Moline

Hello Yellow

Dear readers! We've been away for a while to settle down, have a vacation back to Germany and to our old house, visiting Istanbul because the children wanted to see the city the were born in, meeting friends and enjoying the Turkish food. 

I am happy some of you asked about us because you haven't heard from us for a while. We are still here and enjoying our new country. The heavy rainfalls did not affect us or any people connected to us so far and we are happy to have rented a very sturdy old brick house where heavy rain like the last one here seemingly can do no harm. 

The rain is continuing, but on a lighter basis. So we are enjoying our time at home, crafting again, playing board games, reading, writing letters and just spending time together as long as the school holiday will be over.

Today I would like to greet you with some Yellow I just posted here.

These pictures are part of one of my boards on Pinterest: Yellow Love. Needless to say I love Pintertest. It is addictive but a perfect way to gather all these things you don't want to forget and you may need for inspiration or for a quick cheering up. And I can sort by colour there - one of my favourite pasttimes... But although I love Pinterest I won't forget my first and old love: flickr.

During our holiday my old laptop broke down and a very young guy at the Apple store told me five years is too much for a powerbook the way I am using it. So no photo posting during our vacation (except from the phone) and no hours of lingering around with flickr-friends. And there is so much to share and to tell. That will have to wait for another day. I am slowly getting back on track here with a daily routine.

I am glad I am back at the computer again to share my love for colour be it via Pinterest of flickr like this beauty: 

I hope you are well and you are having a wonderful time of year ( be it winter or summer- wherever you are located) - I missed you!

Yvonne

Quirky shops, April weather and another sick child

Hello again from Seoul in ever changing April mood. The weather is unpredictable and is changing from summery warm to rainy and cold and back. But that's April, right, so no complaints about that. We had that before with me going on about the weather and that did not help much! 

Instead I can share again my love for all these shops and stalls I can find here around our appartment house.  We are living in a high rise right now until the ship with our container arrives and we can move into our house. I never lived in a high rise before and I love the view, especially at nighttime with all the city lights!

The streets are lined with lanterns in preparation of Buddha's birthday on the 10th of may. There will be also a huge lantern festival. I cannot wait to see this. Last time I saw the procession for Buddha's birthday I was in Sri Lanka on my honeymoon and it was magical to see all these lights and lanterns and the beautifully dressed people.

To the shops: In this area, where a lot of art galleries are located you find a lot of shops selling paper, brushes and ink and stamps to make art. I have always been a fan of these red stamps and I think now is the time to look out for one for each of us, being in this surrounding.

I can already imagine the letters to be sent and the scrapbooking pages and diary pages to be altered wiith a stamp like this. The hard part will be to chose the size and style...

Aren"t these beauties just amazing? 

And these brushes - I could go to this shop every day. (And I do, because it is at the corner of our house and George is always sniffing the wooden pencils, remember?)

And then the sick child: Pauline is fine now and Moritz had ear ache for two days and today there was liquid running out of his ear. So we went to see the doctor nearby and found out that is was not only a flue but a severe ear infection plus tonsillitis. So antibiotics and bed rest for a few days. And everybody who knows our son knows that NOT moving is the worst for him. But the good of it: Another experience to grow and get to know the city. The doctor was so nice and we felt in good hands. 

For me it means less ramblings around town and time to start some Easter crafts. pauline is so keen on making origami rabbits that I bought a batch of paper so she can start. And I will work dilligently on my little monthly diary I have been neglecting during the move! 

Wishing you a wonderful day and take care!

Yvonne

 

 

Good morning Seoul

Good morning Seoul, here we are!

The benefits of having a dog to walk every morning is -next to the improvement of your health- the possibility of endlessly roaming the neighbourhood. And if you have a Basset Hound like ours you are mostly standing and watching whilst he is sniffling around his new territory. And because you are a slow walker then, more a promeneur, you see more!

For example when he takes you to the stalls where they are selling wooden pencils loking like cut little christmas trees

the place where we are staying in our temporary appartment is in the middle of Seoul, called Insadong. This area is famous for their art galleries and food stalls. it is a walkable neighbourhood and I love it in the morning when the streets are deserted. That changes a lot over the day and during rush hour (I mean pedestrian rush hour in this case) you cannot pass with a dog on your leash easily. 

I also love it at nighttime, when the food vendors are out on the street in their little tents and also the numerous fortune tellers in tents lining the streets. I will try and take some pictures at nighttime. it is such a special atmosphere!

