Valentina

What If I Dined With Casanova? | Valentina Cirasola | Interior Designer

04 Jun 2018 2 Comments

by Valentina in Home Designs Master Tags: #18thCenturyFurniture, #ElegantDiningTable, #RococoStyle, #VenetianStyle, #VenetianStyleDining

If I had received the letter of introduction as it was customary in the XVIII Century among noble circles of Europe, I would be invited to dine with Casanova in a chic setting only reserved for the élite.

Knowing him as a womanizer, the task of keeping women away from him would be difficult but not impossible. His weakness lays in his developed sense of opulent fashion, playful Rococo furniture, home décor and expensive objects, it would be easy to distract him from women with subjects of refined culture. Casanova, a multitalented, multilingual intellectual and a keen observer of society loved to spend time conversing about literature, history, music, fashion and food of the world. I have something in common with Casanova, we both like great minds and thinkers, we would be dining with Voltaire, Jean Jacques Rousseau, Benjamin Franklin, King George III of England, a few Popes and many more intellectuals of the XVIII Century. Our dining conversations would happen in a 1730s Venetians interior where the walls are covered with masterful, opulent and occasionally frivolous paintings.

(Click on each photo to view it larger)

The Ridotto of Palazzo Dandolo by Francesco Guardi

Ecritoire – French – ébéniste Pierre Macrette- circa 1750

Rococo Arm Chair – Venice, Italy – circa 1750

Telescoping Spyglasses and Time Piece

Casanova came from a humble background. His mother left him at a young age to pursue the career of an actress, but as soon he understood what kind of luxury life was hidden in those Venetians palazzi, he made sure to win the sympathy and trust of the aristocrats of all circles.

He developed a taste for luxurious objects, among which he enumerated women. Dining was a pastime, as it is today and one of my favorite pastimes as well. I would have loved to see how high society embraced the service à la Françaises, meaning each dish was placed on the dining table and passed around among the guests. Casanova and I are both into high-class dining. On our dining table I envision display of beautiful silver serving vessels and ceramic terrines in the shape of exotic animals. Discovering new distant lands brought exotic food and spices in European courts and dining tables of nobles. However, a terrine in the shape of an elephant or a turkey didn’t mean inside there was the meat of an elephant or turkey. The table fashion was highly stylish, extravagant and exquisite, exactly the way I envisioned it if I was dining with Casanova.

If I dined with Casanova I would have the servants prepare the food he loved served in refined dishes: “macaroni prepared by a good Neapolitan cook, a well-creamed cod, perfectly hung game, and buttery cheeses”, so he wrote.

Various Serving Terrines

After dinner, we would have a card game with the famous people invited to dine with us.

Card Game

Casanova often talked about his audacious adventures with women of all ages and social status. He got involved in just as audacious business opportunities, some of them illegal. His adventures produced twelve volumes of “The Story of My Life”. His life was everything but a generic life, he lived recklessly and didn’t fit in any standard canons. “Libertine” was a new word coined for men like him, who rejected constriction of marriage, favored adultery and sexual conquests. I guess he had a lot to talk in his books and probably twelve volumes barely covered only a short period of his life. The first complete version of his writing without redaction of all scandalous details was published in 1960.

I wondered how many times Casanova visited a lady’s boudoir during her morning ablutions and flirted with the maid as well.

Getting Dressed

(All photos taken by Valentina Cirasola at the Legion of Honor Museum, San Francisco)

Well, it was amusing to fantasize about Casanova inviting me to dinner while I was going through the exhibition. In my previous lives I must have lived in Venice, somehow, he is very familiar to me. There is a thread that unites us, I don’t know what it is, maybe I was a libertine too and maybe I liked to weave intrigues in those opulent rooms of Venetians palazzi. Ciao,
Valentina
http://www.valentinadesigns.com

Valentina Cirasola is an Italian Interior and Fashion Designer, working in the USA and Europe. She loves to remodel homes and loves to create the unusual, as much as she likes to restyle people’s images. She is a story teller and finds inspirations everywhere to write her stories. She needs your story to design your dream. She is a public speaker, a mentor and author. Check out her books on

Barnes&Nobles: http://goo.gl/q7dQ3w

Backyard Paradise | Valentina Cirasola | Interior Designer

01 Jun 2018 2 Comments

by Valentina in Home Designs Master Tags: #BackyardDesigns, #BackyardRenovation, #GardenViews, #GardenWallsBeautification, #PrintedGardenViews

It’s time to invite in beautiful garden views and say goodbye to any fence, walls or dividers that are plain unattractive. Would you like to sit in your garden without seeing the fence or the retaining wall between your home and your neighbor? Look at this photograph carefully. The fire pit, the seating and the steps are all real, all the greenery and the flowers are not. That is an image printed on a stone wall between two homes.
(Click on each images to view it larger).

