Freedom is so near or Happy Cats

Today is a very special day for Frau Mayer ( not for the cat, though, cause it's REALLY cold outside so she can't use her bed on the window sill any more and is currently using my duvet)  - although not everything went quite as she wanted it to be, from today on she is going to finally finally finally have more time for herself. Just like these happy cats created by the most talented Dasha a girl I'd never met but known online for ages.

I've made a long list of things that need to be done and totally loved it! I'll start with cleaning, making doctor's appointments and sorting things out and slowly but surely I'll get to:

1. Selling all the things I don't need any more. Yes, including that cross trainer. And the mags.
2. Going through my huge mag collection and deciding what stays and what goes.
3. Decluttering the basement. One can hardly move there - and I'm not lying, I tripped on some unknown object yesterday while searching for something in one of the endless boxes. This process will also include some wonderful moments  - for instance, sorting my art!
4. Doing sports! Probably not today, though, because it's about -15 degrees outside and I hate the very thought of driving to the gym. Also, I've just eaten an organic chocolate cookie :) A wellness day might be a good idea for a smooth comeback, though.
5. Finding a new tenant for my place. Don't wanna paint!
6. Reading + doing some holiday planing. Haven't been on the road for a VERY long time.
7. Shopping for all those necessary thing: camera bag, new printer+scanner etc.

I guess, 7 is a wonderful number so let's call it a day and look at some more lovely pictures! I wish Dasha would draw a happy cats picture for me one day...

The last picture is my all-times-favorite! I wish I could draw.... 

Dreaming of freedom

Right now I shouldn't even be online. I should be working like hell. On my drafts, on my lesson ideas, on whatever.
However, I am online and I'm typing this post. Damn tired of being under pressure all the time. Damn tired of drafts, drafts, drafts. I haven't had time - and nerves - for being creative without having a terrible conscience for ages. Let's think of something really good, for instance, about porcelain (a really fresh and new topic on this useless blog)! What am I going to buy myself as soon as I get to London - or maybe even the States? Right you are, I'll be heading to Anthropologie that Sarah has been musing about so much lately.
I do have a little wish list. Number 1 on it is clearly this mug.

To be honest, I'd love to have at least three. An A, a K and a V to start with. Let's hope Anthro won't discontinue them before I get to a store (shipping is 40 damn euros! For three mugs 4,44 euros each!)
Great, productive weekend to everyone reading this entry.
Or a great, relaxing one which is even better but not the case here.

Visualizing wishes

There's a lot being told about visualizing one's wishes in order to help them come true.
I have never been really serious about it - and should probably give it a try.
Let's start with porcelain!

I can recall endless hours spent reading and re-reading, re-re-reading and re-re-re-reading this book. At a certain point I even started biting little pieces off the pages, probably trying to swallow a part of that magical world. Mumins are the best possible creatures ever and I still love them all dearly!

And this is Mumin Troll himself! 

And these are Hattifnaten, those weird electrical creatures who always travel in groups and never say anything.

Oh, so many childhood memories... I would love to have the entire collection - but a couple of them actually costs a small fortune (which is why I need to visualize those :)

And now back to the more realistic items. I know that nowadays almost everyone who's a bit into Scandi style possesses some Greengate items. And I know I never really liked polka dots. However, I was thinking of adding some blue to my future kitchen (right now it's down to all possible tones of yellow+green) and I guess these would be just perfect for planting some future victims of mine:

Well, green will not be forgotten, for sure!

I'll be modest and call it a day - and there's another draft waiting to be written.

See ya none, dear noones!

Making cards or a bit of marthastewarism

Do you know what marthastewarism is? Of course you don't cause
a) it's a VERY rare disease
and
b) you don't exist, he he.

Here's the answer, though: it's what happens to everyone who wants to posses more than one Martha Stewart craft punch. Yeah, I should spend my money in a smarter way but, to be honest, I haven't shopped for clothes for ages, so I guess I can allow myself a couple of used mags, tea boxes and deliriously lovely craft punches.
So what do I need them for? Let's see...

That thingy in the background is my X-mas present, an ultimate Swiss cheese lamp.

The possibilities are, indeed, endless...

Some matching envelopes to go with the cards. Bought these ones in Thailand and totally regret not having bought MORE!

Has anyone said X-mas was over? But winter isn't which pretty much legitimates my making christmassy cards...

The hottest tea box ever

Guess what my latest, freshest, hottest Ebay find is, my dear non-existent readers! Oh, right, you don't exist so you can't really answer. It's alright cause I have a couple of pictures I just have to post because I've just picked up the hottest future side table in da hood!

Just look at the ornaments! Mmmh... And yeah, I'm a complete idiot, spending that much money on a tea box - I could ve bought a similar one for a tenner in HH - but the ornaments just broke my poor little heart.
Now I need cute little wheels to make the thingy even more practical and then we're all set (might use it as a night stand, though, still considering different options).
See you very soon!

The secret of scandi design - a bit of picture analysis

Every now and then the entire blogosphere seems to admire apartments sold by a Swedish company, Alvhem.

They've got a wonderfully yummy site where they post numerous pictures of wonderful places in the middle of Göteborg.

I've been brooding over these pictures for so long, I started analyzing them and as all the flats are very obviously styled by the same person, I'm going to post a couple of my favorites here, along with the elements of that yummy scandi style that are to be found everywhere.

Let's get Swedish!

