Weekend notes & link love #18

Image via The Glitter Guide

Image via Paris in Four Months

Image via Emily Henderson

Image via Fashionable Hostess

Image via The Vault Files

Image via Design Darling

Image via Fashionable Hostess

Image via Design Love Fest

Image via Camille Styles

Image via The Everygirl

Image via Wandeleur

So, this is me posting the weekend notes on a Monday morning. My world has really been turned upside down, to say the least. The past week (including the weekend) has been a whirlwind of moving, working, working some more, tidying up the post-moving mess (no big success on that front, I’m afraid), and then working again. Our clients have gone completely nuts, deadlines have been accumulating, and yesterday, as I was working away my Sunday afternoon, I was looking longingly out the window, trying very hard not to feel resentful.

I had to remind myself that without this business that sometimes captures all my waking hours, I would never have been able to buy and renovate an apartment all by myself. I may complain sometimes about the stress and craziness that come with running a small business, but the truth is, I am nothing butt grateful for being able to do what I love and what fulfills me every single day, to help build something that’s far bigger than just me, and to never wake up on a Monday morning with that feeling of time-to-go-to-work-again dread.

Sometimes, a tiny shift in perspective is all I need to really appreciate how fortunate I am. I wish you all a wonderful week filled with sunshine and positive vibes, and I’m leaving you with my favorite reads from the previous week. Happy Monday!

The most touching and inspiring story I’ve read all week. Tamara Taggart rocks! (via The Glitter Guide)

How to find contentment in your 20s and 30s. (via The Everygirl)

12 things truly confident people do differently. How many of them do you check off? (via Forbes)

Loving these tips on how to cultivate a well-traveled home. (via The Everygirl)

4 tips on finding your blog niche. (via Elle & Co.)

Tips on updating your LinkedIn profile. I soo need to do this asap! (via Best friends for frosting)

I love how Emily updated her patio in gorgeous shades of blue. Feeling so inspired to revamp my tiny balcony! (via Emily Henderson)

I so wish I could have attended this glamorous party! Perfect in every single detail! (via Fashionable hostess)

A stroll through Paris that left me longing for my favorite city in the world. (via Paris in four months)

One of my favorite “Entertaining” with features so far. Juley has such an impeccable style and taste! (via Camille Styles)

Quite tempted to give this Mango ginger fizz a whirl! (via Design Love Fest)

Now this is one great reason to keep a gratitude journal! (via Huffington Post)

An amazing interview with one of my favorite bloggers. Gaby’s philosophy is so inspiring! (via Wandeleur)

Speaking of Gaby, I wish I could move into her bedroom right this moment. So glam! (via The Vault Files)

How adorable and radiant is Mackenzie in Positano? (via Design Darling)

Currently inspired by, #4: I’m moving!

Image via

Guys, I only have one thing on my list this weekend. I’ll be packing my little life into bags & boxes, and moving everything to my new apartment. I could hardly be more excited! It feels like such a surreal thing, that something I’ve been dreaming about and working on for such a long time, is finally about to happen! Althought still not quite finished (progress, not perfection, right?), that little place of mine feels like a dream come true. For the past few months I’ve poured all my time, energy, and yes, all my money, into turning an old and drab flat into something new and elegant that I could call “home”. And seeing my vision progressively come to life is one of the best feelings I’ve ever had! Honestly, just writing about it makes me a little bit emotional.

So the upcoming weekend will be spent first packing than unpacking, cleaning, organizing and tidying up. And hopefully, once everything including me is settled down, I’ll be able to pop a bottle of bubbly and savor the moment to its fullest.

PS: New apartment also means no wifi, which, unfortunately means, no time to post & comment. I’m working hard on having it sorted. Until then, have a fantastic and successful week!

Inspired by: French-inspired wedding details

Images via Style me Pretty

It seems that each time I make a wish to start blogging more again, all our clients seem to go beserk and start pushing for something that could only be called deadly deadlines. I’ll be spending my day putting out fires left and right. I’ll at least leave you with a serious bout of eye candy – this wonderful French-inspired wedding is stuff dreams are made of, Oddly enough, it doesn’t have me dreaming of wedding gowns and bouquets (no, thanks), but of adding a little more French flair to my apartment. Lavender plants for my windowsills, perhaps?

Have a lovely hump day!

April 2015 bucket list

Image via

Happy Monday, guys! How was your weekend? Did you get around doing something fun and spring-related?

