childhood memories!

we don’t usually re-post from other blogs, but today we felt very proud that one of our favorite blogs has collaborated with one of our “childhood” favorite products, from Greece! 

Joanna, the talented owner of “a cup of Jo”, wrote a few days about a wonderful excursion she had with her boys, in their neighborhood in Brooklyn! & along they brought delicious snack yoghurts from FAGE. FAGE is a greek diary company, particularly famous for their delicious yoghurt, & its products can actually be found in many countries, outside Greece! 

enjoy reading Joanna’s post here!

“Never underestimate the power of a woman" ~ & of the right lipstick!

“never underestimate the power of a woman!”: this quote was hanging at my english teacher’s office & since the age of 15 it has stuck in my head {plus it has been witfully used a couple of moments, here & there!}

march is the month that is very much related with celebrating women’s power {since on the 8th march we celebrate the international women’s day} & we could not resist promoting the new elisabeth arden’s campaign of #TogetherWeMarchOn, & reese witherspoon’s limited edition red signature lipstick! 

the color is amazing, the message is powerful & 100% of the proceeds will go to UN Women, a global champion for women and girls; of gender equality and women empowerment !

check it out!

can you measure your bond with your country? {letters to each other}

my dearest natasha,

not living in the country i was born, i often ponder on what is it really that unites me with my country, with my nation, & in a wider perspective, how can i measure this bond?

well, the other day, i got my (or at least one possible) answer. i was invited by my sweet mother-in-law to join her for a ballet/modern dance performance; a kind of last minute invitation, where i knew nothing of what I was about to see & experience!

& then, a few minutes before the lights went off, i browsed the program, checked briefly the dance parts and skimmed down the list of the talented performers. & there he was… a greek-name-dancer… instantly i felt so proud & close to him, with the anxiety of getting ready to watch one of your good friends performing... & of course,  i wanted to stand up & say to everybody in the small theater: this is Stefanos, he comes from Greece!

Royal Theater of Copenhagen 2013. Dansk Danseteater. Love Songs. Choreographer: Tim Rushton. Photo: Bjarke Ørsted

Royal Theater of Copenhagen 2013. Dansk Danseteater. Love Songs. Choreographer: Tim Rushton. Photo: Bjarke Ørsted

Copenhagen Summer Dance 2016. Dansk Danseteater. Naked Feeling. Choreographer: Stefanos Bizas. Photo: Søren Meisner

{needless to say that the performance, "Don't Leave Me Alone", by the dansk danseteater was just breathtaking, like the ones you do not want to end!} 

what do you think? 

love, C.-

p.s.: you can read about the talented Stefanos Bizas here & you can read about the perfromance he choreographed here ! 

ballet beautiful

have you heard of Mary Helen Bowers?

she personally trained Natalie Portman for her Award winning role in Black Swan. Mary Helen joined the New York City Ballet at the age of 16. after spending 10 years dancing with NYCB, she founded Ballet Beautiful. if you are into ballet like me, you will fall in love with these Ballet Beautiful trainings. as I am not in New York, I can choose either the online Custom Workout subscription or the streaming videos. or, if you prefer something more traditional, you can always buy one of the DVDs.

take a look!

aren't you hooked yet?

la maitresse~ by konplott

"every day has its moment, every mood its radiance" is Miranda Konstantinidou's motto; & she is one of our favorite jewelry designers for almost 20 years ! {her original jewlery brand is Konplott}

bracelet, earrings & necklace ~  Konplott collection "la maitresse" 

you can read a bit more about the Konplott story and their exclusive  handmade production in Cebu, Phillipines, here. 

are you ready to be blown away?

the question is not whether we can afford the phenomenal clothes of Colombian-based Johanna Ortiz, but where & when in our daily lives could we pull such an outfit? nonetheless, no harm in dreaming...it is january, it is cold, we definitely need some breathtaking inspiration!

sit back & enjoy

{source: johanna ortiz fall 2017 // check all collections!!}

{resort 2018}

"dad had told me you had to work if you wanted to get on life..."

last night i was reading to my boys a greek version of the book ”little nicholas*”, an all-time-classic by René Goscinny, with the amazing and so simple illustrations by Jean-Jacques Sempé.

