Hello world! I hope everyone is having a beautiful weekend.
Today's post is a recipe my family loves. We love food! We love to cook it as much as we love to eat it!
...Well, actually I'm the cooker and my husband is ...the bearer, so it is fair to say that "we" cook, after all we usually decide together what to eat. We try to feed ourselves healthy and  I believe we broadly achieve it by following the meditteranean way of eating.
The following recipe is a quick, last minute recipe that I discovered a few summers ago in a greek food magazine while thinking what to eat on a hot, lazy summer noon...We love spinach, we love eggs, too, the recipe was easy, so it seemed the perfect idea!
I gave it a try and it turned out to be one of the hits in our kitchen!
Sooo healthy, light (no carbs at all) and sooo delicious and satisfying at the same time this dish became at once a favorite one!
I cooked it many times since that summer noon and I highly recommend it!

3-4 tbs olive oil
3-4 finely chopped spring onions
salt
1/2 kg washed and drained (or frozen) coarsely chopped spinach
150gr greek feta cheese cut into small pieces
1/4 cup finely chopped dill
4 eggs
1/2 tbs butter or margarine
1/2 ts red sweet pepper

In a large skillet heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Once oil is hot add spring onions and salt and stir fry until onions wilt for about two minutes. Add spinach and saute until almost all of its fluid leave. I use frozen spinach straight from the freezer most of the time, because I find it's convenient, and in that case I cover the skillet over medium heat for about 15-20 minutes, until spinach defrost, then cook for another 5-10 minutes, until all its liquid leave.
Add feta cheese and dill. As soon as feta melts, open small "puddles" in spinach and break the eggs in them. Cover skillet and let it simmer until eggs are done, for about 3-4 minutes, depending on how runny or tight you like your eggs.
Meanwhile, burn the butter. Once it's foaming add red pepper and immediately poor over every egg yolk.
Enjoy with toasted bread!
Bon appétit!

In case you're wondering why I post a recipe today I have two excuses for you:
1)I 've always wanted to do it! I cook a lot , I prepare our family meals myself everyday and not only. I bake delicious cakes and desserts, I even make our own bread (with a little help from my breadmaker to be completely honest...), with great joy and happiness! I love, love, love cooking, I've always did, since I was a little girl sitting in the kitchen and watching my mother while she was doing her own sweet and savory miracles... Many years have passed since then, many recipes have been tried and  tasted, and ... hundreds of cooking magazines and cookbooks have been bought! If you follow me on Instagram, you can see some of my proudly shot dishes(...!!!) and hopefully someday I'll find the time to post beloved recipes on my cook page.
2)This post has been written as part of Mama Kat's link party under the writing prompt: "a recipe that everyone in your family loves". ... Well, everyone in my family is just me and my husband (though friends and relatives loved the dish, as well), which means that the most crucial reviewals of the meal, those little, cute, "know all" creatures named ....kids, are missing from the plan and I think this is not exactly the kind of food a kid would adore, but with a little hope and training and lots, lots of luck anything can happen! After all, I loved spinach and eggs as long as I can remember myself! So, it may be in our genes! Anyway, the prompt is about a recipe my family loves and we are the family at the moment, so, I guess it's O.K!

