Happy New Year!

Niin paljon mahtui taas vuoteen tähän,
jota jäljellä on enää ihan vähän.
Sä enkelin siivin uuteen vuoteen kulje
ja keskiyöllä toivoen silmäsi hetkeks sulje.
Anna kauniiden toiveiden sua uudelle vuodelle kantaa
ja seikkailumielellä katso mitä se sulle antaa.

Hyvää uutta vuotta 2008!

I wish you all a very happy New Year 2008!

Another peek into our living room

Our tiny living room from another angle. The couch needs to be renewed, quite desperately. It is such a shame we do not have space for a huge comfortable couch. We have 4 doors and a big window in our living room. With only one unbroken wall furnishing this room is quite a challenge.


The white door leads to a small cellar, which is more like a pantry, and the beige door leads into our kitchen.


We are planning to paint the table white, but perhaps leave the top as it is. We will see. We are also planning to replace those two small mirrors with one big mirror, to make the wall look less "cluttered". The artwork on the right is made by my father-in-law.

A peek into our living room

Our "picture wall". We love art, but unfortunately we do not have enough wall space for all the paintings, etchings etc. we own. But still we keep on buying more and more. We see a nice piece that we both like and end up coming home with it. Also, my father-in-law is an amateur artist and a very good one I must say, so of course we get artworks from him on a regular basis, which is very nice.


We love this Asian cabinet, found from the local antique shop Hoet's Antiek. It is very beautiful, but also practical, as it keeps our electrical equipment (stereo etc.) hidden away. The artwork was bought from an art gallery in Haarlem few years ago.


The table lamp we got from Ikea, very cheap. It goes surprisingly well with our old Chinese statue, which I bought from an antiques fair in The Hague.

Mr & Mrs Piggy

So Christmas came and went, once again. It is funny how I wait for Christmas for months and then it is over so quick. All that anticipation and decoration and then wooosh, you blink and it is all over. Especially this year it seemed to go even faster, as I had to work on Christmas Eve, for the first time ever. Felt quite odd.

We have been stuffing ourselves with nice food, wine and chocolate, loads of chocolate. I reckon we feel (and most likely also LOOK) like Mr & Mrs Piggy, without wings of course. What can I say... we can resist anything but temptation ;-)

Old bike lamps

I got these old tatty bike lamps from my boyfriend this Christmas. No worries, he also bought me a "proper" present. These lamps were just a side thing, given to me as a joke. He knows I like old things, the shabbier they look, the better.

He found these from the local antique shop. The lamp on the left is very old, might even be from the late 1800's. We reckon the lamp on the right has been used during the World War II, as you can dim the light by gliding up this small "shutter", so it could be used during a blackout.

Have a nice Boxing Day!

Small details

It has been a nice quiet Christmas Day, so had time to take few pictures from our patio (have to keep myself entertained somehow). Just few small details... I like cast iron, especially when it turns rusty. Charming.

The shed door

Our old shabby shed door is being decorated with a simple Buxus wreath this Christmas. Also this door is in desperate need of some fresh paint... Let's face it, when you live in a house that was built in the 1920's, there is always some DIY to do. It is a never ending story...

One job finished

Finally our front door is finished, just in time for Christmas. We just need to attach the letterbox cover, that is all. The "old" door was horrible dark brown, with even darker brown door frames. It made the entrance look very gloomy, but as the door was still in a good condition, we decided to have it re-painted. The painter did a good job. I am very pleased with the end result. And the entrance looks so light now!

Winter wonderland

Still cold and sunny. The frost keeps piling up on trees and plants and the scenery keeps getting prettier and prettier. Our oak looks magnificent with its thick layer of frost, basking in the sunshine. When I got up this morning, I immediately dashed outside with a camera and just stood there taking pictures and admiring the beautiful view. It looks like a winter wonderland.
Another pretty view from our garden.

