Tabula rasa

Tabula rasa, originally uploaded by ivy style33.

Before making a more colourful and happy post here to wish you all a happy weekend, I thought I present to you the new table that has come to live with us in the Penthouse since a week, in case some of you have been following what is going on in this little apartment, over the last year.

I encourage you to visit my flickr account, in case you are not already doing so, as there are detailed descriptions and comments under each picture. I am mostly used to posting there, but am trying to slowly bring the focus here, which will eventually result in some changes, too....but there is time for that...and it 'll be done soft and smoothly....

So here is " cocktail hour" the sexy, three leged 50s table that came to live with as a test and is at the same time intended to be listed in the vintage section of the shop. We need some time to decide and are not forcing any decisions at the moment.

I named this collection of pictures Tabula Rasa, because living in a white environment offers the freedom to play with styles, mood, furniture and accent colours so easily, as the new experiences that can be formed and absorbed in the fresh, pure and mostly unihabited memories of newly borns.

The result satisfies me, but at the same time I miss the freshness and vividness of this version of our sofa corner....so we'll see how things evolve in the next days and weeks....

Stay tuned and do keep an eye here, as it is so much more easy to post pictures and discribe them more spontaneously and directly.

& now what...?

& now what...?, originally uploaded by ivy style33.

O.k...o.k...I know that I usually come here with a - big - smile and lots of positivism...and I trully like to do that...but as this blog is evolving as part of my everyday life, it is almost impossible to be always on this track. And I trully start to be getting used to coming here and sharing...and I'd like to do that as I often as I can...but this presupposes that I'm not placed high in any podium, but rather we are all gathered sitted on the floor, among comfortable cushions alltogether. Then I can share parts of my everyday life, of my reality, my thoughts and considerations here with you, where you are also welcome to drop in and share.

Just please do be aware that I'm not glued to this blog and I consider it to be....let's say...an extra room, where I get to have meetings with you, when there is free time....but you are all free to gather here and exchange views and opinions with each other, even without my constant presence. In a way, I'm always here, as this is a place created by me.

So today, allow me to share some less than usual clear thoughts and accept the fact that I'm kind of tired and confused....so...

...ever feel that you are stuck?
...that you know exactly what you are supposed to do, but have no strength to do it?
...ever feel that you doubt your own self?
...ever feel that your energy is drained?
...ever feel that you need to learn new skills, more things, but feel like you' ve spent your whole life in endless learning and simply just need a break?

...ever feel that it's time to really - really! - put your plans and wishes in action, but feel that you are tired even without having started?

...ever feel you are scared to become the best you can be?

...ever feel you are scared like mad of letting go of all the possible pain life has brought your way?
...and that it's time to see that there is actually NO pain any more...
...and that everything is just an echo of the past?
...of traumas that eventhough have been very well taken care off, they have left their irreversible marks?

Well, then you know how I feel these days....no, I am not locked in a room with black circles under my eyes, am not living in a mess and am not leaving myself untaken care of...

Our living space is well taken care of, I go out, I dress myself nicely, I socialise and occasionally work both at and outside home...
...but simply it feels like every little thing needs too much effort!

Then, I know it's time to go back and see what I 've lost and where on my way....

Find it...
Pick it up...
Keep it...
And cherish it like the treasure that it is!

And then...do. Life is SO all about doing.

Gorgeousness....Happy Monday!

Gorgeousness...., originally uploaded by ivy style33.

To wish you a happy Monday - as much as this is rather the opposite of the truth for many - an assemlance of gorgeous photos, all taken by very talented flickr members, some of them being contacts of mine and others caring the title of online friends.

Moments of Spring, vivid but yet harmonious colours, flowers and again flowers, in pots, in bouquettes, in bicycle baskets, on fabrics and wallpapers, but also geometric patterns, black & white, graffiti on the...floor and time for sandals and wooven baskets to carry our groceries in or just become home to some magazines or yarn.

Not to forget blue skies, dogs - a man's best friend - and beautiful gardens, the empty chairs of which are soon to be inhabited by lightly dressed people, enjoying the warmth of the sun and the freshness of a cool breeze....


