Spotlight: Melissa Muldoon

Melissa Muldoon

Melissa Muldoon

I have known author Melissa Muldoon for a few years, she is part of the Italian community in my area. She is an extraordinary lover of Italy, its language, arts, food, people and everything Italy produces. She transfers to her followers her love of Italy through her novels and language programs set in Italy. She travels with groups to the country where they learn while having fun.
I think in another life Melissa was born in Italy.

Melissa Muldoon is the author of three novels set in Italy: Dreaming Sophia,” Waking Isabella,” and Eternally Artemisia.”

(Click on each photo to view it larger)

DreamingSophiaBook-Website-Front-Page-3Books

Melissa Muldoon’s 3 Books

 

Eternally Artemisia

Eternally Artemisia – Melissa Muldoon

I adore this video of her latest release Eternally Artemisia, click here to watch it –  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NKurWrS4TVM&t=10s  
The music has a feeling of almightiness, one can feel the power of a few people designated to rule in epic times when women had no voice…Well…, I leave to you the rest of this intriguing story.

All three books tell the stories of American women and their journeys of self-discovery to find love, uncover hidden truths, and follow their destinies to shape a better future for themselves in Italy. Her second book, “Waking Isabella,” has been translated into Italian — “Il risveglio di Isabella.” All three books are available on Amazon in print and e-pub.

Recently, Dianne Hales, author of La Bella Lingua, reviewed “Eternally Artemisia” and gave it 5 Stars. “A true Renaissance woman, Melissa Muldoon weaves her passions for art and Italy into a stirring saga that sweeps across centuries. As her time-traveling heroine Maddie reconnects with kindred souls, we meet Artemisia Gentileschi, the 17th–century artist who overcame rape and ignominy to gain respect and acclaim. Historic figures such as Galileo and Mussolini also come to life in this intricately plotted novel, but the women who defy all constraints to take control of their destinies are the ones who prove to be eternally fascinating.”

Melissa writes an interesting dual-language blog La Studentessa Matta (the crazy students). Find her on Facebook and Twitter.

Melissa Muldoon is participating in my blog tour for the launch of my new book and as a token of my appreciation, she is receiving a reading based on the color of her zodiac sign: Aries, March 21 – April 19.

Image by DarkWorkX from Pixabay

Image by DarkWorkX from Pixabay

Aries being the first sign of the zodiac shows all the strong signs of Spring, when nature “explode” in a rainbow of colors and beauty. Similarly, the pulse of the sign is also expressed through the color of this sign’s governor, planet Mars, named after the Roman God of war. Mars is a sign that belongs to the element of fire and its flame symbolizes the nuances of Aries’s temperament. People born under this sign are energetic, curious, determined individuals. The colors in the flame of fire, from red to pink to fuchsia well characterize the people with this fiery sign when they select colors for their living space or for the clothes they wear.”
Excerpt from my book ©RED-A Voyage Into Colors – Second Edition.

Contrary to what happens to other people when wearing red, Aries people feel calm when red surrounds them or when they wear red, especially if the red color is mixed with light yellows and off-white or cream colors.

What can I design for a writer better than a writing/library room? This is how I envision the colors for that particular room suitable to an Aries.

AriesColors-Fire Element

Aries Colors – Fire Element

I see Melissa’s writing room enveloped in red and cream with touches of wood, perfect for the warmth of a fire element of Aries. I gave her a nice desk made of Sheesham wood, with a comfortable teak/leather lounge chair where she can fantasize on the next book plot, a striped upholstered cream chair paired with a French spool side table, all set on a cream rug. I see one brick wall and three walls painted in an interesting and elegant Modelo design over a faux finished red paint. I want to add many pillows with a pale yellow/cream designs to soften the red walls, colorful floor lamps and table lamps in Maroccan style.

Melissa, black does not harmonize well with other people around you and represents Saturn, your sworn enemy. I have seen you wearing black, think about it of the negative effect it has on you. You can flaunt any value of red with a little something to calm it down, as I said above. The other colors that agree with your Aries sign are saffron, golden yellow, mustard, and rust. Of course, you can wear any color you want, but you were born in these warm colors, like magic, anything is more favorable to you if you wear them. I hope you like it.

Now, please allow me a bit of shameless promotion for my new book release of ©RED – A Voyage Into Colors – Second Edition . It just happened and a lot of fine authors or artists are helping me to take the book on tour.

