Welcome to the world of grown-ups... and downs

planning a wedding should be fun, but you are 1732km far away, have a full-time work full of new projects, need read financial reports and news that you only partially understand to cheer up/reassure your dad who has got several euros invested in Lehman Brothers, and need to watch out what you buy for lunch because you are broke and need to save, planning a wedding becomes an abstract prospect. in this economic climate, am i really allowed to try on all those wonderful gowns, choose pretty party favours and plan my honey moon??? despite all of this up and downs and my mood swings, i feel rather serene because i have a soft rock next to me and my parents seem rather collaborative. [i need to open a whole post about my mum's bizarre reaction.]

maybe lehman crack, which paradoxically coincided with the setting of the wedding date ,is an ill-omened sign or, more optimistically, a memento of humility... so, we chose the date, i was saying: 13 June 09, which will also be Loftino's grandma's 85th birthday. we also chose the venue: Borgo Lanciano, without having seen it live yet (!). to make the whole experience more spiritual, in october we are starting a 10-week pre-wedding *course* (it's not a course but can't find a better word - my writing is a bit rusty) with Padre Carmelo, priest of the Italian Church in London. on the more frivolous side, on 30th september i have an appointment with the glamorous Browns Bride, on 1st october with Alice Temperley and on 2nd with the sought-after Jenny Packham to try on some gowns which will remind me that it is all real! in other news:

• she will be my photographer.
• my wedding band will be my grandma Lina's resized ring and Loftino will have my grandpa's ring.
• i shall have three bridesmaids and a bride of honour and two witnesses, all girls. i would have loved to have also two adorable flower girls but they are too far to fly over... : (
• we have already drafted the text for the invitations, which we hope to send out soon after Xmas or thereabouts, completely ignoring the etiquette.
• i have some ideas for the invites and party favours, but nothing has been firmed up...

deciding on the list of guests and musicians (if any) will be the hardest pre-wedding tasks. we are still unsure about speeches - whether to have them or not because of the bilingual situation... dilemma, dilemma. it will be sooo hard not to share my bridal fashion findings - i could inaugurate a whole blog on the subject...

something to remember and something to look forward to

my legs are still hurting from all the walking we did this past weekend. my cousin Valentina was visiting together with her boyfriend and two friends (Luca & Consuelo). no kidding - on saturday we marched from piccadilly to Soho, Covent Garden, Embankment, South Bank and Tate, down to Tower Hill! it was a glorious day and we refused to catch the tube. in the evening, after the most lovely dinner, kindly prepared by steve, he and i dared to go out and come back in the wee hours! Vale & Luca, although being 10 years junior than us, were shattered as they had a v. early start. we arrived at laura's birthday fashionably late and went to bed at 3am. for the following day, we had booked a flight on the London Eye for our guests and we let them go ahead while we stayed in to sort out the house. we then joined them to visit the British Museum, South Kensington and Camden, where we had a dinner sponsored by mr lofty and a couple of drinks at a nearby pub. all in all a great weekend. i was positively surprised by Luca who even tried Thai food and was glad that they enjoyed their stay so much that they labelled it as splendid!

next weekend we have more guests: my nephew Mirco (age 21) and his sister Monica (age 23) are coming to visit us for the first time! we will spend the whole bankholiday weekend together, and I have loads of treats and plans lined up for them. Monica is very into fashion and Mirco into music - so it will be a glam rock weekend!

after that, i will take a little break and fly to Rome to visit my family and friends. my mum will then fly back with me to stay for 10 days. Hurrah!

despite all these nice plans to look forward, my head can't stop longing for summer time! i already have one week in New York and two weeks at my parents' holiday house booked. i also have a week off at the end of august, but i have not yet decided how to occupy it.

then xmas - i know it is a looooong way away, but i had to book my days off now. so, i will stay 10 days in my home village and then.... a week skiing with my relatives in the north of italy!!! they renew their invitation every year, but we had always to refuse for a reason or another. this year there will be no excuses. i can't really wait for that!

between now and then it is work work work.

.... is the exact number of years i have lived in UK, as at today, 16 April 08. i am not sure whether to be happy or sad, especially after the hard day i had, but happy anniversary to me nevertheless!

facing age

it may just been the post-party hangover but i really feel my skin dull, dry, wrinkled, patchy and inelastic today. although i am in principle against any obtrusive form of plastic surgery and agree with Ale that beauty methods have to start from the inside (drinking plenty of water, yogaing, sleeping, smiling, more is less, etc.), i tend to embrace all the alternative and *natural* health and beauty tricks. so, after booking an appointment for tooth whitening, i am contemplating la praire 90 minutes facial and a few oxygen treatments @ claridge's... oh dear, i am officially into my 30s... everything in moderation - don't forget!

