A BLOGGER FROM SPLIT CITY ( CROATIA) MEDITATES ON HER LIFE.....

Hello, dear readers and fellow bloggers. In this post, I'll let my thoughts wonder a bit as I touch on a number of subjects. In other words, I'll get philosophical. I started this post writing about my multiple moves, but somehow it has grown into meditations about identity. It all started with a move, though.  I moved seven times in the last six months. Each move was different, and for different reasons. All of them were in some ways work related, and each move was challenging in its own way. 

First I moved from Mostar to Medena (near Trogir), then from Medena to Seget Donji (also near Trogir), then from Seget Donji to island Hvar. First I stayed at a friend's house  because accommodation is hard to find, and then I moved to another apartment that flooded, so I had to move again into another rented house. Life lately was quite eventful, resulting in lots of wonderful memories acquired in a short time, but also lots of stress and thinking. Every time I had to drag all my things, clothes, cooking appliances, all of it with me. During those moves, the stunningly beautiful Split city served as a sort of basis.

 Of course, Split is not just a place to keep my stuff. Split is my hometown. It is still the place I live in, at least part of the time, mostly on weekends. The other part of the time I live on the island now. I kind of still live in Mostar as well. So, I'm split between multiple places now, and two countries. When I choose Split as my 'blogging' or pen last name, this is the meaning I meant to capture, this feeling of feeling 'split' (and also of course the reference to Split city I'm from). I still feel 'split', and I suppose all of us do at some time in our life. We all wear lots of hats, especially as we get older. It's part of the adventure that is life. 

Fun, right? Well, sometimes it is fun. Sometimes it is exhausting, but that it life. At the moment, I'm ok with my life despite the challenges. I do not feel like I have a right to complain  about anything anytime, not when everyone is fighting their own battles, and  especially now  when I'm quite lucky in some ways. This sometimes fun but often exhausting life is always filled with decisions, decisions, decisions. Big ones and small ones. They all seem to matter. Every day, new decisions to be made. Every day an opportunity to rebuild, destroy or wrack ourselves.

A photograph in front of a historical 'Port Captain's' building from early 20th century with an ancient Roman palace in the background that is nearly two millennium old. This photograph was  taken after getting of a catamaran. As a history lover, I love the contrast between the old and the ancient. 

A little gif that shows me wondering from Port Captain's building to Split city promenade (on my way to catch the bus)
 

Browsing my photographs, one might be inclined to assume I'm on a vacation. I know I'm blessed to live in places that seem to scream vacation destination. The truth is that I haven't had a vacation in a very long time. I certainly didn't have one this Summer. I had a working Summer, and my Autumn has been quite busy so far as well. Not that I'm complaining, for I might have a vacation soon. Having a job is something to be grateful for in this economy. Moreover, I'm working more standard hours this Autumn, not like my long working hours in the Summer. 

Still, the challenges of constantly moving are taking a tool on my energy levels. I find it increasingly hard to have energy for freelance work apart from my regular job, but of course (like most people) I always try to get and do some work on the side.  Bills have to be paid, and with this much moving around, there are also new bills and expenses. I tell myself that being tired is understandable, but I still get frustrated with myself for the tiredness. With many jobs changes and with my health condition there is always a hospital stay or two, so as grateful as I'm for any opportunity given and I'm given a few, it was also not easy. It still isn't easy. It never is. Who has it easy, though? I'm old enough to know that nobody has it easy in this world. People always think others have it easy. They do not. The glass is not always greener. We all face challenges, we all take risks and make decisions- one way or the other. 

I'm not craving a vacation either. It is an illusion thinking we can schedule a date or a set of dates and have life work its own way around them. Life takes its course. Life has its own priorities. We are the ones that have to adapt, for life will not adapt itself to suit our needs or wants. Life cannot we fully planned. We just have to be ready and prepared for surprises along the way. Sometimes vacations will take a form of random weekends spent relaxing. Sometimes vacations will be an 'odd' day stolen from work or a number of one day trips scattered through the year.  Of course, sometimes a vacation is much needed. There is nothing wrong in planning or enjoying a nice vacation. Nevertheless, not everyone will take that 'typical vacation'. Many for be able to for  a number of reasons. There is nothing wrong with that either. We make do with what we have. Sometimes there is real beauty and charm in that. In the unplanned and unexpected moments of repose. 




