2012-11-23

Being Thankful!

I am thankful for being healthy!
I am thankful for my loving  family and friends!
I am thankful for my amazing colleagues!
I am thankful for the support of my customers through out this year!
I am thankful for my team mates in Etsy Greek Street Team!
I am thankful for living in Greece despite everything that's going on!

What are you thankful for?

2012-10-29

A long weekend

Last weekend Dimitris had a sailing race to and fro Hydra Island so I thought it was a good chance to tag along. Hydra is only 1 hour and a half away from Piraeus port but it's a completely different world. It has maintained it's unique identity over the years and it's an ideal weekend getaway.In Hydra there are no cars or motorbikes and the main means of transportation are donkeys! It's so quite and lovely!
Getting back from Hydra proven a bit more difficult. Due to strong winds the small vessels that connect Hydra to the mainland couldn't sail so my only chance of getting back was to go with the sailboat. The weather conditions where indeed extremes for non-sailor like me to travel that way but all in all it was a great experience!










2012-09-20

Things that made me smile today...

Some days are just so.....bad. I can't think of a better way to say it. But some days, even though you may wake up with the best of spirits, things happen that really screw up your day. Plain and simple.  Today was a day like that. In order to turn my spirits around, and after being inspired by a lovely blog call House of Humble I decided to post about the things that actually made me smile today.





So today I smiled about:

My best friends baby!!!! I sent her a super cute tomato hat and today I saw her wearing it. She is the sweetest little girl ever :)

My kitties! Well they always make me smile :) 

A custom order that I finished and turned out really well.

My new item :)

The fact that there was no line in the post office today!!!What a rare treat

I actually smiled at my scales today because I have actually lost some weight. I wish to loose some more but it's a start!

What made you smile today?

2012-08-28

Vegetarian Moussaka

My version of vegetarian moussaka


I have never been a big fan of moussaka even back in the days I wasn’t a vegetarian. Something about seemed to heavy for my tastes. My mother’s version was better since the vegetables weren’t fried first but baked but still she used to put zucchini in which felt a bit to squishy  for me. Yesterday, after checking the fridge I decided to give it a go using red peppers instead of zucchini and in my opinion they give a great sweetness to the dish. I also use white eggplants that are more sweet and tasteful.
So here it is:
Ingredients
  • 3 white eggplants, thinly sliced
  • 4 tablespoons olive oil (as a Greek it's really difficult to measure how much olive oil I use...probably I put in more than this amount!)
  • 3 red peppers, cut in half
  • 2 large potatoes, thinly sliced
  • 1 large onion, sliced
  • 1 clove garlic, chopped
  • 1 can whole peeled tomatoes, chopped
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 cup crumbled feta cheese
For the bechamel (or just use instant bechamel to save time)
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons butter
  • 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • 1 1/4 cups milk
  • black pepper to taste
  • 1 pinch ground nutmeg
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
  •  
Directions
  1. (If you use white eggplants proceed to step 2 if not then) sprinkle eggplant slices with salt and set aside for 30 minutes. Rinse and pat dry.
  2. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) on the grill
  3. Place the sliced vegetables in baking pan covered with non stick paper and place them in the oven (for more taste sprinkle some salt and a bit of olive oil). Grill them until they get a nice color.
  4. Saute onion and garlic until lightly browned. Add salt and pepper.. Stir in tomatoes, oregano and parsley. Cover, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer 15 minutes.
  5. Remove the vegetables from the oven. Take the skin off the peppers.
  6. In a 9x13 inch casserole dish layer the potatoes, eggplant, pepper, eggplant, and feta. Pour tomato mixture over vegetables; repeat layering, finishing with a layer of eggplant.
  7. Cover and bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes.
  8. Meanwhile, in a small saucepan combine butter, flour and milk. Bring to a slow boil, whisking constantly until thick and smooth. Season with pepper and add nutmeg. Remove from heat, cool for 5 minutes, and stir in beaten egg.
  9. Pour sauce over vegetables and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Bake, uncovered, for another 25 to 30 minutes until the béchamel cream has a nice gold crust.
  10. Let it cool and enjoy!

2012-08-21

Summer memories

Summer vacations came and gone as quickly as I feared. It has been a difficult summer and my escape was shorter than what I would have hoped for. This year we went to Skopelos island! An amazing place covered with pine trees and with some of the best beaches in Greece. I highly recommend it for those who wish to spend quiet and relaxing vacations.


Perivoli beach (amazing waters!)
The chapel of Ai Giannis (the final scenes of Mama Mia where shot here)

Sweetest fig ever picked by Dimitris :)
Blackberries! You could find them all over the island!

My summer reading!

