Wednesday, April 29, 2015

DON`T FORGET TO DANCE...



''You have to love dancing to stick to it. It gives you nothing back, no manuscripts to store away, no paintings to show on walls and maybe hang in museums, no poems to be printed and sold, nothing but that single fleeting moment when you feel alive.''

Merce Cunningham


... and maybe that's why dancing is one of the purest expressions of human spirit. You don't have to be a professional dancer to know that dancing gives you a new perspective to life. It's the art of movement and  visualisation of music. It's good for your body shape, it releases happy hormones and it's fun. 

Then why there is so little dancing? When you go to a club, you move, but you don't dance. Imagine dancing passionately your own choreography in the middle of a dance floor, it would be a spectacle. If you're good, people would think someone had paid you. If you're bad, they would think you're probably very drunk and pay you to stop. So that's how it is. You pay, you dance...

The point is, dancing gives us the feeling of freedom and a chance to connect. Too bad that something that comes so naturally to people has become so limited and strictly defined by a certain context. We have this amazing instrument we call body and most of us are not using its full potential.

 Unlock yourself to the rhythm of life. 

Whether at home or outside, don't forget to dance.


Staying Alive, 1983


“To dance is to be out of yourself. Larger, more beautiful, more powerful.. This is power, it is glory on earth and it is yours for the taking” 

Agnes De Mille


Karen Elson by Steven Meisel for Vogue Italia, April 2015


“Nobody cares if you can't dance well. Just get up and dance. Great dancers are great because of their passion.” 

 Martha Graham


Alexander Yakovlev, Dancers

“I don't want people who want to dance, I want people who have to dance. ” 

George Balanchine


by Vadim Stein

When we proudly embrace our passions, dancing becomes as natural as walking. 
When put in front of other people's expectations, without being an attempt to impress anybody, dancing becomes the most liberating expression of the true self.

That's why dancing is a true synonym for freedom.



-What does it feel like when you’re dancing?
-Don’t know. Sorta feels good. Sorta stiff and that, but once I get going… then I like, forget everything. And… sorta disappear. Sorta disappear. Like I feel a change in my whole body. And I’ve got this fire in my body. I’m just there. Flyin’ like a bird. Like electricity. Yeah, like electricity.


Billy Elliot, 2000

HAPPY INTERNATIONAL DANCE DAY!



A.B.

Love, Invitation to Inspiration

Monday, April 27, 2015

HOME...

For the last two and a half years, we have introduced you to some of the most beautiful houses from all around the world...
Few days ago we`d come across an old issue of  COLORS Magazine  ( # 27 from Sep. 1998 ) and we thought it would be interesting to share it with you ... 

People often mistake a HOUSE for a HOME...

Beautiful architecture, breathtaking interior design and creative walls have no value if you don't make it your home.
You don't have to be rich to do that!

For five years, now, we have been following so many different architecture blogs and don't get us wrong, we enjoy reading them. 

The problem is- they are all the same... 
Post after a post, always publishing the same type of glossy, magazine- fit architecture. Frankly, it has become tiresome... As Ettore Sottsass said :


and only then a house can become a home! 


" Home is a roof over my head " Gorban, 27, UK


" Home is where you always want to go back to. "  Jorge, 34, Argentina


" Home is all the effort and sacrifice that I've ever made. "  Vera, 76, Serbia 


" Home is a warm bed. " Hye-Yun, 15, South Korea


" Home is where my mother is. " Giuseppe, 28, Italy


" Home is where I can scream at the top of my lungs and no one cares. " Natalie, 14, SAD




" Home is where most of my memories are. " Josef, 70, Czech Republic


" Home is where I go to change clothes between parties. " Ivan, 19, Russia 


" Home is a haven, a privileged place characterized by complex phenomena: it is a place of  returning to oneself, a place in which one`s reality is lived through thoughts and dreams 
Viviana Saitto   


