Vstopili smo v najbolj pravljični mesec v letu. V mesec, ki velja za čas veselja, praznovanj, druženj, obdarovanja in seveda tudi čas zapravljanja. Hočete ali nočete, decembra (ali celo že prej, trgovci nas na praznično vzdušje pripravljajo že vse od novembra) denarci letijo, za to in ono malenkost. Za velika darila, majhne pozornosti, dobro hrano in pijačo, takšna ali drugačna doživetja. Zagotovo drži, da vsi nimajo te sreče, da bi lahko hladilnik in praznično mizo bogato obložili ter pod smrečico zavili darila, ki izpolnjujejo želje njihovih najdražjih, zato je prav, da se v tem času spomnimo tudi nanje. Morda s evrom ali dvema, morda kot »božiček za en dan«. Načinov je kar nekaj, prepričana sem, da bo vsak našel kakšnega, ki mu bo pisan na kožo in bo drugemu otoplil srce, če že ne more doma.

December je čas, ko trošimo, zapravljamo, ko je denarnica (kljub božičnici) malo bolj prazna.

Denarci praktično letijo, občasno (priznam, tudi sama sem tega kriva) skoraj nenadzorovano. Je mesec, ko sama, brez dvoma, zapravim največ (ali celo preveč). Delno zato, ker si to lahko privoščim, delno zato, ker me mesec obdarovanj in vsa praznična mrzlica resnično »potegneta«. Darila smo si ljudje izmenjevali ob tem času že od nekdaj, danes ni nič drugače – razlika je le ta, da je kvantiteta danes bistveno višja. Zakaj, bodo znali odgovoriti strokovnjaki, zagotovo pa ima to opraviti s samo dostopnostjo različnih stvari. Danes je naročiti knjigo iz Anglije vprašanje nekaj minut, do nas pride tako hitro, da se vprašaš, kaj dela slovenska pošta s paketom, ki potuje iz 100km oddaljenega Maribora v Ljubljano. Splet nam je omogočil dostop ne le do informacij, temveč tudi do izdelkov, o katerih so lahko naši starši še nekaj desetletij nazaj lahko samo sanjali. Malo sem z zapisom zabredla, a vseeno…

Če sem včasih iskala in kupovala darila, »samo da nekaj podarim«, danes iščem stvari, ki so uporabne, ki si jih obdarjenec resnično želi ali potrebuje, darila, ki imajo osebno noto, če je le to mogoče.

Tako je Jan dobil svoje božično darilo že v Mehiki – dvoje nove kopalke, saj je že tri leta hodil po toplih krajih na dopustu v istih (kazale so že znake resne in redne uporabe). Njegovo darilo zagotovo zato ne bo presenečenje, ker je bil zraven, ko sem »povlekla« mBillsov debetni Mastercard v trgovini, se pa potrudim, da mu »za božička« pripravim še kakšno malenkost. Mnogo raje kot za materialne stvari zapravljam za doživetja, morda kakšno letalsko karto ali vikend samo za naju. Podobnemu vodilu bom sledila tudi letos pri obdarovanju družine in prijateljev, predvsem pa jim poskusila nameniti svoj čas in pozornost. Tistim, ki si le-to resnično zaslužijo.

Če se tudi vi poigravate z idejo, da bi kot praznično darilo nekomu podarili letalsko karto, boste verjetno za nakup potrebovali kartico, ki omogoča spletna plačila. Vsaj običajno je nakup preko spleta cenejši kot nakup preko agencij. Ena najenostavnejših, najhitrejših in najcenejših rešitev je naročilo debetne kartice Mastercard preko mBills. mBills namreč svojim uporabnikom omogoča, da si brezplačno naročijo debetno Mastercard kartico, ki pride prav pri nakupih v fizičnih trgovinah ter tudi pri nakupih na spletu. Naročilo in uporaba sta brezplačna in enostavna. Najprej »iz trgovine« prenesete aplikacijo mBills, se registrirate, opravite osebno identifikacijo, naročite kartico mBills Mastercard (moji mami so pomagali pri tem kar na Petrolu, jaz pa sem na primer vse storila sama), ki vas nato počaka v domačem nabiralniku čez nekaj dni.

