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This is something a lot of us seem to forget sometimes, and I am happy to remind you and myself of this true statement. Thank you Victoria for inspiring me yesterday with these words. In the spirit of these thought I am making plans and goals to live my life with more intentions, and keeping this in mind I think that journey will be a bit easier.

To read more about the quote from the book and the author go here and here. And buy the book here. I hope you will like what these amazing women have for you. I think this book is amazing and I plan to read it.

For more tips and tricks on living with intention visit lovely Jess.

Have a lovely day <3

Love,

Agy.

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Life management: making things easier

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Now more than ever time management is of the essence for most people. We lead such busy lives and many people feel overwhelmed at times. It is a great accomplishment when we can balance all aspects of our lives perfectly together that we feel accomplished, fulfilled and happy. But sometimes that is not the case. And on top of everything feeling dried out and uninspired can really bring me down.

Having little helpers and knowing you are not the only one struggling can lift some of the heavy burden you are carrying. And reading fellow bloggers and their tips and tricks helps me to stay motivated and on the bright side of life.

I would like to share with you some inspiring posts from lovely Jess Lively, who continues to amaze and inspire me every day. Thank you. So, I mentioned time management, I truly suck at that. I am so forgetful and distracted all the time, I should be wearing sewed post-its on my clothes just to keep up with everything. There are so many apps for lists and to-do plans etc. I miserably and quite amazingly fail with each and every one of them. Now I have found a great recommendation at Jess`s blog, Teux Deux. Feel free to visit her blog and read the post in question. She posted pics and amazingly detailed explanations why this really might work and help. Even me. Here is to hoping!!

With our time management apps ready (steady-GO!) it important to have several things in mind to train ourselves to better time and life quality. Again, Jess has some amazing tips and advice. When to do something important (but not urgent) is an inspiring post about how to program your inner clock to be more responsive when it comes to recognizing that right time in our daily schedule to do the right thing that will pay off. For Jess that time is early in the morning, for someone else might be some other time during the day but what is important is that you recognize that time and use it effectively.

„But I can say that getting that work done early is not only making me more effective elsewhere in my business, but it also make me feel successful that day – no matter what else happens.“

 – Jess Lively.

And doesn`t that make us feel great and motivated to do more, and to be proud of ourselves and int he end, it might help us to get more organized and thus have more free time at the end of a day/week/month?! And yes, it is that easy, and I too am surprised (as Jess was too) that we didn`t realized and thought of that before/on our own. But no worries, it is not too late to incorporate this little advice into your life. Just be persistent.

Jess concludes her post with these smart and inspiring thoughts:

„Though this idea may not be ideal for everyone, particularly those with a full-time job or children, this concept could be adapted within a variety of schedules. Anything that is easy to do and also easy not to do, is easiest to do first.“

Now you just need to make this a habit and don`t forget to be grateful. Thank you Jess.

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`tis the season, winter is here

 Yesterday evening first flakes of snow came upon our town. It wasn’t much, most of it disappeared in just minutes, but it was wonderful as ever to stand and just stare at the dark skies, watching it fall, so quietly, peacefully. I am no lover of cold but snow always makes me so calm and peaceful.



This morning, sun came up and it is so bright, shining like crazy, so I don`t really see any chance of snow again tonight. But you never know. There is always hope. Snow always brings a child in me, I remember last winter I spent 3 hours alone building a snowman in my back yard (which is interestingly a front yard in Croatia) and I can`t wait to do it again this year. Temperatures are low (around zero +/- this morning) and perfect for snow. As you can see warm scarves and gloves are out.

These are some shots from last year. Can’t wait. Although when I remember it gets till -18 degrees, I do have some second thoughts.

photos - my instagram

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Art report: New York + London // A Collection Of Double Exposures By Daniella Zalcman

Two of the most photographed cities in the world, New York and London, photographed through the eye of Daniella Zalcman, in double exposure. She is an established NY photographer who moved to London. Her architectural background gave her the idea for this new project. NY+L. Love it!

photo source

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DIY - newspaper and eiffel tower kitchen curtains

Some time ago my husband and I decided to refurbish our dogs bed, which is a lovely small sofa we initially bought for our home office, but then our dog decided he liked it more than his new dog-bed. So, we bought this fabric on eBay and thought it would be more firm, thicker and more suitable for dog bed. If nothing more durable.

