It's already tomorrow.

My January. What a month!

2010-02-03T05:30:00.000-08:00

I haven't been blogging for almost a month. January is always the hardest time of the year, since I started University: I always choose to prepare as many exams as possible to be more relaxed during the rest of the academic year. Tomorrow I'll be sitting my last exam until June, so I'm pretty happy :)

So, here's what I've been doing this past month:

I've been baking..

..I've been loving books..

..I've had enough of books..

..I've gone on a work trip and seen snow..

..I've bought silly presents from Etsy..

..And I've carefully wrapped these presents and given them to the person I love the most.

Which were the highlights of your month?=)

07.01

2010-01-07T08:32:00.000-08:00

Here's the pic of the day (unfortunately, I don't have that much time to think about blog posts these days :( ) :

"Day 7. 07/01/2010

This was basically my view for the entire day. A lot of work done, much more to do, but, in a few hours, I'll be relaxing with some of my dearest friends. Which will feel even better after such a long day. "

What have you been doing today? :)

06.01

2010-01-06T05:05:00.000-08:00

I'm going on with 'Project 365'. I hope to be able to keep up with it for the whole year!
Here's today's pic, and its description.

"Day 6. 06/01/2010

This is the last day of Christmas decorations around the house. Tomorrow, our tree and much more will be taken back to our garage. It is so strange to see these days end, but beautiful. These were really special holidays, I think I'll remember them with one of my most joyful smiles."

Aren't you sad as well about putting away all things Christmas-y?

You can check all the other pictures here.

Feeling bad.

2010-01-05T11:45:00.000-08:00

Today, it was a bad day. I had stomachache since I woke up (not a real stomachache, that stupid, strange, disgusting feeling), and I had to study. A lot. Which I did (I'm a good girl!). So, to make evertything a little nicer, I had a lot of teas..

..wore warm, colorful socks..

..and started a project :) I'm going to take a picture a day for the whole year!(or at least, I'm trying. But let's be positive!) The first pics are not that great..they were the only ones I had for the past 4 days.
You can se my work in progress here.

..And this is today's pic:

Things that can make your day.

2010-01-04T03:25:00.000-08:00

Since my days mostly consist of reading pages on pages and translating from Latin (exam time!), silly things are enough to brighten my day. A phone call from Luca, reading blogs from time to time..and sweet treats.

So this morning (which started really early, by the way) a cup of hot coffee was perfect for studying. The sun didn't show up for the entire morning, and I was feeling cozy and warm in my giant sweater. (And a little sleepy, I must admit).

This morning coffee was accompanied by a (very) sweet gift I found yesterday night awaiting on my desk: sweet 'coal'! (Thanks, sister!)
I don't know if this is just an Italian tradition; it's usually a child thing (the Befana festivity, on January 6th: you are gifted with sweet 'coal' if you have not behaved well). It was good to taste some sugar in the middle of my Linguistic studies :)

Don't you usually eat when you have to work/study hard? It helps!:)

My December.

2010-01-03T08:53:00.000-08:00

A couple weeks ago I went on a short trip to Paris with Luca. It was my Christmas gift for him: a much needed getaway from everyday life. Despite all the delays in departure/cold weather/illnesses, everything was magical. Therapeutical. It felt like coming back home.

This year, we are planning to visit more new places. London, New York. And maybe, next month we'll go back to Northern Italy, to the mountains. But my December was Paris: it was getting excited abou going to Paris, becoming frustrated with weather before departing for Paris, and going 'back home' to Paris.

Who knows what the next months will bring!I'm so excited about the new year. I didn't have much to put on my back and restart, but it feels good anyway to know that a new beginning has come, doesn't it? So I think I'll track down my months, like I did for December. It will be nice to take a look at them at the end of 2010.

Are you excited about 2010? What are you up to this year?=)

Things that can make your day.

2009-11-02T05:00:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, I finally received a reply to an e-mail I had sent a few months ago. I thought this person would not reply, since my behaviour with him had not been so nice. But he did. It was an extremely touching message, he told me things he had never told anyone before, and so did I when I wrote him back.

In English, you only have one word to express affection. You use the same verb to express your passion for pizza as well as your boundary with your partner. It's like love is not well defined in your society. How could I express, then, the feelings I had towards that person yesterday? A man I barely know, who barely knows me, but seemed to understand better that many close people my situation a couple of years ago? Who took months to reply to a stupid e-mail I sent him because he felt that was the chance to find someone who would understand his troubles?

Is it a form of love, or not? And if yes, which form of love is it?
What kind of boundary is this, which spot does it occupy among the love I feel for my family, for my boyfriend, for books?

