Welcome to Inspired Plum!
We’re Nikki and Juraj and we created Inspired Plum to share just how beautiful life at home can be.
You’ll find ideas for creating beautiful spaces indoors and outdoors, healthy recipes, and wellness tips.
About Nikki and Juraj
We’ve been actively DIY-ing and renovating our home since 2018.
Here’s our kitchen and bathroom renovations.
Between his passion for gardening and mine for beautiful spaces and meals, we wanted a way to spread that joy with others.
We believe that every day at home should feel like a vacation!
Here’s a few fun facts about me and Juraj.
1. We met at the Vancouver 2010 Olympics
Juraj and I both went out to celebrate Slovakia beating Russia 2-1 and our lives changed forever that night – our first date was the Slovakia versus Sweden hockey game!
We celebrate a dating anniversary on February 19th every year because of it in addition to our wedding anniversary on July 5th.
2. I’m Croatian, He’s Slovak
Although I was born in Vancouver, BC, my family is originally from Croatia and I have very strong ties to my heritage (try our cucumber salad!) – I speak the language, love the food, and hope to live there 6 months of the year one day in the near future!
My maiden name has Slovak origins.
Juraj is Slovak and was born in Bratislava – but he has a Croatian last name!
Can you say fate?
3. Our last name means Plum
Our blog’s name is a play on our surname 🙂
The Sliva in Sliva-rich means plum!
4. We were blessed with two girls
M and N are the loves of our lives.
I thank God every day that I get to follow in my mother’s foot steps in being a girl mom!
We’re a homeschooling family who loves to hit the road whenever my husband has time off of work – this lifestyle offers freedom and family bonding like nothing else.
We love to laugh and have fun – most days you’ll find us playing guitar (check out our upstairs guitar space!) and singing as a family.
5. I have a degree History and Criminology
I majored in European history with a focus on Slavic studies – the Balkans and Czechoslovakia piqued my interest most.
I used to spend my spare time studying Slavic linguistics too.
I went back to complete a Bachelor of Science in Molecular Biology and Biochemistry with ambitions of becoming a doctor after this but God completely changed our lives with the arrival of our first daughter. I couldn’t imagine ever going back after this and have become a full time work from home homeschool mom since!
6. Juraj works on the biggest movies in town
If you see a huge movie set anywhere in Vancouver, BC, my husband could very well be on it!
Juraj has worked on some of the biggest feature films in town including the box office record holder, Sonic the Hedgehog.
At the time of writing this, he’s working on the sequel 🙂
I also worked on set at one point – in both the Locations and Makeup departments!
These days, I work from home managing my other blog, Nikki Blogs (music and homeschool resources, motherhood and homemaking tips, plus blogging and work at home ideas), as well as our marketing/film industry rental company, Slivarich Productions Inc.
7. We once drove from Flensburg, Germany to Makarska, Croatia
We finally went on our honeymoon a year after we go married and took a road trip through Europe.
Tickets to Copenhagen were significantly cheaper than anywhere else at the time and I always wanted to see Denmark so, we started there and worked our way to the Croatian coast.
8. I lost 35 pounds in 3 months when I combined Noom and Peloton
Between keeping track of my diet and exercising five to six times a week in my small home gym, I lost 35 pounds eating about 2,000 calories a day – in just 3 months.
I didn’t deprive myself though – I just paid attention to the things I was and was NOT doing!
Focusing on movement and nutrition daily literally changed my life and I’ve never felt better than I do today!
I did end up selling the Peloton though and switched to my Schwinn bike – I just couldn’t justify the high cost of classes or the politics after a certain point, haha.
9. He could live in his garden 365 days a year
When he’s not working on set, J’s either hanging out with the girls or outside in the garden!
No one knows how to take care of a plant better than this guy.
10. We LOVE singing and playing Worship Music at home!
If you follow me on Instagram, you already know that I’m not afraid to share it in my IG stories.
Today, you’ll find us at home singing and playing worship songs nearly every day – but it took me 35 years to start singing in public, haha.
With God’s strength, I’ve been able to share my voice and the love of our saviour ever since.
Josiah Queen is our family’s absolute favorite artist – this guy knows how to write a great song and we sing a lot of them nearly every day.
Thanks for stopping by!
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