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Hello everyone!

Today I want to share with you my newest interest - cross-stitching. WooHoo! /throws confetti/ oh, i'll clean that ... later...

Cross stitching is something I didn't think i'd get into. But somehow it happened. The story is a bit longer than this. Back in 2015 I received this gigantic sheet for the inter blanket -duvet? I thought I can't possibly use it as it is, and i thought I could turn it into pillow cases. And therefore I started measuring, cutting and sewing -everything by hand. 

If you don't have a lot of resources, and you need to hem your cloth, you can use some hair pins to keep the fabric in place. I found this method easy to use and not to ruin the material. On top of this, you can simply slide the pin as you need to advance. 

As a curiosity, i used a running stitch on the fabric i folded twice, and the stitch didn't get ruined in the laundry machine. 

I wanted to use traditional motifs, so i asked people i knew if they had something to help out. I needed both patterns and thread. Of course they did and they gave me a book with traditional patterns and a lot of thread as well. 

I flipped through the book to find a design that wasn't too complicated to replicate since I'm a beginner. And i found some that did looked easy, in a single color.

The one i decided on was all black and seemed easy enough. I copied it on paper using colored pencils, because i wanted some more colors on my pillow. 

The next step was to make sure the colors looked ok together. They weren't bad and they look better in real life.

The design i chose is the one in the lower right corner, in the book. I also show you how you're supposed to embroider it, if you like it. It makes a really nice edge on stuff, if positioned right.

I thought that an all black design would look too rough, though it would have been easier to stitch.

Did you know that Romanians traditionally sew with red and black thread, on white cloth? White means purity, red means joy and black means life.

I wanted to have at least 1 traditional color in my traditional motif. And this is why i choose red.

Since the cloth i decided to sew on in not easy to count the threads, i needed more visual help. I used a fountain pen. If you want to use the same method, make sure it's blue ink: red and black are staining the fabric and are more difficult to remove.

Of course, i sometimes messed up the guide. But it's ok as some of the errors got covered by some of the later stitches. 

None of these patterns have instructions on how or where to start from, so I had to figure these aspects myself. I figured that stitching the wave first would be easier later when i decide to add the other elements in other colors. 

However, drawing the guide [here the dots], then crossing the location of each stitch made my work even more easy. This allowed me to embroider whatever element I wanted first. 

Refer to the 1st picture in the beginning and the 3rd picture above, if you want to see what happens when you don't count the thread of your fabric, when you're supposed to do so.

And above you can see the end result. I decided to embroider a hen eating grass as well. For that design i decided to use a piece of etamin fabric to trace a counted guide. it made my life quite easy, but for the size, i needed thinner thread. 

I like what everything looks like. I will continue practicing my embroidering skills though.

© Charly Cross 2013 - present. All rights reserved.

You probably know i have an interest in religion and praying -see this article and this one. 

disclaimer: I hope this entry inspires you to pray, be a more grateful and kind person. I want to mention that while I do mention God from the Bible, I will NEVER force anyone to share my views. Atheists might be the only people who see no need for praying and I am nobody to tell them otherwise.

I recently started to be more serious about it. This means I started to increase my visits to the church. This means I go more often, not just for Easter. 

This new interest so to say, led me to realize I have no idea of how to pray. I have no idea of what words to say, if there is something i should or shouldn't say during prayer, and so on. 

This meant that I had no choice but to find a way to improve - if i can even say this. I needed a prayer book. but i'm cheap. and i like my comfort. 

I could save several prayers on the computer, bookmark them or even print them. However, I thought that if i write them by hand, i'll remember them better, and i'll feel them closer to my heart. 

Not to mention I have higher chances of actually remembering them. 

I chose the above notebook. I received it in 2016 as a Christmas gift. [sidenote: i just realised i never mentioned the amazing gifts A and me exchanged that year! O.O i'm beyond shocked! I don't even know how this happened! and i'm super disappointed in myself.... ]

I had no idea what to do with this agenda. I really like the Art Deco style. This notebook is designed by Flame Tree Publishing, and it's the book 47 - FTNB47 (978-1-78361-191-1) and the image is based on The Balcony by Erte. I'm not sure how many pages it has, but it's thinner than an agenda with every day on a single page. It's about the size of a A5 notebook, and quite slim. It has enough pages for my needs.

