Domestic Stories

snow & tulips ~ yes, it is...

2012-02-13T16:00:00.002+01:00

this is to a happy & blessed Monday for us all my dears

may a creative & peaceful week unfold before us,

something so much needed

taking into consideration

all the problems, misery, difficulties

that also coexist in the world

{people blessed with charismas} such are heavenly voices giving up on their lives,

once {glorious nations} falling apart,

not to mention the billions of people

all around the world suffering

{hunger}, poor & inhuman life conditions

times like that, having less seems not so important

actually it magnifies the importance of everything

we are blessed with each one of us

and we are blessed with a roof above our heads

which also has a winter garden

and which in the meantime

is almost fully renovated & isolated, offering a direct view to the woods

I guess it should be lovely in Spring here :*)

... envisioning gatherings & creative seminars taking place around the large table

sitting 8-10 people...

till then, inspire yourselves with a {table setting for two}

by amazing Nina Holst,

offering a non typical Valentine's environment,

focusing on nature's elements, pastels

and one adorable simplicity,

allowing the stars of the day (or night)

to be noone else but the ones involved.

absolutely adoring it

feeling very honored that our Shop's

{Love & Luck paper boat garland}

is incorporated in such a wonderful way

see you here soon.

take care.

cherish & celebrate love each day .

Solid values ~ visions & silent destinations ~

2012-02-11T18:36:00.002+01:00

well, happy Saturday there!

today, after a week since the last post here,

some pictures of our new reading corner part of our living room

are coming to say hello to you...

photographed in different weather conditions through out the week that passed,

like grey skies, blue skies, sunshine & snow falling...

we've been actually having snow since some days now

& I do love it so with all my heart.

how about you?

should you be living in Europe, the chances are high that low temperatures & snow

have come your ways, too... right?

for me, a Greek girl grown up by the sea, winters in Germany are all about the snow,

which makes then Spring's arrival so much welcome & worthy...

now here's a little thought in between all talking:

as this has turned out quite a long post,

rather than at the end,

I thought you might like to be listening to something

while you are going through pictures & hopefully (ha!) reading.

so here's my suggestion:

"Our Little Prayers for Thailand",

a digital album, consisting of a collection of beautiful, ambient, acoustic music,

composed by some brilliantly talented people,

originating from all around the world,

like {Zinovia Arvanitidi} & {Hior Chronic},

dear friends from mother country Greece,

for whom a fully dedicated post is the least their

music deserves.

By purchasing the album for $5,

you are entitled to a full download,

while 100% of the earnings is contributed to the Red Cross Society in favor of Thailand.

here's a paragraph extract quotated from the full informative text found {here}:

"While the worst of the Thai floods has passed now, there are still thousands of flood victims that are facing numerous problems, including destroyed homes, health issues, polluted water, and many more. In response to this, Malaysia-based indie label, mu-nest, has teamed up with Bangkok-based design house/music label, Mink’s, to curate this fund-rising charity compilation album, to express what we feel for Thailand people in the depths of our hearts, and to help with what we do best: the most honest, simple, and subtle music."

One has to be überhappy*

*personally built word combining German & English,

standing for happiness felt from the very deep inside

when coming along such efforts

finding place on the Internet.

{Mink}, partly responsible for making this happen

is a label whose products you want to get to know,

ones you cannot but simply love....

I might show you my favorite ones in another post...

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

this is my way of wishing you to have one

wonderful weekend

while

thanking you once more for your meaningful & truly heart touching comments

on the latest post... {Marianna}... what a lady you are...

thank you so much my dear ~

... also wishing to let you know that I'm doing fine,

having spent a week alongside photographing corners of our new home

& other jobs,

making teas, coffees, snacks & occasionally lunches & dinners

for three lovely men,

who would be:

~> my life partner (even though we have both totally destroyed each other' s nerves)

~> his best & childhood friend from Prague who has been a guest of ours

~> our German technician who has made little wonders during the past two weeks

in what used to be a very problematic winter garden

who all three btw share one more little thing in common:

they are all travelling to the East this month

My partner & his friend other than relaxing from their stressy & high responsibility jobs,

will be visiting quite a few different countries and cities,

them together, two friends since decades,

enjoying their silent bond,

while sightseeing...

and returning a little bit closer to the wonderful men that they are,

which perhaps they yet need to discover...

we'll see...

In between, I'll have all the time needed to set up home here,

while I'll be enjoying my mother's company soon to be arriving from Greece...

smiles :*)

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

ummm, right... after all this rambling,

how about some words about the pictures shared above?

yes?

Yes! here we go:

the room's direction is South Eastern,

(much like the main bedroom's, located exactly above it on the 2nd floor)

at the moment, 11th of February, during the last official month of winter,

the sun rises 45° to the left just behind the woods.

the light & actual sun shining inside - to my pleasant surprise - surpasses my expectations.

It can be really bright and warm in here reminding a lot of

the positive aspects of life in {the Penthouse}

this corner, much as the whole room and house,

are a continuation of the space set up in our previous home.

being owners this time,

making investments is a logical decision

one which will pay back when the time of resell comes.

In the meantime,

we'll be enjoying & loving our home day by day...

It's quite nice that there is no need for temporary solutions,

like the {wallpaper samples}, used to dress up our previous reading corner's wall.

Instead, three different favorite designs have... jumped out of their frames,

got... magically (mmm, money helped too in fact) transformed into rolls of them

and will be anytime soon getting adjusted

on the walls of three different rooms.

(Details & planning in a post to come)

In the last of the pictures above, you can see

the one we chose for the living room wall on the left as we enter,

resting on the {Besta cabinets}

(which have now multiplied by 3),

catching some sun rays next to {Ikea P.S Jonsberg vase}

Abstractly formed barks of birches

in shades of white, off white & silver grey,

colors, tones & hues that will be answered in varied ways & textures all around this space.

oh heaven....

From the fact that this sample was chosen three times - notice below - to be part of

our previous set up, it was clear that this is a favorite.

Also love the fact that actually now living by the woods,

it totally fits as a concept.

why?

letting personal experience & studies speak, I seem to find that establishing contact & relations with a living space's external environment is a key factor to a sense of smoothness, balance & making most of one's reality.

I might adore turquoise,

but I'll wait for it to be used

the day we own a house by the sea...

other than my parents' {Apart 44}

wishful thinking or a silent master plan?

well, one can never know ; )

till then, little touches of this color & shades of aqua are here and there, bringing a nice color addition,

which I' ll show you quite soon

take care & enjoy your weekends dears ~ xoxo

...........................................................................................................................

All pictures by Iro - Ivy Nassopoulos from my personal portfolio portraying our two living residences in Germany

this weekend, be your beautiful self

2012-02-03T23:43:00.001+01:00

a {handwritten note} since about a year and a half, {one of the first shots made with my then new camera

in the house} is still very dear to me,

so very dear that I'm bringing it here {again} in order to wish you a nice weekend

together with it share lots of what has been

firing my inspiration's brain cells since about last night I guess...

{leather bags} by {Yvone Kone} as photographed by {Line klein}

in dark basic and earthy colours,

found through {Lotta Agaton},

one lady whose styling abilites are marking me lately...

{Jill Sander's villa} in Germany's Hamburg...

{barks of birches},

probably my ever favorite tree,

as seen through a promising point of view

that lets me dream while awake...

and then

happiness can strike so easily when seeing

{these} three identical pendant lights in 3 colours,

hanging above a wooden table

surrounded by chairs in Danish design that

make my heart skip...

mainly these images & {this reminder}

and it was enough for a collage / mood board... marathon to begin...

inspiration bringing inspiration...

isn't it in fact so magical when it happens?

here is what happened more or less,

starting from the top left corner

and moving down ...

can you perhaps follow the steps?

the essence that I wish to bring to this weekend - that has almost arrived btw - is to :

be my beautiful self,

after managing to be the worst person that I could just a week ago,

giving in to frustration, failing to see the positive sides

being temporarily stuck in

a very unproductive cirle...

I thought perhaps it would encourage you too

to do the same

this is why the final moodboard made today,

features the messages to be kept close to hearts & minds,

and be put into action:

have a happy weekend & be your beautiful self...

everyone has such sides,

it's totally up to us to bring them out

& insist on emphasising them when situations are difficult

............

risking to make this one of this usual long posts

I'm often concerned require too much of your effort and attention,

there are few on line places & a very special thank you I'd like to share and point out

before "the end" is written for today...

So:

{this gorgeous online inspiring website} found via amasing {Desire and her blog}, cannot but be adored by all interior & make over lovers

then, how super inspiring to watch all the pictures & videos over at {Freunde von Freunden},

and find out about another {brilliant couple}...

and then last but certainly not least, {this} breathtaking life diary, whose posts as so real like the air that you breathe... inspiring, enchanting, thought & feeling provoking...

{this is my most favorite post} from the ones I' ve read so far. Oh please to take some time to read it, you won't waste any of your time, I promise and while you do so listen...

