PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT

1) The Vortex by Esther and Jerry Hicks – Audible book

The concepts they introduce in this book were groundbreaking from me. If there is one idea I am taking from The Vortex, it’s this one:

“You are the only one responsible for your thoughts, your feelings and subsequently your happiness. Your main goal is to nurture the most important relationship of all: between you and you. Only if you succeed in doing this, can you reach your 100% potential”.

Even though sometimes it was hard for me to follow the writer’s thought, as it seemed too complicated, I would definitely recommend reading or listening to it. There are many examples of the relationships between parents and children too, so I would say this is not only a self-development book but a great parenting book as well.

Amazon link – https://www.amazon.com/Vortex-Attraction-Assembles-Cooperative-Relationships/dp/1401918824

INSPIRATION

2) Mimi Ikonn YouTube Channel: I have started watching her videos about a year, or maybe two years ago and that’s because one cousin of mine told me that she has great travel packing tips in her videos. In the beginning, I thought this was another fashion video channel but as time went by I kept watching her videos and found many interesting ideas that appealed to me and were in alignment with everything I believe as well. Her philosophy of life made sense; her videos were different and thought-provoking; she spoke about why she chooses not to give Christmas presents or birthday presents, filmed a video about a wonderful way to celebrate your birthday by spending an unconventional day spreading love instead of feeling miserable because not enough people called to wish you well, and many other interesting ideas worth listening to.

The travel videos she is producing with her partner, Alex Ikonn, is another strong draw within her YouTube Channel for me. The awesome aerial views, captured by drones, and the personal touch is what makes them appealing. There is not tons of advice on what to do and what to visit, as they are mainly a documentary of their time well spent abroad but I don’t mind. I love how they strive to hike everywhere they go, to search for simple pleasures like local fruits and healthy products to eat and how they enjoy life’s miracles like a sunrise, a sunset or a cute cat they meet on their way.

https://www.youtube.com/user/MimiIkonn

TASTE

Quinoa Chocolate bar: yes it felt weird when I first read this as well, but I tried it anyway. I found this amazing Dark Organic Chocolate Quinoa bar at the most impressive coffee place I have ever been to in my whole life: Crew Collectif & Café in Montreal’s Old Town (https://crewcollectivecafe.com ). It’s by the brand Alter Eco and it was so good that I had to go there again two days later to get a second one –ok, I would have gone anyway for the coffee, but still. I also tried the same taste from a different brand –forgot to note down which one though- when we returned to Lausanne, just to be sure, and yes I am now determined that I love it! My friends informed me that Alter Eco Dark Chocolate Salted Almonds bar is also fantastic and now I am stuck trying to locate where I can find it in Europe. www.alterecofoods.com

5) Breakfast in Thessaloniki – We absolutely love Thessaloniki, Thanos and I. During our 1.5-day stay towards the end of September we had a quick but very satisfying Monday morning breakfast at Paradosiako, right on the corner of Tsimiski street and Aristotelous square. What we ate: the classic koulouri (always a hit), a yummy sandwich with whole grain bread, tomato, olives, feta and lettuce, one cheese bougatsa (a Greek breakfast pastry which consists of layers of phyllo and cheese, minced meat or custard filling) and a rizogalo, a special rice pudding topped with cinnamon. They also serve decent coffee here but on this occasion, we didn’t take any.

6) Saturday Brunch at Le Pointu, Lausanne with my boys: it had been such a long time that I was planning to try this new place in Lausanne and for one reason or the other, it never worked. The fact that most of the times that I tried to book their brunches were fully booked for the next 2 weeks or so didn’t help. Until this fabulous Saturday in September, when I felt adventurous enough to book a brunch –and found a spot!- and hoped that Marios would cooperate and all the stars would be aligned so we could enjoy our time all together as a family. And we did!

What we ate: the acai smoothie bowl with red fruits, the avocado toast with an egg, an avocado brownie and fresh orange juice. Everything was delicious and the ambiance, as always, uplifting. The coffee is pretty good as well, I usually order a flat white or a cortado, which is like a mini flat-white!

www.le-pointu.ch

7) Turkish Airlines’ catering: they serve one of the tastiest inflight catering we have experienced. Even a simple sandwich can be delicious if done properly and Turkish Airlines in-flight catering has nailed it. Plus, this time the timing was favorable and Marios was taking a nap while us parents enjoyed our meal peacefully. We even had wine to drink. Honestly, this felt like a romantic dinner out in an award-winning restaurant!

FEEL

8) The divine cloud formations we watched while playing at Park Milan in Lausanne.

9) My new DharmaBums Yoga Pants, a gift from my stylish sister. They give me one more reason to show up to my yoga mat daily and they make me feel happy!

www.dharmabums.com.au

TRAVEL & FAMILY

9) Our weeklong vacation in Halkidiki: we have been in love with this region for the last 3 years and we return every single summer in the exact same area. Ormos Panagias and Nikiti are located in Sithonia, the second “finger” of Halkidiki peninsula, which is green, wild, and with impressive blue colours. Being there at the end of the season was just fantastic: the weather was sunny and warm enough to swim, the crowds were gone and people were more relaxed. Watching the sunrise –ok, I only did it once- and the sunset was definitely one of the highlights. Chilling by the beach all day long and forgetting to put any shoes on was another. Watch out for the blog post about our vacation in Halkidiki, coming soon.

10) Our Sunday afternoon walk in Thessaloniki’s seafront; Plain happiness.

11) The family-friendly trains in Switzerland.

What about you? Which were your favorites of September 2017? Did you remember to take a moment and think about it?