little daily's

natural beauty on the road

2011-09-21T17:24:00.001-07:00

Snippets from our travels visiting my best friend in San Fran, Mill Valley and Napa Valley. This was our second visit to the area and I think we've fallen more in love with the environment. A beautiful mix of city and wild nature, right on the ocean. Oh and my BFF lives there. Could it be more perfect? I keep nudging my hubby saying, "so, how can we move here?" sigh. it's perfection.

Therme

2011-08-13T13:25:00.001-07:00

We've been out and about all week with non-stop sportiva and my muscles are in need of lots of tender, love and care. So, after a long week of hiking and biking, A. and I are ending our vacation with a day at the Therme in Vals, Switzterland at a beautiful spa designed by Peter Zumthor. What better way to spend a lazy Sunday then in a gorg spa smack in the middle of nature. I will be back to report........

Lunch on the lake

2011-08-10T08:21:00.000-07:00

After a long 20 mile bike ride picnic yesterday, A. and I are taking it mellow today and treating ourselves to a delish lunch on the lake in St. Moritz. A plate of smoked trout with basmati rice, grilled vegetables and some ridiculous herb butter that I basically smothered the fish in. Sooooo good. But the best part, is the view (seen above) which is absolutely breathtaking. The restaurant is tucked away on the opposite side of the lake with the village of St. Moritz seen in the distance. It doesn't get much better then this. Now it's time for a nap.
(I'm writing from my ipad but not to happy about the camera on this little magic machine. I plan on writing a more detailed post on our travels with higher quality photos for little honeymoon series on Little Winter Bride, so be sure to check there in the next couple of weeks)

Rainy sunday

2011-08-10T01:18:00.000-07:00

Our vacation has been mellow so far. Weather in Switzerland this past weekend was cold rain, rain and more rain but it sure made for a cozy Sunday. A. made a delish pasta for lunch, his classic spaghetti, aglio, olio, peperoncino and pancetta. We then spent much of the day at home sitting in front of the fire, napping, drinking herbal tea, reading and watching Katherine Hepburn movies. Okay, well I watched Hepburn movies as she is one of my favorites. Love her style and those cheek bones!!! Finally, the rain let up for about an hour just enough time to take a walk in the little village where we're staying.

Arci Bellezza

2011-08-05T08:43:00.000-07:00

Saturday night A. and I had dinner with some friends at Arci Bellezza in Milano.

A sort of a social club.

I, of course, had my favorite spaghetti alle vongole.

Milanese afternoon

2011-08-01T15:09:00.000-07:00

Window shopping at the Duomo city center, a walk through Parco Sempione with a visit to the little aquarium. The smell of oleander in the air. Pure delight.

Roma Botanical Garden

2011-07-22T15:54:00.000-07:00

While my A. had to work all day, I decided to spend a glorious afternoon wandering around the botanical garden in Roma. Magical little place, tucked away, down a little cobblestone street, in the hip little neighborhood of Trastevere. Just me, my camera chasing the light around the garden.

From my sketch book

2011-07-08T09:15:00.000-07:00

thunderstorm

2011-06-03T14:40:00.000-07:00

Thanksgiving leftovers

2010-11-29T14:00:00.000-08:00

Making turkey meatballs with Thanksgiving leftovers

Thanksgiving in Milano

2010-11-26T08:49:00.000-08:00

Picking up our thirteen pound "tacchino" at the butcher in Wagner Market

Our festive Thanksgiving table with votive candles, little flower arrangements of white freesia and snippets of wisteria leaves from the garden.

