7 year old son. Hope to hear from you again, J
I am in Bologna. I love the aprons you found – I have never found anything in our mercatini but I think I will go and have another look. Do you know about http://www.ilmondodeigemelli.org ? They have a great forum for swapping twin stories, getting advice, meeting up (although I expect you are beyond the stage of needing advice now! We are just getting into the swing of tantrums here!)
Hi Jillian! Nice to meet you 😉 Thank you for dropping by my blog! I hope you’ll enjoy your japan trip and looking forward on your trip photos 🙂
Myself, my wife and 2 children (6 and 10) are heading off to Japan in August for an 8 day stop over before continuing on to Europe. Any suggestions on must see places to visit in Japan – although I should be asking at the end of your journey! Fantastic photo journal – the images show the children how much fun it will be.
Hi Martin. I’m so glad to hear you’re taking your family to Japan. It’s an amazing country and so great for travelling families. The Japanese are so friendly and helpful,the food is amazing and the sites are unbelievable. Are you getting train passes for your stay? It might be worth it for you all because the trains are expensive but so convenient to use (JR rail passes). I would defintely suggest going to the five lake district as there are many beautiful shrines, hikes and of course Mount Fuji (we stayed at K’s House hostel in Kawaguchiko…very clean and affordable). After that I think Kyoto is a must see. So many beautiful shrines and temples but also many interesting places for kids (Monkey Park is a big fave). We rented bikes there for the day and it was perfect. In Kyoto we rented a traditional style Japanese house in the centre of town (although a quiet neighbourhood) and it was perfect. Let me know if you want the site. If you need any other tips or advice just let me know!
Great to find your blog – We just moved to Bordeaux, France from New York State about 6 months ago…it’s nice to read experiences of other expats in Europe. I see you love photography too! I don’t have twins but I have 3 girls – 11,8 & 4 and they keep us plenty busy. Thanks for sharing it. I also started blogging our experiences mainly to keep friends in the States up to date with our travels and new life.
Wow, Bordeaux must be a wonderful place to live. I absolutely love France. We try and go as much as possible. I’ll pop over to your blog to have a look. Keep in touch!
I will stay in touch…We have plans to be in Florence, Italy in the Fall – I love reading about your experiences. At this point, plan is France is 2 years – but you never know…I also feel very lucky to be where we are now – It’s a great feeling to LOVE where you live.
definitely…I really enjoy your posts!…it’s so fun to see how others adjust to foreign life!..
Jillian, what a lovely picture of yours. It’s so beautiful, I love it!!!!
You have a wonderful blog, be prepared to se me here often 😉
Love, Elena.
Thanks Elena! A talented friend made my photo so much nicer than the original (if you’re ever in need of a graphic artist she’s amazing). Thanks for visiting. Keep in touch, J x
I’m glad I cam across your blog, as an American now living in Sicily adjusting well and looking forward to flight hops!!! 🙂
Glad you found me! I’m always happy to be in touch with a fellow North American living in Italy. How is it living in Sicily? I think it’s very different from living in the North. One day I’d love to make it down there to visit (soon I hope!). Thanks for the visit!
Hey Jillian, came across this item and thought you might try it: http://www.homemadesimple.com/en-ca/foodandrecipes/pages/homemade-caramel-apple-lollipops.aspx?utm_source=email&utm_medium=single%2Bfocus&utm_campaign=caramel%2Bapples
These are great! I’ll give them a try for Hallowe’en this year.
I just discovered your blog and look forward to reading more!
I have gobs of plums–how’s that for not “much” or “many”? I wanted to try your plum-rhubarb jam recipe. I was curious what size jars you meant.
I live in Portland, Or., so I’ll need to do all the conversions; and want to plan ahead for yield.
We are having a glorious fall.
Hi! I’ve just discovered your blog and found out we already have two things in common: we both live in Northern Italy and have the same WP template 😉
I’m a japanese>italian translator, love Japan and enjoyed a lot the photo posts about your trip there.
Oh that’s so neat! I just took a peek at your blog and it’s great. Lovely photos. Where are you in Italy? Great to meet you!
I’m in Trento. Nice to meet you, too! 🙂
Hi! I’ve just discovered your blog and I love your daughters’s winter coats but also rain boots and raincoats!
where have you bought them? Seriously, I LOVE THEM!
Hi there! The winter coats are from Boden. The rainboots from Joules. And the raincoats are from my favourite Danish brand Mala. I love to put my kids in colourful clothes!
Thanks! they are beautiful!
Your blog is so crisp.. I really like your presentation.