Love, Invitation To Inspiration




Sunday, April 26, 2015

INTERVIEW WITH A DREAMER

-Why are you still dreaming young dreamer, when all of your friends have been awaken by now?
-Their faces don't look eager any more, I don't hear them laugh any more, that's why.
-There's so much to see with your eyes wide open, the light is warmer and the sun is real!
-I have never seen a man who stares at the sun, or seeks its light if he never dreams.
-When you get older and wiser, you'll feel sorry for the time spent in dreams!
-When I get older and tired my friend,  my dreams will stay young, and death won`t be real.
-Hear me now my sweet little dreamer, your dreams can never make you feel complete!
-If life could really make us feel like that, then one should never take it for real!  
-But don't you want to settle and make the best of your life?
-Only cattle can settle, that's not my line. I've travelled in my dreams through space and time, I've met so many people, I want to rest for a little while . At the end of the day, we're just who we are, no person can change it, no place or time. From day one to that final cry, only in your dreams you find who you are.
-Could you show me where you come from and take me there?
-Just close your eyes and tell me you care.



photo by Invitation to Inspiration
A.B.
Love, Invitation to Inspiration

Tuesday, April 21, 2015

THE FORTRESS



photo from family album ( Marušići ) 

" — Je li ti žao kuće? Nije mi žao, nimalo mi nije žao. Ništa me ne veže za nju, osim nejasnih uspomena koje ne oživljavam, odavno već nisam bio na zgarištu, ne vrijedi se vraćati na uzaludne uspomene, da te boli pustoš. Treba prekinuti nepotrebnu vezu i predusresti mogući bol. Djetinjstva već odavno nema. Šta čuvam na tom staništu duhova, gdje ni kosti pokojnika ne počivaju? Ni bol ne osjećam, samo prazninu. Zašto je ne zatrpati?"

Meša Selimović-Tvrđava

photo by Invitation To Inspiration ( Podgrađe-Croatia ) 

The Fortress- Meša Selimović 


photo by Invitation To Inspiration ( Podgrađe-Croatia) 

Never let your memories defeat you.
Love, Invitation To Inspiration.


Wednesday, April 15, 2015

BEAUTY IS IN THE EYE OF THE BEHOLDER...

We don't know how you feel, but INVITATION TO INSPIRATION believes that there is no better way to make your home personal and beautiful than with your own PHOTO WALL GALLERY. 

Sometimes I regret that I don't have the camera lens inside my eye. That I can't take a photo with just one blink - then this would be the right thing... This is still a distance, while I set the camera,  while camera snaps, it is already another moment ...   MARIJA BRAUT

„Katkada mi je žao što nemam objektiv unutar oka da mogu snimiti fotografiju samo jednim treptajem - onda bi to bilo ono pravo. Ovako uvijek postoji odmak; dok ja namjestim fotoaparat i dok okinem, to je već neki drugi trenutak..." 

...and who doesn't like to remember moments and people who made them happy? Here are some nice ideas how you can make your own WALL GALLERY.


 via 

 image from unknown source

 image from unknown source

 image with from unknown source

 image with from unknown source

via 

 Photo courtesy Domino Magazine

 image with from unknown source

If you are a type of a person who likes change from time to time, you don't need to pin photos on the wall, you can simply display them on wall shelves. 

     Photo courtesy Pottery Barn 
 image with from unknown source


via

image with from unknown source

Another great idea you can DIY. 
 image with from unknown source

And if not photography why not mirrors? ( 3-d gallery wall )

 via 
You can enlarge your space ( any space ) with the addition of beautiful mirrors...

If you are an owner of any of photos publish in this post as UNKNOWN SOURCE, please feel free to let us known. We will be happy to link the right source!  

Love, A & M ! 

