Steal Like An Artist by Austin Kleon

*Serbian

This is a nice book to lighten your soul and boost a fragile artistic ego. I'm kidding but it is a nice story about 10 things the author wished he new starting out as an artist. It's fun and inspirational and I like to go through it when I feel like the most uncreative person on the planet.

Kleon's articles on Medium are also a good read.

Daffy Wore It Better

*Serbian

This is my favorite old-lady-going-to-the-farmer's-market outfit. Also it's kind of representative of the still current minimalist fashion trend. Yes, I studied that minimalism, 33 garments per season, just 5 new pieces per season. I concluded that I am a very advanced minimalist since I barely have 33 pieces per 4 seasons. I'm totally trendy, even avant-garde.

For example I told you all about this blouse 2 years ago and it's still royalty in my closet. All the other blouses hate her and she still goes out more often than others.

I also told you all about this skirt last year and I don't even remember how many years ago I bought it.

Same with the necklace. Here it is having the best time with the royalty blouse 3 years ago.
 
Sunglasses... something has to be new.

And, oh yes, the bag is kind of new, but it's gold and it was on sale, I swear.
...
The sandals? That's another story.

You see I wanted platform sandals since I was a kid, literally. Ever since I saw this scene, I admired Daffy's giant feet on platforms. Whenever I see platforms I hear boom-chiki-boom ha ha. Recently I pinned them and pinned them. I had to find the ones that wouldn't hurt my barely functional right foot, which only goes above the height of 2 cm in special occasions. And then I finally saw them right under the 50% off sign. I took them, thank you very much!

Now I'm not sure if I lost the title of the queen of minimalism fashion since this is my second pair of sandals this year (the first) but it's totally fine because my childhood dream finally came true, I'm wearing the same shoes as Daffy Duck!
   

;)

This Summer...

I apologise to all the friends whose birthdays I forgot or missed during June and July. I almost even forgot my own sister's birthday. Forgive me, I'll make it up, but this summer jumbled me up with good and bad (mostly good) and I held on tight like it was a real roller coaster.

1) We started off by finally buying a decent, big suitcase. You can't be a serious traveller without a real suitcase, right? It became a symbol of this summer, we overpacked it and underpacked it, and presently it's staring at me from the corner of the room asking to be taken out again.

2) Then we bought tickets for the Robbie Williams concert except it felt like this AAAAA ROBBIIIIIE AAAAA WE ARE GOING TO THE CONCERT!!!!

3) Then little Kosta was born, my boyfriend's nephew, and now we are aunt and uncle and we are goood! We can sing and bounce and shshshsh and laugh and goo and ga and gau, we are pro and we don't even have to change the diapers, WIN!

4) And the day after Kosta was born we celebrated in style at the Robbie Williams concert. I thought my nice boyfriend had the umbrella and he thought I did. It started raining with the first beats of Let Me Entertain You and ended as soon as the show ended. We walked home, wet, happy and hungry. Over the bridge and through the sleepy Belgrade and we were COMPLETELY ENTERTAINED.

5) A few days later, after we finally met Kosta and presented our gifts like Cinderella fairy Godmothers, we set off to Greece for our official 10 days of summer holiday. A 12-hour bus ride seemed easy as we got the 4 front seats on the upper deck with the big window in front of us. Just as we got comfortable, about 2 hours into the trip, the bus broke and was replaced by a tiny matchstick box. Just my luck.

But I had the next 10 days to recover from the shock. On the beach, watching sunsets, on the balcony, watching the pool. Eating a lot of chocolate cake and peach compote for breakfast. Running from the beach to devour tones of watermelon in the afternoon. And after that I comforted myself a bit more in the evening with some beer and Pringles or wine and chocolate. 

6) Then we got back to Belgrade, but Belgrade seemed angry that we had fun somewhere else and tried to fry us at 40 degrees Celsius so we had to run away.

We went to a tiny town and a mineral spa Vrnjacka banja and we learned what it means to live in a town that is one big park; what it means to wake up and look out of the window and to see only green, to wake up without the sound and smell of city buses and traffic; what's the optimum time spent sitting in the garden/balcony/backyard before and after every meal, before and after swimming, and before bed at night and after you wake up in the morning. We also learned that we like having at least 2 different cakes in the fridge at all times and that we all like Cuba Libre. And the most important thing we learned is to take all these habits back home!

