In my life there are some things I'm totally dependent of and I'm happy to use day after day. So, with no more words, these are the "tools" I use every single day: 
1. A new day does not begin without a nice cup of coffee! As a fanatic coffee lover I could definitely not get through my day without it. So the first tool I use when I wake up in the morning is my five year now faithful TASSIMO coffee machine. My favourite coffee? Cafe crema classico for the beginning of the day and cappuccino for afternoon keep going…
2. My Macbook Pro. Need I say more for this tool? Obsession! Necessity and habit. Mostly useful but very often an unbelievable amount of time "eater" as well…you know what I mean.
3. My Samsung Galaxy note is another every day tool that I really love. I use it to read my kindle books and magazines, to take photos (samsung has really good cameras), I carry it in my bag (so I'm never "running out" of a computer), I,m using it as a computer when I'm lying(…..   ), I just love to write and draw on it (the main reason I bought it was to use it as a notebook!), it's a perfect diary-organizer and I have so many useful applications in it that this paragraph could turn to a samsung note tutorial-review….. and that's not my intention. But I think you got the point. I just love this beautiful tool!
4. As much as I love coffee, I'm really turning into a tea kind of person more and more with the time. There are so many tea varieties out there that not only taste amazing, but they're an extremely healthy alternative to coffee, as well.. Especially herbal teas, which I personally prefer lately, can be a first class medicine. Invigorating, relaxing, inspiring, calming, curing other particular situations, anyone can find a flavor to suit his or hers taste and need.
My Delonghi kettle is my companion tool at this journey to the "tealand". It was love at first sight when I saw this kettle a few years ago and I knew I had to take it, although I never had a kettle before. I cannot resist to anything that has a retro or vintage style and this "tool" was just too perfect not to love! Since I brought it home it lives on my kitchen countertop all year long…
5. The last two everyday use tools live in my bathroom. The first one is a face cleansing brush I could never imagine it would be so effective! Of course I'm talking about my Clarisonic mia brush. I had heard so many nice things about this tool that I had to buy it. Not only I did not regret it, but Clarisonic has become an absolute necessity for my face care. I literally can't live without it anymore. The cleansing experience is so much different in a better way than cleansing my face with my hands only. The brush gently exfoliates and deep cleanses my skin every time I use it, my pores disappeared and my face feels more refreshed and clean than never before! So yes, Clarisonic mia has become a tool of my soul!
6. Last but definitely not least tool of every day use is my toothbrush! How could anyone possibly live without a toothbrush in the daily routine? Mine is an electric one from Braun and Oral-b . I use an electric toothbrush because I believe it is way more effective than a simple toothbrush. Not only your dentist will confirm that when you'll visit him for your checkup, but you can feel it by yourself as well. My teeth are significantly more clean and shiny and for longer in the day when I use an electric toothbrush. It just gives me an extra sense of confidence knowing that I've done the job right.
And these were some of the most loved and used tools in my everyday life. Of course there are many other things that I use very often and can't live without, but obviously I cannot mention everything in a single blog post! These, however, are some representative miscellaneous examples from a typical everyday life of mine.
I hope you enjoyed this post and I'd love to hear what are your favorite everyday tools?
Love you all,
​xoxo, Elena

