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A Kid’s Life : Switzerland

I’m really excited to have a new interview for my A Kid’s Life series on the blog today. Over the last months I’ve been busy looking for interesting families from around the world and I’ve found a few great ones that I’ll be interviewing in the coming weeks. I was recently reading back through the previous interviews from Italy, Japan, America, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, The Philippines, Colombia, Germany, Belgium, France and The Netherlands and I still love to hear what family life is like in all these countries and cultures. Learning about all the little differences in our daily lives is fascinating and I’ve discovered that my kids absolutely love reading these interviews as well. They get a huge kick out of learning things like a baby’s first food in Japan (fish paste!), that school starts really early in Colombia and The Philippines (7:30am), the fact you can learn Chinese as a 2nd or 3rd language in Tasmania and that kids in Germany only go to school for half days (they thought that one was quite unfair).

Today we’ll be hearing from a family living in Switzerland. I met the super dynamic Elisa at The Hive blogging conference a few weeks back and I immediately Ioved her energy and positive personality. I just wish I’d met her at the beginning of the week-end and not 5 minutes before I was leaving to catch my plane! Elisa lives with her family in Zurich, Switzerland and has a great blog called Globetrotting In Heels where she writes all about fashion, travel and much more (she’s really funny!). I loved her candid interview and am now craving a good Swiss roesti and raclette dinner.

So, let’s hear what family life is like in Switzerland…

What country do you live in?

We currently live in Zurich, Switzerland.

Are you and your husband the same nationality?
No, my husband is Swiss, I’m Italian. Ok, technically I should probably say yes, since I am a naturalized Swiss citizen and now have a Swiss passport, but really, it’s purely a burocratic thing. I’m no more Swiss now than I was a few years ago – but don’t tell the Immigration Office, ok? 😉

Do you both work? Or does someone stay at home?
Right now my husband Sascha works and I mostly do the mom thing, do some volunteer work and the occasional freelance assignment. I’ve also recently gone back to school, so I am studying for an international diploma.

How many languages are spoken in your house? What one(s)?
Three: Italian, German (mostly of the Swiss variety) and English.

How many kids do you have? What are their ages?
I have two girls: Sarah is 13 and Stella is 7.

At what age do kids start school in your country?
Kids start school at 7 but both my daughters started at 6. When they are ready they are ready. I never would have pushed if they weren’t but when kids aren’t challenged they get bored, and when they get bored they get in trouble! Best to avoid that by keeping a child occupied and give him enough new things to keep him/her interested and engaged.

Click to continue reading all about family life in Switzerland!

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Tags: A Kid's Life, daily family life in Switzerland, family, kids, photography, switzerland

Comments 8 Comments
Categories A Kid's Life

Snail Mail

3 Jun

Any snail mailers out there? Turns out it’s becoming the hip thing to do. My instagram feed is full of photos from serious snail mailers from around the world and their elaborately decorated letters that look like little works of art. Ever since I was a little girl I’ve loved sending letters and packages to friends and family all over the world – it’s such a nice feeling knowing that someone will open their mailbox to find a sweet little surprise (and will maybe send one back in return!).

So when Giova of the lovely blog One Bunting Away asked me to do a guest post I jumped at the idea to participate in her snail mailing Flat Project (these accordion envelopes are my favourite). Any project that involves ideas to pretty up your snail mail is a project for me. I had a lot of fun making up these little fabric embellished note cards with my daughters (we had actually made similar cards for their birthday invitations a few years ag0). Take a look here.

Tags: letters, one bunting away, paper, photography, post, Sewing, snail mail

Comments 2 Comments
Categories Creative

Traveling With Kids: Lago Maggiore, Northern Italy

31 May

There’s a new Traveling With Kids post up on the wonderful creative parenting blog Classic Play today. This time I take you on a little tour of Lago Maggiore in Northern Italy. I’ve lived in this region for over a decade and have explored the area with kids of every age (my kids were even born in a little hospital on the shores of the lake). If you are a family that loves the great outdoors then this is the place for you. We have world class hiking, water sports and activities of every kind and quaint picturesque towns. Not to mention the city of Milan less than an hour away. It’s a pretty dreamy place if I do say so myself.

