being YOU


I Worried 

I worried a lot. Will the garden grow, will the rivers 
flow in the right direction, will the earth turn as it was taught, and if not how shall I correct it?
Was I right, was I wrong, will I be forgiven, 
can I do better? 
Will I ever be able to sing, even the sparrows can do it and I am, well, hopeless. 
Is my eyesight fading or am I just imaging it, am I going to get rheumatism, lockjaw, dementia?
Finally I saw that worrying had come to 
nothing.
And gave it up. And took my old body
and went out into the morning,
and sang. 
                                                                                                                                                          ~ Mary Oliver



It is unusually difficult for me to write in these increasingly complex and uncertain times we are all living in. My thoughts are messy. Emotions are messy. The truth is messy.  
I worry. I worry about my health, the safety of those I love, am I a good enough mom, friend, wife, daughter, citizen... Am I able to keep my ego in check? How is the world facing the challenges most of which we humans have created by ourselves? I worry about the flawed human reasoning and the growing lack of basic critical thinking. What kind of Earth will our children inherit? 
But then, I breathe out. Breathing out is calming. It encourages peace and insight. It helps me pay attention to my surrounding, reminding me that even in troubling times, there is beauty, kindness and joy in the world. 

I step outside and a tapestry of beautiful autumnal leaves hugs my walking feet. I walk forward with each footfall placing distance between me and the world of news stream, social media and phone calls. The seasons are changing. And the more I contemplate the changes, the more I grow appreciative of all the autumnal wisdom and generosity that pour unrestrictedly through me.  
Light.
Darkness.
A balance. 
Letting go.
Fleeting nature of all things...

Autumn tucks acorns in my pockets and faded hydrangeas in my arms. Autumn blows a fresh breeze in my eyes and puts a pumpkin-carved-like smile on my face. Autumn fills my kitchen with the smell of baked pears and my heart with a desire to create. 
The calming power of the natural world makes me tune in to my senses, slow down and pause. I am fully in this moment. The clutter of my mind begins to withdraw. The negative inner conversations switch off. There is nothing but the sounds of the season, the bounty of autumn, the simple beauty of small things, the whisper of simple everyday rituals, the comfort of home, the awakening of hope...

I am at home. I arrange a foraged bouquet in a vase, cook pumpkin soup and take a long warm bath. I light a candle, turn up the music, drift away in the calmness of dolche far niente to find my own STILL in the chaos of life. I am breathing out. 








Still Life


I Worried 

I worried a lot. Will the garden grow, will the rivers 
flow in the right direction, will the earth turn as it was taught, and if not how shall I correct it?
Was I right, was I wrong, will I be forgiven, 
can I do better? 
Will I ever be able to sing, even the sparrows can do it and I am, well, hopeless. 
Is my eyesight fading or am I just imaging it, am I going to get rheumatism, lockjaw, dementia?
Finally I saw that worrying had come to 
nothing.
And gave it up. And took my old body
and went out into the morning,
and sang. 
                                                                                                                                                          ~ Mary Oliver



It is unusually difficult for me to write in these increasingly complex and uncertain times we are all living in. My thoughts are messy. Emotions are messy. The truth is messy.  
I worry. I worry about my health, the safety of those I love, am I a good enough mom, friend, wife, daughter, citizen... Am I able to keep my ego in check? How is the world facing the challenges most of which we humans have created by ourselves? I worry about the flawed human reasoning and the growing lack of basic critical thinking. What kind of Earth will our children inherit? 
But then, I breathe out. Breathing out is calming. It encourages peace and insight. It helps me pay attention to my surrounding, reminding me that even in troubling times, there is beauty, kindness and joy in the world. 

I step outside and a tapestry of beautiful autumnal leaves hugs my walking feet. I walk forward with each footfall placing distance between me and the world of news stream, social media and phone calls. The seasons are changing. And the more I contemplate the changes, the more I grow appreciative of all the autumnal wisdom and generosity that pour unrestrictedly through me.  
Light.
Darkness.
A balance. 
Letting go.
Fleeting nature of all things...

