i am zoe

i've moved!

2011-03-04T21:41:00.005+02:00

this blog project was too unfocused for me and maybe a wee bit too personal too, so now there is a new one. it's about events, parties and pretty things. and i promise to be much more active from now on!

enter here

Photography by maja paja

2010-09-19T09:06:00.002+03:00

Since I have been rather lazy and uninspired with my own photography lately, I decided to start showing my inspiration sources here weekly.

I have to start with Maria Gudrun Runarsdottir or maja paja. Her photos draw me in every time. There's something so foreign, so mystical about each and every one of her pictures.

She has a cute little daughter, that she dresses in the most gorgeous clothing:

She lives in Iceland:

And she takes such fantastic photos of people. I always wonder whether it's the light in Iceland that makes the skin of the persons look so pale and ivory-like or if the people do in fact have that sort of skin tone...

Check out her stream. You'll probably spend hours..

mini-model

2010-09-17T14:20:00.004+03:00

<3

fun!

my first wedding shoot

2010-09-17T13:16:00.005+03:00

My first wedding shoot ever went surprisingly well. Although I was sweating like a pig the whole day long, the weather and light conditions were far from great and I didn't even have time to use the toilet or enjoy a meal, the end results turned out quite alright. The couple was lovely. So in love, so beautiful and so easy to take pictures of.

A few impressions:

my little girl is really not a baby anymore

2010-07-13T00:04:00.003+03:00

She turned 1 year old almost two weeks ago. She talks a little, can take a few steps by herself and keeps us on our feet the whole day long. Luckily, summer has arrived, so there's plenty of wonderful things to do.

changes

2010-03-09T19:07:00.008+02:00

The little one moved to her own room and so far it's been working surprisingly well. I've made a few changes to the nursery at the same time.

lovely thrift store and flea market finds.

Red Lentil Curry

2010-02-10T23:38:00.004+02:00

you need:
1 cup red lentils (peeled)
3 cloves of garlic
1 piece ginger root
2 shallots
1 large carrot
3 sticks of celery
1 red bell pepper or red pepper
1 cup canned tomatoes or tomato sauce
2 tablespoons of red curry paste
1 cube vegetable stock
¼ teaspoons of cinnamon powder
1 teaspoon of garam masala
1 teaspoon of turmeric
1 teaspoon of curry powder
1 teaspoon of brown sugar
a pinch of salt
2 cups of water or milk
3 tablespoons greek or turkish yoghurt to serve

Mince the peeled shallots, garlic and ginger and fry them in a Dutch oven or large pan with a lid on low heat. Add diced carrot, celery and red pepper and let soften for a few minutes. Then add red curry paste, cinnamon, garam masala spice, turmeric and curry powder and stir well. If you like your curry very spicy, add chili powder or additional chopped chili peppers.

Pour in the canned tomatoes or tomato sauce, add the vegetable stock, sugar and salt and stir for a minute. Finally add the lentils and water or milk, stir once again and cover with a lid. Let simmer on low heat for at least half an hour (check occasionally if you need to add more liquid).

Transfer portions into small bowls, top each with a tablespoon of yoghurt and serve with warm garlic naan and/or basmati rice.

Japanese masking tape & new spice jars

2010-02-09T16:48:00.002+02:00

One of my favorite shops in Helsinki, Pino, now sells these fantastic japanese paper tapes. I had seen them before on a few design blogs, but never really got myself to order any, because they were previously only available from japanese and US online shops.

masking tapes

I also found these lovely glass containers at Indiska. Usually I write the spice names straight onto the glass which is annoying when you want to change the contents. So, now i used the paper tape and i love how they turned out. I reckon I'll buy some more of these pretty jars before they are out of stock.

glass jars by indiska

an update

2010-02-09T09:42:00.004+02:00

it's winter here. like it's almost everywhere at the moment. just that here it comes with even more snow and even less daylight than in most places. and somehow the days seem too short to do anything. so, really, i haven't had the "time" to write anything her in quite some time now. for now i'll show a few pictures of the last two months.

bucket photo session in the nursery

a day like any other

the chicken and her miniature double

-17 celsius

I'll post more pictures tomorrow.

i eat food

2009-11-24T11:36:00.002+02:00

oh yes, she does. today: apricots. not a big success obviously, but she eats them anyway.

yum..

ummm...

yuk.