1. The skin on my body gets extremely dry and itchy when the first yellow leaf on a tree appears! That's the most annoying thing for me during cold weather.. So, a really good and effective moisturizing body lotion is an absolute must, if I don;t want "snow" falling in my house whenever I take my clothes out! However, I hate greasiness on my body and that makes my choices really difficult, but, you can't have it all and for me my skin health comes first. This year I discovered a body lotion from LA ROCHE-POSAY, which is suitable and therapeutic for very dry and itchy skin and it's so pure that it can be applied on babies as well. Forgive me Clinique for replacing your body lotion (Clinique is the one I use all year long), but this one really seems to work on my skin, so far. There is also a matching shower gel, that doesn't dry the skin, but leave it soft and hydrated, so that's my favorite body care set for winter!
2. My feet really suffer "squeezed" in the shoes all day (flip-flop period is my feet's favorite season), so whenever I have the time I offer them the gift of a nice home feet-spa: soak them into lukewarm water, exfoliate them and massage them using a rich cream which hydrates their skin as well as helping my feet blood circulation. The result? Feeling rested afterwards and having baby soft feet! THE BODY SHOP has the perfect products for feet care and I just love them
3. Although my skin is oily a good moisturizing lotion is always necessary, especially during winter time, when the dry air and the heating make every last water drop o! my skin being evaporated. And when it comes to moisturizing, CLINIQUE DRAMATICALLY DIFFERENT MOISTURIZING GEL is my all time favorite product! This gel always makes me so happy when I apply it on my face! Love!
4. I'm not the lipstick kind of girl. When it comes to lips a lipgloss is my choice. I find that lip glosses give a more natural,  fresh result and they're much easier to apply, so it's usually out of question. However, during winter I love a little more rich color on my lips and I find my solution on CLINIQUE CHUBBY LIP STICKS, These lip sticks combine lip liner, lip stick and rich full creamy result and they're just amazing!  They give a shiny-mat natural look, they're super moisturizing and they come in so many beautiful colors that they're an absolute must favorite product for winter!
5. A nice hand cream. My hands get really dry during winter, so a hand cream is necessary, too. I rarely use hand cream all the other seasons as I don't like the greasiness on my hands and I don't  need it anyway. In winter, however I really enjoy the softness and the velvety effect of a cream on my hands. If the smell is great as well that makes it another favorite winter product. I usually have a L'OCCITANE hand cream always handy!
6. A lip balm. Who likes chapped lips? No one I think! That's why a CHAP STICK "lives" in my handbag all year long, but usually I use it much more at winter time for obvious reasons. Although Chap Stick is my favorite lip balm as it heals and softens my lips instantly, I also use EOS lip balms from time to time, because … I love their packaging and the smell… no judge…
7. Can you think of a better way to beat winter blues than color? When everything is grey and misty around me I want to treat my vision and my soul with something colorful which reminds me that there is always the other side of things and that spring always comes after winter…An easy way to put some color in my life is by painting my nails with a beautiful color. As I don't paint my nails very often, I prefer small packagings of nail colors which may have the opportunity to get to an end, especially if they're my favorite ones. MAVALA is a brand with cute, adorable little bottles and an amazing, endless variety of nail colors. I have a not so small selection of them I have to admit and I absolutely adore them! So, yes MAVALA nail polishes are another winter favorite.
8. And last but not least winter favorite is something invisible! My perfume! I feel quite naked without it and I definitely miss something when I leave home without a spritz of my favorite smell. A perfume can lift my mood at once and all day through! Personally I love fresh and light perfumes, I find that they have a vivid influence in my mood. CHANCE by CHANEL is my second skin, all versions of it, especially "eau tendre" for winter.
And that is all! These are my favorite winter products. I hope you'll find them interesting and inspiring and why not? Try some of them yourself! I guarantee for each one!
Love you all,
​xoxo, Elena   

When I feel tired during the day, somewhere around noon and can't keep my eyes open, I don't!!! Just 15-20 minutes of a nice relaxing "siesta" in a comfortable, quiet place is usually enough to rejuvenate me and give me all the energy I need to continue my day. Pampering mission, accomplished!

I'm a new "addition" to the club, however a huge fan! The more I discover meditation the more I appreciate its healing and self-awareness power. You will find countless sites, videos and applications on internet. Personally, I try to meditate once a day, for about 10-15 minutes, so this way I can say I pamper myself everyday!

There are days I'm extremely tensed and days I feel totally relaxed (most of the time I'm somewhere in between though). However I may be some kind of movement always makes me feel better. When I'm stressed I choose yoga or pilates or simple stretching moves that drive all the tension away. When I'm loose and well rested I prefer dance or aerobics to tone me up a little. With every movement that I make I feel the blood flowing better in my body bringing more oxygen to my brain, my lungs, my heart, more life to every little cell in my body. The result? Totally uplifted mood and enlightened mind! 

