Weekend special treat: Salmon with strawberries

I don't care about my lack of time so I am very determined to carry on this series of posts in my blog. So as stated in previous post, eating healthy and fancy, at least on weekends, is my new goal. Nothing much to say, the picture speaks for itself. Have a lovely Sunday!

This post is dedicated to my friend Kàrt as it was at a dinner at her's that I discovered this magical salad. xxx

What you see on the plate: Iceberg, rocket, fennel, strawberries, smoked salmon and a slice of lemon, all garnished with some olive oil and balsamic glaze.

An early morning wake-up with Mrs Fendi, on Ponza Island

I realised I haven't done any "An early morning wake-up with..'' posts in a long time. All the previous posts are quite popular even months later (see elder posts: Rachel Zoe, Coco Rocha and Gillian Zinser) so this time I thought I might make you dream a little and I'm taking you some where exotic.

Just one thing before: this gives me the perfect chance to talk about italian summer houses and their decoring. Mmm.. right?! "Italy".. "summer".. and "house".. ! A perfect combo! which easily stimulates one's imagination. But the truth isn't as classy as one would imagine.. that romantical clichè of a stylish and cozy mediterranean villa at the seaside with exotic gardens full of beautiful cured flowers.. is just a clichè. Yes, because a typical & mediocre italian summer residence is everything else, than that. As controversial as it sounds italians don't know anything about the cozy-home-decoring culture. And they don't care much about it either, they like to spend most of their time outside their homes, especially when on vacation. It's all about hanging out at the lidos (the beach) (from 10 o'clock in the morning until 19 in the afternoon, not esagerating!) and all the remaining time they spend it in restaurants, walking on the lungomare or in the city center, meeting friends at the ice-cream bars. Not to forget the exciting life going on on the piazzas. So as you can see there is no time to spend it at home. Italians just don't have that tradition. Even if they have frieds over for dinners they usually hang outside anyway.. So why to bother themselves with decoring a house they only use for sleeping? That's the reality, guys.

This is why whenever I come across an exception in this field I get all excited. Like in this case. When doing my research for the Ponza island I spotted these fabulous pictures taken for Harper's Bazaar. I couldn't resist on not sharing them with you on CN. Take your time and read this interview with her on harpersbazaar.com.

For some of you who don't know (read my previous Ponza posts here) Ponza (circa 10 km²) is the main island in the Gulf of Gaeta, near Rome. Just like the rest of Riviera Ulisse, the coast between Rome and Naples, Ponza is quiet and calm. The exact opposite of the jet-setters' so much loved Capri island in the Amalfitana coast. Ponza is one of my must-destinations this summer, let's hope I finally make it there!

Weekend special: don't forget to treat yourself

Eating healthy and nice has become one of my main goals since I've moved to London. Sometimes it is really hard when you have no time nor money but priorities are priorities and investments in your health, mental and physical, are probably the most important investments one makes in life. So here I am all happy wanting to share with you my nice breakfast.

What you see: strawberries with some fresh lemon juice, pomegranate, raspberries, toasted oats and almond flakes with some sugar and cinnamon, fresh almond flakes. I added some yogurt as well after I took the picture.

How do you treat yourself?

"Remember those funky groovy nights"

Besides those long chit chats with Kadri-Ann which regularly lasted until 4 o'clock in the morning, we also went out. Everything was spontaneous and no plans were made. This is how we ended up one night having a real nightlife tour in Shoreditch: we started off from Cinnamon Kitchen (Devonshire circus) where Kadri was invited for her cousin's engagement party. Then we met Kate and head to Hoxton square and enjoyed some pub snacks and chats in a place I cannot remember the name. We continued on wondering around the area until we decided to go to the table football pub called the "Kick" and then we eventually finished our evening at the BookClub. There we played ping pong. I must say we had quite an active evening. Just a funny thing we discovered: for years we've been using words funky and groovy to describe certain situations and moods. We randomly started digging the topic and suddenly everyone we'd talk to agreed with the fact that those two words are the most old fashioned they've heard in a long time. And not just any old fashion, but american old fashioned, or should I say old school in this case. Odd how some words make it to you vocabulary.

The Cinnamon Kitchen.







































Just a nice place we walked pass near Liverpool Street.



At Hoxton Square already.






Funky interiors ;)





















That's Kate!



At the Electricity Showroom.


















The Kick.












At the BookClub.









We always have so much fun! We also managed to have a skype party on Kadri's last night here with our friends Anna-Liisa and Elina.

Miss you darling and cannot wait until this summer!
xxx