And while we are on the topic of mustaches…

Oh what Tuesday this one has turned out to be. First of let me tell you that my hair looked fabulous today. At least I thought so. Last night, I slept with my hair in a fishbone braid. When I took it out twelve hours later I had the sexy beach hair every ocean lover wants. What a great day to start my morning. The second eventful thing, after eating my yogurt, was taking my Italian Art History Final. Five different print outs of pieces of art were placed before me. For each one I had to identify and explain the piece, and then there was a second question that had to do with the detail of either the artist or the style of the piece.  I feel like I did all right, but it was the best I could do, so I am satisfied. (I also had my Photography Final Critique.. but that was a joke. Everyone loved my work. Actually everyone loved everyone's work. Charles just talked mostly. He does that often.) 

Today in the streets of Firenze there were wild protests. I do not know what these men were fighting about, but the city is on edge. There were helicopters flying around (this is really rare) and I was surrounded by men in uniform with bats, and helmets with face masks running to “designated protest areas.” It was exciting. If I get any news on what exactly was going down, I will inform you. Currently the rumor is something with a neighboring African country…. But that has not be confirmed. Don’t worry mom, I am safe and sound.

Isabella and Felix came over for dinner tonight. For those of you who do not remember, they are my two friends from the break dancing group. We had a delicious pasta dinner (surprised?) and then played a few rounds of the card game Spoons and finished with a great game of Bullshit. There were lots of laughs. I am going to miss those two.

We finished the night (when I say we, I mean Joanna and Rachel and I) by watching the film The Truman Show. It is hard to explain. I suggest you look it up. Watch it. Then watch it again. It was a mind blower.

Verbaledudette’s Gift Guide Item Number thirteen is: Something that is off the market: The Parmesan Cheese Pencil Sharpener.

(Just so you know, before this I wanted to put a copy of FUKT magazine on, but I could not find if you could purchase it! Is it an online only thing? This gift thing is a disappointment. Look at this link http://www.fukt.de/ and tell me if you can find a price. Who knew trying to play Santa’s helper could be so darn frustrating.) I give up. Listen folks, I have been collecting cool things for the passed two months and the last few nights I have become heart broken when the truth about these objects come out. I was thrilled to find this product. A pencil that shaves off cheese is genius! I was excited to show you this wonderful device. It’s unique, it’s classy, it’s fun, it’s artsy, it sold out completely after the first two weeks of sale time and the Germans are not making any more. What kind of world do we live in!?

Where to find it online so you can at least look at it: http://jazarah.net/meet-the-parmesan-cheese-pencils/

Price: Haha. Funny.

Let’s try this again. Today’s gift item from your favorite blogger is: TOO EXPENSIVE FOR YOU but I have to show it to you anyway. It is the Rocking Italian Scooter Deluxe.

I stumbled on this beauty a month ago and it was not until tonight that I noticed, not only that it was a lot of moolah, but also it is hand made from a guy that lives in Turin, Italia. How perfect is that? In his little “about this” section, he claims that the one you receive may be a little different because he makes the special for order. He may charge the big bucks, but considering what the process must be, I would buy this. I would buy this, but then not let my children get near it.

Where to find it: http://www.etsy.com/listing/41381029/rocking-italian-scooter-deluxe

Price: $2,300.00

Okay, here is a gift closer to your price range. (I am guessing Bill Gates and other million dollar owners are not interested in my ramble. I am guessing my audience is more normal.) Introducing the: ‘Stache Labbit Plush

Do not ask me what  a labbit is, but isn’t this the cutest hipster stuffed animal you have ever laid eyes on? Your kids would love to find this in their stockings! Even your boyfriend/girlfiend would love to get this while out on a romantic date that you will do before anyone else cause your cool and that is the hipster way to do things. Embrace the ‘stache my ‘sters.

Where to find this: http://www.kidrobot.com/Toys/PlushToys/stacheLabbitPlush7Inch.html

Price: $15.95

And while we are on the topic of mustaches… you might as well consider getting these bad boys too. Perfect for those men, and women, in your life who can’t grow fuzz beneath their nostrils. TA DA:  The Sunstache

Again, I do not know why they call it that. But you cannot resist these fabulous pair of shades. Get one for the whole family! Hey, even old Grandpa Joe would like to grow a bushy mustache once again! It’s a hell of a lot better than those ones with the fake nose because you do not have to breathe in plastic and you look natural. . . ish.

