A SMALL GATHERING OF THINGS I LIKE

My red shoes, some vintage bags and petticoats sharing space on my clothes rack.
(And something else I like very much in the background :)

ADVENT CALENDAR

While the kids have their chocolate calendars I made Eddi and advent calendar out of twenty four envelopes hanging on strings, with a surprise in it for every day. Because everyone thinks it's fun to open stuff!

WHEN JUST AT HOME pt.2; more soft, more comfy

Last week I wrote about what I wear around the house or on days that I am not particularly "going anywhere". My knitted and stretchy skirt and dresses yes, but there is an even more comfy version that I often do when going to work or going out to the countryside. More practical, but still nice;I like to layer a lot of whatever nice and soft, those items that I have but not get to wear too much otherwise.

Mostly comfy tops or thermals, my print tees and shirts, stockings, a lot of socks and leg warmers, the more the better, a bit boho but even more hobo (you know, in a good way :)

The colder it gets, the more I just layer, my favourite for the time being the a pair of funny black puffy knee-lengh trousers that combined with grey knitted knee socks, my vintage collar knit and old work wear boots (I have a bunch of those as I get new ones every year in the harbour) make me look like it's the thirties and I'm gong skiing (that some of you on my facebook page wondered about yesterday).

But mostly it's just a long cardi, tights and a pair of ridiculously small shorts (as I never get to wear such around town).

Everything in the pictures is old, except for my motorcycle print shirt which is new from Morgan's & Philips.

(I'M RIDING A TRAIN TROUGH SNOWY LANDSCAPES RIGHT NOW)

I almost had this song destroyed for me once. Although I have turned it into a laugh instead.


Some years ago I was, how should I put it, occasionally seeing (if even that) the Big Artist for a while.
Once he called and said he'd come over and asked me if I had a printer at home. I wasn't thrilled, but fine, come on then. When he came he had a guitar with him (I wondered why) and asked to use my internet and print something. And then. He had printed out the chords and lyrics to Lonesome Town and started singing it, slowly, playing on his guitar, not good, not that bad but bad enough for it to be embarrassing; trying to get the chords right, out of rhythm, correcting himself. I was concentrating on my cigarette and then trying to focus on something outside my window, wondering what the hell was going on and how to get rid of him. I'm telling you, it was no romantic serenading, just awkward. He sang that poor song twice. Then I think I told him I had to be somewhere else.

WELL...

...one can't always succeed.
But that was a damn shame on those fine molds.

(In my defense however, if such a one would be needed, I did manage to produce a lot of other nice not only eatable but rather delicious things during the same cooking sessions as the black rolls above. And I should have seen it coming; cleaning the house while cooking and baking and doing the hair and make up at the same time has to result in at least one minor fail I guess.

Ironically, and by coincidence -of course- on the same night, Fiona brought me this fifties vintage housewife come-in-handy-booklet on how to manage the chores of the house lightly. Just in case, might come in handy in the future then ;)

BY THE WALL

Most of this is vintage and this is pretty much what I looked like every day last week on my way from and to work, as I tend to go for some kind of a uniform during busy weeks. Wore different shoes when raining though. And put the lipstick on afterwards.

announcements

1) The give-away from Island Filigree has ended and the two lucky winners are: Anaïs, who will get the pendant, and Mae, who will receive the earrrings!

2) I have no idea why it is so hard for me to actually get the things out there, but by now I have collected two ikea-bags full of items I will sell and donate away. The ones in the first category will end up on my sales blog, including the following almost unused items: a bullet bra, girdle and waist cincher, all one size too big for me, all from What Katie Did. I will try and goddamit post them on the blog next week so in case you're interested stay tuned!

3 ) and oh yeah, almost forgot, we Itty-Bitties now have a blog; catch up with burlesque news, shows and updates here: ittybittytease.blogspot.com! Our site is finally also up and running, version 1.0 at least.

IT SEEMS THE WHOLE WORLD IS YOUNGER THAN I

I have a whole lot of things to blog about but that would require a) time b) my camera and c) another environment than the one I am in now. I have none of those available right now as I have been stuck here in the harbour, pretty much for days, all of the time. I'll spend this Sunday with Beirut in between the boats so I'll share a little bit of that then:

I love Balkan influences in music (and Balkan music itself of course) and songs in minor key sung by sad men. Beirut is pretty much all that and a whole lot more too, and also a essential part of my Soft Sunday List.

