Little crane headbands

Yesterday, I received the most beautiful little headbands.  I ordered  them from a cute little store on Etsy called Little crane headbands  they are just adorable.They arrived beautifully packaged (always a plus for me!) and are perfect for delicate little heads and hair.

                                        

These sweet headbands are made from grosgrain ribbon and 100% cotton fabrics attached to a soft nylon elastic that will not dent your baby’s head and will expand as their head grows.

Now all I have to do is find a way to get Sole to keep them on her head!!
                                                                    x Tracey

Creative recycling..beautiful home idea

We all try to recycle as much as we can. Other good options are a little DIY projects with recyclable items, everybody wins. I happened across this idea over at A Beautiful Mess and
I can't wait to do it myself, I just need one or two more bottles, and then off on a search for the paint! I will post the finished project as soon as I can..Enjoy! Sali


Before:


After:  how simple, easy and gorgeous is this? What a great idea for Mother's Day, for a friend, Grandmother, etc. Also you could do any color combinations to match the decor/interior of the home.

LULUZULU

Luluzulu is a collection of creative and original designs set up by Richard and katie kendrick. Both really fun and practical these adorable cotton rich baby tights have toasty terry toes and non-slip grippers in three detailed designs that both you and your child will love.

                                                               

I chose the Mummy love design for Sole and they are just adorable. I also grabbed some of the plimsole socks for the boys, with toasty terry feet and non-slip grippers they are great for running around at home on our floor boards. All print work is on recycled card and Sole's little tights came wrapped using a reusable /recycled cotton electric yellow gift envelope. I love good packaging!

x Tracey

Chocolat!

'il cioccolato deve essere preso bollente, seduti, e spettegolando'

Yesterday afternoon I took the boys to town for a walk and a hot chocolate to warm us up on this sunny but cold day. The streets of our town of Bergamo were filled with children dressed up for the
lead up to Carnevale, which for us is celebrated this coming weekend. We pushed through the crowd
down narrow streets covered with paper confetti and streamers, turning into a tiny and beautiful alley that lead to a little courtyard to a bar named Chocolat! If you have never tried an Italian hot chocolate
before then you must if you ever visit. With a densely smooth texture and rich flavour they are a sweet experience, and whatever bar you go to either in the centre of a big town or in a small village like an espresso the 'cioccolata calda' is made with love!

                                       

We take ours with cream!

                             

Leonardo takes after me we both love anything sweet!

  

              

The Italian bar is a beautiful inviting and stylish place to be on a cold winters afternoon..

                                    We also took home some of these yummy chocolates, who could resist!

 x Tracey

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle

In the past month, Tracey and I both decided to try out different food "lifestyles". Tracey is seeing how being Vegan, or at least Vegetarian works for her. I am trying for the moment, the Dukan diet..but after the consolidation period and I am able to go back to "normal" eating, I think I will try to just stay Paleo-ish, low carb/gluten free, good fats, and as raw and as organic as possible.

I'm currently reading the book " Animal, Vegetable, Miracle"- A year of food life by Barbara Kingsolver

You can also check out www.animalvegetablemiracle.com

This is one of those books that is a real eye-opener, it will change your life. We have become so complacent

 about the way we eat, where we buy it, what we put into our mouths, and the mouths of our loved ones. 

 We have so many other options out there, different choices to make. It's a very inspiring story, that makes you want to think before you buy something, put on the table for your daily meal. She and her family made the choice to live for a year with only  the food that they grew in their garden, or that they could buy in  season at their local farmer's market, or trade with neighbors. I realize that we can't all live on a farm and grow our own food, but we can choose wisely, spend a bit more here and there for fresher, organic products, but things that are 0km..local, no shipping fruit from Asia in the middle of Winter, try and eat products from ecologically concious farms, that are sustainable, and helping the environment. If we all just did a little bit, every day, it would make a huge difference. Not only for our health, but for the environment,  and with helping local farms stay alive..it's a win-win situation for everyone involved. And what's better than that?

