~ sunshine on cloudy days...

hello everyone!

 how have you been?

since I wrote this morning about "living a slow life"

and the essence of it,

 the day has been grey and quite chilly,

easily reminding of first winter days already...

no rain, but these heavy clouds,

taking over the whole sky,

allowing for no sign of blue to appear...

persistenly blocking every sunray, too

sounds depressing?

well, I have to tell you that it needs a lot of effort to stay on top of such occassions,

but after some time in Germany,

some tricks automatically take place

to make such days brigther ; )

how?

first of all, candles...

all over!...during the whole day...

much like the ones seen here

&

my favorite {vanilla one}

for a pleasant sweet aroma... 

then, nice music...

and working on {the table} placed in front of the big window

to be exposed to as much light as possible...

 using hands to create, rather than working on the PC or laptop screen...

and off course making use of this bright, white, cold light

{much like here} 

that I have really come to very much love,

especially when {products are to be photographed}

I really find it extremely charming...

the notebooks seen above are made with the same concept that these ones below were made

this polka dot cutie above was actually part of {this amazing lady's order}

 everything started a few weeks ago when I needed a new notebook for myself

and came up with this one,

which you can read about more detailed {here}

if there is supposed to be a trial period when one produces something new,

until the product is ready to reach the wide audience,

then these ones have successfully passed it!

 laminated, consisting of wonderful quality paper,

all handcut, they are handstiched using

extra strong, waxed threads in

beautiful colours,

found during supply expeditions while visiting Athens

I actually love the fact that everything is thought of and produced from scratch,

while using materials brought from my home country, too

it makes this whole creative process more meaningful, don't you think?

 {this} little notebook found last year during {my mother's visit in Germany}

has been the source of inspiration for creating

something that was going to be apart from pretty,

just a little bit more practical too.

the laminated cover gives you the freedom to wipe it with a wet cleenex when 

something has stained it

& so long as it doesn't take an actual bath,

it can stay with you for quite a long preriod!

still the little detail that I absolutely love and am proud to have thought off,

is the extended {from the notebook's spine}

thread which actually

ends in a lovely bow, to keep your little or bigger journal

securly closed

while off course looking irresistebly cute.

maker's bias?

perhaps!

what about you? what do you think of these little journals?

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

as soon as there is a decent stock created,

they'll be available on the {online shop} in the next days

till then, you may either pre order them and pick them up yourselves

or have them sent to you

in both cases just drop me a mail, stating which patterned design of all you prefer

and which of the two sizes:

small ~> 12,5 x 9cm

big ~> 17 x 12 cm

time to say good bye...

it is great that I found some time in peace to come and post here

about everyday life's simple happenings

& 

have been missing connecting with you, 

the readers of this journal!

just before I go, a little bit of something {more} for inspiration:

 the new collection of 16 favorite items 

from the corridors of etsy,

making up the new treasury put together this morning:

[via]

"Three {and more} keys to living a happy, successful life"

quite intriguing title, or?

what are your thoughts on the subject?

here is what came to my mind

~ dream big... {but then also} prepare to live small ~

~ connect to your true feelings ~

~ count your blessings ~

 ~ accept your natural rythms ~

 ~ invest in discovering who you trully are ~

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

well, I hope that there is input for you to think about,

 enjoy watching, get inspired from

& 

perhaps do some shopping

until the next post!

as for us, legal procedures involving the purchase of the new place seem to be moving smooth as 

butter, so soon a pleasant, relaxing period can be enjoyed 

so looking forward to that!

~ the essence of living slow...

[via]

 waking up should always feel this way, don't you agree with me?

soft, tender, allowing for the body and mind to wake up from their relaxed state

while in sleep motion...

this is a collection of home decor items picked up by Anne, whom you met {last week}

{and she'll be here again with you & me next week!}

the reasons it is brought here to you are a quite a few:

1. it represents a style of life I support myself

2, it consists of home accessories I would happily incorporate in our home environment

3. it features {our shop's one of a kind} paper garland made from two different kinds of paper:

recycled fashion catalogues using thick, matt paper 

&

luxurious wallpaper samples from the collection that my clients are presented with.

