Happy happy Easter!

Hello! First of all, I want to wish everyone who is celebrating a happy Easter Sunday! I hope you have a wonderful time with your loved ones!

Tomorrow I'm leaving Vienna due to the long awaited holidays and I'll be out of the internet world for a whole week, so I won't reply to any e-mails, requests and comments until I come back. Ah, I can't wait! 24 hours can be pretty long you know. Anyway... stay well and see you soon!

Love, Aleksandra.

Merry Christmas!

The day is finally here!

I wish you all a happy feast with your families and may you have some great and unforgetable time!

MERRY CHRISTMAS! 
  

Love, Aleksandra.

Snow globes.

I started obesessing over snow globes since  I saw that movie called "Unfaithful" with Richard Here and Diane Lane, and I've been collecting themever since. I know that movie is not clichée romantic and like a fairytale, but in that moment as I saw those sparkling flakes floating down to the ground of the globe, I was caught into the magical turmoil of the world of snow globes. That was it. Right now I have over twenty, and I know, that ain't way too much, but I am not collecting ANY snow globes. They have to be qualitative and pretty. :) 

And since Christmas is very near, here are some Christmas themed globes! Enjoooy!

Have a great start of the week!

Love, Aleksandra.

Christmas spirit in Vienna.

Happy Friday dear friends!

This week has been very busy for me, but it was so long! I thought Friday would never and ever arrive! But now that it's finally here, I can do the stuff I've been waiting all week to do - buy presents, wrap them and of course blog! :) I also thought I might share with you some wrapping inspirations, but that, in an another entry.

I was so happy as I saw so many comments here on blogger, and also on twitter, and you have asked me to post more photos of Vienna during the holiday season. So, here are some of the photos I've found and I hope you'll get a little glimpse of how beuatiful and magnificent my beloved city is! Enjoy!

See you soon and have a wonderful weekend!

Love, Aleksandra.

Images are courtesy of Wien.

Holiday deliciousness.

Good morniiiing! Happy Tuesday everyone! :)

Today I've been looking for some inspiration for Christmas food, especially sweets. I'm not good at baking cookies at all, so probably I'll be ordering them from somewhere. Anyway, it's so sad that I have no talent at all for it, but maybe someday, who knows, I'll learn it! Okay, here are my little treasures that I've found:

Aren't they super lovely and cute?! I LOVE IT! 

Here in Vienna, we have a beautiful cake shop called Demel, and I think it's the oldest one, although I'm not quite sure because it could be that the Sacher Hotel is older, and it also has its famous Sachertorte. You should check it out, it's really great!

I hope you could find some inspiration for yourself too! Have a nice day!

Love, Aleksandra.

Etsy Christmas goodies.

Christmas and all its winter magic is definitely my favorite time of the year. I think I've said that already once, but I cannot repeat it enough.

Well, the 24th isn't that far away anymore, and it's slowly time to get the perfect outfit for that magical night. Although "my" Christmas is on 6th of January (I'm an orthodox Christian), I will be celebrating the 24th with a few friends of mine. And we gotta look stunning! 

I've been browsing all kinds of shopping sites, but in a way, I always end up on etsy. Anyway, here are some really pretty things I've found.

{Dresses: Tulip black/red, Happily Ever After, Green Dress, White Lace Dress, One Shoulder Long Dress}

Honestly, I love them all! It is so hard to decide which one to buy, since they're all so beautiful! But I think I'll take the green or the white one with lace layer over it. But we'll see. I've also found bunch of other goodies...

{Christmas tree earrings,  French Macaron Christmas Snowflake,  Cake Pops, Victorian Santa, Owl Card, Christmas Peppermint Necklace,  Stripped Christmas Ornaments, Reindeer Bird Crochet stuffed toy, Christmas Berry Wreath, Red Burlap Wreath, Peppermint red/white earrings.}  

I hope you found something for yourself too... If not, go to etsy, and make your own collections! :)

Have a nice day!

Love, Aleksandra.

The Best Thing After Thanksgiving

Oh boy, if you have some leftover turkey, here is a scrumptious panini idea that Balazs and I are making tonight. The fun combination of jam, Swiss cheese, Dijon and cranberry sauce makes my head spin with excitement. Yum! Darlings, doesn't it look mouth-watering? How was your Thanksgiving? (Recipe here). xo

(Photos by Ree)

Budapest calling!

Good morning!

It's been quite a cold and grey day, but I really enjoyed it. I love winter more than summer for sure. Although summer has its advantages too, I really would prefer more to live in Finland than in Brazil. Anyway, tomorrow I'm going to Budapest for the day and then heading forward to my hometown in Serbia. I have some family business to do there, so I think it won't be that interesting but we'll see. So, maybe I won't be blogging all the way till Sunday. But when I get back there'll be a LOT of pictures to show you for sure! :)

And happy Thanksgiving everyone! I hope you all will have a nice time with your families! 

