#TuscanyNominate

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We have been invited to enter the Tuscany Now competition to win a weekend away together in Tuscany, you can enter to by following the instructions on their website. We have decided to nominate each other, after all we do share this blog! 
Growing up, we were always very close, we often shared friends, would play dress up and karaoke and do each others hair and make up... typical sister stuff. When you share a room with someone however, that loving best friend bond is constantly strained and that amicable relationship you have tends to disappear along with your favourite top or item of make up. Then life happens and you just grow apart, even though you sleep in the same room. There are only 21 months between us, but as I'm sure you know, at school that feels like an eternity. When we first started the blog, Kirsty was living in Switzerland and Jasmine had just got a summer job over there au pairing, this was the only 'holiday' we've really had together although we were both working full time. Even though we only lived about 10 minutes from each other, we still only saw each other a couple of times over the whole summer and then Jasmine went off to uni and it was a whole year before Kirsty moved back to the UK. When we were both studying at the same university, living just a few miles apart, we'd see each other maybe once a week on a night out or at the gym. Hardly quality bonding time, but sometimes life just gets in the way.
We've been co-writing this blog for nearly 4 years now and have used it as a way of staying in touch with each other and a way to share our passion of well.. buying things.. with each other. Having lived separately for all four of those years and only seeing each other maybe twice a month (even though now we only live down the road!) it's been our connecting bond. Blogging allows us to talk more, recommend things to each other and if we're lucky we get a day out attending blogging events together.
Kirsty: Tuscany, to me, seems idyllic. I have wanted to explore Italy for as long as I can remember and I have always been inspired by the language, literature, history and art of Italy- not to mention the food and wine! I vividly recall watching the film Stealing Beauty on TV when I was younger and idly daydreaming about holidaying and exploring Tuscany, I even spent hours researching flights and holiday lets in an attempt to convince our mum to take us there (to no avail!). As a current history student and former archaeology student the region does hold special appeal to me but I think I would just love the opportunity to spend some down time with my little sister away from our busy lives, enjoying the scenery and discovering what Italy has to offer. I'd also love to embarrass myself attempting some phrases in Italian! I love to travel to new places and Tuscany is certainly on my to do list. 
Jasmine: I have wanted to visit Tuscany for years. The views are promised to be stunning and just portrays the ideal relaxation location, getting away from the daily grind and escaping to the lush green Italian countryside -Absolute perfection! When my family and I (excluding Kirsty) went on our own "Grand Tour" of Southern Europe a few years ago, Tuscany was originally on our must-see list However, we were on bit of a restrictive schedule due to my brother's term times, which instead took us to Venice and then Rome after Kosovo and Macedonia. I really wish we were able to see more of Italy, it is such a varied country with so many beautiful cities and regions. For me, working in London and only having maybe 4 free hours a week, a tranquil paradise of green rolling hills and blissful walks would be right up my street. My aim in life is to try and visit at least 100 cities, 50 countries across all 7 continents and 10 American States. I'm a long way from my goal but I'm trying to make the most of every trip and every year, I'm trying to visit at least one new place. I'm so hoping my bucket list will be complete by the time I'm 50! 
We're not going to lie and say we have the best sisterly relationship, as with most sisters, there's a strong love-hate vibe going on. Despite liking all the same things and being so similar in taste and personality, these things do in fact often set us at odds with one another. As adults, I think I can speak for both of us when I say that we should make more of an effort to re-live those childhood memories.  When we were little we would stage elaborate travel adventures together, sitting on our "magic" carpet embroidered with moons and stars with our sleepover bags stuffed with spare clothes and our favourite toys, flying away to different exotic places together. It would be lovely if we had the opportunity to make that old daydream a reality. More than anything, it would be really nice to spend quality time with each other exploring and doing something we both love and are passionate about. 
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