Traditional roasted turkey served with pumpkin soup and sides of mashed potato's and stuffing
and of course apple pie for desert

Roma

2010-11-26T08:27:00.000-08:00

few days in Roma...
grande citta and so much to see
my absolute favorite part, Villa Borghese
more photos to come...

weekend in the mountains

2010-11-12T07:11:00.000-08:00

heading out for a quiet weekend with A. in La punt, Switzerland

a rainy sunday in November

2010-11-07T06:19:00.000-08:00

Cooking pea soup on this tranquil Sunday afternoon
The heat from the stove, fogs up our kitchen window, where the delicate baby's breath quietly dangles

parma

2010-11-03T04:28:00.000-07:00

autumn flowers

2010-11-03T04:17:00.000-07:00

flickers of light

2010-10-12T09:35:00.000-07:00

this afternoon, I watched, the vines bath in flickers of golden light

berries and banshee

2010-10-12T06:15:00.000-07:00

picked up some pink snowberries at the market the other day.
little banshee was very fond of them.

Etyl

2010-09-10T06:00:00.000-07:00

why does everything sound better in french? sigh.

for more french for your ears here

fill the air with love

2010-09-09T11:54:00.000-07:00

heart seeds. hope the wind takes them over the atlantic to the states, cause there are some people over there that are in need. thank you.

river swim social

2010-08-23T08:30:00.000-07:00

back in milan, A. and I joined some friends this weekend for a swim on the sesia river in the Piemonte region.
refreshing river water followed by a delicious dinner at this hidden gem
My ideal weekend adventure

little fish for a little special person

2010-07-15T15:00:00.000-07:00

working on a little bday project for my favorite cousin\nephew
we say cousin\nephew since our 1st cousins are more like brothers and sisters.
welcome to the irish-american nyc family style.....
stay tuned.....

before the storm

2010-07-13T03:27:00.000-07:00

stillness evades the evening.
light paints the sky above a strange mixture of pastel blue and pinky peach just before a thunderstorm

transient light 4:05

2010-07-06T08:06:00.000-07:00

took a moment to break away from a project to chase and photograph the little light next to me.

secret jungle

2010-05-20T04:14:00.000-07:00

stumbled upon a little botanical haven tucked in the center of milan.

wild greens and afternoon light to sooth my soul

encore

2010-05-13T06:15:00.000-07:00

night creatures

2010-05-11T06:20:00.000-07:00

night creatures invade our windows......

smell of fresh sweet peas

2010-04-19T13:30:00.000-07:00

botanical

2010-04-04T06:48:00.000-07:00

commute

2010-04-02T13:41:00.000-07:00

morning

2010-04-01T15:52:00.000-07:00

rain

2010-03-22T11:47:00.001-07:00

saturday morning

2010-03-20T11:17:00.000-07:00

little banshee at her spot watching the garden.

spring slowly arriving

2010-03-20T02:34:00.000-07:00

fog

2009-10-28T10:43:00.000-07:00

little maps

2009-10-08T10:21:00.000-07:00

illustrating maps for an upcoming party.

2009-09-26T02:05:00.000-07:00

kelp. a new series I'm working on.......

big sur

2009-08-25T14:25:00.000-07:00

no symi this year

2009-07-14T17:06:00.000-07:00

This time of year, A. and I are usually packing up to heading to what we call, "our little slice of island heaven". Instead, we're heading to my home island, "manhattan"but before we head off ,I will be heading to this workshop next week, then vaca in the mountains here. Then its off to
vaca in the concrete jungle of the east and the west coasts..yay! I'm one lucky gal, cause I get to see both of my bf's, one in nyc and the other in sf. Super excited to explore the big sur with A.

planning to see a mix of city and nature this summer.

spider walk

2009-07-11T09:51:00.000-07:00

working in little lady series.
more to come........

mood

2009-07-09T16:55:00.001-07:00

reading the news

2009-07-08T07:19:00.001-07:00

30 years ago this month sony introduced the "walkman" i have to admit up till 2004, i was still using mine (hehehe) what can i say, i'm a little lady who has a hard accepting change and loved making mixed tapes.
to read more go here

i know this is a place where tend to share all the beautiful things that inspire me each day but sometimes things disturb me that are not so beautiful

this is disturbing. hello? this is the definition of disturbing.
8 foot burmese python as your pet, cause that's safe.
disaster. horrible.

