Inspiration : living spaces under the eaves

I am soon going to move into a new apartment with great terrace in a quiet neighborhood, close enough to the nature and to the city center not to feel to disconnected. This is a two story apartment right under the roof so my challenges are to create living and storage space under the eaves and in the low ceiling bedroom upstairs.

Since we started discussing buying, I've created some pinterest boards full of ideas for design and I thought it nice to share with you. I haven't found a lot of living rooms with low ceiling but the ones below are like nest to curl up and read or talk to friends. This is the space I want to create and here is my inspiration for it.

Notice the Barcelona chair? I was at first attracted by the wall behind, next I noticed the couch because it is in the same style I am looking for and only after the lounge chair.I think this is good blending. Great place to relax and wonderful idea for my decoration challenges.

Source: denofopulence.tumblr.com via Ioana on Pinterest

I love the bookcase, it doesn't look too much as a library, still remains a cosy place to relax and read but also entertain guests.

Source: houzz.com via Ioana on Pinterest

This next room looks a bit empty but I let your imagination do the rest. The idea of shelves around the stairs is interesting but unfortunately I have no use for it. I like the light though. Oh, and the couch. Plus, soccer table in the corner.

Source: blog.gessato.com via Ioana on Pinterest

The last idea picture is not my favorite but it closely resembles the spaces I will have to decorate.I love the way they framed the loft window.

Source: houzz.com via Ioana on Pinterest

My garden this year 2013

This year I managed to plant 3 tomatoes, 2 bell pepper plants and a zucchini plus some flowers. I am not really making an effort because we are moving to another place with a terrace and a very small garden. I don't really feel like moving all the flowers and pots so I am keeping things down to a minimum.

You can see the bell peppers are starting to grow and the tomatoes are flowering which is a miracle given the cold weather this year. I started planting the balcony very late but so far so good, just hope the move will not affect the plants too much.

And my target for next year is my current neighbor's garden. Ok, ok, I will have only 20sqm of actual soil, it will be something similar in size to the small rectangle at the bottom left of the picture but I have to have a target, right?

Wedding inspiration: String heart

We wanted to involve our family and friends as much as possible in the wedding preparations. This was quite difficult because everyone lives so far from us and from each other but we still managed to give them small projects before or during the big day that they were all very happy.

You should attempt asking for help like this only if you think the people are willing to participate and if you really need it. It's a fine line but for us it worked because for example my husband's grandma was very excited about the wedding but wanted to participate in the organization and didn't know what to do.

So I showed her some ideas I had and the one we both loved the most was the string heart. You can see a tutorial here. She had already done something like it in the past, she is very artistic, but she was nervous to do make this heart for her grandson's wedding. And here is the end result.

We had hearts almost everywhere at the wedding: on the invitations, menus, balloon hearts, metal hearts, etc. This framed string heart was used in some of the artistic pictures we took in order to use as thank you cards and also many people took pictures with it.

Grandma used a silk backdrop and a thrifted frame she painted gold. She was very surprised to see we used it as a decor and to take pictures with it, at first she didn't know what it woudl be for.

Hope it inspires you and you find this as a fun project if you want to involve someone in your wedding.

Swimming pool in Plzen

I cannot believe I've been living here for 4 years and have just now discovered the main swimming pool here. I knew there were 3 municipal swimming pools but I had never visited either of them until two weeks ago, on a rainy Saturday. And I've been back twice since then.

The main swimming pool in Slovany has a big indoor pool used for competitions and smaller pools for relaxation or for children. On top of that there are two whirlpools, a toboggan and an outdoor pool. Oh and sauna as well.

The main pool goes from 1,20m to 2,10 and it is usually divided into a section for the public (the shallow part in the week) and a section for the different sporting activities of the club.

If you are member of the club you can take part in water polo, synchronized swimming, different swimming categories, etc. If you just want to exercise you can simply swim or go for aqua aerobics which takes place every day and is part of the entrance ticket. Which costs about 2,5 euros for 1h30. I will go for aqua aerobics next time, seems great for pregnant me.

