New Year's Eve Mood Board

May your coming year be filled with magic and dreams and good madness. I hope you read some fine books and kiss someone who thinks you are wonderful and don't forget to make some art. Write or draw or build or sing or live as only you can... and I hope somewhere in the next year, you surprise yourself!!!

-Neil Saiman-

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Last Monday of the Year

The best way to start your week is...enjoying a hot chocolate while you are listening to Christmas music and smelling the fragrances of all the greeneries which decorate your home!!! The greenery composition of the photo is my brother's contribution, in his effort to wish me get better soon, as he knows that I love all those green things with the red touches!!! :)

Have a wonderful week my dears!

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Photo by Georgia Samartzi

Sunday Morning Tales

It's finally the last Sunday of 2014... What are your plans for today? Personally, I can't go out as the last 10 days, a sudden intense backache plagues me, forcing me to stay home without being able to do  almost anything, except surfing the internet & daydreaming of being in an ultimate Christmas destination! Although this bad break, I don't lose my courage & I am planning a festive gathering with friends when everything will be ok...

I would like to try those two delicious recipes; Firstly, the apple, pear & brandy cider to help, keep ourselves cozy & then those embarrassingly simple goat cheese stuffed phyllo swirls with pomegranate, honey & pistachios... Mmm, they both seems to me so yummy!!!

p.s.: What I like also too much is the gift wrapping in the first photo...

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Merry Christmas

Amaryllis vs Ilex

Amaryllis & Illex are considered as the two most popular kind of flowers/plants we use to decorate our homes during Christmas season, after the spruce branches or other greeneries. 

Amaryllis catches the eye with its wonderful flower and it is the right choice for chic & luxurious decorations, especially the red one... This is the reason why the majority of weddings taking place during December are mostly decorated with this fabulous flower.  There is also the white Amaryllis which fits perfectly to a Scandinavian style decoration (photo No 8).

On the other hand there is the thrifty Ilex which decorates perfectly every space with its woody branches ornate with those red cute berries. I love Ilex too and I find it as the perfect decorative plant for rustic or country spaces. 

Special gift wraps for special people

     

It's only six days until Christmas & the majority of us we are thinking about the Christmas gifts we'll buy for our beloved ones... For me, the way you will wrap a gift is so important as its content itself!!! I like so much to give a special character to the gifts I offer every year to my family members & my friends either it is for a very expensive gift or for just a symbolic one... Here you can find some inspiration on how you can wrap your Christmas gifts!!!                

Chic & Glamorous Christmas

If you are the kind of person who loves everything that sparkles, now it's the right time of the year for you!!! Decorate everything around you in golden hues with a good amount of glitter, but be careful not to do excesses! The best background for the golden ornaments & decorative objects is the absolute white... I strongly believe that this is the ultimate combination for the most glamorous yet chic Christmas decorations... 

p.s.: If you like the golden wood diamond ornament of the photo No 4, you can easily make it, following this tutorial.

Vintage Christmas

Do you remember those vintage handmade glass ornaments? Personally, every time I see a kind of those ornaments I remember the Christmas of my childhood... Amazing yet so fragile for a child to touch them... We still have a couple of them as a memorabilia of those years in our family house!

Glimmering houses

They are tiny & they can constitute a unique decorative for our homes, especially during Christmas! Everyone who loves lanterns & candlelight, will adore them from the first sight... Those little houses made from porcelain, clay, glass or metal, impress with their glimmering light and the shadows casted from the tea lights inside them, offering a unique atmosphere, comfort and warmth in our homes during the cold days of winter.

Hello December

I wish you this December be the best month of the year!

Enjoy it and create incredibly wonderful moments with your beloved ones!!!

20+2 stoves to warm your home this winter

Every winter, when the temperature falls, I start thinking about cozy spaces with fireplaces to warm them... I love so much the warmth of the fire and the colors which offers to the space when you turn off the lights! As much I would love to have a fireplace in my home, I would also love to have a stove... A stove offers such a special style to the space, even if it is a modern one or a rustic! Here you can find a lot of ideas...

