Sketches of a Life

Savouring Memories

I lost my maternal grandfather when I was 7 years old. During more than two decades that have passed since, my memory of him has become rather distorted and vague. Undeniably, we cannot arrest time and forever withhold in our minds all the things experienced. Whether this is for good or for worse, I am in no positon to tell.

However, after an embarrassingly long time, today I visited my grandparents’ family house. Strangely, never before have I noticed the memories stored within. Perhaps I was too young, too disinterested, too distracted. But I am glad to have finally opened my senses to the stories preserved behind the stone walls of their home. Today I have discovered nearly a century of my family history that's been stored in wood all this time. Yes, in wood.

You see, my grandpa used to be a carpenter, a husband, and a father of seven. The country life at the time was more than difficult, but the family somehow managed to live through. If he were still alive, grandpa would currently be counting 22 grandchildren and 19 great-grandchildren. Now that is truly admirable, don't you think?

Anyway, as a carpenter, despite his poor health, grandpa single-handedly and with only a scarce selection of tools made all the wooden items in their family house. These included doors, cabinets, chandeliers, wall panels, tables, chairs, dishes, decorations, frames, and even some musical instruments. What makes this even more fascinating is the fact that every single piece is still in its place, looking almost exactly the same as the day it was created, although somewhat dusty. And if you disregard several modern appliances and family photographs, the place seems as if time had stopped there at the point the last wooden item was brought in.

When the cognition of the hard-work and dedication put into making this house a warm home for nine struck me today, there was nothing else to do but to take out my camera and perpetuate the lifetime achievement of such a remarkable man. It also made me think about how overall underappreciated our ancestors are, and how much there is to learn about them at any instance. So I felt the urge to share the story with everyone.

Below are several photos of the Museum of Wood I took today. I hope you'll like grandpa's carpentry work and eye for detail!

Thank you for reading! Wishing you an awesome day!

11:17 pm
0 Comments

Double Winged Eyeliner

makeup tutorial

Ok, I am officially the worst blogger ever. I have broken every blogging rule there is, starting from staying on topic and adding new content on regular basis. Well, I am a busy and versatile girl, what can I say? Please bear with me :)

Anyway, today's post is going to be rather girly. But maybe, just maybe, a boy or two would be interested in learning how much makeup can change a girl's appearance. Yes, I am publishing my #nomakeup and #nofilter photos below. Please don't hesitate to lie how naturally pretty I am!

I’ve been asked many times how I manage to sport the double winged eyeliner look. For this reason, today I am bringing you a brief tutorial and hopefully answering all your questions on the matter. So, here are my tricks and advice:

STEP #1. I start by applying tons of liquid foundation / concealer all around my eyes. This makes it easier to later remove all the excessive eye shadow, or eyeliner moves that get out of hands.

STEP #2. Then I apply eye shadows on my upper lids. I usually start from white on the inner corners of my eyes, and continue adding gold, pink and purple as I approach the outer corners. Finally, I put pink eye shadow just above my upper eyelids and underneath my lower eyelids.

STEP #3. The reason I use pinks is because I have green eyes, and such colours make them pop out. For brown eyes, I recommend purples and reds, and for blue eyes, I advise browns and other earthly colours.

STEP #4. Now, my greatest TRICK: before I use eyeliner, I like to outline my eyelash lines with black eye pencil. Then I put my index or middle fingers below the outer corners of my eyes and smear the pencil lines towards my eyebrows (photo 2). This way, I get wings which naturally match my eye shape, and use these as the guidelines for applying the eyeliner later on. Trust me, this really helps!

STEP #5. Considering the fact I have downcast eyes and quite severe problems with dark eye circles, which make me look constantly tired or sick, I use these lines as my lower wings (because adding one more wing above these makes my eyes seem bigger). Depending on your eye shape, you can use these lines either as your upper or lower wings. But please note that it is much easier if you use them as your upper wings.

STEP #6. Only now do I apply black eyeliner, starting from the inner corners, and following the previously drawn pencil line. It doesn't matter how thick the line turns out, just make sure the wings get thinner towards their end.

STEP #7. Remember, the lower lines have to be longer than the upper lines.

STEP #8. Drawing the upper wings can sometimes be tricky, but it is easier if you make sure they are not too close to the lower wings, so they don’t eventually merge into a single thick line. Don't expect the wings to be perfect, though; I've done this like a million times, and they never turn out the same!

STEP #9. Finally, I apply 2 coats of mascara or false eyelashes, depending on the occasion, and add more eye shadow if necessary.

That's it: the power of makeup! Feel like experimenting, maybe?

I used:

Essence Eye Shadows (Quattro for pink and purple & All About Sunrise for gold)

Essence Silver Eye Penicl

Wet 'n' Wild H₂O Proof Eyeliner

Max Factor Masterpiece Mascara

Max Factor Facefinity 3in1 Fundation

Oriflame Giordani Gold Bronzing Pearls, Natural Peach

False Eyelashes (photo 1, 4, and 8)

As always, thank you for reading! Have a wonderful day!

10:58 pm
2 Comments

Korčula Half New Year Party

travel and events

4:19 pm
5 Comments

Stop Yulin!

love animals

Yesterday (June 21^st) was the day of the Summer solstice - the first day of Summer. It was also the World Music Day, an all-day musical celebration based on the concept of bringing music out on the streets, with numerous free musical events held all over the globe. But I am bitter today because I can’t write an upbeat post about the joys of music and summer. Instead, I have to write about another, much less fortunate event scheduled to start on the same day: Yulin 2015, the dog meat eating festival held in central China. In case you haven’t heard about it, it’s a “festival” at which dog meat and heavy liquor are being consumed for 10 days, after torturing and sacrificing countless dog lives to fulfill an inhumane “tradition” that has been permitted to occur for many years. Thousands of dogs suffer, are butchered, beaten to death, skinned, and eaten during this brutal “festival”. The event also involves increased abduction of pets, and capturing and serving strays. Finally, it encourages the growing of the torturous and inhumane dog meat farms where dogs are bred particularly for such purposes.

Many ordinary people and celebrities have risen against the festival and numerous protests have been held recently, calling upon the local government to cancel the event. However, what everyone needs to understand here is that this is not just the matter of dogs and China. What should appal us about Yulin is not which particular animal is being killed, but the fact that too many animals around the globe are being treated nearly or just as cruelly.

But considering I am particularly sensitive to dogs, I have to say I am saddened and shocked to learn that the Yulin Dog Meat Festival is still existant in a modern civilized society. I can’t even bring myself to post photos of the poor tortured animals (but you can find some here) because the horror simply brings tears to my eyes. So, as a sign of my rebellion against all of the above stated, I am doing the exact opposite today and posting some photos of my best friend - a furry, voracious and slobbery giant named Vox. He (I consciously refuse to use “it” here) is a specimen of the authentic Croatian breed named Tornjak. He’s a beautiful, fluffy, cuddly baby when around the people he knows and trusts, but very territorial and overprotective when spotting the “intruders” approaching my yard. But that is exactly why I care about him so much; both for his unconditional love and overprotectiveness, despite the fact that it often scares people.

As they say, we can judge the heart of a man by his treatment of animals. So, please show your heart, join this noble cause, and sign the petition against the festival. We have to start by making small steps first, right?