2014 constellation calendar

clipboard: IKEA; printable calender: here

These past months, I've been really inspired by constellations. The lovely ladies at free people posted this great idea of star sign note cards, and then I found this amazing stitch upon the stars calender. So I thought: why not DIY? That's why my second printable calender for 2014 turned out to be constellation-themed.

You can download my version here. Stitching is optional, but I recommend printing on a heavier paper if you want to do that. I decided to leave it as it is for now. 

clipboard: IKEA; printable calendar: here

Ok, so as promised, here is the first free download for a 2014 calendar. This one is very minimal, but I like it a lot! You can download it here. Let me know what you think!

2014

printable calendar: only deco love; clipboard: IKEA

Happy New Year everyone! I hope you all had a nice celebration to greet the new year. Let's hope it will be a wonderful one!

I have to admit, I'm not a big fan of new year's eve. It's always had a sad, bitter feel for me. On the contrary, I usually love the first day of the new year. It feels so fresh and new and full of opportunities. A brand new year for a brand new you!

This year however, I feel a little sad and exhausted. But I don't want to let this spoil my positive attitude. 2014, you will be awesome, whether you want to or not!

To start organizing, I was searching for nice DIY calendars yesterday and found the one pictured above as a free download over at only deco love. I think it's fabulous! It also inspired me to create two printable calendars that I will be sharing in the next days for you to download.

Until then, enjoy the new year!

new in

Here are some things that found their way into my closet over the past weeks. I am especially in love with the super soft cashmere beanies from COS.

christmas spirit

Over the past years, my christmas decoration has become more simple and I also put it up later each year. This year I hadn't even set it up for the first of December. But I really like the paper stars from last year and the paper tree I found the instructions for on pinterest. And the wooden Lucia statue is the prettiest. 

Wishing all of you a wonderful christmas time!

bye bye birdies

Ok, it's been a while and here's a little update to project de-clutter. 

So, in the past months I sold a bunch of stuff online and at the local fleamarket. I still have bags of clothes and jewellery I didn't sell yet, but about half of it is gone now. I also managed to buy less stuff than I would usually have during that time. I'll get back to that in an extra post sometime soon.

These past days I also cleaned my appartment and made my room ready for fall. I also changed one shelf and finally said goodbye to the little birds on their twig. (see here for what it looked like before) There are also some changes in the kitchen that I might show you next time. These are no major changes, but I feel step by step I'm getting to a more clean and structured space. What do you think?

By the way: to all those bloggers out there who constantly re-paint their walls (like Vera for example): I really don't know how you do that! My walls could definetely need a new paint job, but I guess I'm just too lazy. Hats off to you!

winter is coming

shower courtain and towels: H&M home

...at least in my bathroom

a merry un-birthday

 A little while ago I turned 30. Yeah, I know, I'm old now :-)

Even though everyone seemed to think that I (not married, no kids etc) should feel bad on that occasion I simply didn't. However, I thought it was a fun idea to throw an un-birthday party. So Alice in Wonderland party theme it was.

Here's a little glimpse into what I prepared for the day.

And here is my pinterest with all the inspirations. I didn't go through with all of them though.

 Edible Chess board

 Bar and photo props

 DIY giant red roses

 DIY teacup cupcake wrappers

 Card soldier cake

 Red roses cakepops

 Flamingo caprese sticks

 photo props

and this was me :-)

week 4

 Monday: sweater: Vila; destroyed jeans: American Eagle; worn with black ballet flats
Tuesday: blouse and cardigan: H&M, worn with black skinny jeans (H&M) and pistol boots lookalikes
Wednesday: sweater: Vila, lace dress: Promod; worn with black tights and pistol boots lookalikes

Thursday: dress: COS; worn with cashmere beanie (COS), black scarf (H&M) and black ballet flats
Friday: hoodie: Abercrombie and Fitch; jeans: H&M; worn with tan suede loafers

project de-clutter

Dear readers,

I can't seem to apologize enough for being so absent this summer. I have a lot of things on my mind recently. 

There is something that I feel has been spooking around the blogsphere and my head a lot recently: minimalism. While a lot of sites address this concept directly (like here, here), it is also very evident in the numerous posts about buying quality instead of quantity or the french wardrobe.

Maybe it's a natural process: after all the commercialism of the past decades, people grow tired of it. Tired of having to have the newest bag, hottest shoes and trendiest home decoration all the time. Or maybe it's just a matter of aging. After my student years, when I was happy if I could afford anything at all, I spent the first years as a working girl shopping like crazy, and only since a while realized that that didn't make me any happier nor my wardrobe any better.

Whatever the reason may be, for quite some time, the urge to de-clutter my life has been growing stronger and stronger. 

Clothes-wise, I have talked to you about wanting to buy more quality than quantity before. Now I sometimes feel like throwing out more than half of my stuff, too.

Or my home. In this post you can already feel a bit of the urge to simplify my appartment. This has gotten even stronger. Right now, I just feel that my eyes and brain need a clean canvas to get some rest at home. I would move into Annaleenas or Ivanias appartment this second if I could. 

A fresh start, a clean slate to start new, that would be amazing. At the same time it is incredibly hard for me. Because at some point I get really attached to the things I own. Those chairs that I upholstered by myself, I can't possibly give those away! That dress that I bought in that cool secondhand shop in Berlin. All these things have become friends. Yet they are suffocating me!

So, I don't know exactly where this road is taking me, but I am starting the project de-clutter right now, and would like to invite you along.

One part of project de-clutter also includes this blog. As you know, I have never been one to post very regularly, yet I always felt bad if I couldn't find the time for blogging. With me working more that fulltime on my PhD, this sometimes ended up in crappy posts. I want to try and free myself of this pressure. You may not hear from me that regularly, but I hope it will be for the sake of higher quality posts on this little blog. I hope you will understand and stay with me along this journey.

California love

Dear readers, I'm sorry for my absence these past weeks. It's just that summer is in full bloom and I am trying to enjoy every minute of it.

Some weeks ago I made a longtime dream of mine come true: I went on a roadtrip along the famous Highway 1. It was an amazing experience, and I wish I had more time to see even more places. Unusal fo me I did not always take my camera everywhere which was good and bad at the same time. Good because I felt a lot more connected to the things I did and saw, not constantly thinking about the next picture. But of course I missed out on a few great pics.

Anyway, here are a few impressions of the trip.

 

week 3

 Monday: sweater: Primark; scarf and jeans: H&M; worn with black ballet flats
Tuesday: dress: H&M; longsleeve: Primark; denim vest: current elliott; worn with black tights and star print converse
Wednesday: flower pants: Primark; black T: H&M; worn with black ballet flats

Thursday: silk harem pants: Fleamarket; black T: Primark; worn with brown leather sandals
Friday: lace dress: Promod; black T: H&M; worn with black tights and ballet flats

Lovelies, with last week's rise&shine I am saying goodbye for the next 3 weeks. There will be sun, fog, a snow covered mountain, the ocean and a very famous bridge for me to meet. See you when I get back!

always be a unicorn

 I have been in this weird situation regarding my home for quite a while now. I yearn for a simplistic appartment like the swedes show on so many great blogs, but at the same time I can't seem to part with my ballet shoes, little birds on the twig, and rose blanket. At least not quite yet. Some places are slowly getting there, though. Like the area around my bed, or my new emaille pot filled with candles. What do you think? Do you just thow everything out when you want a new style in your home? And if so, where do you put all that stuff?