YES

Guess what I bought today???

EARTH HOUR / BAKED SUSHI

My friend -and in some matters also freelancer colleague - K and her boyfriend have moved to a new flat in an area you have to catch a bus to get downtown from. Which for some may not sound like much but Helsinki is tram based. We (that is at lest K and I, and oh well and most other we know, those within the tram network :) find it kind of a big thing to move where the trams don't go. Even though that doesn't necessarily mean the same as "far away". (And to this I have to add, I will move a few bus stops further away in summer. Oh my!) So last weekend we grabbed some wine along and took the bus (for a few minutes) there!




We are considering the same tapestry for our future hall. (+This is also a sneaky outfit pic.)


We made dinner.




Oven baked sushi. Recipe can be found here. Open it with Firefox. For some reason it does not view properly in Safari.

Then Earth Hour started. Which we were of course totally aware of but might not have remembered if it wouldn't have been for the fact that most other windows around went dark...

It's nice with candle light. Newspapers said electricity usage in Helsinki went down with a few percents that night. (The people opposite didn't help out though as they have their light on. Hah, busted!)

Then it was time to eat. Sushi meets tacos sort of. Delicious.

K had made white chocolate pannacotta, animal friendly version, sans gelatin, with raspberries for dessert.

When it was late and all plates empty we went home. With a cab. Busses are for daytime use.

GIVEAWAY FROM A JEWELER IN PITTSBURGH

It's time for a little treat again!
This time it's something real classy and elegant from Louis Anthony Jewelers that one lucky reader will win.

Louis Anthony Jewelers is owned by by Veronica and Lou Guarino. They have been in business for 18 years and are said to be one of the most trusted jewelers in Pittsburgh, offering a carefully chosen and stunning selection of jewelry, timepieces and gifts for different occasions. Now they are offering one of you a chance to win a pair of 7mm freshwater pearl earrings!


The value of the earrings is about $100 and all participating is once again very easy; just leave a comment on this post. The contest is open for all readers and the winner will be drawn randomly.

Please note the following:
1 - Please only leave me one comment per person. Be sure to include your email in the comment if your blogger account is set private or if you do to have a site or blog of your own!
2 -Things have got a little bit more hi-fi over here than before though; if you re-post about and link to the contest you may leave a second comment for me, giving you two entries :)

The contest is open until Wednseday April 7th! Good luck!

THE VERY GOOD DAY DRESS

(Outfit post.)
Even though I with the headline made it sound like a dress from ModCloth, this one is from Tara Starlet. Indeed a very good day dress, comfy and suitable for most occasions. The pockets fit a lot of stuff which is practical but they are getting a bit floppy though.

But why the hell am I posing in it in my attic?
Don't know really. But the light is pretty filmatic up there.

The tiny suitcase, which works well as a second handbag if one needs to carry a lot of things around during the day, is from ebay.

A PIECE OF MUCHA'S LEGACY

My friend Irja, who runs the vintage shop Hoochie Mama Jane came across Art Nouveau jewellery said to truly be from the beginning of the 20th century and designed by Mucha himself! Mucha! I love Mucha! And Irja loves Mucha - she even has a Mucha tattoo. As she also tends to go for more is more she therefore had to get these, even not convinced of their origin.

After some googling and some emails it turned out these necklaces were dead stock from a Czech factory that closed around 1924-25 and the design on the jewellery where indeed originally by Mucha's hand! Quite the find.

And oh what amount of vintage bling bling! Classy bling. And pretty gems.



The necklaces will not be for sale at Irja's store though, she'll keep them to herself.

BURLESQUE BACKSTAGE

Kalani.

Make up.

Posing.

Last week I performed at the launch party for an on-line casino that just landed in Finland. Held a ta place I might not perform at or visit on a normal night, I was warming up for Miss Exotic World 2009 Kalani Kokonuts from Las Vegas, and it was fun. Where the burlesque I (we) do is perhaps more funny and tongue-in-cheek her Vegas style was more about glitter and glamour, but I think it's a good thing to give the audience various slices of the burlesque cake. And Kalani was such a darling!

SUNDAY BREAKFAST FOR THE SWEET TEETH

Roasted wholegrain bread with butter, banana, honey and sunflower seeds and a huge cup of cherry tea. And (almost) all of my Soft Sunday songs so far: Soft Sunday


(If you don't have Spotify you'll just have to do with the posted videos. Or without :)

CAKE

The other day Ina and I planned to go out for a nice spring-y afternoon walk after work. (Or, after she finished work. I have my week off so I was spending time not cleaning and internetting in my underwear still an hour before we were due to meet).

Ina.

Well hello there (obligatory picture of me).

The ice cold wind mixed with snow didn't give us too many spring vibes though.

So we went for cake instead.








And you know what. Cake is so good you should really have some every day. At least every second.

DREAMING ABOUT SHIPS, LONGING FOR THE SEA

My photos from this shoot in January.







Sailor Cherry / Burlesque Doll
Photo : Mirva Thil / Post Production: me
Make up, hair & Styling: me

Corset: Corsets UK, Top: Tara Starlet, Frilly Knickers: What Katie Did, Shoes: Minna Parikka

I've had that sailor monkey, Plyti Apan, since 1982.

