Christmas 2011/ December plan and the basics of decorating

By now we're well into December, the most festive season of the year. Most people, if they haven't put up Christmas decorations are at least starting to think about what to put up this season. The same goes for the list of presents, people to visit, treats to bake...

I like to wait until we're well into the first week of December before decorating. On the other hand I like to make my gift list early. Really, really early. As far as baking goes, each year is different. I like to avoid baking cookies, probably because all of my apartments have had small kitchens and trying to bake cookies in a small kitchen is a big nightmare. Wanna seem my kitchen/living area? I did a post about renovating ages ago here.

Yesterday Mr. C brought out our big Christmas box from the basement. I got up early today and after the first morning coffee I started the daunting task of pulling all the ornaments out. I generally have a very good memory of the things I own, the things I bought etc. But this year it really hit me: I've got a lot of Christmas ornaments. Too many really. I'm imposing a ban on new ornaments, effective immediately.

Not really the best time to surf Ikea's homepage though:

Ikea textile Christmas decorations

My wreath is about 7 years old. I made it one year after getting tired of running to the market each year at the last notice to buy some greenery (my mum unlike me, likes to put things off till last minute).

This wreath is made of dry nuts or some exotic fruit shells. I died some of them with gold paint and used glitter on some pine cones. All that was left is to buy a wreath base made out of birch branches and hot glue gun the dry shells on to it. It felt like putting together a jigsaw puzzle. Very fun and relaxing actually.
Each year I pack it away in January and bring it out the following December. It's practically indestructible and still very interesting after all these years.

Here we go! I've put the wreath on our front door. Come back Wednesday to see the rest of the Christmas decorations :-)

Ljubljana in the fog

Contrary to appearance, this isn't snow but a thick, heavy fog. Last week I had to go to Ljubljana and I thought I'd make some pictures of the Christmas decorations.
I gave up after realizing my camera was determined to capture the fog rather than anything else.

The two miserable pictures I did take are of the Cobblers' bridge. You can even see some red ribbon and green wreaths on top of the light posts in the second picture.

Friday night film selection: Easy virtue

Friday night film selection posts in a new format:  a monthly feature posted on the first Friday of the month. Even though I retired this post series, I realized I really miss doing film reviews. And this particular film proved too good to pass. It features Colin Firth after all and the man can do no wrong in my book ;-)


Easy virtue really isn't a grand film. It's a quiet little work based on the play of Noel Coward. The story has been told and re-told countless times. The stuffy English aristocracy with all the eccentricities that come with land and title (by default it would seem) and a young American bride that sets the wheels in motion. Literally this time.

The story begins with a prelude of a female car racer meeting, falling in love and subsequently marrying a slightly younger man. After a brief sojourn on The Riviera they leave for England and his ancestral home in the country. A grand old manor desperately holding on to the glory of the old days.

And the residents? A sharp tongued butler with a drinking problem, an emotionally absent father, ignorant and superficial daughters. Holding this menagerie of characters together is the matriarch of the family, a tour the force brilliantly portrayed by non other than Kristin Scott Tomas. And though her character is very reminiscent of Lady McCordle from Gosford park, the latter has retained at least a spark of her former youthful ideals  while the former is completely disillusioned and emotionally dead.

The delicate balance is thrown for a loop and ultimately destroyed by the arrival of the newlyweds. While the son (all too quickly) settles back into the old routine, his new bride is adamant they should leave for London and start a new life.

Among all this emotional turbulence is the brilliant backdrop of the seemingly idyllic English countryside lifestyle with tea parties, village fairs and shooting parties. The more senior Mrs. Whittaker insists things have not changed the more determined younger Mrs. Whittaker  becomes in proving her mother-in-law wrong. The whole thing comes crashing down spectacularly at the annual Christmas ball.

In case you decide to watch it, I won't ruin it for you. You deserve the pleasure of seeing this for the first time without expectations or me giving away the best part. But so you know, this is excruciatingly difficult!