 

Red-A Voyage Into Colors-Second Edition

Red-A Voyage Into Colors-Second Edition – Valentina Cirasola

The book is all about colors, color emotions, color vibrations, color atmospheres, color compositions, color analysis and any which way one wants to use them: in design the interior rooms of any space, in fashion, in food, and/or in more mystical ways. Just remember, colors speak a message, your message…
The book is available on paper print and Kindle.
Visit me on Amazon Author’s Page.
Valentina 

Copyright © 2019 Valentina Cirasola, All Rights Reserved

 

Valentina with short hair

Valentina Cirasola is an interior-fashion designer, author of 5 published books so far, a storyteller, and a blogger of many years. She has conceived a few new books of various subjects to which she is working simultaneously. Her books are non-fictional, practical ideas to apply in the home, fashion, cooking, and travel. She never gives up trying new things and doesn’t fear failure. A couple of years ago, Valentina became a TV producer/host. Valentina Design Universe is the label under which she produces her shows in the studio and online. The goal of her shows is to entertain, inspire and inform, while she is living her passion. Get a copy of her books on
Amazon and Barnes&Noble

 

 

 

 

Let’s Travel In The Cosmos Of Colors, Book Launch | Valentina Cirasola | Interior Designer

I am happy to announce the release of the Second Edition of the book ©RED – A Voyage Into Colors, a book on colors I published for the first time in 2012. The book was performing well until one day I received the classic lemons from the publisher. I was asked to let go of 50% of my profits from the sale of this book. I refused to comply and my book was made “temporarily not available” on Amazon for three years. I am not a person who gets defeated easily. This year, I reworked the book and republished independently the Second Edition of ©RED – A Voyage Into Colors. Now, the ball is back in my court.

(Click on each picture to view it larger).

RED-A Voyage Into Colors

RED-A Voyage Into Colors – Second Edition – Author Valentina Cirasola

©RED – A Voyage Into Colors – Second edition is a paperback, 124 pages, full of my colorful photography of things that attract me and some of my clients’ homes. After all, what is a book explaining colors, if it doesn’t include colorful pictures? The eyes want to see the beauty and the brain feeds on colors.

Often people refer to shades when they really mean the value, brightness or the darkness of a color.
What is a color without referring to its profile and character? Just like humans, colors have their own character. If we understand how to describe the emotions and sensations they provoke, we will always have a good reaction around the colors we choose, we will subconsciously feel the harmony inside of ourselves and in turn, others will see it and respond positively to us. How people perceive us through colors is very important, colors transmit a message and that is what others see.

What is your message when you get dressed? It doesn’t matter where you go. If you go to grocery shopping with rollers on your head and you are dressed in red, it means you don’t care what others think of you, you dare to be you, the red color will project you as having courage, and the rollers in your hair will pass in a second order. In the same scenario, rollers on your head and you are dressed in black, it means you are trying to hide from the viewers and protect yourself from their criticisms. The colors of your home have messages as well. If your front door is painted red, it means you are an upbeat person; if the front door is yellow, you are an inviting person, cheerful and sunny. My front door is burgundy… exactly…I like red wines and beyond that burgundy door, I added a bit of sophistication to my décor.

Can you sleep and wake up in your zodiac colors? Of course, you can, you were born under those colors, they are natural to your soul.
The moment you came “into the light” many planets revolved over your head making those colors your aura and affected your entire life since that moment. Often, people prefer totally different colors away from their zodiac sign and perhaps totally contrary to their character, simply because they are not aware of the beneficial effects of the colors they were born under or don’t believe it. Colors will determinate their actions, the troubled or unsettled souls living in the wrong colors will continue to feel troubled or unsettled.

https://youtu.be/_4HfdRCh5oQ

With this book, I wanted to depict a colorful bouquet of information regarding home interiors, fashion, and food, all the subjects dear to my heart, each of these subjects thrive on colors. I also delve into explaining colors from a spiritual point of view and how to use them in a technical way. Nature is our best teacher, where all colors are mixed together and co-exist well without rules and prejudices. We can simply copy nature and feel perfect in our choice of colors.

If we live in a home reflecting our personality, if we wear colors becoming to our face and body and if we eat in the rainbow, we can only expect to exude positive energy, which in turn will captivate our surroundings.
Gauguin said: “Color is the language of the listening eye”. It helps our imagination soar with inner power and mystery”. Allow yourself to experiment with various color combinations and challenge your fantasy!

Let's travel into the cosmos of colors with Valentina and RED

Let’s travel into the cosmos of colors with Valentina and RED

This graphic represents all the authors and artists who have agreed to travel with me in the cosmos of colors for the launch and promotion of ©RED-A Voyage Into Colors – Second Edition. 
They are Melissa Muldoon, Teagan Geneviene, Debby Gies, James J.Cudney IV, Sally Croning, Joy-Ruffen-Oake, Bonnie Smith, Robbie Cheadle, Shelly Wilson.

Starting on Oct. 25, 2019, for twenty days, I will travel with them to their planet of birth, I will write about them, their books and arts and they will receive something special about their zodiac sign. This will be a fun and unusual book launch! Some giveaway will happen as well. Anyone can participate in the giveaway by following me on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest , Instagram,  MeWe, and commenting on the launch. The contest will start on Oct. 26th and will end on Oct.31. https://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/e5ee1a9212/?

