Oh Spring

{by Alyssa Nassner via My Owl Barn}

{by Gayana}

Yes, spring is here. Yesterday was officially the first day of spring. At least in my world. It was warm for the whole last week, so maybe the spring started to someone else for week ago already. But for me, yesterday was it. Here is why:
- I used my Converse All Stars for the first time
- It was so warm I went out without a jacket
- I saw the first Tussilago Farfaras
- It was so sunny and bright
- I had the first ice cream cone outside
- I blew lots of soap bubbles
- I fed ducks in the park
- I just had that very happy spring feeling for the whole day

Other reasons to be happy:
- Our home is starting to look like home more than a garage
- The living room is tidy and cozy
- I can soon start to decorate my crafting space
- Easter holiday (a four-day weekend) is coming, and I have nice plans for it
- I've got some nice crafting inspiration and ideas waiting to be put to action

I love you because...

...you are silly. And not afraid to show it.

You make me laugh, even when you're not here.

Like today, when I found your shopping list under the microwave oven.

I have no idea why it was there, but even bigger mystery is the third thing on the list.

It might be a bit hard to find it from our corner shop, but I'll try my best tomorrow.

See, the list looked like this:

-ketchup

-milk

-little squirrels

100 Things in the World I Love

Andrea's list at Hula Seventy inspired me to write one on my own.

1. dandelions
2. orange-colored teacups
3. scent of lilacs
4. polka dots
5. weird haircolors
6. the sound of raindrops on an umbrella
7. watching the clouds
8. picnics
9. swimming in the sea
10. ice cream on a hot day
11. hot chocolate on a cold day
12. text messages from a loved one
13. postcards
14. frogs
15. crocheting
16. summer dresses
17. reading a good book in the garden
18. swinging
19. fake moustaches
20. horseriding
21. baking a chocolate cake
22. good food you didn't have to make yourself
23. scent of old books
24. big sunglasses
25. scent of sunscreen
26. beautiful coffee cups
27. cherry Coca-Cola
28. reading magazines
29. bike rides
30. flea markets
31. colorful beads
32. eating apples from a tree
33. oranges
34. photographing
35. toy cameras
36. 120mm film
37. old black&white photos
38. the colour of the water in an indoor swimming pool
39. buttons
40. yellow flowers
41. walking barefoot
42. letters
43. boys with long hair
44. smiling babies
45. strawberries
46. silence in a cathetdral
47. rocking chairs
48. cherries
49. patchworks
50. summer cottages
51. sitting outdoors with your tea on a summer morning
52. reading a newspaper with no hurry
53. summer nights
54. whistling
55. collages
56. old telephones
57. tulips
58. colorful nail polishes
60. graffito
61. ferris wheels
62. hot air balloons
63. new sneakers
64. drying laundry outside
65. rollercoasters
66. guerilla art
67. art journaling
68. bubble baths
69. cotton candy
70. sandwinches
71. strawberry margaritas
72. surprise presents
73. wish jars
74. colored pencils
75. handwriting
76. chocolate cookies
77. origami
78. pretty fabrics
79. dangling earrings
80. button rings
81. typewriters
82. photo booths
83. stripes
84. shadows
85. long showers
86. sitting in cafés
87. daydreams
88. taking a nap
89. animations
90. picture books
91. cheese cake
92. meringue
93. sandy beaches
94. red skirts
95. enamel brooches
96. rainbow colors
97. gusts of wind
98. lazy cats
99. lockets
100. bracelets

Things to do on a rainy day...

It's been raining all day today. Of course, as it's my laundry day, and I was hoping to hang the sheets outside to dry. But rain hasn't been able to ruin my day completely, it's been actually kinda nice just stay indoors and do small things. I made you a list of possibilities, just in case you are feeling bored.

- Look out of the window and watch the raindrops fall.

If you see any birds, pay attention how they won't get wet.

And don't you forget to wonder why.

- Dream. A lot.

I've been dreaming of distant cities and flying, for instance.

- Watch some movie you've been planning to watch (again) for a long time.

Mine was Little Women.

- Read a book you haven't read yet.

Keri Smith's Guerilla Art Kit was my choice today.

- Take a nap.

A necessity for a rainy day.

(I personally do it even on sunny ones.)

- Write something, or doodle at least.

Aiming to do some art journaling next.

- Craft something.

