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 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 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 29 - a gratitude list

Friday I'm in love is my gratitude list.

I'm grateful for.. 

• Friends. Old and new, those yet to come to my life and even those who I've parted ways with. Thank you. 

(found from the internetz)

• (Oh, and also the TV-series Friends. We've watched almost all 10 seasons this summer, it's great.)

Butterflies, old wooden boxes and the smell of tar,

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 weeks 24, 25 and 26 - a gratitude list

I've been on a vacation and thus I've neglected this blog. Sorry! I love you all the same!

I'm grateful for...

• Summer. A real, proper, hot, sunny summer. With mosquito bites, unintentional sunburns, sweaty dance practices, nightless nights, time off from work, just lazying around, eating watermelon all day.
  
  

  

  enjoying the sunshine at my family's cottage 

  
  
• Watermelon. I'm obsessed with it. Here in Finland you can get decent ones only in the summer. 
• Dance. I attended a wonderful Tribal Summer Camp two weeks ago, it organised by my teacher Laura Luna. 6 workshops with teachers from Estonia: Jaana Hansman (Yahna) and Sweden: Pernilla Sund and Gita Vinlander. Oh how much fun and hard work there was! Brainwork too! I'm glad my Yogi tea gave me a good advice beforehand: LET EVERYONE BE BETTER THAN YOU. There was also a show called Underground Cabaret, with a lot of performers, including the teachers and our very own Kaira Tribe. 

  

  Ane, me and Laura Luna
  photo by Mintti Raassina

  (I only have this photo yet, hopefully there'll be more!) I can't wait for the Tribal Fusion classes to begin after the summer break! Luckily my other teacher Alli Ruth has the American Cabaret Bellydance and Drill, Strech and Tone classes going during the summer. Yesterday at the AMCAB class we practiced balancing cups of water on our heads and in our hands. Fun! 
• Midsummer at my family's cottage. I love it there, but it's such a long way away and nearly impossible to go to without a car (which we don't have). This year we went with my cousin and my godmother. The weather was perfect, lots of great food was had and white wine was cold. We visited our grandma and grandpa's grave and just WERE. It was needed, though I'm not very good at it, you know, just being. I relax by doing, so my "just being" is reading, crocheting, drawing, practicing my zils, etc. 

  

  my family's cottage

  
  

  

  lake Huuhtjärvi at our family's cottage

• Reading. I'm used to being a real bookworm but for the past few years my reading has been really slow, just a few books per year. (Though I listen to tens and tens of audio books per year, but it's different than reading). I haven't been able to concentrate at all. It's been troubling me a lot. But now it seems I'm getting my reading zest back. I couldn't be happier about it! Books <3

Watermelon, red bling and the letters of the alphabet, 

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 21 - a gratitude list

Friday I'm in love is my weekly gratitude list.


I'm grateful for..

• Art. We went to see an exhibition called Firebird and Snow Maiden, classic Russian paintings about stories and fairy tales. I was especially impressed by paintings by Ivan Bilibin, who's art my fiancé has admired since his childhood. 

Ivan Bilibin; Vasilisa the beautiful

• Volunteer work. Our animal welfare association attended a huge festival in Helsinki called World Village. It was touching to see hundreds of different kinds of organisations and associations and the people who are willing to volunteer their precious time. And it was so interesting to see so many different causes that people do volunteer work for. We all have to choose our battles, I've chosen animal welfare, but it doesn't mean that I don't find human rights or nature conservation important (just to name a couple of causes). Luckily there are people who care.

The clippety-clop of ballet shoes, the taste of ginger and the scent of chinese insence, 

Tiitta

FRIDAY I'M IN LOVE week 19 and 20 - a gratitude list

Friday I'm in love is my weekly gratitude list. Though this time it's bi-weekly, since last week I was away in Holland.


I'm grateful for..

• The chance to travel. We are not rich, but we manage to save a bit to travel somewhere once or twice a year. It's so amazing to experience new (or familiar) places, people, cultures, foods, atmospheres. Traveling broadens your mind. It gives you so much new ideas. It makes you appreciate things at home. This time we were in Holland; Amsterdam, Houten, Utrecht and Rotterdam.

Amsterdam

Houten

Rotterdam; Jean-Paul Gaultier's exhibition

fabulous veggie food at De Boelhoed, Amsterdam

• Dance. Always, always, always. Today I had my first Tribal Fusion performance, I loved it so much. And it fills my heart with bubbles of joy that there will be more performances for me. 

Laura Luna in the front, from left to right Ane, me, Pinja and Jenny, a part of Laura Luna & Kaira Tribe
photo by Tuukka Ahonen

Ane and me
photo by Hanna Erkinjuntti

• Friends <3

The jingle of tiny bells, the scent of jasmine and the taste of Clipper's Detox- tea,

Tiitta

FRIDAY I'M IN LOVE week 17 - a gratitude list

Friday I'm in love is my weekly gratitude list


I'm grateful for...

