A Private Festival

Every year like clockwork at the 16th of July the sleep little town of Lowellville, OH comes to life with the whirl of kiddie rides, screams of aggressive mora players, clanks of bocce balls, and Italian music. The sausage and cavatelli could be smelled in the air from blocks away. Just like everything else this year though the festival looks a little different. There are no vendors.... no crowds gathered in the street.... no games... no children running to capture the elusive flags that can be traded at city hall.... no bocce balls on the court and no numbers being shouted in Italian.... 

In the darkness hidden from public view we still gather with the band playing our song... a culture and heritage that cannot be set aside regardless of the world around it. Tradition must go on! A private viewing of a select handful of us still gather to prepare the Baby Doll. We don our masks and still cheer on... we have even more to rejoice in the start of this new year for us... we have endured and survived even more than in past years on this night. 

In some ways the year's festa was the best ever. It reminded us why we actually have this tradition and connected us more to our roots than the annual hustle and bustle had done in years. We were connected again, we were apart of what I ancestors had passed on to us. Despite the lack of carnival environment, the music still cues up and there is more childlike excitement in the air than any year before.... The doll dances and the fireworks shoot into the air and every Calabrian in the crowd is shaking their fist at rough year that has just ended!! Buona Festa..... until next year!

Weekend Warrior- Kitchen Facelift

 So on what may possibly be the hottest day of the year so far, I wake up and decide to start scraping the stucco off of my kitchen ceiling. I wasn't even a third of the way through when I began to seriously question what I was thinking.....

Once the mess was there though and the sweat was pouring off of me... I knew I couldn't stop now though. The end goal was to add a most cost effective illusion of a tin ceiling and to give new modern life to the counter tops without replacing them. I also added a kitchen island for more counter space and storage in my small kitchen. 

I found an island on Wayfair and was quite happy with the look of it once together. 

Once all of the old plaster work was off of the ceiling and I had a smooth though not perfect texture, I wallpapered the ceiling for a tin effect for a quarter of the cost with a print I found online from Lowe's. It may sound unconventional to do this but it worked with some ingenuity.... meaning it was not easy feat to keep the paper upside down while the paste dried by any means but the end results were worth it. 

Once the mess from the ceiling was cleaned up, I moved onto resurfacing or should I say covering my old countertops. I found a product made for this purpose on Amazon that is almost like contact paper but actually thicker. I was very easy to apply and the results were night and day.

What do you think of the outcome? What kind of projects have you gotten done during lockdown?

Shutdown and a New Reality!

 The entire world shutdown at the end of March, as I am sure you are aware. At first we were all in disbelief and fear of the unknown, then we moved into boredom and depression. This blog fell by the wayside as well, since there was no where I was going and nothing exciting I was doing. Now mind you, I cannot truly say I have in fact been locked down entirely for the past 3 months because if you think a true Italian family is still not seeing each other regardless what any governor says, then you just don't know...

If you had told me earlier this year that I would spend a months watching a documentary about a gay man who raised tigers and setting my phone to remind me of governor updates daily, I would've absolutely thought you were insane though. That is exactly where it went at first though....

Dante started taking extra naps with less to bark at....

Coco got to the point she was so tired of Netflix that she took over the remote....

It wasn't all just "Tiger King" and "Wine with Dewine" though... I also learned the luxury of deliveries! What a time saver this proved to be... and it may just be something that stays long after the pandemic is gone. Groceries now came right to the door, as well as, all those heavy items from Sam's Club through Instacart (use link or code: ASTONE3B41DC to sign up and save $10) and dinner could arrive in minutes from Door Dash (use link to get $10 off each of your first 3 orders). Even the wine began to be delivered right to my door to make those governor updates more tolerable.... Splash wines never let me down and was not a monthly club... you order as you want with fast delivery.

