Rawr is 'I love you' in dinosaur

Today the mailman (well, ours is a mailwoman I guess...well, a mail person) brought me a shiny envelope. Inside, wrapped in a tissue was a little green dinosaur. The note from my father-in-law-to-be said: I found this walking on the floor, I thought it might be yours. Keep your dinosaurs!

Well, I don't think I've ever seen that dinosaur before, but it sure is mine now. One more to my dinosaur collection, even a cute one. What a lovely mail.

...

Me? Yeah, still here. Just been a bit busy. Three days off and I have turned super productive.
I've knitted, crocheted, rearranged, organized, did lots of laundry, babysitted, crafted, photographed, gone for walks, drilled and cleaned. Mostly cleaned. I hate hate hate cleaning, so now when It's done I feel like I'd beaten a dragon. I usually live according to the Douglas Coupland -quote "Don't upset the dust, it's happy the way it is", so there was lot to do. And yes, it was worth it, I know. It just was so painful while doing it. To make myself remember how nice this apartment can look I may share some photos of details tomorrow. I even washed and changed the bedroom curtains, that's totally worth a blog post.

See you soon!

Books and Birds and Books of Birds

I am not the only collector in the family. These stuffed birds and animals belong to my father and are just a part of his collection. Inspired by A Collection a Day I played with the tough I could sometime document his collections. As an ornithologist, collector and bibliophile he would have lots of interesting stuff to photograph.

When I was little I once asked my dad how many books he had. He said he had no idea, so I started counting them. I lost count during the first shelfful, there were to many of them. "It's not worth counting them, I don't need the figure", my dad said. "All I need to know is that there can't be too many."

Moustache-Monday

by Melissa

Home

I cried with my mother
(and it made me feel better).

I sat in the dark
(Earth Hour).

I slept in my sister's bed
(she wasn't visiting this weekend).

And I wore my little brother's woolen socks for the whole weekend
(that 14-year-old has bigger feet than I do).

It was a good visit.

Alice and Me

"Sometimes I've believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast."

We went to see Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland yesterday, and I loved it. "Of course you did", my boyfriend said. "You love anything with a cat in it, especially a smiling one." It wasn't the only thing I liked though, but the Cheshire Cat might be my number one fairy tale character from now on. I loved the Mad Hatter too, and Alice and all the animals. I also loved how the Wonderland was created, and this was the first 3D movie that has been so well made I've really enjoyed the effects. The plot was a bit clumsy and complicated, I have to admit, but that didn't bother me too much.

Because of this special occasion I was dressed Alice-related. That meant a blue skirt, a necklace with a white rabbit and teacups dangling from my ears. Of course, Alice never wore a beanie, but she didn't have to, cause her hair was perfect even at the moment of the battle. Us living in normal world may have days when the beanie is necessity.

This ain't a fashion blog (and my tights were black) but here are some pictures just in case you're interested. The ones with me in them are taken by my best friend - thank you luv!

Welcome Welcome...

Great news this Thursday!

I'd like to welcome you to my little Etsy shop Ikomi.

You will find adorable and affordable accessories there,

so if you like colors and playfulness,

make sure to check it out.

First five purchasers will receive a little surprise gift

with their package. And new products coming next week,

so stay tuned!

It's Matter of Life and Tights

I don't know if anyone remembers my colorful tight challenge anymore, the one I was talking about when I found out I have approximately 40 pairs of tights in 17 different colors. You know, wearing a pair in different color every time I leave the house in a skirt for the next two weeks or so. Well, I finally started doing it today. It's been too cold until today, but this morning I didn't freeze dead in my red tights, so it's high time to start already. I also have that black basic skirt I was dreaming of, so no more excuses.

It may be that you're gonna see some feet shots (with tights, of course) in the near future, so better to get prepared. The one in this post is an old one from last August, it's not that warm yet. And in the place the photo was taken isn't any dry asphalt at the moment - our whole backyard has turned into lake.

Awake and Dreaming

- Hey girl, what are you doing here?

- *points at her desk*

- Yeah, but didn't you go to bed already?

- Well, yes, but I'm restless. And I flinched cause I fell down from the bridge.

- You what?

- Fell down from the bridge.

- Having nightmares?

- Yes. Hadn't fell asleep yet though.

(Going to try again now, as he is coming to bed with me.)

Things I've Liked Today

- Sleeping until 9 a.m.
- Getting inspired of art journaling
- Redcurrant-chocolate cupcake and knitting in a cafe
- Reading the newspaper first time in a long while (even though it was a crappy paper)
- Being productive
- Writing little stories
- Planning to go to bed early

O-r-a-n-g-e

My favourite color of the day.

Moustache-Monday

{via Moustache}

Before and After

This is me in the lift today,
going down and to the hairdresser.

And this is me later on,
with the new color.
And yes, in the lift again.
Going upwards this time.

The brighter the better,
it really makes huge difference.
I'm feeling kinda chirpy now.

Dear Spring

Dear Spring,

what happened to you? Did you get lost on your way here? Or are you too busy getting rid of the winter somewhere else? I'm getting a bit worried, cause usually you are here already this time of the year. I hope nothing bad has happened to you, and that you won't let the climate change affect on your self-esteem. The weather was terrible today, I have a feeling the winter was mocking us with that wet snow pouring down. I need you and miss you, and I know I'm not the only one. Please hurry, March is no fun without you!

