This is why I have been M.I.A. !!!

Christmas!

Wow! I haven't blogged in a long time! Soo sorry. I got off track, I was lazy, I was TIRED! I was pregnant. But I just delivered my baby girl last week, and I am back!
Maria (Makis calls her Mamia, and I think "Mia" is cute, for short) was born December 4, 2011, 3 weeks early, (she caught all of us WAY off guard) 6.8 pounds, not sure about inches. My water broke on Saturday night around 11, and the first flight out of Samos to Athens was 11:15 the next morning. 17 hours after my water broke I delivered her by C-Section. Thank God I got to the hospital in time. Talk about nerve-wracking!

She sleeps all day!

Makis LOVES his new sister!

A New Hot Spot for Summer

There's a new place Vasili, Makis, and I have started to frequent lately. It's this place called Navagos, in Tsamadou Beach. To be honest, I don't really get why it's so popular because the trek to and from the beach are treacherous, there are a lot of rocks on the beach (no sand here!), and it's just like any other beach. But Vasili loves it, and once we are there, you can't help but like it too!

the trek down

We usually arrive late so it's quiet, and not crowdy!

They have a grassy area you can lounge on!

Comfy bed! Though I've never seen anyone lay down on it.

Makis!

Makis gearing up to kick a soccer ball with Vasili.

So other than the tiring walk to and from, this beach is OK! Did I mention you can order coffee and other drinks from your lounge chair? Pretty sweet!  :)

Drive By Shooting

One thing I like doing in my spare time, or anytime really, is drive by shootings. With my camera that is! Of houses that interest me, their architecture, maybe their landscaping, etc. I'm really into old houses. The old houses here in Samos are really something, escpecially the big old stone ones. I'd love a job where all I had to do was take pictures and look inside houses.

In Agios Konstantinos. This may have been a couple residences in one. I love the stone work.

In front of Ino Village hotel in Samos town. Kinda looks haunted, but still very cool!

I had to get a better shot. Look at that entryway! Imagine a chandelier hanging from the ceiling in that entryway!

The house opposite the haunted house. I love the windows.

I LOVE LOVE LOVE this house. Have loved this house since 1997 for sure when I took a picture of it back then! Look at the columns, and railing!

Classy!

Of course I had to get a closer shot! What's not to love?!

So there you have it! Another obsession of mine! I have many more houses I'm in love with, these pictures are just from today!

A Room for Makis

When Makis was around one year old, we started thinking about making a room for him. I wasn't really into a themed room like Spiderman or Spongebob, and this was before Makis started having an obsession with cars, and the movie Cars. So when we were in Thessaloniki for Makis's baptism, I saw a rug with bright colors on it, and an idea just popped into my head that we should make a room with lots of colors. Our room was already painted a bright green, so that's what we went with. And I like how it turned out!!

A room for Makis! Notice there are no toys! Those are kept in the living room!

The painted white design I got from THIS awesome site that's given me lots of decorating ideas. The frames are from Ikea, and I filled them with Ikea fabric.

Hanging frames that spell out "Makis" with pictures of Makis on the other side! from Ikea.

On the left is a hanging decoration from turkey with elephants. And on the right are animals from the Chinese calendar.

Duck pictures from Ikea, and the star we picked up in Hawaii. You can hang a light through it, but I like this better at the moment.

Makis's bed I got from an antique store that was closing. I love it.

I did a little more of the white paint decoration on this wall. The pillows on the shelf I made myself. The letters I picked up at Michael's when I was in the States last.

How cute is this bedspread cover I picked up at a Super Market here in Samos! It has images spelled out in English and Greek! What a find!

Egg chair for Makis from Ikea. The curtain I got from Ikea just for the fabric, but when putting together the room, I liked how it contrasted with the green walls, so I kept it as a curtain!

How I keep Makis's clothes organized! This is an Ikea bookshelf I found in the As Is section in Athens. We ordered new glass doors to go with it, and at first thought to hang fabric in the windows. I like the see-through better.

Pillows I made with my sewing machine, letters from Michael's and books!

Brightly colored rug that gave me inspiration!

Shorts on one level, shirts on another, socks in the basket, Easy!

So there you have it! A room for Makis. Can you tell I love Ikea? Me and Vasili spend hours in there. Now I just need a way to get Makis to sleep in his own bed!

Friday Show and Tell

There's a guest at the hotel right now I've adopted and call "Grandma." She is the cutest little Dutch lady you ever did see! This is her fourth time I believe in Samos, and this year she brought me some wooden Dutch shoes for Makis. I hung them in his room, and Grandma told me to put flowers in them! I don't have flowers in my house right now due to my allergies, but I put some greenery in them, and they turned out really cute!

Grandma and I at about 7am this morning. My goodness that's early!

Aren't they adorable? Thank you for the idea Grandma!!!

A Trip to Turkey

My brother is in Samos visiting for a couple of weeks. I thought maybe on my day off we could visit Kusadasi, Turkey. It's only an hour and a half boat trip away, PLUS they have a Starbucks. So on Sunday we visited the city and it's bazaar for shopping! But I think my most favorite store of all wasn't a bazaar type store at all. It's called Mudo, and it's in the harbor area. There are clothes for women and men on the bottom floor, and stuff for your house on the top floor. This style of decorating is right up my alley. Cool earth tones and funky items!

The outside of Mudo

Love this chaise and the pillows!

Doesn't this look comfy?

love bamboo!

Fish pillows! Kinda like the ones I've made for Makis. They are soo cute!

I want a beach house like this please!

Must be a nautical beach theme this year in style. I love these fish!

So anyhoo, I'm hoping, (fingers crossed) I get another opportunity to visit Turkey this summer again! But this time, I'll save some money for shopping at THIS store!!!

Friday Show and Tell

I like decorating creatively. My garage needed some color. So I started collecting American license plates and thought they would look cute on the wall. We haven't done the other wall yet, but will soon! 

Woops. One is crooked! Vasili did this wall. I'm going to have to do the other!

We still have tons of plates left, so once we move Vasili's car out of the way, I'll have another project to get busy with! I was thinking of painting the wall first a bright blue, but I'm a little scared it might come out tacky. I feel safe with the white color. What do you think?

Painted Rocks/Decoupage- Tutorial

A while back, a friend of mine told me of a way to "paint" rocks with napkins. They make for a cute decoration in your home or office! So I finally decided to try it for myself. I wasn't sure what glue to buy from the bookstore (you see, we don't have craft stores here) so I thought maybe my Mod Podge, from another project of mine that didn't work out so well, might do the trick. It worked perfectly! To be honest I was a little bummed that I brought the "MP" all the way from the States only to see that it looks just like Elmer's Glue but costs $7.00! I'm not sure if it has the same glueing power as Elmer's, but it's magic, and I'm stuck!  So here is my tutorial on "painted" rocks....

        You'll need: Mod Podge(mine is matte), scissors, paintbrush, and  napkins with a cute print

Cut out desired print. My napkins have a "coffee" theme. How appropriate since I work in the bar at the hotel!

I cut a piece too big for my rock. Cut again.

Much better.

Start by applying a thin layer to your rock with the Mod Podge.

Immediately lay on the napkin and spread another layer on top.

Let dry. I lay mine out in direct sunlight and they were dry in less than 10 minutes.

Make more. Arrange in pretty vase or whatever else you may have handy for display.

 See how cute they are?

Thank you for making these pretty "painted" rocks with me!