Living the Blog Name

Today I am living the name. It is raining here in Vancouver, and I am wishing I was elsewhere. Say in a Tuscan vineyard when the clouds are parting after a rain and there is the fresh smell of wet earth...


I have been doing some introspective exploration thanks to an awesome book Style Statement by Carrie McCarthy and Danielle LaPorte. This book is about finding your personal style statement that identifies you and your outlook on life and how to use that to carry yourself through life decisions and remaining true to the real you. I came across this while reading the design blog of Patricia Grey, my favorite local interior designer, who posted a quote by the girls on The Divine Law of the Great Chair.

The first question was Where Do You Feel Most At Home? Initial response: Near the water, ocean, lake, river, doesn't matter which. Vancouver works well for that as anytime I can go out and I am 5 minutes from the ocean, I can see the inlet from my bedroom.


Thinking of that feeling of home makes me think of time snuggling on the couch with the beasts. However I also remember that feeling of being home when I arrived in Ostia and Venice in Italy.


Since I have the ocean, and the beasts, how can I bring in the feelings of Italy into the house without trying to make it "Tuscan Style" that overdone, italian villa style that i see in so many magazine? This is the challenge. I think for me (and Gio) the best would be to create a westcoast and italian blend. With that decision, I dove into the world wide web for some photographic inspiration. Now, while I realize this will be a search for the bits and pieces and, most preferably, things from our travels that will come together to create this effect, it was proving to be more tricky to find inspirational photos of Italian rooms that were not all over the top Venetian or tuscan styled. What I realized that I mostly identify with in terms of italian living are the kitchens and eating areas. Italian life revolves around eating it is difficult to find anything to do with any other room of the house but the kitchen!!! So I will start there...



These photos are from a realty link to homes for sale in Italy. The one that I chose most of the pics from is available for $900,000$US.



..and here is our family enjoying some of that awesome italian family style dining al fresco..


On to the next question...stay posted!