♥ Cooking School: apple strudel

Here the second tip regarding the APPLE♥WEEK.

A strudel is a type of sweet layered pastry with a filling inside, its origine is from Trentino Alto Adige (Italy):

♥ Ingredients
1 pound sweet apples peeled, cored and thinly sliced
2/4 cup dried golden raisins
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons white sugar
1 slices brown bread, crumbled
1/4 cup pine nuts
1/2 (16 ounce) package phyllo dough
1/4 cup butter, melted

♥ Direction
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
2. In a bowl, combine apples, raisins, pine nuts, cinnamon, sugar and bread crumbs. Stir well. Put a bit of butter in a pot on fire, add the above mixture and let they become tender and cooked (5 minutes)
3. Spread several sheets of pastry generously with melted butter and lay them on atop the other on a baking sheet. Spread the cooked fruit mixture evenly over the top sheet, then roll the sheets up to form a log shape. Brush with melted butter again.
4.Bake in preheated oven 30 minutes, until pastry is golden brown and fruit is tender.

♥ Serve it with a cup of tea maybe using some wonderful cups by GREENGATE

♥ Cooking School: apple cake

Here my first post about APPLE♥WEEK!

I got this recipe by an old farmer, friend of mine, she is a really amazing chef, she knows a lot of secrets!! This cake is yummy and very light as well, perferct for breakfast but you can eat it with custard cream at the end of the dinner such a delicious dessert.

Serves cold

♥ Ingredients
200 grams flour
100 grams sugar
2 yolk eggs
1 egg
1 pinch lemon peel
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 pinch salt
100 grams melted butter
1 packet dust sugar
1 cup milk
2 pieces golden apples

♥ Direction
1.Put together in a bowl the sugar and the yolk eggs and beat them. Add bit by bit the flour and then add the melted butter and the powder. Now add the milk. Grate just a bit of lemon peel. The mixture should be quite creamy. A part cut the apples, remove the peel and get some slices. Butter and flour in the pan and put into the mixture. Add the slice of apples pushing them into the batter.
2.Bake it for 30 minutes - 140° Let cold and dust the cake with sugar.

Enjoy your cake!

apple ♥ week

In honor of colder days, earlier evenings, my new warm kitchen and of course apples season I'm here to present the first ever "Apple Week" on this blog. Hoping this was the most adorable creative projects, getting your appleAday with a cute photo, yummy recipes and some tips about this fruit. I find the inspiration of this cute project on a really beautiful blog!

♥ I’ll be back to you soon

♥ my London's bags:

Hey all of you, sorry for my long absence but my trip in London was really adventure and quite long and after that I was sick too. At least I've not got the wi fi yet in my new and sugary flat (to be honest it's quite strange not having the net but also, at the same time, really "old style"!!, I knitted and read a lot, well done!). Here on the left some of my Londoner purchases: some cds, sugary stickers from Paperchase (I use to buy stikers every time I come to London), scarfs, some Muji's stuff, a fantastic and extra cool plume hairband and ... others. I also bought 2 really divine dresses @ Portobello's Market. I definitely LOVE them. As a very good friend I got some gifts for some special friends too.

My shops' list:

Muji

Cath kidston

Primark

Paperchase

Rough Trade

♥ sounds

I'll be off on in next days so I leave you with some of my favorite tunes. Hope they are nice and welcome to you.

Enjoy while I'll be in London!!!! Hope to update my blog from there with some pictures. Have a lovely week guys!

♥ city guide: London - cool places to leave your mate wordless

Are you looking for some amazing, stunning and quite impressive places in London to grab a drink? Here my top6!

♥ the bar on the top of the tate modern, fantasting in the morning for breakfast time.
♥ vertigo42: ideal for a romantic and sunset drink, all London around you
♥ oxo tower: better for a special dinner
♥ coq d'argent at bank: make me wow!!! a special guy took me here, it was amazing, maybe it's better in hot season! It brings a touch of glamour and style to the City, offers stunning views across the Square Mile. Believe me if you wanna impress someone this is the perfect place to take her/him, believe me!
♥ gordon's wine bar: really posh but always cool
♥ princi: quick sweet stop during the day, just a delicious italian corner in Soho
♥ momos: north african restauran near Regent St, in the basement there is a stunning club, don't miss it!
♥ sketch: lovely club!!

Enjoy your day!! I miss London a lot... gosh!

♥ my dreams

I'd like fill in this post with the list of my present dreams and share them with you:

♥ at first make me serene and untroubled - 90% achieved, well done!

♥ feeling well with myself, 90% achieved, well done!

♥ getting home before 30s, just achieved - well done!

♥ to find a good and satisfactory job, 80% got, well done but I wanna improve this point!

♥ to fall in love: I mean falling in love 200%!! ahahahah

♥ I wanna live, live and live, i need feeling alive!!

♥ I'd like travel more, what's plan through November? London and Seville, 80% got but I need working on more assiduosly. Next trips? Istanbul, Nordic countries, Barcelona or a cute place where spending 2 days like south of Spain.

This list is "work in progress"

I've just found this thinking on a blog and I like share them with you:

"[..] vorrei che ci provassimo, te ed io, perchè non ci proviamo?vorrei dirti che a vederti sorridere non capisco più nulla e mi sento fischiare le orecchie dalla contentezza. vorrei abbracciarti, e provare come un senso di vertigine." come un senso di vertigine.

"[..] dormo poco e male, ultimamente.ma quel poco che dormo, sogno te."

♥ basic essentials of dinner table etiquette

The 10 Do's!