30 Christmas Greeneries for your Home

The main color of Christmas is the green one, as it remind us the christmas tree and all the branches of fir, pine or thuja, we use for our homes' Christmas decorations every year... They are forming the ideal basis for any season's decor where we can create hundreds of different combinations and they are so easy to find them everywhere!

Christmas is coming...

The cold has finally arrived over the weekend here and as we are going through the last days of November, 

I consider that is the ideal period to start our homes' Christmas decorations!!!

My first Christmas DIY for this year, will be this amazing cutting...

Sunday Morning Tales

As I feel lately so tired & the weather becomes colder enough, the only thing I would like to do today, is to stay at home near the warmth of the fireplace and just snuggle up with a warm blanket, drinking a cup of tea, listening jazz & making plans on how I will decorate my home for Christmas, next week...

             

Black apartment with white hues

Could you ever live in a totally black apartment? I generally love dark colors but I couldn't imagine I could live in a space painted in black color until I first saw this overall black apartment! Especially the kitchen caught my attention...The combination of the white counter and its black surrounding is just perfect and those black handmade tiles are really lovely!!!

Sunday Morning Tales

            

After years of economic turmoil, Athens's self-confidence and creativity are stirring again, with new restaurants, shops and a blossoming of local pride.
Here is the tribute of the New York Times for the city of Athens called "36 Hours in Athens"...     
                  

THE DETAILS

1. ­Hill of the Muses.

2. Manimani, 10 Falirou Street, Koukaki, Fresko, 3 Dionysiou Areopagitou Street

3. Acropolis Museum, 15 Dionysiou Areopagitou Street

4. ­Meliartos, 65 Ermou and Aiolou, Lukumades, 21 Aiolou and Agias Eirinis, Osterman, 10 Agias Eirinis Square

5. ­Heteroclito, 2 Fokionos and Petraki Streets

6. ­­TAF, 5 Normanou Street, Six d.o.g.s., 6-8 Avramiotou Street

7. ­­Cafe Taf, 7 Emmanuel Benaki

8. ­­The Museum of Cycladic Art, 4 Neophytou Douka Street

9. Avocado, 30 Nikis Street

10. ­­Koukoutsi, 81 Skoufa Street, Zeus & Dione, 21 Ploutarchou Street, Forget Me Not, 100 Adrianou

11. ­­The Panathenaic Stadium. The National Gardens. Aigli Cafe, Zappeion

12. ­­Mavro Provato, 31 Arrianou. Funky Gourmet, 12 Paramithia and Salaminas Streets

13. ­­The Nice N’ Easy cafe, 60 Omirou & Skoufa, Kolonaki; Vouliagmeni Lake, Astir Beach, 40 Apollonis Street, Vouliagmeni

*See here another amazing video for the city of Athens...

Making the closet

Well, the season for making our closet is already here!!! As the weather is cooler enough we have to bring our autumn wardrobe back.... Every time I do this work, I am dreaming of a walk-in closet where everything would be perfectly organized so as getting dressed in a few minutes, making the best combination of clothes, shoes and accessories. If you have a tiny spare room in your house convert it in a walk-in closet. You don't need a big amount of money... Only a lot of imagination! Take inspiration from the photos above.

Home sweet home

       

Maybe this is the first foto of my home published on the blog, except some of my plants in the balcony or some Christmas decorations...                          

I really love this detail in the entrance of my home!!! A group of beloved items decorate the old renovated console which I found about two years ago in the street, in an extremely bad condition and now it consists an eye candy in my living room ... I will say about this in another post.                                                   

Now I would like to introduce you those beloved items. The set of the mini white bell and vase from porcelain and silver is a memorabilia from my mother's-in-law wedding and the silver frame which hosts my favorite quote is a gift from my wedding! The bottle in aqua color is the latest addition in the group, bought from an amazing shop in Leros island during our holidays there!