So far I just relaxed in the dedicated pool you see pictured above. It is heated to about 32°C and there are different water and air jets massaging you. I love the lounge area in the lower part of the picture, where water jets massage your back and legs and you can just enjoy. It's great on a rainy, cold day. I also swam in the larger pool but I only ventured a little bit to the deeper end and I was quite tired very fast. I'll go for the aerobics, it seemed easy but tiring. In a year or so we'll take junior for his first lessons.

There were a lot of people during the weekend, of course, less so during the week and in the evening (they close at 21.00) but all seemed to have fun and enjoy the place respectfully. In the end it is like an aqua park but owned by the municipality. There is a restaurant and a boarding house and you can even go for aerobics and cardio classes.

Czechs never cease to amaze me with the love they have for sports and water sports in particular, like they were born sailors. Now that I discovered this place, I am thinking about taking a permanentka, monthly pass and take advantage of this sport mania.

The pictures are from the website of the swimming pool. Of course, I did not take any pictures there but you can even check the webcam and see which lanes are open and how many people there are, before you go.

What to do in Prague between two flights

This post could have been titled : What to see in Prague if you wanted to go for a roughly 10km walk. Or what to do in Prague if you've only got one day. Or better yet, what to do in Prague when there is no flood warning In fact this is my essential guide to Prague so enjoy :) First things first, link to the map of the itinerary I suggest you, this is from mapy.cz.

So you came here by plane, I already gave you the how to get to Prague from the airport in my previous post, here. Let's say for example, you get off the udnerground at Malostranska station. You are at the foot of the castle and you can go against (one) flow of tourists by climbing the old castle steps and going to the Castle by what is usually considered it's back door. In Prague you will never be able to avoid all tourists all the time : they come at you from all directions, every time. But they normally come down from the Castle this way (so not up) and you should have less of them to worry about. Bonus point is the Castle wineyard.

Now, visit the Castle, of course. But remember you don't have a lot of time so don't buy tickets to visit the inside rooms, leave that for another time. Just visit the part of the Cathedral which is free and you can even take pictures, the entrace gives you a good view of the inside, as well, a teaser in case you want to see more next time. There will be a next time, trust me.

Walk out of the Castle (notice the big Hercules figures at the main gate?). Don't forget to take pictures of the panorama from both the entrance and exit. Just try to find a space among the tourists perched on the wall.

You can continue your trek through the square in front of the Castle and are now faced with 2 options: 1. continue to the Loretta Church - worth while especially if the bells will be rung, or 2. go down to Nerudova street and walk towards Mikulasske Namesti and the Church of St Nicholas.

At this point you will be faced with two options again. First is to go to the Charles Bridge, cross it and head into Old Town or to go into Kampa. I suggest you go to the area of Kampa, there you will find some nice streets and restaurants as well as the Kafka museum. I know you don't have a lot of time but just go inside the courtyard and take a look at the David Cerny statues in front of the museum.

Going around you can pass through a garden or park, these are hidden gems of Prague: the Vojanovy sady or the Valdstejnska zahrada. Attention, it is a lot of walking around so go there only if you are ready for it.

Next, cross the bridge, of course, but take care, it is usually full of tourists. So full that it takes longer than you would think to cross. Once on the other side of the bridge, go into Josefov, the Jewish quarter by passing through Old town. Take a look at the Castle from the Rudolfinum, a great concert hall and then continue to the jewish cemetery's back door for a peek at the tombstones without paying the exaggerated fee.

Continue exploring the Jewish quarter and it's many souvenir shops while paying attention to the architecture. Have your picture taken with Kafka in the square of the same name. There is a big statue of a headless guy holding a small one on his shoulder. I'll let you ponder on that one.

No tour of Prague would be complete without the Clock in the Old Town Square. It is easy to find: just look for were there are the most tourists. Take a walk around the Square. Sometimes there are some attactions or a market. Go inside St Tyn, the Church with 2 black belltowers.

