Confession/Obsession

I have an obsession with books. I think I've always had it, but it really started around 2004 for I moved to Samos for good, and had to find a hobby to keep me busy throughout the dreary winter. I started off with only four books, which I devoured in a little less than 2 weeks. Every time I go back to the States I shop for more books. One year I brought back 70 books. That was before you had to pay for excess luggage. Now I am a little more picky! I have a few favorite authors. Ann Rule, she is from the Seattle area and writes about true crime. Jodi Picoult, who is amazing and will keep me up at all hours of the night reading until I finish her story twisters. Then there is Marian Keyes, an Irish woman who writes chick-lit and has written probably my all-time favorite book, "Anybody Out There." I've bought that book in Greek and given it to my cousin who LOVED it. Too bad I can't find more of her books in Greek.

My bookcase. The books to the right in black are the Twilight ones. Yes, I am a fan, and a dork!

 A new book I've yet to read by Jodi. I love the blanket around the girl's shoulders. I think I might knit one like that soon for myself!

What's on my nightstand  right now. "The Godmother" by Carrie Adams. It's actually kinda good so far.

My favorite book, I highly recommend.

I donated and gave away to friends last year about 200 books. I've kept only the ones I'd like to read again. Do you have any books you'd like to recommend?

Olive Oil Hand Scrub Tutorial

We're kinda limited on the island to a lot of stuff we take for granted in the States. So you have to get creative. A friend of mine made me a hand scrub last year, and I completely fell in love. We do have hand creams, scrubs, washes, shampoos, and so forth available to buy from the pharmacies, but these ingredients you can find in your own kitchen, so why not make it yourself? PLUS, I have a ton of olive oil my family has from all our olive trees. I've picked my fair share of olives from the ground, trust me!  This scrub will leave your hands smooth and smelling wonderful. So here is my tutorial on olive oil hand scrub....

You'll need...sugar, olive oil, bowl, teaspoon, different herbs you can find in your kitchen such as oregano, kimino (don't know if there's another word for it) lavender, and scented oil if desired.

Measure out about 5 teaspoons of sugar into the bowl. You can add more later if needed.

Start slowly pouring in the olive oil. Don't saturate the sugar with oil, the mixture should be a little lumpy.

Add the herbs. I had some fresh oregano handy and the kimino from a bottle. Mix well.

Your hand scrub is complete! Wasn't that fast and easy? I transferred the concoction to a white plate so you can see better the texture and color. 

I have my scrub in a cute container in my bathroom with a spoon handy. I just spoon it out, rub between my hands for a few seconds, and rinse! Your hands will feel soft and love you for it!

Thank you for following my hand scrub tutorial. I hope you try it for yourself and enjoy! :)

Wednesday Nite Spaghetti Play-Dates

A group of us girlfriends here in the village get together every Wednesday night so our little kids can play. We make spaghetti (different kinds of pasta, sauces, etc) and we eat a lot of desserts. It's a time for us to catch up on life, and a time for the kids to get together and play. (aka, tear the house up!) We  rotate houses and the  hostess  will make the spaghetti, while the guests  bring the treats. We have a lot of fun. (And the kids like it too!)

 Did I forget to mention my baby is the only boy? :)  We are working on that! haha!

My First Blah

Well, it's about time I did one of these blogs that people have been  raving about. Actually,  (to tell you the truth) reading other people's blogs is one of my guilty pleasures, and I've been meaning to do one myself, but have always put it on my "to do" lists. Anyhow, let me go ahead and introduce myself! My name is Tina, and I was born in Seattle, WA. My mother is from the island of Samos Greece from a tiny village 300 meters above sea level called Ambelos. You can read about my village and my house for summer rent here. We vacationed here almost every summer until I graduated High School in '99 and started "visiting" more often. By that, I mean staying in Seattle 4 months out of the year and living and working in Samos for the rest, until I finally took the plunge in 2004 and moved indefinitely. I met my husband Vasili here in the village and we married in 2006. in 2008 we welcomed our little baby boo boy Makis. The rest is history! And  I'll tell you all about it later!

This is a picture of our little village "Ambelos" Last time they checked, we had about 175 residents. On a good day, right across the sea we can see Izmir, Turkey. And to our right in the distance is the city of Kusadasi, Turkey. The views are A-MAZ-ING!