Over a decade ago I was contacted by a PR firm, who asked me to prepare content for a major pasta company. Apparently, this company was aware of my work highlighting Italian cultural traditions and lifestyle; and countering negative cultural stereotypes. The company wanted to pick my brain for ideas on the best way to market and promote …
That’s right, I admit it. And I can no longer attribute this ritual to having conversations with my dog (yet I do that too, if you must know ). If I am not writing out my thoughts or using my sketch pad to turn my inner dialogues into visuals, I am chattering away aloud about …
Research shows we may not know ourselves as much as we think we do. As we go through our busy lives, we tend to sacrifice important self-reflection time at the altar of getting a bunch of things done on autopilot. If this is you, you are not alone. Yet taking just a short daily pause to get quiet and …
To Italians, human interaction is the energy that supports life itself. You could be disagreeing about politics, or about which is the best gelateria. You could be revealing (or not) the family secret to making the best “salsa di pomodoro” (tomato sauce) or comparing memories about the history of your town. No matter the topic, …
Self-care goes beyond simply looking at your reflection in a mirror and telling yourself how much you like yourself, as former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi reportedly used to do. Caring for yourself should translate into routine practices designed to foster your physical, emotional, and mental well-being. I’m not talking about spending all day obsessing …
It is among the most modest of gravestone inscriptions, stating only: Gino Bartali — July 18,1914- May 5, 2000. This wasn’t to say that Bartali hadn’t won numerous championship medals for his cycling excellence, including the Tour de France and the Giro d’Italia. Nor was it because this Italian icon hadn’t used his fame and …
What’s there to think about when it comes to enjoying Italian gelato on a hot summer day while traipsing through the bel paese on vacation? Well as it turns out, there are a few tips to consider if you want to savor every drop of this sweet Italian experience. The Italian gelato experience can transport …
There is no denying that technology has become an important part of contemporary life. Almost everywhere I go people are snapping selfies or walking with their heads buried in their phone. Our smartphones, tablets and computers have provided us with efficient ways to keep to our schedules, find answers to many of life’s “questions”, without thumbing …
America recently fell in love with the record-breaking Jeopardy champion, Amy Schneider, the first transgender woman to compete—and win over a million dollars– on the game show. Despite the nasty transphobic social media snipes, Amy handled them with grace and a sense of humor—a reaction, no doubt born from a solid sense of self-worth. I was …
We all want to believe there is a magical force out in the universe somewhere that responds to the promise that you can imagine whatever you want and by believing you already have it, it will suddenly appear. The ideas behind “Law of Attraction” books have been capturing readers’ attention as far back as 1877. The …
The Dolce Vita Lifestyle 