But in the end, this turned out to be a perfect fabric for curtains, which were due for a makeover as well.

And this Saturday evening I felt inspired to do a little DIY for our kitchen windows.

I am very satisfied with the result.

What do you think?

I have some fabric left, and I think another DIY project is in order. Cushins maybe?

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9 Rules for a Simpler Day

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Know What’s Important

Visualize Your Perfect Day

Say No to Extra Commitments

Limit Tasks

Slow Down

Mindfully Single-task

Batch Smaller Tasks, Then Let go

Create Space Between

Sometimes we all get overwhelmed by our plans and chores, our jobs and relationsgips. Then it is time to stop, revise the situation and reboot. If you are looking for simple ways to simplify your day/life, read this inspiring article. Its simple. Zen.

Have a nice day :)

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... just love

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Daily Motivation

 

 

Thanky you Berry for everyday motivation.

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I got 99 problems but this moment ain’t one

photo source

Such wonderful, wonderful words from Jess Lively.

Very inspiring and so true. We really have to be thankful for all our moments, with or without problems and train ourselves to recognize true "problems" in life. That way we can avoid spending our time, energy and focus on wrong things, false problems and be more focused on positive, truly important things in life.

These words are from her post about a book The Power of Now. You should check out her blog, she is an inspiring writer and enterprenuer.  Her work is already well know in the comunity and well respected as well. She also writes for TDL, I actually find her through her post there and followed links to her amazing blog.

 

Love,

Agyness

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Calm.com / meditation in your pocket

A Shower of Blessings

Few days ago I found a recommendation (somewhere online) for Calm.com app, and of course downloaded it right away. I have just had the opportunity this morning to try it out.

Although exercises or better said sessions are for more relaxed times and spaces than walking down the street to work, but I couldn`t resist.

While going to work this morning I was overwhelmed by a negative sensation of aggravation and anxiety so I turned the app on and just let go to the soothing voice of the lady doing the session and wonderful meditation music.

Even though it would be ideal to enjoy these sessions at home, listening this really helped me to become calm and to let go of that knot in my stomach.

These are some of the themes available in the app, each has its own theme song, made by Kip Mazuy (see the link at the beginning of this post).

You can choose to go through sessions on your own or to be guided. Also you can choose between different sessions by emotion, or to say it more correctly goal or focus.

Some sessions are free but most of them are paid.

One of first and free sessions is the one called "7 steps of Calm". You can discover the simple truth behind becoming calm throught 7 sessions of relaxation from 2 to 30 minutes - for whenever you need to calm and center yourself or if you just need a break from your busy day.

I have never thought that I would even consider using an app for something like this. To be totally honest I never thought I would meditate either. Ever!

But I am glad I have discovered this app, not because it made me a yogi, or a master of meditation but because it showed me that I could use meditation, relaxing this way and becoming more centered and aware of my being.

Also, it made me want to learn more about this subject. Now I have a will and wish to be introduced in real secrets and knowledge of meditation and becoming one with myself.

I have to admit, I have always been skeptic of meditation and yoga, I have tried it on occasion of two but never stuck to it because it was "to slow". Apparently my imbalance and inner chaos never allowed me to even start finding and discovering what I needed. Now I feel it is the time. Perfect time.

If you have suggestion, advice or just anything to share, please do.

I would be happy to listen and learn.

Have a nice day.

Love,

Agyness

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TDL: the daily love

TDL/The daily love is a website that spreads so much love, positive thinking and inspires people in words that cannot do it justice. So I need to share this. I`ve been reading slowly and enjoying every post word by word, being inspired by authors and community members with their comments.

The article that inspired me today was the one about how to find and communicate with a higher self. I can say I know nothing about the subject, and I was so amazed and inspired with readers comments below the post, just couldn`t stop reading. I even took a note of a book recommended in comments, looked it up in my library, and plan to pick it up when going home from work. The book is called The Artist's Way, by Julia Cameron.

Another great article from TDL, is one from Mastin Kipp about fears and how we need to overcome them, take charge and do what we want and dream of right now! The time is perfect. We all have fears, small or big, scary or just annoying, we all tend to get overwhelmed by them from time to time. They tend to slow us or totally

incapacitate people in pursuing their hopes and dreams. I am often bound by my fears of doing some changes in my life mainly regarding my work. I am so miserable doing what I am doing now and when finally an opportunity presents I tend to be all negative about why should they hire me, although I am qualified for the job, or I just start constructing irrational reasons why taking this job wouldn`t pay out in the end.

