What is your current obsession?
my etsy shop and old movies (old films are always an obsession!)

What are you wearing today?
Red and black flannel pajama shirt

What is your favorite animal?
i love kittens <3

What would you eat for your last meal?
chicken enchiladas.

What's the last thing you bought?
Gift bags to wrap presents, yesterday.

What are you listening to right now?
A soccer match that my boyfriend is watching.

What is your favorite ice-cream flavour?
Rocky road.

Who is your favourite author?
Marlena de Blasi.

If you could have a house totally paid for, fully furnished anywhere in the world, where would you like it to be?
Mmm, either here in Italy or San Francisco, California.

If you could go anywhere in the world for the next hour, where would you go?
Tuscany.

Which language do you want to learn?
I'd like to continue to perfect my Italian.

What's your favorite quote (for now)?
I don't have one off the top of my head.

What is your favorite colour?
soft yellow.

What is your favorite piece of clothing in your own wardrobe?
Too hard to choose just one thing, but I really like my new brown boots.

What is your dream job?
Photojournalist.

What's your favourite magazine?
I like Cosmopolitan a lot.

If you had £100 now, what would you spend it on?
Books.

Do you admire any one's style?
Lots.

Describe your personal style?
Mine.

What are you going to do after this?
Hopefully getting offline and watching "It's A Wonderful Life".

What's your favourite fruit?
Watermelon, peaches, grapes.

What inspires you?
Photography, photographers, old cinema, the '40s, '50s and '60s, simplicity, nice people.

Your favorite book ?
"A Thousand Days in Venice", by Marlena de Blasi.

Do you collect something?
When I was little, I collected carousel horses, which I still have. Nowadays, I suppose you could say books, photos and films.

Are you a home body or do you prefer to be out?
More home body but I love going out with my boyfriend and family, too.

State something weird about you.
Hmm...I grind my teeth while I sleep!

Today my lovely boyfriend woke up early to go to the Porta Portese market which is only open on Sundays to search for a camera for me for the holidays. He bought one and though I haven't seen it, he told me the name of it and I looked it up online. It's awesome and I'm really excited to use it. Here's to hoping it will actually work! You never know when buying used.

I've decided that, in addition to the black and white kitten I want, I also would love a little scottish terrier. How adorable are they?



I've always wanted a little black & white kitten to name Figaro, after Pinocchio.

Ikea

Today was so much fun! I spent the entire morning and afternoon at IKEA with Stefano's mom. It was so sweet of her to take me and so nice, because we are starting to grow closer to one another. We spent hours looking at all of the displays before going downstairs to start buying! I bought quite a few things, all for Stefano, but I do regret not buying the most perfect mirror that I found for only 23 euros. It was long and oval and would look great in our room. Maybe in the future I'll buy it.

For lunch, we ate inside the store at their cafe and I had: a chicken sandwich with slices of tomato, and a wrap with salmon and a sort of sweet & sour sauce. DELICIOUS! For dessert, cheese cake!

Tonight we ate dinner at his mom's house and she made homemade pizza, with lots of oil and lots of oregano, then we ate pieces of fresh cheese and bread, with slices of ham on top. It was a really beautiful day and a really special one, too!

Fantastic Photo GIVEAWAY!

Hey Everyone!

This is my first giveaway and I'm super excited about it! The winner of this giveaway will win ONE (1) 8x10 print of their choice from my shop. (www.ashleysummerphotos.etsy.com)

To Qualify:

You must follow this blog and leave one comment, letting me know which photo you would like and why.

Giveaway runs from:

12/09- 12/16

Winner will be announced on December 17, 2009!

Thank you all for looking and participating!

Ashley Summer
Ashley Summer Photography

Yesterday was a holiday here in Italy. Stefano and his family didn't work so around two thirty, we went to his mom's house and all sat down to lunch together. She cooked lasagna (homemade!), sausage, meatballs and vegetables. It was so delicious, and to top it all of, we ate a delicious tiramisu for dessert! After lunch, we went into the living room to start setting up the Christmas tree. I've only helped decorate a tree once in my life, which was last year, for the first time. His family hadn't put one up in 4 years. Rosanna, Silvia and I all fixed the branches, added the ornaments and strung the lights. Stefano only helped with lights, at the end! But in the end, it turned out beautifully. Rosanna added some decorations on the walls throughout the house as well as outside the front door. It was such a beautiful day, together with family.

