spring clean(s)ing

 

 

I've never been much of a 'spring cleaning' person;

I've never had the patience or energy required for this.

So I just did a bit of cleaning here and a bit of decluttering there;

the result was a decent home but never a perfectly organised one.

Procrastinating is my middle name and as long as the flat is

clean enough to be healthy and messy enough to be happy

it was fine by me!

This year something changed, though.

I'm not sure I can put it to words.

It's this need I have for simplifying;

for having less stuff,

having fewer obligations,

having more time for my family and for me.

So before going away for the Easter holidays, 

I looked around for inspiration

- blogs, pins, spring cleaning lists-

and kept some notes on my,

truly inspiring, Susan Branch wall calendar.

My biggest challenges were the bedroom walk-in closet,

the kitchen glass cabinet (it's huge) and the balconies.

I'm proud to say I managed to do them all.

There are still cupboards and drawers to be sorted out

but I have a plan

and a whole month ahead.

Of course, with schools starting again on Monday......

we'll see. I'll keep you posted.

Wow! Look at how much I've already written.

And to think that it's the cleansing part I'm mostly 

interested in.

I'm trying to look after myself a bit (or rather a lot) more.

I eat healthily and try to walk as much as I can. 

(going to the gym is not an option for now)

I love seeing my fuel -salad-  all washed and ready to get in the fridge.

I make beautiful combinations; yes, beautiful.

I take my bowl to the study and search the net for spring images.

Finally, the most important part.

I seek inner peace.

I want to get rid of any past bitterness and find the strength in me to forgive.

I need to stop reproducing mean dialogues in my head.

It's the only way I can think of 

to move my life forward.

Cherishing the simple things and enjoying the gifts I was given.

Making others happy.

It's not easy. I've been through a tough period

and quite often I didn't even like myself.

So spring clean(s)ing it is, then.

Wish me luck

and do stop by.

I'll do my best to do so, too.

Take Care!

Yiota

a boy's room

~ still waiting for news  (will have no news before monday and i need to be at work on the 1st of september!)

~ still seeking distraction

~ still haven't decorated my son's room

 i spent some time looking for ideas on etsy

(in case we do get to stay home)

I think you can gather the theme from my mosaic!

I've already bought the fabrics for a bedspread, and a trip to the city centre for some yarn  for a blanket is planned for tomorrow.

Now, if only we could stay here!!!

(click on the numbers for links to the shops)

1.  2.  3.  4.  5 and 6.  7.  8 and 9.

my {home-alone} sunday

some reading and crocheting

washing curtains, washing windows (the whole thing)  and putting curtains back up

 a simple meal for one :omelette with  pasta (angel's hair), spring onions and green peppers

a favourite film (you've got mail), coffee and a little treat

~ Can you tell by the way I write that I'm not really into words? ~

Have a lovely week!

xxx

a bit of decorating

I've added a couple of summer touches to the little corner we spend most of our summer evenings: our balcony.

Hmmmm! Blue, green and white: I think this will become another favourite combination of mine!

Take Care!

xxx

inspiration in pink and green

It seems that I've been using a lot of pinks and greens for my creations.

This colour combination really appeals to me.

I find it very relaxing and I've (very slowly) been working my way towards bringing more of it at home.

So when I started looking for a sewing book to order from the Book Depository in order to take advantage of a friend's offer (thank you J!), this one made my heart miss a beat. This must have been the fastest order I've ever placed!

I knew I didn't need another sewing book, but I also new I needed to spoil myself with some serious dosage of eye-candy!

You wouldn't believe me if I told you how much time I spent looking at these two pages above while drinking my Sunday morning coffee at the balcony!

Maybe I can finally find something to make with these fat quarters I bought back in autumn!

I realise I've basically showed you here some of the great photography that accompanies the projects and not much of the projects themselves.

 I told you: in serious need of eye-candy!

Hope you have a great week!

xxx

right now

"...there are also plenty of other reasons [to celebrate] ... A new job, the first day at school, a half-birthday..."

Amanda Blake Soule

The Creative family

How about when you can sit  on your favourite sofa again, after having sorted out and put away mountains of clothes?

Yes! This definitely calls for the ultimate one-person celebration (as I'm home alone): coffee and reading! Yay!

Life's good!

xxx

scenes from the weekend

Hello lovelies!

Hope you all had a great weekend and a wonderful start to your week!

Here things are quite laid back; slowly but surely, I'm going through the stuff we brought back home - a couple of boxes here, a suitcase there...

This morning, when I proudly stated that we could finally see our floors, hubby answered :'what about the sofa?'

Ahem..., we have another one, plus a very comfortable armchair; what do we need our (now full of winter clothes to be sorted out and put away) smaller sofa?

