About Kat

I am a teacher at an Episcopal school, a military spouse, and the person behind @wavehappy. My husband Tim is a Lieutenant Colonel in the Marine Corps, and for most of my adult life, my address has been decided by someone else's career. That is not a complaint -- it is the context for why Sicily matters to me the way it does.

In 2024, we bought a condo in Ortigia, the old island heart of Syracuse, Sicily. We named it Lula Mare. I renovated it long-distance, choosing every tile and paint color from a military base in the American South, trusting something I could not fully see. It is launching as a vacation rental in May 2026.

Then came the orchard. Sixteen acres outside Noto, with olive trees, sea views, and a clear line of sight to Mount Etna. We are closing in June 2026. I still cannot quite believe it.

I started posting on TikTok because I wanted to share the renovation. What happened instead was that people connected with something else -- the feeling of watching a woman build a life that finally looks like hers. Two videos have nearly hit a million views. The account grows by about 350 followers a day.

My content is about Sicily, but it is also about what happens when you stop waiting. When you pick the tile. When you sign for the orchard. When you let yourself want the life you keep imagining.

I notice light on stone. I care about the emotional temperature of a place. I think beauty is a form of honesty. This site is where all of that comes together -- the travel guides, the behind-the-scenes, the resources, and the letters from a life under construction.