it had been a long weekend, with many arrangements, playdates, dinner at friends, spending christmas cozy time with grandma, playing with the inches of snowing that came sunday morning out in the park… and of course, as it happens to all non~kellogg’s~families a lot of everyday frustrations, tidying up, a bit of shouting, “eat-your-food”, “pick-up-your-toys”, etc. etc. etc…

so, it was actually revealing to find myself laughing out loud reading the stories told by little nicholas, with his innocent storytelling and his efforts to understand the way adults behave! i am not sure who René Goscinny’s audience actually was, the parents or the kids… cause the book is highly amusing, and provides a sweet commonground for parents to understand (or remind themselves) how kids think, while the children read a story told from someone …well someone exactly like them! 

and, as you can imagine, although it was sunday evening and i was tired (that means a bit grumpy), my mood became so much better; the stories of "petit nicolas" was the best medicine for sunday blues!

i have to say also that the greek translation, by the award winning Rita Kolaiti, is extremely good, and i had the opportunity to explain to my kids a lot of good greek words, some more childlike, that one feels a bit nostalgic about, cause we don’t use them anymore!

actually, natasa bought this book for us, when our son, our little nikolas, was born.
and my good friend thekla bought us the english version; thank you girls!

*Le petit Nicolas (Little Nicholas) is a series of French children's books and it was first published on March 29, 1959.
The books talk about childhood in 1950s France. The recent years, the books have been also turned into two films and one TV series!

so, if you are looking for an uplifting book to read (yourselves!) or with your kids, pick up any story from the series! trust me, this little guy will make you smile widely, the least!

when fashion meets art (part. 2)

here is another example of the often intermingled paths of fashion & art. of course, art can take whichever form. & one thing in common between this example & the previous one is that both protagonists are in their own distinct way fashion icons. so, if you have 15 minutes to spare, watch this short film written & directed by Geremy Jasper for Belstaff.
"Outlaws" is a surreal film within a film starring David Beckham as the stranger - a mysterious drifter & motorcycle stuntman, haunted by memories of a beautiful trapeze artist & hunted by a maniacal director seeking revenge, as mentioned on the Belstaff webpage. Intrigued?

when fashion meets art (part. 1)

i am almost speechless to discover this amazing coverage of Cate Blanchett for W Magazine, December/January issue.

she is anyway one of my favourite actresses, but these images are just beyond any imagination. & there are just the perfect example of how fashion & art are so intertwined, that sometimes it can be difficult to tell them apart.
enjoy!

if you also want to have a look at the interview itself, just press here.

from Sherlock to Hamlet & beyond

i am sure that you have heard of Benedict Cumberbatch...
if not, you don't know what you are missing! for a brief introduction, just enjoy this video filmed for Harper's Bazaar back in 2010.

Benedict Cumberbatch - My Cultural Life from Treetops Productions on Vimeo.

so, who is he? his full name is Benedict Timothy Carlton Cumberbatch (somehow difficult to remember...). he was born & raised in England, which you can easily guess from his accent. although he started his acting career in 2002, it was only in 2010 he received a worldwide recognition & fame, basically due to his role as Sherlock Holmes in an amazing TV series produced by BBC.

on the big screen he made shorter or longer appearances in Atonement, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, 12 Years A Slave, August: Osage County, The Fifth Estate, & more recently, The Imitation Game, which led to his first Oscar nomination as a male actor in a leading role.

he also "borrowed" his magnificent voice to movies like The Hobbit & Penguins of Madagascar.

& if you happen to be in London until the end of October, you might have the chance to see him acting live as Hamlet on the stage of Barbican Theatre. according to one of his interviews, he has been dreaming of playing this role since he started working as an actor (or even while studying... not really sure). nevertheless, Hamlet appears to be a milestone in his career, which simply raises our expectations & makes a visit at Barbican worthwhile.

although the show is sold out, every day 30 tickets at the price of £10 are offered to those who are lucky enough. this basically means that you have to wake up around 4:00 am, go to the theatre hoping that there are less than 10 people ahead of you and, of course, stand in the queue until 10:30 am when the ticket counters open.
if, on the other hand, London is far away from your home, you still have a chance to catch the show live on October 15, as National Theatre Live will offer a live broadcasting at selected cinemas throughout Europe, U.S., Japan & Brazil. for a list of the participating venues, as well the availability of tickets, just press here.

so... are you convinced that Benedict deserves some of our attention?
if not, take into account also this: last Thursday, after the conclusion of his performance at Barbican he urged the audience to donate cash to the refugee crisis. his exact words were "a parent only puts their child on a boat when the sea is safer than the land", a quote from a poem titled Home. he also appeared giving a message before a new charity single, Help is coming, to raise money for the plight of refugees around the world. all proceeds from the song will go to charity Save the Children and it is now available to download on iTunes.