What is Balkanina?
What is Balkanina?
Balkanina came from Balkan and Nina combined. My name is Benina but my friends call me Nina and I am from the “Balkans” AKA a peninsula and a cultural area in Southeastern Europe. I came to American in 1998 with my mom and younger brother as refuges of war. You can read more about my story of coming to America here. Years ago (before I had any intention of blogging), I wanted a simple and original Instagram name and I came up with Balkanina. Since then Balkanina has kind of grown into my own little brand starting with my Instagram account and now my blog!
Who am I?
My husband Tom and I bought our house Fall of 2014 in the Midwest, good ole Wisconsin, then we adopted our spoiled and amazing dog Scarlet from Fetch Wisconsin and finally we got married June 4th, 2016. Notice how that all went a little backwards? Welcome to the life of a millennial, but hey we knew what we wanted and no one can take that away from us. My husband is truly my biggest fan, motivator and inspires me with his hard work, dedication and big heart; he will support me and cheer me on through anything and without him I may have never started Balkanina.
It all started when we moved into our first house. I couldn’t handle the colors on the walls, the builder grade trim and finally the sea themed kitchen. At that time, I pretty much only knew how to use a hammer and nails. At that time, I also learned that Tom had this incredible talent of building furniture and also fixing and renovating anything and everything… SCORE.
My passion for DIY & Design, was built by the mere fact that we were renovating our home on a budget and the beautiful Restoration Hardware and Pottery Barn pieces were not within that budget. Since, I have learned how to use a miter saw, table saw, nail gun, kreg jig and much more. I have built several pieces out of wood myself but truly I couldn’t do any of it without my husband!
I have connected with so many amazing people on social media through my love for DIY, lifestyle & home décor and even gained everlasting friendship through it, so I thought that expanding it into a blog was my perfect next move. I frequently get asked for DIY tutorials or “where did you get that?” so this is where I will share those things.
What will you see on Balkanina Blog?
Balkanina Blog is going to be my getaway, my safe place and the home of all things DIY, design, our home, lives and of course – beauty! In addition to DIY & Design, I am addicted to all things beauty, leading a healthy lifestyle & constantly searching for ways to be better! I hope you stick around and find a little piece of inspiration here at Balkanina.
