"The cutest place I've ever been to" :: Finjak, Vlaška 78

First impression can go a long way! And here you could see how.

42 Coffee&co.

For the short version: 42 Coffee&co., Vlaška 42, Zagreb. The best coffee in that proximity of main square in he nice enviroment. For the long version:

Well, at least I'm eating good cakes! at: Magnolia Slastice

Magnolia Slastice is the cutest place you've ever been to. From the moment you step in you feel the authentic atmosphere, filled with sweet smell of cakes and cookies (something I don't really smell that often while coming in cake shops) and... love. Magnolia recently turned two years of existing and from the moment I tried that chocolate cake they offer, I was mad at myself for not going there sooner. 

Friday Fitness Post: Protein cookie & Breakfast

I ususally avoid protein bars. In my opinion they are just like regular chocolate/candy bars only with extra protein and rarely they taste as good so it's a tie on the pro/cons list. The extra protein they provide you with is replaceble with regular food (unless you're in particular situation where it can't be done, but the preparation is the key) and that way you can avoid the extra sugar they contain.

However, as this week allowed me to try a new restaurant and shop yet again for winter accessories, I decided to explore, once again. in the protein-bars-area. 

On the recomendation of the employee of the sports nutrition store, I bought My Protein protein cookie with Double Chocolate Chip Flavour. 

Happy Birthday Chocolat 041

This place so close to my heart is turning one today! I can barely recall what stood on its place on the address of Masarykova 25 before it appeared, a bookstore if I’m not mistaken, but I’m so happy that Chocolat 041 took its place.

To cut right to it, it’s because of 30 or so flavors of delicious ice-cream they offer and unique cakes that I’ve

Velvet :: authentic café in Zagreb

Velvet café & gallery, Dežmanova ulica 9.

Oranž Zagreb :: Wine bar & Desserts

I think that official name of this place is Oranž wine bar and bistro, but I mostly think of it as a place to get something sweet. To give you some basic information; Oranž is located at Zagreb's center, in the street of Ilica, on the number 7. You notice how close it is to the main square? It's probably why it settled as a tradition for me and my family to go there for a dessert after our traditional lunch we have together every time we're all in Zagreb. Actually, it's our tradition even when it's just me and my mother. Lunch, then Oranž.

What really drawn us to Oranž in the first place (right after its proximity to main square) is how fresh it looks. The terrace outside is very cousy, although in the busy part of Ilica. It is one of the things I like about Oranž, weather I sit outside on the terrace or inside near that window that overlooks Ilica I'll be happy because I like that view of the busy city while I'm relaxing, completely comfortable. 

And then there are cakes and pastries. It might seem silly, but first two give the big advantage. Regarding the cakes, I’ve tried nearly everything! I’m only too sorry for not taking enough pictures to show you. Nutella cake and Nutella cake with nuts are to go option for everyone who loves Nutella and big dose of chocolate. The second one is very filling and some might struggle to eat the whole piece of cake they get. I did, but it wasn’t too hard ;) It’s now my favorite of all things they offer.

Eliscaffe :: The Best Coffee in Zagreb

Eliscaffe & roastery is the best place to have coffee in the city of Zagreb by many reviews and from this moment by my own too.

It's located on the address of Ilica 63, very close to Britain square, meaning: you can get there by public transportation, your own transportation, but I recommend walking, simply to enjoy the beauty of the city.

I’m not an expert on the coffee area unlike some people they understand all about roasting, bitterness and whatnot. I’m not good at that and hopefully, one day I will be able to tell you about all the coffees I try out and why exactly are they good and how good are they. Until then, I’ll just demonstrate it simply by my sense of taste and other social indicators.

Regarding the first aspect, when I ordered that simple coffee few days ago my world changed. I wished I could get this coffee every day, three times a day (because that’s how often I drink coffee) and everywhere. I’m willing to give up every other café, coffee shop, bar… along with everything they offer and come to the Eliscaffe for coffee. It was the best taste ever and if I knew how to describe it better I would, but no word can do justice. Best coffee I tried yet.

Regarding the other aspect and insinuating the first one, I’ll tell you something about myself and my culture. You see, I am Croatian, and Croats have this special habit of drinking coffee. Before you think how people everywhere drink coffee, which they do, by some researches they don’t drink it for the same reasons. Some drink it to wake up or stay awake, some like its taste, other drink it for pleasure, and then there are those who drink it to socialize.

Us Croats, we have this so called ‘culture of sitting and drinking coffee’ while talking about everything and anything, or simply reading something. In both cases, we do it for pleasure, not ‘along the way’.

The very place, Eliscaffee, is pretty small but very inviting. Given the information about us Croats as people who don’t really take their coffee to go, this is probably the only place that gives more coffees to go then to stay. Even while getting there, I ran into people with cups like the one I got and I knew where they’re from there’s no chance that you’d take any other coffee in near area if you knew how good this one is.