Do you have a favorite vacation image you want to look at all the time?
Do you have a picture of the place you got married?
Do you have your favorite zoo images?
Would you like to reproduce in your entry an image from the Versailles Palace?

You can. Anything is possible with this printing technique. What are the advantages and why is it better than murals or trompe-l’oeil? You might ask.

1. If you have a garden view with flowers and vegetation, it helps conserving water, because there are no flower and plants to water. If you have a water scene, you don’t have to change the water to keep it clean.
2. The images are printed on panels easy to roll away with a change of season and mood. If you are handy, it’s a super easy to do it even by yourself.
3. The product is fire-retardant, anti-mold, washable with water, weather resistant and hard to destroy.

In the Before and After photo of the pool area, you can see an empty wall turned to a water view. Once the real water filled the pool, the vignette looks cohesive, as if that pool is looking over a lake. Pretty impressive!

In this next photo the cacti, the lawn and the chairs are real, but the view of the Canyon is not.

(Photo courtesy of Wall Sensations. Permission granted)

I took many pictures of flamingos at San Diego zoo. I want this image on my garden fence, so I can enjoy every day the memories of these colorful and elegant creatures, they impressed me so much.

I invited the company Wall Sensations to my TV show, two handsome lads came to explain to the audience their innovative idea and product. if you want to watch the show, click here – https://youtu.be/uUM10Rw6p0s
Ciao,
Valentina
http://www.valentinadesigns.com

As an Italian designer and true to my origins, I am well-known to bring originality to people’s homes, but that’s not where I stop. Being a curious person, any situation is a perfect opportunity to design something out of the ordinary.
I draw my inspiration from anywhere. Check out my three books on
Barnes&Nobles: http://goo.gl/q7dQ3w

Marrying In May Like A Royal | Valentina Cirasola | Designer

18 May 2018 Leave a comment

by Valentina in Friday Fashion Tags: #FormalWeddings, #MayWeddings, #NaturalFeelWedding, #WeddingDesign, #WeddingFlowers

My seamstress shop this month is filled from wall to wall with brides of all shapes and colors trying their bridal gowns on. Some of the dresses I saw while I was waiting, I would have not worn to a dog fight, others were the wrong style for the bride’s shape and, maybe only one, I would have approved. It was funny to see how some brides don’t think much of themselves, they put on anything as long as resembles a wedding gown. Getting married is one of the most important days in a woman’s life, especially if it is the first time, the bridal gown should be spectacular and enhance the best feature of a bride.

May is the preferred month to get married. May is fresh, the air is fizzy, flowers are in all in bloom, colors of nature are sharp, and everything smells good, the choice of flowers is perfect this month.
A British historic wedding is just about ready to happen. What if you want to get married like a royal, what would you do?

Let’s start from the invitations. If your wedding is more than a bunch of friends in jeans meeting at the beach, the invitations should describe the proper attire required for the ocasion.
Morning Coat, Lounge Suit or Black Tie for men and Day Dress with Hat for women. A night-time wedding does not require a hat.

There are rules to learn for wearing a hat. Your guests should choose a hat that does not block everybody’s view. Large brims and convoluted designs yes, are fine, as long as the hat is made with a see-through fabric and must not resemble too much like the mother of the bride’s hat. Usually a hat matches the color of the garment, a strong color outfit requires a strong color hat. This is not a set rule, often it is done this way. Wear the hat tilted to the right of the face, that’s is the proper way. I didn’t learn this anywhere, just felt right to wear my hats tilted on the right. Never take the hat off, not even at the dining table, unless the wedding reception is over.

(Click on each photo to view it larger).

A pair of gloves is one thing a bride should never be without. Truly, I would love to see women wearing gloves again and not only for formal affairs. Wearing gloves changes the character and the posture of a woman. With gloves, there are no sneakers, ripped jeans, messy hair, or mismatched colors.
I think gloves adds a touch of class and femininity, although, I am not so sure young women these days want to be feminine anymore. There is, however, in the crowd of middle age women, a new growing sensitivity towards dressing up in style.

