It’s All About Family!

Most of us have memories from our childhood that will always stick with us.  Be it a family vacation, movie nights, sporting events, or a host of other activities.  These memories conjure up specific emotions, smells, and tastes that bring us right back to the moments so long ago.  For me, many of those memories and moments I so strongly can remember evolved around food.  From Sunday brunches at my Nonnie’s house where the aroma and taste of her Bolognese sauce would fill the house to my Mom’s kitchen when she would blend up a fresh batch of basil pesto sauce, the smells and tastes of these moments always bring me back to such special times.  

One food memory that stands out more than any other occurred many times during my childhood in the back seats of my Mom’s minivan so affectionately known as “LIMO4R4”.  Weekly, my Mom would round up all four kids, herd us into the “limo”, and take us on the grocery store trip to Lucky’s.  Now I know, there are many more exciting places to go for a kid than to the grocery store, but the four of us kids knew that if we happened to hit the grocery store at the right time, there was the possibility of finding warm, fresh bread in the bakery.  If there were warm loaves, then it was our tradition to get two loaves because we always needed a loaf of bread with dinner, but we also needed a loaf for the ride home.  We only lived about 5 minutes from the grocery store, but that second loaf of bread never made it home.  We would all pile back into the minivan, with me usually in the front seat holding our travel loaf of bread.  Then upon my Mom’s go-ahead, the eating would commence.  I would take out the loaf, break myself a piece and then start sending it around to my brothers and sister with of course my Mom getting the last piece.  All I have to do is close my eyes and I can be right back in that minivan smelling the warm loaf of sourdough, tasting the tanginess of the starter, and experiencing the joy and laughter we shared in that car as we made the 5-minute journey back home.

For me, these little moments are my “Bella Vita”.  For me “The Good Life”, which is the meaning of bella vita, revolves around these moments we create in our lives with our families and friends.  We at Bella Vita Bread Co hope to share in creating some of those experiences that become lasting memories for you.  Through our bread, we hope to create a community that comes together to laugh, love, and share in the joy we find in one another.  At Bella Vita we don’t obsess about the past, we don’t stress over what may loom in the future, but we live in the moment, appreciating the joy and love of the present.