Thanks Kerri! Glad you popped by.
Hi Jillian! What a coincidence about our children. It is so much fun, isn’t it? I look forward to staying in touch and sharing with each other, sweet moments of motherhood and more. xox
Hi, Jillian! So nice to find your lovely blog! Looking forward to read more:)
Cheers,
Mila
I’m so happy to have you discovered on ig … Well, if you live in Italy I speak Italian!
A presto,
Silvia
Hi Jillian,
I found you blog today and I can’t stop reading it and living it, if I may say so. Congrats for the beautiful family and thank you for having this great idea of sharing so much with us. I love traveling, and cooking and doing small things that make people happy and your blog grew wings into my heart hoping I will get more dreams come true.
Kindest regards, Oana from Romania 🙂
Hi Jillian, so glad I found your blog. Italy seems to be such a magical place to live. Is it? Also, I read your post on Cup of Joe and loved hearing about your life with your family. Very interesting!
Thanks for your message. And yes, Italy really is a magical place to live. I appreciate it’s culture and beauty every single day (and food of course!). Warm greetings! J
Hi Jillian, since I’m new to your blog I wanted to start from the beginning and read your many past posts. I don’t see an Archives pull-down here, so do you know how I might start at the beginning? I’ve tried scrolling down to older posts, but there are so many it would take a long time to reach the beginning. Thanks!
I just added a monthly archives which will make it much easier to look back at previous posts. Thanks for letting me know how difficult it is to go back though! I never thought about that. Warning though, my beginning posts aren’t that interesting! Jx
Dear Jillian, I came across your wonderful blog while searching for travel tips with kids and Verona. Thank you for sharing all your stories and travel adventures. We are heading to Europe for the first time next year. We have three kids aged 8,5,2 and our eldest uses a wheelchair to explore and cannot wait! We will be traveling from Australia.
Hi Jillian, I came across your blog while searching for nice places to live in Northern Italy (I am momentarily living in Milan with my sister). I have just relocated to Italy with my 8 years old son from Calgary, AB after 16 years. While I am Italian born, I was feeling a little overwhelmed, discouraged even (especially by the job search) and dealing with the “reverse culture shock”… Your blog really makes me feel so much more positive and makes me appreciate my beautiful country again and miss Canada and all I have left behind a little less.
My son and I love the outdoor and I can’t wait to get out there and know new places.
I am not artistic at all (always wished I was) and women/moms like you are such an inspiration to me!
So thank you! I look forward to reading many more of your posts and to hopefully settle and adjust soon.
Eva
PS: I read you make pancakes. Do you know if you can buy pancakes mix in Italy (ie. Aunt Jasmina) or do you make them from scratch? If so, would you mind sharing your favourite recipe? Thank you a lot.
Great to hear from you! And I can relate to the reverse culture shock (I have it every time I visit Canada). Are you planning on staying in Milano or do you want to live elsewhere? The lake region is a great place to bring up kids (and so close to Milan). As for the pancakes I think it’s quite hard to find the mixes (and really expensive). I usually make this simple and quick recipe http://www.joyofbaking.com/breakfast/Pancakes.html
Keep in touch Eva (love your name…my daughter is also Eva!)
Thank you for your reply! I am actually trying no to live in a big city and the area around Lake Maggiore really appeals me. Unfortunately I will have to go where I find a job though… sigh
Thank you for the recipe. I can’t wait to try it. I assume you use the “lievito Bertolini” as baking powder?
I will be in touch!
Eva
hey giuliana
I have been searching for some nice stitching books in English preferably .here in Italy I find it difficult translating LA mia boutique or burdastyle riviste.
how could I get English sewing books in Italy .
grazie ciao
hello giuliana
I find it difficult translating burda style or la mia boutique because it contains all stuff I needed
help me how possibly could find English sewing books in Italy .
grazie
Hello. I found you on Instagram by accident. As one does. Im so glad I did. Your pictures are just so colourful and your children (and you) are just so way cool! I/we have identical twin girls too. But they’re all growed up now (32 on Saturday). I’m from a little town called Meyerton, south of Johannesburg, South Africa. Do put Cape Town on your list of places to see – its lovely. (I grew up there). Anyway. All the best. I’m going to follow you now, on IG. Xxxxx
Great work you are supporting, and here in Uganda, we are also working to promote reusable pads! We have been relying on donated shipments from volunteers around the world, Days for Girls- USA, and local purchases from a Ugandan social enterprise. We are currently working on sustainability options to run a local social enterprise producing and selling the pads. However, we still need lots of help — menstrual kits, funds and technical assistance on this project.