For finding this blog, it's my dear friend Holy from {HvH Interiors}, that I have and want to thank... together with sending her a big hug, for having left a comment in the {previous post} which totally touched me.

You cannot imagine how comforting it is to hear & read positive things about yourself & your abilites from someone who knows both your good & bad sides in real life, when you actually need it the most, but don't dare to admit to yourself...

well my dears, one long day, one long post & hopefully what we'll experience as one long & happy weekend.

love being here with you & for you ! Till next time ~ xox

....................................................................................................................................

All collages & the "happy weekend" note picture in this post are made and curated by Iro - Ivy Nassopoulos for Domestic Stories with Ivy. Thank you for linking back properly.

....................................................................................................................................

P.S: picture credit for the female figure in the snow used in the last collage {here}

via {this} so interestingly & well put together photo collection blog,

where I arrived thanks to Lyssan's from {Pure living Interiors} gorgeous sense of stlyle.

P.S 2: making the links to this post has so taken forever, still it is worth it. Hope you enjoy & cherish them

curves + triangles (aujourd' hui j' aime)

2012-02-01T16:07:00.005+01:00

well, I'm currently really not supposed to be anywhere else other than corners of {our Cave}, or else our new medium sized maisonette apartment, performing works of every possible kind all around,

but

life happens & online existence & happenings are part of it,

at least so is the case here...

there are nice things to share today.

moreover, it is the first of February & coming to make a

"have a nice month!" post here,

positively energizes my day, rest of the week

and hopefully yours!

before elaborating a little on the collage curated above,

I'd like to ask you - unless you've already done so ; ) -

to pass by a few on line places I'm very happy & honored to be part of.

Natalie - with whom we once held a {lovely give away} -

seems to have a very discrete & low profile on line existence,

nevertheless her sense of aesthetics,

color appreciation

her own creations

are very compatible with mine

and I'm very fond of them.

I'm loving lots of her latest creations - which you can find {here} & {there}

I'm absolutely loving {the collage}- a tribute to Grey -

she recently created,

incorporating our {new kitchen corner}

Thank you Natalie!

........

and then...

{Nina Holst} is one lovely lady & talented stylist from Norway, founder of {Stylizimo},

one whose kind & soft manners

are her equipment for a strong on line existence

Since she "walked" into our shop some months ago,

I cannot help but feeling extremely honored & happy,

that fragments of myself are incorporated in her beautiful house's many rooms,

through pictures & little "sur measure" creations.

Maybe you remember {this post}?

... it's never late to check it out ; )

Today, I get to be guested at her blog

as {this print} of our shop is part of her freshly styled

{living room corner},

with a dark cabinet I pretty much adore.

Thank you Nina!

......

now let me say a few words on the collage above...

curves & triangles

it is rather {evident} that I love geometry in all its expression in interior design,

but mostly of all,

I'm interested in creating spaces that while leaving a strong impact,

they do so gently,

almost magically,

secretly inviting you to return to them again,

even when you don't exactly know why.

there is a certain amount of mystery

created by a play between lines & curves...

believing that happiness lies in finding balance,

while {gracefully passing through our extremes},

the existence of basic shapes in our living environments,

creates a sense of being grounded,

while also being free to take a walk in the clouds.

happily pointy triangles of a banner much as this blog's logo

or the wallpaper banners {which I so joyfully create}

smooth, gentle & feminine curves found both in furniture and in objects

are features I love.

the collage I curated from recent images found via {pinterest},

represents well all the above.

~> {this} delightful chair, so fabulously photographed here,

with weathered leather adding so much to its charm,

is an odd to curves.

~> the {Eiffel tower} is a magnificent example of plasticity in architecture,

combining a powerful three dimensional triangular shape,

while every line is curved & beautifully emphasized by all the circular & semi circular iron details.

I can't get over its beautiful figure as seen through this fairy lightened {blurry image}

~> {that} hand crocheted A shaped dress is consisting of probably countless circles

(btw I spent some memorable teenage summers wearing a very similar dress,

handmade by my crafty grandmother from my mother's side...

and I might as well try to find it when visiting my parental home in Greece this Spring)

~> last but not least

that {peaceful children's space}

combines so nicely

wooden blocks,

a fabric banner & a wooden rocking... sheep!

that's also a lovely note to gentleness..

a harmless sheep...

I might as well be closing this post with that.

enjoy your days

have a great start to the new month ~

see you here again quite soon ~

thank you for stopping by & sharing love

much love to you, too ~ xoxo

...............................................................................................................................

P.S: an important note here: I'm sorry to not be able to properly credit some pictures so wonderful like the Paris one & many others. Pinterest is one amazing platform to create "reachable" dreams but through the

enormous amount of repining, some original sources seem rather hard to be found.

U p d a t e: just - 03.02.2012, 22:51 - came across this picture {here}...

so so happy to have found it in this very favorite blog of mine :*)

................................

collage curation: Iro - Ivy Nassopoulos

picture credit given through the post - please read carefully & click on the {...}

{have been} looking for charm...

2012-01-31T20:52:00.001+01:00

hello.

smile :*)

passing by to share random pictures from our winter garden & kitchen *

it seems that I' ve been preoccupied with

looking for charm in our new home...

... am almost certain I've been doing neither the space nor myself a favor

these past few days.

I simply need time.

to get used to the changes

rediscover myself through designing our new home

what needs to be a new life in it, with new basis.

am also passing by to personally thank you for the

sweetest and most heartwarming comments on my {recent post},

as much as everyone for silently reading

Thank you so much Claudia, Fiona & Katrin.

kisses to you all ~

..................

* if you can absolutely not understand at all the layout of the space, I do not blame you at all.

when more works are done, I'll stop being so mysterious & start sharing plans & wide angle pictures.

promise.

.............

Pictures, styling & collages of this post are done by Iro - Ivy Nassopoulos for Domestic Stories with Ivy

dancers, sweets & demons

2012-01-30T12:59:00.001+01:00

Welcome Monday...

welcome new week...

welcome you here...

how have your weekends been?

nice ones in all possible ways I hope.

if you are inquiring about mine,

let me make what resembles a list with weekend events,

instead of the usual communicative paragraphs:

~> personal demons came out of the "closet"

despite all efforts to soothe them & "make them go away"

~> once more, facing & accepting them

turned out the most liberating part

~> in between preparing our winter garden / dining area

to be dressed in its new floors

actually doing so with my partner,

we managed to hate each other as much our new house

~> worst parts of our personalities came out

only to feel better next Sunday morning,

while facing the results of our work

........................

this is not an "easy" house to love

but so long as we are put down by all the difficulties arising,

we will never come to actually enjoying it.

do you believe in time?

I do. I think it's one of the most magnificent aspects of life

& have enormous respect for it,

especially as years pass by.

on the one hand, one shouldn't waste it,

on the other hand, it seems rather pointless,

to be pressuring & rushing things.

Time means opportunity to evolve,

to grow,

and speaking of growth,

I feel that life in our new house,

is intensively pointing out the need

for me to grow as a person

btw, what are collages combining ballet dancers & delicious sweets doing around here?

they are representing the sweet parts of this weekend....

what do I mean?

you'll see in the next lines ; )

Sunday afternoon & early evening brought a nice closure to the WE...

that's what happened...

some hours of exercising / dancing

marked the return to what is appearing to be a new routine

here

I find incredible joy in body moving

and for the first time after a few decades

when I attended dance classes

the expression that comes through movement

is more therapeutic & balancing than anything else.

yoga & meditation seem to be incorporated in the dance movements,

and the outcome is more "whole" than ever before

......................

and what are pretty parcels doing in the collage?

well, they are reminding of what I' m currently incredibly missing:

crafting & photographing,

but patience, we'll get to that again.

there needs to be a somehow finished studio corner

(yes, this will be out dining area, cause of the plenty natural light,

where the large table will have a double use)

a new camera, as the current one could sadly not be repaired.

I'm amazed that some good pictures are still made despite the malfunctions.

It's definitely not a pleasure working with it though.

.......................

and sweets, what are sweets doing here?

well, there is almost no bad mood that a hot cup of tea

and some chocolate cookies can not beat,

even when they are not homemade

and looking as gorgeous

as the cupcakes and cakes in the pictures above & below

... speaking of cupcakes,

there is more work to be done in the next weeks that will have as models

these fabulously charming ladies:

looking so much forward to working with them!

wishing you all to spend one lovely week.

will be quite busy around here, as we are getting help in the house.

there are just some things that unless one is an experienced hand worker,

cannot be pulled off.

and before time & energy is wasted,

we are so happy to be investing in getting some professional help.

hello isolated winter garden.

hello finished floors.

yes. these are the hellos I wish to say soon.

you' ll notice when I do ; )

till then, take care & keep warm my dears...

thank you for steadily growing our wonderful group of readers here!

merci!

