Saturday, Italian Style

There’s nothing like starting the weekend off in a leisurely manner; to me, that means making espresso with Lavazza coffee I brought home with me from Italy…speaking of — I haven’s shared with FPD readers my favorite Italian buys and finds from my trip in July! I went to Italy for a friend’s wedding on a beautiful 13th century villa outside of Verona, and of course picked up some great finds along the way (from Florence, Venice, Verona, and Elba!). Here’s some pics of what I brought home:

• Jelly flats with ties in the back from La Rinascente department store in Florence, about $30
• Cute fedora-style straw hat, market in Venice, about $15
• wraparound grey leather belt, San Lorenzo Market in Florence, about $12

• I know you can get Dove products in the USA, but the formulas and scents are different in Italy – and I like them much much better! I always stock up on the Dove ‘Fresh’ scent ‘deo spray’ deodorants. About $5
• I also discovered this amazing olive mill that made beauty products outside of Verona – I got the best selling hand soap, lip balm, and olive oil face mask (not pictured), all made from olive oil at the Salvagno Frantoio, about $3-$6

• Of course I wasn’t going to leave Italy without buying some clothes! The middle dress (and pictured right) is one of my favorite Italian brands, Stefanel, and I managed to get this beautiful knit dress on sale for about $60
• The other two dresses were extremely affordable, from Pimkie, which I gathered is kind of like the Forever 21 of Europe, but the quality was amazing for the price point (grey zipper dress, about $32, striped dress, about $26)

• No trip to Italy would be complete without a totally cheesy tourist t-shirt, food, and coffee! I thought this ‘Venezia’ t-shirt with cute kittens and a ball of string didn’t make any sense, so I loved it instantly, and I also brought back as much pasta as would fit in my bag — here I have “foglie di carfiofi’ artichoke and olive oil semolina pasta (delish!) and some Lavazza, my favorite!!

What’s your favorite vacation souvenir? Do share!