Kaj, kdaj in kako boste obdarili svoje najdražje, je vaša odločitev. Vam pa pri nadzorovanju zapravljanja in lažjemu nakupovanju ne le v fizičnih trgovinah, temveč tudi preko spleta, lahko pomagajo naslednji nasveti. Uporabni so v tem decembrskemu času ali tudi kasneje, skupno pa jim je, da zanje poskrbi mBills – aplikacija, s katero vaš telefon postane vaša denarnica.

Naj začnem na začetku: kaj sploh je mBills? mBills je pravzaprav mobilna denarnica, ki uporabnikom omogoča plačevanje z mobilnim telefonom na hiter, varen in enostaven način. Ena največjih prednosti je, da je uporaba povsem brezplačna (torej brez mesečnih ali letnih stroškov vodenja računa, naročnine…), brezplačno je nakazovanje denarja drugim osebam na telefonsko številko, polnjenje mBills (to lahko storite iz svojega bančnega računa ali direktno na Petrolu), plačila blagajniških računov, spletna plačila, plačila v trgovinah… Tudi »klasične« račune oziroma položnice (npr. za elektriko ali telefon) z mBills plačujete brez provizije. Več o sami uporabi si preberite na njihovi spletni strani, jaz pa se bom danes osredotočila na uporabne nasvete, zaradi katerih mislim, da je mBills super izbira.

Prednost imeti denarnico, ki je pravzaprav vaš telefon, je, da imate prav vedno vpogled v stanje – meni se zdi to izredno pomembno, saj sem tako pomirjena in imam vse pod nadzorom. Vse, kar se dogaja na vašem računu (od zapravljanja do prilivov) vidite praktično takoj – potrebujete le internetno povezavo. Pregled trošenja vam bo čez mesec december še posebej pomagal, da imate vsaj kakor toliko pod nadzorom praznično potrošniško mrzlico. Meni je tak vpogled precej pomemben, ko sem na potovanju. Še posebej takrat, ko pride do situacije, ko v zakotni ulici sredi Mehike že drugič povlečeš kartico, ker že dvakrat »ni šla skozi«. V aplikaciji mBills takoj vidiš, če se je res zataknilo.

Enako velja tudi pri spletnih nakupih. Tam smo ljudje še večkrat skeptični, splet je namreč poln prevar, na katere moramo biti pozorni, a naj nas ne prestrašijo toliko, da bi zaradi strahu pred spletnim plačilom v bližnji fizični trgovini stvar preplačali ali se ji celo odpovedali (lep primer so na primer tuje knjige – v naših knjigarnah so lahko res drage, ponudba pa je slaba. Sama rada preverim spletno stran Book Depository, ki je prava zakladnica knjig, ravno v času Black Friday popustov sem si naročila eno za zelo dobro ceno, pri nas pa se je sploh ne najde!). Pred vsakim nakupom preko spleta, kamor vpisujete podatke s svoje kartice, preverite, ali ima spletna stran v naslovu črke »https« ali »http«. »https« označuje varno povezavo, podatke o kartici vpisujte le na takšnih spletnih straneh. Prav zato se pred nakupom pozanimajte in morda za mnenje o spletni strani vprašajte »strica Googla« – če najdete podatke o nezadovoljnih uporabnikih, poiščite izdelek raje kje drugje.

Prednost debetnega Mastercarda pri mBills je tudi ta, da ne gre za kreditno kartico – porabite lahko le toliko kot imate naloženo na računu. Posledično je tudi varnost večja. Dodatno varnost plačevanja z mBills Mastercard vam omogoča tudi postavljanje limitov za plačila – in to kar na telefonu. Limiti za plačevanje z mBills Mastercard kartico so sicer precej visoki (za razliko od mesečnih limitov, postavljenih s strani banke za kreditni Mastercard). To pride še posebej prav, če želite kupiti nekaj dražjega oziroma zapraviti več (na primer kupiti letalske karte za 4-člansko družino). Na mesec lahko na prodajnih mestih tako zapravite do 10.000 €, na dan pa do 5.000 €; na spletu pa do 5.000 € na mesec. Seveda lahko plačila na spletu, prodajnih mestih ter izven EU tudi začasno onemogočite. Na telefonu lahko v aplikaciji mBills v hipu blokirate kartico.