I wish you all a nice and relaxed rest of the weekend,
love you all,
xoxo, Elena

Written as part of Mama Kat's Writer's Workshop

There are so many things that remind me of my mother. Everything I am I owe it to her. I can see her in myself. I am a piece of her, she created me just like she did with so many wonderful things in her life! What's not to remember from her?
Mama Kat's suggestion to write about a smell that makes me think of my mother restricted those memories to a particular field: smells.
My mom was a strong woman. She could manage work, home, kids, husband, elderly parents, social commitments and did everything right. As a kid I may didn't realize her sacrificies exactly, but I did listened people's praises. And I admired her for all her achievements! I was proud of my mom! Only thinking about what she had done now that I'm an adult, I believe she was a heroine, a real angel...
The remarkable thing is that she was coping with her life without losing the female side of her. I believe it was in her genes!
She didn't spend much time in her appearance, but she was always neat and feminine with a great taste in clothes, she had great taste in everything actually. Her outfits, chic and elegant, consisted of classic pieces, some of them at the best quality she could buy. My mom knew how to dress up!
She never used make up on her face, her vibrant, porcelain clear complexion didn't need any coverage. Unfortunately I didn't inherited her beautiful skin, but the yellowish, dull and greasy skin my dad has... The only make up interference on mom's face was her brown-coral lipstic when she was dressing up, on formal occasions or at church. And her hair was always done, she visited the  hairdresser's every Saturday early morning! A woman always looks extra prim when her hair is done and mom seemed to knew that very well.
I know the post is about a smell, but when it comes to mom, I can't resist the chatter... After all the smell that reminds me of her is inseparably attached to her looks and I could no way divide those two.
The last move before stepping outside the door was always her unforgetable perfume: "miss Arpels", by Van Cleef and Arpels
Light, sweet, elegant, flowery, distinguishing was the last sense I had from her while she was walking to the door. Natural and beautiful, but so interesting, like her, miss Arpels was following her movement. And it felt wonderful, spirit lifting and happy!
Her perfume was everywhere, but what is mostly engraved in my memory is the perfume on her foulards which were hanging in our hallway! I'll never forget that feeling! Foulards are to me the ultimate symbol of  femininity and elegance and when they're perfumed with a woman's personal scent it's an irresistable combination! Mom was a real woman! The softness of the foulards and the smell of roses which characterized "miss Arpels" felt like mom...
I kept her last bottle which is half full, yet, because I want to see it. One of the reasons mom kept buying this perfume, besides its beautiful smell, was the shape of its bottle! Asymmetric and particular, mom was impressed by extraordinary and unusual things.
So, that's the story of mom's favorite perfume which became my favorite smell, because it belonged to my most favorite person..
Love you mom...

Thank you so much for stopping by
love you all,
xoxo, Elena

Written as part of Mama Kat's Writer's Workshop

Hello everyone! I know it's been a quiet long time since my last post, but I really need this extra time to organize and present my posts in a proper way that makes me feel complete and satisfied... if that is ever possible!
Today's post is another mama Kat's idea that I truly enjoyed very, very much and I didn't want to miss it in no way! You see, there are a few things that recently came into my life and which I totally felt in love with at once! Five of them I'm going to share with you and they happen to be my most favorite things right now!

The reason I love these items, besides they're obviously extremely beautiful and functional (...and someone is extremely snobbish around here...) is that I wanted and searched for these beauties long ago. So, the last one or two months, somewhen around Christmas time and under the influence of the  famous "Christmas spirit ", I just got out there and did my absolutely necessary moodlifting shopping therapy!! Hello, I'm Helen and I'm feeling great!!

Well, here's my list of five currently obsessions:

I've been using mini and pocket filofax organizers since I was at the university, almost twenty years now and I was more than pleased. I'm generally obsessed with organizers in any form, style or color and, without exaggerating, I could gladly purchase dozens of them! There are so many glamorous organizers out there in the recent years, that's really difficult not to be tempted!
But I chose to be practical and logic: filofax was tried and tested through years, has a very wide collection of calendars, papers and other goodies which can be replaced every year (so, you don't have to buy a whole new organizer every now and then), also has a great quality of products and they're all so beautiful! So, my decision was filofax again, only this time I would choose a bigger size, because I love writing and I need space to do it. A4 was very big, personal size is very practical if you want to carry it with you, but not big enough for my needs, so A5 was the right one for me. As for the colour and type, I loved the purple leather finsbury among other gorgeous ones, so that's my bright an new 2014 filofax organizer ! Love it!

O.K! I wasn't actually sure wether I needed a tablet or not, at least not yet. However, I flirted with the idea I could hold such a small and light piece of technology wherever and whenever I wanted to... at the sofa, in my bed, in my handbag, in a waiting room, in the car, on my kitchen counter... still I wasn't so sure. My laptop suffices most of my computing needs and I didn't want to become one of these persons who depend themselves from a computer, as an extension of their own hand...
And then Samsung note caught my eye. Well, that one is not just another tablet! It is a piece of art! It has a pen to touch the screen and write, makes the most wonderful zen nature sounds a stressfull person like me seeks, it can be the perfect calendar and organizer (here's my second one...), it has a HD camera for great shots and videos, it can be your bookcase and your newsstand, your navigation system in a strange place.... and has plenty of other seductive applications to use. But, what really thrilled me is its use as a scetchbook! You can draw whatever you want with this cute magic little pen and let Picasso to come out of inside you.... You can even draw your own photographs, cultivate your talent... and impress everyone! How cool is that??
So, I put aside any doubts about tablets and ordered this beautie. I didn't want to miss it by no means! And I did not regret a penny! I'm sooo delighted!

