Fabulous Fifi

There are some people who bring happiness to every step. 

Have you seen those cursors that make star dust drop whenever you move your mouse on the screen? 

Yap. This is the kind of person I'm talking about. 

 Fifi o' Neill is one such person.

Stop by her blog and you are guaranteed a breath of fragrant air and a gulp of the most tasteful romantic homes.

Fifi, thank you for all the beauty you are creating and sharing with the world.

 It certainly looks like a better place, thanks to you.

I hope you had a lovely Easter, you all.

For us, Greek Orthodox Christians, this is Holy Week.

Wishing you a beautiful week and a happy heart.

One more reason to love Menounos

I like Maria Menounos, you know that. I like her even more when she puts the Greek flag on :)
In this year's Wrestlemania 2012, that took place in Miami, FL, Kelly Kelly and Maria Menounos got the win over Beth Phoenix and Eve Torres.

The WWE has used celebrities in a number of WrestleMania matches. However, none of them have put on such a gutsy performance as Menounos did with her broken ribs and hectic television schedule. 


Maria tweeted:

Just won my match at #Wrestlemania with@realkellykelly.amazing experience.and ps-that was eve's makeup on my pants-let's not get cray cray

Go, Menounos, go!

Dear Rolling Stones, my daughter made this!

Yes, it is all made by hand, it is not a print. 

Isn't she talented or what?

100% Raw Vegan 21 Day Spring Cleanse

21 Day Raw Cleanse starts Monday April 9th!

Eat delicious meals three times a day during weeks one and three. In week two, the deep-cleansing week, there are more smoothies and juices in place of some meals and there's even a water fasting day! Easing in to the deep cleansing week and then easing out again, you are guided on a balanced 100% raw journey for a safe, rejuvenating, and enlightening cleanse!

Try out The 21 Day Raw Cleanse if you want to...
- Go raw but don't know how
- Get support to help avoid detox
-Experience 100% raw energy
- Lose weight naturally and effortlessly
- Eat fresh, real foods available at your grocery store
- Learn different and delicious raw recipes
- Go raw with online group support
- Receive guidance from a 40-year raw veteran
- Eat a balanced raw vegan diet

 From a participant...
Dear Jinjee and Storm, I have been 100% raw vegan for almost 21 days now and I feel like I am morphing into a new being on all levels. I don't want to stop!!! Thank you for all you do!
Love, Gabrielle

Send in your Before and Afters by May 2012 to enter our Spring Slimdown Competition and win a free Garden Diet Retreat in July 2012!
Visit the 21 Day Cleanse Website below for Registration and Information Now!
Sign up today or before Friday midnight to get our amazing Early Bird Special!

The Garden Diet 21 Day Raw Cleanse is brought to you by veteran raw vegans Jinjee and Storm Talifero. 

Click here to go raw easily, get a head-start on summer and look and feel your best in an amazingly short time!

 

Fashion Friday: Juicy colours

Fluorescent -or neon -colours are often looked as artificial. 

But a better look around will convince you otherwise...

Newton running shoes

read

As for chic?

Depends.

I like neon in spostswear, but if Hermès does it, it can be perfectly chic.

I would happily wear these KJacques sandals

Colourful accents such as scarves, bags and shoes, and the easiest of all, nail polish,

are the best and in my point of view most chic way to follow a trend and add some zest to a basic, neutral wardrobe.

source:tumblr

Obviously, one can do this absolutely lovely treat,

oh congrats, whoever you are!

I'd love to do it, too, and move to Paris!

Whatever you do, have fun!

What helps me? Answering Jennifer Louden's questions

One of my favorite people, writer and  Comfort Queen Jennifer Louden, wrote this article, that I find stimulating for each and everyone of us.

I believe we can all ask ourselves the same questions, and find different answers coming out, or very similar ones, at that. Believe me when I say that my answers, when they are put to paper, very often surprise me when they compare to what I expected myself to answer.

Jennifer's questions follow (go here to read her answers)

What helps me in my business?

What helps me in my business isn’t any different than what helps me in my life. I’m sure the same is true for you. Like:

:: who do you grow with? my husband and our family. I believe that if you are inclined to married life, choosing/picking/ following, whatever leads you to sharing your life with the person who is your life companion is key to finding your life's purpose, to chase your deamons or making peace with them.

* what do you excel for? Being a good example for my kids is motivating me to be a better person. I can see patterns in my behavior from my experience as a child, that I put aside, and reach for ways to be closer to my children, being more open, more supportive, more present for them.