A nice spa salon where they'll pamper me without me moving my little finger…. is optional. However I can have the exact same benefits for my body and soul at home where just a little effort is required. I fill my bath tube with hot water, add my favorite bath foam or salts, light some candles around and soak in with my eyes closed listening to some zen sounds or music.. Sometimes I also exfoliate my body and my face getting rid of all those dead cells and I apply a beauty mask. After that I totally glow! If I have more time I may offer myself a mani-pedi-cure to complete my prettiness! 

TV is such a nice company especially when I'm feeling lonely, or sad, or somehow "down" or bored to do anything more energetic. Watching a favorite kind of movie, comedies, romance or classics usually work for me, always make me feel better afterwards. I'm sitting comfortably, a huge bowl of pop-corn is requisite and I just press the play button on the DVD player or browse at Netflix and always find something interesting…And talking about Netflix, if I don't have the time to watch a whole movie, there are so many loved shows waiting for me to uplift me, relax me, inspire me… pamper me and put that smile on my face!

There is no better way for me nor ever was to "travel" with my imagination to different, distant, amazing places and ages than opening a book. Its pages make me dream and take me away from my everyday life and routine. Who talked about boats or trains or airplanes? With a book you're miles away in a minute! And when I need some glamour in my life, then I grab a "glossy" magazine, a very old love of mine as well. We're talking about pampering here, so no judge on the kind of reading I want to read.

How could I not mention that sooooo popular nowadays way of pampering our selves? I'm definitely not the exception! I spend enough time browsing my favorite blogs and sites and online shops as well as all those appealing social media, instagram and pinterest are at the top of my list. So, when I want to pamper myself I allow me a little more time on my favorite "sport". Otherwise I try … to be wise and control myself… if that's possible!

Another favorite sport! It's not necessary to empty every self at the mall, as I already mentioned, or reach our card limits in order to pamper ourselves (although that's our secret desire…). For me a simple purchase of something I really love…. and not necessarily need, can really make me fly of happiness!

As much as I try to eat reasonably healthy most of the time so much I enjoy a "forbidden" treat for my self every now and then. Actually I believe that's a right way to keep going with my diet without feeling "punished" and miserable. After all there are so many healthy and light options in our days to enjoy even the "forbidden" kind of food, that nothing is really forbidden anymore! Anyway, as for me, whenever I crave something yummy I indulge in it! And if it's not the healthiest option, I try to limit the rest of my meals. After all, why should someone resist chocolate…. or french fries???!!!! YOLO!

Getting out of the house and walking in a beautiful place is a real gift for my self1! Enjoying the nature, feeling the fresh air on my face, breathing pure oxygen, looking at the irresistible beauty that only nature can really offer to us I feel alive and powerful and happy! I feel part of the amazing universe and so thankful for what God created with His wisdom, so thankful for my life!

And these are the ways I choose to pamper myself whenever I feel that I need to be pampered, whenever I feel that my self needs a proof of love, of my love! I hope I inspired you in some way and that you enjoyed my post.
I love you all
​xoxo, Elena  

Be bolder and try new things, be fearless and do the ones that I'm afraid to do. Live more moments with people I love, discover new people, give and take, teach and learn, create my own experiences and memories, because this is life, because:   

My house is a never ending process! I've done pretty much in terms of decoration with it, what I want to achieve from now on is creating a homely, welcoming, cozy environment, easy to live in. A place where I 'll want to come back to, to feel comfortable and happy and always ready to welcome beloved people. A place to live! 

OK! I may dream of Carrie Bradshaw's glamorous closet in "Sex and the City", or those amazing Pinterest perfect closets on internet, but what I really want for my closet is functionality and inspiration. Decluttering a bit and reorganizing my clothes would be nice. And I really need to buy a few new items. A style renewal is an absolute necessity for me right now! You cannot carry the same style your whole life through! I want to open my closet and find quickly the right clothes for any occasion, without losing time thinking and trying on clothes again and again, because they don't fit or because I don't like them. I only want beautiful clothes in my closet, that fit me well and make me feel confident and elegant. I want my closet to be a partner in my life adventure! 

