Thursday 30 June 2011

365 days:Day 4: Italian pasta and tidying up



Italian pasta, green, with spinach and oregano, served with a sauce of tuna, green olives and caper leaves.


Tidying up the house and my mind, one room at time. 
Towels in the bathroom.


love, Irene

Defining Beauty


A thing of beauty is a joy for ever:
Its loveliness increases; it will never
Pass into nothingness; but still will keep
A bower quiet for us, and a sleep
Full of sweet dreams, and health, and quiet breathing.
Therefore, on every morrow, are we wreathing
A flowery band to bind us to the earth,
Spite of despondence, of the inhuman dearth
Of noble natures, of the gloomy days,
Of all the unhealthy and o'er-darkened ways
Made for our searching: yes, in spite of all,
Some shape of beauty moves away the pall
From our dark spirits. Such the sun, the moon,
Trees old, and young, sprouting a shady boon
For simple sheep; and such are daffodils
With the green world they live in; and clear rills
That for themselves a cooling covert make
'Gainst the hot season; the mid-forest brake,
Rich with a sprinkling of fair musk-rose blooms:
And such too is the grandeur of the dooms
We have imagined for the mighty dead;
All lovely tales that we have heard or read:
An endless fountain of immortal drink,
Pouring unto us from the heaven's brink.

What does love smell like?


Nor do we merely feel these essences
For one short hour; no, even as the trees
That whisper round a temple become soon
Dear as the temple's self, so does the moon,
The passion poesy, glories infinite,
Haunt us till they become a cheering light
Unto our souls, and bound to us so fast
That, whether there be shine or gloom o'ercast,
They always must be with us, or we die.




Therefore, 'tis with full happiness that I
Will trace the story of Endymion.
The very music of the name has gone
Into my being, and each pleasant scene
Is growing fresh before me as the green
Of our own valleys: so I will begin
Now while I cannot hear the city's din;
Now while the early budders are just new,
And run in mazes of the youngest hue
About old forests; while the willow trails
Its delicate amber; and the dairy pails
Bring home increase of milk. And, as the year
Grows lush in juicy stalks, I'll smoothly steer
My little boat, for many quiet hours,
With streams that deepen freshly into bowers.
Many and many a verse I hope to write,
Before the daisies, vermeil rimmed and white,
Hide in deep herbage; and ere yet the bees
Hum about globes of clover and sweet peas,
I must be near the middle of my story.



O may no wintry season, bare and hoary,
See it half finished: but let Autumn bold,
With universal tinge of sober gold,
Be all about me when I make an end!
And now at once, adventuresome, I send
My herald thought into a wilderness:
There let its trumpet blow, and quickly dress
My uncertain path with green, that I may speed
Easily onward, thorough flowers and weed.

John Keats, Endymion, 1818


love, Irene

365 days: Day 3: Watermelon and ladybird

 Watermelon skins in sugar syrup.
Cucina povera, because we all need a good time.
"Spoon" -or fork, if you prefere- sweets are said to be the healthiest.
They are made of fruit and vegetables
{strawberries and oranges, figs, roses and eggplants, among them}
and a sugar and water syrup.
They are obviously vegan, too.



And here is the creature that kept me company on the table while I was posting.

More about "spoon sweets" here.
Watermelon recipe here.
Some lovely summer recipes using watermelon here.

Sending greetings to you all,


love, Irene

Wednesday 29 June 2011

365 days:Day 2: Pita dinner


Everyone knows Pita and Gyro. Mmm...delicious!
But what if you want to make a homemade version
because 
a) you'll be using what you've got
b) it's lighter
c) costs less
Go for a Greek-German version.
Use frozen pita bread. Warm on a non-stick skillet.
Then ask everyone what they want included.
We used boiled Frankfurter sausages
a sliced tomato
mustard
yoghurt
ketchup
chilly pepper slices



I am a  Marco Polo traveller.
I am not after Duty Free merchandise.
I like the stuff of life
that keeps me travelling for months or years after each trip.

love, Irene

Tuesday 28 June 2011

365 days: Day 1:Pasta and apricots



The first book I read on blogging was called 


a little gem of a book, really,
but I hope that you will care what I had for lunch, because I intend to document it.
That,
with a recipe, perhaps,
and a special little something that makes my day special.