Autumn tucks acorns in my pockets and faded hydrangeas in my arms. Autumn blows a fresh breeze in my eyes and puts a pumpkin-carved-like smile on my face. Autumn fills my kitchen with the smell of baked pears and my heart with a desire to create. 
The calming power of the natural world makes me tune in to my senses, slow down and pause. I am fully in this moment. The clutter of my mind begins to withdraw. The negative inner conversations switch off. There is nothing but the sounds of the season, the bounty of autumn, the simple beauty of small things, the whisper of simple everyday rituals, the comfort of home, the awakening of hope...

I am at home. I arrange a foraged bouquet in a vase, cook pumpkin soup and take a long warm bath. I light a candle, turn up the music, drift away in the calmness of dolche far niente to find my own STILL in the chaos of life. I am breathing out. 








Read more »


"Autumn suits you perfectly," a friend of mine wrote to me the other day when she saw photos from my everyday walks into the woods. Since the beginning of the season, I can't get enough of the simple beauty that surrounds me wherever I go – from the gorgeous golden colours of the leaves to the perfectly shaped, raised from seeds, ready to be picked squashes in the garden. The seasons change so effortlessly, without prompting, that if I am not paying close attention, I might overlook all the wisdom the Earth is offering to me each and every moment. 
I believe no other season teaches us so many profound lessons about life than fall does. And as I approach into a deeper season in my own life, I believe Autumn is my season. 
Knowing that each season is a journey of change and personal growth in preparation for another season in life, I feel that now I am right here where I would like to be, willingly trusting and appreciating the experience of the moment, letting life be life. 
I love the autumnal gentleness in the air, those misty rainy days when I can sit at home and watch the pearls of raindrops caught on golden leaves shining like crystals on the poetic light, unafraid of falling. A book in my hands. A blanket over my feet. An aroma of sage and butternut puree from the kitchen. A feeling of being warm, comforted, calm and sheltered. There is real beauty in ordinary life, in taking the living slowly and making space for the change.
In a wonderful essay, The Beauty Of the Ordinary, Pico Iyer reminds us of the autumn's special, golden lesson – "to cherish everything because it cannot last". "Autumn days," he writes, "are reminders of how much we cannot afford to take for granted, and how much there is to celebrate right now."
The older I get, the more I am in tune with this wise, golden, ordinary Autumn. 
I am completely open to the enduring lessons of the falling leaf. To learn humility and resilience from its ending. To cultivate an attitude of respect and gratitude. To see the magic in the little things. To stay whimsical and ordinary at the same time... 
In nature's timeless forms, I contemplate that nothing lasts forever and perhaps, the art of life lies in its ephemerality. 
I find that liberating. 




Golden Autumn



"Autumn suits you perfectly," a friend of mine wrote to me the other day when she saw photos from my everyday walks into the woods. Since the beginning of the season, I can't get enough of the simple beauty that surrounds me wherever I go – from the gorgeous golden colours of the leaves to the perfectly shaped, raised from seeds, ready to be picked squashes in the garden. The seasons change so effortlessly, without prompting, that if I am not paying close attention, I might overlook all the wisdom the Earth is offering to me each and every moment. 
I believe no other season teaches us so many profound lessons about life than fall does. And as I approach into a deeper season in my own life, I believe Autumn is my season. 
Knowing that each season is a journey of change and personal growth in preparation for another season in life, I feel that now I am right here where I would like to be, willingly trusting and appreciating the experience of the moment, letting life be life. 
I love the autumnal gentleness in the air, those misty rainy days when I can sit at home and watch the pearls of raindrops caught on golden leaves shining like crystals on the poetic light, unafraid of falling. A book in my hands. A blanket over my feet. An aroma of sage and butternut puree from the kitchen. A feeling of being warm, comforted, calm and sheltered. There is real beauty in ordinary life, in taking the living slowly and making space for the change.
In a wonderful essay, The Beauty Of the Ordinary, Pico Iyer reminds us of the autumn's special, golden lesson – "to cherish everything because it cannot last". "Autumn days," he writes, "are reminders of how much we cannot afford to take for granted, and how much there is to celebrate right now."
The older I get, the more I am in tune with this wise, golden, ordinary Autumn. 
I am completely open to the enduring lessons of the falling leaf. To learn humility and resilience from its ending. To cultivate an attitude of respect and gratitude. To see the magic in the little things. To stay whimsical and ordinary at the same time... 
In nature's timeless forms, I contemplate that nothing lasts forever and perhaps, the art of life lies in its ephemerality. 
I find that liberating. 




