A R I A D N E / / K A P S A L I
I am in love with… beautiful things
I am a visual person. I’ve trained myself to listen, but to really absorb information, I have to create a visual. I remember my way of studying for exams was to read and then rewrite all the information on a separate sheet, summarising in my own words what I needed to know. But when it came to the exam time, what helped me remember those endless psychological theories and research was the image of my notes. I remember visualising the part of my writing that I needed to recall; which part of the page it was on, the pen, the arrows and the colours. It worked well, most of the time.
The internet now allows us to access anything and pretty much everything. There is a bombardment of information, but while there are loads and loads of negatives to that, the internet has also introduced us to beautiful corners of design, style, fashion, nature, photography, colour and inspiration. I can spend hours looking through websites and blogs filled with so much visual nutrition enough to feed a whole nation. As such, I’ve decided to start a regular feature on Yoga + other stories sharing things that I am currently infatuated with, things that are beautiful or inspiring (or hopefully both), and things that I believe are worth sharing. As with the whole of this blog, what I am sharing stems from my own life and is not paid advertising. You can therefore trust that my excitement is honest and transparent. Enjoy!
// THE KING OF VISUAL BEAUTY – All hail PINTEREST!
I doubt that Pinterest needs an introduction to any of you, but I’ll do so for my mum (hopefully she will read this one day!). Pinterest is a virtual board, where you pin things that you like. It is both the gem and the curse of inspiration. It is filled with beautiful images, diy projects, photography, faces, design, jewellery, food, all (mostly) displayed in awe inviting creativity. Sure there is always the less awesome, non design oriented pins around, but you can choose what you follow, and my feed is a perfect balance of black & white, pastel and neon spirituality, travel & design, with a side of fashion and yoga. And some cocktail recipes; maybe a healthy smoothie or two. If you’re not on there, prepare to loose an hour (or three) on your first visit.
p.s. If you want to follow my lust over beautiful imagery, you can find me here.
// Flowers
Have you noticed the difference flowers make to a room? Or when my man comes back home with a yellow bouquet (it took some training, but now it’s hardwired!). Day fixed, smile permanent. I live in London so I get very little exposure to nature, so flowers and plants at home are giving me that little bit of extra beauty, that little reminder that nature is genius and if it is meant to bloom, it will. I try to have enough flowers to add to a big vase on the table and use the rest to add colour around the flat. I use a couple of small glass bottles with a few flowers on each, placing one on my desk where I work on my blog, and one next to my homemade altar featuring a collection of significant & inspirational items, including a buddha statue from Thailand, my oil burner, a postcard from Nepal and five tiny duck statues from my grandmother that I’ve loved since I was a child.
// London Summer evenings
OK admittedly this week has not been the most summery of times, but I have to admit London summer has been pretty generous so far. And what I’ve noticed is that even if it’s raining or grey during the day, the sun comes to say hello in the evenings before sunset. Beautiful skies with warm pink colours. Long days, ending with relaxed, light vibes. Pure bliss – take notice!
// The World Cup
Wait what?? Did I really say that? I did. It’s not about the football and it no longer is patriotic (Greece is out, in case you were wondering). But the amount of happiness that my man experiences being at the full mercy of the World Cup is indescribable. Oh, the drama… I mean, don’t get me wrong – of course if I had a choice I’d love it if there was less football during the World Cup. Less football, more Brazil! But somehow we have found our balance. Man watches football with beer. I write on my blog. Lovely. And then I look over and all I want to do is take my place on the side of the couch and share the damn beer. It’s india pale ale, so it’s ok. Perfect balance.
// Dairy-free, Refined sugar-free ICE CREAM
And it is homemade. I am seriously in love with how easy it is to make this at home. Just make sure you have some bananas (ripe, but not brown) chopped and frozen. Then blend with cacao, dates, coconut flakes and tiny bit of coconut milk. You can add berries, almond butter, maca powder…. whatever you fancy. As I have a pretty basic blender I usually have to refreeze the mix for 30 minutes to get the real ice cream texture. I’m experimenting with more recipes and will put one up here soon.
// My bicycle basket
My favourite thing ever! It clips on my bicycle and carries everything. It is the epitome of quirky vintage cycling and I normally can’t pull this off, but somehow it works. And I get the best compliments and the weirdest looks. “Are you going for a picnic?” As a matter of fact, I am!
+ That’s me for now. How about if you make your own list? What brings a big smile to your face? And if you’ve enjoyed this post and have any questions, leave me a comment below! Big love x
Image credit: Unsplash
