Dolce Far Niente

Just a sweet photograph of Giulia doing what she does best: relaxing. Or dolce far niente. Visit Michelle in Calabria at Bleeding Espresso for further instruction.:) Have a wonderful evening.

ciao/xo

Pasqualina & Pinta - Italian Goat Goodness

Do you know adorable Pasqualina & Pinta? Do you know what 'capra' & 'capretta' mean? No & no? Well, you should & you can find out on Goat Berries. This is Michelle Fabio's fairly new venture. Goat-y goodness, cute kids, & general merriment. It's a lot of fun to visit both Goat Berries & Michelle's deservedly widely-read & beloved Bleeding Espresso. (She's a fellow Pennsylvanian--even if we no longer live there, we're still Pennsylvanians. Yep.)

There's more to the menagerie than goats, though. Check in on pups Luna & Stella; Giordano, a handsome ginger tabby (GG swoons--an Italian gatto); & two double-yolk producing hens & a rooster. (In the time it's taken to type this entry, there are probably more resident animals.) Michelle & her husband P. are two busy people with their ever-expanding realm in Badolato, Calabria. GG's editor is trying to think up some sort of financial scheme to take herself & GG to southern Italy in autumn 2011. We would love to see this empire up close & personal.

Don't forget to check out Michelle's Bleeding Espresso recipe archives. Always an inspiration when you just can't think of what you want. It's a go-to for GG's editor.

ciao-meow/GG Central

[photographs by Michelle Fabio/Goat Berries/Bleeding Espresso/all rights reserved]

GG & Suzy & Limoncello

Voglio un limoncello, per favore.

A fan whirs, the shades are drawn. Giulia is passed out (in a good way) on the wooden floor. She's comfortable because her furry little red head is damp from multiple applications of a clean, cool, wet cloth. And also because she is a great big Fan Hog! (Sorry for the outburst. Om. Om. Om.)

What GG cannot do, though, is make & partake of limoncello. We love lemons, we have pounds & pounds of them (for some reason) in the house. Tomorrow we will buy the other fixin's & have at this recipe on Bleeding Espresso. It's a very nice post, too, written by guest blogger Susan Filson of Sticky, Gooey, Creamy, Chewy. We're not allowed to eat (currently) the cool stuff Susan makes but there's no harm in looking.

ciao-cheers-meow/GGCM

[GG's grandmother's favorite model Suzy Parker by Allan Grant via Life Archives (more Suzy on myvintagevogue); limoncello via Gioia Luisa (USA), & Italy photochroms via Library of Congress]

Mamma mia, Azzurri!

Forza Azzurri! Yes, but this was close. Are you trying to give Giulia's editor a tremendous case of the vapors? We are too delicate for such suspense. Here are two photographs of the 2006 World Cup champion festivities in Roma (the first shot is a few seconds before they won) via Giampaolo Macorig's camera. To remind people that they did win, they can win again, that they are not "old" (OK, a little), & because instead of working, we have been watching the match. Over & out, we pass out in front of the fan. (GG is already there.) Oof.

Ciao-meow from GG Sports Central

PS: Visit Michelle at Bleeding Espresso for all the latest news (via her Facebook page)

Are you ready for World Nutella Day 2009?

What with the wreath & the ornaments & ... oh wait. No, you don't have to do any of that. The day in question is this Thursday, 5 February 2009. Visit Bleeding Espresso (also Sara at Ms. Adventures in Italy) & follow the very easy instructions. Or you can click the Nutella World Day icon in the right sidebar on this site. It's as easy as eating Nutella with a spoon. We thank Jamie at the adorable Small Expectations for her post, too. You haven't seen charming until you've seen her etsy shop. So here you go...ta da.

a merry-ciao-Nutella-Day-meow (two days early so you can prepare!)
GG Central

[photo from Paolo Vasta's great flickrstream]

Coffee Love & Bleeding Espresso

We love reading Bleeding Espresso & visit often. Do go...it's a free trip to Calabria, southern Italy complete with What's Cooking Wednesdays, Love Thursdays, & everything in between. We've not time to ask her for a photo, so we go with this hilarious poster...kind of sums us up sometimes.

Michelle's self-description: "Michelle Fabio, an American writer and attorney leaves the Anthracite Coal Region of Pennsylvania for her family's ancestral village in Calabria, Italy, falls in love, gets two dogs, writes to her heart's content and begins bleeding espresso. No, really."

Take it from GG Central, she's funny, kind, & thoughtful. Coincidentally, she's up for Best European Bloggie Award. Visit her & then vote...she didn't ask us, we think you should!

ciao-meow & baci!
GG's editor

(vintage coffee advert via we heart it)

Balcony in Trastevere

From Really Rome, now archived. It's the author's favorite balcony & it's easy to see why. It's in the Trastevere area of Rome (a favorite place of GG's editor, too). Bella. Here's the What's Cooking Wednesday? recipe section from Bleeding Espresso, a wonderful blog from Italy. There's something here for everyone. Happy cooking!

photo via Really Rome

ciao-meow,

GG Central