Firstly I like point this: please turn off your cell phone or switch it to silent or vibrate mode before sitting down to eat
Once seated, unfold your napkin and put it on your leg, use it for occasionally wiping your lips or fingers speccially before drinking. At the end of dinner, leave the napkin tidily on the place setting.
It is good dinner table etiquette to serve the lady sitting to the right of the host first, then the other ladies in a clockwise direction, and lastly the gentlemen. Usually man fill in the glasses of women.
For the first course you must use just fork never knife. You can start eating just when the plate comig, it's not necessary waiting until all are served at your table, the etiquette is changed a bit ago. If you wanna say "Enjoy your meal" you can, some time ago this was unpolite.

Whilst eating, you may if you wish rest the knife and fork on either side of the plate between mouthfuls. When you have finished eating, place them side by side in the center of the plate.

If the food presented to you is not to your liking, it is polite to at least make some attempt to eat a small amount of it. Or at the very least, cut it up a little, and move it around the plate! Otherways if the food was bad and you are at restaurant you can put your fork spreaded in the plate, the waiters know what means.
It's quite acceptable to leave some food to one side of your plate if you feel as though you have eaten enough. On the other hand, don't attempt to leave your plate so clean that it looks as though you haven't eaten in days!
Desserts may be eaten with both a spoon and fork, or alternatively a fork alone if it is a cake or pastry style sweet.
Should a lady wish to be excused for the bathroom, it is polite for the gentlemen to stand up as she leaves the table, sit down again, and then stand once more when she returns.
Always make a point of thanking the host and hostess for their hospitality before leaving.
It is good dinner table etiquette to send a personal thank you note to the host and hostess shortly afterwards. If you go for the first time at friend's home it's quite polite send a plante or flowers before coming or the day after.

Of course do not talk with your mouth full. Chew with your mouth closed!!

Have fun folks!!!

♥ Music and tunes

I've never been an addicted on music, I like it a lot but this is not my passion probably because avtualy I am a terrible singer and because maybe my parent didn't introcuce it properly to me when I was young. I like several different type of music and in the last months I've found quite good the rock music such as EELS, Cake, King of Leon, Artic Monkey, Fall out boy, Nickelback, Coldplay, Dave Matthwes Band, The Maccabees but also Paolo Nutini, Mayers Hawthorne, Mary J Blige, Tori Amos and Joss Stone!!!

On the net there are lots of websites where you can listen freely musics, here some of them, cheer you up:

http://songza.fm/ my favorite one

http://www.imeem.com/

www.citysounds.fm/

http://songerize.com/

www.sawgi.com/

Guaranteed to brighten your day!

♥ city guide: London - cute shops

Here I'd like share with you some really cute shops I've discovered in London. When I got them I believed to get crazy, I wanted buy everything .. too much amazing and divine things.

• CATS KIDSTON: is one of the most influential and original design companies to emerge from the UK in recent years. They have accessories, bags, clothings for women, children or babies, fabric, homeware in lots of floral, cute objects or dots prints. Absolutely must to go and buy something!
• EMMA BRIDGEWATER: they made pottery, all their cute products are unique and decorated by hand, and as well as decorating using hand-cut sponges
• POTTERY CAFFE': is a lovely place to relax by emma Bridgewater, you can have a go at creating your own, totally unique piece. I know you will enjoy the experience with your friends as I did!
• MARIMEKKO: Clothes, interior, design
• TWENTY8TWELVE: Clothes
• DAYLESFORD ORGANIC: homewere but also organic food

This is my top6 but the list should be much more long. Visit these stunning shops and then enjoy to discover others by yourself.

♥ Cooking School: tuna steak with caponata & minicup chocolate muffin with mascarpone cream

I was so satisfied with last course that I decided to book surely other lessons. When I know that my line manager came to Italy to meet our team (he is from UK and he loves cooking and he loves italian food lika a proper food-lover) I immediatly suggest to have "special dinner" all together @ Academia Barilla. We did it and we have good time and a really good laugh night with Chef Stefano!

The menù was:
♥ Tuna steak with caponata (a Sicilian vegetable side dish)
♥ Mini cup chocolate muffin with mascarpone cream

INGREDIENTS for tuna steak with caponata (Serves 4)
1 lb tuna
3 ½ oz onion
3 ½ oz eggplants
3 ½ oz zucchini
3 ½ oz red peppers
1 clove of garlic
1 pinch salt
black pepper to taste
extra virgin olive oil to taste
some drugs like olive, capers and oregan
DIRECTIONS

In Caponata, eggplants are traditionally deep fried to gain more flavor. Deep fried eggplant cubes are added to the other ingredients only at the end.
In a frying pan pour a little bit of extra virgin olive oil, and start sautee the red onion first, then red pepper and, at last, the zucchini. After a 3 or 4 minutes minutes we can add the other ingredients: capers and the deep fried eggplant.
Once the Caponata is ready, put it at rest in a warm place, and move on to the Tuna steak.
The tuna steak should be at least 1 inch thick to be correctly seared. To prepare the steak, season the steak with salt and pepper. In a frying pan put some Italian extra virgin olive oil, crushed garlic (to be removed later) and sears the tuna steak with 1 minute cooking time per side approx. (Actually I prefer the grilled tuna, you should get the tune greasy and then put it on the grill)
When the tuna steak is seared, it can be served as a whole steak, or cut into slices.
As a final preparation and serving tip, use a tin stamp to serve the caponata on the side of the dish, while serving the sliced seared tuna steak on the other side.