PATTERNS, LINES AND ICE IN THE HARBOUR

Stripes on my window.


Rusty squares by berth.


Clear lines, clear blue skies.


Bird feet pattern on a frozen water pool.


A lot of ice.


A little less ice but some more water.


Now I don't know about you but ice-mash like this always makes me think gin tonic.


No ice (if I wouldn't know better I could fool myself it's summer already). You know all these ice pictures are taken within 250 meters of one another; ice can act pretty strange.


(I just put this picture here because I thought it looks nice with a little red among all the blue.)


I was here.


Yours truly.

RESULTS

You remember this post with it's behind-the-scenes photos?

Out of many to choose from, here are Jackie's beach picnic and Tinkerbell's Burlesque Kahlo final pics:

Photo: Mirva Thil
Make up & styling+ Post production : Jackie O'Lantern


Photo: Mirva Thil
Make up & styling+ Post production : Tinkerbell

You'll see mine soon :)

LEE AND STUFF

Some time ago I said that you could ask questions if there was something you were wondering about. So here's the answers. And some soft Sunday music to go along:


(I always like the Lee parts better in all Lee and Nancy songs).

At some point earlier I got the question of how I decided where to live?
-Well, apart from a couple of student exchanges abroad I've always lived in the Helsinki capitol area, the past eight years rather central. I joke that I'm slightly geographically discriminative in terms that I could not really consider myself to live elsewhere in Finland than around Helsinki. (It would probably be different if I'd have grown up somewhere else I guess...) When it comes to part of town I've lived in the same area the past five years, I originally moved there since the prices are more affordable. This summer however we'll move west of the city to a bigger home.

What computer do I have?
-I used to have an 22" iMac, now I have a MacBook Pro 17". ALso dreaming about the 27-inch iMac, but I guess one computer at a time is enough...

Do I work with photoshop to get my pictures so white or is it just the natural vibe of the cold north?
-It depends on the picture, when and where taken. If there's good light I use manual settings for a slightly overexposed effect, with long shutter speed. Otherwise I adjust the curves and/or add some white to faint out the edges for a more dreamy look in the pictures (like here, also with added lens flare).

Then I get a lot of questions about make up:
-A tutorial? Noup, I don't think I'll ever do one but I have promised some sort of make up post forever. Now I'm really going to try and do it soon!

-The blusher I use is GOSH; the peach and the dark pink shades.

-If I change my skin routine in winter? Yes. My skin gets both flakier and fatter in the beginning of winter but evens up after some time. When cold I try to avoid too much water on my face; I wash it in the evening just before going to sleep but not in the morning, perhaps only wipe it off with tonic. I put a lot of moisturizer on at night but none in the morning, except for some eye serum. I use a serum for my lashes and lots of hand creme in winter too.

Could I post about how I tie my scarves around my head?
-Yes, not that I really tie them in any special way but I'll give it a go at some point!

Is it possible to buy a IttyBitty Tease Cabaret Shake! patch anywhere?
-Yup, we sell them at some gigs of ours but you'll be able to get them trough my blog soon too :)

BAGS BAGS BAGS

I get lucky with bags. Always.
If I go to a thrift store or flea market or wherever and find nothing of interest I still always find a couple of good bags. I am like the mountain when it comes to bags and purses, they go all Muhammed and come to me. (I'm also really good at metaphores don't you think?)

Last week I wrote about newly found shoes, this week it's about newly found or received bags. (They also happen to go very well with the new shoes, all of them).

This bag is a new favorite of mine, I think it's just amazing! Stumbled upon it on a quick pop-by at UFF one day at town. I'm in love with it's details.


My grandparents recently moved out of their flat (this might have a connection with my mint green Smeg to be *hint hint*) and my grandmother handed me this bag she'd dug out of her closet when Eddi and I stopped by for coffee. You know all like "oh hey btw here you go, have this" and I go "well yes please". Yes please indeed! (The polka dot pencil skirt is made for me by Olivia Rouge.)


This hand made beautiful feathered clutch is a gift from LouLou Bontemps. Isn't is pretty? You may remember me mentioning her purses earlier here.

(The velvet evening gown is from the thirties, also an 'I am the mountain thing' as it was just handed to me. You've seen it on me in our Atelieri Haapala Halloween portait.)

TUESDAY NIGHT IN MY TINY KITCHEN

This is an outfit post.
There hasn't been any in a while I guess.
(H&M, Saints and Mortals, Olivia Rouge)

EMMA

The Sounds : Emma
(The original The Sounds, not to be mixed up with The Sounds from today! :)


Finnish rautalanka and sixties nostalgia. Makes me wish for summer.

LATE EVENING CUPCAKE

I spent the weekend baking for a 9- year old's birthday party. I was planning to also explore my new camera a bit but baking cakes, cookies and cupcakes for more than 20 persons didn't leave much room for that. (Except for this shot of my blueberry cupcakes, with green toffee frosting, later in the evening.)