Sweet Ladybird

At long last! Here are the pics of my Harris Tweed ladybird softie I crafted last Friday! My card reader still doesn't work but I have been enlightened by my husband that I can download pics from my camera directly... Go figure! And it's so much easier than the whole procedure with the card reader... I'm not the technical type, as you might have noticed!

With the ladybird, I followed Alison's instructions but I made one small change - I wanted the spots slightly smaller so I cut them off around the edges. I thought they fit better onto the small body of my sweet little softie...

I'm really pleased with the result. For the pics, I asked my new friend to pose with my Lulu Guinness poppy clasp purse - they go really well together, don't you think? For the background, I used my tweedie bag that I'm rather fond of as well - it adds the refreshing green to the scene...

Anyway, my nearly nine-year-old boy is madly in love with my ladybird... He got one of Alison's dinosaurs last Christmas but he wasn't remotely as impressed with it as he was with the ladybird. And I thought I knew what he fancied!

Calling Joanna!

Hi, my dear blogging friends. I'm sorry for the lack of posts recently (well, to be honest, one post). I meant to blog last Friday, as I finally got round to crafting my sweet Harris Tweed ladybird but I couldn't download the pics from my camera. There must be something wrong with my card reader. My husband was out of town for the weekend so there was no one around to help me! As soon as I sort that out I promise to post about my lovely new Tweedie Softie. It was pure joy to craft it, exactly what I needed on Friday evening!

We celebrated Palm Sunday yesterday. We traditionally bring bunches of spring flowers and pussy willow and ivy and olive tree branches to church for the blessing - I'll post about those as well once I can download the pics. For now, here's a picture of a traditional Slovenian 'butara' - shavings of wood are coloured and tied around thick branches, and it is lovely to see bursts of colour at the Palm Sunday mass!

Now let me get to the main point of today's post: I'm looking for Joanna! She was the only blogger who commented on 100th post, which makes her the absolute winner and of course the recipient of one of my bracelets. So, please, Joanna, do get in touch. Could you please post your address to my e-mail: mojca_stefanic@yahoo.com? As you do that, please state which of the two bracelets you prefer - the blue one or the blue-cream-pink one. As soon as I get your address I'll put your presie in the post!

Have a lovely week, everyone!

Annunciation

We're celebrating the Feast of Annunciation today. I'm also celebrating the feast of my patron saint - my name, Mojca, is a form of 'Mary' in Slovenian.

Leonardo da Vinci

The Annunciation is the celebration of the announcement by the angel Gabriel to virgin Mary that she would become the Mother of God. It is celebrated nine months before Christmas.

Andrea della Robbia

The Annunciation has been one of the main topics in Christian art, particularly during the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. These are my favourite depictions of the event.

Dante Gabriel Rossetti

Pictures courtesy of Wikipedia.

Blossom Boots

Another outfit pic. Worn last Sunday to church. My absolutely favourite coat. My lovely brown hat. Mum's vintage handbag. And my chocolate brown blossom boots!

I've had them for ages but I don't wear them very often because I can't walk in high heels properly. Plus I don't feel all that comfortable. I wear these beauties to church and that about sums it up. They're lovely though, aren't they?

I'm not posting the indoor outfit pic as it is pretty much the recreation of this outfit - the only different item is the boots.

I wore:
boots - Alpina (local brand)
coat - Boden
corsage - H&M (hair clip, actually)
leather gloves - Marks&Spencer
handbag - Mum's, vintage
hat - Seeberger

Hope yours was a lovely weekend. Mine was, spring was in the air again, and that makes me very happy. I got my first little bouquet of snowdrops from my son!

P.S.: Don't forget my 100th post giveaway!

100th Post & Giveaway!

Yay, I'm writing my 100th blog entry today! I'm not quite sure whether this makes me a good blogger or not, as I started my blog (exactly to the day!!!) six months ago - let's just say I'm OK...

