Guest writer: Stefania Da Prato

There is no doubt my sister has style. Since she was a baby, she always loved to be nicely dressed. She used to choose her outfits and never left the house without her pink purse and princess shoes. Really cute. Nowadays she obviously tossed the pink purses for fashion bags and the princess shoes for some high heels.

Today she will be our guest writer for «Fashion Wednesdays».

I can’t wait for Summer. This is when we girls tend to show a little more skin and have fun under the sun. The good news is I live in a tropical country and I can wear them very often. High waisted denim shorts can be sexy and trendy.

They became popular in the 1990s but they are still really fashionable today. High waisted shorts come in different styles and colors but I prefer the denim version. You can also wear these shorts during colder weather with some leggings underneath.

I usually wear them without leggings with my Jack Daniel’s tank top, a belt and some minimal jewelry. 

Here is a tutorial on the DIY version

 

Baked zucchini and mint frittatas

This is one of my to-go recipes: easy and quick. All you need is four ingredients plus salt and pepper to taste: zucchini, mint, onion and eggs. Yes, that simple. Sometimes I have them for breakfast and other times for dinner with a salad. It’s versatile and delicious. No oil, dairy-free and gluten-free.

Ingredients (serves 6 mini frittatas) :

– 1 medium zucchini (I used a yellow zucchini)

– 1/2 onion

– 6-8 fresh mint leaves

– 6 eggs (if you prefer you can use 3 whole eggs and 3 whites)

– Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:

– Grate the zucchini and sprinkle some salt. Leave in a strainer for about 20 minutes. This will drain the water from the zucchini so your «fritatta» doesn’t become watery.

– Whisk the eggs, chop the onion and the mint leaves and add to the egg mixture. Sprinkle some salt and pepper. Whisk until all ingredients are mixed together. Pour into small muffin tins and bake at 350 degrees F. for 20 minutes. (You’ll know that they are ready when the edges get golden.)

 

Buon appetito!

Based on true stories: my top 5 favorite movies

It was really difficult to bring down to five my favorite based-on-true-stories movies. I enjoy watching something that is based on true events. It automatically brings it to the «real» zone of movies. It’s always a plus when these movies are interpreted by some of my favorite actors or actresses.

1) W/E. (2012)

As I said in this post, I really liked this movie. The story behind it was really interesting because I had only seen «The King’s Speech» and with this we get to see a different point of view of the story behind the scandal of King Edward VIII abdication. Plus the costuming used in this movie is spectacular.

2) Intouchables. (2012)

You have no idea how much I loved this movie. It’s funny and heartbreaking. It is inspired by the true story of Philippe Pozzo di Borgo.

3) Gia. (1998)

Angelina Jolie does an excellent job portraying model Gia Carangi.

4) My week with Marilyn. (2011)

This was based on the book «The prince, the showgirl and me» by Colin Clark.

5) Girl, Interrupted. (1999)

After seeing this movie I fell in love with Angelina Jolie. It’s an adaptation of Susanna Kaysen’s memoir that has the same name.

 

Do you guys have any favorite movies based on true events?

The art of standing out

I am sitting still and meditating a little. It is hard to concentrate with all the noise outside my window. I try to focus on my breathing but it is hard to breathe when you have a small pain piercing your heart.

Sometimes I miss a lot of people and a lot of things that used to make me happy. But sometimes you have to let go and keep moving forward.

When I decided to become a dancer I knew the road would be lonely. Dancers often submerge in their world and isolate themselves in straining rehearsals, studios full of competition and with no time for external contact with the rest of the world. I decided to stop studying dance when I felt that it wasn`t fun anymore. I stopped dancing because I was getting more pain than satisfaction. Dont get me wrong, I still love to dance and I always will. Personally, dancing has become like a long-lost lover that I miss but know it’s not the most important thing in my life anymore.

When I stopped being a dancer I became a singer. It wasnt something that started overnight, I always sang, but I decided to pursue it as a career because music was a big part of my life. I loved to write my songs and started to drain emotions every time I wrote one.

So I isolated from the world once again. I lost close friends, I ignored the partying, I stopped smoking and drinking and eventually stopped living in the real world and submerged in the parallel world of music.

I started working like crazy. I went home from the studio at 4:00 am. Everybody else at my age went partying and having fun. The only thing that cheered me up was going again to the studio and working. It was my world and I loved it. It also came with a price: I was surrounded by some many people but I felt so lonely.