etsy finds (all european)

2009-11-15T11:37:00.003+02:00

Since we're halfway through november and thus it's almost december (thus almost christmas), i've started to look around for presents. I noticed again that it's much easier to find gifts for females. Just look at all the beautiful things in these etsy shops:

sterling jewelry by make it

miniature food jewelry at PetitPlat

jewelry by Laura Baillie Designs

feminine jewelry and hair accessories by Sumiko Shop

hand-crafted accessories by MIXKO

copper and sterling jewelry by Black Daisy Designs

beautiful clutches by Emma Gordon London

ruffled wristlets and other vegan bags & pouches at squirrellicious

wedding dresses

2009-11-15T00:31:00.005+02:00

we got married without a big party. no ceremony, no guests, no reception. just my husband, my daughter and i. and it was great that way. what i regret a little though is that i didn't have a wedding dress. especially when seeing the great dresses of frocky jack morgan:

all images by frocky jack morgan

my favourite picture book

2009-11-14T20:04:00.005+02:00

When I was little this book was my absolute favourite. My parents and grandparents had to look at it with me every day. When i was older it was passed to my cousins and somewhere down the line it must have been thrown out. Now, i found a copy for our little girl. It was the only search result on google and i bought it from a little 2nd hand shop for 50 cents. I still love the cute pictures.

And look. Our little one likes it too (and she's actually holding it herself here!):

i love - sideboards and dressers

2009-11-13T21:46:00.005+02:00

i love this mid-century sideboard. and look at the wall paints! the turquoise and light yellow work great together. photo by parfait amour.

by highdesignfool

by homebug

by adore_vintage

by decorscout. see the re-do on her blog.

green walls

2009-11-13T19:34:00.005+02:00

left: seen on desire to inspire, right: wood & wool stool

left (yes, i know it's yellow, not green): red jet whistle, right: annaleahart

i really really love the wall colour in combination with the medium brown wooden furniture. picture by sandiv999

the fridge! oh my... i just told my husband that when we finally get a place of our own, we will have to get a fridge like that. photo by naicomenó

i love the lighting in this. seems like such a calm living space. picture by atelierpompadour

green nursery by mixed palette

by marusica

seen on desire to inspire

I wanted to save these..

2009-11-13T00:12:00.003+02:00

.. because they are so pretty and won't last for long anymore.

Also because I didn't have to buy them myself. I got them from my husband - believe it or not - for no particular reason (or at least that's what i believe). I am a very lucky girl indeed, i know.

thursday breakfast: homemade scones

2009-11-12T14:20:00.006+02:00

Fresh mini scones. In my opinion a much nicer option than pancakes. Just pop them in the oven and wait for the magic to happen (or make some coffee and set the table). Today's batch came out perfect. Here's the recipe:

Creme fraiche scones
makes 10 regular sized or 16 mini scones

2 cups of flour
1 tablespoon of baking soda
3 tablespoons of sugar
a pinch of salt
5 tablespoons of very cold butter
150g of creme fraiche
5 tablespoons of milk
optional: 1/2 cup of dried fruit or berries chopped into small bits, or 1/2 cup of chocolate bits

Mix together flour, baking soda, sugar and salt. Add the butter to the mixture and blend it in. This works best with a kitchen machine or a pastry blender (if you don't have those, use two knives). Stir in the creme fraiche (leave out a teaspoon for glazing the scones) and milk using a fork or a spatula. If you want fruit, berry or chocolate bits in your scones, throw them in now. Don't overmix - the ingredients should be just combined! Pour the mix onto a lightly floured table and knead the mix for ten seconds or until you get a very sticky ball of dough. Patt the dough down on a floured surface until it's about 3cm thick and either cut out circles with a 4cm (mini) or 6,5cm (regular) cookie cutter or simply cut into triangle shapes. Brush a wee bit of creme fraiche onto the scones and bake them in the pre-heated oven on 190 degrees celsius for about 10 minutes or until the scones are slightly browned.

