Splendor of Florence

During Christmas last year, as my sister, brother-in-law, and I were catching up, they told me about a good friend, Joyce, an American in Florence whose morning walks through local gardens had inspired a small line of artisanal soaps and candles. Joyce was taken with a certain fragrance, a heady amalgam of scents that to her encapsulated Florence and all its splendor.

Since modelling in Italy (Milan) in the 70s, Joyce has spent at least a quarter of each year in Florence (and her ancestors are Florentine). For several years in the late 90s and early aughts, she created and then directed a series of cultural events that brought the best of Florentine craftsman community to the US.

Two years ago, she decided to take the next step in this artistic, cultural venture by creating a line of luxury home items, Splendor of Florence, all of which both utilize and celebrate many of the traditions of highly-skilled craftsmanship Italy is known for: soap; design; paper; and fragrance, to name some. And she wanted everything to be 100% made in Florence, start to finish.

Michele, my brother-in-law, wondered if I'd want to try a few Splendor of Florence items. Um, yes. 

"But," I warned, "I'm really sensitive to scents, so I doubt I'll like the candle. And I rarely like bergamot. Is bergamot in there?" 

"Yes, but just try them," he said. "Joyce worked for years to create the fragrance and bring her ideas of pure, local, handcrafted products to life. They are really beautiful items."

Shortly after, a generously sized box wafted alluringly onto my front porch. Inside were nestled bars of soap and candles, exquisitely wrapped (the Italians really know how to wrap things; go look at individual lemons in their grocery stores! Each is a treasure.) in thick paper and boxes whose surfaces are printed with designs inspired by the tiles and mosaics found on many a Florentine church and palace. The proprietary fragrance is called Passegiata which means a walk or a stroll, drawing on all the dreamy meanderings Joyce has enjoyed in Florence's lush gardens over the years.

Splendor of Florence Passegiata soaps and candles

Despite my concern about lurking bergamot, Passegiata is an endlessly pleasing, unique, relatively subtle scent. A blend of orange blossoms, lime, bergamot, rose and cyprus -plants you'd find and experience in Florentine Renaissance gardens- the fragrance smells real, honest, not remotely cloying or chemically. Think real sugar versus saccharin- the difference is enormous.

Splendor of Florence Passegiata soaps

The soap is triple milled, solvent free, and contains olive and apricot kernel oils, which make for a very creamy and moisturizing bar for body and face, in addition to the highest quality essential oils. Each one lasts for ages, doesn't crack, and holds its scent. My shower always smells so lovely.

The candles, soy-based, are almost too lovely to burn, and the diffuser is alcohol-free which means they aren't flammable and they last much longer than most diffusers whose high alcohol content makes them evaporate rapidly. Isn't the packaging and design chic but also accessible?

As y'all know, I am deeply committed to supporting best-quality, location-based craftsmanship that values both product and producers. And I love what Joyce has done with Splendor of Florence and all the men and women she has empowered and honored by seeking out their guidance, skill, and expertise. She has truly paid homage to Florence in so many beautiful ways.

You can read more about Joyce and the artisans with whom she works here. And unless you live near any of the ten U.S. stores selling Passegiata goodies, you can order everything here. I hope you do!

U2: I'm still on cloud 9

Late last week while we were in NC, Tom was gifted two tickets to a U2 concert. Did I want to go?

Um, yes. Seeing U2 live has been on my bucket list for years, but as I am so out of the music loop, I have never managed to get tickets in time. The show was last night, the DC stop on the band's The Joshua Tree 2017 tour. This year marks the 30th anniversary of release of The Joshua Tree, and at each concert U2 is playing every song from that remarkable album. 

It takes us two hours to drive the 18 miles to FedEx Field, and with every minute, my anticipatory glee grows. I fly out of the car as soon as Tom parks and haul ass to our seats which happen to be IN A BOX (OMG!) with food and drink and a bathroom! 

As the sun sets over The Lumineers' brief opening act, as I take in the tens of thousands of joyous concertgoers, as I let all the shitty stress of the ugly news recede into the recesses of my psyche, even as I remember that I desperately want a t-shirt and so hurry back to the merchandise area where I join forces with a friendly stranger so that we have the power of two women who WILL GET SHIRTS (and we do), I feel the most unadulterated youthful joy I have felt in some time.

