Claire got me all excited about this celebrity sighting thing so I'm going to play along.
About 3 years ago when we went to New York with the girls Giao and myself crossed paths with Ethan Hawke, his new (old?) lover and his kids. Giao and I were chatting, enjoying the sun and Central Park when Giao suddenly said "it's Ethan Hawke!!!" He was dead close we almost stood eye in eye. The first thing that popped in my mind was to run to Kathleen who walked just a couple of meters in front of us, and apparently missed crossing paths with Ethan, and tell her "there's Ethan Hawke!!". The next thing we should have filmed because Kathleen went nuts and ran after family Hawke, armed with camera, and took some paparazzo shots. A couple of hours later we met Rachel Ashwell in the park but we knew she was going to be there so that doesn't really count but I have this great shot of her anyway.
On my way back to The Netherlands, from that same trip, and only Dutch readers will know her I stood next to Loretta Schrijver waiting to collect our luggage. I so wanted to ask her if she could talk to the Bo on my mobile because he loves her but I didn't dare and kept it cool.
When I was about 14 I declared my love and my everlasting devotion to Donnie Wahlberg. I even picked my study year abroad to be in Boston because that way I was close to him - now isn't that romantic? Over the years I grew over it though!
Now at 33 I still have mad actor crushes and often dream about Edward Norton and Ewan McGregor. I've never dreamed about them at the same time but I honestly wouldn't mind. A dream filled with both Edward and Ewan is maybe even better than freshly shaven legs under clean cheats. It's like freshly shaven legs under clean sheets and my toenails clipped.
Just watch Ewan on Ellen ...
I think I've must have met so many other celebrities but to be honest I wouldn't even spot my own mother in a crowd. I'm not much of a people watcher. I love to window shop, watch trees, birds, buildings and other things that happen around me. Sometimes people call me arrogant because I haven't greeted them when they waved at me on the street. I just don't see them! Even if people honk I don't react because I always think they must honk for someone else.
Please play along because this is fun. Leave a comment with a link when yours is up.
I've been a really bad blogger and a bad blog friend. I've been so wrapped up with my own 'personal' things that I actually have forgotten that I keep a blog and that maybe the people who read my blog are interested in knowing what's up! Because there's a whole lot of what's up in my life at the mo.
A couple of posts ago I wrote that there is so much to tell that I don't know where to start well ... let's just start.
I told you we are moving, we still are only we're moving to Sweden. It's bloody scary people and for a while I was scared writing about it because there are always people who think negative and who want to play with your mind and tell you it's no good and you know what?, I can't deal with that stress. We have this plan, we believe there's a better future for us there and people should just be happy for us and that's it. That's also the reason why I've been so bottomless in writing this blog because I was bottling up this big thing and all I want to do is write about and and tell you how scary yet how exciting it is.
So the big word is out, we are moving to Sweden ... tomorrow?, no I think next year or in a couple of months. It all depends on finding the right house, selling this house and the Bo's business. But Eeeeeee, it's so exciting!! In two weeks we're going to view a property we love only it's big and neglected so it might be a bit risky. We're also learning Swedish because I want to be able to speak the language when we move there. I never really get how these people in TV shows like My Place Under The Sun do not speak the language when they move to Greece for example. They even buy houses using hand and feet ... they are buying a house or crying out loud!! I want to be able to read my gas bill. We have a two hour lesson a week from this amazing Swedish woman (hej Katarina) and we can already introduce ourselves and count to 1000 and tell you all about the Svensson family. But I don't think we'll get far with that information so we need more lessons.
We also have to get the Boo to the vet today for her rabies shot. It takes 4 to 12 months before they can see if the Boo made enough anti cells after the injection* so we really need to do it today if we decide to move early. And we feel sorry for her because she hates to go to the vet - I don't really get her problem because she's having a very handsome and sweet vet. It's also her seventh birthday coming Sunday (easter day) so we made her a special gift over the weekend.