Limitations can be liberating, that is what artists say. As an artist, you need limits. Nobody can do it all and all the time. Limitations enable us to get things done as they set a path for us to follow. Too much choice can feel oppressive, and there is a whole science behind it. Browse the internet and you'll find many articles tacking this subject of liberating ourselves with limitations. For example, this nice article ' The Power of Limits to Enhance Creative' on Artist Network. 

 It does not seem to make sense at first, does it? How can be liberate ourselves by limitation? How can setting limitations be liberating? Well, it can in a number of ways and if you think about it, you will see.  This limitation liberation talk is something that I heard mostly from artists, but nowadays you'll hear it from just about anyone. As I said, there is a whole science and philosophy behind it.

 For artists and creatives, it is perhaps simple to understand because  artists always work within a limit. As an artist, you understand that you create within limitations, not without them. As an artist you are always limited by your medium. It is only by understanding these limitations and working with them, you find your liberation as an artist. As an artist, you limit yourself to one motive, one colour or one technique- and you grow from there. 

Thinking about limitations being freeing, it made me think who was the first person who actually said it. I know a number of artists this saying is associated with, but after doing some research online, I realized that this saying goes way back to the philosophy of Stoicism and probably even before that. There is always someone who said it first. As humans, we are always drawing on ancestral wisdom. Thousands of years ago, many people faced same challenges as we do and asked the same questions. 

For isn't the whole human existence limiting? You have a limited amount of hours in a day, you live a limited number of years, you have limited funds and energy. We are limited by what our body can do. When we are tried, we can do less than when we are rested, but there is always a limit. To be limited is to human. It is only by understanding our limits and working within them, that we can strive for liberation.




We think that having unlimited funds or unlimited free time would mean freedom, but is it really true? Afterall, nobody's time or funds are really unlimited. There are advantages and disadvantages to everything, including wealth. Sometimes limited time means we get better at organizing ourselves. Sometimes limited funds means we have to be creative and work hard. Everything has its pros and cons, advantages and disadvantages. 

If you are lucky to have people you care about in your life, you will probably experience heartbreak because they will not always be there. Sometimes your loved ones will suffer, and there will not be anything that can be done about it. You will just have to endure it. Does that mean that it would be better to be free and liberated from all that emotion? What would that even mean? Are we even human without emotion? Of course one should not be led by solely emotion for reason matters as well.  Of course one should strive for emotional balance and avoid emotional hysterics of any kind. 

 Still, one cannot run from emotions, one can only learn to be purify one's emotion through emotional maturity. The ability to feel emotions has both its pros and cons. You cannot have one emotion without the other, you cannot experience love for someone without facing pain when you are (for whatever reason) separated from that person. You cannot have your cake and eat it.

That is just one example, but really people often want to have their cake and eat it, and that's just not possible. If you love, there will be pain. Love is not just positive emotion, love is also grief when you lose someone you love. You cannot have one without the other. If you don't feel love, are you even human? 

People spent so much time being jealous and resentful because somebody else has something they do not have. They think they were robbed of opportunity in favour of someone else.  It never occurs to them that the opportunities to be better are always there. We can always better ourselves. Instead of losing precious energy at resentment and jealousy, people should focus more on correcting and better themselves. We cannot control the circumstances, but we can control our choices. We can choose not to be resentful. We can understand that the world does not revolve around us. We should try to better ourselves.  



When ever I'm having a hard time, I remind myself that this is just life. Life is hard. Why is that we think it isn't? Why is that we think there is some rulebook we can follow and be fine? When every day is often a challenge, and we often learn mostly through mistakes.  I made a lot of mistakes in my life, and I will probably do a lot more. To live is to learn. To work is to make mistakes. I also got some things right, and I learnt from that as well. Of course mistakes are a part of the learning process. It is still good to avoid some mistakes. Sometimes experience can be a great teacher. It stops us from making the same mistakes over and over again. 



Sometimes it is hard to know if something is mistake or not. Sometimes it is not just the big choices that matter, but our attitude to them. Sometimes what matters the most is whether we feel gratitude or resentment. There are always opportunities to learn and grow, but we need to take them. We need to use our brains.

As I look upon the many 'location' changes I have had in the last seven and eight months or so, I also see a lot of inner changes. Change happens whether we want it or not. Sometimes we can introduce change into our life, sometimes our lives change on their own and sometimes it is a combination of the two. Either way, change is inevitable. Things never stay the same. They cannot stay the same even if we want them too. So, I guess that sometimes inviting change isn't bad.