4. it was featured on etsy's FP in France this morning

5. it has a lovely symbolic meaning about the soft, tender & pure kind of life,

so important to me and quite possibly you,

 amongst modern life's & society's insane rythms, 

often leading to unhealthy styles of life

& 

eventually physical and/or mental diseases...

~ ~ ~

 speaking of fast rythms, I am recently engaged in quite a few projects,

and eventhough I could squeeze my time to come and post here,

it is a very clear & mindful decision, 

that posts here are taking place 

under a sense of calm, time to generously devote,

allowing inspiration to flow.

this way, the quality of the posts in not only determined by the outcome,

but also by the atmosphere prevailing while they come to life

and well, one has to support his/her views with actions...

one cannot be talking about cherishing a life of quality,

slow rythms & awareness 

and then

acting in a rush, right?

so despite me already missing tremendously more frequent posts these days,

and actually connecting with you,

with our upcoming movement to be planned 

&

me designing the new space to be soon turning into our new home,

while evaluating costs & seeing what can momentarily be afforded

and what will take place step by step in the upcoming weeks & months,

I must say that there is quite a lot on my mind

and many projects taking up lots of time!

I hope you are all doing well & I know that it is just a matter of time and patience

until more posts here become more frequent again...

see you soon my dear all,

know that your presence here means a lot to me...

P.S: throughout your days, I hope you to find some time to enjoy flipping through the first issue

of Birch & Little, the Australian online lifestlyle magazine I'm a contributing author to.

You can see its cover right on your left.

~ a weekend with Ivy...

[click here]

well my dears, good morning & have the loveliest of new weeks ahead!

I hope your weekends were nice ones, spent in meaningful ways,

whatever this involves for each and every special one of you...

as for myself... 

"a weekend with Ivy"... as the title connected to the pictures flying around here suggests,

 I'll let you know all about it in the second part of this post.

 ~ ~ ~

for now, let me tell you what does it mean for people who share their life with me

to spend a weekend {and sometimes a life} together...

what will they say...

she is a child...

an incurable romantic...

with an unexpected twist in logical thinking when needed,

still always connected to her deep sense of intuition...

she creates all the time...

she develops ideas,

she makes with her hands,

she photographs

& 

styles everyday life as if it is the most valuable present

she manically cleans the kitchen when at home {unless she is that tired a few times now & then}

she organises everything and yet sometimes she makes a chaos...

she talks to herself while she writes...

she dives into her favorite interior design books & magazines...

she sets the table every time, a few times a day

 as if it was a celebration,

using the most inexpensive and modest of accessories...

she carefully folds recyclable waste

so that they do not aquire much space...

she gets angry when bees flying in the house are about to be killed

and whole operations are put together instead,

in order to safely return them to their natural environment

through the window & veranda...

she has a clear hate relationship with cables,

which she also manically puts away,

folds or organises in any possible way

if they are white, they have slight chances of being put up with...

they are black ~> they are dead {meaning they are hidden away}

sometimes she loves socialising with others

and then there are times

she is only occupied with all she does...

while making {non pragmatic sometimes} plans

about saving the world,

performing good,

infuencing others in positive ways,

making an impact on this society, in this life...

I know that living with me is not easy,

unless perhaps you are "me"

{and even not that always!}

but then again everything & everyone in life

have two sides...

and when we are blessed with some charismas,

with some positive sides,

we also carry a little burden on our shoulders,

these darker sides of ourselves,

ones we have to deal with,

in order to set ourselves free 

& 

proceed with living the life we really want for ourselves.

I'll not tire you any longer with my Monday morning ramblings

and will immediately let you know what the pictures

in this post are all about!

so... as for today, I'm a contributor author in Birch & Little, 

an Australian online magazine publication,

connected to {this} blog & soon an {online shop}

for independent designers.

our cooperation has been marked with

the release of the 1st issue for October 2011,

which you can flip though {here!}

Below are the pictures from my "After the spa, household stories" post,

which were so nicely & artistically put together by the editor of the magazine

as seen on the top picture of this post here

&

 it is in fact placed in pages 21 & 22 of the actual magazine

will you let me know your thoughts as well?

am so eager to hear them!

asides from participating in this issue with a short version of

{this} blog post,

the opening and contents picture & the cover one

are both chosen from my portfolio

&

 must admit that this makes me so very happy,

even if this is just an online magazine!