Only God (and my husband) knows how looong I earnestly desired this kind of vintage sugar white Delonghi kettle! Since it was released, a few years ago, maybe? I loved it at first sight (the whole collection - kettle, toaster and espresso machine - is lovely actually, in every color), but I believed I didn't need a kettle in my house since I could boil the water in any other kitchenware and the kettle would only took up space on my counter....
My advice? Never resist a love at first sight! It will appear into your life sooner or later! I deeply knew I would possess this so very retro piece in my kitchen one day. I was sure, it was mine. And I brought it home this Christmas. Honestly, I don't understand how I lived without it! It's been my right hand in the kitchen and not only! I now have boiled water whenever I need it in just a few minutes and it remains hot long enough, if I want to use it later. No more saucepans using for boiling water, not any more! Technology from the past found its way to my home, at last! She looks sooo beautiful on my counter right now!

The nighstand lamp is another long story. As a matter of fact, you need a cup of coffee to read this post  to its end.. (and I needed a few more -teas actually- to complete its writing...)!
The truth is I was dreaming of a glass ball nightstand lamp my entire life (and I guess I'm going to have it some day..), but I couldn't find the perfect one for my nightstands. I wanted it with a glass (not metallic) base, not too high and wide, not too small either, with a beautiful lampshade... anyway, in another life maybe! Or, maybe, when I also have the nightstands of my dreams, mirrored, vintage and very, very feminine... So, the glass lamps may wait for the perfect much to find their way to my home, too!
Until that time comes, I really needed two lamps for my bedroom. We had the lykta ikea lamps for many years and we were pretty satisfied with their lighting, but one of them broke while we were moving (totally we broke about two or three  of them, easily broken....) and only one remained, so instead of buying another lykta lamp, which would probably be broken within the year as well, I decided to buy the arstid table lamps from ikea, too. 
The arstid lamp was a piece I always admired for its elegance and simplicity, not to mention it is a real value for money purchase, as many ikea products. I'm very proud and happy to have this lamp in my bedroom! It makes a very relaxing, soft lighting which is exactly what I want in the bedroom, providing enough light to read, get dressed, even do your make up, at the same time! It is not a "dark" bedroom lamp, it is light and tender, feathery let me say! Alright, I'm thrilled with this lamp , I have to admit it and I can't imagine I would have missed it, if I bought the glass lamp on the first place! This ikea lamp definitely deserved the opportunity to live into my house! Love, love, love!!!

I've been seeing this inaccessible and so desirable Missoni scarf in the mall, at the accessories department for months. It stood apart from others! Its colors are so amazing and so my match! Its design so unique and chic! It suits with so many clothes, colors and styles putting an unforgettable signature in any outfit!
But it was really expensive for a scarf! During the sales its price dropped to 50% off(!!!), which made it a bit more accessible, but still highly priced... On second thought, it was a MISSONI... difficult to pass by... it instantly upgrades anything you wear!
So I returned!
It was still  hanging there.
I took it without ... third thought!
I just grabbed it and run to the cashier...
My first Missoni piece of clothe is now hanging from my wardrobe's doorknob!
It's mine and I can't get enough of seeing it!

Well, these were five of my most favorite things at the moment and their history. I love everyone of them, because it came into my life for a special reason and all of them for making my everyday life more beautiful and happy and less miserable.  

Shopping therapy may be a little underestimated in recent years, but the truth is that new things, especially things we want and love so much, smaller or bigger, it doesn't really matter, bring joy in our lives and renewal and we all need that, from time to time, don't you agree?

Thank you so much for reading,
Love you all,
xoxo Elena

Written as part of Mama Kat's Writer's Workshop

It must have been Christmas of 1978 when mom gave me this so beautiful and lovely English doll named Sindy, dressed in a cute pink ballet skirt, white fishnet stockings, white bodysuit and these wonderful little pink ballet shoes... Sindy could bend her knees, her ankles, her elbows, her wrists, her waist and neck, she could dance! My Sindy was a ballerina and I was so happy to own her! I loved ballet and I was taking ballet lessons as a little girl (....and some more lessons as a medicine student, as well!..), so my dream was to look like her...but I think this was and will be the dream of millions little girls all over the world! But my Sindy made my fantasy fly away....

Besides from being a beautiful ballerina, my Sindy had a wide clothes collection. She would wear just the right outfit for every occasion and that looked so inspirational in my child's eyes! I would definitely dress like her when I grew up one day...!

Sindy also had a very beautiful, cozy house I've been dreaming of possessing one big day! Look at her living room spending time with her friend, by the fireplace...

