floral path

Metti una settimana a Londra....

2009-06-18T11:20:00.001-07:00

Amo la vecchia e cara "big smoke"...

amo i suoi vicoli

e le sue piazze...

e le sue meraviglie nascoste!

More to come! ;)
Good evenening Ladies!
E.

life must go on...

2009-04-14T10:55:00.000-07:00

ninainvorm

inside a black apple

Indenfor& Udenfor via Sanctuary

Looking glass - Asos

house to home

organizzazione - getting organized

2009-04-01T10:02:00.000-07:00

Organizzazione, pulizie di stagione, cambiamenti nella mia vita.... ce ne saranno anche per questo piccolo blog.
Nel frattempo sulla mia lunga lista le cose da fare che sembravano insormontabili iniziano ad essere depennate e nonostante la pioggia e la primavera che non vuole proprio arrivare sono finalmente tornata QUI.

Continuerò a vagare sempre in cerca di ispirazione e da questa piccola deriva guarderò.
Piccole cose, passi piccoli, sapori e frammenti di vita, visioni.... che mi rendono inspiegabilmente, immancabilmente felice!
Ciao :)
E.

Sono viva! I'm alive!

2009-02-20T14:15:00.000-08:00

Ho deciso solo di prendermi una pausa da questo blog per ritrovare l'ispirazione home decor perduta.
Tanto lavoro e stress, poco tempo da dedicare alle mie molte (troppe) passioni purtroppo!
Spero di riuscire a dedicare un po' più di tempo anche a Floralpath.

Grazie mille a chi mi ha seguito fin qui! :)

Special thanks vanno alla mitica aiuola
e ad Enrica del blog bricolle per questo fantastico premio:

Ciao e a presto,
E.

Have yourself a merry little Christmas...

2008-12-24T05:10:00.000-08:00

Buon Natale! Feliz Navidad!Joyeux Noel! God Jul! Froeliche Weichnachten! Merry Christmas!

La vita vera mi stressa -Real life is stressing me

2008-12-10T10:08:00.000-08:00

Ciao a tutti! Che periodaccio... quando torno a casa dal lavoro ci sono mille cose da fare e io vorrei, davvero (!), vorrei accendere il pc, ma l'ho appena spento al lavoro e la sola idea di riaccenderlo mi devasta - ahimé! Stasera ho fatto un piccolo sforzo ed eccomi qua. Tornerò a postare regolarmente al più presto - mi auguro.

In risposta alle fanciulle che hanno mostrato interersse verso la candela nel barattolo Bonne Maman: era la foto vincitrice di un concorso su Country Living; premiavano il miglior utilizzo alternativo dei barattoli di marmellata, putroppo però non viene spiegato come realizzare le idee proposte. Questo sito sulle candele in barattolo potrebbe esservi utile.
Ah, si... e quello nella foto è il mio piccolissimo albero di natale! :)
Sogno solo le ferie natalizie, anche se mancano ancora un paio di settimane.
Intanto ci si esercita a tavola ;)

Ciao e a presto!
E.

Hello everybody! This is a very busy time... when I come back home from work I have a thousand of things to do and I do wish I could switch on the computer, I really do (!), but I've just switched it off at work and only the idea makes me crazy. Tonight i made a little effort and here I am. I'll be posting regularly again soon - hopefully.
And yeah, that little thing in the foto is my Christmas tree! :)
I'm only dreaming about Christmas Holidays, even if there are still a couple of weeks to go.
In the meantime I take exercise at the table! ;)

Ciao and see you soon!
E.

Bello tornare a casetta - Nice to be back home

2008-11-25T10:22:00.000-08:00

Sedia e ghirlanda Ikea e le mie riviste preferite.
Chair and wreath by Ikea and my favourite magazines.

Acquisti alla Bottega svedese.
Buys at Swedish food shop.

Idee da Country Living Magazine.
Ideas from Country Living Magazine.

