Sometimes everything we need for our creative energy to flow is to switch focus from our daily cares (especially in this busy month of December) and devote some time to ourselves. Investing some time in self-care can give a great payback. One evening I stepped out of my tiredness and did a simple “home spa” routine. Five minutes into it, and my mind was full of thoughts of what inspires me right now, and other ideas. So I want to share them here, together with my home spa routine.
September, my love. I didn’t think I would spend you in Oslo – once again. But here it happens. The autumn has happened and brought a slight melancholy with it. Or, maybe, it is not autumn itself, but the fact that I suddenly found myself in Oslo, and I miss Barcelona. The autumn has brought some days of sickness, and I spend these days browsing blogs and Instagram – to keep me warm on beauty and inspiration.
There is one thing I especially like about autumn: you get the feeling that the seasons change, that pages are turning. It brings this fresh feeling of newness, even though it is not as optimistic as the spring. But still somehow cozy and comforting. I tend to become less energetic and more poetic – but back to the point of this post. Here are things that inspire me this season!
This is my favorite theme for a post! What inspires me right now. Though I have a whirlwind of thoughts, caused by this transfer from Barcelona back to Oslo, I don’t really find the time and energy to write them all down in texts and posts. The photos however – they are always easy to share.
So let me speak from my heart through photos – and several words. Btw, what do you prefer in a blog post – pictures or words? (I used to be a word person)
I like to write posts with this title. Hopefully, this habit will stick 🙂
So now it is officially spring, full of new life and new ideas. In this city I especially feel its vibrant beat. I hope, you feel more inspired too this season.
These are the things that inspire me right now and give me boosts of happiness.
April is a month of surprises. In Germany they used to say “April, April macht was er will” (April makes what he wants). Here in Barcelona they say “April – agues mil” which means “April – thousand of waters”. It hasn’t been a thousand yet, but I can confirm that after some three months of stable sunshine, April is suddenly surprising with many rains.
The weather has been weird the last weeks. I listen to Radio Hamburg and today they promised +21 and total sunshine. While here, in the South, it doesn’t go beyond +17 and the whole week is filled with windy forecasts. I guess, we all need to go to the Northern Germany right now 🙂 Even more ironic for those tourists who came here for the Easter week and discover that the weather is better in their Northern parts back home :))
However, I find this weather quite enjoyable (not the windy part though). When it rained everyday on the Norwegian West coast, it was very frustrating. But when the rain breaks up those weeks of sunshine, I don’t mind 🙂 I welcome the change and get back to those cozy activities I learnt back in Norway. I here I want to share some things that inspire me right now on a rainy day.
Ok, they are not 10, not very awesome, and even not really tips. But after having read some popular blogs and various advice lists, I just had to come up with the list of my own, honest and hopefully effective. No more intro, here they are.
The good thing about changing a flat is that one can start creating the new space just as one wishes. From the blank page. When I moved in with my husband, his flat was already set, so I had to carve out small spaces for my changes and things. When we moved now to Barcelona, the flat was empty, with very few pieces of furniture (I even had to sleep on the floor the first weeks). So we had to spend some time and money visiting all the interior stores (instead of drinking sangria and eating tapas, like most of my friends thought I was doing :)). The upside of it was that I had more freedom in creating our home this time.
Now, after all stress and mess, I feel content with some results and want to share the corners I like. This one is from my side of the bedroom. It is a sunny room with the big French windows, which are also doors to the balcony. It is so great to wake up and see the sunlight beaming through. And in the evening I like to light a candle and unwind with a book. I close the door and feel like it is my secret garden. Where there is place for my books, my dreams, my jewelry, my inspiration – the place for everything.
Since I have started to notice the black and white theme around me – on the streets of my city and then at home, this combo seems to be popping everywhere. It is even on trend this season, as I came to conclude after walking through some stores.
And though some may have different opinion on black-and-white vs. colors , and even though I have proclaimed myself a color lover ages ago (actually, my second blog in Russian which I started 10 years ago has the name “My Life in Color and Black and White”), I just cannot resist the elegance and prettiness of this simple combination. Let’s do the window shopping with me and see for yourselves!
If you know me just a bit, you know that I am a color lover. Especially the bright colors make my heart bounce with joy, because I find them full of life and optimism. I have shared some collections of yellow, orange and lots of pink. I also collected colors in my city and tried to show that Oslo can truly be colorful.
I would never call myself a color minimalist. On the opposite, the more colors I could mix, the better. I would never be the one wearing total black or monochrome outfit. But recently my eye got attracted to this simple combination of black and white. First I noticed it on the streets of Oslo, then in my home, and now I find it in interior and fashion trends, so it seems to be everywhere 🙂
Winter is the season when I feel the acute need to hunt for the light and color. Today my memory brought back to me one nice winter experience that I want to share here.
Two years ago we were doing a road trip through the Southern France and stayed one day and one night in the town of Aix-en-Provence. I wish we had stayed there longer because this one is an especially pretty town, though every town on our itineary was pretty. We had come to Aix-en-Provence after four French towns, and, to be honest, we were more tired than impressed. This is when we felt that traveling is not just all excitement as most of us use to believe. Sometimes you feel more hunger for your own home kitchen and your couch than for another restaurant and hotel :))
I guess, I was more hit by the beauty of Aix-en-Provence later – looking at my photos of it, than in the moment of walking those streets. Maybe you know that this town was a favorite place of many artists, Paul Cezanne being one of them. I am a great lover of impressionists and I can see why many of them were inspired by Provence. And after studying the photos of Aix-en-Provence I can imagine where their inspiration sprang from. Join me if you want to feel like that artist! 🙂
Me Exploring 