New prints on etsy!

I'm so tired! :)

It's 1:30 in the morning. I've been editing photos and playing around on etsy. Be sure to take a look at the shop, I've made a few changes. Some new photos have been added, prices changed and my featured shop items have changed, as well. This week I will be adding tons of new prints, with sizes ranging from 5x5 to 11x17! In color, black and white, vintage tones, etc.!

Here's a look at the newest, added tonight:

This morning I went for a walk around our district with my camera. I took some photos, and met some nice people along the way. Tonight I've been editing photos and deciding which ones to put up on etsy. Tomorrow morning, Stefano and I are going to take the metro downtown and proabably get off at Colloseo. I want to take some more photos while the temperature is still allowing.

For lunch today, I made us tuna melt sandwiches and soup with tiny pasta inside. It was so yummy but not filling enough, so afterwards we each made a bit more to eat. He had a wrap with chicken, mayo and cheese and I made some scrambled eggs with hot dog pieces cut up and mixed together. Then, fruit! :)

Yesterday I took a cab to my old work to collect the money I still hadn't been paid. I didn't want to take the bus and metro under the rain by myself while my leg is still like this, so I spent wayyyy too much on the cab ride, but at least I didn't hurt myself and it was a relaxing way to get to and from. It was nice to see the girls at work and chat again. It'd be nice to return there in the future- I just don't know when I'll be ready to go back yet.

Love and I are going to finish watching "He's Just Not That Into You" tonight!



Such a cute movie <3

Stefano and I drove back out to the "Questura" today in the hopes of obtaining a permit for me to remain here legally during the therapy I have to do for my health. It didn't go bad, but I wouldn't say it went fantastic, either. We have to return a week from today and then they will tell us if they will make it for me or not. So, we'll see!

I'm listening to Gianna and Giorgia's new single, "Salvami" and waiting for Stefano to get home. He went to his mom's house a little while ago to fax some receipts home to my family for my health insurance. Tonight we are making homemade pizza! Half with cheese and tomato sauce and the other half with cheese and wurstel. Yumm, it's so delicous. And, yesterday I made ranch dip, so I really CANNOT wait for dinner!

Last year around Christmas time, Stefano had come to visit us in America, and we went to see the Blazers play at the Rose Garden. I can't express how beautiful that period was and how much fun we had.





It will be so neat to experience winter in Rome this year!

Wednesday Afternoon

This morning Stefano and I woke up very early to head to the hospital for my weekly visit. I had my blood drawn and then we went to a bar that's outside, but still inside the hospital. He purchased a cornetto with yellow cream for himself and one with chocolate for me, while we shared a fruit juice. We then had to find Chiara who gave us the forms to go have my x-ray done. Luckily, it was over pretty quickly, even if we won't have the results for a week from now.

Last night we took the bus from Laurentina all the way to Largo Argentina, in centro, and browsed the Feltrinelli bookstore.



It's one of my absolute favorites and, as with every bookstore, I could spend an eternity just looking around. We looked at the movies on sale, calendars, stationary, etc., before taking the bus back home.

On Monday, I made my first two real sales on etsy! Someone bought an 8x10 of my "Vintage Cars" print::



And one who purchased my "Eiffel Tower" print::



Photography is something that I love doing for myself personally, my own satisfaction, however it is very lovely to know that other people respect it as well, enough to even buy a print. <3

It's a little after one in the afternoon now and Stefano has the day off. We are making spaghetti with tuna and capers for lunch and then napping the day away together. I love him to pieces.

Favorite shops on etsy::

http://www.etsy.com/shop/risamay
She's got some great photography of Italy that I love.

http://www.etsy.com/shop/EmeliaJane
A great photog with a beautiful shot of a typewriter in a field.

http://www.etsy.com/shop/DustyMoon
Makes the cutest old film notebooks.

http://www.etsy.com/shop/niminami
Great artwork.

http://www.etsy.com/shop/jkldesign
Has an amazing black and white shot of a bed covered in magazines and books that I wish I took myself.

http://www.etsy.com/shop/KendraJKantor
She has a couple of shots that I'm dying to buy, just trying to decide when as I don't have the money.

http://www.etsy.com/shop/UrbanPinkPhotography
More beautiful photography.

http://www.etsy.com/shop/thevint
Cute vintage shop!