~ after the Spa... household stories

after the Spa... one can light up candles, even at 6 o' clock in the afternoon,

 even when there is still plenty of light,

{but let's remember that the sky yesterday was graciously dressed in all shades of grey}

and make a simple table set for tea, carry a little bit of magic...

peppermint tea in two of Ikea's simlpest of mugs,

black for him & white for her,

Greek "Total" joghurt, with blended almonds & honey

{which was also our Sunday breakfast}

in white bowls,

with spoons in light & darker pink from "r*ce",

a round, bamboo tray,

&

 a bowl of fresh blackberries in the middle, for each to deep them into the joghurt...

I think my favorite part of our Spa visit in Heaven Spa of {this} hotel in Frankfurt yesterday,

was actually our return home and our tea together,

watching James Bond "Diamonds are a girl's best friend",

{sadly not on {such} a screen as we currently own no t.v,

but on a laptop's one}

as we were driving back, it was raining cats & dogs,

so being home, 

with two hot Italian pizzas from the local shop,

was really a pleasure

It's not that I don't like spas...don't get me wrong...

I actually loved the experience of being there

& 

it gave our Sunday such a different, nice colour...

it's just that I'm not a city girl...

I love living in suburbs,

while being just a couple of kilometers from a big city

{a range of around 15 - 25 km is just perfect}

 and then remember that I'm a girl from Greece brought up by the sea...

{a small parenthesis: {here} is where I grew up, {this} was the nearest to our home park some 50m from it & {that} beach bar was less than 200m from our home }

 for me the best Spa is a sunny day at a beautiful beach...

it doesn't even have to be an organised one...

a tree can become an umbrella,

a soft towel on warm sand can be a daybed,

salty water & a combo of {baby oil} + sand becomes the best body scrub,

while swimming in the open waters,

not only exercises the body with every movement, 

but also rejuvenates the whole organism & being

....yeah, simple, beautiful every day life is my kind of Spa...

not of course that I would mind being {here}

 for example...

note to self for when I become rich & famous:

{who said I ever will, anyway ? ;)}

a. send your parents to relax there

&

b. take your beloved partner there, this time taking care of all the financial issues

and let's come to current time as these lines are being written...

 I just enjoyed a little break for a coffee snack {seen above},

the lately usual stuff:

Greek coffee & vanilla Macedonian halva spingled with cinnamon...

light + nutritious + energising...

this Monday morning has been a cleaning one,

and I'm so glad the sun finally showed up,

as it makes everyhing brighter & easier!

see the laundry below?

and our bed's pillows taking some sunshine & fresh air at the veranda?

doesn't some sun make the simplest things in life just nicer?

agree?

...and one more point:

do you love having items from white/almost transparent plastic in your homes/households?

I find that this material beautifies objects so much,

that even when a laundry temporary rests on the living room's couch,

{for a passionate photographer/writer/blogger 

to make pictures of it to share with her beloved readers ;)}

the setting is still nice, clean & pleasant

your thoughts on that dears?

...so to sum up:

~ I do love Spas

~ I adore the sea and life next to it...

but I also love living in Germany, in the center of Europe,

~ I love being a housewife & working freelance on all my passions & talents, 

myself being my own boss,

~ I love white

~ I love writing in this blog

~ I love all you who take time in reading my thoughts, seeing my pictures, sharing fragments of my life

~ I wish for a white screen t.v to watch more James bond movies & documentaries on it

~  I'm excited that this week a celebration is to be taking place here, 

as we did reach - and overcome! - 444 funs on our FB page

giving you the chance to win lovely items from

our etsy shop, New Ivy Style

stay tuned,

it is indeed happening this week ; )

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

wishing you the loveliest of days & weeks ahead! ~

will be seeing you here soon ~

~ Saturday dinners @ Home

hello everyone + a happiest of Sundays to you!

how are you?

despite the bad behaved weather here, totally refusing to adjust to the calendar

{hello last week of July, in the middle of summer!}

all is rather fine :)

we are soon to be off to a Spa in Frankfurt, making use of the promotion coupons we've been given,

while enjoying being high up inthe sky as they say...

we'll see!

as a good housewife { I so want to believe ; )}

did the dishes and the laundry,

made us breakfast  ~ Greek joghurt with blended almonds & honey

~ our light Greek coffees

and snacks ~ wholegrain bread sandwiches with ham, serano & goat cheese slices

originally I wanted to try out {this} super delicious looking recipe, 

shared by my dear friend & awesome food stylist/photographer {Laksmi},

who above all loves to cook for her family

and has a mostly spicy writing style.

