Blog Tour: An Invitation {Geeky}

"L'invitation au Voyage" is one of my favorite Fleurs du Mal poems by Charles Beaudelaire, a 19th-century French poet. It is an invitation to travel through your soul and senses, setting your imagination free to reach a magic abode.

You can easily imagine how pleased I was to receive an invitation sent by talented photographer Catherine Goron of La Mémoire Vive to participate in my first ever Blog Tour. Catherine makes me travel through the original eye she casts on streets, people, fleeting images and landscapes, always ready to bring forth the light/shadow contrast, the intimate and hidden treasures in each of her photos.

Each participant is to answer four questions sharing their motivation and behind-the-scenes workings.

Each participant is also to name three bloggers who will then take over and show you new paths around the virtual world and its numerous authors and multiple talents.

1 - What am I working on?  ☽

This is an interesting question given the fact that I have temporarily put my professional life aside to take care of my two baby girls. Which brings me, quite naturally, to a different kind of work and a redefinition of the term altogether (with parenthood in mind).

Taking the time to raise my family has come hand in hand with the need to nurture and dedicate a (tiny) portion of my life to what really moves me as a breathing human being. A big change. The shift in priorities has helped me put many things into perspective and has taught me how to be more resilient, open and resourceful - only not in a business-related way.

At the same time - and the two things are indissociable - I decided to focus on new skills through my blog, a passion of mine. I am currently attending an e-course (Blogging Your Way) and those who follow this blog may have already noticed a few changes here and there: layout, photos, editorial choices, as I strive to explore new frontiers.

2 - How does my work differ from others of its genre? ☼

The blog arena is rich: there are many blogs out there and what I really enjoy (and look for) is uniqueness. I love finding a different layout, tone, train of thought, style, point of view than what mainstream medias have to offer. 

In other words, I am looking for a human dimension and touch, if possible unspoiled by procedures and standard expectations. So I like to think that my blog is one of those personal takes on reality through a blend of facts and imagination to create delicate lace in the end. Most of the time my stories start from an actual detail or experience, to then slowly take off and wander into an imaginary tale.

                                        

3 - Why do I write/create what I do? ☆

The urge to thread words, to let imagination run free and unveil my dreams and thoughts on the magic hidden here and there in our world is rooted in many years of passionate reading, starting with adventure books by Italian novelist Emilio Salgari and his exotic locations and memorable pirate crews!

Nowadays, I also feel the need to share with others ideas that just seem to flood my mind and imagination. I guess it is all tied together by the need to communicate, exchange and fuel diversity through the incredible array of virtual means at our disposal.

4 - How does your writing/creative process work? ☾

I am not sure the term "process" is the most adequate here given that there is no real set pattern involved in writing for me. Whenever I see, read, smell, experience something that captures my attention, ideas knock at my door and I actually start putting sentences together in my head. Most of the time, I do not have a pen or a notebook on hand, so I just make sentences out of the blue - and I may as well have forgotten about most of them when I actually sit down to write, that is part of the unexpected.

Most of the time I write posts in advance, whenever I have a spare minute to open the gates of inspiration and put it all down into words.

Then, I let it rest and proof for some time.

When reviewing the drafts, I see them with fresh eyes and this is when I like to tweak words, sentences and ideas around so that the story I want to convey finds its written way into the blog and, further on, to you.

When reading my answers above, I realize that this is the first time that I tell you so much about myself. The e-course I just took mentioned "writing from the heart". I guess I just stepped into it, right?

I could not have written a single word without the support of all the creativity and inspiration to be found around blogs that I read and follow with pleasure, and among them, the following three gems that I would like to encourage your to discover:

A Piece of Rainbow by Ananda:

My name is Ananda. I am a landscape architectural designer and artist living in coastal southern California with my wonderful husband. I am inspired by the gorgeous nature around me, and the creative people I encounter everyday. This blog is dedicated to celebrating beauty and creativity in our daily moments, and bringing unique art and fresh designs into our living environments

Bonbonbox Illustrations by Anna Lisa Loffredo:

I am Italian, live in Amsterdam with husby+baby, speak too loud, dream too much, laugh a lot, love drawing and writing stories of flying orange caterpillars and monsters that drink coffee.

A Piece of Bliss by Effie:
My name is Effrosyni, which means 'bliss' in Greek. I am a Greek, married to an American and living in the Middle East. I write a blog about the small things that fill me with joy in my everyday life. 

Each of them comes from a different land and background  - speaking of diversity -  and portrays a very personal reality. They resort to illustrations, DIY, the introduction of design in our lives or the quest for bliss in all the things and moments that trigger our inspiration.

There is no limit to the voyage.

Credits: TheDaydreamerDiary

April Eye Candy {Picture it}

Le mois d'avril a été généreux : du soleil, du ciel bleu, du sable dans les chaussures et les cheveux, quelques coquillages et pensées sur l'importance d'un logo, d'une couleur et de l'harmonie entre les deux pour trouver la bonne image. Chaque découverte s'ajoute à la précédente pour former une mosaïques de pensées : où trouver l'inspiration, comment apprendre, comment évoluer, comment se distinguer... Les points d'interrogations poussent comme les coquelicots de ce printemps et bousculent mon petit confort.

Et vous, où avez-vous puisé vos trésors ce mois-ci ?

Photo : TheDaydreamerDiary

Papillons baulois {Roll the Dough}

C'est la saison des papillons nous dit Effie : les chenilles se dandinent, s'accrochent, gigotent et se renferment dans leur fragile chrysalide pour éclore et faire battre tant de cœurs et  palpiter tant d'ailes sur nos fleurs.

