Guilty Pleasures...

When things get a bit rough round here (which they do every now and again) I am no different to anyone else on this planet in that I have my very own guilty pleasures I turn to.  

The other day I was trying to think of just one which I have held on to my entire life, but in fact my little pleasures have changed through the years just as much as I have.  

Factors like age, available funds, and loctaion certainly have so much to do with that...

High School

Uh oh...Spaghetti O's.  

Gross I know, but I still have fond memories of sharing them with many a friend.  Most likely would not be the culinary delight as I once thought it to be, so I shall leave this one in my teens... 

University

 Simply said. 

The Ballyhoo Tavern.

Best job I have ever had.  I truly loved every minute I spent there - and there were a lot.

Pageant Years

Heels.  

I loved the way I could feel in an amazing pair of them.  

Heels really made me feel as though all was right with the world when I was towering over girls and on par with the guys...

Post-Miss USA 

I have not stepped a foot into a McDonald's in nearly 13 years, but Taco Bell...they get me every time.  

If there was one here in Italy, I would have been in that drive thru every single night when I was pregnant!

Italy...first few months

I ate tonnnns of the stuff.  

No wonder I gained 20 pounds in the first 6 months.

Pre-Baby

Who am I kidding...Prosecco has made a rather smooth transition into Post-Baby as well...

Pregnancy

There is an old Italian wives tale that whatever a mamma craved in pregnancy came out in the form of a birthmark on the baby...called a "Voglia".  Liv has a red strawberry-shaped birthmark on her leg.  

Comes as no surprise, I ate at least an entire punnet a day!!

Which brings us finally to the present...

These two guys come from the Officina Profumo - Farmacia di Santa Maria Novella in Firenze. 

It is seriously the most wonderful place on earth.  

Take THAT Mickey Mouse.

The Tabacco Toscano products (there are not too many of them, the candle and the soap are what I get my fix off of) are the most comforting, rich and lovely scent you could ever want.  

The first candle I bought I held in my little paws and pretty much smelled it to its death.  

I take looong luxurious showers using the soap and wash my hands during the day so many times that I think I am starting to become OCD...but not about cleanliness, oh no, but about sniffing my hands.  

Weird huh?  Well, get yourself some of this gold, and you will understand.

Even better, get your butt to Firenze and experience the magic first hand.  It is the most amazing shop/museum.  I took my mother, auntie and cousin there not long ago and I fear that they now think I am mental.  I was like a kid in a candy shop.

Isn't it amazing how your tastes - food and otherwise tend to grow with you through the years?

  

Who would have ever thunk it that a little midwestern girly sucking down canned pasta, and dousing chicken tacos with Fire sauce would be crazy as a bag of hammers for luxury Italian soap and candles?

Certainly not me...

Post-shopping bliss - Mom and I in SMN...I shamelessly sniffed the bag all day.

So...fess up...what is your guiltiest pleasure???

xoxo sjkh

Buona Pasqua!

 Spring weather and outdoor entertaining has arrived at last, and the 6th annual Hart Easter Brunch was a hit again this year...

I was barely able to get any good photos before everything was devoured.

Yummy, Freshly squeezed Blood Orange juice...(ahem...and prosecco)

 Then there was the usual bacon and eggs, croissants, fruit salad and a new addition this year to the brunch, a Cheese Strata...we were in heart attack heaven. Thanks to you as ever Martha Stewart.

 And as Team Hart, Henry and I conquered our first Tiramisu...no picture of it because I was pretty much attacked carrying it to the table.  Yup.  It was THAT good.

And don't forget the lovely setting...the terrace, our giardino, lots and lots of irises who came out especially for the big day...

And of course, lots of glittery eggs...

Good times were had by all, babies and doggies included... 

xoxo sjkh

Gym Bunny?

A lifetime ago, pre-baby-girl, I did as any girl in their 20s would do and joined the gym.  I luuurved it and still have fond memories of the affair. Now - in my 30s now and in a foriegn country - the concept of the gym is slightly different than in the US.  Observe...

Dress Code

Stateside - I would not even bat an eyelash at wearing my old ripped Van Halen T-shirt and grotty sweats, as I would be climbing on the treadmill or the elliptical and sweating like a hog anyway.  

Gym Wear??

Italia -  Gymwear is only slightly less elegant than what you would wear on the street...and that level of elegance still by far surpasses the elegance of any Midwestern street. 

