Christmas II

Today was Runa's name day (Andreea), and we celebrated with a big cake, orange juice and hot wine with sugar, cinnamon and cloves.

Happy name day, my beautiful big daughter, Runa Andreea!

I love you and I hope you know my heart is so close to you!

Back to the Christmas celebrations, is strange how we forget the details and we remember many things from pictures. I am so happy Bogdan has this passion for photography, I can walk through my memories and I can see them.

Runa helped me to dress up the Christmas tree in 2004, wearing her angel wings.

Bogdan holding Runa in his arms, she was daddy's girl at the time.

Finally we remembered we had a tripod and shot some pictures together. We are lousy with our family pics, we alway forget to use the tripod! So the photographer is always out!

Our beloved dog, Pick... he passed away 3 years ago. He died at 17, and he was my dog since he was 2 months.

Runa and her cousin, Andrei, at their grandma's house. We used to spend every Christmas in her home, she gathered every year all the family to celebrate. Since we moved, the whole family is coming to our house for the C-day, we are opening presents, taking brunch and dinner in our home, is big and cosy and welcoming.

My mother-in-law opening presents, she is very happy when is surrounded by grandchildren and family. I don't have enough words to thank her for the huge help she gives us.

The first Christmas ever I spend with her and Bogdan and their family was the first I remember being unconditionally loved. And the history repeats every year since...

Christmas I

In 2003 Runa was almost 3 years old, and it was the first time we invited a Santa Klaus at home. She was so, so happy to see Doru and Violeta, our friends, with plenty of gifts and stories only for her! Our daughter didn't recognise them, she really thought is Santa and his wife!

She told Santa a lot of little poems, she sang a lot of songs and was so sweet!

Then she made soap bubbles with Violeta. I was and I am so grateful for their visit!

My mother-in-law took also Andrei (who was only 9 month old at the time) close to Santa, to enjoy the moment!

A little family conspiration to make the kids believe in magic!

Santa had presents for everybody, my fabulous mother-in-law was delighted!

At the moment I write this, Runa still believes in Santa, and is almost 10 years old!

My mother told her few days ago that the gifts are brought by parents and I was so upset...

Runa didn't believe, and I reacted very bad, I even cried... but I guess the moment of truth will arrive soon. I know the truth since I was 5 and I hated that, especially because after I discovered it, there were no more gifts and no Christmas celebration like before.

The magic of Christmas will continue, but I think we wanted to keep the innocence as long as we could.

I will be back with Christmas pictures from the last years... is part of our family history and I love it!

Window shopping

Today I ran away from home, Bogdan had to work for few hours, Runa went to a chinese painting course, Radu and Mara went visiting their ex-nanny, Mimi, and I decided that I had enough work yesterday. I suddenly said to Bogdan that I need some window shopping, just for myself, and some Christmas shopping for kids, so I wandered in some shops in the mall for this afternoon.

I found lots of inspiration in my favorite shops, but what I liked most was the Mango collection (usually not my style, but this season is great) and some boho-chic things from Camaieu and Promod.

Well, it turned out my window shopping changed in some real shopping, above is a feather vest from C&A, I couldn't resist it... I bought it in a different color, some ink blue...

...and those socks from Stradivarius, and a lace body from New Yorker.

Then I sat in a front of a hot chocolate, a salmon sandwich and some macarons from Paul, reading my fav blogs.

I bought some gifts for kids, is Runa's name day on 30th of November (her name is Andreea, too), and Christmas is around the corner.

I still have lots of presents to buy and I proposed to myself to make most of my shopping on the internet, if you have any suggestions... I would be grateful. It seems to me I'm not able to find the right websites to place all the orders online yet. Help!

Home

Two years ago we moved in a new house. It took us another two years to build it and it was once in a lifetime adventure. All the decisions to make, all the stress with the builders, the banks, the whole journey was worthing it, no matter what.

When I come home from work, I feel so good only when get to see the door to my house.

The flowers are now moved for the winter in a glass greenhouse upstairs.

Early in the spring is like that, but when the cold is gone, we bring outside all the flowers we took care by the winter and the whole house is blooming.

Here is my mother-in-law entrance, she never uses it, because we live in such a good understanding! She helps us with the kids and staying more with us than in her home now. I'm looking forward to the day she will come to stay with us permanently.

This picture is from last year, now in the little piece of garden with the tuya we have two beautiful Roses and the fence is embelished with a young Honeysuckle. I love Roses and this year we filled the garden with them, I hope the heavy winter will not tear them down.

Bogdan's wish has come true with this little treehouse. I wish we could use it more often, but this summer was a very cold and capricious one. When finally got warm, it was impossible to sit outside anymore.

The last bloomed Rose from the garden, I took this picture last week, when it was still too warm for this time of the year.

The Petunias were my first choice for decorating the house, but this year I changed my option to Geraniums, which were more adapted to the house orientation and didn't burn in the afternoon powerful sun. I want to write more about our flowers and how many mistakes we made in those two years, but I'm out of pictures now :).

This Moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see. {from www.soulemama.com}

Out of Words

I'm out of words today, so I randomly took some picture from Strezza, Italy, to prove that I can take pictures, too :).

This is what I feel like doing now...

A house with all the kitchenware on the outside walls is a happy house, isn't it?

The perfectly beautiful Isolla Bella!

Colorfull waterlillies on a quiet basin...

The peacock turned his ass to me every single time I tried to take a pic!

Bogdan is the model now, unusually!

The old fountain is now full of flowers...

So are the walls on Isolla Bella...

And I finally shot the leaves of a gingko tree, I tried to put one in the ground last year, but I didn't succeed...

Paris, mon amour!

Last winter we wanted to go for the winter holiday in the mountains. Instead, we arrived in Paris for the New Year's celebration. Well... we wanted it so badly, so it came to us faster than we expected!

On the feet of Eiffel Tower, me and Runa savouring the symbol of Paris.

Mara found a playground, close to Notre Dame...

We took long walks on the Seine's queue...

Then in Jardin de Tuilleries... kind of sour beauty...

The kids had their portraits done on Montmartre Hill...

We visited lots of playgrounds, it was children holiday more than ours, it was our second time in Paris... who needs romance, hey?

Radu was happy just to be with us...

The wheel in front of Jardin de Tuilleries is trying to imitate the London Eye, but nicer...

La Tour Eiffel, the landmark of Paris...

Black and white...

And Runa at Trocadero, holding the Eiffel Tower in her hand...

We Love Disneyland

We started 2010 with a little trip to Disneyland Paris, with the girls.

We left Radu in the city with my mother-in-law, because he already visited Disneyland one day earlier, in 2009. And he slept almost the whole day. We couldn't blame him, at 1 year old we could do the same.

We took a "chariot" for Mara, and they used it together, while eating lollipops.

The girls took pictures with Cinderella...

Then with Snow White and her prince...

Mara was a very brave girl, carrying herself an umbrella...

The Sleeping Beauty... very awake...

Runa in Wonderland...

Curious...

Runa and Mara in a spinning cup...

We had plenty of lollipops, to get warm, I think...

We sat there till the sunset...

When everybody started to rush home...

It seemed to us that even the statues wanted to send us away...

And all the little fairies fell asleep everywhere...