Calmess, collectivity & ... b a k i n g !

top center clockwise: 1 2 3 4 5 

even though I thought time to come share again today an inspiration Friday post would be limited,

I'm glad to be making it work.

I felt truly happy with seeing readers' traffic coming here again

and was totally warmhearted with your comments 

T  H A N K  U

so here is another collage I put together.

Everyone has their values in their lives

& for me being a calm & collected person

is a true treasure

I owe a lot to my personal efforts, but also

to my man who has tried over & over the years 

again to point out & tame my occasional moments

of over anxiety.

I think it happens to people who are sensitive

and care perhaps a little bit too much about others

& the world itself.

I found out that the best gift we* can offer to

the ones we love, society, the world

and of course ourselves

is to be fully aware of our own individual natures

and become in peace with that.

{ * according to my personal appreciation of life }

Unlike what many people think,

being  c a l m   &   c o l l e c t e d 

has little to do with not ever being upset

or expressing emotions

It has little to do with being passive

It doesn't exclude

having fiery parts as a person, too

And above all it doesn't exclude passion

or being madly in love with someone / something / life itself at times

Being  c a l m  involves feeling  f u l l  &  c o m p l e t e  at all different stages of life.

Just like when we sit watching the sun set above a

magnificently calm sea...

It's the same water that becomes waves

when a storm breaks out.

Yet, it is always this:

able to adjust

reflecting the beauty of life & the universe.

I like to think of people not as beautiful or less beautiful per se,

whether physically and /or internally,

but as chances for them / us to reflect the  b e a u t y   &   m a r v e l  of this world.

Before I go,

here is a little something I've been wanting for a long time to share,

simply cause it is a big part of my every day life.

Baking has evolved into some kind of soothing activity for me

and I just receive so much happiness offering people I love

something healthy & tasty made from me.

It's not only the outcome,

I love the whole  p r o c e s s 

of gathering together the ingredients,

placing them in pretty bowls & glasses & plates,

watching everything transform 

till the moment to take them out of the oven

comes,

enjoying the beautiful smells in the meantime.

It really is a form of  m e d i t a t i o n  for me

And it is as good as moments of 

{ fun & seeing the light side of life }

In case you are curious about our ever continuing home make over

I posted a couple of pictures on

our facebook page

Take a look { h e r e } &  { t h e r e }

nothing really styled for a proper photo shoot

yet pictures nevertheless!

Wishing you all one g o r g e o u s weekend ahead

& 

sharing another pic of some of my favorite moments

in every day life:

b r e a k f a s t s

the F u n side of Life!

hi everyone!

I just really wanted to break the silence

by simply popping in to say  h e l l o

and share a little collage I put together sometime this morning

in between other work.

It sure relaxes me to do that, while still training my eye for colors, shapes, texture,

a very valuable part of every 

interior design consultant's and /or stylist's work.

But above all in my effort to  i n s p i r e  &   a s s i s t  people

in living  h a p p y   &   f u l f i l l i n g  lives

I cannot help but adding a  m e s s a g e  that very often suits me well to follow myself 

{ blink - blink ; )}

so, off I am, direction downstairs, for a little stretching session *

in our rather purposely lightly furnished living room

-  we have moved things to maximize space & I'll show you!

but for now you can take a sneak peek { h e r e } -

* which might as well include some dancing movements -  h o o r a y  to that!

bonus pic coming below!

 cause I have been so much more often than I really intend to or plan to not really here with you...

a smiling eyes selfie, I shot for my dear man,

just like that & just because.

Just because it was one of those perfect** moments at home...

cause he's the first person in the whole world, I want him to see me smiling from the heart,

as he plays a very significant role in my happiness.

{ but he knows that by now :)}

** { a personal appreciation of course! }

The collage is made from my pinterest  " l i k i n g   b o a r d ".

{clearly a personal word invention ;) }

Here are some valuable links I'm glad to be able to share with you:

1. "pine" typography { h e r e }

2. beautiful bunting that after some research looks quite similar to

{ t h i s }  wonderful one seen on my very favorite blog Mokkasin

Good luck with finding "proper" links for the rest ones!