:: who do you allow to support you even when it’s messy – really messy. Realtives have traditionally been a safety net for Greek families. Not all are blessed with loving relatives, but C's family is blessed with some loving, caring relatives. I admire my mil' sfamily for their close knit ties, and I want my children to grow to be tight together like a fist. 

* more of letting that messy support in. Asking for help has been for me an exercise to humility. I am a shy person, and this is often mistaken for pride or distance. I need my time to feel comfortable in the presence of people. I have been through the letting too much out after keeping too much in. Finding this balance has been a challenging and yet rewarding part of my life. 

:: Pleasing myself first and then asking “How can this serve the people I love to inspire?” This is very hard for me but I’m clear it’s the only way I will have the energy to continue to create. Serve yourself first.(Jen's words). That was one of Jennifer's lessons that I found hard to follow, yet in a way freed me

via

* who guides you beyond your limits? Oh, it will have to be life. I have shifted from a place of seclusion, what seemed like a destiny to academia, to retail sales which is the exact opposite, in terms of  introvert-extrovert.

via

:: do you allow yourself to be a learner? name where and when. That's tough, isn't it, saying "I don't know how to do it', when you are pressured to save face in business at all costs. And yet, I find saying "I don't know" a relief and a beginning, beggining a healthier relationship with a customer, dealing with coworkers, even dealing with my own kids. I have read alot, I ahve tried some more. Most of all, I remain a learner in front of God. I have learned to say, "Show me the way, cause you are the way, the light and the life."

via

* how do you grow in awareness? Learning to take a break. Stop and think about what I'm doing. I have always loved having penpals from different places of the globe, and that hasn't changed since I was a teenager. It evolved into blogging, and I am thankful for that. Opening up to the best possibilities, opening up to beauty makes me aware of the beauty I am capable of. 

:: who do you want to create with? have you asked? Hard one. Funny as it is, I can see women getting together to knit and craft in the States or the UK, and here simply isn't done. Unless one is my mil' s age, when women used to get together with their cross-stitching for morning coffee, it just isn't part of the culture anymore. There are places in Athens that younger women get together and sew. They are young, have lived abroad, and kind of link their two experiences together. Our company does workshops and we only recently hosted one. So yes, baby steps...

But right now, I am encouraged to create by my children. They way they approach making things as a natural part of their lives. They don't research that much or collect patterns. They pick their tools and go for it. And if they are not Ok with the result, they do again. I think this is a quality one loses through formal education, work and control in general. So, i love creating with my kids around, because they take me out of my "should" corner and into their "can" place.

* Blog posts like this on knowing what you want (you cannot please yourself if you don’t know what you want.) More of that, in a next post.

:: Owning my gifts. (be brave: own yours.) Ha! Such puritans, we learn to hide our gifts instead of using them to their full potential. The concept of our talents being God's gifts to me is relatively new to me and I discovered it through blogging friends. I am encouraging my kids to go for what they like. Acknowledging that my talents are God given is one sure path to happiness.

* how do you stay on your own side especially when despair and fear come a calling?

Prayer. How can I stress this highly enough. To remain on your side, to remain connected to your true self, you must be connected to your power source. God is the ultimate power source that works for each one and all of us. Because He is Love, He knows how to adapt His attention to our needs, let us swim and throw a life boat in when we need it most. 

Ultimate self-care is key to being present for others, too. So yes, I now take that catnap, stop to hug my cats, eat black eyed beans wven when no one else wants them, and hve a banana for breakfast when it feels right. Stay tuned to the Source.

:: where does love hold you to your best self and where does self-hatred bend you to improve? Being accepted by yourself for all your weaknesses and dark corners, your lies and secrets is a big first step. Know thyself for who you are. Get cleaning and arranging your soul without blame. Loving after thyself like you do a little baby. Important. Self-hatred has kicked in more than once in my life, but, apart from some venting, it only did me harm. So do what you have to do with love.

* what are you devoted to? This is the essence, really, where do our loyalties rest, where does it all come to. I believe for me it all rests in my love for Greece, the spirit of freedom and independence it stands for in the entire world, the unsubmissiveness, the raw edge. SO I'd say, all in all for me, life is about being free to live your life. I am devoted to Freedom.

via

I learn so much about myself with the help of Jennifer's questions. 

I encourage you to visit Jennifer Louden  and bet you to be inspired to a more loving, inspired, kind life.

Some Visuals

Hello friends, 

We are in the middle of a charity week at the shop. 

