5 Pretty Elements: Books

One of my favorite activities is..reading! I love books!

I am an only child and used to entertain myself with books, that's probably why I love reading so much.

I am not affectionate to one category in particular, and in my collection you can find romance, thriller, horror and drama ;)

I am going to list 5 books I have recently read, maybe they will inspire you too.

1. The secret keeper - Kate Morton
 
I've recently discovered Kate Morton and I really like her style! So far, I've read The secret keeper, The distant hour and I am now reading The forgotten garden.

This book has got me engaged from the first moment! It contains flashback to London City during II World War, the London Blitz and the life of Dorothy,Vivien and Jimmy during those turbulent times. Back in 2011, Laurel (Dorothy´s daughter) is trying to discover a secret about her mum's life during war time and a mysterious crime committed in their home when Laurel was only 16.

I love mysteries , especially if they're set in the past! If you like mysteries  and feel like a Cold Case detective, this book will hook you and,  rest assured, you won't be able to stop reading!


2. Maya's notebook - Isabel Allende

The good thing about speaking 3 languages is that I get the chance to read Spanish and English authors in their native language.

I have always been a big fan of Isabel Allende and I am sure many people loved her  house of spirits - I am one of them.

In the past few weeks I have been reading Maya's notebook and it confirms Isabel Allende is a great writer. Maya is a neglected teenager, who gets into some serious troubles (drugs, prostitution and crime) and when her grandmother is able to find her, Maya is sent in a remote island of Chile. There, she starts writing a notebook telling her story from the early years in California to her troubled years in Las Vegas and finally her life in Chile.

I liked to imagine the exotic places Maya's describes in her notebook and also the stories of her trouble that do not bring us far away from the reality we face nowadays.

3. Moonlight Shadow - Banana Yoshimoto

This is a short book, and takes some influence from Kitchen , an old book of the same author Banana Yoshimoto.

This story talks about Satsuki, a girl who lost her boyfriend - Hitoshi - in a car crash. She is still grieving about her loss and get close to Hitoshi's brother who also lost her girlfriend in the same crash. This story gets magical when she meets a strange girl named Urara, who hopes to help her with a mystical experience.

It is a sad story but Banana makes you reflect on many aspects of life and loss - that's why I like her.

4. Detrás del cristal - Mayte Esteban

I'm afraid this book has not been translated in any other language, but if you can read in Spanish do not hesitate to buy it ( the ebook costs 0.99€!!).

The book tells about several people that, willing or not, end up having a link between them. A young business man is trapped babysitting a baby he doesn't know because Ana, the baby´s mother, has found a job and needs the money so much, she has to make this extreme act or she will lose her job. There are other lives involved in this novel and it is quite interesting (and shocking) to learn how those lives will change in the end.

Mayte Esteban is a new writer and I wish her the best!

5. Toilets of the world - Morna E. Gregory; Sian James

This is a fun and interesting book. I saw it for the first time in some friends' place and couldn't resist from buying it myself!

The book contains pictures and short descriptions of the most strange, eclectic and rudimental toilets you can find in the entire world. It also makes you see how things we give for granted (the toilet) is a real luxury for other countries!

They also have a website http://toiletsoftheworldbook.com/ : have a look, you might have a laugh ;)

This book has a special place in my house...the bathroom! where else?? :)

What about you? Have you been reading anything interesting lately?

Until next time,
Daniela

5 Pretty Elements: Flip Flop BBQ

Few days ago I wrote about a BBQ we have organized with some of our friends! I named it Flip Flop BBQ because I asked my friends to show up in flip flop since we had to stay outdoors.

We have a nice BBQ in the garden and wanted to use it asap :)

BBQ station is ready to work!

We prepared the BBQ station for Antonio (Thank You Antonio for not complaining about the task we assigned you ;) ) and a buffet for my calzoncini, salads and tea/beers.

5 things I loved about the BBQ

1. Quality time with Friends

It's nice to spend some quality time with friends especially during a nice and warm day! Sometimes you feel like you don't have time to stop and relax a bit, but when you really stop..you surely don't regret it.

And during Summer time.. relax is assured!

2. Food 

Yes.. food too! The classic sausages, hamburgers, brochette but especially the collaboration between friends in preparing something to share.

I had organized a table for my calzoncini, salads and bread (Thank you Sunneva and Kasia for the amazing salads):

We also had a mini fridge for the beers ;)

3. Nice weather

We were blessed with a nice Sunday afternoon! I actually had to take the sunscreen out..

