While I am watching the competition this year, I cannot help it but remember some songs that stayed in my memory from other Eurovision editions. So I thought to share them with you as well.

First and unforgettable for me is Norway 1995 winners. I cannot forget the time when I first heard this song and I believe it is one of the most magical songs that I ever heard! I am sure if I were to hear this song live I would cry a lot, it's just so so so heartful.

Ireland 1996 winners just another amazing song!

Last year winners Azerbaijan.

Beautiful Paula Seling from Romania in a sexy and playful video, they didn't win though 2010 edition.

I did like the winning 2010 song as well Germany's Lena

There's no secret I love Greek music, I find it the most passionate music in the world, I heard the lyrics are even more... So here's some samples... Opa!!!

Elena of Greece winner of 2005 Well done goritzakia!

Which song are yours to keep?

It's that time of the year again, European countries are battling for the best song of the year award. Even if I missed the first day of the semifinals, I can always go back to the holy internet and see them all at once :). And my favorites are:

Moldova - what a nice combination of ethnic and modern and beautiful voice.

Talking about amazing voices the Ukrainian singer had it, but is it only me or the song was not matching her voice? To tell you honestly when I heard Ukraine I was ready to see a blonde blue eyed beauty, how stereotypical of me, but the beautiful lady is of mixed origin (Congolese and Ukrainian)! Good for her!

Another very sexy mix in the competition was the Norwegian singer (with an Iranian flavor) whose song I really liked.

Globalization made another presence possible Swedish singer of Moroccan ethnicity. Although I enjoyed her song the first time - and there was a lot of talking about it, and even my baby seemed to dance to it, the second time around it seemed a little bit boring... And her dance moves did not match the song at all.

Italy what a voice! And nice song too but not memorable! I thought her voice was going better with the English language...

Coming to my own country, Romania, the song certainly had a lot of badmouthing at home, but overcoming the cultural motivations for this, I believe it's a catchy song with a nice and lively mixture of Irish, Spanish and Gypsy influences. The non-Romanians certainly enjoyed it and I heard lots of good review. I am still not decided about it... just cheering for my country... I did not like the video-clip her outfits were just not right... have some class girl!

Now coming to Russia, while the old ladies were definitely cute... I think it was a bit out of track.

Two ironic & funny songs, that I think won't also catch are Turkey and Israel.

Did you watch Eurovision? Which are your favorites?

Close to my house there is an empty lot. On that lot there are some hey stacks. Good opp for me to take some cute pictures:

When I selected 4 favorites from H&M I could not help but notice that 3 of them were forming the colors of my national flag. So here's the colors of the flag favorite dresses from H&M loool


1. Red & wavy stripes can't go wrong for me 2. yellow and flowers too :) 3. paisley and turquoise a definite favorite

There are so many choices that you can take each day and each second that will change the course of life in a million unknown ways.
I was searching for my high-school friend and although I didn't find her I found a girl with the same name as her and many beautiful pictures of some places in my memory lane. I spent one year in the wonderful city of Iasi, which is intricately linked with our (Romanian) national poetry, culture and history. I loved this city and it is a very romantic place to visit, but somehow could not get adjusted and make it a place of my own. Now seeing the pictures brought back many memories of the past, of snow and laughter, of innocence and friendship and of my gorgeous friend Ana, whom I miss terribly. I hope you enjoy too the pics and thank you Madalina!


Small and old churches full of spirituality and feelings




Memory lane

Life is better when you walk to office... and then you drink the juice of two oranges freshly squeezed. But let me tell you all the story of today morning.
It all started (aka we woke up) when my mother went outside to pick up a lemon from the tree in front of our house to make tea. Then my baby woke up... and I started following her around the house. This was around 6 AM. Finally I gave her some milk and she slept at 8.30. Time to dress up and go to office.

Now comes the nice part of the day, today I got my handmade goodies from these two extremely talented ladies Clepsidra and Andreea (remember them?) and I was anxious to flaunt one of the sets I got. I decided to wear it with a white embroidered blouse and dark blue jeans and some flowery flats.



Then I quietly got out of the house in the scorching Cypriot sun. Just as a background I was not made for scorching suns, be it Cypriot or any other nationality, born in a cold country with milky skin and green eyes! For protection I choose to use an umbrella and not sun lotion. Now I am not against sun lotions I just prefer not to use them daily due to different reasons. So here I was walking (in the midst of a country that is only driving) with an umbrella (habit of the Asians, why not to adopt best practices from different countries?). I must have been quite an alien :). BTW I am the proud owner of an Alien book to certify it!! lol

2.5 km is not that long, but enough to make your blood flow more efficiently and give you a nice morning rush of energy.

Just wow

My lovely friend greeny leaf lives in Norway and has recently shared with me a brand that she likes Indiska. I selected my favorites which I would buy in a blink would I had access to the shops.









Which are your favorites, mine 1, 4, 7, 10 and 12!

It's difficult talking about someone when you don't know him that well, but in Hoda's case is really not. All I felt for Hoda since the time I met him was pure admiration for his art, his intelligence and his smile, that even if sad sometimes warms up ones heart with kindness and purity. Hearing him speak is really enlightening, his "speech" is extremely philosophical. He does not take anything as it is but really tries to go to the core of the issue with his sharp mind. I am truly honored he has accepted to give an interview for my blog and to publish his beautiful works of art. His painting style varies from pop modern to abstract and miniature calligraphy. To see more of his paintings click here or even visit the Uptown Flying Pig hostel in Amsterdam where he painted the mural art.

