Starting again...

I've decided to make some differences to my blogging habits (read more here). Therefore I'll stop updating this blog and start again. You are welcomed to my new blog here! Please remember to update your blog roll and feed reader as well!

Just Like my Notebook

I've been thinking a lot of blogging lately.
What it means to me, what I'd like to blog about.
How I'd like my blog to look like and who I'd like to read it.

My blog is my creative outlet.
Just like my notebook.
It includes words and pictures, both helping me to express myself.

I'd like to tell you little stories of my life.
About my musings, feelings and thoughts.
About my daily life and what happens in it.
Sometimes those little stories might be sad, sometimes happy.
Just like my life.

I'd also like to share my inspirations.
Internet is full of pretty pictures, good ideas and lovely things.
I prefer self-made and self-photographed material here in my blog,
but am still going to share pics and pages from other people too.
To tell you what I love and what makes me inspired.
And because I often find out that somebody
has already explained how I feel and did it better than I ever could myself.

So my blog is still going to be a mixture
of many ingredients.
My blog is a combination
that resembles me, the writer.
Just like my notebook does.

Dreaming of...

{via}

This morning I had a dream of blogging. It was just a quick one between two beeps of my alarm clock, and frankly, I no longer have any idea what happened in it. But when I woke up, I felt quite inspired about this thing again. And even about blogging in English, which has felt like a burden lately.

It must be annoying when I pop up here and then disappear again and am away for months. Sorry about that. I'm trying to be more present from now on. If there's still someone out there I'd like to hear from you. How are you?

What?

I haven't written anything in this blog for two months and still have got some new followers. That doesn't make any sense, but sure is awesome. Thank you, you made me give this blog another try. I had almost decided to let it go and start something new. That might still happen some day, but not today. Today I'm here with you.

I'll try not to have such breaks in the near future, but cannot promise anything. Sometimes you just lose the inspiration, you know. And sometimes it returns and you feel fresh again.

Love,

Miss Notebook

P.S. I love you.

P.P.S. My brownie looks like that cause my boyfriend finds it entertaining to start cutting things from the middle. If he eats pizza (with fork and knife, not with hands), he cuts a round hole in the middle and starts eating from there. If he eats ice cream from the container, he starts spooning it right from the middle. Usually it makes me crazy, but this time I could not be mad. Someone giving you a brownie heart is too cute to be mad at.

--- --- ---

The longer you stay quiet, the harder it is to start talking again. Or writing, in this case.

To be honest, I've started plenty of times during the past week.

And always deleted my text before posting.

None of the things I've tried writing about seemed to be interesting enough,

and the writer's block got worse and worse.

But maybe, now when I've got this out of my heart,

I will be able to write a real post tomorrow?

Let's see.

Something new, something blue

Remember when I said something about a new blog project? It wasn't even a full sentence, just a small throwaway remark. But well, something grew out of that idea, and I'd like to show it now.

This is a bit different that my other blogs; it is a picture journal telling the stories behind my photographs. It isn't a daily project, but I try to keep it up and running, and update at least a couple of times a week. We'll see how it's going to work out, and I so badly wish this blog will be liked.

So, it's time for you to meet: Pictorial Memories.

PS. Please show your love by becoming a follower, and don't forget to tick the box after every post to tell what you think!

Bla Bla Bla

Okay, new day and new layout.

(For those of you who visited during the process: I'm sorry.

I know it looked terrible for a while.)

I loved the looks of the previous one, but it didn't work very well.

Cause it was a custom layout I had to hack the code every time I wanted to do even the smallest of changes. And for someone who knows five commands of HTML it was a bit too hard. So I returned to the yellow theme with a new background. The fact I can't wear yellow without looking sea sick doesn't mean my blog couldn't.

And oh, the boxes are back! So please tick the right one according to your feelings after every post. It means lot to me. Well, 'why' is a good question. I will tell you when I come up with a good excuse. Even though it might be easier just to tell you the truth: a curious cat is curious.

I also am planning a new blog project. I know, I already have a few. But I am a project person and a blogaholic so what can I do?

Let's see what happens...

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.

As a tea lover...

This whole blogging thing is very 2009 to me. I've had had an online journal for a group of friends for 5 years or so, but not anything "open to the masses" before signing in to Blogger. Last summer, when I had a long holiday and time to just wander around the cyberspace, I really found blogs. First I just read them and bookmarked my favourites. Then I started to write one about my craft projects. The one you are reading now is my fourth blog started in 6 months, so you could say this has become a part of my life. And I love it. Keeping a blog gives me a space to write to, a place to express myself and my creativity. I also love reading other blogs and have found it as a lovely way of finding new ideas and inspiration. So that's why I want to give some of my top reads a little award to say thank you and please keep going! I have so many favourites it wasn't easy to pick, but I finally chose these ten blogs to award this year. They are in no order, just listed after the language.

Blogs in English
Fine Little Day: My newest love. I adore her pictures, the most beautiful ones I've seen in a long while. This blog delights and inspires me every time I browse through it. And believe me, I do it a lot.

Quircology: Quirky, weird ideas collected in a funny blog. Makes me smile, we seem to have quite a similar taste with the author.

Bonjour!: I love the way she writes, I love the pictures. Beautiful and simple enough at the same time.

habit : A photo journal kept by two women and their visitors. The different viewpoints to their daily lives just take my breath away.

The Gypsy Feet: Finally a blog to share my love of feet shots! Haven't sent my own one yet, but surely will some day. Their posts just always make me feel happy and warm inside.


Blogs in Finnish
visuaalisesti vaativa: Something very inspirational, love the language and the topics she writes about. This is something I fell in love with in the beginning and haven't missed a post since.

Pretty Gingham: This blog just makes me feel lighter. It may be the beautiful text she writes (in English as well) or the breathtaking pictures, I don't know. I just know I really enjoy reading it.

himalainen: I love the language she uses. The words, the tone, the way to twist the words. I also love her pictures and the way she looks at the world. Her posts always touch me some way.

mehukattitonkka: I don't know this girl, but the way she writes makes me think her as a friend. Love her pictures and the way of writing about ordinary things as they were huge and special.

This Picture: One of the first blogs I fell in love with, and the one whose new posts I still eagerly wait. I especially love the outfit posts and her finds from flea markets, but this blog offers so many different things I never get bored reading it.

So thank you, and here we go. Feel free to forward this award to anyone that makes your blogosphere brighter. We still have a couple of days left before the beginning of a new blogging year.

I just called to say I love you

Yesterday my boyfriend called me to say that he had found a grammar mistake in my blog and I should do something for that. Doing mistakes doesn't surprise me at all, I just was a bit surprised he bothered to call about that. A long-distance call. Especially when he's been complaining calling me makes his phone bills so huge he can't pay them. Men, what a weird creatures they can be.

I couldn't make my mind if calling about that was the cutest or the most annoying thing he could do. But cause it's always nice to hear his voice, it might have been more on the cute side. Especially when I checked the grammar and found out I was right after all. Ha!