Portrait of an Italian Mother

We spent a night in Viareggio, a small beach town next to Pisa where walking the boardwalk is the thing to do (especially since all the stores and restaurants are closed for several hours during the day).

Old friends stop to comment on the day's news. Strangers share a cigarette. Lovers embrace. Mothers push their babes in strollers while gazing adoringly at their chubby cheeks. Fathers hold their daughters' hands, playfully swinging their arms while lecturing about life.

All of this happens on this pedestrian street next to the ocean.

(Actually, I'm totally romanticizing it, but being there really does give you this feeling and the people genuinely seem to be appreciating life.)

Ava is a social butterfly and wanted to introduce herself to every single small person we came into contact with ("Baby!") and show them just what an international sensation she really is. She met a few friends during our strolls, including this girl of the same name whose mother is from there.



I have always admired the style of women in Europe. They always seem so effortlessly pulled together and chic.

(I wanted to do a post on how local Italian women dress, but then I wouldn't know because we came into contact with so few who weren't wearing a uniform. I'm only exaggerating a little; it did seem like everyone was either a tourist or working in the tourism industry.)

This mom (on the right) is dressed very classic with big sunglasses, a cotton scarf, dark skinny jeans, and ballet flats -- pretty much the standard for a typical mom at home. I feel like the lines between how European and American  women dress are not as thick as they were when I was in Europe almost ten years ago. (Globalization or just shifting fashion trends?)

But look at this lady's sleek Gucci shoulder bag hanging from the stroller... and then look at the enormous bag around my shoulder. In all fairness, we were on our way to the train station to head back to Florence, but I always have a huge purse or diaper bag on my shoulder. Do we really need all that stuff or can we live a little more simply? I might have to pick up one of those Gucci shoulder bags to test this cultural hypothesis. ;)

Stomp It Out

Whenever you have a toddler outdoors in a public place, it's not uncommon for him or her to pick strange objects up off the ground. So to prevent Ava from swallowing any number of cigarette butts and other unidentified foreign (literally, we were in Italy) objects (UFOs) at the Boboli Gardens in Florence, I taught her to "stomp it out" instead.

Incorporating the little one's exciting discoveries into a game allows her to acknowledge and interact with the object without coming into direct contact with the contaminants.

(Now when your kid wants to chew the bottom of his shoes that have been stomping gross things out all over town, don't ask me for advice. If you have a trick for this one, I would love to be informed.)

Back to Blonde

I really, really, really hate being a difficult customer and am pretty forgiving when it comes to the service I receive. But I've been finding more and more that if you don't speak up when you're not 100% satisfied you're just not going to get the level of quality in service you should expect.

For example (prepare yourself, here comes the rant)...

A few weeks ago, I made an appointment at a new salon to have my roots touched up.

From the "Before" shot below, you can clearly see that I was in dire need, and I wanted good hair for the literally thousands of pictures I knew we would be taking in Europe.

The highlights looked fine at the salon. Darker than I wanted, but at least it seemed to blend well and looked natural. (Of course, trimming my overgrown bangs was much too complicated; I stopped him after three attempts and gave up on any hopes of having a good cut.) But when I pulled my hair back later that day, I noticed a very stark "band" where my previous highlights ended.

I went out of town that weekend and had a busy couple of days following trying to pack and get ready for the trip, so I kind of let it go. 

But I kept thinking about it every time I saw that band of growth in the mirror. So I called the salon earlier this week. They were pretty good about it seeing as it had been several weeks since I was in, and they had me in yesterday to correct the problem.



Of course a blowout and styling wasn't part of the agreement, so they had me leave with wet hair. (Really?!) And my straightening iron seems to have broken during the trip so I was left with a curling iron that I obviously have yet to master. (It took me more time that I'd like to admit to even get it to look like this.)

 

Breakfast at Tiffany's Bridal Shower Pre-Planning Pinterest Party

The bride has requested a Breakfast at Tiffany's theme, which is perfect given that her name is Tiffany and she's super stylish, and the bridal party planning is in full swing, Pinterest board and all.

Here are the details we have decided upon so far:

Theme: Breakfast at Tiffany's (Champagne Brunch)
Colors: Tiffany blue, black (damask), white/pearl, silver (obviously)
Invitations: I think this would be doable...

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Decorations: So far, we have tissue paper pompoms (of course, can you have a party without these anymore?), a photo vignette of Tiffany and/or Audrey and some famous quotes from the movie in black and white damask frames.

Drinks: Champagne, orange juice, coffee.
Food: Croissants/breakfast pastries and/or muffins, mini quiche, breakfast bites, and crab cakes (available at TJ's), glazed donut holes and/or powdered donuts, fruit skewers.
Dessert: 
Cupcakes...

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Petit fours...

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Macarons...

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Games: "What's in your purse?" (one of my favorite shower games; it really breaks the ice).

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Favors/Prizes:

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What's for Dinner? An Italian Feast!

One of my favorite things I did in Italy was attend a cooking class with my MIL, her students, and my SIL while the men took Ava out to dinner. The kitchen was kind enough to provide us with the recipes, so I thought I would extend that generosity on to you. Below are the recipes we learned (and feasted upon) during the class.

