Hi All,
Hope you are having a nice week.
Just to let you know that I have moved my blog to a new platform, so, if you’d like to continue to follow me, please click on the logo.
Hope to see you again.
Bests
Monika
Three things I learnt at Blogtacular 2016
Hi All,
I know I haven’t been writing for a while now, but the upcoming secretgardenhome wedding has taken over all my spare time, so I only Instagram to keep my blogging spirit alive.
However, I somehow managed to finally attend a Blogtacular event last weekend, and no regrets there.
I had such an amazing time and left with tons of inspiration for the upcoming months. I’ve been thinking of changing this blog into something a bit more art and culture focused, and now I’ve got confidence to do it. Probably after the wedding this summer, but I’m determined to do it.
Three things I learnt last weekend are:
The Blogging community is still alive and kicking
I went for an alternative Blogtacular Photowalk North organised by lovely Carie and met so many like-minded ladies, who are not only passionate about craft, creative arts and colour like me, but who are also really nice people whose company I truly enjoyed.
It was a great way to meet new people before the conference the next day. Special thanks to Elena who hung out with me for most of the day. She’s a very talented illustrator, so please check her work here.
Also, I finally met one of the fellow bloggers Mary from The Happy Flat. I’ve been a fan for a long time, but never met her before, so thanks to Blogtacular we finally got to know each other. So exciting!
Embracing ‘wabi sabi’ will save your sanity
The keynote speaker was Lisa Congdon, an artist, illustrator and author. Her presentation resonated with me greatly, and I learnt that it’s never too late to embrace your creative side and that we are continuously evolving and learning.
My favourite advice from her was about learning how to let go and live according to ‘wabi sabi’ – a Japanese way of living embracing imperfections and the temporary. Nothing lasts forever and we can find beauty and happiness in every object and moment regardless of its appearance.
Parla come mangi
Laura Jane Williams’s advice about writing was invaluable. My favourite was ‘parla come mangi’, in my favourite language Italian, which can be translated as ‘speak the way you eat’. Very true, don’t you think?
In order to be an authentic writer, you need to be genuine with yourself and your readers will be more likely to relate to your stories. She also said: ‘engage the reader in their own imagination’, and I love this quote. Not sure who said it in the first place, but it’s a good mantra for any aspiring writer.
Overall, Blogtacular was a fantastic experience, so thank you to all who made it happen, especially to a charismatic and full of energy Kat and her team.
Photo credit: secretgardenhome, Mollie Makes, Space for Butterflies and Design Curator.
Urban Jungle Bloggers: Botanical zoom
Hope you are enjoying this lovely and sunny Sunday! I can feel spring in the air, for sure.
Just popping in to join March Urban Jungle Bloggers .
A quick reminder, Urban Jungle Bloggers is a monthly series created by Igor and Judith who wanted to share their passion for green urban spaces with the fellow bloggers.
This month’s theme is Botanical zoom. Get closer…
Aren’t they beautiful?!
Feel free to join the fun with Urban Jungle Bloggers. The next one is in April.
Happy Sunday and have a lovely week!
Urban Jungle Bloggers: Jungle animals
Happy Weekend!
I know, I know, I haven’t been very active on a blogging side for a while. Very busy with plannig a wedding:))) I’m still Instagramming though, so you can find me there.
I couldn’t resist joining February Urban Jungle Bloggers .
A quick reminder, Urban Jungle Bloggers is a monthly series created by Igor and Judith who wanted to share their passion for green urban spaces with the fellow bloggers.
This month’s theme is Jungle animals. I had lots of fun with my jungle animals.
Hope you like it.
Feel free to join the fun with Urban Jungle Bloggers. The next one is in March.
Have a lovely weekend! Keep warm!
Urban Jungle Bloggers: Plants shelfie
Happy Sunday People!
I’m a bit late with my November post for Urban Jungle Bloggers . Better later than never.
A quick reminder, Urban Jungle Bloggers is a monthly series created by Igor and Judith who wanted to share their passion for green urban spaces with the fellow bloggers.
This month’s theme is Plants shelfie. I’ve decided to show off my kitchen window and a display of plants including colourful Christmas cactus, which came alive again. The secret garden is looking pretty good too, don’t you think?
Hope you like it.
Feel free to join the fun with Urban Jungle Bloggers. The next one is in December.
Have a lovely Sunday!
Urban Jungle Bloggers: Plants & flowers
Hope you are having a good day.
I’m off today, so feeling very relaxed and finally have time to take part in my favourite blogging monthly challenge: Urban Jungle Bloggers .
A quick reminder, Urban Jungle Bloggers is a monthly series created by Igor and Judith who wanted to share their passion for green urban spaces with the fellow bloggers.
This month’s theme is Plants&flowers. I’ve just taken a few pink roses from my front garden to create my combo. October has been such a lovely month, despite my deepest fears the darkness and rain would take over haha
Hope you’ll like it.
Feel free to join the fun with Urban Jungle Bloggers. The next one is in November.
Have a lovely week!
Urban Jungle Bloggers: Plants & art
Happy Sunday,
Not a bad weather for mid-September.