S telefonom (oziroma aplikacijo mBills, ki si jo, mimogrede, brezplačno naložite na telefon) lahko tudi kar direktno plačujete na številnih mestih po celi Sloveniji. Na primer na Petrolu samo pokažete črtno kodo, tam jo skenirajo, plačilo potrdite in že imate račun na telefonu. Ali pa v kavarni, kamor ste povabili prijateljico na klepet in čvek (čas je danes posebno darilo), slikate mBills QR kodo in praktično v sekundi je račun plačan. Gre za precej nov, inovativen način plačevanja, za katerim stoji slovenska ekipa in se meni zdi še toliko bolj zanimiv tudi zaradi tega.

Pri zapravljanju (tudi oziroma še posebej decembrskemu) naj bosta na prvem mestu pamet in varnost. Želim vam čim manj brezglavih nakupov, čudovitih daril za vaše najdražje in vas same – pa naj bodo v obliki letalske karte, dobre knjige, dišeče kozmetike, sladkih dobrot, ročno izdelanih voščilnic ali le časa za čaj s prijatelji.

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Looking at my blog and my Instagram profile, you probably realize that excellent photos are a must for me. They are a part of my work, my every day life and I could even say that (amateur) photography is my hobby. I can still recall the day I got my first camera. I got it as a gift for my 13th from my grandma and half a year later, I got to test it on my trip to the United States. I’ve always been passionate about taking photos. The style of photos that I’m publishing now is quite specific, it reflects my personality, my creativity and of course my photos belong to those »trendier« colour schemes. You know – the ones that are currently popular on Instagram world and that are considered to be timeless. My photos are cheerful, at times not at all spontaneous (let’s be honest – who sits on the medivaeal walls of Ljubljana castle with a picnic basket set, holding grapes in their hands?). But I am certainly proud of them, as I am investing a lot of my time, creativity and energy into them. However, I knew that I wanted my wedding photos to be different and Jan let the choice about our wedding photographer be entirely mine (also because we share the taste in aesthetics). We both agreed that we would like our wedding photographs to be timeless and spontaneous.

We want the photos to capture the moments that Jan and I will live and feel on that day. We want him to capture the moments we will be too busy noticing – like genuine smiles, gentle handshakes and heartfelt hugs.

The decision wasn’t easy, especially because there is a wide choice of wedding photography masters in Slovenia that can perfectly capture your most precious moments. Although we could say that I’m familiar with what’s going on in “photography scene”, I found quite some novel and interesting faces and you wouldn’t be surprised to hear that some of the most popular wedding photographers have made it to the last round in our decision-making process, too. I’ll just mention a few of them.

Looking for a wedding photographer in Slovenia?

You cannot go wrong with the wonderful Ana Gregorič, – she photographed me, for example, for the editorial of a Slovenian magazine Zaobljuba. Another fantastic photographer is Matjaž Očko that I’ve worked with in the past as well. Then there’s also the young Ana Kete, a photographer worth keeping an eye on, Jane Šnuderl with his trendy Instagram photographs and Happy Moments couple’s photo gallery. But in the end we knew that we’re going to go decide for something more similar to like Alen Karupovič, Aljaž Hafner, Aluna Weddings or Lovro Rozina’s (LR Weddings) style. The latter convinced me with photographs of one of the weddings, which was published on his website. The way he captured the energy on the photos was magical, he caught the most genuine and spontaneous moments and as a cherry on the top – the venue of this wedding is where we’re getting married too. Our wedding planner Blažka organized a meeting with him and “warned me” that energy-wise we’ll probably be on the same page with Lovro and that I might not want to want to meet any other photographers afterwards. And this is exactly what happened – Lovro not only convinced me with his photographs but also with his energy.

Why did we decide for a pre-wedding photoshoot?

