Yellow bicycle

I love it when people get inventive! Apart form the actual necklace, I love the mise en scene. Genevieve Gail at Etsy, found here.

My Greek Etsy

I love Etsy, the uniqueness, the community...Now I have one more reason to enjoy Etsy: one of its leading ladies is Greek-American. Maria, CEO! Check her profile here. Yia sou, Maria!

Flair for Fabric giveaway

Sophie of Flair for Fabric has just opened her new shop. It is very fresh, modern and easy to navigate. Do stop by and say hello. You may also want to add a comment for a chance to win 1 copy of Amy Butler Softwares. To join, click here.

Greek Weddings-Greek Wedding Fashion (Part I)

Hello and welcome to a new post dedicated to helping you create the Greek wedding you dream of! Today I have handpicked the very best of wedding gowns and the top of the crops of Greek stylists.
Weddings are a big social do for Greeks around the globe. In recent years Greece has seen the opening of Vera Wang and Valentino boutiques, so your options for international high end shopping are open. What I want to show you today though, are some Greek stylists wotrth considering.

Daisy Antonopoulos is an institution by herself. She has been a favorite among Greek actresses and the beau monde of the 60s and 70s. She has also dressed the late Christina Onassis for her wedding to Alexander Andreadis and she has also provided her daughters' Athena Onassis christening gowns.

Very much is a family business to this day, it is now run by Mrs. Antonopoulos' grand daughter.

Loukia is a very special couturiere, and a longtime favorite of my mom's. It is worth visiting her atelie in Athens, anyway.

Loukia also creates theatrical costumes bearing her own unmistakable signature style.

My personal favorite is Celia Kritharioti. I first saw her featured in Seventeen some twenty something years ago, and I have been following her progress ever since.

I love her signature pink and stripe gowns!

Here she is pictured with Natalia Vodianova.

Apart from wedding gowns Celia Kritharioti creates beautiful gowns with the very best of fabrics and lace, as well as a new line of pret-a-porter. Check the Celia Kritharioti website here.

I hope you enjoyed today's post. Come back next Thursday for yet another tour of the Greek Wedding scene. Have fun!

Daisy by Cathy Savels on Etsy

Some days ago I bought some beads from an Etsy shop. They were so special that I decided to search the shop a little more. What I found out was that Ms. Cathy Savels does more than saucing lovely beads. She is a mixed media artist, based in France, and this amazing work above is one of her nature inspired art.

This painting was constructed of cotton fabric, cut into strips and knotted. These were then carefully glued into place. The petals were folded fabric. The work was then painted in acrylics and sealed.

To see more works visit Cathy Savels website here and her Etsy shop here.

New Arrivals: Maya Romanoff

I'm quite excited to announce the beginning of a new partnership. The American newcomer is MAYA ROMANOFF extraordinary surfacing materials through Pierre Frey who represents Romanoff in Europe.


Wallpaper cut, shaped, and applied to resemble flowering magnolia trees.
"Done on a much smaller scale, this would be fabulous in one's home. Possibly as a family tree with tiny photos of family members in the center of each flower. Scrap paper or fabric could be used in lieu of wall paper for the flowers....ideas are endless", writes High Desert Diva. Romanoff specialises in special techiniques and styles for the discerning customer both in private and work oriented projects. Materials used include crystal, leather, mother of pearl and rafia.You may visit the Maya Romanoff website here and view a video on their work right below.Here is to new beginnings.

Greek Weddings In Athens

Hello and welcome to my regular Thursday post on organising your future wedding and honeymoon in Greece. Actually, you do not need read this only if you are planning a wedding, as we shall be covering areas that will provide you with ideas for a trip or a vacation in Greece. Today, I am going to show you around some of Athens' most fashionably chic venues for your wedding (or second honeymoon) party.

The number one place to have your party, any kind of party, is Island. It is situated along the road to Sounio and the magnificent temple of Poseidon, the sea-god. There is a Greek Orthodox church amidst the ancient olive groves, excellent food, seating for any number of guests from the secluded and private to the cosmopolitan.



The other place to see and be seen is Akrotiri, in the Agios Kosmas area, along the Athenian Riviera. With a capacity of up to 3000, it is the place to be if you want a trully big, young and noisy wedding in Athens.

A relatively quieter yet young and elegant choice for the beau monde is Coast. Situated by the coast, in the Voula area, the Coast can accomodate and cater for all kinds of functions, including weddings.


If on the other hand you are looking for some old world glamour, I have the perfect suggestions for you. See you here next Thursday for the most chic and preppy wedding and social events venues in the Athens area. Till then, don't stop dreaming!

{Love Domino Style}-Spring Gardens

Take a look. Indoors or outdoors, they sing Spring to me!...

Beautiful flowers, pots and garden rooms via Sarah Leeab's beautiful selection at Flickr. Do you have a favorite garden as seen on Domino? Leave a comment and share the season's beauty. Have a beautiful week ahead.

Anglomania pillows

Made popular some years ago by The Rug Company, the Union Jack has found its way to the design staples. Here is a homemade version by Hen House Homemade at Etsy.

Faux Feather Wreath Tutorial

Found on Etsy. The work of these make-me-happy people.

Happy Weekend.

Greek Weddings-Honeymoon stays

Hello and welcome to my Greek Weddings, posted on Thursdays.

Today I am going to offer you a taste of some of the nicest places to spend your honeymoon. Location obviously comes first. If you choose to spend some of the most memorable days in your life in Greece, it's probably because you have nice memories from a previous vacation, or because you have seen images from parts of Greece that you would like to visit.