• Spring! The trees are budding, the huge piles of snow are almost not there anymore, the weather is getting warmer, the migrating birds are starting to come to Helsinki. 
• Dance. I'm so grateful to have a healthy body. Dancing gives me so much joy, I can't express it in words. Also the feeling of getting better at it all the time. All that effort pays off.
• Friends. We are all so very busy that I don't get to meet my friends as much as I'd want to but if I reach out, there's always a response. I'm not alone. 
• My fiancé. He's so funny, handsome, caring, skillful and creative. 
• People who volunteer. People who care. People who give without asking for something back.

Frozen strawberries, travel guide books and the sound of bird song,

Tiitta

FRIDAY I'M IN LOVE week 15 - a gratitude list

Friday I'm in Love is my weekly gratitude list


I'm grateful for...

• My Birthday. Which means that I'M ALIVE. 

Pineapple-flavored kisses,

Tiitta

FRIDAY I'M IN LOVE week 12 - a gratitude list

Friday I'm in love is my weekly gratitude list


I'm grateful for...

• making a huge plan for the future and getting engaged on Spring Equinox / Ostara <3

 me and him as pirates

pic by Tuukka Ahonen

FRIDAY I'M IN LOVE week 11- a gratitude list

Friday I'm in love is my weekly gratitude list

I'm grateful for...

• Most of all, this week, I'm grateful for not being ill anymore. I caught a nasty bug and was ill from Saturday to Thursday, missing six dance classes, four days of work and my appetite. 
• Nevertheless, dance! Last weekend I attended four bellydance workshops in Tallinn, by the amazing dancer April Rose (USA) and tried my best to absorb all I could despite being ill already. And on Saturday night we went to Infusion Show to watch bellydancers, tribalistas, ATS dancers etc perform, oh my how beautiful shows! I was quite dizzy and probably had fever so I wasn't very sociable but I enjoyed it tremendously. 
• Things working out so greatly for my Love as well.
• Having such amazing work projects.

Bunny tracks in snow, hot ginger tea and belly-rolls,

Tiitta

FRIDAY I'M IN LOVE week 10 - a gratitude list

Friday I'm in love is my weekly gratitude list.

I'm grateful for...

• Dance, dance, dance. This week there's a lot of it.
• Things going smoothly, even the ones that felt like they might not go too smoothly.
• Believing in Good Things.
• New (used) furniture for the new Home.
• NYX's "Slide on, glide on, stay on & definitely a turn on waterproof, extreme shine eye liner (this eye liner is so good the name had to be this long!)" eye liners. Cruelty free and superb! I'm in love! I already have four different shades.
• All the good things yet to manifest.

Exotic turquoise drink, winks and the sound of a kitty snoring,

Tiitta

FRIDAY I'M IN LOVE week 8 - a gratitude list

Friday I'm in love is my weekly gratitude list


I'm grateful for...

• Helping others.
• Having a work that truly inspires me, challenges me and  pushes me to my creativeness' limits.
• Being healthy.
• Feeling Loved.
• My prince <3
• The returning of the Light.
• The tinkle of my bracelets

some of my beads

Pink bubbles, diamantes and red high heel shoes,

Tiitta

FRIDAY I'M IN LOVE week 5 - a gratitude list

Friday I'm in love is my weekly gratitude list

photo from the almighty world wide web.

I'm grateful for...

• Blueberries. True superfood.
• Having so much DANCE in my life.
• Being healthy enough to dance.
• My kitties.
• My Love for constant support.
• Old-fashioned letter-writing.
• Lady Gaga; her music makes me want to sing out loud, everywhere. And dance.
• Nuts. I'm nuts about nuts. Pecan, macadamia, almonds <3
• My new tattoo, made by Jenni @ Bound Tattoo, Helsinki. (she's made pretty much all my tattoos)
• For all the great things yet to happen.

the biggest spirals on the chest are new and I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE them.

Green glass, purple velvet and the sound of a great soup bubbling,

Tiitta

LOVE

Today me and Mr T have been together for a year. What a marvellous year it has been! I don't think I have words enough to tell how much he increases my overall happiness and how wonderfully he treats me and  not to mention the crazy Fun we have together. Who would have thought! There really are gentlemen out there, and I got the best one. And yes, I'm a hopeless romantic so I ooze mushy wuw-stuff.

photo by Tuukka Ahonen

Green fireworks, rainbows and hedgehog sounds, 

Tiitta

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

May it be full of adventures, sparkle, glitter, kitties, awesomeness, love, laughter, happiness and art <3

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