Read more »

"Now in the spring I kneel, I put my face into the packets of violets, the dampness, the freshness, the sense of ever-ness. Something is wrong, I know it if I don't keep my attention on eternity. May I be the tiniest nail in the house of the universe, tiny but useful. May I stay forever in the stream. May I took down upon the windflower and the bull thistle and coreopsis with the greatest respect... 
Teach children. We don't matter so much, but the children do. Show them daisies and the pale hepatica. Teach them the taste of sassafras and wintergreen. The lives of the blue sailors, mallow, sunbursts, the moccasin flowers. And the frisky ones – inkberry, lamb's-quarters, blueberries. And the aromatic ones – rosemary, oregano. Give them peppermint to put in their pockets as they go to school. Give them the fields and the woods and the possibility of the world salvaged from the lords of profit. Stand them in the stream, head them upstream, rejoice as they learn to love this green space they live in, its sticks and leaves and then the silent, beautiful blossoms." 

Attention is the beginning of devotion."
                                                                                                                                                        Mary Oliver, Upstream      


Spring is on its way...
I am happy and ready to cross a threshold from a world of dull brown and stiff grey to the loveliness of soft greens, joyous yellows and deep blues that herald the fresh new season.
Everything smells
like endless hope and anticipation,
like childhood memories,
like morning dew and wet soil,
like awakening...
I finally feel at home in my own skin; at home on the face of the earth...
I feel this pleasant lightness and new clearness that make it easier for me to breathe and actually see.
Like a miniature imperfect blossom, my soul is arising from hibernation, furtively opening itself once again to the universal love of the world. Loving the world requires attention. Because – paying attention is the only thing that guarantees insight; the only thing that can heal the heart; the only thing that makes us see life's simple, yet amazing gifts.




Wishing you a splendid springtime. 
Botanical eggs, my son and I colored for Easter with yellow onion skin, blueberries, turmeric, and blossoms. 
Lemon Blueberry Bundt Cake recipe (with a few changes) from Live Well Bake Often 


Step into Springtime


"Now in the spring I kneel, I put my face into the packets of violets, the dampness, the freshness, the sense of ever-ness. Something is wrong, I know it if I don't keep my attention on eternity. May I be the tiniest nail in the house of the universe, tiny but useful. May I stay forever in the stream. May I took down upon the windflower and the bull thistle and coreopsis with the greatest respect... 
Teach children. We don't matter so much, but the children do. Show them daisies and the pale hepatica. Teach them the taste of sassafras and wintergreen. The lives of the blue sailors, mallow, sunbursts, the moccasin flowers. And the frisky ones – inkberry, lamb's-quarters, blueberries. And the aromatic ones – rosemary, oregano. Give them peppermint to put in their pockets as they go to school. Give them the fields and the woods and the possibility of the world salvaged from the lords of profit. Stand them in the stream, head them upstream, rejoice as they learn to love this green space they live in, its sticks and leaves and then the silent, beautiful blossoms." 