[via]

collage curation: Iro - Ivy Nassopoulos for Domestic Stories with Ivy

picture credit: diptych ~> left & right

collage ~> clockwise from top left: 1.2.3.

silence & movement ~ oui, je vous aime aujourd' hui...

2012-01-27T14:53:00.000+01:00

Good morning my dears,

well, appropriate would be a happy Friday, right?

bounded as this blog and its author are to be monitoring the truth,

this is everything but a happy day here.

oh well.

while everything appears to be going wrong,

there's one thing that still feels quite right...

and this is posting here.

Today my thoughts are on silence & movement

Silence, which is often all that is needed for peace to thrive again...

silence, in which {there is so much beauty}*

still most people are afraid of it...

*I was so surprised to read that post shared more than a year ago

and so incredibly energized for the fact that many things have indeed changed.

Not only I'm no longer undecided,

but very positively & strongly supporting

my work shared here

& incredibly happy for the fact that this blog has come to life.

I'm sure its a direction to lots of creative & successful moments ahead

[via]

now coming back to silence...

some more thoughts:

"everyone" seems to be rushing to make the next post, the next update, the next movement,

so that "something" is happening in this fast paced world

...

the next plan, the next dream, the next challenge,

the next goal, the next accomplishment, the next....

the next... the next...

and there can be so much meaningless "noise" produced,

that life is lost among all plannings for the "next"

it certainly characterizes our era

but does it really lead to any truly & deeply felt happiness?

there are some serious doubts about it in my head

and you?

what do you think?

I know that most of us are "trapped" in this kind of behavior

& thinking more or less often

and don't get me wrong,

I do adore having things accomplished,

yes, new desires come along the way...

there just seems to be less of an "obsession" about it...

and then...

there is the {beauty of the moment}...

I still cherish it even in difficult emotional & practical moments

and no... not being lost in memories of happiness that has passed

or dreaming of the ones that are to come.

simply embracing the moment as it is.

Purely.

Silently.

and when there is need to break the silence,

no force, or masked abuse of any kind will be used to achieve it.

rather surrendering to the beauty of the movement.

[via]

have you ever surrendered yourselves to your favourite tunes,

your eyes closed,

while dancing,

feeling light & airy...

almost as if your body is out of control...

but in fact just it being totally released of its tension

and tuned to the music as if they were one?

magical ~

Our bodies need movement as much as rest

it seems that the "modern" way of life of doing everything in front of a tiny or a mighty big screen

calls to our attention...

have you moved today my dears?

the woods are there waiting after days of having had a cold...

it has snowed a bit, which reminded me of the beauty of the frozen lake

across {our home} last year...

[via]

I'm patient but longing for changes, too...

wishing you all a lovely Friday,

as yes indeed, posting once more has served in soothing intense emotions

& my wishes to you can now be true

happy, happy Friday my dears!

leaving you with a diptych that speaks to me of positivism, freshness

& beautiful innocence

----------------------------

Collage picture credit clockwise from top left: 1.2.3.4.

Diptych picture credit: left - right

collage & diptych curation: Iro - Ivy Nassopoulos for Domestic Stories with Ivy

~ secrets & spices ~

2012-01-24T23:00:00.007+01:00

you know the times when words just don't come the right way my dears?

I think this might be the case since a couple of days here...

yes, that must be it.

due to rather intense emotions...

from both sides of the spectrum...

the bright ones & the dark ones...

and then a little tireness due to this silly flu & cold together that came partying in my organism

without my persmission,

then again me being overanxious to get over it

in order to proceed with works at the house,

only to be finding me resting in bed again the next day

uff and uff again.

as a result, it seems like too much of time

has passed since I've been meaning to come here and thank you very dearly for

warmely accepting my invitation

having shared a mostly wonderful {cup of comfort} with me.

what an experience!

I really enjoyed connecting with you

both here & over at my private Fb account

what's really great is that this post & the interaction with you

has served in establishing a clear connection in my thoughts

about a factor very critical in

experiencing Love & Happiness in our relationships and living environments:

well, can you guess what it is?

bingo!

C o m f o r t

no matter what

no matter who

no matter how

I cannot think of any environment & relationship being

perceived & felt as happy, healthy & lovingly,

unless there is plenty of comfort in them.

you know...

something that begins from acceptance

passes in between warmth & reaches to support & growth

this is what good interior design & functional relationships of any kind are to me:

Comfort. Plenty of it.

mmm... it seems that coming here and starting to type also serves as

a comfort to me

& as I see, words are no longer difficult in any way of being spelled out.

perhaps, cause I also feel very happy for the fact that some of you I really have warm feelings for

are reading these lines.

perhaps...

o.k. this is the time that you and I agree that enough has been said...

right? ; )

pictures please & to the point!

So, on the opening picture of the post,

you can take a glimpse of the totally unfinished part of our bedroom,

aka the 3.10m x 4.60m {height by width} wall behind our bed, which is patiently awaiting

a few hands of sanding and then to be dressed

in nice & stylish wallpaper.

till then, you can see how I spent some time taking breaks while busy in the house,

{had been dealing with folding laundry at that time}

away from the main pc, which is a big temptation due to all the creative work that can be done there

& only but temporarily logging in selectively to some of my favorite on line places

using precious mrs netbook

... the lights have been shining on Pinterest these past days.

no doubts for that ; )

and then, there is a little peek into our temporarily arranged

cooking corner, that is for those of you who haven't already seen it

on {flickr}, {pinterest} & {fb}

Love is... the best spice

would you agree with me?

........................................................................

sorry for the big leap without a word,

I hope you haven't missed me ; )

above is a little collage I prepared to serve as an icon for

{domestic stories Fb page}

not much of written information,

but just some favorite moments in interior design, crafting, styling & photography,

including recent shots of our new home.

All unitied under my favorite umbrella:

S t y l e

well what do you think?

................................

the time has come to say good night cause it's already late for us here...

and I really can't go without sharing with you

a few lines written to describe the picture below,

which turned out to be

a little, mighty poem,

I'll dare to post here:

S e c r e t s

They say the night & darkness hold one thousand secrets...

I find life's secrets hidden in light...

Thousand little miracles masked in eternal white...

Patiently awaiting for the brave ones to unfold them.

and you dear ones?

do you know your secrets?

.... have a beautiful night... or day

and see you quite soon ~

... mmmm, a cup of comfort... anyone?

2012-01-20T18:34:00.003+01:00

hello darlings,

how about a cup of comfort for this Friday & the weekend ahead?

a hot drink, some pieces of dark chocolate & slices of my favorite

German "Stollen",

were my treats after another day of soup eating.

Not that I dislike soups in any way, to the contrary, actually {love them} for the winter,

but try eating the same kind of soup a few days in a row

you'll possibly notice that sense of boredom

The frozen sunshiny days seem to have left our region

and rainy weather is thriving again...

Guessing what that means?

time for candles, candles & more of them even during the day to

warm the light & atmosphere in our environment,

much like {then}...

The pictures are taken in what will one day be our dining room

& my little studio corner.

It in fact is a room mostly made of glass,

or else a winter garden,

connected to the kitchen area,

having an outlook to some neighboring houses & the woods

In our current & quite temporary arrangement,

there seems to be an unusual amount of color

for my standards,

but then this room will see many faces & phases,

till it's done, so why not?

; )

Here's some little help for you to start taking an idea...

Other than placing our new {table} & a {bench},

this room is rather undone & in serious need of :

1 ~> new floors to be placed

(temporarily stored under our couch & bed,

which were bought from {this} company)

2 ~> 5 more jalousies like the one just temporarily placed,

to dress the 6 vertical windows in a row,

so that we have more of privacy when wanted

some extra isolation against the cold that indeed is brought

inside during the winter

3 ~> a curtain,

whose {fabric} is already chosen & sewn,

to be placed on the side of the "window" wall

(not seen in the picture)

4 ~> a little desk shelf for my individual work corner

5 ~> cables for pendants lights to be placed by an electrician

so that they "fall" above the dining area

actually quite a few other details, it rather makes no sense to mention,

when all the room is not properly displayed

in time though my friends...

in case you are looking forward, just imagine my own anticipation

... other than that, we have been also very much

enjoying the light of our new lanterns (one in white & one in grey)

and occasional meals,

while covered in blankets ; )

here is a shot made on the 24th of December,

when we first used our new table & room

for breakfast

and here is one more shot taken this afternoon,

a little before sundown when rain was pouring...

I kinda love this moody light...

I think...

make it a great one my dears!

... the good old ways ~

2012-01-19T15:34:00.000+01:00

... the most adorable little card, with a minimal & very essential message arrived to our new home a couple of days ago, from a very dear family friend residing in New York & vacationing in her apartment in Greece, where we usually meet:

" I wish you peace & joy throughout the year "

... how could any one ask for more? Thank you so much Mrs Angeliki! Sending you all my love, xoxo

~ happy till my heart melts...

