Did you know...

...that Tim Burton is making Alice in Wonderland?
Now there's a creative mind I'd like to crawl into.
Love his movies.

Just look at these photos..

...pure magic.

And the best part?

..aaaahhh... yes...

This I cannot wait to see.
I like it when he does freaky roles.
March next year...

Something to get me through a long bleary winter.

But guess what?

You are cordially invited to attend a Mad Tea Party.

Tomorrow!

That's right, no need to wait nine months.

Vanessa at A Fanciful Twist is hosting a grand blog hopping party.

Here's a tiny peek into what you'll find here tomorrow.

Oh we had a good time with Saara... or no.. who is that?

Saara would never walk outside in just her socks, would she?

potd 26.6.

...ice ice..baby...

I've got that song stuck in your head now haven't I?

*grin*

potd 25.6.

Cousins.

She's too sweet for words

I got to babysit little Julia for a couple hours yesterday.
We had a grand time.


(Niina took this one)
She was all smiles and coos.


And just loved "talking" with Niina.
Niina was sold.
From that first smile.
Me too.

Seeing as I'm behind on the deadline already...

I'll keep this little giveaway open for comments until next Monday still.

You can still earn some yummy Finnish chocolate...
Oh yes.
Go comment.
I'm gathering some nice tunes :)

potd 24.6.

Fresh pretty stripes courtesy of my talented hairdresser.

Just us two and some pretties

Saara left for summer camp on Tuesday and won't be back until next Monday afternoon.
It's been just Niina and I for a couple days.

Nice and easy.

Yesterday morning I looked out the kitchen window, ran to grab my camera and headed out to the patio.
I've been waiting for the first one of my lovely big poppies to open up.

The color is so insane with this flower. Taken in the shadow at 100 ISO and it still manages to look over saturated...

I'm so lazy with my garden this year.

I've planted some summer flowers, but mostly I'm just watching my perennials pop up in bloom.

Love that one daisy reaching up to the geranium.

My midsummer rose is blooming now. Most of the time these are white, but I had to buy a pink one. It's really fragrant.

The rest of the week is going to be a scorcher... +28C predicted for Sunday.

I may just wilt.

Which reminds me... need to hook up the hose and water the others wilting too...

Plants :)

potd 23.6.

It's going to get HOT this week.

It was quite warm yesterday already and Niina got out the cute little fan Saara had bought for her at the London Science Museum last year.

I think it might just be the coolest gadget in the house.

With the exception on our Pronto remote control.

Although that doesn't have fancy flashing lights on it...

Flashing lights win... I think...

potd 22.6.

Combining three favorite things into one photo:

• line drying my laundry outside
• cloth napkins
• Marimekko fabrics

Now who would come and paint my clothespins to look cute?

What in the world...

...happened to my no-fuss-au-naturel 8-year old, who up to now has not taken a second look at the mirror.

Today she has been in front of the mirror brushing, or combing, her hair every time I glance at her.

"Mom, its so much fun combing my hair... oh.. I have another tangle..."

I must have missed the memo.
Big time.

potd 21.6.

Through my viewfinder

We took a little walk downtown today.

And met someone interesting...

...don't you think?

We sat at a café and watched the tourists :)

Plenty of them around as most of the Finns were still spending the Midsummer weekend at their summer cabins.

Had coffee and pastries.

The smallest one ate a very BIG cinnamon roll.

And guess what?

It was sunny!

Something I can't understand in the background.

I can't see the point in buying a ridiculously priced handbag.

That is ugly.
And has someone else's initials on them...

Could be just me... ;)

Personally, I'd rather carry something like this:

Made me smile.

Almost giggled out loud.

Reminded me of a dog I knew.

Looked exactly like this, his name was Leevi.

Saw purely magical dolls made by Tuija Leinonen.

One of these days I'm going to get one for myself.

They are so ethereal.

My favorite of today.

You can't beat aqua and red.

I also found two pieces of art I'd love on my wall.

I have a thing for sea horses.

Now if it only hadn't been 250 euros... sigh.

potd 20.6.

Building a miniature fridge in a style fitting the 1940's.

potd 19.6.

Midsummer's Eve

Woke up to this.
Rain.
Rain.
And more rain.

Luckily our only plans for the day involved this:

Hehee...
We ended up rigging the big garden umbrella next to the grill.
And ate inside.
It was quite cool.


I managed to capture a semi-smile of Julia's.

I'll be looking after her on Thursday for a few hours.

She hasn't been quite sure of me yet...

potd 18.6.

These two are just too darn cute together!

I love the dimples.

Classmates.

Only Samuli's family spent the spring term in Sweden, so she had missed him.

And I had missed Samuli's mom :)

The kiddos (including Saara, and Samuli's siblings Emilia and Elias) played outside while Irina and I had tea and cake and chatted... lots.

And then a bit more.

Two peas in a pod

She's so much like me in ways... I never can sit properly on a chair either....

Tastes of summer

Were you wondering what I baked today?
The easiest summer taste.

What we call a sugar cake, more commonly known as sponge cake.

You need one glass.
Measure equal amounts of eggs, sugar and flour.
I used four big organic eggs in my cake.

You pour the sugar on top of the eggs and whisk away.

For a good long time, until the mixture is light in color and thick.
Whisk in the flour.

Butter and flour your pan, pour in the dough.


Bake for about 35 minutes in 200C/390F.
Test with a wooden cocktail stick to be sure it is done, if any dough sticks to the stick (heh), back into the oven for five more minutes.


Mmmmmm... smells sooo good.

How do you make it taste like summer?
You add whisked vanilla sauce or whipped cream and fresh strawberries.
Make yourself a cup of tea.
Sit in the sun.
Put your feet up and enjoy.

potd 17.6.

Baking today.

This is my favorite bundt cake form I own.

It's a glass one my Mom bought at some flea market.

It is beautiful.

I wish all of them were glass....

LOL!

My sweet little niece was at our house yesterday.
Apparently she had been all smiles and coos the day before and in a good mood even at the doctor's earlier in the day.

When it was time to do some bonding with me, it was also time for tummy trouble.
Poor kiddo.
Or was it my face?
As every time I got close and started talking, she'd give me a smile that turned into a pout and cry in two seconds flat.
So as she kept spitting out her pacifier (tutti), I thought I'd help her by keeping a finger close to it so it wouldn't escape.

And then...

...she flipped the bird at me!

Really!

It was hysterical... that middle finger just popped up on her cheek, aimed at me like... I know your game god mother...

Petra and I got the biggest giggles and you should have seen Julia's face then.. trying to figure us out.
Hopefully I'll be able to get a smily photo of her on Friday when we celebrate Midsummer's Eve together.