Love,
Inari

P.S. I've made preparations already, just in case you'll arrive unexpectedly. Here is a picture of the flower seeds I bought today. Just bring the sun with you, and we can start gardening together.

My career choice...

"Beauty isn't everything, Charlie Brown.

I always fall in love with girls
who smell like library."
- Linus van Pelt, Peanuts

Gummy Bears and Others

It's Bearday today! A weekly, Friday-based holiday meant for celebrating all kinds of bears and bear-like creatures. Surprise surprise, this was originally an idea of my boyfriends, also known as the bearrorist. But I think it was an awesome idea, and as long as we have Caturday (the holiday for catty ones like me), we need something special for the bears too.

And, therefore the special Friday cake I was talking about earlier was designed as a Bearday-cake today. It is a chocolate cake coated with vanilla cream and soft cheese (actually not going together that well but hey, who cares? It's a cake.) And decorated with some gummy bears, of course.

P.S. If you want to see related earrings, check out ikomi!
P.P.S. It's Caturday soon!

Finally!

Hello Friday, it's nice to see you! Have a seat and stay for a while please, don't run away that fast. This has been a long week and all the days have gone so slowly. And today, today has been an exhausting day. I had a job interview that didn't go that well, and an exam that went even worse. Now I'm worried and frustrated and a bit tired too. At least the first spring period at uni is ending today, the next one isn't gonna be this busy.

I'm also sure there's no problem a power nap and a special Friday cake couldn't fix. So see you a bit later, I'm off to relax.

Wednesday's Wish

I wish I could be a fairy tale princess
for one day (and one day only.)

Hey girl - Remember this

Summer Nights

Hey girl - Where do you spend your afterlife
Hey girl - You gotta breathe in right now
Your smile shines like the sun of a summer night
Your soul is free like a dance on a beach

Hey girl - You're gonna turn off your ears
You're gonna turn off your eyes
Life is black anyways - that's all

Fool it - You can fool it by your smile
You can fool it by ignoring

Summer nights, summertime

Hey girl - you have wings on your little back
Hey girl - your mother must have been a bird
Your smile shines like a cancelled suicide
That's why you're better not to become old

Fool it - You can fool it buy your smile
You can fool it buy ignoring
You can fool it by your shine
You can fool time by ignoring

Hey girl - there's no reason for you to cry
And girl - remember to breathe right now

- Lapko -

I'm Listening

Lapko is one of the bands I've loved since the first time I heard their music. And it gets better with every record. The new one I listened today (called A New Bohemia) made me feel so much better. And that song up there is one of my favourites from the previous album, Young Desire. I loved every song from it though, so calling one a favourite is a bit misleading.

Another anecdote: all the boys I've ever truly fallen in love with have hated Lapko and their music desperately. Not that you could make any laws of averages out of this piece of information. I've never fallen in love that easily, so the number of the guys is limited. But still, every single one of them.

Careful, my dear

A Collection a Day

{All pictures from A collection a Day}

I am a collector myself. Plastic dinosaurs, earrings, bouncing balls, beautiful stones, postcards, photographs, buttons, old teacups... I love to collect beautiful pieces and store them for the future. I try to use my collections for something nice if possible: I make jewelry of the buttons and bouncing balls, use the stones on the bottoms of the plant pots, drink from the teacups, send the postcards and use the earrings. Once I used one of my plastic dinosaurs as a cake topper. I don't collect only for collecting, cause that way I would be buried with stuff pretty soon.

I was thrilled when I stumbled upon a blog called A Collection a Day. The author, Lisa Congdon, posts a photograph, a drawing or a painting of a collection every day for the year 2010. The photographed ones are parts of her own collections (she seems to have lots of interesting stuff!), the illustrated ones are imaginary. What a wonderful idea. And those pictures, they are absolutely beautiful and someway calming. Maybe it's how they are so organized and in control. Or maybe it's just the beauty of the items. Anyway, this is going to be one of my daily reads. It just makes me so happy.

Moustache-Monday

{by Jared Chapman
via Moustache}

This is to my boyfriend who talks a lot about
shaving his beard and just leaving the moustache.
I have to say I'm a bit afraid of the idea,
but maybe this will be helpful to him.
If I had to choose from these,
D would totally be my pick.

Spamming and Sneak Peeks

If you want to see more than this one corner of my pretty handmade collage, navigate to my craft blog Ikomi.

And if you want to see another one of my lists, check it out at the lil bee's blog.

Stationary Lust List

Things I need to keep my (imaginary) office organized,
all from Paper Source.

Personal Library Kit

Useless File Folders

Puzzle Calendar

List notepads
(first one & second one)

A Dinner Party Without a Dinner?

Last night when I was trying to fall asleep, they had fun downstairs. I heard loud conversation and laughing, many people together. It sounded so cheerful and fun. And made me want to throw a dinner party. You know, a proper one with two courses and a dessert, my friends together for a long while having fun. There's only one problem: our kitchen table is so small there is space for only four people sitting close to each other. When my family visits (I have kinda big one), we sit in the living room around the coffee table. Because the table is kinda flat one, we have to sit on wooden boxes borrowed from the cellar instead of chairs. It isn't the most comfortable way, I have to tell you.

But what about a proper dinner party- picnic on our living room rug? At least 8 people could sit comfortably on the floor. Okay, when this problem is solved, there's only one more thing to consider: who cooks the dinner? Cause, you know, I so hate cooking.