I was born in Aqa-jari, Iran, an oil oasis on top of a mountain surrounded by desert, in the winter of 1962. For the rest of my life until now the metaphor seems to continue.
Somehow whenever everything is laid to waste around me, something from a higher point tends to send me a lifeline.
I was getting increasingly in trouble at school for expressing the truth trough my prose and poetry, for which I showed early promise. I left Iran in the summer of 1976, as the school authorities could no longer tolerate my exposure of their hypocritical practices and persecution. My family had experienced some persecution under the Shah’s Savak, who, because of their membership of the Baha’i faith looked at us with suspicion. But this was nothing compared to the death threats, loss of pension, property and most of all records and contacts that others take for granted in more tolerant societies.

A string of events connected my interest in education, art and psychology to lead me to hi current profession of an artist and an Art therapist. I studied masters of art in art therapy at the school of the Art institute of Chicago, an Ivy League art school in the United States. I has practiced art therapy ever since in United States, Cyprus and Holland with children and youth with severe emotional and behavioral difficulties, even extreme ones.
After a difficult divorce, I left the United States to recover from the deep wounds inflicted by the separation. I had to review my life and after losing everything material, choose what is important in my life. My faith, my family, my Son, my country, and most of all, the core principle of my religion the Baha’i faith that proclaims that all humans are from the same God and they should live in unity on earth. I have exhibited my work mostly privately, I rail against the injustices of the galleries demanding 50 percent of the income for just providing a location. I do not care about such accolades as a smart CV can bring, I am more interested in telling my story in words and images and let posterity judge my merit. ‘We are here for a blink an eye any way’, I say, ‘why go to war? Let’s make peace!’ I currently live with my family near Liverpool England.
I keep saying that I became a visual artist by accident. It was the power of words that fascinated me in the way it could make people laugh and arouse both their gross and sublime passions. Later I found it difficult to express myself in the Persian language in my adopted country of United Kingdom, I turned to art as a way of continuing my artistic expression. I found more and more the universal primacy of the images that humanity shares in their collective unconscious.


My life is difficult to fit in a box as I defy almost all stereotypes of what a Persian male should look like and do. Most Persian men are known, almost to a cliché, to be engaged in the money making professions and are strongly encouraged by the parents to become doctors and engineers etc. As an artist and art therapist I confront that stereotype head on. My life has been spent as an outsider and that has given a unique vision into the unusual, absurd, the ironic and the subversive.
I have been excluded from the mainstream by those who categorized me as “the other”, for my religion, ethnicity or nationality. I describe myself as a non-conformist, politically active but completely non-partisan. I see myself as a loyal citizen of Iran who will criticize my own government in exile in the hopes that they live to the promise of a formally great nation now experiencing its own dark ages. I am more for things than against things, although I say my big mouth gets me trouble a lot. Art I find is a more subtle and direct way to communicate without offending too much. I am fascinated by the way people interpret my art from their own perspective and in doing so inadvertently give away crucial cues to their own personality and humanity.


My work is informed by my love of art. I am, in my sense of color and detail, influenced heavily from both Persian miniatures and the kind of oriental designs found in Persian carpets. I have also many influences from the westerns painters and artists. My work are diverse, from very detailed and intricate black and white pencil drawings that are conceptual in nature, to symbolic abstract and semi Abstract forms that I feels should be experienced as visual music. “Don’t ask me what they mean I say about those paintings, would you ask a classical musician what his music means?” Some of my works are clearly a reflection on my political views and private life. These tend to be the larger scale paintings and collages. My work, best describes my personality, i.e.” East meets west”. I seem to see the sublime in the mundane and ordinary and somehow in my large scale collages tend to let the former be expressed by the latter.

Matthew Williamson



Jean Paul Gautier & Yves Saint Laurent's interpretation on traditional Romanian blouse


Philippe Guilet


Anthropology


Tom Ford


Romanian apparel

What is your favorite?

Yesterday there was a small earthquake in Limassol. Small enough not to hurt anyone and big enough to scare few people and evacuate the office. So we had a little break, when we chatted and I had time to admire few outfits of the elegant ladies from office.
The one that popped out is this gorgeous Indian girl with a beautiful salwar kurta. I was definitely inspired and I created a polyvore set, but I guess it was not enough and as I was really impressed, I found her and took her picture. Check it out!



Next is another Indian inspired look which is the favorite of my friend Ana, the beautiful girl from the post below... I went to a friends house and I saw this gorgeous sari red and purple adorning their window as a curtain. Then I went to my friend Polyvore... here's the result.



Last but not least, is my favorite set from Ana's creations:



Which one do you prefer?

*hug* *kiss*

I got the link so I just had to review some of the dresses. Color coded: green - I would loooove to wear, yellow - very beautiful but with minor modification, red - what were they thinking?