...and how amazing is that record player and records! She even had real furniture, a rocking chair, armchair, this lovely red sofa!

Sindy's dining room was great, too...

Just look at the silverware, the chandeliers... I have the exact same dresser in my living room today! Do you think that could mean something of Sindy's influence in my life..??

I loved her kitchen so much, my first kitchen was yellow, too!!

She had real, functional cupboards, appliances and kitchenware! Love the blue pots, saucepans and the kettle.. le creuset maybe...?

Her blue bedroom was so dreamy...!

Such a feminine dressing table, nightstand and closet with a mirror inside!...Well, my house seriously looks a lot like Sindy's.... but I'm still looking for the perfect bed-tray, hoping my husband will serve me breakfast in bed someday...!!

Sindy had her very own suitcase room when she travelled away...

... and a caravan and tent for her holidays. Camping was so popular back in 70's and 80's. We spent two or three summer holiday periods in a camping site when we were kids and we had so much fun!!
Sindy also loved pic-nicking and barbequeing... she really enjoyed life!

And she kept her lovely house clean and tidy!

Sindy had a great love for horses...,well..., I did not inherited that one....

And she was driving a stylish vespa, a fast car and a buggy!! I have to work on that one, too...

Sindy had a gorgeous white piano to play... I'm really jealous of that one, because I'm a huge piano music lover and I've always wanted to learn to play, but dad discouraged me believing it's another childish enthusiasm that would only cost him lots of money without any purpose....So they sent me to learn to play the guitar which I never really liked... and it all ended  ingloriously!...

As an original English girl, Sindy could not help but adore the famous "five o' clock tea" English tradition...
Just, how delicious that chocolate cake looks? May I have a bite, please..?

I'm never getting bored gazing Sindys wearing colorful, modern clothes. Isn't that such a vivid shoot adjustment?

And here is a more classic version of Sindys. I personally adore that all time classic character of Sindy, it's so me!

Mix'n'match outfits. How practical Sindy was!!

Sindy by the sea...

Cute outfits...

More classics...told you I adore them!

Sindy as a Victoria Secret's model? She could be....

And more lovely outfits for a version of Sindy younger than mine.

She's a Lady...

Of course I wasn't shooting my Sindy as a girl, so I had to do my research in order to write this post. I couldn't believe there are so many wonderful ladies out there sharing the same love for Sindy with me! I, with no exaggeration, discovered a whole treasure of Sindys in the internet and that made me very, very happy!
Here's sweet Sindy in personal moments....

Here she is in.. Hollywood!

...and you guessed that right, here's Sindy in Paris!! Great destinations Sindy!

I hope you enjoyed the journey in my childhood with my beloved doll Sindy as much as I did! Sindy's magical world was the place I used to travel a lot with my imagination when I was a kid and a journey in the children's world is always desirable, don't you agree? It brought back memories and dreams that feels so good to remember with tenderness and a bit of nostalgia...

All images were found in two wonderful sites "our Sindy museum"  and "my Sindy.com" that every Sindy lover should visit! I think you can shop or exchange dolls or clothes there, also, so it's never too late to start your collection of Sindys!
Thank you so much for stopping by,
love you all,
xoxo, Elena
(I love you Sindy...)