Read post here.

Tags: family, lago maggiore, photography, travel, Traveling with kids

Comments 1 Comment
Categories Travel, Traveling with kids column

Hiving Fun 2013

27 May

So I’m just back from a whirlwind week-end at The Hive Blogging Conference in Berlin and I’m feeling so inspired and full of new creative energy. You should have seen me enthusiastically scribbling new ideas and projects in my notebook on the plane back to Italy last night (even if this morning I can only understand 1\2 of what I wrote).

Like last year, the highlight of this event was meeting old and new blogger friends in person. It really does make a huge difference to spend time with these amazing ladies face-to-face. It has me thinking that we really do have to organise more real-person time together (I have a plan brewing in my head friends).

The conference was held at the uber-cool Betahaus again this year. The food was amazing and the multiple fridges full of the best beverages around was a highlight for just about everyone there (and the sound of accidentally kicked over bottles will always remind me of The Hive). I even loved the very colourful 4 story climb up the stairs to the conference rooms. Made me feel a little less guilty after eating one (or more) of the delicious cupcakes offered.I have to mention how great the decorations were this year. The lovely Lauren from Folies du Bonheur made what must have been 4 kilometres of these orange and pink paper garlands. They were hanging up the four flights of stairs, from the ceiling and on the walls. It brought so much joy to the venue.

Another great feature this year was the business card map. Everyone got to pin their card (or my case magnet) on the beige linen map. Obviously Germany was pretty well represented but it was also so nice to see and read the cards from everyone visiting from all around Europe. I don’t think I ever saw the map without someone hanging out and admiring the various cards.

And of course there were the talks and workshops. I heard so many stories about various blogger’s journeys within the blog world and the common denominator in all of them was the advice to blog about what you’re passionate about. I still love Jenni Fuch’s (from Museum Diary ) quote ”If you don’t feel it, don’t blog it”. Whether is was Katja from Travelettes, Tina from Traveling Mama or Kat from Zero The One, these women all had amazing (and different) stories, experiences and knowledge that they so generously shared with us all. A huge thanks to every single one of them. (image above is a peek into Kat’s fascinating video workshop).

The conference founders Peggy and Yvonne did an extraordinary job at organising everything from the speakers to the catering to even babysitting for little blogger-babies. I was seriously amazed at how calm and collected they remained throughout the entire week-end. I can’t wait to hear more about their new The Hive Conference in Copenhagen. (my post about last year’s The Hive is here).

Now off to sew something up with the pretty fabric that was given to us by supercraftlab!

Tags: Berlin, blog, blogging, photography, The Hive Blogging Conference

Comments 24 Comments
Categories misc.

This and That

22 May

I don’t know about where you are in the world but here in Italy it has been one of the greyest and rainiest springs I’ve ever experienced. Usually by the end of May the weather around here is already scorching hot and the kids are in the lake swimming every day. Not this year. This past week we’ve actually had temperatures under 10 degrees and rain and hail storms that made me want to hide under the table. But I have hope for better weather soon. At least all this rain means we won’t have to water our gardens in secret past midnight due to water bans this summer.

In a few days I head to Berlin to attend The Hive European Blogging Conference. I attended the first one last year and had a great time, learned lots of new bloggy-things and, most importantly, met some fantastic people whom I can’t wait to see again this year. My week-end is already packed full of lunch dates, museum dates, dinner dates and lots of talks and workshops. Oh and a hotel room to myself where I can watch mindless TV and order roomservice. Nice.

I don’t know if any of you know but I am a HUGE fan of Instagram (follow me here). So you can imagine how excited I was last week when I received these Instagram prints in the mail from Origrami. I absolutely love this small Sydney (Australia) based husband and wife run business. The photos are great quality, it’s very reasonably priced and they arrived in record time (considering Posta Italiana was involved).