I started with the Lord's Prayer. Every Christian should know this prayer. It might even help even those who believe in other gods ... but I'm not very sure. Mostly because there are some instances in the bible where those who don't believe in G-d should not pray to Him... or His word shouldn't be spread to them. Though if this is true, i'm quite confused.

Then i continued with writing prayers I would need in specific situations - when waking up, going to bed, when i feel lost, and so on. 

As of now, when I type this, the prayer notebook is not complete. I still need many other prayers in there. I do feel like im on the right path though. 

At the end I created a sort of an index, as i numbered the pages by hand - some 60 pages so far. The index is just for me to find what i need faster.

I plan on taking this notebook with prayers with me everywhere, once i'm done. But who knows if i will. 

© Charly Cross 2013 - present. All rights reserved.

In Romania we call tea "ceai" and this word is very similar to the Chinese 茶 "cha2" where it originated from. Romanians have many different types of tea, and most of them are used as natural remedies.

This means that most teas here are made of various parts of various plants or trees. For instance we have cherry stem tea as a mild solution for UTI and not only, or linden flowers tea for a fragrant tea meant to calm you down. 

Caffeinated teas are not traditionally popular or used over here, though in recent years their popularity increased thanks to the international influence and trends. Fruity teas are also raised in popularity quite recently.

The linden tea is one of the more expensive types of tea over here. This must have something to do with the relatively short period in which these flowers can be harvested - end of May through the first week of June.

If you're lucky enough to have linden trees where you live, and you have an enough tall ladder, maybe you can pick some flowers next year. You need to let them get dry for at least a few days before consuming. 

You can mix them with any other tea, of course, but it's best by itself, or maybe with a fruity mix. All by itself, it doesn't even need honey - the tea is both fragrant and sweet enough.

Where to buy

There are several place where you can buy tea when in Romania. The supermarket is the easiest option, and most of them have a decent selection of teas. They are mostly green, fruity, or plant based teas. Some have brought fancy mixes as well that can be even offered as gifts.

Another place is the drug store. Their selection however is not that great, and you're highly likely not to find fancy teas there. They might also be a bit more expensive than in the supermarket. 

Another place is represented by holistic shops. These places sell all sorts of natural remedies, so naturally [sorry about the pun ;) ] they'd sell a variety of teas as well. Their selection of fruity teas might be disappointing, but they have plenty of herbal teas for many health issues.

Some gift shops or book stores are the last place where you could find tea. Of course, in these places the teas are pricier and the fancy and "modern" type. 

How to make

Unlike green tea that you can only brew for less than 30 seconds for it not to get bitter, most of the Romanian teas should be brewed for some 7 minutes at the very least, and generally about 10 minutes. 

For 1 cup, usually 1 teaspoon or maybe 2 of product is [are] needed, if it's a loose tea. If it comes in envelopes, so already portioned, only one envelope per cup. 

They say that if you want to benefit from the "remedy" teas, you should drink them unsweetened. However this is not always possible because sometimes the teas are bitter. If you must add something to make it more sweet, just try to add honey. 

By the way, if the tea is portioned, there are usually 20 servings per box. You can find bigger boxes than that, of course, but it's more rare.

© Charly Cross 2013 - present. All rights reserved.

I'm addicted to coffee and most everyone who knows me, knows this about me. I'll drink coffee in almost any form, at any given hour, even right before going to bed. Yes coffee can be bad for me when I overdo it. I started to tame my addiction by drinking only in the days I work, not not so much before bedtime.

Let me share my coffee "recipe" with you guys. I now drink Turkish/Greek coffee because I don't have a coffee machine anymore. I don't even want one.

INGREDIENTS - for 1 serving:

• 1 small cup of water [140 ml]
• 2 teaspoons ground coffee

ADDITIONAL

• sugar, or sweetener, or whatever you  put in your coffee to make it sweet
• unflavored milk - any type, even soy, as long as it has no flavor.

METHOD

• Pour the water in a large enough pot.
• Pour the coffee ground in the water.
• Turn the heat on to medium and place the pot over.
• If you use the pot method, for the Turkish (or Greek) method, wait by the pot until the water/coffee starts boiling. The water level will rapidly increase at boiling point and that's when you know your Turkish (or Greek) coffee is done.