Recently I have decided that I am done with that kind of thinking and approaching to life. I got only one to live and I fully intend to live the rest of it much happier. I know I am only 30 now, but panta rei and you never know when your number is up. Such a gloomy thought but it is true. So, to make the best of it from now on I go by one true and simple premise -  YOLO!

Changing, or better to say – adjusting my mindset to positive thinking can be very challenging at times. I get caught up in “reality” thoughts and stumble at times, but in the end because I truly believe that positive approach can change my life for better I adjust this “reality” to be more positive and inspiring.

Another article regarding fears that sometimes paralyzes us in living our dreams and how to change that point of view for better and more fearless is this one written by Christine Hassler.

“What If It Was All Made Up?” is the main premise of her article and she explains the crucial difference between real (much needed in some situations) and fake fear and how to recognize them. Empowering and inspiring, the article is just the right one I needed to boost me today. Why? Because today I went for THE job interview, and although it went very very well I still catch myself throughout the day thinking all those “what-ifs?!”

She made a great point on that:

We scare ourselves with questions like: What if it doesn’t work out like I want, what if I fail, what if I lose, what if I get hurt, what if I can’t handle it, what if I get rejected? Do any of these “what if” questions sound familiar to you? If they do, you are spooking yourself unnecessarily. You have absolutely no proof that any of your “what if” questions are accurate because you are just making it all up!

Boosted by their positive ness and love they share I think I will share TDL wisdom more often here with you.

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Daily Motivation

Yes, I work out. I dance too.
I do it to relieve stress and because I love to dance, to work out.
I have always been engaged in some kind of a sport so naturally I need it to function well.
Above all I do it because I believe that it makes me healthier and happier. Complete.

So this "Daily Motivation" section will be a sum of daily motivation that motivated me to keep going, to do better. And all thaks to one and only - the Berry

via

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Inspiration of the day: Covering Lolita

Did you know that this famous book had 185 book and media covers from 37 countries and 56 years. That is amazing, if you ask me. I had browsed the gallery and was left in a serious dilemma - which one I like the most? It is a tough choice to pick just one. So I decided to show you several covers I liked the best, divided in two categories – the ones that I loved the most no matter how they depicted the theme and the ones that did a great job in suggesting what the book is about.

These are ones I think show perfectly what the book is about. 

And this is my personal favorite.

simple and to the point.

Be sure to browse them all and read this interesting article on the subject.

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Thank you note

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While thinking about the title of this post, so many thoughts went through my head, twirlling around inside my mind, with burning desire to say all at one. But a simple "thank you" is the one that really sums it up. I have so much to be grateful for in my life, but this post`s title goes to one thing in particular. Few weeks ago I have submitted my resume to a particular company for a very special job opening. I have been craving a change in my career for so long, but it was hard and I was becoming very negative and depressed about it. Accordingly I was considering this to be my last chance to do it. The resume was sent 18 days ago, I waited and waited for that call. A friend of mine got that same job in the same company several months ago and said that it took them about 3 weeks to call her. I was counting the days, marked that 31 Oct in red. Looking at it, when my number will be up! On another note, a different friend, my sensei, she was trying to teach me some secrets to The Secret.

"Nothing can come into your experience unless you summon it through persistent thoughts."

At first I was a bit skeptical and scared. Scared of what was really going to happen with that job and I was worried if I was to eager in wishing it that I will be very disappointed. I never thought in a way that, what if – I got the job? Let’s not be hasty. I am not there yet but a wonderful thing happened yesterday. While reading before mentioned book The Secret, the part of asking the Universe for what you really want, the phone rang. I was reading the part where you focus on your wish and you say thanks for everything you have to acknowledge that you really do value all the blessings in your life.

"What do you really want? Sit down and write it out on a piece of paper. Write it in the present tense. You might begin by writing, "I am so happy and grateful now that..." And then explain how you want your life to be, in every area."

