vintage cat ladies

i just have to share this link, click for more.
hilarious collection of vintage photographs featuring....the rotten spoiled cats and their ladies! ^_^

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beribboned

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purrrrrrrr

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furry fashion

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hmmm...the kitten? or the baby?

vintage cat lady #1, fifty years from now

vintage cat lady #2, fifty years from now. tattooed for good measure.

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easy listening with Erik Satie

to go with my rainy day and hot cup of tea!

 

ixxi

loving this brilliant product!

just found this today via yvestown:

what is ixxi?

ixxi is a modular connecting system. With x's and i's you can make your own photo enlargement or photo collage in any format possible.

 Upload your photos and choose how large your photo enlargement or photocollage should be.

Create your personal ixxi using the easy online module,
or select an image from the ixxi imagebank (art and photography).

ixxi is an inspiring product for business presentations, exhibitions and interiors. With the use of cards in various materials and sizes one can create special walls and (temporary) spaces.

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you can use your own photographs (note the minimum resolution requirement) or pick from their  library with themes from famous paintings of the dutch masters to beautiful photographs of various photographers.

sizes range from 80cm x 60cm (4x3 squares @ 20cm/square) and can be customized for up to 500 cards or squares. you do the math. at €24.90 for the smallest size, i think it's just priced right. they ship worldwide too.

my all-time favorite dutch master. hands down.

ixxi isn't only for your walls. makes for a pretty room divider too!

love the dark contrast in this minimalist living room

even the cat likes it.

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Yvestown is giving away two ixxis.

head over there now for a chance to win!

x♥x

found

image: taken by me

text: old Dutch saying

literal translation: in May all birds lay an egg.

nest: found beside the cycle path last fall

blue egg with brown specks: hatched half, found in my garden this spring

happy monday!

xx

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current obsessions:

1. this website, snailmail lovers alert!

2. hearts

3. lovely lettering

4. gorgeous food photography

5. this tea towel

6. this song:

colours

...to brighten up my day.

vintage lace and wool and silk threads from my vintage stash. i don't use them. i don't think i'll ever use them. these lovelies are from france and i got them (a bagful) from the charity shop i used to volunteer with. For Free! oh the perks i had before. *sigh*

some people collect cars, dolls or toys, china, books and so on. i collect...haberdashery? old haberdashery? junk? vintage notions?

small pastel-colored soaps that are too pretty to use in the bath! it's a boxed set i bought from a thrift store last year which i thought would look nice in the guest bathroom. i changed my mind though soon as i got home, because  looking at them makes me so happy. i know that if i place them in a cute bowl for the guest bathroom i'd be tempted to tape a "Do not Touch" sign. so for now, they stay in my craft room and whenever i need a smile i just have to take them out of the box and smell them. insane i know, but i'm shallow like that.

grey linen and pastel embroidery floss is happiness. this is a Sublime Stitching pattern from the Dutch-Russian transfer set. i think i need to make one for myself too. 

but my favourite smile-generator would always be this black and white fluffy cat. he's stubborn and lazy and affectionate and cuddly and just so stinking cute. ktnxbye.

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talking about things that make me happy, i think this video is just beautiful. heart-achingly beautiful.


Thought of You from Ryan J Woodward on Vimeo.


what makes you happy?

x♥x

wednesday blues

sending some cuteness your way. 

hi from tom!

xx

while i was away

here are a few snapshots of what happened the last few hectic months behind me.    

pictures tell better stories than words. 

no, let me say it again. pictures tell better stories than me.
                            

just before christmas, i finished stitching this little present for my friend Anne in Chicago.

i haven't been crafting so much to be honest, i was just deadbeat tired when i get home.

my lovely MIL arrived from holland to celebrate the new year with us. 

we had a very cozy new year's eve at home. cozy (and more) in dutch is "gezellig".

i baked cupcakes for the husband's birthday...and for 20 of his colleagues! 

it's lemon flavoured with butter frosting topped with fresh strawberry and kiwi.
this picture was taken in the early morning before he left for work.
notice the gloves and hat beside him, it was still freezing cold then and he goes to work on his bicycle.
the reason why i make sure he always has hot porridge for breakfast and a healthy lunch on his rucksack, even if that means foregoing an hour more of sleep for me! ♥

i found a temporary job in january. 

never mind the date, this is the only "nice" picture i have coming home from work.
[read: i love the dress, it's a vintage find from the charity shop]

 the cat obviously missed me. or so i like to presume.

i also went to college again after over 10 years. yes i'm that ancient. 

i think i have an essay due that week and i was cramming. 

sadly, some things never change.

i turned 32 last february. wait...32?????????!!!! 

i can't believe it myself. but deep inside i'm only 25. and some days just 18. 

especially before the semester ended and i was in panic mode for a presentation. 

i got a new haircut last march. my first salon-haircut since i moved here in dublin. 

i used to chop my own hair before i decided to splurge. 

it felt soooooo good to have somebody wash my hair again. 

