Roman Holiday: design inspirations

let me start with the hotel we stayed in.  

the Rome Times Hotel just opened a few months ago and we were among the first guests.  the amenities were very modern and the rooms have dark wood flooring, crisps sheets and pillows, spacious bath and the safes are free (we've never stayed in a hotel where the safes were free, ever!).  the mister is delighted at this because he can shove all his gadgets in there without fear of it being nicked in a foreign country.

it was one of the best hotels we've stayed by far!  here's a pic of their bar below.

inside the Vatican Museum, i also saw the contemporary art of Henri Matisse defined by "gouache cutouts" made of special paper in their designs.  i love the color palette that he used! 

as we were nearing the exit of the museum, we had to go down this beautiful spiral staircase and into the Vatican post office where i mailed ourselves a postcard back home :)

in the streets of Rome:

spotted a Space Invaders street art near the Vatican! i don't know if this is one of his but sure looks like it :)

they are big on Audrey H. there by the way :)  before going to Rome, i actually watched the movie "Roman Holiday" and now it is one of my favorites :)

ahhh who wouldn't want to sit under that bougainvillea portico and sip some capuccino, eh?  la vita bella!

don't miss the shop windows!  they have the most interesting displays!  like this sea-themed one with ceramic fishes galore :)

or this leather gloves shop in all the colors of the rainbow and then some!

a beautiful stained glass display that caught my eye just as when the light of day was about to fade...

 and who could ignore CoCo Chanel?

and so, as a result, i bought these:

i saw her quietly sketching away in a corner where i found all manner of Audrey Hepburn kitsch...  she was a true artist and i could not help but love her Underground System of Rabbits!

while waiting for our coffee, this little number occupied our weary minds... made of a few different kinds of beans and a pretty little cactus, we were heady with the scent of rose in the air... 

sip, sip, sip...

from america with love

I have not been to the US of A but I have a lot of good friends living there.  Most particularly, a sweet bookworm who I constantly trade stuff with and is my "American Connection" so to speak :)  If there is something I want but is only available in the US of A, this charming friend procures it for me and vice versa.  

Sometimes, we just send each other silly stuff (the best ones, really) like the stuff below:

a book about remarkable women and their impact on the sailors of the Great Lakes (love!)

loving the pattern of this canvas shopping bag 

turquoise bracelet yay!

this is new to me... beef jerky, sasquatch style!

who doesn't love chocolate?

Thank you my sweet friend!

would-'ave, could-'ave, should-'ave

oh the things i left behind at the carboot... there were many but these i picked because i liked them...

from top left: an old-fashioned purse with a b&w picture of a retro girl, an 1879 New York and Manhattan Express collage made from parts of timepieces, a series of blue watercolor frames and a vintage iron with a cork handle

from top left: a chicken wire basket pretty much like my own (except mine was painted sunny yellow), a b&w picture of Marilyn Monroe, brand new pink Timberlands and a rug with geometric designs

flea market finds: a spring in my step

two weeks into spring and still the weather was stubborn to let go of the last vestiges of Old Man Winter... but finally last saturday i did it... i hopped and skipped and almost jumped...

because last saturday i was on my way to a carboot sale! and here are my beautiful finds:

cheap and chic! a pair of Ikea Skribent bookends that I have been looking for the longest time! made of strong birch and galvanised steel, they give my second-hand books a modern feel

a sweet ole guy manning a stall full of toys had me at "traditional" with this yoyo

a clear glass Parlane Collection flower frog

a Chinese bamboo steamer that the owner has not found the time to use :)  dumplings galore!

a hunter green silk clutch with a beautiful bird design still in its plastic wrap

one of the trends for Spring 2013 is shimmery, iridescent metallics so this pair of shiny brand-new Cherokee sneakers would just fit right in!

my last find is a total score.  retailing at £40 a pair,  this brand new (still in packaging), woollen, shearling-lined, gunmetal gray classic from Toms are the  most comfortable pair i've ever worn!  the lady i bought this from said it was meant for her granddaughter but that she didn't like them. lucky, lucky me!

my next post will be all about the things i saw and left behind at the carboot  :)

*linking to The Penny Worthy Project in hey what's for dinner mom?

the total package

got another package from my sister!  and when i opened it... ooohhhlala!

