May | 2012 | Jillian In Italy

Archive | May, 2012

Mme. Zsa Zsa’s Allemaal Rokjes

Last week my in-laws arrived in Italy for a long week-end. It was really wonderful to have them here. We went for walks, ate at restaurants, gardened, shopped, lazed around the house and, most importantly, went to my daughter’s first play (in which she was AMAZING of course).

As usual my mother-in-law came bearing many gifts. Belgian chocolate, brown sugar, Flemish TV series for the kids, beautiful fabric and a wonderful sewing book for me.

The book is called Allemaal Rokjes (All Kinds of Skirts would be the rough English translation) and is written by Mme. Zsa Zsa. Yes…it is written by a woman who calls herself Mme. Zsa Zsa! Just that alone would make me buy the book.
There are many different skirt patterns and styles to choose from for both girls and women. This frons rokje above is one of the first on my list to make. It has a jersey waist band. How comfortable would that be for frolicking children?

The photos are really fun and quirky with a circus theme throughout. I love how the instructions are hand drawn and the patterns are all so easy to follow and understand. I’m not sure if the book is available in English but it’s worth learning Dutch just to be able to use it.

I have a feeling that might be the famous Mme. Zsa Zsa in the photo.

One of the things I love about this book is that it includes the patterns for every single skirt featured.

This Madame Zsa Zsa seems like a very cool lady. Take a look at her blog here.

Tags: allemaal rokjes, madame zsa zsa, Sewing, sewing book, skirts

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Gingerbread with warm caramel sauce

5 May

Today was one of those days that I just craved something from back home. It was a chilly and cloudy day and I was wandering around my kitchen trying to find inspiration for something to bake. I opened up my baking cupboard and the first thing I saw was a little carton of Maritime Molasses and a tiny tin of pumpkin pie spice. I knew immediately what I wanted to make.

I remember througout my childhood we always went to visit Peggy’s Cove (a famous Nova Scotia tourist destination with famous lighthouse). We always stopped at the Peggy’s Cove restaurant to have a piece of their famous Gingerbread.

So today that’s just what I made. It’s an easy cake to bake and the sauce whips up in minutes. It is very moist and rich with a tiny hint of the spicy ginger. My kids love it and we almost managed to finish the whole cake. Shame on us.

Click for recipe…
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Tags: baking, cake, featured post, food, gingerbread, photography, recipe, warm caramel sauce

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Lago d’Orta

3 May

The other day we took a little day trip to a small local lake called Lago d’Orta (30 minutes from our house). We visited the charming little town of Orta San Giulio that is located on the eastern bank of the lake.

The town is full of narrow cobblestoned streets lined with old stone building and beautiful courtyards. The town’s main piazza looks over the small island Isola San Giulio which is located in the middle of the lake. In the main piazza there are a few outdoor terraces where you can sit and have a meal or a drink and watch the boats and tourists.

There is a lovely little walk along the lake which leads out of the town. From there you can also walk up to the Unesco Heritage site Sacro Monte di Orta (literally the Sacred Mountain of Orta) which is located at the top of Saint Nicolao hill. As you walk up the hill you can visit the 20 chapels that were built in the 1500/1600’s and are full of beautiful artworks. From the top there are wonderful views of the lake and surrounding hills and mountains.

If you want to visit Lago d’Orta and stay in style, you definitely have to stay at the luxurious Villa Crespi. They even have a 2 michelin star awarded restaurant. The villa has a colourful facade and an exotic middle eastern style of architecture (with minaret an all!).Looking towards Isola San Giulio.The colours of Orta San Giulio.

Stone house with wooden roof beams and windowsill plants.

(ps…the season finale of cylce 15 of America’s Next Top Model was shot in this little town. Like you wanted to know that, right? And why oh why do I know that?).