Countdown

No outfit pics today, my lovely readers, only a few notes, an inspiration picture & wishlist item. This is my last February post, I won't be posting over the weekend, but I'm really excited about Monday! We're starting our Spring Capsule Wardrobe Challenge! I haven't figured out the entire choice of items yet, I've got two days to go but I'm getting there! You wouldn't believe how tricky it is to choose ten items and then mix and match them for five days, knowing that there is a closetful of lovely clothes waiting... This is brilliant, though, because I'm pretty sure that after five days I'll appreciate every single piece in my wardrobe...

The fuchsia coat is from Gudrun Sjoeden's Autumn/Winter collection (I believe it's on sale at the moment!). It was on my wishlist last autumn but somehow I never got round to ordering it. I chose the green velvet Boden coat instead and I'm happy with my choice, but I still love the colours on this cotton raincoat.

And this is my spring wishlist item. It's a solid perfume stick (smells like cherries!) from L'Occitane - it's Limited Edition and it's no longer available in some shops; I'll have to do some market research, I'd love to have this pretty little thing in my purse!

See you on Monday, my dears!

Does My Bum Look Big (In This...)?

Or rather - next to this?

Just reminiscing today, going through some old holiday pictures on our computer. This was our trip to Vienna in August 2008. We enjoyed it immensely. Vienna holds a special place in our memory, as my husband and I spent our honeymoon there fourteen and a half years ago (we are celebrating our 15th wedding anniversary in September).

My daughter and I struck a pose next to a lovely elephant statue outside the Natural History Museum - our behinds called for having a picture taken! My boy, of all people, hid behind (in front of, actually) the elephant - go figure!

But still - are we courageous or what?

Weekend Crafting

The pics are from last weekend - I again managed to find some time for my crafting. Yay! I made, as you can see, two bracelets, and I re-crafted (is this a word?) a pair of earrings.

My 'birdies' earrings. I have a thing for birds this winter, apparently. I got these on Etsy, from BeadsByEvelyn, and they used to look like this. I wore them a few times and then figured they lacked colour. So I played with them a little. I added the pink bows and replaced the pearls with the red hearts & turqouise beads. What do you think? Which version do you prefer?

A new bracelet - not for myself, though. I have plenty. But I 'had to' make it, if you know what I mean. I had some new beads, the floral ones. I'd been thinking how to incorporate them into my jewellery but the more I thought about it the less I knew what to do. Then it just came to me - this is the result!

Another new bracelet, again made for the sake of it, not for 'domestic use'. I like the different blues and the various shapes of the glass beads - unfortunately I'd run out of chain which would be a nice finishing touch.

As my 100th post is approaching, I thought I'd have another giveaway and one of these bracelets will be the prize! When the time comes I'll let you know, and you can choose the one you like best!

Variations On A Theme

I wear a lot of the same clothes these days. I can't help it, I really like everything I've had on recently. This woollen floral skirt. My pink hat. Cosy handwarmers. Not to mention my tan leather boots...

I wore this outfit to church on Sunday. It kept me warm throughout the mass. Even though I felt a little poorly (singing in a cold church doesn't help a sore throat...), the softness I was wrapped in worked miracles. Like being held in someone's arms (God's? My husband's? Both my children's? All inclusive?)...

I didn't have a pic taken of my 'indoor' outfit - more or less the same as this one, except that I wore the skirt at its original length. No big surprises, then!

I wore:

boots - Humanic
skirt - Ivko
jacket - Comma
belt (under the wrap) - Jack Jones
wrap - birthday gift from my girlfriends, years ago
corsage - Etsy (rosetutu)
handwarmers - Etsy (Crafts2Cherish)
hat - Seeberger
leather bag - Laura Ashley, old
grey top - local shop
angel pendant, bracelets, earrings

What is your favourite winter outfit?

Singing In The (Rain) Snow

Another outfit post. I wore this to the church choir practice on Saturday evening. One of my absolutely favourite skirts. Which, as so many other items in my closet, doesn't get as much attention as it deserves.

I always feel oh so Scottish when I wear this skirt. And I should, shouldn't I? It is genuinely Scottish, after all. When I added the wrap to the outdoor version, there was no turning back. I wanted to jump on a plane and fly to Inverness... (perhaps Aberdeen? It's where the Gordon clan comes from, isn't it?) Anyway, with the beret, slightly resembling the tam o'shanter... Who could have stopped me? (Many people, actually...and they did.)

