I've been in bed most days and if I wasn't in bed I was on the toilet or hanging over it. I thought I ate something wrong but it turned out to be a nasty stomach bug. Today was the first day that I felt I could hold down solid food again so I went to McDonalds and for the first time after watching Jamie's School Dinners I ate Mc nuggets without getting sick.

Although I'm really not one to be influenced by other people, I never dress according to the latest fashion, I do not drive a car everyone drives and for the love of Ben and Jerry's Chocolate Fudge Brownie Ice Cream I do not have a very standard decoration style, I'm really easily put off by something or I get superstitious while I'm not. For example when some woman on tv said that you always should greet a magpie for good luck. Oh my there's not a magpie un greeted in a ratio of 50 km. So when Jamie showed what goes in a chicken nugget, I didn't dare to eat one anymore. So I was brave today. They are really quite horrible but I think that's their thing like the bag of easter egg foam sugary things I ate on the way home. Boy I'm feeling sick now.

Also with shopping I'm terrible. You can so easily convince me and have me addicted to a good shop. I like everything, I don't even mind going to a hardware store. I know where to find and get everything. I'm generally interested in stuff.

So when Charlotte told me about LINNET I went a little bit crazy.

I did a very modest first order just to check it out and be cool and calm about it, not like C who did go crazy. But I so want to go crazy!

I so love how the Japanese decorate. I bought this Cath Kidston e-MOOK on Amazon.co.jp (via Victoria over at sfgirlbybay) and I was so surprised how they mix CK with really basic, clean and simple design. It's like a me and Sally mix!

I have to keep this in mind for the future home. I promised myself (and the Bo) that I'm going to find a home and not move again. So it's going to take a little while longer because this time I have to get it right.

Ah it's good to be back, to be healthy and to have so many great blog friends who tell me what to buy, where to shop and what to eat. Oh no I'm not AT ALL easy influenced ;o)

I Just want to let you know that I've updated the "how to buy on Amazon.co.jp" page. You can now find all the Jeu De Paume books I own with a direct link to Amazon.co.jp and to the Paumes page to preview the book. I've also included all the ISBN numbers.

There's also a link in the menu under patterns & projects for quick access.

I wish you fun shopping!

Do not panic, this is the yvestown blog only I've done the trillionth redesign. This one is actually good because I'm working on my lists again and I found a nifty javascript to make listing fun. Boy it's almost quite sad how much I love lists. So that's new, so is the seasonal picture and the link to the shop. I've opened an Etsy shop and I'm going to put little odds and ends for sale in there over the next month. You can also buy the Skruvsta pattern in the Etsy shop. Talking about the Skruvsta pattern, how is everyone getting along? I haven't received any feedback and sold quite a bunch. I'm really curious because if it needs improvement I need to know. All your feedback is much appreciated.

We left for London on Wednesday morning because I got hold of two Spice Girls tickets and I wanted to shop at Cath Kidston.

The Spice Girls were absolutely insane, but in a good way. I loved it! The Bo never attended a 'girl band concert' and was quite overwhelmed when all the people in the crowd started to scream when David Beckham and the Beckham boys entered their VIP box. I thought the roof was caving in. Shortly after that the girls (uhm women) appeared on stage and the screaming went even louder. By the end of the concert the Bo's ears were ringing. I love him though, he's such a good husband for hopping along with me and attending Spice Girls concerts and Cath Kidston shops.

We were supposed to drive to Bicester and Whitfield to do some more shopping and to visit the parents of a friend but the wheel house of our car was playing tricks so we drove back home instead. We actually drove back in 5 hours!! That's a record for us!!

Each time after I've visited London I want to not move. I don't really understand my own problems anymore. I have a roomy home, quite a nice patio, I'm in walking distance of all the shops without having the actual hassle of people shopping in my street, I live in the greenest town of Europe, only 15 minutes away from two large Dutch cities and still I'm complaining while all those Londoners are living like pack rats. It's weird isn't it? I also really appreciate my own rooms more. Like last night when I found out that our shower cabin is actually the same size as the bathroom of the hotel room we stayed in.

I also always want to paint the outside of my house yellow or light blue and have a little gate when I've been to London. I think the day that we paint our house yellow we'll make it to the local paper. There'll be a big headline "house owners are losing their minds" people will pass our house and spit on our stoop, point fingers and try to convince the town's welfare committee to force us to repaint our house. And you know what? I'm not even making this up.

I'm going to work on my lists this weekend. It's quite a lot and I want to get everything up I love so I hope to be finished on Monday. Have a good weekend!

This is the "real" tree in the living room. It's the radical little sister of the big "fake" tree in the dining room. It's a little bit like me and my sister, not so tall and well figured, some rough edges here and there, dressed colorful and oddly instead of being perfect. But most of all, lovely to smell ;o)

Above the tree the famous "keep calm and carry on poster". I bought my copy here but you can buy it all over the place. Victoria sells some pretty colors to match your interior. We have the poster next to our big front window and you can actually see it very clearly from the outside when you pass the window. I love the text so much as for a lot of people stand still in front of this window and try to peep inside. I once was hovering under the window and made a sudden upright position and I was eye in eye with this woman who stood pressed with her face in front of the window. It scared the hell out the both of us. So in a way I like to say to people who pass our bright and colorful window "keep calm and carry on".