 I'm well aware that I have a lot to be thankful for. I really am. There is always something to be grateful for while we are alive and breathing. Perhaps these days I have more to be grateful than in some of the past ones. Hopefully, I learnt a thing or two over the years. Experience does have a way of making life easier.  I can think of a many a year that was harder in more ways than one. Why am then so surprised if I feel tired? The year 2025 was an Odyssey journey of sorts so far. It really feels that way. One should be allowed to feel tired after such a journey. It is possible to feel both tired and grateful. 



 It all started with a job change. It was very hard for me to leave my job because a number of reasons. One of them was that I had a great relationship with my colleagues and everyone. I had worked there for almost three years at that point and really established myself. However, I felt there was no future there due to a number of factors I do not plan to discuss right now.  So, that first job change in this series was in the last December. 

Funny how when I did a recap of year 2024, I predicated that 2025 will be a year when I will work a lot. My prediction certainly came true. I worked a lot and I moved a lot as well. I started January at a new job in Mostar. Again, I really hit it off with my colleagues and a part of me wanted to stay, but I decided to go forward.  Right away, I knew this was not the place for me to stay for long, so I told the boss that I will stay for as long as it takes for them to find a replacement. After two months, I moved forward.  Leaving my previous job was not an easy decision, leaving this one wasn't either, but I knew I had to keep moving. When I left those those two jobs, I left with gifts and good wishes from the colleagues.  It is hard to leave good coworkers, but we choose our work based on more than that.  Once you get going, it gets easier, though. You can always stay in contact with your ex-colleagues. It might not feel the same as working with them every day, but it can still be really nice.

This photograph was taken last March in Split (about the same time as these brutalist ones). 


Anyhow, after those two job changes, I freelanced for some time while looking for a new job. I applied for a few different jobs, got accepted at them all, but I declined them because I knew they were not the ones for me. I worked freelance for a time, dividing my time between Herzegovina and Croatia until I started my new seasonal job in late April. This job was  a seasonal one and in some ways it was easier to opt for it because it was temporary. I choose it after declining some other offers, so this one was not chosen without thought either. 

I moved to Medena near Trogir and worked there in a tourist camp for a few months. It was not easy getting used to a new place to live in but on overall I enjoyed my job even if it was naturally challenging at times. Another move was to come there, because from there I was moved by my boss to another location (Seget Donji) where I worked until the end of the Summer. It was a good experience, but by the end of it was quite tired. I lived apart from my significant other for months, and that was certainly an experience that was out of the ordinary.  This job was seasonal so I did not think too much about it, I always knew it was temporary. I finished my job there in pretty good spirits. I really hit it off with one Argentina coworker, and we had really a fun time before she flew out of the country.

Anyhow, Summer was coming to its end, I had a few job options and I was trying to decide on the right one, when an unexpected opportunity presented itself. I decided to accept it despite the challenges, the move and everything. I'm still not sure will I have to move again soon, but that is life. Renting can be an adventure. I do have a place of my own, a house, but we cannot always be fortunate enough to live in our home. We try to make the most we can with what we have, and find some beauty in life in the process.  The beauty is always there, present in one way or other, but we cannot always see it.

A collage of my two catamaran outfits. The Autumn sun was kind, so I could pose without the coat.

I said it many times, I will say it again. I'm grateful for the opportunity to be surrounded by so much beauty. One beauty that makes my heart sing is always Split city. A city I have loved. My visits to Split this Summer were short and rare due to my working hours and stuff, but I'm visiting it more often now. I've been there last two weekend and I planned to spend this weekend there as well, but did not manage it. Still, I'm grateful for those three amazing recent visits. Split is a dream, a city I cannot get enough of, my forever inspiration. Being the second largest city in Croatia, Split has a lot to offer. It is the centre of cultural life in Dalmatia region. Some would also call it the most fashionable city. Yes, Split is a city that is known for its fashionistas.  Speaking of fashion, I'm sharing two outfits today. One I wore at the end of the Summer, and one I wore recently well into Autumn. Both were 'go to' outfits, worn for travel and moving around. Of course one can also wear fun dresses when one is travelling and moving around. 

Let us have a look at these outfits, check how sustainable they are and what memories they evoke. If you are a reader of my blog, you know that I love to write about memories and stories that we create with our clothes. That is the most interesting thing to me about clothes, the stories they tell. The stories we create with our clothes can be so interesting. That is somehow what the driving idea behind my blog has been. Creating stories. Telling stories. Sharing stories. 