 Stopping by to say hi

Hi!

and share some happy images with you

{All images but last, Boho Garden~Cafe del Mar}

 

Inspiration Monday

Wrapping Your Presence in Rainbows
by Marney K. Makridakis

People have often told me that I tend to see things through rose-colored glasses, and I take it as a compliment.  I know that the idiom tends to have a negative connotation, but I tend to think of my own rose-colored glasses as being one of my most helpful tools for creativity, productivity, and happiness.  Seeing the bright hues in any situation allows us to focus on what we want, rather than what we don't want.  And having a clear vision of what we want is, I believe, the first step in actually taking action to get there.

I recently was reminded, however, that taking off the rose-colored glasses can be pretty amazing, too.  I experienced this quite literally, when looking at rainbows through my polarized sunglasses.  Typically, these sunglasses tend to make everything more vibrant, including the beautiful rainbows that are so frequent where I live.  The sunglasses make rainbows really pop into an even more spectacular sight.

But the other day, my husband commented on the vivid rainbow, and oddly enough, when I had the sunglasses on, I couldn't see the rainbow at all.  Once I took them off, then I was able to see it in all its breathtaking splendor.  Now, I'm sure there is a scientific reason that explains this phenomenon – why the color frequency in this particular rainbow was so dramatically different from most rainbows I had seen.  But, science aside, the experience reminded me of how important it can be to take off the rainbow-colored glasses from time to time, and see exactly what really is.  What really is can be even more breathtaking than what might be.

So which is better – to see life for what it can be, or see it for what it is?    I think the answer lies in making a choice to fully experience the powerful elements that each perspective has to offer. Balance, of course, is necessary, since we can't become so focused on what is that we forget the value of seeing what can be.  And perhaps even more bravely, we can't become so attached to our rainbow-colored glasses that we forget what can happen when we really allow ourselves to actually be with what is, and feel the gravity, and resulting power, of our lives' truth.

I believe that making brave choices, even the very act of choosing to become comfortable with this type of duality, is easier when we utilize creativity to support our choices.  "Choice" and "Intuition" are two of the ARTbundance™ Principles that trainees in the ARTbundance™ Certification Training Program have been studying, learning how to help their clients develop intuition, so that they can innovatively use it to make many kinds choices in their life.

I'll close with some words from a poem that I wrote for an early issue of Artella magazine:

I gathered embraces and cuts
grace and guts
but one is not more lovely than the other
I gathered it all.

A load like this never gets lighter
but if you feel it for true
let the weight ruin you
dare to feel the pinch
if you feel it
and really feel it
you'll sing so fast, you can run
dance so loud, you can rhyme
and close your eyes so light,
you can fly.

Blessings to you and your gorgeous, rainbowtacular flight!

---

Marney K. Makridakis is the founder of Artellalandand the inventor of the ARTbundance Philosophy, which uses ARTsignments™ to change lives through the power of creativity.  

Fashion Friday-Spring Pastels

There is a pastel colour combination for every day of Spring

The it's still chilly days

the Adorn yourself days

Comfy-chic days

Preppy-fun days

"I wish Santa could hear me and bring me this for Easter" days

 I wish I were Barbie days

 "I put on my daughter's All Stars to work and it's fun", days, 

It's almost Summer days

Accessorize is everything days

And then there are the things to remember, whichever way you go

Whatever you do, look for the pastel shade and have fun!

 

Interview: Susan Pointon

Hello dear frineds,

It is amazing what a wonderful journey blogging has become for me. 

In June, God willing, we shall be celebrating this blog's 5th blogoversary

WOW!

 So many beautiful, different, exciting people from all over the globe have come my way and we crossed our paths at some moment or another.

Isn't that amazing?

oh here you are, thank you!

One of my blog besties is Susan. 

Susan lives in Australia

(F's favorite continent, although she's never been to Australia!)

and she is a very talented photographer, capable of bringing out the best in everyone,

and a very beautiful person with a great sense of humor that I appreciate on her blog and on Facebook!

So,

without further delay, 

Susan!

Welcome!

1.How did you get started on photography?

I never was really interested in photography until I had my own children. 

My middle child, Clara, who is now 8, started modelling when she was 4 years old. I think that was the trigger that got me all started on this wonderful journey. 

I loved taking photographs of my own kids and slowly updated my cameras over time until I finally invested in my first DSLR only 3 years ago. We were off on a family holiday to Canberra and I wanted some great quality photos of our family instead of the usual plain and boring photos produced by a point and shoot camera. It was a Nikon and a wonderful camera. 

That was it! 

The kids were constantly photographed and one day I decided to have a play around with Photoshop to see how I could manipulate the photos to improve their colour, lighting etc. After a lot of self teaching using the internet and also trial and error I decided to finally do a Photoshop workshop. Well that hooked me even more. There was an endless world of creativity out there. I had never really been a creative person before. Well on the inside I had but never shown anything publicly.

