The Reason For Every Woman to Shine

(Picture source: http://www.blogcdn.com/www.stylelist.com/media/2011/05/zanotti-chopard-shoes-590jn051911.jpg)
Giuseppe Zanotti for Chopard shoes - auctioned in Cannes (from 180,000$)

His international reputation is built upon a solid ground: his long tradition of shoe manufacturing. What makes him unique are his personality, his passion and also the exceptionally refined sensibility which helps him capture the secret desires of every woman. Indeed, Giuseppe Zanotti has been called many times a “shoe god” by the women who wear his designs, and the way the shoes are crafted is his recipe for success. In his mind, the form of the shoe and the line of the heel draw the form of a woman’s body, a woman that is self-confident and sexy, energetic and fashion-forward, but most of all, a woman who feels just great in her skin.

The new Spring Summer 2011 collection of Giuseppe Zanotti Design only comes to highlight what has already been said. This compilation of styles, this “playlist”, as the designer likes to call it, is strongly related to his signature in style. The fabulous, cutting edge shapes, elegant pumps, eye-popping platforms, wonderfully used graphic elements, animal print and jewels and the studs to accessorize all that, all express a different personality, just like a signature does, but all have common elements: the quality of the manufacturing and the reinvention of the designer with every pair he creates.

A material can tell different stories, just as for example the animal print does in this collection: from a flat shoe which can be worn for a walk on the beach to a high-heeled stiletto which is extremely elegant for a night out. There is a shoe for every occasion in this collection and Giuseppe Zanotti made them all sexy, energetic, and empowering. And to show his love for women one more time, Zanotti matches purses to all the shoe styles. Strass and sparkle, flashy and discreet, silent black and passionate red, it’s all available this season.

Be it a vacation getaway, a dinner with friends, a walk down the red carpet, or an unforgettable night out for dancing, you will always get noticed with these fabulous shoes which the Italian designer creates.

Check out this video to see Giuseppe Zanotti around the world ...

(Movie source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9LvRr1zgZpU)

Scent and Flavour - All Memory Related - Bacania Veche

A dear friend of mine, unknowingly that I was going to write about this today, told me that she finds it intriguing how she in the most recent years has memories related to some scents. From my point of view, it is not something strange or outlandish, but rather something that becomes part of us once we become aware of the fact that time is running fast and we can make it stop only through the dear memories we keep tight to our soul. I often think of smells by visualizing my grandfather, who in his last years lost most of his sight but was able to see spring through the strong smell of the hyacinth flowers we would bring him. It happened to me many times to be miles and miles away from my parents but to feel their presence just because a person who passed me by was wearing a similar perfume as they did. What I also do is hold memories related to flavours I encounter every day. There are for example different ways of cooking duck, and each way of doing that has a memory: roasted duck leg for pre-Christmas time in Germany, "magret de canard au miel" for my time spent in the South of France and for a cookig-evening at a friend, roasted duck with plums - for my mother's cooking and Chinese duck for a wonderful week with my dear friend I was mentioning at the beginning. It is sometimes funny, but bad flavour is more easily forgotten.

The reason I am telling you all this is because scents and flavours are hard to find in huge hypermarkets with standardized product offering. Yes, you can find food and I don't want to sound snobbish in any way, but buying there is just satisfying a need and you seldom build connections or have the time to be an individual there with your own creativity, thoughts and wishes and the desire to open up and relate to memories. Last week I visited a place in Bucharest where I had the time to enjoy some nice tea, freshly made home chocolate, take some tartelettes home and hear some food-connected stories. I discovered wonderful people there who believe in the same things as I do: tradition and craftsmanship. Add to that some special flavour and the desire to experiment while still wanting to be eco-related. Welcome to Bacania Veche!


At Bacania Veche I found some memories related to France...


....related to my grandmother... she hangs fruits and vegetables like this...

...again memories related to the South of France...and some connected to my dad...


...fresh memories of my grandmother and my mother...


...and new memories to keep for the future...


...memories related to family friends...


...and to the times I was waking up in Germany to buy fresh bread...


...and to my childhood when my grandfather was making the best tea in the world.


Nevertheless..you can start building up new memories with spices and drinks and oils or vinegars etc from all over the world, wonderfully selected...leaving you to dream of your next dish and your next memory.








Ladies and gentlemen, this is the place where all the magic happens. I advise you to embark with them on a wonderful trip of good quality food, some of it hand-made, and freshly made. I assure you, that you'll fall in love with the place.


And as if that wasn't enough, if you are environmentally friendly and come by bike, you'll find a secure place for it outside the store.


And this is the man behind the magic, Marius Tudosiei, who can really "infect" you with his passion for good food. Just start a conversation with him and you'll see... I am for sure looking forward to meet him soon and talk some more about food.