I'm still crocheting.

And planning to continue sewing later on.

- Cook something you like.

Mmm, macaroni casserole.

- Take a bath or a long shower.

I've been dreaming of a bath tub as well.

- Think back some lovely times of your life.

My mind is in London today.

- And if you love making lists, make one of things to do on a sunny day.

The weather forecast for tomorrow looks promising.

And now I'll continue my rainy day experiences.

Have a nice day whatever kind of weather you have there.

Today I...

...feel sad for some reason, right from the beginning of the day.

...am tired cause I didn't sleep well at all.

...have a full day ahead of me.

...think I should post more to this blog.

...am happy cause my new neighbors decided to stay

(I'll tell more about that later...)

...wear a pair of bright green leggings and can't decided if it looks awesome or terrible with my purple hair.

...am planning to crochet a lot

(need to sit at school, you see...)

...have some other plans too.

...wait eagerly for my one-week-holiday to start.

...wear jingly earrings and love the sound of them.

...miss comments from you - are you still there?

I wish I could fly

If I could do anything, I would like to

- fly, just fly without any tools or vehicles

- meet some dead relatives

- be a (real) cat for a while

- travel around the world with no rush

- craft and photograph for living

- have no stress about anything

This is all normal, right?

Things I carried in my bag today,

in addition to ones I usually have in there:

- Two books about marketing

- An almost broken teacup

- Two plastic animals (a panda and a tiger)

- Three zippers and a piece of cotton ribbon

- A ball of pink cotton yarn

- A piece of a tree trunk I picked from up from the park

(approximately 20cm x 10cm x 7cm)

Today

- My hair is cranberry red, and I love it.
- I finally finished one photography project I've been working on for ages.
- I sat in a cafe just with myself and read a paper.
- I bought one ball of that bright pink yarn I've been lusting for weeks.
- I'm having a longer school day than usually, and I am so tired.
- I'm knitting along, as I'm trying to stay awake.

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

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.

Just another list

Things that make me incredibly (laughing-out-loud -kind of) happy:

- soap bubbles

- dunes

- sparklers

- fireworks

- merry-go-rounds

- rollercoasters

- moustaches drawn on the side of the index finger

- old b/w photographs of my grandparents I've never met

Things that inspire me

- Bright colors

- Plastic animals

- Beautiful teacups

- Old cameras

- Quirky details

- Typography and slogans

- Well-made graffitis

- Fashion Magazines

- Textures and textiles

- Clouds

- Books with beautiful covers

What I use this inspiration for is an another story then.

Amazing hats...

...with homemade names.
Enjoy!


"Raccoons wash everything they eat" - hat

"I've Always Wanted a Mohawk" - hat

"Strawberries+cream=match made in heaven" - hat

"My head just got stuck in here" - hat

"Their Souls Are Haunting Me" - hat

"Wise as an Owl in a Stupid Hat" - beanie

"My Little Dragon" - hat

"Beard Envy" - hat

"My Little Pony is Better Than Your Little Pony" - hat

"Jaws" - hat

Good ways to love me

{via onesevenone}

- Making me a sandwich when I don't expect it
- Leaving a box of sparkles on the table when you leave for work
- Adoring my little oddities (like collecting rocks)
- Complimenting my hair with "I love it, it makes you look like a manga character"
- Tasting like sweeties when you kiss me
- Letting me take a nap in your arms
- Encouraging my creativity
- Playing our song once in a while with high volume so neighbors can hear it too
- Smiling a lot
- Letting me steal your jumpers when my own clothes don't look good with my new hair color, and not being angry at all when I forget to return them to the closet (I wish you read this one before I come home this evening wearing your jumper...)

Top 10, again

Things that would make my daily life funnier:

Crayon Rings

Librarian Action Figure

Dust Bunny Microfiber Duster

Bubble Calendar 2010

Bubble Scrubber Dish Brush

Condiment Gun

Cake Form marking up the slices

Staircase with a slide

Embroidery kit with the text
"What man doesn't remember, that didn't happen"

...but when I think it closely
I actually need nothing.

"Happy birthday you crazy Finnish chick"

{This photo is taken by a guy I met a long ago
and whose name I don't remember anymore}

Cause my 23rd birthday appears to be a list day, I wrote a list with 23 worthless facts about myself. WARNING: may contain too much information. Don't use against your doctor's orders.

