Valentina

Are You Getting Your Palm Twisted? | Valentina Cirasola | Author and Designer

01 Apr 2011 Leave a comment

by Valentina in The Good Life Tags: #EasterPalmDesigns, #ItalianCustoms, #ItalianEaster, #italianEasterCustoms, #ItalianHolidays, #ItalianLifeStyle, #PalmLeavesDesigns, #SouthernItalianFood

I love the religious holidays in Italy. It is time to renew our traditions, to bring family together and to teach the youngster what really matters.
(Photo palm weaving found on: http://www.italymagazine.com/news/art-palm-weaving)

About a month before Easter the “palmari” , farmers who are true palm artists start to prepare the leaves of palm trees by choosing the female leaves only, which are the longest and thinnest leaves (how do they recognize them is still a mystery to me). For a few weeks the leaves are left to dry covered with a canvas tarp, then they start twisting them in all shapes possible and they become master pieces of art. They are sold in all shoppes in Italy the week of Palm Sunday to give as a gift and a symbol of peace to friends and family members.

In history palm leaves were considered a symbol of triumph, victory and acclamation of royalties. Today they are the symbol of peace and love.
In some regions of Italy, the faithful take a branch of olive tree with the twisted palm to church to benedict them with holy water, then they place both on the Easter table well overflowing with good food.

Jesus Christ was welcomed to Jerusalem with olive branches, today they are equally used especially in areas where palm trees don’t grow. In northern Europe where even the olive trees don’t grow, this Easter tradition of giving a branch as symbol of peace continues with local leaves and flowers twisted together.

Each year Easter is defined a “low holiday” when it arrives around March and coincides with the pruning of the olive trees, or is defined as a “high holiday” when arrives around April with a warm Spring and when the olive trees might already have new green shoots.

In beautiful Sorrento, South of Italy, on Palm Sunday there is a beautiful show going on in the streets of this quaint town. Women carry in their hands colored confetti made into the shape of branches or small trees and men carry on their shoulders large branches of olive trees with small cheeses called caciocavallo attached to the branch with colored ribbons. The story goes that around 1551 many Saracens ships (Arabs) were coming to invade Sorrento, but the sea started to get agitated and shipwrecked all of them. From then on, Sorrento celebrates its peace and victory with the benediction of confetti and caciocavallo, instead of twisted palm leaves and olive branches as in the rest of Italy.

Decorating the house through the Easter month with palm leaves will bring a sense of peace and a very unusual form of art everybody will admire. The palm leaves made up this way will last for a good three months.
I love to bring original art pieces in my Clients’ homes. I can help you finding them, just leave your name in the box. Ciao,

Valentina
www.Valentinadesigns.com

Valentina Cirasola has been in business as a designer since 1990.  She has helped a variegated group of fun people realizing their dreams with homes, offices, interiors and exteriors.  She designs architectural landscape as a complement to the residential design concept as a unity. She has been described as the “colorist”.

Valentina is the author of two regional and cultural Italian cook books, available in this site on the Books page and also on these sites:
Come Mia Nonna – A Return To Simplicity – http://outskirtspress.com/ComeMiaNonna
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lnq8baaAq0M
Sins Of A Queen – Italian Appetizers and Desserts – http://outskirtspress.com/SinsOfAQueen

A Versatile Corner | Valentina Cirasola | Interior Designer

25 Mar 2011 4 Comments

by Valentina in Home Designs Master Tags: #DecoratingTips, #FrenchStyleDecorating, #FurnitureLayOut, #HomeFashion, #InteriorColors, #ValentinaInteriorsDesigns, #VersatileRoomCorner, Avaliving

As featured on Avaliving, a site for designers directed to consumers. Thank you Avaliving for choosing my project among many others. Offering design consultations on-line any where in the world without leaving my office is a new addition to my business, resulting in a huge savings for the consumers.

The Story:
Any unused corner in the house is a good opportunity to turn it into a chatting, reading, or breakfast area. Sometimes is just enough to have a bistro table, a couple of wrought iron chairs and real flower on the table to create an inviting scene.

Photo ©Valentina Cirasola

My Client had an empty corner in a large room she didn’t know what to do with it, especially because the room was a mismatch of eclectic furniture.
My goal was to create an “out of the ordinary” corner, a bit on the Bohemian French style and create vignettes in the rest of her large room that would communicate with each others while keeping each its own identity.

Each vignette would offer a certain activity: a game area, a reading area near a built-in bookshelf, a T.V. area with comfortable divans and club chairs and a conversation area.

I wanted the transformation of the space to be cohesive with these activities, I wanted to be comfortable for all the family members of all ages (family made of many women and a husband) and harmonious with all the shapes and colors.
The Client wanted to keep the majority of the mismatched furniture. That was my challenge! Some of them remained in the large room and some got relocated in other rooms. Floating furniture is something I do when I am engaged to stage a home for sale.

