Best of 2013. The Year's Review.

Here again, I am writing the review of my 2013. My diary survived the 2013, even if I did not post too often. Daily activities make impossible to show interesting posts and photos. Basically, the routine is not attractive to anyone. Meanwhile, this 2013 passed away soooo quickly. Important events happened this year, this kind of events you have always in your heart. An eminent event full of responsibility and maturity happened to me in this 2013. Afterwards, there was I  getting a new job, this summer. Yeah, you never have too much time to relax.
The other half of the year vanished in the speed of many deadlines, activities, events, work, work and work.

So, reviewing, every year has its charms and every year has its own impact on your personality. This year made me understand some things for myself, grow up and assume risks. The end of the year surprisingly brought me many pleasant surprises, professionally speaking. I only wish next year, my 2014, will be even more fruitful and even much more brilliant.
And you, did you check your 2013 list and did you write your list of expectations for 2014? I did, and this 2014 is promising to be just wonderful.

10 Things to do before/on Christmas

1. Reinvent your Christmas tree. Old or new, think about giving another garment to it by using different colors or hand-made details. Or, create a book Christmas tree, a bottle Christmas tree; you can find plenty of ideas.

2. Finish all your planned activities on your working calendar, otherwise the magic of holidays will be overlaid with work, work, work and you don't want that.

3. Find your downloaded Christmas songs folders and move them on the desktop.

4. Create a hand-made Christmas wreath from natural cinnamon, berries, dried fruits and pine-cones. Put it on the table or hang it on your entrance door.

5. Write your letter to Santa and buy presents!  Think about this in advance and wrap them differently than the previous year. Use name tags.
In case you have time, send Christmas cards to your friends abroad, I am sure they will be surprised.

6. Buy yourself a new knitted sweater Christmas themed for the evenings at home.

7. Fulfill the Christmas stocking with candies and sweets for the little ones coming to your place.

8. Prepare home-made Glühwein with fresh oranges. 

9. Help a child, a family in need or simply a gramma begging on the street.  

10. Have a splendid Christmas near your family and friends.

Christmas mood & inspiration

Sărbătorile de Crăciun se apropie cu pasi rapizi, cît ai clipi din ochi o sa fie curînd şi Revelionul şi apoi o să ne trezim noi, muritorii de rînd, devastaţi sau încîntaţi de ideea unui nou început de an. De fapt, în fiecare an se intîmplă acelaşi lucruri, sărbătorile rămîn aceleaşi. Contează însă schimbările din viaţa ta, locuinţa ta, realizările, eşecurile şi, cel mai important probabil, scopurile pentru noul an. În fond, oamenii dragi noua sunt cei fac sărbătorile de Crăciun memorabile, deosebite şi altfel. 

Aşadar, anume pentru oamenii dragi nouă propun să începem cu decorarea locuinţelor, împodobirea bradului şi pregătirea meniului pentru sărbători. Tot ce inspiră nuante de alb-cald, galben, roşu şi miros de brad îmi trezeşte dorinţa de a meşteri ceva nou pentru Crăciun. Optez însă, pentru un brad artificial, că totuşi numărul brazilor taiaţi anual este usturător de mare. Mai jos gasiţi cîteva linkuri cu inspiraţie şi idei utile pentru decorarea locuinţei.

Eu am colectat cîteva fotografii din arhiva mea personală din anii trecuţi care sa inspire căldura feeriei de Crăciun pentru fiecare din voi!
p.s. Ahh, ce-mi mai place mie mirosul de vin fiert şi gustul de ghimbir!

And now some ideas about what you can DIY for those you love:

Packing tips via casa di Falconi

Interesting arrangements and letter on the door via Our Unexpected Journey

Table arrangement via Isabella Smith 

Christmas wrapping ideas by Findinghomeonline

Via Cherry Heart

Via Pretty Handy Girl

Via 17 Apart  

Via Province Design

  And you, are you ready for Christmas?

If you still lack ideas for wrapping gifts check out the ports made by How to nest for less. They have great cards for packing gifts here, here and here. This one below is my favorite :)

Collections

Some people collect magnets, some people collect cups, others- dolls, spoons or shoes. My collection counts a small number of ceramic and wooden souvenir shoes which mostly friends bring me from their travels. My mother bought the first pair of souvenir wooden shoes from Amsterdam more than 10 years ago. Since then, I started collecting them. Surprisingly, I also found and bought two unique pieces of these in Chisinau. Besides, collecting memories from travels, they are good for keeping small things like jewellery inside.

And you, what are you collecting from travels?

From Corsica

From Yard Sale, Chisinau

From Amsterdam

From Paris

From Yard Sale, Chisinau

From Strasbourg

Pamukkale- a must see

Pamukkale is a MUST-SEE. They say if you didn't visit Pamukkale, you haven't been in Turkey. 

True or not, Pamukkale is a spectacular place due to its breathtaking panoramas. First time in my life I have seen to much whiteness around. The bizarre calcium cliff bathing pools are the reason of the white surroundings which are part of the UNESCO World Heritage. Control regulations require removing your shoes before stepping on the immaculate travertines. This fact did not disturb me at all, because the real charm of the place lies in experiencing these travertines with naked feet. Some people even bathe into the blue water of the travertines. Actually there is also Cleopatra's thermal pool with mineral water. But if you have limited time, I would not recommend going to Cleopatra's pool as you will miss great places around. Don't be fooled into thinking you only need a couple of hours - you're right on top of a whole historic sight to rival any ancient city so take time to wander around it. We started our trip by climbing the hill to the the great Roman amphitheater of Hierapolis which lies just above the travertines. It should not be dismissed from visiting because later on, it becomes impossible to climb the hill in that heat. Afterwards, we visited Cleopatra's pool of course and tasted the mineral water from the source. But we did not bathe into the Cleopatra's pool,  instead- the travertines were our focus point and they were worth seeing! After several hours staying in direct sun, the Garden is a beautiful place to refresh, rest in the shade of pine trees and oleanders and admire the whole view. The Hierapolis Archaeology Museum remained, unfortunately, unvisited by us.

The disadvantage of our trip was that it took us some time to drive by bus and then to walk around under the scorching sun. 4 bottles of water were not enough for us, we got sunburned a little bit.. The place was quite crowded, but on the other hand I do not remember any important monuments in the world which are not crowded by tourists, do you? 

Take a look also at the Vacation Recap post- here
Thank you for reading!
V.