11/29/2013

Make my Friday, Apollonos str. , city center



I could not resist to put this 
photo in the beginning of this
post because Apollonos str. is 
one of the most gourmet streets
of Athens.

This Friday is going to be a 
wonderful day (that is according
to the weather channel) so it 
would be a good opportunity for  one more walk in the city center (my beloved city center), especially if you can have a late lunch also. There is always something very delightful in a late Friday lunch....

Let's start then

 FURIN KAZAN - yeaaahhhh!!!!
It is my favorite Asian restaurant. Very good and tasty dishes,
friendly people to help you decide, beautiful smiling crowd.
The only problem, the smell on your clothes after you leave the 
place, unless you wash them the next day, the smell will follow 
you for the next six months. Well....nobody's perfect.


 Just next to FURIN KAZAN proudly stands the kingdom of alcohol and
spirits. You can buy your wine or beer or whatever you want in a 
very good price. I like the traditional kind of style, this shop 
sends me back to the 80s, so young and so free....eh sorry, yes.



 This is INDIAN KITCEN, a new arrival (i think it is only a year or two since it opened). Amazing dishes, very well flavored, if you like Indian cuisine this is the right place to be.


 If you are a meat lover or a fish lover or a traditional dairy
product lover or a lover in general please have a look at this amazing shop, every time i cross the road in front of it i want 
to buy everything, run home and start cooking,(not that i do this...
every time...).



 NOODLE BAR is a chain of Asian food restaurants in Athens , I'm sorry i do not know if they are ''noodling'' in other Greek cities too.Tasteful dishes, small and cosy space,reasonable prices, friendly people. It is also a take away.


 NATIONAL DRY-CLEANERS, i don't know why i like so much this place,
maybe because here they clean aaaaall the wedding gowns of Athens,
you can have a look at the windows if you don't believe me. Also it 
is a good solution after you have visited Furin Kazan.




 And finally this old fashioned barber shop together with the 
barber himself it is the perfect Friday treat for every respectfull
gentleman.

Ok, thats it.
Have a wonderful weekend.

Love, K.
  

11/28/2013

Sibella Court




'' I love print. I love the immediacy.I love being able to choose eco-friendly options with a range of interesting finishes.
I love that you can do it yourself and that you can completely overhaul, renew, or refresh a space in an afternoon's work.''

The words above belong to Sibella Court.
She is an Australian designer and home stylist. She also owns a very 'different'shop called 'the society inc'.She has written amazing books and she is very young for having done all these but as you can see she is very talented.

Sibella is a world traveler and thanks to her history degree -yes,
she owns that too- she has the ability to combine research,
travel and inspiration into projects that are unique, magical
and unexampled.

She claims to  be part Gypsy, part Pirate -  a theory yet 
to be disproved.

Love, K. 






11/27/2013

Christian Dior



Every Wednesday cocoandsilk will display beautiful photos
from  old and new fashion designers because beauty is inside 
but outside also, and beauty makes us feel calm, kind, makes
the world look better. 

It doesn't matter if we can not afford to own a Dior piece
it is not about owning, it is about enjoy life and be surrounded
by positive feelings. So...

  Christian Dior was an iconic designer (a fashion artist).
Born in Granville Normandy (1905), was the second child of a
wealthy family.

His desire was to be an architect but he studied to be a diplomat
as his family wished (Ecole de Sciences Politiques).

His career starts when he sells some of his sketches to various
fashion houses.

Dior decides to join the army and fight during the World War II.

He opens his own fashion house in Paris in 1946.
The rest is history.

Love, K.



 DIOR'S FAMILY HOUSE


  

Dior Fashion House







First fashion show in Moscow 1959


Exhibition of contemporary art based on Dior, in Shanghai  






 and... from then till today



























11/26/2013

The mulpiple faces of femininity


The dictionary defines femininity
as a team of traditional(?)
characteristics held to be feminine or as a condition (?).

Without a doubt it is an unsuccessful definition.

Being feminine does not have to 
do with tradition - unless we call
tradition the social obligations and gender roles and how old 
fashioned is this?

I believe, femininity it is more 
something that has to do with soul,perhaps it is the softer side
of humans, the kinder one, even though being a woman doesn't have 
to do with 'sweetheart' smiles.

Today we are lucky enough - at least in the western culture - to have the freedom to express what we think, feel, want and how we want to act outside the social beliefs - at least up to a point.

A 'grey' situation that still holds on even in the modern times we live is the negative sexual attention women sometimes receive. This is why a woman is called a 's--t' for having freedom to be with different partners while a man is a charmer (the George Clooney syndrom - sorry George).

Women have come a very long way and have opened a new path for the 
next generations. 

The important thing is to feel nice with yourself, to feel free to express what and who you are. And this i believe is the most feminine characteristic of all.

Love, K.









P.S  THESE AMAZING PHOTOS ARE BY PHOTOGRAPHER JIMMY NELSON
FROM HIS WORK 'BEFORE THEY PASS AWAY', 
TAKEN FROM YATZER.COM
HAVE A LOOK














 

11/25/2013

Tamara de Lempicka



Tamara Gorska was born in Warsaw in 1898
the daughter of a wealthy family.

She married Tadeusz Lempicki in 1916.
Notwithstanding the ghastly conditions
being suffered by the mass of the Russian
people, the Lenpickys were living a life 
of luxury. Following the October Revolution
Tamara and her husband emigrate to Paris 
where she takes painting lessons from
Andre Lhote.

The Gallerie Collete Weil sells her first 
paintings .

1925 The first Art Deco exhibition is in 
Paris. Tamara makes a name for herself as an art deco artist.
American fashions magazines like Harper's Bazaar begin to notice her.

Her daughter Kizette goes to Italy to study the classical masterpieces with Tamara. Marquis Sommi Picenardi becomes her lover. Tamara meets Gabriel d'Annunzio , currently number one novelist, dramatist and lover.

In 1927 'Kizette on the balcony' wins the first prize of the 
Exposition Internationale des Beaux Arts in Bordeaux.

1929 Voyage to America. Tamara continues to work during the 
Grate Financial Crisis, her works are exhibited in various Paris galleries.

1933 Getting married to Baron Kuffner. 
Exhibitions in America and Paris.

She moves to Houston in 1963 to be close to her daughter.

1974 She moves to Guernavaca in Mexico.

1980 Tamara de Lempicka dies in her sleep on 14th of March.
Following her mother's wish Kizzete scatters her ashes over
the crater of Mt. Popocatepetl.

Ambiguous, yes. Free, absolutely. A legend, without a doubt.

Tamara de Lempicka, le belle Polonaise, the star of the interwar
years, had all that it took to symbolize her era.

Love, K.





 
 

11/22/2013

Make my Friday, Nikis str. city center

 


Friday is a good day.
Especially for the Athenians the weather is an ally for small 
city tours. So, Every friday Cocoandsilk is going to have 
a walk in the streets of Athens.

One of the streets at the city center i love to walk  around is Nikis str.
In there you can find:

Avocado coffee shop, a small and warm place for coffee, tea and organic food from around the globe. Friendly and polite staff. Amazing, i can never have enough.

Just next to the 'Avocado' is the organic vegetable shop 
'4 Seasons'. Fresh and bio products.














 'Wine Story' is a place where you can find good wine from 
around the world. Prices....not so good.

Another traditional grocer store. I love it. Watch the flags....

'Koi' Sushi restaurant.

'Amandine' for bagels, nice eh?

'Buenos Aires' coffee place, for an afternoon talk.

And all the amazing buildings of the city center.

See you...

Love, K.