40 Winks Hotel London

My inspiration for the breakfast corner came from a couple of pictures I have in my library, one of which, a 1940 Hotel, particularly struck my fancy.
(Photo left: 40 Winks Hotel – London)
The room came out a colorful one, a bit nostalgic and very Bohemian in the style of romantic French. The mood is a combination of comfortable, feminine, and quirky. To some of the painted furniture I added custom jewelry as door knobs.

Photo ©Valentina Cirasola

Colors had to be vibrant! Plum, Chartreuse and golden beige, warm and cold palette always result in a playful role.

The unused corner turned out to be a versatile corner, breakfast in the morning, reading or music listening in the evening, extra seating when there is company. The unused corner is now very busy.

Do you have an unused corner in your home you don’t know what to do with it? Ask me, I have many solutions, even using the same furniture you already own, if they are in good condition. Repurposing something old becomes very new in a different space of the house and in a different light.
Leave your name in the box below and tell me how I can help you. Ciao,
Valentina

http://www.valentinadesigns.com

Valentina Cirasola is an Italian Interior Designer and former Fashion Designer, working in the USA and Europe since 1990. She blends well fashion with interior and colors the world of her clients. She has been described as “the colorist” and loves to create the unusual. She is a book author, find her on

Amazon: http://goo.gl/xUZfk0

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

Iron Power | Valentina Cirasola | Interior Designer

24 Mar 2011 8 Comments

by Valentina in Home Designs Master Tags: #HomeExteriorRemodeling, #HomeRemodeling, #IronDesign, #IronPower, #MediterraneanArchitecture, #ValentinaInteriorsDesigns

Many times I drive through neighbors for discoveries, observing what people build, or just taking pictures for fun. Many times I see beautiful homes and many more times I find remodeled homes that were exactly made into a job, without taking in consideration the surroundings, or the style of the house.

(Photo: Ballard Design)

Branding your home is just the same as your personal brand. A person with a bubbly personality mostly likely will be colorful and an earnest person most likely will wear tone down colors. Imagine the opposite and the exterior will not match the personality of the person. The same happens with homes. Sometimes I see too many details that do not fit together, or a lack of.

For more than a decade American Ranch Style homes have been transformed in Mediterranean style, just with the addition of arched windows and nothing else. But Mediterranean style is much more than that. Stones on the exterior and interior are the important elements, stone window sills, recessed windows, thick walls, wood beams and so many more details. Iron, I must say is the cherry on the cake, it is the finish touch needed to complete the authentic Mediterranean look of the house. Rustic iron, iron aged with a green patina, oil rubbed bronze and plain wrought iron all seem very hard and cold, but against the stones and wood, iron is the only detail that will fit.

Besides, with a small expenditure on iron details here and there, the house will acquire that certain established look as if it has always been there for ages, that look of a lived home where the walls can talk, instead of the “propped up and finished yesterday” look. I am all for history and traditions.
Creating iron details in most critical areas is not very expensive, especially if all the work is done at once, volume counts and you get to see the results right away, but you also will benefit from the increased value of the house if you decide to sell it later.

What are the areas to improve with iron creations if your goal is to have a Mediterranean looking home? Let’s start at the front door by adding stones all around a solid wood door with all iron lighting and accessories. OK the iron crest over the door in this photo (top) is a bit too much, but your home is your castle, who can say different?
(Monogrammed Door Knocker-Horchow)

I love door knockers, I use them for decorations on garden walls, on doors different from the entry door and even as interior decorations. I have one on the kitchen wall, when I knock it, is to tell dinner is ready.

Not all the windows need a trellis. The trellis in this photo indicates the room is special and needs a special treatment. Use trellis as an accent, only to multiply the pleasure of being inside or near that particular room.
Planters add interest on the exterior walls, but also allow some climbing plants to take curvy shapes up against the wall, while forming a playful nature.

(Photo: Trellis over Window – http://www.horchow.com/English-Overdoor-Trellis/cprod31840203/p.prod)

Photo © Valentina Cirasola

Let’s not forget a gate. An iron gate will give the house an aura of elegant mystery especially if you need to ring in to enter and someone answer “I am the governess”.
Well OK this fantasy might not be too unreal for a few elected ones, but iron gates look very nice on smaller homes too. Of course the design of the gate itself must be proportioned to the size of the house.

These are a few suggestions to guide you through thinking what upgrading you can do in your home. I produce designs for any kind of iron solutions that are fabricated by my trusted iron workers. Let me know if I can assist you with many more suggestions, just leave your name in the box.