Now it's time to pour the coffee in your favorite cup, adjust it for taste with sugar, milk or whatever else you like, and enjoy it!

Turkish and Greek coffee use the same method of coffee-making, on the stove. It can be tricky at first, but it definitely has a different aroma. If you have any other 'recipe' for coffee, please share.

I sometimes drink instant coffee, as seen below. In that case, I boil some water, put 1 or 2 teaspoons for instant coffee in a small cup and then pour hot water. Mixing with a teaspoon is mandatory. 

Adding sugar [or sweetner] and/or milk is optional. I often drink my coffee black or with milk. I really dislike the sweet coffee. 

© Charly Cross 2013 - present. All rights reserved.

Pictures are mine, taken from my instagram accounts - obscure_journey and secret.agent0101

Being a religious person means that you believe that there is a Superior Force, beyond our understanding, which created everything we know today. As well as everything else that we have yet to discover, learn about. This Higher Force can be called God, Yahweh or by many other names. A religious person also frequents a church or some other place of worship, as a sign of their belief in that Higher Force. Those who don’t believe in such force(s) are called Atheists.

Atheists say that there is no need for a Higher Force to create everything that there is, especially not the Universe. The universe has always existed, it didn’t need Anyone to create it- it’s as simple as that, because if the Universe was created by Someone, then where did the Creator come from, or who created Him?

Another proof that there is no God, in the eyes of many Atheists, no matter His name - is the suffering we see around us everyday. People, animals and plants alike suffer, especially because of pests and because of what some individuals do to others - for sure God in His mercy when he created us, didn’t create something like pain and illnesses, did he?

A religious person, especially a Christian, would reply that it is easier to harm someone than to do good. They’ll even say that G-d “tests” us and our love for Him. but...

However, it was our original transgression and then the following ones that pained G-d. He wanted us to see it's not OK to make others sad, break their trust, or make them suffer in any way. So I think we suffer because we got too estranged from God and His ways. Everything started with Adam and Eve not listening to Him, and giving into the snake. Yes, G-d is vengeful, jealous, but He also loves us tremendously because He incarnated Himself and let Himself be sacrificed by crucifixion for our sins.

Many people would hide behind their religion to justify their behaviour. That can’t be right: one needs to think for themselves and then decide if this or that is right or wrong to do, especially when they know what their religion teaches. However, he really shouldn’t need religion to tell us “this is (not) ok to do” because Adam and Eve bit into the fruit that revealed them “good and evil.” That alone should be enough.

A good person is usually defined by the way they treat those around them. Compassionate is another way to say “good person.” You may or may not believe in an All-Powerful Creator, but you CAN be more compassionate towards others, animals, and the nature in general.  

So yesterday we received some zucchini and their season seems to have started. I'm not entirely sure about that. In any case, "A" really likes patties made of zucchini, and for good reason: they're pretty light, despite being fried, as there's no meat in them. They're also pretty good, if you have a good recipe. 

While there's no meat in the recipe, you need some eggs or some other agent that can successfully replace the eggs. The egg is meant to help the patty stay in one piece, to enhance the taste, and there was another reason i forgot. So this is not a vegan recipe, but a vegetarian one. 

Read below the pics for ingredients and instructions!

You'll also need a grater/shredder, 2 bigger bowls and a smaller one, perhaps a sieve as well. 

You can now enjoy! Best served cold. I had 15 patties in total, but I ate one before taking a picture of all of them. "A" said they were really good :)

Bon Appétit~~~~

© Charly Cross 2013 - present. All rights reserved.

This week is for another do-it-yourself project presentation. YAY?

Let's learn how to make this pillow case from a shirt! shall we? In the first pic I used a different shirt because i didn't think of the pics I'd use, ahead of time. Plus I realized a bit too late I could make a blog entry about this process, so not all the pics are with the same shirt. I hope it doesn't bother you much. 

There's a little backstory for this DIY, so let's start with that. If you're not interested in it, scroll down till you see the first picture. ;)

We received some pre-owned/pre-worn shirts because "they're still in a good condition, maybe they fit you and you can wear them!" As great as this sounds for a minimalist person or someone who's concerned about too much waste and poverty, the reality is that those shirts were obviously worn. 

