a S u c c u l e n t Story for Urban Jungle Bloggers

... this last Wednesday of February 2014

is finding me on board Urban Jungle Bloggers movement,

meeting some great participants & blogger friends,

initiated by Igor & Judith.

I joined in just a few days ago & wanted to make it to submitting my entry

for this month, well... before it ends ;)

So, promised  B i s c o t t i  recipe coming as a next post this week!

Honestly I could not be absent, being myself such an avid, little, urban gardener...

Plants have always been part of life in my homes.

I can say with certainty that the best

option I have to share so far

is the little, happy, ever growing, green family*

* remember our  w i n t e r  g a r d e n   just about 2 years ago?

living in our current home,

often referred to as the  P e a r l   B i r c h e s   H o u s e.

U r b a n   J u n g l e   B l o g g e r s challenge this month

was to present "one plant in three stylings"

I decided to adjust the theme a little to my needs,

so that I could also at the same time take the chance

to share with you a corner of the bedroom,

which organically evolved after the decision for seeing it with

fresh, new eyes

Any recollection of  the Hello new wall!  post?

that wall has been hosting our Malm chests of drawers,

while providing sufficient horizontal space {2,40 x 0,50 cm } for displaying favorite objects,

or just having useful free space at our disposal.

This is how it currently looks

and this is from where I took things

building around the theme for the 3 different stylings.

Protagonist is the little succulent seen above,

brought from a trip to Fuert Ventura this past December,

growing roots in a grey, stoneware mug,

which otherwise serves favorite cups of tea or coffee.

Rather than creating totally differentiated stylings,

I chose to demonstrate the  e f f e c t   s h a p e s  of plants

have as a decorative element.

Instead of totally changing the materials / objects

surrounding the plant,

{ something that has been so wonderfully demonstrated by many participants ! }

I kept on adding plants.

Below you see our growing succulent fellow

in the company of a round, green leaved friend, as a 2nd version.

... and in the 3rd version, the addition of a madly growing

aloe vera plant { flash back h e r e  }

which totally turned the whole vignette

into a family of plants,

all distinguished for their rather "architectural" character.

Which version do you like the most?

And what about you? Are you growing currently any plants at home?

If yes, what kind of? Where?

  

saying goodbye with a little "bonus" picture

of a glimpse into an idea

you might want to try out yourselves:

wrap a   p r e t t y   s t r i n g  around the

relatively, grown & strong trunk of one of your 

tall house plants { mind you, not too tight! }

Here is our Seflera plant,

begun barely a few centimeters tall with only but three little leaves,

now all grown up,

wrapped in a cotton white string with golden accents.

It gives an air of surprise

while turning the plant

into an even more decorative element, don't you think?

P r o d u c t s  in this post:

1. "Golden ratio"  p o s t c a r d s : S n u g

2. large & small  f r a m e s : RIBBA /  Ikea

3. star  c a n d l e   h o l d e r  & "Calm"  c a n d l e  in a silver glass: h&m Home

4. metal grey  c a n d l e   h o l d e r s : from a local shop, saw exactly the same in white

while visiting the House Doctor stand in Ambiente a couple of days ago.

5. simple, grey  c a n d l e s: Ikea

6. light brown ceramic pot: MANDEL / Ikea

7. D a l a   h o r s e : Swedish souvenir present from a friend,

spray painted in silver grey

8. grey stoneware  m u g  { here holding the little succulent }: John Lewis

9. green leaved plant in a concrete  p o t : from the flower section of our local super market 

10. decorative woolen & beaded hearts : from local stores

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 ;)

Welcoming a wonderful New Year: H a p p y 2 0 1 4 !

{ vertically from left to right: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. }

H e l l o !

with true Joy I come here to wish you all

the merriest of New Year's ahead!

Here is to a 2014

where each day - or as many days as possible -

begin - and are! - as if it is

  O u r   B i r t h d a y .

