Saturday 21 October 2017

Autumnal Little Pleasures


Hello my sweet ladies!!!I’m so glad to be back after such a long time!
During the past months life has been a rollercoaster, with many ups and downs, joys and tears, and I really needed to come back to this little safe corner, doing something that makes me happy.
So let’s skip to the beautiful things of the last few weeks, with a cup of tea and some chocolate biscuits to keep me company:

1. The little drop in the temperatures, which means many more cups of tea and nights spent curled up on the sofa, under my soft woolly blanket! Summer has been unbearably hot this year in Italy, a nightmare for an autumn lover like me, so I couldn’t be happier to start wearing scarves and colorful tights and enjoy the brisk air of the early morning walks to work.

2. Call The Midwife: one Saturday I was wandering around in a wonderful bookshop when a little book caught my attention : “ Call The Midwife” by Jennifer Worth, which is the autobiography of the author, who worked as a midwife in the East London in the 1950. I didn’t buy the book that day but, some days later, I mentioned it to my friends and I discovered that there was the series on Netflix! As you can guess I was thrilled about it, and I was right because I was completely hooked to the series since the first episode!!!
The main character is adorable, a strong woman, independent, self-confident, but also sweet and charming, and I love the setting, which is realistic and fascinating. I’m sure I’m going to finish it in a flash!

3. The Essex Serpent by Sarah Perry, a wonderful work of historical fiction that explores the gap between science and superstition, friendship and romantic love. I had heard many positive comments about this book before reading it and they were absolutely true. However, I must confess, I couldn’t empathize so much with Cora Saeborne, the main character, even if she is an unforgettable heroine, witty, independent and fiercely intelligent.

4. Bristol! Sentimentally speaking the first weeks of September have been quite hard, so I thought the best solution was to take a break from the routine and go away for some days. My cousin was leaving for Bristol for her Erasmus and I decided to go with her, to spend some days in England together, as we used to do when we were kids and our families went on holidays together! We had an amazing time there, with sunny days, a lovely Victorian house to stay in, and many delicious meals. Oh..and I did some shopping too: candles, second-hand books, a new pair of comfy slippers and some delicious herbal teas! Bristol was a balm for my soul and it brought me luck because, once home, little by little, things started to get better!

5. An afternoon to the Botanic Garden. One Sunday I went with my girls on a daytrip to Padova, a city not so far from where I live, easily reached by train. After a morning of shopping, where I bought the most wonderful pair of embroidered jeans and the cutest dress, we decided to visit the Botanic Garden, which was founded in 1545 and it’s the world’s oldest academic botanical garden that is still in its original location.  We wandered around for hours, chatting, laughing and taking pictures…It was truly amazing to be surrounded by all those plants and gorgeous flowers from all around the world.

6. My new leather backpack. “Patience is a virtue” they say..and they are right! After months and months of wishing a backpack, looking for the right one and not finding it anywhere ( I wanted a Kanken at the beginning but it was pricey and I wasn’t fully convinced) last weekend I found THE ONE in Florence! It’s black leather with golden hinges and a big pocket on the front and, moreover, it’s the perfect size to be useful for work, but not too big to look like a schoolbag! I’m in love with it and I’m glad that I waited so long!


Seriously if anyone is still reading my blog after such a long time I thank you from the bottom of my heart..it means the world to me!!! Have a lovely weekend and see you soon!!!

Love
Martina
Wednesday 1 February 2017

Wonderful Wednesday # 8



Wonderful Wednesday my lovely ladies!

It's so beautiful to be writing this happy list again and to feel a little bit out of the grey cloud that has wrapped me up since the beginning of the new year.
Actually I still feel the need to do something to change my life, find new inspirations and a reason to wake up in the morning with a smile and go to work feeling full of energy and enthusiasm, instead of tiredness and frustration.
There are people who can increase your self-esteem and others that make it fall to pieces and, unfortunately, I have to deal with one of these people every single day so, as you imagine, it's not easy at all!
Anyway, let's focus on the bright side: I'm really lucky to have a wonderful family and friends that help me to stay positive and believe in what the future can bring and an happy list of things that deserve to be mentioned:

1. Celebrating the 18 birthday of my little sister: the 22nd of January Linda turned eighteen and we decided to go for lunch in a cosy little restaurant on the top of a mountain not so far from home. We walked for an hour in the snow to reach the place and it was fantastic to breath the fresh air, chatting cheerfully, laughing and feeling carefree even just for a day!

2. "Jamaica Inn" by Daphne Du Mourier: this book is a masterpiece..I absolutely adored it!It was my first book written by this author and I was inspired to give it a try by the lovely booktuber Lauren from “Laurenandthebooks”. I must say it was exactly what I needed: a gothic romance, set in the moors of Cornwall, full of suspance and absolutely perfect for a stormy winter night. 

3. "Once": on Thursday night I went home from work feeling desperate and in need of a cuddle, so I decided to cheer me up with a movie.
"Once" is an Irish musical romance with Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglovà, which tells the story of two struggling musicians in Dublin.
After more than a year away from this lovely city, I missed its magical atmosphere so much, so it was a pleasure to see again these familiar places that are so dear to my hearth.
I must confess I went to bed with the desire to come back there, find a mysterious irish man with a red beard and charming eyes and live happily ever after ( we all have the right to dream a little, right?!). Oh..and one more thing...the soundtrack is absolutely amazing...I can't stop singing it! 

4. Sushi time with my collegues : sometimes there's nothing better than a night out with friends to regenerate body and soul from the stress accumulated during the week!Actually I'm not a sushi lover, but once in a while it's funny to try something different from the dear old pizza, so last Friday night we booked a table in a cosy sushi restaurant and we spent some lovely hours trying to eat "nigiri", "uramaki" and other delicious things with unpronounceable names, with chopsticks without making them drop in our trousers! 

I wish you a beautiful day my friends and, please, let me know what has put a smile on your face this week!Here all the amazing WW ladies whose positivity will be like a balm for your soul:
Sally, Jo, Helen, Michelle, Sarah, Kate, Cat, Sam, El and Kerri.

xxx
Martina