Hey! What's different here?

This is not my new layout, it's a temporary replacement for the field of green that's been irritating me so much. What do you think? Clean? Easy to read? Or is it too boring? Hit me with your best shot, I can handle it.

Let's talk about Italian travel

It's approaching mid-March and I don't think I've ever had this many plates spinning at the same time. That's not a complaint at all and oddly enough, I'd welcome a couple more things to do. I know I can't keep up this pace forever and vacations await.

So the other day a new travel book fell into my lap. The book is Susan Van Allen's 100 Places in Italy Every Woman Should Go. Though Susan's targeting a female audience, her subject matter transcends gender. 100 Places is a terrific insider's guide. It's full of off-the-beaten-path treasures and fresh perspectives on old standbys. Whether it's the Piazza Barberini in Rome or Oplontis in Torre Annunciata, an insider's guide that lists places where I've already been gets an instant nod of approval from me.

More than that though, Susan Van Allen makes my long to see the places I've yet to see. 100 Places is daydream fodder for me right now, but mark my words. I will see her 100 Places and add 100 more. You can read her table of contents (and buy her book) here.

In an interesting twist, 100 Places has been turned into an iPhone app. Pretty great stuff all around.

Saxon Henry is a great friend and contributor to this blog. She launched a new site a couple of weeks back called Roaming by Design. She is running a contest right now and the prize is the iPhone app version of 100 Places. All you have to do is leave a comment after her post and chapter excerpt on 100 Places. Poke around on Saxon's site while you're over there, she does a great job of combining her loves of travel, design, writing and everything else that catches her eye.

My photo of the Villa la Terrazza as seen from the Marina Piccola in Sorrento.

Of course all talk of Italy brings me back to my incredible stay at the Villa la Terrazza in Sorrento in 2008. It's fast approaching two years since I looked out over the Mediterranean from the patio of the villa and I am dying to return.

Photo from the Villa la Terrazza. This was our living room for one of the most idyllic weeks I've ever spent.

Andrea Azzariti a fifth generation member of the Gunderrode family to own and maintain the Villa. He has a new website for it and it just launched. If you are ever looking for the ultimate get away, this is it. I cannot endorse the six apartments of the Villa La Terrazza and Andrea's hospitality strongly enough.

It seems like a dream now, but there was once a time when I padded through this dining room every morning to get coffee and greet the day. The old marble counter in front of the window was the spot where I stood to chop tomatoes for bruschetta. I'll never be the same. Really.

Included in Andrea's new website is the following video. Watch this and then tell me that the Villa la Terrazza isn't paradise found.





Villa Terrazza - Our Incredible Trip! from Demir Gjokaj on Vimeo.


Check out Villa la Terrazza's new site.

It's a rebate from GE Monogram

GE Monogram appliances are brought to market by some of the kindest and most decent people in the industry. In a world of conflicting alliances and interests, I admire their commitment to what they do and I appreciate their good-natured and fast responses to my many questions and requests. They're a solid organization and they turn out a solid line of appliances.

So this group of decent, hard working people have an offer they're running through September 30, 2010 and it's a rebate. There's a maximum rebate of $2,000 available and here's how it works. Follow this link for the full details.

Buy a 48" dual-fuel pro range

and a 48" pro hood

or

buy either an electric cooktop,

a gas cooktop,

or a rangetop,

a hood

and a single

or a double wall oven

and get $1000 instant rebate.

Then buy an eligible refrigerator and get an additional $1000 in instant savings.

If you're looking for new appliances, now's the time.

Once again, go to Monogram's website to get the specific models covered by this rebate offer. Thanks Monogram!

Congratulations Mr. Wu

Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images

Michele Obama and Jason Wu unveiled the dress she wore at the inaugural ball in a ceremony at The Smithsonian this morning.

Since I've met Jason Wu twice, this has me one degree removed from the first lady and two degrees separated from her husband. He's a man I'm still proud to say I voted for by the way. So congratulations Jason, it's a real thrill to see such talent succeed.

Hairy bikers?

The terrific Sarah Lloyd write the blog Kitchen Clarity and she mentions Beautiful Kitchens from time to time. Beautiful Kitchens is a British design magazine with a lively online presence. I like seeing what's going on in my profession in other parts of the world and Beautiful Kitchens is a great window into the K&B business in Britain.

British kitchens are familiar to this American set of eyes, but just different enough so that everything seems new. As a case in point, the editor made mention of something called Hairy Bikers World.

Hairy Bikers World is a cooking show from the BBC from what I can gather and it appears to be some kind of a cultural touchstone on that side of the Atlantic. It seems odd to me, but then again I'd hate to have any assumptions made about me based on the dreck that's on TV in the US.

So to all of my British friends and others in the know, what gives with Hairy Bikers World? Cultural touchstone or forgettable piffle?