I will say this Jessica Biel is spectacular, she plays her role to perfection and after seeing this film I've seriously reconsidered her acting abilities. Ben Barnes is perfect as a type cast portrait of a young aristocrat who appears independent but it fast becomes obvious he has no resolve or courage to really stand for himself or for his wife obviously. Colin Firth doesn't get much screen time, but I enjoyed immensely seeing him in a role that actually demands a passive and out of the spot light approach.

Happiness comes in many boxes

We all know them: the little trinkets that cost next to nothing but they make us incredibly happy. Whether it's because they fulfill a certain purpose in our household or are there simply for their intrinsic beauty.

As a rule I tend to gravitate towards uniform posts featuring one item/subject at a time. However this has been one of those busy weeks when everything just collided.
First, my new helium balloon:

If you've read Tuesday's post then this comes as no surprise. The lovely teddy with the heart is an anniversary gift from Mr. C. No there was no little box or a gift certificate with it. It would seem the longer we're together, the less fuss we make in terms of grand gestures and lavish gifts.
The only people who are disappointed are the merchants really. They get no money from us ;-P

This tiny girl was a present from a friend who recently returned from China. She wears a traditional costume of one of the many Chinese minorities. She'll probably be used as a Christmas ornament this year.

The December Burda magazine is out and I nabbed it hot off the delivery truck. Pictured is the dress I wanted to make. I blogged about it here. Realistically this probably won't be before January. December is always crazy and lots of other DIY projects hold priority.
I was absolutely smitten with the shoes the model is wearing. They are actually ballet flats in red satin from Repetto.

And finally, the jewellery boxes I ordered about a month ago arrived in the post yesterday. Super happy about it, now all my jewellery will be packed, labeled with the Lili & Flor logo.
This is starting to look professional.

Love is...

Love means never having to say I'm sorry.

Love story

Then we wouldn't be saying or doing much. Would we now?

Ljubljana Zoo, May 2011

Here are some of mine:

Love is...

• Scary and exciting.
• It's about forgiving (mostly yourself) and letting go (of the fear).
• It's about laughing and being goofy together.

Ljubljana Zoo, May 2011

Love is a symphony of two notes, yours and mine.

Happy anniversary darling!

Why I'd make a bad fashion blogger

It's not the lack of clothes. And definitely not the lack of interesting accessories ;-P Whether you call it laziness or pragmatism, I love to create uniform looks for every season. As the seasons change I like to open my closet and pick a few items that will become my favourite. These can be new things or something quite old. As is the case with the black jacket with red lining in the next photo. Blacklisted in May, when I did a major closet de-stash, it came back with a vengeance this autumn after I discovered the lost of weight made it once more a perfect fit.


1. Late September, early October

The weather is still quite warm and it hasn't started raining yet. This is the time when I pack my sandals and bring out some light autumn footwear like ballerinas or these cognac sneakers. I also bring out my autumn/winter bag. Finishing the look off with a random jewellery selection. This year it was the dragonfly brooch I received for my birthday and the necklace from the Bead Soup.

2. Late October, early November

A very old fashion rule states that boots can't be worn before All Saints' day unless it begins snowing before that day. This is probably one of the few rules I stick to relentlessly. Probably because I am irked by the women who break out their new boots around 18th September when it's still 22 degrees Celsius outside.
This is usually the time of year my crazy jacket gets worn all the time. It's cropped and has 3/4 length sleeves making it an utterly amusing piece of clothing. If only for the bewildered looks it evokes.

But if the temperatures reside between 4 and 10 degrees Celsius it's ideal. I love to pair it with long gloves and my Indian girl bag. Also featured a tulip skirt from Sisley.

3. November

Dreary, foggy, depressing. My mood swings are in full swing. I also suffer from lack of interest and/or energy. It's all related to the rapid decline of sunlight. Daylight savings switch to winter time isn't helping either.

My tactic for battling negative thoughts: wear pink, lots and lots of pink! This outfit is extremely infantile: the jacket was made with a girls' fabric and the ankle boots are childrens' too. This is also the only time of the year I love to wear my prescription glasses out in public.

