Sunday, November 4, 2012
A perfect day
Today I wish that I woke up under this blanket:
That I threw this little number on:
Had this for breakfast (my favourite, lemon meringue pie):
That Charlie had found a new dog pal (her friends are usually not this cute):
That I stepped out of this house in Tuscany:
To spend a day like this:
In real life, I woke up the usual way (Charlie staring at me 2" from my face trying to telepathically communicate that she needs to go out) in our freezing cold bedroom (1-0 to Andrea). I put on some really old, shabby sweatpants with holes all over and took the staring dog out for a wee in the pouring rain. For breakfast I had some coffee that went cold while I was trying to dry off a soaking wet Charlie and honestly, any nice plans I might have had for today are just not gonna happen. Andrea's got a cold, you see. You know, a MAN COLD.
A little side note for those of you who have yet to go there: yes, Tuscany is absolutely as wonderful as portrayed in those crappy movies about American women finding themselves (and love) under the sun. The view, wherever you go, is stunning, the people nice and friendly, the food and wine fantastic, the weather lovely and the Tuscan accent is hands down the most charming in Italy. Yes. I keep trying to persuade Andrea that we should move there. Somehow, being so close but yet so far away is always a little bit heart breaking.
Oh, and all pictures are from my Pinterest.
Pin It
Saturday, November 3, 2012
Things my boyfriend will never understand, part I
Speaking of dresses... I've never been one of those girls who dream of getting married. Never. But last weekend I went to my favourite second hand shop, and there was a rack filled with old wedding dresses. I was mysteriously drawn to this really old, hand made dress from the 50's. It was so pretty with gorgeous details and it came with a little veil and a tiara covered with fabric flowers. I started thinking of the lady who once wore this on what might or might not have been the happiest day of her life and I just couldn't leave it behind. I felt really akward fondling it and sort of glanced at the price tag, and do you know what? 10 EUR! That's barely a liter of milk and a loaf of bread in Italy. That settled it. I marched over to the sales girl and got myself my first ever wedding dress. Andrea just shook is head and I could clearly see the disbelief in his eyes. Oh well. Going home I tried to explain that me buying this dress is nothing stranger than him collecting vintage bikes. More disbelief. Chi se ne frega un cazzo!
Once at home, I tried it on. Needless to say, it wasn't exactly super comfortable and in all honesty; it was waaay too small. I couldn't even zip it up in the back. This doesn't matter to me though. It's hanging in my little craft corner right now and every time I look at it, it makes me smile. Pin It
Ramblings on a Saturday
I woke up early this morning to a very cold and grey Bergamo. The change of the weather lately came as a bit of a shock. About two weeks ago, I took my pre-school kids to a vineyard next to our little school. We walked around picking grapes, looking at plants and just spent such a lovely afternoon basking in the sunshine, wearing t-shirts. Even though I love a chunky knit and a nice coat as much as anyone else, I just don't cope very well with cold. We live in a very old house that is a true pain to heat up. This might also have to do with the fact that me and Andrea have very different opinions about what is warm enough. Needless to say, we've been fighting a quiet war this past week. Whenever I'm at home alone, I turn the heating up. A LOT. Andrea comes home, I might take Charlie out for a walk, and whenever I get back, the temperature has mystically dropped a few degrees. And so it goes on. And on. We'll keep doing this until the sun and warmth returns, preferably already in March or so.
Next weekend, Andrea's cousin is getting married and I've been searching high and low for the right dress. Mission failed miserably. The shops are all packed with little numbers in black, grey or beige but I have my heart set on something fabulous and colourful. I've mentioned this before, but Italian women (at least up here in the north) really do seem to prefer darker colours and me, invece... let's just say that my winter coat this year is apple green and my scarf bright orange. This all leads up to on thing: I'm gonna have to go in to Milan today and trust me, I'm not looking forward to it. Milan, for those who didn't know this, is called 'The grey city' by the Italians themselves. There was a time when I secretly nurtured a wish to eventually move from Bergamo to Milan. Those days are over. Milan is busy, busy, busy, the people all seem very serious and the city itself is.. well.. actually kind of grey. I've never met an Italian who likes Milan. They all hate the city and they all think that the milanese are bastards. Whether or not this is true, I'm going to leave unsaid.
