A Facial and Breakfast

Today was another

lazy day. 

However, this time I showered and actually 

put on clothes. 

And did stuff... like clean my closet

and my tiny house. 

I've been feeling a little 'blah' since I've returned home 

and decided my skin might need a little pick-me-up.

This morning after I got out of the shower I decided to use

some ingredients from my kitchen to give myself a facial. 

I have very sensitive skin that's prone 

to breakouts, rash, crappy texture, and my skin has lots of 

scarring and dark spots. 

 The best thing for these problems is in a little white container next to my 

strawberries; greek yoghurt. 

Yoghurt contains lactic acid, which helps slough off dead skin and 

brighten overall skin tone. 

The best part is when I whip us this mask I can eat the leftovers...

ha!

Recipe for facial mask... or breakfast :)

1/4 cup greek yoghurt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

2 tablespoons of honey

A pinch of raw sugar granules (for exfoliating)

Put ingredients in a small bowl and mix together; apply to cleansed face using circular motions. 

Leave on for ten minutes. 

Rinse with warm water, pat skin dry. 

 

Pasta a la' Stacey

Today is a lazy day. 

And by lazy day, I mean I haven't changed out of my pajamas.  The past couple days at work have completely worn
me out... therefore for the first time in weeks I

am dedicated to being a lazy bum.
I look like a transient. 

I haven't hardly gotten out of bed except to use the bano 

and to cook pasta.  

On days like this my books,
my kitchen, and my bed are the best things in life!

I'm still resolutely clinging to all things Italian, 

so I perused the aisles at Trader Joes yesterday. 

I did not find pecorino cheese or buffalo mozzarella, but 

I did get prosciutto, sun dried tomatoes, pappardelle pasta, 

and veggies. I didn't buy anything with any particular dishes in
mind.

So I opened my fridge this afternoon, and decided it was full of possibilities for a meal. When I make pasta this way, I never make it the same way twice. It's usually because 

I never have the same ingredients on hand. 

*You'll need: 1 package TJ's lemon pappardelle pasta (or any pasta you fancy), handful of baby spinach, olive oil, 2-3 cloves of garlic, 1 small yellow squash sliced, sundried tomatoes, pancetta (fancy name for cubed bacon), vodka sauce, sea salt and pepper.

-Bring 2 quarts of water to a boil, add pasta noodles and cook to recommended time; I cook my TJ's for about 6 minutes so it's al dente.

-In the meantime, add about 4 tablespoons of olive oil to a skillet. Finely chop 2-3 cloves of garlic and add to oil. Turn heat on low-medium to sautee for about a minute. 

-Add 1/4 cup of pancetta to skillet; cook about two minutes

-Add a handful of baby spinach to garlic, pancetta and oil, allow spinach to wilt. 

-Add sliced squash and sundried tomatoes, allow to cook until inner part of squash is translucent. 

-Add 1/4 cup of vodka sauce, heat until entire mixture is hot; one thing I learned in Italy is they don't drown their pasta in sauce, which I am a fan of. You can appreciate the individual flavors of the veggies, pancetta, and noodles much better!

-Add sauce to noodles, use cracked pepper and sea salt to taste (maybe even a little cheese if you have some on hand!)

And there you have it.

   

 

   

   

Chilaquiles

 

Still adjusting to being back home. 

I spent the 4th of July in Phoenix with friends watching fireworks 

and wandering around the Phoenix Art Museum. 

They had an exhibit on Hollywood Costumes; 

I saw the suits from the Blues Brothers, Darth Vader's suit, the robe from the Big Lebowski, Marilyn Monroe's white dress in the Seven Year Itch, and a lot of other really cool stuff. 

I also started back to work this week 

and it took most of my first day to get back into the swing of things. 

It took me almost 15

minutes to put in an IV in a sweet little old 

lady. Luckily for her it was a one stick job. 

Today I am reveling in the taste of chilaquiles from Crema Cafe in Old Town. Delicious tortilla shreds with fluffy eggs, queso, black beans, crema, red salsa, and carnitas. 

I'm not sure how long this traditional Mexican dish has been around, and it's often confused with Tex-Mex migas... but it's 

probably one of

my favorite breakfast foods here in Arizona. 

I miss the food in Italy terribly (especially the pecorino cheese) but I can't live without salsa and chiles! 

