Ribbon Band

 

I am not a collector of things. But if I were, I'd collect tea pots. And ribbons. I'd stick my tea pots on my big beautiful china cabinet and I'd glue ribbons on every shelf and door knob in my house (a big and beautiful old mansion, of course). Yes, really. (Too much?)

Anyway. Fé and I have been wanting to do some crafts, but I never seem to have time these days. But yesterday, I felt inspired enough, so we took ribbons and made hair bands out of them.

Take one ribbon (we chose a linen one). Take another one (slightly smaller). Use textile glue to attach the smaller ribbon onto the bigger one. Ready.

It's easy and the results are instant (and pretty). A perfect craft project for little princesses. I see many ribbon bands in our future. Maybe some fancy, sewn ones, too.

PS. We crafted something else, too. A shoe box. Guess which one is ours over at lilla a.

Motherhood.

I woke up today, as I have been, in a puddle of my own milk and baby throw-up, in the two centimeters of space allocated to me in our bed. One of my breasts was hanging out of my nursing bra, somewhat uncomfortably, a tiny baby suckling on it. The other baby, the big one, had her hands wrapped around my neck, possessively, and I had a bit of a hard time breathing.

And then I looked at the two of them sleeping, and the most intense feeling of peace and love and joy rushed over me.

Motherhood. That obscure point between sheer exhaustion and pure bliss.

Thank you, my darlings, for letting me know true happiness.

Some links...

... picturing motherhood. Beautiful.
... Fé and Sisie need this hat.
... I am making something like this for the princess quarters.
... I like this wallpaper (via design files).
... doors and windows.... sigh.
... we are cooking this on Sunday.

Happy weekend!

bad day good day

We are ready to be done with being sick. Thank heavens for books and little angels.

Sunshine Award :)

I received this award the other day from Ieva Jansone of dinge die ich mag. The fact that she would give me an award is kind of... well, I can't find the right words... it's... overwhelming! I am just really honored. Because, you see, Ieva is one of the most inspiring women I've come across in the blog world. She runs an incredible blog. And she is an amazing, and I mean, AMAZING, photographer. You can see her pictures on her website here. They capture truth, the simplicity and beauty of life, at a time when so many photos of people and things are photoshopped and/or staged to a point where their very essence is lost. And I'm saving up some money so I can buy some things from her beautiful store. Like these wooden toy cameras for children... aren't they cute? Oh, and she keeps a record of her four-year old son's artwork here. Thank you, Ieva! :)

And now... drumroll... I'm passing this on to Suvi of lapset nukkuu, master scrapbooker and wonderful mother of three, who always brings sunshine to the people around her. (And whose name literally means merryweather... ).

Anime And The Best Cookies Ever.

The weekend hasn't been easy, but we have survived. Fé seems to be doing better today, and we even managed to get some sleep. Children are brave. It makes me cry.

There wasn't much we could do, so we ate raspberry sorbet and watched Japanese anime... Fé's favorites are this and this and this. (Mine is this one.)

We baked a little, too. I am not a big cookie and biscuit fan, but when I saw this recipe, I couldn't resist. Chocolate-Pistachio-Lemon Cookies. They are dairy- and gluten-free. And they are the best cookies I have ever had. Really. You must try. I honestly think I'll never bake cookies other than these.

Here is the recipe in English (using European measurements):

1 dl dark chocolate (buy dairy-free, if you want)

about 15 pistachios, peeled and unsalted

peel of one organic lemon

125 g (dairy-free) margarine, at room temperature

1 1/2 dl sugar

1 egg

2 1/2 dl rice flour

1 tsp baking powder

1. preheat oven to 180 degrees. 2. chop the chocolate and the pistachios with a knife. 3. chop the lemon peel. 4. Beat the margarine and the sugar with an electric mixer. 5. Beat the egg into the mix. 6. Combine the rice flour and the baking powder and add to the mix. Beat. 7. Stir the chocolate, the pistachios and the lemon peel into the dough. 8. With the help of a table spoon, place the dough onto a baking sheet in little heaps, forming cookie shapes. 9. Bake for 15 minutes. 

Phew... a new week. Our renovation is starting today. Handymen all over.

Mirror, mirror on the wall

... who is the most beautiful of all...

"Mom, why did you paint red spots on me during the night?"

The Big Miss has what's called windpox ("Windpocken") in German, waterpox ("vesirokko") in Finnish, and chickenpox in English. This morning, we had the realization that she won't be able to participate in her first ever dance recital this weekend. The one that she has been talking about and looking forward to for months.

I think those pox need a new name: meanpox.