Fast forward a few weeks after, catching the last sun rays, we decided to organize a pre-wedding photoshoot on cape Kamenjak in Croatia, where we had a chance to thoroughly meet each other and where Jan and I had an opportunity to relax in front of the camera before our big day. Jan and Lovro have been chatting the whole way from Ljubljana, which is very odd to be honest, because I’m usually the talker in our relationship. I cannot explain how well we got along, but the photos will speak for themselves. Let me finish with this thought – when choosing your wedding photographer keep in mind that this will be a person present at your wedding for most of the day. Not only you have to like the photographer’s style, but you also have to have a connection. I cannot imagine having a photographer whose energy wouldn’t be aligned with ours. This is why it’s extremely important to meet your photographer beforehand and if possible, do the pre-wedding photoshoot. This way it’s easier to imagine how your photos are going to look like, and besides that – a little posing never hurt anybody, right?

photo: Lovro Rozina (LR Weddings)
my dress: bridal shop Sanjska obleka
make-up: Nina Đukić (Nina Beautyna)

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It’s that time of the year, whether you like it or not – it’s 2 weeks ’til Christmas! I am sure some of you have the whole gifting thing figured out (or maybe decided that you’re not going to gift this festive season at all, which is completely OK as well), but the majority of us just started browsing through online stores and window shopping for what to give to our loved ones.

For those of you, who are still not decided what to give and are looking for some Christmas gift ideas (for him and her), this is a blog post for you, to clear out all of your dilemmas and maybe even help you find a perfect gift for your loved one! I created a small fashion Christmas gift guide together with Tom Tailor, where you can find many high quality pieces, that never go out of style.

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Amansala Eco Chic Resort & Retreat
Boca de Paila Km 5.5, 77766 Tulum, Q.R., Mexico
price: from 130 € per night (depending on the season)
https://www.amansala.com/

They say, if you want to escape the stress, you should come to Tulum, Mexico. Tulum is a perfect vacation spot for couples, solo travellers or even families. It’s relaxing atmosphere, amazing sandy beaches (if you’re lucky, there’s no seaweed), imminent natural cenotes, cool places to eat and sleep made Tulum one of the most popular tourist places on Earth. With tourism blooming, it still hasn’t completely lost its spark, especially thanks to great accommodations with  unique holistic approach, such as Amansala Eco Chic Resort & Retreat.

Amansala is a relaxed eco chic accommodation with recognized yoga classes

What makes Amansala Eco Chic Resort & Retreat special, is the fact that, it not only offers eco chic accomodations, but also world class yoga and fitness classes, spa services, recognized by numerous publications all around the world. It’s lovely setting, right next to the beach, where the Tulum Zona Hotelera starts, makes it perfect to relax at the beach, do some yoga and reconnect with yourself. The Amansala village consists of two properties (Grande and Chica), offering a variety of different rooms and cabanas, as well as 3 yoha shalas, 2 restaurants, a pool and a large beach area with loungers and sunbeds. We stayed in a very spacious room in the garden, which was sadly without a sea view, but still really lovely and cosy. I love how they use natural materials and incorporating pristine Mexican style into a minimalistic, yet chic décor. Eating breakfast at the beach was really lovely, the whole place felt really relaxed.

Aman:peace / Sala:Waters
Amansala is actually a Sanskrit named after the peaceful crystal clear waters of Tulum. It was founded on the belief that a true vacation is one where you come back looking and feeling better than when you arrived.

Amansala is a home of Bikini Bootcamp

Since we were there for 2 nights only, we couldn’t join their camps, but still got a glimpse into what they offer, from daily yoga to all-inclusive retreats. Bikini Bootcamp was definitely the most appealing to me. Bikini Bootcamp is actually a 6 day unique and adventurous fitness and yoga holiday retreat, including yoga and fitness classes, beach walks, pampering, healthy eating and (of course) relaxing on the beach. It’s holistic approach, that tunes up the mind, body and spirit, is well known. But Bikini Bootcamp is not the only retreat hosted at Amansala, they are very famous for their Beach Body Camp, Beach n’ Bliss and The Reboot retreats. You can event host your own retreat or bring a group to Amansala!

Amansala is a great place in Tulum for travellers looking to relax and reconnect with themselves.

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