I love the magazine's logo

{ I mean, who doesn't love two blue... love birds after all!}

and

find the whole layout to work so wonderul with the picture,

the original of which you

see below & can find posted {here}

finally, here is the cover!

I can so clearly imagine this publication printed...

it certainly makes a strong impact 

&

 just love the combination of colours & fonts!

the original picture can be viewed online {here}

&

 it was part of  the "Joyful simplicities" post

I guess before ending this post...

{and starting to prepare a new one, as there is so much taking place

almost in every field of my life, I don't know where to momentarily find the time

to post about everything and then where to begin from!}

... I wanted to say that I'm quite happy for the fact that not only

am I appreciated as an interiors desinger, consultant & photographer,

but also as a writer.

And this gives me enormous happiness,

cause I honestly never ever in my life had imagined that to be taking place.

had it not been for starting to blog,

such opportunities would have most probably never reached me.

I'm so thankful for everything...

and wishing you a happy Monday ahead,

cause there is really so much work to be done around here...

till next post 

very soon...  

much  ♥ to you

P.S:  photos by Iro Ivy Nassopoulos for Domestic stories with Ivy 2011

        magazine captures & editing:  birch&little

~ home decor stories with... Anne! ~ {guest post}

hello my dears,

well, with lots of things going on my mind, 

 connected with the upcoming movement

 out of the current place we are staying

 {which I suppose by now you all know how much

 I' ve  grown to love living in!}

one thing I must certainly do 

is to keep {such} useful & positive reminders in my mind & heart:

{above} follow your bliss

dream big

keep calm and carry on

 the print shown above,

does actually live in our home

{look here !}

&

I think that it should be the first one to 

put on the walls of the new home!

some of you might have already recognised whose work this is,

as she is already and only after a year of presence

with her etsy shop,

very, very beloved 

& 

quite popular I might say.

... in order to not turn this into an advertinement of her talents though,

just hop over {here} to read more about herself & her work !

so as you have probably just found out,

{Anne} is French & is currently living in magical Paris.

no wonder she is so inspired in creating

such amazing photographs!

{check out these!}

but the reason that she and I connected

goes beyond appreciating each others

photography work.

As she curates {dozins of beautiful treasuries on etsy},

we soon after found out

that we also share a common sense of aesthetics

&

an approach to home styling and decor.

We recently agreed that some selected of the treasuries she creates,

will be getting posted here a few times a month,

and she will also be letting you into her thinking behind

the creation of each one of them.

I find this absolutely great,

cause Anne is also a freelance writer

and particularly enjoy the way she expresses herself,

eventhough writing in English is a demanding process for her.

so my dear all, please welcome with a big warm hug,

Anne!

~ ~ ~

hello everyone,

this Anne writing here now, the person behind the photography Etsy shop

called {magalerie}.

A year ago, I started to make treasuries

and this is how I discoved Ivy's beautiful pictures...

we started an online correspondance between

France, {sometimes Greece} and Germany!

our connection was sealed soon with happy feelings,

as one of my first treasuries

including an item from Ivy's shop

was featured on Etsy Front page

last summer.

see?

[via]

{Ivy's item is the card with her "handwrittern love" print on the bottom left corner}

I don't have a blog at the moment and I'm really grateful that Ivy

invites me to present some of my treasuries here.

For me, they are more than just a selection of 16 items.

They are a way to create an atmosphere, exercise myself 

in gathering objects to create a cohesive result.

I imagine them as...

 home decor stories!

Most of the time, 

I fall in love with an object

{photography, print, drawing, vitnage item...}

and I try to imagine a whole room inspired by my first favorite.

As if I had a client who asks me to realise a room make over

based on one of their favorite objects.

For this frst post,

I' d like to present you {this} beautiful photo from 

Natalie's etsy shop,

aka as the {Shabby Photographer}

I really fell for the colors in this photo!

lots of words came to my mind when I looked at it:

wood ~ earthy tones ~ tea ~ loneliness ~

serenity ~ calmness  ~ vacation

creativity ~ burlap

vintage paper...