Monday, April 13, 2015

5 small steps to freedom


1. Find your own thing. Hint: it's not in the hands of other people

When you do something out of love and passion, you already have the only reward you truly need. Some people will never understand your passions, others simply wont care. and some will find their own passions in the same place as you. Yes, there are things in life you must do just  for the sake of living. But when and if you find even the slightest passion in between them, don't let it go. As long as it calls you, don't let it go. You will learn that this passion is a gift. One of the most beautiful things in life is to see someone enjoying something without expectation and without calculation. The way you react to other peoples passions also tells a lot about you. Remember, people change minds, people follow trends, people want to compete. So stop thinking about other people and do what you love for the sake of it while you're doing this thing called living. Enjoy being just you.






2. Trust your gut

Let other people think and talk for themselves. Your life is your life. If you feel something doesn't serve you in any way and brings you bad moods, stop messing with it. Abandon everything that makes you feel, think and talk negative. You're not supposed to fit everywhere, and that means you're healthy. You don't have to do or try everything, you're not the rat in the lab. Let your intuition lead you to the people and places that are right for you. That will make you grow and become better than you are now. Because you can always be better. Intuition is faster than the logic, save yourself from wasting time, everyone's time is precious. Just trust yourself a little bit more than you trust strangers on the internet. Go with your own flow.






3. Don't wait for better days to do stuff

Sometimes we want so many things, but the time just doesn't seem right. And that's ok too, because you can't control everything in your life. Don't listen to everyone saying ''Do it now before it's too late!''...Ok, so...How many days do I have left? Because I really want to go to New Zealand, but I simply don't have money and spare time for that journey right now.
But-if the fear is the only thing that is stopping you from doing something you think would be great for you, kill the fear. There wont be a better time when you will feel smarter or braver than you do now. This IS how you become smarter and braver. You really are better than you think you are, right now, at this very own moment. There is no such thing as the perfect moment. Free yourself from the fears and doubts. 






4. Concentrate less on how others can help you and more on how you can help others

When you move the focus from yourself to the others, you deceive your own ego, like a boss. Look around you. What can YOU do for someone else? You are already enough. Stop expecting something, and concentrate on the things you could do for others. Wait to see how things suddenly start to get a lot easier and much more interesting.






5. ''So what''


You are not so perfect, so what? If you had done this instead of that, the result would have been better, so what? Stop taking yourself OR ANYONE seriously, even the life shouldn't be taken too seriously. You know how life is fragile, unpredictable, hard and how we are all fucked up. So what? You are not a big deal, but the fact that you are here and alive right now, the one and the only, reading this, is just one of thousands of miracles you are being indifferent to. So turn another page if you don't fancy a chapter, and repeat this mantra when you start feeling like a tragic hero in another oh-what-a-surprise-my-life-is-so-hard story.





Love, A & M 

Thursday, April 9, 2015

FROM MY VILLAGE I SEE...


by Invitation To Inspiration

VII.

From my village I see as much in the Universe as you can see from earth...
So my village is as big as any other land
Because I’m the size of what I see,
Not the size of my height...

In the cities life is smaller
Than here in my house on top of this hill.
In the city the big houses shut your sight with a key,
Hide the horizon, push your eyes far away from all the sky,
Make us smaller because they take away what our eyes can give us,
And make us poor because our only wealth is seeing.

                                                                             Alberto Caeiro (Fernando Pessoa)

by Invitation To Inspiration

ČUVAR STADA

Iz mojeg sela vidim sve ono što se sa zemlje može vidjeti u Svemiru...
Zato je moje selo veliko kao neka druga zemlja,
jer sam ja toliko velik koliko vidim,
a ne toliko velik kolika je moja visina...

U gradovima je život manji
nego ovdje u mojoj kući na vrhu ovog brežuljka,
U gradovima velike kuće zaprječuju pogled,
skrivaju obzor, odvraćaju naše poglede daleko od neba,
umanjuju nas jer nam oduzimlju ono što nam oči mogu dati
i osiromašuju jer je naše jedino bogatstvo viđenje.


                                                                         Alberto Caeiro (Fernando Pessoa)

Tuesday, April 7, 2015

Less young, more beautiful

Like the wine, many men and women simply get better with age. Let's just skip George Clooney and go to other famous men and women who get better with age, starting with:







This 46 year old stunning Spanish actor is a multiple award winner, Bond villain, and with his latest role in The Pirates of the Caribbean we'll be seeing him as another villain which definately makes him one of the Hollywood's favorite bad guys.