1. understated elegance 2. gorgeous golden brown 3. transparent but not trashy, extremely elegant 4. so classy and I love the black detail which is so figure flattering, love the golden detail too


1. beautiful color 2. simple and elegant 3. amazing dress definitely favorite 4. extremely figure flattering


1. beautiful dress but I would drop the kimono like back part 2. gorgeous design, would love a bit more covered and no train 3. same as 2 4. I love this dress, maybe just making the design reach the shoulder would be even nicer.


1. a sex suit surrounded by feathers 2. look I have boobs dress 3. confused designer doesn't know of to design sexy or classy doesn't succeed in any 4. bandage dress with Angelina Jolie pose except it's not sexy just bone revealing

Currently I am seriously thinking of my own relationship with sport which is actually non-existent. So I turned to one colleague to search some inspiration and advise how to improve this relationship. I was hoping to learn about schedules and how to stick to them. I approached R and he said he will do the interview, but he asked for a more traditional way of interview... So this is the first interview I make which was in form of conversations and not just questions and answers. What I discovered it was that the conversation reflected more his opinion, but was more difficult for me to format...

What sports are you practising and how frequently?
Currently: badminton & tennis, but if we look in past 6 months: add table tennis to it :)

So I see you are not into a routine that you stick to, or are you? I kinda wish that you have a daily routine that you can tell to us, readers to keep us inspired...
With badminton I stick to a routine, with tennis I stick based on weather. If you see the weather, so consistent is my tennis. Table tennis has been victim of company's one sided decision to hide and lock away the table tennis board. Badminton is indoor, so, I can control my schedule.

I guess it can be pretty consistent considering you reside in Cyprus where you don't expect rain for the next 6 months... but I wanted to ask about a daily routine, and weekly schedule, in case you have some!
Assuming weather is stable badminton goes on 3-4 days a week and tennis 1 time every weekend. When I say weather it is not just rain it's rain, dust, visibility, wind, sun, and everything along with it. For example today it seems okay, but is bad for outdoor sports, the air is full of egypt magic...


I see, so I can conclude that you prefer indoor to outdoor?
Quite the opposite, but the difference in preference does not arise from availability of conditions and even if there is a difference of choice, it is not more than 2-3%, 51% outdoor vs 49% indoor games :)

OK from your answers I understand there is no daily routine such as waking up at 5 to run and do gymnastics/ yoga... is it true?
Yes, none, my sports are strictly about playing them, not preparing for them and when I go to play. There is a solid unchangable routine, there is a schedule, fixed one for sports, but I'm not like professional players preparing for big matches :)

We cleared this one out... can you tell me when did your passion for sport start?
Its a bit inconvinient to answer this, so i will give an inconvinient answer :) I never "started" sports or I never knew it was passion, until I stopped doing it due to compulsions of life (crucial exams, stiff competition in life, or ensuring a stable future). It's like a child, who plays with colorful toys, and keeps playing, but cries only when you take it away from him. It's then he realises how much he liked them or what he needs in his life to be himself. In my case, my toy was taken away by the age of 15 .... and then I got it back at the age of 26. I started playing table tennis at the age of 14, tennis at the age of 15, I lost both by the age of 16 and got back a bit of table tennis @ about 19yrs, but for tennis I almost waited 10 yrs.

You just made a comparison to kids, so I guess it goes back to childhood days, what sport(s) were you playing back then? No cricket at the street corner earlier than that? Being an indian I would have expected at least one mention of cricket in your answers!
I have played a lot of cricket between the age of 7-14 and much more than that, i have played football between age 5 - 13, but they never caught my fancy. It wasn't even that I wasn't good at it, but it never made me happy as a child, even after playing so much.

Except being our company's champion in tt and tennis what is your most treasured recognition as a sports man?
Frankly I never played for recognition. I don't know how tough it will be for people to accept this but now when I retrospect, this is the truth. I never played to win the tournament. Every game I have won, gave me an undeniable feeling I cannot express, except playing against unfortunate players. That never gives me any happiness, no matter what reward I get in return for it.

What do you mean by unfortunate?
Unfortunate means a person who didn't get enough chance to prepare to his/her potential. It can be because of unfortunate conditions or because of not much desire to reach the potential

Lack of passion maybe...
Well not always! Some people have a lot of passion to be the best, but not all people are rich like Roger Federer to be like him. I am sure in the world there are human beings whose passion you put on the same plate with Federer's they will beat them by miles. It's the circumstances which matter a lot for sportsmen to be what they can be. I don't mean that feed them with diamonds instead of bread, but circumstances mean more than just bread. As I told you, sports was taken away from me at young age and it was my passion or hunger or deep seated source of happiness that brought it back, but at a very late stage to be what I could be. May be like me, there are millions of passionate hearts in almost every field who were not allowed to pursue it for some reason. I think we are unfair to question their passion.. It may be resources, may be luck, may be willingness to sacrifice everything they have, these things may be. So, if I play against such players who could not be where they could have been, and if I win against them it gives me no pleasure except that I could play as I liked

You say you cannot describe the feeling of victory what about loss, can you describe it?
Loss.. mm .. is always a bad feeling, but what you do with your Losses is what makes a true champion. I mean, how different people handle their losses is what differentiates them from others. For me, loss is hard to digest, whether losing against a good player or bad player. I try never to play sport thinking my opponent is a super star, it can ruin the sports itself.