1. Gallery in Insadong, 2. Insadong, 3. Insadong Cafe, 4. Insadong Side Street, 5. Insadong - "lovebirds", 6. Insadong Brushes, 7. Insadong Jongi, 8. Insadong, 9. Birdies

On the second day we explored our neighborhood where we chose to live for the next couple of years. It is a 15 to 20 minutes drive from where we are now up into the hillier part of Seoul. You would not think being in Seoul after all seing the winding streets, lush gardens and parks if it were not for the glimpse through the trees and over the hills to the incredible skyline of this magacity!

The children refused to eat anything Asian that day. But in a city like this - like in any megalopolis - this is no problem at all. Pizza, handmade was the wish and we found one of these cool little places where they focus just on the essentials: Handmade Pizza, freshly brewed coffe, nothing else. The quality was so good and what is better that sharing a super thin fresh pizza with loved ones...

And you can bet I liked the place with its concrete, wood and metal finishings in its reduced design!

Because of our super long dog and our three blonde children, we are often looked at and approached to get into contact. beeing born in Istanbul and having been brought up in Istanbul and Mexico City this poses no problem for all of us. We are used to getting into contact easily and also think it is normal, that people touch each other or stroking children's hair. That was a thing most of our visitors had to get used to in Istanbul - people connect and are very affective and caring and the Germans normally do not want their children be touched by foreigners. 

There was school out time in Seongbuk-do and so Pauline and Jakob immediately got into contact with some local school girls. We all tried to pronounce each others names but unfortunately we are not that far into the language to master this! I have to go to university to take a language course soon!!!

Sunday was time for the nearby Samcheong-dong: old traditional houses mixed with super new galleries and shops and cafes in concrete and fancy design. it is a great mix and so different to any other place I've been.

What I like most is that all these areas are walkable. Nothing new for Europeand but it might be new for some Americans who sometimes do everything by car and do not have a life on the sidewalk in some places. 

I was not in a photo taking mood so I uploaded a mosaic from Flickr and immediately recognized the mood of it: it was like the pictures i uploaded into mosaics before I moved here and I cannot believe the NOW and THEN of it! I AM actually here and it is all very exiting!

1. 차마시는뜰 Cha Masineun Tteul / Seoul, Korea, 2. seoul, 3. Untitled, 4. surrealism, 5. {January 24} coffee shop, 6. Panini & Coffee, 7. jamkodae means sleep-talking in korean., 8. *, 9. *, 10. Samcheong Dong Area, 11. Samcheong Dong Area, 12. Samcheong Dong Area, 13. bread & jam, 14. Paper Lanterns, 15. On the hillside in Bukchon Village, Seoul, 16. 단풍, 17. Untitled, 18. 牆, 19. FIS Samcheong-dong, 20. samcheong-dong, 21. samcheong-dong, 22. samcheong-dong, 23. Samcheong-dong, 24. FIS Samcheong, 25. -

Don't you just love the mix and match of old and new, modern and traditional? I do!

New beginnings

Hello there! 

Here we are now - in Seoul - at last! And what a way to go! We had so much to do back in Germany and luck clearly wasnt on our side. But we managed and now we are here, exhausted but happy!

Over the last weeks in Germany I started repainting the house to have a nice welcome when we are coming back for some time during summer. I took some things that were hidden in the basement upstairs and had some colour alterations on the wall. Not that I did not have anything else to do but as a born procrastinator I had to put something in between to not make me deal with the essential stuff...

Whe I went to see the vet for a routine vaccination I was told that George might need an operation. And so it went: He had to get rid of his manliness and stones in the bladder. Being and old guy this was not so much a surprise but it wasn't quite the right moment I thought... So we had the operation done and then I had to deal with a very stubborn Basset hound, who wanted to get rid of his after-op-swimsuit and his bandages the whole day. He made me take him to the vet every other day to change the bandages and have the stitches stapled again and again! 

To top this Pauline hasn't got rid of an ear infection since January and the doctor feared the long flight might worsen her pain ... So she had an ear operation scheduled for the next day and once she was there they also corrected her lower tongue attachement... Oh my!

But both our patients recovered very well and we could proceed the day to day routing, only interrupted by a truckload full of gravel to change the garden and make it easier to maintain during our stay in Seoul. 

Of course I did not have to do this myself but the dirt and the organization were on my part...

