FRIDAY I'M IN LOVE week 40 - a gratitude list

Me and Tea, our association's president, collecting food for homeless animals.

Mt T. and I went to see this exhibition of surrealist postcards from the early 20th century.
They had these "tinttamareski" (I don't know how they're called in english) things there
and of course we had to have a go :)

A necklace I'm making.  Beading makes me so happy.

Autumn!

the ticking of the Kit Cat clock, the scent of coffee and the playful look in the kitten's eyes,

Tiitta

FRIDAY I'M IN LOVE week 38 - a gratitude list

Roope, Hexi and Tittis doing their thing

Engaged for six months <3
We celebrated with pizza and red wine.

My second attempt with tempeh, it turned out pretty well again, though I'm still trying to get used to the texture.
Tempeh, mashed sweet potato, button sprouts, marinated garlick cloves, beets in vinegar, sweet chili sauce and garlic sauce.
Vegan, healthy and yummy!

We visited Mom's grave on Mabon/ Autumn Equinox

Notebooks, new pens, scribble, scribble, scribble,

Tiitta

FRIDAY I'M IN LOVE - week 37 a gratitude list

(these are SO late, I'm sorry for all who've been wondering where I am. I've been in the busy-land again)

This week was all about rehearsing for an upcoming Tribal Fusion show, making beadwork and arranging a happening with our Animal Welfare Association where about 20 cats were neutered and got microchips.

Dancing, dancing, dancing

I'm making headdresses for a Tribal Fusion show

Two kitties asleep, waiting to be neutered.
Cats sleep with their eyes open when they're sedated, it looks freaky

Dark chocolate kisses, 

Tiitta

FRIDAY I'M IN LOVE week 35 and 36 - a gratitude list

Friday I'm in love is my gratitude list.

I had a flu (AGAIN!) so this is a bit late.


I'm grateful for...

• My Love
• Our cats
• Dance
• Our Home
• Crocheting
• Birds
• Silver Moonstone Ring
• Beadwork
• My brothers
• My cousins
• Kaori shells
• Bronze nail polish
• Friends
• Licorice Tea
• Sewing
• Star Wars
• Spicy Noodles
• Henna hairdye
• Being healthy
• New shoes that are pretty AND practical
• My job
• Busy-ness of autumn
• Feeling important
• Making Things Happen

Beastie Boys, bananas and sunshine,

Tiitta

FRIDAY I'M IN LOVE weeks 32, 33 and 34 - a gratitude list

Friday I'm in love is my gratitude list. Three weeks at a time, I can really only blame myself, but I try to blame it on the busy-ness I'm experiencing.

I'm thankful for..

• Roope, our baby kitty. We went to pick him up at the shelter a week ago. He is so brave and brisk! We kept him in the kitchen the first three days, and then let him to meet the other cats. 

Hexi tries really hard to see under the kitchen door who's this newcomer.

Roope takes a nap.

Roope and Hexi are already best buddies, playing and cuddling a lot. 

Tittis wasn't so sure of the kitten first, but she's loosening up as well.

•  Dance. I think I've gone to another level with my dancing. In September there's workshops by Manca Pavli (SVN)  and I'll be performing with Ane here: 

  

  https://www.facebook.com/events/579122412145370/?fref=ts
  

  and in October there's going to be this great show along with workshops by Deb Rubin: 

  

  https://www.facebook.com/events/686289851398683/?fref=ts
  

  And we'll have a candle dance performance with our AMCAB (American Cabaret Bellydance) group YIlan Cabilesi in November. So much wonderful dance related stuff happening this fall, makes Tiitta a very happy girl! I have two Tribal Fusion classes, one AMCAB class, one bellydance drill, stretch and tone class and one ballet class a week. Added to my 40 hours work week and quite employing volunteer work with the animal welfare organisation, it feels like I'm always going to dance practice.     I DON'T MIND! 

Painted toe nails, lemon beer and veil dances,

Tiitta

FRIDAY I'M IN LOVE week 30 - a gratitude list

Friday I'm in Love is my weekly gratitude list


I'm grateful for...

• Real Life, you know, the one (gasp) outside the mighty Internet. As great as the World Wide Web is, it's the real things "out there" that are more important. LIFE, that's in pages of a book, deep conversations with friends, having lunch in that adorable thai place just around the corner, your godmother's 60th birthday, long bike rides with your loved one, your stabilo pens and your journal, cats' purring, dance classes.. 

my daily planner, notebook, stabilos and make-up

Our kitten-to-be, here 7 weeks old, in my arms. Photo by Tuukka Ahonen

Us as sailors, inspired by the Tall Ship Races Helsinki 2013. Photo by Tuukka Ahonen

Me as a tribal princess. Photo by Tuukka Ahonen

Us at my godmother's 60th birthday cruise. Photo by Petteri Pasanen.