I offer consultations on-line through Skype line and in the traditional face-to-face consultation in your home. Ciao,
Valentina

http://www.valentinadesigns.com

Valentina Cirasola has been in business as a designer since 1990. She has helped a variegated group of fun people realizing their dreams with homes, offices, interiors and exteriors. She is a designer well-known to bring originality to people’s homes. As an Italian designer and true to her origins, she provides only the best workmanship and design solutions. She is a book author. Find her books on
Amazon: http://goo.gl/xUZfk0
Barnes&Nobles: http://goo.gl/q7dQ3w

Centuries Old Mediterranean Diet | Valentina Cirasola | Author and Designer

20 Mar 2011 Leave a comment

by Valentina in The Good Life Tags: #ComeMiaNonnaReturnToSimplicity, #ItalianFood, #ItalianTableCustom, #MediterraneanDiet, #ValentinaCirasolaAuthor

As the economy has turned considerably sour, there has been some serious thinking going on in people’s minds and many have really shifted their thinking about what is really important and what matters to them.

(Click on each photo to view it larger).

As a designer I have seen lot of kitchens being remodeled and rooms around the kitchen, family room, great room, dining room and even wine cellar to assure more comfort while we are staying at home. I have noticed that people are not eating out as much, but cooking and eating at home, making a meal together has become a social activity and planting food in the backyard to get more natural healthy food seems a new necessity. Suddenly family, friends and times we share have taken center stage in people’s life.

I read that at the Harokopio University in Greece, researchers examined 50 published studies and more than half a million people who went under test and found that those who followed a traditional Mediterranean diet had a less risk of developing the metabolic syndrome which is the combination of conditions that increases the chances of heart disease, stroke and diabetes.

Mediterranean diet is made of all those foods the industry of “loosing weight” tells us not to eat: carbohydrate in general, grains, sugar, chocolates, wines, even fruit and so on. Have they realized that our body needs all the elements of the nutrition, oils, fat, carbohydrate, cheese, meat, salt, sugar and so on?
The key of the Mediterranean diet is quantity and portions, not elimination of one or more nutrients.

For example 2 oz. of pasta per person once a week, as I mentioned in both of my books, is not a tragedy, but a huge plate of pasta with all the condiments, the toppings and the cheese is. Butter, another example. Anything cooked in butter tastes luscious, but if we substitute it with olive oil, even when making cakes and sweets, we get the antioxidant from the olives and the monounsaturated fat, which is very good for the heart. On that note, eat olives as much as you can, any time of the day and all types, use olive oil on your skin anytime you can, you will see that your skin will turn soft and supple very soon. My grandfather used olive oil on his hair, they turned white, but he had a voluminous and thick hair until the last moment.

In the Mediterranean diet all meals end with fruit and not with sweets. If there is no more room in the stomach for a piece of fruit at the end of the meal, then it would be best to eat it before the meal. Fruit plays a major role in detoxifying the system, supplying a great deal of energy for activities of everyday life and especially when people are in the process of loosing weight.

The consumption of food variety in the Mediterranean diet evolves in the following fashion:
A. Daily consumption of fruits, vegetables, whole grain cereals, and low-fat dairy products, meaning all the cheeses containing water, such as fresh mozzarella sold in water, fresh ricotta, robiola, taleggio and chèvre cheeses, just to mention a few;
B. Weekly consumption of fish, poultry, nuts, and legumes;
C. Red meat intake is kept to a minimum, a couple of times a week;
D. A moderate daily consumption of wine or other alcoholic beverages, always with meals.

Do not overlook all the legumes, they contain all the proteins the meat has without the animal fat. In my second book ©Sins Of A Queen I touch on this subject:
“All beans contain oligosaccharides sugar (simple sugar found in carbohydrate) that the human body cannot process. The lining of the small intestine cannot break down and absorbed the large molecule of oligosaccharides, because the body does not produce the enzyme that breaks them down. Many people have problems when eating beans. Adding a hand full of bay leaves to the beans during cooking helps the digestion immensely”.

In my first book “ ©Come Mia Nonna – A Return To Simplicity, I talk about the value of some overlooked vegetables:
“Spring onions are energetic.
Celery is diuretic. It is also good dipped in red wine.
Chicory, or dandelion is diuretic, tonic, a cleansing and a laxative.
Artichoke reinforces the liver and prevents diseases of the liver.
Fennel is much used in pharmaceutical industry as an aromatic substance and is a good source of water.
Lettuce is calming.
Radishes is stimulating, modest in nourishing value, but rich in vitamin C.
No wonder we eat so much of all this! “

Eat and drink purple things anytime you can. Red wine, concord grapes, blueberries, eggplant, purple cabbage, purple cauliflower. That deep rich color come from polyphenols-compounds (antioxidant), which reduce heart disease risk and may even protect against Alzheimer’s disease, according to new research.