But we enjoyed a lovely coffe and cake afternoon outside with a fully recovered daughter and dog and some guest who said farewell to our family.

On Tuesday we finally headed towards Hamburg to catch the flight to Frankfurt and then Seoul.

We had some delay but reached Seoul a day later. 

And there is so much to see and explore now. I will take you with me on this trip. I will show you some pictures of our new environment this evening.

Take care and enjoy your week end!

Yvonne

 

The February colour challenge

As promised I am showing you the inspiration for my February A-page-d-day-journal. It will be totally different. More girly and fresh and spring-awaiting. Whilst writing in my January journal I already made a colour test on one of the pages: 

And this is the mosaic I made with Flickr-photos: 

1. ~ Happy weekend, 2. Today Felt, 3. what is to be is up to me, 4. 02 | 15 | 2011, 5. breakfast at leopolds, 6. {M}, 7. shelf, 8. may 11/31 - on Explore ♥, 9. Untitled, 10. Untitled, 11. birthday pie, 12. i love fleas, 13. Sewing Kit Gift, 14. Licca, 15. Untitled, 16. September, 17. Roses, 18. peek at upcoming online workshop fashion styles recorded, 19. Untitled, 20. Singer Print., 21. snowing, 22. pretend i'm there..., 23. Anna Williams, 24. Saturday Morning Muse, 25. Pink Marshmallow, 26. urban vintage, 27. number the tea cups, 28. Mini Eggs, 29. fox sparrow, 30. Luxemburgerli

I gathered paper and ephemera and put it all in little baskets and made a nice heap of paper. I chose the colours of the pages first and then trimmed them, punched the holes for the rings and added the dates.  Before writing on them I already embellished some to make it more easier to fill the space with words. I first dreaded finding words and writing something on the blank pages. but when there is already something glued to it or the pages is divided by paper scraps it is much easier. I am not writing a novel but only jotting down some daily rummagings, isn't it? 

So every evening I sit down and write something or make a small scrapbook page. Some days it is so easy because you have some scraps from the day, receipts, postcards, letters, children's scribblings etc. And if there is still time left I add some extra pages or continue embellishng the following days. 

To share something of this fulfilling and liberating process I will put some goodies in the shop for you to make your own little pages or just to use the colours I am using for your little projects.  There will be a shop update tomorrow and I'll show you a bit of the work-in-progress and the paper mess in my studio.

I leave you here to have some homemade chili and garlic bread with the children and a sleepover guest of our son whilst dear husband is house hunting in freezing cold Seoul. This leaves me home alone without him but also with the opportunity of nighttime crafting  (not to mention the nice task of decluttering and organizing cupboards and corners of our house for the move...)

Have a wonderful Sunday and see you soon!

Yvonne

The forest room in progress

Some news from our room change road test. We nearly managed to rearrange all three new rooms but only Jakob's room is presentable right now. It is a work in progress because we've been pondering on the idea of a forest themed room for a while and I've been even thinking of one of these WOW forest wallpapers like we had back in the 70th or so but that would really have been a bit too much before the move (AND I am not quite sure if I could talk my husband into it...)

So we've been collecting old fruit containers and wine boxes and printer's trays for a while and they keep piling up in our basement to be hung one day in Jakob's room instead of a lot of IKEA shelves. But to be honest: I nearly broke down carrying all this stuff from one room to another during the last two weeks and painting boxes and drilling into walls would have been too much even for me. So we just went with some nailed alternatives (don't you tell my husband the boxes and baskets are just nailed to the wall!!!)

And because I am not a person who easily meets deadlines I forced myself and my luck and strength and invited Jakob's friends over for a housewarming tea. And believe it or not: The room was ready the minute they arrived and I just had to hide nails and hammer behind my back.

 

We are happy with the results so far and it is a good road test to try it out now and make it better when we will be moving to our new home (whenever that will be)

We neatly arranged his collection of forest critters and books and ephemera.

He got some sweet new nooks to play and work and dream and he never spent so much time in his room before. And the best thing: He is keeping it tidy now! What a change!

And I love to visit him there for a chat or for reading together.

Sometimes I think it is more than perfect to have three children and one can be so selfish to force upon them all the children's rooms one ever wanted for himself... 

So yes, it is me who wants this permanent change and loves all the playfulness that come with it. And I read that it is necessary to really change the children's rooms every other year to let them grow and not keep them as toddlers or babies all the time. We've been sorting out toys and books and Jakob kept telling me: "I don't need this any more: it is more for babies!". So he feels it and I am on one side proud and sad on the other for the times that passed. But seeing them grow and flourish makes up for all that.