Behold the BooBoo balcony or as we famously call it "Boos Balkong". We made this for her because she loves the windowsill but she doesn't really fit on it with her big flapy belly - boy it's so embarrassing but her belly actually flaps left to right if she runs. Now the running is something that doesn't happen often but believe me it's an ugly sight. The other day Bo overheard people calling her a big fat cat on the street. Poor Boo.
For Swedish readers (and for those who are interested) we are moving to the Vimmerby/Västervik area. Yay, we are moving to Pipi Longstocking's neighborhood. If you have any tips, things we should know, advice you want us to give, everything, anything is welcome.
I'll go back to blogging about my house, my new house (and country) and all the other things I love blogging about because I've missed it. I'll be still selling Box Letter Cushions and as from today I've opened my own "whip up your own box letter cushion shop" (I'll have this printed on t-shirts) so that you can design your own with the fabrics you love from my selection. There's also a lovely interview Mary Jo from Trust Your Style did over here.
Happy new week!
* it apparently only takes 4 weeks but Norway and Sweden are quite strict so they want blood samples of 4 months and up.
Late last night we returned home after a weekend reunion with friends in the UK. It was so much fun to see the faces of people I used to see almost everyday after not seeing them for almost ten years. Also strange that something that used to be so familiar and considered so normal still is although lives have changed. I loved it!
This is the lovely Worcester Cottage who made me feel at home for two of the four years I lived in the UK.
It's the home of Bo and Bob Wallace parents of Dean, Scott, Glenn, Russell and Sophie. It was Russell who became my friend and introduced me to his lovely family. Being in a country away from my own family the Wallace's sure provided me with all the things I missed and even more. I can honestly say that some of my most font memories took place in Worcester Cottage.
Although I explained Sophie that I never really blog about family or friends and how I hardly post photos of those special to me, I'll make an exception today because she so badly wanted to be on my blog.
Here are Glenn and Sophie in the kitchen of Worcester Cottage last Saturday night. They tried to portray the phrase 'Eat drink and be merry'. I think did they a good job.
Maybe I should blog about my favorite people more often because they surely are super fun. What do you think? ...
I have so much to tell that I don't know how to tell it. Do you recognize that? There's so much going on that I just don't know how to put it in order.
I'm really excited about the products I'm working on for the Etsy shop. I think I've finally found something I love to make and love to sell. I have to think about a collaborate project I'm going to do. We're working hard on the attic because it needs to be done before next Friday because the carpet men need to get in. I'm also planning our big move, getting stuff done so that the house can go on the market and I'm trying to wade myself through all the mess that comes from the attic and is now living everywhere throughout the house. Did I ever mention I can't stand unorganized rooms ;o)
That's just some of the stuff.
I think as from next week I can show and tell you some but for now I just leave you with peaceful images of Boo napping and the new cushions I've made from my previous London loot because I actually could do with some peace.
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!
I'm such a liar! I couldn't lift myself to blog during Christmas because I was a. too stuffed with food. Honestly at one point I thought they might as well stick me in the oven because I have all the right ingredients for the perfect stuffing already inside of me. Ugh, why do we eat so much during those days? And b. all the food weighed me down so I couldn't get off the sofa without the help of a forklift truck and we don't have one.
We spent Christmas eve with my brother and his girlfriend and the first day of Christmas at my parents in law. On the second we stayed home called my mum and grandmother and watched all the DVD's we gave each other for Christmas. I also received books, board games, a rubber duck and a babushka snowman.
Marné sent me these cute favor box houses from Martha Stewart Crafts for our third Annual Christmas Swap. I used them for the Bo's nieces and nephews and stuffed them with mini mars and twix bars and little plastic animals. They were a hit!
The Ariadne At Home I'm featured in dropped on my floor mat yesterday morning and I cried, of course I did!! During my ugly cries I called the Bo to tell him how lovely it is and how super happy I am but he actually thought I was in pain in an ambulance.
The best thing about the feature is the big pink caption "I'm a real Cath Kidston fan" like yes, please rub it in. I love Roselle's interview, the pictures and how they used the green and pink all over the spread - my two favorite colors. It's really, really me don't you think?