Here a close up of the German Weihnachtspyramide that's on the table. The heat of the candles makes the propellers spin and that way the heat will spin the nativity around. It's pretty nifty! I bought this one in Germany on a weihnachtsmarkt (boy I love those) but you can find beautiful pieces on eBay too. The German really know how to throw a good Christmas!

That's it for today, more Christmas news coming soon. Also thank you for the lovely birthday wishes :o)

I just quickly, shamelessly want to plug Velda Pond's Decole shop because I can't get enough of the cuteness she sells.

Look at that apple jar in the top photo. The little worms, that are inside the jar, are chopstick holders - how cute is that? I still haven't used them but the apple is already such a lovely attribute in the kitchen. I use the mushroom bucket as a fruit bowl. It's so easy for taking to the breakfast table, each time I walk around with the mushroom bucket stuffed with my favorite fruit (mandarins) I feel a little bit like little red riding hood.

Velda's Decole Flickr page
Velda's Shop (it's still growing)

Over the weekend Holly from the lovely Decor8 blog wrote a little post about me. I'm super flattered to be mentioned on such an inspiring blog like Decor8. Thanks Holly and thanks to all the people who left sweet comments on my Flickr pages and who sent me email. I can't believe how friendly people are. Thank you!!

One of the comments left on Decor 8 about my HORRIBLE IKEA LAMP cracked me up. I can assure, and maybe comfort you Melyna, my husbands finds it a HORRIBLE lamp too. Each time he walks in he's moaning about it. The other day a fly got caught in it and it made a terrible noise and he lost it. "That lamp is so ugly Yvonne, why on earth do we need to have this lamp? Oh God that fly is pooping all over it".

Well, I like the lamp. I like to throw some new stuff in the mix and this lamp so clashes with the rest of the room that in a sort of way it makes it a bit humorous.

My dream lamp for the bedroom is this one by Habitat. But since we don't have Habitats in The Netherlands anymore and because they're sold out in Belgium and because I keep forgetting to pick one up when I'm in the UK, I'll do with the HORRIBLE IKEA LAMP!!

The rose prints are Redouté replicas and the cat is mine!!

I like to take some time to plug some sites.

First I'd like to direct you to Brand a Dutch fashion line for little girls who like stripes, polka dots and the color red ... hmmm sounds a lot like I could be such a girl but I don't think I can wriggle my large bottom in such a tiny dress. Joyce Vloet, the photographer who did the photo shoot for my house, also made the photos for this website. Unfortunately everything is in Dutch but you still can order and custom make your own pretty dresses, pinnies, tops and shorts. Super cute!!

Next is the Fred Flare's Next Big Thing Extravaganza. I copied some text Mariko mailed me:

I'm super excited to let you know that our 3rd annual NEXT BIG THING contest is in full swing! This is a chance for all the craftsters and geniuses of the world to pitch their products to be featured and sold on fredflare.com! To make things even more exciting, this year there is a $1000 prize for the fred fan favorite! There's tonz more info here so check it out.

The housekeeping special link disappeared in the top menu and that's not your fault it's mine. I removed the link because I've decided to do something really special (to me) with all that housekeeping stuff I want to share. I'm going to try to publish it in book form. Doesn't that sound ambitious? I'll be working on it most of the year and I hope to get everything done before Christmas.

I'm a Flickr lover all the way so when I found out about these Moo cards I ordered some and now I want to marry Flickr, if that's possible. I read somewhere that you can marry your pets these days so why not marry the best online photo management and sharing application in the world? I also love how I have to sign in as an old school member, it just makes me feel special.

I can highly recommend the Moo cards, they are super lovely and the best $19.99 I spent this month ... didn't I say that when I bought some new trainers?

You might like to check the MOO MiniCards Group.

I also love cats. So here a little homage to Flickr cats:

some are turned inside out or upside down
some love to take it easy or find a comfortable spot
some like small objects and some like to hide
some I want to steal and some prefer glass surfaces
some like to duplicate or like a good giggle
some like to fly and ... some are just damn cute
... but there's only one I heart the most.

The End

THANKS SO MUCH FOR YOUR UPLIFTING COMMENTS. AS I NOW FEEL FREE TO WRITE WATHEVER I FEEL LIKE WRITING I ALSO WANT TO WRITE THIS IN CAPITALS BECAUSE WE'RE NOT ALLOWED TO AT FLICKR AND I THINK THAT'S SILLY. BECAUSE CAPITALS DO NOT ONLY STAND FOR SHOUTING BUT FOR SAYING SOMETHING WHOLEHEARTEDLY!!

***

It's that time of the month again that I need to discus "She With The Lovely Goods" and that's not my period it's my hero Cath Kidston.

