That’s better!

No iPod or CD can replace the sound of a Frank Sinatra record played on an old record-player. I am, by the way, not sure this player is old (it actually looks kinda new to me) but that doesn’t bother me at all as long as it sounds and looks old. It’s second hand, so we’ll probably never know.

Furthermore, don’t you think it’s cute I used the word ‘plate’ to decorate the picture, even though it’s not the right translation of ‘record’ in English (in Dutch it’s ‘plaat’, I must have mixed something up)?

Aaah well…never mind :-)

Another DIY weekend ahead of us…
Whatever you’re gonna do the upcoming days, enjoy and have fun!

Stupid girl

Sometimes I create my own blog-worthy stories. Like this evening, when I was attempting to take some pictures of a present I bought for my Love a while ago. Now the days are getting shorter, good light for good pictures is getter scarce and I have to turn to our little lightroom to take good pictures (working during the day doesn’t make it any better, before we cooked dinner and cleaned up, it’s dark).

Anyway, like I said, the lightroom is small and the record player I wanted to photograph did not fit that well between the sides of the lightroom. You can imagine the struggle. After taking a thousand pictures of a record player in a tinsy tiny space, I decided to change to composition and change the background. During the struggle that followed (cables knotting, staggering tripod) one of the lights that enlightens the lightroom (how many times can one use the word light in a piece?!) fell on the ground, breaking the lamp inside.

NGGggGgngnGgng…(smothered frustrated noises)

Soooo…..I’ll have to settle for this one, for it was the only picture I found acceptable to use for my blog. Problem is now I have to clean up the mess and don’t have time to write about the record player anymore. O, and I have to bang my head to a wall a couple of times…must run!

Before I go just one thing: my music-box deer is featured in a Japanese book on handmade interiors, thanks to Diana of Homemade Happiness. Take a peek here, her lovely home is such an inspiration!

More rain or another one in the Tomado series

Aaah well…it rained so much today I decided to add some drops to the picture. Very Andy Warhol I’d say. (Take a bunch of Campbell’s soupcans, put them next to each other and put them in a museum: where on earth did the guy find the inspiration for that? :-))

But back to the picture: I stumbled upon a couple of spark new Tomado tins a couple of weeks ago (I almost thought they were fake, they looked too good!). Most funny part of the whole thing is that we once had a big version of this one at our home. My mother brought it to a thriftshop because I didn’t recognize it’s beauty at that moment (I was 16 and more interested in boys, harhar).

Last, in the categorie “this does not fit in any way in this article, but I want to say it anyway”: I’m currently listening to the “Into the wild” movie soundtrack. It’s the first solo studio album by Pearl Jam vocalist Eddie Vedder and it’s just sheer beauty. Just if you’re in the mood to try some new music some day, like me.

Life as a perfectionist

I changed my banner. And again. And again.

I think I might be satisfied with the final result. But I might change my mind tomorrow. I looked at my banner at my laptop. And at the computer of a friend…it’s colors look different on every computer. So my feelings about this one change with the screens I see it on.

A thing that bothers me too is that my little Kokeshi girl doesn’t look into the camera. She does that on every picture I take of her. But in the end, she’s a cheeky little girl and that’s exactly what I like about her, so I decided to keep it this way. A huge thing for someone like me ;-)

Sometimes I wish I could be less of a perfectionist. It tires me that nothing less than perfect is good enough. Funny thing is, the only one I demand perfectness from is myself. I love things with a bit of a rough edge, isn’t that just crazy? I love people with cozy, untidy homes, where you can sit on the couch and drink tea without feeling like Hyacinth Bucket’s neighbour.

Maybe I’ll loosen up one day. When I’m old and wise. Can’t wait for that to happen. Lucky enough, I’m not a sociopath ;-)

(The cute elephantcard is made by Jessica Nielsen and was sent to me by dear Diana of HomeMadeHappiness)

Happy chic house tour

Every time I visit this friend’s house, I’m stunned by the fact that she manages to decorate her home in such a loose, almost nonchalant way. Decorating just comes natural with this lady. We go back a long time and every house she moved into, she turned into a true home, with her handwriting written all over it. Maybe it’s because we have a similar taste, maybe it’s because of the “looseness” of her interior, but every time I left her beautiful homes my head could burst because of the loads of new inspiration. So…when I visited her last week I asked her if she would mind if I’d write a small post about her beautiful home? She kindly allowed me to. Thanks sweet lady, you’re the best!

Elke keer als ik deze vriendin bezoek, ben ik weer onder de indruk van de manier waarop ze op een bijna nonchalante en losse manier haar huis geweldig inricht. Inrichten is een soort tweede natuur voor haar, het is niet gekunsteld of heel erg bij elkaar bedacht. We kennen elkaar al heel lang en waar ze ook woonde, elk huis werd bijzonder door haar unieke interieurstempel. Misschien komt het omdat we dezelfde smaak hebben, misschien komt het door de “lossigheid” van haar interieur, maar elke keer als ik uit haar huis vertrek loopt mijn hoofd over van de inspiratie. Dus toen ik vorige week bij haar was, brandde er één vraag op mijn tong: “Mag ik je huis fotograferen voor mijn blog?” Gelukkig zei ze ja. Bedankt lieverd!

Photos from top to bottom:

At the left: a slice of tree works perfect as a cocktail table
At the right: dining table, made by the misses herself with wooden leftovers of a nearby factory (how cool is that?)
A corner in the kitchen with spots of red
Sweet little birdy with a cross-stitched back decorates a lamp
At the left: soft natural colors match with fresh Spring-green outside

At the right: corner on the windowsill