So with this charming dance of colours, here go my wishes:

Have the loveliest week of all! And a warm thank you for all the visits here, which I have noticed to have really increased lately. You finding inspiration here, is my present! Thank you so much : )

Colourless

...just because...
...it allows space for the individuals to be the protagonists rather than the objects

...because sometimes silence is golden and silent interiors contribute to that

...in the era of multimedia and everything published /aired/ blogged/ twittered/ stated in FB/ shared in any possible way

...keeping the balance is hard...but so incredibly necessary

...extrospection  is needed as much as introspection, otherwise we tend to share just for the mere purpose of sharing...resulting often in.... not really having much to share...( reaching to the point ---> Attention needed no matter what )

As much as extrospection, in common words observing ( to put it in a kind manner ) what others do, is so often noticed and exercised, there seems to be a rather big absence of introspection, meaning , observing ourselves, personalities and behavior.

But to achieve that, we must be willing to see all parts of ourselves, parts that are often unpleasant, small, wrong, terrifying sometimes, along with all the greatness that each of us carries.

And there comes the point ,where lots of people, stop, turn their backs and simply say "I don't need to do that", "I have already done it".

Well, should this be done, it means that it actully becomes a process of our daily realities, looking inside, taking care of our own gardens, as much as we look, admire, get in spired ( and at worst get envious) of other people's gardens, or advise them about how their flowers will grow, when our own are actually not blooming at all.

A possible way it manifests is through the actual speech of people...somehow eventhough we may be speaking about ourselves, there is no need to start every single sentence with "I", "me", "mine" or point all the arrows to us ( look at me/ hear me / love me/ admire me / be jealous of me...)...the actions are to be emphasized...and there is a realisation that we are just simply, another human existence in this world.

...we don't take ourselves more seriously than we should....and we have managed to refine the notion of being ambitious...it's more rare than commom though, among well known people ( and not only), and this is just so sad.....and to bring this post to a closure with a positive feeling...after having stated in a way what un/de -inspires me, here is what I'm trully inspired from (and also try to achieve)

-> taking small steps
-> taking time to establish and be established
-> sharing for a reason
-> offering inspiration as a means of balancing for the inspiration often received from
others, having something new to say, to show, to give
-> quiet strength
-> people with effortlessly sparkling personalities
-> depth in character
-> examining and tasting before taking a decision/ judging /accepting / turning down
-> being connected to life, to its reality, to its truth
-> learning and people who devote time and effort into doing that
-> being enthusiastic but rather not shouting it
-> whichever expression of emotion comes from within
-> genuine creativity
-> people who are mostly in touch with themselves ( this doesn't mean that they talk
about it , rather than act like it)
-> true qualities

Feeling love - have a nice new week!

Feeling love...
...im my living space,
...in my environment and surroundings,
...in the country I'm currently living,
...inside my heart,
...in the things I engage into...

...there were times when this seemed totally impossible... but patience, hard work with the Self, willingness to look how small I also am, how wrong and imperfect, has led to such feelings prevailing in my daily life...even when things are difficult, because easiness and uneasiness are both sides of life.

  Stopping to expect that life ows us something, because we believe to be something better, could be a key to that. Even when we reach to the highest point of our potentials, there will still be countless of other people better than us...I wonder why this is so terrifying to some....and the top seems to be the only place where they feel comfortable....but the "Top" is such a subjective place and notion.

  People who sparkle in their lives with their existences, for whichever reason this might be, just fancinate me...and some of them might be trully well known or might simply not be known at all.

  On the other hand, people who strive to get attention no matter what and for the only mere purpose of it, just make me think....what is it that has gone so terribly wrong, that cannot be recognised?

Vintage wallpaper...

...a giant, wooden wishbone
...a mini shelf with a small glass vase and candleholder collection
...and blossoming branches collected on a sunny Sunday afternoon...

It's not much...but it means the world to me.
I like styling that evolves and grows with the inhabitants of a place...aka "organic" styling...

All have an important meaning for a reason...

->The wallpaper from Albert Van Luit (1965) was a very lucky and unique find years ago ( among with a few other rolls), in the attic of one of Athen's oldest wallpaper shops.
I got inspired after returning from my first trip to Amsterdam about a year ago and rolled it out, as a piece of art.

-> The wooden wish bone was found in our garden by my father and given to me, after saying how much I liked it.

-> All of these are "standing" above the couch that my partner had chosen many years ago, before we met and which I could have also chosen myself.

-> The milky glass candleholder (on the left on the shelf) was my first lucky win on Ebay when I came to Germany (1 euro!)

-> The golden/honey coloured vase is another vintage, lucky find from DDR.

-> The blossoming branches are the ones collected today on a sunny afternoon walk, ones that I was longing for since months...