Our weekend was a very good one.

There was ...

...reading a very interesting book in my comfy flowery pjs (and a cardigan; it was a bit chilly in the mornings)

...lots of playmobil action (after the caravan, knights, pirates and a castle came out of their boxes and mummy discreetly turned to her book -shhhh!)

...some yummy action in the kitchen (chocolate-nutella tart; most of it still in the freezer to tempt me - no, no, I need to lose some weight)

...a birthday celebration with just the three of us at home followed by dinner at a restaurant with friends (it was hubby's birthday, by the way)

 

...a family breakfast - pancakes + honey+ almonds. mmmmm

 

...my blanket being put in good use by little one while watching cartoons early in the morning (good thing it's acrylic and not wool!)

...some (light) housework which resulted in fresh bedlinen (the piles of books are among the things that were revomed from the floor but have in fact nowhere to live!)

We also attended a Christening; my youngest nephew bacame godfather to a little girl and ...

watched the news... a lot :(

As you can see, regardless of the general chaos in my country, life at our little home is good.

Thank you all so very much for your lovely comments. It feels great to write 'I'm back home' and see that so many people I've actually never met understand what this means to me and feel happy for me. I'm so grateful for your being here!

Take Care!

xxx

home

~ despite the chaos all around me

~ despite the fact that there are easter decorations in the living room

~ despite the unbelievable number of boxes and suitcases i need to unpack

~ despite not having the faintest idea where to begin from and how to organise everything...

it's good to be home!

xxx

this is it!

            (from the kindergarten end-of-year play)

The time has come; we're packing!

We're going home - hopefully, not only for the summer!

I think one of the wisest decisions I made when we first came here in September was to opt for the fastest internet connection around here.

I'm so grateful I discovered blogging about two years ago. You all kept me great company, especially over the long winter months; and they were really long at times!

Autumn was better, with the explorations and walks by the river!

Now we're more than ready to go back home.

I have big (inexpensive) plans for this summer. I'm thinking of changing the colour schemes in our place; make everything brighter. And since crocheting is out of the question for the summer (too hot for this), sewing a couple of throws sounds like a good plan to me. It's high time I finished this one for instance; I bought the fabrics last August!

Ok then! I sorted all my books and work stuff yesterday.

Now I need to go declutter my son's toys. This is a tricky one: if I do it with him, he'll want to keep everything; if I do it on my own, it won't be fair to him. I think I'll go half-way and do the first round on my own (discreetly) and then call him over.

Take Care!

I'll talk to you next week from the headquarters.

xxx

(PS. Lucy, if you're reading this, I can't leave a comment on your blog; I tried everything, but blogger doesn't 'see' me in this comment layout. That's why I changed to a pop-up window)

from the archives

As I was sipping my cherry liqueur last night, looking at some photos I took in the past, I wondered what had caught my attention this time last year.

I'd lie if I said my mind didn't think of flowers and I was right.

The bulbs in the pots next to my son's balcony door were my faithful models.

Now, some of these bulbs have blossomed or are about to, here - you see, I brought them along when we moved as I knew they'd make me smile.

But my freesias are back home and I noticed last week that they'll be open soon. I hope not too soon! I hope they'll wait for me! Nine more days!

note to self: remind hubby to water the freesias!

~~~~~~

Happy Wednesday!

today

Today I am...

~ admiring my son's resourcefulness and imagination

~ drinking lots of camomile tea

~learning about quilting

~ crocheting a secret project

~reading the Happiness Project

~listening to Black's soothing voice

~planning to do some housework (just planning for now!)

~ counting the days till Thursday (Friday is a national holiday and we're going home!)

~~~

Have a fabulous weekend!

xxx

Little Matters

~ which cd to listen to during my 'me-and-the-things-i-love' happy time?

~ which book to read next?

~ which spot would make my stripey blanket feel 'at home'?

```````

```````

'Little Matters they are to be sure,

but highly important.'

Jane Austen

right now

:: sunday afternoon::

my quiet time begins

(by the way, my blanket is not complete yet; it needs a border, but I thought we could enjoy it for the weekend)

~~~~~

ps. have you read my previous post? if not, please do!

on reflection

~ from home number 1 to home number 2, I'm home ~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

If you've been reading my ramblings for a while, you may remember this post where I wrote about not feeling at home either here or in my city.

I'm glad to report that a different feeling is warming my heart now.

I had a lovely, relaxing time at the city home over the holidays with lots of cosy moments; it really felt like home after a couple of days (well, it is home, isn't it? ). And now I'm here at this little village that at least for this school year I call home; when I left the city this morning I thought I would need some time to feel this place warm and cosy but no, nothing like that. Both my son and I were glad to find all our things here and went about as if we never left!