$10

2009-07-07T08:45:00.000-07:00

A. surprised me last night, with these sweet peonies. last bunch of the season. boo hoo.
i heart the messy look.

fiore di zucca

2009-07-06T10:11:00.000-07:00

last night A. and I decided to make a dinner together.
for aperitivo, we made Fiori di zucca fritti (fried pumpkin flower or zucchini flower)
followed by delish pasta vongole.
stone poneys played on the record player followed by a beautiful thunder storm
perfect to snuggle up and watch a little curb your enthusiasm

magnolia tree

2009-07-06T09:59:00.000-07:00

in front of my house, stands a magnificent magnolia tree.
this afternoon, during the magic hour, i suddenly found myself, lost in my make believe magnolia tree jungle.

enchanting evening

2009-07-02T09:42:00.000-07:00

our friends got hitched! yipee!
magical evening in a villa just outside of milan.
A. mixed it up, splitting his time between playing dj and to playing the attentive adoring hubby, spinning his wifey around the dance floor.
i heart u.
and the cake, yum. apple crumble. i had 2. oops.
you can read and see more photos here and here

my A.

2009-06-23T15:18:00.000-07:00

This is my sweet, adorable husband, A.
We've known each other for 16 years, dated for 2 years, married for now 3.
He srsly is the best and very funny.
Last night at dinner I tried to play the sketching game with A.
You see, we have this silly game that started way back in my apt. in Brooklyn on a pizza delivery receipt. We were like "hey, lets see if we can draw one another" 5 years later, we're still playing. Usually, we play in restaurants, you know, the ones that have paper table cloths or place mats. It's like we are kids in a candy store when we see such a tablesetting, cause we know we can draw or rather doodle each other. I know it's silly, but it's light, carefree and always fun. I even have a box saved with every single sketch we make of each other. In fact I believe I gave him the pizza receipt one on our wedding day.
I have dreams of devoting a entire wall in our house, with just these portraits displayed.

spring dinner

2009-04-19T09:58:00.000-07:00

Last night A. and I hosted a little dinner party

As thunderstorms roared outside, we found ourselves gathered around the candle light, laughing, advising, sharing and devouring delish food and wine with good friends.
sera perfetta

il menu

aperitivo prosecco e formaggio
primo pasta con le vongole
secondo branzino con limone, spezie greche, zenzero, sale, aglio e prosecco
insalata soncino con zenzero, cipolle verdi, olio d'oliva e sale
dolce fragole con zucchero di canna

Mantova

2009-04-12T09:50:00.000-07:00

walk

2009-04-10T02:22:00.000-07:00

took a little stroll around my neighborhood. playing around with my new camera.

2009-04-01T11:31:00.000-07:00

spooky bare branches in my garden

2009-03-22T14:35:00.000-07:00

2009-03-15T09:48:00.000-07:00

2009-03-15T09:43:00.000-07:00

2009-01-30T14:02:00.000-08:00

2009-01-29T15:37:00.000-08:00

2009-01-28T12:37:00.001-08:00

Quiet moments from my commute. I've been lacking in the uploading\taking photos department. Oops. Been to preoccupied reading this truman capote book and then in this one, while simultaneously reading this one.

2009-01-21T12:30:00.000-08:00

quiet moments from our holiday travels in north carolina.

2009-01-20T15:20:00.000-08:00

cheers, america.
we made history.

(photos by didi)

2009-01-19T14:43:00.000-08:00

5pm
freezing

catching the 99 passing back into the city.
Milan has had snow and more snow then just freezing.
I don't remember relocating to Alaska? must discuss this with A.
riding the 99 bus to the tram.
This is a photo of the vast land surrounding the state prison.
Did I mention it's part of my bus route?
e My little school is just up the way....

