cat's pajamas, dog's tuxedos

Have you Googled yourself?

2012-02-23T19:00:00.003+01:00

When was the last time you Googled yourself? You'd be surprised what can be found on-line...

To those of you who Googled me today for a specific reason, I'd like to thank you all for a wonderful new experience :-)

Truth or dare...

2012-02-19T13:00:00.000+01:00

Today a slightly different approach... I'm opening the podium to all of my readers, both my regular commenters as well as all the lurkers out there. Ask me anything!
Is there something you'd like to know about me, always been curious about? What's my favourite dish? My biggest fear? Pet peeve?
And a happy Sunday to everyone :-D

Precious things/ 11 The best Christmas present ever

2012-02-15T22:29:00.000+01:00

is a bag. Well this bag to be exact:

George Gina & Lucy bag from Yoox

How very materialistic, wouldn't you say. True.
Except it isn't the bag that matters but rather the reason why Mr. C bought it for me. With it or rather before the bag came a job offer.
And because I'll now be commuting to work I'll be needing a bag large enough to hold all my very important lawyer job related stuff ;-P
See, I told you this bag was the best Christmas present. Maybe I'll reciprocate next year and buy Mr. C a diaper bag.

To clarify: the job offer came before Christmas, the bag came just a few days after and I signed the contract today. This post was written sometime in between.

Be in the moment

2012-02-11T23:28:00.000+01:00

My diploma and a silk scarf with the Faculty's emblem

When I look back on some of the greatest, life altering moments of my life the one thing most of them have in common is the fact that they weren't caught on film. No tangible proof exists.
But the memory is a powerful thing. I can still remember most vividly the day I saw the Dalai Lama. It was the summer of 1999 and I was visiting a friend in Germany. I'm usually terrible with names and dates though.
I remember walking down the street with my friend and we both saw the Dalai Lama just as he was being escorted into a diplomatic car. We literally stopped dead in the middle of the street nudging one another. We probably looked ridiculous too.
A moment later the diplomatic car drove past us and the Dalai Lama looked at my friend and me. Our eyes met and he nodded in a sign of recognition and smiled at us. Had I been rummaging through my bag looking for the camera I would have missed it.
Three weeks ago I attended the graduation ceremony at our Faculty. I'm usually eager to skip these fancy events because I find them a bit exaggerated and phony but since the current dean is one of my favourite professors and my parents really really wanted to go, I caved in and off we went.
It was nice. No fluff, no phony stuff. The ceremony was just under an hour long. Perfect.
When my turn came to walk on stage to accept my diploma, I didn't wave at my parents or salute the crowd. I walked straight up to the dean, we shook hands and he gave me my diploma.
The one blurry picture my mum took is pretty lame but most importantly completely insignificant. What I'll remember for the rest of my life is the dean's warm smile and the sound of his voice as he congratulated me and wished me luck.

Happiness comes in a box: So I won't say he never buys me flowers

2012-02-07T06:31:00.000+01:00

Last week Mr. C bought me something that's been or household/decorations list for over a year: a paper towel holder by Vigar. I've got quite a few of their kitchen accessories already, among other a plastic dotted apron and extra long rubber gloves, which are incredibly practical. Ans something that for reasons of propriety I'll never feature on the blog: a toilet brush ;-)

Again, this is quite quirky and infantile, the flower is made of silicone (or rubber?) and has a tiny ladybug on one of the petals. I love how it brightens up my kitchen counter and the fact that this is one plant Rufus won't nibble on.

The towel rack came in a cute cardboard box. We had a lot of fun watching Rufus trying to wiggle in and out of it. In all the years I still haven't figured out what's up with cats and their obsessions with cardboard boxes and paper bags.

When all goes to pots...

2012-02-05T14:50:00.000+01:00

It's been a crappy weekend. Yesterday in the afternoon our heater stopped working.

No plumbers to call and no hot water.

It's three in the afternoon, the apartment is a mess and Mr. C was finally able to fix the problem.

I did the only thing I could do: I made some tea and blogged about it.

Bits of wisdom

2012-02-03T06:51:00.000+01:00

For society to evolve and prosper it is imperative that art sometimes be immoral and science non applicable.