THE RING

i have got an engagement ring, at last! actually, i have been wearing it for the past three weeks, so it has been already put on trial and, after much deliberation, research and doubts, it is certainly the right choice. it perfectly fits my small hands.

as you can see, we opted for a full eternity ring with quality diamonds set on platinum. the diamonds are of different size and casually scattered around a very thin band. it is a classical piece with a contemporary design. i like that it sparkles but not that much, as it is not as crowded as other eternity rings i tried on, and i like that i could wear it also as a wedding band (2 in 1) - what i call *versatile*, very important quality for someone who is in constant style evolution.

hope you like it.

five years ago ...

five years ago, today, i was catching a plane with a trolley, a laptop and many hopes. a journey of no-return...

getting local

not only i gave up my trusted italian haidressers for a less glam but still accurate and reasonably priced hairstlylist called nora, i also changed my italian trusted shoe-maker for a local shoe-repair shop and last summer i went to a london-based dentist for the first time. to my mum's disappointment, i still have to find a good dry cleaner, a tailor, an ear doctor, gynecologist and more, but this is a good step forward to be and feel part of a local community to rely upon.

crazy moments

testa rossa

as promised ...

well, more orange than red, but this is the sun's illusionist effect...

keep it up

i am not sure that my look was better five years ago than it is now, but for sure at the time i used to be more "polished", often impeccable and more sophisticated. my lips were always carefully designed and coloured, my complexion moisturised and tanned (or *whitened* and velvety, depending on the season, fashion and mood). i sometimes used to receive criticism for the strong lipsticks i used to sport but that was my personality statement and felt comfy in those bright or dark colours.

year on year my look has relaxed and got more natural. it definitely suits more the 30 year old person i am, but for the exact reason that i am getting older i believe i should take more care of myself, inside and out.

all this preamble, to say that, after getting a proper haircut in february (you can vaguely detect it from the *film strip* on the right column), i bought some new make up (including a bright red lipstick to be used rigorously for a night out); a bright lime sixtes jacket accessorised with a fucsia patent leather (plastic) evening bag (all for the bargain amount of £17!); and i decided to colour my hair DIY! i used to be quite an expert in experimenting with colours until i decided i could no longer afford the risk of spending a fortune to fix my infamous *artefacts* and i put my head into my trusted (italian) hairdressers' hands, which meant getting (great) colours only three times a year.

today i chose a conditioning colour without ammonia (casting creme gloss) in a coppery tone (*amber*). it was easy enough to apply, and lofty helped me rinse and massage it. the result was quite satisfactory: no orangy colours which i was fearing on my blonde highlights, no patches and, above all, no wig effect but a gentle and discreet coverage with nice reflexes, which i am going to enhance with aveda madder root color conditioner (a fabolous product, natural and effective).

i'll show you everything, promise, but not tonight, please. my eyes are too tired.

500 People Feel

last year in a pub in berlin i took part to this project about the body, feeling and emotions, and then forgot about it. today i have requested the results, and now i am eagerly waiting for them...

moments of domestic life

...how i spent the rest of my w/e...


reorganising my bed-side table

clockwise: my mobile with manekineko charm bought in paris with maga; a coster from australia; oyster card (i found it! it was in my umbrella (?!)); rice body cream; alarm clock (which doesn't work); leaflet of science of sleep; missoni scarf; a owl; Aung San Su Kyi badge; peruvian dreaming puppets; a new monkey i named etphonehome; cosmopolitan; a local magazine; a book (see right column) and a container for my hair clips.

playing with furniture in my bedroom

baking pancackes

rearranging my library

off to theatre soon and then to emily's for a roast dinner...
bye bye.

My celebrities' look-alikes

http://www.myheritage.com

http://www.myheritage.com

more surprises

in the post today two tickets for this performance.


presents to be lived are to me the best!
thanks, dan.

sivvy & steve

i am free ... my holiday is kicking off as i speak ...

have fun, readers

that's becoming a habit!

that's becoming a habit!

this is the second blank xmas card i receive this season. people are just too busy sending out too many cards, as the anglo tradition dictates. is it not better to post out less but right? sending a blank card or not sending it at all does not make any difference... except for the cost of the stamp...

mysterious cards

... a few days ago i got a card from someone called claire, but it is not from the only claire i know well....

and today i received a blank christmas card. the weirdest thing is that it appeared on my desk well sealed, properly stamped and with my full address in clear handwriting on it, but no sender ...

it's the magic of Christmas

On the verge ...

I am on the verge of an exhaustive breakdown... Although my job has calmed down, next week, my last week before Xmas, it'll be still hectic: I will have to say goodbye and merry Christmas to all my authors and close some of the outstanding issues. After a tensed and intensed weekend with Clopis & Giagio, highlighted by a fun reunion on Saturday night, yesterday I went to my company Xmas party and, despite having drunk two glasses of champagne, half beer and half glass of wine with soda (i.e. annaquato!), I feel hangover and exhausted today. Amanda attributed it to the cheap free stuff but I added to it also the age element. Anyway...... Despite my miserable physical state, after work I wanted to pop to central London to buy some last presents. I got a first class face cream for my mum (it is actually the best available in the market! ~ I splashed out but she deserves (and need) it!); a colourful scarf designed Paul Smith for my dad and the second half of Steve's and Lindsey's presents. I am done (on my side)! More or less... Tomorrow I will be heading with Claire and Liz to Brighton, where Claire recently moved, for an intimate night out. On Saturday I will come back to London at around lunch time and will go out again in the evening for Adrian's birthday. As you can see, I am truly faithful to the Anglo traditions: Xmas here starts on the first of December and it is synonim of party party party. Will I make it to the end of the week? I have to! It's Xmas! Sunday will be our last chance to sort out the flat before my parents' arrival (not even the queen would receive such a treatment!). But I am happy... I am not even worried of having to be the official (and only) translator during these Xmas holidays... Off to pack now.