Sunday Morning Tales

Today, as the weather is colder enough and so cloudy, I woke up with a totally autumn mood, started thinking of autumn decorations about my home, warm fleece blankets, hot beverages flavored with cinnamon and apple... and now that I 'm thinking about it, it's the right time to bake this delicious apple strudel. Because autumn without apple strudel  in our home, would be like summer without the sun and the sea!!! What about you?

Sunday Morning Tales

Is there something better than enjoying your Sunday morning coffee, under the September sun in a wonderfully landscaped yard, accompanied by a delicious lemon yogurt cake?

Happy Sunday my friends!!!

Contemporary Loft

Amazing contemporary loft 3D visualization by INT2 Architecture, based in Russia.

Happy September

One of my favorite months is here... Full of color as a lot of autumn plants blossom this period, warm enough for sunbathing & swimming & in the same time pretty cool in order to enjoy an evening walk near the sea or watch a film in an outdoor cinema....

Happy September my friends!!! 

Summer Adventures

Here I am again, after a little break for my summer holidays... This year we visited our beloved island of Leros for a week (unfortunately we could not stay further due to our work) of ultimate relaxation!!! The only thing we had to do those few days, was to spend endless hours in the beach (my favorite is Aghia Kioura, see photo No 18) enjoying the tranquillity and the turquoise pure water of the sea, gathering with our friends and family every evening or riding our bikes late in the night, across the coast road between Alinda & Aghia Marina, where we enjoyed the special night view of the castle and the beauty of the sea which was every night so calm... It looked like a swimming pool where the island's lights was mirroring in it! 

Now back in reality with full batteries, tanned skin and beautiful memories from an amazing place and wonderful people, I am ready for new projects and challenges!!! 

Summer Break

This Summer, put your phone away for a few days. 

Make some memories that no one knows about. 

Make some memories that are just yours...

Happy holidays my friends!!!

Sunday Morning Tales

The only thing I want for August days is hanging out on a secluded sandy beach, enjoying the hot sun and the calmness of the nature... and when I will feel thirsty & hungry in the middle of the day, to enjoy a piece of cool watermelon!!!

Happy Sunday my friends!

Ideal Summer Destination...

The 1st of August today and for the majority in Greece is the 1st day of Summer holidays... All of us we are day dreaming during all the year for those days of ultimate relaxation under the hot sun and near the sea, without no worries on our minds! One of the most famous destination for Summer holidays in Greece are the numerous islands of Cyclades. Today, we are going to visit an amazing place to spend your holidays, in the island of Folegandros!

Blue Sand Hotel is a white pearl jewel situated on a rocky surrounding golden sand beach called Agali. Its privileged position offers a mesmerizing panoramic view of the beach and is literally one step away from the crystal blue waters.

The hotel follows the traditional Cycladic architecture and aesthetics combined with modern interior design with minimal and avant-garde furniture which help to offer a relaxing atmosphere and luxurious accommodation for its guests.

I would really love to spend a couple of days there but our holidays plan for this year is for a wonderful greek island of Dodecanese...

Wise Words

....and it will happen!!! 

Happy week my friends! :)

Outdoor Bathtub

After a tough day in work, the only thing I could think is a relaxing bubble bath with essential oils, accompanied by soothing music and a glass of cool moscato d' Asti under the stars, letting the evening breeze refreshing my body!!! Really... Would you like to have an outdoor bathtub? I 'd love to have one!!! Especially this of the fifth photo...

Summer bedroom

I felt in love with this amazing bedroom by first sight!!! I am just imagine waking up in this dreamy bedroom and enjoying the view (I am dreaming of a sea view) from the enormous opening... 

Outdoor Lounging Area

Create atmospheric outdoor lounging areas in order to enjoy your summer evenings & nights as best as you can... I really adored the splash of yellow (used in pillows, numerous candles and sunflowers), the extra cozy built-in sofa, the enormous coffee table constructed of old beams and of course the original handmade chandelier by paper pulp!!!