I recommend you to try out this coffee and tell me what you think. 

Where’s the best coffee you ever tried? If you already tried this coffee, is there a better one somewhere?

I’m getting too excited over a coffee!

A.

October 2014: my month ahead!

Today is the first day of this month, which is the October! (post was supposed to be up then, but it was a busy day, so I'm few minutes late.)

I'd say the autumn is full on now (repeating myself by saying that it's been on for a long time, but now it's official) so the new season is on, but for me, it's also a start to a new year. I guess ever since I started my primary school I feel like year starts in September and ends in June, leaving me two months of vacation and free time, sort of a vacuum. However, since college got in the picture, timeframe moved a bit further, making the beginning of the year in October and the end of it... well, unfortunately, sometimes it ends just before, in September. Not to dwell on that topic too long, there are other options and possibilities: ah, that beauty of the college student lifestyle.

To pick myself where I left off, October is a new beginning because the priority of my life takes on from here: university! That means that I'll have to make my tight schedule work, fill it with university obligations and make time for some little delights.

Previous experience showed that the more work I have the better I work, so we'll see if I'll be able to keep that up since this year there will be most demanding than it ever was, or so it seems.

Hopefully, I'll be starting a new language: French! My long time wish. I find it wonderful to be able to speak fluently or at least understand somewhat of multiple languages and I'm about to improve myself in that area.

Few days ago, when autumn officially started, I got back to my gym which I resided from during summer months as I was away. Now I'm back on track and I'll try to get back to shape I was before I left and then move forward from there as soon as possible, but still in slow pace. I don't like to rush things like that: getting in shape is a process.

My long time wish is/was to try something new, cross things off from my bucket list, so I'll be working on that too. At least those small things that I can fit in and afford in my, as I already mentioned, tight schedule to be. I started with trying out supposedly the best coffee in town right after I got my new hairstyle done yesterday. 

Here's the picture of its cup! It doesn't demonstrate much but it's good to have a visual reminder of this very nice experience. It was the best coffee in Zagreb I tried so far.

The rest of the week I still plan on taking it slow, speeding up the pace as the end of the week approaches and then hit it full speed from there in order to accomplish as much as possible and get into the routine.. There is 30 days to make difference in life, to try something new and to improve. Life is a journey. (I'm getting annoying with these quotes, but when there is a lot work to do, you have to try more to keep things interesting and dynamic.)

That would be the rough draft for my month ahead, how does your look like?

xoxo, A.

Dream big! It's free, but... the hustle is sold separately.

In course of my 120 days of happiness mission, I decided to share my perspective on something that makes me happy. Dreaming. Not just dreaming alone, everything that comes with it.

In my opinion, there are two types of dreaming:

1.   The one you do when you’re trying to escape reality in a faraway land where everything is according to you. Even the problems you face are organized by you, which allow you to solve them so perfectly it’s unbelievable!

2.   The one where your wishes demonstrate themselves and you have some kind of goals, maybe even a plan how to achieve them.

Sometimes, those two types can be combined, depending on a person and your current life situation. The more you have first kind, the less productive you are. The more you have latter; you’re step closer to achieving them.

Now, as I said, dreaming is free. Anyone can do it. Sometimes it takes a bit of practice and relaxation, but still, anyone can do it.

In order to transform your dream(s) to reality, you’ll have to make plans how to do that. Here’s a small guide:

1.   Realize what your dream is. It could be the hardest part, knowing what you want. Admitting it to yourself, depending on what kind of person you are. We often think we’re not ready for something, we’re scared to do what we want, we get insecure, and some people are just lazy… whatever it is, don’t be afraid of yourself. It’s okay to dream bigger or smaller or differently.

2.   Form smaller goals that lead up to the bigger one, or in other words, to do list. What is it that you have to do on daily, weekly and monthly bases to bring you closer to your dream and eventually all the way to it?

3.   Take obstacles into account. Try to be as precise as possible in matter of predictable setbacks. Doesn’t hurt to have a back-up plan in case of the unimagined setbacks. For example, if you have a certain deadline to meet, make a schedule, but don’t overstretch it in case something happens and you lose much needed hours.

4.   Follow your schedule. Complete those smaller goals. Don’t let setbacks set you off your track.

5.   Keep/get rituals that make you happy, keep them simple. In order to achieve something, there will have to be some sacrifices. That’s why you have to learn how to appreciate small simple things in life possible on daily bases to keep you motivated and happy. If drinking coffee in the morning while staring out your window makes you peaceful, do that. If watching your favorite show every week excites you, do that.

Write it all down! It makes it official and it helps keeping everything in check.

