The Jug, the Jar & a full moon

 Fairy tales for adults  by Iro - Ivy Nassopoulos, all rights reserved, 2013

When there are no words to be said

when emotions, feelings, desires & hopes 

are large enough & intense enough to

cover all landscape, fill the oceans & light up all stars of the Universe,

then two favorite objects of mine

a  J u g   &   a   J a r 

step out and volunteer to do the talking for me

in order to break the silence...

So thankful for them,

so thankful for this little blog place

[much like then]

so thankful for all of you

and most of all 

so thankful for 

my most beloved reader of all

H a p p y   A u g u s t ' s  full moon to all!

Love is an a c t i o n of Faith

quote by Erich Fromm, The art of Loving 1956

For a  h a p p y   S u n d a y  post,

pictures of a spontaneous table styling put together some time in August last year

to submit to Ikea Family Live Magazine...

{ find the post  h e r e }

... I had returned from a few "girlfriend" days

spent together with Ilaria at her Happy House in Eindohoven, The Netherlands...

Having recently met her again while currently residing in Amsterdam,

and while organizing and thoroughly cleaning my laptop files

I stumbled upon them

&

thought it'd be nice to bring these pictures here to share with you,

changing the fact they had never been posted, that is till now...

So, there you go!

... a little inspiration in  b a b y   b l u e   +   b l a c k 

a rather sweet + powerful combination,

built around the central pieces of two mini  s u c c u l e n t   p l a n t s...

two mini succulent plants

picked up from a flower shop at Venlo station where I changed trains,

on my way home by the woods close to Frankfurt last year,

They each required  99 cents for their purchase.

 Being mighty prettily wrapped in

silver & powder pink foils with the company's logo

- which I apologize that my current brain capacity cannot withdraw  -

they were so totally worth it, I had to ask whether there was a mistake

made.

"No, of course not" the kind sales assistant replied

to my inquiry,

smiling then at my surprise...

"Are they for a present?"she asked.

"Yes, please. They are for our home"

I replied, my face beaming with radiance...

When on board the next train to my final destination and while holding them,

all I could think of was various ways of incorporating them

in the work I was at the time preparing for the I. F. L magazine...

I remembered about the paper plates + cups set in baby blue

I had scored for about another euro

in a recent Ikea visit,

as much as the mini napkins in black

I threw in my shopping cart

with a certainty that they would eventually be properly used.

So they were.

Wrapped around the succulents and secured with black & white bakers' twine.

A silver marker came to leave

wishes and names beautifully handwritten on them,

emphasizing the d e p t h  of black,

while  b r i d g i n g  it to the softness of baby blue.

More silver tones were added by the wire

which was transformed into handles for the

glass candle holders originating 

from little sweet jars...

hope you are even a little inspired to put together your own pretty table settings,

keeping in mind that  i n e x p e n s i v e   m a t e r i a l s  and  s i m p l i c i t y  can very often

be best friends to an outcome speaking of  e l e g a n c e ,  r i c h n e s s,  w e a l t h 

& 

t r u e   l o v e  for essentially g o o d   l i f e .

Let's drink to that, shall we?

to a great end to this weekend + a powerful start in the new week!

Thank you for reading & au revoir , xo

Fractions of everyday life bathed in s i l v e r light { Inspiration Friday }

For this Inspiration Friday, instead of diptychs & collages put together from the world of Pinterest,

there are some made from my own pictures, 

shot while still here in the beautiful home of photo stylist Paulina Arcklin,

located somewhere pretty, close to the heart of Amsterdam.

Shots highlighting fractions of everyday life

bathed mostly in silver light.

 I thought it's about time I said a proper hello & good morning...

So,

h e l l o, g o o d   m o r n i n g  and the most wonderful of Fridays

and weekends ahead!

I've been  h e r e  since 2 weeks now.

It has been a magnificent  emotional exercise,

shining plenty of light to both my heart & mind.

I have come to the conclusion

that when ones invests in getting to know themselves,

finding out who the person standing in front of the mirror is,

recognizing & accepting their characters' blessings & shortcomings,

one can only but eventually succeed.

Succeed in living a life not only close to their dreams,

but a  l i f e   l i v e d   I N  t h e i r   d r e a m s .

I'd like to thank you for being patient & outstandingly discrete readers,

respecting my wish to share only according

to my choices.

Sometimes saying more, others less.

This is the way that I prefer to blog,

this is the way that suits me.

My blog for me is like chapters of a book.

I like books to be written in a traditional way,

quietly, effortlessly, coming straight out 

from the depths of us,

as words emerge describing thoughts and emotions

following experiences.

Those who still read books

might appreciate the whole thing it stands for:

t a k i n g   t i m e  to live & comprehend life.

Here are some glimpses into my current everyday life...

I'm literally chasing light with my camera,

loving to capture it, even if the environment is not properly & perfectly styled

as if for a photo shoot.

I'm spending time both indoors, playing with styling props

and outside walking kilometers per day,

exploring, discovering, enjoying

the canals, neighborhoods, parks,

occasionally also visiting some shops

or cafes...

above my "princess" sandals sunbathing

&

the perfect hairbands suiting my wardrobe

recently found at h&m,

together with a pair of tea towels

to be brought to my most favorite kitchen in the world...

and a lovely stamp from HEMA,

which was patiently waiting in the "as is section"

for a new happy user, for the exchange of €1 at the cash desk

I traveled only with hand luggage,

despite this being almost a 3 week trip,

in my effort to practice living with less,

while being blessed with more than enough.