4. December

The most festive month of the year. We go out quite a bit in December. Meeting all the friends before New Year is a tradition. I like to create an outfit that's casual but on the dressier side.
The boots were a recent* acquisition. I bought them last November from a Vegetarian shoe company. These were exactly what my wardrobe was missing, a pair of casual smart boots that can be dressed up or down.

The coat is one I made myself, again. The fabric was quite cheap, because this sort of bright magenta isn't a popular choice for coats in Slovenia.

5. January, February

Aka the frost bite months of the year. This is the time of year when temperatures are well bellow zero. It's also wet and snowing most of the time. As a pedestrian, I hate to get my pants wet and ruined by the salt so I wear skirts at all times. With my trusty heavy duty Doc Marten's boots. These are now believe it or not 6 or 7 years old and will probably last at least another 6 or 7 years.

All hope of wearing a coat in this weather has long been abandoned. Instead, my quite feminine parka with a belt and extra thick lining to keep me warm. Though not obvious from the photo it's actually a wonderful shade of bronze.

And there you have it. From March on, the order of wearing outfits featured above is reversed and come May, I'll probably be wearing the black jacket with red lining.

*recent In my closet time passes at a much slower rate: meaning any item of clothing less than two years old is young and anything bought in the last 12 months is new.

Tomorrow

Tomorrow The Virtual Craft Show opens on Lori's blog Pretty Things. Hop over for a chance to win some amazing goodies from other super talented artisans, bead makers, jewellery designers,...

Here's a sneak preview of the piece I'll be giving away:

Update: from the 26th November till 3rd December I'm offering a 10% discount on all items in my Etsy store. Just enter VCS2011 at checkout.

Blogger culture: Exposure and rejection

About three weeks ago I received my first offer to do a sponsored post on my blog. And it quickly became apparent to me this was nothing but an ingeniously crafted scam.
A pretty generic Chinese on-line retailer was offering me the chance to write a post on their wares in exchange for a coupon redeemable at the very store I was supposed to be promoting.
All I had to do was go to their website, fill out a form, do a post and voila! One coupon coming my way. Yay!

source

The way this looks to me is that they get free exposure and my money, since the $10 coupon they're offering for my writing services can buy me just about one pair of nylons.
Not to mention, how generic the e-mail they sent me was. No salute, no name just hello and a copy pasted message.
What makes it worse is that a week later I received another one of these generic e-mails. This time from a fashion blogger who'd picked the e-mails off some one's comment section and was trying to round us all up and get us to follow her blog.

Again no salute or anything, just come follow my blog, there might be a lip gloss in it for you.
At times like these I am sorely tempted to pack it all up, close down my blog and go do nothing.

What was the most annoying, aggravating or just plain rude experience you've had since you started blogging?

The waiting is over?

Are you constantly waiting for something? Waiting for a job promotion? Your next vacation? Waiting to loose weight? Just basically stuck thinking the next thing to come along will finally change everything?
I am that person. Constantly looking ahead. And once I achieve something and tick it off the list I'm like: "OK, that's done! What next?"
This is definitely not the road to happyville.
I waited 10 years for this:

And once I got it I was over the moon for exactly 3 and a half weeks. At that point I became restless again.
Finding a job in these times is no picnic. It can be frustrating, demoralizing and exhausting. It is not productive to add fixation to this pile of messy emotions. And most definitely not productive to give in to negativity.
Which is exactly what I've doing for the past four weeks. And it stops right now.
Have you ever heard of the five stages of grieving? I seem to be stuck in a loop of anger, depression and acceptance. Although I'm not nearly as dramatic as this fella:

 

Update: the note in the photo is my graduation grade. It's customary at our University for the grade to be noted on the front page of the thesis.

The winner of the earrings giveaway

As promised, today is the day I announce the winner of the giveaway.

I used Random numbers generator service and it picked bead addict! Congrats!

I've been unable to upload the results into this post :-( If anyone has any idea how to import the random numbers generator widget into a blog post, please do tell.