m e l i s s i m a.

January: I began 2010 celebrating with friends at a discotech called “La Stout” in Italy. It was my first time spending Christmas and New Years away from home.

February: Back in the good ‘ol MT510, Cassie and I kicked off our last semester in Manhattan, and conquered NYC like no other.

March: I voted for the first time in a Democratic election. Definitely took full advantage of my rights as an Italian citizen. 

April: My dear friend, Marie-Kristen Friedow, passed away. It was the first time I lost a friend. May your soul rest peacefully, Marie. 

May: I packed up my life in New York, drove away from the city of my dreams, and headed to Europe for a new beginning. 

June: I fell in love. And here it began, my favorite story…setting: Roma. I attended a Summer Session at John Cabot University and discovered the bountiful beauties of one of the most romantic, ancient cities…and this time…I didn’t have to do it alone.

July: Lost in a dream. Living in La La Land, in southern Italy…being my version of “Francesca” (only she was from Bari).

August: A dramatic ending to a whirlwind of a summer; my favorite in the books, thus far. It ended in tears of bittersweetness, in first class, on my way back to Italy to start my Sophomore year in Trastevere.

September: My first time being stranded overnight in an airport. But Michigan never felt so…sweet.  

October: I fell out of bed one morning, found myself in my last teen year, and hanging on to a spell that was already…broken. I woke up from my dream. A dream that left behind smiles, scars, cuts, bruises, and a single tear that may never dry. 

November: I was hired as an RA, I met Federica, and Chapter 2 of new Roman adventures began…on the back of a Vespa.

December: I rediscovered my family; I found them again. And it happened all in the magical arms of Christmas. Our tree never looked more perfect, the house never felt so warm, and there has never been this much extra…love. 

Thank you 2010, for being one of the most intense, bipolar, loving, saddening, memorable years to date. Thanks for teaching me, bettering me, pushing me, enlightening me, hurting me, strengthening me, and for making me smarter. But thanks for still keeping me the same m e l i s s i m a that I’ve always been. 2011, I welcome you with open arms.

Indulge this December. Svedka Vodka | Product of Sweden

Not sure where to begin with the comments on this commercial, so I’ll leave it to you, the consumer (not to be confused with the alcoholic), to interpret it. {Too bad everyone can’t blame Svedka.} Click photo for video.

The Reluctant Soldier | Photograph by Debbie Pinckney, Drawing by Caterina Abate

The holidays aren’t over yet. Halloween | Circa 1998/1999. This photo of my brother, Joseph, has always been a family favorite; his personality frozen, so innocently. Inspired by the soldiers in the Radio City Christmas Spectacular, his entire ensemble was hand sewed by my mother with love. Thank you, Debbie, for capturing that moment, and for locking it into such a special memory. And mom, I wish I had your hands to master the arts you make seem so easy: those of working with a needle and… colored pencils.

Waking up on winter mornings… [Click album cover to listen to “Forbidden Colours”]

Inter-country Border Hopping | The Detroit Skyline at Christmastime | Vu Bar | Casino Slot Machines | Friends | U21 | WELCOME to Caesars Windsor Hotel and Casino-Canada…All in a night’s work. {The beauties of owning a passport.}

For the family whom I rarely see, but love just the same. You are a part of the mold I come from. Had it not been for “Chic,” my mama would have never made the trip from the Old Country to the New World in time to meet my father. Thanks for helping shape their destiny, and mine as well. | Merry Christmas.

These humans are my family.

“May the winter magic warm your hear this holiday season.” -m e l i s s i m a.

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Paris Market | Fulvio Bonavia, Photographer

[Also visit, “A Matter of Taste”]

Innocent, intelligent, and geeky, with a hint of natural sex appeal: that sums up Penélope Cruz, a woman whom I am constantly fascinated by. She constantly gives her all through her body language, voice, and those big brown Mediterranean eyes that hide behind those black rimmed glasses. But she stars with a particular edge in María Ripoll’s 1998 film, Twice Upon a Yesterday. Such an enjoyable performance. Penélope, you are hands down stunning, because you’re natural…you’re real.

TIME Magazine’s, Persona dell’Anno, Mark Zuckerberg, has quickly become one of the most influential people of all times. How much money this man has in the bank, whether or not he voted in the last election, or what he likes to eat for breakfast are all irrelevant matters when it comes to a person like Zuckerberg, the average guy who…turned out to be “not so average”…The one who channeled his inner genius in order to change the world, and to create what would just about be, the third largest country in the universe. What matters is the fact that these blue/green eyes are behind the blue-schemed social networking platform that has turned into one of the most addicting, growing kingdoms on the internet. He represents the 2010 cover well. With just under 600 million profiles to date, Facebook (after all, an incredibly ingenious/simplistic invention), is more than just a website: It’s a force.