And in the end there is still a nice chunk of summer left and this is not all. My new sewing machine is coming and also some plane tickets, so the excitement is still rising and I intend to stretch out this feeling at least until the winter. 

:)

Serbian

The Dance

You guessed, I'm not the girl for a traditional wedding, puffy white dress and all that jazz. This means that even after 14 years of the relationship and about a 1000 years of living together, the two of us are still strange exotic animals, sticking out in the crowd: "So, are you married yet?" (and I won't even start on the babies question).

But you know some people just make the white wedding cool. Look at Solange's wedding dance with her son. I wish I were this cool, I even tried practicing the steps, but as I was in a Serbian folk dance group for 8 years, my moves are less hip hop and more like this :D

;)

*Serbian

Book Avalanche 1

Hope you'll forgive me but today I'm dumping a small book avalanche on you. Considering how often I (don't) write this blog my READ list is out of control and this is just part one. So, this is what I've been reading since I've got rid of Outlander.

 1. Gone Girl - Gillian Flynn: I read this book last winter and I read voraciously, mostly in my bed, surrounded by many blankets and then in the bathroom, in the kitchen, hanging from a ceiling like a bat, anywhere, any time. I couldn't put it down and I read it really fast. Tried watching the film but didn't like it. Some other time maybe.

2. Kafka on the Shore - Haruki Murakami: Perfection is all I have to say. My only regret is that I haven't saved it for reading on the shore this summer.

3. Metro 2033 - Dmitry Gluhovsky: Two recommendations about this book: 1) Do not read it after Murakami since the author is a journalist and his style will sound too simple compared to Murakami's. Like listening to a symphony and then some pop. 2) Do not read at night or when home alone since post-apocalyptic life in Moscow metro is not a pretty lullaby.
In all other cases I recommend.
As for Metro 2034, which is part two, it's not exciting as part one but it's a decent read.

4. Miss Smilla's Feeling for Snow or Smilla's Sense of Snow - Peter Høeg: I loved this book. I wished it'd never end and at the same time I so wanted to know what happens in the end. Pure torture, but Smilla is my favourite imaginary woman in the Universe.

5. The Elegance of the Hedgehog - Muriel Barbery: I believe I've never said this of a book but I wish I'd never read this one. I found it on the Belgrade Book Fair few years ago and I liked the title, the cover design and the description at the back but I couldn't buy it at the time and it got on the list for the next year. And then it was a torture reading it. Did not like a thing about it besides the title and the cover. I wish that was all I could remember.

6. The Girl on the Train - Paula Hawkins: This book was everywhere I looked Facebook, Pinterest, TV, my fridge. I had no choice. Read it, didn't like it at all. As I was reading I wished it would end ASAP.
I liked Gone Girl much more.

7. The Son - Jo Nesbø: Mr. Nesbø is also everywhere I looked for some time now but in this case I'm happy he is. I've read The Son which is a standalone book and then decided next would be the Harry Hole series and I'm ready for the summer.









Just a little note in the end: I don't like describing characters and the plots of books because I don't like knowing any of it before I start reading. I like to say why I was prompt to read a book and whether it was a cardinal mistake or a total hit. So read all this just as impressions and frustrations of yours truly.

;)

*Serbian

It Happens...

It IS the dress I'd bought just before we left for Greece. Yes, yes, it was that day I went out to buy pajamas and a bathing suit and came home with the dress and shorts... Could've happen to anyone.

;)

*Serbian

Cats of Belgrade

;)

*Serbian

Leopards Love Boyfriend Jeans

 

Jeans - This my interpretation of the boyfriend jeans trend. It's been years since I bought jeans that are not skinny and dark wash or black, but then I got a trend itch and my boyfriend doesn't even wear jeans so I was on my own. So I go to a second hand store, choose the largest pair of jeans in the lightest wash and buy them. Turns out they are too big, so I take them in. Try them on again, turns out I look too much like Avrile Lavigne, what now... Add a leopard print silk blouse, turns out it's not so bad...