U2 opens with Sunday Bloody Sunday, from War (1983), which brings me to my feet. For the most part, I don't sit again until we get in the car to drive home. 

I can't believe the news today
I can't close my eyes and make it go away.
How long, how long must we sing this song?
How long, how long?
'Cos tonight
We can be as one, tonight.

Bono says a few songs in, "These songs seem so relevant now, which is a surprise." A sad surprise but such an accurate observation. 

The trenches dug within our hearts...And it's true we are immune, when fact is fiction and TV reality.

They transpose TV and reality and sing, "When fact is fiction and reality TV." My eyes prick with tears. Bono is a political guy and takes some definite swipes at America's ugly political landscape right now and the Right's role in that. But he also casts a truly bipartisan net of hopefulness. "Right, Left, in between. You are all welcome here tonight. We'll find common ground, reaching for higher ground."

fantastic photo taken by akmcquade on instagram

Four songs in, and the telltale chords of Pride (In the Name of Love), from The Unforgettable Fire (1984) resonate throughout the stadium like a universal heartbeat. 

Early morning, April four
Shot rings out in the Memphis sky.
Free at last, they took your life
They could not take your pride.

And the tears come anew because who can believe that we're there again after all these years? We're circling back in such horrible, frightening ways. Philando Castile's murderer was just acquitted. Pregnant mother of four, Charleena Lyles, recently followed in Castile's tragic footsteps, shot to death by a policeman she'd called for help. It seems a certainty that her death won't be responded to in just fashion either. 

Fifth song and we reach The Joshua Tree. Bono says, "Some say the dream is dead. The dream of America which is not just a country but an idea too. We must stay awake to dream. Awaken...The United States are kind of everybody's country. That's a blessing and a responsibility."

Where the Streets Have No Name, maybe my favorite U2 song, and the crowd is wild. (See video at the start of this post for the opening chords.) It's followed by I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For and then With or Without You, and oh my god, U2's repertoire is epic. 

It is World Refugee Day, and as Bono is so actively, avidly, deeply involved in so many great causes -anti-poverty, HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment, refugees, women and girl's education and rights- he speaks about the need to do so much more, to be involved. "Luminous ones shine bright and often get the credit, but you don't have to be so luminous to make a difference."

Second song of the six-song encore is Beautiful Day. Photos of enormously impactful women play on the giant screens behind the band. Bono says, "When women of the world unite to rewrite history as her story, that is a beautiful day!" My eyes water again. Without realizing it, I raise a fist into the air.

The night flies by with impossible speed. U2 ends with One and then Vertigo, and I am crushed when the screens go dark.

This morning, the boys asked how the concert was. "Awesome," T and I said. "Here, I took some videos and pics to show you," I said. 

"Mom, is that you screaming in that video?" Jack asks, with a definite tinge of embarrassment coloring his cheeks. 

"Yes it is, buddy!" 

"Oh, Mooo-ooom." 

But I think he sort of loved it too.

Dispatches from the beach

I can hear the water lapping against the shores of the channel, can feel the breeze whisper against and across my shoulders as I rock slowly on the second floor porch. Some birds perch, others soar, boats and jet skis head home. The sun is setting, moving south as if through multiple filters. It is vivid orange. It is blinding yellow with rays bursting in all directions like a child's drawing. It is muted behind the prism of layers of clouds moving in various directions. Some are utterly static while others race. How is this? How do some freeze in the face of forceful currents?

Last night we celebrated my mother-in-law's 70th birthday, and today, she, my father-in-law, brother- and sister-in-law, and nieces headed home. It was a wonderful week- getting to see the kids together, see them truly love and delight in playing together is a treasure.

yellow cake with whipped chocolate caramel ganache frosting - recipes by apuginthekitchen

My crew decided to stay the day and are glad we did. I had peach apricot pie for breakfast (made this yesterday!), went for a run, we spent a last couple hours on the beach, and saw Wonder Woman. As have many, I cried in several spots, moved by her fierceness, wisdom, compassion, courage, and unabating morality. If only such sorts of people actually led our country right now. If only...

Instead, we have an ignorant, insecure, greedy, lying, fraud in the big seat, and innocent people like Philando Castile are murdered in cold blood for no reason other than their skin color and their killers are set free. This country is not moving forward, and it is utterly disheartening and enraging.

With a wink, a nod, and a clenched fist of hell yeah, I leave you with this.