It's still surprising, to me, that things like this may happen. After all the disappointment friendship has caused in my sistem of values, there can still be a person who understands, in the purest and unconditioned of all manners.
This thing, yesterday, brightened my day.

Pride and Prejudice and Zombie.

2009-11-01T01:37:00.000-07:00

I was reading the latest issue of Italian Wired yesterday, when I bumped into something that immediately caught my eye. A nineteenth-century lady killing zombies.
Apparently this novel by Seth Grahame-Smith had a huge success overseas and has now been translated into Italian and published by Editrice Nord.

Being a Modern Literature student [but mostly a book nerd, I must admit :)] I tend to be extremely critical towards these sorts of 'experiments' [for example, my dad ownes a copy of 'Return to Wuthering Heights' which i refuse to read] - but this time I couldn't help but smile.
It's obvious that this book has no serious or high purpose, it's meant to be just a funny read. Most of all, I think it may turn out to be even helpful.
Literature Classics which are studied at school are someway 'cursed': they are often seen as boring and rarely people decide to read them on their own. Here in Italy we have a tradition of literature milestones that people know nothing about, they all seem so distant and untouchable.

Playing with Dante, Flaubert, Shakespeare could be an amazing way of making young people understand that, after all..it's just fiction.

What do you guys think?

Where the wild things are.

2009-10-31T12:29:00.000-07:00

I cannot wait to see this movie. The first time I watched the teaser trailer I couldn't help but think..what the hell is it? Here in Italy this book isn't as popular as it is abroad, so I didn't even know about its existence.
Then I started the countdown to its release. I had to imagine it would have happened - after all, Tim Burton is my favourite director and this means I'm kind of addicted to these one-of-a-kind fairytales.
I found this amazing illustration on grain edit - here you can find something more.

Would you let a stranger in your house?

2009-10-31T06:07:00.000-07:00

WOULD YOU LET A STRANGER IN YOUR HOUSE?

House swapping seems to be the latest travelling trend - you let people stay in your place while you stay in theirs - but is it that easy to welcome strangers in your life?

I've always thought that travelling around the world was worth only if you wished to experience the place as a local: when in Rome, do as the Romans do. Imagine my thoughts when yesterday I read an article written by Joanna Goddard on Budget Travel Magazine last year, describing her latest experiences in terms of house swapping.
Apparently the cheapest way of visiting places, a house swap is basically about finding people willing to travel to the place where you live on the same days when you wish to travel to theirs: what's simpler that suggesting to exchange houses? You will not have to spend all your savings on hotels, but most of all this allows you to experience the city in a totally different perspective. This must be the perfect deal - or at least, that's what I initially thought.
What about letting strangers live in your own house? They're going to take a shower in your bathroom, sleep in your bed, probably have sex where you normally do (or don't!). How do you deal with this?

To me, it is more than simple attachment to things. In what way would your house define you and your lifestyle? Imagine people taking a look at your kitchen, or at the books on your shelf. Your bedroom - we all keep things in ours and promptly forget about them.
Joanna says she never hides anything before leaving, and she's probably right: if you choose to go through this experience you must be totally open and sincere.
So, would you house swap at all?

Being someone who loves to stay at home, my house means something extremely private to me. I spend most of my time there - studying, working, or just relaxing. I can guess my house would be the most honest way to show people who I am. That's why I'm frightened at the idea of doing a house swap - even though I find it extremely appealing (to me and my wallet, I must say).

Funny enough, no one really seems to care about people possibly robbing at each other's house. All people (including myself) are concerned about is this brutal incursion in your intimacy, because after all house swap means a totally different way of travelling. The house you get to stay in isn't meant to be a hotel substitute - a place where you sleep and leave your luggage while you visit museums and take pictures. What most people love to do before leaving their house to the new guests is writing a short list of what they love to do in the city - their daily routine, favourite spots, even the names and addresses of their best friends. This way you can be more than a mere tourist: you get to be a Parisian, or a New Yorker and so on for a short amount of time.

I like to think of this new tendency as born by something more than the need to travel on a budget. We live in the world of blogs, streetstyle mania, Facebook. We are curious in a completely new way, our models are common people, daily routines, which we like to know without any perversion. It's just nice, and relaxing, and - using a word that is now overexposed - inspiring.
At the same time culture is changing - people are changing. Trust is often a misplaced value, badly treated by those people we rely on, and this may lead us to get stucked in our life, in our everyday routine, without letting anyone in.

That's why I'm extremely afraid of giving free access to my house to unknown people but, at the same time, I absolutely hope one day I will be able to.

by Federica Principi
[To read the article I mentioned, written by Joanna Goddard, click here]