Going back to sports what is the latest official event that you have participated at and what was the outcome?
I ran a 5k ONLY for charity and I have never run marathon in my life, so I didn't know my own limits. I didn't participate in it as a sports event or to achieve anything out of it. I could have done better, at least 20 places or may be 30 without any practice or preparation. My last official sports event was badminton tournament in Nicosia, I lost in the first round of it.

To conclude do you live to sport or sport to live?
I live&sport.

Thank you, I hope you enjoyed it!
Thank you and yes, you made me realise how I feel about it, I never talked about sports, so I didn't know what I feel about it.

They have it! I am proud to see so many beautiful handmade stuff by my fellow citizens: Clepsidra and Andreea My wishlist would be this but I have to narrow down to 4 (my golden number).


Which ones should I pick?

I love it when it rains and then it stops and everything is gold plated by the sun struggling to reach earth through the clouds. I have been lucky enough to see this light and capture it in few pics of my beautiful Russian girlfriend Nadya. I hope you enjoy them too.









Do you have pics of a special natural lighting that you want to show? Pls share!

Save yourself to health by eating from this lifeboat of salad, Cool down and amaze your guests with this transparent beauty, Clock for detecting the color blindness and last but not least be green by growing vegetables and help recycle some wine bottles. All and more here.

I love each and every one of you, beauties, even if I know some of you will torture my foot and I will probably never wear you!

Which one is your favorite?

Before a river becomes river, it's just a small spring. Few buckets of cold water which run down through the mountain rocks creating a pretty sound and a lovely view.
Before I became me, woman n mother of my sweet baby girl, I too was running down the streets of the city with the same name as this river.
Enjoy some views from the mountains from my city...







And all these beautiful pictures thanks to the gorgeous high-school colleague, mother of this pretty boy:

The good thing about this Monday is that tomorrow is a holiday! So time to dream... and how can I not once I have seen these amazingly beautiful Turkish lamps... I definitely want them to decorate my ideal bedroom, can you imagine the atmosphere you can create with some lamps like this? Closest you can get to 1001 nights!


Copyright and purchase if interested here

Which one is your favorite?

Easter is long gone, but I am still due my article about the 2 traditional foods that I prepared for it... So here they are in their glory!


DROB recipe
INGREDIENTS for filling
500g liver ( I choose chicken it is softer than lamb)
1 bunch spring onion
few parsley leaves
few dill leaves
2 eggs
salt
peper
INGREDIENTS for crepes
1 cup flour
1 egg
milk as it requires
oil
METHOD
1. Mix the flour with egg and then pour milk until batter becomes a bit more liquid than sour-cream.
2. Heat the pan and pour a little oil. When it is hot pour batter to make a pancake. Repeat and make the second one. Set aside.
3. In another pan place the livers. Cook until done.
4. Place all the filling ingredients in a mixer and mix them.
5. Put one crepe in a pan, then the filling, then the other crepe and place in the oven for 1 hour. Cover with aluminum foil.
The traditional recipe asks for caul fat. I used the crepe instead.
Drob blends happily the freshness of spring onions with the creaminess of liver into a food that is both healthy and filling.


PASCA recipe
INGREDIENTS for filling
300g cottage cheese ( I used halloumi and feta since I couldn't find cottage)
3 eggs
100g sultanas
4 spoons orange juice
1/2 spoon vanilla flavor
1/4 cup sugar
INGREDIENTS for dough
500g flour
7g dry yeast
1 egg
milk as it requires
1 cup sugar
oil
METHOD
1. Mix the flour with yeast. Add the rest of ingredients and knead it for 15 minutes. Keep aside in a warm place until the size of the dough doubles.
2. Soak the sultanas in the orange juice until they become soft.
3. In case of using halloumi and feta, place them in water for 15 minutes that they will become less salty.
4. Place all the ingredients except the sultanas in a mixer and mix them. Take out and mix with the sultanas with a spoon.
5. When the dough has increased in size you can start to form small round shapes, or a big round one. Thickness should be around 2 cms. Place the filling inside and then let it rest for 10 minutes (warm place again).
6. Place in the oven until it's golden.
I love the unexpected blend of sweet sultanas and slightly salty cheese. This recipe is a surprisingly tasty one indeed.

I hope you had a very happy Easter with your families. What did you cook for Easter?

Talented graphic designer Noor has a beautiful giveaway. Join it! Good luck!

And to all your lovely ladies here's some clothes that women from 1750-1950 were wearing daily... gorgeous stuff and look at all the flower prints... If you are in Belgium visit this museum in the weekend and update me with some more photos...

Lately I did not travel anywhere but fortunately I got some eye candy from talented Prasad. He went to Brasil and took these lovely pics... Enjoy!













He has some food recommendation for us too:
feijoada

churascaria

Trying our my decoration skills with March 8 flower present from the team close by...


Flower border between N and S Cyprus


Lemon bloom close to my house


Greek taverna by the sea


Waiting for customers


Swans discussing the latest fashion in clingy flowers


Flowers of the sea


My flower


Mountain flower :)

Why not try some Romanian Easter goodies?