I've got a thing with living my life 'exactly to the day' - my husband and I got married seven years (exactly to the day...) after we'd started dating, and now this blog entry... I didn't plan this, honestly! And tomorrow, we will have been married for fourteen and a half years (15th wedding anniversary coming up in six months!), it will have been twenty-one and a half years after our first date (in six months' time my husband will be celebrating half of his lifetime spent with me, he was twenty-two when we came together...). So much to celebrate!!!

Which is why I'm doing another giveaway, yay! If you're interested, all you have to do is leave a comment on my blog (let it be a nice one, please...) and if there's more than one entry (... hopefully...) I'll draw a winner next Monday. I'll let you know all about it!

The prize is one of these two bracelets - once the winner is announced, you will tell me which one you prefer. They're both hand-made by me and - if you follow my blog - I'd like you to have one!

See you tomorrow, y'all!

Earring Cushion!

Remember my gorgeous Harris Tweed pin cushion I won in the giveaway from my friend Alison? I absolutely adore this pin cushion and ever since I got it I've been thinking about alternate uses of the pretty thing. You see, I don't really want to use it as a pin cushion. I'm not a pin person. I don't use pins very often, but I don't want to shove this beauty in my sewing box and only occasionally lay eyes on it.

I'd been considering wearing it as a brooch or a pendant, but let's be honest - it is slightly too big, even for my taste (and I do like wearing huge accessories...). Then it occurred to me - this pretty cushion could become a home for my accessories! I've stuck some earrings into it and it looks really pretty! Plus I get to keep it on my bedside table (or my desk, for that matter, as I want to take a look at it every now and then when I work at my computer...). Perfect solution!

What do you think, dear readers? Any suggestions? What else would you use a pin cushion for (as lovely as this one, of course!)?

Art Exhibition

Another trip to the capital. In the afternoon, my Mum, my daughter and I drove to Ljubljana to attend the opening of an art exhibition. Not just any art exhibition, mind you. My younger cousin, who's a painter and children's books illustrator and designer, is exhibiting some of her paintings at the Pentagonal Tower of the Ljubljana Castle. The title of the exhibition is 'Urban Patterns' and here you can see some of her work. Enjoy!

On the weather front things are doing well. It was really warm and sunny today and behold, no boots on my feet! I'm wearing sneakers! I bought these about a year ago, put them in the closet and forgot all about them. And now I have a new pair of shoes this spring! The green shopper with the corsage is my new favourite accessory. It's got wheels and a handle you can pull out and I think it just looks very chic - especially for a shopper...

Today I wore:
sneakers - Adidas
skinny jeans - miss bonbon
green tunic - Kesidov
green turtleneck - Get
scarf - H&M
coat - Boden
sunglasses - Marks&Spencers
leather bag - Laura Ashley
shoulder bag - Oilily
angel brooch, pendant, bracelets

I love spring!

Still Skinny!

I told you yesterday that you were going to see a lot of these skinny jeans. I meant it. They are the most comfortable pair I've ever worn. They feel like tights (well, almost...just add a belt...). And I love how they make a really lean silhouette of the bottom part of my legs.

Just a usual busy day today. My sweet little ladybird is still waiting to be crafted.

Today I wore:
boots - Alpina (local brand)
skinny jeans - miss bonbon
shirt top - La Redoute
green top - Labod (local brand)
stripy top - Labod
ebony disc necklace - Marks&Spencer
round bead necklace - outlet store in Ljubljana
angel pendant & bracelets

Excuse the hair, it's just been washed, and my flat iron died the other day...

Going Skinny! (Have You Seen My Horse, BTW?)

I drove to the capital today to meet a very good friend. I had a wonderful day. In the afternoon I took my children to the local cake shop for some cake - my little girl had been promised a piece a while ago. As I said, a wonderful day. Even more so because it was warm enough (ie. not so very very cold) to wear my absolutely favourite piece from my wardrobe - the green Boden coat! I'll make it official: spring is on its way!

Apart from the coat, there's another item you'll be seeing a lot of this spring: my new (and very first) pair of skinny jeans! I never thought I'd be brave enough to wear skinny trousers (my legs don't 'support' that kind of cut) but with a skirt or a dress or a coat / cardi covering the problem areas it seems like a good idea. In fact, I'd been looking for the perfect pair for nearly a year now and last week I finally found THE one.