I am so grateful to my Supreme Being to be able to see all the glorious colors in its realm, fantasize, wallow in their vibrations, sentimentally self-indulge in their atmospheres, and to be able to talk about them every day. Ciao,
Valentina
http://www.valentinadesigns.com
http://valentinaexpressions.com

 

Copyright © 2019 Valentina Cirasola, All Rights Reserved

 

Valentina with short hair

Valentina Cirasola is an interior-fashion designer, author of 5 published books so far, a storyteller, and a blogger of many years. She has conceived a few new books of various subjects to which she is working simultaneously. Her books are non-fictional practical ideas to apply in the home, fashion, cooking, and travel. She never gives up trying new things and doesn’t fear failure. A couple of years ago, Valentina became a TV producer/host. She produces shows under her label: Valentina Design Universe. The goal of her shows is to entertain, inspire and inform, while she is living her passion. Her goal is to write a screenplay for theatre or TV.
Get a copy of her books here: Amazon and Barnes&Noble

 

A New Book Is On The Horizon | Valentina Cirasola | Interior Designer

 

RED-A Voyage Into Colors

RED-A Voyage Into Colors

The second version of my book on the subject of colors: ©RED-A Voyage Into Colors (2019) will be republished and on the market very soon.

My previous publisher with whom I published the first version of this book in 2012 has asked me to raise his earning percentage on my sales to 50%. This is an absurd request, it would double the price of the book, making it unsellable. I refused to comply and as a result of it, the book was made “temporarily not available” on Amazon for many months.
I got discouraged for a while and tried to find a solution to return my book back on the market quickly, but books are not fritters and life gets in the way.

Today, with all the online opportunities, I thought it would be better to republish it on my own, as I have done already with a couple of books. I decided to divorce my previous publisher and place the ball in my court. I have worked on the second edition of ©RED-A Voyage Into Colors for a few months, added better information, better photographs, and eliminated what was not current anymore.

The first version was a hardcover, 135 pages, filled with my photographs. I thought of reducing the number of photos to lower the price, but then I remembered how hard it was to read a couple of books by other authors on the subject of colors and no photos to stop and ponder. It was hard to take. My new second version of this book will be softcover, smaller in size, with almost the same amount of pages and still filled with my photos. It will be available in paper format, and shortly after its publication will be available also as a Kindle and audio versions.

Right now, I am finishing up a few details, it is a matter of a few days and the new version will be out. Stay tuned.
“Creativity is the greatest form of rebellion.”

Ciao,
Valentina
http://www.valentinadesigns.com

 

Copyright © 2019 Valentina Cirasola, All Rights Reserved

Valentina with short hairValentina Cirasola is an interior-fashion designer, author of 5 published books so far, a blogger of many years and a storyteller. She has conceived a few new books of various subjects to which she is working simultaneously. Her books are non-fictional practical ideas to apply in the home, fashion, cooking, and travel. She never gives up trying new things and doesn’t fear failure. A couple of years ago, Valentina became a TV producer/host and she produces shows under her label: Valentina Design Universe. The goal of her shows is to entertain, inspire and inform, while she is living her passion. Find Valentina Design Universe TV here: https://valentinadesignuniverse.com
Get a copy of her books here:
Barnes&Nobles: http://goo.gl/q7dQ3w

I Love Surprises | Valentina Cirasola | Author and Designer

The year has just started, I am back on my saddle with a big smile. I did close the year 2018 in beauty.
First, I am happy to have published my fourth book The Road To Top Of The World.

To add to the pleasure, I received an unexpected article from a newspaper in Italy, thanking me for have cited in my book many well-known artists of Puglia.
The article is in Italian. Read it here: https://bit.ly/2QcA9mo

Article on GioiaNet.it

Article on GioiaNet.it

 

(Click on the photo to view it larger).

Another beautiful news came two days before the closing of the year: one more person registered for my fashion drawing course I have organized for this year.

One of the many surprises I received in December really puzzled me. It was a letter in the form of a chapter for a future novel (maybe) written by one of my lifetime male friends in Italy, who apparently, for unspoken reasons, made me the muse of his dreams.

Spiaggia Deserta

 

I am taking a few passages from the letter “On The Restaurant’s Terrace” as he titled it:
“The terrace of the restaurant where we had lunch, had a pergola with lots of chairs and some chaises long, placed there as an invitation to nap. I placed one of the chaises long in such a way to have only my face lapped by the sun and closed my eyes for a few minutes. I found myself floating in an indeterminate space and the light with its colors was the only perception. I saw dazzling beams of light changing without interruption, chasing, crossing and tying themselves in sudden tangles, then finally disappearing into a gigantic prism. No landscape, no seas, no mountains, no city, and no geographical place belonged to that experience. Was I living a sidereal adventure, a journey into the galaxies or was I looking at the reflections inside of a soap-bubble? Then, I noticed that my sensations gradually began to produce signs defining those lights, shaping those colors, and composing the features of a woman.

