An Italian in New York
and her Christmas dream

“Merry Christmas” quotes the rough wooden sign outside the blue door. Christmas is already here, but to Jenny it seems like yesterday when she decided to come and live in New York. Since she was a child she had grown up with the extraordinary tales of her Italian-American uncle, and had always dreamt of living in the Big Apple. But after graduating in interior design in Milan, Jenny had done internships and worked for years with a poor pay and few satisfactions. In the end she had taken courage and, thanks to some advice from Uncle Frank, had packed her belongings, bought the first one-way ticket of her life and left. To NYC.

April 2018

“Last call for Alitalia’s flight SE29 to New York at 8.45 pm”. Jenny is running along the corridors of the Milan Linate airport, dragging a suitcase and a pair of bags. As always, she’s late. “Mom, Dad, I will miss you so much! But I’ll come back, I promise! ” The shining eyes of two sad but proud parents make Jenny move, but she is a determined girl and will accomplish her dream, she is sure of it. It will be tough but she will do it, thanks to their support.

Here we go.

The flight seems quiet, the hostesses are already serving hot coffee. Jenny looks out of the window: I’m above Paris, and she seems to catch a glimpse of the Eiffel Tower beneath those clouds made of spun sugar. “Everything will be fine, everything will be fine” – she is repeating to herself. The truth is that in addition to dreams and determination, in the heart of Jennifer there is also fear. Fear of being on the other side of the world alone, afraid of not making it, of failing, of missing too much family and friends. “Everything will be fine”.

May 2018

It’s been a month since Jenny arrived in Manhattan. And yes, it is exactly as she imagined it: skyscrapers that are too high and too imposing to describe the feeling that you feel walking underneath, endless rows of yellow taxis that crowd the horizon, the nature of Central Park that seems coming from a fairytale. “How wonderful”, Jenny thinks in the morning when she leaves her apartment on the 17th floor. “Can I have a black coffee please?” – she asks at the Coffe Bar near home. Now the young Italian appreciates the philosophy of coffee made in the USA, even if she thinks about an espresso sometimes and misses it.

Jenny wanders around unknown streets but that inspire her curiosity. She’s looking for something specific, she knows what she wants. “It must be a space that is not too big, intimate, in which there can be few tables that give the idea of home”. Jenny has set herself the goal of finding a suitable place to open her restaurant by the end of the year.

June 2018

New York summer is warmer than expected. The sun shines high in the sky, and today it is a very special day for little Jenny. She will sign her first contract, she has finally found what will soon become her restaurant. She is on cloud nine. When she puts her pen on the official document and writes her name on it, she feels that she is about to cry: “it cannot be true, it’s happening!” Among emotion, fear and happiness, the almost 31 year old Jenny suddenly remembers to have an appointment with Kate and Alex – by now they are her (American) family.

September 2018

Summer passed quickly, too quickly. Jenny, in order, has: had the room renovated, bought the furniture – all strictly made in Italy – met a boy, and forgotten after a month, she celebrated her 31st birthday, broke the bike, cooked Italian dishes for Kate and Alex practically every weekend and learned a slew of English words in American slang that she did not think she was able to pronounce.

She had fun, she cried on Skype with mom and dad, she sent mail to her friends in Milan, she wrote a list of things to do for the restaurant, but she still did not choose the name. She is convinced that the right name will come at the right time.

October 2018

Autumn in New York is one of her favorite movies. But seen in reality, NY with the colors of autumn is even more beautiful.

Little is missing. All the furniture in the restaurant has been assembled, it’s time to see it almost ready. Jenny turns the key in the lock, the door is made of solid wood and has a window to hang the “Close / Open” sign. There is a muffled silence in the empty room, but Jenny seems to hear people’s laughter already, the noise of silver cutlery on ceramic plates. With one hand she touches the gray-veined white marble surface of the round table: it is perfect, smooth and simply perfect. She’s definitely in love with those tables.

Millennium Round table, lacquered steel structure and top in white Gray Marbled SuperMarble; Margot chairs, in solid wood monocoque and white padded upholstered.

The 6 tables in the hall are elegant, like the chairs covered in snow-white fabric. The lamp is a gift from her mother Elisa: it is suspended and has a lampshade in black fabric. Discreet, refined, just like her mother. Jenny cannot wait it to light the entrance!

Strega lamp, suspension with lampshade in black gold interior fabric.

The red desk is the piece of furniture that she prefers: the intense garnet-colored leather sparkles under the Christmas lights that illuminate the room from outside. Every red reflection reminds her of the Christmases spent at home with family and old friends. “How much I miss them”, she reflects a bit melancholic. “This will become the niche for welcoming guests!”, she finds herself thinking cheerful to drive nostalgia away. “And above I’ll put the handmade vase that Kate brought me from the trip to Europe! I want this place to be intimate and reassuring for people, and a little home for me and for others, too. I want it to tell little stories! “.

December 2018

“Merry Christmas” quotes the rough wooden sign outside the door. It’s already Christmas, but to Jenny it looks like yesterday when she decided to come and live in New York. But now everything is really ready: there is the “Open / Closed” sign hanging. The tables are set, the glasses have been dusted, the staff for now are her, an Italian chef, two helpers and a waitress – a girl with an irresistible Irish accent.

Although she almost cannot believe it, Jenny has succeeded: she fulfilled her dream, opened her own restaurant. Mom and Dad came from Italy to celebrate Christmas with her and inaugurate the restaurant. “Merry Christmas Daddy!” says Jenny hugging her father, a tall, grizzled man wearing a red sweater. “I missed your Christmas sweaters” – smiles Jenny, very happy.

It’s Christmas Eve and Jenny is with her family, her friends Kate and Alex, Uncle Frank and her dachshund, they celebrate with a toast. “To Jenny, and to her deservedly fulfilled New York dream!” The evening passes by lively, it’s snowing outside, and that moment looks like a movie. The next day the restaurant will open to the public and Jenny is excited. She approaches the window, sits by the lit Christmas tree with a glass of wine and thinks back to when she could not find the name for her restaurant. She smiles to herself: “It was so obvious from the beginning … Its name could only be this”.

Home.