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Showing posts from 2011

A little bit of everything

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Hi. Is anyone in there? First I'd like to answer lovely Tatjana who asked me if I was right. Yes, everything is ok, only I have been very very busy... Work, yes, and several trips: Turin, Barcelona, Frankfurt, and finally, Paris. Then, I would like to share this picture from my recent trip to Paris. We saw this random street, so pretty with its light and full of random stands (from flowers to suitcases to cheese) that we had to take a walk - and some pictures of course! I find this picture very Christmas-y. Which brings me to the next question: have you finished your Christmas shopping yet? I am ashamed to say I have, but I haven't finished the wrapping part, and I need to wrap at least the present I'll have to take to work tomorrow for a sort of Secret Santa. Finally, I'd like to share the thing that excites me the most. I am getting married next summer. It all happened so quick, that I think I haven't fully realized what's happening! Yesterday we (my

Venice!

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Hi! I am back! Venice was beautiful as usual, so sunny and bright... We walked a lot and went palces I had never been to.   It was fortunate that the Biennal was still open - so we went to both the main exhibition and the collateral ones. Here's a picture from the Hong-Kong exhibition:  We also spent a day at the small islands around Venice: Murano, Burano and Torcello. I had a beautiful time. It was hot and we got home every night exausted - but it was so worth it!

Small Break

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I am leaving for Venice in a couple of hours. I'll stay there with my cousin for some days. The plan is to relax and go visit the small islands around there, which I have never visited. We'll be staying in my cousin's apartment (the picture above is taken from the bedroom window, so you can imagine how beautiful it is there). Plus tonight we should go to a nearby town to have dinner with a dear friend of mine who moved there 4 years ago. I hope to come back with loads of pictures!

Lovely links

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  ...a bit late.  Angie asks: what are your summer wardrobe workhorses ? - and lists hers. An old one from Megan of Charade : how to build a designer wardrobe on a budget . Enjoy life now ! Did you know about power dressing? What are your power clothes? I kinda had the concept in my mind, but here it is beautifully explained. How to prepare for a blog vacation . Did you know about the three R's of fashion ? Is fashion feminist ? A must read (via Already Pretty ). Enjoy!

Dinner outfit

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Shirt - Pimkie Jeans - List Jeans Shoes - Primadonna Necklace - Random street vendor Bangles - From Corsica Glasses - Vogue I wore this outfit last night to celebrate my dad at my parents' place. I had no idea whether we were having dinner inside or on the porch, so I decided to go for pants.  I don't wear these jeans often, and it's a shame. I am rediscovering the elegance of white pants (admittedtly thanks to J ) and I am going to try wearing mine more often. There is something very chic and timeless about white paired with leather, so I decided to wear my leather sandals: And added a pop of color with my Kuvé bag:

Monday outfit

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Shirt - Conbipel Skirt - Noa Noa Shoes - id Necklace - borrowed from mother Bangles - old! This skirt is my other Saturday's buy.  It's flowy and breezy, and to keep that feeling in the whole outfit I put this shirt - the sleeves are sheer and very flowy. I didn't add a belt because I thought it would subtract some of the breezy feeling, and put on my bangles. Here is a closeup of the Project bag I wore and the bangles:

Sunday Outfit

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  Dress - Noa Noa Shoes - Geox Sash - JJill Necklace - H&M This is the new dress I bought on Saturday in a small boutique I had just discovered. It's light and fresh, and I brought it home even if it was an unusual color for me. I think it looks good with the sash (which comes from a pair of trousers I don't have anymore), but I want to try it with some leather belt or different colors. Also, I think it look ok with these shoes, but a bit too preppy.  I have other ideas on how to style it...     Do you have any suggestions?

Lovely links

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So many great reads this week! I kept bookmarking posts! Here they are: 5 tips to help you develop your personal style 4 easy beauty tips to make you feel like a queen 10 ways to feel better today  Ok, done with numbers. Gala explains how to make our period suck less  Allie's thoughts on being cool. This was so funny! Where to splurge and save on makeup , according to FB. I very much agree on everything she says! Are you a victim of manufactured discontent ? How to achieve uncluttered without going minimal - whish I had thought of this. But I realize I really prefer to see bare surfaces.

An outfit

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Shirt - Azzurro Skirt - Promod Shoes - Le Scarpe di Lou Cuff - Random store in Buffalo I wore this outfit a couple of days ago and never shared it. It features a new t-shirt - I like the interesting and asymmetrical shoulder motif - and a cuff.  After last BDIB I am trying to get more use out of my cuffs... A closeup: I am so glad it's Friday. It was a great week, got lots of things done, but it was so hard!