~ this darling handwriting and to find a card in our new home address - even if after the holidays, has been such a lovely surprise...

~ oh how do I treasure the "good old ways" in our kind of crazy, virtual, often overloaded & hectic world...

~ have you written & sent any cards this year?

I so tremendously missed it due to our movement & ongoing house renovation works this year

~ memories of {last year} bring some compensation & a happy longing for the next holiday season to come.

Wishing everyone peace & joy throughout this year!

... nouvelle cuisine et la femme douce ~

2012-01-18T19:36:00.002+01:00

bonsoir mes amis!

unlike my beliefs & hopes yesterday morning that recovery had perhaps begun, life had other plans for me, ending up in a high fever evening which completely exhausted my organism.

It turns out, it's not a simple cold I caught after all, but that a... hungry, seasonal virus (affecting so many others too!) has come visiting,

playing with my bones and all the nasal system making everything hurt. A lot.

Nevertheless and as feeling sorry for myself & helpless is something that doesn't suit me at all lately,

I insisted on coming out of bed and doing but a few household jobs.

feeling happy with these tiny achievements:

~ took all the way down the stairs, reached the kitchen {this is indeed a much bigger space than our previous one} organised the clean dishes from the dish washer in their place

~ hand washed a few other ones

~ vacumed cleaned (!) our bedroom upstairs & aired the covers,

~ prepared two laundries to be washed tomorrow, when I' ll hopefully be reminding more of myself

~ managed to slightly work on two pictures of our kitchen to share,

taken just before we departed for {our trip to Malta}

and

prepared an "Aujourd' hui j'aime" post to share with you :)

.........................................

On another notice, I'm looking forward to my camera properly working again as it is partly damaged

& am expecting a part to arrive,

so as to really begin exploring our new home,

through the lens!

till then, the diptych above portrays the cooking corner of our totally new kitchen,

fully designed by me & built from scratch by ourselves.

{big smiles & tap on the shoulders for that :*) }

I can hardly believe that we already have a brand new, shiny white kitchen,

new appliances

new floor which my partner & I are also putting by ourselves in the whole house.

We have still two places to go:

the dining area & the area around the stairs on the second floor

pictures & details will be coming anytime soon :)

just for the record, the first evening our kitchen was completed,

I fell asleep on the floor, {on a flokati & having a pillow}

reassuring myself that this is not just a dream.

When the day will come that more pictures will be shared & I'll also show you the before ones,

you'll most probably understand my {slightly exaggerated, ahem ahem} enthusiasm

till then & cause this kitchen is about four times as spacious as our previous one,

it totally inspires in cooking & baking!

... {this pumpkin & cheesecake recipe} below is one I'd love to try out.

looks delicious, not to mention Nikole Herriott's impeccable styling

[via]

leaving temporarily the kitchen talk behind us,

today I love... la femme douce.

it's an expression which directly translated into English would be:

the soft woman, but in fact it 's all about a woman who simply knows how to also be soft,

who knows exactly how to be a woman...

a woman that manages to keep her identity in an ever changing & demanding society,

a woman who knows how to love herself, how to love a man & how to love others.

a woman who allows to be approached, but firmly also knows how to decline,

a woman who stands by a man & enjoys being his woman, his wife,

without being afraid that she will be labeled dependent,

perhaps less capable...

in our modern, sometimes even confusing times,

being a soft woman is something that requires a lot of courage,

work, persistence & actually

a heart that is not only sensitive but very, very strong

there's nothing easier than "showing one's teeth",

assuming strength,

but then again, this would mean that aggressiveness

in any of its forms is powerful, when in fact it's the opposite.

so my dears,

today I love all of you who stumble upon these pages,

cause despite our individual differences we share a lot in common

picture credit clockwise from top left: 1. 2. 3. 4

just before I say good bye

a few links, posts & on line places I love & would like to share with you:

~ {this} etsy treasury, featuring {this art installation}, put together by {this} fabulous shop & woman behind it.

~ {this} awesome simple & full of character corner in Desire's house

~ Nina's {home office}

~ {Angelica's amazingly sweet view on the world}

~ {this touching mini film}, illustrating a world full of possibilities & hope.

coming together with wonderful music ~

au revoir for now,

thank you very kindly for all your get well wishes

just remember:

[via]

... it makes all the difference in the world,

for us personally

for the outcome we deliver to this world.

~ some days in Malta...

2012-01-16T19:04:00.000+01:00

it is in difficult times that one understands what matters, right?

this is a tiny post to welcome you all in the new week, despite having caught a cold so nasty as it hasn't been in a very long, long time & reveal the reason there were no posts or news updates during the past few days.

him & I spent a few days on the island of Malta, a destination we have grown to very much like since our first visit there last winter.

you can imagine that spending time working on our pictures & talking for hours here about our trip

is something I so wish I could do at the moment,

but anything than a short period in front of the screen tires me

due to fever.

I still wanted to pass by here and say hello,

while sharing a few SOOC (straight out of the camera) pictures - except from slight cropping & a little processing in the last two,

my partner made of me,

as we both enjoy our roles behind & in front of the cameras...

our days were spent strolling in the charming streets of Valletta, the capital of the country,

driving - on the left side! - along the coast line,

promenading along the sea in Sliema, where we were accommodated,

photographing doors, details, me posing in front of doors...

eating delicious food,

such as mouthwatering pastizzis,

which cost between 30 & 50 cents per piece, no matter where you are

... visiting the beautiful cities of Mdina & Rabat,

taking a ferry to the amazing tiny island of Gozo

and not to forget, among others, me catching a cold,

(thank God only on Saturday, just a day before our return)

to bring as a souvenir,

together with memories of good times

pictures of undeniably charming places.

oh well my dears...

I hope to be well soon, being able to enjoy my work & posting here

from me, best of wishes for one more wonderful, creative week,

bringing you just a little bit closer to all you love!

............................................................................................................................

P.S: here are some captions to illustrate the pictures, from top to bottom:

1. yesterday, in low fever (if only I knew what is to come!)

2. walking up to Valletta, this building always captures my attention

3. Thusrday morning, after our first evening on the island, the capital is our favorite place to visit

4. Friday, probably our best day of all the trip, at Mdina & Rabat

5. pastizzis!

Be the change you want to bring to the world ~

2012-01-10T17:07:00.003+01:00

now... how will I manage to keep this a minimal post word wise my dears?

{I will not, wanna bet?}

all I basically want to say is that much as {the current moment, the present, is our present, our gift in this life time of ours} we all are synchronized in,

so Life itself is upon each one of us to color.

Three might be the basic colors for us all to paint with on our life canvases,

but then none of us will make the same painting.

we' ll use and mix our colors differently

some of these paintings will be masterpieces,

some not.

some will be nice, some ugly

the world might know or might not know about them

in all cases.

whichever the case, the painter of our lives can be only one person:

OURSELVES

we can choose where to focus,

how to think,

what to see,

what to keep in our hearts,

what to let go,

what to do,

what to do again,

what to not do again,

which words to use,

what to hear,

how to behave,

how to dress,

how to build our interiors,

and everything will be nothing but a reflection of who we are.

need Love? let us give Love

need to have more? let us give from what we already have

need to be forgiven? let us forgive first

need to see the Light? let us stop being afraid of darkness

the mere existence of Life itself is Dual.

choose where you focus on

accept both sides

let us acknowledge our fears

see how small & unimportant we all are

& then be grateful for the grandiosity of our existence

LOVE & PEACE ON EARTH

my friends

LET US BE THE CHANGE WE WANT TO BRING TO THE WORLD

THROUGH OUT OUR JOURNEYS HERE

[via]

this space whispers tranquility, love for life and peace with one's self, doesn't it my dears?

this is to a marvelous Tuesday for you all

{and no, this is not another "Aujourd'hui j'aime" post but a "Life of awareness" one ; )}

collage credit: Iro - Ivy Nassopoulos for Domestic Stories with Ivy, using clockwise the following pictures:

1. 2. 3. 4.

also... listen ~

Aujourd' hui j'aime...

2012-01-09T18:24:00.004+01:00

Bonsoir mes amis,

hello my friends & a wonderful new week to you!

was the weekend a good one?

nothing to complain about here & lots of beautiful moments, apart from a little

emotional turmoil caused - quite probably - by the full moon,

resulting in some temporary family tension.

oh, aren't our closest ones those to receive it all first? both the good & the bad?

and vice versa of course...

how about you?

are you affected in any way by nature' s cycles?

all right, enough of small talk,

let's get down to serious talking cause there are things I wish to share with you.

So...

my love for French & natural inclination to speak this language is intensifying these days

& didn't hesitate to create a new series for the blog under the name:

Aujourd'hui j'aime...

{Today I love... }

several times so far some of my instant choices shared here were filed under... well... {instant choices}.

Nothing wrong with that, other than the fact that simply something wasn't there name wise...

if you know what I mean...?

Concerning blogs & anything creative,

I appreciate everything & everyone that evolves naturally & step by step.

