Showing posts with label aujourd' hui j'aime.... Show all posts
Showing posts with label aujourd' hui j'aime.... Show all posts

21.5.13

The Sun is always t h e r e ... { and I believe in m i r a c l e s ! }





I'm an avid gardener.

Pretty proud of my succulents in the winter garden,

the olive tree in the bedroom,

{brought straight from Greece in my mother's suitcase pretty please, when she came to visit last winter,

mom you are a darling hero, have I ever told you that?}

the new, wonderful - whatever its name is  - dark green leaf plant

also currently residing in the bedroom

{which I'll show you very soon - smiles},

the aloe vera which has finally grown its roots and is happily multiplying

{also brought from Greece during a visit in the early autumn of 2011.
These "babies"  have grown from two large mother plants, residing at my parents balcony at Apart44.
And these two large plants have grown from the very first aloe vera I planted for one of my own apartments,
when I lived alone back in Greece, sometime in 2006...
you get the picture I guess ;)}

and most of all,

the plants that are welcoming us and people,
when they take the private stairs to our maisonette,
{located on the 1st and 2nd floors of a little house,
hosting alltogether 4 homes}

and the little trees and bushes and flowers planted in the front veranda.

All with my hands.

Dipped in dirt.
Placed in carefully chosen flower pots,
patiently bought one by one with little back then own earned money.

I look at them all now, during Spring,
taking so much pleasure and happiness for every new, fresh leaf they grow

and I think to myself *

If I can do that,
if I can plant and carefully nurture plants,

I can nurture myself and my life.

This is why, 

I   d o n ' t   g i v e   u p 

cause I already passed with success {to my surprise}
the moment I was ready to do so.

I didn't.

I'm still here.
Fighting for my LIFE,
the way I choose to do so.

As an adult.
With a clear vision,
Lots of faith,
and ready to enjoy every moment of the journey.

I don't know if you can follow or understand, but I'm immensly happy about it.
In ways that words cannot express.

Few months ago when it all seemed that all possible forces in the Universe
were against me,
I managed to say with a quiet but firm voice
sourcing from the deepest center of my existence:

I   t r u s t   m y s e l f .

I'm happy to share with you my way.

I'm convinced that something incredibly wonderful & positively impactive
can take place.

To close this post,

let me use the title:

The sun is always  t h e r e  {even when there are clouds in front of it}

&

I  b e l i e v e   i n   m i r a c l e s


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


* {pretty often I think to myself... "what a wonderful world"}


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


picture credit clockwise from top left: 
/ 3 {kindly drop me a line if you can help with locating proper credit} / 

collage curation: Iro - Ivy Nassopoulos for Domestic Stories with Ivy, 2013



20.5.13

Just b r e a t h e . . .





in order to keep the flow going,
 when remaining  c e n t e r e d , 
f o c u s e d ,  g r o u n d e d   &  f e e l i n g   g u i d e d 

seems like a hard task to accomplish,

I hereby decide to take but a few moments to put together posts,

which will be expressing  emotions,
while keeping my feet on the ground,
distracting me from feeling helpless,
while also putting into use the combination of visual & verbal inspiration
that I have discovered to not only love, but indeed actually
being able to  b r e a t h e  through it

till  R o o t s  grow...
l o v i n g l y ,
s t e a d i l y , 

till the first twigs and leaves appear,
till the little tree,
creates a  s o l i d   f o u n d a t i o n
able to sustain  g r a c i o u s l y   &   t h a n k f u l l y 
any kind of weather

I hope that you'll also enjoy seeing and reading such posts,
till I share again some of my own visual work,
while also having the chance to come along, to participate,
to support, or to even perhaps and hopefully find some support yourselves.

Much love to you,
I'm immensly grateful for your support and sweetest, kindest of "welcome back's"
in my latest post  There can be so much love...

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

picture credit:
up left { adoring the mix of geometric shapes and the freshness & coolness of the blues!}
up right {what a beautiful package design for dairy products!}
down {got to love all the collection!}





20.7.12

Aujourd' hui j' aime... l' amour!




early good mornings everyone!
... almost 2 months ago a post was written here about Morning Sun...
This is a quite spontaneous post put together
on the spot last evening while waiting to be picked up for dinner
and worked on also the last hour or so.

