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Friday

February 19th, 2010 Kristi Leave a comment Go to comments

 

navy tee (Gap) -- gray sweater (consignment) -- black skirt (BR, thrifted) -- black boots (Liz Claiborne, consignment)

MENU:
Breakfast: banana, cafe au lait
Lunch: Two giant leeks with olive oil, lemon juice, salt pepper, brocolli with a cream sauce
Dinner: grilled cheese sandwich and red pepper soup

 Last night I began watching season 2 of HBO’s Rome. It is a good series, but  not as good as Battlestar Galactica. This weekend should be pretty mellow and I’m looking forward to reading and relaxing.

Reminder: I am still looking for people to participate in my Chic Readers posting next week. Please let me know if you would like to participate. I am looking for pictures of you and possibly will ask you a few questions about your style. Thanks so much.

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  1. Fiona
    February 20th, 2010 at 00:49 | #1
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    a) SEXY Italian Mamma today (with the hair and top and just everything) and b) your lunch sounds so delicious! Yum, any vegetable with olive oil, salt and pepper is a hit with me. I’ve just been thinking lately I’ve been missing your menus. Thanks for bringing them back!

  2. Phyllis
    February 20th, 2010 at 10:04 | #2
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    Short skirts w/tights and boot really suit you. You look like a very hip chick on a BBC television series.

  3. Nancy
    February 21st, 2010 at 17:30 | #3
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    Love this look on you – the outfit, your hair, your smile – just awesome!

  4. aaonce
    February 21st, 2010 at 18:52 | #4
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    These ladies said it best-love the hair.

  5. aaonce
    February 21st, 2010 at 18:53 | #5
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    And, it is sexy without even really trying.

  6. Bobbi
    February 22nd, 2010 at 11:24 | #6
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    Can you give the recipe for the broccoli with cream sauce…I need ideas on how to eat broccoli cooked! I’m at the point of giving up on it!

  7. Kristi
    February 22nd, 2010 at 11:43 | #7
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    Bobbi,
    Do you dislike the taste of it?
    I took some leftover gorgonzola sauce I had on gnocchi and poured it over the steamed brocolli …
    I like to steam my brocolli or saute it in olive oil and then mix it with salt and olive oil
    Or I also sometimes sautee it in olive oil, red pepper flakes and garlic slices for a spicy dish …

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What is it about those Italian women? You know the ones I’m talking about: beautiful, sexy, dressed to the nines just to take the kids to the park. They have a certain something that is indefinable. It is in the way they dress, the way they prepare their meals, the way they spend their leisure time.

It is because they know the importance of la bella figura. Roughly translated from Italian, it means putting you best foot forward in everything you do. It means cutting a beautiful figura. The opposite of la bella figura is la brutta figura, which is what someone might say about the falling down drunken guy at the party or the super tackily dressed woman at church. It means ugly figure.

La bella figura is much more than your appearance. It goes much deeper than that. It is about how you act. It is about how you treat others. It is about how you care for yourself, your home and your family. Living a life in line with la bella figura doesn’t take money. In fact, it is more about how to have class without a lot of money.

Someone who exudes la bella figura will have clean, pressed clothes and be well groomed. They will not be rude or sloppy. Their fingernails will be impeccably groomed. Their hair shiny and clean and their shoes will be polished. They will not have stray threads hanging from their suit hems. They will not be driving a car in need of the car wash.

La bella figura means driving that 15 year old car and meticulously cleaning it and caring for it. It means keeping your belongings in good repair. It means taking time to clean your house and not cluttering it up with meaningless objects.

When you focus all your spare energy, time and money on the things that bring you the most amount of pleasure, then you are truly living a life in line with la bella figura. The best part about it is that you don’t have to be Italian to do so. You just have to think like an Italian.

Italian children are raised to present la bella figura in whatever they do. From the time they are small and are groomed perfectly to attend church or school, they know that appearances count. They count because it is the first thing people judge about you. That first impression does matter. Appearances are also important because when you take the time to look nice, you are showing that you care about yourself. When you care enough to look good, it shows you have good healthy self esteem. Nothing is more attractive than self confidence.

In addition, dressing nice also shows respect for others. If you invite people over for dinner and greet them in flip flops, baggy sweats and a stained shirt, it is really disrespectful to them. The same if you dress sloppy to go to church or even to the market. By dressing nicely and being well groomed, you show respect for everyone in your world.

Having la bella figura means presenting yourself in the best light possible in all your interactions.