The internet tells me Zach Condon, the man behind the band, was born as late as 1986 (and thus was only twenty when then first album Gulag Orkestar came out)! I get stressed by facts like that for some reason. It's strange -and stupid- but sometimes it feels like the whole world out there is just getting younger while I'm getting old (although I actually keep on forgetting my age only to remember I am not even thirty yet). You know, people born in the nineties are already grown up. But why not, although terrified by how fast time goes I, in soem ways, like the thought of getting older. It makes me feel calm for some reason.

(INSERT HEADLINE HERE)

Wooh! Now I'm off to throw a burlesque workshop and it's hot in this wig I tell you! And tomorrow morning we are off to Berlin!
Ta-ta ♥

TWO THINGS RIGHT NOW

Strawberry-cherry-rasberry milkshake and cat playing hide-and-seek.

...by the

Way...

...as much as I would love to blog about all the things that come into my mind I never quite make it, many are the posts that remain just a sentence on some paper somewhere or as a note on one a stickie of mine (great application if you ask me). There's also a whole lot of great blogs out there too that I quite can't keep up with. Too many blogs, too little time, but what can you do when you have a hectic lifestyle (and sometimes even leave the internet, heh).

Every now and then you all suggest I should follow your bogs but I don't, that would be too many, although I check in on a lot of you every now and then, mostly trough comments. I only follow the first one I ever stumbled upon in the beginning of the internet (well, not quite the beginning, but beginning of blogging; when blogging was rather new over here :) -which I can't stand anymore but can't keep away from either- and some of my friend's, like Ina and Fiona. (Rather unlogic perhaps, since I know what they are up to anyway :)

But anyway, I had a few points here*; one; in between posts I blabber about a lot of unimportant and important stuff over at The Freelancer's Fashion Blog's Facebook page , a little less on Twitter and answer whatever, almost, you ask on Formspring. And two; I only add people I know on my personal facebook, however, sometimes readers of mine add me too. And I can't really say no then :) But you really really have to send me a message to go with the add, otherwise I don't know who you are, or why you add me, ok?

Could you have imagined reading the past sentences ten years ago? You would have no idea what the F I'm babbling about.
That's a bit funny. There weren't even camera phones back then I think.

*) shameless purpousless marketing of self, obviously.

SAFARI DRESS, LIVINGROOM IN PROGRESS

Today I started my much longed for week off after seven days of working. We went furniture shopping after work and I had some problems with what to wear, or rather how to find it as most of my clothes are still in suitcases (except for the really pretty ones; they were the first things I brought over and hung up :). Eddi was wondering why I cared about what to wear when going chair hunting but after a week in the harbour in these "babies" looking like this, I do care a lot.
Plus, you always get better service when you look at least slightly impressive.

Flat is developing, but it takes time and I am oh so impatient. I'll head over to my accountant and then the beauty salon to cool down a bit.

Safari dress - a great find from a charity shop a couple of years back
Shoes - a surprising bargain at Andiamo (or was even it K-Kenkä!) a couple of years back
Belt - my mom's old I think.

BLADI BLA-BLA

"The sun get's up at 03:55 and sets at 22:50. The day is 18 hours and 55 minutes."
( Helsinki forecast 25.6.2010 / Finnish Institute of Meteorology)

(Bedroom, still in progress.)

I've been away for a while, well, kind of; had a busy week behind me; working the early shift, having a record sleeve shot, living around boxes, running around picking up ordered house-stuff here and there. And I also smashed our work-van in an accident in the harbor. Chaotic. I am a very right here, right now person when it comes to some things, like home. I hate not to get the shelves up right away I cannot stand it when parts to whatever are missing. The wireless internet is not working fo some reason. It drives me crazy. Bazookas. But, things are starting to find their place now and I calm down.

Today it's midsummer and most people have fled town, heading out for the countryside to celebrate the light (and get totally drunk) like the tradition is. I'm staying in town alone however as I'll be working all holiday long. A lot of people get devastated when they here someone will have to work during midsummer as most places are closed, but - the harbor never closes. Its not that bad; I've worked many midsummers before. I'll just take it easy with some white at home and try to get rid of all the boxes, boxes, boxes tonight.

It's so light up here at this time of year; the nights around midsummer are pretty magic. It never gets darker than a pale shade of lavender, and that does not last for more than a few hours.

I've been getting up at five the sun is already shining brightly then. It feels as amazing each year, every morning - I always tend to forget that this is what it's like (and get as chocked every winter at how dark and cold it actually is…)

I remember those summer nights years back that were all spent out on town - eyes almost hurting when coming out of the nightclub into the bright late night, early morning. It always felt as strange. Sometimes I went straight to the morning shift from the bars, blinking my make up heavy lids to the strong morning sun at four thirty. (I could never pull that off nowadays). I've spent some June nights higher up in the country at festivals and such - the sun doesn't set there at all (as compensation to the almost total darkness that hangs over for the winter-half of the year.