The photos come in a super stylish cardboard box and have Instagram information on the back (if desired). On my photos I can see a map with the location where it was taken, the date and number of likes it got. Now I’m trying to figure out what the best way is to display all these great shots.I can’t wait for the weather to improve so we can enjoy our Wednesday evening picnics with a group of our closest friends here. This photo was shot on our first (and only due to bad weather) picnic this year. Us parents kick back on blankets beside the lake while the kids run and play in the fields around us. Photo is of the sweet little Patagnoma.

I received this lovely painting above from one of my daughter’s for Mother’s Day. This girl knows me well. I love everything about it (and her).

I have been passing this little church at least four times a day for the last decade and I finally stopped the car and got out to take some photos. There are so many of these lovely little spots that I get to see on a daily basis. Lucky me.

That’s enough random thoughts and photos for today. Happy Wednesday everyone!

Tags: happy wednesday, italy, miscellaneous, origrami, photography, The Hive, this and that

Comments 8 Comments
Categories Living in Italia

Wafeltjes

17 May

Today I have a great recipe for Belgian Waffle Cookies. These miniature wafeltjes are baked in a waffle iron and are so rich and buttery (the recipe calls for 400g butter!). My husband grew up eating these cookies (made by his grandparents) and is capable of eating them by the dozen. And now my kids as well. While making these our neighbours were calling over the fence to know what the amazing smell was that was coming from our kitchen. There is nothing quite like the smell of baking waffles (there must be a waffle inspired perfume out there somewhere). These keep for at least 3-4 days in a closed tin and are great to package up as a gift for someone special.

We found the recipe for these waffles on the site of Jeroen Meus who is pretty much the Jamie Oliver of Belgium. Jeroen has his own cooking show, tons of cookbooks and a really great website full of recipes. Everything I’ve tried of his has turned out to be delicious and simple to make (favorites are Baked Cauliflower with Ground Meat and Bruschetta with Guacamole, Smoked Sprot and Tomato Salsa).

Continue for wafeltjes recipe…

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Tags: associazione bianca garavaglia, baking, Belgian, cookies, photography, wafeltjes, waffles

Comments 35 Comments
Categories Recipes

Slacker Update

15 May

For the first time in years I actually don’t feel like a serious slacker. After writing about being the Queen of Unfinished Projects a few weeks ago I went into sewing overdrive and actually finished most of my half-done and half-sewn projects that have been lingering and taunting me in my sewing room for the last months (years). I hemmed, I mended, I button-holed, I zippered and I even hand sewed until the wee hours of the morning. I guess writing it all down and addressing the fact that I needed to get my act in gear helped me to realise it was time. Time to have a clean sewing slate and move on to new and fresh projects without the niggling feeling of having all those almost-finished purses, bags, dresses, shorts and wallets that I would eventually have to deal with.

These dresses were supposed to be ready for my twin daughter’s 11th birthday. Obviously that didn’t happen as it was on March 28th (it was too cold and rainy in March anyway to be able to wear dresses like this). As I mentioned last time the pattern is one of the basic dress models from the book Stof Voor Durf-Het-Selvers (only available in Dutch). The book has some great patterns for children’s dresses, skirts, tops and accessories and gorgeous photos using the most lovely fabrics. I used contrast colour zippers on the dresses to give them a little something special and actually ended up making one dress with a side zipper instead of back zipper by mistake. Don’t ask. These will be perfect for special occasions this summer while we’re in Umbria and Canada.

I did a double lined hem on these seersucker shorts for my son and actually sewed on all 4 buttons needed (miracle). Unfortunately they’re still too big so he’ll most likely only get to wear them next year. Until then I’ll display them for all to see and admire (poor guests). These were some seriously complicated and time consuming shorts to make and I’m pretty sure I could buy similar (even nicer?) ones in H&M for a fraction of the cost to make them. But I guess I shouldn’t think about that…

I also finished this simple summer sleeveless shirt. Very quick to sew up and comfortable to wear (even if I did make mine 2 sizes too big). Fabric is from Max Mara and the pattern is Simplicity New Look 6871.