1. Drop - baked minced lamb liver and greeneries
2. Cozonac - sweet bread (usually for Easter it's Pasca)

Actually what I'm going to do is a bit different version of the 2 above.
1. Drob is usually cooked in lamb cawl. I'm going to use 2 crepes. So basically I will lay down a crepe, lay the minced lamb liver, green onion, green garlic, parsley, dill, egg and salt, cover it with another crepe and bake it.
2. Pasca is sweet cottage cheese mix with sultanas inside fluffly sweet bread. Since my oven is underperforming I will use some thin sweet dough to cover the cheese mix and then oil it, sugar it and bake it...

Keep posted for the full recipes...

My friend from India strikes again... Loot at these babies:

For Orthodox people around the world Easter is still a week away, so that gives me time to plan and think all the nice decorations and food that I will be making for my baby's second Easter. But since she was tiny at her first one, and I was too tired to get a hold of motherhood this time around I hope I have a bit more time to paint eggs and decorate and cook something special.
Easter is one of the most beloved Romanian holiday and celebrating it starts with Flower Day - last Sunday before the Easter, when everyone goes to church and brings some willow branches (which at the time have small puffy buds) which are emerged by the priest in Holy water and then given back to the people. They usually make a wreath and place it above the holy icons. It is supposed to help during sicknesses.

Then comes the fasting which is normally more strict during that week, culminating with Friday, when everyone goes to church and passes from below the table.

All Saturday people prepare food and then Saturday evening a long mass is taking place with gorgeous sad songs, and at midnight the priest is bringing out the "light" (a candle) with the good news of Christs resurrection. The food is blessed and people "take the light" (light their own candles from the priest's candle) and circle the church 3 times.
And then it's party time... People go home and start colored eggs competition trying to see whose eggs are strongest to survive knocking. While they knock the eggs they say Jesus has risen and the answer is Truly he has risen.

Now something that I regret is that I did not learn how to decorate eggs in the traditional Romanian way. Look how pretty they are:


But while I cannot do that I am trying to find some easy DIY tips from genius Martha Stewart. Some ideas that I loved:


To see some eggs that I decorated in the past click here and here. Note, they are plastic wrappers that once put in water shrink around the egg, quite a good idea I might add so.

What are your plans for Easter? Do you celebrate differently?

To make colored eggs just like here and here

A very belated Happy NoRuz!


For my baby's bday I decided to decorate salad olivieh with red pepper roses. I know the spiral technique in drawing roses on paper and I decided to apply it in my salad decoration as well. The only thing I had to do to cut strips of baked red pepper and to roll them into a spiral. For the big one I cut a circle into the pepper, then on top of it a small spiral and in the middle a small triangle.


for the recipe of salad olivieh click here. To see a Russian photo session of the salad click here. To see a rawish pinkish version click here.

My favorite scarves from Liberty London. A bit expensive but 100% silk or cashmere and beautiful!


How to wear scarves in a funny and witty video

Last time I took professional pictures I was so happy with the result that I had decided to always go to Ioana to have my pictures taken.
But never say never because when I saw a facebook competition with another talented photographer offering a free photo session, I decided to give it a try, especially that my baby's birthday is coming up. I thought it will be very nice to have a beautiful memory of this special moment. So I asked many of my friends to like the link - this was the rule. On the hour of the deadline, I found out that even if I collected many votes someone else had even more. I was a bit disappointed but I congratulated the winner and I was truly happy for her. I also befriended her on facebook. Then I posted that even if I am happy I had caught up with some friends to whom I haven't spoken in a loooong time, I was a bit sad my baby will not have a pro photo session.
Now here comes the surprise factor in life! The winner, a girl whom I barely knew, decided to make this free photo session a gift to my baby. How incredibly sweet and kind of her, I thought, but I had some scruples accepting the prize as she won it fair and square and I didn't want to deprive her beautiful family of the gift! Only after talking to her I understood she had 100% decided to it giveaway and even convinced the photographer to accept the replacement!
So on a sunny Saturday afternoon we met in a park. The weather could not have been better, the sky was blue, the grass was green as if God himself had decided to give this perfect weather as a gift for my baby's birthday.
We had taken some pics in different poses and off we were to the playground! This is where my baby really loosened up and had a blast of a time in the swing. Then I wanted to move the session across the road close to the sea. I've always loved the sea and I thought to have some pics with it! The pics were taken and as the photographers went away we stayed for one more swing session for my baby n me.
A week after the pics came. They were incredible! It was as if Cristian had not taken pictures of us, but of the pure happiness of parenthood of the beautiful innocence of childhood and of the great love that unites kids to parents and viceversa.
As a conclusion, I would like to thank Cristian, Ramona (the winner) and last but not least to Ioana as well. I feel both Ioana and Cristian are exceptionally talented photographers having different styles and one common trait: they manage to make the world look more beautiful as I am sure only they can see it through their eyes/ lenses.


See the pictures resulted here on Cristian's website.

For a very long time this post is due! I have been quite crafty lately which resulted in some stuff, which I am proud of.


Scarf made of an actual gift wrapping material.


Here I am wearing it... I put a small pearl as a button to close it at the back.


I made this mobile cover out of the protecting leather flip of my Samsung phone and pink thread. I just crocheted around it.


Back of the mobile cover.


Finally I made this pom poms out of plastic bags as a decoration for the upcoming first bday of my baby. Notice the small bows behind? I made them too...