This year however it's cloudy and raining so there will be no nice late evening sun to enjoy. I don't really mind, I keep the balcony door open and listen to the rain outside. I like it.

(But you know what I hate? It's getting darker now (since Monday), a few minutes per day. One won't really notice that until August or so though. But still. Depressing isn't it?)

FROM MY CAMERA / LAST DAYS IN THIS HOME

Blooming.


Reading.


Eating.


Packing.

I, SUCH A LONG TIME AGO

I love playing around with photo effects (especially at those moments when I should be working with something totally different or say, just be sleeping). Photoshop is a brilliant too if you know how to use it (can be devastating-or embarrassing- if you don't)*, and full of new things to find out all the time. Although I prefer to alter my images myself- for work, promo or just me- I still find interesting and fun to search for and try out online image generators; see how they might be built, how similar the transformed images turn out, and perhaps to copy the effects. At one point I was a bit fascinated with poladroid, and now the hipstamatic application that everyone's sporting (well, which is for iphones and not computers - yet ).

Tonight I got stuck on a japanese site transforming my pictures into very very old:


You can find and play with it here: labs.wanokoto.jp/olds




I think it only works properly on pc's though as I was not able to download the pics to my mac. I transformed a lot of pics for fun to see different results and on what kind of images the effect works on; it's easy as the site is rather fast.
The pictures featured above are screenshots.

(The images with the parasol are originally by S.Korhonen)

*)= Once a girl commented on a post of mine saying the picture was badly photoshopped so that my arm looked strange. I coulnd't get what the hell she was talking about** - that pic was straight out of the camera. And btw even if I often correct the levels and light, sometimes may blur away a messy flat in the background or add some colour filters for effects I do not change my limbs here on the blog :)

**)= You don't put me, bad and photoshop in the same sentence!
(Unless someone else fucked up a picture with me in it, of course:)

OH AND I ALSO FORGOT TO MENTION MY HAIR IS SORT OF PINK NOW

(I guess one could've seen it coming since I've been obsessed with the idea ever since this happened (<– click) even though I didn't quite go all cotton-candy-head.)

Now I'm off to a party in connection to the TV-show I participated in some time ago.
Have a nice weekend!

POMPOM POM POM POM-POM-POM-POM POM-POM-POM-POM POM

Pom-poms!
(You of course have to sing the headline to the tune of Mr.Sandman to get it right.)

Today the weather felt warm for the first time! I'm looking forward trip down dry sunny streets in heels and pom-poms, fluffy skirt hems and hair flowing in a warm breeze.

And you know what? Soon I'll be pom-pomming around in a new pair of shoes. Which ones are to be seen here later on, but as a hint, they might go along with my new refridgerator, maybe.

But before that I'll pom-pom my behind over to Sweden to celebrate a wedding, and I'll leave you all with something sweet before I go.

The pom-pom shoes clips are by Frollein von Sofa.

VAPP-SHOTS

Some phone-pics and such* from Valborg (the holiday weekend that just went by).

Judging from the pictures you tend to be left with afterwards you'd think it's all about blowing those party-thingies (what are they called, really?), opening bottles and having lots of bubbly.

Well, that's what it is really all about.
In a lot of different places over two days.


*) Two are with Hipstamatic, the brownish ones were regular pics I photoshopped to get a kind of similar look.

FOUR THINGS RIGHT NOW

(...apart from the fact that right now I'm actually blogging...)


Sunshine outside and the only rose that survived the cats' attack last night. (They are not exactly small angels, not when it comes to flowers and plants at least.)


Breakfast by the window. (At 13:30, yes. When doing the late shifts at the harbour breakfast is not before noon :)


Reading Danny Wattin ('Pardon me, but your soul just died').


The postman bought me something nice this morning! Quite fast shipping I must say. (And you all had very good guesses but this one was the one I chose, the From The Cross Jewelry locket :)It has a beautiful shine to it that won't show on the picture as it is even prettier in real life.

CAKE

The other day Ina and I planned to go out for a nice spring-y afternoon walk after work. (Or, after she finished work. I have my week off so I was spending time not cleaning and internetting in my underwear still an hour before we were due to meet).

Ina.

Well hello there (obligatory picture of me).

The ice cold wind mixed with snow didn't give us too many spring vibes though.

So we went for cake instead.








And you know what. Cake is so good you should really have some every day. At least every second.