The Greek islands are most people's first choice. It is true that every Greek island both on the Aegean and the Ionian seas has something special to offer, a distinct character that makes it special. The Greek mainland has some lovely hidden gems that we shall also cover. Athens, although not an obvious destination for a honeymoon, offers some excellent hotels and resorts and some very idyllic corners that you may want to explore, too.

As you know, if you've been following this blog long enough, the company we work for furnishes some of the best hotels and boutique hotels in Greece, both on the islands and in the mainland. We are therefore in the best position to know and suggest where you might want to go and spend some wonderful time that will stay with you for ever.

Today though, I am not going to write about places not because we have furnished or decorated them. I am going to share two of the very best Greek hotels as picked from Conde Nast Traveller.
Featured in this year's Hot List, we find Santorini Grace. It is part of the Grace Hotels Group that has seen its sister hotel, Mykonos Grace making it to last year's Hot List.

The Santorini Grace sits on the very edge of a cliff; viewed from above, it looks like a sunbather languidly dangling a limb over the lip of the island's famous caldera. Number 46, is a honeymoon suite offering complete privacy.

To read more, please visit the Mykonos Grace Hotel,and Santorini Grace Hotel.

A Mykonos staple and one of its most loved hotels, is the Belvedere. It is being renovated and is due to open April 20.


Read more about the Belvedere here.
(It so happens that these hotels feature our organic beds, furniture and bed linen, but I am not cheating here, they are simply the best!)
Some more Greek boutique hotels from Conde Nast, here.
Enjoy the tour, see you next week!

Design Sponge drawer makeover

One of the nicest, easiest, most successful before and afters I have seen.




By Craftynest (well done!) through the invaluable Design Sponge.

Love Domino Style-Calling it a day

Call it a high-end rent party: former staffers of Domino, the effervescent decorating magazine that was shuttered in January, are having a tag sale and inviting many of Manhattan’s best decorating talents to spring-clean with them. On Monday, Dara Caponigro (far right), the magazine’s former style director, and Tom Delavan (near right), the former editor at large there, were unpacking boxes in Mr. Delavan’s Greenwich Village town house, pulling together three rooms — over 1,500 square feet — of choice effluvia. “When you are doing shoots, you accumulate a lot of stuff,” Ms. Caponigro said. “It was all just oozing out of my apartment.”

A footed African platter, far right, will be $40; the claw-and-ball-footed table beside it will be $100; the French 18th-century three-legged farm stool in front will be $90. (Prices are negotiable; the decorating advice is free.) Yet to be priced are Verner Panton chairs, John Derian textiles and assorted dhurries and kilims. Former Domino contributors like Rita Konig will also be turning out their storerooms, as will Wendy Goodman, the design editor of New York magazine; Brian Sawyer, an architect; and interior decorators like Katie Ridder and Tom Flynn, among many others. Deborah Needleman, who was Domino’s editor in chief, will be bringing clothes — a wardrobe that includes Lanvin, Prada and Chloé, she said, “fancy party frocks from a nice former life I happily don’t have anymore.”

Saturday, May 9, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., at 13 West Ninth Street (Fifth Avenue), garden apartment; cash only.

(From The NY Times with the evocative title: "Remnants of the boom years on sale")

Views here.

In lieu of a comment.



Ce soir le vent qui frappe à ma porte
Me parle des amours mortes
Devant le feu qui s' éteint
Ce soir c'est une chanson d' automne
Dans la maison qui frissonne
Et je pense aux jours lointains

{Refrain:}
Que reste-t-il de nos amours
Que reste-t-il de ces beaux jours
Une photo, vieille photo
De ma jeunesse
Que reste-t-il des billets doux
Des mois d' avril, des rendez-vous
Un souvenir qui me poursuit
Sans cesse
+
Bonheur fané, cheveux au vent
Baisers volés, rêves mouvants
Que reste-t-il de tout cela
Dites-le-moi

Un petit village, un vieux clocher
Un paysage si bien caché
Et dans un nuage le cher visage
De mon passé

Les mots les mots tendres qu'on murmure
Les caresses les plus pures
Les serments au fond des bois
Les fleurs qu'on retrouve dans un livre
Dont le parfum vous enivre
Se sont envolés pourquoi

Have a joyful Spring week.

Kirstie Allsopp's holiday cottage

Kirstie Allsopp is a Channel 4 presenter of successful home shows such as Location,Location,Location and Kirstie's Homemade Home. She is well educated, knowledgeable and has a style and attitude of her own, that I, and her many viewers, love. This is her holiday cottage in Devon.

To rent the property click here. Location,Location,Location website is here, and Kirstie's Homemade Home is here.

An interview of Ms.Allsopp with the Mail can be found here.

Ms. Allsopp is also an adviser on housing issues with Britan's Conservative Party.

Watch out for the evil eye!

Do you know how bad, evil eye can be? Then you are certainly aware of the many evil eye pieces of jewellery that dangle from Greek jewellery shop windows, both upscale and the souvenir kind. If not, take a look:


Certain to infuriate the religious people around you, they often accompany a cross, to have both pagan and Christian sides happy.

This golden ring comes from the very talented Anna-Maria Mazaraki (I promise to write more about her in a future post).

Even the mighty baby style tzar, Aaron Basha succumbed to the temptation.


My current favorite, though? This ring from this Etsy seller. Creepy enough, it will certainly take the evil onlooker by surprise!