Coffee Anyone?

I’m opening my little blog window today to welcome you in for some coffee and cake or tea and cookies. 

                                                                  Whatever pleases you! 

 At these crazy and scary times of lockdown, social isolation and distancing, we need to have something pleasant to look forward to during the endless hours of being ‘locked in’, and worrying about the future.  Scientists say that we need to have a daily routine to keep us occupied and make us feel less anxious.

My routine includes some ‘me’ time, drinking my favourite coffee in a pretty, welcoming, and colourful environment.  

  When the weather is good , I’m really happy to go out on my balcony and sit among the flower pots , feel the sun on my face and sip my aromatic , filter coffee.  You don’t need much to feel good. Just take some time to create a pretty ‘scenery’ for you, a cosy, sweet place  at home. The right matching of colours can work miracles. Colours can calm you down. 

  I adore pastel colours, most shades of pink, red, light green, off whites, light blues and so many more.

In the pictures that follow, I have set up the scene for my morning coffee on the balcony, surrounded by lots of greenery, flowers (mainly artificial ones) wreathes, dream catchers and of course my favourite china and homemade cakes. 

I hope that you like it and that I’ve given you some ideas to create your ‘happy’ corner at home to make these days less stressful and more optimistic.

 My love to all. Take care!!

Tina

Autumn!

Hello everyone! I’m happily back to blogland  after a month or so and I can sincerely say I missed this little  blog of mine and you , a lot.

 I was away for the whole month of August and with no internet connection!

It is good to keep some distance from the social media for some time, I think,and come back with recharged batteries and  ready for fresh beginnings. 

Anyway, we are already reaching the mid of September and summer, though it is still quite warm and sunny in my country, seems quite distant. I’m quite happy autumn is here  and with being back at home , although dealing with a  lot of  having -to- do lists is sometimes overwhelming.

This time of year my little secret pleasure is when I spot, in the wild , the first cyclamens growing in moist soil  with their delicate petals and soft , pink colour and the most delicate but intense smell. I can’t resist picking some of them up and bringing them home. I arrange them in a tiny vase along with some green leaves and always feel the same sweet feeling every time I rest my eyes on them.

Schools started yesterday in Greece but I’m still on maternity leave for few more months , so I spend the days with my little one who’s growing fast and forming his own personality with his  own preferences , likes, dislikes and needs. 

 My camera unfortunately refuses to work and I can't take pictures to show you bits and pieces of  my everyday world and crafts (snif) but one of my short term goals is to buy a new one -which I should have done ages ago... - so that I can be able again to indulge in one of my most pleasurable activities: taking pictures and sharing them with others.

 I wish you all a lovely Autumn  with many creative ideas  for crafts and activities that make our lives happier and a lot better . My love to all ,

Tina xxx

His first snow!

My wish came true and snowed again last night! I was playing with the baby inside, when I took a look out of the window to discern the bluish white of the snow  on the rooftops and gardens of the surrounding houses under a dark, evening sky!

Oh how  happy I was! No other sound was heard apart from the soft, reassuring   sound of the falling snow. I felt so good to be inside a warm house.

 Today morning ,I got up early and ventured  outside on the balcony, still in my pyjamas and  a heavy coat on  ,to look at  the snow covered neighbourhood and take some pictures of the white landscape. I was cold but decided to capture the moment!

 Later in the day, the sun reappeared and the snow started to melt . Everything was  bright and sparkling, but slowly disappearing like a palace made of snow in a fairy tale.

  I decided  on the spot that I wanted to share the beauty of snow with my baby, 

 but I couldn’t take him out to the bitter cold. So, I brought some snow in , on a plate!

 We sat down on the floor of his room and he touched the snow for the first time and made his first tiny snowball that soon started to melt in his little hand. Oh my little darling, I liked his reactions when he touched the cold thing and then, when he squeezed it between his little fingers .

   It’s amazing and moving to realize how  a little person makes his first ‘steps’ in life and has his  first experiences  of things we adults take for granted , but for him , I suppose , everything is an exciting ,new experience, an  adventure which will help him grow faster and better .

 I want to create many  exciting ‘experiences’ for him  every day and see him evolve through and by them.

After this first encounter with the fluffy snow in a plate, our little fingers were cold so we desperately needed to snuggle under a crochet blanket and feel cosy and warm like all little and  not so little creatures  wish to feel on a cold snowy winter day!

My love to all,

Tina xxx

These days ........

These days I’m spending most time at home looking after my sweet baby who’s growing up fast  and attracting almost all my attention and care.

 As  I have been working almost all my adult life , now is the first time that I spend so much time at home (I’m on maternity leave)  , without the worries of setting and achieving goals at work, keeping  deadlines, dealing with lots of people  and demands , but also feeling  the  self fulfillment  that comes with realizing your goals and tasting the ‘fruit of your labours’.

 I love my job and I always try to set new challenges for me and my students each year to  make lessons more fruitful and attractive .

  But  of course, I also greatly enjoy this luxury of time spent at home , without having to rush to get to work in time and  preparing for the next day.

Still, as I am a person who loves and appreciates creativity and loves changes, I  try to find some time to be creative  and productive at home !

To be honest , these days I’m mostly thinking about  things I can make for the baby’s room and christening and I have so many ideas that it is rather hard to make up my mind .

 I’m on a brainstorming phase now , collecting ideas and information and I hope to finally decide what I will make and start working on it !

The photos I’m sharing with you today give you some idea of my life these days .

We carved a pumpkin on Halloween for the first time this year . 

 We don’t celebrate Halloween in Greece but  as we live in a global village we are starting to borrow some elements from this Celtic tradition. I also made a spicy pumpkin soup which was very much to my taste!

You know I love little vignettes around my home.

 This one is inspired by woods in autumn and winter and  forest creatures !!

  I love it so much I think I’ll keep it for Christmas and I will add some holy and ivy  and some ‘snow’.

Look at my little collection of tiny houses. I love them and  I can’t resist buying one when I find them. Aren’t they cute? 

 I want to use some of them to make something for the baby’s room but I’m not sure yet, what this something will be ……

We went on a day trip to the mountain the other day . 

 The colours of the leaves were spectacular , the blue sky and the light were so bright that it felt like spring!

 I love little escapes to Nature, to little picturesque villages with pretty little shops selling  local produce ,

and handmade items and places where you can enjoy a cup of cappuccino and a sweet, breathe in the mountain air and feel relaxed and happy.

That’s all for now dear readers , I hope you are all well and have a good time at home and at work !

My love,

Tina xJ