And today in my sewing group I managed to finish up this boxy shopper bag with zipper closure. Just what I needed in my life…another bag. I think I could open up a shop with all my hand made bags and wallets that I’ve been stockpiling over the last few years. Stay tuned for details of my Etsy Shop in the near (or far?) future.

I’m still finishing off the last of my projects and I’m feeling great about it. Now to get busy with my new projects that I’ll most likely have to finish in a few years time….

Tags: clothing, fabrics, handmade, patterns, photography, sew, Sewing

Comments 21 Comments
Categories Sewing

sisterMAG

10 May

Yesterday the newest issue of one of my favourite magazines sisterMAG came out. The theme of this issue is Italy and it’s absolutely gorgeous from beginning to end. They’ve included lots of great articles on interesting people and companies, fascinating and beautiful places to visit, the most delicious looking recipes to make and lots more (the book binding tutorial is one of my faves). And all of the photos will make you want to immediately hop on a plane to this gorgeous county that I’m so fortunate to live in.

The magazine’s founders and editors Thea and Toni approached me a while ago asking if I’d like to participate in this issue and I immediately jumped at the chance. I’ve been a big admirer of the magazine ever since I learned about it at a presentation by Thea and Toni at last year’s European Blogging Conference The Hive. Those ladies are so talented and ambitious.

For this issue I wrote a feature article on Italy’s Northern Lakes region (for obvious reasons of course). After living in and exploring the region for over a decade I thought it would be a great opportunity to share my favorite places and activities that are available around Lago Maggiore, Lago di Como, Lago d’Orta and Lago di Garda.

Pop on over and take a peek at the Italy issue (available in German and English). I know you’ll love it!

Have a great week-end everyone!

Tags: Italian Northern Lakes, italy, Italy issue, magazine, photography, sisterMAG

Comments 7 Comments
Categories Living in Italia, Travel

Sciroppo di Rabarbaro

8 May

Here in Italy the sun is shining, the flowers are blooming and fragrant and I’m blissfully content to be able to get out in my garden and putter around. I’ve been busy planting all sorts of new plants, trees and bushes. I expect about 25% of them to survive as I have a pretty bad track record in the gardening department. My heart is in the right place but I just don’t have that special touch needed to keep my garden alive and thriving. I’ve been known to even kill lavender which is pretty much impossible in the Italian climate.

One plant that seems resistant to me and my non existent green thumb is rabarbaro (rhubarb). Due to the fact you can’t buy rhubarb in any of the grocery shops or vegetable stalls we planted it a few years ago and it is thriving. I show it off to everyone who comes by our house and apparently it’s known to all to be the fool-proof plant (why didn’t I know this years ago?). Just in the last three weeks our rhubarb has taken over an entire bed and is threatening our beloved strawberry patch.

So to give our strawberries some room to breathe and grow I decided to cut back the rhubarb a bit and make some of my favourite Rhubarb Syrup. I’ve always loved the delicate spiciness it brings to cold summer beverages.

But what I love the most about this syrup is the dainty light peachy rose colour it has. I could design whole summer cottages with that colour as my inspiration and theme. So lovely and reminiscent of warm breezy summer days in Nova Scotia.

Read on for the quick and very simple recipe for Rhubarb Syrup and these delicious cocktails above (which I’m contemplating naming “Jillinis“).

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Tags: cocktail, food, Jillini, photography, rabarbaro, recipe, rhubarb, rhubarb syrup, spring

Comments 14 Comments
Categories Recipes

Traveling With(out) Kids

2 May

Have any of you ever left the kids with your parents, siblings or friends and headed out on a solo vacation with your partner? Ever since we became parents over a decade ago we have been stealing away for a day or two (and a few times even a week) to get some much needed time alone. We come back from these little trips refreshed and rested (physically and mentally) and ready to dive back into our very busy family life. I’ve written all about it over on the creative parenting blog Classic Play. Check it out and let me know your thoughts!