Beware, I’m going to throw some serious blogger cliché your way. I love spring and I couldn’t be happier that it has finally arrived in its full force. I’m sure that you’ve already read this one on countless other blogs, but it’s true. And after all, aren’t most clichés based on real life? I thought so. Just the fact that I’m finally able to wake up to the sun shining (and not to a complete and total winter darkness) makes me infinitely happy. It’s the little things, right?

And with all those happy thoughts of spring renewal and new beginnings swirling around, I’ve had bucket lists on my mind. Once again inspired by Mackenzie, I’ve been toying with the idea of a 101 in 1001 list. I’ve also revived my Weekend lists which resulted in me doing a ton of fun stuff over the weekend (like playing around with lots of dirt, something like twenty herb and flower plants, and a tiny shovel). And starting today, I’m planning to make a monthly bucket list and share it here on the blog, to make myself more accountable. When in doubt, make a list, right?

So without further ado, here’s the list of all the things I’m hoping to accomplish / do / make this month. No need to feel stressed about the fact that we’re already almost halfway through April, okay? And cheers to the new beginnings. Have a fantastic week, my friends!

Image via Popsugar

one: Finally move into my newly renovated (yet still unfinished) apartment and begin the real fun: the decorating! Also, begin documenting the whole reno here on the blog. Would you guys be interested in some before-after pictures?

Image via Cuisine Addict

Image via Macarons and Pearls

two: Cook and bake something delicious in my gorgeous new kitchen. This is pretty self-explanatory. I’ve been daydreaming about kitchens for months, and designing my own all by myself was definitely a blast. Now, the time has come to make some serious happy messes in there.

Image via The Glitter Guide

three: Start blogging daily again. I’ve already talked about it here, and I know this is a huge commitment to make besides everything else that’s happening in my life. But it all comes down to doing things that make me really happy, and this little blog certainly does that for me! I really hope you’ll tag along again!

Image via Design your life

four: Gather tons and tons of inspiration from this colorful and fabulous book. It’s been sitting on my bookshelf for far too long, and it’s just about time to really dive in and get inspired!

Image via House of Turquoise

five: Clean out, edit, organize and color-code my wardrobe. I’m SO looking forward to having a real closet space only for myself for the first time ever! It’s really a giant wardrobe that’ll be installed in my bedroom (covering one entire wall, yipeee), and I hope it’ll make for a happy home for all my clothes (and shoes…omg, when did I acquire so many shoes?). Let the color coding fun begin!

Images via Book Depository

six: Read these two books recommended by Oprah. I’ve already begun with The People in the trees, and so far I like it. We’ll see how eager I will be to follow up with A little life that’s been getting some serious rave reviews.

Image via Kelly Golightly

seven: Buy a bouquet of tulips every weekend, for no reason at all, but to make my home a happier and a more colorful place.

Image source unknown

eight: Pick up my gratitude journal again, and jot down one thing I learned every single day. I’ve come to realize that this is really huge when it comes to remembering and being grateful for what I’ve already accomplished. And it makes me even more excited for what is yet to come!

nine: Start making my weekend lists again. This was a great exercise in making things happen, and I can’t wait to pick up where I left in January (before the whole my-life-is-all-about-brick-and-mortar madness).

Do you make any sort of seasonal / monthly lists? If so, be sure to leave a link in the comments – I’d love to check them out!

Weekend notes & link love #17

Image via Homey oh my!

Image via Camille Styles

Image via Pink Peonies

Image via Style me Pretty Living

Image via Julie’s Kitchen

Image via The Broken Bread

Image via A Beautiful Mess

The most honest and the bravest post on the pitfalls of running a small business I’ve ever read! Despite of what all the pretty Instagrams may suggest, it’s not always all bubbly and butterflies! A must read! (via Pintucks and Peonies)

Tips on taking the prettiest iPhone photos from the inimitable Elsie & Emma. (via A beautiful mess))

Pink is the new black. (via Style me Pretty Living)

Being an avid traveler and a die-hard carry on girl, I really loved Andrea’s souvenir shopping tips. (via Camille Styles)

I’ve been obsessing over all things spring for weeks, and I think I’ve stumbled upon the easiest and prettiest spring tablescape. Those floating ranunculus? Adorable! (via Homey oh my!)