Invite your friends over for breakfast and enjoy!

i love - wee things

2009-11-11T15:36:00.003+02:00

soft toys phone and firetruck by anne-claire petit, cuddly monkeys made from fair trade materials by Blabla

Blue onesie and shiny red overall by Mini Rodini, woolen crawlers with cute details by Memini

12 decorative prints and colourful clothes rag by Modcloth.com, wooden domino game "zoo" by Habitat, "Utensilo": ByGraziela

Lovely bibs seen at www.lilla-lycka.de

And now please keep me from spending next month's rent money. And did i mention that i hate modcloth.com? It makes me want to cry every time i look at all the wonderful things on the page.

i have a feeling

2009-11-11T00:52:00.005+02:00

that my little girl might start crawling any day now. and it's sad and exciting at the same time. not to mention scary. soon i'll have to hide store vases and other breakables in and on top of closets. but for now, i enjoy her being my little helpless baby.

i love - this & that

2009-11-10T23:52:00.003+02:00

from top to bottom: Tom Dixon "tube rug": The Rug Rompany, tables "morris" by artek, Paulig's new Juhla Mokka storage container design by Sanna Annukka, Lamp "le soleil" by Vicente Garcia Jimenez, table "docksta": Ikea, wall clock "flap" by Habitat, chairs "Acapulco" by Oficina Kreativa

i love - kitchen stuff

2009-11-09T22:11:00.006+02:00

top left to bottom right: retro storage container: Sagaform, teal coloured casserole: Le Creuset, red artisan Kitchen Aid, orange pitcher "koko" by Iittala

top to bottom: the new Marimekko dishes design "Siirtolapuutarha" and "Räsymatto", the new Bodum french press in green (also available in pink and purple) and Clipper teas' new package design.

our scotland holiday

2009-11-09T21:39:00.004+02:00

it was beautiful. and i got the hang of driving on the left lane pretty quickly. oh, how nervous i was about it... anyway, here are the best pictures of our trip:

baby style diary continued

2009-10-09T13:38:00.006+03:00

Sunday
the owl suit of wednesday

Saturday
forgot to take a style diary picture. instead i have this:

body by kappahl

Friday

trousers & hoodie: H&M, body: benetton, socks: lindex

baby style diary

2009-10-01T10:45:00.005+03:00

Thursday

bodysuit by lindex, socks: H&M

Wednesday
a

outfit by benetton

b

outfit by lindex

c

bodysuit by småfolk

Tuesday

dress: lindex, body: H&M, leggins: ernsting's family

Monday

dress by H&M, body: kappahl, trousers and socks: lindex

the best lemon pie

2009-10-01T10:13:00.005+03:00

I just need to share this great great recipe for lemon pie with almonds. it's simple and delicious and i make it at least every other week.

for the small oven dish i used only a quarter of the recipe below

French Lemon and Almond Pie

shell:
1.5 dl flour, 1 dl powdered almonds, 3 tbs sugar, 50g butter, 1 egg

filling:
100g melted butter, 1.5 dl fresh lemon juice, zest of two lemons, 2.5 dl sugar, 0.5 tbs vanilla sugar, 150g powdered almonds, 4 eggs

1. Mix all ingredients for the shell in a large bowl and spread in an oven dish lined with baking paper. Pre-bake on 200C for about 10 to 15 minutes.

2. Mix lemon juice, zest, sugar, vanilla sugar, butter and almonds. In a separate bowl, whisk eggs until very foamy. Carefully mix the eggs with the other ingredients and pour into the pre-baked shell. Bake for about 15 minutes. Let it cool down completely and sprinkle some powdered sugar on top. Enjoy!

a new kitchen shelf

2009-10-01T10:06:00.004+03:00

so i haven't posted anything in quite some time. been busy with getting used to being a mother, trying to find a house to buy and realizing that we can't afford anything we'd really want. so we're staying put and i redecorate. here's our new kitchen shelf. we put it up yesterday and i think it's pretty.

4 weeks old already

2009-07-26T11:33:00.004+03:00

2009-07-14T19:23:00.002+03:00

father and daughter

2009-07-08T13:08:00.000+03:00

yes. the usual picture.

welcoming the little girl

2009-07-04T10:41:00.000+03:00

she's finally here. and she's perfect.

squirrel parade

2009-06-19T19:55:00.006+03:00

lucky bastard

2009-05-31T15:03:00.003+03:00

I find these four-leaved clovers all the time. I guess otherwise i'm not particularly lucky though. I left this one there for someone else to find.

and we're still waiting for the little one to arrive

2009-05-31T10:48:00.003+03:00

Meanwhile i take pictures of the chicken.