Her figure, soft, relaxed and gently relaxing on the green lawn, attracted me. Her golden face expressed delicacy, wrapped in an invisible veil that seemed satisfied. Without taking a single step, I joined her and met her blue eyes, bright and open, in a smile that struck me like rain with golden reflections. We danced barefoot on the grass wet by dew. (…)

She circled in the air, inventing dance steps, following music only she heard, and her inebriating voice transformed into a harmonious song. She went down the slope towards the sea, inviting me to follow her, with a slight movement of the hands and a cheerful smile.

That song fascinated me, for the magic moment it created and how it drove me into her dream. She entered the water fully dressed and soaked her clothes immediately. The grace of her casual gestures overwhelmed me,(…). I felt attracted to her and presaged it would have been forever. (…)
What’s your name? I asked her. Live your dream and call me LOVE, she answered.

The lights went out, the colors lost their strength, my eyes returned in the present to find more emotions.

I looked away searching for an imprint of two rolling bodies, but the waves had erased everything. Dreams are beautiful, but they are short-lived!”

What is my friend trying to tell me? Does he have some regrets? Is he still leaving in our teenage years? Perhaps, he knew I had my mind set to live somewhere else in the world and never asked me that fatidical question. Harsh as it sounds, if he did, would have not made a bit of difference, I wanted to conquer a different world and nothing could have messed up my plans. Today, however, it is very nice to read these words, knowing that the dream of me is keeping someone escaping his grey life. Ciao,
Valentina
http://www.valentinadesigns.com

 

Copyright © 2019 Valentina Cirasola, All Rights Reserved

 

ValValentina Cirasola is a storyteller by nature. Stories are very important to her design career to convey ideas because making someone’s home or personal images is not only about building around shapes, lines, forms, and colors. It is about the story one can create around their spaces and how they want to appear to others. She is the author of four books, all available on
Amazon – http://goo.gl/xUZfk0
Barnes&Nobles: http://goo.gl/q7dQ3w
The latest book just published is The Road To Top Of The World – https://tinyurl.com/y7tuyfh8

 

 

 

 

 

All Aboard The Fiat 500 Book Launch | Valentina Cirasola | Author

It’s a glorious time in my city “Top Of The World, CA” expressing my power and happiness in written words. I am at my fourth published book and not counting.
Some years ago, in a conversation with friends, I said, kind of jokingly, I was going to write books on design topics, the field I know best. Up to that point, I had sporadically written articles for the local newspapers and magazines. Then, I opened up my first blog on home design topics, it was the year 2008.  However, being a very talkative person, I felt writing only about design was a bit reductive for me, thus, a year later, I opened two other columns on Friday Fashion and The Good Life. The writing career started and I didn’t even realize it. So many things were locked up in my drawers of thoughts, it was about time they all came out in some form of communication or another. I started caressing the idea of writing books, and do you know what they say? “If you can see it, you already have it” meaning if you can see your dream, it is already a reality. Dreaming about something is not enough without actions. I set aside time to write and made appointments with myself every evening after 8:00 and nothing else was important until I finished and ready to go to bed.

(Click on each photo to view it larger).

My fourth book, ©The Road To Top Of The World  is a travel narrative. The small car Fiat 500 is an Italian invention of the ’50s, a snazzy car intended for young people, students, creative and open minds. The Fiat 500 was always stuffed with rowdy youngsters having fun around the town. With the same concept and the same free spirit of youth, I am stuffing a group of creative friends in my Fiat 500, to travel to their locations and see what they do in life. Get to know them and make new friends, while they are helping me in a pre-holiday virtual book tour launch and will share it on their blogs, Facebook pages or any social platform they like. All aboard my friends!


©The Road To Top Of The World is a book totally outside my design trade and I am happy I wrote it. I made it into short stories, easy to read, each story has a beginning and an end, without relation to each other. It’s a book about my native region of Puglia, in Italy, seen with the eyes of a native (me) who decided to expatriate abroad and live like an Italian in a foreign country.

 

 

The snazzy Fiat 500 will start the tour from my location “Top of The World, California”. Some people have asked me if such a town really exists in California. It is not a city, it’s a state of mind, that is where I live every day and where all the fun things happen.