Hope you Enjoy
<3
 



:365: 
1
Pasta aglio e olio
simle and delicious
good greek olive oil~garlic~parsley~some good cheese
and a piece of bread 
The first apricots of the season
sweet and juicy and perfect for a mid-day snack or an after lunch refresher.
 

love, Irene

Shopping for magazines

I am a girl with issues. I know that.
I could easily blame it on my mom who was a hoarder.
But then she was a child of WWII 
and WWII children grew up to be hoarders.

I also have issues of my own. 
As in, I like my stuff. 
There is so much work in the pages of a magazine,
I feel it is a pitty to throw it in the trash. 

So most of them, are keepers. 



And you know what?
I did so well to keep them! 
They may be taking over my office, and make me exacerbate
but hey, those tough times my mom was predicting? 
Hmm!..


So, last weekend
knowing that I could not afford another magazine for a long time,
I shopped my bookshelves
for magazines. 
And here is my loot. 
Nice as new. 
My Summer magazine reads are right here, right now. 




love, Irene

Saturday 25 June 2011

Enjoy the weekend





{via}
love, Irene

Midsummer

Summer 1980
30 years ago
?Thirty-years-ago?

All right.


Kymi
on the island of Euboea.


Boys and girls
jumping over the fire
burning the May 1st wreath.



Young girls
carrying a jug of water 
silently
from the village fountain.
Boys and girls putting their trinkets
in the jug.
Take out a trinket
find out who will be your life's companion.


Read

Time goes its course
but our lives stay with us.
love, Irene

Friday 24 June 2011

3 women, 3 summer styles


Giovanna Battaglia of Italian Vogue lookspolished and preppy with an edge in her emerald sleeveless dress, hair pulled back and, yes, the seal of approval, flats!

Model Alek Wek dares and wins. 
Turquoise looks great on her. 
Though I don't wear them any more, I love shorts paired with long sleeved tees for summer (saving my pale skin from sunburn). And I love scarves. It must be the one item of clothing that comes to people's minds when asked "what is Irene wearing every day?".
The pink sandals make the look even more summery.
Chic and girly. 
Love it.


Helena Christensen looks like the girl next door, if only girls still looked girly, simple and beautiful like she is.
A girl in a floaty dress, riding a bicycle with a straw basket is in my mind the image of insouciance.

Linking to





love, Irene

Friday's Fabulous Finds-Vintage, White and Flowers

A stroll through some of the pictures and blogs that grabbed my attention this week.






Paint me White is an Australian blog, full of light.
Visit for beautiful DIY transformations
using white paint.


A beautiful garden of roses so fragrant that their perfume lingers with you, can be found in Helene Flont's blog.
If you love roses, yu will enjoy Ms. Flont's rose paintings.
Artisitc photography at Seelen Sachen.


I love Boden!
Probably the most fun company to work with. 
Look what they've done to this car. 
Found at Beldecor
Added bonus: currently playing some of my favorite songs ever,
the soundtrack from Something's Gotta Give.

If you like vintage, take a look at my sidebar.
The images link to my newly stocked brocante.

Enjoy the weekend!

love, Irene

Thursday 23 June 2011

Turquoise for summer


Undeniably turquoise is the colour of summer
and of every person who believes
in eternal summer.






Pride of place in  Casa Vogue Hellas

love, Irene

Tuesday 21 June 2011

Coiffures









Just beacause girls need to have fun
:)

Have a lovely Midsummer

(photos from here and here)


love, Irene

End of the year games

Every year at the end of the summer we played games. 
Innocent, childish, fun games
that never go out of fashion with those most interested in them. 
Children.




C has similar photos in his photo album from the 1970s.
I found those here.
Most schools don't do them anymore.
But
On Sunday, the kids' English school hosted the annual end of the year games.
I love this day!













On To Next Year!

love, Irene

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