You can download the PDF of the spread by clicking here. Don't forget to download Adobe Reader if you haven't already.
Oh and "Hallo" to the people that browsed here via Ariadne, welcome to my little blog!
Thanks for the fun feedback and comments on my previous post. It made me laugh and I feel a little bit better about my addiction. Addictions are things that make you go hmmmm ... with magazines I want to get that one picture, or that one article that makes me go hmmmm, hmmmm, hmmmm!!
The key question is; "where do you keep your magazines?".
A year ago I started to file them. I file both Country Livings, Country Homes & Interiors, Elle wonen and Domino in here
and I also started to file the renewed 101 Woonideeën. As for the other mags, I keep them around the house and recycle them when I get to that point I can part with them or I give them to my neighbor to read.
Than there's the ever growing "to go through" pile on the chair in the dining room.
I keep my Mac Book there for quick resource. I like to go to a website that comes with an article immediately, so I read and browse at the same time - oh dear, I think I'm giving too much info here. Oh and on top of the Mac is a new Jeu de Paumes book, Stockholm's Garden - I love, love, love it!!
Next we are off to the best place to read and that's the loo. I keep this little GreenGate basket up there and it holds our "Loo Literature" as we call it aka The NG and the Quest.
I recycle those and stock up each month. That way we keep in track with new curtain linings, placebos and the world changing climate.
Next month I'm going to swap magazines with Charlotte in New Zealand and Sara in Australia. And, as you can imagine, I'm dying here. I've never swapped that far away before. I'm also going to be in a magazine next month. It might ruin the whole experience for me though ... flipping through a magazine and see my own house "hey I know that kitchen, where have I seen that before?".
I think I'm the worst nightmare for most magazine editors because I'll read or flip through everything. Even if it's in Hebrew I'll have it. Being said so, they can't get away with publishing the same stuff at the same time because I'll know and I'll find out.
This month I was shocked in utter believe. Four of my favorite magazines run the same stuff but put it in different context.
First off is the Country Homes & Interiors (July 2007 issue) with this picture of a beautiful kitchen - very well styled, I love it
but in the Country Living UK a month before (June 2007 issue) there's the exact same kitchen, just differently styled
I nearly fell off my chair when Kristina sent me the BoligLiv (May/June issue) all the way from Denmark
to find out that the VT Wonen - a Dutch magazine - (June 2007 issue) are using the exact same pictures but just made a complete different story
I thought I lost it, they can't fool magazine junkies like me. I might as well bought one really fat magazine with all these pictures in it, just styled differently. "Look! this is what we can do with kitchen A and this is what we can do with outdoor shower B".
May this be a wise lesson, do never become a magazine junky because you'll end up looking at the same stuff just as my mother tells me all the time - arrrgghhh I hate she's right!
I've done something today that I never do ... I sat in the sun!! Yes people, I sat in the sun for an hour flipping magazines. I sat in the sun for an hour flipping magazines with my feet in a bucket of water, I sat in the sun for an hour flipping magazines with my feet in a bucket of water in my UNDERWEAR!!!
Mind me but it wasn't really a lovely little sun with a nice summer's breeze, it was a sweltering heat wave kind of "I'm going to get toasted" sun. And I sat in it ... I still can't believe it.
Boo tried to copy me but couldn't stand the heat with so much fur and fat. The temperature read 37 °C (98 F) in the shade - IN THE SHADE!! It's just crazy and I sat in the sun!!
This is an achievement and I think I need to be awarded. I who hates sun, who hates sitting down doing nothing for an hour, who hates sitting in underwear, who hates ... well I actually loved the feet in the bucket of water and the flipping magazines.
Something else I like to share (because I got tagged twice and have been trying to ignore it - hehe) 8 random bits about me:
I'm super emotional and well up at very odd moments. Like when a marching band starts to play music or when people applaud for a save landing or when one of the teachers from my old Au Pair child celebrated her last day at the nursery. It's super embarrassing sometimes and utterly inconvenient.
I'm attracted to imperfect people.
I've been a big Oprah fan for a long time until she said "eat whole grain" as if it was a revelation. That made me not believe her anymore.