As for the flower creations, keep it natural, don’t use flowers with strong scents, some people have allergy to flowers, keep a relaxed feel, be in tune with the gentle nature of May flowers. Some peonies are not fragrant, just look very beautiful and plump, mix them with silver birch stems with foliage and royal fern. I learned that’s what the British will do for a coming wedding.

(Below: Royal fern https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osmundaceae)

I also learned that a yellow gold is the preferred metal for wedding band to attract the positive energy of the sun on you. Welsh mines produce the most valuable yellow gold, for your information. You don’t have to go that far to get the best wedding ring, any yellow gold will do the job and if it has some yellow diamond in it, more power to you.

In a royal wedding, when trumpets play, you know something is happening, either the Queen/King has arrived, or the bride is at the church’s steps. In your wedding, plan to have some musical instruments playing your grand entry. The sweet music of many violins played a classical music announcing the arrival of one of my clients at her wedding ceremony and it was magical.

I have played with the idea of having a royal wedding, why not? It is not forbidden to dream. We know what happens to people who dream big, they end up living in a castle with a prince consort.
Your wedding can be as royal as you make it with pompous and circumstances. You can tone it down or make it as visible as you like. The important thing is to organize your wedding to reflect who both of you are as a couple starting a new life, how you want your guests to feel in your special day and that you the bride look radiant. Ciao,
Valentina
https://valentinadesigns.com/services#fashion-services

Valentina Cirasola is a trained Fashion and Interior Designer, born in Italy in a family of artists. Style surrounded her since the beginning of her life. Her many years of experience led her to offer consultations in both specializations and now she can remodel homes as well as personal images. She is passionate about colors and encourages her clients to express their individual style in their homes and with the clothes they wear.To better help people all over the world she offers consultations online. She is the author of three books. Get your copy of Valentina’s book on colors: ©RED-A Voyage Into Colors on
Barnes&Nobles: http://goo.gl/q7dQ3w

What The Iris Tells You | Valentina Cirasola | Designer

12 May 2018 Leave a comment

by Valentina in Friday Fashion Tags: #HairColors, #HairStyle, #HairStylistProfession, #MatchinHairToBodyShape, Fashion

Often, famous people inspire us, we want to be like them, wear the same style of clothes, shape, and color our hair the way they do, or copy other aspects of their personality. That’s what magazines do, portray artificial beauty to sell cosmetics, fashion and plastic surgery. In real life, those famous people, might not be so attractive… Before copying someone else’s style, stop and think, is the style of that famous person good for you? Does it suit your personality or character? Does it improve your look? Our uniqueness distinguishes us from everybody else, knowing how to exalt it and correct some defects in the body is an art.

Usually, a person will match the colors of the clothes to the skin color/texture, to the color of hair/eyes and to the body shape. We do the same when we decide on a new haircut and color, but this is not enough. I think a hairdresser is like a tailor, they both cut according to the body shape and create something custom that only fits that person. However, this is not always true with hairdressers. I met a lot of incompetent people who, if only can hold scissors in their hands and know how to mix colors, can be considered hairdressers, resulting in so many people with a wrong haircut for their head shape.

I think hairdressers should know how to interpret the cranium’s shape of a person and design only for that cranium. Knowing the formation of a skull means knowing when to increase or decrease hair volume, where to cut and where to thin out. A hairdresser should know how to frame with the right haircut an oval-shaped face, a round face or a triangle face just by looking at the bone structure. To me, it is a logical thinking.

How about hair color? I found most of my answers to colors in the iris of the eyes, for any situation, whether I choose colors for clothes, hair, home environment and even gardens. It has been said the eyes are the mirror to the soul and that’s the reason I draw inspiration from them. The nuances of the iris suggest which shade or highlight to give to the hair for a natural look or a nice three-dimensionality.

Kalea Jerielle Unsplash

A dark eye might have an iris with a yellow tint, a copper tone, or red nuances, one of those is the highlight to use on the hair. A light color eye might have an iris with a dark blue ring, a Chartreuse ring, or even a purple ring and grey/brown nuance. One of these will be the nuance of the hair.