Work on a creative project, something that I love and I believe in. Even if it's not something big, creativity enhances confident and self respect, also cultivates qualities as patience, discipline, diligence and is a great exercise for the brain. Moreover…. you never know….

Laugh! It's yoga for the face, medicine for the soul (releases endorphins, the "happiness" hormones), exercise for the abdominals, special treat for the heart! Laugh. laugh and laugh some more! Laugh with every given opportunity, whenever and wherever I can. Comedies could be a nice solution. I really miss good laughs in my life lately. A priority!  

I took ballet classes as a little girl and then again while I was in the university. It takes much effort and discipline to reach a good level in ballet and that was the reason why I abandoned it. "If you can't reach perfection, why bother?" Well, I never stopped loving ballet and definitely had an inclination and I believe that performing some ballet exercises…. or pocisions… will have major benefits for my body.   

OK! That's a tough one and I'm not sure what exactly I want to do with a piano. But it is a childhood dream I never even tried it. I wanted to learn playing, but my father was negative, so I compromised with a guitar, which I never really loved… I mean, when you love the piano you have to play the piano, not the quitar! It doesn't work this way. When it comes to piano… there is no substitute! So, we'll see… But, definitely hear more piano music, a treat for the soul and the mind.

Because it's the most beautiful language in the world to talk and to hear...

Another activity I miss a lot lately. And the more I miss it the more I want to go away from everything and everyone! To get lost among unknown crowds, to breathe free, to see new places and faces, to meet different cultures, to taste different tastes and flavors, to live a different kind of life for a while. A real rejuvenation for the body and the soul, a "shower" for the mind, so that I can start fresh when I come back to the same everyday life... 

An alternative way to escape from reality and live another life for a while is reading. You travel to different places, different ages and situations, you become whoever you can imagine and you live your own adventure, or simply watch other people's adventures and lifes, you cry, you laugh, you love, you hate, you feel happy, or sad, you dream, you learn… and all that using your mind only! I don't read as much as I'd like to, although I buy books and always begin one with a willing mood, I often catch myself giving up after a few chapters…. Maybe they're not interesting enough, maybe I can't find the time…. or maybe I'm just bored. Whatever, I'll try to "feed" my brain with more and good quality "food".

So, this is my top 10 life priorities list for this year of my life! Oh! And another priority! An urgent one: 
To accomplish my decisions and keep my promises as long as they are functional and fulfilling and they make me happy!!!  
I mean there is no reason to carry on something that doesn't work anymore for some reason. Flexibility is the key when everything is falling apart. I'll keep my mind open and hope for the best!
I hope you enjoyed my list and maybe even got some inspiration to make your very own one, if you haven't already decided what to do with your life in 2015!
Love you all,
xoxo, Elena  

I hope you enjoyed my "instaday" post and I wish you all a fabulous weekend!
Love you,
xoxo, Elena

Well, this very festive biscuit-bar alternative is called "Christmas Rocky Road", is so crunchy and soft and airy at  the same time, so sweet and fulfilling, it satisfies many different tastes letting in your mouth wonderful holiday flavors! Who inspired it? The one and only "Christmas Domestic Godess", Nigella Lawson, who's new edition of "Nigella Christmas" cookbook I spent hours leafing and gazing this Christmas… Amazing she is! You can find the recipe here and you have to make it. And guess what? It doesn't have to be Christmas at all!...

As for me, I had this crazy wishfulness to make this delight at Christmas morning and that's when I made it with my lovely husband. First thing at 25th of December, just after we had our morning coffee and a little before we hit he road for my parents in law house, where we had our Christmas dinner. It's so simple and fun to make, as well, with all these festive colors and ingredients combined in a single bowl! We really enjoyed it! Thank you Nigella!

