I’ve loved this fashion series, and I can now understand why so many women put up pictures of their outfits online. I like the suggestions you provide, and I looooove when people say they like a clothing item I have. I don’t have a lot of confidence when it comes to fashion, but I feel like this series has helped me to take risks and explore interesting combinations. The best change has been my move away from wearing so much black. This certainly coincides with my weight loss, but I agree that I look so much better in tones that aren’t quite so harsh.

I have decided to make a change though, and move away from using the phrase Fashionably Modest to describe these posts. As you can see, this one is titled Style Files. Certainly not original, but I felt like devoting my brain power to other areas instead of coming up with a unique title.

I made this switch because I’ve recently become disillusioned with the way modesty is interpreted in the LDS Church, the way this interpretation generates shame, and how it is often used as an excuse for judging someone else’s choices. And being modest isn’t just about clothes, it’s about homes and cars and lifestyles too. I don’t know what the exact definition of a modest lifestyle is, I guess it would be different for each person, but it’s something I’d like to work toward and I think using it as a title for a series on what clothing I wear reinforces the idea that it’s about nothing more than not wearing a low-cut top or a skirt above the knees. It’s something I’m still working through.

I’m not changing the way I dress, just the way I interpret and use the term modest.

Shirt: Ann Taylor, thrifted
Jacket: thrifted
Jeans: Not Your Daughters
Shoes: Born

I have a thing for vests lately. I want to buy more of them.

I’m also going to stop attaching prices to the description of my items. I’m tired of keeping track of what things cost and looking them up for my posts, so from now on you’ll just see where I found the item, and possibly the brand.

Oh, and I’ve taken a few pictures of T1 in a few of my favorite outfits he has. I think those “mini style files” posts will be really cute.

Bologna is sometimes referred to as “la grassa” in reference to its cuisine. It has a fantastic food district to wander around in, and we were engulfed by several tourist groups while strolling the streets around Tamburini (a deli/cafeteria style dining place lots of foodies rave about, but we didn’t end up eating there). It is this reputation for having the richest, most delicious food in all of Italy that had me waffling back and forth between Bologna and Parma while planning. Bologna won because my mom had been before and said the shopping was great (though I personally found it to be much better in Florence), and because of its proximity to the airport we would be flying in and out of.

Our first meal was at Caminetto D’oro. We dined on:

Fishy bread, tomato, basil
Zucchini salad with apple slices and parmesan. This was insanely simple and incredibly delicious, I need to remember to try to replicate this at home.
Ham from Parma with a variety of breads.
Homemade pasta with seasonal mushrooms.

This was a fantastic way to start off our trip! The food was simple, yet inventive. We walked out of there feeling like coming to Bologna was the best idea we’d ever had.

9 out of 10 stars for D’oro.

A note about Italian bread:

Before I forget to tell you, Italian bread is very dry and hard, nothing like what you find in restaurants in America. My reading suggests that the tradition of making it this way developed when the salt tax was very high, and so bakers made their bread with very little salt. Over time the Italians grew used to having their bread this way. I haven’t been to the south, and I know the north and the south are very different, so this might not be the case down in Palermo?

On our way back we saw a bunch of locals crowded around Stefino Gelato, and realized we hadn’t met our quota of one gelato/day.

They spoke almost no English, but I looked up the word for wafer and we did our best to guess at what we would like. I chose Bacio, which is basically Nutella. TH had something called Cuba, a mixture of vanilla, cream, and rum. It was 2 euros for a small, and though I wouldn’t go out of my way just to go there, if you eat at Caminetto D’oro it’s a nice place to get dessert afterward.

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Via Formspring:

Are LDS hymns all uniquely LDS or do you sing ones you will also find in other Christian denominations?

There are a few universal Christian hymns, bust I think most of them are original. I actually don’t know which ones other people sing and which ones are uniquely LDS. You can listen to the LDS hymn book here if you’d like. A few of my favorites include:

Abide With me, Tis Eventide

Brightly Beams Our Father’s Mercy (I cry every time this song is performed, it has such a beautiful message and the harmonies are very moving)

Nearer My God To Thee

Be Still, My Soul

Lord I Would Follow Thee

Oh My Father

On Sundays I try to avoid secular things, and focus on hymns and podcasts that will help me draw closer to God. I’m always looking for something new to add to my Grooveshark playlist. What are some of your favorite hymns? (I’d love YouTube links so I can go listen to them myself!)

Those are undoctored eyes! I think they’ve faded a bit over time but they’re still my favorite baby eyes anywhere.

No surprise, since he’s my favorite baby ever. (Until T2 comes, then I will have two favorites.)

If you’re looking for a place to stay in Bologna, and you don’t want a 20 minute walk to city center, I highly recommend Aemilia Hotel. The staff spoke excellent English, the room was modern and clean, and compared to a lot of hotels closer to the city square of similar quality the price was really excellent. During our stay in September 2011 we payed 62 euros per night, and when we called last minute to add another night onto our reservation I believe they charged us something like 90 euros.

I loved the branding of their bathroom products, and the glass-walled shower. They also had a garden area on the rooftop, and I think there was a hot tub as well, but we didn’t visit those. We did have to walk through some more deserted streets late at night to get back, but we never felt threatened or unsafe. It had free wi-fi with a password that you request from the front desk.

The breakfast provided was the second best we had in Italy. It had a large variety, and everything they set out was really well done. My favorite combinations were celery/brie/walnuts, and a spoonful of granola with yogurt and Nutella plopped on top.