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Thursday

February 4th, 2010 Kristi Leave a comment Go to comments

 

I thought with more light you could see the detail of this black chunky scarf, but I guess not.

Menu

breakfast: scrambled eggs with salsa toast; banana
lunch: leftover salad with sliced turkey and cheese; chips and salsa
dinner: breaded chicken cutlets, corn, fresh bread with butter; wine
I am sooo tired of blurry photos. I am going to investigate trying to take my pictures with my nicer camera and tri-pod. So far, I hate the way those look, as well, but maybe I just need to find the right spot in the house to do it.
Categories: Mangia! Mangia!, Style Tags:
  1. Eurochic
    February 5th, 2010 at 10:15 | #1
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    Look at the snow!

  2. Beth G
    February 5th, 2010 at 14:34 | #2
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    http://www.vat19.com/dvds/gorillapod-flexible-camera-tripod.cfm

    Have you ever used a Gorillapod tripod? You can prop it up on a table, wrap it around a tree limb, hang it upside down from a pot rack… very handy to have!

  3. Kristi
    February 5th, 2010 at 15:42 | #3
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    Beth,
    That sounds interesting. I have a big clunky tripod and a small rubber one …

  4. jade
    February 6th, 2010 at 17:50 | #4
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    All that bright light streaming through the window behind you is confusing your camera’s exposure meter….maybe you could stand with the window off to one side? Back-lighting usually requires fill-flash but that would cause havoc with the mirror reflection. Anyway, black is difficult to photograph with much detail in most cases.

  5. Kristi
    February 6th, 2010 at 17:59 | #5
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    Hence my problem with photographing my outfits — I wear black soo much. I’ll figure it out. thanks.

  6. jade
    February 6th, 2010 at 18:02 | #6
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    Yeah. Me too.

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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.