I thought that it would be a lovely treat for these pages,
its most devoted and patient readers in the world,
but also for its author and creator
who has been rather missing
her work here.

So: Bonjour amour!

Amour of all kinds but mostly love for
 the pretty, 
the stylish, 
the inspiring, 
the creative, 
the genuine,
the inspired,
the loved 
&
the loving ones...

and the patient ones,
the brave ones,
the kind ones,
the sincere ones,
the forgiving,
the warm hearted,
the understanding,
the ones who have known pain and defeat
but never seize to believe in themselves,
in goodness,
in "Das Gutes den Menchen"...

{so said a mostly lovely old lady I met last week, ready to set off on her bicycle
bringing home flowers, while mine was parked next to hers,
carrying also a bouquet of white lilies ready to bloom,
from our local grocery store.
She noticed I was considering leaving them
in my bicycle's basket unattended,
when going in to that other shop to purchase some more of the
lavender that I have been planting in our veranda.

I left, stood for a sec, looked back
and then thought,
"oh come on, who's gonna steal flowers!"
and even if someone does,
good for them!
They'll bring flowers home.
But actually no person who
 has the sensitivity to bring flowers home would ever steal some other 
person's flowers.
When personally asked, 
I would gladly offer them to someone.

Making a short story, that only lasted but for a few minutes,
shorter,
the slim, white haired lady looked at my flowers,
looked at me
and with the kindest eyes
and an encouraging, wise voice said:
believe in people's goodness...
"Glauben Sie in das Gutes den Menchen"

German language can be so magnificent,
so descriptive, so strong...
poetic, too.

But in that case it didn't matter at all which language this lady was speaking.
She was speaking from experience,
from life experience where the mind and the heart
are one.

I felt blessed to have crossed her way
and
was instantly in love... how could I not!
went in...
purchased some more baby lavender for 
almost 50 cents each
and returned to my bicycle
where the lilies were also awaiting
to get some water and a place to rest.
Off I was cycling through the pretty neighborhoods 
and the woods on my way back home,
feeling as happy as if I had won the lottery}

well, after having written this parenthesis,
I start feeling that this could actually be the essence of this post
but anyway, let's return to our tangible, materialistic
world and its pleasures 
; )
 ..............................

I'm sharing here today some of the inspiration gathered recently while on Pinterest,
where one can virtually meet with amazingly talented people,
like designers, stylists, you, and you... and you...
and me (since I'm... shamelessly bragging about myself,
come and follow my inspiration boards!)
people with impeccable and quite personal taste,
people who live to experience this life 
in a beautiful way.

So...

1. Thank's to Stylizimo's loveliest Nina Holst, I stumbled upon this fabulous way to wear
a pair of black skinnies, or else black, tight, jean like trousers.
I love this styling cause it can be worn comfortably from morning to night,
discretely drawing attention, while feeling simply fabulous
                                                       in the most elegant and natural of ways.

2. Then, thank's to decor8's (you must have already seen the new super pretty blog design!)
 brilliant Holly Becker, I familiarized myself with this
all featuring mind blowing (to me) patterns.
{If Santa Claus is interested in early gifts, just send me a mail, I'll give you our address ; )}

3. Then, thanks to the pinterest suggestions in my mailbox, I was lead to follow
Boom! You know the feeling when someone's etiquette style has so much in common with yours,
that her choices are just a perfect illustration of your craziest ever images?
Yes, indeed.
So I ended up in this lovely Scandinavian blog of a super gorgeous home,
where a nice family lives in and about which I recently read about
in one of the few German design magazines that usually come to our home.
What a lovely marriage between modern & retro,
white and wooden details,
simplicity but not too much minimalism,
a marriage of love with more love for 
all the essence that home carries!

4. And as lately there is a lot of baby action going on,
baby &children spaces  are occupying some
of my creative projects.
h&m's home-line is always a great source to find
adorably affordable items.
Much like Mr Fox in his pointy shoes,
ready to fly while dancing
and a few other
cute things which you can find
on my pinterest board.