I am really thankful for everything I have, my life, health, my family and friends, my animals and all the “little” things that sometimes are material but make this wonderful life a bit more beautiful. Don`t get me wrong, I am not saying that material things are important in life and crucial in any matter, but I would be lying if I said different. It would be hypocritical of me to claim I only need spiritual non-material things to be happy. I do enjoy a pretty dress and amazing shoes. Playing dress-up, eating delicious fancy food or traveling. But in the end, I do realize that what is truly important in life is love. Honesty. Friendship. Positive thinking. Helping others. Being there for others and supporting them. Cherishing time with loved ones and showing them how much they mean to me. While writing all these thing down on a paper, and having my dream job in mind, they called and asked me to come for an interview. I know I am not still there but I am so happy. So grateful. And most of all so inspired. Believe that it's already yours. Have what I love to call unwavering faith. Believing in the unseen. I had nothing to lose by believing it would come true. I asked for it. And it is coming to me. Some may see this just to be a coincidence. Feel free to do so, to think so. But what is the harm of thinking and doing positive? I am not saying that I was magically served what I wanted, I am very qualified for that job, but I just made sure I vibrated on a frequency I needed to really get it.

"See the things that you want as already yours. Know that they will come to you at need. Then let them come. Don't fret and worry about them. Don't think about your lack of them. Think of them as yours, as belonging to you, as already in your possession." Robert Collier (1885-1950)

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10 pins Saturday

Browsing pinterest is always so much fun and at times is hard to stop. 

I think pinterest is one of the best things of this digital era, one of the best platforms internet has to offer.

No matter what I am looking for, a photo, recipe, post inspiration or just to enjoy procrastination, pinterest is a place to go.

Feel free to visit my boards and follow if you like.

1/2/3/4/5/6/7/8/9/10

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Just begin (even if mercury retrograde tries to mess up your plans!)





… and never give up!

Even after enduring so many computer crashes and technical difficulties while preparing pictures for this post.  I had my mind set on publishing a post today from last night and I decided to do it no matter the cost. I am happy to announce that I won! The machine lost.

While reading and browsing my favorite blogs I took a peek of Gala`s blog. Since she is such an inspiring person there is a lot to be read, but to me, two posts were of significance. One about mercury retrograde (explains a lot of my troubles from earlier today) that helped me to understand the world around me a little better so I could adjust myself to stress accordingly. The other one inspired the tone of this post.

I am totally and absolutely caught up in analysis paralysis. From head to toe and about everything I do. And because of that I decided to go crazy and just write. Just publish this post that will be just one of many, and probably seem silly in few months. But as Gala says “Just begin”.

Since I have been out and about the blogosphere for almost a decade, and although I never had a blog this personal and focused on writing and expressing yourself through more than pretty pictures (and in English for that fact!), I have spent a lot of time reading other blogg(er)s and couldn`t help myself not to focus on design first. Now when that is all set (it was easy-peasy this time, surprise!) I need to let go and just begin.

Thank you again Gala for encouraging and inspiring. Thank you world for being so wonderful and full of opportunities.

Love,

A.

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Welcome & Hello

Hello!
Welcome to "Bring your own disco ball" blog.

First times are always a bit awkward  and although I have written my first blog post ever in 2004, and had several different blogs in this past (almost a) decade, I really feel a bit overwhelmed. With a hint of stage fright. Its like writing a super important speech for a great audience.

Yes, I am nervous. But, I have decided it is time to embark on this journey called lifestyle on line diary. Who knows where this will take me. I am sure I will meet so many wonderful and inspiring people.

I have been contemplating the idea of creating this kind of blog for a while, feeling excited while setting all this up. Its like buying a new (paper) diary, cracking it open and preparing to embellish the first page with your most inspiring words in your best hand writing.  Getting some flashbacks, right?

After browsing the web for some inspiration for my first post I have found an article that suggested to unplug and just be one with yourself, pen and paper, no gadgets of any kind. Just you and your thoughts. Leave it all behind you and pour it all out. At the time I was at work and couldn't wait to get home to be in my safe place all alone. It turned out to be just the thing I needed. I re-wrote and rebuild the blog and the post.

I think this is it. This can go live.

While doing my daily reading and browsing interesting and inspiring people, I found an amazing post with a great title that became my blog name. Thank you Gala. I hope this little diary of mine will live up to its inspiration.

Can't wait to see this project grow and develop into something I can be proud of. Wish me luck.

Don't forget to bring your own disco ball <3

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