In my youth, I knew an Egyptian woman transplanted in Italy, living next door from my family. She had one purple eye with a visible yellow splash in the iris and the other eye was yellow-green with a purple iris, all this rarity set in an olive color skin. Aside from her beautiful eyes, I can never forget how she matched the color of her clothes to show the gift of her rare eye colors.

As I always say, fashion harmonies our body, hair too must balance the rest of us, therefore turn your unique self in your power, harvest it, preserve it and celebrate it, no matter what the age. Ciao,
Valentina
https://valentinadesigns.com/services#fashion-services

Valentina Cirasola is a trained Fashion and Interior Designer, born in Italy in a family of artists. Style surrounded her since the beginning of her life. Her many years of experience led her to offer consultations in both specializations and now she can remodel homes as well as personal images. She is passionate about colors and encourages her clients to express their individual style in their homes and with the clothes they wear. To better help people all over the world, she offers consultations online. She is the author of three books. Get your copy of Valentina’s book on colors: ©RED-A Voyage Into Colors on
Amazon: http://goo.gl/xUZfk0
Barnes&Nobles: http://goo.gl/q7dQ3w

Life Happens | Valentina Cirasola | Designer

09 May 2018 4 Comments

by Valentina in The Good Life Tags: #DealingWithPain, #Ergonomic, #FoodTherapy, #Inspirational, #LifeIssue

Being surprised? I don’t like it at all, especially if it disrupt the regular course of my life.
Six months ago, I woke up with locked fingers on the right hand and no pain. What the heck is this I thought with stupor? I wanted to take a hammer a beat it to get it open, but I did not. I massaged it instead until the finger warmed up and opened. I didn’t think anything was wrong and went on doing the usual. The next day, I woke up and there it was, a locked finger again and for the next three days it happened every morning. Irritated enough I visited a doctor. The diagnose was Dupuytren’s Contracture, a shortened of a tendon that commonly happens in men from the North of Europe. What does it have to do with me? I am a female and from the southern Europe. It wasn’t it. Apparently, computer work, a load of hours on the computer can trigger this ergonomic problem and I am culpable of that, I admit it.

I refused any medication and decided to go with natural medicine. Six months later, many essential oils applications, a new Contour roller mouse at a whopping $265 that I can use with both hands, acupuncture, hand therapy, a costly splinter, and a lot of natural remedy, I am still at the starting point. The finger hurts like hell, the splinter is in the way (of course, the idea is to prevent the hand from closing and grab something) and my life seem to have taken a sabbatical. I put on slow motion writing blogs and other things I do. Cutting with a knife is difficult, my cooking has been affected.
I drive a stick shift car, thus driving has become challenging. At a young age, I learned to do my manicure and pedicure, which I used to do in about an hour for both, now with this ergonomic problem I enjoy the tears more than the manicure itself. Drawing for my work, knitting and sewing is totally out of the question. My garden….is growing, but in the wrong direction. It’s so hard to believe one finger can cause all of this and it is so uncharacteristic of me to write about it.
(Click on each photo to view it larger).

In Europe when someone is incapacitated, even temporarily, there are all kinds of home services one can draw from, such as hairdresser, manicure-pedicure, doctors, nurses, cooks, tailors, even a daily grocery arrives at home with only a phone call. They are convenient home services that alleviate small and large problems. In America if life happens we are on our own.

Life sometimes plays tricks on us when we are the least prepared. Just six months ago I was like a train going at a 1000 mile per hour. Now, I have to be thankful for all the activities I can do even in slow motion.

However, it is not the end. I am stubborn and pain resistant.
While I am repairing my finger, I am editing my studio and my house heavily, something I have wanted to do for a long time. Getting rid of things no longer needed is important to breath, feel free and allow a new energy in my spaces.
My clothes are a hard to eliminate. I have unique and original clothes, it’s very difficult to get rid of them, of well… they will go under a heavy chop as well.

By the time this blog is published I will be on the plane going to far away lands.

I will be roaming on cobble stones again.

I will eat spectacular seafood dishes every day.

I can smell the sea from here.

