Alicepoint

If you told me,
that in the blink of an eye,
I could have any wardrobe of my choosing,
of any one person in the world,
I would be a very happy girl.

And I would tell you without thinking twice,
that I would choose, hands down,
the wardrobe of blogger/model @ Alicepoint.

I love love love her use of hues,
And how she pairs a lot of Zara and H&M
(making the looks somewhat doable for us poor folk)

 

  

 I waste so much time on her blog.

For me both her style and her blog are bel.lis.imo!!

And now, back to procrastination, what I do best ;)

Looking forward to showing a new friend the wonders of Rome at night,

Tomorrow a birthday party, and dinner on the chilly beach that I call home.

A dopo!

I ♥ McLovebuddy

"McLovebuddy" on Etsy.
I'll let the pictures do the talking.
The epitome of MUST HAVE.

We interrupt this 20 day intense period of study to bring you this important announcement.

I have found the Italian equivalent of BACON!!
Alleluia may Jesus be praised! But really!

For all of you bacon-lovers
who have been dealing with the long distance relationship
and thought there was no hope...
A funny accident in the kitchen has led me to be reunited with bacon!

You know Prosciutto Crudo right?

If not than you are missing out on a real Italian experience..
It's cured ham that's been aired out, packaged up or sliced, and
trucked to your nearest Carefour Express =)

Or maybe you've seen it served in restaurants like this...

 It's definitely an acquired taste, I remember that I didn't like it much at first.
But now, after living here for a year, I just can't get enough!
It's great paired with melon, mozarella cheese and/or tomatoes :)
And, as I have just discovered, when fried it tastes just like bacon!

All you need to do is fry "Prosciutto Crudo" over a flame to
crispy perfection!!

So yes, it's time for all you Italian bacon-lovers to be reunited!!!


And now *sigh* back to my studying cave...

Resolution: CHECK

It's only day 6 of the year 2012,
and I am proud to say that I have kept
up with my New Years Resolution so far!!

Hahaha

Well, the "traveling" one anyway...
I just got back from a 3 days trip to
San Giovanni in Rotonda, and Salerno!

I was hoping to post a picture of each place,
but a storm is passing over Rome,
and so my internet is not allowing me to :(

So I will attempt to paint a picture of each with words,
Eehheeem...

San Giovanni in Rotonda: a beautiful little quiet town
in the south-eastern hills of Italy's boot heel. Most famous
for it's beloved Italian saint "Padre Pio" (miracle-working Catholic priest)
The people who are lucky enough to live in this town are incredibly hospitable.
There is a heavy mist (because of the altitude) that lasts up until lunchtime,
which gives the town the feeling of another time.
It is a beautiful place to go for a spiritual get-away.

Salerno: a charming little sea-side town on the west
coast of Italy, just below Napoli. You can navigate through all
of the town's tiny stone streets in one day for sure.
I definitely recommend going during the Christmas season,
the street decorations and lights at night are incredible!
The pizza is also aMaZiNg,
and the little historic churches are just too cute to be true!

It really was a great couple of days.
I'm not really ready to step back into reality, and start cracking down on these exams :( 

Winter a Roma!

Here I am finally sitting down to blog! 

I cannot convey how wonderful this Christmas 

and just the whole month of December has been in Rome, 

I am convinced this is one

of the most beautiful places to be!

Ice skating at Castel San Angelo,

Twirling around Piazza San Pietro,

Shopping down Via del Corso, 

Vespering around the Colosseum, 

Christmas lights everywhere =) 

                                         {Vespering is not real word I suppose, but it should be.}

And of course Christmas Eve Mass with none other than the Pope himself!

{that's Him, the little white figure closest to the altar}

It has been the most beautiful month, 

I have enjoyed it to the brim, 

and I am sad to watch it slowly end...

BUT

am very much looking forward to New Years and fireworks!

I have been thinking about what I want my New Year's resolutions to be. 

And of course while I've come up with a few personal things, 

ways to be a better person, ways to be a better friend, daughter, etc., 

I have also come to the realization that I need to travel, for my soul! 

There is just something about traveling and exploring new places

and making my own adventures...

I'm hooked! With no chance of recovery!

Therefore, one of my resolutions for the year 2012, 

is to travel the heck out of Europe :}

Mama Mia!

Sitting in a little cafe, trying to think of something interesting to write

about, but I am distracted by the two Italian men arguing at counter a few

feet away. I find it so interesting how, no matter what they are talking about, 

whether they are happy or sad or bored, Italians express themselves with 

100% of their emotion all the time. And now after 5 minutes of lashing out at 

each other, the two men are now friends again. I have a hard time relating to 

this Italian trait, but I hope that I will pick it up while I am here :)  

"I like nonsense. It wakes up the brain cells."

