Getting with the program...


Well, it's been a busy couple of days, but at the same time my mind seems to be lacking in creativity...I am usually a very focused person, but lately I can't seem to get myself to do what I say I'm going to do. My self-imposed deadline for getting my Christmas shopping is looming, and yet I still have quite a few gifts to purchase...My house, while decorated on the outside, had not a lick of festive cheer decking its halls until yesterday...and our annual Christmas card which I should be getting done since I tend to get lost on the way to the mailbox...nope, haven't done that either!

On Tuesday, I arrived at a friend's house to go on one of our regular walks, and instead honked the horn, rolled down my window, and said, "Wanna go Christmas shopping instead?" You see, I decided to spring into action and get started on the remainder of my list. Being a fellow exercise lover, my friend jumped in that truck before I could come to a proper stop!! Off we went in hubby's nuclear sized truck pointed towards Walmart. Now don't worry, we weren't shopping for New Year's Eve dresses...we were TOY shopping!! With reckless abandon, I started firing things in my cart, all in the quest to place a checkmark beside gifts written below my kid's names in "The Book"...Well, I ended up finding a gift for each child and one for a child whose name we took off the Salvation Army tree at the mall. I love doing that every year. We take three names...one for each age of my children, and they enjoy helping me buy the gift and return it to the tree. It is a nice tradition that helps to teach them that not everyone is as fortunate as they are.

Yesterday, I decided, was as good a day as any to haul up all the decorations and get to work. Scary to say, but it actually took me the entire school day and I didn't get dressed until 3 p.m.!! I literally got up, got the kids off to school, and went to work!! While it looks pretty, I don't think it looks as nice as last year, so I will have to play around a bit with everything. I am also having a bit of a "crisis" as I don't think it feels as "Christmasy" as it should. After going on those house tours last weekend, it made me pine for more traditional colours so that I could decorate in more reds and greens. Even greenery garlands don't look that great in my home. Funny thing is, I don't remember feeling this way last year...I'm not sure how to solve this problem, but my home just doesn't feel that Christmasy to me...Maybe it's just the blah-ness I'm experiencing, but I have to get those creative juices flowing!!

Hubby assured me everything looks great, but in the next breath said "It's no wonder you feel that way...we need some reds and greens and blues, and some colored lights!!" Oh boy...he just doesn't get it...I felt like reminding him that he should be living in a Sears catalogue house with an equally messy wife who doesn't care what colour the throw pillows are...instead I asked him to get me a glass of wine so I could watch America's Next Top Model and yell (drunkenly?) at all the models!!! Happy Festivus!!

Our Trip...part 3


















We had just finished up our fabulous week long visit in Paris and were heading for Greece. This is where Jim started to pipe up and show some real enthusiasm. Jim hadn't been back to the "mother country" in 15 years and he desperately needed to touch base lol.


Just a 2 hour flight and a 45min drive from the airport and we had arrived in the little coastal village of Fourka. The climate was gorgeous, not too hot, not too cold and definately no humidity. The first thing I noticed was all the "older" gentlemen sitting around at all the outdoor cafes in the early evening. I wondered "where are all the women?", then I spotted them all sitting around drinking and eating in someones front yard. I immediately got the sense of a very layed back and relaxed atmosphere. A place where time really wasn't an issue.


We stayed with Jim's parents in their home. It was a typically beautiful provincial style Grecian home, with white render, brown shutters, marble window sils and a black iron balcony. Jim's mum being your typical Greek villager loves living off the land so as you can imagine, there was every type of fruit and nut tree you could think of and fortunately for us everything was in season. It was like paradise. The back drop was spectacular as this town is tucked away 15 mins from the coast in a valley. Pine tree forests wrapped around as far as the eye could see and the smell was divine. Alot of people asked me if this area had been affected by the recent devastating fires but fortunately Fourka had been spared this time, and the fires were towards the south of Greece. Very sad nonetheless.


We spent a glorious 5 weeks in Greece and our days mostly consisted of hours of relaxing and tanning at the beach (It was such a relief to know that my kids could swim and play in the water all day and know that the possibility of drowning was very minimal considering there were no waves at all and also the fact I didn't have to worry about blue bottles or sharks! Unlike Australian beaches LOL). We also spent time bathing in a volcanic hot spring bath and going for mountain hikes through the forests.


Our nights were mostly spent at home with the kids but once a week we'd head down to Jim's cousins hotel for "Greek night" and us and the other tourists would learn some of the local dances as well as try to sing a few tunes karaoke style LOL.

During our time in Greece we did a couple of bus tours around the country. One was a basic tour of Thessaloniki, which is the second largest city in Greece. We saw sites like the great wall, the white tower, St Dimitrios basilica (my husbands name sake) and the archeological museum. As you can imagine all very interesting stuff! Our other bus tour took us on a 2 day journey to the south of Greece not far from Athens. This tour was amazing. Our first destination was the ancient city of Delphi. This city is home to the temples of Athena and Apollo and dates back 4000 years. Our other destination was the coastal city of Nafpaktos. We arrived on october 7th which is a significant date in their history as it was that date that the Spanish, Venetian and Genoese army's liberated the people from their Turk rulers. That evening there were huge celebrations with a re-enactment show and fireworks. It felt like new years eve. We had a blast!


Our time in Greece was happy, relaxing, educational, enlightening, ocassionally lonely (as homesickness started to kick in) but overall a time we'll cherish and remember forever.

Time to head home......via Germany and Hong Kong of course LOL......

Gracias!

I would like to thank Another Shade of Grey for listing my "Striped Rugs" article, as "Must Read". I am very excited.