The shirts were in decent condition, but they're yellow on the collars, the fabric is also a bit destroyed because they've been worn too much. Even washed, these garments are nowhere near to be worn again, not even indoors. See first picture, here below.

I didn't throw them away because I thought I could do something out of them. I first thought of cleaning rags, but the fabric is not quite the right type, but more of a bed sheet type. And then it hit me that I needed more pillow cases - stitching together pieces of fabric to make a sheet is too much even for me. 

Things I used: 

• an existing pillow case
• scissors
• sewing needle and thread
• clothes iron
• measuring tape (not really used in the end) 
• pencil 
• extra needles

The first step is to make sure the garment doesn't have holes and clear of wrinkles, hence the clothes iron. If it has holes, either patch them up or give up the garment. My shirts don't have holes, so I checked to see if they're big enough to make a case. They're mostly men's shirts, so there's enough fabric - see below. 

If you align the old pillow case to one of the side sewings of the shirt you'll save yourself some time as you'll only have 3 more sides to sew together.  Make sure to turn the shirt inside out to have it ironed (not even designers work with wrinkled fabric), and buttoned up.

In my opinion, the bottom hem is the easiest to start with, especially if it's a straight one. But you could align the shoulders in place, pin the case to the shirt and start sewing all around it. 

I sew by hand, and this means I needed more visual guidelines and this is where the pencil proved useful as I drew around my pillow case, on the shirt. Depending on the type of lead, it will be really easy to draw on fabric. My pencil is a Staedtler norica 132 46 HB 2 if it's of any help. 

Sewing all sides with the pillow case still attached to the shirt will save you some time. This is especially true if you have a sewing machine [unlike me]. Well, it will save some time when sewing by hand as well.

Now supposedly you sew all the sides of the pillow case. It's time you cut all the excess fabric. Once all the extra fabric is removed, you will have something that looks a lot like a pillow case. See below how mine turned out. I must say I'm pretty proud of myself. 

I purposely left the buttons of the shirt on to save me time and effort. This way I don't have to sew other buttons, nor a zipper. The pillow case looks a bit old fashioned, but I find it really pretty. 

This was my first time completing such a project, and sewing it by hand along with having other projects going on, made this DIY unnecessarily long. I think that with a sewing machine this would be a 30 minutes (tops) project. 

Of course, I leave the project for 5 minutes, and I return to see this (below). If you have kids, cats, dogs, any other pets, make sure they don't have access to the needles if you need a short break from your sewing or whatever you're doing. You may know this, but while it looks cute in photos and in real life, such a situation can be dangerous - luckily my boy wasn't sitting on the one I was working on. 

PS: Sometimes, after you finish your first project, you may realize that placing the pillow case in a different position on the shirt, it could make your job even more easy. In my case, I placed the existing pillowcase in "landscape" position while the shirt was in "portrait" mode. Like this, I only had to sew 2 sides only, saving me even more time. See the pic below for a better understanding.

The resulting is not much different than the first one I made, so I didn't think another image would be needed. 

 © Charly Cross 2013 - present. All rights reserved.

Hello World~~~

This is a recipe perfect for a hot summer day - Watermelon granita! The recipe is not mine, I tried it and it's delicious! :)

• Difficulty: easy!
• Price: depending on how much the watermelon costs.
• Servings: 4 people
• Preparation time: 10 minutes
• Cooking time: no cooking involved!
• Refrigeration time: 3 hours in the freezer

• 800 grams of chopped watermelon. I had a double quantity.
• 3 tablespoons of lemon juice
• 120 grams of icing sugar - I used 300 grams of caster sugar. Too much!

Pour in a  rather shallow bowl and freeze for at least 3 hours.

Scratch the granita every hour with a fork. -oops, I actually didn't do this.

Pour in some large glasses with a small mint leaf, and serve. I also didn't do this step. Mostly because I don't have mint leaves. 

Well, we drank it on the spot. it was crazy sweet. You might want to cut down on the sugar.

Bon appétit !

© Charly Cross 2013 - present. All rights reserved.

Notes: The recipe first appeared here [still my blog] But I found it on a French forum. The pictures are mine though. 

Recently I started watching videos on finances and minimalism. I'm not good with money and I'm not a minimalist either ... well, not really. I guess, I decided to start learning about the mistakes I could be faced later on, or how to fix the ones I already made [and I'm too embarrassed to talk about].