He needed sunscreen too:

4. The garden

As I previously said, we love the garden ;) and I wanted to share with you 2 picture I have taken during the BBQ:

Nice, aren´t they? I thought I had lost my roses until I realized that something new was opening up :)

5. Canito's friends

Canito got to spend some quality time as well with Raki and Amos.

This is how they spent their afternoon:

... They also played a lot ;)

Until next time,
Daniela

5 Pretty Elements: Trip to Teramo

As I said on my facebook page, I have been on holidays for 9 days: Stefano and I went visiting his family to Teramo, his hometown in Italy.

On the road to...Teramo

The city is located in Abruzzo, Central Italy (about 2 hours from Rome..). I absolutely love Abruzzo and Teramo. The landscape is so different from my own home town! Abruzzo has mountains and hills, while Puglia is plain and surronded by lovely beaches, so I don't get tired of looking around and simply relax.

I really enjoy going back to Teramo but, as it happens every year, the time flies by too quickly :(

Below my list of 5 things I love about Italy, Teramo and our holidays there.

1. The place

www.abruzzocitta.it

Beautiful! Look at the mountain behind the city, it is the "Gran Sasso". Doesn't it look like a big giant? :) that's how local people name the mountain: the sleeping giant.

2. The food

Well...I haven't met a person so far who said that they didn't love italian food :) I'm not going too much into details about all the gorgeous plates I had last week, but I want to mention the speciality above: Le Virtù! This plate is original from Teramo and it is cooked only on the 1st of May! 

The recipe has very old origins: Local farmers used to collect all vegetables left from the old season and mix it together with meat and pasta. Basically this plate contains all sorts of vegetables and legumes, several meats (including small meatballs),spices and different types of pasta. It takes minimum 3 days in order to prepare everything (!!) and the mixture must be perfect..that's probably why they only do it once a year ;)

It was the first time I ate "Le Virtú" and I have to say it is superb!

3. The joy of Family

Living abroad means you don't get to see your family so often :(  

It is no surprise that when Camilla and Francesco get the chance to see their uncle...this is what happens! Hair is transformed into crests, hide and seek is played for hours (because Stefano can't find them..) and the house is filled with screams and laughs :)

4. Supermarkets

I miss italian supermarkets. 
They always smell of clean, the shelves are organised perfectly, the products they sell are amazing (look at those biscuits mmmh).

Many of those products are not available here in Spain or they do not really taste the same :(

5. Coffee

Mmmh! A nice and sweet cappuccino! 

Breakfast was always a pleasure :) Cappuccino and Cornetto or Espresso and Saccottino...whatever you choose the success is guaranteed!

Not only coffee is delicious, but also the pastries and cakes are exquisite! If you plan to go to Italy, don't miss the breakfast and enjoy all those cakes! 

You will gain few pounds, but you won't regret it ;)

I'm looking forward to my next trip to Italy, this will be in July and we will be visiting Puglia :)

Until next time,
Daniela 

******************************************************
I have linked this post to:

5 Pretty Elements: The Beach

Living so close to the sea makes me spend a lot of time to the beach.

My dog Canito loves going to the beach (I'm sure that's no surprise) where he gets to run non-stop and meet new friends (He doesn't miss one dog...) so, Stefano and I often take him there.

Last Sunday we spent the day in Tarifa, a beautiful place in Southern Spain where Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean sea waters mix together.

5 things I loved about the day:

1. The view

Long and sandy beach, the sound of the waves, exceptional weather and..Canito on the horizon ;)

2. Happy faces

Hi! I'm really enjoying myself!

He greeted each and every dog he encountered on the beach, he seriously didn't miss one! 

Most of the time we had to run behind this:

Bye - Bye!

He runs so fast that he flies away!! I'll tell you a secret, my dog has super powers, as you can see here LOL ;):

Super Canito!

3. Relax

Cuddle time

It is nice to get away from routine and spend quality time in a peaceful and beautiful place like this. 
In general, the beach is the place I enjoy the most if I want to spend a nice day. I couldn't be living far away from it.

4. Healthy walks

I got to do exercise 6 out of 7 times last week!!! I still don't believe it..must be because of Spring time (and the upcoming swimsuit season...he-hem).

5. The treasures....

Oh yeah! The beach was full of these beauties! some shells were so deteriorated that the mother of pearl was the only thing left! As soon as I saw them, many craft ideas came up to my mind  - please imagine my eyes with a big DIY stamped on them - and I'm looking forward to start working on it.

How was your weekend? I hope you have spent some quality time in your favorite place, like I did!

Until next time,
Daniela