INGREDIENTS for mini cup chocolate muffin

300 g "00" flour

150 g sugar

100 g unsalt butter

50 g bitter cocoa

60 ml milk

2 yolk eggs

1 pack of baking soda (16g)

DIRECTION

Whisk the butter and sugar into a bowl until fluffy, Gently fold in the egg yolks one by one; add also the cocoa, flour and baking soda and dilute it with milk. Poor the mixture into buttered oven mini cup tins and bake in a medium oven (180°C) for about 20 -25 minutes; once cooked, remove the little cakes from the cup tines and sprinkle with powdered sugar and mascarpone cream.

INGREDIENTS for mascarpone cream
⅝ lb Mascarpone cheese
3 ½ oz sugar
3 egg yolks
2 egg whites
4 tablespoons Rum

DIRECTION
10 minutes preparationBeat three egg yolks with three spoonfuls of sugar. Add the mascarpone, gently fold it in and add four spoonfuls of rum. Then fold in two egg whites whisked to stiff peaks. Pour the mixture into individual dessert bowls and serve with any cake. This cream is particularly good with panettone, either fresh or toasted.

For more info: ♥ Academia Barilla

♥ Library - Must read - my top10

I LOVE reading books and encunter lots of different points of views. I like go to bed and ending my day with a book. Unfortunately I don't have as much time as I wanted to read. But now the raining and winter nights are coming, I'd like stay at home when utside is freezing maybe I'll have more change to be more times on my sofà with my wool blanket, a cup of hot tea and my book on my hands!!! WOW
Here my favorite books:

• The Shadow of the Wind
• Io non ho paura
• High fidelity
• The history of love
• Ti prendo e ti porto via
• About a boy
• Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
• Vivere, amare, capirsi
• The kite runner
• Novecento

♥ city guide: Florence

Florence is the one of the most beautiful and cultural city in Italy, so many fantastic places to visit such as museums, churches, squares, palaces, bridges, parks or just street and more. So you surely have already got your guide. Here I'd like give you some unusual suggestion regarding some popular (but not-turistic) places that it's worth to have a short stop.

Just to star your day in the best way I suggest you to have breakfast @ Caffelatte (Via degli Alfani, 39): here you can taste one of the best cappuccino I'veve never had! You can taste it with several yummy sweets: biologic yogurt biologico with fresh fruits and muesli, terrine of hot cheese, soft-boiled eggs with toast, lots delicious handmade cakes, cheesecake, biscuits without sugar and several organic tea orzo and water. then you can sell milk and biologic goods such as: yogurt, butter, honey, cookies, caffee, orzo, choccolate and tea. And also it's plenty of atmosphere with good music and sometime there are exhibitions on photografy or painting. You can read a lot of foreing newspaper. Really a good place to not miss it! Now it's time to visit some beautiful places...come on ... get up!!! See you late @lunch time!

Ok now I had lunch in a lots od restaurants but they are surely the 3 tastiest restaurants I went in Florence and of course they are totaly tuscany restaurants:

• SERGIO - P.za S. Lorenzo,8/r closed every evening and Sunday. I LOVE FIORENTINA, it's the restaurant where all owner of market's stalls go to have lunch, really tipical and cheap!!! €
• I DUE G - Via Cennini, 6 close on Sunday. I LOVE RIBOLLITA €€
• TRATTORIA DA BURDE - Via Pistoiese 6/r close every evening (no Friday), on Saturday and Sunday. I LOVE PASTA FRESCA €€
• TRATTORIA MARIO - Via Rosina 2rangolo Piazza del Mercato Centrale open just for lunch from Monday to Saturday I LOVE PASTA €

In the afternoon you should have a stop @ ♥ Pasticceria Pistocchi (Via Ponte di Mezzo, 20)to have a bite of their so famous cake: torta pistocchi. It's more the total and absolutely chocolate cake ... it's a divine experience to do! Jesus I'm hungry now!!

In the evening you might go and try .... cooming soon!!!

♥ gift ideas & smartbox (what is it?)

Hi all, I've just found this amazing, witty and ingenious gift ideas! How many times don't we know which is the best gift for our friends? definitely too much time!! I like find the right and really appropriate gift for everyone. I definitely hate impersonal presents!! I prefer don't do it rather choosing just an generic and unspecific gift! This is absolutely a brilliant idea and it can save you at last minute:

♥ www.smartbox.com

What is Smartbox? is a new and unique concept letting you to get a huge choice of fantastic experiences like a present. Each Smartbox gathers together a range of activities under a particular theme such as food, adventure, relax, romantic and more. All you need to do is select which Smartbox you’d like to give – and the lucky recipient gets to decide which of the activities in the box he or she would like to do. Smartbox is the perfect gift for all festivities or other celebrations such as Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day or birthdays, as well! Its very easy to place!
How it works
1- Choose and buy the Smartbox you or your recipient would most enjoy – Adrenalin, Romantic Escapes, Gourmet Retreats and more. If it’s a gift, the Smartbox can be sent straight to the recipient if you choose
2- The recipient receives the Smartbox in a luxury package. The package includes a guidebook with a choice of up to 80 different themed activities to choose from (with no costs shown), plus a Smartbox activity voucher
3- The recipient decides which activity they’d like to do and books directly with the supplier using the details provided
4- When they arrive to enjoy the activity or experience, they simply hand over the enclosed Smartbox voucher to pay – no additional payment is needed
5- Thank You... They thank you with the enclosed card

It's truly easy, isn't it?? You'll definitely make your friend to be astonished with it! Smartbox is overwhelming! I can't stop me any more, its too brilliant treat!

I've just bought the "escape" smart box for my boyfriend...It is the perfect time to get away from the bustle of everyday life. Hope to enjoy a great deal!!! I will be back to you and I let you know his feedback!!

