Saturday 30 April 2011

Friday's Fabulous Finds:Quirk

My eldest picked the shoes and fisheye camera.
I picked Francoise Hardy, the striped cloth and golden chain.

Perfect clash of colours: Blue and Red and Yellow.
And some cheeky gold at the bottom right.

I like the olde world feeling of this composition 
and that proud mushroom lamp, 
perfect for a child's room...or my desk.



 A contemporary sampler. 
Perfect as a Spring craft under the apple tree.

Spring...and yet not Spring yet...
Just rest a little bit longer
...

Credits: 1,2, 3, 4, 5





love, Irene

Friday 29 April 2011

Young, Beautiful and Royal



photos curtesy of yahoo!

What a beautiful, young couple! 
Prince William and the Duchess of Cambridge, driving off Buckingham Palace
 in Prince Charles' Aston Martin.
I absolutely love the English sense of humor:)

Wishing William and Katherine the very best in their new life.



love, Irene

Tuesday 26 April 2011

Around the garden









Wishing you a beautiful day:)

love, Irene

Monday 25 April 2011

Our Easter

We had the most amazing Holy Week. 
We were fed spiritually as in no other time of our lives.
We went to church on Thursday for the cruxifiction and then on Good Friday, morning and evening, and then on Saturday night for the Easter service. 
And we loved every.single.moment. 
Truth is, we absolutely needed to nurture our hearts and minds. 


At home, we spent the week baking and cooking all the traditional stuff. 
cookies from the South
cookies from the North
Early Easter Sunday soup

my men preparing the lamb
We had a soup and cookies and red painted eggs in the night, lamb and cookies and eggs for Easter Sunday.


I enjoyed playing housewife.
I managed to catch up on the laundry.
I visited all my game neighbors: Reaturant, Bakery, Fashion, City...
And read some chick lit non-stop:)


We needed the rest.
You see, we are going through one of those times in life when anything can happen. 
Or nothing at all. 
I read this blog post tonight: "When I stop laughing, I leave".
Truth is, we have stopped laughing in our business. We've put our heart and blood in the shop. But we need to figure out where it is heading, where we are heading professionally.
We need to find our pace and see how we are going to keep this family fed and clothed, even if it means scaling back {a lot} on our lifestyle. 
So, we are travelling to Athens tomorrow, to meet with some company people and talk. 
We hope and pray that things will work out not how we want or think they should be, but how God plans for us.


Χριστός Ανέστη!
He is Risen!

love, Irene

Saturday 23 April 2011

Happy Easter

via


Wishing you all a blessed and happy Easter, and a resurrected Life.

love, Irene

Thursday 21 April 2011

Antwerpen Zoo

Antwerpen Zoo is everything you've dreamed of about wild animals and the big jungle, all gathered in an accessible, safe and romantic place.


The Anwerpen Zoo, established in 1843, is the kind of establishemnt the glorious Victorian era handed down to us. Iconic, eclectic, and adorably old-fashioned.

We spent an entire day at the Zoo and I can say with convinction that I'd love to learn everything I can about all the lovely creatures that it hosts.


We were all amazed by the beauty and variety of all of Nature, animals and plants. 
The girls were pouring over their maps, making choices about what creature we were going to visit next.



The gardens are wonderful, blooming with all kinds of colour combinations, providing quiet little spots whre one can stop, sit, relax and contemplate.
Spring has clearly sprung in the North of Europe!


These two ladies peeking behind the wall, are so elegant! 
I had never seen giraffes before and I was completely smitten!


The Aquarium housed in the Antwerpen Zoo is absolutely fantastic.There is somethning seductive about this place that has all the modern facilities but respects the spirit of the original zoo.


This elderly gentleman was so absorbed by the underwater creatures. He was watching and filming them.
 Yes, one can film and take photos and there are no people bossing you around. 
God's beauty free to be admired and shared.
Those people who established the Zoo and those that are now running it, must have a huge respect for Nature and for their visitors.


Talking of visitors. There were so many people, young and old strolling around, and schools with happy people learning where learning should take place: out in the open air.

So many beautiful, unique, magnificent creatures that God has created for His beautiful, perfect heaven of Earth. 











For a look at the very interesting activities they have to offer, visit the Antwerpen Zoo website.



love, Irene

Sunday 17 April 2011

Sunday Morning

I used to do yoga every morning and every night. Two houses ago, we had an attic and I used to wake up at 6 a.m., sneak upstairs and do 15 minutes of yoga.
Then in the evening, after I'd tucked C and the girls to bed (J wasn't here yet), I'd go upstairs and do 45 minutes of deep relaxation.
That regime kept me cheerful and happy with myself, feeling i'd done something for me, and be ready to face the day.


After my years of depression, soul searching and finding my way back to Jesus Christ, I had tried, almost forced myself to go back to yoga, something that i knew would make me feel good. But it just didn't work.

I'd make a big anouncement on my blog, trying to commit myself in front of my audience, blame it on the kids for littering every space with their presence.


Then one day after the pressure had mounted and I felt like crying spells were coming back, I walked up to the telly room, pushed the sofa back, put a rug on the floor, and picked a tape. I chose one I hadn't used before, from an instructor I knew was gentle, who wasn't bossy, and would make me feel better.


And so I started again. As a complete novice. No expectations.


And so this morning I woke up. Did my yoga practice. Felt quite happier. And moved on.

{Current Yoga tape:Geri Yoga With Katy Appleton}

love, Irene

Saturday 16 April 2011

Friday's Fabulous Finds-Spring Edition

Hello, hello,
It is cold and rainy over here, today. It even snowed up on the mountains.
Tradition wants the weather to adhere to the moody climate of the Holy Week. 

  I am going to stick with Spring and with Happy, though.
Happy thoughts, happy pictures, happy feelings. 

Like this dog.
Isn't she the cutest in her Easter bonnet and pink and green attire?


via French Essence
I read My French Life and I loved every page. 

French Essence is her blog. 
She has a way of making me travel to France every time I read one of her lovely posts. 

Pink and Green can only mean Lilly, to me.



Some more Pink and Green.


From dear Paris Breakfasts, bien sur!

I like seeing how other people welcome the seasons, how they celebrate Easter and all the other holidays around the globe. 


via Lilla Blanka

This photo from the North summarises Springtime. 


Now this lace curtain reminds me of a piece of vintage lace that has been siting around while I think of what I'll do with it. Keep it or sell it.
Isn't this lovely?

via A Beach Cottage

Some more lace, bright and sunny.
via Fjeldborg the blogplace that cheers me up, these days!
My girls are past the cute age of birthday parties, now, but my heart always skips a beat for party decorations.

via Cookie Mondays


A lovely sight of Spring from Lisbon

via the most delightful Concha

And a woodpecker!
God is the greatest Artist!

via Amanda Soule
Do you feel like making a little something for the weekend? 
I have just the thing for you. 
The easiest, darling-est cake recipe in the world. 

via The Dansant

You will need:

200g flour
125ml milk
125g buter
125 g raspberries
3 eggs
1tsp stevia
1tsp baking soda

All you needs do do is mix everything together and gently add the raspberries at the end. Then put your batter in cupcake papers in a baking tin and voila, they are ready to bake at 170 C degrees for about 25 minutes.
Last but not least:
Did you notice the change in my template? 
If you are with me long enough, you know I like switching things around. 
I bought this template last year from Premades for a Purpose. 
What a talented lady she is!  I wish her the very best. 

I hope you enjoyed your stay here today. 
Come back soon for Part II of our Antwerp trip.

Have a beautiful weekend,





love, Irene

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