Monday, 26 May 2014

10 Rules to survive Sicilian traffic and birthdays galore


 Wow, this sign is a bit scary and so is Italian traffic!

After a year of living here (OMG!) I've only just recently started to venture into the city by car on my own and just because I can't take the fact that I'm not fully independent any more. Sadly, you need a car to move around here since public transport is nearly nonexistent and cycling is too dangerous, to say the least.

I compiled a list of non-written rules that apply on these roads, should you ever have to visit this wonderful land...enjoy the ride :-)


#1 Never, ever, drive at a speed under 100km/h. If you break, you lose.

#2 In city roads, you're allowed to drive under the 100km/h mark but again, never respect the speed limit and always drive at at least, 20km above that limit.

#3 If in doubt, just do it. Whatever it is.

#4 Never let anyone know of your intentions. Turn right, turn left, brake in the middle of the motorway and decide to do a U-turn, whatever takes your fancy; the important part is to keep the drivers behind you on their toes. What's that little flashing light for anyway?

#5 If you're to join the fast lane traffic from a side road and you have a 'yield' or 'stop' sign, make sure you approach at full speed until you're side to side with the cars on the fast lane, then slow down and possibly brake. What else, apart from coffee, would keep the other drivers awake otherwise?

#6 Even if the road is clear for kilometers on end, make sure you drive right behind the car in front of you, no excuses. Before you overtake, bug the bugger for a while; honk, swear in annoyance, swerve aggressively and then, only then, maybe, overtake. You can possibly slow down after that and stay in front of the said car, depends on whether you're in a playful mood or not.

#7 If you see 2 cars coming your way and only 1 of them is on their lane, move away to the side, keep calm and carry on. Don't worry whether this happens when you're approaching a curve or the line on the ground is continuous. The lower the visibility, the better. Word.

#8 Multitask. As soon as you get into your car, light a cigarette, start a phone call and go your way. And by 'your way' I mean, whichever way you prefer. The more things you can do at the same time, the better; I mean, what better time than this to call someone for the umpteenth time on any given day?

#9 Park anywhere you like, anytime, it's only a minute anyway (that is, unless you bump into your whole family and group of friends). Make sure you park in diagonal and take up a fair bit of space though, so the other cars feel like they're in a video-game and have to avoid crashing while they drive in the city at high speed.

#10 If you're a pedestrian and you have to cross the road, open your car doors, push a pram, accompany an elder to the other side etc. do it this way: hold the approaching driver's gaze until he/she thinks you're waiting for them to pass; at the last nanosecond, stop eye contact and do whatever you had in mind. When it's dark and there's not pedestrian crossing or traffic lights, you get double points. If you manage to make the driver leave a wheel mark on the road, triple. It's a win-win. 

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Well, apparently this is not the worse place I get told, so I shouldn't be complaining really. What do you think? :-)

On a lighter note, below are some pictures of a day out for my birthday, a couple of weeks ago

Caminante, no hay camino, se hace camino al andar...



http://www.trekearth.com/gallery/Europe/Italy/Sicily/Syracuse/Pachino/photo1231939.htm
Tonnara di Vendicari

An afternoon nap on the beach is a must






I wonder what 'water-traffic' is like...


https://images.search.yahoo.com/search/images;_ylt=A0LEV0X7IINTn2EAQFtXNyoA;_ylu=X3oDMTB0YTliZm1uBHNlYwNzYwRjb2xvA2JmMQR2dGlkA1ZJUDM2OV8x?_adv_prop=image&fr=moz35&va=marzamemi
Beautiful Marzamemi

Wedding photos
Yes, I ate the whole lot...so what?! 


Have a good week everyone! xx

























Thursday, 15 May 2014

Bohemian wedding shoot PHOTOS and MOLET collaboration



Hey hey!
As mentioned in my last post, exciting things are happening in my world lately and there will be changes in the shop soon. But let's do one thing at a time...

To mention just one piece of news for now, lipsandpieces is collaborating with the Spanish online store www.molet.com for 5 days only, 3 to go now...this is a very proud moment for me since it's the first time someone tells me 'we're looking for exciting new designers to add to our store, etc.'
Hellooooo!

For a bit of eye candy, below I leave you some of my favourite shots from the photoshoot we had a couple of days ago. I miss doing make up and the locations around here are just incredible, it had to be done. The new pieces will be added to the shop as soon as I find the time.

