Do you ever get a series of songs stuck in your head, or a particular musician? And it seems as though the songs begin to color every aspect of your life, from how you feel to how you dress? (Note that there is a meme in Italy about avoiding listening to Adele so that we don't all get depressed!)
I'm kind of going through a phase where I keep daydreaming about country roads, campfires, cowboy boots, rusticness....and I think it is related to musician José Gonzalèz. Do you know him?
Check out this song, doesn't it make you want to put on plaid, snuggle up by a bonfire and make s'mores ? I should also say that although I listened to of music when I was at home with my son, now that he's in school and I work alone from home most days, I'm on a music rampage - send me your suggestions! (specifically indie music to run/yoga to!)
The Reason I Dressed
Lately, I've been overly spiritual, I don't know why, but I just feel very grateful and connected all of a sudden. Here's a story....once upon a time last year I had laryngitis. I was at the park with my son, unable to speak to him but somehow I was squeaking out a few words. And low and behold at the park I made a friend named Adrienne who is American from the other side of Lake Ontario! She is like a cuter, happier version of me from another parallel universe and she has a beautiful daughter ...so let's just say a friendship was born.
Anywho, she lives in Carpi, the unknown Fashion powerhouse city I've written about here. So on this particular weekend we headed to the city to meet up with her and her family. Lately we've been so busy we can't get away from Modena, which is fine, since I love the city where I live, but sometimes you just need a change.
So I've been trying to plan as many day trips as I can on the weekend to places we can easily get to in under 30 minutes, Carpi, Bologna, Ferrara, Parma, the mountains (yay!) just to break up the usual routine. It's amazing how even the simplest of things like discovering a new Caffè, going to a new lunch spot, or going to a children's pantomime puppet show for Carnival (which is what we ended up doing in Carpi!) can become exciting in their relative commonness.
What I Wore
Thank you to SheIn, an online clothing store that sells very fun designs at next to nothing prices for this green plaid cropped shirt. It is totally in keeping with my folk and mellow mood and is currently on sale for less than $10!
I wore it with my old favorite Born country boots in real leather with rubber soles. These have been staples on rotation in my life for years, and until I find a suitable substitute I will wear them out! For the sake of showing off my new top I took of my coat but it is still cold in Emilia Romagna and underneath this shirt I layered a wool bodysuit and a cotton t-shirt. My jeans are from Pull&Bear and I have pledged my allegiance to them for their ability to fit curvy, petite ladies!
Lately (again connected to the ridiculous amounts of indie folk music I've been listening to) I'm into low maintenance makeup (aka no makeup!), wool berets, simple cotton knit scarves and accessories that require little thought.
My belt is from the collection of accessories and bags that my husband and I are currently designing. I've written a bit about my man here and will share more soon on the blog about the issues behind creating a brand new collection from scratch!
My bag is by Modena artisan boutique La Vacchetta Grassa which I've featured here as part of my Hand Made - The Artisan Series. In these photos it is a little over-stuffed (as per every bag ever owned by a mother) because I managed to get a portable potty, camera, water bottle, chap stick, coloring book and two spiderman figurines in here!
Coincidentally enough Adrienne and I convinced our men to let us go grocery shopping for s'mores ingredients and we had a bonfire that night at her house!!
Food for my soul ... You can take the girls out of the great white North but you can't take the GWN outta the girls!