After 2 months of holiday, Urban Jungle Bloggers are back. Hurray!
A quick reminder, Urban Jungle Bloggers is a monthly series created by Igor and Judith who wanted to share their passion for green urban spaces with the fellow bloggers.
This month’s theme is Plants&art. Perfect combo for a modern art enthusiast, and plants’ carer. I was really busy recently (new job etc.), but finally got a chance to take part.
Hope you’ll like my interpretation of this month’s theme.
Feel free to join the fun with Urban Jungle Bloggers. The next one is in October.
Have a lovely day!
Inspiring places: Venice Biennale
Ciao,
How are you? I bet you’ve enjoyed the last summer sun over the weekend.
This post is for all art lovers!
Last week we went to La Biennale di Venezia, which was absolutely fantastic experience and one I’m going to repeat every 2 years from now on, promise made.
Last time I visited was 4 years ago, so I was very much looking forward to this visit. Venice is, for sure, one of the most beautiful cities in the world!
Unexpectedly, Venice wasn’t crowded, so we enjoyed our stay there, especially that the weather was incredible (30 degrees plus). I must say it was nice to cool down in numerous art pavilions and galleries, admiring many fabulous artists from around the world and their creations and installations.
This year’s art exhibition is called All the World’s Futures and is open to the public from May to November, so you still have time to visit.
This year, I much preferred the Arsenale venue than the Giardini one, but if you’ve got time, please don’t hesitate to see both. You probably need 2 days to explore both venues not risking an art-overload haha
My favourite bits from the Arsenale:
Bruce Nauman (for neon words)
Sarkis ‘Respiro’ (for neon rainbow)
Katharina Grosse (for colour and texture)
Joana Hadjidthomas and Kahil Joreige (for books and geometric abstract)
Pavilion of Georgia ‘Crawling Borders’ (for the use of glass and mirrors)
Kutlug Ataman’s ‘The portrait of Sakip Sabanci’ (great example of video art)
Georg Baselitz (for the inverted paintings)
Italian artists did incredible well this year, in my opinion. Just a few examples of the art work I liked:
The below is called ‘Latent combustion’ by Monica Bonvicini.
The second one was created by Marzia Migliora. Spot the blogger!
Also, I thought Indonesia did great this year. The installation is called ‘Voyage Trokomod’ and was created by Heri Dono, one of the leading Indonesian contemporary artists.
The idea is based on fusion of the Trojan horse with the Indonesian Komodo dragon. There’s lots to explore and you can touch some buttons ( I liked that).
In terms of the Giardini part of the Biennale, my personal favourites were: the Canadian pavilion (something different, a mini-journey through a half-finished shop);
The Russian pavilion, especially the below installation by Irina Nakhova.
Also, the Swiss pavilion was a bit of a surprise; by Pamela Rosenkranz ‘Our product’.
And at last, the most photographed pavilion this year…the Japanese one. Chiharu Shiota ‘The key in the hand’ is eye-catching and mesmerasing regadless which way you look at it.
Some useful hints&tips for those wishing to travel to Venice:
Venice at night is absolutely beautiful and empty; very safe to walk around, so put some music on and enjoy!
Get a Venezia unica city pass – it’s a great value for money and you can get a discount at the Biennale entrance.
If you’ve got time, go to Lido for a day, hire a bike and cycle to the beach (a swim in the Adriatic Sea is a must). Plus, if you like film, you can still catch The Venice Film Festival.
Food: Cannaregio district is the best. On Friday and Saturday, make a booking. Worth checking: Il Paradiso Perduto and Alle Due Gondolette (ask for a garden area).
Drinks: Dorsoduro district, Campo Santa Margherita, especially if you like Aperol spritz, I do.
Also, we had an amazing antipasti at Osteria Alla Bifaro there.
Have you been to the Venice Biennale before? Are you planning to go? I’d love to hear your thoughts.
I’m on Bloglovin
Garden transformation continues
Hello All,
Hope the weather is not bringing you down. What a horrible rainy day!
To cheer you up, I thought I’ll share with you some pictures of our garden.
As you know it’s still very much a work in progress, but it seems we are getting there slowly.
We are big fans of recycling and saving money therefore most of the materials we’ve been using are reclaimed.
We needed lots of bricks to build two raised beds as well as a patio at the back of the garden.
Initially, we used a social network called Streetlife to ask people for unwanted bricks and wood. We followed that with a note through neighbours’ doors.
We got an amazing response, which we are very grateful for! Definitely worth a try if you are looking for reclaimed building materials.
S and his dad have done an excellent job, don’t you think? We’ve started planting, so hopefully, with time, our garden will look like a typical English cottage garden.
The patio at the back is half-finished. We are planning to built a storage unit/barbecue area there.
Apart from creating a new green fence, we also sorted out a pathway leading to the garden. Very happy with the results!
Let me know what you think. Any advice about plants and creating a cottage garden is always welcome.
As some of you might know, I’ve been nominated for the Amara Interior Blog Awards 2015. It would be great if you could support me, so I can at least make a shortlist. Please vote for secretgardenhome. Thanks a million!
Have a good week!
secretgardenhome 