Spring Road

I thought you'd never come back, beautiful Spring! You came here in just two days, with happy turquoise skies and fresh green grass beside the road. The country side comes back to life, slowly. The trees are starting to show little buds on the bare branches - and birds are singing everywhere!

Near my dad's orchard, I spy the most beautiful peach trees in full bloom, hidden behind a huge chestnut tree, which is slow to unveil its palm-like leaves. And how could I resist to take a snap of yet another charming turquoise little house? I leave you with the promise of a new journey on the Spring road, under the sun :)

Hunting For Color: Turquoise Houses

Dear friends, I write this post with the utmost joy and delight. My passion for color is larger than life, I guess you all know it by now. Also, my love for turquoise made me act on my impulses and paint a turquoise accent wall in the living room (you can see it here if you missed it, by any chance). When I see turquoise in front of my eyes, my synapses glitch and endorphin (which is our natural "happiness hormone", don't think otherwise) starts running through my body. 

What you don't know is why I especially love turquoise. I didn't know it either, until I was involved in an accidental healing session, a while back. The reason why turquoise makes me so happy is.... drum rolls... I saw many turquoise houses in my childhood and I loved looking at them. In Romania turquoise houses are very common. We have a cheap affordable paint named "sinila" and it only comes in turquoise. So everybody can paint their house like that!

That brings me to the downside of this sweet childhood memory. On the way to my grandparents (who lived in different cities) we passed through many villages. And in the poorest villages, it was exactly the poorest houses (those crooked little houses which looked like they were about to tumble down any minute) that were painted turquoise. So there was zero chance that my grandparents would succumb to my tears and paint their house turquoise, as well :D

Anyway, enough with this confession. Let me present some turquoise houses from Romania. This first house, with the beautiful architecture, is actually a City Hall in another county. Notice the Romanian flag and the romantic lamp post!

I took this pic on my last holiday at the seaside. This is a very beautiful house, not poor at all. The square shape is killing me, I need a cubic house like that, one day... The owners must really love the color turquoise, just like me. Notice the matching turquoise paint on the wooden fence and the tiny chartreuse detail of the carpentry - boy, they must really love it all! As a bonus, the turquoise highlights the green leaves of all the small plants, bushes and trees from their garden!

This one is from the northern part of the country. Actually it's in the same village as these crazy colored beauties, which I presented in a previous post. I love the peacock blue paint on the door, such an intense accent! I am also jealous of the shabby look of the fence, made of reclaimed wood. The turquoise with the peacock blue and the copper highlights in the wood make a striking color combination!

Don't be alarmed, this is not an actual house. It is an abandoned fishermen shed by a seaside lake, where they used to keep their fishing tools. What I like the most is the rugged texture, with the paint peeling off the walls and everything. So does any of you like looking at turquoise houses, like I do?

Meeha Was Here

Photo Daniel Chiriches

Happy New Year for 2013, dear friends, I am back from the mountains and ready to rock! I may sound very dynamic right now, but the truth is that it is difficult to come back to Earth (literally) and get re-adjusted to the pace of "normal" life. On the top of the mountains, there is a different vibe. Time does not exist. Nor do deadlines. It's just you face to face with your freedom.

It took us a 7 hours drive to get from our home town to the base of the mountain. And we climbed on foot for 4 hours, more than 1,000 m altitude (from 700 m high to 1720 m, where Cabana Malaiesti is). At times, my feet would move automatically, on a little strip of icy snow, but it was all worth it. The sun had been shining every day, bathing the peaks in a blinding light.

You could see other mountain peaks in the distance and they all looked like the waves of a beautiful sea. But this is a sea of beauty in the clouds, close to forever. I am the kind of girl who puts on her mountain boots to celebrate New Year's Eve, which reminds me to guide you to my post last year (different mountain, 8 hours drive from home, 1858 m altitude).

Texture one: the blinding sun.

Texture two: the purest snow for you.

Texture three: the mountain rocks and me.

Texture four: a spring runs for more.

Texture five: a woolly dog digs my vibe.

Colored Houses

We interrupt this program for a special bulletin. The colored houses have invaded Romania. They are out in the streets and dangerously painted in candy shades of pink, salmon, peach, lavender and more dusty pinks. Beware of these colored houses, they can steal your heart in one single glance. Any citizens who spot these houses, please report back to Meeha Meeha immediately!

On The Road Again

I'm back, dear friends, and let me start by thanking you for all your good thoughts. I had a wonderful time! The weather was great, the company was awesome, we went swimming every day and I totally slipped into "vacation" mode. So much so, that I was too lazy to take any pics, after the first few hours on the road. But we crossed the beautiful Carpathian Mountains, so it would be a shame not to post the pics from when I was still in "action" mode.

                  

The evening sun sets over the river Mures, doubling the daily dose of clouds in the water.

As you can see, the trees were larger than life. They would make wonderful Christmas trees, wouldn't they?

And the little yellow tractor is working like a busy bee over the water. The colors were great together and the heavy architectural bridge was the perfect frame for it. Back to civilization!

PS: And the best part of this trip was on the road back home, as the interior design addict in me couldn't resist and bought a splendid traditional rug in Fall colors. Awesome :)

A Little Road Trip

I'm packing again for a little road trip. Yay! People should be forbidden to work at all during summer months. I mean, there should be a law making everyone take a looooong happy vacation :) Anyway, I am not at all at peace with having to work  for a living. Call me childish and immature and spoiled but this is the way I feel. So back to my road trip, it's just an extended weekend and I guess I will be back on Monday evening. Until then, big hugs, dear friends!

First Butterflies

I confess I bought my first camera this year, because of the blog. Before that, I took pics with my phone, which was OK. Except that it NEVER worked on birds or insects... So now I am singing with joy because these are my fist butterfly photographs ever :) We were near the forest and those little guys were so hungry that they didn't seem to mind my presence. They were too occupied drinking the nectar, I suppose. I took a gazillion pictures, come take a look:

The Heavenly Retreat

So you've seen the beautiful sea on my previous post and you thought "Lucky duck, it doesn't get better than this!" but the truth is that between the splashing / sunbathing sessions we stayed HERE. The heavenly garden. It was a secret retreat drowning in a sea of flowers, with a beautiful orchard in the back. We had a sour cherry tree, a peach tree and an apple tree right above our heads (and a falling tree hit me in the head :))) but it was worth it).

My definition of Heaven on Earth: a tiny little house hiding under a giant willow tree, ready for tea and stories in the hot afternoon. In case you're wondering, that is a trophy pike's head mounted on a bungalow wall. Pikes are ferocious predators and a delicacy when cooked by a Romanian local chef. My aunt Maricica made this dish in my childhood and I'm drooling just when I think of it.

Shell garlands everywhere, that was a must for a seaside retreat. There was so much greenery that one could easily forget where they were, on the hot windy sea shore. Then there was the case of the curious trees I've never met before and their wonderful pink flowers. I've tried my best to capture them, but unfortunately my camera and I had a slight disagreement concerning the definition of "focus" and "clarity". Oh well...

And this is the hardest past of my blogging side: I'm desperately trying to squeeze a gazillion pics into a not-so-long and not-too-boring post. So maybe a couple more and I'm done :)

Linking up to Funky Junk Interiors