Originality & honesty are also appreciated. A lot.

Actions or posts brought forward in order to impress others,

rather easily put my away...

Naturally, this blog & myself are gradual and constant developers as well,

remaining always faithful to what is important to us,

to what characterizes us.

{Aujourd' hui j'aime...}

is a collection of pictures that inspire me and create a visual story for me.

much like the {moodboards}, I'm also loving to make.

Not necessarily from one artist, or one art, but a combination of them.

As much as it is created instantly, its effect is permanent.

Its images mark me & stay with me for a rather long, long time

Interior design

Decoration

Fashion

Styling

Photography &

pretty things

have always been inspiring me... after all who doesn't get inspired by them?

in my strong effort to avoid repeating other blogs

and keep an honest & personal approach in this blog,

lots of my choices were kept for a long time private.

In the meantime, and thank's to Pinterest as well, where everyone can simply have access to each member's taste, I feel that my presence here is distinct enough & has an aroma,

a sound, a feeling of its own.

For the fact that I feel this way, I need to thank SO many of you,

that should I start, I have to be very careful and remember to include all of you in the list!

I'll skip this part for now

& just go back to {aujourd'hui j'aime...}

I love visual stories and about 2 years ago, I had started writing stories under the collages {such as here & there} I was creating with my favorite pictures from friends & contacts in {flickr}.

I think {this} must have been the fisrt one.

In the meantime, it has become clear that

favorite styling both in interiors & fashion,

as much as stunning photography and breathtaking details

simply fire my brain cells,

while pleasing my eyes.

It's not only that though.

It doesn't stop in the "visualization" & dreaming level.

The images that inspire me are actually kindly invading my life, the way I decorate our living space, the choices I make,

the way I dress and style myself,

the way I think & behave,

and of course the way I work with others.

So darling people, allow me to be opening a window to my mind, heart & soul to you

through my choices, mostly grouped in my Pinterest boards and likes.

You must be a little familiar with that through the

{etsy treasuries} also curated by me.

Today's inspiration is all about secretary style,

intellectualism,

espressos,

truffles,

geometry,

wood & metal.

Enjoy & c u soon!

.........................................................

oh! not to forget:

this feature is not bound in any way to be daily, weekly, bimonthly or anything similar.

Due to the spontaneity of my nature, it can be once a day, a few times a week or simply taking a rest for a while. Sometimes, it might even be more frequent that once a day.

Each post is going to be mainly recognized by the date that it is posted under the label:

{Aujourd'hui j'aime...}

Merci!

... and oh! #2, if you wish to read a bit on maximasing space in an open air loft

and see how I managed to do so in our previous home,

here' s my latest entry for Ikea Family Live.

Thank's so much for your comments,

being here & following me around the web

in every possible {nice} way you can!

xxx :*)

[via]

collage crated by Iro - Ivy Nassopoulos for Domestic Stories with Ivy combining the following images clockwise: 1. 2. 3. 4.

LIFE

2012-01-05T10:43:00.002+01:00

[via]

Look

Listen

L O V E

_____________________________________

isn't life but a miracle itself?

Gratitude & the present moment

2012-01-03T16:13:00.002+01:00

hello my friends!

so nice to come here again to share some inspiration with you

{smile :*)}

I think I've made the quiet decision to be following my heart and my feelings in each and every post shared here....

that might create some complications with posts that need to be scheduled,

such as when other people are involved, but I have full trust that it is going to work out just fine...

you too may I suppose and hope?

blink, blink ; )

so, my mood board today is full of emotions and is marked by the depth of the music and the {lyrics} of {this} song,

at the same time, my choices above pretty much colour my feelings, too

{could be the opposite as well I guess}

the good thing about quotations & inspiring words, is that they are self explicative and there is no need to talk much

{ something that I seriorusly need to parctice on ;)}

so I must say, that:

~> I think that I'm lucky {possibly intelligent, too} enough to have chosen a gentleman to be by my side

{well not always but anyways, who talks about perfection?}

~> I must have also found my trick and being enjoying life right HERE, right NOW

{the power of the present is unbittable}

please notice that the word present in the English language also has a double meaning:

present : now

present : gift

______________

simple additional mathematical equation... and

your present is... {the} present!

or {the} present is your present!

... however you wish to state it

voila! that's all you have in your hands!

but it's a huge thing isn't it?

if you consider how many people are lost in memories or future aspirations

{ no, no... never said that we shouldn't have any of both!}

how many people are trapped by their own emotions,

their own preconceptions....

I think I might have ended being such a person,

but instead, had better plans for me and this life, so generously offered to me...

I fought my dears... fought with mind and heart

to overcome all possible emotional shortcomings

and start living my life, the way I decide, I wish.

I've mentioned it again months, perhaps years ago, but one of the best* presents I've done to myself was beginning and completing {for about 7 years} psychotherapy sessions.

* second best present to myself ~> I begun blogging!

** third best since the begining of this last December ~> I'm dancing freely, while exercising a few times a week}

I'm not saying that they are necessary - here I mean the therapy sessions {despite also having majored and graduated from Psychology, too}

just saying that they are enornously helpful and offer a solid basis for a real, true alteration/ transformation of the self, towards the best human beings that each of us can be.

there lies happiness my friends....

being the best that we can be each day,

TODAY

at this point, it fits rather nicely to state that, thanks to Nichole Robertson, runner of {this} tremendously succesful and utterly beautiful shop

{and FB of course, for how else could I have been instantly informed?} I got to spend some nice moments exercising a bit my... sometimes rusty brain cells, by causing some neural transmitions and evoking thoughts {and emotions at the same time}

when reading {this article} on Modern time and the perception of time.

just marvelous...

{yes, good idea! ~> make yourselves a cup of tea, take some cookies or pieces of your favorite chocolate

and enjoy reading it!}

and then, to end this post, that once more, totally failed in being minimalistic in words,

je ne regrette riens ~ I do not regret a thing,

not one single moment of the life I 've lived so far, even the ugliest, the hardest or the most uncharming ones.

and then smoothly like a silk ribbon falling on the floor,

this brings me to gratitude,

which transforms everything into well... enough!

the magic of having it all...

I have it all my friends

I'm eternally grateful for that

and you, how are you today?

best wishes from me

a big thank you for your presence here and the warm comments you are sharing.

I have really started loving communicating with you!

Got to go... have a vegetable soup to cook and a few more boxes to unpack & organise...

Picture credit from top to bottom (click on each number)

1 ~ 2 ~ 3 ~ 4 ~ 5 collage made by me combining {this} & {that} ~ 6 ~ 7 ~ 8 selfie made by me

Au revoir et merci pour etre ici avec moi!

Welcome 2012!

2012-01-01T23:40:00.001+01:00

Here's to welcoming the new year my friends!

a few shots taken this morning revealing bits of our new bedroom, located in the upper/second floor of our new maisonette apartment.

There are many things unfinished, but also quite a few things done, so I thought I share a few pictures with you.

[2nd, 3rd, 4rth & last pictures are shot there]

[1st is shot in the workroom & 5th in the living room]

I have to say I love this room...

it might be measuring 5sm less than {the bedroom} we had at the Penthouse {it was a 22sm room}, but we have the luxury of not needing to have any closets at all included here.

Mr J has his own separate dressing area in our workroom/ computer room and I get to have my own walk in closet... a super tiny one, but still a walk in closet, for which I have big plans one day... currently it's a totally undone space, with walls that need to be sanded, wallpaper that needs to be fixed on the walls and the storage system to be installed.... oh one day...

I'll be showing you many more details as days come, and of course I'll be posting about the year that passed and the one which just arrived.

Normally this should be a "how was your New Year eve?" kind of post,

but you know spontaneous me, don't you?

just a while ago and shortly before midnight, I decide to post, after having had a delicious dinner - lamb fillets in a red wine + feta cheese sauce accompanied with boiled potatoes.... a fine {and strong!} Brandy for appetiser and ice - cream for dessert...

Oh merci vie belle....

I hope that the New Year started as you wished

and most of all, that it will bring your ways all you need, wish and long for!

P.S: merci, merci pour les {1000 fans in FB page}. Thank you so much!

P.S2: in case you wonder where all this French comes from, it's the language I adore, studied for about 8 years and was almost forgotten since I started learning German three years ago... it's coming back and I love it. I feel it's such a big part of who I am and the best part, my German is also improving.

I guess such things make me happy ~

Bonuit mes amis...

Salut mes amis!

2011-12-29T13:47:00.001+01:00

Salut mes amis!

Hello my dear friends!

After needing a couple of weeks longer than I thought in order {to plant happiness},

nothing expresses better the sum of my recent experiences & feelings,

than this quote spoken by the wise lips of the {Little Prince}

{all the quotes here}

L'essentiel? mais oui, c'est invisible pour les yeux....

non?