"Christmas Rocky Road", I think you've earned a place at our family holiday traditions! We enjoyed it with our tea and coffee  and any time of the day when we had those irresistible "craving something sweet" attacks! Our friends properly honored it, as well!
And with this last holiday post…. I think that the holiday season is officially closed! It wasn't "a little Merry Christmas" at all actually…. it was a rather elongated Christmas time…. as far as blog posts concern.
I wish each one of you to be healthy and happy in 2015 and never stop dreaming for better days and moments in your life to come.
Love you all,
xoxo, Elena     

Hello my dear friends and a very happy New Year to all of you! Here I am with another, rather late, holiday post, but January hasn't gone yet…., so I guess I'm not totally out of date, right…? I also guess I'm perfect in finding the best excuses to cover my procrastination habit! Since it's January, however, the right time for new beginnings, I hope,…... I'l try,….... I promise,... I will be more consequent this year!… Promise!  

For the first dinner of 2015 we had my husband's parents over at our home. I cooked and prepared the salads the day before, so on New Year's first Day we had the time to relax watching the Vienna's New Year's Concert on TV  and having our first coffee-brunch
And of course I set the table the night before, as well. I so much enjoyed that part of preparation, I always do! After trying two or three options of setting our table, I came up with the holiday classic red one and I absolutely loved it! And I don't think I was  the only one, since my husband and his parents liked it very much, too. 
The dinner was very nice, as well. Now, I just realized that I didn't take any photos of our delicious festive dinner! Obviously I was a bit anxious to serve everything right on time and maybe a bit embarrassed to shoot our plates on the table in front of other people, so unfortunately there is no evidence of the tasty food we all very much enjoyed! The only photo is the following one of our salads that I took before anyone arrives…. 

And just for the records, the following menu was our first dinner of 2015. Delicious, at common concent!… Soooo much regretted I didn't take any photos…. Just use your imagination!

However, I found some images of my traditional "Vasilopita" from past years and present them here for you. It's exactly the same nice and loved "Vasilopita" every single year, after all. So fulfilling and aromatic, it satisfies our senses with the pure aromas of fresh butter and orange peel… it just melts in the mouth. It's a traditional recipe, but I won't keep it a secret if you crave it too much…. (…I am a generous girl!).

I hope you all had beautiful holidays, too, with the people you love, with cheer, hope and many, many smiles, around a table and every moment of your life! To a happy new year! To 2015! May all your wishes come true! 

Love you all,
see you soon, 
Elena

Hello everybody and Merry Christmas! I hope you're all great and had a wonderful Christmas time. Unfortunately nice things end really quickly and so did Christmas time, but they leave us with a sweet taste and a warm heart to continue our lives in the middle of the very cold winter, giving us hope and strength for better things to come. 

Christmas week was a busy week with all that cooking and cleaning and shopping and wrapping and I couldn't find the time to post you some photos of what was going on at my office during that festive period. Still, it's never too late for a colorful post and the festive period is not officially over yet…. New Year is coming and New Year's Eve celebrations demand some more presents and cheer and joy! 

So, last week, I turned my little office to a Santa's wonderland wrapping and writing and decorating the gifts for my loved ones. This year I was more organized than ever! I ordered my Christmas wrapping supplies a long time ago after doing a little research as always in internet land. That way I found exactly what I wanted at reasonable prices. I also bought some wrapping supplies from IKEA. They have the most wonderful Christmas shop for a low budget, really beautiful festive things. 

My spirit of organization, however, was not restricted at the the wrapping stuff only. I also ordered many of my presents soon enough to avoid the last minute panic usually followed by desperate purchases of useless things. So proud of myself! I didn't buy many presents though, just small, for everyday use things that'll make the life of the recipient a little more beautiful and happy. After all, thought is what counts and most important, love that surrounds the gift given.   

With Christmas music on my laptop, coffee in my mug and my "red apple wreath" candle lit and diffusing its wonderful Christmas smell all over the place, I had the perfect atmosphere to get into the Christmas spirit! I really enjoyed my afternoons last week...

….wrapping and writing so many different Christmas and New Year's wishes at the back side of  little tiny Christmas labels….

Something I really enjoyed seeing at Christmas shops and absolutely wanted was a Santa's sack. Such a clever idea! I believe it's a Christmas must especially for kids. Brings back memories to the eldest and gives something to wait for to the youngest. "To be delivered: 25th December" straight from Mr Santa Claus, North Pole! Because it's good to believe...

