Sleepless nights

So, having lost my beloved camera I'm spending my nights roaming the net looking for a new one.

My old camera was an Olympus PEN E-PL1 and now I'm thinking of upgrading to an E-PL2. Any input? I love the retro looks of them and think the PL2 should be a good upgrade.

So, hello sleepless nights. It was so much easier to go to sleep at night not wondering what's out there...

Party button?

What would happen if, instead of switching off the lights, I'd push that identical button instead? The lights would dim and I would have a bar in my hotel room? Music, people, socializing? I'd be happy if only a glass of red would appear.. Don't dare pushing it though.

Travel snack

On the Termini train station going to Salerno. We're in our busiest period at work, with 12 store openings in 4 weeks. Divided between two stressed-out merchandisers. You do the math.

Anyway, on my way to Salerno, close to Napoli in the south of Italy. The only thing i know about Salerno is that they produce good wine, the Salice Salentino and the Negroamaro. Yum.

Since I was fashionably early for my train (there is no such thing as fashionably late when you're traveling- you arrive on time and look great or you arrive late, all messed up and sweaty and you have most likely already missed your train) I figured I'd get myself some breakfast for the train ride. Enter the classic Italian breakfast bar. Cappuccino to go, orange juice in bottle and then..? Something to eat. Basically this is how one gets fat in Italy. The choice of breakfast snack is immense and the one is sweeter than the other. Even the least unhealthy one, the wholewheat croissant, has honey in it and there is no way you can get it without.

So, I just go with the flow, accept my destiny and let myself enjoy the sugar rush.

Buongiorno a voi!

Mental home decoration

..Mental because it's only in my mind and mental also because I feel I'm going mental only focusing on different furniture, styles, brands, ideas and themes.

My keywords for the new place, hoping it will be the one I've already looked at, are space efficient, light, economic and elegant- but still personal. It's hard, only looking at options for apartments I realize they rarely build them the way I'd prefer. Often I look at small rooms with limited daylight, small windows and horrible colour schemes. And, what I wouldn't give to get a balcony!

The ideal situation would be renting unfurnised but unfortunately I'm not made of money. Getting all the stuff from Ikea (the only option here in Italy for normal-priced furniture that doesn't look like it's been owned by people who are now dead of old age) would set me back at least €1000, easily.

So, hunting around for inspiration, as an attempt to focus on beautiful things and to recharge on positive energy. Still a little under the weather (and under a ***tful amount of work related stress) but focusing right now on the upcoming weekend. Lots of time to drift away in thoughts on the perfect kitchen table or bedside lamp!

Here are some of my favourite things currently in my Evernote inspiration folder! Enjoy!

Source: https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPs9PdWaw82t9c5oR0b34SRim2A1V22F2VKJjZXMeXIKNjBcNi17t5iMTFA7YqPQQgC-csUvTwXrpT0OJ7KFHisDg8SvLCu-MLXuxnfmrWsmj-MpXoG-pfRPrFxoZDuydV_v4IA1nY9ZI/s1600/DSCF2417.jpg

Source: http://parisapartment.wordpress.com/page/3/

Kartell Bourgie lamp

Flos Skygarden lamp

Bad conscience

Hi all,

I am truly sorry for my lack of posts since July. I know it's been two months of silence.

Well, let me tell you; so much has been going on. Work, as always, super hectic and super much. Plus, vacation times, change of seasons (fashionally speaking), after summer stress, autumn cold and a certain gloominess... Plus, I have started looking for a new place to live as my neighbours are driving me insane. So, I am actually looking forward to counting in 2012 in a new apartment with Ikea boxes all around me! Keep your fingers crossed, I might just have found the place!

Will keep you posted. I promise you. I will update and tell you all. Right now, I need to sleep as I had a meltdown at work today after suffering this cold for weeks. Left early and tucked myself underneath the sheets for the rest of the day.

Good night!

