I make up for the pizza with all the walking

Today was Lisa's last day here, so we went out and crammed in as much as we could.  I also managed to get a Christmas present for someone in my family.... this is a new record for me in non-procrastination regarding Christmas gift-giving.  Round of applause, please.

Thank you.

These pictures are from yesterday.  I'll post the ones from today later... I'm too lazy exhausted to work on those photos at the moment.  We went to Trastevere, which is the place where the "real" Romans live, and it's beautiful  We went to the Jewish Quarter first, and then to the best pizzeria in all of Italy.  I take all of my visitors there for the artichoke and mozzarella on foccacia pizza. You heard me right.  It's delicious.


To get to Trastevere, we have to cross the most beautiful bridge, the Ponte Garibaldi, that spans over the Tiber.

We really like trying to be fancy photographers.  Obviously.  But Lisa's camera gives me camera jealousy... I just have a measly point and shoot.  (Though for a point and shoot, it rocks off both my socks. 12.1 megapixels of hot pink brilliance.)

Scooting on over to the bakery, we noshed on some pizza.  And when we were at the Jewish Quarter, where I take all my visitors as well, we took pictures of this fountain.

There's a very interesting story behind it, actually.  A young man was gambling with a duke, who happened to be his future father-in-law.  The young man wagered everything, and lost it all, including his fiancée.  He was terribly upset, but quick on his feet.  He bet the duke that if he could put up a fountain in the piazza by morning, the duke would have to give everything back to him.  The duke, of course, laughed in his face and agreed, because who can make and install a fountain overnight?  Little did he know that the man had already had a fountain made and ready to install, and simply had his men put it in a few days earlier than they had planned.  Tricky, tricky.  So, boy gets money, estate, and girl, and duke gets... a new fountain.  The end.

Lastly, I'd like to leave you with a photo of the Teatro di San Marcellus.  It's a beautiful theater, but get this:  it's rumored that Sofia Loren herself owns this apartment.....

Quite neat, is it not?  I would have been more excited if it had been previously owned by Audrey Hepburn.  But a girl can only dream...


Until next time, my friends.

Sincerely,

Gookies!

Gookies:  [gook-ees] - noun:  Magically delicious gingerbread cookies.




Lisa and I made gookies yesterday, and they are delightful.  We decorated them, albeit unprofessionally, and had a blast.  We aren't too adept with the frosting, if you ask me.  Well... Lisa is.  I'm not.


It ain't pretty, folks, but it's real.  It's who I am.


Accept me, though I haven't a lick of talent in the frosting department.  I do have talent in the licking frosting department, but that's a different story.

Basket weaves and polka dots.  You know, the classics.

It's a cookie!  With a heart-like object!  And a tic-tac-toe board!

This reads: "Rull Naaz."  You had to be there.

This is my "gingerbread man".....

....And this is Lisa's.  Which is more convincing?

Lisa- in Pictures!

My friend Lisa is here staying with me, as you know, and she's just a doll for doing so because she's getting married on New Year's Eve!  That's right, she's tying the knot in a mere 25 days, but she sacrificed her time to stay with me.  That's love, everyone.  We met in Hawaii at my church, and she also met her fiance in Hawaii.  Now, she's here with me and we've been having a BLAST!

First thing, we went to the Trevi Fountain at night....

Second, we went to the Colosseum, where we looked around and acted a little bit silly.

Do not enter!

We look a little bit craz.... um, I mean happy!

The next day, we went to the Spanish steps....

And of course we window-shopped all the way down famous Via Del Corso.....

Apparently we also smelled some chestnuts roasting on an open-faced grill.

We went to the Piazza del Popolo and made each other laugh, per usual.

After deciding we were in danger of hypothermia, we stopped in for a coffee at a cafe.  I then remembered that Italians apparently make really thick, yummy hot chocolate, so we ordered that instead.

Good call.

Next day, we went in the Pantheon.

And later, I told Lisa how much I LOVE makeup.... so she let me use her as a model!  She's very photogenic, no?  I took all these pictures just in case I ever need a portfolio if I decide to be a makeup artist, which is always on the table.

For the style above, she wanted something dark, and I added a pop of purple and pink to make it fun.

For this next one, I designed it based on a holiday party, so it's green and shimmery.

And this next one was more vintage with thick liner and red lips.  This was her favorite of the three!

We also went to Florence.  We have both decided we would die to live there!

Happy Lisa!

Amazing street chalk.

The Christmas lights were up!

I was rolling my eyes because there were two people next to me PDA-ing.  That's Italy for you.

The weather was crisp and the river was STUNNING!

Waffles covered in chocolate. 'Nuff said.

Obviously, we take a lot of pictures.  All of these are courtesy of Lisa's amazing camera, but we took turns snapping the shots.  I've got some more coming up later, stay tuned.  

Love,

Very Stylish Girls- Fall/Winter 2010 fashion trends

I'm having problems with the html editor on my blog today, so to steal this button, just paste this into your blog:

<a href="http://pastaandwaffles.blogspot.com/search/label/very%20stylish%20girls"><img src="http://i1008.photobucket.com/albums/af204/pastaandwaffles/verystylishgirlpicniked-1.jpg" /></a>


I decided to launch right ahead with my new series.  I hope to do this perhaps once a week, but we all know I have issues with doing bloggy things when I set a schedule.  So let's not get our hopes up, shall we?