Muistoja menneiltä ajoilta

Nostalgia valtaa mielen näin joulun alla. Tässä parit aukeamat mummini & vaarini vieraskirjasta 40-luvulta sekä vaarini vanhat sotilaspassit. Nämä ovat minulle korvaamattomia aarteita, joita palaan katselemaan kerta toisensa jälkeen.

(Kuvia klikkaamalla näet suuremmat versiot, joissa tekstit ovat paremmin luettavissa)

Frosty weather

It is a very cold & frosty weather today, coldest day so far this winter. Our "Bird Central" (= our patio, where we feed the birds during winter) is currently very busy, full of sparrows, tits, blackbirds and chaffinches. Even a woodpecker made a visit earlier this morning. It is quite fun to watch them.

Chinese rice basket

Finally our Chinese rice basket turned out to be useful and not just decorative. Not storing rice of course, but Christmas presents.

Bought these pretty pearly Christmas lights yesterday. My boyfriend told me I have gone completely overboard with Christmas decorating this year, but hey... Christmas is only once a year, right? :-)

Christmas cards

I was very late with Christmas cards this year, but finally they are on their way. Hope they will reach their destinations before Christmas... And fingers crossed I did not forget anyone (sorry if I did!). I really should get organised and make a proper Christmas card list. Next year then! :-)

Scrap Pictures - Kiiltokuvia

I find old fashioned scrap pictures so pretty, especially when they feature angels. I got these nostalgic looking scrap pictures from my mother couple of weeks ago. They look old, but are very new indeed.

I still have a box of scrap pictures from my childhood, when I used to collect them and exchange them with my friends. Some of them were very precious to me, and suppose they still are.

Christmas tree

Joulupuu on rakennettu, joulu on jo ovella...

So, our Christmas tree has already been decorated. It is very much a Dutch habit to decorate Christmas trees pretty soon after Sinterklaas (5th of December). I do not mind at all, as you get to enjoy your tree a wee bit longer than in Finland, where trees are usually decorated on Christmas Eve.

The huge black speaker ruins the view a bit, but what can you do...

Only one week to go and I still need to buy some Christmas presents. Suppose I am going to be busy.

White Christmas

I'm dreaming of a white Christmas...

While our kitchen and dining room have been conquered by red this Christmas, I am keeping the living room a bit more white & neutral. As you can already tell, I have scattered angels and candles everywhere.

Winter patio

Finally our patio is getting ready for the winter, and Christmas of course. The weather is very cold, crispy and sunny today. The temperature is at +1C and everything is covered with frost, but indoors it is warm and snug.

Now it is time to have a a cup of tea, wrap some Christmas presents and write Christmas cards...
Stay warm and have a lovely day!

Robin

This Robin is a regular visitor in our garden & patio. It is so pretty and not afraid of us (suppose it knows where the food is coming from). Very curious little thing who often comes to check us out when we are doing gardening etc.

In this occasion I went out to take few pictures of the garden, Robin flew to the Butterfly bush next to me and was just sitting there looking at me. As I was already holding a camera, I quickly snapped a picture of it.

Baroque candlesticks

I went through a mad spell today while shopping in Leiden and ended up coming home with a pair of huge baroque candlesticks. Bought them from a shop called 't Schippertje Antiek. Though being bought from an antique shop, candlesticks are not antique, but brand spanking new. On my way home started having second thoughts, but hopefully they will find their place in our home...

Savitaipale

Hieman kesäisiä tunnelmia talven keskelle.

Nämä kuvat eivät sanoja kaipaa. Savusaunan tuoksu on unohtumaton, kuin myös muistot Savitaipaleelta...

photos by Proenski

Red accents

We have sprinkled red colour almost all over the house. It started from red kitchen cupboards and the red stair railing and somehow red just continued to spread. We do have few rooms which are "red free", like the living room, bedroom, bathroom and the dining room. Mind you, currently our dining room has been conquered by red, but that is just for Christmas :-)

Often I pine after an all white shabby chic interior, as I really love that style, but I suppose it is too late turn back now.