How to live like an Italian woman and enjoy your life more

Dress Your Best. Each day is a different journey but Style it's an essential part of my daily routine.

Style is less about trends and more about taking pride in how we look. Having an eye for what looks good on us is part of my being Italian it's in my DNA. We always think about what we wear. Even if it’s a T-shirt and jeans, it’s a polished version of them.

An Italian concept focused on making every aspect of life as beautiful as it can be. It’s not just what you wear, or how you look, or keeping your figure slim. It’s more about taking care…being beautiful to yourself it is a real lifestyle. The idea is to be your best self without compromising your values. You'll feel better for it, as will others around you. When you look good, you feel good. Confidence with what you're wearing is very important. If you feel good, you will always perform your best without worrying about anything.

I borrowed a quote from one of my favorite fashion designers and I have been living following it:

"Keep your heels, head and standard high"      - Coco Chanel

As Italian when I want to feel healthier I start dressing better. Believe me it's not just an old maxim, looking good can actually improve your mood, and make you healthier. When you look good you feel good. It’s not always about vanity. It can simply be about feeling prepared, confident, and ready to take on what the world has in store for you.  

Do you know that a good Emotional Immunity also means that you can be more resilient to anxiety and stress, meaning that you can actually impact your physical immune system as well!

Further, taking the time to pick out an outfit that makes you feel confident, applying makeup, and contributing to your daily hygiene are all methods of self-care that are often understated. Self-care isn’t always a spa day or a fantastic bath bomb; it can be something as regular as taking the time to brush and style the hair the way you want or wearing a fragrance that you find calming.  Read “Building Emotional Immunity”

I would like to give some advices to enjoy more every moment of your life and feel happier. Practice "La Dolce Vita" wherever you are, whatever you are doing. Now below I am going to  tell you my recipe about how to add glamour to your life and enjoy your life more.

15 Ways To Improve Your Life By Living Like An Italian

• Building stronger friendships – seeking out people who share our interests and moral code, who can make you laugh and listen to you when you cry, create moments together, get into a little mischief with you, will take your phone calls at any hour of the night if you need them. These are the real friends, the ones who will be there for you and accept you as you are, good and bad. In Italy the coolest moment of the end of the work week is the Aperitivo, it's basically Italian happy hour, a predinner tradition that always involves a drink and something to nosh on. Remember Italians don’t drink without eating, so if the bar you’re at doesn’t serve snacks, find another bar. If you want to try at home one of the most popular Italian aperitivo and astonish your guests click here for Aperol Spritz Recipe. We love Italian National football team and we spend night with friends to watch match on mega screen in the square town or at some friends' home. Take this occasion to make new friends and share with them your passion. 
  

• Take a Coffee -There seems to be endless health warnings about coffee but there is no prising Italians away from their coffee. Millions of Italians rely on a morning espresso to get started so perhaps it is something to do with the way it’s being drank? More recently coffee has been claimed to prevent depression. Because of the way it is made and its concentration, an espresso is thought to contain two to three times the number of healthy antioxidants of coffee made by other brewing methods. Personally I start my morning routine with a coffee made with my favorite Moka - How to brew coffee with the Moka - the Italian way. Even now, that I am living in London I still keep this habit, believe me the scent of freshly brewed coffee is hard to beat. For me coffee aroma means a great day is starting. 

• Family style is the only Style - The unconditional love of your family members who can give you hell one minute, your family is your happy thoughts your refuge when you need support. Someone who isn't afraid to tell you what you need to hear, who will pick you up at the train station in the middle of the night, are happy to hear your voice on the phone, who give you advice, and say crazy things in front of your friends. For Italian people food and family are pretty much inseparable. Any occasion is an opportunity to get together and eat together. Relatives welcome each other with open arms, kisses and an enthusiasm which never falters. And nowhere is that more evident than around the table during Sunday lunch. On Sunday no excuses, we ate together, every Sunday. Dinner is at one o’clock, and everyone is expected to be there. The meal is as much about connection as it is cuisine. We often cook together and set the table together meanwhile we talk about politic or football. The Italian table is where everything goes down. We talk about the day, we have your arguments there. Disagreements are had of course, sometimes even often but we are aired (loudly) and openly and resolved usually just as quickly. There is no such thing as biting your tongue and bottling it up. Italians get things out there preventing built up bad feelings and let’s face it they are family after all so that is just fine. Family is the most important thing to Italians. We are proud of our relations and family get togethers are a treasured event.

• Adding romance and passion to your life – not just dating and marriage, but the joy of living, passion for experiences, passion for living fully, romance of the soul, romance in the way you decorate your home or serve a meal, adding sparkle to the everyday. If you’re going to love someone, Love Them Passionately.When we fall in love we want the world to know! Every other word we speak becomes “amore!” We embrace each other often and with passion. Public signs of affection are met with smiles by onlookers. People are happy for us. Our relationships are usually long and when marriage finally arrives so does a very large wedding! With all members of the family being invited from far and wide the love is celebrated in true Italian style with a feast fit for a king and music and dancing.

• Show your emotions - Italian men do not shy away from their emotions. Neither are emotions seen in any way to compromise their masculinity. Emotions are there to be shared and if an Italian man or woman wants to cry then they will. Crying, shouting and laughing are all parts of natural expression. And why would you try to supress that right?!