♥ Photo Camera: Polaroid & Classic

I LOVE taking photos because my memory very often fall down so pothos help me to remeber all steps of my life, i like look them just by myself or with friends! I've have a digital camera but also a classic and huge Polaroid machine! I definitely LOVE it, its so nostalgic, romantic and fast way getting photos but as you already may know it is out of stock! Calm! I've just known that a team of people has a big and impossible project: they aim to re-start production of analog instant film for vintage Polaroid cameras in 2010. Sounds really heavenly!!! Its quite difficult to find the films too but here you can buy them on line: ♥ polapremium.com .

I've also found in last days my granfather's machine, really antique, it's totally manual with an excellent lens. I'm goig to join a class and then I'm quite sure I'll take some wonderful pictures from my old camera. I'll post them and you might
criticize.

♥ Cooking School: how getting the most yummy cookies

I have got this recipe after years of "baking"!! I set it up and had improved the recipe day by day. Now I can say I got a good achievement. But of course I leave the last word to you!!!

Ingredients:
300 g flour - 3 cups
100 g sugar - 1/2 cup
150 g unsalt butter melted - 2/3 cup
2 eggs
1 packet vanilla (dust)
1 pinch salt
1 bunch lemon peel
1 tablespoon almond juice
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 bunch fruit jam

Directions:

Mix the flour, sugar, vanillina, a bit of lemon peel and powder. Make a hall in the middle and add 1 egg,1 yolk egg, 1 teaspoon of almond juice and the melted butter. Knead with the fingers of your hands but not too much. The segret is to knead for just few minutes. Put the dough to rest in the fridge.

After 30 minutes you can star to do biscuits. Stretch the dough using rolling pin till you get a stip of 3-5 millimetres. Use the shape-cutter and get 30 pieces. In 15 of them do a hole in the centre with your favorite shape and use them to cover the cookies. Put on 15 discs just a little of jam and then cover them with the others pieces with the hole.

Bake them for 10 minutes at 300° F (150° C), till they take colour but not too much.

Leave them get cold and cover them with dust sugar.
Enjoy your cookies with a cup of tea!

♥ cityguide: London in two days - restaurants

London's city guide will take me a lot of time because i lived there 4 months so i actually know quite well it and i had chance to discovere lots of amazing and cool places. In every corners of London you can fins a beautiful place to spend your time to grab a bite or to have a great meal (breakfast, luch, brunch, dinner, all you want!!): bars, restaurants, snacks, lounge area, take away, supermarkets, pub, club and more.

Here my Top10 and they are absolutely "must have":

1. CHA CHA MOON - Chinese Noodle Bar
2. HAKKASAN - Michelin star winning - Cantonese/Chinese
3. DAYLESFORDORGANIC - organic, fresh, seasonal and local food
4. LE FORMAGERIE - Stylish and unconventional Tasting Café
5. LE PAIN QUOTIDIEN - sweet and salt bakery
6. MOMO'S - moroccan -not for food but its so cool!!
7. EAGLE, Farrington Rd - the oldest pub in London
8. ELECTRIC - Portobello Road - Sunday brunch
9. MAROUSH - Lebanese culinary art
10. YAUATCHA - is a very glamorous place - dim sum restaurant, part tea-house and French patisserie

and then: Canteen, St John, Vinoteca, Ottolenghi, Favella chic, Smiths of Smithfield, Ciao bella, Busaba, blablabla...really too much!!!

♥ it's Fall: knitting time

At least it has come! It's time putting scarfs and hats on. My favorites are handmade and knitted accessorizes. I like knitting, it's a peaceful and relaxed in your extra time specially on the raining night, on the sofà with a hot cup of tea (I wanna do it now!!). It's quite easy to make it, my grandmother taught me when I was young. I use just the 100% new wool to make my items to be sure they are the best quality and such soft to keep you warm and cozy all cold season long. I made lot of cute hats and soft scarfs. I'll take some photos and I post them asap with the relative pattern and some advices to make them.

I love wrapping up warm, whether in hats and scarves when the weather outside is frightful, or around the house in one of my many blankets.

♥ city guide

I'd like suggest you some tips and some advice regarding all city I have been. Not the common selection of the most important points of interest in every city, surely several experts have already selected for you. My idea is to give you some more particular and curious steers to you so you can get the opportunity to know the city on another point of view. I'll post my city guide of London, Paris, Seville, Berlin, New York, Milan, Lecce, Dublin, Florance, Montacarlo, Parma, Madrid and more.

Hope you enjoy with my steers and of course am wating for yours as well such as comments! They are really welcome

♥ Elegance and female seduction: It's Time talking about Look

The buying of a mirror is the first step! It'll reflect your whole image. and for sure it is quite expensive but necessary! From the mirror you have to have the possibility to walk around it at least 4 moves. Go ahead now and take a correct and accurate x-ray on yourself! Be careful and don't worry: Every Physical Lack should be correct just in few steps! Sure some defects you might find on yourself would be imporved if only you were concious and feeling well. Its necessary live with it and love yourself and then surely everyone will love you too! The physical is the continuous of your personality so its important feeling well to get the right happiness. Second step: understand yourself and find your personal style. You must not be that you aren't, just you is the way to find our personal style! And remind that the elegance of a dress doesn't come from the brand of it or from your size but it comes from your personal style, your womanhood and how you have it on. The conciousness of what you are is a must and don't be afraid to show you!!