I still have movie star crushes.
I do not believe in heaven or hell but I do want to go to a place full of kittens, free shopping and fat free yummy food when I'm dead.
I like celebrity gossip and know everything there's to know about Brad and Angelina.
I shower every day and clean my bedding every other day.
I do not like summers and I actually think I suffer from summer depressions. When the leaves start to fall from the trees I get happy and energetic. I do believe in a struggle and I feel you have to struggle harder in autumn and winter.
Let's say that out of 10 e-mails I receive at least 8 of them contain the same question;
"how do you keep such a clean home with a husband?"
Well, I'm going to spill the beans today...
Yin
I have an extremely clean, tidy and organized husband and he doesn't want to be obstructive like (sorry I have to say this) most men do. He knows that what I'm doing and keeps me busy makes me happy and he doesn't want to interfere with me being happy. In general he doesn't like to behave as a man man much. He's not embarrassed to show his feminine side and I totally admire him for being like this. The Bo wouldn't function in a messy, unorganized home packed with kids and pets and dirty dishes. He needs to shower each day to feel good, he needs to dry the taps after his shower to feel good, he needs to change his outdoor shoes to his indoor shoes each time he goes in or out (it drives me crazy) to feel good. Living like this I could never go back to living with a caveman.
Yang
But (yes there's always a but because life isn't perfect like that is it?) in return, Bo is always rushing me and I feel at least 12 hours per day rushed by him. I need to shower fast, cook fast, pee fast, shop fast. He also needs a lot of attention and he's constantly silently asking for it. He's twitchy, jumpy and always going ... going ... going. Even when he sits down to paint he's moving around on his chair. He's extremely energetic, hardly ever sleeps and talks non-stop about things such as quantum theory. In a day he either breaks something, makes something really un washable dirty or he blows in my face when he laughs which I hate!
Conclusion
I'm trying to say that it's always something. We can't have the perfect mate. We need yin/yang, good/bad.
Each time when I wake up in the morning and I have to get out of the bed fast and brush my teeth fast, I'm happy I was introduced to him and that we work because that's all that matters.
"I think I need a cup of tea the world keeps turin, Oh what a day, what a day, what a day"
Do you know that line in the Erykah Badu song On & On? Well I felt like that about last week so it wasn't "Oh what a day" but rather "Oh what a week".
I've been away most of the week, fixing little silly things. Sorry to be so vague but when it comes to Bo's projects I can't tell much online - you know what I'm talking about, it's not his blog it's mine. It's sometimes really hard not to let myself go because there's so much more I want to write about but it's so off topic. I keep a homemaking blog not a political blog not a current affairs blog not a my sister is a cow for not telling me about an important meeting blog and most of all it's not a blog about a mad woman ranting.
It's a crazy world sometimes people, even for me. Some people might think that I wake up in the morning and everything is perfect. Let me assure you it's not. I do smell like death birds when I wake up and, for crying out loud, you should see my hair. It's actually possible for a little bird to nest up there. Things aren't always perfect and they don't have to be always perfect. And believing thinking that it always rewards me.
Like at the end of last week when I returned home from the awfulness and finding this lovely stack of pink and white in my postbox.
Sally and I planned to swap Moo cards ... and a whole bunch of other stuff. The Moo cards are actually so overshadowed by all the goodness Sally sent me. I couldn't resist to oooh and aaah out loud each time I opened yet another bundle wrapped perfectly and addressed with a little teaser sticker. Sally really is the queen of detail!! Beautiful!! Sally is opening her shop soon, read all about it here.
I just love how she used my two favorite colors, green & pink, all over this swap mixed with beautiful white.
Thank you Sally!
PS: those HORRIBLE IKEA LAMP comments made me giggle, thanks so much for being out there for me!!
Today Roselle from Ariadne at Home magazine came over to my house to interview me for the photo shoot they're going to publish.
My mother used to buy the Ariadne when I was a little girl. Back then it was a creative do it yourself magazine with lots of patterns in it and not so much about interiors. I remember fantasizing of having my own home and decorating it and to be in a magazine one day .... eeeeeee I'm going to be in the Ariadne. It's still very surreal.