Attention is the beginning of devotion."
                                                                                                                                                        Mary Oliver, Upstream      


Spring is on its way...
I am happy and ready to cross a threshold from a world of dull brown and stiff grey to the loveliness of soft greens, joyous yellows and deep blues that herald the fresh new season.
Everything smells
like endless hope and anticipation,
like childhood memories,
like morning dew and wet soil,
like awakening...
I finally feel at home in my own skin; at home on the face of the earth...
I feel this pleasant lightness and new clearness that make it easier for me to breathe and actually see.
Like a miniature imperfect blossom, my soul is arising from hibernation, furtively opening itself once again to the universal love of the world. Loving the world requires attention. Because – paying attention is the only thing that guarantees insight; the only thing that can heal the heart; the only thing that makes us see life's simple, yet amazing gifts.




Wishing you a splendid springtime. 
Botanical eggs, my son and I colored for Easter with yellow onion skin, blueberries, turmeric, and blossoms. 
Lemon Blueberry Bundt Cake recipe (with a few changes) from Live Well Bake Often 


Read more »


N E W  Y E A R ' S  E V E 
After a wonderful Christmas loaded with quiet times, good food, old movies, and thoughtful gifts, my family welcomed the new year surrounded by friends and the frigid beauty of one of the most awe-inspiring sights in the country, Niagara Falls. On the last day of 2017, bundling up in layers of sweaters, we bravely walked along the ice-coated Horseshoes Falls while the temperatures were quickly dipping well below freezing. Nothing could ever compare to the fairy tale scene of pristine white snow enveloping everything in a fragile blanket, long crystal icicles hanging like stalactites on rocks and railings, and the colorless flow of rushing water descending swiftly into the river in a magical thick cloud of mist...
What a marvel it was! What an uplifting and hopeful celebration of the crossover from the old year to the new one we had!

J A N U A R Y 
And then came January with its agonizing unhurried pace. It was throwing bad news – one after another – into the lightless, cold first days of 2018. Little ups and huge downs – the new year has been a scary roller coaster. I have experienced some of the most terrifying and debilitating hours of my life when my beating heart was ripped from my seemingly soulless body and my anxious mind felt lost and deserted like a ghost town... There were mornings stuffed with pessimism, anger, and resentment. Layers of inner pain and uncertainty, so uncomfortable, challenging and deep, paralyzed the core of my being. You thought you had already grown wise, strong and fearless, but when it came to the well being of loved ones, life took you by surprise and threw you unprepared, emotionally raw and unarmored into the rough wave of the latest ferocious storm (or at least it was the way it seemed at the beginning).

 T H E  R E A L I T Y
And then the basic truth has begun to appear from within. L i f e  i s  h a r d. Life is not always fair. Life involves a certain amount of hardship and suffering.  Life does not always work the way we would like it to and often we have no control over many things that happen to us. However, when hard times hit, we have an important choice to make – either let the situation define us, let it destroy us or let it strengthen us. What I know for sure is that one of the main differences between those who live their lives to their fullest potential and those who let life happen to them can be found in their choice of how to handle adversity: whether they allow themselves to be crushed, to give up, and to feel sorry for themselves or choose acceptance, face the fear, look for a source of strength within them (it is always there), and turn the negative experience into a positive one as a means of transformation and growth.      
If there is one single lesson I would like our son to learn from his parents, it would be in the words of the wise Eppie Ledere, better known by the pen name Ann Lander; something I read years ago, wrote it down on paper and hung it on the refrigerator for encouragement and a clear-eyed perspective: 
"If I were asked to give what I consider the single most useful bit of advice for all humanity it would be this: Expect trouble as an inevitable part of life and when it comes, hold your head high, look it squarely in the eye, and say, "I will be bigger than you. You cannot defeat me."  
(Later I found that she also said: "I would rather have my column on a thousand refrigerator doors than win a Pulitzer." Isn't it the most refreshing perspective on success?!)

