masculine

Are you as excited about the new year as I am? I mean, life goes on, and nothing has really changed except the calendar, but I love the clean slate. We all need to refresh and restart every once in a while, and new years are the perfect time to do that. To sum up what you have done and how much you have achieved, and set up some goals for the next 365 days. 366 in this case. I do have a couple of big goals for 2016, and you'll hear all about it when the time comes!

HNY guys!

things that marked 2015 for me

This was an incredible year for me, and it was just as exhausting, and looking back now - it feels like it was three years packed into one. It was a milestone year for me, not in a big and glamorous way - a gradual change of things and behaviors not so obvious to other people, but significant to me, is what left the biggest mark. I don't have the intention of doing a retrospective here - honestly these are not the things you'd find interesting. Instead, I decided to highlight small things that marked my year in one way or the other.

1. A PHOTO

Sadly, I didn't get to spend much time behind the camera this year. But there was that one occasion when I said 'we are doing this photoshoot no matter what' and I'm glad we did. It was our anniversary shoot, you know, when I forgot how my camera works at all. Fun story and the photos I really really love.

2. THE NEWS
There were many tiny little victories this year, and there was this (bigger) one that made me so excited I wanted to tell everyone - I became a web journalist for Harper's BAZAAR Serbia. It's an honor, and it's so humbling to be given an opportunity like that.

3. THE BOOK
I'm ashamed to say, but besides the professional literature (sigh) I didn't really have time to read as much as I'd like to, but I still managed to steal some time and dive into some amazing books. Two of them were Bukowski's - 'Women' and 'Ham on Rye', the latter one being my favorite. His writings are so raw and honest and bursting with pure emotions, so now I finally understand the hype. Also, I realized there are far better Bukowski quotes than those excessively shared all over Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. If only people bothered to actually read the books...

Salon5, Belgrade

Salon 5 is a small restaurant in the old part of Zemun, placed in a cozy, saloon apartment. It's a mix of a gastronomic concept and a showroom space - with design furniture, art pieces and photographs hanging on the walls, as well as owner's personal collection of books and records on the shelves. It's unlike any other place in Belgrade, and it's ranked #1 in the restaurant scene of Belgrade by Trip Advisor. And there's even more to say about Salon 5...

Knit dress

If I could wear an outfit over and over again during the colder months, it would be this one. And honestly, I'm fighting the urge to actually wear it day after day. Without the coat, it's a three pieces outfit, it easy to get dresses and it's so cozy and warm, while it still has chic vibe. And really you're in a cotton cloud. And on heels. It doesn't get better than that.

Also I wanted to draw your attention to the exhibition dedicated to the life and work of the great Serbian scientist and inventor, Mihajlo Pupin, opened at the Historical Museum of Serbia in Belgrade. The author of this exhibition is Aleksandra Ninković Tasić, and it's incredibly informative and inspiring, and with the use of modern technologies it's an interactive exhibition. It blew my mind that something like this is made in Belgrade (it made me really proud because it's amazing, and made me sad because it's an exception rather than a rule in my city, and also in our schools we learn very little about this amazing Serbian man, which is a shame!!!). However, if you have a chance, I recommend you visit this exhibition, it's opened until February 20, 2016.
Hoping for more things like this to happen in Belgrade and Serbia in the future. People are craving for cultural resurgence!

Did you know you were free?

There's this one topic that's been tickling my mind lately for quite some time, and in the light of certain recent events even more so. And the question is - why do we, as women, accept and live up to certain stereotypes? That's a question that is not asked often enough, if at all. On the other hand, what we do hear very often are complaints about women being objectified, women not being treated equal to men and so on. Now, don't get me wrong, I am a feminist by definition. But as a woman and feminist, it saddens me to see what most women set up as their goals and what they aspire to.

 I would dare to say that women of today are quite shallow. Just walk into any drugstore and you'll see that 95% of the beauty and vanity products are designed for women. Yet, there's this popular opinion that this role is somehow imposed on us by the society. That's where we get to 'certain recent events' I mentioned - Essena O'Neil story that went viral. Essena, in her dramatic video confession advocates that social media is 'evil' and somehow it 'makes' you design yourself and your life to be likeable. Honestly, I can't agree on that. We are all free to choose our own aspirations. We are free to choose our idols. To set our own goals. Never have I ever felt the pressure to do my full make-up every single morning, and take pictures in order for people to like me. If I did feel that way, I would consider myself an unstable person.

How deep is your love?

Gathering all my strength to end this year in a productive manner (because it really was productive from the beginning). I don't know if this spring that is happening in mid November is helping or making everything worse, because all I want is to just go out and spend all day under the sun, but I keep myself from doing that because the book (and lots of work) are waiting for me, so I just end up sad. It is nice to see sunshine even through the window, but I don't know. I did let myself enjoy the weather for two days of complete zen, and I swear it felt like the world stopped turning. Now I'm thinking about buying a mini zen garden (something like this), but not sure if that would relax me or make me go nuts. Also I want one with white frame, but can't find it anywhere. Confused is what I am these days, indeed, but that's what spring in November does to your head I guess...

la vie est belle

I'm in a desperate need of new lens and sun to not be setting at 4p.m. Blogging this way is nearly impossible. However, it's such a beautiful day outside, the weather is perfect, so I feel it's rude to complain about anything today. Seriously, the air is so crisp, the light is incredible, and the sun shines so intensely, you'd think it's the most beautiful spring day, not mid November. Can't help but feel a sudden surge of optimism, hope you feel it too.

Enjoy the photos taken at my favorite spot in town, and have a fabulous Monday!