Written as part of Mama Kat's Writer's Workshop

Lost. I'm pretty familiar with this word, as most people do, I believe... Life itself is a series of repeated losses: first we lose our childhood when we believe we are immortal, then the wonderfully weird teenage years when life is still very, very long and we have infinite time to make all of our dreams come true, we can undoubtedly rule the world at one time and become completely worthless the very next one, then our youth when we actually can and should make most of our dreams come true, middle age when we have the maturity to be satisfied with what we've achieved and enjoy it while we still have the time for more even better accomplishments, elderly when our precious life experience makes us stronger, wiser and why not, happier.... and the list goes on.... and on...
As we grow up we lose a period of our life, so we can  step to the next wonderful one! Each loss is a small funeral letting us feel sad, but, at the same time is prerequisite, if we want to walk to the next chapter of our life. We have to let go of something old in order to walk to something new , that's the  natural process. Grown ups who behave as children or teenagers... is a real problem not only to the people around them, but to themselves mainly. Isn't that more sad than natural loss of our younger age?...
So loss isn't necessary something bad, as it may sounds... Of course there are lost oppportunities, lost things precious to us, lost friendships or relationships that really mattered, lost pets... All these definetely hurt more or less, but then... on second thought, isn't everything happening for a reason? Time is usually verifying in such situations.
Yet, the greatest loss is the loss of our beloved ones. I lost my first grandparent when I was nine and the last one at 21. It hurt. But I accepted it and got over it, pretty quickly, as I can remember. I still had my parents, my family, my friends... and I was so young!
But losing my dear mother a few years ago... I never accepted that one and I never will. Until the time we, hopefully, meet again she will always be around me, in my mind, in my heart. I lost the earth under my feet when she left us. I believed that would never happen to my mom. She was a beautiful, wonderful, kind woman... she was everything to me! Losing her I lost myself as well... I became a new person. A person without a mom being there all the time willing to give me the right advice, to make me feel better, to give me a love hug... oh God, what I miss most is her warm hug and her beautiful smile...irreplaceable...
A new period had begun for me. As if I had lived the "with mom " period and now switched to  "without mom" or "after mom" period when I have to be stronger, indepedent... adult, I'm not a kid anymore since mom is not here. I have full responsibility for my life and I have to have a life, a new life, to write my very own story in this worldbook just the way she did so amazingly...
My whole priorities changed after mom's gone. I looked at things in a different way.  I didn't worry so much for small things, even the bigger ones... I first realized that life is really too short to deal with anything that doesn't really matters to me. I had become my first priority!
Life gave me a huge slap taking my dearest person away from me maybe because someone wanted to teach me something. And I sure took my lesson!
The last thing I wanted is make you feel sad about this story, after all my blog has to do with the beautiful things in life. I just wanted to remind you that you have to enjoy all the beauty around you with all your senses, at any age, under any circumstances, because that's what life is all about! We all lose something every now and then, but something new and wonderful is just around the corner!

Thanks a lot you stopped by and excuse my English,
I'm trying really hard to write properly, but I'll always think the Greek way I guess...
love you all,
xoxo Elena

Written as part of Mama Kat's Writer's Workshop

Goodmorning my friends! First goodmorning of 2014! I'm so happy a new year begins, because 2013 was kind of hard to me...
Hope to a better, happy, bright and healthy year.

It's here! It's January already and it's 2014! Do you believe? 

Wish you all a lovely first new year's day, followed by many wonderful ones!
Love you all

I wish the world Merry Christmas and may everybody's dream come true...

It's been kind of blue Christmas for me this year for some or many reasons...

...but anything gets smoother and brighter when the spirit of the days appears!

Health, Love and Happiness  to everyone!
xoxo, Elena

Hello my dear friends! Christmas spirit is officially everywhere in the air and I can't resist writing a little something about it, although I have a thousand things to do... and I really wonder, am I the only one? Definetely not!People get a little crazy about holidays, gifts, christmas food and entertainment, things like that and I 'm not blaming any of these, because I'm one of these people... After all, "it's that time of yeeeeaar..." and we all need a piece of joy in our lives!
The point is once again not to exaggerate on preparations, decorations, food and most of all stress. "PAN METRON ARISTON", as Kleovoulos, an ancient Greek man used to say, which means: "it is best to avoid the excesses and abide by the measure in every facet of our public and private lives". This is such an important quote for me and I want to believe I follow this rule as much as I can in my life, though it's not always very easy...
Anyway, I want to wish everybody a happy and blessed pre-Christmas period, full of love, health and joy.
LOVE YOU ALL,
xoxo, Elena

My dear friend, Autumn...
Goodmorning
Have I told you,
I love you so...

I love your morning dew on my skin...
The sound of your golden rug under my feet...

The magic of your fallen leaves...

I just need a sip of coffee...

And lots of poetry, while you keep me in your embrace...

Savoring me the sweetest wrists of earth...

And when the evening falls...
You cover me warm and tender...

And we sit by the fire...
talking...
reminiscing...
and dreaming...
...my lovely friend...

...Autumn

Thanks so much for reading,
love you all,
xoxo, Elena

With the days becoming shorter and the chilly nights making us seek for warm blankets and hot teas and big hugs.... it's official: autumn is here for good and summer belongs to the early past...
Isn't autumn one of the most beautiful seasons? You can meet the most rich, warm, wonderful colours in the nature, return to your home coziness, enjoy the longer nights with some nice company, or reading, (or... surfing the internet!), savor the first hot drinks and hot soups, put your mind together and make some plans for winter... or the future...  It's all so beautiful and inspiring!
For my first fall post, I'll take you for a stroll to a nostalgic autumn... will you pursue my romantic mood?  

I wish you all
the most amazing autumn of your life!
Love you,
xoxo, Elena