Buon inizio settimana!
Have a nice week-start!
Ciao,
E

Work in progress

2008-11-18T09:38:00.001-08:00

Da oggi Floral Path sarà scritto in due lingue: italiano ed inglese!
Buona lettura ;)

Impegnatissima! La mia vita è concentrata sul lavoro al momento, ma sto cercando di ritagliare un po' di tempo libero per esercitare la mia creatività, altrimenti non riuscirei a sentirmi molto... viva.
Una nota veloce veloce per salutarvi e per mostrarvi la mia prima ghirlanda natalizia "in progress".

Buona serata,

Busy busy busy! My life is work-focused at the moment, but I'm trying hard to save some time off to be creative, otherwise I wouldn't feel very much... alive.
Just a quick note to say hello and to show you my first "work in progress" Xmas wreath.
Have a nice evening,

Ciao,
E.

Colorful little joys

2008-11-07T08:59:00.000-08:00

I just wanted to share this with you...

Some french winter holidays postcards I found at our local fleamarket...

Roses, hydrangeas and seasonal green leaves for the sweetest flowers composition I ever received...

Feeling a bit tired and moody today but still willing to enjoy the little things in life that make me feel better! It could sound semplicistic, but it really makes a difference.
I wish you a productive and nice week-end,
Ciao, E.

English Style Tea Time Treats With A Continental Touch

2008-11-02T09:09:00.000-08:00

On saturday I have been hosting an afternoon tea in the occasion of the foundation of a small women circle we named Pettileweek (too long to explain, it's just a funny word play) in the name of our friendship.

We have been knowing each other for a long time and on saturday we often use to meet at my place for an informal tea or an italian merenda. For this week meeting I was inspired from a lovely - mainly gourmande - italian blog named L'Aiuola Odorosa. She really knows how to prepare an amazing afternoon tea, with british inspired home made food, which I don't, really, but it was just nice to get to know something about this meal and set up our tea in a more formal way.
For the occasion I went shopping in the most exciting store in town to buy some proper english tea time treats and a good brand of Earl Grey. I added a more continental touch with some chocolate fine biscuits.
We had fun, the atmosphere was cool and relaxed and all the girls were impressed.
Then we went out for a walk to feel less guilty about all the pure butter shortbread we had! :p

Hope your week-end was as sweet as mine,
Have a nice sunday evening ladies,
E.

Spookie..

2008-10-31T11:32:00.001-07:00

Halloween in Italy is mixed up with our catholic Ognissanti and Day of the dead.
The origin is the same (pre-christian, I think) but I think it has been doing strange and twisted passages through ages.
Over here you can see votive candles and plastic pumpkins in the same department in the supermarkets...I find it quite funny, but still this is a recent kind of celebration for italian people.
Kids and young people love it, old folks just don't seem to get it.
I love spookie things anyways, so this is just fun.

Trick or treat? :)
Have a nice week-end!
E.

Happy nobrithday!

2008-10-26T09:16:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I received this fantastic book as a present for my birthday (which is in november, really. Guess who gave it to me?).
It is very well produced; the written is fun, graphics are cute and recipes look delicious.
The food styling is great as well.

I love Jamie Oliver cooking style, especially in the TV series -Jamie at Home. This book follows the series, basically. He had a great italian mentor (Gennaro, ndr), and you can tell. But at the same time I think he is very affectionated to traditional english kitchen. I reccomend this book only to open minded people! I mean, if you don't mind an "twist" on basics italian recipes and vice-versa!

I love the warm Xmas atmosphere, I thought
faux berries and photophore are just fine to create it,
just as a little anticipation...

Have a nice sunday evening,
Ciao,
E.

Little bit of this, little bit of that

2008-10-18T11:06:00.000-07:00

On friday I went out shopping with my dear Mamma and this is what I bought.

I create myself another bangle and...

I had fun customizing a pair of glass candle holders.
Happy week-end!
E.

Week end delights

2008-10-13T09:52:00.001-07:00

Apple and raisins cake for a sweet waking up...

A candle light dinner for two to warm up the night...

Decorative pumpkins to bring the country atmosphere in our city home...

I enjoyed my past week-end very much, hope yours was nice too.
Looking forward to the next one to come, I wish you a sweet week start.

Ciao,
E.

