Zarrelli Home: What's in a name?

“What's in a name? that which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet”- William Shakespeare

I have always been a strong believer that a name does define you, unlike William Shakespeare’s thoughts on it. Strangely enough, my mother’s name was Rose, actually Rosetta but everyone called her Rose. It’s a name that has bounced around my family lately as a common middle name for baby girls being born into our family. Ironically, it’s a name I never really felt was strong enough until she passed. My mom was the matriarch of our family, the glue that held her brothers and sisters together and when she passed away (9 years this May) we struggled for a long time without her. We certainly were the epitome of the five stages of grief. 9 years later and I think I finally hit the final stage (acceptance).

Here’s a quick background on me and my mom. I am one of two as you noticed in my previous post, I have a sister, Jillian, who is 15 months younger. Our parents were divorced at an early age, slightly after our mother was diagnosed with Non-Hopkins’s lymphoma. Luckily she was cured and in remission for 19 years before any signs of the disease Cancer returned. She got her wish, to see her girls grow up and be old enough to take care of themselves and each other before she passed. My mom was diagnosed originally on her 29^th birthday (let’s just say me turning 30 was a number I was willing to take with her history and the fear of the past repeating I happily turned 30) and died shortly after her 48^th birthday. Not only was she our mother but my very best friend. We did everything together….hence why I struggle with the acceptance of her being gone. And hence why I now feel that Rose is a strong name…because she was the strongest person I knew.

But to my point. My maiden name is Miller…love my dad with all my heart but Miller…ugh…such a common name and such an Irish name and let’s face it anyone who knows me knows I’m not Irish. I’m 100% Italian (even though I’m only 50%-other 50% is Irish…ha). So I have always been slightly envious that I couldn’t have my mother’s maiden name Tarantino, such a strong Italian name. And then I met Tom. Tom is 75% Italian and as I tell him I’m more Italian then he is. So when he proposed besides me saying yes the next thing I thought was I’m getting an Italian last name. He asked me if I would be taking his and I immediately replied duh! Doesn’t Stacey Zarrelli sound much better than Stacey Miller….of course I will be taking your name!! So when it came time for me to create this blog again I struggled. What’s a strong name? What’s a name that can be remembered? What’s a name that defines me? And then it hit…it’s my name…the name I immediately ran to the social security office and the DMV to get..my new name Zarrelli. Tom has two sisters and they both took their husband’s names which leaves me as the only female Zarrelli. So why wouldn’t I support my name, my husband’s name and his sister’s maiden names. After all, it’s a strong name and stands out…it's not common and it's a lot better than Miller Home would have.

So I played with the thought in my head and decided that Zarrelli Home had to be the name. It’s our name and this blog is about our life, our house and our DIY projects. So even though my husband isn’t on here posting (at least not yet) he should get some of the credit since he is doing some of the work and what a better way to honor him then to use his (now my) name. Then came the hard part. I need a logo…can’t just put the name up without the logo...even though I did. I need something as strong as the name. And thanks to my husband, the graphic artist, I got my logo. Now I just need to pick one….I know what I like…give me your choice. Pick one!