Italians vs. Americans during the holidays...

I have a habit of comparing Italian culture to American culture. I do it constantly. My friends get annoyed and accuse me of being arrogant. But not all the things I say about Italy are good! And not all the things I say about America are bad!! For example, I love talking about the weather. A real New England cold and white Christmas can never compare to the gray and mild Florentine winters. On the other hand, there is nothing cozier and more enjoyable than the outdoor shopping under the little lights along via Corso, via Calzaiuoli and in Piazza Repubblica of Florence. Everyone is out and about, hand in hand, or stopping for a cioccolata calda while they shop in the little boutiques.

Our idea of Christmas shopping is a one-stop-shop at the mall, where you buy all your gifts under one roof. I took my sister to the Natick Collection (doubled in size while I was away!) so she could buy her gifts in one day at one place. My mom and I went down to the outdoor outlets for more shopping. If you want to shop at the mall, then be prepared to stalk people to their cars in order to claim their parking space. What a sad way to start the holidays, pushing and shoving! I even heard that on the day of the sales after Thanksgiving, some unfortunate store employee got trampled by all the customers running into the store to fight for the sales. It must've been killer sales prices! What embarrassing proof of our materialistic consumer culture...

Anyway, in my defense, I just can't help but compare the two cultures because I find it so fascinating to learn and be aware of the differences between them. I think there are benefits to learning more about the Italians. They have a lot of great things (like adding salt to pasta, siesta nap times post-lunch and fresh food markets) that could really improve our lifestyle. Living in Florence has taught me how to relax, eat well and enjoy life to say the least.

Going back to the other perspective in all fairness, Americans always uphold our tradition to relax, eat well and enjoy their holiday season**** (after all the mad crazy stressful rush to buy the gifts of course). We have been cooking for three days in my house. I made a Tiramisu ("pick me up") the real way with lady fingers and brandy too, butternut squash risotto and verdure arroste (roasted veggies with eggplant, potatoes, carrots, zucchini, cherry tomatoes, celery, red onion). My mom and dad made an apple pie, lobster pie, yule log, pecan sticky sweet buns. See!? We know how to eat well!


***ONLY DURING THE HOLIDAYS...
Happy Christmas and eat up!
Auguri e Buone feste!

holidays at home

I am home for the holidays. i flew back last week. I am no longer in florence and i don't know when I'll go back....but i know that sooner or later i will go back to Florence. that's what this blog is about: going back and forth between Boston and Florence. the new blog header is a tryptich of three horizons...Florence and the Boston skyline with a photo of me in Fiesole between the two cities. it is not a coincidence that i am gazing towards Florence. that's where my sights are set. that's where i hope to be. if not now, then in the future.

it's actually good to be home. Refeshing. I appreciate it more after being away. my house is very festive for the holidays. Glowing. I can sleep in and spend time with my family. And the beautiful snowstorm gave me a sort of peaceful feeling and despite the cold, it felt like a warm welcome. i feel grounded here and although im a bit more unproductive (my cozy house makes me lazy!!), i have set many goals, resolutions and challeges to reach. i'm starting a job search in january (despite the discouraging job market). this is why i decided to spend some time at home where i feel stable, protected and encouraged by my family to get things started. the more i'm away from florence, the more i'm desperate and motivated to get back there.

i can forsee that in 2009 there will be possibilities on the horizon. even if i stay in boston for a while, I always have my sights set on florence...

Picnik isn't just a summertime tradition...I picnik all day!

As you have probably noticed from my ever-changing blog theme and header, I am spending a lot of time on Picnik. this is what happens when i get back home. i sit in front of my computer doing pointless time-consuming things on my computer. the only productive thing I've done is create new items for my Etsy shop. And I spruced up my shop header too!

Now it's just a matter of time. I have had no real customers make orders at the shop yet. That's okay because I'm too busy during the holidays to crank out big orders. After the holidays I'll start my job search...and if I don't find a job then hopefully I'll have customers who have orders, so I can at least fall back on that.