As a proper Italian woman I LOVE clothes and accessories as well. I LOVE the classic and casual dresses, I usually don't love following the last and newest trend but I like building my personal style day by day. Here some trips to get the Best Way to Dress Up:

1. Every dress must always give you feeling of pleasure and describe yourself.
2. You are a woman, don't forget, please be feminine, always.
3. The main point is to be able to mix properly your pieces and, look! you don't need to spend lots of money to looking stunning but you have just to choose the right mix suitable with your body and your character.
4. Put on what you want, follow your style and your tastes but choose the right clothes according to the occasions. Its different going to office, restaurant, club, family dinner, work meeting, mountaing, camping or luxury hotel and blablabla. Please think about it.
5. I hate the word: common. I like feeling different, unusual from others. Try to distinguish oneself between others by uniqueness!! Its easy! Everyone dress up jeans, well you should put on velvet pants!
6. Generally your wardrobe have to work to a simple statement dressing formula with excellent use of accessories.
7. Use playful accessories to lift a classic outfit.
8. Other good point: Mistery. Leave something to be imagined! Its ok discover yourself but please not the whole body! Keep in mind: short skirt or shorts & high necked tops, really deep v-nech & long bottoms!! There is a good point.

To have fun: I've just found this ducky and amusing website: http://looklet.com/ I can't stop using it, it's too dinky!!

♥ Pop Burgers in downtown - NY

I've just found this NY fashion bar, futuristic fast-food counter, longe area and restaurant on the net in last days while was browsing some city-guide blogs and actually I've heard of this place for a while but unfortunately have never been there. No question, these miniatures are hot and too fashionable!! Why don't we have these delicious, stunning and cute food in Italy??? In PopBurger you can drink, dance or relax on lipstick-red banquettes and pick at plates of fantastic mini burgers.
The feeds of many bloggers are 100% positive: delicious food and great meal, good atmosphere, gorgeous place but ... just for cool people! Enjoy your NY night, it should be a really good laugh night!
Tell me your feeds.

Pop Burger
- at 14 East 58th Street near Fifth Avenue
- at 58,60 Ninth Avenue
NEW YORK

♥ city guide: London - the best Markets

My purpose of today is to tell you what markets are like in London, I've chosen just some not all market you can find, they are really too much. Keep in mind they are consantly changing and this is why they are so interesting, every visit brings new surprises.The best for me are the followed.

Borough Market - fresh food
Borough Market is an unmissable destination for London food lovers, catering to both top chefs in search of premium ingredients or just freshly prepared mouthfuls of culinary excellence. You'll find cured meats and crème caramel, tapas and fine cheeses – all in a bustling atmospheric setting. Borough Market is a food lovers' favourite free-for-all. This stunning food market offers a vast array of little artisans and difficult-to-find ingredients. The market is a delight for all the senses, and is best enjoyed with a big shopping bag and empty stomach whit those take-away delicius foods, there are a lot of places to grab a bite to eat, stalls cooking take-away food . On Saturday mornings - London Bridge

Columbia Road Flower Market guide - flowers - indipendent shops
With thousands of flowers crammed into one noisy Victorian terraced street, London's Columbia Road Flower Market is a taste of the Old East End. It's also one of the best places in London to pick up blooms and plants and a great way to wake yourself up on a Sunday. Columbia Road is full of cute gift shops. The flowers and plants are some of the best and cheapest. Columbia Road is also home to some of our favourite independent shops in London. It's the ideal place to relax at one of the many coffee shopsthat have sprung up around the street. Close to Brike Lane

Portobello Road Market - antiques - clothes - vintage - food
is a London institution. It's crammed with antique dealers, vintage fashion stalls, new and weird cloths and retro memorabilia but also lots of food stalls. Push on past the meagre pickings after Elgin Crescent and explore the fashion market under the Westway flyover. Best visited on a less-frantic Friday or Saturday morning, it’s here you’ll find fashionistas and frighteningly trendy teens delving through troves of prized vintage, boutique fashion and retro memorabilia. Otherwise, you’ll find them posing in the Portobello Star, the newly refurbished traditional-boozer-meets-chic-cocktail-hangout. If you are going to visit it on Sunday morning you must have brunch there, there are a lot of awesome places where you can have it. I suggest these fantastic ones:

• Electric Cinema (191 Portobello RoadLondon W11 2ED)
• Tom's Delicatessen (226 Westbourne GroveLondon W11 2RH)
• DaylesFordOrganic (208-212 Westbourne Grove, London W11 2RH )

A lot of tourists look for that blue door (‘Notting Hill’), well it is in ...

Spitalfields Market - clothes - vintage - food - young designers
In the 2003 Norman Foster redesigns Spitalfields Market (close to Liverpool st) now there's still plenty here to enjoy. On Thursday and Friday you'll find vintage or new fashion, antiques, ethnic or sweet or organic foods, young designer and ... space to breathe, on Sundays you can find everything you want, it's surely crowded. It is the best of markets. It now offers a different shopping experience: shops or stalls, chain restaurants or special ones like Canteen or St John's Bread. On one side lies an arcade of smart shops and eateries bordered with orderly market stalls (Spitalfields), and on the other, a cross section of stalls crammed into Old Spitalfields, the last remaining portion of the original market. A. Gold (42 Brushfield StreetLondon E1 6AG) is a little shop where you can taste or buy a variety of traditional British foods including cheeses, meats, teas, beers, wines, dairy products, biscuits and cakes, confectionery, condimentsoriginal and the best sandwiches around Spitalfields I've never had. They also bake a really special brown cake, the best I've never tasted!