The sound of a skateboard on the street, warm summer nights and the scent of coconut,

Tiitta

         

FRIDAY I'M IN LOVE week 27 and 28 - a gratitude list

Friday I'm in love is my gratitude list. Again, two weeks at a time, because of the holidays.


I'm grateful for.. 

• Kitties! In August a little kitten will come to live with us. He's still so young that he has to live with his foster mama cat (he's an orphan) at the shelter in Hartola. We haven't met him in person since it's a bit far away and we don't have a car. But we squee when we see his pictures. 

eeeeh look at that little nose! 

Hexi says a very relaxed "hi"

and Tittis takes it easy too

• Smoothies! I have a smoothie pretty much every morning, at least when I'm at home. My morning smoothie goes like this: 2 dl / 1 cup of plant milk (almond, oat, soy), 2 dl / 1 cup of frozen berries or fruit, some fresh baby spinach or frozen spinach, 1 Tbs ground flax seed, 1 Tbs chia seed, 1 banana. Mix it up in a blender and enjoy. Sometimes I also add 1 Tbs of peanut butter.
• Make-up! I know it might sound shallow but I looooove make-up. I don't think everybody should wear make-up and I don't think anything less of people who don't. For me, it's an extension of my style and I feel prettier and more "dapper" when I'm wearing make-up. I don't NEED it, I can go out without make-up but mostly I decide to wear it for the aforementioned reasons. I always choose cruelty-free, it goes first on the list when I'm choosing make-up. For me, it's even more important than the quality of the product. There are a lot of high quality make-up to choose within the cruelty-free range so that's not a problem. My favourite brands are Joe Blasco, Beauty Without Cruelty and NYX that I order online since they don't sell it in Finland. If you're interested in cruelty-free cosmetics, check out Animalian Eläinkokeettoman Kosmetiikan Lista (in finnish), BUAV or PETA. It can be a bit tricky to know what's cruelty-free and what's not since many brands claim they are, but checking from the lists you can be as sure as it's ever possible to sure about anything. 

Peace, love & hummus,

Tiitta

FRIDAY I'M IN LOVE week 23 - a gratitude list

Friday I'm in love is my weekly gratitude list


I'm grateful for..

• Having had the honor to spend 16 years with a wonderful being, Freyja. You taught me so much about life, love, friendship and myself. There was always you, your sister and me. Now there's just me. It takes a while to figure out who am I without you. You are forever in my heart. It was your time to go and now you are with your sister, purring in Bastet's lap. Goodbye Princess, until we meet again.

With a broken heart, 

Tiitta

FRIDAY I'M IN LOVE week 16 - a gratitude list

Friday I'm in Love is my weekly gratitude list

I'm grateful for...

• Finishing a difficult, time-consuming project and being quite happy about the result.
• Our new/old sofa set; a bit dusty, broken and smelling of storage, but out sofa nevertheless.
• Who needs a television when you have animals! The best entertainment ever! 
• Getting healthier every day.

Dark chocolate, springy scents and love for all sentient beings,

Tiitta

FRIDAY I'M IN LOVE week 14 - a gratitude list

Friday I'm in Love is my weekly gratitude list


I'm grateful for...

• HOME. Home, Home, Home. 
• The kitties being well and very curious about the new Home, even the old kitty who's been mostly sleeping before is now jumping on cardboard boxes and looking out of the window.
• Sunshine. 
• Soup. All kinds of vegetarian and vegan soup. Yum. Light, easy, cheap, nourishing. 
• The people in my life, new and old.
• The power of smile.

Smile, smile, smile. Smiling even when you don't feel like it, tells your brain you're happy and you'll start to feel happier. Try it! 

Tiitta

WELCOME

Welcome, dear You, to my blog.

I'm Tiitta, a 36-year-old redhead living in Helsinki, Finland. I live with my boyfriend and three cats.

Tittis, Hexi and Freyja

me

us

I'm a dress-maker and a milliner by profession and I work at Finnish National Opera's wardrobe where I dye, make hats and help with the jewelry-making. It's the best job in the world.

me at work

On my free-time I dance, do yoga, make all kinds of handicrafts, act as a vice president and a secretary in an animal welfare organization and I have my own small business Tiisin' Design.



In this blog I'm going to tell about my life and style and how positivity changed my life. And make some tutorials too, of handicrafts at least. It's a new blog so there's not much to see yet, but do come back!

yippeeeee!

Namaste, kittywhiskers and the sound of little bells!

Tiitta