Hommage aux premiers déjeuners sur l'herbe, au vrombissement des abeilles, aux conversations autour d'un dessert riche et sombre, crémeux et fort, importé de La Baule et arborant fièrement son nom : le Baulois. 

Hommage aussi aux premières devinettes : comment est-il fait, ce délicieux disque chocolaté ? Et les idées vont bon train, papillonnent et replongent alors que nous essayons d'imaginer la recette à partir d'une courte et noble liste d'ingrédients d'une simplicité intrigante.

Voici donc le résultat de nos jeux dînatoires : un gâteau au chocolat avec une pointe de caramel et une nuée de minuscules papillons colorés et sucrés qui éveillent souvenirs et rêves à venir.

Photos : TheDaydreamerDiary

There, that is a true story. {The Look}

Once upon a time, down the path of our camping in wind-swept Normandy, beautiful irises bloomed, showing off their pale violet color and proud stems. As my fairy daughter sauntered around them, I could not but marvel at what an exquisite match her bloomers made to this bucolic scene.

Handmade by the lovely La Princesse au petit pois (The Princess and the Pea, remember?) these light cotton bloomers come in blue(s) with delicate white cherry blossoms and are perfect for spring days and fairies who like to run through the fields chasing butterflies and princes. Paired with one of their delicately embroidered blouses, they make flowers bloom along the wild path and bees hum with praising joy.

These beauties are not the only ones produced by the talented Montpellier-based Alexandra who is currently celebrating the 20th anniversary of her brand and passion. For the special occasion, she has asked 20 photographers to take pictures related to the actual fairy tale of the Princess and the Pea by Hans Christian Andersen. The result is a kaleidoscope of personal visions and dreams inspired by the tale and Alexandra's eye for fashion. They are delivered in a charming little cloth bag that I now use to hold my lavender twigs together in my secret drawers.

"There, that is a true story." (Hans Christian Andersen)

Credits: TheDaydreamerDiary

The Normandy {Look Around}

The Normandie by Albert Sebille

There was once The Normandy (Le Normandie), one powerful ship named after one gorgeous area in northwestern France and designed to bravely face the Atlantic and History - but not the raging fire that burnt it down in ominous 1942 . There is now the peaceful land of our Normandy, our safe haven we like to turn to on windy days (for hubby) and on sunny days (for me and the little ones) - sometimes the two combined in one blessed day!

The days in the French Normandy region are spent in lazy and harmonious fashion by the entire family as we learn our new life (there are four of us now after all)... So a slow motion morning would typically include - right after the bottle flurry, that is - freshly squeezed pomelo juice to be drunk right away if you want to get all the useful vitamins in, plump croissants and home-made raspberry jam... Meanwhile, we talk away with a bit of Bossa Electro in the background and the occasional cry from one of the babies.

Barneville-Carteret beach

The peak of the morning is definitely the closest local market and I would advise you to head for Les Pieux, for example, where you can lay your hands on fresh produce, from fragrant pont l'evêque cheese or tasty camembert to 100% pure apple juice made with locally grown apples; the final roundup is for the shellfish - you cannot be in France and not eat oysters from Saint Vaast, another shrine around the corner - crabs and lobsters that will be laid on our table for dinner.

On the way to the Nez de Jobourg

On our way back to the mobile-home, our very own ship firmly anchored on the windy beach, we stop to admire villages of stone houses and well-kept gardens teeming with plants and flowers - irises among them, tall and fragile in their pale colors. After all, Normandy enjoys a pretty wet weather, especially in the Fall and Winter, that favors its luscious nature.

The inevitable stop by the beach is the perfect occasion  to get our hands dirty in the sand as we build and destroy castles laughing with our children while making plans for the rest of the day.

If you enjoy too this type of recreational day, deeply rooted in slow rhythm and in the quest for a renewed emotional and sensorial balance, the right place for you is the Siouville beach or the Barneville-Carteret stretch of sand, right in front of the boulevard Maritime. On these beaches, the horizons will absorb your every trouble and enable you to make a pause. 

A. Pause.

And if you know how to be grateful to your surroundings for such a beautiful day, the doors of the Hôtel and Restaurant des Isles will open wide just for you: sit down at the Tortuga café and order a warm cocoa or tea to regain your senses after so much natural beauty.

Now that you are restored, look in the distance and focus on that dot far away at sea: wait, isn't that The Normandie in all its past liner glory?

Credits: 

1 - Albert Sebille

2 + 3 + 4 - TheDaydreamerDiary

My Favorite Sleep Elixirs {With a Straw}

Everybody sleeps. 

But Me.

With fluttering eyelids, I try to see, to listen.

The stars are bright up in the sky, yet so close, I can touch them. They are cold and hot at the same time. A beautiful mystery.

I decide to leave the warmth of the bed for a cup of warm elixir - one of those concoctions I so like. Simple, calming, soothing and deeply fragrant. It will guide me through the sky where I will be counting the stars to look for peace of body and peace of mind.

There are two flavors in my pictures, but the ones I really like are the rooibos&almond and the honeybush&rooibos (my Instagram followers have seen images of the precious herbs in their containers).

In an ideal world, I would be growing my own herbs or gathering them in enchanted forests of the kingdom of yesterlore. Under the inquisitive gaze of the moon... her pale face shining down on me.

In my real world, these blends are presents from friends freshly hopped off a plane and friends closer to home. Friends. They possibly infused the herbal teas with their love and affection for us.

These are my favorite sleep inducing elixirs.

What are yours? Do you make them yourself or do you buy them in a secret cove?

Credits: TheDaydreamerDiary