So, already in picture number one we have at least seven of them:

1. huge windows, filling the place with light

2. white walls

3. canvas/frames covered in fabric (a hilarious idea, in my opinion, as I happened to have found three lovely Ikea frames on a street one day and also to have scored some deliriously beautiful silk - in three different pastel tones - on my trip to Thailand this summer. And yeah,  I got myself a staple gun at ebay if you know what I'm driving at...)

4. a fur on the floor  - mostly a sheepskin

5. a beautiful chandelier
6. accent pillows on a neutral sofa - generally good for everyone who's not ready to spend his days with a lilac sofa + pink pillow covers
7. floor made of natural materials - a big NO to laminate

Take this one and find almost all of the above here. Plus number 8 - art wall  (sometimes it consists of differently sized frames, sometimes it doesn't. Oh, I'm SO looking forward to creating my first very own one).

and number 9 - pastel walls. Mmmh! Don't they look like a freshly brewed latte? Here also comes my personal favorite, number 11 - a ladder shelf. Yes, I possess 3 of them. Thanks for the hint.

 Let's move on... These floors make me have a severe drooling attack! Sorry, I was actually about to point out some further favorites. Number 12 - a vintage item integrated into an otherwise modern environment. You know, sometimes you just surf by some blogs that are stuffed with shabby chic  - and nothing but it. Brrr! But this cupboard looks like it's been there for ages (and, indeed, it has). Number 13 is a bit Freudian - a low-hanging lamp in the kitchen. I guess I'll go for it as soon as I have a kitchen table that's slightly bigger than 2 DINA4 pages glued together. Notice the smart use of black here (which is not my favorite, though).

Right, 13 is a good number, I might go on some other day, should there be any non-existent interest.

Winter in the kitchen

My X-mas decorations this year looked like this:

That's it. There was nothing else, mostly due to the fact I wasn't really at home...
Using the chance, I'll show a couple of kitchen impression. I hate the naked backsplash, and as I'm moving out soon, I decided not to invest into any further shelving. So what to do? Bought this very simple line at ebay for a couple of euros, got some wooden clips from a hobby store (less than a euro), hung my favorite images (the one in the middle is me in London on an ultimately sunny, wonderful autumn day)  - ready.

I bet you know this cat!

More cats! I'm a hopeless cat freak. Got this one as a little keepsake on my last trip to Strassbourg (love the city! And all the Flammkuchen!)
So, down to business now, wishing my non-existent readers a non-existently lovely Sunday.

Shopping therapy

Well, it's been a back to work day. I've been fighting a lot, predominately with my lazy self. The holidays were all about sleeping in, lying around and eating, eating, eating...

So what can help a very demotivated Miss Mayer (not the cat, she's perfectly OK and going shoelace-crazy for the 1000th time today) out of this mood? Shopping! Right you are!

First of all, a bit of boasting: I got myself a beautiful Acer Aspire laptop and a new GPS for Christmas. Both were absolutely necessary purchases. Both make me happy (my not-so-old netbook was a nightmare - never buy a Samsung NC20 - and my GPS was way older than my car which says a lot!).

And guess what I got myself today? Pure, pure beauty!!!

These are SO going into my future study! (One of the things I'm anticipating most of all, after, of course, cancelling the rent for my current apartment as I seriously can't stand the landlord, is creating an art wall. All the shells, mushrooms, little birdies in one place, what a delight!) The artist behind them, the most wonderful Gennine creates pure magic. 

Mmmh, I'm so looking forward to these flying in!

Happy New Year from Frau Mayer n Cat

Hello there, my dearest non-existent readers! Frau Mayer and Cat are both alive and are looking forward to the last couple of months in their teeny-tiny flat in H-town. What will the year bring them? We'll see.

As I've been rather lazy during the holidays and didn't get to know my camera a bit better, the only pics I can post are these ones, shot in May. Since then I've added a couple of interesting details, such as my coffee machine (he he he) or a lovely shabby ladder/shelf. I also brought a crazy amount of wonderful things from my Bangkok trip  - and have to keep them in the basement as there's simply not enough place to display all the beauties. Well, that might change quite soon!

And, anticipating your non-existent questions: I did get that mushroom poster for X-mas! And a wonderful, magical white lamp creating the nicest of evening lights. And a sewing machine!

As for now, I'll be showing around my place - again.

Can you spot five cats in this picture? I can!

I never thought I was capable of shooting such bad pictures - but here you go. At least you see that I'm a huge fan of Georgia O'Keefe. And that I definitely AM in need of a round blanket for my round bed. I currently have two ladder-like Ikea shelves next to my bed, which provides a couple of books a
nd a huge bunch or magazines with a temporary home.

Have I told you I was learning Spanish? Well, I am. This is the reason I went through all this pain of getting myself of a Magnetic Poetry Spanish Kit, buying a magnetic Ikea board, covering it with green gift paper and creating a coordinating picture (which shows two tiny kittens, looking so much like Miss Müller when she was a baby). I never really got to play with those. Well, at least I'm honest. And I never use that blender for making healthy smoothies. In fact, it's somewhere behind the curtains right now and the place on the fridge is all occupied by the HOLY COFFEE MACHINE.

I don't really know what you need this picture for but in case you've got absolutely nothing to do you could compare it to a pic of my kitchen. There's some funny similarity I'm not telling you about!


Right, and now I'm going to finally do what I've been going to do for the past year. Wish me luck!