On ne voit bien qu' avec le couer

if there is anything I learnt,

it is this:

*** the essential is invisible to the eye ***

*** we only see clearly with the Heart ***

or better... I should say felt deeply instead of learnt,

cause sometimes {learning} is associated with a simple

"follow the instructions & then do" attitude,

which.... well... is everything but the {essence}.

so dearests,

first of all, it's trully delightful to be writing again on these pages

and I can't thank you enough {mmmm, perhaps I got some ideas in my mind though ;)}

for your care, support & loving messages you left here and sent in my mailboxes while

I was away planting happiness...

I mean while I was moving us from home A to home B,

keeping my faith and patience when so many things went the wrong way...

had it not been for so many things having gone wrong though,

how could I be having the pleasure of sharing

life stories with you?

see my point? ; )

will do so, step by step,

taking you with me sharing pictures, feelings, thoughts & endless inspiration.

Till then though, I share with you {the treasury curated a couple of days ago}

as I am slowly returning to my work.

A bunch of 16 choices I'd more than gladly incorporate in our new home,

which you will also most probably enjoy,

as we share similar taste for you to be reading these lines

{click on "via" below to be taken to the collection and then each item separately}

[via]

Enjoy and from me,

a warmhearted smile,

shot yesterday after a dancing/ exercising session which lifted my spirits up

{apart from other parts of my body ; )}

... while listening to this fabulous lady's tracks

btw... you got to adore the sheep & the spider in this clip!

Je vous aime beaucoup!

A bientôt

bisus xxx

Ivy

planting happiness ~

2011-10-21T23:12:00.000+02:00

am wondering whether getting away with just few words is possible...

knowing that lots of you here appreciate my communicative nature,

it seems hard to be coming here to make "simple" posts and go...

still, it will have to be the case for some future posts,

cause there is so much of my time & energy directed

in designing our new living space to be,

that I feel the need to come and post here

sometimes saying few words if any...

I would just not like that you feel that I'm cheating on you...

in the meantime, I start getting prepared to be sharing some facts about the new home

little by little

so, this simple collage put together above,

is a little story on its own.

... these baby aloe vera plants, are not just any aloe plants

but the "children"of very productive parents,

or else the first aloe plant I bought for the second apartment,

that I was renting on my own back in 2004 - 2006 in Greece

in the meantime, they adjusted wonderfully in my parents' new apartment

{aka apart44} in such {white super functional & pretty pots},

while endlessly growing an expanding.

now let's hope that these baby immigrants will adjust to the German climate ; )

on another notice,

how would you like popping by Ikea Family Live's site,

and reading the latest post I prepared?

I'm so happy to be sharing my thoughts with you

through blogging posts there, too!

today it's all about

"Enjoying your home"

and then unless you have already done so,

wonderful Holly from decor8 has written

one fabulous post on

"Authentic Interiors" and was so kind into including

our current home as an example

with these pictures...

am beyond honored and happy ...

hope your days were nice

your weekend will be an even nicer one!

kind regards you all ~

pop by and say hello when you can, would you?

32 + 1 reasons for a Friday to love ~

2011-10-21T10:53:00.003+02:00

[via]

Hello everyone!

currently having only but little time to devote to posting here,

I thought that wishing you all a happy Friday

with {32 + 1 reasons to love}

would a be a fine thing to do...

that it can actually make up for my usual extensively

communicative posts ; )

in the meantime:

-> find the link to the above collection / treasury here

-> find more of the treasuries / home decor inspiration curated by me

here & there

-> don't miss the fantastic give aways organized by the new

Concept page of Vosges Paris

-> give a helping hand to this Cancer Fund Raiser action ending tonight

-> find some of my current news shared here a while ago

-> and indulge yourselves in one of the most amazing places ever,

right here

I'll try to organise my days this way, so that there is a little time for posting

every short now & then, despite the current busyness!

see you around lovely all ~

♥

staying in ~ the new going out

2011-10-18T20:15:00.001+02:00

[via]

hello again everyone, on this since just a little while, rainy Tuesday afternoon...

our fresh vegetable soup is being cooked and is almost ready,

to be served right after this post is written

hope you are all well

thanking you a lot {smiles!} for your warm response on yesterday's post.

... among designing our new home & sorting out things

to be carefully packed for our upcoming movement,

I took a little break today for only but a quick

stroll on the inspiring, virtual corridors of etsy.

I'm clearly flirting with grey since a long time now,

{find here a relative post on "grey happiness"}

especially after being infatuated with

{this lady's} fabulous use of it in her

{amazing home in Amsterdam}

quite possibly, some doses will be found in our new living space,

but no firm decisions are made before a first,

shiny and bright as fresh snow, white coat has been

"worn" on the walls.

about this time next week though,

some progress will have taken place

and then will be the time for final decisions.

in the meantime, I wanted to share with you,

these recent finds gathered above,

{for details & prices click here}

while emphasizing

the very often heard & talked about view on new modern life,

that:

"staying in is the new going out"

here are few of my thoughts on the matter:

~ staying in can provide opportunities to learn more about ourselves,

as it is often the case that by going out,

we simply avoid coming into close contact with

ourselves & our family

~ no no, there is nothing wrong in going out and enjoying

nature or the pleasures of a delicious cooked meal,

tasty coffee in cozy & inspiring environments.

In fact , it is great!

Still, it is simply another thing to go out as a choice,

and another to go out in order to avoid

domestic life.

~ there is no doubt that a nurturing home adds to the quality of our life,

by adding to enjoying our sleep,

relaxing in the bathroom,

cooking homemade meals,

setting the table,

interacting with our loved ones,

reading our favorite books in our cozy corners,

listening to our favorite music,

to mention but a few

ways...

all can be experiences worthwhile,

when taking place

there where we can call home

what about you my dears?

how do you feel about staying in?

besides the obvious financial gains,

what other positive attributions can you make?

and most of all, does your current home inspire you for staying in?

looking forward to hearing form you!

the soup is ready...

time to set the table and light up some candles...

enjoy your evenings!

... might be stealing away some time

tomorrow for a little post & connecting with you ; )

Life's higher qualities...

2011-10-17T18:53:00.001+02:00

hello everyone!

it has been quite a while, since {the last time I came to post here},

wishing, to all those who seem to have left earth's classroom too early,

to rest in peace.

days passed by and in between, I spent a few days in Greece,

taking care of some rather not so pleasant dental care appointments,

catching up with some friends,

while enjoying the view to the mountains facing east

and to the sea facing south from my parents' apartment.

I tried hard to focus on all things positive, as the political & financial situation

there makes it rather hard.

sometimes I succeeded & then others I failed...

some family situations brought up to the surface traumas of the past,

only to realize that one actually never gets over them...

not completely, as much as time heals...

we simply choose to turn the page

instead, quite often leaving behind people who are unable to follow...

. . . . . . . . . . .

but, but, but!... have come with nothing else than positive & relaxed mood to share with you,

some pictures taken yesterday, back home in Germany,

(where the movement process is step by step and quite relaxed beginning)

with my partly damaged camera

(the digital display got destroyed),

which though to my surprise, still takes wonderful pictures.

... the only difference is that I must wait until the card's images are transferred to the computer,

where I can see what I actually did.

and off course, there is always a silver lining in every cloud,

so long as we are willing to find it, right?

using the view finder is something I since more than a year happily did,

with my newest DSLR camera,

bringing back memories from more than 10 years ago,

when I was happily shooting with my parents' vintage Ricoh camera,

similar to this one

but trusting my eye & instinct cause there is no possibility to immediately check on the display

what I did is something new.

I'm pleased with the results,

so I'm happy to share them with you!

A couple of shots of the amazing order that arrived

from {AM studio} [find an explicit post here]

all captured during the magic hours of early morning sun

and early afternoon...

unplugged...

unstyled...

just as I set them on the table

one by one, while opening my parcel...

discovering the extra surprises Melissa was so kind and thoughtful to include.

She loves her job and I know it with all my heart...

and it is becoming more and more important

in my everyday life that I interact with people

who know themselves what they love with all their heart, too

and are devoting their lives in doing it...

everything that is pictured in this post, except the "Hello ideas" porcelain letters,

which you may find {here},

were added as a gift.

Melissa has been wanting to thank me for {the post I wrote about her}

a while ago, but I reassured her that my present was that I actually discovered

her & her work.

She anyway surpassed any expectations (that I didn't actually have)

by including a little white dove ornament,

a mini himmeli mobile {check them here!}

and a vintage, wooden thread spool,

together with a handwritten book card,

with notes referring to love.

I hope that you'll enjoy watching this pictures,

as I literally felt that time stopped when I was taking them...

I also hope to be able to transmit some of the love and peacefulness

felt...

this is to peace eventually all around the world

but most of all and before all,

in each and every one of our hearts.

I keep reminding this to myself:

peace or war begin inside us.

and war can take many simple kind of "acceptable" by society every day forms...

like over antagonism or over ambitiousness for example.