...do visit her, I can reassure you, you'll love sticking with her for quite along time!

my plans for snack making changed, as we spontaneiously decided to visit a Spa in Frankfurt today,

in our efforts to deal with this "adorable" weather I mentioned at the begining of the post

I'll let you know how it turned out in the next post.

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

for the time being, just a few pictures from our {dinner last night},

which took place in our little {Penthouse/loft apartment},

but in a different place,

 as I temporarily moved our dining table in front of the large window,

or else our lounge area,

there where the L shaped sofa also is.

It all seems to work out fine and I must say I adore dining under our huge {Leran} lamp!

~ just a few minutes of preparations,

~ everyday plates,

~ mixing indoor & out door chairs,

~ a few candles,

and a dinner watching the rain took place

not bad at all ; )

What was for dinner?

~ a Greek salad {the light way}, including only tomatoes + green peppers + feta cheese + oregano

~ rice

~ fillet pieces cooked in white wine, with fresh pepper on top

~ white wine

not much...nothing special...but just the fact that it took place a few meters closer to our large window

 gave it a new taste!

Oh! I do so love little, spontaneous movements around the house!

Hope you like it, too :)

I'll say a temporary goodbye and hopefully return tonight with a new post.

...that is unless we relax that much at the Spa ; )

enjoy your Sundays!

oh! ...and remember that {LIFE can be such a masterpiece ~} !

...yes...gueesed right again...just another freshly curated etsy treasury by me ; )

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

picture credit: Iro - Ivy Nassopoulos & JCN Photogrpahy for Domestic stories with Ivy 2011

magic x 3 ...

the 3 magic pieces of Spring / Summer:

1. a mini off white, cotton, trenchcoat with nice details,

2. a fabulous everyday bag

3. an easy to wear pair of chic & fun sandals

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

1. -> where is my  T r e c h c o a t   from?

Berska, bought in the spring season of  2007

{€50}

-2. > where is my cotton & leather handle {adjustable} T o t e bag  from?

Fabric & Handle ordered this year, 

after I discovered their website + shop,

 thank's to Ez's Creature Comforts

{about €30 with shipping}

3. - > where are my cork & grey cotton fabric S a n d a l s from?

our local C&A store, bought on 50% discount just a day before

 we set off to our mini vacation on Kos island

{€7}

....now that is no crazy amount for an outfit, is it?

take also into consideration the multiple ways a trenchcoat can be worn

& 

notice that I chose my bag in a jean like fabric & camel handles,

so that it can be easily worn all seasons

and with many clothes...

in fact there's hardly anything in my closet that doesn't fit to it!

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

so, before I go on sharing some fashion & styling tips,

let me just make this little bit of information clear:

have fininshed no fashion school

&

certainly have no aspirations of becoming a model,

especially since my 40s are just a couple of years around the corner ; )

I hope you see my point in here...

but...but...BUT!

I think everyone is allowed to LOVE STYLING, right?

cause I do.

...and I also hear a lot of compliments quite often,

as much as I notice that lots of my girlfriends are often

 inspired /influenced by the way I dress myself :)

so except styling interiors or products to be shot,

I have - like forever! - been in love with

good styling in general...

fashion included...

and perhaps having spent hours & hours reading editorials & magazines might have

left a mark on me...

I rarely do in the meantime, 

as there is plenty of inspiration on line,

and I generally do simply prefer to concentrate on what makes me feel better.

...and now you'll come asking & wondering?

what is "good styling"

and who defines it?

well, I could start making a list of wonderful famous people,

actors & actresses,

models & fashion designers

stylists and so on and so on...

and we'd find a lot of common people we both adore,

you and I together...

but instead I'll state that quite possibly "good styling"  could be an entirely personal matter,

which still follows a couple of guidelines...

though mainly, good styling is all about knowing WHO YOU ARE

for me "good styling" is:

~ classic, while inspired from modern trends

~ alltogether rather minimal

~ totally focuses on brigning out a person's nice physical characteristics

~ while "hiding" something less nice

~ its first & most important purpose is to make a person  HAPPY

~ and be "one" with the person herself/himself

~ avoiding giving a feeling of "what am I dressed like today?"

~ or "who do I want to look like"?

~ well, guess what? I'm simply every day & time myself!

~ and if I'm in any position to give a little Tip is to actually encourage you 

to invest time in figuring out who you are....

yes...trully!

