skip to main |
skip to sidebar
our garden is a typical city-garden: it's old, rather small and shabby and it consists mainly of brick. i'm on a quest to make it somewhat more good-looking without spending much money on it. step one in the project: i glammed up the old green turtle that will be little imp's sandbox when he grows out of putting everything (including sand) into his mouth. all it took was some leftover white and silver paint.
we were in sweden for a few days, visiting family. it was a time of firsts for little imp: first time in scandinavia, first time on a plane, first time on a boat, first time visiting some of the places that boyfriend and i had been to before and wanted to see again. a day in beautiful stockholm, a day in the forest, long evenings at the kitchen table while imp was asleep upstairs in his little tent. spring was only hesitantly arriving, but it was warm enough for him to crawl through the big garden with little bare feet in the grass: the image that had been in my mind since he was born and we talked about someday going to sweden again. how often does it happen that an image of your mind's eye actually turns out so close to reality?
a bunch of cute little girly things this time...
~ weleda almond oil ~ this is getting old, isn't it. still the best make up remover.
~ the body shop vanilla bliss shower gel ~ the loveliest shower gel i've had in a long time. it smells very much like lush honey i washed the kids soap, and honestly even a bit better than that.
~ dr. van der hoog romantic roses face mask ~ this one really did something for my skin, which came out nice and rosy. a lovely subtle scent, a smooth texture and a sweet pastel pink colour are added bonuses.
~ lush catastrophe cosmetic fresh face mask ~ i used to use this face mask often when i was younger, but now it doesn't seem to be the right one for my skin anymore. i got it in return for my five empty containers so i won't complain.
~ lush buffy body butter ~ a golden oldy.
~ sence glamour girls vanilla flavoured lip balm ~ i think i got this for less than a euro and at that price it's a fine product.
i can't stop thinking about trying out more homemade products (like the soap). my new attempts consist of little blocks of sugar scrub and face scrub. i made them all from ingredients that i found in my kitchen cupboards, like cacao butter and sugar. they look good enough to eat (the face scrub blocks are actually edible) and they are very cheap to make, but the best thing about them is the act of making them.
see that empty space beside the couch and behind the purple chair? that's where little imp's playpen stood for the past sixteen months or so. i remember when it came, shortly before imp was born, and not for the life of me being able to imagine a baby in there. my baby, moreover. now we have brought the thing back to my sister-in-law for a new baby. for me, it's the end of a little era. but i do like to have empty spaces in the living room.
the last time i thought spring had arrived, my fingers nearly froze off a few days later and little imp's face went raw with the icy gales and snow. maybe i'm right this time...
with our tv gone, i sometimes like to watch documentaries online. (being the organised person that i am, i even set up a list of interesting documentaries that i'd like to watch). when i felt frustrated with lack of time, i watched meet the multiples, a bbc-documentary about parents raising triplets and quadruplets. and when i got tired of the night feedings that have been interrupting my sleep for a year now, i saw a programme about the fishermen who work off the dutch coast five days every week, alternating four hours of work with two hours of sleep. and when i am in need of a bit of pure escapism and dreaming, i have a little list of documentaries featuring people who shook off society altogether, preferably somewhere in the alaskan or siberian wilderness. makes me feel better any time.
i am not a great cook. i don't really like to spend lots of time in the kitchen. having a tasty and healthy meal every evening is important to me, but i certainly don't go to great lengths for it. boyfriend is much more of a kitchen person than me. but sometimes, quite rarely, the mood takes me and i voluntarily spend some extra time whipping something up. and when my attempt is succesful, i always get vague images of myself cooking spectacular stuff all the time. but i know that i won't. so i'll just be pleased with my rare successes.
this kind of belongs in the same category as oil and vinegar: i made my own liquid soap (again, with the help of the world wide web) from marseille soap (took me a while to find it) and water. it was much fun to do, and it cost me less than 20 cents for half a litre of soap. plus no waste of packaging because i am re-using old dispensers. it's the little things... right? this really makes me want to explore the world of simple cleaning products even more. behold: i am slowly turning into an old-fashioned housewife...
and in the middle of the night
i may watch you go
there'll be no value in the strength
of walls that I'll have grown
there'll be no comfort in the shade of the shadows thrown
but I'd be yours if you'd be mine
mumford & sons ~ lover of the light