Tasting food is my primary goal during my trips, I will meet nice people in beautiful panoramas and will discover new things. I will stay away from emails, social sites, no blog, no phone calls, no computer, only me, my camera and occasional travel notes. Forgetting the world will be one way to forget my painful finger.
“Loving myself is my magical wand” ~ Louise Hay.
Life happens…..the only way to cope is to deal with it. Ciao,
Valentina
https://valentinaexpressions.com/trips-to-puglia-2/

As a writer and cultural promoter of Puglia, her native land, Valentina’s intention is to let readers feel and experience a new ”wheel of emotions”. She wants to encourage them to visit areas of Italy not beaten by massive tourism. Through stories of local customs, art, architecture, fashion, food-wines, shopping, she wants them to create their special adventures and live it up in Puglia! Check out her books on
Barnes&Nobles: http://goo.gl/q7dQ3w

Saint Nicholas Of Bari Is Loved In Russia | Valentina Cirasola | Designer

04 May 2018 2 Comments

by Valentina in The Good Life Tags: #BariPuglia, #BariSaintNicholasBasilica, #BariSaintNicholasCelebrations, #HistoryOfSaintNicholas, #SaintNicholas

Last year part of the Saint Nicholas relics, a fragment of about 7″ of his left ribs to be exact, was packed up in a glass case, enveloped in a fabric decorated with precious embroidered reliefs and shipped to Russia with a pompous ceremony. Orthodox chants, the sound of church’s bells and an escort of high ranking Italian state police saluted the relics on the Italian side. The fragment boarded a private Russian plane and was received on the Russian side with the same formality and high government officials. The relics went to Moscow then to St.Petersburg and remained until the end of July. The guests of my trip visiting Bari last year didn’t get to see it in the Basilica.
(Click on each photo to view it larger).

Photo taken by Valentina Cirasola, from a private lithograph.

930 years ago mariners from Bari took Saint Nicholas’s remaining and transferred it from Turkey to Bari, where it reposed in the Basilica of old Bari.
Saint Nicholas is one of the most venerated saint in the Catholic, Orthodox Churches and in the Christian world.

The Venetians, during the first Crusade in 1099, also subtracted the rest of the bones from Saint Nicholas’s tomb, that the mariners from Bari missed to take and are are now kept in San Nicolo’ Abbey of Lido. Saint Nicholas became the protector of Venice’s fleet.

Why Saint Nicholas is so important to so many religions? He was born in 270 a.C. in Patara of Licia in Turkey from a wealthy Greek family. The plague struck both of his parents and he was left with an enormous patrimony at a very young age, which he distributed among the poor. He moved to Myra in Turkey, became a priest and later bishop of Myra. He lived his life as the benefactor of the poor and defrauded. Due to his commitment he was persecuted and imprisoned under Emperor Diocletian, freed years later under Emperor Constantine.

One of the many legends says that Nicholas heard about a rich man who lost all his wealth and could not marry his three daughters anymore with a decent dowry Due to the new social status, the man wanted to start his three daughters to prostitution. Saint Nicholas took a good amount of money, wrapped it in a cloth and, on three consecutive nights, when nobody was watching, threw the money into the man’s house. Nicholas made sure the three daughters had the dowry for marriage.

(Above: Russian Orthodox praying in the Saint Nicholas’s Crypt – Bari, Italy)

Bari – Vaults at San Nicholas, Bari

(Above; Exterior façade of Saint Nicholas Basilica, Bari, Italy)

The city of Bari, by lending the relic to Russia and through many previous actions, has demonstrated through the centuries to be a good bridge between the East and the West. With this gesture Bari is sending a message of peace between the religions.
Today Saint Nicholas Basilica in the old Bari welcomes the Orthodox pilgrims that want to venerate its relics, both Orthodox and Catholics share prayers in the crypt and the space in the Basilica with various ceremonies.

Photo found on Bari Today

May 8th will be a huge Saint Nicholas celebration in Bari, it will go on for 2-3 days and the statue of Saint Nicholas will be taken on the boat at sea.
Many fishermen will compete in a hard city selection to determine which will be the best boat that will take the statue at sea. It’s an impressive celebration, a long suggestive historic procession to celebrate the patron of Bari. Pilgrims come from far away places, some even on foot and a year of preparation for concerts, vending kiosks, organization of city traffic, processions and street prayers will be finally over.

When I was 5 or 6 years old, my brother and I lost our parents in the heavy crowd of this festivity. A policeman found us and took us in the police station, propped us in front of a TV, gave us some munchies and waited for our parents to claim us. Two hours later, maybe earlier, it sure seemed a long time, our parents came all distraught and preoccupied. We were disappointed to see them, we had to go home and no more TV, but on the way home, inside of us, we felt safe and loved. That night nothing was going to bother us. I will always remember that San Nicholas’s Day.