Go towards the Municipal House, Obecni Dum, a jewel of Art Nouveau. Next to it is the Powder Tower, a remnant of the old city walls. Pass underneath and continue on the very shopping street Na Porici, towards Vaclavske Namesti. If you are not too tired you can head into one of the shopping galleries and go to the Ovocny trh street to the Stavovske theatre where Mozart played his operas. In Prague, just walk around and you will be surprised.

By going around this way, you can find a market on Havelska street and get some souvenirs and cheap post cards before finding yourself back on Vaclavske Namesti at the place called Mustek. This is the rendez-vous place in Prague, everyone meets up at the New Yorker store.

Now you see the National Museum, walk up to the Statue of Vaclav. This is a historic place because Czech people like to start their revolutions from here. The museum offers another pretty view of Prague. After you finish taking your pictures, go to the underground station and take the tube back to the airport (towards Zlicin and then bus 100 or to the train station and then the Airport Express bus).

Floods in Czech Republic 2013 - Plzen

As you've probably heard already, 2013 is a year of bad weather, here in the CZ. Right now the capital is flooded as well as many cities, there have already been several deaths and incidents due to the heavy rainfall and flooding. Many bridges are closed, especially in the West and North of the Country.

For information in English go to the Expats website here. The have links to the best resources available right now in English and Czech.

Because I've been asked how was the situation in Pilsen, here is a picture of the river which is not even 100m from our flat. Luckily we are on an elevated area. As you can see, the river had gone beyond the trees opn Saturday, covering the pedestrian paths on either side. I did not check the status today but surely it's worse because it has been raining eversince.

Nothing to be done except to keep safe, drink bottled water and if possible, help those in need.

Wedding inspiration: Pompoms

The big wedding trend lately has been DIY, all things DIY in fact, from décor to food, I even read somewhere about DIY music. Now, the reasons are of course different but pride and money are the most frequent ones As appealing as it may be, my advice to you is to think twice if it is worth the trouble to DIY

I had to weight in a lot of pro and cons and decided to stick to some basic things that I really could do by myself or with help from family and friends. I chose to take care of the flowers and the balloons and decided that pompoms where to much hassle. Honestly, you'll not have enough time the D day (or the days before) so stick to what is basic and important to you.

I got my initial inspiration to do the pompoms from Dana's wonderful wedding. She inspired me to make my dream wedding, just the way I wanted to. Below are some pics to get you drooling over pompoms. Dana was just an adorable bride.

Source: danarogoz.one.ro via Ioana on Pinterest

Choose a colour scheme. Mine would have been in the pinks and creams but I love these brown and green ones.

Source: ruffledblog.com via Ioana on Pinterest

Source: greenweddingshoes.com via Ioana on Pinterest

If you really want to make the pompoms (and send me pictures), here's how on Holly's blog.She gives detailed step by step instructions on how to do the pompoms and this is what I used to make mine. Yeah, because I did make about 20 of them, even 2 toned ones, before I realized that for me, personally, buying balloons and having my friends and family inflate them, was the best options.

So what I can suggest if you want to go the DIY pompom way is start in advance and involve the people around you.

Wedding inspiration : Let'em eat Cake

I don't know if Marie Antoinette really said that or not but cake is an essential part of your wedding. Everyone is waiting for it to come because in many cases it means the beginning of the dancing party. You can choose to make a big splashy moment with fireworks when you bring the cake out, or just cut it discreetly, either way, the wedding cake is a symbol of the sweet life you'll have as a married couple.

Like many things related to our wedding, the choice of the cake was a no-brainer. We knew from before we even got engaged that our wedding cake would be the traditional Czech honey and nut cake called medovnik. Be careful and ask your guests if they have any allergies and be ready to have some alternatives. We did ask and luckily, no one had any allergies.

Here is our cake. We also wanted to have traditional meets quirky. We chose to order the cake on-line but did change the colour of the flowers to match the bonbon wrappers we gave as wedding favours. I doubt anyone noticed. The two figurines are from a French comics book about a very typical French couple: he's grumpy and selfish, she's the naive, sweet housewife. It was a private joke but even those who did not know the comics liked the figurines. We used these guys a bit as the theme of our wedding as they were present on the invites and the menus.

