Maalauspuuhissa jälleen

Ruokailuhuoneessa sijaitseva laatikostomme on saanut valkoisen maalipinnan (sama maali kuin tuoleissa ja kaapissa). Teimme siitä tarkoituksella hieman kuluneen näköisen. Edellinen öljytty puupinta ei oikein sopinut yhteen uuden ilmeen saaneen ruokapöytämme kanssa, joten päädyimme tähän ratkaisuun. Tai olisihan tuo mies pystynyt elämään edellisenkin ratkaisun kanssa, mutta minä en ;-) Lopultakin voin sanoa että olen tyytyväinen. Pieni ruokailuhuoneemme tuntuu nyt paljon avarammalta ja valoisammalta. Yhtä seinää pitäisi vielä maalata, mutta se projekti voi odottaa jonkin aikaa.

Lämmintä ja aurinkoista viikonloppua kaikille! Nautitaan ihanasta kesästä :-)

Trip to Berlin

Last week we were in Berlin and had a great time (this was my first time there). Berlin is a fantastic city to photograph, especially black & white works really well with the atmosphere and the buildings. We took close to 1000 photos (!!) during our stay, which is staggering. So you can imagine the selection below is just a wee drop in the ocean...

The sheer size of Berlin was almost daunting at first. I have lived in London but I have to say London feels like a small town compared to Berlin, and I am not kidding. The main reason we went to Berlin was to see a gig of my favourite band, Depeche Mode, at the Olympic Stadium. The gig was fantastic and what an experience to sing, wave hands, applaud and cheer together with about 80 000 other fans.

Berlin impressed me in so many different ways. The locals were incredibly friendly, food was good and so amazingly cheap, not to mention German beer and wine, public transportation worked like a dream etc. So all in all our trip was exhausting but definitely worth it and some day we will go there again.


Reichstag Parliament building

Reichstag Parliament building (detail)

Brandenburg Gate (detail)

Brandenburg Gate (detail)

Berlin Frankfurter Tor

Graffiti on the Berlin Wall (detail)

New beginnings

During the past few days we have been enjoying the gorgeous summery weather, although I have to admit today it was a bit too hot for my liking. Perhaps it is that Nordic blood of mine... can not handle the heat. Should not be complaining though, I love the summer :-)

Then to other things. There has been a lot of changes happening in our lives this year, mostly very unexpected ones. Me and my partner have been busy brainstorming and planning (or re-planning) our future. I am starting to think this year is all about new beginnings. There might even be career changes on the horizon and all sorts of new exciting opportunities to explore.

When you are put face to face with an uncertain future, for whatever reason, I reckon the most important thing is to remain positive. My grandmother always used to tell me I was born under lucky stars and I would like to think she was right. Time will tell, but for now we are having fun brainstorming and daydreaming.

I hope your week will be filled with sunshine!

One step closer

It is starting to look like we WILL finish our dining room project during this decade, hah. The dining table is ready now and it looks absolutely gorgeous. We are very very happy with the end result. All that was needed was some sandpaper, paint and a paintbrush, and a whole lot of elbow grease of course.

Ruokapöytämme muodonmuutos on vihdoinkin valmis ja omasta mielestäni se näyttää kerrassaan upealta. Olen enemmän kuin tyytyväinen, ja niin on miehenikin. Hiekkapaperi ja maalipensseli saavat ihmeitä aikaan.


Old shabby dining room chairs we bought from 't Gemakje last year also got their coat of white paint, plus a light treatment with a sandpaper afterwards.

There are few more things to do. For example we still need to repaint the blue section of the dining room wall. The current colour is a bit too bright, so I want to tone it down. More greyish blue is what I am aiming for. We also decided to paint the chest of drawers white... and so the work continues...

Finally some progress

Rainy days can be useful. Finally we are making some progress indoors with our forever lasting "dining room plan". Dining table legs have gotten their two coats of white paint. The table top still needs to be sanded down and oiled. It is a bit chaotic right now, but every time I complain about it my partner philosophically comments "you can't make an omelet without breaking eggs". He is right of course, but I find it difficult to relax if my surroundings are messy (mad as a hatter eh?). I just have to bite my teeth and endure it for a while :-)


The table top will be oiled to match this chest of drawers. It will not be an easy job as the table top is made of rough reclaimed teak and is filled with deep dents and scratches. The dark stain is absolutely hellish to get off, but we will do our best.

I bought this French 1890's fashion print from our local antique shop quite some time ago. One of my slightly mad purchases. I guess it was the blue colour that attracted me (I was living my "blue phase" at the time).

Knocking on summer's door

What a glorious weather it has been. Things are changing so rapidly in our garden that I should have to post almost every day in order to keep up with the progress. I swear you can almost HEAR the plants grow. Our patio is pretty much finished now and almost all summer blooming flowers have been planted. This year I was suppose to plant only white flowers, but as I am VERY impatient, things did not work out quite as I initially planned. I will show you the results of my impatience later...

Our small cherry tree is blooming handsomely this year. Fingers crossed we get to taste some cherries before birds eat them all. Last year birds got to them before we did...

Strawberries are blooming already. We grow them in few small pots on our patio, so our crop is not huge, but it is very tasty :-)

Spring pictures

It has been a while since my last post. Here are few spring pictures from our garden. The weather has been absolutely gorgeous lately, so we have spent most our time outdoors. Today it was really warm, I reckon around +20C! My partner has been working hard under my supervision (wink wink) doing some small changes in the garden and some bigger ones on our patio.


Vastaukseni Olivienon kysymykseen tulee valtavalla viiveellä... Ilman muuta tulemme kesällä Suomeen! Parin viikon kesäloma Suomessa on sellainen asia josta ei tingitä, ei sitten millään. Lentoliput on jo ostettu :-)


Wishing you all Happy Easter! Hyvää Pääsiäistä! Prettige Paasdagen!

I also want to thank Alexandra from Objets de Charme for this heart warming award. Dank je wel :-)

Flower show

Springtime has arrived and our annual "flower show" has started. Last year the field opposite our house was filled with small yellow narcissus, this year we have crocuses. We will definitely enjoy our lovely view while it lasts...

Crocuses are also in full bloom in our garden and tulips and perennials are coming up. I just love this time of the year when everything is coming alive again, including me :-)
Can you imagine, I spoke to my mother earlier today and she said they still have about 20 cm of snow in their garden (this is in southeast Finland)! Like two different worlds...