Pastels on a Happy Monday Morning

Yesterday's rainy Sunday afternoon got me playing with pastels and haberdashery.
Some vintage buttons thrown in there...

I want to turn this old button below (yes, it is a button!) 

into a brooche, but it was missing one small stone.
Lucky me, I found exact the same stones. :-)

I really like those handmade buttons made from pastel coloured fabric,
and the cute little paper cards they're attached to.

And I made this potholder...

With this lovely hook from Mollie Makes!

I hope you had a nice Sunday too.

The Good Life & Some Escapism Too

What a lucky coincidence: having a couple of days off,
while the weather is actually quite nice.

I just had to spend some time in our very petit urban garden...
And since I had time on my hands, I decided it could do with some
pompomifying.

So there I was, a grown up woman,
spending several hours of her life making pompons like crazy.
- Oh oh. Is that escapism or what? -

Of course there was tea to be enjoyed...

These pelargoniums are such a bright shade of pink, it's hard to get a decent picture them. Love them though.

The plaid on the bench is actually a mattress I bought in South East Asia
(without the stuffing).

One more picture of the pompon bunting doesn't do any harm, does it...?

More Snapshots

While new posts are in the making, here are some more snapshots...

Summery Snapshots

A love for cornflowers

Who isn't swept away by the beauty of a cornflower?

I'm even not that much into blue, but cornflowers... Wow.

I guess that feeling of being swept away is often enhanced by the surprise of seeing them suddenly somewhere on the road side.

Especially when accompanied by poppies.

There's no surprise seeing these particular cornflowers,

Since I sew them myself...

The drawings are taken from this secondhand book I found in a thriftstore: Wilde planten in bos en veld.
Drawings by E. Demartini en V. Ničová.

Sneak peek - Not even halfway...

It's quite an exercise in patience, this summer throw -
which I'm afraid will not be ready before winter (that'll be of 2014, at this speed).
Still at least another 150 squares to go. Yikes!
It's turning out nice though - so far.
And although I'm not anywhere near finishing it, I'm wondering already which kind of border to make for it?

Let's have a cup of tea and just enjoy the moment

When I was young (a veeery long time ago), there was a choice between tea or coffee.
Not between hundreds of kinds of different tea or coffee.

So much has changed since then! The choice is quite overwhelming.
I enjoy many cups of black or green tea a day (organic and fairtrade of course).
Usually while working - but taking a teabreak is a guilty pleasure.

I never use a water cooker.
Apart from the fact that they're plain ugly (which spoils much of the teafun)
they use way too much energy.

No sir! I put my old fashioned kettle on the fire to brew my tea.
Sure, it takes a bit longer, 

but there's a kind of joy in the anticipation,

the ritual of choosing the tea, 

filling the tea strainer,
pooring the boiling water on the tea,
wait a few minutes... And enjoy...

Colour love - pansies

My little container garden is flooded with pansies.
(They're not all on the photo - just in case you're wondering 'flooded...?')
They're still blooming (since March!).
I love the colours. Hence the pompons...

It doesn't come anywhere close to the delicate colours of the real thing - but it was fun going through my yarn to pick the colours.

The Droste Effect & Why The Nurse Is Frowning

In Dutch thriftstores you'll often find these tins,
from Droste cocoa.
Originally this chocolate was produced in Haarlem,
in a beautiful factory by the river.
(Now converted into fairly ugly appartments - with stunning views though.)

The brand is also known for the expression Droste effect:
when a picture contains a smaller image of itself;
which in turn contains a smaller image of itself;
which contains a smaller image of itself; et cetera...
- because of this image of the nurse:

How much I like the old tins, I never buy Droste products!
Why?
They just have very few fairtrade products.
(Only the chocolates for Sinterklaas - a national feast in The Netherlands in December - are UTZ Certified.
And that's because a public campaign a couple of years ago.)
None of their regular products are fairtrade.
And none of their products are organic - not even the cow's milk in it.
Which is a pity and a bloody shame really.
If you ask me: the nurse is frowning about this.

I'll just stick to the old tins.

Thrifted #6

It's not original at all - I know.
But I do like like old school charts.

So when I could get my hands on this one... Well.
Let's say the consumer in me won.

Vegan Haven in The Ardennes

Recently I went on a weekend trip to Belgium with friends.
We stayed in The Ardennes:
beautiful landscape with rolling hills -
old farms -
weather-beaten houses -
lovely old towns...

But the icing on the cake
was our destination:
This ecological and vegan guesthouse,
Located in a stunning old farmhouse:
La Ferme du Bois-le-Comte.

The guesthouse is mainly run by volunteers.

The rooms are basic - but light and airy.
There is a spacious communal area,
where the food is being served.
We had our own private dinner table.
I'd heard before from people who'd been there,
the most amazing things about dinner.

And although dinner was tasty and abundant,
it wasn't that special.
But the packed lunches we ordered to take away were really good,
just like the breakfast buffet.

(Silly enough I didn't make photos of the food.)

There's a huge kitchen garden
where they grow their own organic vegetables.
Straight from the garden to your plate, yummie!

















Final judgment: recommended for a relaxing weekend.
(Also if you not a vegan!)