It is really the time we turn away from modern consumerism and materialism. Consumerism is not just bad for the environment, it kills creativity. Remember that limitations can be freeing. Paradoxically, discipline can lead to freedom. Sometimes we do not need more clothes. We need to learn more about clothes. Learn how to shop our closets.  Learn what kind of clothing items work for us and why. Learn a thing or two about maintaining clothes if not how to mend or make clothes ourselves. Learn a thing or two about shopping vintage or second hand. Sustainable fashion is not just good for the environment, it teaches us to be grateful for what we have. 


So, let's talk about the first outfit. How sustainable is it? Have I worn these outfits before?




The story of an outfit- How I wore these clothing items before?

The red long sleeved t-shirt (blouse? top?) (no name) - not sure where I bought it, but I have worn this long sleeved red top a lot. I'm also not sure what to call it. Is is a long sleeved t-shirt? A top? A blouse? I would inclined to call it a t-shirt had it not lace details and the material that felt more thick than a typical t-shirt. So, maybe call it a blouse or a top would be better? 
See how I wore this red long sleeved top with a purple OZZ skirt in 2023.


The cherry print dress (from an online site that does not exist anymore) 

This dress was a collab piece, some online site sent it to me more than a decade ago. Somehow it turned into one of my favourite pieces ever.


Follow the link above to see how I wore this dress for the first time with a diy necklace, a cute pair of  kitten heel vintage sandals and a plastic yellow bag. My husband took a lot of particularly beautiful photographs for this post. He has always been a fantastic photographer, but in this post he really shown his skills with the zoom and the close ups. 


Follow the link above to see how I styled this dress with startas sneakers- and another suitcase that is luggage trolley.


In the post above, you can see two ways I wore this cherry dress with a pair of brown heeled sandals. I actually often wear this dress with this particular pair of sandals. You can also see more ways to style the sandals as well. 


In the 2020 post above, you can see 17 different ways to style this dress. Some of those outfits are also included in the previous links but here you have them all in one place. Here are also separate links to those old blog posts if you want a closer look:

https://modaodaradosti.blogspot.com/2020/01/visit-mala-stiniva-bay-on-island-hvar.html - In this post I layered this dress with a blazer and a warm coat plus sneakers for some hiking on island Hvar.

https://modaodaradosti.blogspot.com/2015/10/how-to-wear-summer-dress-in-autumn-kako.html- In this post I layered this cherry print dress with a red blazer, a foklore bag and ankle boots for a walk in Mostar. 

https://modaodaradosti.blogspot.com/2016/07/cherry-dress-and-cat-ears-haljna-s.html- In this post I wore this dress with DIY accessories (cat ears made from faux leather), a mini vintage dress and blue loafers for a visit to Potoci.

In this post, I wore this cherry dress with wedges and a yellow bag for a visit to Split city. 

https://modaodaradosti.blogspot.com/2018/07/how-to-style-cherry-print-dress-in.html In this post, I wore it in a classical summer styling with sandals and a burgundy bag.

https://modaodaradosti.blogspot.com/2020/07/vrboska-village-and-beach-soline.html In this post, I wore it in another simple summer styling with tropical print sandals for a visit to Vrboska.

https://modaodaradosti.blogspot.com/2019/10/nature-monument-in-vicinity-of-mostar.html In this post, I wore almost exactly the same styling, just with my black bag for a visit to nature monument near Mostar. 


In this 2024 post focusing on different ways to style an olive blazer you can also see one outfit featuring this cherry dress (worn with loafers and a beige bag).


In this 2020 post, you can see how I styled this dress as a top by layering a blue pleated skirt over it. 

So, as you can see, this cherry print dress was worn a lot over the last decade. 


The pink sneakers (Nike)

I bought them for work last Spring and I've practically lived in them ever since. I have five outfits posted with them on blog, but in reality I probably have more than ninety wears since I wore them  every day to work for three months.

In this fairly recent post, you can see me wear them with 3 different outfits. 

In this post, you can see me styling this pair of sneakers with a white and blue striped ruffled dress. 

In this post, I wore these sneakers for the first time on the blog with a pink dress for a visit to Split. 

