~ put a bow into your life!

finally! after a day spent happily but rather unappropriately socializing on line

&

after Mr Blogger decided to have a disturbing cough this afternoon,

here I am today, all ready to discuss notebooks as promised yesterday

& 

at the same time share the simplest home project,

to which I've been referring to since Monday!

first things first though:

have you had the chance to {forget all about rainy days},

no matter what the weather forecast predicts

and delight yourselves with the simple and beautiful smiling clouds & cozy homes

avaliable at the Dawanda shop "I love my home"?

Yes?...opinions please!...do share!

No?...now it's a good time to take a flight there

& 

then return to keep me company till the end of the post.

Are you back already? I'll pretend you are all here and proceed....

concerning notebooks, the ones I want to discuss are 100% handmade ones,

much like this amazing one strolling in {my mother's kitchen in Greece},

seen above & below.

It is designed by a new & very special person,

who recently came into my life, and for which I'd like to make an extensive post,

talking about her, her life, her doings, here thoughts...everything!

just a short hint: we met online about 2 years ago

and finally got to meet each other in person during my recent 5 week stay in Greece.

Sometimes words are hard to describe feelings,

but with the help of some pictures, I think I might be able to achieve something.

For the time being, take a look below and see my mother's new recipe notebook,

given to her as a gift for a wish well for her upcoming {Chocolate business}.

what could go wrong, when someone writes her secret ingredients in such a simply pretty notebook,

handcrafted from loving, capable & sensitive hands?

and what could go wrong when someone creates sweet delights in such a well designed and decorated space,

such as the kitchen I planned for my mother?

exaclty my thoughts: nothing :)

now here comes the easy home project part,

just where bow meets bow:

See?

they do look lovely together, don't they?

and then how lovely has that simple {Tulsta} chair become, just with the addition of a bow?

made from the same fabric the curtains {Ikea}of the living room are made

and referring nicely to the greyish blue colour of the walls

this is certainly a baby easy project

and what is the most interesting part of it, is the reason and motivation for its creation.

any clues? the reason why this bow was added is actually:

limitation.........!

Yes, indeed!

Why?

cause my dear mother disregarded the temperature washing instructions of the cotton cover

- I suppose for a good reason, such as a strong stain -

and the cover came out...let's say a size smaller.

so, limitation #1 -> size, the fabric shrunk 

what is the second limitation?

financial difficulties.

purchasing a new cover from Ikea would certainly not be a big deal for a normal middle class family,

but since Greece is going through its hugest crisis since decades,

every penny counts.

so, here comes me and my simple idea, beautifully performed by my mother,

who unsewed the pre-existing zipper by hand and then fixed in place

the two stripes of fabric, which I tied into a cute, may I say, bow.

isn't limitation sometimes a wonderful thing?

it's like it is a creativity generator!

In the picture above & below, you can see the painted real wooden floors

that I had chosen for {my parents apartment} when I was in charge of renovating it 2 summers ago

&

the fabulous, partly "island" piece of the kitchen {IKEA}, slighly sepating it from the living room.

I adore the shiny surfaces cause they reflect the light,

making the otherwiese small living room look quite larger and certainly merrier!

and finally, since bow stories are being written today,

here is a package already having found its way to a {lovely customer} in Portugal

and who I know is expecting her {Love & Luck paper boat garland} like a little girl on Christmas evening!

hope you like it dear Rita, this is for you :)

...and before I go, a little taste of styling, falling in the colour mood of the day....

and me in two versions,

one with a scarf as a headband & a relaxed & confident attitude

and one with my usual hairstyle & a more reserved, kind of shy & soft self...

teheee....the devil & the angel ; )

. . . these jeans are the best buy I have done in years and should they have a voice they would complain about the amount of times they are getting washed, since I wear them so often.

I'm aware that this high waist design is " last year" at least,

but despite my love for fashion, I make my own personal trends by choosing clothes which {hopefully} suit me well and most important are comfortable and make me feel good in them!

what about you lovely people?

are you your own style makers?

and - I forgot to ask you! - are you as fond of bows as I am?

well, time to go...I'm happily looking forward to reading your thoughts & hearing your opinions

I'll see you tomorrow, discussing further notebook stories

and sharing with you the work of a notebook designer I instantly fell in love with!

Have wonderful evenings!...the washing maschine is done and since today I've been not exactly a good example of a housewife, am going to hung the clothes right now....