I recently realized thanks to a few situations,

that a peaceful life

is one of my highest goals to achieve through this life...

what about you?

what is important to you?

which qualities are of higher importance in your life?

which ones are your striving to achieve?

rest in peace ~

2011-10-06T08:34:00.000+02:00

why do the most inspiring & wonderful people seem to go away

from life's classroom so soon?

perhaps because they were such good students that they reached to excellence?

however they might physically be absent from life,

people who lived meaningfully

shall always stay among us,

alive as ever.

let's honour them all, by being strong enough to

adopt some of their wisdom & gracefulness in our own lives...

let's do rather than talk or talk about it or them.

rest in peace Steve Jobs & every other person

that seemingly left sooner than we wished them to...

Mediterranean fresh ~

2011-10-05T14:01:00.000+02:00

some fresh Mediterranean taste

is soon to land on our dining table...

a home made spinat pie,

with fresh onions,

dill & feta cheese

while it's getting baked,

some time is... stolen to share this picture with you,

made soon after the cook had just chopped the

fresh onions...

a little quick styling + veranda's natural light

and there we go!

guten Appetit

warm regards from this place in Greece,

where I'm visiting for a few days,

before diving into

new projects & lots of work

back home in Germany

posts will keep on taking place sporadically,

so do surprise yourselves

and come back for more

from time to time!

hope your weeks are evolving wonderfully!

just another day...?

2011-10-02T21:38:00.005+02:00

[via]

... Sunday night after another day in the middle of Germany

where you feel that you somehow, accidentally beamed yourself to the South,

putting the calendar back to July,

... another fire burning in the little veranda

getting prepared to grill dinner,

under thousands of stars visible on the sky

... and short after you have come to accepting yourself,

all your charisma & all your shortcomings...

all that you are, were, have become

and all you are yet not,

there comes this thirst to reinvent yourself

and all you do...

all form the beginning...

but then also picking things up from where you left them

strange combination you'll murmur to yourself

and you'll be right...

and then I say to myself...

this upcoming movement of ours

smells as if it is going to be

a whole lot of a complexed issue

than simply putting things

in a box

and taking them from place A to place B

so you and you and you dear reader,

deserve to know that

posts will be getting spontaneous here for some time,

- well, in a way they have actually always been -

they might be as frequent as I never thought

or then maybe not

one thing is certain:

simplicity

charm, tranquility, happiness

openness to new horizons

{much like this picture above inspires}

are qualities both desired and welcome

in our lives,

a new home

and

around these lines & pages

there are mails to reply to

and posts to submit

and yet these lines are currently written instead

like a stream...

while my mind is totally blown by:

the story of this magnificent lady & her work

this blog post by a friend which touched me, as does her whole blog

and simple, honest & pure approach to life

...and then,

did I mention that I got to know a very rich person this morning?

where? when?

while by the river, watching ships pass by,

feeding the ducks & swans while having

a spontaneous early breakfast,

after having passed by the bakery for fresh bread and

Simiti or Koulouri in Greek...

a proud Greek grandfather who was out with his

2 year old grandson,

told me after a small discussion which begun with a "Kalimera":

"I have two sons, one daughter and 3 grandchildren...

Plousios..." (meaning I'm a rich man)

said he proudly standing straight and tapping on his chest

showing his heart area...

you know these unexpected occassions

which might change your whole view on life?

priceless, aren' they?

.......

and then

hope your weekends turned out as you expected them

or even better, that you got pleasant surprises and realizations along the way...

have a great start within the new week tomorrow,

it's a special day here in Germany celebrating the fall of the Wall back

in 1989...

der Tag der Deutchen Eiheit

I might be here with nice things for you this week

but can make no promises...

I think its better this way for now

do pass by regularly though

and maybe share a thought or two..

hearing from you is always such a nice occasion

lots of love

Iro - Ivy

.............................................................................

picture credit: Cote Bastide for BODIE and FOU

Circle LoVe + Breakfast for LuNcH

2011-10-01T15:08:00.000+02:00

"what is life but a circle?"

"the circle of life"

and such expressions are heard quite often,

aren't they?

I won't examine whether they are true or not,

even though I can totally resonate with them...

I'll just share my

love for geometric shapes

{especially circles ~> check here!}

show you how to incorporate them

in every day decor and objects,

using as an example this shot

snapped this morning

from our gallery above

{our current home has a loft character,

therefore the space is open,

just for the record cause there are often

inquiring mails about whether I climb

on a ladder to take such shots!}

Circles and Curves easily bring movement

and a sense of softness, calm & tranquility

in our environments

while pairing them with clean, straight lines

and other shapes like squares & rectangles

creates a balanced feeling

... add some texture by natural materials such as

bamboo & jute

and voila!

your space gains some interest and character

even when few colors are used

~ ~ ~

in the picture above, you can peek into:

Ivy blanket, consisting of different sizes of crochet circles,

{source & details here}

fresh flowers brought home the other day,

the new basket made of white plastic,

which gives shelter to bread in the mornings {and not only!},

my favorite bamboo trays

a darling of a paper box,

which carried mostly delicious pieces of {almond pie}

from Kaffeemacherei,

where btw you can have an encounter

with my {paper boat garlands},

exclusively made for the cafe's "vip corner",

while you enjoy being there...

... so, the morning here was literally spent

chasing all the sun rays that shine in our space,

{since 7:30 am.... completely forgot about sleeping in with such glorious weather!}

in my effort to capture as many pretty moments as possible

before we move...

the {clarity of the blue sky as seen here} is something really worth of mentioning

these days, as honestly, it is rather unusual that such

gorgeous sunny days occur here in autumn

pure bliss...

have a delightful Saturday & happy October everyone!

~ ~ ~

... and because this post was written in the morning

and still has remained unpublished till now,

here are a few shots from our breakfast for lunch

the dining table has moved again to the living area

in front of the big window,

as both styling & photographing work

for a client's project take place there,

and we simply love sunbathing

while dining... well, at home.

now where did I put my sunglasses?

; )

happy weekend ~

2011-09-30T23:51:00.001+02:00

hello everyone!

just a little post to wish everyone a happy weekend ahead

and a great start in the new month.

October is here in just a little while in this part of the world...

it has been a marvelous day with skies bluer than blue...

warm sun...

fresh wind...

truly perfect...

and rather than being out enjoying the park,

the day was spent at home...

house hold jobs and all...

photographing around...

also doing some styling work for a wonderful client...

then grilling at the veranda in the evening...

dinners under candle light in front of the big window and such...

while reassuring myself that there is a silver lining in the "cloud"

of us leaving soon from this Penthouse,

to go to a place which however it does off course has its

advantages,

it certainly lacks lots of the charm our current home has.

and then again, I count my blessings and

cherish so, so deeply the fact that I got to live here

for such a long time

that this beauty was my first official home in Germany

ever since I relocated from Greece about 3 years ago...

I still remember how shocked I was at the beginning to have in front of me a sea of roofs,

rather than the view of the real sea,

much like in the place I grew up in Athens, Greece.

I guess back then, I could have never imagined

how time would pass and how much I would grow to love this place

I've been loving our home since a very long time,

but it's only recently

I actually realized, that I might have not been living by the sea any more,

but instead within the sky, bathed in the same blue,

only in a different form...

how lucky have I been...

and still am,

as it is such a blessing to even have a home to live in during such

difficult financial times

certainly another blessing to be sharing it with loved ones.

somehow deep inside of me,

I know that however far and not current it might be,

this change of places will eventually only lead us closer

to the place which we can really name

"the house of our dreams"

only that it will have become a reality:

"our home"

till then,

I have a lot of work to prove myself

that I can work... some magic

into transforming simple spaces

to... well, wonderful ones...

one of the things I 'm adoring in our current living space

is that we get to watch the sunrise &

follow the sun rays through out the whole apartment,

through out the whole day...

above I captured the sun as it lit the

just like forever print from our personal collection,

also highlighting the handpainted golden parts

or our original, vintage, Albert Van Luit wallpaper

dating back to 1965.

I'll leave you with this till next post...

have the most delightful of weekends

do welcome warmly the middle month of fall!

oh and do read {this}

pretty please

you won't have wasted your time, promise

..............

~ listening to the radio?

2011-09-29T17:56:00.003+02:00

love at first sight...

are you familiar with this concept?

am almost certain that you do...

personally, the more social platforms like Facebook encourage us to "like" things,

the more selective I'm drown to be...

resulting in a need to:

~> shop less,

~> have less,

but at the same time the need to like as much as possible

anything and anyone in my life

from people who are in my immediate environment to

to each and every object in our home & household,

to the work I do,

to the work of others,

to how I spend my time

both in virtual & real life.

this being said, there is a tendency instead to rather fall in love

here is how I define falling in love with someone's work:

"being positively stuck with it since the very first visual encounter,

while both the eyes, the soul and the mind are

experiencing a state of intense pleasure and calmness.

moreover, the object or work in any form

are since then always remembered

and recognised when seen again"

so has been the case with {AM radio}

or else one of the most stylish and beautiful

vintage shops operating on etsy

what fascinates me is that Melissa,

the creative person behind AM radio company/shop,

has actually turned her work into art

this fact is something that marks me forever...