(Click on each photo to view it larger)

 

Teagan Geneviene is a friend and an author.
She is doing the launch of her new book at this time “Atonement, TN” in a party bus.
https://teagansbooks.com/2018/10/20/book-launch-party-bus-atonement-book-fair/

 

 



Domenico Cafarchia is a dear friend and an
Epicurean Entrepreneur-Marketer-Relationship Manager
Rooted in Apulian tradition yet uniquely Italian.
https://www.facebook.com/cafarchia


 

 

 

 

Kez Wickhan St.George is an internationally known author and painter.
We follow each on Facebook.
https://twitter.com/KezSt

 


 

Sherry Woodward is a friend and a painter.
She appeared on my TV show: Intuitive Painting.
Enjoy her colorful art.
https://www.dailypaintworks.com/artists/sherry-woodward-7835/artwork

 


 

Carra Riley is a friend, an author and a realtor helping people in transition living.
She appeared on my TV show: Transition Living.
http://cosmiccowpie.com/book/

 


 

 

Carolyn McAndrew is the owner of Picardie Press.
https://www.facebook.com/PicardiePress
If you are writing a book and need a publisher, she is the person to contact.

 


 

Melissa Muldoon is a friend and an author.
https://melissamuldoon.com

 

 


 

Georgia Lee London leads an online consulting agency, inspiring women to the greatness they deserve, with a business they love.
She is a great teacher.
https://www.facebook.com/BeBoldlyBrilliant

 

 



Alessandra Chimenti is a friend, a festival coordinator and the owner of Pizzicali, a musical group featuring folk music of Puglia and Southern Italy. https://www.facebook.com/AlessandraChimienti1990

 

 


Georgia Griva is a dear friend, a designer who also creates many things by hands. This is one of her pieces.
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10156213070918375&set=pcb.10156213074123375&type=3&theater

 

 



Orlando Biagio is a virtual friend and the Administrator of the group Italiani a Los Angeles.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1626346047580432


From the bottom of my heart, I thank all of you and more who want to participate in my Fiat 500 pre-holidays virtual book tour launch.
Sharing is caring. Ciao,
Valentina

Copyright © 2018 Valentina Cirasola, All Rights Reserved

 

Valentina Cirasola is an Italian Interior-Fashion Designer working in the USA and Europe since 1990. She specializes in interior and exterior, color analysis, kitchen, bath, wine cellar, and outdoor kitchen designs. Often people describe her as “the colorist” as she loves to color her clients’ world and loves to create the unusual. Vogue magazine and many prominent publications in California featured Valentina’s work. She was a guest in a program on RAI – Italian National TV and has made four appearances on T.V. Comcast Channel 15. She produces TV shows under her own label Valentina Design Universe and is the author of four published book. The latest book is ©The Road to Top Of The World – https://tinyurl.com/y7tuyfh8
Amazon: http://goo.gl/qNxXrB
Barnes&Nobles: http://goo.gl/q7dQ3w

My Personal View Of A Far Away Place | Valentina Cirasola | Designer and Author

With the release of my new book, I feel obliged to talk a bit about my hometown and offer the audience an unfiltered view of the city, just as I have always known it. Bari is a large sunny city in the South of Italy, located on the Adriatic Sea, six hours South of Venice and four hours East of Rome. It is the major city of the region of Puglia and it has been named the “Milano” of the South, without the fog and industrial smokestacks of Milano. Bari is lined with palm trees, embraced by warm weather, scorching, by some people’s standards, fresh fish, colorful people and a life of “dolce far niente” (sweet do nothing life).
(Click on each photo to view it larger).

People of Bari are warm, affectionate and sociable because the warm Mediterranean weather affects them. They know how to enjoy life, too much I say.
Their mornings start at the last minute when the notion of being late to work is a known fact. Too much traffic is always the excuse. Once they arrive and get briefly situated in their work post, it is already time for coffee. Around 10:00 am, coffee shops are brimming with people indulging in espresso, they like it hot, short and to the point, standing up at the bar counter, shooting the breeze with other colleagues while passionately tasting a fragrant cornetto (croissant). The talk during the coffee time is either the latest news on the local soccer team, politics, or the juicy romantic conquest from the night before and not necessarily in that order!

Via Sparano – Bari – Photo: ©Valentina Cirasola

On the way to school, students bite with enjoyment into savory focaccia made with Puglia olives and tomatoes (this is after they have already had a breakfast at home: caffe’ latte and biscotti). At 1:00 pm, on the way back home from school, they will go through the same ritual… they will have another slice of that savory focaccia that makes the dead come alive again.

Work in Bari takes a different twist. All businesses, stores and schools shut down at 1:00 pm every day to allow people to go home and have lunch with their family.
If you are a smoker, consider yourself lucky, as only tobacconist shops are open during this time to help feed your vices.

Between 1:00 and 4:00 pm people do whatever they like for relaxation, but having lunch with one or two glasses of wine is the most important part of that relaxation. In fact, lunch is the biggest meal of the day and no one will ever think drinking wine for lunch is a sin, you will never hear anyone say: “No wine for me, I must return to work” and they do return to work, alive and kicking more than they are in the morning.