So, after being that sentimental I am off for another Monday night of politically uncorrect Boston Legal on TV and a Single Malt! And having said that now please tell me your secret TV vices and be honest: What are you watching on TV whilst crafting and what is your drink? Normally it is tea and sweets but on Mondays you will find me with bespoke Single Malt and some pistacchios...

See you soon with more rooms to show and some crafty things

Wishing you well and Cheers!

Yvonne

 

Stairway to happiness

What made you happy these days? For me it was a scene like this: 
I told him to take the book downstairs and found him a few moments later having only climbed half of the staircase with the book in front of him, flipping through it and looking at the images. I am so so happy all of our children are interested in books and magazines. And if we are really lucky they will be turning into readers. It looks that he is on his way. When I read a version of a fairy tale to him this evening, he remembered the fairy tale from another book with another illustrator and immediately fetched it to compare the images inside the book. He is a little investigator (what also means screwing loose every possible screw in our house within his reach without telling us - one also has to face the downsides when showing off with your kids...)

But this scene is quite something for my mother heart and makes me forget all the fights we have over non essential things and the tantrums he can throw. 

And a picture of our decluttered bedroom also can make me happy.   

There is still a nightstand missing for my side, a few more framed photos and the newly crocheted blanket. But it already looks nice and peaceful to me.

And last but not least these little critters put a smile on my face:   

1. Step 1: Get nuts; Step 2: Take over forest; Step 3: Take over world, 2. Nutfield's master plan for world domination, 3. An Unfair Gift Exchange, 4. Weighing the pros and cons

I discovered Nutfield, Swindleton and Prescott today and it reminded me of how much I love tiny crocheted and knitted creatures. It would be so nice to have some of them living in our house (best thing in Jakob's new forest room). You can find more of the critters in TADA's revolution's set of  Amigurumis

These are only three of the things that made me happy. You see, it can be everything and everybody.

Maybe I post some more happy things tomorrow and if I am very lucky, the sun comes out and gives enough light to take pictures of Jakob's new room!

Have a wonderful Sunday with people and things and animals you love!

Yvonne

Just in case you were wondering....

...what we have been doing lately....

Well, I spent a lot of mum-and-me time with Jakob because he started preschool at his kindergarden and now feels like he has grown so much. I cannot believe it that the third child of ours will start school next summer. it seems like yesterday that they were toddlers (well how old sounds that?)

..

So we've been strolling through the neighbourhood with an occasional coffee break now and then. I love sitting with him in our cobblestoned streets, having a snack and a drink and read something to him or play a game of cards or so.

And our No. 2 also finds that she has grown a lot AND that she has outgrown the shared room she was in with Jakob until now. An nearly 8 year old girl is not amused when the 5 year old brother is always listening to her cds and seldomly puts them back, not to mention the mess he makes in his and her room (he calls it playing). So we decided to redistribute the rooms again. Jakob will move into Markus' office, Pauline into the guest room and Markus office will be under the roof with an annex for guests. Pauline is so exited to move to the ground floor and share it with our No. 1. An Jakob will enjoy the cozyness of his room next to ours. 

The decision was easy but then: Markus shelves were too high for the rooms under the roof. So we had to open another battlefield and Moritz had to give him his Expedit in exchange fo Markus' Bonde...

 

Good and bad for Moritz to go through all his stuff again and think of all the things he could give away or throw away if no longer useful or broken.

 

The problem is: To get the furniture from one room to the other you have to first remove everything into another room.

 

 
 
 

 To be honest: I cannot lift any more carton with books and folders and I need a day off. 

It is always so great to redecorate the rooms anew if it wasn't for the books to be carried around.

These are the before/in-between pictures - see more in a few days. I will show room after room!

And of course I will also be painting! Is it weird to do that shortly before moving? I don't think so. Sprucing up a room, adding or taking a way things and adding a new colour always brings so much happiness and new energy (and mum of three can go through all the stuff and think of donations for friends, the kindergarden, things for the flea market and ebay perhaps.

So you see me everyday covered in paint and up to my knees in paper and stuff

See you!
Yvonne

  

 

Nature is calling

Nature has been calling me lately! And people like Geninne, Cori Kindred and knittalatte  never fail or cease to amaze me with their love for nature and their treasures. I so needed another mosaic for my inspiration wall and it was easy to do this because of all the lovelies out there on Flickr. And whilst looking for more I also found two new lovely nature collectors: wild goose chase and les fabulations de nanou. 