Read up, and Enjoy!

Sali

Arugula pesto

The other night we had family over for dinner, I made some roast meat with parmesan/garlic flan, salad.
I noticed that we had some arugula(rocket/rucola) that wasn't good enough for salad, but I didn't want to throw it away. What to do?..pesto came to mind. So I dug around..we had almonds. I used those instead of pine nuts, added oil, salt and parmesan. Everyone said how good it was, they ate it with the bread, the cheese, the roast. Only one spoonful remained, so I guess this idea is a keeper!
                                                           

Recipe- Arugula Pesto

Take about 2-3 handfuls of arugula, about 3 spoons of good quality olive oil,8-10 almonds, a pinch of
 salt, and about 4 tablespoons of parmesan cheese. Blend them up until creamy, adjust according to
tase, and if it is too dry, add a bit more oil. It's as easy as that!
P.S. Arugula has lots of Vitamin A, C, K, folic acid, as well as Iron and Copper..just another reason to make it often..:)

                                                     

Enjoy!
Sali

Torta della nonna

Torta della Nonna (grandmothers cake) is one of those iconic desserts that every Italian grandmother has in her repertoireis. This traditional Tuscan dessert combines a rich pastry with a delicate custard and toasted pine nuts. A chocolate variation can also be found called 'torta del nonno'

INGREDIENTS

1 egg, lightly beaten or milk for brushing the pastry

2 tablespoons pine nuts

Icing sugar for dusting

FOR THE PASTRY

250g plain flour

120g caster sugar

120g unsalted butter, chilled and chopped

1 egg plus 1 yolk

1 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder

zest of 1 lemon

FOR THE CUSTARD

2 eggs, plus 1 yolk

100g caster sugar

50g plain flour

30g unsalted butter, softened

250ml milk

250ml cream

To make the pastry

Place flour, sugar and a pinch of salt in a food processor, add the butter and pulse the mixture until it resembles fine breadcrumbs. Add the egg and yolk, baking powder and zest and pulse just until the pastry comes together. Be careful not to overwork the pastry. Shape into a ball, wrap in plastic and 

refrigerate for atleast 30 min. 

To make the custard

Whisk the eggs, yolk, sugar, flour and butter with a pinch of salt until smooth. Place milk and cream in a saucepan, bring to the boill. Whilst whisking gradually add the egg and combine well. Return mixture to the pan and whisk continuiusly over low heat for 5 min or until thick and smooth. Remove from heat and cool.

Preheat oven to 180 C or 350 F. Roll out two thirds of the pastry on a lightly floured board until 5mm thick and use to line base and side of a 23cm (9inch) tart tin. Pour over cooled custard. Roll out remaining pastry, place on top of custard pressing gently on the edges to seal. Brush with beaten egg or milk, sprinkle with pine nuts and bake for 30-40min or until golden. When cooled dust with icing sugar.

Note: This dessert is best when made over 2 days, if possible. The crust and filling can both be made 

a day ahead and chilled in the refrigerator overnight. This makes for easy assembly, baking, and cooling.

This recipe comes from one of my favourite Italian cook books 'Light of Lucia' by Lucinda Samponga

Enjoy!

xTracey

Cire Trudon...there's nothing else to say..

If you love candles as much as I do, you will definitely want one of these on your wish list.
One of my all-time favourite candles, ever..

Roi Soleil (Now known as Solis Rex) by Cire Trudon. www.ciretrudon.com
They having been making candles in Paris/ and for the court of Versailles since 1643.
You might have sacrifice buying those new pair of shoes that you have your eye on,
in order to buy one of these, but they are heavenly, and burn for days.
And can you really put a price on ambiance?
Enjoy!
Sali

A little of this, a little of that bars..