July 2011 so far

Florence

Florence

Padova

Paris, Cafe Delaville


Birthday celebration 30th birthday, Rome

The Florentine wedding bliss

Ceremony at Palazzo Vecchio in Florence, held by the Florentine mayor. Rice throwing and cheering in Piazza della Signoria. Reception dinner and party in the Tuscan countryside. A six-course rustic dinner and locally produced wine while looking over the green hills, then on for dancing until the sun rose again.

Fantastic.

Birthday gift!

Just bought this lovely wrap bracelet for myself for my 30th birthday! Very happy, excited for when it arrives. It's from House of Harlow, Nicole Richie's company, and is made of 14ct gold and black leather. I hope I will like it. I'm having it sent from the UK to my parents' house where I am going to celebrate my birthday with my closest friends and family.

Extremely inspiring short movie.

Never been a huge Beyonce fan but really, this woman is amazing.

Surprise gift!

You know sometimes when you are waiting for a gift. You know it's in the mail because the person in the other end has given you the heads up. Everyday is like Christmas morning when you get home, hoping that bulky envelope will be waiting for you by the mailbox.

This has been my everyday since I got back from Sweden at Easter. I got the heads up from my friend in New York who said he'd found a perfect gift for me, about a month ago. Everyday since I have been eagerly waiting for that gift to arrive. Last week I thought I'd write him to tell him that some sneaky neighbour must have stole it since it hadn't arrived. And then, today it did.

Such a surprise, on my way home from the supermarket I bumped in to the signora who runs the downstairs coffeeshop. She asked me for my name and said the mailman had dropped it off today since the envelope was too large to fit in the small mailbox. She said they thought it could be me. I thought it was very sweet of them to think of me.

I unwrapped it as soon as I got in the door. It was the most sweet book ever. A children's book about Rome! With water colour paintings inside and the dearest little texts to make them company. It's like a guide book for small children but it's very clever. It made me very happy to know that he knows me that well, my old friend.
(Click on the photos to make them larger)

By the same author there are also the earlier books "This is Paris" and "This is London". This book was originally created in 1960 but has not been published until recently. The author's name is Miroslav Sasek.

I can highly recommend them for cute reading and extraordinary paintings!

Good night peeps!
Tomorrow I'm off to Veneto, the area surrounding Venice. We are opening a store in Portogruaro next week and I have to go and have a look!
Exciting!

Sunday lazy

Lazy Sundays. You either love them or hate them. I usually don't like them, they make me anxious of the coming week and instead of being all chill about it I stress.

So today I thought I'd do differently.

After listening to crazy smoking lady cleaning her house and smelling the fried garlic my Chinese neighbour family was having for breakfast I decided to escape the house. Put on my new fancy jacket from Zara (love Klein blue, just discovered it's my colour!), took computer under the arm and headed out in to the sunshine. Went to my fave bar on the corner of Piazza San Giovanni in Laterano, just a stone's throw from my house, and had caffé latte and a small croissant for breakfast.

I also wrote a few emails and tapped away on my MacJournal (like a diary program). Got a few looks from passerbys (is that how you write it or did I just make that word up?), I think it looked funny hawking over my computer screen in sunlight in the middle of the street. Whatever. Or, I looked extremely handsome in my new jacket!
Woop!

I eventually had to switch sides of the table as you can see, I was almost getting sunburnt on one side only. The difficulties of everyday life, haha. Soon I'm off to lunch with my friend Melina. We have found this nice little trattoria down the street from my house, basically 20 meters from the Colosseum. I always throught it was a classic tourist trap but passing by it one evening I realized it was almost only Italian people eating there! So, we tried it and we really liked it. Classic rustic Italian food and friendly service and cheap prices. How great!

Last week I was out and about for most of the days. After an extremely nice weekend by the sea I was well rested and super motivated.