Our ancestors did not know sodas. Skip soda, even the diet type. Scientists recently found that the caramel color added to cola drinks might double the risk of metabolic syndrome (combination of conditions that increase your chances of heart disease, stroke and diabetes), just by drinking one or more regular or diet sodas every day. Furthermore, the sweet fizzy flavor of sodas sends a message to the brain that sweet stuff is good and conditions it to crave more sugary foods, which can lead to weight gain.
If you need a boost of energy during the day, eat fruit.

Drink water,  an essential element for all healthy body functions. Please don’t drink water stored in plastic bottles, but choose filtered water through activated charcoal, which removes the impurities and leaves the water-soluble minerals.
In the Mediterranean diet, at the end of the meal, we drink warm water, warm tea or coffee and even warm liqueurs. The warm liquids help dissolve oils and fat ingested during eating, while cold water will solidify the oils in the food leaving those particles attached to the walls of the intestines. Not good at all.

Eating five small meals a day is less stressing on the digestive system. It is easier to process small amount of food instead of large meals; smaller amounts of food deliver a steady stream of nutrients, blood sugar, and energy to our body throughout the day. Eating this way also reduces the risk of heart disease.

It takes 21 to 30 days of repetitive behavior to form a new pattern in the brain. Once the pattern is formed, it becomes an automatic behavioral response. While developing new healthy habits, the good habits will replace bad ones. Stay on track with healthier food, adopt the Mediterranean food to reduce the risk of obesity and cholesterol, eat everything in moderation, have a glass of Pinot with your meal every day and don’t worry about anything else. Above all laugh anytime you can, start to love your body and put your wellbeing, happiness self confidence in the center of your life. Ciao,
Valentina
www.Valentinadesigns.com

Author of two regional Italian cuisine books. They are both about the Mediterranean diet, both available on the Books page here in this site.
Come Mia Nonna–A Return to Simplicity
Sins Of A Queen – Italian Appetizers and Desserts
http://outskirtspress.com/ComeMiaNonna
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lnq8baaAq0M
http://outskirtspress.com/SinsOfAQueen

Italy In Small Bites | Valentina Cirasola | Interior Designer

19 Mar 2011 Leave a comment

by Valentina in Home Designs Master Tags: #150ItalyAnniversary, #ItalianArchitecture, #ItalianArt, #ItalianCulture, #ItalianFashion, #ItalianLifeStyle

This year is the 150th anniversary of the unification of Italy as a Republic, such a small country, such a concentrate of art and history, a country where even a shoe shine is an artist in his own way.
Italian emigrants and their strong patriotism have brought many Italian products around the world, shown them, talked about and place them on the market. They have made the “made in Italy” trade mark something to be proud of. It is a symbol of sophistication, elegance, purity and simple classicism.
Italian style of this century is very modern, very colorful and linear while Italians still enjoy walking around and breathing antiquity. The streets of Italy are very historical, but fashion, interiors and cars are not.
(Click on each photo to view it larger).

The architectural style of Tuscan farmhouses have been copied in California by the boat load and turned into a mansions style, but the bucolic Tuscan scenes cannot be reproduced. Tuscan style is not about a large home empty of emotions and atmospheres, but it comprises a whole life style, it means going to market everyday, cook fresh food, neighbors popping by for coffee unannounced, evening dinner with family and friends, taking afternoon naps, cultivate the land and most importantly being surrounded by the warmth of the people occupying the house.

Italians put a lot of passion when it comes to design eating vessels, an old custom that goes back to the Roman Empire. Pleasing the eyes before the palate and pleasing the palate with fresh, uncomplicated, nor manipulated food. It’s like a game of pleasures, one following the other as close as possible.

What to say about the decorative art of tile making for flooring, kitchen backsplash, bathrooms, or entryways? Italians have an incredible ability to create stunning combinations of material old and new that no one else can do, or combinations of colors and patterns within the material no one else can even think about. Ideas don’t just come because Italians are clever, their ideas are imbedded in their blood through years of tradition and history. In my design projects I can sleep soundly when I employ Italian tile setters and stone fabricators, I know that even if I don’t observe their work, it will be done to perfection. Their clinical eye is a safe heaven. (Photo right: Romeo Cuomo, Italian Ceramic Art – Via Pinterest).

Fashion is a strong weapons for Italians. We dress very fashionable every day even to go to the market. We feel an immense pleasure and satisfaction to be admired by others, it highly gratifies our self-esteem and with that comes the elegant, flirtatious behavior in both men and women. Fashion is used in office and home décor, but in these areas our fashion is classic, classic contemporary, classic modern, classic eclectic, that type of classic that will not go out of vogue in a couple of years, just to be clear.