Blouse - I've recently decided I was old enough to properly wear a leopard print (I believe you need to be, long story). So once again I'm in a second hand store and I spot a good looking leopard print. As a real shopping predator I spot, I grab, I try on, determine it looks very good, determine the label says 100% silk (wow!), and price tag says less than 3€ (wow, wow)! The ladies who work in SHSs here always have the need to tell me how good my choice is so this time is no exception. The lady is admiring my purchase - It's so pretty and the fabric, beautiful, like silk! - I point out that it actually is silk and her eyes almost pop out and I think she wants to add a figure to that price tag, sorry too late. My silk leopard has a date with my boyfriend jeans.

Bag - And then one day I decide I don't need to carry everything I own with me every day. See, I like big bags, and I always add one more thing just in case I might once need it, and then I walk around slanted to the right. Solution, logical, buy a smaller bag, woman! So I turn to the World Wide Web for inspiration once again. WWW gives me almost a perfect candidate, with less than perfect price tag (but whatever I'll invest in quality dur dur). In the store I realize that quality is out of the window in this case, the bag looks cheap and is made of plastic. Very frustrated I get in the first no name shop on the way, buy a small decent looking bag at the third of the price, and we live happily together for the next few years.

And that is in short my very trendy life.

;)

*English

Weekend

Another weekend so are you resting properly? I hope you are aware that it's almost the end of the strawberry season in this part of the globe and that you are using the most of these last few moments we have with them.

So, if you are in a proper weekend mode, you have something to sip and/or snack on, or whatever weekend modus operandi you prefer, let me show you around the World Wide Web:

*  This is similar to living with a cat except you get a lot less support and much more open criticism (or simple ignore if you are lucky). 

*  Do you follow Severus Snape on Instagramu? No!? Scandal!!!
*  An interesting blog for some reading and eating inspiration.

;)

*Serbian

Leopard&Gold

My birthday was a couple of months ago and since then I've manged to buy leopard print sandals and a rose gold tote bag (:whaaaaaaaa?:). So, can you guess (again) if I've just turned 31 OR 81 and a half? 

;)

*Serbian

Sincerely, F.Scott Fitzgerald

If you like Fitzgerald, Gatsby and all that jazz, here's a great documentary. It's got 4 parts, about 15 minutes each and in the end you won't even notice it's been an hour, I promise. Below is part one, and here's two, three and four.

;)

*Serbian

Outlander

So, you haven't seen me in about a thousand years, but if I tell you a crazy story of what I've read recently, you'll forgive me, right? And tell me what you've been reading right, right?

I have this group of FB friends, my group of ladies who read, you know you probably have one. We started sharing our passion for reading a long time ago in high school and they're the ones I always trust to recommend the best books, movies, music, shows, anything. So, last winter I started hearing whispers of Outlander. I pay attention and ladies are fainting, all I hear is Jamie, Jamie... aaargh, aaaargh, hot hot hot.... I hear a book, I hear a BBC series. Finally, I ask timidly and they scream at me: 'START READING IT NOW, WOMAN!!!' Well, what am I to do but charge the Kindle, download all the books and start reading immediately.

And man, did they %!!*/## me! I'm reading and I'm befuddled. People, who is this woman, what the what is she doing and can I slap her? What's happening in this book?! How is she a WWII nurse and doesn't recognize blood? /**Spoilers ahead: And fine, she managed to accidentally go back in time a few hundred years, but why the why is she not looking for the f-ing rock that took her back and how does she casually get married (maybe she thinks she should be married in every century?) And did she just chat with the Loch Ness monster. /I get it, the dude from the past is super hot and a virgin, but this woman owes me a hair cut and some hair dye, because my hair got grey and then I started pulling it out reading this book. But I read it, just the first one though or I'd be bald now.

I read it and there were many face palms right until the very last sentences. I still had to finish it. I even watched a few episodes of the show so no one can say I didn't give it a fair chance, I did, ladies.

But you know I'm willing to admit it's not all that dark*. If I've been warned in time not to expect anything more than hot virgin male protagonist, some rolling around in grass and several caves, sword fights and wild riding, some flogging, and beautiful descriptions of Scotland, I'd say fine and read it without complaints. But my expectations were high and I was left disappointed and wanting to go to Scotland so, so much! So, my friends, you've been warned and only now I can allow you to go read Outlander (if you still want to and if you haven't already).


*Mostly because a long time ago I also read the first book of Twilight.

;)

*Serbian