Italy: Shopping & Design

We visited the Solimene factory in Vietri sul Mare (the "ceramic capital" of the Amalfi Coast), whose cheerful and whimsical traditional dishes I have always admired.

photo from Divertimenti.

 

Mr. 12 devonshire spotted these fun chevron dishes!  Too bad they were not for sale (and too bad the lady who worked there was rude to me when I asked about them!).

After browsing through about a dozen ceramic stores in town, I picked up this cute trio of cannisters:

I also poked my head into a few design shops here and there.

These photos are from the home section of a boutique that had beautiful clothes and shoes.  A bit anthropologie-esque. 

Notice the glass cloche?

The next few were taken in a modern kitschy cute design shop. 

Love this colorful way to display black and white photos.  This seems easily DIY-able with some IKEA frames, spray paint and a picture ledge.

So many unique serving sets in versatile and classic white.

I liked this oil & vinegar/ salt & pepper set.

This cute set of espresso cups came home with us (the top cup was in the dishwasher when I took the photo - thankfully, the whole set made it home perfectly intact).

The color scheme was described on the box as "Granny."  I'll admit that I can go for a little "granny chic" now and then. 

Several of the restaurants in which we ate had design elements that I looked forward to sharing on the blog, such as the coral chandeliers and beautiful tile floors at Buca Di Bacco in Positano...

The creative use of a galvanized bucket at a restaurant in Cava de Tirreni...

The stunning marble floors, white leather chesterfield chairs, grand floral arrangement, and schmancy bathroom at the jaw-dropping Grand Hotel Quisisana, where we enjoyed a lovely lunch in Capri...

And, the all-white shimmering jewel-box of a restaurant (Biancoro), where we enjoyed a delicious final meal in Naples before returning home...

where they had an original way to keep wine cold...

and, where we did ourselves in with THIS dessert...

Remember my love of (addiction to) Nutella?  This is called "Nutellini"... fried dough, drizzled with (doused in) Nutella.

On that delicious note, my little series of Italy posts comes to an end.  It was so wonderful to spend the week with family, exploring the gorgeous region, eating way too much delicious pizza and pasta and taking in all the spectacular views.   It's also been fun to re-live it all these past few days as I wrote my blog posts.  I can't believe the trip has come and gone and it's back to reality on Monday (we're still not quite over the jet-lag)!

Have a great weekend! 

Eating out: a B-town hit

If you happen to find yourself in Bloomington, Indiana - I recommend a meal at Farm... a charming kitschy cute restaurant with an imaginative menu and wonderfully fresh ingredients. 

I love the industrial/country/vintage mix in this space.  Unfortunately, whenever I find myself in a blog-worthy location, I seem to have nothing but my lousy iphone camera to capture it... so, apologies for the grainy photos.