Hope you' ve all been well!
Thank's so much for coming here, reading & sharing.
till next time

sweet smiles + kind regards
yours truly

P.S: having mentioned in the post's beginning the Sun,
there is no doubt sun, sunshine and natural light are so important for our well being,
an issue that has been concerning me lately

Would you mind sharing your opinion in the comments section?

If your current financial state was such that finding a place to live in
featuring all the characteristics you wish
was a rather complicated matter,
what would you be willing to sacrifice:

1. some square meters. 
2. the amount of natural light that shines inside your living areas.

I tend to believe that people who look for natural light in their living environments
will be also concerned in leading an enlightened life.
What do you think?

There is scientific evidence that natural light enhances health, mood,
cognitive abilities and creativity,
obviously supporting people's desire to live a joyful, successful
fulfilling and happy life,
while living in dark places which get very little or a poorly 
amount and quality of natural light
is correlated with exactly the opposite.

I hold the opinion that some notions cannot be measured the usual way.
Therefore, 
I'd avoid choosing a large place over a smaller place,
having to compromise the amount of natural light
that happily strolls inside my home dwelling, my abode.

In German they say, "Klein aber fein"...
"Small but nice"
Thanks to good interior design planning,
even small places have such many possibilities,
resulting in clever solutions and a multiplication
of the actual square meters.

In case you cannot on your own,
 do get yourself a capable and experienced interior designer handy
and set of to choose the sunniest place you could ever get!

Remember that size and money isn't ALL that matters.
Money is a valuable asset, useful in clever hands and minds.

26.3.12

~ oh hello stylish Mondays!


oh hello stylish Monday!
   too bad you are finding me covered in dust
 & having only but little time currently to devote to writing & posting in
 my favorite on line journal,
 but I must admit that proceeding with works in our new home,
 is worth all the effort.

 Our technician departed a while ago, having brought with my little help the details 
 of the winter garden floor* to an almost closure.
 {for reference look unfinished part of step between kitchen & winter garden in this post}

 Does it perhaps sound to you that it is taking too long till we have our renovation completed?
 This is exactly what I had been thinking myself till a short while ago, 
 only to realize the actual size of the project we actually undertook
 when my partner & I decided to move to this apartment.

 We are going places my dears {well metaphorically & literally speaking sometimes}
 & 
 it might be that we have been underestimating ourselves.
 Now please, don't get me wrong , as passing to the other extreme of overestimation,
 is not my intention.
 But indeed, this place is taking the most wonderful shape it has ever seen,
 since it was originally designed by its architects & built by its workers.

 We are indeed making a beautiful place to live in out of what used to be a space
 mostly with hidden potential, never though brought forward.

 So, so & yes indeed.

Somewhere here* I' ll have to stop my ramblings put forth in the form of lines
in these pages, and bring myself down to the kitchen,
where after wood being cut all morning,
there is lots of work for Mrs Vacume cleaner & me.

*{update after post completion ~> a few paragraphs later ; )}

Lots of work & a currently very unstylish me doing it ; )
Nothing like the simply perfect outfit seen on the top right of today's collage,
or the darling dress for little girls.

The collage is mostly dedicated to Lines & curves,
after the name of the photo taken by J, him, my partner,
who couldn't have seen this better back in 2008 when we traveled to Barcelona.




Can you really believe the amazing coincidence of this perfectly perfect Vespa
being parked there & the fact that he, unlike me back then,
didn't overpass it,
instead composed one gorgeous scene out of it?

He has this amazing eye & I tend to forget that one of my wishes is to share here more of his photography, carrying the label, JCN Photography,
united with my own sense of style under Project 33,
a project that has long been on Domestic Stories "would love do list".

"Everything in its time" some wise ancestors used to say,
and this time is approaching. 

So dears, off I go & I'm leaving you with one favorite domestic moment
that took place this Saturday in the arms of the Pearl Birches House:



Greek coffee making & drinking, a habit of ours that marks the beginning of Spring season,
here pictured in the company of a star shaped ice cream.

Cannot get enough of the warm afternoon light that shines in the winter garden,
as caught here shining on this favorite teapot.

And you, is there a favorite recent moment you'd like to share?
Has Spring sprung you ways?

