lampredotto

in italy, it is safe to say that food is everywhere. you can't walk 5 minutes without passing a tabacchi (a typical convenience store that can see everything from lotto tickets to a cup of cappuccino) or a latteria, macelleria, pasticceria, etc etc. i have had so many great opportunities and experiences with food since being in italy. which sounds like a lame and "fatty" thing to say, but it is the truth. the italians pride themselves on their art of the kitchen. anything and everything you can eat, should be eaten. i've stuck to the basics of the italian cuisine, though mistakenly by the advice of a family friend, i think i might have tried cow intestine, trippa. barf. in fact i wikipedia'd it, and i did. oh well, it tasted, well, yummy and that's the furthest i'd like to discuss on the topic....ANYWAYS, besides my random indulgence in the insides of cows, i do enjoy a pretty regular gelato, the daily salami, mozzarella, and tomato panino, etc.

k.

NYE

nye 2011

k.

"le meglio vestite del 2010" -- thebestdressedof2010

SEIDIMODA, which i mentioned in an earlier post, is the fashion section of the italian newspaper La Repubblica, and has great pictures, articles, and archives to offer! they recently posted a "best dressed of 2010" list and it's just a cluster of beautiful frocks, pumps, and women...please check it out!! HERE :)

k.

buon natale

holiday festivities including an adorable snow man ice cream cake, ornament cupcakes that my sister baked and my cousin dillon & i decorated, our dining room all set up and decorated for christmas eve dinner (and the bouquet i bought my mom as part of her gift, she died when i gave them to her!), and lastly our family christmas tree that i decorate with my mom-mom while everyone else was at work. we also baked chocolate chip cookies! i love the holidays :)

k.

louie louie, ohhhh baby

LOUIE, you've done it again. and then ten times over, again.

k.

what i'm gonna take with my minolta

view from my kitchen bay window, so beautiful!

the G

who knew that domino's could be so creative..

at our local bar

i never get over how some of these pictures come out. since i've been using my parents Minolta from '86, i'm continually surprised at how the pictures look after i get them developed. the modern man of today would hate the non-instant satisfaction of being able to see the pictures that were just snapped, but i kind of really like not knowing how they turn out, until i drop them off at CVS, wait an hour or two, go pick them up, and upload them onto my computer. it's not a process for a highly anxious person! in fact, i dropped a roll of film (with some pictures from my 21st on it!) at CVS two weeks ago, and when i went to go pick them up, they told me that my pictures were missing, then a few days later were declared lost. what a bummer. oh well, someone out there is enjoying my pictures...kinda funny if you think about it.

k.

doyourememberwhentwenty-oneyearswasOLD?

birthday party(ies) festivities, occurring dec 17th, 18th (my actual birthday), all throughout the following week, and basically for the rest of my life, i will be celebrating my twentyfirst birthday. gina & i split these Sam Edelman Zoe booties, so our girl Zoe has more than one home. we've calculated a visitation schedule and i got to wear them for my twentyfirst birthday debut. the other two alcohol-infused pictures were birthday gifts given to me by my friends. safe to say we had a good time...before heading to the bars ;)

k.

high on my fryes

theeeeseee are my 21st birthday boots. that i will forever have, love, and cherish. after hearing three of my girlfriend's moms say that they still had their Frye boots from college, i knew it was not only an awesome boot, but an investment piece. my wonderful parents worked their magic and hooked me up with these 12R Harness Fryes in tan on the morning of my 21st birthday. i screamed when i ripped the box from the wrapping paper. slipped my feet into each boot, pranced around my kitchen, and screamed again. i've worn them in and they fit like a glove (i usually wear a size 8.5, but in these an 8 is a good fit, i even have wiggle room for bulky socks heh)! i highly suggest investing in a pair, you'll love 'em, and if you're anything like all my friend's moms, you'll still have them well into your 50s ;)

k.

asparagus

YUM

a favorite quick, simple dish of mine. i can't take the credit for this great creation, i'll hand that off to michelle, who made it for gina & i sometime last year.

x. gather a busshel or two of thin asparagus from the store

x. pre-heat oven to 350, and move a rack to the center of the oven

x. lay aluminum foil on a cookie sheet

x. cut off about an inch of the ends of the asparagus

x. spread them out on the cookie sheet

x. drizzle a generous amount of olive oil on them

x. grind some pepper, salt, and garlic

(not powder, but at the store you can find a great salt/garlic combo in the same grinder!)

x. put them in the oven for about 15-20 minutes

x. continue to roll around/turn the asparagus so both sides get cooked

x. remove from oven when they seem soft enough to bite, but not mushy

x. put them on a dish & sprinkle some grated parmesan cheese over top of them

x. serve 'em up & enjoy a healthy treat that will have you grabbing for more!

YUMMY

k.

SEIDIMODA

http://seidimoda.repubblica.it/home

"seidimoda" is the fashion section of the italian newspaper "la repubblica," though the website is in italian, and maybe not everyone understands italian, everyone does understand the language of fashion. so click around and see what's going on in the italian fashion circuit! hint: "sfilate" means runway shows, do definitely check out this section.

k.

1, 2, 3

the top picture is from a small shop near my school in Florence, it was owned by a middle aged woman who made some of the things in the store (including the modge-podged dress form) and also collected other's works and various antiques. i walked by her store about three times before i ever went in. and when i did, she was so excited to talk to me and tell me everything she had made, or bought, or sold. so i snapped a picture of one of her creations to remember her. the second picture, i've yet to understand what it means. more shipping, less shopping? i'm not an economics major, but i think if there's an abundance of new stuff and no one buys it, it's a bad thing. i liked the graffiti anyway. the third picture i asked for permission to take. i went on a trip to the Amalfi Coast, and out at dinner this girl had this great sequined dress jacket. it reminds me of gina's which i don't have a great picture of (claims it photographs poorly), but it always cracks me up to think that it once probably belonged to a fifty five year old woman who wore it once to a wedding. that's all for now folks.

k.

duplicates

hmm, not so original italy, not so original.

k.

dark corners

i really want to have a library in my house. i'm not a huge reader, but i do like books. maybe a new year's resolution of mine should be to read more. i'm interested in a lot of things, it's a lame excuse, but it's hard to find time to read. i think not only is it sophisticated looking, but it would be warm and cozy to have a nice dark study or library. i want the room to be dark red, friends snuggled on huge leather couches, fuzzy blankets, murals on the walls of ships, the ocean, and maps, books stacked on shelves with a ladder for convenience, a fireplace lined with handmade picture frames, a clock the size of a small car on the wall, my marble globe in the corner, Nylon on the end table, and some iced coffee waiting.

k.

two thousand and eleven

waddup 2011. not sure i'm too crazy about the odd numbered year...but i guess i'll have to deal with it for another three hundred and sixty-something days. but i guess i shouldn't rush away this year considering the world is supposed to end in 2012? ah let's not go there & enjoy the start of another great new year :)

as part of my new years resolution...the following pictures, well speak a thousand words..

k.

MY FEET cont'd

feetsss in Bruges, Belgium

mah feeet in Paris, France.

k.

tell the world i'm coming home

tomorrow will mark the one month "anniversary" of my homecoming from studying abroad. should i hold a memorial? a funeral? so sad. don't get me wrong...it's been more than great to be home. but the more time that goes by, and the more pictures of my travels i look at, the bittersweet-ness gets worse! never thought i's say i missed my room in florence, but i do. here's a few pictures of my room while i was packing for my trip back home, exactly a month ago..

k.