The other day at work, I noticed that the Mom always buys cereal type bars for snacks for the little boy, L.
I told her, if you want I can try and make some, you have all of the ingredients here.
So I did...I threw in a little of this, a little of that..a pinch of this..spoon of that..and Voila!
She said they were delicious, and I have to take her word for it, because I'm "Dukan-ing" right now. Someday, I will make them again, and actually eat one!
For now: here's the (non) exact recipe:

Take a mixing bowl
Add about 1-1/2 cups total of oats, puffed rice,  quinoa, amaranth..whatever you have
Next if you have some grated coconut, put maybe 1/2 a cup in..
Anything else that looks good..toss some in as well! I put a couple of spoons of chia seeds, goji berries, cherries, pumpkin and sunflower seeds,you could even add some pieces of chocolate.

Now to make it stick together..you will need something sticky ;)
I used about 2 Tbs each of honey, and Rice syrup..but you could use maple syrup, a bit of molasses, maybe coconut oil, for flavour. It needs to be sticky enough to stick together, but not drowning in it.

Now, wet your hands and press the mixture into a baking dish..oval, square..whatever shape you want...and press down hard, get it very compact. The bars should end up being about 3/4" thick, too thin and they fall apart.

Cook them for about 15-20 mins until just golden brown on top (at 180 C)
Cool them slightly, and then slice them into whatever size bars you prefer.
Great for snacks, school, on the go, etc..
Enjoy!
Sali

Nappies for nature

Reusable or disposable? I have to admit that I didn't even consider the first option with my eldest son.
Mostly because six years ago, I didn't come across reusable nappies in my local baby stores here in Italy.
 It wasn't until a few months after the birth of my third child that I saw this picture of a store window display that I began to research the pros and cons and enviromental impact of both for example- disposable nappies take about 200 years to decompose and although reusable nappies don't create waste you have to wash them which can add to your carbon footprint. 

Song of the week: Otherwise known as a song that makes my fiance and son crazy because I have it on replay for 3-4 days straight!

It you don't know of Zee Avi..well it's time to get to know her!

Check her out here 

Zee is 23 years old from Borneo/Kuala Lumpur. She has studied Fashion in London, and also studied law. 

My favorite songs of hers are when she's playing the ukulele. Listen and you'll see what I mean. Pure happiness for your ears...Enjoy!

Sali

DIY kitchen

It's funny how sometimes, you throw something together in a moment of brilliant creativity. Afterwards  you pat yourself on the back, thinking what a great and unique idea you had....only to find out it's already been done..by LOTS of other brilliantly minded people! But, it doesn't make the idea any less great or the end product any less cute..(And I can't take all the credit, this was a co-project, with a lovely Italian Mom that I work for, Flaminia..good job!)

                              

Case in point: here are the full instructions to make your own kitchen (this site is in Italian, but the visuals are easy enough to follow)

A DIY kitchen..all you need is a medium size cardboard box, maybe some paint, contact paper, pens..and have at it. The only limit is your creativity, or at the very least, your ability to do a Google/Pinterest search ;)
Have fun and help the environment at the same time..it's a win-win. Enjoy!
Sali

Raw vegan chocolate truffles

I came across this recipe the other day,  while I was doing some research into following a vegan diet. The health benefits sound amazing ,but it is a huge lifestyle change and one that takes a lot of commitment. So for now, the research continues, and in the meantime here are some yummy vegan truffles to tempt us all.        
                     

                         Find the recipe here from Beth at local milk for these yummy vegan truffles!



And if you are thinking of following a vegan diet, or just curious about the health benefits, have a look at these articles.

Ten benefits of eating less meat.

What is a vegan diet? What are the benefits?

Health benefits - Rewarded for being vegan!

The laundry room

We have been in our new house for over 7 months now, but there are still some things not yet finished: like hanging our photos and putting up shelves for our books.

The laundry/mudroom has been the hardest room to organise.  Our laundry is just off of the den/play room (which we enter  from our garage), making it ideal to use also as a small mudroom. With three young children I spend a lot of time in the laundry,so I need it to be a neat space that fits in with the rest of the house.

Here are a few of my dream laundrys.

Here is some more inspiration on my pinterest board.

                  xTracey