Been trying to bring on the warmth -I listen to Hawaiian guitars and we went out for (a lot of) tiki cocktails, but it didn't help - it's just getting colder and colder here! (But it was a good excuse to have lots of tropical drinks.)
Some years ago I mentioned the Jaffa posters here on this blog; soda advertisements from the late fifties and early sixties that made the billboards again in a retro campaign a few years back. I've always wanted these posters and for some reason I kept on wondering how to get them until it last summer struck me - what the hell is wrong with me? Few things are ever further than a google away!
Since I rather seldom have fresh flowers in the house during this time of year I put some fruit in a vase instead. A small fun variation to the fruit bowl. It suits the Christmas holidays but also winter in general I think.
With a martini and some Sinatra we decorated our small Christmas tree last night.
It's actually the first Christmas tree I've had since I moved away from home a decade ago!
I usually pack a lot of my gifts in old newspapers - saving money, saving nature. Normally I go for the daily papers I've read at home, but this time I picked up some free chinese magazines in my local supermarket (apparently Tapiola is full of Chinese readers?). I make the cards out of lace-like cake paper or left over gift paper from last year.
If you have no idea of what gifts to give, a pretty bowl (from the flea market/super market/fancy store, however you like it) filled with fresh fruit would at least be appreciated by me.
I baked heaps of gingerbreads! Spelt gingerbreads with a hint of orange and another set with almonds.
Eddi wasn't totally happy with being dressed in my apron, having to mix the other dough. But he did enjoy eating it later on.
Saved some for ourselves, while the rest is meant to be decorated and given away.
The decorated ones turned out surprisingly ugly though. For a while I considered saying it was Eddi's kids who baked them. Disappointment. But well, I'm good at a lot of other things! And they do taste good.
I also gave myself a little Christmas present!I had already give up on receiving these before the holidays, but then the delivery boy arrived only minutes before I was on my way to work. Ave Maria was playing in hte background when I opened the parcel. It was a very beautiful moment.
And very beautiful shoes!It is however minus 20 C outside so I won't be wearing these beauties for some time. Well, except for indoors.
Bonus cat-in-the-box!
While I think it's ok to put a little kitsch or some extra cuteness in the kitchen, and a lot of flair in decorating the bedroom, I like to keep the rest rather simple. But when it comes to the bathroom I think you can go as kitsch or crazy as you like.
So let's step in and check out the birdies!
The door is covered in this wallpaper, from Pip Studio. I love it.
I have a bird poster from Papaya! on the wall. And a little tweeter on the paper holder too.
And birdie hand towels, also from Pip Studio.
I've attached bird cage mirrors on the otherwise rather dull shower cabinet. The doors slide so sometimes the bird cages are in front of each other too. Which looks nice. The adhesive mirrors are from Modcloth.
The walls were in what I called baby poop brown, the cupboards old and worn from the eighties. 
The room was full of extra stuff that had no practical or aesthetically purpose whatsoever, like an extra sink out of use. Eddi had removed most of it though, including the fugly curtains that were hanging there before I managed to get pictures...
We removed some of the cupboards on the wall to lighten the room up, reveiling a mint green colour that had been on there earlier. Not that far from the colour we had in the cans, waiting to get up on the walls!
Afterwards! A huge change.
We re-painted the ceiling white, painted all the walls robin's egg blue and changed the door knobs and handels. 
And put up some shelves instead of the old cupboard.
I made us some new curtains.
At some point I intend to find us a big nice old cabinet for the china, but for now a trip to IKEA was enough. The cabinet can be used for other purposes once the perfect vintage piece comes along; I am not one of those to keep the plates and cups in a plastic bag to wait for that perfect piece to show up, I go for compromises until that.
We still intend to paint the door- and window frames, as the tree colour does not really match the pale blue walls - I am tempted to paint them in a dark red shiny colour but we will most likely go for white though. We also intend to paint the table and the chairs and get ourselves a new lamp. And a new fridge also. Perhaps another Smeg, but in another colour. Cream, or red.
(Please ignore the microwave there on the table waiting to be hidden). It feels a lot more nice to spend time in the kitchen now. This little project took us one weekend.
I've had this lamp for perhaps a year already, not being able to use it - I ordered it online from the US and didn't think of the fact that it wouldn't work over here as it is (you know, as everything has to be different there in America). As taking it to that one electronics shop outside of town that I was told could change the whole shabadang into matching our power system seemed to be one of those never-gonna-happen things I almost gave up on it. But yesterday Eddi removed the bulb system and used one of the extra lamp chords we had here at home and now, ta-daa, let there be light!
Pekka posing.
Everyone has one of these in the windows over here. 
I use my small mariskoolis (I have a lot of them in different colours and sizes) for candles. I like the lace-like shadows they give.
I out up some lanterns in the window of the kids' room.
I go 'Oh!'everytime I look at our bedroom window.
Last week I wrote about what I wear around the house or on days that I am not particularly "going anywhere". My knitted and stretchy skirt and dresses yes, but there is an even more comfy version that I often do when going to work or going out to the countryside. More practical, but still nice;I like to layer a lot of whatever nice and soft, those items that I have but not get to wear too much otherwise. 
Everything in the pictures is old, except for my motorcycle print shirt which is new from Morgan's & Philips.
I made a cake for my father's birthday (date- banana with apple yoghurt frosting) which we celebrated at our place. My sisters and their boyfriend also came over, it was very nice. The cake turned out real good but I only got a shot of the last piece afterwards.
