happy two months, javi

2 days and counting

Javi's not in a good mood today. Basically, he's either asleep, or drinking, or crying - no other options seem possible.

Maybe he's just excited for Christmas. I am.

3 days and counting

When I found out I was pregnant in spring this year, one of the first things that came to my mind was 'Geez, there will be a little baby with us at Christmas'. It felt so far away I never would have thought we would finally reach this point. Now it's only 3 days away... Sorry for that slightly melancholic interlude, I'll stop now.

Let's get to one of my favourite parts about Christmas: Presents. I love getting handmade presents, and I also love giving them. This year I thought I wouldn't be able at all to find time to make something - turns out, I was.


I made this tiny pillows for my friend's tiny people.

This bath salt contains sea salt, jojoba oil and a combination of rose, vanilla, sandalwood and tangerine, which is my favourite combo at the moment. We also made a couple of glasses of onion chutney and framed pictures of Javi for the family - I consider that 'handmade', as well.

So all in all, I'm pretty happy with my schedule this year, just need to wrap the pressies and I'm set.

What about you?

writings on the wall

I have that thing for handwritten, stiched, cut, forged letters, writings and the like. There's a certain kind of magic to it.

{giac1061}

{Three Red Apples}

{emilyonasunday}

{stealinghearts}

{un arc en ciel dans le lavabo}

Later today, I'm meeting some of my oldest girl friends who are in town for christmas. Every year, we're meeting for a long walk, this year a) in deep snow and b) with 2 new babies. Yay for snow and babies.

Do yo have any similar traditions?

Ps. We got the prettiest belated birth present for Javi yesterday - I'll share pictures soon...

kids stuff

{found here}

I adore this room, it's so calm and cozy. Although it's quite dark I really like the colour palette. And hello, little owl.

{Dora iz Londona}

The cutest little Princess And The Pea.

{cluckclucksew}

I love the colours of this room. There's something magical to it.

{Kasaa}

This is the loveliest baby pullover I've ever seen. Plus, it's handknitted. Chapeau.

{- Haust -}

Simple yet so beautiful. I really like white.

{Larimar Shop}

I think I need to get this little hat. So sweet.

words of good cheer

I

♥

Christmas.

{JerusalemTheArtsyMomma}

{Köttbullekvist}

{nestdecorating}

vote for me. please.

I'm usually not a big fan of competitions, but I really do like this one. The host is BurdaStyle in cooperation with ModCloth, which is one of my favourite places to buy dresses. The winner will get a $100,- voucher.

The task: Sew/crochet/knit a fashion accessiore, inspired by a ModCloth item. I made a bag and a brooch. Come on and join the competition! Oh, and please vote for me here and here.

Thanks! :)

st. nikolaus

Happy St. Nikolaus everyone!

When I was a child he scared the hell out of me. We've been told he puts chocolate into your boot - but only if you've been good. In case you had been cheeky throughout the year he'd come with a birch instead - ouch! I've been lucky and always found sweets and little presents...

Since then it's a tradition that my family gets together for a big bowl of French onion soup and a glass of champagne and we're giving each other little presents. This year, I bought a little plant, made gingerbread houses and filled hand-sewn stockings with chocolate.


So, as you can see, nowadays I can be a bit more relaxed about things... Plus, it's snowing big time today. Lucky me.

happy adventing.

I was planning on posting these pictures yesterday, but then a calm day turned into a busy day so I had to postpone it. SO: Here's the 2010 version of the advent calendar:

I just talked to a friend on the phone who made a similar one - except she has two kids. So she made 48 little bags. Oh. my. god.

Also, I gave my chandelier a festive outfit:

Here's our kitchen view into the garden (I was gonna get a better picture but then it was way to cold to leave the house again):

These wintery days have actually been the first couple of days I managed to sew again. I made three pairs of pants for me, they are so comfortable and easy to sew that I'd like to get one of these really soft thick nice fabrics and make some for Javi, too. Similar to these from momolorelei, which I find absolutely adorable:

Ps. I'm invited to a Stich'n'Bitch on Friday - have you ever done anything similar?

winter time - bunting time!

