From the category archives:

parenting

Maybe they’ll make a Disney movie out of this. With a Swiss-Italian toddler instead of a French mouse.

by Elisa on June 1, 2010

in parenting,Stella

If you have been reading my blog for a while, you are probably familiar with Stella.

If not, please allow me to introduce you:

This is Stella, my youngest daughter. Stella recently turned 4. Where Sarah (my oldest) is a lot like her father, sweet and quiet and uncomplicated (though that is starting to change a bit now that she’s entering tween territory), Stella is a lot like me: opinionated, loud, chatty, but also really affectionate and warm, and fun (though occasionally retroactively so) to be around. Just in case anyone needed further proof that she is my daughter, she also loves shoes, makeup, accessories in general, computers, my iPhone, traveling pretty much anywhere.

Stella was born in Zurich. At the ripe old age of 4, she is already a pretty experienced traveller, having visited (among others) San Franscisco, New York and surroundings, Orlando FL, Boston several times, a bunch of places in Italy, and of course Zurich and surroundings. She is perfectly at ease on a plane, and so she should be, since she has crossed the Atlantic 6 times.

Might be the travel, or the fact that she likes to see and try new things, or maybe just that she likes good food, but recently Stella has taken to reading cookbooks. In bed. Before she goes to sleep every night, she demands that we read her a cookbook.

It started with a children cookbook, something along the lines of this one (only, in German):

But most recently we have been reading this one:

One of the last things we read last night before I turned off the light was the ingredient list for Ossobuco alla Milanese.

My husband is mystified. Why in the world would a child select a cookbook as a bedtime read? Well, why not? They have pictures, they show how to make good food… it’s an interesting choice. Probably more useful than Hansel and Gretel. Maybe reading cookbooks helps her have nice dreams: dreams involving cool ingredients, mouthwatering smells and delicious food being prepared. She might be onto something.

Think about it: we could read about desserts and dream about them and then wake up feeling all satisfied without having cheated on our diets. I bet we’d wake up in a better mood too.

I’m going to have to look into this further, but right now I have to go: it’s Stella’s bedtime and tonight we are reading the recipe for Tiramisù. Sweet dreams, indeed.

{ 20 comments }

A good outfit is never wasted

by Elisa on April 17, 2010

in fashion,parenting,ramblings,The X-pat Files

A friend said to me once, after a bad date: “That was such a waste of a good outfit.” At the time I didn’t object, because I knew what she meant: this wasn’t worth all the time and effort I put in to look good, this wasn’t as special as it should have been. But it got me thinking. Is that where the overdressed and underdressed concepts come from? Because truthfully, a good outfit is never wasted. The way you feel when you have put some effort into looking good, the confidence boost, that feeling comfortable in your own skin (if not in your high-heel shoes ;-) )… that’s never wasted. (Plus, as I learned in New York, it’s always better to be overdressed than underdressed ;-) )

There is a stigma here in Switzerland, attached to becoming a mom. Maybe because public school hours make it impossible for a mom to do much with her day aside from a couple of quick errands and making lunch before the kids get home, which means most moms cannot work outside the home or have any semblance of life – in other words, you are basically forced to become boring.
If you ever felt that there was a divide between moms and women who don’t have kids… well, that is certainly true here. That image of a mom who has little else going on in her life aside from her kids, that image we have been fighting against – because as I have said before, giving birth doesn’t rob a woman of her intelligence, her talents, her ability to do things – that is almost a given here. Which pisses me off way more than the staring and grumpiness and high prices and general lack of fabulousness.

So then you end up feeling like your life doesn’t justify putting an effort into looking good. Like it’s a waste of time. Well, f*** that. I have been there and in addition to being bored, you also end up being depressed and self-conscious and uninspired and you start dreading meeting anyone you know while you are out running errands.

Which is why most days I make the effort to pull on a pair of dark wash jeans and  a cute top instead of my exercise clothes, and why I take 5 minutes to put on some mascara and lip gloss, even if I’m just gong to drop my daughter off at school. Because it makes me feel more energized, less bored, more inspired. Because maybe the day isn’t bringing anything exciting, but what if it does and I’m not dressed for it? :-)
Because pretty things deserve to see the light of day.
And because I deserve to feel pretty.
And because I refuse to give in to someone else’s preconception of what a mom should be like and look like.
And because I have two girls, and I need to set a good example. And I want them to grow up to be strong, confident, creative and self-assured.

And to know that a good outfit is never wasted. Unless you leave it sitting in the closet.

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