It wasn't just food items though. I decided to branch out even more and try a stylist service and some makeup subscriptions as well as a cleaning supply services. So first I tried StitchFix (use link for a $25 credit) looking for more stylish clothes to lounge in. I absolutely fell in love with this service and was amazed how well the clothes actually fit. How is it that I could actually be in a store and find nothing that fir but someone who never saw me could ship something to me that fit like a glove?

I also fell in love with Mrs. Meyers cleaning products and how the scents changed from season to season. I signed up for Grove.co (use link to get a free starter set with order) and never looked back. I found many other wonderful products through them as well that became household staples such as the Paw Sense Pet Deodorizer and their wrinkle release spray. 

From there I moved on to also trying some make up subscription boxes as well... well actually, I think I tried them all if I am being honest. Ipsy proved to be too much with its small samples and a new makeup bag every month. Really how many cosmetic bags does a gal need and if you did like the product, you had to track it down elsewhere to get a full size. I also tried Birch Box, which proved a little better. The sample were more like travel sized and if you like the product it could be bought from their site. If you are looking for more of a full-sized subscription, Boxy Charm (use link for credits towards your order) is a good subscription with an online store as well. My favorite of all I tried though actually was a lesser known box called Singles Swag (use link for $15 off). I think the best part about Singles Swag is that it is not just limited to makeup. The monthly box typically includes a mix of makeup, an inspirational book, and a trial snack. Having these books in hand, I did read more the past few months despite the overuse of Netflix. And with all those makeup trials, I think I may also have finally captured the perfect "relaxed on the couch natural look" selfie!

What have you discovered so far in this pandemic lockdown? What is getting you through it? 

Finding Tranquility

 The world suddenly seems like it will never be the same. Our lives have changed drastically in the last few months and it has become increasingly easy to get caught in the stress. We can't go anywhere without a mask, there are riots in large cities, and you can't even find toilet paper of all things!

In the midst of all the madness I still somehow managed to find my own peaceful little seclusion where I could evade the madness in silent mediation. On a whim one day I just drove down into the backside of one of the wineries where I used to visit prior to the shutdown, no one was around, not a sole... I pulled over and took the camp chair out of my hatch and just sat a while listening to the water hit the bank. I have gone back several times again since already and still no one has been the wiser. It feels like my own little secret where I am, at least for a moment, the only person on earth. 

Back at home I have had more time to practice my yoga as well and to watch the flames dance in a backyard fire pit. I also have taken daily visits to the hatchlings of robins in the arbor near my patio. It is cathartic to watch the progress they make each day. We humans may have shutdown but nature and the world go and in some small way that brings tranquility. It is also a reminder that this too is temporary.

Weekend Warrior- Small Change in Bathroom

I have always had a thing for old black and white photos, leopards, and things that made me think of Roaring 20's elegance. As I had mentioned before my home is from 1918 and my bathroom still boasts an original clawfoot tub that I recently refinished. When I had redone the bathroom prior to this I made a display on the main wall using print outs from Pintrest and framed them as old black and white photos of Italian women and what I considered to be old glamorous elegance. 

I found the unique frames at Hobby Lobby and searched for old Hollywood type photos to fill it. While I realize the era was actually a bit later than the Roaring 20s it still harkened the elegance to me. I used a photo at top right of the hands of many men coming to the aid to light a cigarette for Italian actress Monica Belucci, top left is a quote and photo from Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany's, then to the right of that is an old photo of Coco Chanel sailing with her Beau Capel. The bottom row across was a caricature of Coco Chanel, a lingerie pose of young Sophia Loren, and a close up of Marilyn Monroe's Chanel #5 ad. 

The centerpiece of this display served me well for many years and I was even still torn to change it. A walk yesterday through the new items in stock at Hobby Lobby though quickly made me question my attachment. There is was, staring back at me from the 50% off display of artwork.... a leopard sitting at an elegant vanity in black and white! How could I resist making this small change to make a large impact?

I think it made a larger impact being of a larger size. I still held onto the framed photos... you never know down the road. I may change back but for now, it's a leopard perched at her makeup mirror for me. Which do you like better? 