That is when I realized it was my fault and nobody else´s responsability but mine. The road to success often is a very lonely road. You will be alone. People will start to bring you down because they simply don’t understand you. But you are happy in your way and you know that in the end it will be all worth it. I still am working towards my goal. There are good days and bad ones. But I love it and it makes me truly happy.

Dont be afraid to dream big, don’t be afraid to fail, believe and trust yourself. I guarantee you that it wont be easy. But then again if it was easy, everybody would do it. Do not be afraid to stand out, whoever you are and whatever you wish for. Be thankful that you have a flame inside you that makes you strive for something big.

Everybody is unique, there is no exact copy of who you are. Do more of what you love and less of what you don’t want. Remember that at the end of the day your happiness depends only on you.

Spring Cleaning: my top 5 clean spots

I am proud to say I keep our place clean. I just have it in me. Some call me clean-freak but I like to call it just «clean». So when Spring cleaning season comes, I get really excited like if it was a Holiday.

I use baking soda and vinegar like crazy. These are my two secret cleaning weapons.

1) I wash my pillows. Yes, some pillows can be washed. Make sure you read the instruction sewn to the pillow though. I throw just two at a time in the washer with tennis ball inside a sock.(This prevents bumps in the pillow). I wash them with the «dedicates» option with 1/2 detergent and 1/2 baking soda.

After the cycle is over I put them in the drier with two tennis balls in the «tumble dry low» cycle. They never dry completely so I take them out and leave them in a sunny spot for a couple of hours. New pillows for you.

2) Refresh my mattress. I take 4 cups baking soda, some drops of lemon essential oil and mix them together. Then I swift the mix with a strainer on the naked mattress. I leave it for a couple of hours and then I vacuum throughly. Let me tell you it smells amazing afterwards. 3) Clean washer. (Oh yes, that get’s dirty too.) I pour baking soda into the detergent dispenser and a cup of vinegar in the bleach dispenser.(Never mix bleach and vinegar together). Then I run a short cycle. This eliminates the moldy smell. 4) Same here. Clean the dishwasher. Instead of dishwasher detergent I use baking soda for this cycle. In a glass bowl I pour 2 cups of vinegar and put it in the top drawer of the dishwasher. I run the hot water cycle.

5) I fill the coffee maker with vinegar and water. For every cup of vinegar use three cups of water (The smell is a little bit nasty so try to keep a window open). I run two times the coffee maker with this mix and then run three times the coffee maker with just water. (Believe me you do not want your coffee to taste like vinegar espresso).

I have to confess I do this every two or three months because you know me, I just like everything really clean.

So, do you guys have any particular Spring cleaning spots?

 

 

 

 

Hairstyle inspiration: «the Bob»

I love this hairstyle. It is classy and elegant. The problem is I can’t pull it off unless I live with a flat-iron under my pillow. It’s not happening for me. Sure, I have worn wigs for photo shoots and the occasional party, but believe me if I cut my hair that short I will resemble a poodle who just got into a fight with his hairdresser.

After seeing the movie «Chicago» I just got obsessed with Thelma’s hair. She looked so glamorous. So this week’s inspiration is «The Bob». I investigated a little and found out that there are different kinds of styles for this haircut:

• Chinese bob: Cut at the neckline, bobbed up around the edge.
• A-line bob: A typical bob cut, with slightly longer hair in front, cut in an asymmetrical style.
• Shingle bob: An old-fashioned, dome-shaped bob with the back razor-cut very short into a V shape.
• Chin-length bob: Cut straight to the chin, with or without bangs.
• Buzz cut bob: Where it is shoulder-length in the front and close-cropped at the back.
• Shaggy bob: A messy bob layered with a razor.
• Shoulder-length bob: A blunt bob that reaches the shoulders and has very few layers.

Top 5 favorite drinks

I like to have a drink from time to time. I usually have wine because I limit my sugar intake. My dad always tells me that if I was going to drink I had to do it responsibly and always drink the «good stuff». He always tells me «You either drink good quality drinks, or you don’t drink at all.» He is right but I do love my fun frozen drinks here and there.

1) Limoncello. I mean, come on, I named this blog after it. My mom makes home-made Limoncello and it tastes like heaven.

2) I first tried Martini Bianco in Greece. I loved the flavor because it wasn’t too strong. I normally order it on the rocks with ice and a slice of lemon. I have the glass that is shown above.(It was a kind gift from my roommate at York University. Thank you Casey, I still have my Vermouth in it.)

 

3) Prosecco. It’s lighter than champagne and it is a fantastic «aperitivo» before a meal. (Sometimes, I like to toss some strawberries in it.)