• Eating a Mediterranean diet – Eat well and cook for yourself and your loved ones.It will come as no surprise that eating is taken very seriously in Italy. It is at the centre of Italian life. But what may not be so obvious is the importance of good quality food. Good food in the sense of healthy and wholesome food. Food in Italy is very closely monitored by the government and the people alike. Expectations for food to be good quality and free from nasty additives and preservatives are high. Italians eat food for pleasure but they also understand nutrition, we always check ingredients on the label. As we are what we eat we would like to be sure they are good enough.We are meticulous about food combinations and eating balanced meals. Meals are served in a series of smaller dishes with long waits in between courses. This prevents people getting overly full and helps to aid digestion. Fruit and vegetables are eaten when they are at their best and in season. We spend a lot of time to choose the perfect vegetable on the farmers markets (I found this interesting article: How to Pick the Best Produce at the Farmer’s Market). And this way they are also at their most delicious. Preparing your own food with fresh, whole ingredients, using minimal fuss, and enjoying the true pleasure of food. Colours, flavour and texture need to find the perfect compound to satisfy every sense. ('Balance your plate-color, flavor, and texture').Eating a variety of food but all in moderation, never depriving yourself by dieting, but cultivating a healthy relationship with food.

• Learning to indulge moderately – never depriving yourself of the joys of living, but indulging moderately, never overdoing it, never decadent, but slowing down and taking the time to enjoy your pleasures.

• Take it slow - We take the word “slow” to a whole new meaning but we don’t see it as slow. It’s more of a take it easy. We walk slowly taking in our surroundings wandering with no particular place to go and we started the Slow Food Movement. It can be difficult for people outside of Southern Europe to adapt to this new way of life but eventually you realize just how relaxing and carefree life is if you just slow down. During holiday time the days are longer as we start earlier and finish later with a good “siesta” in the afternoon to recharge the batteries after a long lunch. Lunch can last for hours and this is a great way to de-stress and reconnect with your friends and family. The food is wholesome and a pleasure to eat, you know while you are eating that it is nourishing you. Not like grabbing a sandwich on the go! Life is so much better if you aren’t flying through it and you take the time to really breathe it in and enjoy it. Slow Down. sure, we may not all be able to close shop for a daily riposo (rest) like we do in Italy, but you can add some Italian-style leisure to your day in small ways: Take lunch in a nearby park instead of at your desk; skip crowded public transit to stroll home at sunset; or treat yourself to a fancy digestivo after dinner. It’s taking the time to enjoy where you are, who you’re with, and the time of day. It’s so many things that we tend to forget about in your usual work life, where you’re always rushing, rushing, rushing. It really comes down to living in the moment more than anything.

• At work -This more Italian, more leisurely approach to your day should be carried through to the workplace. When you are back at your desk, some time in the afternoon, after a nice stroll, spend at least half your remaining working time drinking coffee with mates or spreading gossip about your boss. Sure, the scientists don't talk about this stuff - but it's all part of the Italian way. 

• Wine - Italians rarely drink to get drunk. We consume around six times more wine than Brits, but usually with food. A moderate amount of red wine is believed to lower the risk of heart attack and reduce the cholesterol. 

• Opening yourself up to great art – experience the marvels of the ancient world, go to a museum and look at different artists’ points of view, read a classic book, see a foreign film, enjoy a concert or a play, write a poem, read out loud, make a pizza or a tiramisù.

Have you tried any of these sweet practices? Try one or all of them and believe me you can't live without anymore.

• Surrounding your body with luxurious fabrics – buying the best articles of clothing that you can afford, selecting key pieces instead of filling your closet with lots of trendy pieces that you’ll never wear again. Decorating your home with luscious fabrics and rich colours, sleeping in soft sheets and drying off with thick towels. As Italian when I want to feel healthier I start dressing better. Believe me it's not just an old maxim, looking good can actually improve your mood, and make you healthier. When you look good you feel good. It’s not always about vanity - Dress Your Best.  

• Be active and moving your beautiful body – getting out into nature and healing your soul with a walk in the fresh air, gazing at the stars, dancing to a sensual piece of music, cultivating your garden, not sitting on the couch watching television every night, but moving and feeling your body move through the world. Despite the pizza, pasta and calorie-laden gelato, Italy has long been recognised as having one of the oldest populations in the world. Not just known for reaching a ripe old age, Italians have also earned the title of the world’s healthiest people – thanks in part to the benefits of a Mediterranean diet. But also thanks to our aptitude to enjoy the life and to surround ourself with beauty.

 "Beauty is good for the soul."

According to scientists at Leicester University, people stay healthier for longer, in Italy, compared with those in other European countries. And the differences in the Euro health league tables are really quite striking with Italy appearing first for good health. But why is this? Why do Italians live longer? And why do we also seem to be happier? There is a lot in the media about loneliness, mindfulness and stress but this seems to be something that us Italians have been aware of for centuries. Social interactions are deeply ingrained into the Italians lives and we negotiate these issues with ease, and perhaps without even being fully aware that we are addressing them at all on a daily basis. Social relationships both quantity and quality have been proven to affect mental health, health behaviour, physical health, and mortality risk. But is this secret to a longer life? The real secret is a combination of reasons that the Italians are living “La Dolce Vita."

• Take a walk - Taking a “Passeggiata” is still the most popular past time of the Italian people. For the young and old it’s not just taking a walk, it’s more of a wander. A wander around the town to admire the architecture and to say hello to passing friends. A great form of exercise it can be done before dinner to build up an appetite or after dinner to digest and maybe get a “gelato” along the way. The “passegiata” is done only for pleasure like most things in Italy but it has many health benefits from improving circulation to relaxation and reducing stress.

• Respect your health - we Italians are known for being hypochondriacs. But what is more important than our health? We treat our bodies carefully and if we fall ill a good recovery is of upmost importance. You would never catch an Italian with a cold “soldiering on”.

"Enjoy the Italian pleasure in the food, family and life."

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If you like to read more click on Italian Glamour and follow me on Pinterest to find out my Italian secrets to enjoy your life's journey and stay happy.