If you are in Puglia at this time, do not miss this May 8th historical event. Ciao.
Valentina
https://valentinaexpressions.com/trips-to-puglia-2/

Traveling With A Brain | Valentina Cirasola | Designer

01 May 2018 2 Comments

by Valentina in The Good Life Tags: #ItalianProducts, #ItalyandTourism, #ItalyExperience, #TravelItaly, #TravellingTips, #TravelPuglia

The article I read today on traveling to Italy didn’t come as a surprise, I had heard the same news in a program on the Italian TV station a few months ago. The article talks about Venice, Capri, Lake Garda, the Emerald coast in Sardinia and more sites which tourists stumble upon mindlessly and carelessly. Read the article here.
https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/953108/venice-tourism-italy-crackdown-capri-lake-garda

Tourists have targeted some historical Italian cities, partly because of the activities Hollywood brought to Italy, such as filming in certain locations, actors buying beautiful Italian properties, or vacationing on Italian territory, but also because with the increase of low-cost air fares, anybody can afford to discover far away lands. Although Italy likes and wants tourists, the nation can no longer bear the influx of millions of tourists a year. The streets are small, the infrastructures frail and the onset of B&Bs, hotels, restaurants with tourist menus and Chinese low-cost souvenirs, did nothing more than uproot the local people. Local people can no longer buy goods of ‘prime necessity’, such as bread, pasta, milk, fruit, meat, medicine, clothing, go to the doctor or send kids to schools. They have been forced out of the city for other living accommodation in neighboring villages and small towns, leaving Venice in the hands of tourists, who are only interested in taking the usual boring photos in Piazza San Marco with the pigeons, eat power bars, or disgusting food in tourist restaurants, buy souvenirs of no value in Chinese shops, go to the bathroom, choke the city sewers and go away to the next destination.

The Italian city officials want to set up check points, crowd control measures and limit the daily entry to the most popular cities to a certain amount of tourists.
I don’t blame them for wanting to adopt such drastic measures, local life of natives has disappeared, natives need to return and regain their cities.

(Venice crowded streets)
(Venice crowded canals)
Crowding the most famous cities in the world is not a way to travel. This is not smart traveling using the brain, this is some game travel agencies and tour operators want to play to the detriment of the historical Italian cities.

People of the world only move from country to country as fast as they can, vacation time is short and want to see as much as they can, so they can say to have been there. However, when they return to their home base, don’t even know what they have seen and where that thing was. This is not traveling, this is moving a heard of people like cows.
Traveling is a different thing all together, is experiencing how people live and what they do in their daily routine. Traveling is about learning history and discovering what tickles the locals, what they eat and what excites them, what the nation produces and how is produced. Traveling is also helping a farmer and learn some agriculture technique, then plant something from that country in your own backyard. Traveling is learning a language on the spot or improving the knowledge speaking with the locals. Traveling is experiencing a theatre representation, or do some different culture activity that generally one wouldn’t do at home.

Do these travelers in flip-flops, short pants and stupid t-shirts know how a Ferrari is produced and where the factory is? Do they ever go to a fashion show, visit a fashion industry, or fashion school and hold a piece of fantastic fabric in their hands? Do they know the difference between a “culatello” and a “prosciutto”?
Do they know that a prosciutto made from the left leg of the pig is better and tastier than the prosciutto made from the right leg? Do they know what is a Parmigiano made from the red cow, or what is a “chianina steak”? Do these travelers know how balsamic vinegar is made and do they know how to taste olive oil, balsamic vinegar or wines? Three different ingredients for Italian food, three different ways to taste them. Do these travelers know that gnocchi and gnocco fritto are two different things?
Would they know how to play soccer with beer caps, if they saw kids playing in the streets? Do they know that in San Gregorio Armeno is Christmas every day and can buy Christmas art made by skilled local artists to take home? Do they ever know that chocolate made with a filling of Parmigiano and balsamic vinegar is an explosion of taste buds and an experience they would never forget? How about picking some white berries, which I am sure they have never seen before?

Flocking only to the most popular cities is not the way to go. If travelers would take a detour and go visit some of the places where Italians make products, they would love the experience of traveling so much better and they wouldn’t face any crowd at all.
It has been said “Travel is the only thing you buy that makes you richer” and
“The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but having new eyes.”