It's flower time in Cyprus! Everywhere you look flowers and grass... especially in the Cypriot courtyards. Today morning it was raining a bit but in between I caught the sun's attempt to shine and took some pics of these neighbors of mine:











Do share some links with pictures of flowers close to your house, in the comments.

And a bonus - while I was looking for pictures of my last year's spring flowers shootout, I found them, but then realized they are actually 2 years old... oh how the time flies...

On March 1st and 8th, my fb page was full of flowers and lovely wishes for women. How beautiful! I was too busy to wish all the readers from this blog Happy Women's Day, but better late than never. So here you go ladies this one goes for you:


Because you are delicate, imaginative, beautiful and organized I wish you a lovely spring!
Happy March 8th! Happy women's day!
Credits and more details on the collage: 1, 2, 3 and 4.

Oh how I love Polyvore . com ! This allows me to have endless number of clothes, without having to actually buy them, it's my virtual wardrobe. Needless to say I love it so much more than my actual wardrobe? Mix and match all the possible brands and clothes. Today I am in love with pale pink. So much! I would go out in this dress to Four seasons, Limassol, Cyprus to have their ice cream at the border of the pool & sea!

"There is a garden in every childhood, an enchanted place where colors are brighter, the air softer, and the morning more fragrant than ever again". Elizabeth Lawrence

where is your garden? what is it's name?

It's Fridayyyy!!! Weekend is coming but I have to work evening shift tonight so just browsing some office clothes. This is from Tally Wally like I like to call it, or Tally Weijl, like it is really called. My choices of this virtual shopping session:


Office


Funky weekend out with the girls day n night, this reminds me of England.

Hello can anyone please tell me the name of this flower?



I got it as a gift from my hubby and I don't know how to take care of it. Until now I have put some water when the plate gets dry, but I am not sure if I am not overfeeding it. Please help!

Copyright credit, I did not take this picture, but I saw it on a Romanian cooking site. It was the only picture of the flower that I saw and I really need help as I don't want my flower to die.

Interesting link about scale of almost everything big and small

It makes you feel so small, yet so big at the same time!!! Unbelievable work!

Today Lida came wearing a beautiful Fair Isle sweater/ dress. It was very pretty and elegant, just made me want to have one of my own. Maybe not the same color, hers was black. So back to the beloved internet which instantly satisfies all my fashion cravings...


Fair Isle sweater, diamond sweater, snikers

My favorite stores M&S and Debenhams have beautiful new collections.


Flowers, dots, dots, stripes, stripes, dots. It all sounds boring but... oh how wonderfully different they are and such nice attention to detail in all of them.


I should not combine princess dresses how I call them with others, but I think the last 2 are so exquisite they almost raise to the princess status. If only the red dress would be a little darker... sigh

Is it just me or these images are indecently pornographic and almost subliminal? Please someone inject some chocolate in my veins!

Imagine waking up in a small villa close to the Caspian sea and at the same time close to the mountain. As you go to the hayat (courtyard) you see the majestic green mountains clouded by puffy white mittens and hear the simple noises of the countryside as a pleasant background noise. Maman (mother) already prepared tea, and dadash (brother) is coming from the bakery with some barbary bread. The smell of fresh bread sprinkled with susan seeds, without any E's added to it to preserve it because is so delicious that it will be eaten instantly in sobunet (breakfast), the smell of fresh black tea leaves, cardamom and saffron, the fragrance of fresh whipped cream and strawberry jam... fills up all your senses!
And then baba (father) comes back with a surprise, our neighbor is planning to visit his house on top of the mountain and has invited us on the spur of the moment to have lunch with his family. Happily we agree and go to meet up their car in a location commonly agreed upon. On the way we pick up some noonehamei(sweets with whipped cream) and a small gift for the house. Then comes few hours of driving in the mountains with beautiful views, waterfalls, wondering if we got lost or not, as there are absolutely no signs, thinking that this road is one that only the eagles would see from above. Finally we stop in front of few isolated houses on the tip top of the mountain.



As I consider picking some nettles to cook them and suspect we are completely lost, our neighbor arrives. He opens up the door and we are welcome in a new house with a small kitchen combined with a living room and a bedroom. The house is filled only with Persian carpets, moutakas (kind of a flat pillow which is a bit tough and used as a chair) and some decorations. Even if the sun is shinning bright and it is noon, it is still very cold so the fireplace is put to work. Soon the fresh mountain air smells like fire. The tea is being boiled and rice & kebab is being prepared by the young wife dressed in a beige manto(coat), pants and silk scarf. I keep on thinking that her beauty must have better put in value by some bright colors, but modesty is more valued there and most people dress in bland or black colors.
We are fed fruits, tea, very tasty spreadable cheese and honey. Oh that honey! It was made by their own bees and I could feel the flavor of each and every flower those bees were landing on! If I were Mozart I would write a song about the taste of that honey.
I kept of thinking about the tranquility of their lives, where the only events must be the weddings and engagements. Just taking care of cattle, growing rice, collecting honey, with no deadlines, appraisals or firings to worry for... Meditating about life while looking at scenery which seem to be out of Sound of the music or Heidi can give a completely different outlook on life.