Distraction

Yankees - Outside distraction need not apply, unless you are at the gym in order to find a date for Saturday and/or ogle the hot dudes.

Italians - Please...there is a coffee machine in every corner and the staff won't take a hint that your sweating and out of breath speaking means that you do not want to be disturbed.  

                                                     Method

Uffa, I've been on this thing for 10 min??

Merrikuh - Run until your lungs fall out.  Then do some crunches.

Eye-Talians - Sit on a mat and stretch for 2 hours. Then have a coffee and an ice cream.

So as you see, I find it hard dishing out the cash to go to a gym where you need to stay two hours to get in the work of one.  So, I run.  But lately running has lost its fun, and I have so much work to do that the precious time I could be spending resting, I do just that.  

Really, I have a point.  

You know those "inspiration pictures" that everyone has on their fridges of famous people who we shame ourselves into believing that we want to look like?  I have one of those too, except that the photo is good old fashioned ME.

 In a swimsuit. 

With abs.  

Grrr. Sometimes you are a right slag Early 2000s Me...

This may have been nearly enough 10 years ago, but I am determined to get something close to those abs back.  But after baby, and after nursing, this is no easy task.  No one told me that my big milky boobs would go south to be stored in my belly and sides.  Running is a pain because I pretty much piss myself with every step, and I refuse to just stretch and call it a day like the Polentone Mums. 

But I am determined.

I will get you back...

xoxo sjkh

Fast Food II

As much as I love cooking, I look forward to that time of year when I don't rely on hovering over the stove to catch a bit of extra warmth.  In the spring, I can throw open the windows and enjoy the breezes coming from the mountains while in the kitchen, but all that cooking distracts me...the solution of course is to prepare a lunch using only my well worn cutting board and the sharpest knife in my collection...

Proscuitto e Melone

Cured ham and Melon

There is nothing simpler and tastier than this dish...

Take this....

 

And add this...

And then eat it quickly...

Now, my American friends (ahem...Jasper, I'm talkin' to you...) may have a bit of hard time finding proscuitto crudo, but I have found it in Wal-Mart.  It is not cheap, so therefore this is a dish to enjoy in small numbers.  If you have the luxury of doing so, find a good italian delicatessen and splurge on good crudo.  You will not regret it!

Buon Appetito!!

xoxo sjkh

A love letter to the Owl...

So, did you know that my husband is awesome?

He is cool, funny, has the best head of salt and pepper hair you have ever seen...

And he works like a demon.  He travels to the far corners of the world (well, lately Germany, Ukraine and Turkey...but hey, that's a far cry from Jasper and Ireland, Indiana!) to cultivate the export market for an amazing company.  This is my love letter to their clothing...  

Dear Il Gufo,

    You are amazing.  Words cannot describe how much I would like to be able to crawl into one of your cosy velour babygros.  The fabrics are luxurious, the colours are a triumph.  You make my baby girl look like a little princess.  Oh, and you also help us pay our mortgage by employing my silver fox...that rocks too.

Love,

Me

Haven't heard of them?  Here is a taste of their wares, modelled by my own little owlet...

    

Hospital homecoming...

Beep beep...spring jacket and fleece cap...

Velour top and footies...

Summer top with ribbon flowers...Mommy carrying an Il Gufo diaper bag...

Pink down snow suit...fur hood.  So very yummy.

And the newest piece added to our collection...especially for the handful of weddings we have this summer...

Spring/Summer 2011 Polka dot dress

Sash detail...

I would so play matchies with Liv and have an identical dress made if it was not totes weird to do so...

Which it would be...wouldn't it??

Now then.  You see why I am so in love??

 

xoxo sjkh

To see the wonderful collection, click on this... Il Gufo

Then run, do not walk, to find a place to buy lots of their stuff... ; )

Dreaming...

Now that the winter has gone and my garden furniture is living outside on the terrace where it is meant to live, the "sunroom" type space in my bedroom is calling out to be revamped.  

Well...more like just vamped.  

We have done nothing to this part of the house, as all of our focus has been in the 'zona giorno'...the "day zone".

It currently looks like this...

 Yep.  That radiator is blue...the previous owners were obviously mental.

So this space is much better suited to a life of usefulness rather than a storage area for my husband's unpacked suitcases, skis and random bits and bobs.

I'm thinking office/relax/boudoir zone.