Currently white, black, navy blue & powder pink are the main colors of my Spring & summer closet,

with clothes mostly from Mango, Zara & h&m,

bought on line or during trips

I have been going to 

together with my life partner.

self portraits in a rather usual mood,

featuring my ever favorite silver cardigan from Mango,

happily now completing 10 years of living together,

having survived hundreds of washing adventures

& traveling around the world

a corner of the living room here I love to photograph

&

my current daily journal from Muji dressed in the same wallpaper that covers

the main living room wall at home in Germany

this capitone, large, jean shopper from Mango had been on my wish list

for about a year before it arrived my way.

A good choice all in all

finding my favorite cereal brand in the local super market for a great price

has been a good thing.

Also getting familiar with the philanthropic concept supported

by Stella - Marie water,

to which I  was attracted to thanks to its design matching my tastes.

here is my reflection on the building opposite where I'm staying

and something very common while I'm snacking or putting together a light meal:

dark bread with seeds  - ruccola  - ham variety

last Monday I made a record of walking for 7 hours,

with a stop here for lunch,

multiple stops for photographing corners

& others visiting shops.

I'm sporting going grocery shopping using only but my own

shopping bags.

My favorite: the large cotton one, from one of the first h&m home's collections.

As for a favorite car, there is something about a silver, vintage Porsche,

sitting at the end of a canal like Princengracht,

that just captures my attention...

... wishes for surrounding yourselves with beautiful light, too

wherever we are, whatever our current life occasion,

L i g h t  is always there,

we just have to l o o k  for it

Photography & collage curation by Iro - Ivy Nassopoulos for Domestic Stories with Ivy 2013

{all rights reserved }

Divine l i g h t ... be surrounded by it

worship the Sun but now can you fall for the Rain?

you know that Sunlight always shines

behind the Clouds upon the Skies

A light filled post coming tomorrow...

stay tuned...

let there be light

&

most of all...

let light in

even if the night has fallen in our part of the world...

posting under candle light & the sounds of nice music coming from 

my trustworthy i-phone

after another day of endless walking hours in Amsterdam

Life is good... there is calmness, peace, tranquility & 

an unmistakable hunch of   h a p p y   e x p e c t a t i o n s   

carrying true Joy within

The Cicle of A d u n d a n c e

H a p p y   S u n d a y

with a moment of sunshine captured in the dining area / winter garden 

of the Pearl Birches House,

a house that has so much goodness to share when the time comes.

Located in the arms of beautiful woods.

Summers in Germany are blissful like that

when the sun shines.

some of my favorite things recently  a c q u i r e d

{isn't "acquire" such a gentle word to use for things that come into our 

possession, avoiding to emphasize ownership which so often 

carries uncontrollable amounts of ego? }

-> a  c o o k i e   j a r  from Orla Kiely

-> a fine Bavarian porcelain  t e a p o t , a heartfelt present from lovely

Iby from "Ordnung ist möglich"

{ take a look at her  practically pretty  "Queen at home" weekly cleaning planners! }

-> a large black  b a s k e t  from h&m's  recent home collection

{currently available in the small version }

-> two plants that grew roots in a corner of our kitchen

and are now being taken care of by the children

of our neighbors downstairs

"A" for Antonio & "M" for Mirianna :)

G i v i n g   &   r e c e i v i n g   

must be 

one of the most wonderful parts 

of life's  C i r c l e  of  A d u n d a n c e

l e a r n i n g  to give  &  a c c e p t i n g  to receive...

One can only be  e t e r n a l l y   r i c h  when involved in it.

How do you involve yourself in this circle?

Have you noticed its existence?

wishes for a prosperous Sunday in all possible ways!

In August... in Love...

Saying h e l l o from sunny Amsterdam my dear readers & friends,

wishing everyone a 

h a p p y   n e w   m o n t h   ahead,

packed with loads of  

L O V E !

I'm using as my current, temporary residence the charming home of

amazing photo stylist Paulina Arcklin,

while she's busy preparing more and more spectacular work for her clients

and organizing photo workshops.

In case you are anywhere near Helsinki on the 9th & 10th

of August, participating would be great!

Perhaps there is still a spot or two left open.

Find out more h e r e

Being literally in a styling props p a r a d i s e

and having the ok to go ahead and play around,

I put together vignettes to make me feel  a t   h o m e .

Everything has been found here, except the  b u t t e r f l y  brooch,

 a Christmas present to me from a dear friend living in Canada

and my beloved white i-phone,

a present given to me from the person I love, to celebrate 

a good four digit contract I had signed.

{ now five, six & seven digit contracts you are welcome my ways  :) }

The "h o m e " sign is made by me,

reminding that one's home lives in one's heart.

I carry my beloved  G e r m a n   h o m e  wherever I am,

till we meet again.

Know that everything in my life has been evolving in the

most proper, smoothest & wonderful of ways.

I'm loved back as much as I love,

feeling thankful & grateful for all blessings in my life.

And wish you all the very same!

.... more posts soon to come,

till then, have the loveliest of days!