The thrill of driving an Italian sport car, or simply seeing one roaring by at the speed of light is revitalizing. I hope Italy continues to make them, even if it is only for the pleasure of few lucky ones. (Photo Lamborghini Countach -http://www.seriouswheels.com/car-terms.htm)

Food is no exception to the country’s beauty. Anywhere in Italy food is excellent, even in a “hole in the wall”. Eat Italian food to stay fit and young. In foreign countries Italian restaurants are considered the best. Olive oil, prosciutto, Parmigiano cheese, pasta, cheeses and wines are the most exported food out of Italy. All of us expatriates, laborious, hard workers Italian people, entrepreneurial at heart have contributed to the good reputation of our high quality products.

This 150th birthday of Italy’s unification as a Republic comes at a time of world turmoil, shifting of economic power and natural disasters, but Italy is also fighting its own battle with its own government, high unemployment, poor immigrants from every where in the world arriving on the coasts of Italy by the thousand a day, causing an economic stress the country cannot support. The most dangerous battle facing Italy is the counterfeit of its original products which are being sold all over the world in the name of saving the cent.

Italy is a vibrant country, all this concentrate of beauty might be a hand full for someone, just take it in small bites, you will learn to love even the noise in the streets and the fatalism of its people. It is still the most charming country to visit and to return to.

As the professional who is always ready, I shall be prompt and ready to help you with any of your needs, whether it will decorating, designing, or remodeling and if you like Italian architecture and décor in your home, I must be the one you should hire. Leave your name in the box below, I shall answer you in 24 hours time. As a new addition to my business, I offer design consultations on-line through Skype line. Ciao,
Valentina
http://www.valentinadesigns.com

Valentina Cirasola is a trained Italian Interior Designer in business since 1990. Being Italian born and raised, Valentina’s design work has been influenced by Classicism and stylish, timeless designs. She is a designer well-known to bring originality to people’s homes. As an Italian designer and true to her origins, she provides only the best workmanship and design solutions. Check her books on:
Amazon: http://goo.gl/xUZfk0
Barnes&Nobles: http://goo.gl/q7dQ3w

Planting Food, Beauty And Relax | Valentina Cirasola | Author and Designer

14 Mar 2011 Leave a comment

by Valentina in The Good Life Tags: #Gardening, #HomeGrownFood, #ItalianFood, #ItalianLifeStyle, #ItalianTableCustom, #SpringPlanting

Photo ©Valentina Cirasola

Yesterday was a beautiful March day, I wanted to take advantage of the sun, the warm day and my good disposition. It was the right time to think of planting seed for new food. In many European countries is still snowing in March and is the same in Italy, but here in California, in the climate zone 7 and 8, March is the perfect month to plant. My family in Italy is getting jealous!

March is the right time to start feeding houseplants again and repot when necessary. Get the soil tested if you are planning to do some serious food and fruit trees planting. This is the month to start seeds indoor, prune trees and shrubs and get all the garden tools ready for your Spring planting. If you have wet soil in the garden, it is better not to walk on it, use stepping-stones. In my garden, I have many rows of them around plants and vegetation, they are decorative and don’t get your feet wet or dirty.

I started with Turbo onions, which is a lovely round onion that stores well and the Red Baron red onion, strong-tasting which produces a heavy crop.
I planted shallots, a more delicate onion, which I use more for fish dishes and some other delicate dishes. I want some asparagus and started some crops indoor, such as aubergines the kind called Diamond, originated in the Ukraine. It crops relatively quickly from a sowing in March.

Started cauliflowers, cabbage and tomatoes. Tomato seeds also do well indoor. I got the gartenperle type, small, cherry size, sweet and tasty, grow in beautiful colors as pink-red, deep ruby-red, pink to rosy red. They are great for containers and even hanging baskets. I make a lot of fast and delicate sauces with them. Tomatoes are always a big surprise, they either come out in overwhelming large quantity, or nothing at all.

In mid March plant some early potatoes if the weather where you are permits it, I will.

I bought a few packets of mixed salad-leaf seeds, can’t do without salad in my garden, it’s so easy to grow and need not much care. Put a few seeds on to the surface of your compost and don’t cover them with a thick layer, they need to breathe.

Towards the end of March when the soil has warmed up, I will want to plant some climbing French beans. I have already prepared the soil and placed cane poles in place. Later I will make two holes at the base of each pole and a couple of seeds per hole. Then, I need to be patient.

Between my food I also plant some beauty. Some begonias, dahlias, dusty miller, geraniums, impatiens, marguerite daisies, marigolds, all annuals to beautify my crop.

Photo ©Valentina Cirasola

While thinking of food crop, I was also thinking of cooking in the garden. I made a very simple outdoor cookery device out of a clay pot and bricks.
No cement or mortar, the bricks are just laid one on top of the other in a circle, the clay pot sits inside of the circle. Inside of the pot more bricks form a flat surface for the wood chips and a grill sits on top of them. Food will be placed on the grill. A clay cover with a whole in the center to allow the steam to escape will keep the food cooking for long time.

