from milano to molise

Luciano his mother and I took a two week vacation in the area of italy where she grew up
we spent most of the time at her beach house and just relaxed for the whole time,
i worked on the illustrations for the book im illustrating for, but i didnt get that far with the beach at my toes every day.
Luciano's friend Fabio who lives in the south took us on a trip to a few other islands near by.
We had wonderful sea food, and were even able to see a film festival in a small town where Luciano and his mother's close friend lives.
Last but not least, we had a huge dinner with Fabio and his friends..
there is a restaurant in the hills of molise, where they make everything- from the wine to the ravioli. You are full after the appetizers, but the food is so good you keep eating! hahaha
Now im back in milano, luciano and i are now looking for other small jobs until september since everyone left and it is a ghost town now. time to crack down and do work!

moda italia

Well i just got back from the week of fashion.
Luciano accompanied me as my translator.
Out of thousands of applicants only thirty were chosen,
i was one of them. unfortunately i was the only one who didnt speak italian

we had one full week of workshops and meeting important people in the fashion industry
which improved my italian a lot. But soon enough i would like to be able to communicate perfectly with myself. Luciano even sat in translating the lectures for me on his birthday

we didnt have much time to sun tan, we had a very busy schedule
but it all payed off when i was able to see my designs on the run way
televised live!
no i didnt win, but i was able to make contacts and friends in the industry!
plus my name is now out there.
i have some people wanting me to intern for them..

we'll see what happens next

amatriciana

amatriciana is the pasta dish that is famously from lazio and rome
fortunatly i was able to try this wonderful food in its native land with luciano

Lu and i got back from rome a few days ago- his mother convinced him to take me
since she had to be in rome for fashion, and since ive never seen it before
it was the perfect opportunity
We spent three full days exploring the city as tourists

Being in the south of italy, it was extreemly hot
walking for a few hours took so much energy out of us
and we didnt get to see as much as we would have liked
so well have to go back

one of the last days we spent watching the spain vs holland game
with a whole group of people in a park
the game was projected on a large screen and everyone packed together
even though i was routing for holland (my favorite player wesley sneijder)
i still had a lot of fun

tonight luciano, his mom and i are all packing to get ready to leave tomorrow
for the fashion week in Riccione where my outfits will be displayed
im charging my camera and ill have to take a lot of photos!!!

xoxoxoxo
amanda jane

The hill are alive

This past week Luciano and I decided to have a change of pace
The weather in Milano was getting too hot, so we went to Lu's father's cabin
in the alps of italy (in the small town of sauze d'oulx to be exact)
I brought my work so i could get some things done for my project
we had a wonderful train ride that stopped in Torino, and then to D'oulx

In the mountains we went hiking everyday and found fresh milk, yogurt and cheese to eat
we even met the cows that produced the milk! We hiked the trails that people use to ski down in the winter- there were cabins and lodges on the way up that were still open and selling lunch and coffee for the few who passed by in July.

Before leaving we were able to catch the match of Holland and Uruguay.

Here we go again

The start of a new adventure.
Im back in milan, but with a new goal.
Im finding work in the fashion industry with the help of luciano and his mom
In about three weeks the fashion show in rimini will start, and im really excited for that

but as for now, im getting over my jet lag and unpacking

italy is getting to me

so my portfolio is finally finished with,
and now i'm finally going to be able to get paying jobs
hopefully this will help with the rent

finals is starting to come into full swing
i can't keep my mind off of christmas break though!
now i just have to sit down and study
yuck yuck yuck

so here are some pictures of my latest shoot









keep reading
ill try to update more often
xoxoxo
amanda jane