I wore:

boots - Humanic (all wet; I've just come home)
skirt - Pringle of Scotland
blue top - local shop, unknown origin
mustard top - TwoWay
belt - H&M
angel earrings, bracelets, pendant

I bought this skirt several years ago in a lovely shop in our capital which only (well, mostly) sells British things. It's called 'Thistle' (in Slovenian) and I'm a regular there - have been, at least. It was on sale and the size fit perfectly. I was over the moon when I put it on. Perhaps it would be wise to mention on this spot that this was just after I had lost about four stone (yes, there used to be more to me than meets the eye right now...). I'll tell you all about it one day. If I feel brave enough I'll even add a 'before' pic...

Outdoors I added:

jacket - Comma
belt - Jack Jones
wrap - birthday gift from my girlfriends oh so many years ago
handwarmers - Etsy (Crafts2Cherish)
beret - Seeberger
corsage (on beret) - TopShop
leather bag - Laura Ashley, ooold!

As the title suggests, the winter isn't over yet. Thank God for the blogging world. It means I can still get in touch with all of you even if I decide to move to the Southern Hemisphere for the next few months...

Birds Again

A slightly different take on this outfit - boring, I know. But I love my bird skirt and I plan to wear very often this coming spring. And this existing winter. And in summer 2010. Not to mention the lovely autumn... Anyway, you get the idea.

So, I changed the top underneath the roll-neck for a different colour scheme and I changed some accessories. And belted the whole thing. Other than that, same old, same old.

So, today I'm wearing:
boots - Bata
tights - Polzela (local brand)
knee-high socks - Burlington
skirt - Boden
roll-neck - from local shop
top - TwoWay
belt - came with a pair of trousers I don't wear nearly often enough
pink wooden bracelet - Etsy (rosetutu)
angel pendant, bracelets, earrings

P.S.: I've just realised, I've changed the boots as well! Big difference :) !

Merry Neutrals

Who says grey is boring? I think it's one of the most useful and appealing neutrals. Don't you think?

I love today's outfit. I'm wearing the softest and the warmest woollen skirt, and the flower pattern is calling for spring! The skirt is one of my latest acqusitions (extremely reduced, as the full price was sky-high) and I'm so happy to have come across it. There's more to it than you can see right now, actually (literally!) - it's originally considerably longer but I pulled the elastic up high above my waist because I think this length is more flattering, especially with the black down coat I wore outdoors. I will wear it at its 'normal' lenght as well, but with a shorter jacket, and I promise to blog about that as well.

I'm still very pleased with my new hair-do, if I may say so myself, it's very low-maintenance and my head feels surprisingly light...

And don't you just love my pink wooden bracelet? Another pre-springy treat, I fell in love with it instantly. It adds a wonderful pop of colour to a neutral outfit and the floral pattern matches the skirt... Ah, well...

Anyway, I'm wearing:

boots - Humanic
tights - Mum's hand-me-downs
knee-high socks - Burlington
skirt - Ivko
top - local shop
slim belt - H&M
angel pendant, bracelets, earrings
pink wooden bracelet - Etsy (lovely seller rosetutu)

Eagerly awaiting warmer weather!

The Spring Capsule Wardrobe Contest 2010

Jane from The Small Fabric Of My Life has kindly challenged me to participate in her Annual Spring Capsule Wardrobe Contest. I'm in, of course! I've never done it before but I'm sure I'll enjoy it - I bet my husband will be pleased to see that I can go through a week with a VERY limited (from my point of view!) amount of clothing and accessories...

(Picture from Jane's blog)

Here are the rules for the challenge that I have copied from Jane's blog:

- Choose ten items of clothing from your wardrobe and mix and match them for five days between Monday March 1st and Friday March 5th

- You can have any combination of shoes, dresses, skirts, tops and jackets as long as it adds up to ten individual items

- You are also allowed five accessories which include jewellery, scarves, bag, belts etc.
Underwear and hosiery do not come under the ten items and five accessories!

- In addition to your ten items and five accessories you are permitted one functional coat, one pair of functional gloves or mittens, one functional hat, one functional scarf and one functional pair of snow boots or other essential footwear

I'm already looking forward to choosing the items from my wardrobe! Perhaps another challenge should be added - in the week of the contest participants are not allowed to purchase any new (or thrifted, for that matter) item of clothing... What do you think?

Thank You, Alison!

Oh, how sweet it is to have blogging friends! And from Scotland, too, the land of Harris Tweed! (my favourite...)

I got a lovely surprise in the post this afternoon. OK, I knew it was coming but it was still surprising how fast it arrived. Alison from idreamoftweed made this lovely card. She wasn't happy with it and offered to send it to anyone who'd like it. I did! I loved it!


I really appreciated the kind offer - I will proudly display the Harris Tweed heart in my home and think of my favourite place in the whole world whenever I look at it... Thank you so much!