But one does not have enough time to meditate too much, because the sun goes down fast in the mountains and soon it was time for Mr sun to go to sleep. The mountains became covered with fog in the golden light of the sunset and time to go back to the village.

Happy March 1st!
that smell of snow that melts in your palm or on a snowdrop
that sky that wants to become blue
lilies of the valley, daffodils, hyacinths and other beauties
those buds that will become cherry flowers

A wonderful spring to all you beautiful ladies!

1 Martie fericit!
mirosul zapazii ce se topeste in palma sau pe un ghiocel
cerul care vrea sa devina albastru
lacramioare, narcise, zambile si alte frumuseti
mugurii ce vor deveni flori de cires

Sa aveti o primavara minunata!

This is for my beautiful friend Ana! She will be coming to visit us and I thought to create a mini guide to the island for her.

Cyprus is really small and even if I live here for 7 years, I can't say I have seen it all, but at least I know what not to miss if you come to the island. So obviously I will be talking about what I know and leave you guys to add something which I missed. There is one thing which I can say, is that each beach is beautiful and unique and worth seeing.


Larnaca will be the place where you land, the landing itself introduces you to the island as you could be able to see Larnaca's beach for the first time. One of the most beautiful aerial views that I have seen. Attractions: Finigoudis beach and marina, salt lake with seasonal bird watching, Lazarus church, Tekke mosque - a cool place in the heat of the sun and To Varelli restaurant. Larnaca is one of the most romantic cities in the world for me because I got married there.


Limassol is my city, OK it's not mine, but it is the one closest to my heart. I live here, I love here, I gave birth to my baby here... So it's natural that I think it's the most beautiful. It is one of the most eventful cities in Cyprus too with the carnival and the wine festival going on here. Attractions: Dassoudi beach, sea front, Lady's mile beach, waterpark, Limassol old town and castle. Close to Limassol it's Kourium beach which has an amazing view from the elevated highway and some archeological sites (Apollo temple, etc). Another attraction close to Limassol is Lefkara the pretty village of silver and embroidery. Lefkara hosts the wax figure museum which shows the history of Cyprus in wax statues.


Governor's beach is another place close to Limassol worth visiting. It'a a beautiful rocky and sandy beach which provides a great advantage of swimming in shadow (not long distances though). It's the place where I've seen a meteor shower by coincidence, had candle light dinner,danced on the beach, did skinny dipping and was awake for all the night, all in the same night and first time events in my life.


If you want to see the most beautiful beach in Cyprus, the cleanest water and have the hardest partying experience you should go to Agya Napa. Attractions: Nissi beach, Protaras beach, the clubs (especially Jasmine with the fire dancing at 11 PM, so cool), sea caves, natural bridge and Cave greco. All water sports are of course available, but don't miss the snorkeling at Cave greco and eating fish meze at the restaurant at limanaki (small port).


Paphos is particularly beautiful cause of it's port. Attractions: port, UNESCO archeological site, tomb of kings, castle. When I write castle you must not imagine some huge building but one-two room buildings looking like a tower :).


Troodos is the name of the mountains. Sprinkled with cute villages, Troodos is a good destination if you want to get rid of the heat and change scenery. Conveniently located within 30 mins driving of the sea (the advantage of living in such a small country) it has the following attractions: Troodos, Platres, Kaledonia waterfal (and few more) and Kykkos monastery. Kykkos is a very colorful monastery, which shows the richness of the Orthodox church and religiosity of rich Cypriots. Minuses - 3 hours drive in a not so thrilling highway.


</a>
There are few more places which are nice to see: Akavas gorge (mini canyon) and the Venetian bridges. Some of the events organized: Mediterranean dance festival, Carnival, Wine festival, Shakespeare theater in ancient open air theater.

For Famagusta pictures (North Cyprus - turkish inhabitants) click here

Some not to miss food specialities include: taramo salada, grilled haloumi, kalamari, sheftalia, patates antinaxes, fish meze, pastourma, kleftico, meat meze, souvla, greek
salad. Drinks: ouzo, zivania, comandaria, frape.

To conclude, it's nice to be a tourist in a country where you have a friend cause he/she can give you all the tips you need, and you are sure at least not to go to a bad restaurant!

The Oscar 2012 is finished, and we have winners (hip hip hurray for A separation) and almost winners. One thing that stays in the memory of everyone, at least in the memory of all the women will be the dresses. Just finished browsing through them and I have my own winners.


These are my favorite dresses , that I would wear! Penelope's dress is my all time favorite! Second dress- gorgeous, look at the different textures and flow of it! Last one is also very pretty, with a very small modification, shorter sleeves.


These are some dresses that are sophisticated and beautiful, but I don't see myself wearing (maybe I would make an exception for the pale green one). First one amazing intricate embroidery, second, such ingenious sexy design (I would love to see it in dark green or maroon) third one simple yet intricate, and it goes beautifully with her hair.


These 3 dresses were judged harshly by fashion critiques, but I completely disagree. First one is just a gorgeous, off the shoulder golden beauty. Second one, I am not sure how I feel about the transparent line, but it sure makes the dress more unusual, sexy and un-simplifies it. Third one, I must say Louise, you chose a beautiful outfit, which I would never dare to choose and you rock it. I am not too crazy about the purse, it is a bit too much. But overall you look gorgeous as always!
Louise is one of my favorite TV stars with her Plain Jane show on MTV.

