LA DOLFINA

Have you ever been tempted to pick up one of these beautifully rendered, delicate porcelain birds even though they have a slight chip at the tip of their beak,  but asked yourself...  "now what am I going to do with this dust collector"? "Do I really need it?" I say absolutely!   It's the perfect adornment for your orchid, whether he's perched beside it or tucked inside it's mossy pot! Either way he enhances the already exquisite plant.   So, the next time you spy one of these delicate creatures... don't pass him by. Take him home with you... to live in your orchid! Please enter my Shabby Apple Da Vinci Dress Giveaway if you haven't yet! And check out the latest at IL TUO TESORO .

If you are a lover of all things Italian, then today could be your lucky day!   Shabby Apple welcomes you to great dresses that make dressing simple.  And they are offering a fabulous dress from their Roamin Holiday Collection to one lucky La Dolfina follower! After years of not being able to find stylish dresses that covered enough skin to make you really feel comfortable without wearing a tank top, cardigan or long slip, owners Emily and CK decided to do something about it.   They visited trade shows, marketplaces and designer studios only to discover that the problem was not that department stores weren't buying the right dresses, but that designers weren't designing them. Shabby Apple is proud to offer you fantastic dresses that allow you to look fabulous without having to compromise anything else. A return to what dresses were always meant to be, a one-piece outfit. No need to add anything... no tank tops, no cardigans, nothing except acc...

To kick off my Roamin Holiday Giveaway, I thought I'd take a stroll down memory lane of my own Roman Holiday in October of 2007 when my brother Stephen and his wife Wendy were married  at The Vatican.     Stephen & Wendy rented us a villa in Castel Gandolfo. Castel Gandolfo is a small town in Lazio that occupies a height overlooking Lake Albano about 15 miles south-east of Rome on the Alban Hills. It is best known as the summer residence of the Pope.   (View of our villa) It was voted one of the most beautiful towns in Italy. It includes almost the whole coastline of Lake Albano and is surrounded by many summer residences, villas and cottages built during the seventeenth century. (Relaxing in the villa)     Here we are eating, drinking and sharing good times in the villa's kitchen downstairs. The Main Square in Castel Gandolfo with the Pope's residence in the background. We were so fortunate to be able to attend the Papal Ble...