At 4:00 pm, activities resume until 7:00 or 8:00 at night, the streets get clogged with cars and people crawl. Contrary to those who must return to work in the afternoon, there is a category of people who have full-time jobs whose hours are only from 8:00 am to 2:00 pm. Yes, people who work for the government are considered full-time workers with only six hours of work!
In the afternoon, students, independently wealthy, housewives, and teenagers stroll along Via Sparano, Corso Cavour, Corso Vittorio Emanuele, Piazza del Ferrarese, Piazza Mercantile and Lungomare arm-in-arm, like lovers, because Italians are touchy-touchy and kissy-kissy people and those are just a few of the most elegant places in the city, where to see and be seen.

The night stroll in Bari Vecchia is not completed without a cone of yellow butcher paper containing piping hot fried “sgagliozze” meaning triangles of salted fried polenta, fried in caldrons set in the street, outside the home of the woman who makes them. You must burn the palate with hot sgagliozze, otherwise, they are not good, say local people.

View of the Adriatic Sea from the Fortino – Photo ©Valentina Cirasola

Bari is composed of Bari Nuova (new city) and Bari Vecchia (old city). The charming old city is mysterious and magical, especially at night. This part of the city has the most character. Centuries ago, this was the heart of the city called “Muratti” quarters where a treasure trove of millenary arts, history and culture developed.

Bari Vecchia looks over the balcony of the Adriatic Sea like a lady waiting for her sailor. The aroma of algae and salt water mixed with the delicious smell of food coming from homes and restaurants lined up along the bank will fill your nose and permeate the air. On the spur of the moment, you might find yourself going to a seafood restaurant as if some magic spell has been played on you. No, you don’t need a reservation as restaurateurs will welcome you at any hour of the night as if they were welcoming you to their own homes. The people of Bari are night crawlers, so when I say any hour of the night, I do mean any hour. It is very common to find restaurants working at their full capacity at 3:00 am.

Castello Svevo

In Bari Vecchia “Castello Svevo”, a Norman-Swabian castle stands tall. Emperor Frederick II built it in the Byzantine-Norman-Swabian style. The Cathedral of Saint Nicholas is another important historic landmark, proud of its presence in the city. There, celebrations of Christian Mass for Italian people and Orthodox Mass for Russian people downstairs in the Crypt happen together.

Barese people love to exhibit themselves while going to the theatre, dressed up to their teeth and competing with each other, it’s like going to the Oscar, they will show up with the best designer outfits and wonder who wears it better. The theatre Petruzzelli is the fourth largest in Italy for its dimension and stature, where many famous opera singers and international actors have marked the stage. Herbert von Karajan, Rudolf Nureyev, Frank Sinatra, Ray Charles, Liza Minnelli, Juliette Greco have performed there, along with the unforgettable Italian comedians, dancers, opera singers, poets and cabaret singers like Eduardo De Filippo, Riccardo Muti, Carla Fracci, Luciano Pavarotti, Piero Cappuccilli, Giorgio Gaber.

Bari was founded by the Greeks and later became a Roman municipality. In 840 AD, Bari was attacked and dominated by Saracens pirates, an attack which lasted many years. The city was saved by a Venetian fleet and remained under the Byzantine’s power for some time. In the 12th and 13th century, Bari changed the ruling power and soon, the city passed under the possession of the Normans and Swabians (today’s Bavarians). The Swabians rebuilt the city, Emperor Frederick II revitalized all activities, the city port and remodeled the castle. In his court, arts and culture flourished. “Stupor Mundi” he was surnamed, meaning amazement of the world, attributed to his high taste for refinement. The history of Bari is so much more interesting than one short paragraph, this is a city a city with a rich heritage which continues to thrive and renews itself as civilization evolves.

Due to the favorable geographic position with easy passage to the East Road, the Middle Eastern countries, and the vicinity to the Mediterranean, Bari has been the main center for trade and commerce with Levantine countries. Modern Bari today is also an active economic center, with the second largest population in the South of Italy. It has become the principal center for technological research with the Polo Universitario and Technopolis, in addition to the annual Fiera del Levante, the international trade show where many countries exhibit their specialty and products.

The Road To Top Of The World, my fourth book, full of my photography and a lot of interesting stories is done and well cooked, it is available on Amazon  https://tinyurl.com/y7tuyfh8
Ciao,
Valentina
https://valentinaexpressions.com/trips-to-puglia-2/

Copyright © 2018 Valentina Cirasola, All Rights Reserved

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
Amazon: http://goo.gl/xUZfk0

It Is Coming | Valentina Cirasola | Designer and Author

I have stayed away from some of my activities, especially blogging, as you might have noticed my absence. For more than six months I have dealt with an ergonomic problem on my right hand caused by too much computer usage, but this downtime did not discourage me from continuing the most important things. Stubborn, disciplined, high tolerance for pain and goal-oriented, that’s what makes me.
Despite all pains and sometimes the impossibility to move my hand as I wanted, I went on anyway to write the fourth book I had planned for this year 2018.
The Road To Top Of The World is coming in September!

(Click on the photo to view it larger).