What simple things mean the world to you?...which simple gestures, actions, activities, objects?
Which of them were part of this weekend?...did you find beauty in life's joyful simplicities?....If yes, which ones?...If no, which ones would you like to live, encounter in the upcoming days and near future?

Muted tones

...on a recent day where thoughts & concerns about stating opinions prevailed, the unquestionable worth of silence came to mind...

So, in between preparing dinner and doing grocery shopping in the afternoon, also a little time to "play" a bit, whilst setting the table...also finding peace and silence in these moments, photographing bits of the crafting projects I've been working on lately.

The plaid tunic in grey and blue tones that I was wearing, inspired the setting for the little photo shooting that went on at home.

Colours of nature

A shift into anything organic, natural, ecologic, energy saving, has become a trend and a fashion these later years, arrising from the actual need that we humans have caused to emerge, as we are tending to disrespect nature and insist on doing things our way, very often harming it, the very same sourse from where we all originate.

But it goes far beyond being a trend. Should we not really shift our attention to going with nature, preserving it, respecting it and taking care of it, instead of going against it, the very near next generations will definetely have to face a life with a tremendous low quality of living; not that our quality of living hasn't alreday decreased enough. It has. Much actually. Much too much.

So, grouping these pictures together, featuring mostly brown and blue, brown of the earth and the bark of trees and blue of the sky and the ocean, has inspired sharing these considerations with you.

Nature is the ultimate inspiration and the newst organic designs in furniture and products, only point out, the tremendous need that we humans have to bring something more natural in to our homes, as life in cities can and has complete disrupt the natural cycles of everyday human life.

Oh, shall we?

make a delicious chocolate soufle/cake as promissed, which is as healthy as it can be for ....being a sweet?

Before proceeding to the ingredients and the making process, let me say, that this is written and made by no baking queen, but from a person who can actually bake so far, this only cake!

Still, it has been...consumed with much delight and satisfaction by whomever might have tried it so far and pictures of it lately over at my flickr account have raised the question of:

"how is this cake made after all?"

Well, having  the need to play around, just a little tiny bit, while at the same time emphasising things about the essence of life, I already revealed the basic ingredients here.

Now, that you've read them.....

Laughing?...that's good...that's the spirit! And now...let's get down to work...!

Have you your pretty apron on?

Maybe the music that you enjoy?

No?...then how about tuning your radio in this favorite station of yours?

...or mayde a favorite cd?

Excellent!...are you a mother or a father of young ones?....then time to call for your little kitchen helpers, encouraging them to spend some creative time with you, learning things and having fun at the same time!

They can learn order, organisation and discipline for example, besides making a cake and feeling like little scientists, while enjoying themselves. There's nothing more exciting for the little ones than being part of the adult world, which they look at with huge eyes!

Let's be good examples ourselves and show and create for them a world worth of living in.

Any better way to do this, other than making a delicious cake?

Actually yes, there are thousands of, but today we'll just start with the easy and lots of fun stuff.

So, we need off course: chocolate!

To be more specific, 200gr of dark cooking chocolate ( bitter Kuvertüre)

We need a glass of sugar ( the original recipe - a French one - includes 250 gr of white sugar)

I have replaced it with brown sugar - as it has such a finer taste and aroma - and reduced the amount to almost 180 gr, as I trully appreciate sweets that do not explode in sugar!

We also need 4 eggs ( in lieu of 6 from the original recipe)

and about  80 gr of flour. Spelt, or else Dinkelmehl, is what I use instead of usual flour.

I encourage you to check over at wikipedia and decide for yourselves or probably take some nutritionist's advice, as what works for one person doesn' t necessarily work for another.

Spelt is preferred for its low ammount of glutein, substance to which many people are allergic to and is found to be much more tolerable.

And finally we need some butter, a small cube, something like 30gr.

Now, don't worry, as after this last picture, you'll find a list with the ingredients and finally some instructions for its making of.

So, our ingredient list....

How about writing it down in your delightful recipe books or your handmade journals or maybe  just a note to have close to you while you bake?

....and remember to take this favorite colour of pen of yours!...also remember what we said at the beginning?...( Did we actually?)... Enjoy the process....and it's all in the details....then at the end...we will not only have made a cake, but have also created a little bit of magic!

So, my little fairies ( men included, despite of the femininity of the term), pick up your magic wands!