2009-01-17T06:28:00.000-08:00

A. and I made cake in a box last night.
Delish.
Cake in the box from Italia is way better then betty crocker.

60

2008-12-18T14:15:00.001-08:00

december 18
8:15am
it's suppose to be bare, snow flurries in the air kind of winter but looks more like autumn to me

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2008-12-15T13:58:00.001-08:00

december 14
natale cena con mia famiglia
my favorite part of the night, A. teaching our 3 year old nephew how to dj
and little luca dancing to hip hop
feast and drinks gallore

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2008-12-09T13:10:00.000-08:00

december 9
morning commute
8am
traveling in a magical pink haze

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2008-12-05T14:04:00.000-08:00

december 3, 2008

8:30am

fog rolls in

2008-12-02T14:34:00.000-08:00

december 2, 2008
8:37 am
transfer to bus 222
è freddo
guess it's winter

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2008-12-01T13:32:00.000-08:00

December 1, 2008
4:25 pm
rushing to catch the bus
another transportation strike, ugh
first glimpse of the sunlight
It's been grey, snowy, rainy, slushy and cold these past 4 days

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2008-11-30T11:48:00.001-08:00

54

2008-11-20T13:24:00.001-08:00

november 20, 2008
1. Arriving at the end of Tram 24 to transfer to Bus 222, 8am
2. Tram 24 returns to head back to the Duomo 8:05am
3. Commuters arrive from bus 222 to head toward to city center, 8:10am
4. haystacks 8:14am
5. poplar trees and morning frost\dew on the bus 222 window 8:19am
6. bridge at bustop 222 heading to school 8:20am
7. the soccer field, 8:28am

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2008-11-17T11:25:00.000-08:00

Monday morning commute
End of the 24 Tram line
8:10 am
Wishing I was home in bed.
Now time to run for bus 222....

52

2008-11-14T11:10:00.000-08:00

5:27pm
at the bustop
it's friday.
long week.
time to chillax
so off to paris I go for the photo expose.

(photos by deirdre quinn)

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2008-11-10T09:55:00.000-08:00

my morning commute.
the duomo in milan, italy at 7:15am.
One of my favorite camera's is long gone
so I'm experimenting with my cell phone camera.

and I'm kinda of digging the results.

50

2008-11-08T07:00:00.000-08:00

little snippets of my surroundings, taken with the camera cell phone

wisteria leaves taking some sun and growing at rapid pace by our recycling bin
shadows of our house and bed this morning
A. and our living room disco ball

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2008-11-01T05:36:00.000-07:00

Just watched Labyrinth. David Bowie rocks. Jennifer Connelly is stunning and my favorite is the little british speaking worm.
I remember when I was little seeing it in the movie theater.....
I was also the proud owner of the board game. I wonder if I could find it on ebay?

48

2008-10-18T06:46:00.000-07:00

I heart Jesus Franco's film, Count Dracula. And I heart this vintage movie poster. Head to your local video store (if it still exists) or order it here.
It's a must see this Halloween season.

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2008-10-16T16:13:00.000-07:00

some samples of my djset for the sotto marino disco limone party.

46

2008-10-15T13:51:00.000-07:00

48 hours in Roma this past weekend with A.
Best part, watching The Cure play live.

(photos by didi)

45

2008-10-14T22:19:00.000-07:00

A. and I taking advantage of the numerous photo booths in Roma this past weekend. There's always time in our family to act goofy.

44

2008-10-13T05:25:00.001-07:00

Every summer A. and I head to a little island in the Mediterranean and every summer we set out on a mission to find a octopus a.k.a polipo in Italian. This year, I added a few accessories to my huntress outfit, a posidon-like spear and a net bag. But sadly, still no polipo. Maybe next year........

(illustration by didi)

43

2008-10-10T14:46:00.001-07:00

Thanksgiving 2007

Scribbles of my adventures purchasing a Thanksgiving turkey at Wagner Market in Milan, Italy. Naturally, I picked out the biggest one, not sure the exact size but it was HUGE, larger then a 12 pounder. It barely fit in the basket of my bike. The turkey was so heavy that it made it nearly impossible to steer the bike straight. I "swerved" the whole way home. It looked as if the turkey was driving me home instead of the other way around.

