Are You Only As Good As Your Last Blog Post?

If you only get one chance to make a first impression than it's fair to say when someone lands on your blog you've got to grab them with your top post. So, as a blogger, are you only as good as you last post? This is something I think about everyday when coming up with new ideas for making my blog interesting to other people besides just me. Much like competition it keeps me coming up with fresh ideas and beautiful pictures to get better and better and to stick out above others. Funny thought: blogging, the new competitive sport. So in a shameless ploy to grab your attention today, here is a picture of my cute puppy. Awwwww...

Treasuries!

There is no better way to start the weekend but to be in 2 treasuries! (Well for an Etsyian that is). So thank you to my friends Mireloom who included my red silk jacket in her lovely treasury. See it here:

http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=42444

And to HepkatKlothing who included my dreamy creamy sweater in her treasury. See it here:

http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=42351

Big Brother Italy Update

It's the year of the crazies at Grande Fratello. The latest? Another disqualification. Paolo, a 34-year-old model, who just went into the house last Monday, did not even last one week. The boys of the house made ball out of t-shirts and tape and were using it to play volleyball and soccer. Paolo stole the ball from them for reasons unknown. He then proceeded to get naked and run around the house in a rampage yelling and arguing at anyone who got in is way and sometimes just to himself. His mental health was questioned shortly after and he had to be dishonorably discharged. Again, you don't have to understand Italian to understand the crazy. See the breakdown here:

Stay tuned...

I'm a Featured Seller!

Thanks to Geri from Gems By Geri for making me the featured seller of the day. I am honored to be the first vintage featured seller. See her super fun blog with all of the sellers and a look at her creations here:

http://www.gemsbyjerri.blogspot.com/

Life in Europe, Page 3

12 years olds are having sex. And not just that, they are also having babies. Chantelle Steadman, now 15 and from East Sussex England, and her boyfriend Alfie Patton, now 13, gave birth last week to a 7lb 3oz girl named Maisie Roxanne. The young couple claimed to have had sex only once, last year when Alfie was only 12, and it was unprotected. The Sun newspaper interviewed Alfie and when asked by the reporter "What will you do financially?"His reply was: "What's financially?"

My first knee jerk reaction is to say, "Where were the parents?" Ahh, good question. Both Alfie and Chantelle come from broken homes. Chantelle lives with her mom, her father who is jobless, and her 5 brothers in a council house and are on benefits. Alfie lives with his dad who has fathered 9 other children.
My second knee jerk reaction question is, "Does this kid have a chance in hell?"

Read the whole article here:
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/article2233878.ece
(Image came from The Sun)

Life In Europe, Page 2

Have you heard this story yet? The murder of British student Meredith Kercher in Perugia, Italy. The American student suspect Amanda Knox along with her Italian boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito are sitting in an Italian jail now awaiting a murder trial. I have some interest in this case as it has an American in Italy aspect and also I have been a exchange student in a foreign country myself and I can not imagine what it would have been like if this happened to me or anyone I knew.
Most of the details can be explained here in this British mini documentary. This is part 1 of 5, you can follow the links if you want to see the parts 2-5.

This story does not have an ending yet. The trial is still just beginning and so I will be blogging more about this as the trial continues. So as always, stay tuned...

Apartment Update

This is what our renovation looks like today, Feb. 19th 2009. The walls have been torn down, and the floors torn up. Can you picture what it's going to look like yet? ...Me neither...

Living Room looking at Office:

Kitchen:

Bathroom looking into our Bedroom:
Next week walls go back up and floors go back down. Stay tuned...

Grande Fratello

Big Brother Italy is awesome! 9 million Italians watched the last evection which is a lot considering that the population of Italy is 55 million. As it progresses I will blog here about the best bits. Let's start with the most recent evection, Federica.

Federica is a fire starter. She was so argumentative that she was actually disqualified instead of being voted off. Her most crazy moment occurred when, in and argument, she threw a heavy glass at another housemate. Here is a video of her evection, which includes a clip montage of her "best moments" at starting at 1:53.


You don't have to speak Italian to understand what is going on. Her actions do speak pretty loud. Can't wait to see what happens next! Stay tuned...

First of the Torino Etsyians Monthly Meet-up

A new club was started today, and some new friends made. Because today we had the first meeting of the Etsy shop owners of greater Torino. We enjoyed coffee and a long chat about how we can improve our sales, reach a larger market, our techniques and secrets, forums, advertising, and most importantly, where we are going for August vacation.
We decided to get together every month to continue to grow our Etsy experience together. So thanks to Ixela www.ixela.etsy.com and to Mireloom www.mireloom.etsy.com for joining me for coffee talk!

Bella Cucina

Here is the kitchen I have chosen for our historical apartment:

It's called the Valencia and it is a honey luscious colored oak. The floor will be black tiles and the work service will be white and gray Carrara marble. So accept for the floor, it should look just like this picture....although not this big....or with that island....

You Blog, I Blog, We Blog

Last week I sold a pair of very cute Ferragamos to Lauren who's Etsy shop goes by the name of DearGoldenVintage. It's always fun to buy and sell to fellow Etsy vintage sellers. It is a complement and feels like a family that way. Anyways, Lauren has a blog and she was nice enough to blog about how much she loves her new shoes, which I am ecstatic to hear! Read her gushing blog here:

http://deargolden.blogspot.com/2009/02/please-bury-me-in-my-ferragamo-flats.html

Thanks Lauren!

The Renovation has Begun

They started work on our 200 year old apartment today. When I say work I mean knocking down the walls. As I said before, I plan to show step by step the progress of renovating an Italian living space so stay tuned for more. It's almost a blank slate so this should be fun! But for now here are the initial photos for the before's. Living Room:

Kitchen and Bedroom:

Bathroom:

Ladies Who Brunch

I'm one! I am so excited to say that I made this Etsy Storque article on vintage brunch finds with my Italian rooster tea cozy. See the whole article with all of the great finds here:

http://www.etsy.com/storque/spotlight/etsy-finds-vintage-brunching-3182/

I Made the Front Page!

I made the front page of Etsy today with my riding style vest.

This is the first time and I am just so excited I found it so, Thanks Etsy!

Great Door Series #6

As it continues to snow in Torino the chances of getting out and about are less and less. So Jolie and I stay at home filling out my Oscar winner picks for my competition with Pier and making cookies. For now I give you another in my great door series. This one is a bit Gothic and a bit Renaissance. I keep taking pictures of these wonderful doors because I am so in awe of them. They are hand carved masterpieces that have been around and continue to be used for hundreds of years. People just walk by them every day and yet I can't stop staring at them like the street is a museum. I have come to the conclusion that here in Italy, many times the street IS a museum. Starting with your apartment front door...