Those things get hard. You’ll have times where you feel so demotivated and lazy, but the key is to work thorough those times too at most occasions and actually take a break once in a while. If you’re one of those people who get too scared that everything will fall down if you take one break out of the ordinary, trust me, it won’t! It will actually do you good, as long as you keep up with the key words once in a while.

In case your work requires a lot of time in a day, don’t forget to take small brakes along the way. Brain needs them, body needs them, and soul needs them.

Here main question arises: why dreaming bigger? Why all the work? Why all the trouble of going thorough it?

Well, unless you’re someone completely satisfied with your current state of mind and situation in life, you probably already want some change. You want all the trouble of going thorough it because you are not satisfied. Even if you’re happy (which I hope you are) it’s natural to want more from life for yourself. Even if you do have all you ever wanted and are completely satisfied with every aspect of your life, dream bigger!

Why? To grow, to learn, to reach your limitations and step on them, go over them, set them miles away to reach them again. To get better. Experience of hustling will be of a great use, if not practically then emotionally.

Unless you dream and work for your dreams, what are you living for?

That’s just a way I look at the things, simply because the state where I’m not learning and doing makes me feel like my life is passing me by. And it’s not a good feeling, I tell you that.

Right now I enjoy writing and reading a lot, hopefully improving my vocabulary, working on helthier life choices, can't wait to get back to the gym, plan on taking another foreign language, thinking of what else to do/see/visit in next months and matching it with my budget. I'm also very excited to start my next year at uni and embracing it completely because it won't last long.
All those in hopes of becoming better in writing and expressing my thoughts, being fluent in another language, getting helthier and more fit, expanding my knowledge and experience.

What is your perspective on the topic? What are your dreams?

Love, A.

photo credit: WeHeartIt

120 days of happiness

There is exactly 120 days till the end of the year (counting today too)! I challenge you to be happy every single day out of those 120. Not just that, I challenge you to try out as many new thing as you can in those 120 days and if you want, share your story here. Send it via email (to isitfrench@gmail.com) or share it in the comments! You can also share a picture of what happened to you to make you happy or your new experience on Instagram (hashtag #120daysofHappiness and @_anamari_). I'll share my experiences but I'd love to feature you too, so please get in touch.

So, as I said 120 days left. That's almost third of a year and thinking back, I'm aware that I didn't use this year to it's max up till now. Furthermore, at one point I felt like my life is passing by and I'm just sitting there and watching it pass, doing nothing. I felt so helpless at that point, but I also knew it's all up to me. I'm the one that let things roll out the way they did. I lost control over what happens in my life because I got lazy at some point. 

Truth is, we can't control everything that happens in our life either, but if we're not happy, guess what: it's all up to us. It's on us to change it! 

The main reason why I got this idea is beacause somewhere in the middle of last December while I was going to my college classes another student stopped me and asked me to help him with his project. I was in a hurry so I reluctantly declined his proposition. However, I kept thinking about his questions for quite a long time.

What’s the craziest thing you’ve ever done?

What are your New Year’s resolutions?

The second one didn’t occupy me that much. I don’t really make those because I think that whatever you want to do, you can start doing right away, no need to wait for who knows how long. Although, I do make plans; it’s just a little something that keeps me sane during those intense days, knowledge that I have something to look forward to. It can be a trip, a birthday party, enrolling some kind of course… just predictability of current week can sometimes bring me comfort and happiness and I appreciate it.

The first one however, kept me thinking on and on. Back and forward. I couldn’t remember one crazy thing I did, and I don’t mean stupid at the same time. Just something risky, brave and possibly reckless. Maybe I did do it, I just couldn’t remember. At that point it was that long ago!

So I asked myself: what was the last time you did something for the first time?

That was even better question and much more significant for me. I might have been responsible and rational by character (that rules out doing crazy things I suppose) but that doesn’t mean I can’t learn and try new things. I actually live for learning and trying new things.

Realizing I haven’t experienced anything new (besides some really good cakes) for a really long time, I decided to change it. Answer to my problems was a bucket list. Well, sort of. I wrote down 20 things to do till my next birthday. I didn’t manage to do them all so I wrote down more things and extended my deadline till the end of the year.

There is a third of this year left and I still didn’t do some of those things. Thinking back, I was scared and lazy to try something new, although I’d always feel even too happy when I’d finally do it.

It’s not that I wasted those two thirds all the way, I achieved things I’m proud of, I had fun, I did experience some new things and I was happy, but not as much as I could’ve been, if you understand me.

It’s not that I’m not happy with how things turned out, I am, I’m also very grateful, but... You know those saying people put for Facebook status at the beginning of a new year, like:

This year is a book of 365 pages and you’re the writer, don’t waste any pages.

 There are more of those, and although it’s completely natural to waste some pages too because we are all only humans and learning our whole life how to deal with things, I’m aware that I wasted some pages simply because I chose to.

