Topics range from expressive hand gestures to patron saints, pasta, parmesan, shoes, opera, the Vespa, the Fiat 500, gelato, gondolas, and more. History, folklore, superstitions, traditions, and customs are tossed in a delicious sauce that also includes a wealth of factual information for the sophisticated traveler:• why lines, as we know them, are nonexistent in Italy• why a string of coral beads is often seen around a baby’s wrist• what the unlucky number of Italy is (it’s not thirteen, unless seating guests at a table, when it IS thirteen–taking into account the outcome of the Last Supper)• why red underwear begins to appear in shops as the New Year approaches In addition to the lyrical and poetic, Italianissimo provides useful and indispensable information for the traveler: deciphering the quirks of the language (while English has only one word for “you,†in Italy there are three), the best place to find balsamic vinegar (in Modena, of course), the best gelato (in Sicily, where they first invented it using the snow from Mount Etna). There are also recommendations for little-known museums and destinations (the Bodoni museum, the Pinocchio park, legendary coffee bars).This is a new kind of guidebook overflowing with enlightening and hilarious miscellaneous information, filled with luscious graphics and unforgettable photographs that will decode and enrich all trips to Italy–both real and imaginary.

    Each is about to discover the woman who is his perfect match--but perfection doesn't come easily, even for the noble Duke of Ashton . . .Battered by the sea, Adam remembers nothing of his past, his ducal rank, nor of the shipwreck that almost claimed his life. However, he's delighted to hear that the golden-haired vision tending his wounds is his wife. Mariah's name and face may not be familiar, but her touch, her warmth, feel deliciously right . . .Never Less Than A LadyNew York Times bestselling author Mary Jo Putney continues her stunning Lost Lords series with this stirring, sensual story of a rebellious nobleman drawn to a lovely widow with a shocking past.As the sole remaining heir to the Earl of Daventry, Alexander Randall knows his duty: find a wife and sire a son of his own. The perfect bride for a man in his position would be a biddable young girl of good breeding. But the woman who haunts his imagination is Julia Bancroft--a village midwife with a dark secret that thrusts her into Randall's protection.Nowhere Near RespectableMary Jo Putney's riveting Lost Lords series unleashes a high stakes royal plot--which may prove easier for Damian Mackenzie to handle than his own unruly desire...He's a bastard and a gambler and society's favorite reprobate. But to Lady Kiri Lawford he's a hero--braver than the smugglers he rescues her from, more honorable than any lord she's ever met, and far more attractive than any man has a right to be. How can she not fall in love . . . ?No Longer a GentlemanGrey Sommers, Lord Wyndham, never met a predicament he couldn't charm his way out of. Then a tryst with a government official's wife during a bit of casual espionage in France condemns him to a deCAe in a dungeon, leaving him a shadow of his former self. Yet his greatest challenge may be the enigmatic spy sent to free his body--the only woman who might heal his soul.

    Hunky seatmate Aiden, who is heading to a buddy’s nuptials, is a sweet distraction from her fear of flying, but she expects her flirtation with the pro football player to end with the flight. In the airport, they discover that Emily’s sister is marrying Aiden’s friend. As the two wedding attendants spend time together in the days leading up to the nuptials, Emily finds herself falling for Aiden—until a pregnant woman crashes the wedding and claims that Aiden is her fiancé and the father of her baby. Emily rushes home to Houston, where she tries to become a hermit, if only her friends and brother would let her. How could she know how much her life would be transformed before her next trip to Cancún?

    It's a style that says 'home' wherever you may be because, more than anything else, it's a mindset: gentle but strong, welcoming and lasting, durable yet sophisticated and, above all, real. Over the centuries, the humble dwellings built by European immigrants to the US in the 1880s have evolved into sturdier, more comfortable homes, which, depending on their geographic location, took on a variety of designs, be it a ranch, cabin, farmhouse, cottage or adobe. Each of these styles plays a role in prairie style and its enduring aura of romance and nostalgia. Here interiors bear the influence of European settlers and the poetry of the heart-warming authenticity of simple, natural textures, hand-hewn beams, bleached wood, weathered planks, woven blankets, cow-hide and Navajo rugs. It's a style inspired by the honesty of homespun materials of the past wedded to a flair for the present. It's flower-sprigged brocade, tawny leather, crisp eyelet and soft linen, corduroy with crochet trims, woolen plaids, cosy flannel and wispy organza. It's history retold and all about the enduring connection between people and places and the nostalgia we feel for a rural country life, a yearning for a simpler life, as embodied in Laura Ingalls Wilder's Little House on the Prairie.

     You'll cover a wide range of topics over nine highly readable chapters, with each one acting as a mini crash course. By the end, you'll have been introduced to the key concepts, best practices, and guidelines in areas such as: - User Experience (UX) Design - Design Thinking - Usability - User Research - Interaction Design - Mobile Web Design - Information Visualization Whether you're looking to embark on a new career in the field of UX design, are trying to boost your current skill-set, or are simply interested in learning more about the topic, then this short ebook is the perfect place to start your journey! You can find out more about the Interaction Design Foundation at interaction-design.org. As an independent, nonprofit initiative, we are constantly striving to make design education as accessible and affordable as possible, no matter where you are in the world.

