Update on the greenies

Earlier this year I mentioned how I have planted some greens. Well, I am happy to report my plants are doing well and growing nicely. I also planted an avocado seed and it has grown surprisingly well. I read it loves light, but the light in my apartment is somewhat limited. Most of my windows face east.

My plan to have more green in my home has really got out of hand since I adopted the mothers of my little ones I planted. They haven't found their place yet, but I am sure they do.

I surely have an amazing view out of my window this time of the year. All the birches and maples glow in the setting sun so brightly. Luckily this week has been sunny, even if damn cold, so I have had much to admire.

I only take my Illusia coffee cups out on special occasions. I recently had my family over for my birthday cake. These were on the table for the celebration. I do wonder why I don't use them more often. What is sad about this series is that they have discontinued this colour and I only have 7 cups. The 8th got damaged in the post and sadly there was no replacement. Perhaps I will save them.

Welcome to my bedroom

I realised that I have a home blog, but I haven't introduced my home properly yet. My bedroom was the first room to get ready when I moved in and the first room to get a "make-over", when I had gone through my home once.

When I was looking for apartments, one of my key requirements was to have a room for sleeping and clothing storage. I had been living in studios before and disliked how my sleeping area was always in my livingroom. My guests most often had to sit on my bed and that was not ideal. I held on to that requirement refusing to compromise and I am glad I didn't have to.

The idea for the bedroom was, to put it simply, a place in the clouds. Very calm and clean space for sleeping. Since the apartment is small, clothing storage had to be here too. On the opposing wall of the window there are 3 very large, original fitted in wardrobes holding my clothes, bedsheets, yarn and some of my shoes.

When I moved in, the end wall here was bright purple and the first thing I did was to paint it white. For a year it stood white waiting for the right wall paper. This spring I bumped into this white on white dotted wall paper. The dots are pearly white, so they reflect light a little different, depending on the angle. I really like it. It gives a little life to the large wall and my friends have commented the dots being very much like me. Perfect!

The head board for the bed is DIY. I got some left over wood to make a square frame, on top of it I slaughtered an old foam mattress and used some left over padding from my crafts to soften the edges. On top of them I pinned an old white sheet to hold it all together. From the fabric store I bought white fake leather and some buttons. The back is stapled together and the buttons sewn on.

Kartell's Componibili is second hand from a friend of mine. On top of it is my wake up light. A saviour of work mornings.

Opposite side of the bed I have a project going on. First the idea was to have a giant world map where I would pin the places I have been to. As I realised the map would be rather empty still, I could use this space to get art prints of all the cities/countries I've been to. The idea came to me in Stockholm when I was flipping through the posters of Moderna Museet shop and found this Stockholm print of Ingela Arrhenius. So then I had Stockholm acquired. I set my eyes on Riffle Paper's Amsterdam print, but ran into a problem... It was nowhere to be found. Until this September my partner gave it to me as a birthday gift. The 1,2,3 is my German friend's handwriting. I have an idea brewing on how to rearrange these.

Initially this mirror was supposed have much simpler frame, but as I was browsing mirrors in Jysk, I figured a bit more look to it wouldn't be a bad thing. So I went for the white one instead of the silver coloured frame.

So I mentioned on an earlier post that I read somewhere, you should forget plastic flowers, but I really wanted an orchid in my bedroom and I am not such a green thumb I could make one survive in my care, so I decided to screw it and got a plastic one anyway. The snow globes are from Amsterdam and Rome. Perhaps I should start collecting those?

Muurame's drawer serves as my first night stand. On the stand I have a picture of my sweet grandparents.

The Muurame drawer was found at the local flea market at a no price at all.

This poser got interested to see what I was doing and after that it was really difficult to get a shot without her trying to get in front of the camera. On the bed I have the sheets from the Hotel selection series of Hemtex. They too were a birthday present from my partner. Both me and my four legged friend like them very much. I need to get more blankets on the bed, since it is impossible to keep a cat off the bed when she has decided to be on the bed.