Waste is a waste, and those are the days that I’ll never get back. Once that thought settled down in my mind, I decided that I want to waste as least as possible days from then on. I also want as many people as possible to live their life to the fullest.

So, for the next 120 days, let’s put each day to a good use: try new things, learn more and be happy.

As for the next post: Don’t be afraid to dream big and why dreams are free, but the hustle is sold separately! It’s much related to this topic.

Read me soon,

Love, A.

Traveling: Zadar (Croatia)

You could say that my vacation begun even before 30th of June, but going off to coast screamed it! I never had that kind of vacation until few years back because my parents didn't really travel much, let alone to some place on the coast. However, I had few one-day-field-trips to coast and those shaped my perception of summer vacation forever. My first visits to Zadar, town on the East coast of Adriatic sea, were probably to visit some relative or to my orthodontist, not to sunbathe, still, when you mention Zadar today i immediately think of sea, sun, beach... in short: summer vacation!

And here is why I find it visit worthy!

History. Probably not the first thing that any other 20-year-old thinks of, but I never really thought much as everyone else did about... well, everything. I always had separate way of thinking and perceiving. When I say history I don't point out its historic moments and development. It's more of what it left behind; streets, buildings, churches... I love that this town has visible history with interesting stories behind that I always look forward to.

City. I didn't grow up in the city. The city I visited often since I was born till I moved wasn't exactly by my standards, but I'm still a city girl. I love the smell of the city, traffic of the city, possibilities of the city, noise... and Zadar has it in certain amount, especially during the touristic season.

Sea. Zadar is on the coast, and summer just doesn't work without sea.

Shopping. It's always better in the city. Zadar has street style stores in its down town and shopping center called Supernova. Although I'm not too happy with current offer, it's still not too bad.

All of these things shape Zadar as attractive summer destination, and it is, but in my opinion it is because of those memories I experienced there.

Sea organ is somewhat musical installation on the coast of Zadar where waves produce musical noise by hitting the shore. When you think about it little further, it's nature playing. And all the while you're walking by the Adriatic sea and watching the sunset over it with islands in the distance.

Gelato/cake shops. I was always somewhat of a sweet-tooth and I appreciate well-made cake very very much. I don't neglect gelatos either, especially during these summer months. Every time I come to Zadar I visit Kavana Danica on the Kalelarga (also known as The Wide Street) to try out something out of their offer. My moms favorite is Ferrero cake which is the perfect choice for all chocolate, Nutella and hazelnut lovers! I like it too, but I'm always experimenting, trying something new and I was never disappointed. Their gelatos are supposedly made by Italian recipe. I am no expert and although I've tried gelatos in Italy too (there are no better than theirs!) I can't really tell if these are up to shoulder with them. However, they are very delicious.

There is also local recommendation for best gelato in Zadar to be in the place called Donat, where you can find people waiting in (fast moving) line for their gelato. I've tried flavors called Don Vito and Hazelnut and was very satisfied. Maybe someone more experienced in tasting could tell you somewhat more, all i can say is that I recommend going there because I enjoyed it (and I would never send you off somewhere with recommendation if I don't think of it as good place to go). Wow, you can tell I like cakes and gelatos, right? hahah

Sunsets over the bridge that connects Poluotok and the rest of Zadar. Just experience it and you'll know what I mean ;) It's nice how the lights from the shore that reflect in the sea complement the sight.

The Queen Jelena’s gardens. They were one of the most beautiful places to see in Zadar and the place of many happenings on social scale in its time. Today, I’d say they are if not the most beautiful sight in Zadar, probably my favorite place that has special atmosphere in the evening and breathtaking scenery during the day.

Breakfasts on the balcony. I guess that's something you might as well have at home, but I just prefer it there. I wake up early while it's not so hot outside yet, make coffee, cut up some fruit to go along with my breakfast and go outside to have it with the view.

To go along with these idealistic things as I see them, Zadar has some downsides too. You might notice them at first visit; however, I've confirmed it over the few years.

I'm not a big fan of the new-build Zadar. I just like the old architecture better and feel like new building went... wrong. I don't really mind it, just my opinion based on my personal taste for architecture.

One more thing is that drivers aren't really polite. I'm not sure if it is a local thing that tourist also follow or it is just something about this place that they don't respect walkers. They NEVER stop to let the walker cross the road on marked place.

There are probably more exquisite places to spend your summer vacation waiting for me to visit them, but I can't describe how happy and blessed I feel to have this summer vacation right here in Zadar.

Where do you go on summer vacation? Where do you travel? Have you ever been in Croatia? 

What do you think of Zadar?

Love, A. 

P.S. All of the pictures are taken by me and copyrighted. Please do not share further without giving credit. XO