Anyhow, wish me luck on this shopping venture that should be loads of fun but instead feels like the worst pain the ass.
Hope you have a lovely Saturday! Pin It
Next weekend, Andrea's cousin is getting married and I've been searching high and low for the right dress. Mission failed miserably. The shops are all packed with little numbers in black, grey or beige but I have my heart set on something fabulous and colourful. I've mentioned this before, but Italian women (at least up here in the north) really do seem to prefer darker colours and me, invece... let's just say that my winter coat this year is apple green and my scarf bright orange. This all leads up to on thing: I'm gonna have to go in to Milan today and trust me, I'm not looking forward to it. Milan, for those who didn't know this, is called 'The grey city' by the Italians themselves. There was a time when I secretly nurtured a wish to eventually move from Bergamo to Milan. Those days are over. Milan is busy, busy, busy, the people all seem very serious and the city itself is.. well.. actually kind of grey. I've never met an Italian who likes Milan. They all hate the city and they all think that the milanese are bastards. Whether or not this is true, I'm going to leave unsaid.
Anyhow, wish me luck on this shopping venture that should be loads of fun but instead feels like the worst pain the ass.
Hope you have a lovely Saturday! Pin It
Thursday, November 1, 2012
And just like that, almost a year went by
Well,
hello there. I haven't touched, nor glanced at this ol' blog of mine since February, until today that is. I kept thinking it was because I was uninspired and tired of the feeling that I kept pouring my heart out to no one. But to be fair, here's what happened: life happened. Life swooped in, changed everything all around (like it usually does) and all of a sudden I found myself having absolutely no time or energy on my hands.
In February I started working for a local designer, making handmade bags and even joining her for the A/W 2012 show in Milan (it sounds very glamorous, I know). I kept doing bags for her from home, but felt very double about it all. I got really self critical and would redo things over and over, looking for absolute perfection where none was to be found (HANDmade y'all? Sort of implies imperfections and varieties). It was fun and I learned a lot but I kept feeling a bit uneasy and unsure about keeping on working like that. One day, a lady contacted me asking if I would be interested in working in a bilingual school. This sort of threw me off a bit, because when I moved to Italy I kept thinking that I wanted to do something different from what I had been doing in Berlin. At the same time, I got really curious and went for an interview at this little combined pre-school/elementary school outside of town. And I loved it, of course. The people were great and I was finally feeling like myself again. So I started working there during the afternoons and after a month or so, my boss asked me if I would be interested in co-teaching a pre-school class for the school year of 2012-2013. Here's the thing: Italy is a country knee deep in shit right now. Even in the north, mind you. If someone more or less throws a job at you, you don't pass it down, no matter how much you would love to "do your own thing"/"be a part of a creative collective"/"learn something new and decide over your own time" or whatever I might have been blogging about a year ago. You say: hellz yez, and you take it. Even if the salary is so low it makes you giggle or cry every time you open your busta paga. And here we are now. I love, LOVE my job. This is the truth. I get really tired of it every now and then but seriously, I laugh so hard every day I sometimes think I'm gonna wee myself.
As for everything else... Charlie has grown up. Not into a lady, however. She's still the whirlwind she always was and incredibly spoiled with cuddles and fluffy duvets to sleep on. My darling A has got some seriously exciting projects going on and I am so, so very proud of him. I hope to be able to share some of his stuff soon as well, because he really is nothing less but fantastic. Never in my life have I ever encountered someone as creative and determined to realize ideas.