{a domain I hope I'll be able to help you in the future by organising 

self knowledge + self acceptance + personal styling seminars}

despite what some of you may believe, I'm currently not a wealthy lady,

which means that if and when I do, I shop very, very carefully.

the truth is that in the past I have been a rarther excessive shopper.

bad habbit I must admit...

but something saved the situation and me:

since about the last ten years, I've been understanding what suits me,

what does me a favour & therefore am relieved to say that there are almost no bad buys to 

recall, neither quality speaking, nor stylishly speaking.

phewww....

what does this mean?

shopping in my own wardrobe is a fact that happens every major season of the year,

...and how does it take place? 

well, by actually reinventing my wardrobe! 

either by wearing some pieces in a different way,

or by adding a new accessory or two...

now, last but not least,

I couldn't forget to mention that caring for & loving our clothes

is involved in good styling, too.

how?

let's suppose you are a person who loves little details, like ruffles for example...

 in that case, you'd either have to have the time & appetite to iron them

 or invest some money in having them done for you

still, my personal opinion is that when we take care of our clothes ourselves,

this somehow adds to the whole image...

I tend to believe that every action we do carries energy...

and putting some effort into

cleaning, ironing, folding and arranging our clothes in our closets,

 somehow makes them more ours...

so it's more probable that our clothes won't "wear us"

but we will actually wear them

....well, I guess it's time to get of that trechcoat and slip inside my nighty as it is already late here...

hope you have enjoyed this post...

I feel really nice incorporating some of my personal ideas about fashion + styling here on 

Domestic Stories

how do you feel about it my lovely readers & friends?

...and how is your Friday evolving?

have you had time to enjoy any JOYful simplicities?

c u right here, quite soon!

have a great start into your weekends ~

&

 ...do put a little love, fun & lightness in your life, would you? ; )

{indeed... you guessed right... new of my curated treasuries on etsy ; )}

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

P.S: the only reason I'm holding my sandal  in all the shots above is actually to be able to show it to you, as the mirror the shots were taken in front is obviously not long enough, still the lighting is just perfect, thank's to its position close to our large window...

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

Concept + styling + photography: all performed by Iro - Ivy Nassopoulos for Domestis stories with Ivy 2011

~ JOYful simplicities ~

few ingredients for a  H a p p y  F r i d a y:

~ flowers...{what else?!}

~ a pink ceramic glass for a vase {Ikea}

~ a former strawberry crate performing as a tray...

~ holding litttle treasures from magical beaches 

{ pebbles & driftwood }

~ an everyday pretty notebook

{ more details about it here }

~ a good book...like Holly Becker's Decorate

~ a few sunrays...

~ and the day is brighter...

have been gathering the occasional sunrays that popped up today,

while reading favorite books in our sofa corner...

bringing memories from {our trip to Kos},

much like this wonderful colourful corner

of a cafe in the city of the island....

magical & energising don't you think?

I'll be coming again to post here in a while, as I've been preparing 

some fashion & styling tips for you.

and....it gets even better, as an extensise post

devoted to the beautiful  Blue of Greece, 

while sharing some places to go while on kos

will be coming next.

Saturday morning for some of you,

late Friday evening for others...

Hope your days are filled with at least a few happy, positive feelings!

much Love to you all!

~ the light, bright, sunny side of life . . .

[via]

good morning everyone : )

before proceeding with the posts mentioned {here},

I'd like to make a small pause to devote a little bit of time & space

to posting a collage dedicated to some "wonderful others", 

all inspiring people with whom we meet on {flickr}

since I returned to an autumn like Germany, especially after having both spent {fantastic summer days on the island of Kos}  & left our home in a quite summery mood {the temperatures in Frankfurt were between 25 - 33 C° just a couple of days ago!},

I've been concentrating on finding the bright, light, sunny, fun & joyous side of life,

no matter what the weather forecast has in store for us

some of the {tricks I used at our home} were mentioned {here} yesterday, 

together with a couple of informative links

 to what actually is + the making of a Greek coffee,

along with a few of my very favorite Greek products.

 today, I've veen strolling in the magical corridors of flickr,

getting all inspired by my marvelous contacts...

~ a few flowers in a bottle in front of a window

~ cooking & baking with love and passion

~ making delicious homemade ice cream

~ bringing joy + colour in your daily life by adding striped straws

~ making the simplest of candleholders using delicated wire

 and finally

~ having the best time of your life with your fury friends

aren't all these great ways in bringing sunshine in our lives?...

~ how about you?

~ how do you make your days just a little bit brighter?