I certainly hope so & I'm wishing you a wonderful Monday & week ahead,
being very pleased that despite all works,
am managing to do so as mentioned here yesterday.

c u right here, quite soon!
Thank you for coming along & being such lovely readers :*)

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

collage picture credit clockwise from top left:
4. another one whose original source is lost in Pinterest


12.3.12

Aujourd' hui j'aime: raw materials & fresh beginnings ~



some choices for a stylish & creative beginning in the new week:

~> diy concrete candle holders made of plastic cups 
{I'm SO making these as soon as I get my hands on some concrete!}

~> that awesome leather drop chair by Arne Jacobsen
~> a relaxed outfit {if you could please locate the original source, share!... this is the best I could find ; )}
in white, grey & a touch of brown
~> the serene, all white kitchen with an island as a central working area
of this magnificent architectural project /{The townhouse} completed in 2009 in Berlin, Germany

... concrete, leather, cotton, linen, & metal in the form of inox,
all raw materials, in basic colors,
others soft, other rough,
some mat & some shiny, 

they all steal my heart & I wouldn't hesitate a minute to slip into a similar outfit,
or incorporate in my personal or clients' environments 
such elements...

just a little "Aujourd'hui j'aime" post to share with you
for a fresh beginning,
till a few shots of the weekend that just passed are also posted...

 hope you are all having a great day!

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

oh! some notes before I go:

~>  have you read {this recent post} addressing thoughts on Pinterest, beauty, our need to own it &
the fear of change that lots of us might be facing at certain stages of our life?
~> then, have you taken part in {this fabulous give away} to win a super stylish bag just like the one I've been holding myself?
~> and have you read the 1st official post on our kitchen adventures on Ikea Family Live?

yes? lovely!
no? it's never too late ; )
...........................

collage creation: Iro - Ivy Nassopoulos for Domestic Stories with Ivy
Picture credit: throughout the post

5.3.12

Aujourd'hui j'aime: simplicity with a touch of elegant romance ~


hello there :)
 have a great new week!
   how have your weekends been?
   I had some time to get inspired,
  while enjoying a connection that
  runs smoothly
  not needing a really long time to
  load anything involving pictures...
 ...oh hallelujah to that!

 so, thought it would be nice to bring some of these
 pretty pictures to share with you, yes? :)
 and it does seem like
 such a long time since the last "aujourd' hui j' aime" post here, doesn't it?

It seems to be all about the calmness of whites,
some powder pinks,
bluish greys, light blues,
simplicity 
a touch of elegant & modern romance...


... to create a unified mood,
 I often like to combine pictures together.
It feels as if they compliment each other so beautifully,
making a stronger statement about
the style they each carry.

Have a look and join in at the end sharing your thoughts...
Is there a favorite picture or diptych of yours?


Can you also imagine the women portrayed {or partly portrayed anyway} living in such interior environments, tasting sweets like the one below?



I would rather not define myself as a romantic person,
 but there are certainly some qualities in romance, 
 which paired with elegance
 strike a chord familiar and dear to me.


I mostly love finding touches of pastels in modern spaces,
much like the pretty geometrical drawing in the right image,
or that kitchen towel which completely "steals the performance"
in the picture on the left.



... and however a little heavy for my taste this mirror might be,
I can't help but admiring how light and spontaneous it looks painted all white...
and then this wooden horse keeping company to these old books...
kind of makes "modern" life feel less harsh & demanding, doesn't it?

... like saying that it is all right to keep a part of the child inside us alive,
compensating for an adult life that so often
can be a hard thing to pull off...

Any thoughts on that?

... just before I say a temporary good bye
remember to pass by here tomorrow,
cause there is a little surprise you & your girlfriends will like a lot!
yes, indeed if I may say :*)

As for pictures of the renovation progress here 
they' ll be shared too,  in time.

Stay tuned & do come and say hello...
 don't want to feel all quiet and lonely here ; )

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

collage & diptych creation: Iro - Ivy Nassopoulos
collage picture credit clockwise from top left: 1. 2. 3. 4.

1.2.12

curves + triangles (aujourd' hui j' aime)


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
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,

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
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 {...}