It's cold outside, people!  It's time to break out the coats and boots and warm socks, and this year's trends are really very cute.  This season's colors are absolutely my favorites to wear.

Of course, this little palette doesn't include the popular colors that are obvious, like black and white and navy blue.  Those sorts colors will never go out of style!  My favorite color is purple, so I'm thrilled that it's now considered very "in."

Now, we'll move on to types of clothing.

1.  Ponchos:

These are so fashionable right now!  I have this one, from H&amp;M:

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It's very warm and cozy to boot.  

I also like this style.  It's really a shirt, but it still has the poncho vibe, and is a more understated way to follow the trend. 

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2.  Boots

Boots are always practical, and luckily very cute.  Riding boots like these are very popular lately:

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Also, for fancier events, point toe boots never go out of style.

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3:  Jeans

Flares are no longer in style, and boot cuts are purely for function.  The trend now is skinny jeans all around.  It doesn't work for everybody, but if it works for you, rock on!  I love my skinnies, especially tucked in boots.

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The darker the better with your jeans this season!  No acid washes (EVER) or faded light blues.  And please, if you wear jean-leggings, wear a long shirt or a dress.  The tighter the pants, the longer the shirt, that's what I always say.  Actually, I made that up just now.  But it's true.

And boys, please refrain from wearing skinny jeans.  Please.

4.  Coats

Camel coats are really in, but other than that, coats will be coats.  No one is going to fault you for wearing a functional coat when it's cold outside!  But just for reference, I love this camel coat:

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That's all I've got for now, folks.  It's late and I must be going to bed.  This is really just skimming the surface, but it would take days to talk about all the trends.  But I hope this series will be fun!  Feel free to grab my button and make your own post on anything style-related.  Make sure to leave a comment below telling me you did!

Love,

Very Stylish Girls- Introduction

So, based on the positive poll results to the right, I have decided to do a series on style!

I have always had a passion for anything feminine.  I love doing hair, for myself and others, and I love doing makeup and getting dressed up.  I'd wear heels every day if I could, and I completely love to shop.

Therefore, I am starting a new series called "Very Stylish Girls."  Very stylish girl is a reference from the movie Breakfast at Tiffany's, and Audrey Hepburn was always known as this very thing after that movie, so I thought it would be a fun title because I LOVE Audrey Hepburn.  I'm really excited about this project.  I've always been inclined toward this sort of thing, and am glad to have an outlet.  My first post is going to be on this season's most popular styles.  I hope you like my series!!

I'll have a button up shortly, and you can grab it and do some stylish girl posts of your own if you like!  Just make sure you leave comments letting me know.

Love,
Caroline

To the Colosseum and Back

Today was a beautiful day.

The day itself was rather unsightly, wet, and cold, but the very living of it was simply beautiful.  I got up and got ready in record time, and my friend Lisa who's "babysitting" me and I were out the door.  We were nervous at first, because we tried to go see the Colosseum yesterday but the metros were shut down for really no obvious reason, though it may have possibly been because of the raucous university protester-students.  We were determined, though, to NOT let them spoil our day!

After purchasing new month passes and taking the bus to the metro station, we were thrilled to see they were open.  I may have squealed.

We got off the metro at the stop "Colosseo," which is, fairly obviously, the Colosseum stop.  It's always a surprise to me when I exit the metro station and the Colosseum is right there.  It'll give you the chills.

Traipsing across the street and down a few blocks, we turned into Palatine hill and purchased day tickets and marched directly back to the Colosseum, where we entered after being accosted by several chubby gladiators wielding menacing umbrellas.  To our delight, the visitors were few so we didn't have to be herded around like as much cattle.

We immensely enjoyed running around and taking pictures with her camera, but I simply couldn't stop the chills from creeping up my back all the way up to the roots of my hair.  At one point, we were able to go far enough down into the Colosseum that we could almost touch the arena, and my imagination ran wild.  I pictured the pain, the destruction, the torment, the stench of blood, and felt as if I could almost smell the perfume that the workers sprayed to mask the heady aroma of death that so seduced the onlookers.  The persecution that went on in the Colosseum is simply.... indescribable.  It's impossible to be unmoved.

Once we left the Colosseum, we went back to Palatine Hill.  We looked in the museum by Augustus Caesar's home, and it's just all so surreal.  We walked and noticed several olive trees and were intent on picking one, but they were all too high in the branches.  At the end of our tour, we finally found some low enough, and Lisa bit right in.

The look on her face?  PRICELESS.

"This tastes like paint!!!!!!  Ew ew ew ew!!!"  She screamed in horror while I simply, well, laughed till I almost cried.  They were not ripe.  I dropped my olive and we continued.

As we were walking back to the station, she stopped dead in her tracks and grabbed my arm.  "We have to get some gelato!"

My favorite babysitter ever.  When are you ever told that you MUST have gelato?  Well, of course!

We walked up the hill above the station, and purchased some gelato.  Hers was awful (she purchased what she thought was Nutella gelato, but it was actually Nutella and yogurt, and it was tangy) and mine was a delight.  I got mint and chocolate.  Good call.  She finally cracked and bought a new one, which she enjoyed.

Finally, we arrived home and had lunch and watched some Anne of Green Gables until my geometry class while we sipped some peppermint-chocolate tea.

See?  A truly delightful day.  We ended it by making some red velvet cake balls for a dinner we're going to tomorrow night.  But I'll reserve a whole blog post for those treats!

Have a wonderful day, friends.