I mean when I come through people,

whose love and passion for what they do

instantly tranforms their work into art.

selling can be a very commercial issue (if but anything else),

or perhaps a very artistic issue,

with a successful outcome, counting as commercialsm as well

whenever I think of sales & material things,

then examples like Chanel come in my mind.

would miss Coco ever go out in the streets* "shouting" about the quality

of her work?

* in current societies it is the Internet

I sincerely doubt it,

as she would have no time to actually produce quality, would she?

now what do Coco Chanel and {Am radio} or for that matter any other

similar shop have in common?

a dynamic trio if you ask me:

[via]

unique quality, originality, love & passion for what they do.

one of the reasons Am radio is shared with you here today

is that its success is mainly based on the

extreme beauty of the work,

may it be the vintage finds Melissa choses,

or the impeccable in every way styling and photography

of the objects

there is no blog connected to the shop, neither a FB page at the moment,

yet she was a {featured etsy seller this April}.

I admit to not being always informed about everything that is going on

on etsy {therefore I only read Melissa's interview just today}

or even all the blogs that I follow,

simply cause if I really did,

then there would simply be no time to actually live a life,

even more a creative life,

as everything that I would create would be nothing but a mere

combination of countless inspirational stimuli from here and there

allow me to say that this is not my idea of creativity.

as fine as it may be to reproduce a favourite DIY project that we saw in a magazine,

or a blog,

as fine it is not and it cannot be named as creativity

when we see something, like it and then set on our

"adventure" to recreate it or "cleverly" reproduce it

yes, I do believe in the freedom of ideas to flow and to even change hands,

but at some point, there is a source,

and for me the source of creativity can be nothing but our true selves

so to return to AM radio,

going through the shop's items,

I'm left with no doubt in the world,

that the person who is doing all the creative work,

is actually in love with what she does,

from the time she sets off to discover new treasures,

to taking care of them by cleaning them,

to styling her "models" to photographing them

to finally communicating with customers

it is all there

the love

the passion

the care

the excitment

I believe this to be and to forever remain the basic ingerdient of success

how many years they may pass, how much technology may evolve,

advertisment will always be a help in promoting one's work,

but in the first place, there should be work worth of mentioning,

in order to survive in time.

on another point of view, I'm extremely happy to be sharing these finds

with you here today,

as these beautiful porcelain letters below

are the first purchase I did for my future, little studio corner

in our soon to be new home

adoring white, natural materials like porcelain and typography in general,

these could have not been any better for

putting together my creative corner

and even though I' m since a long time extremely careful with expenses

and shopping, I'm happy that new horizons are opening for me,

therefore allowing for such small spontaneous treats as these

ones below

[via]

aren't they just darling?

so you already know by now, which is the basic inspiration

my future studio corner's creation will be based on:

well, hello ideas!

[via]

saying that, I'm so thankful for the fact that through the renting process

of our current living space,

so mamy doors are opening to me

the clouds' silver linings are slowly and steadily beginning to appear...

[via]

these amazing milky white glasses

would have easily ended up in my shopping cart,

had I not efficiently learned to "hold my horses"

they would indeed look marvelous

all lined up with flowers inside, at our new dining area,

but I have to keep in mind that

there is a renovation awaiting ahead

and this is no time

to be indulging in

every temptation

perhaps they'll still be there next time I visit the shop

or perhaps the'll end up in one of your

beautiful houses

so my dears,

I' ve really mentioned enough points in this post

and will just let you enjoy looking at some more

pictures...

I'll wait for you at the end for a nice closure...

[via]

[via]

[via]

I suppose that after this visual bath,

it's time to share a picture of Melissa* with you....

*btw Melissa means bee in Greek, quite an appropirate name for a creative & productive person,

don't you think?

honestly, when you see such a person's eyes & face expression,

is there really any doublt in the world,

that above all,

she's trully a kind person,

appreciating the life she has and all she does?

do hop {here} to read her whole interview...

I' ll just fininsh this post with some of her words that deeply touched me:

Where would you like to be in ten years?
Still seeking out vintage treasures, loving my husband more than I do now, watching my little girl grow into a lady, and possibly building a cottage tucked neatly away by the waters edge.

[via]

wishing you all a wonderful day ~

it has been such a pleasure putting this post together,

while at the same time mails were being exchanged with Melissa,

in her effort to assist me in every possible way she could.

till next time...

take care and consider this:

Energy... comes from within... take care of your soul & psyche as much as your body & mind

........................

All pictures are originally styled and made by Melissa for AM radio.

The first collage, second diptych and the one before the last are put together by me for Domestic Stories 2011

what's on your mind?

2011-09-28T19:04:00.004+02:00

[via]

well my dears,

seeing your response in the {latest post}

has been again just so heart warming,

so thank's a lot!

I don't know about you, but I love handwriting

{thank's mum for teaching me calligraphy from the very early years}

and the whole aspect of forming letters in order to communicate

a certain point is kind of ingenious, isn't it?

however for granted

we might be taking it

I mean, can you imagine life without written speech?

the impact it has in our lives?

do you sometimes wonder how life was before certain inventions?

oh but please, do not mention Internet,

as it has really become a cliche...

and as far as I' m concerned,

life was still nice before internet, despite its numerous amazing indeed applications,

{writing a blog being one of them, ahem, ahem}

somehow I sometimes get the feeling that

not far are the days that people will be avoiding

being online, tired of being over connected,

overexposed themselves

over bombarded by advertisement and promotion techniques

yes, I know so far we call them social media,

but really who are we kidding?

how many "pages" can we really like and actually follow their updates,

still having quality time to ourselves

still being able to experience true calmness, relaxation

and this wonderful feeling described in

the German language as " Wohl fühlen"?

{feeling complete}

how many acquaintances can fit in our FB account,

filed under friends?

sometimes being online starts feeling like watching a favorite film

on a rather bad national T.V channel,

interrupting every little while for advertisements,

honestly how much stimuli can fit our brain capacity

and then

how many hundreds of things can we actually like?

since FB was invented I believe the word LIKE

to have totally lost its original meaning.

we may hit the "like" button in fractions of a second,

which is rather too fast for any real connection

to be established in our minds

between what we actually saw and what we really like

personally I don't need any kind of reminder

for the things I like,

and the same goes for the people I like

exactly because I like them,

parts of their personality and way of life influence my thinking

then "hell might freeze"

they will be still remembered, respected and in some cases also loved.

and to make this a little more personal,

if you forget about this blog, my work or me,

because I do not remind you a few times a day,

every day, 24/7,

then may it be that you forget about it!

it means that other things are more important for you

and that is quite all right.

I do though have the impression that quite a few of you here,

always remember these pages,

even perhaps have them in a pretty, little corner in the back of your heads,

regardless of the exposure I try {or not} to bring

and then I feel very, very honored...

cause who saw a breathtakingly beautiful woman

and forgot her after she disappeared?

who met kindness and never recalled it again?

who read magnificent poetry and forgot their favorite lines?

who entered a magical place and forgot about it

because they never returned or heard about it

again?

this blog might not be a breathtakingly beautiful woman,

or a poetry book,

it might be no palace either

but of anything that it might be, it is the truest expression of who I am

and developing into being each day

and I think this to be carrying a significance of its own

so, I hope that you come back and check new posts from time to time

as much as perhaps returning to reading some of your favorite previous posts

around here

...........................

and how about seeing together a couple of {my favorite prints} of meaningful quotations

styled by Lotta Agaton, the work of which I truly admire?

it'd be great if you shared which ones are your favorites

and why

I'll do the same in the comments section,

after yours though ; )

[via]

"It's the small things that make the big things happen"

[via]

I mean, really, even when we sometimes go through these self love periods

and we feel that somehow we might be a little bit fabulous in our ways,

so what?

there are just countless fabulous people out there...

[via]

and how true is this... rephrased to:

"the world is but a mirror of ourselves"

[via]

and then,

familiarizing ourselves with fear

can perhaps be the most liberating

experience of our lives...

at least when I stopped ignoring my fears

and starting facing them,

they immediately begun loosing all of their glory....

have your tried showing your teeth to Mr Fear?

ha!... then you'll see who's scared....

just like an elephant scared of a tiny mouse,

only to realize that the poor little "thing"

cannot actually do much harm to him

and after all that, in the end of the day...

what is more heartwarming,

soul soothing & mind relaxing

than saying

to this one special to you person:

i love you...

[via]

have a lovely evening my dears

till next post!

all images of prints by Therese Sennerholt, styling by interior stylist Lotta Agaton

............................................................

P.S: in case some might be offended by the seemingly unkind messages of some sentences, my apologies, please do not take it personally. This is just a general post.