Well, actually this is just an excuse to produce and put up even *more* buntings and garlands than usual.
It started snowing this morning and it hasn't stopped since then. Lovely!

Ps. Advent calendar is up! I'll share a picture soon.

mei tai - and not the cocktail...

So far, the only thing I would associate with "Mei Tai" was the drink. Now, I am a mother and am being introduced to a whole new world of things, expressions, and knowledge. It's like a parallel world I knew of but didn't think it would be so big. Those of you who have/are expecting babies probably know what I am talking about!

To cut a long story short: I sewed a Mei Tai. I had never heard about this before, but as I entered the world of baby carrying and did some research on the internet, I quickly stumbled upon it. First, I wanted a wrap to carry Javi, but as I am not patient at all I figured it would be too complicated for me. The Mei Tai instead (got the pattern here) is a lot easier to use (plus you can chose the fabric to match your outfit;)).

Et voilà, here it is:

(Sorry for the crappy picture, priorities are getting shifted)

And - surprise, surprise, he really quite likes it which I didn't expect since it's really quite tight in there ;)

Now I just need to train my back to be able to carry him longer that 45 minutes. Oh, and I need to practice eating and drinking while carrying him - today, I spilled a bit of couscous and apple juice on his little head.

12 months project

As Javi is one month old today, I took his very first picture for the 12 months project. I read about this idea at cakies and found it fabulous. I think it's such a sweet thing to look at and to follow the little one's development.

I'm still busy with sewing advent calendar cones, I'm confident they'll be finished by the end of the month. Also, I started putting up some christmas decorations - have you?

Ps. This is what my crafting space looks like at the moment - so chaotic. But as much as I'm opposed to physical chaos in the rest of my life, I don't mind it too much - sometimes, I even think oit helps with being creative. What about you, what kind of crafter are you? Well organized or super chaotic?

kleinformat

It seems like the perfect coincidence that this lovely magazine was launched just as I am having a baby. I am quite disgusted by most of the existing magazines for parents, I don't know who they are made for but it feels definitely not for me.

So I'm extra thankful to Dolores who has come up with kleinformat, a magazine for creative parents. It has fabulous artwork, photos, and ideas. It presents many amazingly talented and creative people. I'm super excited about the third issue which will be a christmas one, and I just had to get a subscritpion.

So anyone who is annoyed by all these boring magazines for parents out there (and has a fair knowledge of German) - go get it! Please help to keep this wonderful project alive.

Have a cosy Sunday night!

Ps. Thanks Dolores for letting me use your pictures!

Pps. You see the lovely little romper suit to the very right in the picture above? I just got it for Javi, plus another Bobo Choses one with Leica cameras on it... Super cute.

la nursery.

Finally I managed to share some pics of the nursery. The curtains are still missing, but since we live in an old building with high ceiling we would need one of these super long ladders to put them up. Which we don't have. Yes, we could borrow one - that's been our plan for the past 4 months. To be honest, I don't think these curtains will ever be up.

I love this piece - it has been in J's family for a very long time.

I got this lovely wooden postcard when we were in Berlin this summer.

This was the first piece we bought for Javi. It is really tiny and doesn't really fit anymore. He just wore it once: On our way from the hospital home, which makes it even more special to me.

Have a lovely Friday!

advent preparations

Last year, I made this advent calendar for just J and me. We just had 8 cones - one for each advent Sunday for each of us. This year, I'm thinking of an upgrade: I want to prepare a total of 24 bags - 8 for J, 8 for me and 8 for Javi (who won't really be able to unwrap the presents, teehee, but still I kind of want this lovely tradition to be in his life from the very beginning). I'm excited to make new little bags - I especially like about this whole project that you don't really need "christmasy" fabrics to make it look festive!

What about your advent preparations, have you already started? Do you have advent calendars, hand-crafted or bought?

he's here.

Finally. Welcome, Javi.

Ps. Sorry for having been absent for such a long time - now you know why ;) I hope you're doing just as well as we are and enjoying fall just as much as we are. I'll have a different view on the beauty of turning and falling leaves from now on...