Spring Hair

New haircut today. Still warm... I was desperate for something new - plus I was even more desperate to hide my shiny grey roots. If I didn't dye my hair I'd be totally and completely grey by now. It runs in the family. My maternal grandmother turned white at the age of thirty. She had gorgeous shiny white hair, though. Not this mousy colour that grows on top of my head...

Anyway, a change. Not a big one, just enough to make me feel better. To make waiting for spring a little bit easier. I'm fine for now. What else will it take to chase the winter away?


On the outfit front, I'm wearing a Tulchan cardi and my Mum's scarf from the local chemist's... My signature earrings are there as well, you just can't see them... Here's a quick pic!

Like my new hair?

Snow Had Fallen, Snow On Snow

I've told you we have plenty of snow. Want some?

This is the 'snowy mountain' in front of our block of flats. My daughter loves it, she wants to climb it every time we pass it. I'm not too keen on her mountaineering spirit, though...

My husband took this picture after our afternoon walk yesterday. I just wanted to show you that I wasn't joking about the amount of snow we'd got.


I sincerely hope that last week was the final snow storm for this winter. Let's keep our fingers crossed that all those masks running around this weekend until Shrove Tuesday will actually do their job, which is to chase the winter away and welcome the spring...

Sunshine!

We're snowed up to our behinds here but today, at last, we've had a lovely sunny day. I miss sunshine so much! I'm one of those people who only get alive when the temperatures rise well into the thirties (Celsius, of course) - my comfort zone is plus thirty-five degrees... You may well imagine then that winter is not my favourite part of the year!

I was really grateful for today's weather as the constant snow had started to make me feel really depressed. I sat down on our balcony and enjoyed a few moments of winter warmth. Can you feel it?

I'm wearing:
boots - Humanic
tights - Mum's hand-me-downs
knee-high socks - Burlington
applique skirt - Kesidov
ballerina wrap / cardi - unknown origin
top - Mana
angel pendant, bracelets, earrings

Agatha In My Home - Part Two

Another lot of Agatha Ruiz de la Prada items - stationery this time.

The mouse pad was a gift to my hubby a couple of years ago (Valentine's Day gift? Birthday gift? can't remember...). The hot red mouse definitely was his Valentine's Day presie for me (he's not too keen on celebrating St Valentine's & he likes practical gifts!) - I love it!

Our wastepaper bin - same hearts pattern.

My folders. Love love love the colours.

In fact, I loved the colours on the stripy folder so much that I just had to make some jewellery! I made this set - necklace, bracelet & earrings - several years ago and it's still one of my favourite summer accessories.

What's your inspiration?

Agatha In My Home - Part One

Remember my pre-previous post? Agatha Ruiz de la Prada. My inspiration. I admire her work every day. Whenever I enter my bathroom!


I fell in love with these tiles the moment I saw them. I immediately knew I wanted them in my home. Somewhere. Anywhere. At that point we hadn't been thinking about renovating our bathroom yet.


When it was time to do that I knew exactly where to go to get the material (oh boy, the husband was over the moon as he didn't have to go through a zillion of shops...). He LOVED these tiles (I have just told you why!).


We all love our bright and happy bathroom now. It makes us all happy. The colours, the hearts... Oh, I forgot to take a pic of the floor. The tiling on the floor is bright turquoise. Check the shade in the hearts section...

More Agatha in my home to follow...

Holiday Crafting

It was a day off in Slovenia yesterday - National Day of Culture. There was plenty to do, hills to climb, exhibitions and concerts to attend, but with our boy having a broken leg we stayed put and I had an opportunity again to do some of my favourite 'job' again - crafting.


The 'Pride and Prejudice' pin was the only thing I didn't make yesterday - I made it some time ago but I decided to post about it anyway because it sort of fits well with the other items. I got the 'material' from Hannah Zakari - I ordered their 'Mr Darcy necklace' - but when I got it I decided to make a pin - more useful!


I got this angel pendant from my husband & children for my nameday last year. I'd worn it on a silver necklace several times but not as often as my other pendant. Then it occured to me that I could put it on a string of stones (you can get something similar at the art gallery, the artist herself puts her angels on strings of stones, so it wasn't my own idea). It took me a while to find the stones I thought matched the pendant well and I absolutely adore these. I'm happy with the result and I'm sure this angel will get much more wear from now on!


The third item isn't new either. I used to wear this necklace a lot but I don't anymore. My best friend really liked it so I decided to give it to her. There was no corsage on it and I wanted to add this pretty little thing. I wasn't happy with the position of the corsage the first time I attached it on the necklace. When I tried to remove it I accidentally cut the string so I had to make it all over again. Now it's ready to be given away!