The burgundy bag- (old, from Borsa store)
I wear this bag all the time and I have had it for years. Honestly, I'm pretty sure I wore it more than 300 times, most recently in this outfit post from Jelsa. 

My oil on canvas dating back to 2014! I was just learning how to use oil paints here, but I had to paint my beautiful Split. 



 Now, before we move onto second outfit, let's talk about Split city for a minute. It's always popping up on my blog. It is my hometown after all. My identity is linked with its sun soaked streets and ancient mosaics. Split was featured in one of my latest book review post (alongside Jelsa). You can have even a better look here in another post that featured a cherry print dress but this time a white one. 




I seem to really love illustrate Split city...and can you blame me?

Yes, I blog about Split often. It is my pen name for a reason. This is a city I have grown up in and love to return to. Above is a little collage with some of my paintings.  I have painted and illustrated Split city a number of times. Below is a link to the most recent acrylic painting I made: 


In addition, here is a little 'link party' in case you want to explore more about Split city. 






Moving onto my second outfit. Both of these outfits are my 'catamaran' outfits, something I wore for a catamaran ride to and back to Split. The first outfit is more suitable for the warm Autumn weather, and the second one is a proper Autumn one with layering and all. It is also darker in tone. So, let's see how sustainable this styling is. 


The short black coat (Tally Weijl)- super old, worn hundreds of times. 


The neutral turtleneck (no name)- super old as well, and worn just as much. You can see how I styled it in  posts below: 

The long olive vest (no name)



The short black coat (Tally Weijl)- super old, worn hundreds of times. 



The black biker boots with studs (from Retro store)

1) See the link above where you can see another way to style these boots with this coat!

3) https://modaodaradosti.blogspot.com/2025/02/visiting-nature-reserve-hutovo-blato-in.html




Let us not forget about this oversized tartan scarf (New Yorker if I remember well) I nicked from my husband!


1-2) The first post where I have actually worn it and I styled it two ways with two different coats and same jeans: 

https://modaodaradosti.blogspot.com/2019/02/two-casual-ways-to-wear-oversize-tartan.html

3) Last year around this time with a vintage skirt and a tweed jacket:

https://modaodaradosti.blogspot.com/2024/12/merry-christmas-and-happy-holidays-with.html

4-7) You can also see two recaps featuring this tartan scarf in 3 outfits:

https://modaodaradosti.blogspot.com/2021/12/5-december-outfits-mini-fashion-recap.html

https://modaodaradosti.blogspot.com/2021/01/january-recap-10-outfits-i-loved-wearing.html


So, originally I wanted to share the two recent outfits I wore for the catamaran ride, but then I decided to squeeze in another outfit that I wore back in March. It is very similar to my second catamaran styling, with the same leggings, boots and a coat. It is sort of my get to outfit, is it not? 



I already linked up most outfits from this styling above, so I'll only put links for this blue ruffled mini dress. 

Cobalt blue ruffled mini dress (second hand)

You cannot get a really good look of this dress here, but you can if you check the post below where I styled it with black tights, kitten heels and a burgundy bag.








Thank you for visiting!

Comments

  1. Lindos atuendos. Te mando un beso.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Ivana, thank you for sharing the complexities of your life and telling us about your numerous moves. Of course, this can be exhausting, even for someone as active as you.
    I read in a book that moving is like a fire. When you move, you have to give up a number of things that you later look back on with regret. I'm writing about my many moves back then, when I was a student, and then after I graduated and went to work at a school.

    ReplyDelete
  3. ya que te has referido muchas veces a las limitaciones, es la primera vez que leo un post tuyo de un tirón a pesar del tiempo limitado que tengo (son la 1:50 de la madrugada) y hace 50 minutos que debería de estar acostado; pero no me quejo, pues ha sido un placer leerte, saber cómo piensas, tus reflexiones acerca de la vida, de las mudanzas, los diferentes cambios de trabajo que has tenido y conocer los bonitos lugares por donde transitas.

    tu post me hizo acordar sobre una reflexión que le hice a un bloguero argentino que también trató sobre el tema de la vida: "en esta vida se hace lo que se puede y la mayoría de veces nos equivocamos."

    me han gustado tus dibujos.

    un abrazo.

    ReplyDelete

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All your comments mean a lot to me, even the criticism. Naravno da mi puno znači što ste uzeli vrijeme da nešto napišete, pa makar to bila i kritika. Per me le vostre parole sono sempre preziose anche quando si tratta di critiche.

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