FFBF - Location Influences

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For this round of Fashion Beauty Friend Friday , the theme was location influences. I have to admit, it was not easy to answer this questions, and they made me reflect on how much I and my style evolution have been influenced by the placed I was living in. 1. What part of the world do you blog from? I blog from a small town not far from Rome, Italy. In September I will move to another town by the sea, still in the Rome area. 2. If you had to describe the overall mode of dress for where you live what would you say? I would say - well cared for. What people wear depends on their age, but everybody seems to put some attention/care in what they wear. And I have noticed how people about my age often wear great shoes even with the most casual outfit - which really elevates the whole look to a higher level. And it's something I incorporated in the last year or so. 3. Do you fit in with the status quo around you or do you break the mold? I find that there is always something a l

BDIB - Arm Party!

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  This is my second time participating in the Bloggers Do it better series.  This time, the theme is " Arm Party ". And I am glad Kristina had this idea, because it pushed me to take out and wear my bangles...  I wore this outfit - it's an exact repetition, so I didn't take pictures.  And here is the arm Party! I bought the six striped bangles during my trip to Corsica, 20 years ago. They are six like the letters that compose my name.The brown one is from a store in Buffalo. The thin one is even older, it's about 25 years old! A classmate gave me a bunch of them (it was the 80's and Madonna was just starting to get famous) and I somehow managed to keep this one through the years. Now I want to start wearing all the other bangles I have, too!

My Makeup - Summer Edition.

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As I love to see what other bloggers have in their makeup bag/drawer, I decided to share what I wear during the summer. As I have mentioned here , last winter I had an epiphany after having my makeup done by a really good aesthetician, and I was converted to the less-is-better philosophy. Here is the whole bunch for the summer (I apologize for the picture quality, but as I have found out, it's not really easy to take pictures of makeup): Of course, I don't wear everything at once! Here's what I do: First, I line my eyes with one of my eye pencils. The brown and black ones are from Lancome, the violet one from NYC, bought when I still was in the US. The Lancome eye pencils are very expensive for my budget, but I indulge in them because their texture is just perfect, and they are looong and last for years. Plus, I try to buy them at beauty-free shops when I travel abroad - I have a replacement of the back one bought during my April trip to Germany, waiting for me.

Sunday Mani.

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For the last installement of the July mani/pedi challenge I would like to talk about hands care. I love a neutral manicure, either with a light pink or white polish, or a clear one. I find it very elegant, it requires less maintenance, and nobody notices if some solvent I am using at work takes off some of the nail polish. But to wear clear polish I think one should take good care of one's hands. I have oentioned already that I am a bit OCD about them. Here is what I do to try to keep them soft and presentable - even with my job, which requires a lot of washing and some accidental solvent spilling. I wear rubber gloves when I do the dishes/clean the bathroom, to avoid even more chemicals on my hands (of course I wear gloves as much as possible at work too, but sometimes spills just happen). I put a very heavy hand cream every night before going to bed. Right now I am using Glysolid, but I like the Neutrogena one too. I pur a lighter hand cream in the morning before lea

Saturday outfit.

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Shirt - Azzurro Pants - UC Benetton Sandals - Geox Bracelet - birthday present Inspired by J's Friday flashback on white jeans , I decided to take my white pants out of the closet. I find white pants very summery, but I don't wear them often as I don't wear pants a lot during hot season. I wore this outfit to meet a friend for coffee and then to run errands. I think the look is really chic. I like wearing black and white and adding a shot of color with an accessory.  Today it was my red Kuvé bag:   What do you think of white pants?

Lovely links

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We have a  limited list of links, today, but very interesting readings! 10 easy ways to love yourself - by Gala. Some of the suggestions are very unusual (such as - read poetry) but very effective! Do you have a Style Philosophy ? Don't forget to be grateful for what you have. And of course - don't forget to be yourself ! I really loved reading this. Have a great weekend!

Visual FFBF - My Blogging Habitat!

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For the second visual FFBF (there was a first one here , but I didn't participate because I didn't have enough time to prepare...), Suze of Miss Vinil Ahoy , this week's host,  is asking where we blog from. Sometimes I blog from my home office. That is, when I feel prim and proper and I want to use a proper desk:   Most of the times, though, I blog sitting on my sofa, with my laptop placed on the sofa arm: Here I have the company of my two stuffed animals (which you can kind of see at the bottom of the picture), can check what's happening on my balcony and on the street, and am guaranteed my daily dose of slack! I am so excited to see other bloggers' pictures!