Book Reveal

Book Reveal

 

I cannot call it a novel really, it is a book of short stories, a mixture of my memories of the region growing up there, my impressions of the new region of today, some history, use, customs, traditions, stories and experiences made with a group of Americans I took there with me.
So many things are locked up in my drawers of thoughts, it’s about time they all come out in some form of communication or another.

The region of Puglia exists at least since the 11th century, but now tourists of many nationalities are flocking to Puglia as if fresh water was discovered. Everyone wants to taste, feel and see the region. A couple of years ago, an Indian Maharajah got married in Puglia and brought 800+ people along from India.
For more than 10 years, Hollywood has found characteristic spots and special corners to film there many blockbuster movies.
Tourists used to land in Puglia only to take the ferry-boat to Greece and showed no interest to even spend a few days visiting, but now they land in Puglia, stay for a while and cry when they leave.
Even though I am an interior/fashion designer by trade, TV producer and author of three other books, I wanted to write outside my trade this time, for pure enjoyment and fun. Living in California didn’t make me forget who I am, what my roots are and what Puglia taught me in terms of values, traditions, and morals.

It all transpires from this book: The Road To Top Of The World.

The above picture is the draft of the book cover. It is a colorful book of 40 chapters corroborated by many colorful pictures in each chapter.
Stay tuned for the launch at the end of September 2018.

By the way, after many natural solutions and so much money later, I bent to my young doctor’s wish to shoot a bit of steroid into my right-hand tendons.
He revived my hand and made a new person out of me, reborn with more gumption. Ciao,
Valentina
http://www.valentinadesigns.com Copyright © 2018 Valentina Cirasola, All Rights Reserved

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
Amazon: http://goo.gl/xUZfk0

 

Abstract Atmospheres | Valentina Cirasola | Interior Designer

There is nothing abstract in my home designs, my clients’ interiors are real. A lot study goes into the choices of material, colors and shapes to adopt in each design.

Sometimes, I have visions as soon as I walk into a new client’s home of how I can improve or transform that home, my antennas capture the vibrations of people living there and guide me in the right directions.

I let the clients tell me what they want, what their desires or needs are. Their home to me is a clean canvas, a raw field to sow seeds all over that will sprout into beautiful flowers months later.
Designing is an abstract concept in the designer’s mind that people cannot see or visualize until it is drawn on paper and becomes a real entity. The hardest part of designing is dealing with people and different personalities and those are very real. A designer is a psychologist first, able to understand all the abstract ideas people have in mind, but that is another story.

After all is done, I take pictures in the most traditional way to show new prospects what I can do for them, but when I am alone, in the privacy of my studio, I have fun searching for those abstract elements of my design, something which will make people think and ask: What is it? So tell me, how do you interpret my images? (Click on each photo to view it larger).

Red_As_Fire

Textures

Texture2

Hot_Cold

WhatSize
If you make a circle with both of your hands and look through it as if it was a camera lens, you will see things not usually noticeable with a bare eye.

This is in response to WordPress Weekly Photo Challenge “Abstract” – https://dailypost.wordpress.com/photo-challenges/abstract

Ciao,
Valentina
http://www.valentinadesigns.com

Copyright © 2016 Valentina Cirasola, All Rights Reservedvalentina-ValleMonte

In my 25th years of design business I am having more fun than ever, experience eliminates stress and dictates the pace of work. I am evolving in different directions while still helping people realizing their dream spaces in homes, offices, interiors and exteriors. Colors are the main focus of my business today, changing people’s energy and life force just by introducing them to colors they never imagined.

Check out my books on
Amazon: http://goo.gl/xUZfk0
Barnes&Nobles: http://goo.gl/q7dQ3w

 

Finally in Colors | Valentina Cirasola | Interior Designer

After 25 years or more, unconsciously she felt the need for colors. Her household is made of three men and herself, the only woman, unless she has girlfriends and occasional visitors over whom are not part of the everyday life. Although she decorated her house with taste and classic pieces, the décor has too many beige and black furniture having qualities traditionally ascribed to men. I was invited to speak at her organization on the subject of colors. She attended it and immediately got convinced she needed a transformation. What a transformation has been…..!!!!!
(Click on each photo to view it larger).

NewColorScheme(New color scheme)

My goal is to bring femininity into her life, provide some private corners for meditation, writing cards, reading, or receive a close friend for tea instead of sitting in the kitchen. The house is spacious with many unused rooms (the boys are no longer living there). I am creating an office room, energized with colors, where she can perform her work duties, without feeling in an office box. I also introduced her to Ikat pattern and kilim designs mixed with modern lines and some ethnic details.