However, I realized that in a way I can be described with both epithets depending on the situation. Now, I decided to share with whoever reads this blog, some possibly new [and some definitely old ways] in which you can spend less money.  

"hacking" my clothes

Some of you might remember my post in which I shared how I added a pocket to my sweatpants that didn't have one. 

How does it save money? I didn't have to go buy another pair with pockets [not that I would have found something I liked] and I didn't pay someone else to do it for me. Of course, for this you have to know how to sew [by hand or with the machine]. 

To do this, you'd have to sacrifice some time. For this project I wasted a bit more time than I was supposed to, because of extra steps that proved not needed.

I have a similar project going on for a bag. Hopefully I can post it soon enough.

old stuff to rags

If you were to calculate how much you spend in a year for certain cleaning supplies - mop replacement, kitchen sponge, dust cloth, whatever else you use, how much do you estimate that would add up to?

Honestly, I didn't calculate myself because I'd have to keep track of how often I need to replace them. But my wallet is a bit happier I didn't have to buy kitchen sponges anymore - for like a year. 

Instead I use old kitchen towels that I cut into smaller pieces. Most my kitchen towels used to be bath towels that got too worn to still use as such. Yes they were that old. 

By doing this not only do I produce less waste and pollution, but I also save a bit of money. Why are kitchen towels so expensive? 

How about the clothes I mentioned, you say? Depending on the fabric type, I cut those into the shape and size I think I need, and use the rags to clean windows and their sills, doors and their frames, dust the few horizontal surfaces I have, or the tiles in the kitchen and bathroom. Cleaning the toilet with those rags is a good idea because once that's done, I can throw away the rag feeling less guilty about pollution. 

I have to mention that as long as I don't clean the toilet with said rags, I can wash them in the laundry machine, and re-use them until they can no longer be used. 

Some towels make an even better mop than the one I have, so why not taking advantage of that? Not to mention that once the dishes are done, I can rinse off the piece of towel I used, and hung it to dry - it's more hygienic than a sponge in this regard.

Tshirts, sweat pants and matching sweat-shirts are the best candidates here. I find this a really good idea for when cleaning due to moving. 

This is especially do-able for those who don't have a charity or some other place where to go donate or sell old clothes. Let's just say, towels are not a thing to make others use.

by cooking

Cooking can save you some money as oftentimes the ingredients are cheaper or add up to 1 meal at a restaurant, depending on what you order. Let's not forget that usually cooking means you get several servings of the food you make, and if you really like what you make, that's always cheaper and better. 

What I cook is usually sweets, soups, and stews. I can't really find the stuff I prepare at home in the store. Even if I did, the taste is not the same, and may have ingredients I want to steer away from (garlic, onions, preservatives, food coloring) from a health related perspective.

If you want to prepare a meal that is not really specific to the country you live in, the ingredients can cost quite a lot. You might actually save money if you went to have a serving of an "exotic" dish at a specialized restaurant. You'll also realize whether that food is really worth trying to make at home or not. 

eating directly from the pot

"Whaat? that's gross, weird!" - it's what you may be thinking. 

And you're right when you cook for a whole family and not just yourself. It's also not really gross if you just warm the food on the stove, in a small enough pot to hold 1 serving of whatever you eat. 

How does it save money? indirectly: you have only 1 container to wash, not 2. You save water and dish washer because you use less of both. Of course, this works only if you do the dishes by hand. If you use a dish washing machine, you might actually want to use a separate plate to eat in. 

I have to say that these machines are not very common in Romania yet, though they can be found in stores. Younger families are more likely to own them, than older generations. They are more likely to be found in newer or renovated apartments. We don't own one.

Each household is different, of course, and what works for me might not work for you. 

© Charly Cross 2013 - present. All rights reserved.

As some of you know, I recently moved my blog and I also re-named it. All this trouble can be called re-branding! YAY!

So my rebranding consist of:

• new hosting platform 
• new blog name
• new author name 
• new blog and author logo - that I designed

In case you're wondering, the old version of the blog still exists, still on the platform I was using before, however it is being hidden from the public. 

Like many other people that try new things for the first time, there are some things I wish I knew before doing this step. Well, to be completely honest, I did no research on what rebranding or moving a blog so it's partially my fault. In any case, if you want to learn a few things, or think you might need a few tips in the future, please read on. 