I'm not really much of a person who idolizes people. I would for example never run to a celebrity and start bombarding them with questions. I'd be too embarrassed, I rather keep it cool. I also never really had a role model or someone who I wanted to be. I did have a serious crush on Julie Andrews when I was a child and I did sleep with a record of The Sound of Music in my bed. But that either said something about my exquisite taste in music or the fact that my parents thought I was going to be a lesbian.

Just recently (or rather three years ago) I started this crazy Cath Kidston obsession. Maybe it's for the fact of making it up for what I missed in my childhood. It was my mother who was obsessed by Laura Ashley and turned everything Laura Ashley in our home. I must have been the only kid in town who was able to call a name by just viewing a fabric sample - any Laura Ashley fabric sample.

My mother was kind enough to let us decorate our own bedrooms as long as we picked something Laura Ashley. I remembered my brother getting out of it as he were a man and we (my sister and I) were just little girls. My brother is 13 years older. I picked "Emma". And now years later it's so fascinating that Emma was one of Vanessa Bell's designs and reprinted by Laura Ashley. So my liking in Bloomsbury started very early.

Anyway, while browsing Cath Kidston on Google, I found this:

Can you picture the chaos in my house and in my head?

"I'm speechless ... I need one ... of course I need one. I can get one in the same print as my kitchen wallpaper ... I can ask one for my birthday ... Oh crap, I was going to ask a new notebook ... hmmm, I could ask for a new CATH KIDSTON MOBILE and a notebook!! ... sod the notebook I need this phone!! ... blimey, it will so match my teacup ... arrrrgggh".

Read more about it here.

For those of you who've never seen "The Red Address" aka Cath Kidston's Gloucestershire home, you can find pictures here.

I could never do that, having more than one home. I don't know how they do that people with too much money. I would get totally annoyed. I would definitely want something that isn't in my Gloucestershire home but in my Barbados home. And than we have to fly back to get that thing I want and the Bo will be all annoyed and he'll be moaning on the plane how annoying I am that I want that thing and arrrrgggh ... I so never want to win more than a million because I couldn't deal with that stress. My brother's solution to this problem: "you should buy everything in pairs" yes people we do discuss these things where I come from.

There are tons of reasons why I love the Bo but one of them is the insanity we share for things we love we want no matter the consequences. After a speedy shop round through Amsterdam yesterday we stumbled upon this fridge. We're now going to redesign our whole kitchen to make that fridge fit. Don't tell my mum because she'll start picking her hair. She really dislikes our ever changing moods and she gets worried when we bring home yet another chair, that's not going to fit. It's the thing we do. Some people without kids have a lot of pets, we have a lot of furniture. When I'm old kids will probably call me "the crazy chair lady".

I picked up this plate rack at the Kitsch Kitchen flag store and while at it I took some pictures of the store for those few fans I know who can't go there.

I didn't dare taking pictures downstairs because of my weird picture taking phobia.

This is the new rack in my kitchen.

Just to let you know. We're not going to change this side of the kitchen. We are only going to put new doors up to match the new doors on the other side but that's it.

ps.: isn't it really cool how that fridge is the same color as my china?

I just quickly want to share my passion for Danish design with you and leave you with some great links to some great Danish websites:

• Rice
• Green Gate
• Franck & fischer
• Jackpot
• Lille Hus

A week ago I found out about The Stylehive and I love it.

"The Stylehive is new kind of website - a collaborative shopping community. It is a place where contributors can work together to share and discover the hottest stores, designers, trends, and must have products"

Just want to share the origin of the famous "Fresh Eggs sign". I received some emails asking me about it after I published it on Flickr. I bought it on eBay a little while ago. I just went there again and I'm all over in love with all the signs this seller is making. I think I want something with cupcakes next.

Visit the shop: Wiscombeart

I can make up a million and one excuses for being a bad blogger but I'm just being honest if I tell you that I didn't feel like reading or posting. Sometimes it's just getting too much and nothing inspires or motivates me.

2005 was a blur ... it went by so fast. Tomorrow it's already the last day of 2005 and to me it was just a month ago that we were forced to have a drink at one of our neighbors. The Bo and I are going to stay indoors this year and turn off all the lights so that we don't have to make nice conversation with people we don't even like - oi!! we're so bad. Honestly that time is really gone that I liked to go clubbing after midnight on new year's eve. My dear, all the pushing and shoving ... I can't do it anymore ... I've become an old boring fart - Ha!!

Ah well, I believe 2006 is going to be great because I believe in even numbers ;o) I'm going to spend a lot of time focusing on myself and my surroundings. I've made a mood board for things I want to create in the new year interior and exterior wise. I want to work on my boot room, sewing loft and garden and these are just a few images I collected throughout the year to guide me.



Sources:

• GreenGate
• Boden
• Country Living USA
• Kate Forman

There's this saying we use in The Netherlands I like;

"the R is back in the month" which points to the autumn and winter months - September, October, November, December, January, February, March and April to me the most cozy times of year.

I'm already throwing blankets everywhere, getting the past seasonal magazines out on display and I've been planting pink and white hyacinths in wicker baskets.

• Martha opened her Halloween shop again.
• Try to get your hands on the October issue of the British Country Living it's so chunky!!