~ which simple ways do your have to make your days

memorable and sweet in feelings? 

looking forward to hearing from you,

hope you are all well, whether at home or on vacation : )

                                                  ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

P:S {click on each colourful sentence to visit each picture of the collage, starting from the top left to right, row by row}

~ bringing Greece home...

so we returned....

  and I' ve stopped hiding under {my big hat}, as the weather back home in Germany is showing an unfriendly face...for which I prefer not to talk about, as I'm rather a little mad about it...

yes, indeed....silence is golden in these cases life has taught me ; )

our days were spent on the lovely Aegean island of {Kos}, part of the {Dodecanese islands}...

and I plan to post more pictures about it, together with a few tips of the best places,

personally tried out & recommended.

but till we reach there, a few shots from yesterday, which found me having difficulties adjusting being back in Germany & especially to the 15 to 20 C° degrees of difference!

So, I pulled together a few tricks to make me feel at home again in our lovely {Penthouse apartment} in Germany, little tricks which remind me of our heavenly days in Greece...

~ I bought myself flowers in the colour - pink! - of those that were surrounding me for about a week 

(pictures to come!)

~ I made a {Loumidis} {Greek - Turkish coffee} & poured it in my favorite super simple, white, Ikea mug,

~ I made a snack using:

 a. the one and only yoghurt {perhaps only after a homemade one} that tastes so delicious: {Total by Fage}

b. blendered walnuts & almonds that I prepare for {our smoothies}

c. a few {Petit Beure} biscuits by Papadopoulou, which mark my childhood & growing up

~ enjoyed all these on our tradiotional Greek "Kafeneio" table, 

{which has travelled all the way from Athens to Germany on a track some three years ago}

~ led my favorite scarf as a table cloth to remind me of the lovely wandering days in just few tiny clothes, 

this worn often as a mini skirt like {here}

~ brought the little beach treasures - pebbles & driftwood - out of the suitcase

~  read a few pages from my favorite {David Baird} editions, "A 1000 paths to Happiness"

and last but not least at all,

got down to working!

I finished the subsmission of a styling proposal for a lovely customer who is already super happy with it,

as much as having submitted my table styling suggestion for a magazine, 

the first official project I have been actually involved as a stylist, 

cooperating with another stylist and magazine editors.

So excited about it and eager to learn more on the subject of magazine/catalogue styling,

as I have forever adored it so!

Below is just a random shot of a few of the "equipment" I was using, 

where you can also see one of our veranda chairs, which are actually identical to the ones of the photo in the beginning, shot in Greece just this past Sunday...

Mission accomplished!

 despite the grey skies & rainy weather,

I feel again at home, energised & eager to get down to work!

How about you?

how have you been since the last time we "saw" each other here?

I really missed posting and wished to have done so while on vacation,

still the wifi connection available was slow and making a post would end up being time consuming,

when all I actually wanted to do was take in all the beauty surrounding us

and enjoy every moment....

there's much to share on many levels here on Domestic Stories!

a. pictures from our trip to Kos & suggestions

b. tips about a easy + stylish summer vacation wardrobe

c. few etsy shops to fall in love with!

d. news from my own shop

e. a celebration with a give away & special reduction codes for you my dearest readers :)

f. new inspiring moodboards

g. some organising tips around the house

...and so much more...

lookig forward to connecting with you again 

have a lovely day there & don't set a tear about the weather!

~ make your own sunshine ; ) 

~ ~ > summer breeze

hello everyone + happy Tuesday

 I hope you'll have a gorgeous day!

this is me saying that I'm a little lost in my happiness these past few days

{while also working + preparing stuff}

and

 seem to be also loosing touch with time...

we are travelling to an Aegean island for a mini vacation a day earlier than I thought,

which means that there's more to do in less hours

oooops!

this said, I prefer that the celebration taking place here begins when I return in just a couple of days.

I feel that I want to be connected and around when you'll be visiting over,

cause there'll be a long party going on,

as there's so much to celebrate,

marking my two years of blogging 

and other exciting stuff.

I 'm sure you understand and are all right with it, too.

so, I'll be off completing some styling work,

ironing a couple of light, mostly white clothes,

getting back to as much mails as I can throughout the day,

possibly a few phone calls, too

& 

hopefully returning here with a nice inpirational moodboard

later

in the meantime, listen to & watch {this} & {that}

They are totaly making my heart smile

& have been torturing the really polite neighbours,

while I hit play all the time, often singing & dancing along...

 are you feeling the summer breeze, freshness & deep happiness that

love, friendship and creativity bring into life, too?....

: )