beautifully illustrated Filipino notepads

a beautiful navy satchel from Charles and Keith for all my paperworks

my favorite prawn rolls and soft pork floss from Bee Cheng Hiang

i am crazy about handmade, one-of-a-kind soaps at the moment so she also sent me some Lush

happy!

loafin' around: a DIY moment

loafers are making a comeback.  and the most popular ones are either spiked or studded! 

they are so 80's but then again that's my favorite decade :)

i am a little bit (just a wee bit, really) obsessing over skulls at the moment and saw this gorgeous Alexander McQueen skull velvet loafers one day... and just like that, loafers were added to my hit list as well.

i saw this lovely pair at the "miercoles loco" or Wednesday market in Spain. i know it's quite on the opposite spectrum of Mr. McQueen's creation not only in color and material but also of price but that's just exactly right up my alley.

as you can see it has the most outrageous brand name ever written in big shouting colors.  i would have wished it were smaller and more discreet.  but then again, it's just a shoe.  and i love the rich brown color and the navy tassels.

but how do i take it one level higher??? 

i was hit by inspiration today after one of my hair-ties broke. so i got the super glue and started working...

look how they turned out!

flea market finds: designer essentials

i’ve now been very picky in my forages into my favorite shops.  i sometimes go back and forth with my purchases.  whether i need them or not.  i am now simplifying things around the house and only buying the essentials.  hence, the following:

a summer essential, a straw fedora with a black band for .50p!  i am thinking of replacing the black band with a  bright-colored ribbon as a nod to spring

a Lulu Guinness sunglasses in classic black and white for £1

a black fleece scarf from Prada for .50p

handbags and gladrags

what fun i had when i went with a friend to a swap meet and got myself a cute top and met some new friends!  this is actually my first time to go to a swap meet and i loved it!  the organizers were the gorgeous wives of the NAAFI (Navy, Army and Air Force Institutes) personnel  stationed here in Gib and they held it in the Lion bar in Europa.



we got there a bit late so a lot of beautiful clothes have already disappeared from the racks but there were plenty more left!  i found a nice silk top for myself and the rest of the time was spent chatting with a couple of friends that i saw there.

see those busy ladies moving in and out of the racks with an armful of dresses, tops, jeans, handbags, belts, shoes, etc?  its the Gib version of Black Friday, i guess :)



see that nice, cute black clutch in the middle?  i fell in love with it but had to let it go because i know i wont be able to use it :(



there were a lot of big name brands at ridiculously low prices but the problem for me in the shoe department is that i have small feet (size 4 UK or 37-38 US)!



there was a stall for heady, sweet-smelling Yankee candles



and another stall selling beautiful silver jewelry.  they were sooo pretty!



after paying for my top, we sat down in one of the chairs for a glass of tinto de verano.  ahhhh!  just what i needed to get warm on a cold night ;)



cheers!

flea market finds: no swimming!

who wants to go for a swim?


there were considerably more stalls at the car-boot sale in the GASA (Gibraltar Amateur Swimming Association) parking lot than there were the last time.
 
i came by early and managed to dive into the deep and fish out some hidden gems!

a string of the most beautiful champagne-colored fresh-water pearls.  bought for a ridiculous .50p, they measure about 7-8mm each and are irregularly shaped and not perfectly round but that is just how i want them!

this is a curiosity in itself.  a 4cm diameter Medusa medallion with a quote from Dante Alighieri’s (The Divine Comedy) Inferno cto. IX-52 “venga Medusa, de la farem di smalto” which roughly translates to “come Medusa, we will enamel (of colored glass) him” or “come Medusa, we will turn him into stone”.  This was the threat given to Dante by the The Three Furies at the gates of Dis, the Infernal City.

i saw another medallion in another stall.  this time i think it is Celtic hung on leather.  the brown circular trinket box below is Morrocan and made from the precious thuya wood.

i also found these art books below for .50p each :)  they are very inspiring! 

i’ve read M. Kundera’s existential book a long time ago and there are a lot of facets that i want to read again (because i didn’t get it then and i guess partly because i am hoping for an “aha!” moment now). 

*linking to ThriftShare Monday @Apron Thrift Girl :) and also at ThriftyLove @Cap Creations :) and also at The Nifty Thrifty @a living space :)