...it inspires a collection mixed of vintnage finds &

photography prints.

can you imagine those objects in a wooden beach house like I do?

have a look at he result and please do let me know what you think!

till next time,

Anne

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

well everyone, I hope you have enjoyed this post,

as I much as Anne had while putting it together

&

I did writing it!

I totally reasonate with Anne's thinking, way of seeing things

and absolutely adore both seeing her treasuries

and learning more about what lies behind them!

wishing you all a wonderful weekend ahead,

&

 promise to not take too long to return with more posts and news ; )

♥

~ goodbye summer ~

Hello everyone!

 it 's one of those times that I'm  happy to be managing to come here 

 and post despite the late hour of the day.

 So first things first,

 let me wish you a great new month ahead,

 together with the new season...

 whenever September comes, it makes me look back to my school years

or even the ones I was working as an English teacher back in Greece...

I remember the bittersweetness it brought with it at the beginning...

on the one hand so eager to begin something new,

on the other hand still wishing that there would be more days

free left for swimming & a relaxed way of life

but then, which kid {and teacher} doesn't love having a great excuse to 

 get their hands on new stationary?

see my point ; )

anyways, 

 before I move on to current news and autumn related stuff

{coming tomorrow}

I wanted to say the sweetest goodbye to this summer,

and cherish some of its wonderful moments 

 one of these was our preparation for a mini 5 day vacation

 on Kos {a Dodecanesean Greek island}

and off course the heavenly delighful days

 we spent there, for which you can read about it 

{here}

 As you have probably suspected from the pictures floating around this post,

 one of my favorite part of the trip's preparation was packing for the trip

& 

having the chance to use the new Tote that has just arrived at our door.

in a perfect size, perfectly sewn & double sided in beautiful black & white

cotton fabric,

I was so pleased to have ordered this 

from the {etsy shop} of a very {creative woman},

who also happens to be a marine scientist

living in Faro, Portugal.

Rita's passion is to sew and she certainly does a fabulous job!

I discovered her shop after she placed an order

of a {love & luck paper boat garland}.

So happy she did!

not only for honouring me by choosing somethimg handmade & thought off by me,

but also cause I got to the chance to get familiar with

 her wonderful bags, more of which you can see {here}

this is my order shortly after I opened it {the bag is folded in the middle here} 

 it was nicely wrapped,

 there was a thoughtful personal letter

&

a proof of having contributed to a good cause with my purchase!

I like that so much!

 the cherry on the top of the cake,

was a very practical & pretty present:

a tissue "pocket"

however of a detail it might be,

I really disliked having to carry my tissues in their plastic package

so this little accessory has been making my day 

everytime I need to pull out

or to offer a tissue!

Even though I have already since a long time personally thanked Rita,

I had also promised to link you to a few 

shops connected to bags,

worthy of their price

and 

{Ogato tigrado} is certainly one of them.

Thank you Rita,

I spent a fantastic summer carrying your bag!

it accompanied me from the beaches in Greece,

to the Spa in Frankfurt

&

the river in our neighbourhood,

carrying blankets to set on the grass...

 and now that the season has changed and so do the colours of the wardrobe,

it is finding it's space around our home,

other times filled with magazines

&

others with crafting supplies.

still I think "she" was at her happiest right there: 

Good bye summer... till next year!

have a good night everyone

&

a warm hearted welcome to all new readers

I'm so glad to see you here and be reading your comments 

Thank you so much : )

 c u all tomorrow... 

  with  more posts

 {one of which was planned for today, which is being posted with a little delay though}

better late than never said the Greeks ; )

happy day ♥ thank you Nina!

hello everyone

 good morning in the middle of this week

 and the end of a season,

 marking the beginning of a new one!

this is a spontaneous post,

just in order to thank a {wonderful person}

I deeply admire for her interior design work,

her {amazing paintings}

& 

lovely, inspiring blog,

while she is one of those people,

whose warmth, personality & talents shine brightly through all she does.

Nina Holst from {Stylizimo} and I accidentally met

in the on line {photo gallery} of Ikea Family Live,

where we both share pictures from our living spaces...

it took some time to get to interract with each other more,

but I actually like sometimes things that evolve smoothly...

I found out about Stylizimo,

which asides from a great, inspiring blog

focusing on interiors & simple yet, wonderful projects,

is also actually an online society where people

with similar interests can meet, exchange opinions,

inform and inspire themselves.