Where to find: http://us.urbanoutfitters.com/urban/catalog/productdetail.jsp?itemdescription=true&itemCount=80&startValue=1&selectedProductColor=&sortby=&id=23510506&parentid=SHOP_STOCKINGSTUFFERS&sortProperties=+subCategoryPosition,&navCount=0&navAction=jump&color=&pushId=SHOP_STOCKINGSTUFFERS&popId=GENERAL_CATEGORY&prepushId=&selectedProductSize=&cm_mmc=Social-_-FB-_-20111202-_-sunstache

Price: $8.00

And here is a crazy picture of me because I felt like there wasn't enough random on this post. 

Tomorrow I have my Italian final. Wish me luck! Have a good night my friends. Stay classy.

P.S. Did you noticed I did not talk about the weather? You should be proud. 

P.P.S. The weather was bright and sunny all day. 

P.P.S.S. I just could not help it. 

the rain in spain stays mainly in the plain

Clouds, grey and dark, hovered around the city like a child’s ‘blanket and chair’ fortress. Firenze, bustling with eager shoppers and umbrellas, hid beneath the quilted sky as drops of warm rain sprinkled the streets and it occupants. Wet air held heat in its breezes, whipping around corners and up the side of Brunelleschi’s Duomo. The thick scent of Sunday four-course dinner leaked out of neighboring windows and spiraled with the smokes of top floor chimneys. I wandered the streets for two hours; umbrella in hand, stepping in each puddle my shoes came to the edge of. Admiring the city, once more, as it’s frail beauty was washed with nature’s shower. When I came home, the apartment held a dark silence. The kitchen window showed no change in the sky as the hidden sun set.

To finish a perfect rainy afternoon, I sat down (with Rachel) in the living room for a little movie marathon. First to be watched was Pineapple Express. Following the runaway few days of a drug dealer and an innocent weed smoking murder witnesser, I enjoyed each scene. James Franco captures my heart no matter how greasy his hair is and how often he says dude. The second film was Pulp Fiction.  A hipster favorite, that I have previously seen, but did not remember anything. (The reason was my not remembering is going to be blamed on the fact that I was in bed, on a liquid diet, because I had just escaped nose surgery.) This time, I loved it. With an amazing cast and sound track, Quinton Tarantino presents such witty, sexy, funny, action, thrilled, fun, into one film. My only complaint: John Travolta’s hair. (For reasons that do not need explaining.)

Tonight I had pasta for dinner and then Joanna made me dessert. The dessert was coop cookies and peanut butter.  “How to make tagalongs when you can’t find a girlscout” –Joanna talking about the snack. What a wonderful day!

Today’s gift is for the geeks. For the Star Wars know all and the Darth Vader quotaters.

Yes, your eyes do not deceive you like the lies of Luke’s father. Those are in fact Hans Solo in Carbonate Ice Cube Trays. “The Empire will compensate you if he melts” now has a new meaning. The empire, being a glass, will be officially colder when this fantasy hero thaws. Also, you can even use they to make chocolate too! What a perfect gift to buy that dorky friend you love!

Where to find: http://www.thinkgeek.com/homeoffice/kitchen/e845/#tabs

Price: $9.99

Goodnight! xoxo

Title: My Fair Lady 

Does anyone know how to play Rook?

Eddy rearranged the furniture in the main room, so now I am forced to face Joanna as I type. We are enjoying it by having our feet connected. It is hard to explain, but the two chairs are facing each other, we have our legs extended, and our feet touching so they are suspended and supported in the air. This is what happens when you spend too much time with someone.

This morning I had cinema class and I loved it. We watch a film by Derek Jarman called “Blue.” It was an audio documentary of Jarman’s struggle to fight HIV/AIDS and how the disease slowly diminished his sight. The screen was completely blue the entire hour and forty minutes. Audio included Jarman narrating lines from his diary and supported music/noise. It enthralled my senses and made my imagination go crazy. Go Jarman!

Today’s weather was simply splendid. It rained all last night, so this morning was fogged and wet. The air was humid and the sky a warm grey. It was really nice walking to the store with Joanna as the sun set.

Now for the big reason I know you all came to visit Verbaledudette this lovely December second.

Gift Guide Item Number Two: Skeleton Coffee Mugs by Phoebe Richardson  

Are you sick and tired of not being able to stack your friends/children’s/parents/neighbors mugs to create cool designs in their cupboards?  If yes, this is your gift. A set of four perfect sized white “bone” china coffee mugs with a simple image of a skeleton on it, create the best little gift for that unique person. These are so retro, no one will even consider them Halloween related, but rather, they will think they are just plain awesome. I call the rib cup!