 

 1. an unwritten book page 11, 2. 100% recycled calendar, 3. thimble forest gardens, 4. pine and spruce cones, 5. scented herbarium, 6. Untitled, 7. the snow falls, 8. Yellow, 9. Untitled, 10. wood, 11. the mess today, 12. una furtiva lagrima, 13. fern friday, 14. VTWonen Inspired, 15. yellow monday, 16. Studio wall

And it made me redecorate one studio corner and turn it into a greener space with lots of birdie love.

 

I am thinking of redoing this corner every now and then according to the season. It is still Green now but will slowly be accompanied by some Yellow and Orange and even Brown. I love to see the season's change throughout the house. And I mean not only a bunch of flowers in a vase but bringing a new touch to some corners by curating them colourwise.

 
1. granny blanket, 2. bergdorf goodman window display., 3. Tucker... today., 4.www.flickr.com/photos/wildgoosechase/4281147755/in/faves-..., 5. i'm ready, 6. early spring 2010 no. 2, 7. Untitled, 8. printed doll, 9. a fern book, 10. Woodsy Acorn , 11. proofs, 12. composição, 13. 36/365, 14.vintage British Isles pull down map, 15. T H E . W A L L, 16. It's a Boy Round-Up

And I can never stop making mosaics to inspire me. I even print them out later and hang them on my walls to put a smile on my face not only on the computer but also when I look at them in my room.

I hope you all had a wonderful week end! The weather was kind to us and we had a wonderful day in the countryside, 30 minutes away from Lüneburg in a Nature reservate. it is the time of the year when the Heather flowers are in bloom and needless to say I love this colour, having it everywhere in the house in different shades.

I so love the landscape with the ever changing plants that seem to form a picture. 

 

There are only horse carriages allowed and so it is very tranquil except the pitter pattering of the hoofs from time to time

They also built a wonderful nature trail for the children where even the grown-ups were amazed what you can possibly know about all the plants and animals in this environment 

 

And now, refreshed by two days of sun and outside family-and-friends time you find me again on a ladder painting a vibrant Green wall in Jakob's room to try out new things before the big move and to sort out so many things for give-aways and flea market sales.

I hope to find you all well and will show you how our Green corner turns out in a few days. 

Have a lovely day and see you soon!

Yvonne
  
 

 

Sharing places

Hi, we are back! We had a wonderful trip down memory lane to Istanbul, refreshed old memories and brought back new ones. It is wonderful to go back to a place you love and enjoyed living in so much. Istanbul is not just a city for us - it is also the beginning of our family life. We moved there July 2001 when our first child was just a few months old, with 2 cats and a dog in tow. And we stayed for 5 years, the beginning of our growing family. Pauline and Jakob were both born there and are very proud to carry this into their passports all the time. 

So we always love to go back and have an old and a new look upon this marvellous city and the people.

From now on, I want to share places with you: places we went to and liked and you might be also liking. We are travelling and moving from time to time as you might know and so we can take you with us now and then. Unfortunately I haven't started that back in Mexico - it would have been a nice collection by now.

Today I want to share a place I rediscovered this time we wentto Istanbul, not only because it has grown and spread all over the city but because there is also a clever design team behind all this. 

I am really loving this House Cafe concept. They are chosing old locations with a historic charm and put in an ecclectic mix of furniture and lighting and accessories in a combination of vintage, modern and  modern vintage. All of the cafes spread over Istanbul are different in style somewhere but you can always spot them as another branch of the cafe. the food is so good and it is a pleasure to sit there, watch the people go by and just soak in the details of the interior or the food and drink decoration.

There is also a cafe in Ortakoey, right down by the Bosphorus shore where you can see the ships passing by - such a great sight when you are in Istanbul.

 

The interior styling is well planned by the fabulous autoban designers, a trendy and sought after equipe from Istanbul,  Seyhan Oezdemir and Sefer Caglar. They somehow seem to combine Scandinavian Modern with Turkish Ottoman playfulness. They are designing furniture, make architectural concepts for restaurants, cafes and hotels. 

I am happy to be back here with you, few readers as they may be from time to time and ready to take you with me on my journeys: there are some to come I can tell you and I will be revealling shortly where it will take us next for another big adventure...

So long,

Yvonne

Pictures by House Cafe and me