Made with love ... in Slovenia

There are many talented artists, family enterprises, craftsmen in Slovenija. As an artist, I support investing in people, family companies, local economy.

If you are looking for a handmande gift or made / designed in Slovenija, there are plenty pretty and sweet things, perfect for gifts.

Pretty, sweet, made in Slovenia

If you are looking for gifts, for someone who appreciate and love good smell in his home, Perger house is a perfect place to find something. I assure you, those scented energy candless smell so nice! They are crafted from natural bee's wax, contain also a unique perfume and they are one of a kind! They have a store in Slovenj Gradec, the peace messenger city, but their products are also avalable to order online or you can find them on Christmas market in Ljubljana in December.

I bet you have someone in your family who's a coffee drinker 😉. Polonapolona 's cups are perfect gift for them! You can find something even for rockers! 😉 Check her page and see for yourself!

You can order them online (check her website!) or you can find them in many stores in Slovenia. One of them is Ika where they will also wrap your gifts perfectly! 😍 

Beautifully wrapped gifts from Ika

Beautifully wrapped gifts from Ika - Handmade in Slovenia ;)

Are you a chocolate lover? 😊 I adore Lucifer chocolate! The company is based in town Velenje, where they have chocolate factory and a small coffee shop where you can buy their chocolate. Yum! Check out their web page and do try the sweetness of Slovenija! 

Maybe you are looking for a cosy slippers? This year I got these beautiful red Santa slippers 😊, made by Urh, perfect for festive December time.

Or maybe handmade slippers by UrsaNina! You can order online, they sell worldwide! 

If that someone you're looking a gift for likes unique, handmade porcelain, maybe you can find something at Catbriyur. Tea cups, coffee cups, plates, bells, jewelry,... Their store is in Ljubljana near the Town Hall on the left side, or you can visit them in Kotlje or order online as well.

Pretty, sweet, made in Slovenia

Catbriyur handmade porcelain

 I will add more ideas soon, so check for update! 🎄🎅🎈🎉 You'll get plenty of ideas for next Christmas or maybe birthday gifts.

Magical December in Ljubljana / Things to do in Ljubljana in December

The most wonderful time of the year is finally here! 😍🎄 Magical December lights glow in the snow and Christmas markets are now open. Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia has turned into a fairytale city.

Slovenska hiša / Slovenian house offers 100% Slovenian origin dishes and drinks

Ljubljanica in Prešernov trg / Ljubljanica and Prešeren square

Tromostovje in Prešernov trg / Three bridges and Prešeren square

In December there are lots of Christmas markets, where you can buy beautiful handmade 🎁gifts. One of the largest is on both sides of the river Ljubljanica. On Breg and Pogačar square. Those little, decorated green houses offer you really nice handmade gifts such as caps, gloves, glass jewelery, wooden ornaments, sweets and even Slovene culinary delights. Buy something nice for the ones you love or treat yourself in Perger house, The art of pyrex glass, Handmade puppets by Aleksandra Bregar, House of wood, Honey House, UrsaNina, and many many more! And if you get thirsty or hungry, there's plenty of stands with mulled wine, warm mead and tasty food. If you want to taste everything slovene, make sure you visit Slovenska hiša (Slovenian house)! ;)

Perger 1757 

Izlakar - Germ; The art of pyrex glass

Pyrex glass snowflakes earrings by Izlakar - Germ

Aleksandra Bregar handmade puppets

House of Wood

Honey House

UrsaNina

Natural size straw Christmas crib

You have much to see in Ljubljana and this year, park Zvezda (Star) has been changed into one of the largest ice skating parks in Europe. »Ice Fantasy« has opened on November 25th and will remain open until January 7th.

Ice Fantasy Ljubljana

If you are a fashion diva 👗, maybe you will find something for yourself in Cliché, which is a clothing store and everything is designed in Slovenia. Cliché store is also open in New York.

Cliché store

There is also another store by the river Ljubljanica fashionistas might be interested in, the Zoofa store, which is Cooperative of Slovene designers.

Zoofa

Do you have any wishes? I do! ;) Tell them to The goodfairy at City square (in front of the Town Hall)! 

The goodfairy

Or maybe you want to meet Grandpa Frost? Check the schedule, when he arrives from North! 

A perfect romantic getaway in Slovenija

October is the most coloful month in Slovenija if there is not too much rain. Summer is waving goodbye and frisky autumn is playing with your wardrobe ;)

The landscape is magnificent! From seaside and sunny Portorose to beautiful caves of Postojna and Škocjan, high mountains – Alps, mysterious, foggy lakes of Bohinj and Bled and vast fields of Prekmurje. You can easily fall in love with those views, I promise you! ;)

If you love vineyards and you are a fan of good wine, perfect views and of course an endless romantic soul… then keep reading, I've got a perfect one day trip for you! ;)

Špičnik is a settlement in municipality Kungota, where tourist farm Dreisiebner is located. 

