Destination ---> Vacation!

Destination ---> Vacation!, originally uploaded by ivy style33.


Hello :)....days have been rather busy lately, therefore the infrequent posts here - there have been some posting over at my flickr account  though - in case you follow me there!...I hope you are all very well!

So, what do we have in the picture above?

Vacation mode! We shall be flying to Greece tonight for about two weeks. Other than that, we had some first prints made totally unofficially, just to see how my photographs appear when printed.

There is work I need to do with the watermark and some details. Then choose the sizes to be available, as much as decide on the paper.
Apart from that, we are both quite happy with my work, so it will be launched soon in my Etsy shop.

But first of all, as already said, vacations! Will you be spending some holidays already somewhere?....or maybe relaxing at home?
We are heading to Apartment 44, from where I might post a picture or two here and over at flickr, if the time allows for it.
At the begining on next week we shall be touring around, possibly our destination including one of the many, many, beautiful Greek islands!
My batteries need to be charged and my mind to empty, as upon my return continuous work awaits for me, something I'm very pleased with.

So, happy - belated - beginning of June to all!...and if you live in a place of this world where summer is on its way...Happy summer and happy vacation to all of you!

Love, health, creativity & happiness :)!

Goodmorning love...

Goodmorning love..., originally uploaded by ivy style33.

....coz you can judge a good morning from its early beginning...the Greeks used to say - these days when they were less busy with protesting and complaining instead of concentrating on work - that: "I kali mera ap' to prwi fenetai"...or "A good day can be seen from its morning", the word morning standing here for an early beginning....there's not much philosophy in it...but a lot of practical truth...

...provide your organism with good nutrition to handle with the day ahead and do it in the best possible manner....referring both to the environment & table setting, but also to the people we are sharing our mornings with.

I think a lot of relationships are judged in the morning....and it is so rewarding to realise that you are begining your day with a person you mostly want to be with...and in case the realisation goes the other direction, then change would most probably be a solution....leading us to a more fullfilled way of living.

Look around you....

Look around you - love can be everywhere, originally uploaded by ivy style33.

Look around you - love can be everywhere, but of course also
Look inside you - love is hiding there!

...some years ago I realised that living with love is a priority in my life. This doesn't necessarily involve only a romantic approach in to seeing things and it definetely doesn't always mean, that life is seen through pink glasses all the time!

But what does it involve?

It involves living with the truth, living healthy and with sanity.

It invloves living with an understanding both for the self and others.

It involves being fair...oh! so hard in this competitive world!

It involves having the best of intentions, but also being able to move away

from situations, when they prove to be a simple repetance of things wrong.

It involves encouraging others to be the best they can, but also letting it go, when there is a feeling of extreme resistance from the opposite side.

It involves looking inside ourselves for answers, before we point our fingers to others for our misfortunes.

It involves being grateful for the gift of life.

It involves appreciating whatever we might have.

It involves bringing our existences to their highest possible point by

doing the best we can for ourselves and others.

I guess it also involves being authentic, by taking the time to discover ourselves and allow inspiration to come from within....

...again rather hard when inspiration lies everywhere around us, to keep the balance...to look inside in order to offer a  true part of ourselves....

Welcome  to my Diary of Love....where pictures and words will melt in each other, for the only purpose of reminding us the priceless value of love.

It might sound simple, but sometimes real love is a tough path to follow.

Coz loving life means to embrace both the good & the bad, both the bright & the dark...accepting their dual existance and simply making clear choices.

cake love & a happy new week!

cake love & a happy new week!, originally uploaded by ivy style33.

Hello there :)

I hope you all had a delightful weekend and were able to find happiness in the small, simple & important things, among others of course!
Thanks to the recipe & precise instructions of a lovely online friend, enjoying a delicious carrot cake was one of the highlights of this weekend.
 Oh!...the pleasure of accomplishment....can sometimes be found is such simple things as trying to bake a new cake recipe, succeeding, enjoying it or in exploring our artistic natures, such as when crafting and/or photographing for example...

....there are certainly talents & passions in every individual and investing time into exploring them is a valuable way of finding pleasure, a sense of achievement & happiness, that doesn't depend on others, our relationships or our formal jobs, but it is simple and deeply connected to ourselves.

There is always time, if we think about it, sometimes more and sometimes less, depending on our current life conditions. But there is no such thing as being passionate about something and not ever finding the way and the time to be engaged in it!

...and sometimes all we people need is a gentle push and a reassuring tap on our shoulders!

What about you?....what are you passionate about and try to make up time in order to be involved with it?

Or if there is practically no time in your daily lives now, what is it that you wish to and plan for doing, as soon as this is possible?

What is it that you love to do during which you forget yourself and at the same time you find yourself?

Are you maybe lucky enough and have already worked hard to have made your passion be your daily reality, way of living and possibly your formal job?

What a way to start a week....by posing questions! But my intentions are to wish you all a lovely week and do think, that by encouraging us to do the things we really love, is a possible way of managing to experience meaningful moments of happiness throughout our days.

As far as my weekend is concerned, I did take the advice of many of you here, who commented on this recent post - expressing much tireness and temporary inability to move forward - and all I did was relax and free my mind from thoughts!

On line engagement was also limited, despite the fact that the whole Saturday was spent at home, engaging in to such activities, as magazine reading, crafting, cooking & spending nice time with loved ones.

Sunday was a fine day out, with the weather finally showing a more Springy face! Visting family for lunch and early afternoon coffee & cake and  then long walks in the woods, while being on a Photo Safari (of which pictures will be soon shared on flickr) were excellent for bringing peace in a lately overworried mind, settling emotions and charging the self's batteries. Isn't nature one of the most wonderful presents?...and companionship just another one?

Thank you all for taking the time to share and comment here lately! Have the loveliest of weeks!

...and a very Happy Weekend!

Dots & strawberries :), originally uploaded by ivy style33.

...it's May...
...it's actually the middle of May...
...it has been rainy, grey & cold since almost the past two weeks...
...long walks and bicycling aren't exactly favorited...
...but life is good when we make it good...
...and that's why I' m wishing you to spend a weekend as lovely as you can...
...despite the weather or other possible unpleasant conditions - in case there are some...
...and have gathered here in this small mosaic...
... moments of this week, which were happy and sweet and carefree...
...eventhough there were also moments of sadness and darker thoughts as mentioned here.

Breakfast time, shared with my partner is something I cherish like a treasure and so are - not so often - meetings with friends, like the one I had yesterday with a very dear one of mine.

Enjoyed Thai soup in a nice, newly opened and minimally decorated place and then hot chocolate and homemade cake at a favorite cafe in Mainz and strolled around the small art & handmade fair, where these super cute & happy dotted cups and mugs were found!

May this weekend result for all of us in a happy combination, much as strawberries and dots  make!