Cucumber Cool

Hello Peaches! I hope you are all enjoying the weather wherever you are! I am currently in the L.A. area, where I thought I might be able to catch some California sun. I was a bit mistaken, since it was only 60 'F! Luckily, this freezing weather only lasted for another day and now I will be basking in the warm sun! In the meantime, I decided to do a little detox. I juiced some green apples and cucumbers (my favorite summer mix) and enjoyed the refreshing juice! I always think its' such a waste to throw it away, so this time, I decided to make a mask out of it!

Apple is great for topical use, since it has:

• anti-aging (not that I need it at 25 years) benefits
• protects you against UV rays - great for the coming summer
• great for acne - you can also mix ground apple with milk
• hydrates and brightens skin - apple has a lot of collagen, which helps keep your skin supple
• cool down puffy eyes - if you want, you can just cut 2 slices and place them under your eyes

Cucumber has many of the benefits that apple has, so these two make a great combination:

• cucumus sativus is what makes cucumber so great for you skin - an all natural collagen!
• anti-wrinkle and puffy bags under your eyes - especially after studying late at night!
• hydration - cucumber is high in silica, helping maintain a healthy alkaline level

All that natural good! Juice 2 apples and one cucumber. I peel the cucumber because I don't like the taste of the peel. You can then shred the peel in a blending machine.

You can see I blended the peel in a small blender and the leftover pulp is already nice and ready.

Voila! I mixed the pulp and peel together. Now you're ready for a morning mask treatment and some refreshing summer juice!

You can use cucumber slices to cool off any morning puffiness. As for the mask, just dab it on in small dosages. You don't have to put on a thick layer. the cucumber and apple pulp still have a lot of juice, so I recommend using a towel for your hair and under you head. 

Enjoy! Let me know how it went for you!

Ceska verze ....

Hello World!

Hello Peaches! Missed me much? I hope you did, because I did! I took a longer break than I should have. I can come and go, but like a cat (I am Leo fyi), I always find my way home. 

Since Spring is in full bloom, I decided it was a good idea to come out of hibernation. That, and because I need to be productive while I am procrastinating. I should in fact be doing school work. Like my diploma thesis...

Well! With magnolias, cherry blossoms and those white fluffy flowers (whatever they are) you sure are made to feel like Alice in Wonderland. It's hard to just stay at home and study while there is all that glorious sun out there! So I decided to maybe balance things out. In order to enjoy the sun, I go running or rollerblading ('so 90's' as a friend commented) and get some fresh air. While that's really wonderful for my body, it's great also for my skin. The oxygen gives it a fresh rosy look and I sweat out all the toxins from the weekend (aka 1 mojito for every page I am mentally writing). The downside? My skin has a huge tendency to break out. What to do, what to do? I decided to do some research on skincare. During my research, I found out that there are tons of skincare routines! I have to try them all! In the process of putting all sorts of weird products (i.e. tumeric mask) on my face, I thought it might be fun to share this with you Peaches! So every moment I get, I'll be posting some new fun 'beauty' post and hope you all will enjoy it!

*

Ahoj Peaches! Styskalo se vam po me? Doufam, ze ano, protoze ja ano! Vzala jsem si delsi prestavku nez bych mela. Muzu prijit a odejit, ale jako kocka (jsem ve znameni Lva btw), se vzdy najdu cestu zpatky domu. Protoze jaro uz je v plnem rozkvetu, rozhodla jsem se, ze by byl dobry napad ukoncit prezimovani. To a protoze musim byt nejak produktivni, kdyz odkladam praci. Napriklad veci do skoly. Napriklad diplomovou praci ...

Takze! Vsude rozkvetly magnolie, stromy podobajici se Sakure a ty dalsi bily, chmyrovity kytky (nevim co to je), dodaji pocit jako Alice v Risi Divu! Je to docela tezky zustat doma a ucit se, kdyz je tak krasny pocasi! Tudiz jsem se rozhodla, ze bych mohla nektery veci vyvazit. Abych si mohla uzivat slunce a trochu se provetrala, chodim behat nebo jezdit na koleckovych bruslich (jako v 90ky jak rekla jedna kamaradka). Nejenze je to super pro moje telo, ale i pro moji plet. Trochu kysliku a hned mam 'ruzove' tvare a vypotim vsechny toxicke latky z vikendu (aka 1 mojito za kazdou stranku, kterou jsem dusevne napsala). Nevyhoda? Moje plet ma obrovskou prevahu se vypuknout. Co delat? Chvili jsem badala po internetu a vyhledaval ruzne pece o pleti. Behem mho 'vyzkumu', zjisitla jsem, ze je spousta zpusobu a pece! Musim je vyzkouset vsechny! 

V procesu vyzkouseni vsech techto produktu (napr. tumericka maska), zamyslela jsem se a rikala si, ze by bylo skvely se o to s vama podelit! Takze pokazdy co dostanu chut byt produktivni jinak nez do skoly, tak budu psat o novou a fun post a doufam, ze si to uzijete!

The Cradle of Italian Liberty vs. Detroit of Italy

First off, even though it's 2 days later - Happy Halloween everyone! I had class on Friday evening, which was so great and I was so happy to have class on Friday evening. Not. Anyways, I decided to venture out into the world after class and bought some baked goods at the Le Ragazze, which is a phenomenal bakery. Instead of passing, I was tempted to come inside by the witches giving out goods. Of course with no Halloween discount, nonetheless, impossible to resist. I bought a chocolate biscotti which is typical for the month of the dead. It's a bit like chocolate gingerbread with nuts in the shape of a coffin. Besides the shape reminding you everyday of what might come without notice, it's quite lovely. I myself opted to look like a Mexican sugar skull, which I was sure it was going to be original. Then I saw that I wasn't the only sugar-head. Oh well. I'm not a big fan of Halloween anyways, because like NYE, it's a crazy night filled with abominable people. It's the one time of the year when girls can dress up looking like hookers and get away with it. 