This is slow food at its best and I am prepared for relaxing weekends, a good time for writing more books and more blogs, or having some friends over.
I really don’t care what goes into my car, but I really care what I put in my stomach.
Please leave a comment below, I can help you with any of your design challenges, including landscape too. I now offer design consultations on-line and without going outside my office I can create an “outdoor room” for you, or the most beautiful space of your dream. Ask me for details. Ciao,
Valentina
www.Valentinadesigns.com

Valentina Cirasola has been in business as a designer since 1990. She has helped a variegated group of fun people realizing their dreams with homes, offices, interiors and exteriors. She designs artistic landscape as a complement to the residential design concept as a unity. Author of three books available on:
Amazon: http://goo.gl/xUZfk0
Barnes&Nobles: http://goo.gl/q7dQ3w

The World Is A Woman | Valentina Cirasola | Author and Designer

09 Mar 2011 Leave a comment

by Valentina in The Good Life Tags: #InternationalWomanDay, #March8WomanDay, #SocialIssues, #Souffragettes, #WomanRightToVote, #WomenHistory

Annie_Kenney_and_Christabel_Pankhurst_(cropped)-1

Author unknown – Annie Kenney and Christabel Pankhurst of the WSPU, c. 1908 – Public Domain – Wikimedia Commons

There is an old Italian saying which goes: “Who says woman, says damage” and can’t help smiling about these phrases made up by the ignorant. Damage for whom or what? This saying was coined when women were considered second class citizens and kept under submission. (Photo left found on: http://imgur.com/OAqUY)

For century women have been considered the weaker sex and yet they give birth enduring pain, give courage to people who have no strength; they fight wars, become prime ministers and astronauts; women can work even in a man’s field, have a family and make real choices.

But these rights weren’t always rights for women. In the early 1900’s, a time for the great industrialization in major parts of the world, women became more vocal and embraced active campaigns against oppression, inequality, better pay, less working hours, the right to be trained, the right to vote, to hold public offices and end all discriminations. In agreement with the Social Democratic Party of America women started the march toward a long fight for their rights to be followed by major European countries and their Social Democratic Parties.
The International Woman’sDay was declared as a result of those courageous women’ actions and March 8^th was the date set to honored all the women who make this world go around and those women who are still battling for their rights.

Indeed, in the third millennium there are still women who are fighting for their rights and are still kept subjugated under antiquated and diminishing laws while atrocious crimes are committed to them.

On this day March 8^th is a tradition to give a bunch of yellow mimosa flower to every woman we love, men give to women and women can give to other women too. It is a way to honor the force of nature called Woman! She is the mother and creator of this whole world.

Happy International Woman Day to everybody. Let’s work together to make sure our little girls will have a bright, equal, safe and rewarding future.

(Photo Yellow Mimosa http://wallpapers.ae/beautiful-mimosa-wallpaper.html)

In the meantime enjoy the rest of this Mardi Gras day, hoping it has been a memorable one. Ciao,
Valentina
www.Valentinadesigns.com

Valentina Cirasola is an interior designer, in business since 1990 and a former fashion designer. She helps people realizing their dream spaces in homes, offices, interiors, exteriors. She writes often on a variety of publication on the subject of fashion, food, design and Italian style. She is the author of two Italian cultural regional cookbooks, both available here in this site on the Books Page:
Come Mia Nonna – A Return To Simplicity
Sins Of A Queen – Italian Appetizers and Desserts

Also available at these locations:
http://outskirtspress.com/ComeMiaNonna
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lnq8baaAq0M
http://outskirtspress.com/SinsOfAQueen

The Small Steps | Valentina Cirasola | Author and Designer

07 Mar 2011 Leave a comment

by Valentina in Home Designs Master Tags: #AchievingGoals, #GoalSetting, #SelfHelp, #SelfImprovement, #SinsOfAQueen, #SmallSteps, #SuccessInSmallSteps, #ValentinaCirasolaAuthor

In my life I had many things to achieve and many spaces to fill. It is true that in order to be successful, we must be balanced in five areas of our life, love, family, financial, health and work. But most people forget that the Roman Empire was not made in one day.
God took even seven days to create the Universe and on the seventh day he rested.

The thing about making it big in this life and doing it fast, is that, invariably the first steps will be small and slow. Which oddly, for many, is the same reason they don’t take those small steps.

Picture you taking a trip in-car for 3,000 miles. You get in the car, but you don’t see all the 3,000 miles in front of you, you barely see 500 yards and a night you see even less, you see only as far as the car beams show you the way. So what does it mean? It means you are taking your 3,000 miles trip in small steps. Now picture your life. We all have been instructed to do resolution at the beginning of the year, but most of the time life gets in the way and after a month or two we have completely forgotten about the new year resolutions.