Detail of a church

Stone covered roof top

Anatoli means dawn 


2012-07-06

The secret life of cats

Well the cat was found.
He actually has a second home, another name, and another family just two houses away! What can I say, I never saw that one coming. He lives there for 1,5 years pretty much the same time he lives with us and does exactly the same routine. I am so happy that he is ok but at the same time I am amazed of his "bigamy" :)

2012-07-05

Compassion

 compassion [kəmˈpæʃən]n

a feeling of distress and pity for the suffering or misfortune of another, often including the desire to alleviate it
[from Old French, from Late Latin compassiō fellow feeling, from compatī to suffer with, from Latin com- with + patī to bear, suffer]
 
Today I am sad, I lost my cat.  He disappeared a week ago. He was a little kitten when we first moved in to the house about 2 years ago. He was a feral cat and I earned his trust little by little. What a great treat it was the moment when he finally let him pet him for the first time.  From then on he resided on the balcony. He had his cat house filled with blankets to keep him warm. He came inside when he felt like it and in the winter months he stayed in for hours next to the radiator. When summer came he only came inside to eat and if the food wasn't of his liking he sniffed it and went away without a second glance. I chased him with another can of pet food, of a different flavor to satisfy his whim.That was our everyday routine.
Last week I found a poor kitten. It was sick and I felt compelled to bring it in and take care of it. The cat didn't like that. He felt threatened and refused to come in to eat. The last time I saw him he jumped out of the kitchen window just to get away. The days pasted and there was no sign of him. I called and called but he never came. I searched the neighborhood, put up posters and cried my eyes out every night. 
Finally a neighbor who had seen me searching, called and told me that she saw somebody with a pet carrier pick a cat looking like mine and taking it away... at first I thought it wasn't him, he wasn't a cat easily caught. Then I panicked at the thought that someone took him to harm him, or maybe he was injured.
But yesterday it all came to me. The neighbor (who lives on a busy street) must have seen what happened to the cat and so thought it was "compassionate" to let me believe that somebody took him in and that he is still alive.But it actually isn't, it made me think a million negative thoughts, made me feeling sick and made me cry some more. I think compassion should be matched with truth. 

2012-07-02

Summer is finally here!

Summer is finally here! It always amazes how quickly time flies.
It has been a difficult year for all Greeks and our lives have all been altered in some way...Still the future seems bleak but one can only hope for better days to come.
As for me I have been so busy lately. Between my full time job, the jewelry making and everyday chores I feel like the past few months flew by me. But at least summer is finally here and with it warm weather, summer weddings and going out with friends!

 Last weekend a good friend of mine got married and we had such a good time.

 I ate a lot :)
 With the bride :)
Pretending I caught the bouquet!

The table arrangements were made by the mother of the bride and I loved them!

2012-05-17

Etsy Greek Street Team: May Giveaway - Win an outstanding clutch from Mill...

Etsy Greek Street Team: May Giveaway - Win an outstanding clutch from Mill...: Hey you all!!! Hope you are ready for this month's give-away from the Etsy Greek Street Team blog!!! It is an amazing clutch from a great s...

2012-03-12

New pieces

Well green has always been my favorite color and I have a lot of gems and beads in various shades of green. Since its spring I decided to start using them. So here are some of my new pieces. I am particularly proud of my uvarovite pendant. The color is so rich and bright!



2012-03-09

Spring time in Greece

The most likely time for someone to visit a Greek Island is during summer when the weather is hot and you spend most of the time on a beach. Especially in the Cyclades one might feel that the land is barren and will find the scenery dull and full of rocks and dried weeds. But in spring things are quite different. Green yellow and purple are the colors that cover the hillsides and reach the beaches. Smells from thyme, oregano and wild flowers are overwhelming.  So whenever I get the chance I love to visit an island during spring to enjoy the colors and smells.





2012-02-10

The process of a custom order

As I might have mentioned before I really like custom orders! I find them intriguing and challenging and also a way to push me in to the creation of something new.
This time I have an order for a forget me not flower ring. Love it! I have always thought about doing something like that but always other ideas came up and I forgot my little forget me not!
But now there where no more excuses...:)

So first off I made a scetch to make sure we were on the same page with my client. She was very specific and that made it a lot easier for me to picture the ring she wanted. A double band ring with a small forget me not.
After having the OK from the client, I made some wax models of the ring and in particular the flower and send them to her for approval


Then it was time to cast them...to see what they look like in sterling silver, btw I love this process!!


My client choose the flower she liked the best and now all that's left is for me to "assemble" the ring and paint it with enamel in the colors of the actual flower.

2012-01-19

New pieces for Valentines day!

I have been working on some pieces for Valentines day.
I am especially happy with my little matches! I think they make a very special gift! 

I also had to custom orders for engraved rings. The first a small band ring with "Love conquers all" engraved on to it. 
  

And the second was an order for my wider ring with a personalized inscription.