    

    Free with Kindle Unlimited... Enjoy 5 military romance books in this discounted bundle. Currently FREE with the Kindle Unlimited Program or $0.99. All full length books. No cliffies! DEVON Devon Flint doesn’t believe in luck. Why should he? After a childhood full of abuse and a stint in the army that only added to his scars, he’s now living on street corners and preemptively balling up his fists when anybody approaches him, on the off chance that they may try to jump him. Even after Marshall Hagan unexpectedly invites Devon to work for Diamond Security Services, a package deal that includes all the sandwiches Devon can stuff in, and a comfortable couch to sleep on, to boot, Devon refuses to give fate a chance. But when Helena Thurman walks in and Devon is assigned to guard her, he’s forced to start seeing things in a different light. Maybe luck doesn’t exist. But it’s suddenly possible that love just might. LEE When Phoebe Mack and her mother Vanessa stumble into Diamond Security Services, Lee Armstead isn’t quite sure what to make of the frantic pair. When he hears their story about Phoebe’s chronic sleepwalking, and Vanessa’s insistence that he provide bodyguard services of a very unique kind—protect Phoebe against her sleeping self—Lee is intrigued enough that he takes the job. The last thing he expects is to fall for his client, or to discover that a decades-old, ultra-dark family secret is lurking in the shadows of her dreams. MATEO Years ago, Mateo Ortiz’s wife broke his heart while he was overseas, serving in the Middle East with his brothers in arms. Fast forward to the present day and Mat has made a life for himself with those same adopted brothers, working at Diamond Security. That carefully reconstructed life comes crashing down around his ears when he receives news that his estranged wife has been murdered. The investigation into her killing will take Mat to the darkest places within himself and will also open up the possibility of a new life, a new love, and a new hope—if he can allow himself to trust again. CAL Cal Tiller isn’t expecting to catch a glimpse of his childhood on a news broadcast. It’s surprise enough when Anya Birch, his high school sweetheart, flashes across the screen. When the reporter announces that Anya is in jail for murder … that’s something so implausible that Cal can’t let it stand. With Diamond Security’s full support, Cal flies to his hometown in Montana and sets about trying to clear Anya’s good name. The only problem is, Anya doesn’t seem to want to plead anything but guilty. MARSHALL For years, Marshall has tried to atone for his terrible mistake in Iraq. The secret has haunted his dreams, driving him to seek forgiveness both by establishing Diamond Security Investigations and by visiting the families of each of his accidental victims, paying out endless financial and emotional restitution. He’s almost come to believe that the past is truly behind him, when it suddenly walks right up to Diamond’s offices and puts a literal torch to all the work Marshall and his Army brothers have done. As they work together to rebuild from the ashes, Marshall is forced to confront the specter of his sins not only to finally cleanse his conscience once and for all, but to protect the people he loves—and one woman in particular, who is inadvertently caught in his nemesis’s cruel crosshairs.

    With just your bare hands to mine with, you only have minutes to find food and shelter before darkness falls and the monsters come looking for you ...This annual celebrates the limitless possibilities of Minecraft. Packed with step-by-step instructions for exciting builds and projects, tips from the experts, including the game's creator Notch himself, cool things to make, games to test your brain power and codes to unravel, it's everything Minecraft fans have been waiting for.This might just be the one thing good enough to drag them away from their screens this year!

    Logolounge features the work of superstar artists and firms such as Michael Vanderbyl and Sibley Peteet Design and includes both new campaigns and never-before-seen projects. With 2,000 logos from a variety of sources, this visually compelling volume will become the go-to resource for inspiration from the best in the field.

    

    From day one, the magazine has maintained a Tokyo bureau, which today also encompasses a Monocle shop and radio studio.Over the past decade, the magazine and its team have continued to build upon their appreciation for and understanding of the nation of Japan. Monocle’s stories have covered everything from a live journey on the emperor’s jet and the tastiest places to eat in Kagoshima to the fashion designers challenging conventions and the businesses with remarkable stories untold outside Japan.The Monocle Book of Japan reveals the best of the country in the run-up to the 2021 Olympics. Complete with striking photography and captivating essays, this volume showcases some of Japan’s most intriguing splendors.

     Annie Sloan is a paint legend and one of the world’s most popular experts in the field of decorative painting. In Color Recipes for Painted Furniture and more, Annie presents 40 new projects and ideas, showing you the easy way to update tired furniture and transform your home. Working with her own range of chalk paints, Annie shows how to mix colors and how to achieve certain looks. Whether your taste is for colorful boho chic or restrained Swedish hues, cozy and comforting rustic shades, a modern and contemporary approach, or an elegant French look, here you will find a project to suit you. Start off by mastering the simple art of colorwashing, and work your way up to transfer printing, gilding, stenciling, and glazing. There are even instructions for dyeing fabric using paint. As well as painting furniture, the projects range from a staircase painted in a rainbow of colors to stenciled walls, transforming floors with a coat of paint to dyeing linen curtains and even painting a vintage chandelier. Throughout the book, Annie offers expert tips, techniques, shortcuts, and guidance, showing you the easy way to create a stylish home.

    The antique and imperfect and the slightly worn combined with natural materials and a subtle color palette create a look that is both timeless and fresh.