Awards and giveaways

Oh my, I was awarded! Kiitos a Kiss from the past.
Thank you, I feel very honoured. I also want to thank Colin Firth for walking this planet. I want to thank Suvi Isotalo for making a new album. It will be released in the autumn. I want to thank Andreï Makine for writing. I want to thank the cocoa plant for it´s nut and all the fantastic treats we get from it! I want to thank the birds for singing, their song makes me very happy. I want to thank spinach for growing. I want to thank all of you lovely people who visit Temps Perdu.

I was supposed to do seven confessions but I gave seven award-thanks instead. I changed the rules... I´m cheeky;)

I´m throwing a little giveaway as my previous post was my 400th post!
Please leave a comment by the end of sunday 6th of march and you can win a little artwork made by me, a holy card and a small bunch of vocabulary cards in french/ english.
I will draw the winners on monday 7th.

Say goodbye to February

It´s the end of february today!
I had a great weekend. The consert turned out really enjoyable and meeting my friend after so many years, well, it didn´t really feel all that long ago...He no longer lives in Helsinki, he has a large family (four kids!) now and a huuuuuge house in the countryside. He gave me a lift home and we decided to attend another consert soon. Looking forward to that!

Yesterday I made a short visit to Berlin in the 20´s, I saw Kabaree Berlin, a charming cabaret at Kapsäkki. I was very charmed by Greta and the little acrobat, lovely songs from the 20´s...I could have stayed longer!

Above is a photgraph by my friend Jim O'Donnell. It´s taken in Macedonia. I had it framed with a vintage frame and cropped the image slightly with a passepartout.
All the earning from the photography sales will go to help fund the Haiti Re-Forestation project that Jim is involved with.
To learn more about the Haiti Re-Forestation project please go here.
Please take a look at his his wonderful photography and if you want to help, please visit the store.

A little note to my previous post. I hope none of you found my commenting on the critical american couple as prejudiced. I know americans are said to be slightly arrogant, well, I´ve always tried not to take these claims too serious. There are arrogant people amongst all nationalities. I don´t fit the descriptions of a typical finn. I´m very often asked where I come from. And so are many of my friends and family. So I suppose if we limit ourselves to think only according to a certain stereotype we will not see far.
I was about to leave out the nationality of the funny critical couple from my previous post, but that would have made me sensor myself and I would be prejudiced!
I have dear american friends whom could never be described as arrogant!

Tinted memories of Hungary

I was supposed to have dinner at a vegan restaurant called Bistro Artesana today, but noticed they close at 6 pm. which means we will not make it in time. BA has become one of my favorite restaurants. They serve delicious vegan food.

I´m going to a consert tonight with an old friend. We haven´t seen each other in years. I think last time we met was when we participated in an international hot air balloon event in Hungary...it was slightly wierd that I ended up in the hungarian countryside attending this event - I´m not a hot air balloonist! I took a train from Budapest and sat next to a woman carrying a basket filled with small chicks. I got off the train to change for a local train in the middle of a field. Alone. I have no idea how I ended up finding my way to where the hot air balloon event took place;) The others were already there, they had driven a van. I ended up reading maps, running through fields (in one field I met a hungarian cow - for a split second I had to think, is this a cow or a bull...), carrying heavy hot air balloon "things" (see, I don´t even know the names of the "things"), sleeping in a really crappy bed and partying! And most of these activities I did wearing a heavy fireproof coverall! On my way home I stopped at Tokaji, climbed a hill and tasted Tokaji wine. At the tourist-information I asked if there was any possibility to rent a bicykle - they said I could rent a horse! I stayed one night in Budapest and met an american couple who told me they had "done Amsterdam before they did Budapest" and that they were not impressed. I have no idea if they were unimpressed by Amsterdam or Budapest. I thought it wisest to simply reply with an Aha;)

Oh, I simply have to share this link to a sweet youtube clip called The tragedy of first position. Oh my;)


Above is a holy card I have tinted. I know, it´s perhaps not a good idea to colour old things - but it looked really dull in b/w. I think it became so delicate tinted.

Blurry strangers

I´ve always been fascinated by old photographs, I´ve spent lots of time looking through old photoalbums at fleamarkets and antiqueshops - been quite tempted to buy one...the image above is from a fascinating shop filled with ephemera in Liverpool. It´s tiny. I bought it for a pound. The photo is blurry. I wonder who this is. Did perhaps his lover place his picture in this pretty passepartout. Did someone miss him when looking at the picture, remembering his smile, the colour of his eyes?

I found this. I was so fascinated I googled even more images. Makes my imagination go wild! Why were these people arrested? I´d love to have some of these images on my wall. The one with the male back and the long skirt, was he arrested for wearing a skirt? And May Russell. Standing there with her purse. And look at the details on her jacket below the pockets. What did she do? Or Fay Watson. With the beautiful flower on her dress. I just cannot stop looking at the details.

Delivery amongst vintage florals

I am expecting a certain ironbed to be delivered today...I also found a wonderful vintage floral fabric I had forgotten all about. It is from my grandmother. I shall perhaps use it as a curtain.
And speaking of vintage florals...I´m having a little long-distance romance with a cat named Arthur, he likes to takes naps among vintage florals and he lives here!

A dream castle

I read through my post from yesterday and I just want to correct any illusions I may have given that I have purchaised a palace or rather a dream castle that I am now renovating with my builder and plumber and electrician!
I will in fact do a lot of the work myself, but there are some work I simply cannot do...even I (...I am after all superwoman) have to (at times) admit there are tasks that are best left for the professionals...
My future home is tiny, I think I can describe it to be a small cosy nest - enough for me, my things and hopefully an adopted cat.

Above is an old watercolour painting by my father. He was about to throw it away when I rescued it and placed it inside this lovely frame.