From Blackadder to Dr. House, this Englishman is now 55, and he doesn't stop getting better and better.  Actor, writer, director, musician, comedian, genius.










Wonderful Danish actor, another Bond villain, role which made him worldwide recognized. I bet you didn't know he was a gymnast and dancer, too. Cannes Film Festival Best Actor award winner for the performance in the Danish film Hunt, which is definitely one of the must-see movies. 







She is one of only six actors who have won three or more competitive Academy Awards for acting. Her filmography and talent are too legendary to be talked about in here, so let's just admire her in silence.










French actress, former fashion model and a singer. She is also known as the wife of French-Polish director Roman Polanski. Her performance in The Ninth Gate, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly and La Vie en Rose brought her world-wide recognition, although she has had already achieved her international status before as a professional model. Emmanuelle Seigner radiates natural beauty that has no age.














The time stopped for this guy, but he never stopped surprising us. Actor, singer, songwriter and director, Jared became famous in the early 90s thanks to the television series My So-Called Life. In around 15 years a lot has happened in his carrer, let's just mention his successful band Thirty Seconds to Mars and his Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in Dallas Buyers Club. Known for his amazing transformations for the movie roles and charismatic persona, this 43 year old artist might be really from another planet.









The Man Who is bigger than the words. That's all.

















Tilda Swinton is a British actress and a fashion muse for both arthouse and mainstream movies. Academy Award winner for the Best Supporting Actress in Michael Clayton. She graduated at Cambridge University in Social and Political Sciences. She lives in Scotland  with her twins and her partner who is a painter. She was named one of the best-dressed women by The Guardian. This woman is the synonime of art. Check her performance in The Beach, The Chronicles of Narnia, We Need To Talk about Kevin, Only Lovers Left Alive, just to name few. She also played a part of David Bowie's wife in the promotional video for his song The Stars (are Out Tonight). What a perfect collaboration!


9. Sade


Sade Adu is a British Nigerian singer, songwriter, composer and a record producer. She is 56 today, and has been activly performing since 1983. After mega successful album The Lovers Rock in 2000, Sade hasn't released with her band an album until 2010, Soldier of Love, which also became commercially very successful. Sade was listed as one of the 100 Greatest Women in Music. With her unique musical style, mixture of jazz, soul, pop and soft rock, she is very often cited as an influence by numerous artists. At age of 56, still stunning and at the top of her game.










American actress and a film producer, one of the Hollywood's highest-paid actresses and Academy Award winner. Was raised in Germany for 12 years, attended Washington high school and got her degree in drama in East Carolina University. When she moved to Manhattan she supported herself as a bartender, cocktail waitress, and coat checker while auditioning for the roles. Smart, beautiful and hard-working Sandra is today 50, shining brighter than ever.







Canadian American actor, comedian, impressionist, screenwriter and a film producer. Although the word comedy first comes to our minds when Jim Carrey mentioned, he has fully shown his talent in dramas and thriller movies: The Truman Show, Man on the Moon, Me, Myself & Irene, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, The Number 23...He is today 53 and he's B-E-A-utiful.













Today a 45 year old singer, songwriter, fashion designer, plus an actress. Amazing as the solo artist just as the leading vocalist of No Doubt, Gwen is definitely one of the most original and beautiful women ever. With no comparison. 







There are plenty of other well known people who have flourished through the time. Some people burn out too fast, some are desperate in their hunt for the youth, and in the sea of fishes that all look alike, today is the time when maturity and personality appear bigger than the fashion. We still might be a little afraid of the wrinkles, but we have free choice weather to tighten ourselves, or relax and embrace the beauty of maturity.


Maturity includes the recognition that no one is going to see anything in us that we don't see in ourselves. Stop waiting for a producer. Produce yourself.
Marianne Williamson


A.B.



Love, A & M