My New Year's Wish is better than yours

Kid you not, it is really wonderful it is and at the end you will make it yours too. It's no shoes, fur coat or bag this time, but that doesn't mean you can't be fabulous. 

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Are you of the "You don't say your wishes loud, or they won't come true" family? I am and it won't matter, because my n.1 wish is available in endless quantity fo everyone. 

As a matter of facts, we have it in our hands everyday and we tend to dismiss it as a good that you can ignore. 

Do you laugh at least once a day? (Yeah, not one apple, one laugh).

Do you set the table and sit down for dinner with your family?

Ever thought of switching the phone off at lunch break and read a chapter or two of that book you have been wanting to finish?

When's the last time you went for a stroll in the park? Or to the beach (never remember this and i live at the beach!)

Have you ever stopped to count the rice? [READ the STORY]

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“We must stop living a life where we have no time”

— Marina Abramovic

How many of the questions above you answered with: "I wish I'd have the time?". Ok, the rice sounds dreadful, unless you do the experiment like Cec did. 

Too many times I have said that, to realize that they were all stories I had made up. Time is there, it faithfully runs like a river, always at a constant speed. Actually, if you remember from science or Spiderman, light is faster than anything else. So why we let our franctic lives run faster than the light and eat up, like PacMan the time we have?

We take time as a given, it's there like our family home where we always go back to. When the house has to go, all the memories that make you who you are today will always reside with you and accompany you to the next adventure. When time is gone, it is gone. Can you rewind and twirl with your daughter cause you missed it while you were checking Instagram? Can you see again your son's first goal because you had to check the stocks online? 

"We live in a world driven by technology, the best and the worst news. We must stop living a life where we have no time" says Marina Abramovic of what motivated her to opening the MAI, the institute where experiments as simple as sleeping and counting the rice are conducted. Such an eye opener: guilty as charged. And no, I can't stand being a Kardashian-ed victim of technology in which if you don't post you don't exist. 

So yes, I have asked Santa for 

time

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We live heisty lives and we are missing it all. 

Let's regain grasp on our lives instead of missing it all while we look further.

To a year filled with time. 

Cheers, 

Francesca xxx

When we put up the Ritz @ Anthropologie

The luxury of a massage and a spa day in my household is equivalent to have a personal styling sesh.

We are always up for shopping? 

All it takes is good disposition, sitting on a sofa, sipping coffee or champagne (depending on age, there's always a good reason for bubbles and sparkle).

We met Mely during one of those family outings to Anthropologie - we love it there, and by "we" I include Petunia the dachshund who is welcomed with treats and compliments everytime we venture. 

Mely (@themorenasalad on IG) is the personal stylist at the Miami Beach store and this is not a paid post so we spontaneously did everything, no staged fittings or promotions. We liked eachother, she is awesome, she gets me as she has two teeanger daughters herself, and the holidays seemed the right occasion to freshen up our closet and have fun dressing-up. 

The room had libations, coffee, juice, music and all that jazz that you can only find for Christmas at Anthropologie: they know how to do it ... hello for getting us into the mood. It was the right amount of quiet, that one that doesn't leave room for awkwardness. In other words, I would have stayed all day, reading a book and keep trying on clothing. 

We went a little speakeasy meets Downton Abbey for me: black lace kimono worn as a blouse, midi black tulle skirt and the  peach stole cinched at the waist. Imagine how many other outfits i can rcreate with those 3 guys. 

1. Black lace kimono over a white tee, ripped washed jeans and Vans.
2. The peach stole with a baby blue taffeta dress and printed yellow platforms, so decadent Miu Miu.
3. Black tulle skirt with a white tank and silver sparkly thong sandals.

I could go on forever.

Cec just went from her inseparable Vans to an embroidered grey tulle skirt with pewter/copper sequins and a silvery printed v-neck shirt. 

It was all done in a jiffy.

Look who's ready to party!

from Design Miami to Cult Collective: where art, fashion and design meet

Design Miami/

It started with a star-studded panel that included among the mostest, Craig Robins, Marina Abramovic and man of the moment Peter Marino.

35 galleries from allover the world, 5 coming from Italy bringing the best in design. 

The highlight?  "Counting the Rice" at the Marina Abramovic Institute a relational art experience that wants you to really count rice and separate the grains from the lentils. Seems silly? 

"We live in a world driven by technology wich is good news and our worst enemy" explained Abramovic. "We must stop living a life where we have no time".

Don't we all relate to that? We live in the intention of catching the next train and we are never present to the train we are riding now. So I did challenge my daughter to the experiment. Result: total fail. She separated all grains and lentils while contemporarily counting the lentils, while my attempt produced a small pile of rice and a bigger one of lentils and finished with me leaving the station for a glass of champagne. She ended up being filmed by no less that Mrs. Karla Otto in person. #proudmama

Opening reception for Cult Collective

Danny Santiago is for Miami what Yves Saint Laurent was for Marrakesh: chic relaxed luscious glam elegance.

Santiago is a name larger than life not only in Miami and, believe me, whatever he touches becomes splendid. He is an avid collector of Fashion, the one with the upper case F and modern design, uber stylist (hello "Sex & the City" the Movie) and pedegreed print titles of the likes of Vogue Italia and Vogue Gioiello. The man who never sleeps is now the creative mind behind Santika with A-lister jewelry designer Erika Peña.

Told ya we were in front of royalty.

Santika is a capsule resort collection inspired by the iconic divas of the 70s and just as that it would suffice to dive into those flowy caftans, add a maxi tasselled necklace and live in them all year long. But those two are a powerhouse of brilliant stilistic eye, design and talent, just talent of the sweetest form, the one that welcome you open heartedly every time you pop-in. You can't leave Miami without visiting them: the pop-up store will be open until the 10th of December. Living in Miami without being stung by the Santika bug is like visiting London and missing Mayfair .