Hay's Loop hanger was second hand from my friend. It still needs some hangers that would fit them properly.

One of the small details I love about my apartment are the old door handles. They are original from the 60s. I love the roundness of them.

I had trouble finding good rugs on the floors, since stepping out to the cold floor in the mornings didn't sound like an appealing idea. So again, when I didn't find what I liked, I had to make it myself. 

There are still couple of things I would want to do in my bedroom in small scale. I would want to paint the window frames white and change the foot boards. On a larger scale I would want to rebuild my wardrobes. Since they are fitted in, the wardrobe sets from, for example, Ikea are the wrong size. I am thinking of custom made with sliding doors.

With my bedroom, I wish you happy sleepings!

Sunday brunch

I better confess something, this isn't the actual Sunday brunch today, but I got some nice stuff yesterday so I wanted to try them out today.

Yesterday I accidentally went to Ikea. Me and my friend were supposed to just go to the KodinYkkönen at Porttipuisto, when we found ourselves driving in the parking lot of Ikea. I said I didn't mind since I had business with Ikea anyway! That business was called Sittning.

If my wallet had allowed it, I would have got the whole model set up they had at the store. Instead, I decided to settle for these place mats and napkins for now. I instantly liked the colours and the material, 100% cotton. This whole collection is close to my heart, since I would love to have special dinners more often where I set the table to be all fancy and serve good food and sit down and spend time.

Today Sittning served as a brunch for two, and to be honest, my tiny little dining table wouldn't hold much else. My dinners are usually rather intimate. Date for two, if you will.

Even if the Bialetti coffee maker tries to blend in with the kitchen cloth, it is still very much recognised in my kitchen. I have been making all the coffee at home with only it. It was my souvenir from Italy for myself. I must say, each cup takes me back to Rome. I think this might be love.

The Ikea 365+ carafe was sort of an impuls buy. I had been eyeing it for all summer, but didn't know if I had any use of it. I've slowly grown into more natural materials and this combination of glass and cork is just so pretty in my opinion. So yesterday I decided I will have use for it. I'll make use for it. It's good for things like brunches. Perhaps fill it with water, add some summery herbs and berries...

I read somewhere you should just forget the plastic flowers. All summer long I had picked fresh flowers every weekend to have on the table. Now the season has passed and fresh flowers can only be found at the stores. So if I wasn't "allowed" to get plastic flowers, then what was my option for the winter, if I didn't want to spend money on fresh flowers from the grocery store that potentially wouldn't last over night? Well, about a month ago, at the farmer's market fair I found some dried flowers. These bloom and dry just like this. So of course, I had to get a bunch of white ones. It seems that these keep their colour, not turning into yellow.

Have a relaxing Sunday!

To light up the dark

It's the beginning of the darkest time of the year. Sure, the colours are still gorgeous, but soon enough it will be dark, naked trees in the darkness of the dark world. With this in mind, I decided I needed lanterns. Quickly enough, I found the bigger of them at the supermarket during my Saturday grocery shopping trip. Next to them were LED battery candles, which I intended to stuff all into the lantern. I over estimated how much candle goes into one lantern and so I needed to get another. I bumped into the exact same lanterns in the local cheap shop. 

I guess this is the first peak of my bookshelf/work place corner. It is not completely finished yet, with the new desktop installed, so I haven't taken full pictures yet. I need to order a couple new pieces for my String System and do some cord hiding. That is one project I need to do.

PS. I think I have a thing for the Swedish Dala horses. Aren't they cute?

Trip to Rome!

We spent my 30th birthday in Rome, the eternal city. I must say, it was rather magical. We didn't have much time to go shopping or look into the designers, but now I have a reason to go back.

Weather was sublime, food even better!

For every time I go away, I am as glad to get back home. I have a bad, bad decoration fever. I better show what I have obtained very soon!

Björk & Berries

I might be going little off topic here, but this brand has some really nice scented candles for the candle nuts out there.

You might have seen this stuff in other blogs and I don't wonder why. This stuff is magical!

Well, not in the sense that they would give you magical powers or some sort. Just that they are amazing.