Dean of Faculty of Law, Ljubljana

Happiness comes in a box: Bag hooks

2012-01-29T18:02:00.000+01:00

Bag hooks. Plural.

I bought these several months ago at my favourite store after my original bag hook broke. The plan was to get one but at less than 4 € a piece it made sense to get at least three, one for each of the bags I use on a regular basis.

Do you use bag hooks?

What a difference a year makes

2012-01-22T00:36:00.002+01:00

Szeged, Hungary

1 year / 365 days / 8760 hours / 525600 minutes and 204 posts.
I've often wondered what it is that drives bloggers to keep writing and ultimately what compels me to keep blogging. Many have said blogging is therapeutic and I certainly can't object to that. But there is more. There is definitely more. Past the followers and the stats and the popularity.
At the bottom of it all, I very much suspect is our innermost desire to connect and socialize. To share and be accepted. I have often wrote on my blog how isolated I felt and unable to find like minded people within my community. I started writing this blog in English with the intent of reaching a larger audience. With the hope of finding someone somewhere who will appreciate my quirky sense of humor, my love for pink and turquoise.

winter sunset somewhere between Romania and Hungary

I knew that somewhere out there there are people who share my aversion to curtains and reality TV and who think Hercule Poirot really is the cat's pajamas.
What I have found is all that and more. In as little as a year I've made some real friends, I've honed my ability to write and express myself, made a lot of interesting discoveries, gained so much knowledge and experience I'd need to write at least three more blogs to convey it all.
There are no words to express my happiness and gratitude and a sense of awe. I never imagined so much kindness and appreciation exists.
Thank you all for this amazing experience :-)

I might as well...

2012-01-18T21:25:00.000+01:00

show you some more pictures of Ljubljana.

Ingenious fountain cover

I know people usually suffer from January blues: The post festive December, after the rush and expectations and decorations, a lot of people feel like: "Okay, now what?"

Pigeons on the rooftop of The Conservatory

I <3 January! In terms of weather it's the coldest month of the year, with the temperatures way below zero. But the good thing about it? No fog or cloudy weather. Bright winter sun all the way!

Chandelier suspended over the street

A very old grid with Ljubljana's emblem: the dragon sitting on top of Ljubljana Castle

The old part of town with beautiful architecture

8 months...half way there

2012-01-12T10:43:00.000+01:00

October 2006

This post has been in the making for many many months. When I decided to go on a diet back in May 2011 it was after a careful and painful assessment of my lifestyle and the fact that I had gone from a size 38 to a size 44 in the span of 4 years and kept gaining weight!

November 2009

Nobody, absolutely nobody gains weigh overnight, but it is usually the case that the realization that one's gained too much comes in an instant. When is too much too much?
For me it was when I started hiding from cameras, unwilling to have my picture taken as well as look at myself in the mirror.

July 2010

I wasn't going to spend the rest of my life hiding from myself so I decided to change that.

March 2011

In eight months I managed to loose just over half of the weight I'd gained since 2006.

New Year's Eve 2011

My plan isn't to like I looked back in 2006, it never was. My plan is to never look and feel the way I did in 2010.

Are you a "we person"?

2012-01-11T13:37:00.000+01:00

I'll be the first to admit freely that I often use the word we. We think, we feel, we want... As if my partner and I were a unified entity. And I also confess it irks me when Mr. C uses I instead of we when he talks about certain decisions or plans that most certainly concern us both.

Despite all of this we business I retain a firm grasp on my individual expression of self. Despite planning as a couple we both remain two different people. We have different hobbies, listen to different music, sometimes (though not often) have completely different points of view.
And this being my blog, there will always be only my picture in the profile. I may or may not feature Mr. C on my blog, on my Facebook profile and anywhere else on the Internet.
How do you feel about people who post profile photos that feature the blogger and their partner? Some might even think it's appropriate to use a photo where they are either hugging or kissing their boyfriends/girlfriends or being otherwise affectionate.