I don’t go where the mass go, I totally dislike crowded places and bad services.
I find my way outside the beaten path and I take smart travelers with me, those people who can live it up, learn new ways, new things, have fun discovering and become better people. There is so much to see in the world, why go where everybody goes? Go to Italy, select one not publicized area and discover all there is to know in that area. Vacation time is precious, don’t waste it with bad food, irritable people, long lines, high prices and tourist traps. Ciao,
Valentina
https://valentinaexpressions.com/trips-to-puglia-2/

As a writer and cultural promoter of Puglia, her native land, Valentina’s intention is to let readers feel and experience a new ”wheel of emotions”. She wants to encourage them to visit areas of Italy not beaten by massive tourism. Through stories of local customs, art, architecture, fashion, food-wines, shopping, she wants them to create their special adventures and live it up in Puglia!
Check out her books on Barnes&Nobles: http://goo.gl/q7dQ3w

April Light | Valentina Cirasola | Designer

15 Apr 2018 Leave a comment

by Valentina in Friday Fashion Tags: #2018YellowSulphure, #YellowClothes, #YellowColor, #YellowEnergy, #YellowFashion

Light is delicate, the air is fizzy, flowers are in bloom, nature is crisp, I am pondering light thoughts and seeing dreams. This is April in a whole new light.

In Europe, in April we exchanged the wardrobe, lighter weight clothes came down from the top of the wardrobe and we put winter clothes back in boxes well cleaned and ironed, ready for the next season.
In April we wore pastels and lighter color clothes, we wanted to blend in with the fresh nature. We wore layers of clothes to fight cold winters and slowly, by the time April rolled in, we shed a few layers. Shedding layers of clothes happened before global warming, when all seasons followed each other punctually to the dates established by nature itself. Now, living in California, the clothes I wear are the same winter and summer, seasons do not exist anymore. With the exception of a few rainy days, it is always Spring-like here, even in the winter. Summer time might turn windy and cold one week and suddenly the next week the temperature becomes torrid and unbearable. I don’t complain about sunny days all year round, I should complain more about the price we pay for living here in a sunny region.

April is the first month of the year I get rid of things in my wardrobe, then in September again.
In April I open the windows to possibilities and keep my studio window open to let in the scent of my orange blossoms. I am blessed to work around blooming fruit trees, while somewhere else the world might be still under snow.
In April must free the body from winter toxins, make new friends and prepare to expat for a while from the routine.

April is the month of two zodiac signs, Aries and Taurus, both passionate about the light of their birthstones.
Aries rules with the warm light of yellow diamond, opal and sapphire on the cool side of the spectrum; Taurus dominates with its warm light from topaz, jasper, amber, coral, garnet, with turquoise and emerald on the cool side. If you want to wear yellow, combine it with all these jewel colors I just mentioned.

(Click on each photo to view them larger).

My April light comes from yellow. I made these two sweaters, one with cool blue rosettes and the other with avocado green threads intertwined with pale yellow. Pardon me, if every so often I shamelessly advertise them, they are in my Etsy store: https://www.etsy.com/shop/ValentinaExpressions

Yes, I am blond and wear a lot of yellow, it makes me feel kissed by the sun. Often, I hear women saying they can’t wear this or that color because it blends too much with the color of their hair. What about women with dark hair wearing dark colors? Doesn’t that blend with the hair? So, it’s a myth. If you like something and looks good, wear it. Ciao,
Valentina
https://valentinadesigns.com/services#fashion-services

Valentina Cirasola is a trained Fashion and Interior Designer, born in Italy in a family of artists. Style surrounded her since the beginning of her life. Her many years of experience led her to offer consultations in both specializations and now she can remodel homes as well as personal images. She is passionate about colors and encourages her clients to express their individual style in their homes and with the clothes they wear. To better help people all over the world she offers consultations online. She is the author of three books.
Get your copy of Valentina’s book on colors: ©RED-A Voyage Into Colors on
Barnes&Nobles: http://goo.gl/q7dQ3w

Yellow Everywhere | Valentina Cirasola | Interior Designer

11 Apr 2018 Leave a comment

by Valentina in Home Designs Master Tags: #MarbleFloor, #YellowColor, #YellowColorScheme, #YellowDecor, #YellowEnergy, #YellowStones

During my color talk seminars, I hear, to my surprise, many negative comments about colors. Some people don’t wear orange, they associate it with prison orange. Others don’t wear yellow because it makes them feel jaundice. Green makes some people feel potted and Red, oh my…., let’s not use red because it is too bright, too bold, too everything…..it might excites someone….