I had never heard about Björk & Berries until I was taken to their shop in Högbo (in the municipality of Sandviken, Sweden). The light and spacious shop greeted me with this very fresh fragrance that reminded me of the woods and lakes and everything nature here in the north. The bad side of the store was that I wanted everything from there.

Their three collections, Dark rain, Never spring and White forest, are all distinctively different from each other and really resembling their names. None of that smells like sports stuff, if you know what I mean. It was really difficult to pick favourites. Up on the picture you'll see I ended up with Never spring hand cream and White forest scented candle.

The hand cream is soft and the scent stays strong for a long time. I love it! my hands are increasingly dry as the air gets colder so this will run out before the winter ends, let me tell you. I sort of want to use it just for the smell too. "Never Spring is a scent inspired by a longing for spring that never arrives - a fresh and green, yet crisp and cold scent that includes birch, lemon and cedarwood. It describes both our long and never ending longing for spring and the wonderful feeling when the first signs of spring appear in our black and white landscapes." Oh yes. Perfect for dry skin.

Initially I did buy just the hand cream, because I was feeling cheap, but the White forest candle was calling to me at the airport. I couldn't leave it behind when I was going home. "White Forest is a sensual and melodramatic perfume of wood and fresh forest air - an exciting and mysterious scent of the deep Swedish forest that includes birch and pine." It is difficult to explain the scent, but it is very much like the woods around my grandfather's cottage. The evenings are getting dark and this is going brighten up my home in the coming weeks, when it gets colder.

Third one I have is a fresh hand soap with the fragrance of wild flowers and it is very much spot on! It is summer in a bottle. I never want it to run out.

I still need to get the Dark rain, since it is the time of the year. Summer still lingers during the day, but then the dark rain comes...

Okay, in all seriousness, without any silly word images, I love the fragrances of these! A gift of ecoluxury from Sweden. Recommend 10/10.

Stocking up

I don't think I used my ceiling lamp much last winter. Perhaps when I needed to clean or was looking for a lost knitting needle, I resorted to it being on. Otherwise I had my mood lights on or candles lit. My candle consumption jumped through the roof once I got my home and managed to unpack enough.

It would seem I have started stocking up for next winter. On my last trip to Sweden I brought several scented candles. Last winter I had two and they were quickly used. I hope these will last a bit longer.

I found the copper coloured candle from a little souvenir shop and I really didn't mean to, but it smelled good and there was only one left. So, you know. It happened. The golden and the black ones are from Mio.

As I was carrying my bags through Arlanda airport, I stopped by their shop and bumped into Björk & Berries stand. I had been eyeing the White Forest products at the Högbo shop for couple of times, but haven't got around to invest in them yet. This time at Arlanda, I knew if there is one time I am allowed, it is this time. I think the White Forest is my favourite out of these.

It will be yet another long and dark winter, so a girl needs to stock up. That's what animals do, right?

Finds from Mio

In my recent trips to Sweden I've done some interior shopping. Sweden seems to be the perfect place to make reasonably priced finds when it comes to decorating homes. On my last couple of trips I've visited Mio. I've seen the name in magazines and blogs, but I haven't really paid much attention to it, since we don't have Mio in Finland (Correct me if I am wrong and tell me where it is.)

I managed to spot a Mio store from the bus window and decided to explore a little. A lot of cute stuff and some pieces of furniture I would have liked to take home, but full sized sofa is rather difficult to fit on your carry-ons... So I have to settle only for the smaller stuff.

The stone tray I actually found at the Dollar Store (Why isn't it called the Krona Store in Sweden??) after seeing it in different interior stores. This little lantern I found in Mio and couldn't resist. After all, nights are getting longer and soon it is time when I light candles pretty much when I return home from work. These came in different sizes and I am tempted to bring the next size with me on the next trip there.

I must give a shoutout to these flowers. I bought these at the flower kiosk at the entrance to the old town of Tallinn over a month ago and they are just now turning bad. Very long lasting! Definitely bringing more of these next time I am there.