                  -> 200gr of dark cooking chocolate

   -> 180 gr of brown sugar 

 -> 80 gr of flour or spelt

-> 4 eggs 

-> 30gr of butter

and a little about the process:

Start by melting the chocolate in what is called "Ben Marie", which means placing a smaller pot in a bigger one, filed with some water, which is hot but not boiling. As soon as the chocolate melts, add the butter and then the sugar. Stir well by hand and allow some time for the sugar to become one with the mixture, still don't expect it to fully melt, as it won't...this will have no negative effect on the mixture though and the sugar will melt gorgeously while being baked.

Next step, take a bowl and start seperating the egg's yolk from the white part, keeping the latter one in the bowl and adding the yolk one by one ( one yolk -> stir, second yolk -> stir etc) in the chocolate mixture. Stir well until it all becomes one, and repeat three more times until all four yolks are added one by one to the mixture.

The mixture must be kind of hard by now to handle and it's time to add the flour or spelt. This will give to the mixture a kind of dense but elastic feeling. Our final step is to whip the white of the eggs very well and finally add it to the mixture.

Keep on being a little more patient with this stirring process and your chocolate cake/soufle will soon find its way in a porcelain form of your wish ( you might want to make two smaller ones, instead of one relatively big or even four personal portions ). 

For the cake to be able to be taken out of its form easily, use of baking paper is highy recommended or a little bit of olive oil, spread with a small brush or even your - clean - fingers, on the bottom and "walls" of the forms.

The baking process is about to begin...your mixture is in the form (or forms), you have sprinkled it with love and you have preheated the oven in 220 degrees. Now, watch these clocks of yours, as this is a cake not meant to be overbaked, unless you don't mind it being kind of dry and cracked like this one!

Depending on the oven, 10' to 15' should be enough....as soon as you see it.... growing, you may turn the oven off and take it out in a few minutes. It is supposed to be eaten warm, with the very centre of it being kind of liquid ( therefore soufle).

To add some sweetness  and an extra taste, cocconut powder works very well with this recipe, but if you want to be lost in paradise for a while, serve it with any kind of ice-cream (vanilla or anything white being mostly preferred) and possibly add some pieces of strawberries on top.

Now , how about you sharing your experience here, after you've tried it, also linking to some pictures, if you'd like that and even suggesting new ways you came up with to decorate and serve your chocolate soufle /cake?

That would be really delightful! 

Many wishes for an enjoyable process and delicious outcomes!

When the adult world inspires children...

...let it be a positive experience...one that is the best possible example ever....

Words won't do much....as children tend to hear with their eyes and heart.
Actions matter...so, shall we want to be responsible parents/teachers/educators, we first are obliged to be responsible and true to ourselves.

Children are extra pure and sensitive to "catch" real emotions....telling them that all is right, when actually it's not for us, will only create confusion.

To say the truth is an art and it all starts from telling the truth to ourselves...about ourselves....we are not only wonderful..we are human...we hurt...we have done things wrong...we have possibly hurt others...but all this is part of life.

Happiness is not about being happy all the time....rather it's about accepting the fact that there'll be some unhappy moments in life and learning to deal with them.

Achieving some balance inside is happiness..then we need not talk about it, we need not shout it...people simply have to look at us...and they know...and that's enough.

Children need not be taught how to be happy...
Children need to learn to accept and the best way to that is by accepting them.

We've all been children once...we know that the most intense emotional experiences were formed then...and all our adult life depends on curing ourselves from all possible harm that was done then...by accepting that nobody is perfect, neither our parents....but they must have done the best they could....

So let's try to be the best parents that we can, when parenthood knocks on our door, keeping in mind, that first we have to be the best we can for ourselves.
And please, let this not be confused with being selfish.
Actually, life is showing that the more we accept who we are, the more space and understanding we have for others.

4 seasons - good reasons

via

These lovely melamine plates are sold for $54 a set and the whole amount is to be donated for support at Haiti.
More info here:
www.lostbirdfound.com/platecharity.ph

Ferm Living

Check out Firm Living's amazing Home Collection

  For big.....

 via

and small children ; )

 

via

Flip the pages of their delightful catalogue on line and pay a visit to their blog.

Remember to :

1. Sit back comfortably

2. Enjoy

3. Control your wish - need to have now almost everything that is featured. There are other enjoyable things in life than shopping and interior design, right? ;-)

    

Wallpaper projects

  Today I grouped together pictures of a few wallpaper projects that I did a month ago. I find myself in love with this material and the endless ways in which it can be used! I will not write many details here, rather I 'll pass you to my flickr account, where you' ll find more descriptive details of the projects.  