Household cleaning - organization

2008-10-11T00:06:00.000-07:00

Saturday should be my rest day, really...
but it is the only day I can do some proper cleaning and get organized too, so I use to wake up quite early to get all the stuff done and being able to go for a little walk later on.
I'm a bit late on the schedule today... I have to go! :)
Have a nice week end!

Ciao,
E.

Squash and borlotti beans soup

2008-10-06T10:58:00.000-07:00

Autumn is the squash season!
This is my favourite seasonal soup recipe, quick and easy.
I want to share it with you.
Serves two people on a chilled october night.

Ingredients:

Approx. 950 gr. - 1 kilo squash
2- cloves garlic, peeled
1 can of borlotti beans (you can use dry borlotti too, but remember to soak into water overnight and cook them till tender)
Extra Virgin olive oil
Fresh Rosmary, some of it minced and some for decorating.
Salt

Peel, deseed and cut the squash into cubes (you can save the seeds if you like them).
Wash the squash cubes under water into a colander.

In a medium size sauce pan pour approx. three tablespoons of Extra Virgin olive oil and the garlic cloves. Let the oil get warm, till the garlic cloves start to fry*, then pour the squash cubes into the pan. Add half a cup of water, add a couple pinces of salt, stir well, then let cook, lid on, for half an hour mixing with a wooden spoon every ten minutes.
When the squash gets tender add the content of the borlotti bean can in the pan (throw away some of the liquid of the can, or, if you dislike the can liquid you can dry the beans into a colander, wash them and add some extra water). Stir well and add half a cup of water, let cook for 15 min. more, or till the soup get the consistence you like, without the lid. Add the minced rosmary and serve.

*for a more robust taste you can add some pancetta cubes with the garlic cloves amd let them cook for a bit longer

Buon appetito!
:)

A lazy sunday

2008-10-05T01:38:00.000-07:00

© Howard Shooter Photography Ltd

© Howard Shooter Photography

Main ingredients: Food, films, sofa and blankets.
Hope you're having a nice sunday too :)
E.

© Decorative Country Living

What makes a girl happy?

2008-10-01T10:20:00.000-07:00

Of course a couple of stunning scandinavian magazines! :)
An immense thank you to D. and S. for bringing me Vakre Hjem and Landliv from their trip to Norway.
I'm going trough them a little bit at a time... trying to save some of it for later because I can't figure out how to subscribe from Italy (?).
I can't read any Norwegian, but I'm content just to look at pictures and to learn some words.

Taken photos of Vakre Hjem & Interior magazine

Taken photo of Landliv magazine.

That's great.
What more can you ask from a wednesday?
:))
Ciao,
E.

Kitchen storage problems

2008-09-29T10:02:00.000-07:00

Small kitchen, big problems!
I'm having a storage nightmare, when I think I finally found a place for everything in my cupboard there's something that is getting in my way; pasta packs, cans, jars... I really don't like it! Last minute solution: An Ikea little step is where onions, potatoes and the "varie" box - various (i.e. cans, jars, etcetera) - live.
I have to re-organize my kitchen space again. Maybe I should buy a bigger cupboard? The one I own is painfully small.
Mumble mumble...

Saturday sun

2008-09-27T08:05:00.000-07:00

A bit of sun came earlier this morning and I went out. I was looking for a new pair of sneakers shoes. Nothing was really my cup of tea, except for the pairs my wallet was not big enough, so I decided to wait until I get paid from my new job on the 30th.
I ended up buying a skirt and some new jars for my kitchen. They are from Cote Table.

I couldn't resist to these cute "biscuits" from Mathilde M. too. Smelly.

Now it's starting to rain again, the wind is cold... Autumn is definately here.
I love this season, though. Feel a bit nostalgic today, but it's a nice nostalgy If you know what I mean.

I wish you a calm and cozy week end, with the ones you love.
E.

Saturday sun - Nick Drake

Saturday sun came early one morning
In a sky so clear and blue
Saturday sun came without warning
So no-one knew what to do.
Saturday sun brought people and faces
That didn't seem much in their day
But when I remember those people and places
They were really too good in their way.
In their way
In their way
Saturday sun won't come and see me today.

Think about stories with reason and rhyme
Circling through your brain.
And think about people in their season and time
Returning again and again
And again
And again
And saturday's sun has turned to sunday's rain.