Where to find them: http://www.farfetch.com/shopping/women/item10076693.aspx

Price: $54.00

P.s. Thank you Grandmother with the package of games and my chocolate Turkey! You are the sweetest! I love you!

P.p.s. Does anyone know how to play the card game Rook? Joanna and I cannot figure out the directions. Two blondes, what do you expect? 

Happy Late Thanksgiving!

Being in Italy celebrating an only American holiday is quite the sensation. First off, you do not get school off, in fact, you even have an extra class. Thursday we had a rescheduled cinema class in the morning, followed by film photography in the afternoon. Other than not having school off, I actually had to prepare Thanksgiving dinner. The three of us did a splendid job at that. Our menu included frosted tap water and delicious local red wine from our friends around the corner. Then we started off with an appetizer of fresh pink lady apples, swelled with orange juice. The main course included The Rachel-Grandma Shaw famous stuffing, hand mashed with a fork and arm muscles potatoes (by yours truly,) hot rolls, and of course, a turkey breast basted in seasonings, carrots, and mushrooms hand rubbed by Joanna. Dessert included milk from our own personal cartons and (Joanna’s Mom --->) Kathy’s too good to be true fudge sent all the way from Pittsburg. Now although it is nothing to compare to the amazing meal my family makes in the States, BUT considering we all had never really cooked anything like a Thanksgiving dinner, the meal was eaten with a smile and a sigh of content was released after we were induced into a food coma. To finish off the evening, we sat in the living room listening to Shaggy and Italian’s own Lucio Dalla, while yelling with laughter at a three-hour game of Catch Phrase. I even got told a bedtime story before passing out from a wonderful evening.

So here I am, wishing you all a very, Happy Thanksgiving. I am so thankful for my family and friends (who I miss so much,) for the opportunity to live in the most beautiful country, the chance to chase my dreams, and for the best life any one could ask for. I am truly lucky, blessed, and ever so thankful.

Forever and Always. Xoxo Ciao. Ciao.

"I am your number one fan. There is nothing to worry about. You are going to be just fine. I am your number one fan. "

Good morning from a chilly seat in my kitchen. I am positioned by the window, but the entire apartment has a cold air to it. I am eating breakfast that consists of yogurt, cereal, and bananas. (My Mother just passed out, I am sure. I never eat breakfast at home.) The yogurt I am eating is like that “all natural- if you freeze it, it would taste like it is from Spoon Me” and it comes with a little side dish of chocolate cereal pieces that you put in. It tastes great, except for that I accidently bought one with coconut in it, so I had to mix some of Joanna’s peanut butter in to help diminish that grainy taste.

The main reason I am writing to you this early in the morning is to tell you about the films Joanna and I watched last night. I need to get them out of my head. The first one was Misery, based off of a Stephen King novel (so you know where I am heading with this.) It was suspensefully (yes, I know that is not a real word) creepy. I am not one for scary shows, but it was sure fun screaming and closing my eyes with Joanna in her little loft/room. I really badly want to tell you the most famous part, but I wont, in case you get some crazy idea to watch it this weekend.

The other one was called Bowling for Columbine, which is a Michael Moore film (again, his name says everything about what kind of film it was.) It was a documentary about guns and the safety of America. I definitely recommend it, but I will say it was more upsetting then the horror film because it was all true. I have always been really interested in the mind set behind someone who does a school shooting, probably because no one knows because the murderers usually do not walk out alive. It is one of those interests that terrify me at the same time. The thing I got out of this film is that The United States is built on fear and murder, but no one knows the reason that makes us so different from the other countries like Canada who only has three murders every few years.

Today we have cinema and I am not too excited. The room is always really cold and we are only watching weird documentary kind of movies. It is not exactly what I imagined the class being like.

Rachel has a friend visiting for the weekend. Just thought I would tell you.

Tonight we are kind of having a little tiny party in our apartment. When I say party, I mean like five people including the ones who already live here. Our German friends are coming, along with Ricardo and a few of his friends. I hope it is more fun than awkward, but I am sure it will be really awkward.

Also, I just want to inform you that my friends have a band called Jahboodie and then played at Kilby Court last night. Isn’t that so cool? I am really sad that I did not get to see it because one: they are my friends, two: it was at Kilby Court (the best concert place ever) and three: Gabrielle and I would have had so much fun wearing our band shirts she made and dancing along. (It would have been Miniature Tigers all over again, except for the Canadian part.)

We are having a really hard time getting Internet in the apartment lately. I just want you to know that I am alive and well and missing you like crazy.  : ) I hope you have a great day! xoxo

**Title: A quote from Misery