A few goodies into the sack… and under the tree it goes!

How cute are these baby reindeers on the sack! And my presents look so pretty under the tree...

Green, red and white are the absolute Christmas colors for me! Classic, traditional, simply beautiful.

And this is my (late decorated, just a few days before Christmas…) tree for this year standing beside the sofa, in the living room in front of the window. I love having my coffee by the tree, reading a book, dreaming for the coming year… or just taking a nap letting the twinkling lights to calm me... 

I hope the Christmas spirit has warm up your hearts and soften your worries, I hope you have all lived your Christmas miracle and felt like kids for a while dreaming of Santa Claus and believing in the enormous power love conceals...

I wish you all many, many Merry Christmases and a Happy, Hopeful, Healthy New Year!
Love you all,
xoxo, Elena

Last night, occupied by the spirit of Christmas, I decided to use my cake tin for the very first time. Actually this cake is all about the cake tin! That's what makes the whole difference and transforms the simplest cake recipe to a Christmas masterpiece!
You can make any recipe you like, but for my first experiment I wanted to try the Nigella's original one using cinnamon and ginger as well instead of vanilla flavor only…. and guess what…. The whole house smelled like Christmas! Such an irresistible kind of smell! I baked my cake late at night, but the baking flavor rewarded me and relaxed me as well…
After almost 50 minutes I decided it was well baked and took it out of the oven patiently waiting for it to cool so that I can turn it out…. That was a bit stressful! What if the cake was stuck in the tin and didn't want to come out….???
Thank God everything went just fine and eight little tiny Christmas trees were proudly standing in front of me on their cake stand!
Happy as a child!  

I haven't tasted my Christmas cake yet, but I'm quiet sure it's going to be delicious! As a matter of fact I'm waiting for my mister to  come back from work, so that we can enjoy it together with our afternoon coffee. After all, he was my helping hand last night doing all the messy sink washing himself! Love him!

As for me, I'm just having my late morning cup of coffee, photo shooting (…and admiring!) my "Christmas trees cake" in front of my advent calendar… 19th of December already! I'd better hurry and trim that poor tree waiting for me at my living room with only the lights on it!
Bye, bye!
Love you all, 
xoxo, Elena

It's that time again! Yes, Christmas is coming, no matter how negative we may be about this whole excessive burst of sparkling red, green and white holiday festivities, no matter who Scrooge is struggling to survive inside anyone's mind… Yes, it's coming against all hurdles, against any resistance, because that's the exact meaning of Christmas: to warm up even the coldest hearts on the planet. 
I haven't decorate the house yet, because I was sick with a bad cold for almost two weeks, so I couldn't clean the house first and then decorate it, but it's not too late. After all, we used to trim the tree just a few days before Christmas when I was a kid, even on Christmas eve, so it's definitely not late at all actually! Last Sunday was the first day I started to feel healthy and strong again and I didn't lose the chance to ask from my dear man to bring down the tree from the loft. 
I made the most wonderful thick hot chocolates for us served with frothed milk and mini marshmallows to inaugurate our new shiny red Christmas mugs I bought from Starbucks a few time ago. I loved these mugs at first sight!! They look like huge shiny red  balls for the Christmas tree… Classy and fabulous!!!...

I lit our advent candle as well as all the lights in the living room… to celebrate the coming of Christmas and let joy come in our home. How much we really need it! The candle is melting nice and slowly bringing us one more day closer to the 25th of December… and reminding us to rejoice a little bit every single day until the Big Day, because pleasure hides in the path we follow to reach our destination and not the destination itself.
With our hearts warmed and sweetened (and our mouths as well….), we uncovered our tree from his paper box and let it breathe again! "The Muppets" movie was playing on tv, the perfect timing for a little extra cheer and festivity, and Thanasis, my man, patiently and carefully setup the tree in our living room.
Green and proud our tree is graciously siting beside the sofa now, in front of the window waiting for me to trim it….
Be patient tree, be patient…
I hope you are all starting to get into the Christmas mood, more or less, your way…
Love you all,
xoxo, Elena