What about the Italian, someone might wonder. Well, I had a private teacher coming over once or twice a week to teach me the essentials for a couple or months. She was really great and we had a blast but then she moved to England to teach. Ever since I've sort of been teaching myself in less traditional ways. And you know what? It sort of worked out. My Italian is far from perfect, but I manage. I can keep up conversations with Andrea's family, crack a joke or two, communicate with children and parents at school, order my own food and compliment older ladies on their beautiful dresses. I'm constantly picking up new things and am always eager to learn more. Life in Italy has improved incredibly with at least a decent level of Italian, but things are still quite often confusing and frustrating.
I'm realizing more and more that this sleepy little town of ours might not be enough for me. I dream of moving. Big city street lights and all that. Or, if I can't have that, an old villa in the Tuscan countryside. I'm not even sure we'll stay put in the old country. Nothing is carved in stone and I'm not ready to make any major decisions yet. Life is working out, and that is good enough. For now. Pin It
hello there. I haven't touched, nor glanced at this ol' blog of mine since February, until today that is. I kept thinking it was because I was uninspired and tired of the feeling that I kept pouring my heart out to no one. But to be fair, here's what happened: life happened. Life swooped in, changed everything all around (like it usually does) and all of a sudden I found myself having absolutely no time or energy on my hands.
In February I started working for a local designer, making handmade bags and even joining her for the A/W 2012 show in Milan (it sounds very glamorous, I know). I kept doing bags for her from home, but felt very double about it all. I got really self critical and would redo things over and over, looking for absolute perfection where none was to be found (HANDmade y'all? Sort of implies imperfections and varieties). It was fun and I learned a lot but I kept feeling a bit uneasy and unsure about keeping on working like that. One day, a lady contacted me asking if I would be interested in working in a bilingual school. This sort of threw me off a bit, because when I moved to Italy I kept thinking that I wanted to do something different from what I had been doing in Berlin. At the same time, I got really curious and went for an interview at this little combined pre-school/elementary school outside of town. And I loved it, of course. The people were great and I was finally feeling like myself again. So I started working there during the afternoons and after a month or so, my boss asked me if I would be interested in co-teaching a pre-school class for the school year of 2012-2013. Here's the thing: Italy is a country knee deep in shit right now. Even in the north, mind you. If someone more or less throws a job at you, you don't pass it down, no matter how much you would love to "do your own thing"/"be a part of a creative collective"/"learn something new and decide over your own time" or whatever I might have been blogging about a year ago. You say: hellz yez, and you take it. Even if the salary is so low it makes you giggle or cry every time you open your busta paga. And here we are now. I love, LOVE my job. This is the truth. I get really tired of it every now and then but seriously, I laugh so hard every day I sometimes think I'm gonna wee myself.
As for everything else... Charlie has grown up. Not into a lady, however. She's still the whirlwind she always was and incredibly spoiled with cuddles and fluffy duvets to sleep on. My darling A has got some seriously exciting projects going on and I am so, so very proud of him. I hope to be able to share some of his stuff soon as well, because he really is nothing less but fantastic. Never in my life have I ever encountered someone as creative and determined to realize ideas.
What about the Italian, someone might wonder. Well, I had a private teacher coming over once or twice a week to teach me the essentials for a couple or months. She was really great and we had a blast but then she moved to England to teach. Ever since I've sort of been teaching myself in less traditional ways. And you know what? It sort of worked out. My Italian is far from perfect, but I manage. I can keep up conversations with Andrea's family, crack a joke or two, communicate with children and parents at school, order my own food and compliment older ladies on their beautiful dresses. I'm constantly picking up new things and am always eager to learn more. Life in Italy has improved incredibly with at least a decent level of Italian, but things are still quite often confusing and frustrating.
I'm realizing more and more that this sleepy little town of ours might not be enough for me. I dream of moving. Big city street lights and all that. Or, if I can't have that, an old villa in the Tuscan countryside. I'm not even sure we'll stay put in the old country. Nothing is carved in stone and I'm not ready to make any major decisions yet. Life is working out, and that is good enough. For now. Pin It
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