My vacation is my first resolution at the beginning of the year and the first thing I put on the calendar. By doing that, I know not to schedule anything around that time and I know I will tone my brain and regenerate my energy during that resting time, which will allow me to come back to my work strong as ever. Then I take my baby steps with my formula of the four 10’s: 10 days, 10 weeks, 10 months, 10 years. My goals of the first 10 days will take me to my goals of 10 weeks; my goals of 10 weeks will take me to my 10 months and to the 10 years goals. I am a person who lives in the present, I am not good in seeing ten years in front of me, but by taking the small steps I have reached all the goals, I have done everything I said I was going to do in life and I am continuing planning more this same way.

I love my profession, before I became an interior designer, I was a fashion designer and owned my fashion company: Atelier Valentina.
Two of the things I wanted to do and did them. At the beginning of this conversation I said I had many spaces to fill in my life.
In 2008 the economy suddenly changed and so did client’s thinking, all of a sudden I was surrounded by negativity. I didn’t want to be part of any negativity and I said to myself it was time to create my economy. The moment to publish that book I had in mind had arrived, the time was right and I was ready.

At the end of 2008, about November I started to organize my thoughts, photographs, drawings and I started writing the text. Once I had the title of the book in my head, I also had the full book plans. I decided the book was going to be about my grandmother simple and healthy way of cooking. I wrote every day, a couple of hours a day for 5 months. I thought that if I wrote one chapter a day I would have had 365 chapter by the end of the year. I didn’t want an encyclopedia, but a smaller manageable book was a doable goal. Once I choose the publisher, I sent text and graphics to them and went on vacations. The next six months were spent communicating with the editors, editing, formatting and printing the book. In Nov. 2009 my first book of 152 pages was published; a year later in Dec. 2010 my second book was published. I am working on the third book on the subject of colors and it might be published at the end of 2011.

As you see my formula of the four 10s and baby steps has helped me becoming a published author.
In the meantime, I am working with my clients and doing what I love: designing and remodeling their homes.

Making baby steps and taking action means you must believe in your abilities, you must be sure everything in your mind is doable and attainable in real-time and you must put an end date to all your goals. At one point in my life, I must have dreamt of becoming a princess, that’s right it was just a dream and not an attainable goal. Instead I became the Queen of my book, Sins Of A Queen , that was a real and attainable goal!

You might ask where do I take all this energy? I take it from my good food. Good food will produce good energy, junk food will produce junk energy, it cannot get any simpler than this! In my book I say “the red on the cheeks come from the mouth” for a reason. If you have the right elements in your body, you will function like a Swiss clock work. Good food is fuel to my brain, so I eat everything in moderation and everyday I can lit the whole city with the energy I get from it. Ciao,
Valentina
www.Valentinadesigns.com

Valentina Cirasola is an Italian Interior Designer with a passion for kitchens and cooking. She operates in the USA and Europe. She loves to remodel homes and loves to turn ugly spaces into castles, but especially loves to design kitchens and wine grottos. Author of two Italian cultural regional books:
Come Mia Nonna–A Return to Simplicity
Sins Of A Queen – Italian Appetizers and Desserts

Both books are available in this site at the Books page and at these locations:

http://outskirtspress.com/ComeMiaNonna
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lnq8baaAq0M
http://outskirtspress.com/SinsOfAQueen

The Ridicule, A Piece Of History | Valentina Cirasola | Designer

28 Feb 2011 6 Comments

by Valentina in Friday Fashion Tags: #HistoryOfFashion, #Masks, #Ridicule, #ValentinaCirasolaFashionDesigner, #XIXCenturyFashion, Costume

When a woman of the XIX century was getting ready to go out had many things to coordinate for her outfit. The parasol, a pair of gloves and a hat, a shawl and the fan to disguise her blushing at the compliments from a man.

By then, the woman’s dressing ensemble had become a little less complicated than the previous centuries, nonetheless, feminine frills still continue to exist. One accessory she couldn’t forget to take before leaving the house was the “Ridicule”.

Silk Ridicule

It was a small purse in the shape of a sack with a long silk decorative cord, worn hanging from the arm. Inside the Ridicule, the woman used to put a lipstick, a handkerchief and a mirror, which by that time was a popular item to carry in the purse.
If the woman of the XIX went dancing, one important item was kept in the Ridicule: a little book where she noted the names of the men who asked her to dance. Each man had a number on that list, she would accept their gallantry as she went through the list and took the center floor.

Last night going to the masquerade ball, you know is Carnevale at this time of the year, I wore a Ridicule with my costume. I found it a few years ago in an antique shop in Italy. I wanted it so bad, but the price was so high that I had to let out my bargaining skills in order to get it somewhat at my price.