I've been talking about myself, my house, my Bo and my Boo for 3 hours in which I almost chocked because I apparently can't talk, drink tea and have a cream cake at the same time. It's weird to be talking about myself for such a long time without being cocky. I think there's no one interested in me talking about myself for so long. If someone would do that to me I'd ask them to shut up. So I've decided that I like interviews.
Roselle asked about the reason I blog, she asked if it's a sort of exhibitionism. It's not in my case. To me it's sharing and trying to inspire other people to decorate their homes and make everything pretty. I also like blogging because I can't bottle all these creative things up inside me so in another way this blog is my creative depot.
I'm super excited about this and I'm probably going to cry when I hold a copy in my hand because, well I cry at Flintstone episodes. For those who can get a copy of Ariadne at Home, it's going to be published in August and for those who can't get a copy, I'll make sure to add some scans to my site.
Ooooooh and look out for the Ariadne at Home Kids Special. It's coming out in just two days!! Meeting Pippi Longstockings in Sweden? That would be a dream come true.
If you're interested and if you want to understand the rest of this post, it's wise to read this on Wikipedia.
The Dutch only really celebrate carnaval in the southern parts of The Netherlands, where I was born and raised. But because I have a mother from Suriname and a father from Amsterdam it was not a festivity we were taught to celebrate. My sister caught the bug much later when she was a teenager but I've never been a carnaval lover much myself. For instance, I hate the music (they have special carnaval music and it's horrible) and I don't like what it turned into; a drinking feast and a how many people can I jump feast. But I do like the whole hoopla of the parade and the announcing of the Prince. I also like the dressing up part of carnaval.
This picture is the prove that I celebrated carnaval at least once in my existence. I was dressed up like Winnie Mandela, Marijn was Rambo, Linda someone from Kiss and Audrey was Heidi ... LOL!!
The Bo and I are still not celebrating carnaval. We just watched the parade and now we're back home getting warm. I planted some peonies and lupinus today and I'm going to make some sushi after finishing this post. Life is sweet in our humble home while, literally, just around the corner they're getting drunk and off with someone else's wife! What a bizarre contrast.
I'm extremely scared of frogs, have been my whole life. I can't remember when or how it started. I even moved house because there were so many ponds in the neighborhood. I won't add people to my Flickr contact list if they have pictures of frogs. Period!!
I keep this picture of Edward Norton and Ralph Fiennes in my organizer because throwing it away or taking it out is not an option.
I used to be a thumb sucker for 21 years and a chain smoker for 15 years. I gave the thumb sucking up about 11 years ago and the smoking 4 years ago. It seems I passed my urge to suck or drag ... HA!!
Oh this one is embarrassing ... when I get out of bed in the morning the first thing I like to do is sit on the toilet while I talk to my mum on the telephone. She hates that I call her from the toilet and I don't blame her.
I run a load of laundry almost every day and we are just with two people. I buy laundry detergent and fabric softener in bulk because I'm scared whenever a disaster might break out I can't do the laundry.
I'm very emotional. I cry many happy and sad tears and I can't control it. One time I cried over an episode of The Flintstones. Fred and Wilma took an orphan in their home for Christmas and it was just too much.
I'm going to tag everyone who wants to play along. Don't forget to drop a little message so I know when yours are up.
For most of my life I've been hating it to have a birthday in December. You should know that the Dutch celebrate two gift exchange holidays in one month. On the 5th (one day before my birthday) Sinterklaas and between the 24th and 26th Christmas. As a child I used to be buried under presents in December but the best gift - having friends on my birthday - never happened. I used to have early January or late November parties instead. It used to be a month of mixed emotions and I've always been depressed about it. Until I started to let it go a couple of birthdays ago and I'm loving it. I now have a new found "I don't care if you don't come round and have cake" mentality and I love it. I feel free at last!!