Why don’t we start looking at colors as pieces of jewels or tasty food, instead?
Orange: agate stone or healthy orange juice.
Yellow: rare yellow diamond or yellow grape.
Green: emerald or green leafy vegetables.
Red: ruby or juicy strawberries.
Suddenly colors become interesting and vibrate positivity. After all, we embellish our hands with these jewels, and we eat these colors, why should we not have them in our homes.

Once we give a pleasant connotation to any colors, we are encouraged to wear and live even in bold colors. The secret is to use some bold colors sparingly as simple accents to give the décor live vibrations and they will not feel “in your face” anymore.

This year Yellow is everywhere. Yellow shows you are a happy person and have lively spirit. It also says you are courageous, like to take risks and shows you are confident.

A few years ago, I created a spectacular mixed floor (photo at the top) with four kinds of marbles: Giallo di Siena (Siena gold) combined with white Carrara, green and grey cipollino marble.
The result was original. These below are the samples of that room.

What does a foyer entry charged with warm yellow and apricot say about you?

What are you waiting? Use yellow freely, it can only bring sunshine in your life.
As I always say: “Colors will change your life vibrations”. Ciao,
Valentina
http://www.valentinadesigns.com

Valentina Cirasola transforms and creates spaces realizing people’s dreams in homes, offices, interiors and exteriors. She infuses your everyday living with a certain luxury without taking away a comfortable living. Valentina is well-known for bringing originality on any project and for thinking outside the box. Her interiors are not made with cookie cutters, only follow client’s inspiration, lifestyle and personality. She offers on-line design consultations through Skype and the traditional in-house consultations, helping people with their design challenge anywhere in the world. She is the author of three books, all-available on
Barnes&Nobles: http://goo.gl/q7dQ3w

Vintage Love | Valentina Cirasola | Designer

24 Mar 2018 Leave a comment

by Valentina in Friday Fashion Tags: #Vintage, #VintageAccessories, #VintageFashion, #VintageFashionAccessories, #VintageStyle

If you go through your mom’s closet and drawers and you find stuff that belongs to another era, what do you do? Do you throw it all away if she has left this world, do you keep all or some, or are you in ecstasy seeing past fashion, trying on jewelry, imagining how it was, or maybe the events your mom went with those items?

Fashion of the past eras have exquisite details, some of the pieces are designed with extravagant fantasy, workmanship on some clothes is unrepeatable, delicate embroidery and intricate stitches are a work of many hours skilled hands dedicated to fashion. Take a look at these ‘window or perforated’ gloves to understand how small details like these were so important a few years ago.

(Click on each photo to view it larger).

(Photo found on: http://www.modaa.net/25-bayan-eldiven-modelleri-2014-2015)

My love for vintage would not allow me to ruthlessly discard anything without thinking of the way I can use it in my modern life. A pair of sabot like the salmon ones in the photos are perfect to wear with a 1950’s ankle pants with a side split. Vintage accessories add a touch of originality to the look.

I have collected my small pins in the photo below through the years, bought them at various antique shops or second hands stores and now I attach them on collars, fabric purses, at the edge of pants and around pockets of jackets or jeans. A bland sweater that has no particular interest, suddenly takes a new character.

I think a woman wardrobe becomes interesting when it comprises a good mix of modern accessories and accessories of a different era, trendy modern clothes and artsy pieces. Colors are important as breathing, one must have basic colors to go with some bold, vibrant colors. A good wardrobe is built to reflect the owner’s personality and not a replica of a department stores.

I hope you have something from the past that reminds you of someone, an event, a special moment that you keep enjoying in your life. Ciao,
Valentina
https://valentinadesigns.com/services#fashion-services

Valentina Cirasola is a trained Fashion and Interior Designer, born in Italy in a family of artists. Style surrounded her since the beginning of her life. Her many years of experience led her to offer consultations in both specializations and now she can remodel homes as well as personal images. She is passionate about colors and encourages her clients to express their individual style in their homes and with the clothes they wear.
To better help people all over the world she offers consultations online. She is the author of three books. Get your copy of Valentina’s book on colors: ©RED-A Voyage Into Colors on
Barnes&Nobles: http://goo.gl/q7dQ3w