Did I mention it started to rain?

42

2008-10-08T10:05:00.001-07:00

Illustrations by Louis Darling

Today I found a old copy of one of my favorite chapter books, Ramona the Pest, by Beverly Clearly
I remember my mom reading this to me when I was in the 1st or 2nd grade, it was one of my favorites. The character I remember the most, besides little Ramona, was her classmate with curly hair or as Ramona refere's to her as the girl with "curls like bedsprings", Boing Boing Girl.
I also love the way she made her Q's with a cat tail. I could relate a lot to little Ramona, as I too, was a little pesty sister.
Oh and I happen to heart the illustrations by Louis Darling.

41

2008-10-07T08:14:00.001-07:00

Just finished illustrating a birthday card design for my little lady series.
I would love to have a pair of hot pink party shoes, wouldn't you?

40

2008-10-03T09:52:00.000-07:00

Some snaps from last weekend.

a dinner party at my friends beautiful unique apartment, baked some mini pies and a Sunday bike ride through Parco Sempione with A.

39

2008-09-25T11:00:00.001-07:00

details from my best friends wedding in new york city on Sept. 12th

38

2008-09-23T07:17:00.001-07:00

illustrations by Didi

Been working on getting some greeting\note cards together. The 3 sketches above are part of a series called, "Little Lady".

37

2008-09-22T00:41:00.001-07:00

Photography by Didi

Autumn is here.
A. and I celebrated with a delicious "tacchino ripeno", turkey roast wrapped in prosciutto accompanied with pumpkin soup and roasted potato's sprinkled with parmaggiano cheese.

36

2008-09-20T15:09:00.001-07:00

Whenever I'm back in NYC, I always feel compelled to take photos of my grandmothers apartment, as it is the one place that always remains the same.

35

2008-08-01T11:36:00.000-07:00

one of my favorite illustrated books from my childhood.

34

2008-07-31T01:48:00.000-07:00

{illustration by didi}

hipster pocahontas and her balloon

33

2008-07-30T09:13:00.000-07:00

Paul Simon Concert at the arena in Parco Sempione.

32

2008-07-29T09:15:00.000-07:00

mushroom picking with Ebe and A. in madonna di campiglio

blu mirtilli

A. finds a beautiful porcini mushroom.

Ebe prepares the porcini raw with......

a little salt, oil and parmigiano. Buono!

After the mushroom hunt I picked some wild flowers around the house and made a bouquet bound together with long blades of grass.

and a little wild flower boutonniere to go with....
for the fantasy forest wedding in my head....

another magical weekend in the mountains. sigh........

{photography by deirdre quinn}

31

2008-07-26T03:30:00.000-07:00

Yukon Territory is my dream vacation. Can't wait to finish watching this film. More on Into the Wild, go here and here.

30

2008-07-25T08:14:00.000-07:00

{illustration by didi}

I think a cup of coffee will straighten me out.

29

2008-07-24T12:29:00.001-07:00

I wanna be a back up dancer. Fo real.

check out another santogold video & interview here

28

2008-07-23T11:03:00.000-07:00

our garden at 6am this morning

nursing my fern back to life

27

2008-07-21T10:37:00.000-07:00

weekend in the mountains of Toscana.

26

2008-07-20T09:25:00.000-07:00

25

2008-07-19T06:18:00.000-07:00

my favorite hitchcock film, Notorious, starring my favorite beauty, Ingrid Bergman.

24

2008-07-18T06:34:00.000-07:00

..........skeletons joined us for dinner last night and after.....

A. and I took a night bike ride to........
Parco Sempione to .........

....... the Arena Civica for Jazz Festival and the disco limone after party to......

dance and hear A. dj

23

2008-07-17T11:34:00.000-07:00

Watched, The Group, last night. Fabulous style.
One of the first so-called chick flicks