3. kitty { h e r e }

4. bear { h e r e }

5. leather & wood d.i.y hunger { h e r e }

You know that I'll be very appreciative if you can contribute to linking!

Kind thanks & see you here s o o n !

Love

Iro - Ivy

p.s: this post can be filed under an early Inspiration Friday post ;)

Love is an a c t i o n of Faith

quote by Erich Fromm, The art of Loving 1956

For a  h a p p y   S u n d a y  post,

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

to submit to Ikea Family Live Magazine...

{ find the post  h e r e }

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

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

Having recently met her again while currently residing in Amsterdam,

and while organizing and thoroughly cleaning my laptop files

I stumbled upon them

&

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

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

So, there you go!

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

a rather sweet + powerful combination,

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

two mini succulent plants

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

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

They each required  99 cents for their purchase.

 Being mighty prettily wrapped in

silver & powder pink foils with the company's logo

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

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

made.

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

to my inquiry,

smiling then at my surprise...

"Are they for a present?"she asked.

"Yes, please. They are for our home"

I replied, my face beaming with radiance...

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

all I could think of was various ways of incorporating them

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

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

I had scored for about another euro

in a recent Ikea visit,

as much as the mini napkins in black

I threw in my shopping cart

with a certainty that they would eventually be properly used.

So they were.

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

A silver marker came to leave

wishes and names beautifully handwritten on them,

emphasizing the d e p t h  of black,

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

More silver tones were added by the wire

which was transformed into handles for the

glass candle holders originating 

from little sweet jars...

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

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

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

& 

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

Let's drink to that, shall we?

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

Thank you for reading & au revoir , xo

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

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

there are some made from my own pictures, 

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

located somewhere pretty, close to the heart of Amsterdam.

Shots highlighting fractions of everyday life

bathed mostly in silver light.

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

So,

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

and weekends ahead!

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

It has been a magnificent  emotional exercise,

shining plenty of light to both my heart & mind.

I have come to the conclusion

that when ones invests in getting to know themselves,

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

recognizing & accepting their characters' blessings & shortcomings,

one can only but eventually succeed.

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

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

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

respecting my wish to share only according

to my choices.

Sometimes saying more, others less.

This is the way that I prefer to blog,

this is the way that suits me.

My blog for me is like chapters of a book.

I like books to be written in a traditional way,

quietly, effortlessly, coming straight out 

from the depths of us,

as words emerge describing thoughts and emotions

following experiences.

Those who still read books

might appreciate the whole thing it stands for:

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

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

I'm literally chasing light with my camera,

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

as if for a photo shoot.

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

and outside walking kilometers per day,

exploring, discovering, enjoying

the canals, neighborhoods, parks,

occasionally also visiting some shops

or cafes...

above my "princess" sandals sunbathing

&

the perfect hairbands suiting my wardrobe

recently found at h&m,

together with a pair of tea towels

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

and a lovely stamp from HEMA,

which was patiently waiting in the "as is section"

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

I traveled only with hand luggage,

despite this being almost a 3 week trip,

in my effort to practice living with less,

while being blessed with more than enough.

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

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

bought on line or during trips

I have been going to 

together with my life partner.

self portraits in a rather usual mood,

featuring my ever favorite silver cardigan from Mango,

happily now completing 10 years of living together,

having survived hundreds of washing adventures

& traveling around the world

a corner of the living room here I love to photograph

&

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

the main living room wall at home in Germany

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

for about a year before it arrived my way.

A good choice all in all

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

has been a good thing.

Also getting familiar with the philanthropic concept supported

by Stella - Marie water,

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

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

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

dark bread with seeds  - ruccola  - ham variety

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

with a stop here for lunch,

multiple stops for photographing corners

& others visiting shops.

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

shopping bags.

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

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

sitting at the end of a canal like Princengracht,

that just captures my attention...

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

wherever we are, whatever our current life occasion,

L i g h t  is always there,

we just have to l o o k  for it

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

{all rights reserved }