   As I 'm in a flight mode tonight, there are rather a few things I need to take care of....still as you can see, it is hard for me to keep myself from posting! I hope you' ll enjoy the pictures and get inspired for new weekend projects, as it is only one day away!
Have fun...oh!...and happy Thursday : )

A featuring of the Penthouse at Houzz.com.

  A presentation of the Penthouse and an interview with sweet Kit Pollard from Houzz.com . Such a warm hostess!It has been a big pleasure : ) Thank you Kit and " gerne wieder " as we'd say in Germany, meaning I 'd gladly do it again!


  Be sure to flip the pages of the blog, as there's so much inspiration for all possible styles and tastes. What is also very nice and practical is that, by logging in, you have the ability to create your own personal ideabook, consisting of the pictures that you come across on the blog and would like to keep.So not only you get inspired, but you can easily store, in  a way, your sources of inspiration, so that you can go back to them whenever you need.

Warming things up....

(more detalis on this photo here) 

by slowly laying all the carpets in the apartment, eventhough today's 

weather is like heaven on earth here in Hessen!

...and by spicing things up a bit by adding some fun details, something so needed in a white & natural toned environment! Here, some " flying milkjugs " , hunging from an Ikea tree, (also seen here) inspired by amazing and talented Ninainvorm's  display of beautiful mugs.

If you haven't already done so - something almost impossible coz she's eveywhere, from Flickr, to Wohnen Ideen, to this issue of Ikea Family magazine, to her blog and Etsy shop, be sure to pay her a visit at any or all  of the above places! Sit back and enjoy!

   

   By the way, if I did not already own this off white, pure woolen carpet (1,80 x 2,40cm), bought at Ikea 2 - 3 winters ago and being still in a pretty good condition, I would have very much loved to buy yesterday at my  - almost - regular Teusday Ikea evening visit  (after the Art Classes in English) this one, which celebrates earthy yellow and geometry so fine! It's the Alvine Ruta, it meausures  1,70 x 2,40 cm and it costs - in Germany - 149 euros. Not bad!     

  As a choice of carpet, I also find the grey Alvine Rand very appealing. It is the "brother" of the previous one, as they are made from the same material, have the same dimensions, style and price. Up to you to choose!

Contemporary elegance

   This is the first picture I came across this morning here, which is one of my daily online reads, that blew my mind.... In the most calm and relaxed way. It cought my attention for its:

 Elegance

 Not overexaggerated minimalism

 Balance

 Simple Beauty

 Marriage of old and new

 Colours, Textures & Materials

   I simply enjoy finding the beauty in less and in this case I think that white, gold and brown tones couldn' t have worked better together, than in the composition of the picture above. Amazing - possibly - teak wooden chair, of what looks to be Danish design, with exquisite curves , modern, shiny white table surface and thin, golden, brass ( ? ) silhouettes of candleholders, caring the simplest off white candles. Very contemporary elegant. YES.

  Happy Teusday to all!

...just a quick post...

....loving how the colours and patterns of the fabrics
are standing out in front of the " quiet " but not so quiet
after all green wall!

I am daily amazed by many things, not to mention pictures of beautiful places, spaces or objects...today I was completely stunned by the fresh, crisp look of this Karlstad sofa, wearing a Classic Ruta - Black cover, accompanied by a few pillows sewed from Ikea's new, fabulous fabrics. The cover is one of the many that can be found at Bemz's collection. A company that makes covers to fit especially Ikea couches and model series, such as the Klippan, Karlstad, Kramfors, Ektorp, Stockholm and many others. Even older ones that are not produced any more! Such as our Falsterbo- yes!...finally found out what model our sofa is, thanks to Bemz. Here are the pieces that compose our sofa corner


+



For those of you who have and want to keep your beloved Ikea couch, but would like to give it a new look, nothing easier that a new cover! There is a rather big range of fabrics, from Belgian Linen Blend, to Panama cotton and Marimekko cotton. Last but not least, the good news: you can order up to five samples and get them for free, so long as you subscribe! Not bad, ha?...so that you are certain that it won't turn out the wrong way. That's good, coz they aren't exactly cheap - which is the bad news, still you can choose from various price ranges. Enjoy!

Pictures and sketches via Bemz