Special thanks to my gorgeous model Cristiana and my photographer and my everything, Luca.
Enjoy.


Morning prep









Flower child




    Rustic chic    



Smaller pieces



Flower crown and amazing colours, LOVE.




The photographer and me, LOVE.


   some extra shots for the shop...'STOP!! needin' a break here' says the model...
 


Too windy to keep the necklace or the hair in place but sexy as Oh my!

What do you think? Feel free to leave a comment below :-)

Have a nice week!







Friday, 9 May 2014

New arrivals


Family portrait. From left to right: Virgola, Punto, Smilz and Kimba, at the bottom.

Smilz, the little one
Virgola, the curious one
Smilz and Virgola
With the Mamma, Scobina.

We were in for a surprise earlier this week when we got this adorable kittens delivered, it's been endless games and pictures all week...

As for the shop, no new arrivals for a while as I'm too busy with other things but preparing a few surprises for the near future...fingers crossed it all goes well.

Have a great week everyone!

Monday, 28 April 2014

Etsy finds- inspiration


This is some of the stuff that is inspiring me at the minute: amazing handmade fabrics, ethnic style and aesthetic, incredibly rich colours and surprising mixes. It's making me miss traveling too and I regret not having bought more materials when I was in Guatemala and South East Asia last year...I can't wait to depart again (with an empty suitcase this time) and to get my hands on these beauties. Till then, I'm going to have to make-do with what I have, which is not little ;-)

Shop ethnic at mine on Etsy, a community of handmade artists and creators.

Have a good week!

Wednesday, 23 April 2014

Mothers day 25% off and a video that might make you cry on 'the most difficult job in the world'

Just a quick one to let you know you can get anything in my shop with a 25 % off discount till mothers day entering the coupon code MOTHERSDAY at check out.

https://www.etsy.com/listing/178702443/limited-edition-set-of-2-cushion-covers?
is she into 'classic with a twist' home decor?


https://www.etsy.com/listing/181320144/oversized-upcycled-soft-dark-chocolate?ref=shop_home_feat_1
have you a trendy mum?
https://www.etsy.com/listing/183072990/african-wax-print-cotton-fabric-and?ref=shop_home_active_16
do you buy presents for yourself like I do?

https://www.etsy.com/listing/181819306/bang-on-trend-ethnic-tribal-women?ref=shop_home_feat_4
love African motives? 

























Now, to celebrate all the hardworking, multitasking and basically amazing mothers, mums, moms and of course, grandmothers around the world, here's a video that'll warm your cockles :-)

Tuesday, 22 April 2014

Pallet furniture

Hi all!

So this is my very first piece of handmade (by moi) furniture.

Whoever said it was easy, made in a couple of hours, your man could do it with his eyes closed etc. was not exactly wrong but it was an understatement.

It took me a few months to actually complete the job and it required an infinite amount of patience (oooooommmmmm!) but it was so rewarding and I'm so very happy!

 

This are the before and after pics; as you can see, it was a much needed transformation.

We didn't want to start changing the decor in a place that wasn't ours and that we didn't know whether we were going to remain at but we couldn't stand the ever growing amount of cables anymore. Also, I needed an extra little project to survive the short but incredibly boring winter months, so this is how I did it.

Pallets. Not as easy to find as people advertise it. Luckily (but only after I'd already cut 2 with tremendous effort) we were given 2 in great condition and things went smoothly after that.








This thingy, I broke it. Won't say more about it. 

Safety goggles, swimming goggles, who cares? Safety comes first
Proper workin' it, baby!

First draft
7,000 layers of paint
Mummy's little helper...not!
Tah dah!!!
Here's a link for other interesting pallet projects, I'm sure to get my hands dirty again sometime (not so) soon ;-), maybe next winter when/if we start doing up our own space...

What are your favourite handmade furniture making ideas? Any tips for me? :-)

Some of my favourite comments when I posted pictures of 'my pallets' were things like...'sure it wasn't a man who made it, otherwise it wouldn't be finished' or this photo doing the rounds on facebook (that I can't find) that goes like 'if your man says he'll do it, he'll do it; no need to remind him every six months'...

Cheers to the 'can do attitude' ladies! 

Have a good week!