Cool Finds: Frou Frou Umbrella

Christmas time is here and winter is approaching, so I decided to post about an outdoor umbrella? I know my timing is off, but look at this thing. Who cares what time of year it is! Well, in some parts of the world it actually is summer time right?

This is the Frou Frou umbrella, made by Sywawa. It is made from a raffia type material, that sways gently in the wind as you dine underneath it. I can picture myself in an old Italian movie, drinking espresso, and living La Dolce Vita. All the while I am actually sitting at a computer with a whining toddler, and living La Vida Loca. Oh well, one can dream.

Arriverderci!















Our Trip......cont'd




















Ahhhhh Paris.....I had dreamed of seeing Paris for the longest time. The flights were long and tedious, however the 45min flight from Frankfurt Germany to Paris I had my nose pressed hard against the glass window looking down to see if I could spot any chateau's even from that great height LOL. I did, and I was like a little kid bouncing up and down in my seat LOL. Even my 8 year old daughter Sophie had to tell me to calm down. I wanted to cry as we were landing and I could just make out the outline of the eiffel tower in the distance through the smog.


We stayed in a lovely area called St Mande near Port De Vincennes. It was about 15 mins out of the centre of Paris and perfect for a family to stay. With Paris's famous metro system it's never a problem to travel around to wherever you need to go. Everyday we were up at the crack of dawn trying to squeeze in as many museums, churches and monuments we could until dark.


We saw all the important sites you usually fly to Paris to see and they were as grand and as beautiful as I had imagined. I am a virgo and as most virgo's know we are dreamers and romantics and oh god I got swept up in the romance of Paris. The stunning architecture and town planning of Paris captivated me. The long avenues, cobblestone streets, carved sandstone buildings, statues everywhere, and my favourite, the laced ironwork on all the windows........simply sublime. The French truly are a class above the rest.


A couple of times reality set in with the heavy crowds at certain spots. I kinda had this romantic notion I would be stepping back in time to the 17th and 18th centuries when I visited Paris only to get there and realise it's a hustling bustling city. I don't think I'd ever seen so many people in my life LOL. Sydney just doesn't have that kind of population.


The only regret I have was I didn't get to see Le Marais as we ran out of time. That was a major disappointment as I was intending to meet my idol/mentor and new friend....Claudia Strasser of The Paris Apartment in NY who was also staying in Paris at the time. I also didn't get to do alot of shopping and as most women know that's quite important LOL, but travelling with children and a husband can really make that a hard task.

I treasured my week in Paris. It exceeded all my expectations. It wasn't enough time but I vow to go back again sometime very soon.

Next stop Greece....

A Scandinavian Christmas...

photo: www.fjorn.com

Inspired by Aina's beautiful site, Modern Country, I have decided to write about a Scandinavian Christmas...as it is a style that I know appeals to so many of us. The pleasing mix of creams, whites, silver, gold and reds offers such a clean approach to holiday decorating. It feels fresh, yet comfortable in a way that simply modern style can struggle with. Scandinavia is comprised of Denmark, Norway and Sweden (and usually Finland and Iceland) and thus has a wonderful European flair intertwined with deep-rooted history. There is a definite focus on nature and the use of greenery, candle light and handmade treasures. Where it differs from homespun decorating is, again, the use of light colours and keeping accessories to a minimum.
Simplicity is the key to carrying off a true Scandinavian decor scheme...nothing too flashy or glitzy...and certainly no competitions between neighbours to see whose house can bear the most Christmas lights!!

both photos: www.fjorn.com

Christmas in Norway, Aina shares, is a wonderful celebration with a few twists on tradition as compared to Christmas in North America. The Christmas tree (usually a real one) is decorated on December 23rd. According to the website: http://www.msl.no/jul_eng_oversikt.htm, electric candlelights, and small norwegian flagsadd to the other tree decorations. The presents are placed under the tree and stockings are filled that same evening. On Christmas Eve at lunchtime, a meal consisting of rice pudding or porridge is served and an almond is hidden within. The lucky finder of the almond wins a pig made of almond paste. According to Aina, Norwegian families dance or walk around the Christmas tree singing Christmas carols. Families then bundle themselves off to church for a 4pm service, and at 5pm all churchbells in Norway are chiming for "Christmas Peace".. Following church services, a large meal, extending well into the late evening is enjoyed followed by the children opening their gifts while the adults relax, chat, drink coffee and eat sweets. The Peace of Christmas has thus arrived...
angel photo and large tree: www.vakrehjem.com
straw horses: http://www.hemslojd.com/

On December 25th, many people attend church in the late morning after having slept in. Families tuck into a delicious Christmas brunch and the children spend time playing with their new toys. The time is passed visiting with families, spending time outdoors and enjoying the gifts of the season.

photo: Jeanne D'arc Living.com


















photo: www.styleathome.com

" In Scandinavia, a Pixie or Nisse is a household spirit that is responsible for the care and prosperity of a farm or family. A Nisse is usually described as a short man or woman (under four feet tall) wearing a red cap. While belief in guardian spirits is a very old tradition in Scandinavia, belief in Nisser was prominent in the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries in Denmark, southern Norway and southern Sweden. Many farms claimed to have their own Nisse. The Nisse took an active interest in the farm by performing chores such as grooming horses, carrying bales of hay, and other farm-related tasks. These chores were usually done much more efficiently and effectively than by their human counterparts.However, Nisser could be temperamental, to say the least. If the household was not careful to keep its Nisse satisfied -- usually in the form of a single bowl of porridge with butter in it left out on Christmas Eve -- the spirit could turn against its masters.In the 1840s the farm's Nisse became the bearer of Christmas presents in Scandinavia, and was then called "Julenisse" and has been associated with Christmas ever since." (info source: http://www.msl.no/jul_eng_oversikt.htm)

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