- Sometimes I act more like a cat than a girl.
- I love red shoes.
- I don't give a damn what strangers think about my style, but I'm always wondering what my mum would say.
- I'm afraid of motorways, elevators and gas cookers.
- I'm great with kids if I want to. Usually even when I don't want to.
- I've met three different psychologists to speak about my life.
- I got my first kiss when I was 18 and it was far too slimy.
- I buy books by their covers.
- I love photographing but hate being photographed.
- I love everything small and shiny, especially silver spoons.
- I can't sing at all, but I still do it.
- I don't like washing dishes because I hate the feeling when the dish brush scratches my hands.
- I'm addicted to blogs and blogging (at the moment, my addictions always vary from time to time).
- I can bake wonderful chocolate cakes.
- I put so much sugar in my tea it's almost like using tea with my sugar, not the other way round.
- In the evenings, before I fell asleep, I used to tell love stories to myself. Nowadays I think of cats before I fall asleep.
- I cry every time I watch Love, Actually.
- I hate sweetcorn.
- I never drink energy drinks or coffee, cause I'm afraid they'll make me too hyper.
- In my opinion everybody should recycle, but when I'm tired I sometimes stop caring and just throw everything into same bin. Afterwards I feel guilty.
- I am a bit lazy and I know it.
- I buy cookie cutters I never use just because of their fancy shapes. My collection includes i.e. a cat, a tooth, an elephant, a camel and four different dinosaurs.
- I suck at mathematics.

Sad impulse buys

They always say you shouldn't go food shopping when you're hungry. That you end up buying things you shouldn't just cause your hunger is making decisions instead of you. That might be true, but usually I can control that. For me there's a rule more important: never ever go to a grocery store when you're sad and lonely. Cause at those moment's everything feels acceptable, and I end up buying far too many weird (and usually expensive) things I never eat. And even more of those things I shouldn't eat, but surely will.

I popped into a Tesco on my way home just cause I realized earlier today that there are two huge holes in my last pair of black tights, and I am planning to wear a dress tomorrow. Well, they didn't have ones I would use, but this is what I found in my carrier bag when I came home:
1 tube of pink Smarties
2 filo tartles
4 cans of soup
2 bread rolls
1 bag of chocolates
1 bag of ready cooked rice noodles
1 bag of ready chopped onions
1 pack of mushrooms
12 tubes of Polo Mints

All I would have needed was yogurt.
And it didn't make me feel any better.
I'm still sad and lonely, just with 12 tubes of Polos.

Things I'd like to take home when leaving London

- Polo Mints, lots of them
"Who doesn't have Polos?", asked my colleague. Well, ask Finns if you wanna hear a YES.

- Aero bubbles-chocolates, both flavours,
They just go so nicely with tea.

- Carmex lip balm, at least one tube
The name is a bit distracting, but it may be the best lip balm I've ever used.

- Aussie Mate Aussome Volume Shampoo and Real Volume Conditioner, at least 2 bottles each
Smells good and works well. I'm pleased even though my hair isn't that big they promised.

- Miss Sporty nail polishes, as many colors as possible
Super cheap, the loveliest colors, easy to use, dry quickly.

This list could be way longer, but I know even these won't fit.
Sophie, if I write you a list, could you send me something once in a while?
Like Poppet Mints, 4 cheese fresh pasta, Mars darks, Miso Soup Sachets, dark chocolate digestives or the upper layers of Double Decker chocolate bars...please?

My favourite sounds

• sound of a typewriter when you write with it
• laughter
  
• small jingle bells
• old-fashioned telephones ringing
• sounds of an old train, both whistling and clanking
• rain on a roof
• cat's miaow

In my mind there are treasures to find

[This is for Adele from Poptart]

If you were in my head for a day you would find...

- a lot of details piled neatly on the shelves
- piles of forgotten items in the corners
- things arranged by colors
- boxes full of memories
- tons of dust
- various dreams
- silly ideas
- creative plans
- little wishes
- pits and pieces all around
- things I've forgot
- bright light
- beautiful pictures
- annoying tunes
- dirty thoughts
- many questions
- something blue
- some desire
- a bit of shame hidden in the back
- lots of love
- a complicated system keeping things going
- and the big picture looking messy, but everything actually being in it's own place

(Picks borrowed from here, there, there and here.
Thank you!)