HomeOfficeFinal

I can tell you my first time in this house, I started yawning the first five minutes I was there due to too all areas covered with beige, white and black. It was a good thing, because it prompted me to bring color accents everywhere, from rugs, to sofa pillows and bar stools; from wall paint to wall art; interesting mirror shapes and glass accessories; new furniture and new room arrangements. After all, I was called to bring colorful energy. Editing has been part of the restyling concept.  It has been necessary to eliminate too many old furniture, too many accessories cluttering each surface, too many styles living in the same space and too many animal figurines.  While heavy editing was going on, my new stylish furniture and cheerful colors were pushing in.

GuestBedroomFinal(Guest Bedroom)

SittingRoomFinal(Sitting Room)

In a few more weeks the house will be transformed forever and she will never return to beige again.

I will be ready to show the finished product then, for now I can just show vignettes of my restyling concepts. She is now one of us, lovers of colors. She is part of my “get rid of black color” movement.

Colors are contagious for your happiness, be careful how you use them, you might get up in the morning totally cheerful with a smile from ear to ear. Ciao,
Valentina
http://www.valentinadesigns.com

Copyright © 2016 Valentina Cirasola. All Rights Reserved

ValWorkingValentina Cirasola is an Italian Interior Designer working in the USA and Europe since 1990, specializing in kitchen, bath, wine cellar, and outdoor kitchen designs. Often people describe her as “the colorist” as she loves to color her clients’ world and loves to create the unusual. “Vogue” magazine and many prominent publications in California featured Valentina’s work. She also has made four appearances on T.V. Comcast Channel 15 and on RAI – Italian National TV. Author of three published books, the latest ©RED – A Voyage Into Colors is on the subject of colors.
Amazon: http://goo.gl/xUZfk0
Barnes&Nobles: http://goo.gl/q7dQ3w

Winter Food | Valentina Cirasola | Author and Designer

Fire is on, red wines show their characters through the ruby coloration, days are mostly grey, in some parts of the world even snows and in my home it’s time for comfort food, winter food, healthy food, warm and filling food with whatever the market offers. Today, I am presenting stuffed cabbage with tuna, chickpeas, spinach, brown rice, eggs and spices. It seems to have had a good response among my friends. This is a good recipe to get rid of leftovers, it can be done with other ingredients as well, such as ground meat, mashed potatoes, white rice, quinoa, all vegetables with cheese and no grain and so on,  all depend on your fantasy. It is also low in calories.
Set aside a couple of hours of your time, if you are fast in the kitchen it might take less time.

I am not going to give you quantities, this is a free-form specialty, more ingredients you assemble more baking pans you will fill up. It’s all good stuff. Keep in the freezer the portions you don’t use in one dinner for those days when cooking is not on your list and still want to offer the family something delicious to eat. A large cabbage will give you a good number of large leaves to stuff.

VerzaRipiena

 

  • In salted water parboil all the cabbage leaves, one by one for about 3-4 minute each. The salt will prevent discoloration through the process and your leaves will stay a vivid green even after the baking. Lay them on a towel to dry.
  • Wash the spinach in the quantity you need and sauté with garlic and olive oil. Drain the juice that forms and save it for later. Squeeze the spinach of all juices and pat dry.
  • Boil the brown rice or cook it in rice cooker, I mixed in saffron, parsley and olive oil.
  • If you don’t have chickpeas already cooked, the canned type is OK too, but drain the salted juice in the can and wash the chickpeas in abundant current water.
  • Drain the can tuna from the water and crumble it with a fork. Fresh tuna is better of course.
    ****
    Now, in a very large bowl assemble all the ingredients: brown rice, tuna, chickpeas, spinach, 2-3 beaten eggs and some spices you like. Add a small amount of Parmigiano cheese, just for binding, season to your liking with salt and pepper. Mix well. Eliminate the hard spine of the leaf, it doesn’t bend well and set aside for a different dish later. With a spoon fill each cabbage leaf, roll and make a package. In the bottom of a baking dish put a small amount of that juice obtained from sautéing the spinach, align each package, on top add tomatoes sauce (passata) or peeled tomatoes, a swirl of olive oil and a small amount of Parmigiano cheese.
    Bake uncovered at 400˚ F until the top is golden brown, maybe 20 minutes, depending on your oven. Serve warm.

If you have leftover stuffing, turn it into a frittata and you have another good meal assured. Buon Appetito!

In my home cooking is an important everyday experience. It doesn’t matter what our profession is, when it’s time to eat we change hats and turn into demanding chefs. Ciao,
Valentina
http://www.valentinadesigns.com

Copyright © 2016 Valentina Cirasola, All Rights Reserved
10626547_10203527385518761_5878448476892428943_nValentina Cirasola is the designer who cooks. She has a deep interest in food that led her as an autodidact in the studies of food in history, natural remedies, nutrition, well-being and learning food of the world. She wrote two books on Italian regional cuisine and one book on color theory, in which she included one recipe for each color. Get your copy of Valentina’s books on
Amazon: http://goo.gl/xUZfk0
Barnes&Nobles: http://goo.gl/q7dQ3w

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