About a month ago I was contacted by an intern from Lulu who asked if I was interested in creating and reviewing one of their new photo books. And what timing … .You see, as luck would have it, I’d already started brainstorming Christmas gift ideas and creating a souvenir photo book of my nephew’s...Read More
It’s Black Friday and nothing says Christmas like leftover turkey sandwiches, shopping lists and Christmas-season bargains … yes, even here in southern Italy. No, no, our Thanksgiving was quiet this year … just a small lunch with a couple of friends, and with any luck by the time you read this post, I’ll be at...Read More
It’s eerily intimate to read about the history, stories and legends of your home, to see in print the cities and towns that are in your backyard and to understand the culture that is unfolding before you in black and white. No, I’m not Calabrese, or even Italian, by heritage, but I couldn’t help but...Read More
Many expats-especially those of us who fancy ourselves writers, dream of publishing a book about our experiences. One ex-expat in Umbria, Justine van der Leun, has done just that.Read More
Whoever chose December-the final month of the year-as the time to celebrate the holidays, buy and wrap presents and cook for family and friends probably didn’t own their own business-and relaunch their website during the week of Italy’s first festa of the holiday season. I’m just saying … the holidays could come at a better...Read More
Italian Christmas Lights in Squillace, Calabria Italy Christmas traditions are a little different from the ones we have in the states. In addition to the less-obvious decorations and Christmas cheer, they also celebrate key dates we tend to overlook. The Italians began their Christmas season this week by celebrating the Feast of Immaculate Conception (of...Read More
Welcome to Settimana dell’ Amore. In anticipation of the impending lovefest holiday this week and because I am anxious to share the love with My Bella Vita readers, this week is all about love. To kick off the event, I’d like to congratulate the winner of the book giveaway … NYC/ Caribbean Ragazza I hope...Read More
It is that time of year again. The post-holiday letdown and mid-Winter blues have many of us feeling just. a tad. sad. Well, cheer up because I’ve been itchin’ to have another giveaway here on My Bella Vita and the graciously talented newly-anointed Texan, Nadine Zawacki of Just Being Me has agreed to help. In...Read More
Christmas Eve, or La Vigilia, is one of the biggest feast days in Italy … but, wait. We’ve already talked about that, haven’t we? Known as “The Feast of the Seven Fishes” because southern Italians traditionally served seven different types of seafood, this custom has been passed throughout generations of Italian-Americans, written about and blogged...Read More
Who by Fire. This book has been blazing the blogosphere lately, with giveaways, author interviews and guest posts popping up at many of my favorite sites. The book sounds fantastic – there is crime, there is love, there is family … but is there forgiveness? Well, I don’t know. I haven’t read the book...Read More