Happy Weekend

I have quite the task in front of me! There´s plenty of work to be done in the apartment. I seldom blow my own trumpet, but if there´s something I have a natural talent for, that is for organizing! In fact I get kicks out of it! I have today spoken to a plumber and an electrician and we shall all start work first of march! I cannot wait!

So I am now going to continue my little passion for organizing...

Happy weekend friends!

Welkom

As I am the luckiest girl on the planet I won another giveaway! I won this welcome sign form Conny´Cottage. Thank you!!!!
It is now hanging in my kitchen as seen above, but once I have moved to my new nest, it shall welcome my guests on my door!

Wallpaper and paint

Oh my, choosing wallpaper and paint is not an easy task. But I think I have made up my mind regarding the wallpers. I will wallpaper the hall with my all time favorite, Sanderson Sweet Bay in black. I still haven´t grown tired of the pattern though I´ve had it in my home for years.
Above is my option for my living area. I´ve also chosen moldings and floorpaint and panel for the ceiling.
I´m meeting up with my builder tomorrow, and we´re going to visit the apartment even though it is not yet empty and a tenant is still living there. I can´t wait! It feels it is ages since I was there last!

You´ve got a friend

In Finland we celebrate friend-day today. In Sweden it´s all hearts day.
Happy Valentine to you all. Happy Friend day and all <3 day!

Here´s Carole and a friendship song.

Above is a book cover I picked up in Copenhagen over 20yrs ago!

H&M

I received the H&M Home catalogue in the mail a few weeks ago (or was it a month? Time just flies!). I must say I was again impressed by their styling of each image. So many lovely details - and I belive it is all in the details;)
I fell in love with this image, as I have in fact managed to get my hands on an almost identical antique ironbed as the one pictured above. It is so beautiful. Oh yes, you guessed it, I have given myself full freedom to indulge in romance now I´m decorating only for myself;)

Happy sunday!

Weekend luxury

This morning I woke up really early, I made myself breakfast and coffee. Read the paper. Then I climbed back into bed and invited Anna Järvinen to sing in my bedroom, I lay looking out at the beautiful morning, the blue sky, then I fell asleep and woke up a few hrs later! It was as if I had been give a present!

Above is a tin I adore. And my notebook. A gift from Piilomaja. We both like Anna Järvinen. She will finally release a new album next month. I have waited waited waited.

Knitting and a stilleben heaven

I am meeting my knitting ladies in a café tonight. It has been three weeks since we last met up. We drank hot chocolate with whipped cream, tea and enjoyed cakes. We dreamed of gardening and were told details of an upcoming wedding. One of my knitting ladies is getting married next month!

I also have to share a fantastic blog and web-shop. I don´t think I have ever stumbled upon such fine details as in Five from the ground. All the images are such delight, they are a stilleben heaven. Not to mention the wonderful items pictured. Do take a stroll in their online shop. Oh my, makes me drool! You may also spot a wire works department. A certain wireflower can be found in my home. I simply could not resist it´s plain and simple beauty. It is now a few years ago that I purchaised the flower and it still is one of those details I really enjoy in my home.

Above is a postcard from my dad. He knows my taste so well.

Midweek gratitude

You are fantastic, thank you for all your wonderful comments. I promise, you will have plenty pics from my new nest! You will eventually have to ask me to post about something else...
Ever since I closed the deal, I´ve had a stream of e-mails and phonecalls from friends who have let me know they would like to lend me a hand if I need. Even my friends in Stockholm wrote and said they are great at wallpapering, painting, drinking wine and having fun! I also have a bunch of friends wanting to help me move! I was sure that is the day I will find most my friends out of town...no really, I am actually going to have the heavier things moved by a moving company. And the rest I can move myself and if any of my friends want to join they are more than welcome. I told you, I am the luckiest girl on this planet! If this sort of behaviour continues, I will be crowned the luckiest girl in the universe!

M. Negrin, champagne and chocolate

Today I closed the apartment deal. Now the apartment is 100% mine! And next month I will start the renovation.
I wanted to treat myself to something nice, so first I bought a secondhand Michael Negrin necklace that I spotted last friday at Hoochie Mama Jane, vintage heaven!
Then I treated myself to a healthy and delicious vegetarian lunch at Silvoplee and on my way home I bought a small (0,375 l) bouteille Baron Fuenté champagne and a box of handmade chocolates.
I shall raise a glass tonight and think of all of you wonderful and generous friends whom have supported me. Thank you!

ateljee Hurma

The opening of ateljee Hurma was divine. There were fires burning on the street, a red carpet, sparkling wine, small delights, chandeliers, kisses, laughter, flowers, music, velvet, lace, fabricrolls and of course fantastic haute couture dresses!

She´s back on track

It took me quite many hrs of sleep, but I have managed to conquer the fever! I am now well. Thank you for all your sympathy when I was feeling small and rotten and aching all over - it truly does make a difference to receive sympathy. Thank you all!
Today on my agenda are a few highlights, first I´m taking this little zink tub to it´s new owners. The new owners are none the less than the fabulous Avanti chamber orchestra! I also received tickets to the sunday consert where the zink tub will make a grand appearance;) I shall report on that later.
I was supposed to meet my knitting ladies tonight, but we have postponed our meeting for next week. So instead I can attend the grand opening of ateljee Hurma. I am very excited. I have seen the interiour of their ateljé, and it is ah, so divine, feminine and luxurious. There will be pictures on the website soon-ish. But before that, you just have to take my word for it!

Typical

You know how it goes, you stress about something BIG (read the apartment), it finally works out and the stress leaves your body - give or take one day and your body is suddenly taken over by fever and you´re forced to stay in bed and sleep sleep sleep...

I also want to thank you all for your kind comments. Now it´s time to go back to bed.