~~~~~~~~

I've bought a beautiful notebook to use as a journal and this feeling will definitely make it to the top of my gratitude list today.

~~~~~~~~~~

Have a wonderful weekend!

xxx

December 24th - grateful for ...

{ being here }

(do you remember this view?)

No matter how dreary and gray our homes are, we people of flesh and blood would rather live there than in any other country, be it ever so beautiful. There is no place like home.

~L. Frank Baum, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

{inhabit}

~friday

~if you've been reading my musings for a while, you know it's my favourite day of the week

~my working week finishes at exactly 1.15 on friday afternoon; there's plenty of me-time till i take little one from school at 3.45

~ me- time usually means 'enjoy your little space in the universe';

' make this space really yours', 'inhabit it'

~ but fridays are not only about me; they're about us as well

~ today's me-time was devoted to cleaning the flat so i won't have to do it over the weekend; you see, hubby's on his way ; and we're expecting lots of rain over the weekend

~i'm thinking of inhabiting this place

~ i'm thinking of putting a little Christmas tree up with our handmade ornaments

(too early for us in the season, but this is the last weekend we'll be together till Christmas)

~ i'm thinking of father-son play while i read my book (a great historical novel about the civil war here); i want to finish reading it soon, as i need to start reading 'winter solstice' like i do every year - this will definitely warm things up for me

~i'm thinking of cuddles under my crochet blanket (we actually do that with whatever i've made so far, while i continue crocheting!)

~i'm thinking of sewing our advent calendar

{{{ does that sound like a good plan for a cosy weekend at home? }}}

~~~

we took these pictures a little earlier today; little one is the artist behind the last two

~~~

stop by the little list for more {inhabit} posts

home sweet home?

( image via here

now occupying a small part on my living- room wall)

I guess we all know how important a feeling of belonging is;

well, to me 'home' is something that defines me - it goes hand in hand with 'life' and 'family'.

I can't imagine not having a 'homey' home. Do you know what I mean?

A safe place, a space where you can be yourself, you can do what you like or do absolutely nothing at all and still be content; a place that feels like an old, worn out sweater that warms you to your heart and soul...

I was thinking about this over the weekend when I felt like I'd lost my feeling of belonging.

Little one and I were five hundred kilometres away from home, at a place we now call 'home', without daddy.

Yes, we planted our bulbs and yes, we did lots of crafts, but still it was not the same as last year. Something was missing; this special magic dust that turns a house into a real cosy home was only partially here. And the funny thing is that when I go back home I feel more or less the same - problably because I'm always on the run to see everyone and do everything.

I'm really looking forward to the 23rd of December when the school holidays begin. I want to go home, put up the Christmas tree, light some candles, make myself a hot cup of chocolate and feel the warmth around me.

~~~~~~

I was offline the past three days due to technical problems, so if I owe you an e-mail or a visit, I'm on my way. I only very quickly checked my mail at work yesterday.

~~~~~

Take care!

xxx

wednesday

Since Time is not a person we can overtake when he is gone, let us honor him with mirth and cheerfulness of heart while he is passing.
Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe

I'm eighteen years behind in my ironing. There's no use doing it now, it doesn't fit anybody I know
Phyllis Diller

~~~~~~~

I'm so excited about your response to my 'interviews' idea!

We'll get this started as soon as I've sorted out how it can be organised;

ideas are more than welcome.

If you've no idea what I'm talking about, please read my previous post.

~~~~~~

Have a beautiful Wednesday!

No work for me today - election day for us, teachers.

xxx

in the attic

hello, hello and come in my new home!

how are you all?

I've missed talking to you and I'm so glad to be back here.

Little one and I have now settled in and daddy was here the first four days

and he came again for the weekend.

Our new home is the top floor of a two-storey house with a garden.

The kitchen and bedroom ceilings are slanted, which makes the place warm and cosy, and there's a sitting- room with plenty of space for little one to play in. We're both happy with our new home but we miss our 'real' home, especially when daddy is not here.

~~~~~~~

Sooooo, how do you turn a house into a home?

~ you put some flowers in a jar (courtesy of an unknown farmer who accidentally threw some seeds on the roadside by his field of sunflowers)

~ you put a couple of 'homey' books on the coffee table

~ you do some baking (isn't the cake bunting gorgeous? I got it from lovely Dawn's etsy shop ; the photo doesn't do it justice really - go see it at the shop)

~ you put together a tiny nature table
~~~~~~

.

This cherry tree is in our garden; what you see is my balcony

~~~~~

That's it for now!

Hope you're all well.

I'll be over your places soon.

Take Care!

xxx