If you asked me moment to moment about our dreams of Italy I would be up and down like a certain little blue train. It’s the highest highs and the lowest lows. Life often just insists on getting in the way until we take notice. This is the stage of a renovation when exhaustion sets [...]
A big Welcome to my New York Times readers, it’s great to meet you here. As you may have guessed I have a passion for Italy. I’m hoping it’s something we share… perhaps we also share similar dreams. A simple home in Italy, a life less hectic, time to spend with my husband and children, [...]
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After a few tough weeks it was just wonderful to receive the Kreativ Blogger Award. Even more so because it was given by a dear friend of mine who is also mid renovation in Italy. Ingrid from Living and Working a Dream Life in Italy has been a constant source of encouragement, inspiration and when [...]
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Sitting in the sun at my favorite cafe flicking through a magazine I had to laugh at myself. A fashion shoot of a beautiful pale girl in an abandoned building and I was thinking that it wouldn’t take much to get that wallpaper off, and how beautiful the floorboards would be stripped back and re [...]
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When thinking of Italian houses I’d love to restore the number one for me is the childhood home of my husbands grandfather Guiseppe. He grew up in the village of Leni on the Isola Salina with his parents Maria and Franceso and two sisters. Now many years later we returned to the island, the idea [...]
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I am honored to share the latest in our series of guest posts on one of my favorite topics – Renovating in Italy. I knew that we couldn’t be the only ones out there dreaming about houses in Italy. Today we are joined by Authors Nina and Pavel who share the renovation of their stunning [...]
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Standing on the balcony at Borga Nari, the long abandoned village across the valley enticed us to explore. Fascinated by the way it seemed to vertically caress the mountain, we set off a number of times to find it but something always happened to stop us. One day Carina and Sam headed off for a [...]
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Continuing on with our stories of renovated villages I’d like to share with you the beautiful San Bernardo… I particularly love this hamlet in the mountains of Piemonte as it was the first time we came across an entire renovated community. Our new house in Veravo is a ten minute walk from the stunning Colletta [...]
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Today as you may know is International Women’s Day, and my mind is a swirl of emotion. I vividly remember our first celebration of this day in Italy. We were sitting at a cafe in Lucca and my Mother in law, Carina and I were given a sprig of bright yellow wattle. As Australians we [...]
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