I will definetely make some time through this crazily busy period

of an upcoming movement,

new projects,

designing our new space from the beginning while having

{once more! I must definetely do something to change that} 

the tightest of budgets,

to actually

share pictures of our current & future home,

as much as spaces of clients I have designed,

in the {gallery of albums}

well after all this rambling it wouldn't be bad to actually say why I'm thanking Nina, would it?

this lovely lady wrote a {trully amazing post} about my work & myself,

after she received the package of the order she had placed in our shop.

Feeling so honoured for the fact that a person whose work I trully admire

not only noticed my work, but also decided to bring it to her {more than gorgeous} home,

I could only prepare a few presents

to thank her.

Feeling as if I had the pleasure to be invited for a cup of coffee with her,

I added a few extra things, which I carefully chose

after noticing the colour pallete she uses in her surroundings.

Some things that are currently available only to 

people who physically approach our shop,

custom orders

or 

to these very special friends...

soon though, available to the wide public as well

{you'll be the first ones to find out about it ;)}

I'm so incredibly happy she received it

{with an unexpected delay, as it was sent subscribed, like all orders of the shop are,

 with an estimated delivery date of a max of 4 working days}

and she liked it!

Thank you so much for making this such a happy day my dear Nina : )

there couldn't have been a better way to end a season

&

begin a new one

♥ 

this is to all things positive

&

the power of true love + creativity!

c u soon dear all ~

... such a nicely busy day here,

also involving "new house" issues...

will keep you posted ; )

organic creative processes ->

[via]

 well hello everyone...

 as I posted late in the evening last night,

 I was wondering if you had a chance 

 to read about making a {live moodboard} step by step

 and the organic process of creating?

 and then, have you visited 

 the latest curated collection of 16

 pretty items, all carefully handmade & produced from

 etsy sellers, artists & crafters?

 it carries a name quite symbolic to me ~>

Wake up - this is your Life call °

you may visit the items and on line stores individually {here}

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

... and then have I shared with you that I might be having the pleasure

of creating the styling concept & photo portfolio 

for such sugar treasures like these ones?

this is a sample of the work submitted & eventhough 

there is no formal agreement yet,

I' m thrilled with the possibility of being involved in such a project

I hope to have the pleasure of being chosen to do this job

&

then sharing it with you here!

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

on another notice, I don't know about you {still I 'd love to find out!}

but I woke up to feeling

that

I cannot expect for things to change,

unless I change myself.

this whole house issue has really been shaking my waters,

{I know it sounds silly in English, as in fact it is a Greek expression}

which means that it has been bringing lots of upsetness,

much like when there is a storm and the sea is rough.

days of peacefulness are hard to acheive,

due to the many factors that need to be considered

&

the obvious change of life,

as there'll not only be a new apartment,

but a totally new neighbourhood, too.

and new life conditions

when I mentioned in this post

that it is rather wise to:

"see opportunity there where difficulty lies"

perhaps I had not also realised,

 that this is the only way of actually moving forward in life.

so I'm making the decision to take my life seriously,

a "package" which brings together taking

my wishes,

 my dreams,

my wants,

my needs,

seriously.

... ironically, this involves sometimes not taking myself so seriously

in this mood I redesigned the blog's banner this morning

&

eventhough I'm not certain that this is a final design,

I find it to stand nicely for this transitional period I have enterred...

it stands for seeing the light side of life,

for embracing challenges

& eventually

living a succesfull, creative, fullfilling life

I hope you are not missing the previous banner too much,

in any case do let me know your toughts & preference!

just thought that it is a nice symbolic action to alter the logo of my online home,

since I'll be soon also living in a new home

♥

                                 
a little one, but oh so important NOTE before I go! ~> my {dear friend} and amazingly capable person in putting together absolutely delightful + stylish interiors, has changed {the decoration of her living room} & as she has incorporated two* of our shop's fine art prints in her decor, I couldn't but be super happy for the fact that she has done such a fabulous job! She successfully shows how more affordable art can be combined with more expensive one. It also shows how easily our shop' s designs are embraced in a home's decor, making a very clear but at the same time discrete, elegant impact. Nadine, thank you for the honour!

* {this} & {that}