Every day should be a reason to pull out your birthday dress. (via Design for mankind)

Why women keep other women from leading. A very interesting perspective. (via The Everygirl)

If there’s one woman who can pull off a fabulous feminine midi skirt, it’s Rachel. Gorgeous! (via Pink Peonies)

20 things to toss. I think you don’t need a New Year’s, or any other special occasion to follow this advice. Here’s to editing and decluttering! (via Domaine)

The prettiest Instagram account of the week. (via Julie’s Kitchen)

A lovely peek behind the scenes with Ashley of Sugar & Cloth. (via Meg Biram)

Tiramisu for deux, and a few lovely and thoughtful words on love. (via The Broken Bread)

Currently inspired by, #3

Hello friends, how are you? It’s been a while since I last checked in here for a little update, isn’t it? In the meantime, spring has finally arrived (hooray!!!), my workload eased up a teeny tiny bit, and I’m only days away from the big move (the last crucial things missing? My bed and wardrobe, and their arrival is scheduled for next week. Cue major impatience and excitement!)

With all the major issues and problems being solved, I realized that nothing was preventing me from getting my blogging sh*t together again. And boy, am I eager to start writing regularly again! I’ve decided to take it easy, and not to put too much pressure on myself (who am I kidding here?), but I’ve been missing you guys, and this little internet corner of mine too much to stay away from it permanently. I really hope you haven’t completely given up on me! (fingers crossed).

So today, to celebrate the upcoming gorgeous spring weekend (the first one that will not include rain and snow – I’m not kidding you, it snowed again around here last Monday!), I’m kicking things off with a little list of things and activities I’m planning to enjoy over the next two days. Of course, I’ll be taking full advantage of the fact that I’m allowed to sleep in (and by sleep in I mean waking up at 7.30am instead of my usual 5.45), but apart from that, you’ll probably find me having too much fun…

Image via Etsy

…picking up fabrics that I’ll later transform into colorful tablecloths. My kitchen is finally finished, and seriously, guys, with the risk of extreme bragging, it’s the most gorgeous thing I’ve ever laid my eyes on. But since I designed it in shades of white and grey, right now it’s lacking in the spring cheer department. In other words, colorful spring accessories are much needed. I need to go through my stack of colorful fabrics I already have in stock (and maybe make a trip to the store, too), to pick the perfect ones to turn into tablecloths, napkins and tea towels. Time to pull my trusted Singer sewing machine out of its hibernation!

Image via One hundred dollars a month

… planting a herb garden for my kitchen windowsill. This is probably the one thing I’m most excited about this weekend! Yesterday I spent an entire afternoon picking up tiny herb plants with my mom, and I’ll be replanting them into pretty and colorful pots first thing on Saturday morning. Cooking with fresh herbs is one of the best things I’ve learned while living in France, and I can’t wait to take full advantage of all the flavorful combos available. Basil? Rosemary? Oregano? Lavender? Mint? You name it, I’ll plant it!

Image via Say yes

… creating a new editorial calendar for my blog. I’m not kidding when I say that I need to seriously up my blogging game again! Although for the past few months I’ve spent all my time and energy on apartment-renovation issues (and my day job, obviously), I’ve been missing writing too much! I think I have at least a thousand new ideas for blog posts, series, interviews and projects I’d love to see come to life, and it’s time to put them all on paper, and begin to make things happen! And since I’m such a visual person, I really love this idea of paint chip schedule that can sit on my desk day in and day out and inspire each and every next best thing. Aren’t the simplest ideas always the best?

Image via Swoonworthy

…binge watching Arrow. I’m obsessed with this show, guys! And by obsessed, I mean staying up till 2am to see what Oliver Queen and his crew (and incidentally, as you can witness above, their abs) have up their sleeves while saving Starling city from all kinds of evil. I’m planning to finish second season this weekend, and maybe start the third one, but I’m too afraid that there aren’t enough episodes to satisfy my superhero cravings. Crazy? Me? Maybe just a little 🙂

Image via Gimme some oven

…devouring my first homemade salad in months. One of the things I love most about spring is that a delicious and colorful salad is no longer a dream, but a real lunch option (all the salad fanatics, raise your hands!) Inspired by this flavorful recipe, I’ve picked up baby spinach, ripe avocados, radishes and some smoked salmon to turn them into a delish dinner tonight (and probably lunch tomorrow). Yum!

Image via A thought for food

…sipping my first glass of rosé of the season. It will pair perfectly with my salad and I’ll be sure to savor each and every sip. Cheers to the spring!

What are you up to this weekend? Do you have any fun activities planned? If so, be sure to share them in comments – they could easily inspire one of my future Weekend lists!

Have a wonderful weekend!