Next up, some of the cakes I liked when I was searching for wedding inspiration of my own. I told you: I knew the flavour but I still had to decide on the packaging.

Desert table. Unfortunately we did not have enough space for the desert table. Instead we had a cheese table :) and extra room for dancing so I guess it was even better. But I liked this idea from one of the prettiest weddings featured on ruffledblog.com .

Source: ruffledblog.com via Ioana on Pinterest

These guys chose their cats as cake toppers. I like funky cake toppers that don't look like plastic sort of bride and groom action figures with no resemblance anyway to the real bride and groom. On top of that, I like that the cake looks so home made and delicious. And the piece of wood used as a platter makes for a nice touch.

Source: ruffledblog.com via Ioana on Pinterest

I like this simple cake, just waiting to be cut, so simple with just some flowers on top. Seems small, I hope they had other choices.

Source: ruffledblog.com via Ioana on Pinterest

If you don't feel like cake, here are some options: macarons and pie. Also in gluten free. You can cut into the pies instead of the cake and you can ask your family and friends to contribute by baking. I know it's not traditional but who cares? I find it a great option that looks nice, involves your guests and is budget friendly.

Source: marthastewartweddings.com via Joya on Pinterest

I hope you liked my ideas and that I gave you some inspiration. Have a nice weekend.

My garden, last year

It's starting to warm up, here in the Czech Republic, and although they are announcing another freezing bout, I am slowly starting to think about my balcony garden. You probably saw some pictures of flowers on the blog already. This is part of my inspiration for my balconies. The second part is the veggies :). Here is a picture from last spring when everything was potted.

I had quite a lot of lettuce, that was a great investment because I could take the leaves for salads and the plants would grow and grow so I always had fresh green leaves for me and my friends.

But on the whole, the end result was not as I had hoped. I did have more tomato plants than the year before but I did not get that many tomato due to some strange sickness that affected the store bought plants and none but not one of them flowered.

Also, and most importantly, there were a few very violent storms that destroyed my plants and taught me one important lesson, make your container garden on a balcony sheltered from wind and heavy rain but with just enough sun. I did have some succes with the zuchinni but the same storms damaged them as well. And I did get one decent crop of radishes.

You could say that my balcony garden was a failure. Well, no, it was just a trial. This will be the third year I make my balconies green and I have high hopes. I will not splurge on plants as last year and I will concentrate on good and reliable sources for my plants such as farmers and small nurseries. And I will plan better,  also buying more appropriate cultivars which work better in smaller spaces.

Some of my resources: lifeonthebalcony.com urban organic gardner and container gardening for food. My target is this picture from container gardening for food.

I don't necessarily agree to all the ideas these guys have but for me gardening on my balcony is a fun way to spend time in spring and summer. What do you grow on your balcony?

Wedding inspiration: The Dress

One of the points in our wedding planning was the dress. Yes, we had a planning, like the ones for validation of automotive components. So anyway, the dress was important, of course and it took me a while to decide on the perfect one. Because we all what that dress that makes us feel special.

The most important thing to know is which dress shape you are. May sound weird now, but once engaged, A-shape, ballroom, trumpet, are not going to be strangers to you any more. I already knew I was going for something A shape but did I want traditional or not, short or long, or maybe tea length, colour or white? I chose off white, but I had lots of inspiration and ideas, hence the problem. Too many ideas can be bad, I liked the short ones, but didn't think I could pull one off, I liked the powder pink but I am fair skinned and so on. In the end I liked them all. So I decided to do something completely different. To see what I chose, scroll down.

And while you get there, take a look at these dresses below, which would you choose?

Source: celebritystyleweddings.com via Ioana on Pinterest

Source: dessy.com via Ioana on Pinterest

Source: lightinthebox.com via Ioana on Pinterest

Yes, I chose the bridesmaid's dress but in ivory and was a great success for me. Because they are cheaper and look just like wedding dresses. Also, the shape was perfect for my body. :)What do you think? Would you order a non wedding wedding dress? And over the internet?