People... The New Dandy

The new dandy as spotted in Florence during the Pitti Uomo trade show... Last summer I visited this überstylish event, where you can find the crème de la crème of global menswear. At a certain point I noticed  a new trend... jeans and casual wear mixed with extremely traditonal items such as waistcoats, suspenders, knitted ties, bow ties and Panama hats. Of course, these gentlemen have an eye for stylish combinations... but what sets them apart is their confidence. So guys, you know what you'll have to wear this summer!

The unofficial start of summer

 

Yesterday was the unofficial start of summer for me. The first day that you could actually take of your coat, forget about putting on socks (or a sweater for that matter). And I loved it! Finally I could put on my new shoes... And have lunch and dinner outside. Pure bliss!

Cheese plate and wine by Beachclub Doen:
http://tarasdolcevita.blogspot.nl/2013/04/yes-theyre-back.html
http://tarasdolcevita.blogspot.nl/2011/09/beachclub-doen-scheveningen.html
Watch and shoes by Michael Kors:
http://www.michaelkors.com

All photos taken in Scheveningen, The Netherlands.

More of... Havana

  

Havana, or as the Cubans call it, "Ciudad de La Habana"... I miss this wonderful city! Hopefully I can go back soon. In the mean time, I just browse through (ALL of) my photos and dream away...

Would you like to see more of Havana?
Please visit one of my previous blogs:
http://tarasdolcevita.blogspot.nl/2012/11/havana-summer-12.html

Easter 2013

 

Ahh Easter... it was pure bliss!!! Delicious food, lovely wines, good company... everything was perfect, except the weather. It was terribly cold, but that didn't keep me from making it "exotic" inside. Colourful tulips, a salad with edible flowers (violets), butterfly napkins, placemats in the shape of a palm tree leaf, plates with bamboo decorations.... do you like the result?

Metallic Easter eggs by Lifestyle:
http://www.lifestyle94.com
Placemats by Zara Home:
http://www.zarahome.com
Bamboo plate by Zara Home:
http://www.zarahome.com
Napkins with butterflies by le Chic... di Silvia:
in Via dei Magoni 6b, Orvieto, Italy.

What's for lunch? Caprese salad

I was wondering what I would prepare for lunch today, when my eye caught this delicious "coeur de boeuf" (or beefsteak) tomato... hmmm too good to pass up! So I had to find something to go with it... that turned out to be an organic Mozzarella di Bufala. Paired with some basil and olive oil the perfect match for a good old Caprese salad. The avocado, capers, black olives and artichoke spice it up a little bit. (Italians usually don't like it when you mess up their traditional recipes... but hey, I have an Italian heart!)

Dinner plate by Anthropology:
www.anthropologie.com

Beautiful Cuban Mosaics

  

Cuba is known for it's rum, cocktails, cigars, salsa, beautiful cities and beaches... but did you know that Cuba -in particular Havana- has the most amazing mosaics? While walking around town, I came across these stunning mosaic tiles and couldn't keep my eyes of them! Some are very old, dating back to colonial times (when the Spanish occupied Cuba), some new, but all just as beautiful. How about the ship depicted in the second photo? This tile in Iznik style, shows a Turkish galeon from the XVI - XVIII centuries (period of the Ottoman Empire) and was a gift from the Republic of Turkey to the city of Havana. Anyway, picking a favourite is impossible!

If you want to learn more about the history, reproduction and recovery of Cuban mosaic tiles, I can highly recommend the following article:
http://www.cubaabsolutely.com/Life&Style/article_design.php?id=Emmanuel's-passion-for-mosaics-at-the-Artes-Proceres-factory

To see more of Havana, please read one of my previous articles:
http://tarasdolcevita.blogspot.nl/2012/11/havana-summer-12.html