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| A touch of Rovinj, Croatia - beautiful handmade aprons for the girls |
My European trip wasn't about having a spending spree. It was more about taking the girls to see where their deceased Grandfather was born; meet relatives for the first time and experience a place in the world that is vastly different to their Australian way of life. Mission accomplished. However, I still managed to pick up some nice 'little' things along the way. The girls had quite a bit of fun with purchases; but we needed to be mindful the whole time about luggage weight.
And so here I begin an "In My Kitchen" segment with some of our European purchases. The lovely Celia from
Fig Jam and Lime Cordial is the lady behind the concept of "In My Kitchen". Her blog is full of wonderful stuff, but I am quite partial to her Jam and Preserve section. Very, very useful info!
I hope you like some of our treasures - we were only interested in things made in their country. In Italy especially, we were often told "no china, no china". I was rather pleased to see their pride with "Made in Italy".
In my October kitchen..........
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| A touch of Spain - inspired by Picasso do you think? |
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| A touch of England - Nicole reminded of her love for the Animals from "Farthing Wood". |
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| A touch of Venice - I can never have enough "Turkish" coffee cups |
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| Another touch of Venice - fridge magnets |
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| A touch of Bergamo, Italy - 1 of the 2 cups I purchased, hand-made and hand painted - amazing! |
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| A touch of Montenegro - Turkish coffee overload |
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| A really cool bottle opener complete with Montenegrin emblem |
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| A touch of Milano - from the duty free shop |
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| A touch of Serbia - we would have bought the entire collection if only we could! |
I could keep going. I actually bought more than I realised! I know one thing. Next time, less clothes and more room. Especially for crafts and artworks.
And finally ...............
Two beautiful handmade personalised aprons for me. From Venezia, Italy.
Mariana, what a perfect way to bring back memories from a trip! I know every piece will have a story behind it. I particularly like the cup and saucer from Bergamo - such fine handiwork!
ReplyDeleteThanks for joining in the IMK posts this month, and for the link back! :)
Oh, so pleased to hear from you Celia. And thanks for receiving my post so warmly - I wasn't too sure if I was supposed to follow your formula to a tee or quite how the story should go. So I made my own version. Anyhow, I enjoyed it and could easily write many more 'In My Kitchen's', because I am always collecting little bits and pieces that catch my eye. And speaking of 'eye', I think yours is particularly good. The cup and saucer from Bergamo are one of my fav's. Mariana xx
ReplyDeleteYou're back! I 'm going for the Spanish mid century modern plates as my favourites, they remind me of Joan Miró and Picasso both. I love those colours and the patterns and they are just gorgeous. What a wonderful collection. Just beautiful x Joanna
ReplyDeleteOOoooohhhhh I love everything kitchen-y....those plates and paintings are especially pretty and LOVE the aprons :))...Yes ...next time less clothes more space...I can never resist buying things on a trip ..
ReplyDeletehugsss xxx
zurin
So many lovely things Mariana!
ReplyDeleteLove the Bergamo cup as well. Bergamo holds a very special place in my heart.
I got to your beautiful blog from Celia's wonderful blog. I was expecting to see ingredients or kitchen utensils but I am blown away by all the beautiful crafts that you have collected! I particularly like the Spanish plates coz I'm a fan of Picasso and Dali :)
ReplyDeleteJoanna - I thought you said you weren't at all arty or crafty! Choosing those plates makes me think otherwise dear - how very 'arty' of you - hehe. Thanks. Mariana xx
ReplyDeleteSo pleased you liked my aprons Zurin - funny story behind those. I was in Venice would you believe with 1 1/2 hours to go before I had to be on the train for Milan as I was leaving for home the next day. I was feeling particularly guilty because I hadn't bought any 'proper' presents, especially for my dear Philomena who had been feeding Mitch all this time. And here, I happened upon this 'kitchen' place in the heart of San Marco (fashion mecca with prices to match). You could choose personalised aprons and they knocked them up fairly quickly. Well the girls and I went nuts. I bought two for myself - as in the picture above - one for Philomena and three others. There must a God! Philomena loved hers to bits - instead of the olives, I gave her one with pumpkins - we have a long standing competition with our pumpkins and her pumpkins. I was soooo delighted with my find and just in the knick of time. As Celia said, every piece has a story behind it. No more than this one!! And yes - more space next time - the oil paintings in the Balkans were spectacular - and very affordable - damn!! Thanks dear. Mariana xx
Lovely to see you again cityhippyfarmgirl - and thank you. You have me most intrigued with your comment. Bergamo was sooooooo pretty. I'd love to know 'your' story and the reason for your attachment to this place.
I recall walking outside the church and into the main square when I saw a stage set up with opera singers having a rehearsal for what was clearly going to be some event. Chairs were set up for passer-byers and I just stood there watching in amazement as these wonderful Italian opera singers belted out their performance. The orchestra was spectacular and after about ten minutes it began to lightly shower. Some of the musicians jumped up, covered their instruments and ran under cover. They called off the rehearsal, but for ten minutes I was totally immersed into another world and I even cried. That was my special moment in Bergamo - oh and the ride in the funicula was something too. Mariana xx
Welcome chopinandmysaucepan - and thank you. Although some are 'arty', all of these items can well and truly live 'in my kitchen'. Glad you liked the Spanish plates, well and truly hand-made and hand-painted in Spain. Gosh, I'm so pleased I managed to get these 'breakables' home without any cracks or missing bits.
Cheers Mariana
Hello mama! I had fun reading through this post! I was so excited to see my apron that awaits me back home. I really love it. :D
ReplyDeleteAhhh, it's so exciting to go through all the goods that you bought. You sound happy with your purchases! I particularly love the hand painted cups from Bergamo. Such treasures. :)
Looks like Nik's choices have been quite popular though. I personally, am not a fan of those Spanish plates so maybe she really does have a good eye. :)
Love and miss you, Ma.
"In My Kitchen" is one of the highlights to the blogging month. I love the cup and saucer you bought in Italy :)
ReplyDeleteI love the things you brought back from your trip. They really keep the memories alive. You are lucky to bring so many breakables back intact!
ReplyDeleteGosh, can't believe I've overlooked your comments ladies!
ReplyDeleteThanks Cindy - IMK is a wonderful concept and I hope it makes Celia famous. She deserves it! I wish I could of bought more stuff from the artist who made the cup and saucer. Very expensive as you can imagine, but soooo beautiful.
Thanks for dropping by invisiblespice - of course you are right. Whenever I use any of these items it will remind of a certain time in a certain place.
Another gosh. Sorry Issy. Looks like I've overlooked your comment too. Yes the aprons are so pretty. Whenever I see you wearing one, I shall forever be reminded of Rovinj and you know how much I love that place!! Righto! The Bergamo cup and saucer are yours my dear. That is when I am no longer on this earth. Hehe. Love and miss you too. Mama xxxx
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