See you soon!

Love, Aleksandra.

National Holiday and Open Day.

Good evening people! I hope you all had a blessed Wednesday and are feeling great!

Here in Austria today has been one of the biggest holidays - the National holiday, so (almost) everyone got the day off. Our parliament had the Open Day, so everyone was able to visit it for free. I, of course, had to go, and I had some great time! :) The only bad side of it was, that there were waaaay too many people, so it was not that comfortable. But in the end everything was awesome. ^.^ Well, here are the photos I made:

After that, I went for a longer walk around the centre of the city, and saw the Blood Donation Bus standing there, and took my chance to donate blood.

With me this doesn't work very well every time, because I tend to have the hemoglobin deficiency, so I was rejected a few times. :/ But this time it worked and I was sooo happyy!! Well, it didn't go that smoothly because I have pretty thin veins, and they are also hard to find, so the doctor had to prick my arm a several times. :( Well, well, that's the way it goes. Anyway I managed to get one photo of myself directly after it all has ended:

Now, I have to say that I recommend it to everyone who is able and allowed to donate blood, to do it! You can never know when you will need it yourself, so it's a very humane gesture to donate. And it is also very healthy for your spinal cord, and also for the whole vascular system. :) Do it! :)

Now I have to make myself ready for tomorrow, since it will be a new day... Sleep well everyone! Good night!

Aleksandra.

Tips and Tricks to a Perfect Dinner Party!

I dont know about you, but planning big dinner parties tends to give me the stress-butterflies. You know what I’m talking about, the cooking, the shopping and the most important – the perfect atmosphere. So, with the holidays coming up in no time, I thought it would be a good idea to share a few tips and tricks to a perfect (stress-free) dinner party that I recently learned from the awesome OurKitchen team, as well as a few of my own tested tips that I find super handy on those eventful days.

* Always try to use seasonal foods as they are fresher, tastier and cheaper.

* Simple (few ingredients) dishes are always a YES and least stressful to make.

* Slow cooking meat will make preparation on the day much easier. You can prepare the meat in the morning and let it cook all day.

* You don’t have to spend a lot of money to have good wine that matches your food. Don’t be shy to ask your retailer for advice. Also, don’t forget about non-alcoholic homemade drinks for guests who drive. (I find serving minted rose water or lavender lemonade to be a huge hit with my guests).

* Always make a shopping list and don’t forget to include alternatives to avoid panic attacks (Pecans alternative: hazelnuts or walnuts).

* Fresh flowers, beautiful napkins, vanilla or fig scented candles (in a mason or vintage jars) and name tags will make your table feel welcoming and oh-so-snazzy!

* My favourite: give guests edible favors to take home (those little boxes  and snack bags are perfect for after-party treats or leftovers).

* One thing I find really helpful is a plate with cheese, fruits, nuts, jam and fresh bread before the dinner so guests can mingle and nibble while you put the finishing touches on the food. (This is my favourite combination, but this set up looks pretty cool too).

* For Balazs and I a bit of music in the background is a must. We find that jazz, Norah Jones, some Adele or blues relaxes people and puts them in a good mood.

* If, for some reason, the after-dinner conversation is not flowing, games will save the day. (We love Catchphrase, Taboo, Monopoly or Jenga).

Most of all, it's all about having the time of your life! Enjoy! Lovelies, what are your go-to party planning tips? Do share:) xo

P.S: Table setting rules.

(Thanks, Sara. Photos by Kinfolk, Marcus Gaab, rose & crown, A perfet counrty wedding, Sprouted Kitchen & Sunday Suppers)

Villa Vals by Bjarne Mastenbroek & Christian Müller

Good evening to all,

Tonight I'd like to take you for a trip to the Swiss village... Vals!

Vals is known for it's Thermal Baths, but for designers it's also known by an extraordinary villa:

"Villa Vals"

As the villa was not allowed to distort the view for the thermal bath guests, these creative architects decided to build the villa inside the mountain.

So.. Did they manage to make it disappear or what?

The front view became truly impressive. The enormous windows compensate for the missing light on the other end of the house. There seems to be a perfect balance between the modern look and natural elements.

The balance between the modern and natural look continue inside. Wood is being combined with black and white furniture.

So if you're looking for an original place to relax, while getting away from your hectic daily life, I would definitely recommend you this one.

Got you interested? Just check out 

http://www.villavals.ch/booking.php

pictures made by Iwan Baan