Making earrings for a change

2012-01-08T20:06:00.001+01:00

Remember the Virtual Craft Show post? The bracelet I made specially for that event has since been shipped to India. What's more I was also one of the lucky winners. I received a special bead kit mix.
Last week the highly anticipated package from Michelle Mach arrived.

Lots of cool blues, clear glass and crystal and silver metal beads... basically my favourite beads to work with.

I've been playing with the beads over this weekend and as it turns out made more earrings in a row than ever before. I find it hardest to work on earrings. Very difficult to come up with interesting and wearable designs.

The ones made with recycled glass rondelles are by far my favourites.

This necklace is made from components from all over the world. I used frosted glass beads, blue focal and metal spacers from Michelle's kit and added hematites I bought in Montenegro three years ago and a clasp I ordered from the UK.

And finally, since I was doing so well with the earrings, another ancient components from my stash: a pair of spiral shells combined with emerald green glass beads.

The shells were never meant to be used as jewellery components because they had no holes for stringing. Since that has never stopped me before I bought them anyway and drilled the holes myself. Anything can be used as a jewellery component :-)

Friday night film selection: Hearts in Atlantis

2012-01-06T21:21:00.000+01:00

I've been having an Antony Hopkins movie marathon for the past week or so. I've also been feeling very uninspired to scout out new films instead I prefer to rewatch old favourites. My brain has been on sensory overload and watching a familiar plot, listen to the same dialogue while casually working on some jewellery is my version of R&R.
Hearts in Atlantis is a beautifully fluid, nostalgia evoking narrative based on a novella by Stephen King. Therefore the presence of paranormal elements are no surprise. As is often the case with King's work, the story is centred around a young boy Bobby living in a quiet, sleepy neighbourhood where nothing ever happens.
Between his strenuous relationship with his self-involved mother and his two best friends life seems almost idyllic. The routine is interrupted by the arrival of an elderly, enigmatic new tenant Mr. Brautigan. Mr. Brautigan shows a great interest in Bobby and the two quickly develop a meaningful and trustworthy relationship.
Amid all this Bobby is dealing with his mother's lack of affection, the town bullies and the mysterious dark strangers who threaten his new friend.
Ultimately this is just another coming of age film. What makes it worth watching is the flow of the narrative, the super photography with rich warm colours of the background. And since I'm a fan of the genre I love the occult elements in a seemingly innocent environment, the whole evil lurking in the shadows concept.

Age appropriate behaviour and what it means to be a grownup

2012-01-04T20:16:00.002+01:00

I pay my bills on time. I make sure my cat has the best vet in town.
I recycle. I buy organic and fair trade whenever possible. I'm almost fanatic about having biodegradable cleaning & laundry products. Cruelty free cosmetics too.
I never throw away leftover food. In fact I try to cook appropriate amounts thus minimizing leftovers.

I do all these things and more because I am rational, responsible and economical. I don't necessarily associate this behaviour as being a grownup.

I also like to:

wear pink
receive helium balloons for gifts
play games and watch cartoons

I get ridiculously excited over super girly stuff like pom pom adorned beanies, cute T-shirts and Hello Kitty.

It doesn't make me immature.

The perils of blogging and an award

2012-01-03T11:52:00.000+01:00

Without fail my morning routine for the past year has involved sipping a large cup of coffee in my pajamas and going through my Google reader checking the latest post from my favourite bloggers.
This morning was no exception. Here I was sitting with my first morning coffee and racking my brain what to write about when I inadvertently, as I always do, stumbled upon something wonderful.

Blackthorn tweed jacket

One of my favourite bloggers Mette wrote about shoes today and one of "the regulars" My Spotty Pony mentioned a brand of boots she prefers. Dubarry of Ireland.

Arrowgrass tweed skirt

Oh so elegant, oh so classic and oh so expensive. What's more they not only have footwear but clothing too. I can just picture Mr. C shaking his head. Another fabulously extravagant obsession in the making.
Big sigh...

Footwear care sample pack

I also received a blog award from Mette yesterday. My first blog award. Yay! Thank you Mette :-D

The rules:

The award is given to bloggers with fewer than 200 followers.
You are to thank the giver, who gave it to you.
Reveal your 5 blogger picks, and let them know, by leaving a comment on their blog.
Copy and paste the award on your blog.
Hope, that the people, you have sent the award to, will forward it to their 5 favorite bloggers.