So today I wore:
boots - Humanic
skinny jeans - miss bonbon
shirt dress - McKinley
cardi - Ivko
scarf - Laura Ashley, borrowed from my Mum
coat - Boden
leather gloves - hand-me-downs from Mum, really old and battered; love them!
leather bag - Laura Ashley
corsage (on bag) - Accessorize, embellished by me (I added some Barbour tartan ribbon & self-made leather tassels)

How was your day?

Stripes & Dots

An outfit pic again, finally. I had a wee break after the Wardrobe Challenge and then the weather turned sour and I didn't feel like dressing up. And my sweats are not all that interesting. Since Saturday I have been able to smell spring again. There's still plenty of snow around but the sun is getting stronger and I'm hopeful...

This is today's outfit. I'm afraid the bottom part has been seen many a time before but at least the top part is a bit different. The polka dot scarf I'm wearing is very much vintage - it's my Mum's, from when she was young! She'd say that was a long long time ago but, to be honest, she doesn't show it!

boots - Humanic
tights - Polzela (local brand)
skirt - eK Jeans
striped top - Petit Bateau
cardi - Tulchan
scarf - Mum's, vintage
corsage - Etsy (lovely seller rosetutu)
angel pendant, earrings, bracelets

Another set of dots (and some stripes, vertical & horizontal!) came in the post today. I'm so happy! I've won the main prize in my friend Alison's give away! I'm very much looking forward to crafting my own ladybird - I sincerely hope I can manage to squeeze in some 'quality crafting time' tomorrow - and I'm oh-so-impressed with this beautiful, gorgeous, pretty, exquisite... pin cushion! Isn't it just the prettiest thing ever? I'm not sure I'd like to use it as a pin cushion, though, I'm thinking about its possibilities as an accessory... a brooch, perhaps? Open for suggestions!

Inspiration: Celine

The other night, while doing my regular evening exercise, I watched a film about Celine Dion. It was an unauthorized biography (I learnt after asking Mr Google) but it more or less followed the events in her life from the beginning of her career to her show in Las Vegas. What really struck me was her incredible love story.

It's funny how I never really thought about it - Celine and her husband always appeared as 'an item' despite the huge age gap. After seeing the film, though, I realised that she probably had to fight hard to get where she is - I mean, if I think about my little girl falling for someone old enough to be her Dad... Then I googled some pics of her and her husband and there is one thing you can spot in every single one of them together - LOVE. Celine radiates love around the man she chose to love and that, my friends, truly is inspirational.

I've always liked Celine's music. I'm not the sort of fan who'd go out and buy all her CDs, I may have one or two, but I do like her. We both had our first baby in the same year and I remember putting a picture of pregnant Celine into my baby's scrapbook (before he was born) - I made a list of 'celebrity babies' born that year, 2001...

Here you can see Celine with another one of my favourites, Josh Groban. As he's an incredible young man, he deserves an inspiration post all by himself...

Apparently I need a lot of inspiration these days... The snow is still all around and spring - which was in the air about a week ago - is nowhere near to be seen. Bear with me, dear friends, I beg you!

(Celine's pics come from various websites)

Inspiration: Oilily

Another brand name I am extremely fond of. I love their colours and patterns.

I was very badly craving this coat last winter. It was so expensive though that I couldn't afford it even when it was on sale.

The brand produces some lovely fragrances. I believe they're mainly targeted at young girls but hey! Who could blame me? I've got their 'Blue Sparkle'. It's delicious (smells of fresh fruit) but I'm totally in love with this packaging.

What can I say about this summer dress? Not much, apart from it being the perfect combination of colour and pattern. Me likey!

I totally adore this bag as well. I've never seen it in our shops, I've only found this pic on the net. I wouldn't mind owning this beauty. I shouldn't complain, though, I do own a gorgeous Oilily bag. You can be sure that you'll see it at a very near point in the future...

Last but not least - a lovely detail. I'd say this is a skirt or a dress for little girls. Gorgeous, isn't it?