Martedi Mercato

Sometimes you are in need of a change. Even if it means that you arrive a bit late to a class that is not happening. Like today. For once I wanted to be on time for class, so I got up early and made sure everything was prepared. Probably even more prepared than the teacher. Upon arriving to school, I found out that the doors to the class were locked. So I waited to see if maybe someone will arrive. I waited in vain. After 30 minutes, I asked myself: "What is there to do when there is no class?" Well, it is Tuesday morning (11:30 am is still morning in Italy), the sun is shedding its' last rays upon the turning leaves, why not visit the market?

Every Tuesday morning in Via Eustachi, there is a market where you can buy almost anything. From stockings to fish (not a very nice parallel is it?), everything is for sale. There is no order. There is no such thing as a section for fish, section for vegetables and fruits and no section for clothing. The only difference between all of these stands are the prices and the marketing. By price difference, I believe my readers can understand clearly. By marketing I mean by how well the vendor is able to present to you his finest piece of fresh sea fish (in Milan), the warmest fleece jacket or even the best grocery bag you can buy for 1 euro. 

While strolling along the street, it was hard not to stop and take a moment to not only observe but to listen to the rumble of the market, the sound accumulating with the whizzing engine of a Vespa or Piaggio truck filled with plants passing by the street. Although Via Eustachi is a long street, the market itself does not fill the whole, therefore it makes it a pleasant quick inhalation of what Hollywood has projected towards us as Italy. Might I even say that the Arabs and Bangladeshi have been able to quickly assimilate between these Italian merchants. While selling their artichokes from boxes having imprinted on them: Be in Italy, buy Italian products (in Italian of course). 

I opted only for some salad from a local Italian farm (how local I don't know, but hey, the feeling is there), where 3 heads cost 2 euros. Then Israeli dates and Romanian walnuts from a Bangladeshi vendor. Talk about Globalization. 

Camerino

Once in a while, you need a break from Milan. It can be smoggy, to noisy, too full of people and in general, it's nice to change location once in a while. Especially since you are in a country as beautiful and diverse as Italy. An area I like to return to when in Italy is the region of Macerata. Rimini and Ancona are probably the most significant cities you will visit when you are here, although it is better to visit it during the summer. Especially when a cold front comes in as has happened 2 days ago. On Tuesday, Italy was full of sun and its' warmth, but with the coming winter and last years warm winter, I think Mother Earth has decided to surprise us with her forces. With force.
On Tuesday, I was still walking around in shorts during the day, shopping with my trolley and at night I was walking around in a button down and a shawl, absolutely content. Now I wish I had something a bit warmer than a pair of tennis shoes. Specifically before going to Camerino. Thinking as I am going into the south of Italy, I will enjoy warmer weather than in Milan, I thought wrong. Snow on the way into the south of Italy is not a good sign. Nonetheless, upon arriving to Ancona, I was welcomed by a wind with such force, that it played with me, swaying me from side to side. I had to laugh, because I thought it quite funny to be swept aside, by the forces of the wind. I think other people watching had fun as well.
Either way, I got to enjoy a cappuccino and brioche con crema chantilly at Bar Centrale, in front of the duomo in Camerino. As freezing as I was, it was fun to watch all the locals greet each other before going to work with a quick coffee. I have to say it was also a pleasure paying for my breakfast, since it cost 1,50 instead of the 2, 50 eur I normally pay in Milan. On one hand it doesn't sound like much (paying 2,50 for a croissant and cappuccino) but for Italy, it's a lot.
I walked around to see a bit of the city and hope you enjoy looking at the historical city of Camerino!

me and my super cool trolley. total shopping diva

Universiday

Since I am here in Milan to study (seriously), there are usually events provided by universities so that students can get to know each other and the city they are living in. One of these events was yesterdays Universiday. The event was to be informative, letting us know what the city of Milan is doing and what services they want to provide for the students - foreign and from other cities of Italy. Of course what this particular event needed, was a gimmick to get the students to come. Not only did the mayor of Milan, Giuliano Pisapia, the famous journalist Beppe Severigni come, but also the special guest of the evening - singer Mika. I think that for the most part, all of the girls present went because it was an opportunity to see the famous singer.

Milano Milano

I don't know about you, but the weather here is a bit gloomy. Milano, as is San Francisco, is famous for its' fog. Unlike San Francisco, the fog comes in autumn and is accompanied by rain throughout the winter. They say that the sun should come this week, but I'm a sceptic and am so far enjoying it. Personally I love fog, and it goes along well with the sound of ravens (the size of chickens mind you) and the yellow leaves, crunching under your feet. So, with September being an amazing month, full of hot sunshine, there was nothing better to do than to explore the city.

Nevim jak jste na tom vy v Cechach, ale pocasi v Milane je trochu pochmurny. Milano, jako ze je San Francisco, je slavny pro jejich podzimni mlhu. Na rozdil od San Francisco, mlha prichazi na podzimu (v SF je to v lete) a je doprovazeny destem pres celou zimu. Rikali, ze by melo vykouknout slunicko tento tyden, ale ja jsem skeptic a i presto, ze je mlha, tak si ji uzivam. Osobne miluju mlhu a myslim si, ze patri k zvuku havranum a spadane listy ze stromu krupajici se pod nohama. Takze, s tim, ze zari bylo nadherny mesic plna slunicka, nebylo nic lepsiho nez se prochazet pres mesto.