New porcelain stoneware

I don't usually like imitations. For example, laminate flooring never achieves the beauty and elegance of wood flooring.

However, this new porcelain stoneware looks natural and is of good quality. It brings warmth and sophistication to the ambience.

Do I have to tell you that it is an Italian product? It is the italians, always the Italians, who have this sense of good taste installed in their genes.

If you like it, have a look here.

The flower of my secret

It is cold and raining outside but, regarding to fashion and design, spring has arrived. Roses, orchids, daffodils and whole gardens appear in dresses, shoes and also in interior design accessories. No doubt that the trend at the moment is a floral explosion.

Blugirl

The Type Case

Type cases were manufactured from around 1890 to the 1960s and used in printing offices to store the various letters of a typeface.

As mechanical typesetting become more common, the need for type cases began to diminish.

Nevertheless, the idea was born: due to the advantages of their arrangement scheme, collectors became interest in them.

And shortly after that, shelves with the same system started to be produced to decorate people’s homes. 

In the 1970’s they appeared in living rooms, kitchens and bedrooms in different sizes and types.

Kids used them to display their small toys, miniature figures or gadgets.

Nowadays they are not very in but we can still find some type cases bringing nostalgia to spaces.



This original type case belongs to Gabi Keller, a powerful 83-year-old lady that travels around Europe in her trailer and collects lots of souvenirs.

Swiss lemon cake

A very easy cake to prepare. My family loves it and guests always ask for the recipe. God save Betty Bossi!

250g butter

250g sugar

5 eggs

2 lemon (zest)

250g flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 pinch of salt

Syrup: 

1 dl lemon juice

100 g icing sugar

Beat the butter and caster sugar in a large bowl. Add the lemon zest and mix well. Whisk the eggs gradually into the butter mixture, beating well between each addition.

Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. Fold it into the cake mixture.

Bake for approximately 60 minutes in a preheated oven (180C).

Let the cake cool and then pierce holes in the cake with a skewer and pour over the syrup.

The syrup is the secret of this cake because it makes the cake moist and sweet.

Bon appetit!

Discovering Terence Conran

I am reading "A Sort Of Autobiography" and discovering the delightful personality of the English designer Terence Conran.

Once asked to describe himself in ten words, Terence answered:

"Ambitious, mean, kind, greedy, frustrated, emotional, tiresome, intolerant, shy, fat." 

And a huge sense of humor, 

I guess...

Navegar é preciso

Navegar é preciso; viver não é preciso.

Foto: Magnolia Brussi

Quero para mim o espírito desta frase, 

transformada a forma para a casar como eu sou:

Viver não é necessário;

o que é necessário é criar.'

Fernando Pessoa 

Are you a preppy?

The message of the preppy style is: Yes, I am a happy and cultivated person. By the way, I want to tell it through my clothes. Last but not least, there is nothing bad about it!

In earlier days, nobody wanted to be called a preppy. Nowadays most people considered the look cool and there is a huge range of labels that celebrates the style. One of these is Tommy Hilfiger. I like very much the irreverence that he uses in his creations, mixing bright bold colours with some playful accessories and the most important thing: high spirits.

The result is a clean, elegant and affluent look.

Although the preppy style was born at the elite universities in England, it was in the USA that it became widespread.

The term preppy became famous because of the film Love Story. On one occasion, one of the main characters referred to the other as a preppy. Before this, few people knew the term. The Kennedys were preppies. They looked classic and smart. Barack Obama is considered a preppy as well.

The wardrobe of a preppy is composed of cardigans, knee length skirts, white shirts, blazers, trousers, dresses and hats. The preppy uses patterns, in conjunction with bold colors. The accessories could be clothes themselves, such as a sweater, wrapped casually around the shoulders.

The preppy sexy look: a chiffon transparent blouse or a dress with a v back neckline.The most important rules of the preppy style: class, elegance and neatness. 

After writing this post I just feel a little bit preppy. If you want to know a little bit more about this subject, I recommend the two books Lisa Birnbach wrote about it: The Official Preppy Handbook and True Prep.

Pictures: J.Crew and Tommy Hilfiger catalogues. 

Céu in Manchester

Thank you Céu for bringing a little bit of Vila Madalena to Manchester. 

The concert on Friday evening was great!

The Gipsy inside of me

The gipsy inside of me always turns up when I go abroad: 

I want to taste new flavors and discuss different ideas. 

I want to be inspired and find out what people think about life and how they are doing. 

What is life? Could anybody answer me? 

The True Birthplace

The true birthplace is that wherein for the first time one looks intelligently upon oneself. 

Marguerite Yourcenar, Memoirs of Hadrian

Foto: Magnolia Brussi