BBQ at a friend's roof terrace, watching a game of soccer of course

The beach in Maccarese, the Roman coast

Lunch in Maccarese, spaghetti alle vongole and a glass of white wine with a couple of friends

Lunch in Fregene, always the spaghetti alle vongole and a crips glass of white wine

The summer campaign is in all stores now and bikinis are flying out quicker than we can get them in. It's so nice to be a part of all this! Bikinis for the people! We popped over to lovely Torino, in the north west. Such a nice little city, super lovely and very pretty. It also had a Swedish calm to it, in the evening the streets were empty and silent. It was lovely for a change but I think I'd go crazy after a week.

My colleague took me to a Sicilian restaurant (he promised me the Torinese food was more winterish and rustic and not ideal for the warm spring evening we had) and we had great seafood and even greater wine. The waitor had to explain the whole menu for us since it was written in Sicilian accent. It was a fun experience though, and a little bit of practice for when I have to go there!

The day after we were visiting shops in the area and then we spent the evening in Milano. Oh Milano, how I adore you. We found a small bar, from the outside it looked like a student bar but inside they had a small garden where we had great aperitivo with a huge buffet of nibbles and pasta and cheese to eat. How nice. Then dinner at The Kitchen, a legendary Italian restaurant run by Chinese people. It was super good and apparently very popular since the terrace was full!

The spring is finally here now and the days are long, warm and lovely. I'm getting more into Rome mode and I am actually beginning to like this town. Slowly slowly.


What have you been up to lately?Is it springtime yet, wherever you are?

Wedding season

My friend recevied the funniest invitation ever. Ordinary white paper. Two stickers on the front page. Drawing by hand (yes, by a grown up, not a kid as I first suspected) with a gold pen. And a request that asks guests to show up half an hour early so the wedding can start on time.

Me, on the other hand, received a very delightful and classic invitation. Thick cream paper, dark navy font. A separate RSVP card. Silk bow.




So strange how different people do things in different ways.

Cougar Town inspiration

Hi peeps,

just got back to Rome after a few days in Milano. Summer is almost here and I feel the urge for summer shoes! The shop windows are filled with them but I kind of have an idea of what kind of wedge sandal I'm after..

Usually not the customer for wedges but after having destroyed numerous of heels in the cobblestone hell of Rome I realize I will need a good pair if I want to make it around the city with dignity. Brown. Simple. Soft leather. Timeless design.

Then I saw them. Watching the new episode of Cougar Town Jules is trading her shoes for a t-shirt of Bobby. Long story. However. There they were.

Courtesy of ABC Network

YSL Cruise collection! I think they look so comfortable although they are crazy high. Call me silly but knowing the last of the YSL shoes I know they will be comfortable no matter the height of the heel. Now, if these would have been Zara shoes I think I mentally already would have broken both my ankles.

Now the hunt has begun.. Will keep you posted.

Sweet dreams! At least I know what I'll be dreaming of!

Milano!

I just came back to Rome after a quick two-day trip across Italy.

I went to check on a future store opening and then I went to Milan in the evening. A brisk walk to the hotel and then out for late dinner and drinks with one of my best friends from Florence- Tommy.

We had dinner at a small Abruzzese restaurant (L'angolo d'Abruzzo) where I among other things had to try the "wet mozzarella", a semi dissolved mozzarella which tasted mainly of creamy milk. The sensation was not so much of the taste but more of the weird wetness (almost perverse I have to say, it even made me blush)! We had booked the table based on a tip from a guy working for Tom Ford. I had hoped to see Tom there but I guess he's to gorgeous to frequent places where ordinary people go. :)

Then drinks at a local trendy gay bar, Mono, where we met the Italian Ryan Gosling! He looked just like him, just not as tall (after all, he was Italian). Gorgeous. It was his birthday and we celebrated by having him buy us shots, haha.


Great evening with a great friend. We always laugh our heads off together.

Also, I have to say, I think I picked the wrong city. I don't feel at home in Rome, the city is beautiful but it's hard to live a modern life in an ancient city. It's like living in an open space museum. And the smell. Gee. And the public transport. Milano on the other hand, it was like an Italian Sweden. Wide streets, fresh air, open spaces, friendly people and quick traffic. Darn.

Photos from my new life in Rome!