Middle of the week blues

2008-09-23T11:08:00.000-07:00

Since I'm not in my best mood... I'm going to have a nice dinner, get cosy and watch a little bit of tv, then I'll go to bed and read my book till I get very sleepy (much too soon).
What to say... I'm just waiting for the week-end to arrive!

Ciao,
E.

The marvellous 1 euro shop

2008-09-18T10:47:00.001-07:00

I was just thinking about it. A place I really love to go shopping is the 1 euro shop. Cheap things can be very cool and pretty decorative; and there's always something new in the shop every week.
You can wonder around and find such a nice assortment of things. Sweet metal hearts are one of my favourite items at the moment.

Talking about useful and storage: candles, tea-light, boxes, baskets and jars are avaliable and often plain and simple so you can customize the way you like.

A glass candle holder becomes a vase and a vase candle becomes a nice pot for dry flowers.

Uh. I was going to forget to mention those pen holders!
One.

Two.
And buttons. Loads of them :)

I'm sure, because I often do, one would come back home from the euro shop with something useless/kitsch and worth nothing. But this is part of the fun ;)

Have a nice week-end,
ciao,
E.

Scrap art

2008-09-15T10:53:00.000-07:00

The weather is getting cold, it's rainy and grey outside and when I come back from work I like to get disctracted from daily obligations. I can get comfy in my very unsexy pants :))
Supper is almost ready, so I can finally relax.
Tonight I opened one of my scrap boxes and this is what I came up with. I love to mix and match, move scraps around the cards.
Am I getting ready for Xmas? May be.
Too early for Xmas anyway... even if I get all excited when I think this will be the first Xmas in my new home.

Have a nice week start,
Ciao E.

Vive la France

2008-09-13T00:17:00.000-07:00

This past week has been quite unpleasant because me and F. both caught a cold. At night we used to potter about in zombie mode consuming loads of tissues...not nice! :< href="http://www.hfmabo.com/magazine/Abonnement.asp?idtitre=470&idPays=1&idtheme=7&typeclient=341">Campagne Decoration and Marie Claire Idées.

In particular in Campagne Decoration I really liked the reportage at chez Sophie, which is the creative founder of Le Passé Recomposé (I believe it is a furniture and decoration shop).
I really like her style. Is a mix of patine and industrial furniture, sweet and rough shaped materials. A nice combination.

Last but not least I just wanted to show you this last french goodie. A lovely ceramic heart I bought a few months ago which is also a perfume d'ambiance by Mathilde M. . It smells lovely. Ceramics are avaliable in other shapes too, I saw some petit biscuits one who are very cute.

Have a nice week-end!
Salut,
E.

Hot sunday

2008-09-07T05:37:00.000-07:00

Today I woke up feeling bad 'cause of a sore throath, plus the weather is a real nightmare... cloudy and very hot, I just felt like I couldn't breath. I managed to go out for a walk to our city monthly flea market, though, hoping to feel a bit better.
This is what we've got: a lovely fifties alarm clock, three glass bottles and a soap box.
My dear f. bought a wonderful platerack and an old scottish whisky ceramic bottle I'll show you later.
My throat is still burning, but at least my mood changed.
Gotta go and do my rain dance now... :)

Happy sunday afternoon!
byebye
E.

Pics

2008-09-05T07:16:00.001-07:00

Today is lovely to stay in and relax on my first (and last for this year 2008 I'm afraid) free "summer hours". I worked 5 hours a day instead of 8. Surely this is a very happy friday! :)
I made a little selection of my pics. I'm trying to improve my photography skills but my camera doesn't seem to cooperate very much. A new and good camera its what I'm going to buy myself for Xmas this year... :)

Have a nice day,
E.

Nuove Cose - New Things

2008-09-01T10:43:00.001-07:00

Two little hen bowls and an heart shaped wire photo holder I got for sales...

A new "floral" diary my dear F. bought me and a Nigella Lawson book my friend M. brought me from London...
plus...
a new job I started today :)

I'm quite tired but satisfied!

Ciao ciao
E.

Hand made bijoux

2008-08-30T02:03:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I bought various metal and glass beads in silver, white and transparent shades and I made myself this bangle.