I'm passing on this award to the following bloggers:

Bead addict from the need to bead
Heidi from Ex Post Facto Jewelry
Ms. M from Department of colour
Paula from Paula's Diary
Susan from Style Made by Hand

A quiet start of the year

2012-01-02T14:56:00.000+01:00

Vrhnika: Football field with a track on the left, kindergarden on the right

January 1st is always a most welcome day of the year. After all the noise, the fireworks and loud music from the New Year's Eve celebrations the quiet that follows is almost deafening yet refreshing.
Most people are staying in and nursing their hangover so taking a midday walk almost always feel like a walk through ghost town.

River Ljubljanica

jewellery pliers

Mr Santa brought me some jewellery pliers. In terms of gender roles and the dividing line between male and female it's still very funny to have more pliers than a guy despite the obvious fact that I do really really need and use all of these when making jewellery.

Latest jewellery project

See you on the other side

2011-12-31T13:08:00.002+01:00

As I say goodbye to 2011 doing a little mental summary of the 12 months that whizzed by (as they always do) I can only say that it's been a good year. No I didn't win the lottery and my problems didn't magically solve themselves...
I have no great desires for 2012. I place no particular meaning on the celebration of new year. For me it isn't the chance to start over.
My hopes for 2012?
Pretty boring stuff, really. I hope:

The price of coffee doesn't go up ;-P
To be able to afford new light switches for our apartment.
Finish some sewing projects, I've had around since October.
To read more books then I did in 2011.

As for resolutions, I haven't made any. There's been a last minute change of plans for tonight. Instead of spending it alone at home, we're going to my cousin's house for a very casual gathering.

Thank you all for reading my blog, for commenting. For your kindness and encouragement. I feel so privileged and grateful.

Happy 2012!

Ljubljana in December

2011-12-30T12:20:00.001+01:00

Ljubljana castle

The traditional meet and greet before the end of another year customarily takes place in the week between Christmas and New Year's Eve. Most of the time this means a visit to Ljubljana, see the decorations, have a cup of mulled wine and take a quick look around Christmas fair, maybe even buy a trinket or two.

Cobblers' bridge

Yesterday I met a friend at noon on The Cobbler's bridge for a cup of coffee/tea at the Tea House. Since today was less foggy than a few weeks ago I took this opportunity to take some pictures.

River Ljubljanica

Prešeren's square with The Franciscan Church

And then I did something I haven't done in 18 years: I visited The Franciscan Church and saw the nativity scene the monks place behind the main altar every year.

Christmas ornaments with the statue of Prešeren in the background

Their nativity scene is one of the top three most revered and acknowledged ones in Slovenia and many come from all parts of the country to see it every year.

Prešeren's square and The Three bridges

Most come for the mulled wine and Christmas fair...

Nativity scene in The Franciscan Church

I skipped the fair and the wine. I have no need for either.

Christmas 2011/ The aftermath

2011-12-26T11:06:00.000+01:00

Christmas weekend at my parents' house is a quiet affair marked by the calm and reassuring sequence of events that we've been repeating year after year. Some traditions have been with us longer, even passed on from previous generations.

Like the fact that we decorate the tree just hours before Christmas dinner, the nativity is placed under or next to the tree on moss my parents picked in the woods several weeks before. The presents have all been put under the tree for the briefest time before we took them back and unwrapped them.

On the menu: fondue. A tradition we've had going for 16 or 17 years. I've lost count. But definitely not a traditional Slovene Christmas dinner. This is also the third year in a row we've unanimously skipped fancy clothes and opted for our weekend casual outfits.

Presents are opened after dinner and before dessert. Since I'm the youngest the task of distributing them falls on me. I've delegated this duty to Mr C years ago.

Our Christmas celebration is a mix of old and new. Traditional and unconventional. And as blasphemous as it may be for some we even played cards. Like we do every time Mr C and me stay with my parents over the weekend. Sinful or not, I prefer it to watching TV.

How did you spend your Christmas?