Last but not least, the angel earrings I got (and made) for my birthday - I found these flowers to add and I just couldn't resist - angels & blossoms! As good as new, right?

Inspiration: Agatha

Not Christie. Ruiz de la Prada. I find her absolutely fascinating.

I love her. I love what she does. I love her sense of style and colours.

I wouldn't mind wearing her clothes top to bottom. Including underwear, sunglasses, shoes, anything. Unfortunately, her fashion is not available in Slovenia. Not that I know of, anyway (I'll welcome any hints, though!).

I own plenty of her accessories. We renovated our bathroom a couple of years ago and chose her tiles. Pics to follow.

I often make my own jewellery based on her colour scheme. Pics to follow as well.

She rocks. Do check her website. Bursts of colour. Exactly what one needs on a dreary winter day.

All pics from http://www.agatharuizdelaprada.com/eng/home

Craving Sunshine

Just to remind myself that days will get warm again...

London, Hyde Park, July 2007

Seaside holiday, Slovenian coast, summer 2008

P.S.: Same top, same sunglasses, same angel pendant, a year apart - it must be me!...

Which is your favourite season?

Shall I Or Shan't I?

I'm thinking about having my hair cut in a slightly different way. I really really like the hair of my style icon, the Norwegian princess Martha Louise. It always looks perfect! And never ever 'overdone'. I do realise that there are professionals around her to take care of her public appearance but I also like to think that she's quite low-maintenance.


I have a feeling that a hairstyle like hers would look quite acceptable on my head as well.

I had a similar cut some time ago and I was very happy about it. I'm getting really bored with my hair at the moment, I'm desperate for a change.


Any tips? Do you like Martha Louise's hair? My old haircuts? Help me, please!

She Loved Coffee And I Loved Tea...

Molly, my sister and I fell out,
And what do you think it was all about?
She loved coffee and I loved tea,
And that was the reason we couldn't agree.

I don't have a sister, I'm afraid, but my brother and I never fall out on the above-mentioned topic... I was looking for a nursery rhyme about tea (I wanted something else rather than 'I'm a Little Tea Pot...) and I found Molly... So here we go...

Please, meet my tea rack. I love its vibrant colours and I love the tastes it promises. Most of my tins are British, as I completely adore the country and its tea-drinking tradition. The tea-for-one teapot & cup are my daughter's (she likes her herbal tea) and the two cups & saucers on the bottom shelf are a wedding present from a good friend - they're from Laura Ashley and I absolutely adore them.


I mostly drink flavoured black tea (Earl Grey is my favourite) - milk and no sugar, please! Other flavours on the rack at the moment include vanilla, four red fruits, English rose leaf, and regular English breakfast. I also like red tea (Rooibos) with a drop of milk, have an occasional mug of mint tea, but I'm not a big fan of green tea. My little boy loves his black tea (lots of milk and sugar, please!) every now and then and I always say it's his British nature coming out... Who could tell?

How do you like your tea?

Oh Blossoms, Where Art Thou?

Oh dear, winter has struck once more! We have had more snow over the weekend that I could have imagined possible. In this part of the world, that is. I probably wouldn't complain about it if I lived higher up north. But I would so much rather be somewhere in the Southern Hemisphere right now...
Anyway, this was my outfit last Thursday. We took our boy to his first check-up after the accident (he broke his shinbone while skiing). Everything went really well; his leg is healing the way it should and it's not so itchy anymore. At the hospital, everybody praised his spotless plaster cast... he doesn't allow anyone to write/draw on it! It's still impeccably white, after eleven days!

I got this black down coat at a local shop the other day, for a ridiculously low price. I'd been craving a fitted black down coat this winter but since I was on a low budget I didn't even search for it. Then I came across this piece and it just clicked. It's not quite as fitted as I would like it to be but again, you can't have it all...

I also absolutely adore the pink scarf - my Mum bought it the other day (on my recommendation...). I love love love the colours and the pattern - it's got giant polka dots in different shades of reds & pinks. A more 'revealing' pic to follow... Mum kindly let me borrow the beauty as she won't be using it until spring (not her winter colour scheme...!).

boots - Humanic
tights - local shop
dress (worn as skirt) - Kesidov
roll-neck - Peter James
top (under roll-neck) - TwoWay
wooden beads - TwoWay
angel earrings, pendant, bracelets

outside: coat - Mana
belt - Jack Jones
scarf - my Mum's
beret - Seeberger
corsage (on beret) - TopShop
gloves - Benetton (a gift)
leather bag - Laura Ashley

P.S.: I'm getting a bit bored & boring with my poses. Any suggestions?