So it was a surprise for me how thoughtful and giving people were this birthday. I even received guests for cake. My parents in law were really generous this year and I bought a dollhouse with the money they gave me. I also bought stuff for the dollhouse with the money my mother gave me. Honestly I'd give everything back to just have both of them on my birthday but that's just not possible with a globetrotter like my mum and people that have issues like my parents in law.
Blog friends were generous too this year. Marné sent me lots of goodies seen in previous posts (I used it all for Christmas decorations). She also sent me the two snowmen in the top picture, magazines and POPTARTS!!!
Kathleen sent me this beautiful handmade pin, I'm now wearing to keep my pashminas snug. Visit the Liquid Shop for more beautiful goodies and wrapping. She also sent me this fabulous suitcase.
It's good to know that I have found friends that consider me adequate to play with toys for ages 3 & up. That gives me a warm and fuzzy feeling.
For the past few days I've been following the news on the missing of the Kim Family. Although I don't know them I sincerely feel for them and all my blog friends who do know them. I want to let you guys know that James and Kati made it to the Dutch news yesterday and wish them all the best in finding and returning James.
Today is also my birthday, I'm 32 and so far it's been a good day. There's no running water, a toilet un flushed, a face unwashed. I'm going to the gym to get a shower LOL!! But I've received the best disco ball glitter ring from the Bo ever.
I come from a family of large age differences. My father was 45 when I was born and my brother 13. We all grew up quite individually in a large home with each a private spacious room in where we would hermit and horde things to do. I never played downstairs in the living areas because to my mother these areas were for adults, I now agree with her. We shared lovely family dinners, outings and parties - my folks were really party people, I love viewing slides of my father and mother dancing in the dining room - but we never were really on track of each others social lives because by the time my sister had her first snog I was playing happily with Barbie or My Little Pony. It was fascinating though as a child to have older siblings and mixing up with an adult crowd.
I've kept living in large spacious houses in deserted places all over the world for the rest of my life and I've been living quite happily in the middle of nowhere. I am a social person but I love to walk away from it whenever I want to. I've never been a group girl either and I don't really work well in a team. I do like to joke around and have fun outside work hours but when I'm working I'm doing my job and I don't want to be bothered with social ramblings. I've also never been a part of a group of friends. I rather have few friends I can individually do things with, like when I was a child. I'm a loner and proud of it!!
So when the Bo and I decided to leave our country home three years ago to set house in the middle of a town because the Bo was getting a bit panicked to leave me alone when he went on business trips (there were no neighbors left, right, back and front just 270 pigs and a whole bunch of piglets) friends and family were quite concerned.
This is our house. We're in the middle with the green door and the geraniums. It's a barn conversion form 1890-someting and divided in three homes in 1924. I left out the house of my right neighbors because they're remodeling the outside and it looks like terror. We work well with the neighbors according the outside of the building. It was my idea to get matching awnings and to paint the whole lot in the same color. I only couldn't get my head round on the dark navy doors. It looks like a black hole in middle of all the whites. So our door is light green just as it is in the back.
The first two and a half years were great because I was busy renovating, decorating, shopping, painting, planning, cooking, cleaning and running after everyone telling them what to do. I didn't have time to actually observe my new surroundings and to adjust to town life.
I really dislike the word "Do" in a sentence like "Let's do lunch" or "I don't do kids". But I just couldn't find a better title to start this post as "I don't do neighbors", I really, really don't. I thought I could but I'm really crap at it.
The house is old so I hear everything and I hate it. I dislike the sound of crying babies, people hammering (god forbid we did a lot of hammering in our days of hammering) and I hate tap noises. Running tap noises are the most horrible noises on this planet. I don't want to know when my neighbors are doing the washing up or when they shower. It annoys me that whenever I don't hear taps for a while I get concerned that they don't shower enough and that I have smelly, stinking neighbors. I also get annoyed by cars. Our little stoop makes a great parking place, the stoops left and right apparently don't work. Isn't a rule that whenever you visit someone you park on their stoops not on their neighbor's stoop?
Although we have baby and tap noises and a parking lot (I should charge for) we have friendly neighbors and it's not their fault that they are our neighbors.