Christmas 2011/ 'Twas the night before Christmas...

2011-12-23T11:32:00.000+01:00

Well the apartment's decorated, the gifts are wrapped and nutella is in the refrigerator...

I wish you all a happy, peaceful Christmas weekend!

Christmas 2011/ (No) baking

2011-12-22T11:57:00.001+01:00

For the past eight years I've always baked cookies for Christmas. Without fail homemade cookies, chocolate covered nuts and truffles were always part of the holiday season. It comes as no surprise really that the one year I decide to blog about quintessential Christmas at our house, everything is anything but traditional.

melting chocolate

For those who missed it my decorations this year can be seen here and here. And I blogged about gift wrapping here.

roasting hazelnuts

Due to time constraints cookies are out of the question but I still wanted to bake something. I stumbled upon this home made nutella recipe by David Lebovitz while frantically searching the net to find some fuss free recipes.

milk and honey

Homemade nutella is so easy to make. I followed the recipe to the letter. To simplify things further I bought ground hazelnuts to save myself the trouble of grinding them in the blender. And it totally worked.

pouring it together

After pouring the ingredients together the mixture will look quite frothy and very liquidy as Mr. Lebovitz predicted. The trick is to pour smaller amounts into the blender and blend it furiously for a couple of minutes at high speed.

frothy liquid

It comes out looking smooth and puddingy and oh so delicious!

creamy Nutella

And a final word of warning: discouraged by the promise of only two small jars, I doubled the ingredients for a double batch...Mr. Lebovitz lied. I now have three small and three medium jars full of Nutella.

Christmas 2011/ Wrapping presents

2011-12-21T23:00:00.001+01:00

I'm finally done with all of my gift wrapping.

This year's colour scheme: green and turquoise. I though I'd mix it up a bit and steer clear of the traditional forest green and red.

As a rule I stick with a uniform look, but this year I deliberately used as many decorations I could think of to give my lovely readers as many ideas as possible:

polymer clay beads, satin string and organza ribbon

glass mosaic

snowflake made of beads and wire

I even made ribbons out of leftover bits of wrapping paper.

It couldn't be easier, just cut strips out wrapping paper. Create a loop out of each strip using some sellotape. Then stack the loops together and staple them.

Again with the crazy beads:

And finally, this is a jewellery pouch I made specially for an Etsy customer who bought one of my necklaces.

I made it big enough to double as a clutch :-)

Are you done with your gift wrapping?

Bits of wisdom

2011-12-19T19:41:00.000+01:00

People say travel broadens the mind. Mainly because people like me insist on it in their books. But I have to say I doubt that it is true. On the contrary, I suspect travelling narrows the mind. One becomes so blasé about the wonders of the World...All that ever matters is the people. Not the places.

Dame Celia Westholme, Appointment with Death

NYC August 1998

I suppose I may come off as a a jaded, malcontent cynic for backing this quote on today's bits of wisdom. The thing is, I've grown so tired of people boasting to anyone who will give them five minutes of their time about where they've been and what they've seen.
I'm tired of the social platforms like Blogger, Twitter, Facebook, especially Facebook overrun with photos of every Tom, Dick and Harry:

In front of The Eiffel Tower
In Chinatown NYC
Or the latest it destination: Australia

If I ever have the means, I'll travel to these places for myself alone. And not so that I can have interesting anecdotes up my sleeve for the next cocktail party.

This post is dedicated to my dear friend M, who's finally realizing a lifelong dream to travel over the Atlantic. I wish you many new adventures and unforgettable memories :-)

Christmas 2011/ Handmade vs. store bought

2011-12-16T11:56:00.000+01:00

In all the years I've been sewing, knitting, making jewellery... I've never taken the handmade pledge. And I'm a firm believer in handmade, locally bought meaningful gifts as oppose to cheap, mass produced throw away stuff.
The reason behind my decision has always been that we should encourage people to be conscientious about their spending habits, conscientious about the environment and that whole Think globally, act locally business. But we should never force this decision on anyone and by buying something handmade for someone who doesn't want it and will likely throw it away anyhow is going against the spirit of the handmade movement.