About Me


Hi there!

Welcome to my blog.

My name is Maria.

I was born and raised in a small town at the Northwest part of Greece called Grevena
In my opinion and by no means... am I..., in any way..., at all... biased, it is one of the most beautiful places in Greece. There are mountains and snow and small villages with stone houses and you can find the best cheese and mushrooms. Yes, my home town is the mushroom capital of Greece!

I lived in Grevena until I graduated from High School and then I moved to London! A big leap! Actually a huge leap because I was only 17 and was not even allowed to open my own bank account! 
But I managed very well and finished my degree in  International Relations. 
Living in London during my late teens and early 20's was the best thing that could have happened to me. It was exhilarating. I met so many different people and had amazing experiences that shaped my character for ever after - I even worked in television for about a year! - 

By the time I was 25 I had finished a couple more degrees, found a normal job and decided to settle down, when, as it always happens, I met my soul mate, George, only he did't live in London. He lived in Athens. So I dropped everything, packed my books, bags and shoes and headed to Athens. 

George and I at a Halloween costume party! He was the Matador and I... - my dress did not have a name - but we won the first prize woo-hoo!!

Did I mention that George is a diplomat? No?. Well he is and our first post abroad was Riyadh in Saudi Arabia. We lived there for three years with our out-of-this-world cute cat Psipsini. 

Psipsini looking a little melancholic on a cloudy Zagreb morning
Five years ago we moved from the scorching hot sandbox that is Saudi Arabia to the infinitely green Zagreb in Croatia. This is where you find me now but I will not stay here for long. At the end of summer 2014 we are moving back home to Athens to stay for a couple years until we start another round of posts. 

A few more things that you should know about me: 

It goes without saying that I love to cook and bake. I try to explore new flavours and experiment with new ingredients and techniques as much as possible. That's why I never cook the same dish twice unless it is something really extraordinary.

George and I have intolerances in gluten and lactose so I cook and bake gluten and lactose free. 

I am addicted to reading books and to the disdain of my waistline to buying cookbooks.

I love wine, not only drinking it but also talking about it and reading and teaching everybody around me about it. I have a Sommelier degree from Le Monde Athens and I am at Level 2 of the WSET Diploma.

I try to exercise at least three times a week - not the fancy boot camp stuff, just old-fashioned, everyday pilates to keep my spine strong and my muscles toned. 

I am a very visual person. I love painting and photography and I am now starting to dip my toes into the beautiful world of food photography.

I am a sucker for a good music concert! I try to go to as many concerts of my favourite artists as possible every year!

I always wear an apron when I am in the kitchen.

If you are wondering about the title of my blog you have to read this post
If you still have questions
or
Leave me a comment 
(my face lights up when I read your comments)

Your are more than welcome to stalk me

Thank you for visiting my blog

and before you go....
....tell me something about YOURSELF 





17 comments:

  1. Very interesting blog Maria!! Congratulations!

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  2. I too wanted to be called Sofia after Sofia Loren when I was a kid! Love you honest blog style. As Arnie said "I'll be back":)

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  3. We moved to Australia when i was 7 years old and when i introduced myself as Sanya, the response was usually, huh? What?
    I so badly wanted to be called Samantha, all the cool girls at school were called Samantha!
    As an adult I appreciate it (and with more Yugoslav people migrating to Australia I've even run across a few other Sanya's!)
    Great blog Maria!

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  4. Hi Maria.. Thanks for stopping by earlier.. am still going through your blog.. discovering it.. you have such a lovely blog!! And I just couldnt stop smiling when you talk about having a common name.. I have an unusual name.. and when i was small.. wished it could have been more common!! ah welll.... :) Lovely meeting you!!! you will see much more of me around here ... xx Sarvani!

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  5. Hi Maria! You've got a fabulous blog here. Lovely meeting you and hope to see you around. xoxo Lisa

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  6. My entire childhood I longed for a normal name! Susan would have been my first choice followed by Debbie:) In fact, I used a nick name until I was 30 years old!!! Finally I decided I was Guyla and I might as well face it and accept it... but I use Lola whenever I have to give a name in public. Its just too hard going through the Guyla and how you spell it and then repeating it several times.

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  7. Hi Maria!!! Swinging by from the GIG page today to say hi and let you know I really like your blog! Sorry it took me a couple of days to get over here..but I'm SO glad I did! Had a lot of fun and I'll be sure to come back and dig through your archives! Have a great Thursday!!!

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  8. Γεια σου Μαρία!

    Έκανα μια βόλτα στο blog σου και μου άρεσαν πάρα πολύ οι φωτογραφίες σου.
    Πανέμορφες και με υψηλή αισθητική!

    Και η κόρη μου έφυγε για Λονδίνο στα 17 της και τώρα μετά το τέλος των σπουδών της ζει μόνιμα και εργάζεται εκεί.

    Τα ξαναλέμε!
    Ζαμπία

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    1. Σε ευχαριστώ για τα καλά σου λόγια Ζαμπία μου! Το Λονδίνο παραμένει πάντα στην καρδιά μου όσα χρόνια κι'αν περάσουν! Ήταν και είναι υπέροχο να ζεις εκεί! Έυχομαι κάθε επιτυχία στην κόρη σου!

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    2. ΜΑΡΑΚΙ ΦΑΝΤΑΣΤΙΚΟ!!!!!!ΜΠΡΑΒΟ ΣΟΥ!!!!!

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    4. Σ' ευχαριστώ Λιτσάκι μου!!! Πολύ χαίρομαι που σου αρέσει! Πολλά φιλιά!!!

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  9. Γειά σου Μαρία!
    Τί όμορφα που αισθάνομαι εδώ μέσα {you know what I mean!!}!
    Θα τα λέμε, ε;

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  10. γεια σου μαρια!!! σε βρηκα απ το foodaki και ειδα ειμαστε κοντοχωριανες!! εγω ειμαι απο κοζανη!!! υπεροχο το σαιτ σου φοβερες συνταγες και εικονες!!! πρεπει να ειναι ωραια να ταξιδεψες σε τοσα μερη!!!!

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    Replies
    1. Σε ευχαριστώ πολύ γλυκό Ντολμαδάκι :) Τι ωραία που είσαι από τη Κοζάνη! Χαίρομαι πολύ που με βρήκες και σε βρήκα!!! Ναι! Είναι ωραία να ταξιδεύεις αλλά σαν την πατρίδα δεν υπάρχει! Έχω πολύ καιρό να επισκευτώ τα μέρη μας και μου λείπουν πάρα πολύ!

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    2. σε καταλαβαινω!!! σαν την πατριδα πουθενα!!! στο ευχομαι να τα επισκεφτείς συντομα!!!

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