I have quite a few friends who fit this description. Pretty, smart, kind, yet unmarried, by choice or by chance. I was thinking it would be nice to have an interview to get to the root cause of this situation. So I contacted my favorite movie reviewer Ana to participate in my quest :). She not only happily accepted, but improved on my idea and made it a double interview by involving her boyfriend! Oh, I was so excited! So here they are: Ana and Mihnea, 30, flirty, fabulous and free / or not?

How would you define your relationship status?
I am currently involved in a stable relationship. I wouldn’t call myself “free”as in available, but as in having free-will, which is something we all have and should exert towards good. How was that? All things are allowed, but all of them are useful. I’am allowed to do anything, but nothing should reign over me.
Committed.

Why do you think you are still unmarried?
Before I answer, let me just say... when you say it like that it’s like assuming that achieving the status of “being married” is compulsory and I must have failed somehow because I am still unmarried by this time in my life. Now, I don’t think, I know that I am still not married by choice. Also the fact that I haven’t found someone with whom I shared enough solid principles and common ground to actually begin building a family had something to do with it. I’ve been close, but that’s all. Almost doesn’t count :-)
Didn't get the chance to propose yet.

What are the essential attributes that you think a man should have to be a possible husband / wife?
Responsibility, maturity, endurance in the face of life hardships. But nothing is possible without love. So that must be the foremost binder between us.
Physically attractive, good communication skills, problem-solving oriented, parenting and cooking skills are a plus.

Did any of your boyfriends/ girlfriends have these attributes?
Sure - but there is no such thing as a perfect man. Each of them had qualities and his own flaws, the main thing was how our characters would end up when put together, seeking a balance within the couple.
Yes.

How many nights out per month do you go out?
By going out meaning taking dinner somewhere in town, or meeting friends for pool, or clubbing …usually once every week or every other two weeks. Sometime more often, others we stay mostly in.
Four times average.

Do you enjoy more clubbing with girlfriends than with boyfriends?
I enjoy it anyway, I love dancing and I feel good when I go there. The main thing is the right music and good company, no matter the gender.
No.

Do you differentiate a lot between marriage and living in relationships?
Not necessarily from my point of view, but because society looks at the definitive (or so-presumed) change of status, this also affects the relationship. But the most important difference I suppose it’s in the courage of assuming a decision of this sort, a promise that you are meant to keep “till death do us part”.
Yes, marriage has a bigger psychological effect.

Would you consider to have children without being married?
I would definitely say no, except there were times in my life when I excluded quite stubbornly things that later on really happened. So never say never.
Yes but I wouldn't it want to happen that way.

Which man/ woman do you consider to be a hottie?
Which man? generally speaking? Right now my boyfriend. If I am to asses purely on a fantasy level, there are more than one examples in actors. Maybe I’ll make my own Hot top 10 on raluk.ro. 
Scarlett Johansson.

What do you like a man/ woman's opening line to be?
It depends on the context. I appreciate straight to the point and forward people, because that way I can appreciate better what they bring to the table.
Flirty and obvious.

Do you take initiative if you like a man/ woman?
Again, depends. But generally yes, I do. I like simple things in some areas that are saturated with complication otherwise.
Haha, 99% of the time.

What do you think is sexy in a woman/ man?
Attitude - being charming and graceful within yourself, not as an act that is put on.
Confident in his actions/decisions, self awareness, resourcefulness (not necessary financially) and a great sense of humor.

Do you have any 5 year plan regarding your personal life?
Yes.
Put the "family jewels" to some good use.

What is the most romantic gesture a man/ woman has made for you? (and vice versa)
Gosh, I really cannot think of any... it’s either that I haven’t really had that many romantic gestures made for me, or that my suspicious nature doesn’t really tolerate gestures that approach the “phony”side of things, faking things that aren’t there. So... in this context I must at least mention the latest thing that happened on Valentine’s Day - only when the evening came I found out that we had reservations to a very nice Italian restaurant. And I baked some special cookies (Bavarian Sugar cookies, like I saw in a movie) for him, in a very short time between work and meeting him - he never saw it coming.
  -

Some things you enjoy doing alone?
Watching movies, writing reviews, reading, learning new things (right now I’m tackling German - “Wie geht’s?”)), listening to music, running - a newly discovered pleasure.
Weighting life goals, indulging my personal pleasures and of course spending quality time with my tomcat.

What compromises did you do for a guy / girl that now you regret?
Doing things that I didn’t understand or outright believed they were wrong, all for the sake of the relationship. Two wrongs can’t make a right.
Fell in love despite her bad temper towards me.  

What did you learn from your relationships and how did this change you?
Trusting my guts more and acting first of all in accordance with myself. How else? what doesn't kill you makes you stronger - because you survived it :-)
Women have a different "language/communication protocol". Using it the right way helps a lot.

When my husband came back from Germany last year, our collection of pictures had an add on of 500 +. Some of them were really lovely and I've been meaning to post them for such a long time, but now I am glad I didn't. Because his pictures turned into these, even more beautiful watercolors. Our camera was dying at the time and the quality of the pictures was not so great, but now, all of that turned into this: