What goes around, comes around

Do good and good will come your way. Just a quote picked up from the packaging on my newest discovery, the Rituals of Karma interior perfume.

Every bottle lasts a long time when they come in 500ml bottles

The Rituals of Karma scent is one of my favorites. So now that it is release in the interior perfume I want to pick it up the next time I pass by the store. Still avoiding unneccessary shopping trips due to the Covid19 pandemic going around in the world. I know I could just order it online, but I like stroling thru the Rituals store. I recommend dropping by a Rituals store if possible, their stores are so nicely decorated giving a sense of calmness and peace. Did I mention they have a sale going on?

Now I’m just wondering when Rituals will release Ritual of Sakura in an interior perfume?

-do you have a Rituals scent favorite?

Couch storage

With a new couch came the wish (need?) for more storage. In our previous couch I always had a «project» or two taking up a seat. To DaddyO slight frustration, it always looked abit messy. When a few springs gave in, we opted for a new couch. After looking around and trying a few couches, we landed on the Vallentuna series by IKEA. This is a modular couch that you can put together as you please. We went for the storage in every seat version. Now my projects can be put away when I’m not working on them. You can use IKEAs planner to try out the different setups to find your favorite and get a shopping list of all the parts you will need. Our setup has the code 4FQNNJ in IKEAs planner wizard (which you can find here). The girls still make a mess when sitting on the couch, so we went for the faux leather cover for easier cleaning.

assembled, but not finished cleaning up

I happen to come over a few pins on Pintrest on couch storage and fell in love with the option to have charger cables tucked away in a shelf behind the couch. I did some more digging and started planning my own version. My shelf ended up being a little more complex that the version I started with. A hinged shelf with storage beneath. So I would have less clutter on the living room table. Win, win!

hinged

I bought wood planks the width I wanted for the shelf and some square planks to fasten the shelf on. When I was happy with my setup, all visible surfaces got three coats of wood stain from IKEA. Within the shelf I place a power cord for the mobile phone chargers. No more cables stretched across the couch.

blending in

-how do you keep clutter away from the couch area?

Rituals

When I visited my friend Daffym a while back I totally fell in love with the scent of the Rituals of Dao series. Rituals is a brand of signature fragrances for body and home. So I had to look into this brand. When looking at the website I found that Rituals have several series. But the website does not give justice to the different scents that are in the different series available. Not until it will be possible to smell thru you screen.

So when CasaR went to Kiel this fall holiday, I had to make a trip to the Rituals store in the Sophienhof shopping center. Don’t get me wrong, there are stores here in Oslo. I just haven’t prioritized to spend time visiting one. The store is set up with a very zen feeling which in turn promotes peace and traquility. DaddyO even commented that he was surprised that in a store with so many fragrances he didn’t feel bombarded with the different smells. Though with kids along I felt a bit like an elephant in a china shop as many of the containers in the store were made of glas or porcelain. I found several Ritual series I also liked and wanted to try. Needless to say I left quite a few $$$ in the store.

My favorites so far...

- Rituals of Dao

- Rituals of Sakura (you were spot on Daffym)

- Rituals of Karma

- Rituals of the Happy buddha (not sure about this one yet, but the girls loved it)

I opted for the room perfume option to get the fragrance in house. Unfortunately not all the Rituals series I liked, come in the home perfume variety. So I thought I would give the hair and body mist variety a try. Unfortunatly there’s a big difference in size and pricepoint between the two varieties...

Home fragrance in 500ml vs Hair & body mist in 50ml

The plan is to use these perfumes with the humidifier we have at home. We have several at home, but this is the one I have tried with the Rituals fragrance today. I bought this one on Aliexpress here.

I have the one with the dark wood look

This specific humidifier has a 550ml tank. That’s several hours of operation without needing to replenish the water. And with a few sprits of the home perfume, my home was filled with the Rituals of Dao in no time. My friend Daffym has gotten the perfume genie by Rituals. Being an Asian geek this should be right up my alley. A gadget that makes everything smell nice and can be controlled wirelessly using a smart phone (only for Android OS, so won’t work for iphones). Since CasaR is in Norway and we have a fireplace we use frequently, we need a humidifier to add some moisture to the air. The winters in Norway are dry enough...

A screenie fra the Rituals website

In the time to come I will try the different fragrances I picked up...maybe it’s time to figure out the different buttons on the remote control for the humidifier?

I’ve only been using the on/off button =D

- have you entered the world of Rituals?

- do you have a home fragrance?

Will I make it in time?

Winter is coming and the perfect time to snuggle up on the couch and do some knitting.

I finally finished my pillow project, a pillow pattern based on a picture I saw online of the quatrefoil pattern. Using about 5 skeins of cotton yarn from Søstrene Grene on 2,5mm needles (I think it was).

finally done

Now over to my new project, Marius dress for both SweetieS and SweetieL before they take kindergarden pictures.

Earlier this fall I went to my local library and borrowed the book “Marius strikkebok” with lovely knitting patterns with the popular Norwegian pattern Marius. This time I desided to modify a vest pattern into a dress for the girls. Colors were choosen by the girls and yarn was ordered from Garnius (pst! Drops alpaca yarn is on sale till the end of this year!)

 
in the starting pit of SweetieLs dress

The dates for kindergarten pictures has still to be announced. But since I am making not one, but two dresses. I hope I make it in time…

- what are you doing these cold Autumn days?
- what’s your latest knitting project?

Medallions

SweetieS has gone on hicks with her grand-parents several times. And for kids who finish the hicks, medallions are rewarded. Needless too say, SweetieS has a few…eventhough she is “only” 3 years old…

Long have I had a project in mind….and now I finally sat down and composed this post.

Earlier this year I picked up this frame at a local flea market (in Oslo these are typically hosted at elementary schools)…If you are interested in attending a flea market – and contributing to the local youth activites, you can find an updated list here

With a few coats of paint and some fabric I had laying around, SweetieS now has a place to put her medallions. This DIY project was inspired by this post on Pintrest.

I know, they aren’t hung perfectly straight..

- how do you organize your medalions?

Recapping the last few weeks

The first weeks of 2015 have been hectic on my part. With three rounds of stomach flu for my two girls I have had my hands full.
The girls have finally gone to bed - sans stomach bugs. I’m sitting in “my” corner of the couch listening to the hail hitting our windows and enjoying a moment of peace. While writing up this post I’m in the back of my mind planning my next knitting project.
Yesterday I finished this pillow. No pattern, just a lot of calculation on my part and some help from Drops in this pattern here. The inspiration for this pillow came from the Oro lammeull pillow available @Princess stores in Norway. I just felt 299NOK for a pillow case was too expensive, why not make my own.

 
my take on the Oro pillow, front and back

I knitted my pillow in Royal Tweed yarn by Lana Grossa. I used less than 5 skeins on 5mm needles for a  40x45cm pillow. This is a medium grey mix (color code 48). Love the softness and play of color. I got the yarn super cheap at a storage sale Tjorven arranged over a year ago. The yarn has just been sitting in my storage waiting for a fun project like this.
Tjorven is actually arranging another storage sale in about two weeks time. I plan on going! I have been really good the past year and used a lot of the yarn I have hoarded since starting this hobby. So this storage sale is great for stocking up on yarns I normally find a little too expensive for my taste. Here is more info if you have the time (January 25th 2015) and the money….Ticket sales are closed (for guaranteed spot in the queue - are already sold out), but you can still get some great yarn deals just by attending.
The past weeks I have intensified my efforts to getting my drivers license. Being a mother of two soon-to-be-kindergarteners I need to be able to drive to and from kindergarten for pick-ups. Two years ago I contacted Bil og Buss Trafikkskole and started my drivers license training. But time has just run from me…now I’m hoping to work hard and get my license within the year. Hopefully over the Summer, depending on how much time I will have to do some driving. Have to make a mental note to save money for driving lessons though. A 45min lesson costs 590NOK! I’m lucking and DaddyO is willing to give me driving lessons, so don’t have to get my general driving training from the driving school, saving me tons of money. But getting a drivers license in Norway is an expensive thing.

Another new thing I stared this year, the art of letter writing. As a side effect of my efforts to getting more organized using binders, I got myself a pen pal. I’ve actually had fun creating pages for my binder to keep track of my pen paling. a pen pal record - to keep track of addresses and personal information

a happy mail log - to keep track of my sent and received snail mail.

Not sure if/how I should put this online for downloading, but drop me a mail if you would like a copy of these.
So now I have more binders than I care to admit, but I feel more organized. It started so simple…with calendar binders to journal/log for my two girls. (more about those in this post) and the number of binder have increased rapidly.
Enough ranting for now…going to catch an episode of The 100 - my newest series to watch. Have a great Thursday evening.
- How has your year started?
- Any goals for the new year?

Finally done and beautiful globes

I’ve been working on these pillow cases for ages. Well the knitting part was done in a couple of weeks, but adding the zipper took forever. Over the course of the last few weeks I have added the zippers. And now I’m finally done! Just four more pillow cases to go…but before I can start with them I have a few Christmas gifts that I need to finish first.

Knitted in Lana Grossa Classic Tweed, color 002 – a speckled brown/beige color. Lovely.
December is here and time for some Winter magic. These days I’ve been busy with another project. Making ice globes for Lysnisseprosjektet/Making a magical December. I found a tutorial thanks to Pintrest. So I’ve been experimenting with balloons and various amounts of water. It’s not cold enough outside to make these globes, so I’ve made them one at a time in my freezer.

my two globes yesterday…

I have placed mine on a bed of pine needle branches on top of a storage case I have on our front patio. Today I added another one…but forgot to take a picture. Instructions on making these can be found here. Thank you Anne! The tutorial is in Norwegian, but the video shows the steps so well no need for sound.
- How do you create your Winter magic?

Crocheted square baskets

I’ve seen many round crocheted baskets, but I wanted a square one for my cabinet. I came across the blog by Bekki Bjarnoll and this post with pattern for square baskets. Inspired by this blog post I gave it a go. Though I didn’t follow Bekkis’ pattern.
I started with 15 slip stitches (sl st) and worked round and round with double crochets (dc). In the place where I wanted the corners to be, I double up on dc. When the bottom is the size of the basket I wanted, I started working my way up. In the corners I skipped a dc. When I had the height I wanted for my basket I finished of with a sl st – to get a straight edge.
I used black (color 15) Paris yarn by Drops. It’s a 100% cotton yarn. For one basket I used two skeins of yarn with a 4mm needle. Fits perfect into my IKEA Skär shoe cabinet – seems like this shoe cabinet has been discontinued by IKEA.

please don’t mind the mess…I’m getting to it…

Though it’s called a shoe cabinet, we don’t store shoes in the drawers. The drawers are filled with outdoor accessories for BabyS and BabyL – like scarves, mittens, hats etc…This cabinet is mounted against the wall in our hallway.

- have you crochet any baskets? square or round ones?
- how do you store your outdoor accessories?

Some finishing touches

With BabyL coming a week before her due date and BabyS celebrating her 2 year birthday, things have been somewhat hectic the past month. The other day while BabyL was sleeping I finished attaching the decals for her room.

I got these decals super cheap on Ebay. There are SO many beautiful and cute decals available. They are easy to put up and can be changed super easy. This time I went with a pink teddy and a sleeping monkey….

For some reason the decals wouldn’t stick quite as wells as on the walls in BabyS room. After going online, I got the tip to use some watered down wood glue on the backside of the decals. That way the decals wouldn’t be permanent and leave no residue when removed later.

Still have a few things that need to go into BabyLs room…but with the decals up, I’m one step closer to personalizing this nursery too.

- when did you finish decorating your babys nursery?
- do you use decals?

Absence

Sorry for being so absent lately. Between being sick myself and BabyS being sick I don’t have much energy left over.

Just wanted to do a small post about the super cool lamp I bought for BabyS room.

It’s called Buddy Space and is part of the series MyKidsRoom by Philips. MyKidsRoom is a new series of lamps designed for kids rooms. The store I bought our Buddy told me they had only had this new series in stock for a week and where almost all sold out already. While I was paying for my lamp two more customers where in line to pay for lamps in the same series. Guess Philips hit the nail on the head with this design series.

 

BabyS’ new Space Buddy

(I don’t get paid to talk about products, just wanted to share)

there are way more lamps in the series, but the Philips website was down when I was writing this post…

Now I just need to confirm a date with the electrican to have it installed…

- have you come over any laps you like lately?
- what do you think of the new series by Philips?

Chic?

Shabby? or Shappy Chic? Today I finally put the finishing touches on a little project I’ve been playing around with for a while now.

A decoupage box for storing our parking permits. The parking lot for guests in our co-op is very strict on all cars needing a parking permit. No permit = a hefty fine!

It started out as a box of baby cereal…from Nestlé

Some free hand cutting until I was happy with the shape…

I tore apart an old book – into different shapes, inked the edges with Ranger Distress Ink in the color “Tea Dye” before I decoupaged it onto the box with Mod Podge.  Added a book label on the front as a finishing touch.

And voila!

Here with a few permits inside…

It was fun playing around with decoupage. Only done it one time before, and that project I gave away…

Only downside is that you have to work with the Mod Podge in a well ventilated room, or as I did – took breaks often. So you might need some patients…

- have you done any decoupaging?
- do you live in a co-op with strict/“crazy” parking rules?

Gong Hay Fat Choy

This Sunday we enter the year of the snake.Yes, it is Chinese New Year! So time to brush up on some Chinese well-wishing phrases.

Found these online (with Mandarin):
(xīn nián kuài lè) Happy New Year!
(nián nián yǒu yú) Always get more than you wish for (a wish for surplus and bountiful harvests every year)
(shēn tǐ jiàn kāng) Enjoy good health
(gōng zuò shùn lì) Everything goes well with your work
(mǎ dào chéng gōng) Success immediately upon arrival (usually to express a wish to succeed in doing something, such as taking part in an examination, a presentation, a negotiation, or a competition)
Most important of all:

Gong Hay Fat Choy - Happy and prosperous

BabyS has picked up something with Chinese New Year and conveniently folds her hands as she lifts them up and down. Almost looks like she is wishing everybody “Gong Hay, Gong Hay”.

now if I could get BabyS to do it on command….then the lei sees will be pouring in

CasaR has been decorated for the event…

well-wishes and the colors red and gold…that’s CNY

With BabyS enriching our lives I now want to make CNY celebrating a tradition. Hopefully I will follow up next year…and we can call it a tradition. Last years celebration was done in Singapore…old school with lots of family visits.

This years CNY dinner will be held @CasaR with my family members that live in Norway. We have planned a simple steamboat dinner with an abundance of food…just as a CNY dinner should be. I’ll try and post some pictures after the event.

- what are your plans for Chinese New Year?
- have you prepared a bunch of lei sees for all the your ones?

Now off to clean up  BabyS toys from all over…

Invasion of the Christmas ornaments

It’s the first Sunday of advent and CasaR has finally been decorated for Christmas. There’s nothing like newly fallen snow outside, lit candles, the Christmas star in the window and Christmas decoration throughout the house…

Love my new little Santas I got from Søstrene Grene last week, they have gotten a few nice window corners in the living room. BabyS is more fascinated by the glass bells with led lights…she’s been staring at them for ages since we hung them up today…

How do you decorate your house for Christmas? Do you have a favorite ornament that gets you in the Christmas mood straight away?

Let there be light!

Winter is fast approaching and the hours of daylight we get here in Norway are getting fewer and fewer by the day. The winter darkness is approaching….

Well my sweet mother-in-law brought a cozy, little light into our home when visiting my grandmother-in-law up north – in Ørsta to be exact. Well I lit them up and sat down to catch up on my blog reading when babyS fell asleep.

let there be light

Nice how a little glass jar can be dressed up with a crocheted sleeve…

Thank you grandma for this little light in the darkness!

Soft and stylish

These days we have started feeling that we are starting to know our little Baby S daily pattern. Well the other day Baby S was in a nice mood and granted us a little time to do some shopping. These days there are end of summer sales everywhere. One of the stores I wound up dropping a few Norwegian krones was Kid. With almost the whole store at 50% off we found some throw pillows for our couch that met '”our high standards”.
The big one is called Endine and measures 50x50 cm in size. The small and narrow one is called Rayar and measures 30x50 cm. We bought both in Earth tones…also known as beige. Both are also available in blue tones for those who want to add a little more color. I thought the beige ones would go well with our cream colored walls.

for now color on our couch is added by our Super Mario 1-UP mushroom pillows…

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A little art in the nursery

Other than the vinyl decals I posted about in this post on the nursery walls, they have been left pretty naked.

When I made a handprint and a footprint of baby S, I was creatively inspired.

When asking my mother about vital data round my birth I’ve always gotten an approximate reply. This way baby S will always know exactly when she was born and her “size”.

I used my Cuttlebug and cut out pink letters using the Quickutz Harvest alphabet. I used Spellbinders Labels Three squares for the hand- and footprint (I used Versamark ink and some white – unbranded - embossing powder for the prints). The flourish is from the Jazzy swirls stamp set by Autumn leaves. All done with pink and brown colored cardstock from Creative Company. Final step, put in a nice frame, I used IKEAs Virserum frame in white.

Yes, the rocking chair is from IKEA – ideal for relaxing with baby S.

Today I signed up for beta testing of inlinkz, exited to try it out. See the result at the bottom of my post.

IKEA Viserum frame	Spellbinders Label Three dies	*Versamark WATERMARK Rubber Stamp Emboss Chalk Resist INK PAD	Cuttlebug machine	Quickutz Harvest alphabet 4x8 die
Creative company cardstock - Brown	Creative Company cardstock - Pastels	Autumn Leaves stamp - Jazzy swirls	IKEA Poäng rocking chair

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