The Covent Garden Academy of Flowers

Hello, my friends!

Last week I attended a course at The Covent Garden Academy of Flowers, and I'm so excited of what I learned, I have to show you! 

On Monday and Tuesday, our assignments were about hand tied bouquets and circular arrangements, and I still think about the old way I was doing this and how this experience changed the way I work now, in such a short time. 

Interesting how in the low light and poor setup they looked beautiful, but in the daylight, with a beautiful and stylish container or decor, they looked absolutely stunning.

This is the work I love so much and make me feel so wonderful, like I found a new way of living. I started more than a year now and I'll keep doing this for living. 

I love, love, love working with flowers! 

Happy Birthday, Mara!

Seven years.

Seven years ago, from all the possible parents on this earth, 

you chose me to be your Mummy.

Happy Birthday, my sweet Mara!

Thank you, Bogdan, for such a wonderful child!

Discrimination

When somebody asks me how many children I have, my usual answer is: "two kids and Mara". She has glitters in her veins, I swear! 

And she negotiates based on it! I know is discrimination, but I can't help it!

Because she didn't want to have a hair cut, I went to the hair dresser and I promised her she'll have her hair done. Also to cut her nails at her toes, I asked my friend Nicole to help. She did. 

I left Mara in the salon, brought Runa to school and came back to pick up Mara back. 

Look what I found!

Priory of Saint-Cosme, France, Day #2

It was a dark and rainy day in Touraine in that Sunday, and it took us forever to find the last place where Pierre de Ronsard, the poet, lived. We had only a leaflet with wrong coordinates, so we kept running in circles by the gps indications. When Bogdan started to trust his instincts again, he found it in no time. And well he did, because the place was oh so beautiful...

The skies were gray, but the lavender flowers were blue and the poet's roses in full bloom...

 

ROSES
RONSARD, 1550.

I send you here a wreath of blossoms blown,
And woven flowers at sunset gathered,
Another dawn had seen them ruined, and shed
Loose leaves upon the grass at random strown.
By this, their sure example, be it known,
That all your beauties, now in perfect flower,
Shall fade as these, and wither in an hour,
Flowerlike, and brief of days, as the flower sown.

Ah, time is flying, lady - time is flying;
Nay, 'tis not time that flies but we that go,
Who in short space shall be in churchyard lying,
And of our loving parley none shall know,
Nor any man consider what we were;
Be therefore kind, my love, whiles thou art fair. 

Les Coqueliroses, Azay-sur-Cher, France, Day #1

Yes, it was that time of the year, when the time has stopped and we were in holiday for a week, just the two of us... 

France is always a reliable destination, the most romantic country ever, and I'm not talking here only about Paris!

Our destination was this time the Loire Valley, with all the chateaux and jardins, and beautiful villages...

Bogdan found an amazing accommodation, Les Coqueliroses, a beautiful farm house near Tours, with tasteful decorated rooms and a much better price than a hotel. 

The owners, a lovely French couple, created a welcoming atmosphere with all the necessary comfort. In the backyard there is even a swimming pool!  

We arrived on Saturday, earlier than the suggested time, but Eliane was so nice, even we disturbed her siesta, and invited us to take a nap in our room. Which was received with enthusiasm, 'cause we were awake from 5'o clock in the morning, traveled by plane and by car, and really tired.

In the evening, we wandered in the neighborhood, we visited the old village, took a walk in the waterfront of the nearby river, the Cher, and by the fields.

 

We just enjoyed the silence, the beauty, the presence of each other.

 

 

We took the dinner in Cormery, a nearby village, in a restaurant named Auberge du Mail, which I highly recommand!  

 

The food was truly delicious, starting with the bread and butter and finishing with the cheese and dessert, all of it watered with a soft and lavander flavoured rosé wine of Bandol, perfect for a first dinner in France.