I'm really happy in this cute little house but I wish I could pick my middle up and place it somewhere remote - like Alaska for example.
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".
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.
During the past few months I've been thinking a lot about my little blog. I've been seriously thinking of giving it up just because I sometimes feel I can express my true feelings, concerns and emotions. For example when I write about Katie Holmes's stretch marks or how George Clooney looks like a cup of cappuccino I get upsetting email. It limits my writing freedom. Nowadays when I'm composing a post I keep cropping bits out and I end up with something like "this is what I've done and this is what I've made, byeeeee". It's just so boring and it really bores me too (the one writing this blog).
I don't know how you feel about this but I find it difficult to discuss topics like this with my offline friends. So I'm fortunate that through this blog I've turned a few of my online friends in my offline friends, friends I can discus such topics with. So after a good phone call with my best blog friend, a set date to meet in London with another blog friend and receiving things like this
in my post box (thank you dear Lisa for the magazines and dear Nina for the lovely Finnish goodies) it makes it all better. I've met so many wonderful and inspiring people through this blog that it would be a shame to let all that go. I'm really happy to know you all!!
So I'll keep my little blog and I'll enjoy updating it. But from now on I'll discuss whatever I like in this blog. So if you get upset because I like to discuss famous people's stretch marks, people that look like cappuccinos or anything else that might offend you please don't visit again. There's nothing more important in this world as a good healthy dose of self mockery.
Oh dear I've been up to so much. I've been busy getting everything back in my computer. I've been playing the Sims 2 with my new mean graphic card. Oh it's heaven, I can't stop building, smooching edges and decorating. I can't wait for the new expansion pack either.
I also went shopping in London last week with my friend Ellen. We did have a lovely day and did do some serious shopping at Cath (did you noticed she dropped her int. shipping a bit?) It was a little power shop because we only had 4 hours. OF COURSE we missed our plane back so I had to buy new tickets. The Bo had to pick us up in the middle of the night someplace else and had to drive Ellen back to her car at the airport near us, where we were supposed to land at 19:00. Stupid girls!!! We we had a blast and the weather was extremely good to us.
I've also been in bed with a cold and did some catching up on DVD watching. Today I felt a bit better and went out with the Bo to the garden center where we bought plants and pumpkins.
I've been getting my hands dirty on carving and making these small polka dots lanterns. I have some more pictures in my Flickr album.
***
I also want to say Hi to some of the new readers. I'm not really a person to email you all personally and thank you. But I really appreciate your visits and your comments. They make my day. Thank you!!
The reason for my absence and for not emailing and replying to email is that my motherboard died last monday!! It's just so weird that just a year ago the server yvestown is on crashed. Is September a computer dangerous month at my house? The good thing about last year's crash is that I started to back-up so nothing was lost this time, only my favorites folder is missing but I'll get that back on Monday.
I've been really sick off it, I'm so used to having access to the World Wide Web that living without it now is not an option. It gave me a good chance to do silly little jobs I never seem to get around to like painting plant pots and buying artificial pears LOL!!
Thanks for all the compliments on my SKRUVSTA cover. For those who mailed me and for those who are interested, I'm working on a small tutorial plus some tips & tricks on how to make an easy slipcover. I think I'm going to use a footstool, or is that too simple? I don't know, please let me know what you think.
Now something not so different, now I get to think of it, I love to wrap. Not just gift wrapping, I love all sorts of wrapping. Books, securing teapots from breaking in the mail and I even love to stuff the Bo's bills in envelopes.
Kids here in The Netherlands cover their high school books in paper jackets because most of the books are borrowed and need to be returned to the book depot at the end of term. So they need to be secure, that's why we wrap them. It's a job most teenagers hate. I offer my service for free to all the teenagers in my world (and unfortunately the count is dropping tragically) I use vintage wallpapers, fun wrapping paper, glitters, bookplates and all sorts of good stuff and by the time these kids go to school they have the most secure and fun looking book jackets in The Netherlands. I'll post some pictures soon!
This is a picture of a wrapping project I've been working on today, it's for Leslie because we're having a little magazine swap.