 

4) Pina colada. I just love this frozen drink. The first time I tried it I was in Puerto Rico and I fell in love with it. 

5) The classic Mojito. Who doesn’t love mint?

What is your favorite drink?

 

 

6 things I learned in school

School: this word brings nostalgia, joy and some dreadful memories. I had a love/hate relationship with school. I enjoyed seeing my friends everyday and had fun learning new things in several classes. I also had some teachers I enjoyed seeing and loved what they used to teach me but there were also many other ones that I could not stand.

I learned tons of things in school regarding basic education, some teachers tought me valuable lessons, others taught me things that were a terrible waste of time. 

That being said, I have six things that stuck with me from school in my everyday life that I will treasure forever.

1) You take a test, you get all the answers right, you get an A+. If in the test you don´t know all the answers, rule is you get a lower grade. In life it´s ok not to know all the answers. Most of the time you won`t and that is all right. You just have to be open in recognizing what went wrong and work towards making it right.

2) Some establishments have rules and they are there for a reason.I remember one of the rules at my school was to always have your shirt tucked inside your pants. I found this incredibly stupid but I followed it because it was a rule. The point is you don´t have to follow every rule ever written in life but you don´t have to be rude either. If there is a smoking sign and is prohibited to smoke in a specific area, please understand that as rebel as you may be, it´s comon sense not to smoke there.

3) Teachers are human beings, they don´t always know all the answers and they too, as you and me, make mistakes. Same goes for the rest of the world. Often behind a rude behavior there is always something going on behind that person (or they are just a**holes, but that is a total different story). Don´t judge. 

4) Be polite to everybody; from the janitor to the principal. Be thankful even when you don´t feel like it, chances are the other person will often appreciate such behavior. Why spend energy on being disrespectful or mean when being nice takes less time and effort?

5) Just because you are bad at something doesn´t mean that you are a failure. In my school if you were bad at math, chemistry or physics then you were considered a terrible student. What about literature? What about art or history or even biology? Everybody is different and has different skills. There is a fantastic quote from Albert Einstein that says «Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life thinking it is stupid».  

6) You never, ever stop learning. 

Happy birthday Manula

 

In Greek «manula» means «mommy» and I have always called my mom like that since a little girl. Her birthday was on Tuesday but she decided to celebrate it yesterday. I made some «Marquesa de chocolate» (the Venezuelan equivalent of the German «Kalter Hund» recipe).This dessert can never go wrong on birthdays and it’s one of my mom’s favorites. She invited our neighbors that are extremely nice and fun so we laughed and had a fantastic time.  

Happy birthday Manula! I love you with all my heart!

 

 

DIY: red Easter eggs with Kool-Aid

I don’t drink Kool-aid. I know it is delicious because I tried it as a kid. My current situation is that I can’t have any food coloring because it can trigger migraines but even if it didn’t I would not drink it. But this is not a post about if Kool-aid is healthy or not. This is a post that gives you a nice-smelling Easter egg dye. You can use any color you like but remember the stronger the color the brighter the egg dye.

The instructions are really simple. Boil your eggs, let them cool. Pour a packet of Kool-aid inside your bowl of choice with cold water and a drop of vinegar. Put the boiled egg inside and wait two to three minutes per egg. I used a bowl big enough for four eggs at a time. Let dry.

Things to consider:

-If it’s not bright enough pour another pack of Kool-aid and let sit for another minute or two.

-At first they will look orange. Don’t panic, as they dry they get red.

-They will smell amazing.

-Careful with your fingers, try to use some plastic gloves if you have them. (I didn’t and my fingers looked like I had a first degree burn. Not nice).

 

 

Spring: trends I love

Flowers, breezy afternoons, hint of sunlight. What is not to love about Spring? I am lucky enough to live in a country where we have a Summer/Spring climate all year-long. Yes, you heard me; all-year-long. But I still love to celebrate the arrival of Spring this time of the year.

Here my three favorite fashion trends that have Spring written all over them.

1) Braided crown.

2) Pastel nail polishes.

3) Flowy skirts. 

Do you guys have any Spring trend you love?

Greek Easter recipe: Koulourakia

This year the Catholic and Orthodox Easter are the same day. So celebrating my mom’s Greek traditions I want to share with you the recipe to the typical Greek Easter cookies called «Koulourakia». This sugar cookies are normally served with Greek coffee in the afternoon. You can add some sesame seeds or you can skip them as I did.

I followed this recipe from the Food Network and was really pleased with the results. Since I am on a limited diet, I just had just one cookie and let me tell you it was good. Really good.

 

Kalo Pasxa! (Happy Easter!)