Pompadour

Back to the masquerade ball of last night, I was wearing a beautiful Pompadour purse in my hand and the Ridicule hanging from my rhinestone-studded belts. Of course, a few people were curious to know what was that thing hanging from the belt. Telling the story of the Ridicule last night was an experience all by itself.

It was a bit like a lesson on the history of costumes, a bit of story-telling, quite a few laughs, but the important part was that my Ridicule became an icebreaker with people I met for the first time and a conversation piece. The modern woman (me) was carrying business cards and cellular phone in the Ridicule, no name of any man waiting to dance with me. How times have changed!

If you are interested in creating a fashion statement for yourself and for your home décor, I am here to help you, just leave your name and comment in the box below. Ciao,
Valentina

Fashion Services
https://valentinadesigns.com/services#fashion-services

Valentina Cirasola is an Italian Interior Designer in business since 1990 and a Fashion Designer. She blends well fashion and interior in any of her design work. Being Italian born and raised, Valentina’s design work has been influenced by Classicism and stylish, timeless designs. She will create your everyday living with a certain luxury without taking away a comfortable living. Author of three books available on:
Amazon: http://goo.gl/xUZfk0
Barnes&Nobles: http://goo.gl/q7dQ3w

Bizarre Faces of Arcimboldo | Valentina Cirasola | Author and Designer

21 Feb 2011 Leave a comment

by Valentina in The Good Life Tags: #ArcimboldoArt, #ItalianArt, #ItalianDesign, #ItalianFoodPainting, #ItalianLifeStyle, #ItalianTableCustom

Palazzo Reale in Piazza del Duomo #12, in Milan, Italy will host the exhibition of “Arcimboldo” a Renaissance Mannerist artist of the 1500’s. The exhibition will be open from February 9, 2011 until May 22, 2011 and it will feature the fantastic bizarre “Composite Heads” , the whimsical portraits of the Italian artist who composed them of plants, animals, and objects.

Giuseppe Arcimboldo, also spelled his name Arcimboldi and Arcimboldus, nobody knows why, the painter used all the names to sign his works, therefore it is uncertain which version is the correct one, but I think extremely creative people want to hide behind various identities to give themself an enigmatic aura.

Arcimboldo was born in Milan in 1527 and grew up during the High Renaissance. He was born “con la camicia” (with the shirt on, not naked) as we Italians would describe someone born under a lucky star, in fact his father was the painter commissioned to paint the Milan Cathedral. And so his life evolved between one lucky opportunity to another. Giuseppe became a student to the renowned painter Leonardo Da Vinci. In the course of 25 years he became the painter to the royals and due to his ability to design the bizarre was hired by many royal courts as “The” party planner of the sixteenth-century staging the most flashy affairs of Europe’s courts.

Just imagine gilded fountains and rivers of champagne, flocks of colored birds, music, theater, tons of original artwork, sculptures, and much pageantry. As a precursor of his time Arcimboldo invented unique special effects for the royal events. He called one of his invention the “Harpsichord of Color” a gigantic hydro-mechanically powered musical instrument, a sort of modern organ.

His art was considered more a novelty than great paintings. As famous as he was during his artistic life, he was forgotten after his death and rediscovered around the end of the 19th century. The art critics attribute the lack of interest in his style of painting to a generational changes of taste, fashion and manners.

Particularly I adore the four season paintings series.

In the Summer portrait (above) the gentleman’s nose appears to be made of a cucumber. On the man’s coat the artist embedded his name into the collar of the jacket and the date 1573 on the shoulder at the seam of the sleeve.
Arcimboldo dedicated the series called Earth paintings to the elements of nature.

The very famous Man in the Vegetables painting is an inverted illusion. Right-side up, the painting looks like a bowl of fresh produce, invert the picture and it looks like a man’s face with lips of mushrooms.

A lover of food and food depicted in art like myself should not miss this event, but unfortunately I will. For now, I am just content to tell the story, perhaps things will open up in my busy agenda. Never say impossible.
In the meantime, I am here to help you with the selection of your art for any decor. As the professional who is always ready, I shall be prompt and ready to help you with any of your needs, whether it will be decorating, designing, or remodeling. Just leave your name in the box below, I shall answer in 24 hours time. Ciao,
Valentina
www.Valentinadesigns.com

Valentina Cirasola is an Italian Interior Designer working in the USA and Europe since 1990. She colors the world of her clients. She has been described as “the colorist” and loves to create the unusual. Her specialty is to design kitchen, wine cellar, entertainment rooms and bathrooms like spas. Author of three books available on:
Amazon: http://goo.gl/xUZfk0
Barnes&Nobles: http://goo.gl/q7dQ3w