Oooh.  Suits you Missus...

Desk.  Dressing table.  Armchair.

sabinoaprile interior design

I love everything about this picture.  The dressing table is fantastic and could technically double as a desk.

  The chair and ottoman are the balls....end of story.  Perhaps in white leather and lighter wood though.

Add this chair...

 unicahome.com

Put this on the wall...

lilygene

...and throw down a lovely texturey rug.  

This is a space in which I would be happy as the proverbial pig in merda.

I like my merda simple, clean and easy...

 

"Fast" slow food...

One of the ultimate luxuries about living in Italy is the focus they put on the family.  This translates to many parts of the lifestyle, but one of my most favourite and cherished is the culture of the 1 1/2 hour lunchtime...

Pranzare.

I am lucky enough to enjoy this part of the Italian culture namely because we live so near to where Henry works, but just having the opportunity to share it really is something special.  

Although an hour and a half sounds like a lot in comparison to what we would get in America (Hello, sandwich at desk.) it is not enough to make a huge "spettacolo" of it all...one must keep it simple and easy.  

Think "fast food" - now take away any burgers, wraps, chips, or drive throughs - if you think you are not left with many options, you are super mistaken! 

The old standby luchtime dish for my dear husband...

Aglio, Olio, Pepperoncino
Garlic, Oil, Chili pepper.

 The simplicity of this dish is what makes it so very good...

Start with two or three cloves of garlic per person (if you like garlic as we do, even more!)

Heat a good amount of olive oil.  Not to frying temperature, just enough to lightly cook the garlic.

Meanwhile, grate the cloves finely (the best taste comes from grating them...or putting them through a press)

Turn down the heat slightly and toss in the grated garlic.  

You want to give it a touch of colour, not burn it.  

While it's slowly cooking, smash up a couple of dried chilis in a pestle and mortar and toss these in with the garlic (adjust to your favourite level of spiciness of course!).  

Turn off the heat once it all has been loving it up in the pan for a bit and let it rest while making the pasta.   

Remember to salt the cooking water only once it has come up to boil, this helps the taste of the pasta and saves you from having to add more salt later on.

After draining, toss it in the pan with the olive oil and garlic mixture and serve it up...

All said and done this dish can be made in a maximum of 15 minutes.  

Fast Food...Italian Style.

Creepy crawlies...

So we lived in an apartment for about 5 years from when I first moved to Italy.  

It was a new build, small but functional.  

Then we moved to Monfumo, a house with a big yard.  

Lots of room to play. Trees. Flowers.

And bugs. 

Not just little bugs like you see every day.  But big disgusting bat-shit crazy bugs.  

I found this guy right outside my front door the other day...

Handsome huh?  He was roughly the same size as Prada.

And this guy was one of our special visitors from last year...

Shiny.

And then there are the ants who are currently occupying the space in the ceiling above our bed.

It is a daily battle to clean these guys up from the floor as they are slowly poisoning themselves with our DIY Redneck Ant Killin' device. 

Yep.  That is the bottom of a Rice Krispie box...covered in aluminium foil so it doesnt completely clash with my decor of a wooden Ikea shelf and a silver rolling garment rack.  

 I like to keep my spaces all in theme.  

This particular one is called "whatever the heck we could find".

Don't you wish you could wiggle your nose and your bedroom would change from its present state...

To this...

But alas the only nose wiggling I am doing is in my sleep.  

When an ant crawls up it.

This is my story...

Once upon a time there was me…

(OK, admittedly this is gratuitous, old-school me, but you get the point...)

I met this guy in a bar…

5 months later I took my faithful Chihuahua Prada…

To live here…

Crazy you say?

You f’ing bet.

But hey, that leap of faith worked out.

We married…

Ummm.  A few times....

 

Bought an un-loved house…

Had a baby in an Italian hospital under social healthcare with no drugs whatsoever…(gasp!)…

 Moved into said house…

 And are currently living happily ever after…

That is it.   

Nothing cool, no famous people, no parties.  We get up at 8, work and play, and go to bed at 11.  

 But in-between there are so many amazing things to see and do, eat and drink.  

Yep...Especially drink.

So - welcome to my blog, a little taste of the things that I have the amazing opportunity to experience here in Northeast Italy.

Food. Wine. Wife-ing. Mommy-ing. Language. House and Home. Garden. Business.

And Life.