Thursday outfit

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  Sweater - La Dolce Vita Tank top - Tezenis Skirt - Street Stand  Shoes - Le Scarpe di Lou Necklace - Steph's mom I wasn't sure about posting this outfit, then I decided it is a nice example of remixing stuff I have in my closet. This is the first time I pair this sweater with this skirt. None of the is new, but somehow it never came to my mind that they could go well together. Here is how I have worn this sweater , this skirt , and shoes .

Changes!

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When I feel uninspired in my daily outfits, I go through old outfit posts: sometimes I can find combinations I forgot about, and I replicate them, often with some differences. Sometimes I am just startled by how my taste has changed. It's in small things: even if I wear the same clothes, there is a difference, which may be sometimes difficoult to point out. Here are some examples. My Project Dress: Just a change of boots and some arm-warmers... It looks quite different! My Conbipel floral skirt The white cardi is too preppy to me... I definitely changed taste in my choice of tops. Jeans! No more boyfriend jeans: don't think they are really flattering on me... My Sandro Ferrone floral dress With different shoes it looks much more flattering... Do you ever go through old pics and find the outfits appalling?

Tuesday outfit.

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  Shirt - Pimkie Skirt - Kenzie  Belt - JCrew Shoes - Primadonna Necklace - Steph's mom Today I am wearing another skirt I brought back with me from the US. I bought this beautiful silk skirt in Toronto when I went for the first time, in 2004. I had this one tailored too. It's soft and shiny and elegant. I like its length and weight. The belt is an american buy too, this time from the JCrew store in Rockefeller Center. It's a bit too long, so I doubled it around my waist. Finally, the shoes. I almost forgot I had them. Just before getting out, this morning, I remembered and put them on. They are perfect for this outfit, I think. I recalled them more unconfortable, but I walked pretty well in them today!

My Monday outfit

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Shirt - Promod Skirt - Banana Republic Sandals - Geox Necklace - can't remember, somewhere in the US I am so glad I finally got to wear this skirt. I tried it last week, and discovered it needed a trip to the dry-cleaner. It's a Banana Republic linen skirt I bought in 2003 somewhere in Manhattan, then had it tailored last year to fit me again. It really gives its best when I am walking. It has a light swing that makes it really feminine, and got lots of compliments on it. And I really did feel pretty and frilly wearing it (except for the most part of my work day I had to wear work pants because I was working in production dept...). And - these are my new sandals. I found a picture, but it's different colors. They are so comfortable, and I am very happy with my decision to buy them! Do you have any clothes you feel pretty and feminine in?

About makeup.

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  Image Source In a recent post Sal at Already Pretty talks about her relationship with makeup. And it made me think about mine, since it has not been easy for me to reach some kind of balance, make-up wise. It all started when I was about 13. Lots of my classmates had already their little makeup kits, and I begged my mom to buy me one. And finally when I was 14 she caved in. It was a beautiful trousse (we call it with its french name in Italy, it sounds chicher may be?) with shiny sparkly pinks and blues. It was the eighties after all! Problem was, I didn't really know what to do with it, so it was left unused for a while. Then, one Sunday afternoon, after lunch, the daughter of a family friend, who is about 10 years older than me, decided to make me pretty to go to the theatre with my classmates that night. She did my make-up - and as of today, I still think she did a pretty good job. She used some soft shiny pink on my eyes and more soft pink on my cheeks. A bit of clear

Heat Waves - IFB project #6

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The new IFB project is about the heat wave. The question is: what do you do to escape the heat? Well, the straight answer is - nothing. This year we had about 3 days of real heat, and we are in Central Italy, in July! But I have accumulated years of experience, having lived in Rome too, so here's what I do: Always have water with me. Always! Avoid eating heavy, greasy foods. They don't settle well with me during summer. I usually have something that doesn't require much cooking, mostly in the form of salads. Pasta, or rice, or meat, or fish salads. I should do a summer salad series on my cooking blog , whenever I remember to take pictures of my dinners... Eat lots of beautiful summer fruits! They'll show their goodness on your skin too! Wear light pretty dresses and skirts! (I am lucky I can wear tank tops even at work, since I have to wear a lab coat and nobody is seeing my clothes...) Ice cream! When it's really hot I put my feet in a bowl full of wa