Cause we are living in a material world...

Just for a quick minute I would like to indulge my superficial side. I'm going to dedicate this post to some of my favorite things; some new, some old. The shopping here is insane, I haven't been able to indulge like I would like to, but I'm really happy with some of my new purchases. Obviously Italy is known for some of the top designer brands, leather goods, and impeccable taste. Sometimes you'll see a ridiculously beautiful man riding a mike down the street in a three piece suit and it literally takes your breath away. The same goes for women, although my personal taste is a bit more eclectic than the understated elegance that dominates here (although I've been eyeing fur coats in the outdoor markets.... I hope one day to find the perfect one.) That being said, there are about 10 'eurotrash' looking people for every one breath taker (sculpted eyebrows are no longer an indicator for my gaydar.) Still, I have to say that Rome is, overall, a very stylish city. Italians can be very brand oriented, and although he'll deny it Gino is no different. Some of the first gifts he gave me were from Gucci, and he himself is a Prada man (his shoe collection is unreal, our closet is filled with Gucci and Prada shoe boxes.) I am a firm believer in high-low dressing. While it's good to chose some pieces (bags, shoes, sunglasses, the occasional sweater) to invest in, in general my taste changes quite quickly, and to invest a large amount of money in clothes that will wear out, go out of style, or I'll simply lose interest in.

While on my University trip, some of the girls found this incredible store called 'Brandy Melville.' Although it's an American based store (locations in L.A., Hawaii, New York, as well as here in Rome,) all of the clothes are made in Italy. It's ridiculously well priced. They sell jeans, accessories, and lots of other things, but their main focus is cotton blend t-shirts and sweaters to die for. They are really reasonably prices, usually about 25-30 euros for shirts and 30-50 for sweaters. Needless to say, it's my new obsession. There are at least three locations here that I know of and it's dangerous to my pocket book. Gino gave me some money for Christmas after I got here to buy some new clothes and I spent almost all of it at Brandy. All of the fabric is really soft, and they seem to effortlessly blend style and comfort. On my next day off I'm going to go look for some new finds. Anyways, here are a couple of my favorite that I've recently acquired.

long sleeved, jersey type cotton blend

Jim Morrison vintage style tee

Cozy sweater that I can dress up slightly, or down 

The next of my favorite things are presents from Gino when he went on some business trips. The first is a drangonfly ring he bought for me in Berlin. I think it's a really original piece, and it's really grown on me since he gave it to me. I wear it pretty often but it's a little too small, and if i fiddle with it it pinches my finger. He also gave me a 'Breakfast at Tiffany' Audrey Hepburn pendant necklace from the same shop. Although it was a really thoughtful gift because he knows that's one of my favorite movies, I have yet to figure out how to wear it.

On his last business trip to Florence (he got back yesterday) he bought me my first Prada. A new wallet that is the softest leather. It feels a lot more grown up than my last wallet, and I totally love it (the understated Italian style I was talking about.)

My next new favorite things are two new pairs of boots that were also gifted to me (I'm one spoiled ginger.) They were both on sale, half price, and I've gotten a lot of use out of both of them so far. We spent a couple of hours in a big shopping center, but I was looking for something really plain and had a really hard time finding something that I loved. Finally we came across these ones. I have to say they were a major score. The black pair were down from 210 euros. They have some reall nice details like minimal silver hard wear and a leather braid around the back of the calf. The beige pair were down from 100. They're suede and are a little harder to wear, the weather here is a lot more forgiving than in Vancouver. I think they make a nice addition to the collection since for the most part I stick to safe black boots and this helps to switch it up a little, plus I left my motorcycle boots at home.

My other new favorite things have got to be our furniture. Gino has been a bachelor for so long, and moved around quite a bit, so he had pretty much nothing when I moved in. We still need to get a new bed (ours is a serious P.O.S,) but we're recently acquired two new bedside tables, a chest of drawers, and a mirror. The mirror is sitting on top of our chest of drawers and I've turned it into a quasi-vanity with some of my cosmetics, and pictures I brought from home. It took almost a month for our furniture to be delivered, even after paying 8% extra for the delivery. It finally came at the worst possible time, after a long night at work where we had a toga party. I was insanely hung over (Jim Beam.) I was a useless lump and we had to unpack, fold, and reorganize anything. Gino (who doesn't drink) was particularly unimpressed with me. But it was worth it, and has made our house feel more like a home.

A little cluttered, still have to figure out how to hang pictures on our (mostly) cement walls.

Tin decorations from Mexico, gifts from my mom.

I started using this big shell of Gino's as a place to put my jewelry when I take it off at the end of the day. 

We still desperately need some bedside lamps, and some other little things to make it a little more homey, but this is a good start.

Anyways, thank you for indulging my materialistic side, and letting me indulge in a few of my new favorite possessions. I have the day off tomorrow so hopefully I'll be able to get some more interesting material.

xx