Ciao! I am so glad you are here! I am Barbara, an Italian lass living in Scotland.
‘Everything you see I owe it to spaghetti’ was a popular quote attributed to the fabulous Sophia Loren, the most iconic Italian actress of all times. While she disputed this claim (see here) I still love the idea of her saying it. After all, most good things come from spaghetti (especially for an Italian expat)! Do I think Italians do it better? Well, I think that in some cases, such as rocking a timeless elegant style, eating fabulous food, and generally enjoying life, we pretty much nailed it. So my blog is here to inspire you to live life all’Italiana, wherever you are – to dress better with less and better quality clothes, to eat simple, healthy and fabulous food, to become a better consumer, and ultimately, to live life joyfully!
Stuff about me
- I was born and bred in Rome, my dad is Italian but my mamma is Danish. My brother is the one who got the viking genes – blondeness and blue eyes. I compensated by writing a PhD in Danish literature. So I am a doctor, but not a real one. I won’t be able to cure your ailments, but I can definitely recommend some great books to read.
- I have lived in Scotland for over a decade, but my accent is still pretty strong, much to my Scottish husband’s daily amusement.
- I work in libraries and I am a living stereotype – see cardigan wearing librarian who loves cats ( we live with two wonderful felines who keep us much entertained).
- However, I went skydiving, and my skydiving instructor told me I was the first skydiving librarian he met. Claim for fame.
- On the stereotype trend again, I cannot go long without eating pasta, so it features a lot on our meal plans (I actually become fairly unpleasant fairly quickly when hungry).
- I love cooking, but my husband is a better cook than me – he is actually a chef…(and a very talented musician, but that’s a story for another time).
- My love for food comes from my parents. My mum is a chef and my dad is a food journalist. The apple did not fall that far from the tree…
- I love clothes, but I strongly dislike fast fashion and over consumption. I live by Vivienne Westwood’s quote: buy less, choose well, make it last.
- I am a migraineur – a fancy way to say I suffer from migraines. I can bang on about it pretty well and you can read more about how I manage it here.