So the lantern is from Mio, flowers from Estonia, glass cup for the tea candle is from Anttila (but I saw one just like it in Mio) and the candle holder is a flea market find.

Busy summer

It has been one of those very boring summers. I haven't had much vacation, but there hasn't been much vacation weather either. I haven't been seeing things as much and so my camera has had some more time off. Perhaps it needs to be sunny weather, like today to get sitting by the computer and write a blog post. (Well, I am waiting for the laundry machine to finish.)

I think I could tell a little bit of what I did yesterday. Again, my camera had a vacation so these are just snaps with my phone.

Visiting Porvoo in the summer gives this instant feeling of being somewhere else than in Finland. Especially around the old town. Only sad part was that Porvoo closes so early, so by the time we were moving, we only got to admire the windows of all the little shops. My friend was waiting for the shopping night, when the shops are open later than normally. Worth to check it out!

My friend recommended we sit down for dinner in Johans summer restaurant and I must say... Definitely worth every penny spent. Located at the street by the river, Jokikatu, we walked around the corner and entered this closed yard just on the river with plank tables and parasols. Luckily we had a reservation, else we would have been turned down.

The view was very pretty, but the thing that was better than the view, was the food. We ordered Toast Skagen for start and I must say, it was the best Skagen I've ever had. It was creamy, smooth and had so much flavour. Prawns are not usually in my menu, but in a Skagen I am willing to make an exception. In this Skagen, I was very happy to make that exception.

For main we had Johans burgers. Angus beef on a dark bun with amazing caramelized onions. There are burgers and there are Burgers. Lately, with my long-term-over-night-guest we have been browsing through many restaurant with burgers and now when I have been eating at restaurants, I've ordered burgers on my own too. This was definitely on the Very Yummy! end of the scale.

The lovely waitress recommended the raspberry pavlova for dessert and it was very good end to the meal on a warm summer evening by the river. The pavlova came with mango sorbet and was sweet and sour the way mangos and raspberries are at the same time. Full of flavor and cool. As they say in Masterchef Australia: "Yum!"

After the dinner we took a stroll down the street alongside the river and looked at the windows of handicraft boutiques and antique stores. Next time we need to be there earlier, so we get to see what's inside too. As we walked across the bridge towards the old train station of Porvoo, we could smell the tar coming from the direction of the old wooden church. Made us thing what we could tar in our homes so we could have this scent more in our lives!

At the old train station we daydreamed of buying one of the old station buildings and renovating them into homes. Just imagine living inside the big hall of the trains with the big double doors. To have a hot summer morning and pulling them completely open and enjoying your morning coffee by the open doors, while the smell of the old train tracks fills your home. Oh to have such money and the skills to renovate something like that!

I have plenty of new stuff at home. Also, there was a little trip to Gothenburg, Sweden with very nice places. Perhaps more about those later?

Summer flowers

Last summer I started this nice habit of bringing flowers home after work on Fridays. I love fresh flowers on my table, but sadly they wilt so soon. I prefer potted plants, since they have a longer life in my hands, but picked flowers bring this sort of luxury I like. Taking a walk and picking flowers is a very good way to start the weekend, I think. As the (short) season goes on, there are new flowers in bloom every week and that way I can get a little bit different looking bunch every time.

The wild anemones are pretty much all gone now, I've seen only few late ones on my way to work, but I am not sure those will last long anymore. Instead I got these planted ones from my late grandmother's garden. I think these are related to the wild anemones and my grandmother would have told a lot more about them. I just think they are so pretty poking out from the green and being among the first ones to bloom in her garden, alongside with tulips and narcissus. If I recall correctly, the blue little flowers are forget-me-nots, a pain of the garden. Grandmother would have told me to rip out more of them, made a bigger bouquet of them, since they spread like wild fire. She got one little bunch of them from a friend of hers who warned her that soon it will be all over yer yard and the neighbor's too.

The Syringa in the garden was blooming as well and of course I had to take some branches home. The smell of them is so sweet. It's the smell of early summer, I think.

Happy weekend!