Facebook was the main basis of starting my photography journey. 

Friends had seen my work and were then asking me to photograph their children. 

Finally I decided to come out of my “cocoon” and offer my services to anyone who wanted their family or children photographed. I have been overwhelmed with the response and support I have had from not only family and friends, but strangers as well. It also brings me great joy to see my work proudly hanging in people’s homes. I like to consider that each photo is a little piece of me – seeing their children through my eyes.

2.Beauty is the eye of the beholder. What do you see when you point and click?

 Mmmmm .. what do I see when I point and click? I see a finished photo. I can see the photo, the editing, the finished product. I also hope to see a smile on my client’s face when they see them. Each shoot is different. Even if I am shooting in the same location, the lighting is different, the children or subjects are different and I try to edit my photos to suit each situation. I just absolutely adore country style photography. My husband and our family live on a farm in South Australia and it is primarily an agricultural area. We are blessed to have the beach on either side us too. I try to keep my photography style based on a country/farming style as that seems not only appeal to myself, but the majority of my clients. Negative space is another thing I love in my photos (having the subject in only part of the whole photo).

3.Most of your subjects are photographed in the open. What appeals to you in the outdoors?

The thing that appeals to me in the outdoors is natural light and the location of the photo shoot. There are a lot of family farms in my region which have been handed down from generation to generation (I think my husband’s family farm has been around for approximately 130 years). 

I like to photograph children and their families in their own environment not only for the child’s comfort, but for historical purposes. It is fantastic to look back at families at the same location many years ago, showing the different style of clothing, buildings and machinery. Also just how they lived their lives. Each year I try to take photos in our shearing shed and also our working machinery.

 Over time I hope to see the changes which have evolved. 

 I must also add that I love photographing in winter. I am not much of a summer person and I am certainly not a fan of snakes (which we commonly have in our neck of the woods!). Winter I think brings more a warmer style of photo with lovely green lush backgrounds and the lighting is a lot softer and more even. I feel that some of my best work has been rolling around in dirt and paddocks in the rain! 

Dogs are another love of mine. 

I count our pet dogs as family. We have Banjo (a West Highland Terrier x Australian Terrier) who is 4 years old and should be a professional dog model and a newcomer to our family, Coco, a 10 week old Great Dane puppy. I have had people ask me to photograph their pets and I treat them just as I would a child. I jump at the chance to do these shoots. You may see some photos now and then of dogs on my blog. Banjo is quite the character. As soon as he sees his mum with her camera, he is in on the action – the complete opposite to my kids! He will let me photograph him in any pose or any situation.

4.Do you dream of a photograph or a project that you'd like to share with us?

 A dream project of mine would really have to be just to get a “perfect” photo of my own three children who are Gus (aged 10), Clara (aged 8) and Maggie (nearly 7). By perfect I don’t mean all looking at the camera with a smile while they are saying “cheese”. I mean one which is happy, candid and full of love. 

Each year I do a photo shoot with them on or around their birthdays and make a special little booklet
with the photos. I plan to photograph them all together this year once winter sets in and the crops are all green. I have not decided on an exact location but it will be somewhere on our property. I have also just invested in a lighting setup this year and would like to photograph a few newborns. 

Outdoor photography using natural light is still my first love though.

5.You are a photographer and you are a mom. 

Could you please share some hands on advice for us to take cute pictures of our children?

A few tips for any mums out there wanting to take some great photos of their kids would be to try and capture your children candidly. Get down to their level and photograph them while they are playing or doing a special activity that they love. Photograph them while they are not looking, walking away. Photograph their chubby little hands or feet. I feel candid photos have more meaning and more emotion that posed photos. Google some silly jokes and get them to laugh a real laugh .. not just saying “Cheese!”. 

Don’t be afraid to act the clown to bring out a big natural smile. I have done some really silly things in my time, believe me! Capture their happy and sad moments. I have quite a few photos of my kids crying if they are hurt or just sad. I love to look at these times just as much as the good ones. It’s all part of life. Take them to new places and capture them exploring. Invest in a camera with continuous shooting. You may end up taking hundreds of photos but you will be sure to capture many more special moments and lots of different expressions. Last of all, keep your kids safe.

Visit Susan at Lemon Tree Photography to see her beautiful work and her blog right here.

If you are lucky enough to live near her, in Australia, I'd love to see your pictures taken by Susan!

*All images Susan Pointon*

~All highlights, mine~

Thank you, Susan for the beautiful interview and your lovely photography!

And Thank You all for reading :)

Happy Spring Equinox

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