Alright, I’m about to go totally photo heavy on y’all! Remember last month when I was in Milan jurying the Electrolux Design Lab? Well, my mom came along with me and we took a few extra days to explore the city. I mean, I’m not about to fly halfway around the world for business and not check out the culture!
Milan isn’t a massive city, and the heart of it all is based around the Duomo Cathedral (sidenote: love the logo). The structure took hundred of years to complete, and once you see at the intricate design throughout it’s easy to understand why.
It was free to explore inside, but for a few Euro you could clime a couple hundred steps to the top which we of course did. It rained. A lot. But that didn’t stop us (or my mom from wielding her Pittsburgh Steelers umbrella!).
This isn’t the roof, but a terrace near the top. It was impossible to take a bad photo! And yes, still raining.
Directly across the north side of the plaza lies Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II. It’s a covered open air shopping court with Prada, Gucci – you get the idea. Directly underneath this gorgeous dome is an inlaid bull, legend has it if you stomp on his testicles and spin around three times it will bring good luck!
Here it is from across the plaza. My mom talked to a local and was praising the architecture of the buildings, he mentioned how all of the Milanese take it for granted since it’s all around them.
La Rinascente is in the same building as Galleria Vitorio Emanuele II and is nothing short of seven levels of of heaven. Name after name of top level fashion designers that I could never hope to afford. But heaven lies on Level 0 in the form of Design Super Market.
Aisle upon aisle of everything I’ve ever seen on a design blog ever. I was head over heels and my mom was staring at me like I was a lunatic for the entire hour I shopped.
And then we went tot he 7th floor. Food paradise. Including a mozzarella bar and chocolate shoes.
The lighting was kind of all over the place, so my photos are as well. That honey on the top shelf? So went home with me.
The packaging was incredible. I mean, come on. I think my eyes were bugging out of my head.
While we were riding high on food, we walked over to Peck. I’d heard great things about this two-level gourmet market, but was only mildly impressed. I was only able to snap a few photos before they yelled at me. Italy is interesting.
And of course we visited our share of gelaterias. Duh.
Our last night we had to switch to a different hotel, this was our view from the balcony. Definitely a lovely way to say goodbye to Milano.
Geoff McFetridge‘s “reductive” style is all kinds of mesmerizing. My favorites are the overhead pieces. I’m telling you, perspective really is everything.
Less than two weeks left until the start of December, which means it’s time to start thinking about advent calendars! Is it a tradition your family goes all out for? I grew up with an advent calendar every year (usually the paper ones with flaps from Hallmark), and continue to carry on the tradition. And I still look forward to opening one door every morning for the first 24 days of December. Here are my favorites this year – some are DIY and some are not, but all are awesome. (Click on the image to go to the link.)
Joey Bates created these paper cut pieces back 2010, and I’m kind of upset that its taken me this long to find them. Because WOW. The fact that they’re so clean and white and don’t depend upon any color to definite their dimensions makes them all the more beautiful.
Sky High, written by Germano Zullo and illustrated by Albertine, is one of the best children’s books I’ve ever seen. The storyline focuses on two competing neighbors – Agenor-Agobar Poirier des Chapelles and Willigis Kittycly Junior – who are both attempting to build the bigger, better house. The home improvements start small and grow incredibly absurd, with Albertine’s illustrations playing the star and Zullo’s sparse words assisting. The best part about Sky High is that the adult reading will enjoy it as much as the child(ren) listening, so good!
I haven’t posted anything about Hurricane Sandy, and the reason is that I still haven’t been able to wrap my head around it. The day before it struck I was making my way back from the Electrolux Design Lab event in Milan, and after narrowly making a connection in Frankfurt was thrilled to have landed stateside in Newark. Only to have my flight cancelled upon arrival. Instead of holing up in a hotel for the two days the airport was already scheduled to be closed, I opted to rent a car and drive through the night to my hometown in Pittsburgh where I spent three days before finally getting a flight out. Inconvenience, that’s really the only price I had to pay.
The devastation faced by New York and New Jersey is unbelievable, the photos don’t even make sense. The level of destruction, the help needed, the cost to rebuild. All of it. I hope you’ve all done at least a little something to help out those in a world of hurt, and if you haven’t here’s a starting point. Print Aid NYC has gathered a group of artists to create a poster around the idea of light. Each will be printed in limited edition runs of 50, new pieces will be added daily, and 100% of the proceeds go toward the Mayor’s Fund For Hurricane Relief.
, written by Germano Zullo and illustrated by Albertine, is one of the best children’s books I’ve ever seen. The storyline focuses on two competing neighbors – Agenor-Agobar Poirier des Chapelles and Willigis Kittycly Junior – who are both attempting to build the bigger, better house. The home improvements start small and grow incredibly absurd, with Albertine’s illustrations playing the star and Zullo’s sparse words assisting. The best part about 