I really need some inspiration right now - we've been completely (and I mean COMPLETELY) snowed in again. It's March 10, for heaven's sake!

(All pics from various Oilily websites)

Reflection on SCWC Week

Right, here we go! I never thought I could manage this photo round-up, but somehow luck was on my side! I can't download seven images into one blog entry, though, so I'm afraid I'll have to add the weekend pics in the additional entry. Oh, never mind. This is more than I could possibly wish for...

All outfits are basically very similar, but it was fun to play with different colours by matching the accessories with the pattern of the cardis. Some outfits came out even better than I thought, and some had to be changed because they looked fine in my mind and not so fine in real life. My favourite outfit of the first part of the challenge (Monday through Friday) is definitely Wednesday, and out of the entire week I'll go for Sunday, which is a mixture of Wednesday top and Tuesday bottom part.

Reflection - Weekend Pics

I very much enjoyed the week of the challenge and I sincerely hope it will be done again in another season - Summer Capsule Wardrobe Challenge? Autumn Capsule Wardrobe Challenge? Holiday Capsule Wardrobe Challenge...? Open for suggestions!

Which was your favourite outfit?

Spring Capsule Wardrobe Challenge Days Six & Seven

I'm in a bit of a hurry tonight, off to the choir practice, so more or less just the pics of the weekend outfits.

This is Saturday. The weather seems lovely, right? It was NOT. It was freezing outside. I only managed about two minutes without my coat, hat, scarf and handwarmers...

I allowed myself to add one accessory, as I started with three last Monday: I borrowed it from my Mum, this oh-so-gorgeous-I've-been-in-love-with-it-forever Laura Ashley scarf she bought in London about sixteen years ago. I adore it, it's the only thing I ask her to put my name on in her will (not that I want to own it any time soon, though...).

As I said, on Sunday I partly repeated my Wednesday outfit. Which I actually liked even more...

I promise to do a reflection on the Challenge and my outfits tomorrow. Bye!

Spring Capsule Wardrobe Challenge Day Five

This was supposed to be the last day of the challenge but... Saturday and Sunday are on as well! I'm still enjoying the mixing and the matching, but I've already picked my favourite outfit of the last five days - I'm planning to partly recreate it on Sunday; I'm not telling you which day, though, you'll just have to wait and see!

I won't be posting over the weekend, I'll show you my Saturday & Sunday outfits on Monday. Enjoy the days off and I'll see you next week!

Spring Capsule Wardrobe Challenge Day Four

Yay, we're doing the challenge for two more days! Jane suggested on her blog to stretch our outfits over the weekend as well - I'm all for it! I realise that some bloggers have a problem with not having added any casual items into their ten-item selection, which makes it difficult for them to complete a weekend outfit. I work from home, though, so my outfits are always on the casual side and I will definitely be able to put together two more for Saturday and Sunday. I'm really looking forward to that, I've been thinking about the possibilities since this morning! And I've come up with an idea or two...

I wanted to wear the top part of today's outfit on Tuesday (plus the tights), only with the camel corduroy skirt. But, having taken one look at myself in the mirror, I decided it wasn't quite right. I pictured it with this jeans skirt and it felt better. It does feel better! I love how the turquoise top peeps out at the bottom of the cardi and how it complements the tights.

I'm glad to be taking part in this challenge, at least there's something for me to look forward to, since the weather here in Slovenia has gone back to winter... It's snowing again today! Many of you pointed out that you could already smell the spring - just around the corner... I could, too, and I was ready to pack my winter coats away. Alas, no such luck!

Spring Capsule Wardrobe Challenge Day Three

A miracle happened today! As my husband left for work a little bit later than usual, I had my pics taken in the morning! I haven't yet figured out where I could take the pics myself, so I always need a photographer...

This is my choice for Day Three of the challenge. I'm absolutely and utterly in love with this red cardi, I think it's one of the best purchases I've ever made. It's really soft and warm, plus it was on sale. How can you beat that?

I hope you're enjoying this challenge as much as I am. Looking forward to tomorrow! The mental image of the outfit has already been completed...