 -Dr. Seuss

 

Make a radical change in your lifestyle and begin to boldly do things which you may previously never have thought of doing, or been too hesitant to attempt. So many people live within unhappy circumstances and yet will not take the initiative to change their situation because they are conditioned to a life of security, conformity, and conservation, all of which may appear to give one peace of mind, but in reality nothing is more damaging to the adventurous spirit within a man than a secure future. The very basic core of a man’s living spirit is his passion for adventure. The joy of life comes from our encounters with new experiences, and hence there is no greater joy than to have an endlessly changing horizon, for each day to have a new and different sun. If you want to get more out of life, you must lose your inclination for monotonous security and adopt a helter-skelter style of life that will at first appear to you to be crazy. But once you become accustomed to such a life you will see its full meaning and its incredible beauty."

-Jon Krakauer (Into the Wild)  

"Time you enjoy wasting, was not wasted." -John Lennon

There's a storm a brewin...

Early in the morning, 

Before school, before the sun has come up,

I'm not sure which animal I want to shoot more, 

The rooster that crows at 3 in the morning, 

Or the dog across the street that barks at me when I step out my door at 6...

Then I look out my train window,

And for a few minutes see nothing but the Mediterranean,

And I am in total bliss.

I love living here. 

Yesterday I was watching the news at my friends house, 

And was informed that this weekend there will be non-stop rain. 

So today is the beautiful day before the storm, its windy but warm. 

So excited it's Friday! Time for some fun in the city :) 

Classes are over, English lessons too... Benvenuto weekend!

I have decided...

...that I am the worst blogger in the world!

When I was home I found it easy to blog about 

how I love life in Italy, and now that I am here

I'm finding no time to blog at all!

Partly because my little apartment does not 

have the right wiring set up for internet, 

and partly because my weeks have just become

so densely packed with running about here and there

and I haven't found the time to sit, relax, and collect my thoughts. 

...Did I give the same excuse in my last entry too?

I love blogging, I do! 

There's something about it that is really refreshing and

almost stress relieving. 

So anywaysss, 

To my actual post, 

I have been waiting for this day and these hours to do nothing but lay around in my

apartment in my pajamas, drink green tea, snack on nutella (yes, just nutella lol) 

and watch movies aaalll day. 

At least this is my plan when I leave this little cafe where I come to use the free wifi :)

I am proud of myself because I did accomplish a lot this week *pat on the back*

I started teaching English to another family 

(this one is a real challenge because, well the only word they know is "Yes"...literally)

I reconnected with friends who I desperately needed time with

We enjoyed Aperitivo, Campo di Fiori, and last night a much needed night out dancing at "Babel."

Which is a pretty good club by the way, good music, but drinks are way to expensive!

This weeks craziness also consisted of:

An awesome Mexican party at Andrea's house

Adventures to random post offices as I venture into the next chapter of attempting to get a 

"Permesso di Soggiorno." 

Ick, not looking forward to paying 100 euro for that =( 

A successful search for a roommate! :) :) :) 

Heck yes!

Classes everyday, study group (yes, I study this semester)

Teaching English lessons almost everyday 

(providing me with $$ for dancing, day trips, and other funly things) 

Hours spent crouched over my book and Italian dictionary trying to 

understand LOGICA, a super tricky class, disguised with an easy sounding name, 

and a really friendly professor. 

Of coarse hanging out with Niccolo and Giulio (my Italian buddies up the road) 

I went to see "A Dangerous Method" in Italian with a friend...

 I'm not sure that I would recommend it

The acting was good, but the story is sad and dry

But in a depressing sort of way, and you end up hating the characters

And there were far too many "awkward turtle" moments.

Well I am off to enjoy these precious hours of nothingness,

Tomorrow, Sunday, I go back to having things to do.

But I am very excited to be volunteering for a few 

hours tomorrow with Mother Teresa's order, near the Vatican. 

I think it will be a good experience

Buonasera Italia!

Well I just got back to Rome on Monday and things have been crazy

but wonderful!

I forgot how much I love Italy! 

I also forgot how much I really needed to study Italian back home, lol

But it's alright, thank God for my friends who are helping me remember things. 

So I arrived Monday night, not having slept at all the whole 24 hours it took me 

to get here, and there waiting for me were my good friends Niccolo and Giulio!

They drove me back to the little town I live in, and we had dinner at their place. 

The past few days have been a little chaotic, trying to figure out my class schedule

and what I have to catch up in. 

Also I am trying to find a roommate, because Paloma graduated. 

Any takers for living by the Mediterranean Sea?

Well, I wanted to write more but I have a skype date =)

Ciao ciao!

F A L L

It finally feels like Fall has arrived!

Philadelphia has been lighting up 

with the beautiful shades of yellows and reds in the trees.

Right now I am in the middle of packing

and my room looks like it has encountered a tornado ;)

I'm leaving tomorrow night, back to Rome

and there's just so much to do!

But I thought I'd take a little break

and post some pretty fall inspirations that I've come across. 

Oh I do hope it feels like Fall in Rome...

All images via this lovely archive