BECHAMEL SAUCE (SALSA di BESCIAMELLA)

60 g. butter
60 g. type 00 flour, sifted
1000 ml of milk
Nutmeg to taste
Salt to taste

Melt the butter, whisk in the sifted flour little by little. Add the nutmeg and continue cooking and stirring for one minute to thicken.
Put the milk in a separate saucepan and add a pinch of salt; bring to a boil.
Slowly, add the milk to the flour mixture, stirring constantly with a whisk.
Cook sauce for at least 5 minutes over low flame, stirring occasionally.

ARTICHOKE SOUFFLE (SFORMATO di CARCIOFI)
Yield: 6 servings

300 f. artichoke hearts, sliced
20 g. butter
3 eggs
25 g. grated Parmesan cheese
2 dl. thick bechamel sauce

Heat oven to 200 C (390 F)
Boil the sliced artichokes for 7 minutes; drain and toss with the butter.
Grind the buttered artichoke hearts in a mortar with a pestle then pass through a sieve (or puree in a blender).
Combine the artichoke paste, bechamel, cheese, and eggs.
Put the mixture into a greased and floured pan and cook in a bagnomaria (water bath) in the pre-heated oven until a toothpick inserted comes out clean, approximately 15-20 minutes.
Let stand a few minutes before transferring from pan to a plate (we debated whether to pour out onto the plate upside or leave upright as shown below; we went with the consensus) and serving.



FRESH EGG PASTA (PASTA FRESCA all' UOVO)

2 eggs
50 g. durum wheat flour
150 g. 00 flour
Salt, to taste

Put the flour in a mound on a large wooden pastry board, making a large well in the center of the mound. Break the egg into the hole and add a generous pinch of salt.



Beat the eggs, salt well, then slowly begin incorporating the flour from the inside perimeter of the well into the mixture with a fork. Knead well until smooth and elastic.
Gather the dough into a ball, wrap tightly in plastic wrap and let rest for at least 30 minutes before using.

By Machine: Cut the ball of dough into 2 equal parts. Working with one half at a time, slightly flour, fold in 3 and roll with pin. Repeat two times. Run the dough through the machine at settings 1, 3, and 5, folding and repeating until the pasta is the desired consistency. For ravioli, finish on the setting 6, for other cuts, finish at desired thickness.



SPINACH & RICOTTA FILLED RAVIOLI (RAVIOLI di RICOTTA e SPINACI)
Yield: Approximately 4 servings

250 g. spinach
250 g. ricotta cheese
60 g. grated Parmesan cheese
1 egg
Salt, to taste
Pepper, to taste
Ground nutmeg, to taste

Clean the spinach, boil, and let cool; squeeze well to remove the liquid and mince finely.
Strain the ricotta through a sieve then put into a bowl; add the spinach, cheese, egg, salt, pepper, and ground nutmeg. Roll out the pasta dough into one thin strip.



Place a teaspoon of the filling along the strip of pasta two to three fingers apart (we used a pastry bag) and close the pasta to form a triangle; press edges well to close.
Press the dull edge of the round utensil shown below (anyone have any idea what this is called?) around each ravioli.



Using a pronged pasta cutter, cut into rectangles about 5x3.5 cm.



Place the finished ravioli on a lightly floured cardboard tray, taking care not to overlap them or they will stick together.
Cook the ravioli and pour into this amazing butter and sage sauce after simmering for a few minutes.








PANNA COTTA

6 g. gelatin*
40 ml milk
200 ml whipping cream
40 g. sugar
1/2 vanilla bean

Whisk together the cream, vanilla, and sugar.
Put the gelatin in a bowl of cold water for 5 minutes.
Heat the milk in a saucepan over medium-low heat until hot but do not boil.
Wring out the gelatin and put it into the warm milk; stir until gelatin melts.
In a saucepan, warm the cream cheese mixture over low heat stirring continuously until just boiling; remove from heat; add the milk/gelatin to the cream and stir to mix well.
Run individual-serving foil cups or ramekins under cold water. Shake out excess water but do not dry cups. Fill each cup with the panna cotta until full, being sure the tops are level; refrigerate for at least one hour before serving.
Turn each panna cotta out onto dessert plates, top with chocolate sauce, caramel sauce, or fruit sauce as desired.

*Ours seemed a little heavy on the gelatin, so I might experiment using less if when I attempt this recipe on my own.

STRAWBERRY SAUCE

300 g. fresh strawberries
180 g. sugar

My MIL made us promise we would welcome her back home with a similar feast, so this is not the last you will be hearing about this incredible menu.

What's in the Mail?

I've finally gone through it all, and I am excited to announce that there were so many lovely little treasures among all the junk mail!

Easter Weekend

We're back stateside (with the bassinet on the flight that made all the difference!) just in time for a flurry of events: a first birthday party for one of Ava's besties on Saturday, Easter on Sunday with my side of the family, and catching up at work on Monday.

Bunny ears for the bunny-themed birthday bash.

My mom's adorable antique fair find.

Ava learning how to blow bubbles with her cousins.

My little sis making her famous sweet potato fries. (Hint: the secret ingredient is rosemary!)

My contribution to the Easter table. (And they took all of 5 minutes to make!)