They offer accomodation, really good local cuisine, wine tasting in their wine cellar and a spectacular view of surrounding vineyards with a peculiarity, the scenic road – heart shaped road. Sip a glass of their traminer and enjoy the view with your beloved one. I love the sweetness and full taste of their traminer! ;) 

View from a tourist farm Dreisiebner, the heart shaped road

Wine tasting at the tourist farm Dreisiebner

Us and the vineyards in the background

View from a tourist farm Dreisiebner

If you are hungry for more, then hit the road towards municipality Beltinci and visit the Island of love in settlement Ižakovci. (Unfortunately their website is in slovene language, but if you have any questions about it, do ask, I will gladly help you.) Take a walk by the river Mura, cross the lovers bridge and kiss your beloved one on the lovers bench ;)

Bridge to the island of love

Lovers bench on the island of love

Walking path by the river Mura and the wooden floating mill, on the island of love

Walking path by the river Mura on the island of love

If you drive few km from Ižakovci to Veržej, check out the floating wooden mill and museum where you can also buy some flour and see how the mill works. Only 2 of the floating mills survived and are still active today. One in Ižakovci and another one near the village Veržej, the Babič Mill.

Floating wooden mill, the Babič Mill

A perfect romantic getaway in Slovenija ;)

So what do you think? ;)

Pinky and the brain and Pinker-bell?

Funny names for a nailpolish and a lipstick, right? :) But it drew my attention!

I love summer colours! Don't you? Besides coral, I was also looking for a nice magenta lipstick and nailpolish, that would go well with the emerald colour and summer whites that I love to wear.

My priority was a brand, where I can get both for a decent price and a nailpolish that dries fast and one layer of it is suficcient.

First I've found a lipstick, Catrice - Pinker-bell, and when I tried it out, to see if it fits my skin tone too, I bought a nailpolish as well. They go perfectly together and the price was a bargain!

I'm always in a hurry with my manicure, so I really like nailpolishes that look ok, applied in only one coat and Catrice - Pinky and the brain has it all and suits me just well. If you want, use a top coat, it will stay on longer. Or even better… When I have few more minutes to play, I use Catrice silk matt top coat and it looks so much better than glossy!

You can purchase nailpolish and lipstick in one of the DM (German site) stores or in one of the Müller (German site) stores.

Feel free to leave a comment below or even a photo how you styled it or maybe did a nail art?! ;) 

My perfect summer coral

My search for perfect summer coral has finally ended with the find of Essie – Meet me at sunset nailpolish and Max Factor – Intensely coral lipstick. They go so well with summer whites! 

My basic or everyday's Essie is always Allure, which is nice, translucent white and sometimes, when I'm in a hurry, it's my base and I just cover it with more intense colour.

I'm constantly doing something with my hands, so when it comes to manicure time, I don't have much time. I'm always looking for nailpolishes with enough pigment that one layer is sufficient and looks nice. Essie does the job very well and stays on. It also dries quite fast, which is also very important to me.

If you wish a stronger shade of lipstick, you can try the Max Factor Lipfinity - Forever striking or Maybelline - Citrus flame. I love those two as well! 

 

I have also tried with L'Oreal's coral lipstick (coral showroom), but it's not as intense as I would like, but it comes of easily and doesn't stain your lips in case you change your mind and want to go nude. 

If you are looking for cheaper versions, you could try Catrice nailpolish, they have a nice shade of coral - Meet me at coral island. 

On the photo below, you can compare all the lipsticks:

On the photo below, you can see shades of different coral nailpolishes. I added Essence - Off to Miami! nailpolish and I think the price is the lowest of them all. The shade is very similar to Catrice - Meet me at coral island, but much lighter than Essie - Meet me at sunset.

In Europe, you can purchase all those beauty products in better stocked DM (German site) markets or in one of the Müller (German site) stores.

If you are worried about animal testing and deciding whether to purchase or not, you can always check PETA's list of cruelty free cosmetics. (← click the link and check it out).  Some companies don't test their products on animals, but might purchase the ingredients that were tested on animals.

Feel free to leave a comment about how satisfied you are with your coral shade of nailpolish or lipstick. Have you tried out anything else you think it's better? Let me know! I would love to hear and love to try! ;) 

For the love of bellflowers

I simply love bellflowers. They are my inspiration in creating a jewelry. They are so delicate, yet strong. Divine. ;)
These are from my mom's garden.

Testing new beauty products: Burt's Bees lipstick

I'm allready thrilled over the Burt's Bees goodies that are natural and this time I ran across their new products – lipsticks! 

The packaging is tantalizing! I love the beehive immitation on the lid, combination of colours of the packaging and the shade of the lipstick on the lid. Fantastic!

Since I'm a sucker for magenta this summer ;) I decided to test the »Magenta rush« shade first.

This lipstick is pure spa for your lips! ;) It's nicely moisturising, it keeps your lips moist and soft all day and features natural ingredients such as Beeswax, Moringa Oil, Raspberry seed Oil and Vitamin E! I'm allergic to bees, but this product is safe to use, it doesn't contain bee's poison.  

The package by the way is recyclable!  

Burt's Bees products in USA are available in Target stores, in Europe you can find them in Müller (German site) stores.

Check their web page https://www.burtsbees.co.uk/ and do treat yourself with the best that nature can offer ;) Oh and 10% of your purchase will be donated to The British Bee Keeping Association! 

I'm lookin forward to reading your comments about how satisfied you are with Burt's Bees beauty products! I definitely am! 

My favourite Burt's Bees products