Here is to a Year

where G o o d  D e e d s 

brighten up our  

W o r l d 

Here is to a Year full of

physical, emotional & spiritual

H e a l t h  &  G r o w t h

Here is to a Year

where  P a t i e n c e is not only a virtue,

but an honorable way of living,

benefiting the ones who practice it,

as much as the ones who receive it.

Here is to a Year 

{ clockwise from top right: 1. 2. 3. 4. & 5 }

where the little things are enjoyed,

true stories are shared

for good purposes

and to a year where  I n d i v i d u a l i t y 

is celebrated,

cause the W h o l e is nothing without the sum of its parts.

So let each part be as magnificent & pretty

as  S n o w f l a k e s  are,

all  d i f f e r e n t  in their own beautiful way!

Here is to o a Year filled

with all kinds of  m a r v e l s  &  w o n d e r s  &  m i r a c l e s,

cause there is enough space in

the arms of this World & this Life

for  i n f i n i t e  numbers of them to occur.

{ the woods  +  the sea  }

I'm and have been feeling ever so grateful for so many aspects of life in general and mine personally,

and know that this intensely "pregnant" period I seem to have been going through 

lately is reaching to the point of a happy, focused & prosperous release.

And yes, sharing my work in what has become { our beautiful, beloved home } & my recent projects!

* ssshhh, let this be a secret { you may as well laugh here, I'm doing so, too ; ) }, 

but I think I must have gone through a phase of adult  t i m i d i t y... well if that exists... can you possibly relate in any way?...enjoying life & very often also wishing to share about it all, but somehow being hesitant... or just wishing for privacy and quietness after all...

a bizarre thing for a person with quite a few social media platforms you might say... * 

this calls for reevaluation of situations...

but to return to what I was talking about,

above all I'm grateful for the loved ones in my life,

my home next to the woods, 

here  in the middle of this beautiful country,

as much as appreciative of my origins by the sea.

On another notice, recently I read this on Pick the brain and I was sighing with  r e l i e f,

while the word  B E L I E F 

was "blinking" with pure, white light all over and around me...

it's just  SO NICE  to find out there something

that resonates so perfectly with your thoughts & emotions simultaneously ....

Care to read through and come back here to share your thoughts?

A little time consuming perhaps, 

but then maybe when you make some time space for it!

{ left  & right }

So, how about when giving advice, to try to be modest by adding a phrase like:

"this is working for me, so I thought I share it with you in case it could help you, too!"

I do say a big , clear YES to thorough  p l a n n i n g   &   o r g a n i s a t i o n,

as in so many parts of life it is absolutely essential

{ well, much like in our living environments ; ) }

but then, let's also remember that not all people are, think or act the same,

and each situation is unique

In some cases and phases of our lives, perhaps all we really do need is to just: 

b r e a t h e,  t r u s t, l e t go &  s e e  what happens,

while keeping in mind that

g o o d  things  t a k e  t i m e,

so let us just  b e  p a t i e n t

and work passionately towards actualizing our deepest positive wishes & desires! 

I'm very happy and thankful that you take part here,

in this blog place which still feels right with my heart,

{ I even STILL like the header after 2 and half years!.. is it just... me? oh well. }

I wish for changes.

There's more than that & I need to combine my strengths to carry it all off!

There is evolving a new order of things & I'm as eager to see the form and outcome

as much as you are perhaps!

We all need each other

and I know I need people like you,

who take the time to go through,

read & reflect upon what is shared here or wherever else I might be.

Above all I love to share

J O Y !

{ clockwise from : 1. 2. 3. 4. & 5. } 

d i s c l a i m e r  : 

all the images have been found on pinterest boards of people I follow.

Other than combining them together into collages to convey a personal

message, the full rights belong to their creators,

who I'd very much love to know!

However it seemed impossible to find original sources in most of the cases,

therefore lots of them as just linked to pinterest,

all of which you can find on my "like" page,

I would love to be pinning all these in my boards,

so if anyone could assist in providing valuable sources so that it can be done the "proper" way,

I'd be ever so thankful!

+ + +  M e r c i   + + +