Backing up pictures

Not everyone posts pictures along their blog entries. You'll see some of my own entries with no pictures whatsoever - they're not always relevant. 

However, if you do have pictures on your blog, you might want to back them up. From the start. The same goes for your videos. 

When I rebranded, I noticed several posts [this is just one of them] had broken images, and I was really scared I didn't have them anymore. But thanks to the hoarder that I am, I did find them. 

You might want to edit them and have them bear your new brand if you watermark them. I didn't do this, but maybe I should. The thing is I am not 100% sure I still have the originals or that I want to waste even more time for that. 

Edit / delete posts / entries

Rebranding usually has something to do with having changed your mind about the purpose of your blog. This means you'll have to go back on your posts and see if there is anything that doesn't fit your new perspective. Rebranding is similar to a face-lift so to say, so you'll have to do this.

I had to delete some entries that for some reason or another were blank. Originally those were re-blogs on my other platform, but perhaps the original poster also deleted the entries or something weird happened. Blank entries look weird and unprofessional, so in the bin they went.

At the same time, you might want to delete or add new pages for a better organization of your entries. Editing them [their content] is also a good idea, to breathe in some fresh air. 

Check and fix your URLs

My URLs were a mess after I moved my blog. It took me several days to go through all my entries and fix them. As a curiosity, they read something like: "http://www.obscurejourney.com/http://theownertravelsto.wordpress.com/missing-entries-on-my-blog" - WordPress is my previous blogging platform. This type of URL looks complicated, not functional and very unprofessional. My old blog is still there, but it's hidden from the public: it's my way of backing up my site. 

Not only did I have to fix the ugly URLs, I also had to fix any links I had in any post as well! My links were directing the visitor towards my previous blog and therefore the links appeared broken. I hope I did well and managed to fix them all. 

Learn about your new host

This should be a no-brainer. But, I jumped on this new platform without reading too much about it. I still hope I won't regret it, haha. 

You should learn about your new host because you want to go LIVE as soon as possible, so learning about the host - how to post entries, customize the appearance of your site, so on, should be done beforehand. 

For instance, WordPress and over-blog work differently when it comes to creating new pages. In WordPress you create a new page and it appears at the top, by default. On over-blog, you have to create the menu yourself. Each method has its own advantages - and i like that here, on over-blog if i want to change what a page says, i can just change the URL of the old one [if I want to keep it] and create a new entry with the previous link. It sounds a bit complicated, but it's really easy. 

Let's just say it took me a while to realize a few things, and only because I didn't properly study my new host.

Matching social media

I decided I should make social media accounts that match my new brand and identity. This is because I want to appear more serious and more professional. however, don't expect to see me on those accounts too much for they make me anxious, and it's close to a panic attack. But, if you want to show your support, you can do so there, if it's easier for you. Send me a private message or a public one, and i'll make sure to reply to it [sooner or later]. 

Before I was "the owner of the blog" or "the owner travels to" or something weird like that. Now I decided to take on a pen name [yea, sorry this is not my ID name - I don't connect at all with it] and a easier to remember URL. 

I therefore created "matching" social media accounts: on twitter and on facebook, and I connected both to this platform. I also have a "matching" email account on gmail [4charlycross [at] so on]. There's also an instagram account by the same name - you have higher chances of seeing me active here. 

You don't have to be very active on all of these platforms, but it's nice I guess to give people options to get in touch with you, other than through your blog [or youtube channel -yes I have one of those as well, for when I think stuff are easier to show through a video rather than pictures and writing. but don't expect 4K HD quality or anything as I'm just an amateur]. 

Logo

As you can see, I also have a "logo" that I use "everywhere." It's like a virtual signature for easy recognition. 

Use the logo across your social media accounts or wherever you want to be recognized. You can use a picture of yourself, if you're ok with it [i'm not u_u] or the same handle across all your accounts [as I tried doing]. 

This idea came to me, after seeing a vlogger i was watching, renaming her Twitter, and now her old handle belongs to a random guy who will benefit from her hard work. Her new handle is difficult to write and pronounce, and doesn't really have a connection with her life, except slightly. I try not to make that mistake and you shouldn't either.  

© Charly Cross 2013 - present. All rights reserved.