they even made me tea while i'm getting my hair done

and most of all, i just hang out with the cat when i'm home. 

we missed each other very much.

the last few months had been a learning experience. like TOTALLY.
it was mad, hectic, crazy, chaotic, exciting, but absolutely a fabulous, exhilarating adventure.
i worked, i studied, i made friends. i grew up. i feel i'm a wee bit wiser too.
the experience opened another world for me which i've never seen before.
it was waaaaay too different from my perch in my craftroom window.
not everything was pretty and rosy in that world
but the people i've met and the lessons i've learned made the journey worthwhile.

happy sunday!

x♥x

new fave

we bought an electric juicer a couple of months ago from the Lidl and i love it!

making a glass (or two) of fresh orange juice has never been this easy for me. it's quick, gets ALL of the juice out and most importantly, so easy to clean. its other virtues include: lightweight, inexpensive and easy to use. did i mention cheap? it also reminds me everyday of my plan to eat, drink, live healthy. beat that. though i wish it has the power to compel me too.

it's not only for fresh orange or grapefruit juices though. hot toddy, anyone? (not just for winter!)

  

disclaimer: not a paid ad!

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p.s.

Happy Mother's Day to all of you moms out there!

To our moms in the Philippines and in Holland, sending you all our love. xx

thumbcats

watch out for the cat who's a-stitchin'.

medical story, dublin style

i was so set to start running in the mornings again and then it rained today. bummer.
(so i'm hanging out with the cat in the meantime to relax my nerves. the reason they're all tangled up is explained further below but it might bore you to tears. btw, i took this picture yesterday to try out my new tripod and it was fun! aside from having to wait until the cat joins me.)

on second thought, my flowers will be happy!

we have a hospital appointment later in the afternoon, the husband is due for a minor surgery for nasal polyps. poor thing has trouble smelling and breathing the last few months. the doctor said it should be a quick procedure, so we're hoping recovery would be quick as well.

setting a medical appointment here in ireland, well in dublin at least, has been quite a pain by itself. to see a specialist, an ENT in our case, we have to see our GP first to get an endorsement/recommendation. we decided to see the specialist from the hospital that is closest to us which is about 20 minutes to cycle, only to find out that we can't set the appointment personally, but have to post the GP's letter to the Outpatient Department. it took some 2-3 weeks to hear from the specialist of our appointment, which was only possible about three months later. so 3 months later the husband went to see the specialist and after a quick check, was recommended for a facial (i don't know the medical term) scan. he was told he would receive by post the appointment date for the scan. a week or two later, we received the appointment date scheduled two weeks later. okay...are you still there? we're only halfway through, hang in there. so off he went for the scan and was told again that he would receive by post his next appointment with the specialist to discuss his scan result. it was another 2 weeks before he saw the specialist and details of the procedure was discussed. again, we will receive by post the date for the surgery which they hoped is in the next 5-6 weeks. we were holding our breath for the letter to arrive and when it finally did, we were so relieved as we were doubting if we would ever receive it as weeks passed. 

the story doesn't end there though. that surgery date was exactly two weeks ago. a week prior that, we received a second letter from the hospital with a "new date" written on top of the form but saying exactly the same thing as the one sent to us earlier. i tried to ring the hospital to ask what's the deal with the two letters saying exactly the same thing but nobody was picking up the phone so we thought, well, perhaps it's just to reinforce their first letter.

so, on his admission day two weeks ago, we're both on a day off from work and himself very nervous since the time he woke up. we're supposed to ring the hospital at 3 in the afternoon to confirm if there was a bed for him before we go there. so all dressed up and his bag packed, i rang the hospital. surprise, surprise! the date was postponed to two weeks later because the doctor is not available. i was shocked. and mortified.

anyways, life must go on. himself was elated though and relieved as he was dreading going to the hospital, not to mention for surgery, no matter how minor it's still surgery. we feel there's still a 50/50 chance though that  they'll cancel the appointment so he went to work this morning and will be home at lunch for a bit of time to relax before we go. if we can. 

i didn't intend to write so extensively about this whole thing, but i'm glad i did to remind myself of what happened. the next time one of us needs to see a specialist, it means it's time to book a holiday for the philippines. the philippines may be a third world country but seeking medical attention is much easier there. no kidding.

and oh, we made a major boo-boo too so it's not all the health system's fault, they can't help it to be inefficient working with fewer personnel because of all the austerity cuts. we have health insurance so we could have chosen to see a private doctor and it "might" not have taken us about half a year to get a hospital appointment. i'm not really sure, but that's certainly an option. but because seeing a private doctor would mean travelling far (well, not really, it just means waayyy too far from our neighborhood) we preferred to wait for the hospital closest to us. in summary, we have no one to blame but ourselves. end of story. 0_o

praying that everything goes well today. xx


p.s.  the surgery is NOT on the hospital close by but somewhere i haven't even been to yet. so much about our personal preference, eh? ^_^


**UPDATE: postponed to next thursday again. {insert £$%^&*%$£}