No words are needed explain why this new hotel in Sicily is inspiring.
For more pictures of this stunning place, please click on their website HERE:
Buon weekend!
(I’m going to dream about the bedrooms. I know it.)
On Thursday morning I decided during my jog, at the last minute, to pass by the garden to see if it was opened yet.
It was.
If you plan to be in Rome any time before June 16th, I highly recommend a visit to the Roseto Comunale/Municipal Rose Garden.
The hours are 8:30 a.m. – 7:30 p.m. It’s located right across the street from Circo Massimo. There is only a six week window to enjoy these stunning flowers from all over the world.
Buon Weekend!
The design and fashion blogosphere is buzzing this week about the debut of DOMAINE Magazine.
This online publication was created by the same women, Katherine Power and Hillary Kerr, behind another favorite, WHO, WHAT, WHERE.
Sara Ruffin Costello’s, former creative director at DOMINO, living room.
This site is fantastic. There are articles about home décor, fashion, and yes, even recipes (bacon mac and cheese).
Plus, it’s interactive. You can leave comments. Love it.
I enjoyed the article about interior designers Jeffrey Alan Marks and Ross Cassidy. I’ve never met Jeffrey but Ross is a sweetheart. I’m not saying that just because he complimented my skirt in L.A. last year. Ross was very kind to pose in his red pants so I could Tweet the photo to my friend, Erica, a noted Red Pants Pathologist.
Looking forward to checking out the rest of DOMAINE.
Buon Weekend!
It’s a Ponte Weekend in Italy.
While most of my friends are out of town, I’m using this weekend to catch up on work and to get organized for next month.
I would love to spend some time in the country this weekend. Instead, I will go to the park.
Fountain, Villa Borghese Park
One of my favorite parks is Villa Borghese. If you are visiting Rome, it’s a great place to go for some peace and quiet.
Buon weekend a tutti!
I was reading LONNY magazine last weekend when I came across the gorgeous work of Brittany Asch.
Asch has a great eye and her use of color is inspiring. Looking at these arrangements makes me swoon. Truly beautiful work.
Buon (and bello) Weekend!
Photos: Brrch.com
Felicia and I met a few years ago through a friend in NYC. She’s wicked smart, funny, and has a killer sense of style. Along with being a ridiculously talented writer, Felicia is also a gifted photographer, baker, and cook.
Felicia recently left her high-powered/profile job and is traveling in Italy and France for three weeks. It’s not easy to walk away from something that looks great on paper (especially in this economy). It takes a certain kind of fearlessness to step toward the unknown.
I love her blog. The way Felicia writes about life, love, food, etc. is extraordinary.
I just read her Florence dispatch and I all I have to say is, “I need to book a train ticket pronto.” I hope her writing and her photos will inspire you.
Buon Weekend!
Audrey Hepburn’s son, Luca Dotti, has edited a book about his famous mother.
“Audrey In Rome” has over two hundred photographs, many of them never published before, taken during the time Ms. Hepburn lived in the Eternal City.
Ms. Hepburn was a resident in Rome for over twenty years after marrying, Dr. Andrea Dotti, an Italian psychiatrist.
I cannot wait to buy this book filled with photos of Rome and of fashion from the ’50s to the ’70s. The release date is April 16th.
Hope you have a stylish and fantastic weekend.
Book Cover: Audrey In Rome
Last week my friend Courtney and I went to see the new Helmut Newton exhibit at the Palazzo delle Esposizioni.
There are two hundred photos covering three legendary books by Newton. This blockbuster show runs until July 21st.
Newton forever changed fashion photography and is considered one of the most influential photographers of the modern era. Many copy his style, but few have his talent.
It was incredible to see all these iconic photographs in person. This one was shot for VOGUE in 1975.
Le Smoking
Photo: Vogue.com
My friend and I left the show very inspired. Newton was passionate about life and his work. He was shooting until the day he died at age 84.
His first book of photography wasn’t published until he was 56 years old. By Hollywood standards that’s close to 100.
I’ve worked for years in culture that was/is obsessed with age and making it. I had friends in L.A. who started getting Botox in their 20′s and I’m not talking only about actresses.
It’s hard to be in that world and not lose your sanity. Once I moved to Rome, it was a little easier. However, there were times I still woke up in the middle of the night in a panic because I haven’t “made it” yet and time is running out. I thought, “I’m done. It’s a wrap.”
Last week I walked out of that exhibit thinking,”later for that nonsense, I’m just getting started.”
Buon weekend!
Seven years ago I traveled to Rome for the second time.
The first time was a revelation and I fell hard for this crazy city. It didn’t make sense. Nobody in my family is Italian and I was not an Italophile by any stretch.
I loved London, Paris, and Amsterdam. When I was in junior high and high school I just KNEW I would live in Paris or London one day. I wasn’t thinking about Rome or Italy despite living in a town called Verona .
I thought maybe I had responded to Rome that way because of what was, or wasn’t, going on in my life at that moment. I had to find out why that one trip had unsettled me so much.
I returned the following year and took a short trip to Florence and Positano.
The view from my terrace.
It was a pain in the butt to get from Rome to Positano. First the train to Naples (not bad), then the train to Sorrento (an hour on a local train with many stops), and then finally a bus to Positano.
I walked down the steep hill, followed by a million steps, to reach my hotel. Once I stepped into the room and opened the large French doors, I saw that view. My heart skipped a beat. It was so beautiful it felt unreal, like a movie set.
There is a great hiking trail/path way up in the mountains, Sentiero degli Dei/Path of the Gods. Early one morning, I went up the mountain.
It was quiet. I saw two German tourists hiking and that was it. For the first time in years, my mind wasn’t racing a mile a minute, overwhelmed by the things I had not accomplished.
That walk changed everything.
I realized I had to make some serious changes in my life for my mental and physical health. I wasn’t sure how at that time.
Eventually, I figured it out and moved to Italy two years later.
Buon weekend!
What a week.
Just when you think Italian politics couldn’t be more confusing or bizarre, they are. I have no idea what is going to happen now. Maybe we’ll have new elections.
The Pope said good-bye yesterday. The city is packed with tourists who came to see him for the last time. Cardinals are flying in for the conclave and there are journalists in town from all over the world.
Work-wise, things were hectic. I’m not sure how it’s Friday already.
Yesterday, Domenico and I drove up to Tuscany to visit the job site and to meet with our client who flew in from Germany. Normally, we would stay overnight but we decided to make it a day trip and left Rome at 6:30 a.m.
It was a very long day. At one point my brain said, “BASTA!” and refused to cooperate. It was around the time I was asking the contractor questions in Italian and then translating his answers into English.
On the drive back home, all I could think about was taking a long shower, getting in my PJs, and then watching Law and Order SVU reruns on Fox Crime (I have a thing for Detective Stabler).
I wish I had a shower like this:
Unfortunately, I do not.
The shower in the photo was designed by Ilaria Miani for Monteverdi. Monteverdi is a group of rental villas and a hotel in the small village of Castiglioncello del Trinoro in Tuscany.
Stunning. I hope to check it out sometime later this year.
In the meantime, Stabler and I will be relaxing this weekend.
Buon Weekend!