Brick Lane Market - clothes - vintage - food - young designers - bric à brac
Brick Lane Market is where Eastern promise meets East End chaos, it the Bangladeshi area. As well as bric-a-brac and fruit and veg, you can now pick up everything from retro furniture to vintage jewellery or young designer's items, they sell directly to the pubblic, and stolen stuff too!! Brick Lane Market is growing faster, there are lots of independent boutiques like Laden Showroom (Independent designers shop. A wide range of womenswear, menswear and accessories including hats, jewellery, bags, belts and shoes, Victoria "Posh" Beckam is his devoted client!). The Old Truman Brewery, about half way up Brick Lane, is now home to a lively media / fashion / arts scene, with the buildings converted to studios and workspace, there is an indoor market too. An other indoor area is Backyard Market, it's a parking adapted into a market space on Sunday. There are lots of nice and weird places to grab coffee or a bite of handmade cakes or to have drink or meal in the afternoon. Get up on a Sunday to explore one of London's most successful local markets. If you fancy a Sunday curry this is the right place. Here some cozy places:

Vibe bar
Chili Pepper
Brick Lane Beigel Bakery (the oldest bakery in this area, really cheap and 24h opened, lots of celebrity use to go there to grab a night bite)

Thai Supermarket (you can find all thai flavours and foods)

♥ CarSharing and EcoTravel

Just joined in this group! Now am a member of "CarSharing" program. What is it?
Its a new way to get car without spending money of gestion cost. It allows to all users getting car, pre-booked, just for the needed time. The cars are in a lot of point spread among the town so it's quite easy to get it. Once you become a member you can access any vehicles within 24 hours, though you will most often use the one located closest to you.
Here is how it works:
You decide when you need the car and how long your trip will take. You reserve the vehicle using our online reservation site or by calling carsharing line. You can book the car anytime, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. When you join you will be given a key fob which will allow you to lock/unlock and start any of the carsharing vehicles that you have reserved. This key fob is also used with the onboard computer located in each vehicle to calculate time of use and the millage the members drive. When you are finished your trip, you must return the vehicle to the designated parking space.

Which advantages?

• Saving money
• Reduced environmental impact
• Shared community resources
• Free parking in ztl area
• Using bus and cab line

Payment? Pay as you go basing on time and km of using. I am really satisfied of this service!! well done!

And look! This service is growing everywhere: http://www.car2go.com/ Find the closest to you and join them and reduce your carbon emissions saving money and improving your health too.

Another really green and London's eco-taxi service is: http://www.greentomatocars.com/

♥ Cooking School (at break lunch)

When I read about it I immediatly thought "Its a really brilliant idea, I can't miss it of course! I must try". Today its my first lesson, I'll take my first cooking curse and am very keen on this special and fast course (just 30 minutes). I keep my fingers crossed. I'll be back to you with lots of feeds on this after lunch!!
Jesus!It was really interesting and so yummy!! I'll update this post later...

Ingredients 4 people:
400 gr Spaghetti alla chitarra Barilla
380 gr Mussels
600 gr Clams
600 gr Squids
150 gr Prawns
250 gr Fresh Tomato
150 gr Onion
1 Glass White wine
1 Glass extra Vergine Oil
Oregano, Galic, Parsley as much as need

Directions:

• Put oil in a pan with garlic and minced parsley • Add seafood (mussles and clams precleaned) and then add the white wine. Cover till they will be opened.• After this turn off the fire. Put another pan on the medium heat with oil and onionn preminced • Add squids (julienne) and prawns (without shell) later add tomatos cut in 2 parts. Cook shortly and add mussles&clams).• In a pot cook the pasta followed this rule: 1000 100 10. 1000 water, 100 pasta, 10 salt! • Strain it and dress with the sauce. Finish this dish with a circle of oil.

Trust me they are very easy making, quite light and really delicious and flavoured!! Try it and let me know.

For more info: ♥ Academia Barilla

♥ Useful Tool to arrange a meeting successfully

I found this on the net last years and it was immediatly really helping! Doodle http://doodle.com/ is a free tool, you can create a poll and schedule an event … such as a board meeting, business lunch, conference call, family reunion, film night, or any other group event or make a choice… among places of meeting, restaurants, films, menus, travel destinations or among any other selection. All this by 3 very easy steps:

• Create a poll.
• Forward the link to the poll to the participants.
• Follow online what the participants vote for.

It already helped me los of time, its a very easy way to meet friends. I definitely recommend Doodle to you. You also can try it on Facebook or Igoogle. Really usefull tool.

♥ I can't stand - round 1

Hi guys, this post will be always "work in progress". I'll add the things I for sure detest and dislike at all and update my list:

• the pink tablecloth @ restaurant! I HATE IT
• when boyfriend carrying his girlfriend's bag
• if someone eats with his mouth opened, really revolting!!!
• when the people's nose drip and they don't blow it, ahahah
• whining people
• people always gives advises!

and please add yours to this list, they are precious to me to share our disgasting!!!

♥ Etiquette & Protocol

Lina Sotis is definitely the queen of the finishing school! I suggest you to read, just to know, one of her books to practize with good manners. I can't stand when the people don't know the easest of them.

Have a good reading!

♥ shoes, which one?

Ok ok, let me say the true: it's my passion! I treat them like a special and precious piece of design. Some of them are really a jewels, when you speak about Giuseppe Zanotti (are simply stunning!!), Missoni, Saddler, Sergio Rossi, Sebastian and others you are speaking of the best designer I've never known.

My last and recently acquired black pair make me so sadisfied and proud!! I'm talking about my Varina! The Salvatore Ferragamo house has created many stylish shoes but the Varina Patent Flats (1930) is one of the most popular designs. Its an iconic grosgrain ribbon decorates the front of the patent leather with the logo embossed on the nickel buckle. It's perfect for every occasions such as a picnic in a park, a romantic afternoons, working day and also a smart night. It's a classic design that will never date, very posh!! I definitely LOVE them!