 T R A N S F O R M A T I O N
Once we accept the fact that life can be "wild, hard and sweet" as well as "wild, hard and cruel', we begin to grow by recognizing that every difficulty is also an opportunity and a learning experience. It is then that we dig down and discover what we are made of. It is then that we find a means to transform negative events into positive ones, wounds into wisdom. In her book "Broken Open", Elizabeth Lesser is convinced that "Suffering and crisis transform us, humble us, and bring out what matters most to us."
And just like that, my word for 2018 came to me. During a month of convoluted and unstructured thoughts on a new year, a challenging month with snow and lots of cold (figuratively and literally), this word has been coming back to me.
Transformation. 
It does not matter what kind of experience we have had, it is of no consequence. What kind of transformation the experience brings is what matters in life. We cannot destroy anything, dissolve it, or make it disappear. We can only transform it.
Resistance into Acceptance. 
Negative thoughts into Positive Affirmations.
Worries into Present Moments. 
Pain into Inner Search. 
Fear into Actions. 
Tension into Listening. 
Overgeneralized Statements into Concrete Statements. 
Emotional Reasoning into Rational Responses.
Prejudice into Knowledge.
Complaining into Gratitude.
"I used to see a butterfly in my mind's eye every time I hear the word transformation," wrote Cheryl Strayed in her book "Brave Enough". I did it too, Cheryl. I did it, too. "But life has schooled me", she continued. "Transformation isn't a butterfly. It's the thing before you get to be a pretty bug flying away. It's huddling in the dark cocoon and then pushing your way out. It's the messy work of  making sense of your fortunes and misfortunes, desires and doubts, hang-ups and sorrows, actions and accidents, mistakes and successes, so you can go on and become the person you must next become." 

F L O W
I asked myself out loud:
Sylvia, will you be broken down and defeated, or broken open and transformed? 

F E B R U A R Y
I found my body the other day on one of the swings in the empty park. I was pushing it hard forwards and backwards through the winter air. The old snow was glistering while the timid sun was trying to rip the clouds off. Pumping my legs, I was gaining height and the world was spinning around me...
Forward – breathing in. Back – breathing out. I leaned my head back and then I remembered how fortunate I was to be breathing... what a richness to my life my family and friends were... how strong my faith in the goodness of life was...
This shall pass.
Everything passes.
Life is hard, but life is also g l o r i o u s. Sometimes we feel that we are barely pulling ourselves forward through a dark tiny tunnel and the light at the end seems unreachable. Nevertheless, we do come out the other side drained, yet transformed to better daughters, better sons, better mothers, better partners, better friends, better Humans... and before we know it, we will have slid over this rough wave and we will ride again onto the next one.


 (Chestnut Bundt Cake with Chocolate Chunks, recipe by the inspiring Mimi Thorisson of Manger)

The Real Life



N E W  Y E A R ' S  E V E 
After a wonderful Christmas loaded with quiet times, good food, old movies, and thoughtful gifts, my family welcomed the new year surrounded by friends and the frigid beauty of one of the most awe-inspiring sights in the country, Niagara Falls. On the last day of 2017, bundling up in layers of sweaters, we bravely walked along the ice-coated Horseshoes Falls while the temperatures were quickly dipping well below freezing. Nothing could ever compare to the fairy tale scene of pristine white snow enveloping everything in a fragile blanket, long crystal icicles hanging like stalactites on rocks and railings, and the colorless flow of rushing water descending swiftly into the river in a magical thick cloud of mist...
What a marvel it was! What an uplifting and hopeful celebration of the crossover from the old year to the new one we had!

J A N U A R Y 
And then came January with its agonizing unhurried pace. It was throwing bad news – one after another – into the lightless, cold first days of 2018. Little ups and huge downs – the new year has been a scary roller coaster. I have experienced some of the most terrifying and debilitating hours of my life when my beating heart was ripped from my seemingly soulless body and my anxious mind felt lost and deserted like a ghost town... There were mornings stuffed with pessimism, anger, and resentment. Layers of inner pain and uncertainty, so uncomfortable, challenging and deep, paralyzed the core of my being. You thought you had already grown wise, strong and fearless, but when it came to the well being of loved ones, life took you by surprise and threw you unprepared, emotionally raw and unarmored into the rough wave of the latest ferocious storm (or at least it was the way it seemed at the beginning).