I love those cute little crown and Madonna pendants I think I'm going to use in another project with some other beads left...

Mumble mumble... got to keep my mind busy till monday...
:)))

Have a nice week-end,
Ciao, E.

Lovely, lovely

2008-08-27T07:26:00.001-07:00

© GreenGate

Some "goodies" from the new GreenGate Catalogue Autumn-Winter 08/09. You can cut and save the pics you like! Cool.
Here's a selection of my favourites.
:)

Ciao E.

Roses

2008-08-27T01:58:00.001-07:00

This is the lovely book my darling bought to me

On late summer afternoons like these, I like to have a slice of cake and look at the amazing drawings, feeling surprised about that the air is getting fresher again and autumn is getting closer.
Autumn and spring are my favourite seasons: autumn is melancholic and suits my mood perfectly, spring is full of life and feels like a rebirth to me.

This time of the year is perfect to get organized, so after the "relax" here it comes the time for making new plans, go for some shopping to fill the cupboard (we went to the mall and also to a discount store , that was fun, cheap and not so bad in the end), and thinking about some new storage solution for my wardrobe and stuff... which is a real nightmare for who lives in a small flat.
Perfume deodorant, tissues pack, hair clips, small samples and other "beauty" items are hidden in these cute baskets.
Clothes to iron go in antoher one on the wardrobe.
Looking for other clever solutions!
Ciao E.

Sleepy

2008-08-25T00:27:00.000-07:00

mmm... pillows... zzzz...

cadlelight...

I really feel like going back to bed, but I would feel a bit guilty to do that.
Although I decided I'll take it easy this morning; in no time I'll be back to work (a new one)
again and I'll be dreaming about having a free from work monday like this one.
So I'm going to do all the things I like and that would make me feel relaxed.
I'll be back later... "Internet window shopping" it's on the list :))

Ciao!

Simple things

2008-08-23T01:25:00.001-07:00

Yesterday i was just thinking about how my life suddenly changed in better.
Sometimes it could be difficult to accept too much happiness... don't know. My kind of pessimistic personality makes me always worry about things like: ok, what's going to happen now?
But I think I decided to quit. I mean, I'm trying to think positive, when I can. Because I can enjoy simple things of life and they deserve to be enjoyed.

And talking about simple things... as you probably know in Italy we don't use to have a proper big meal for breakfast, even tough I like northern european salty breakfast. We use to have just a cup of coffe or milk and coffee and a croissant or some biscuits.
This is how i like mine: a cup of milk and coffee and a big slice of pan brioche bread with some mixed berry compote I make. Unfortunately I noticed that milk is very bad for me...I don't seem to digest it very well :( so I'll have to replace it. I'm trying soya milk but umm... we'll see!

Gotta go now. I have to do some cleaning this morning...

Ciao! :)

Mirror Makeover

2008-08-22T07:02:00.000-07:00

We thought that our mirror would have looked better in
white...

to mach our chest of drawers...

so we bought an ivory paint.

a quick couple of paint coats...

et voilà!
I'm much more happy with it now.

:)

Welcome in floral path! Summer holidays

2008-08-21T01:49:00.000-07:00

Hello everybody,
I hope you will enjoy this brand new little blog, I decided to write this in english instead of italian because it is a more international language. Please forgive my spell mistakes!

I'm enjoying my holidays even if I find that the weather in Italy it is a bit too hot during the summertime. Anyway, apart from the days i go to the beach to have a refreshing bath, i use to pop out and visit my favourite venues.
Yesterday i have been to our local market where i found some old beautiful linen for only 50 euro cents each! They're so pretty, i will show you them in one of my next posts. I bought some nice white roses too. Coming back home i found an old Philips tape recorder someone just trew away, it was veery heavy to carry but i managed to bring it back home to me. While I was doing this there where something like 36 degrees, i thought that i am totally crazy. But, you know, when you like something you just have to do it! I always have a quick look around junk bins... I know it sounds horrible, but it is amazing what you can find! :)
Here's one of the pictures i toke in my home. It is my blue corner, a bit blurry...
Have a nice summertime!
Ciaociao