Pasta Sundays

 As Sophia Loren is credited for once saying... "I would much rather eat pasta and drink wine than be a size zero".... I must say like most other women who grew up Italian, I would have to agree. To an outsider, it may seem odd to eat the same meal every Sunday and have the same argument over gravy or sauce week after week (we call it sauce, by the way) but for me this Sunday ritual means family, tradition, and stability. It is such a simple gesture of love to place that salad, large bowl of pasta and garlic bread on the table and is certainly a meal that does not break the bank.

Just like most things in Italian culture, this as well stems from tradition. Ask any Italian and we probably cannot answer where this tradition began.... was it from the necessity to feed large families on a dime? was it from the need to use the abundance of fresh tomatoes grown over the summer in a way that can be preserved for the entire year (many can their own sauce still)? Was it that it paired so well with the wine (even the children were given a thimble of the bitter grape juice at the Sunday meal)?

Regardless of the origins, it has sustained through the generations. I can remember stories from my Grandfather where they were so poor during the depression that they used robin meat to still have meatballs even. Today in modern times we have transferred back to beef but it was still interesting to hear the lengths to which people will go to preserve their traditions even in the hardest of times. Why? Why do we fight so hard to keep the stability of who we are at our souls? It's a stability to maintain our culture, a constant in an every changing world we cannot always control, and a link to bring us back to our roots and our family. 

This Sunday meal also wasn't limited to the women only cooking for once during the week as well. It was my Grandfather who was famous for his sauce. He would start early and the smell would fill his kitchen all day. I can still picture him there with his short stature and a mapine (slang It. for dishtowel) hanging at his waist hitting away any hand trying to dip a slice of Italian bread too soon into his creation. He had many meats in his sauce to add flavor such as Italian sausage and meatballs as well as a slice of capicola, this abundance probably stemmed from the fact he no longer had to slingshot robins in the yard to add meat to his meal. 

I wish I had learned every trick he had in preparing his sauce in the exact same way. There are some tricks I incorporate, such as rolling my meatballs in season salt, but there are also many that are lost. He was gone several years already before I tried my hand at creating my own sauce. This first attempt also came out as a disaster due to the fact that my Dad convinced me a clove of garlic was the whole head! Below is the closest I have come to Grandpa Joe's sauce. I hope you can enjoy the tradition as well. If you make it let me know how it comes out. What traditions do you have?

Grandpa Joe's Sauce ( the modern version)

Ingredients:

2 tbsp olive oil

1/2 lb Italian sausage (rope)

couple slices capicola

3 cloves garlic

1/4 cup tomato paste

3- 35 oz cans Italian peeled tomatoes 

2 cups water

salt and pepper to taste

6 fresh basil leaves torn small

Directions:

Heat oil in large stock pot over medium heat. Cut sausage to smaller pieces and cook stirring until browned. Add in capicola to brown as well, will be quicker. Remove the cooked meat and discard about the 1/2 the fat created from cooking.

Add the garlic into oil and left fat until golden then remove garlic leaving the flavor before adding the tomato paste. Puree the tomatoes with their canned juices into the pot. Add the water, salt, pepper, and basil and bring to boil. Add back in the meats and lower to simmer over low heat. Stir with love occasionally for at least 2 hours. If sauce thickens too much more water can be added. 

Holiday Kick Off Parade

 It was a brisk December night and I was tired of being cooped up in the house working. I clicked and I clacked through all of Facebook's events... only to find to my wondering eyes that there was to be a Christmas parade! 

There was fanfare and fantastic lights! The church choir sang carols all in key in rejoice of the season.

The Jeeps aligned and strobed out their lights!

A mini Empire State building rolled down the road as well with fanciful lights!

Not to be outdone, the Nutcracker had to make a display.....

But it was the green train that brought all the delight!

The Grinch made an appearance to steal the delight but soon found out it was heartwarming measures that couldn't be dimmed!

                                        

With Santa's appearance, we could all call it a night!