 T H E  R E A L I T Y
And then the basic truth has begun to appear from within. L i f e  i s  h a r d. Life is not always fair. Life involves a certain amount of hardship and suffering.  Life does not always work the way we would like it to and often we have no control over many things that happen to us. However, when hard times hit, we have an important choice to make – either let the situation define us, let it destroy us or let it strengthen us. What I know for sure is that one of the main differences between those who live their lives to their fullest potential and those who let life happen to them can be found in their choice of how to handle adversity: whether they allow themselves to be crushed, to give up, and to feel sorry for themselves or choose acceptance, face the fear, look for a source of strength within them (it is always there), and turn the negative experience into a positive one as a means of transformation and growth.      
If there is one single lesson I would like our son to learn from his parents, it would be in the words of the wise Eppie Ledere, better known by the pen name Ann Lander; something I read years ago, wrote it down on paper and hung it on the refrigerator for encouragement and a clear-eyed perspective: 
"If I were asked to give what I consider the single most useful bit of advice for all humanity it would be this: Expect trouble as an inevitable part of life and when it comes, hold your head high, look it squarely in the eye, and say, "I will be bigger than you. You cannot defeat me."  
(Later I found that she also said: "I would rather have my column on a thousand refrigerator doors than win a Pulitzer." Isn't it the most refreshing perspective on success?!)

 T R A N S F O R M A T I O N
Once we accept the fact that life can be "wild, hard and sweet" as well as "wild, hard and cruel', we begin to grow by recognizing that every difficulty is also an opportunity and a learning experience. It is then that we dig down and discover what we are made of. It is then that we find a means to transform negative events into positive ones, wounds into wisdom. In her book "Broken Open", Elizabeth Lesser is convinced that "Suffering and crisis transform us, humble us, and bring out what matters most to us."
And just like that, my word for 2018 came to me. During a month of convoluted and unstructured thoughts on a new year, a challenging month with snow and lots of cold (figuratively and literally), this word has been coming back to me.
Transformation. 
It does not matter what kind of experience we have had, it is of no consequence. What kind of transformation the experience brings is what matters in life. We cannot destroy anything, dissolve it, or make it disappear. We can only transform it.
Resistance into Acceptance. 
Negative thoughts into Positive Affirmations.
Worries into Present Moments. 
Pain into Inner Search. 
Fear into Actions. 
Tension into Listening. 
Overgeneralized Statements into Concrete Statements. 
Emotional Reasoning into Rational Responses.
Prejudice into Knowledge.
Complaining into Gratitude.
"I used to see a butterfly in my mind's eye every time I hear the word transformation," wrote Cheryl Strayed in her book "Brave Enough". I did it too, Cheryl. I did it, too. "But life has schooled me", she continued. "Transformation isn't a butterfly. It's the thing before you get to be a pretty bug flying away. It's huddling in the dark cocoon and then pushing your way out. It's the messy work of  making sense of your fortunes and misfortunes, desires and doubts, hang-ups and sorrows, actions and accidents, mistakes and successes, so you can go on and become the person you must next become." 

F L O W
I asked myself out loud:
Sylvia, will you be broken down and defeated, or broken open and transformed? 

F E B R U A R Y
I found my body the other day on one of the swings in the empty park. I was pushing it hard forwards and backwards through the winter air. The old snow was glistering while the timid sun was trying to rip the clouds off. Pumping my legs, I was gaining height and the world was spinning around me...
Forward – breathing in. Back – breathing out. I leaned my head back and then I remembered how fortunate I was to be breathing... what a richness to my life my family and friends were... how strong my faith in the goodness of life was...
This shall pass.
Everything passes.
Life is hard, but life is also g l o r i o u s. Sometimes we feel that we are barely pulling ourselves forward through a dark tiny tunnel and the light at the end seems unreachable. Nevertheless, we do come out the other side drained, yet transformed to better daughters, better sons, better mothers, better partners, better friends, better Humans... and before we know it, we will have slid over this rough wave and we will ride again onto the next one.


