Eleni Kyri is the blogger behind Bijuleni, a fashion and lifestyle blog where she shares her personal style and bits & pieces of her life. As is quite commonplace nowadays, Eleni and I met online before actually meeting in person – we connected over social media at first and upon meeting each other we knew we needed to make getting together a frequent habit. Eleni is so full of love and life and has a strong passion for making a personal connection and I was really drawn to that, so I'm positive that you're going to want to know her, too.
Eleni was born in Greece and moved to Canada when she was a little girl. Her father spent time in Montreal as a young man before moving back home to Greece to marry and have children. Once his family was established, he returned with them to Canada to a city just outside of Toronto, and Eleni now calls Toronto home. She shares her life with her boyfriend Kamiran, and Margot, their cute little Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. They're looking to put down roots and are currently on the condo hunt to purchase a place in the city. Eleni balances her full-time office job with her passion for blogging, and enjoys spending her spare time with friends, checking out cool spots for coffee, brunch or dinner. Not that spare time is easy to come by when managing both a job and a blog, but she maintains her site Bijuleni because it's something she's passionate about.
You might be wondering what Eleni's blog name means... you might have also caught on by now that I love to know the origins of names, and the way Eleni's blog name came about is one of my favourite etymological stories. Eleni's sister, Alexandra, while living in Paris, picked up some French colloquialisms that she imparted back to Eleni during their frequent phone calls to each other. Alexandra would end their calls by saying “bisou bisou” and explained this meant she was giving Eleni kisses. Eleni, not familiar with this French word, visualized that it was spelled “biju biju,” and after starting her blog and deciding on a name for it, she remembered these treasured conversations with Alexandra and blended this word with her first name, creating the blog name Bijuleni. I love this for so many reasons – it's unique, it's a conversation starter, it's a play on language and pronunciation, and it's a sweet homage to those early conversations between sisters. I also love that she kept the original name she created even after learning the French word's true spelling – Bijuleni is her take on it and it's become a recognizable name in fashion inspiration.
Eleni's style is colourful, feminine, relaxed, preppy, playful, inventive and fun. Her signature piece, in my opinion, is the boyfriend jean. I've never seen anyone make a single piece of clothing more versatile than Eleni has done with this style of denim. She can dress it up or down, take it from day to night, and she includes lots of tips for styling these looks on her site. More than just a fashion blog, Eleni also shares blogging tips and life advice, and I love how open and honest she is in her writing. Eleni isn't afraid to say what she feels and that's why I enjoy reading her posts, you get to know the person behind the blog. She's a person of substance, someone who has great respect and love for others, and is an inclusive person who supports others and wants to see everyone succeed. She's one of my favourite people who I can always turn to for style advice and a kind word!
If you want Eleni's fashion tips too, you can follow Bijuleni blog on Wantfolio. You can also see what she wants on her want.boards by following her personal profile on Wantfolio, where she's collecting decor inspiration for her new condo and planning her next trip with all the travel inspiration she find on other users' want.boards. Download the app, find and connect with Eleni (username: elenikyri), and create your customized reading list to read what you want!
Biju biju, my loves! 💋💋
Want more? Here's what We Want To Know about Eleni:
I can't start my morning without...being grumpy. I am not a morning person. The struggle is real for me when that alarm clock goes off. Snooze and more snooze.
I have a weakness for...sushi. I think I eat sushi at least 3 times a week. I get very gluttonous when it comes to it. Kamiran and I always joke that if I ever die it will most likely be due to high levels of mercury because of my abnormal sushi intake.
Most people don't know that I...have a love for fine art and that I have painted hundreds of paintings. Throughout the years I have worked with different mediums, but most of my paintings are either mixed media or acrylics.
Currently reading...I would love to be one of those people that read book after book, but for the past couple of months I just hadn’t had the time to sit down and read a book. The problem is that I love literary analysis; character analysis, discovering symbolisms, themes. Reading a book for me is a very extensive process that goes beyond just reading the book, so I really need to devote time to it.
I want...to live a life with no regrets.
Thank you Eleni, for participating in #We Want To Know!