 

Post-Italy Blues

I am now back in the States... and feeling strangely a little out of place. Yesterday was my first day back and I don't know what to do with
myself. 

I spent the day cleaning, grocery shopping (buying only cheese, bread, tomatoes, oil, and wine), and generally just listlessly wandering around
my neighborhood walking the dog and trying to adjust to being back home. 

Today I went in to work and was greeted by all the nurses and doctors who asked how Italy was... and all I could say was 'It was so great... I wish I didn't come home!'. When people ask about what I did or want me to tell them about it, I don't even know where to begin because there's so much to say! I also am now superbly annoyed I can't walk anywhere to get groceries or do anything. I already miss walking and finding good espresso on every corner. Le'sigh. 

I did go on a hike this afternoon and was struck at how beautiful the Verde Valley is and why I love it so much. I guess with these kind of views 20 minutes away I can't complain too much :)  

Farewell to Florence.

Italy is coming to an end. I feel terribly sad to leave this place behind. I really feel at home here (that being said, I feel comfortable anyplace) and have seen some wonderful things. I also have had a great experience getting to know the other students on this trip and know I have made lasting friendships. 

Florence was fantastic... from dinner at Il Latini to the opera, the art, the food... Florence and Italy in general has been an experience I'll never forget. 

Tonight was our farewell dinner and final cooking class. Our instructors Tina and Sue (pictured with
moi below) gave out these little fun awards and I was dubbed the wine connoisseur.

I actually teared up with some of the other girls at the thought of leaving. It's been so amazing. 

Tomorrow I catch the train back to Rome and fly out the day after... not looking forward to all the travel ahead. And I guess that's
mainly because it
means I am really leaving. 

It's been a wonderful trip...

I don't think I'll forget it anytime soon.

L'Opera!

On my last Saturday in Florence, I decided to go to the opera!

The opera was in a small church (St. Marks/Church of England) in Florence... the acoustics were incredible! I saw the below opera on the placard, which is one that is well known and written by Puccini... 

The singers had voices that made the hair on my head stand up. 

It was an interesting cultural experience, and even though some of the girls went to Venice I don't regret staying behind. 

Before the opera a group of us met up with Tina & Sue, our instructors for aperitivo in the piazza by San Spirito. 

I should probably have mentioned earlier about aperitivo. 

You can go to most bars or restaurants in Italy around 5-7 pm, where you pay for a drink and they will have a spread of food buffet style where you can eat as much as you want. It's kind of like happy hour in US but the food is better. You could actually do aperitivo as your dinner if you had a mind to. Generally 

Italians eat dinner late, around 9pm, so you

can go to aperitivo until dinner time.

 I think the States should pick up on this idea!

After that we went to the Lion's Den, an Irish pub that is crawling with young college students from all over the world. They actually had an ASU shirt hanging from the ceiling! One of the girls had met an American guy from a tour she did over the weekend so we followed them to another bar for a drink. He also took us this underground club (Discoteca?) which was full of strobe lights, techno music, and smoke. 

Totally not my scene. 

I split out of there like a banana sundae with Bri, 

but had drank a bunch of caffeine and couldn't sleep. 

So I stayed up. Brittany and I pretty much watched the sun rise this morning. Today is gonna be a loooooooonnng one!   

Chianti!

Off to Chianti! Home of delicious wine, and also as it 

turns out a famous butcher shop in Greve! 

The butcher shop was actually really neat... they have 

wild boar (as you can see below, they have a stuffed one to greet people as they walk in), all sorts of ham and beef, and cheese! 

They gave us a tasting which actually had some really good salami and prosciutto... probably the best I've had the entire month I've been here. The guy that did our tour was really enthusiastic and 

knowledgeable about the history of the butcher shop (which is hundreds of years old... this butcher shop is older than the Declaration of Independence!).

After the tasting we had free time to wander in Greve, then we went to an organic winery close by. 

The owner was awesome... I really enjoyed listening to him talk about his wine. They live a pretty rustic style life; by his own admission he likes to 'live like a peasant'. Which I can

totally get on board with. 

We tasted so much wine that at the end of it all I was a little 

loose-y goose-y. I bought a few bottles and am fervently hoping TSA will let them pass unscathed through security!