 (Chestnut Bundt Cake with Chocolate Chunks, recipe by the inspiring Mimi Thorisson of Manger)

Read more »

November has presented itself this year as the most talented and impressive painter among the months, slowly drawing canvases of cloudy skies, wet leaves, and smoky fogs. While perfectly capturing Earth's treasures, November has displayed the most sophisticated color palette of deep brown and rich yellow, blended into old glory burgundy, with a mix of orange and green in between... I am in love with its artistic work and I spend every day diving into its exquisite exhibit of beauty, nature's brilliance, and sublime ordinariness. I learn from it, I drink with it, I breathe and grow in it...
I spread my eyes among the undressed trees, put my face into the gentle, fresh wind and feel...  
I chase the light – soft, plush and golden, play hide-and-seek with the tired from the summer sun and let it penetrate all the chambers of my heart...   
I rejoice in the solitude with autumn. I pulse with Earth's unhurried rhythm of grace and gain patience. This season offers me a refuge from the eventful summer and the bubbly mind. Humility emerges from its raw beauty. The world isn't such a broken place, blurring meaning, values and human dignity after all. Life is full of goodness and the good sinks into me as I sink into it. My small, separate self loosens and dissolves into what surrounds me. 
Autumn makes me settle into my home, my simple needs and disorderly dailiness. It teaches me how to observe with passion, savor my thoughts and live life in the slow lane... 

I am whole and full of gratitude. 

I taste like a pear tart.

I smell like happiness.





Thanks to a lovely supporter who sent me a heartwarming email, I reopened SylviaSimpleLife Etsy Shop with a limited quantity of original greeting cards featuring my simple photographs and my Holiday creations. The images are carefully selected in order to convey a message of a simple, handmade Christmas and a truly meaningful season. Baking cookies, making wreaths, wrapping a gift, decorating the home – it should be a celebration of its own. Spread some handwritten cheer this season with a gift of time and thought with these humble greeting cards.

 Shop the collection here


Thank you to all of you for your kindness and endless support! 



Sharing with Home Sweet Home


Autumn Impressions


November has presented itself this year as the most talented and impressive painter among the months, slowly drawing canvases of cloudy skies, wet leaves, and smoky fogs. While perfectly capturing Earth's treasures, November has displayed the most sophisticated color palette of deep brown and rich yellow, blended into old glory burgundy, with a mix of orange and green in between... I am in love with its artistic work and I spend every day diving into its exquisite exhibit of beauty, nature's brilliance, and sublime ordinariness. I learn from it, I drink with it, I breathe and grow in it...
I spread my eyes among the undressed trees, put my face into the gentle, fresh wind and feel...  
I chase the light – soft, plush and golden, play hide-and-seek with the tired from the summer sun and let it penetrate all the chambers of my heart...   
I rejoice in the solitude with autumn. I pulse with Earth's unhurried rhythm of grace and gain patience. This season offers me a refuge from the eventful summer and the bubbly mind. Humility emerges from its raw beauty. The world isn't such a broken place, blurring meaning, values and human dignity after all. Life is full of goodness and the good sinks into me as I sink into it. My small, separate self loosens and dissolves into what surrounds me. 
Autumn makes me settle into my home, my simple needs and disorderly dailiness. It teaches me how to observe with passion, savor my thoughts and live life in the slow lane... 

I am whole and full of gratitude. 

I taste like a pear tart.

I smell like happiness.





Thanks to a lovely supporter who sent me a heartwarming email, I reopened SylviaSimpleLife Etsy Shop with a limited quantity of original greeting cards featuring my simple photographs and my Holiday creations. The images are carefully selected in order to convey a message of a simple, handmade Christmas and a truly meaningful season. Baking cookies, making wreaths, wrapping a gift, decorating the home – it should be a celebration of its own. Spread some handwritten cheer this season with a gift of time and thought with these humble greeting cards.

 Shop the collection here


Thank you to all of you for your kindness and endless support! 



Sharing with Home Sweet Home


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