Am so addicted I've decided to take pics of all my shoes, the album is called LOOK DOWN, I'll post it earliest soon.

Direction about their use:

• shoes should be coordinated with other accessorizes but not to the bitter end, it's should be boring and ungracious! Sometime is better to try, risk and dare combination more free but keep in mind: don't exaggerate!
• they must be comfortable, soft and like a glove.
• flat shoes make woman simple, eartly, quite easy.
• hill shoes make the woman to be tall, imposing, important.
• The ideal shoes is classic with some new modern adds. Some shoes is better to leave in shops or look them in photos!!

♥ Mug

When I was in London I used to have a cup of tea in the afternoon and before going to bed, with my flatmates. This is a must in London and i wanted feeling such as a Londoner so at first i tried but with some hesitations actually (milk into the tea sounded quite weirdo!!). At least I LOVE it and still now i have this habit. I'll post my favorites tea and infuse another time. Anyway I wanted say that I for sure needed of finding the right MUG (like a shopping addicted/victim as I'm). So I lighted on the Pantone cups, inspired by Pantone Color charts. They are exceptionally fabulous, they bring fun in the kitchen!!. My favorite, Pantone 2583 C is a cute violet that just says good morning princess! I have just found now their last product: MyCuppaTea. Really brialliant idea!! This Pantone Mug helps you make the perfect brew! All details here www.suck.uk.com/range_gallery.php?rangeID=76.

Enjoy your English Tea!!

The last Pantone's item is an Electronic Scales (£25.00) make with a tempered glass platform and sturdy plastic moulded body, these scales look good enough to hang on your wall, and you’ll be pleased to know they can be, as each one is also designed with a digital ‘time of day’ clock function. Brilliant!!

P.S.: I have a huge collection of mugs in my kitchen, I'll take a photos of them and post it.

♥ Design

Another passion of mine is design! It makes me curious and always fascinates me! I like looking for every sort of exhibition or festival about DESIGN and also find blogs on the web regarding it. I LOVE going to exhibition and browsing the last weirdest gimmick, the most useful thing, the best witty idea. Looking for popular artist but also young designer, basicaly i prefer the last one.

One of my favorite exhibition is FUORI SALONE in Milan. It usually is in April every year (http://2009.fuorisalone.it/2009/)

I'm feeling such as a cool hunter during this event!! My favorite design things are: home stuff (http://www.muji.com/), kitchen tool (like the tray above, 6 single pieces of plastic to add together), chairs (Vitra is the best), lamps of course (Artemide and others), office gimmick, all sort of sofà and bookcase and ..more!!! Am definitely addicted of design!!!

♥ Kitchen Garden to live green

I've got a new hobby for just 1 month. This makes me feel the sense of nature, tranquillity, relax, healty, safety, tradition and of course beauty as well. I was thinking what can I do? ... a little kitchen garden is that I need!! I said and i did it so now I have a very very little plot to take care, day by day. I bought a book about kitchen garden and plants and so i starded up with this project. I wanna improve it with many different species of vegetables and of course a lot of decorations as well to make it astonishing. I LOVE spending my time in beautiful place, I mean nice and pleasent but not uncool. Its so cute seeing my lillte plants growing up. I like a lot tasting every type of vegetables and this is the best idea to eat healty. I also noticed that this my new hobby makes lots of friends of mine really curious and wonder. What I wanna say? Find your personal hobby, it surely makes you richer!! Do you need some more suggestions to find your likely and ad hoc hobby?? Here they are!

• school of drama
• course of photography
• knitting night with girl friends
• course of wine tasting
• cooking course
• class of musical instrument
• class of dance (I tried tango, country, capueira and all were fantastic)
• season subscription at local theatre
• yoga or pilates
• cineforum night with friends

Are they enough? Keep in mind, your hobby must make you richer! Do you get what I mean!? Make sure to do the right choosen!!

♥ Daily - my favorite day

This seasons is fantastic, makes me happy every day. Actually nothing special happens but am feeling so good all day. This is the Sun' power I means!! In Italy the weather across this month usually is quite worse , colder and more ugly but this years its so sunny!!! Lots of people are outside during night, they dress up very light clothes, every kind of urban events work well... I LOVE this period!!! Just to enjoy this seasonas much as possible I wanna have good time hour by hour . I wake up and ... My Favorite Day starts riding my awesome and handmade LV bike, getting coffee in a new lovely and cozy bar in downtown reading the local newspaper, this is one of the biggest luxury I allow to myself, I LOVE have breakfast in a bar. Sometime I have a full breakfast with delicius muffin violet flower flavoured @TCafè. Its absolutetly the best stared day! Later I head to the office and stay there till break lunch. I LOVE having lunch @ different places or grabbing a bite such as sushi or ham or fuit&yogurt or salad! Again office till evening. The best end of the day is having a wine glass with friends of mine @ winebar, best choise is Fontana. After that go directly home and chill out myself taking care of my lovely things. Do you like my day? I definitely LOVE it. Here beneath the best sound track of my favorite day! On my ipod this:

♥ Bags, which one?

Sure, this is definitely my biggest love: BAGS!! I LOVE them but am not really addicted on, I mean, I look for the quality not the quantity, basically .... just few of them but high and good quality! The bag definitely tell about his owner and every girl would have her favorite bag. If you change bag every day... this would mean you are unhappy, unsatisfield and actually it's really laborious too!!!

The bag is an accessorise freestanding, it mustn't to be compulsory coordinate rather I personally prefer the contrast. I don't like when the whole apparel is all coordinated! Try to dare! ok ok I agree never never never put on red shoes and yellow bag, come on its rubbish!! But if you are total black and use a beautiful orange bag ... you will be really elegant and posh! Don't shy away from colour and enjoy breaking the rules. An all black suit is a more sombre colour but you can inject your personality with fun accessories such as a huge yellow bag!

I don't like change bag every time I change dress, so It must be resistent and of good quality (LV is an evergreen to me)! I LOVE the biggest ones, I like bring with me a lot of things, sometime I think to have all my house int.

I like the colour bags, like blue, yellow or orange as well besides black and brown ones, it's nice flying of fancy. I like obiously also the classic branded Louis Vuitton. It must be sober, traditional, without frippery: in short ... classic! My aunt gift me 3 her vintage LV, they are simply terrific and ... unusual (they are out of stock!!)

Otherwise I'm going crazy with the smallest ones too, clutchess are simply divine. I use them during the evening or night, really usefull (just key, money, mobile and gloss). Last years I bought my favorite clutches: one is by PRADA (an elegant masterpiece), the second one is by LOUIS VUITTON (my first LV, bought it in Florance in a happy day) and the last by TWENTY8TWELVE (got it in London). At the end the medium size are ... useless, unnecessary... in short...rubbish!!!

NEVER: plastic bags are definitely banned! But you should use the recyclable bags when you make shopping in supermarkets, its so green, safety and cool as well! Just to say: I ♥ ORGANIC.

♥ My last acquisitions

When I saw it for the first time I fell in love with it immediately!! It' s a perfect witty, cool, funny and casual mix! That hilarious mobile case must be in my bag at once!! For sure I bought it, well done!

Of course you have to know as wearing it to avoid seeming a teenagers or a fanatic! I LOVE feeling different to other women also with very sample things, this is my must: be different!!

Later I needed of a notebook and, no alternative, I looked for it amongst the Moleskine's collection @ Feltrinelli. I LOVE them!! I chose the fuchsia one, it my FAVORITE color in this period!.

♥ about Colours

The colours are very important at all. Life must be full of colours no only black, white, grey but all tonalities must be picked up. I always say: la mia vita è colorosa (my life is colourful). My ex boyfriend gave me a box of colour pencils after a bad period of our relationship. He said to me: "Sorry, I removed colours from your/our life, I now wanna give them back to you!!!" He was so brilliant, I forgave him immediately! (why did I split with him!!!???). Back to the topic MV please!!!

Just trick for all bloggers! With this useful tool you can find quite easly all codes of coulors you want to customize your blog as you choose! I used it for minesto get fuchsia and apple green.
Here: http://www.degraeve.com/color-palette/

These colours on the left are wonderfull! All of them! But my favorites are the most delicate and light. My coulors must make me feeling calm, relaxed, peaceful. I need of it! But at the same time also I need something strong and powerful to upset my life! Apple Green and Fuchsia (last new entries) go straight in my TOP5 after white, nutmeg and willow green. My last addiction about colors? Fantasy with dots and I'm so addicted I asked for painting one wall of my bedroom with nutmeg on back and a lot of loose white dots around the wall. How is it? I N C R E D I B L E and W O N D E R.

Color is magic, dots are classic .... its perfect!

Meaning:

Pink is the color of universal love. Pink is a quiet color. Lovers of beauty favor pink. A pink carnation means "I will never forget you"...read more

♥ city guide: London & the first 2 hours

Last years I spent almost 4 months in London for work and I've definitely fallen in love with it! It's quite easy, I know!! Am in LOVE with London. First step: listen this tune and fall in love with London such as me: London Calling By The Clash
I'd love give you some tips about the City. I decided to post some different news, here I advice you what you can do in London just arrived there! Go to the pub!!!! Out of joke here some tips:

♥ To get the city from Stansted airport you have a lot of chances but the cheapest (£9) is by Transavision bus, up to every 30 min and it takes 55 min to reach Liverpool St. The fastest is The Stansted Express, it runs every 15 minutes and reaches Liverpool St in 45 minutes (£18).
♥ Hotels, I LOVE this so cute, cozy and family and cheap Hotel: Celtic Hotel in Russel Square (WC1N1DD).It's very confortable, just restroctured and in a really nice area. If you are looking for some more nice place is suggest you The Zatter (http://www.thezetter.com/), i stayed there with my ex boyfriend ... trust me it was amazing!!! Anyway its important to find the hotel in zone 1, surely better if its close to tube stations.
♥ Transport: moving in london is really easy by tube, bus or cab. Buy the Oystercad, it's London's travel smartcard, add money to it so you can pay as you go on bus, Tube, tram, DLR, London Overground and some National Rail services. The aim is to ensure that Oyster always charges the lowest fare.
♥ Now get the closest rubbish pub to your hotel and enjoy your first beer in London such as a londoner!!

♥ MV at glance

Hi guys,

I've just decided to start a new project: this blog!

Ok, let me say just two words to explain why I wanna do this: just to share with you my personal passions, tastes, interests, some tricks and more. In other words l'll be posting news, speak in videos about things I like a lot, my favorites (to do, to see, to drees up, to watch and bla bla bla)! The idea was of my manager honestly, she has begun with her blog just for 2 weeks and I like it so much than I decided to do the same. I believe I can give you a lot of steers or tips, day by day, to find the right way to live well and in a cool mood with little effors, trust me!!. And honestly I love only the beautiful things, am a lover of beauty. One of my favorite quote is: "POOR but SEXY".
And now something about me: see the photo on the right, it's my fridge, I LOVE bringing with me a magnetic from all cities I visit just to remember me my trips. Here my favorite song of this period:

Hope this blog was interesting for all of you and keep close, I'll be back to you every day.

ps: I like a lot this font: VERDANA but to be honest my favorite font is Tahoma.