A new lens

2009-05-11T07:58:00.002+03:00

And i love it.

my first week at home

2009-05-05T14:02:00.003+03:00

The first week at home is as expected - boring. Been keeping myself busy with a little diy project:

The nursery. Now almost ready.

2009-04-26T07:57:00.007+03:00

First swim this year

2009-04-26T07:53:00.002+03:00

And the chicken is happy.

wallpapers

2009-03-17T14:48:00.002+02:00

I've always wanted wallpapers, but it seems like such a big investment. Especially when you rent your flat. But there are so many lovely options. I just found these patterns on Tapetorama:

left: model Topo Azul by Paper Tales, right: model Storskogen by MerMönster.

left: model Harry's Garden, right: model Garden Birds. Both by Louise Brody.

left: model Woods, right: model Flamingos. Both by Cole & Son.

Model Dotty by Ferm Living.

Great great cakes

2009-03-12T20:02:00.002+02:00

For the first birthday of the little one, i'm going to make one of these. Probably the monkey. Or maybe already for the christening party. Or the baby shower... Click here to see the whole set of cakes.

Photos by parenting.com

Our place - march 3rd 2009

2009-03-03T20:24:00.005+02:00

I'll probably make a few changes to our flat during the weekend. The kitchen and bedroom need rearranging. The hallway too. And i really hope we can finish the nursery. At least the bigger part. I might still add some accessories over the next months.

Here are a few pictures of what it look likes at the moment:

The nursery

First impressions after painting the walls. We have all pieces together by now, just need to set them up.

The bedroom

The position of the bed has already changed. it's more of a parent bedroom now. but the decoration needs a bit of rearranging.

The living room

this part just needs some wall decoration. i haven't found any "perfect" prints for my taste until now, so i'm thinking about painting some canvasses myself for now.

the bottles are from dublin. the plate is a muumi plate by iittala. the lamp is from ikea and the deer i got at a flee market in budapest.

i got the idea for the ornaments on the right from designsponge. so easy and cheap, and sooo pretty.

i found the tv cabinet at a flee market and painted it myself. it's one of my favourite pieces of furniture in our flat.

the three bottles (on the left picture) are already in a different place and so is the white stool on the right one. only now it has a new cover that i made out of a vintage curtain (see pics above)

Nursery Inspiration

2009-03-02T16:41:00.003+02:00

I have a pretty good picture of our finished nursery in my mind already. Still i can use a little inspiration for the details.

Modern nursery. Seen on ohdeedoh. Photos by Brian Khang Photography.

It looks like disney land. just better. Pictures by Arli. Seen on nested.

Lovely nursery by Megan. I want the bedding! Can't seem to find any nice bright yellow bedding around here. Seen on ohdeedoh.

Nursery by Mette. Seen on the nesting blog.

Bake it pretty!

2009-03-01T21:23:00.009+02:00

I just found this online shop. Oh my... I'll need to start planning the baby shower at some point (yes, we have decided to have a real baby shower) and i might just order a few things from here. Just what? So hard to decide...

all images by bake it pretty

Dawanda finds - nursery accessories

2009-03-01T19:56:00.006+02:00

wall stickers by enna

prints by Terese Bast

pillows by allerliebst

by betty buttermilch

Dawanda finds - home & decor

2009-03-01T18:50:00.005+02:00

tree pillows by hi tree!

photography prints by pamelaklaffke

left: hand printed bedsheets, middle: hand printed pillow, right: origami mobile. everything by jodii

sunday lunch: creamy mushroom soup

2009-03-01T14:16:00.001+02:00

It's still quite cold here, so a nice hot soup makes just the right lunch for chilly a sunday like this one.

Ingredients:

500g mushrooms
2 large potatoes
1 shallot
2 cloves of garlic
1l of vege stock
butter
150ml of light cream (i used 15% fat cream today)
salt & white pepper
if needed potato starch

Instructions:

Peel and slice potatoes and boil them in the vege stock for about 20 minutes. Chop the garlic and the shallot and fry in butter until soft. Add chopped mushrooms and fry the mix for about 3 minutes or until the mushrooms are soft and brown. Add the mix to the vege stock and potatoes and let boil for around 15 minutes. Add cream and blend with a hand blender until smooth. If you like the soup thicker, blend in a bit of potato starch. Season with salt and pepper. Serve with fresh bread.

I made this recipe for two today and we still have leftovers, so i reckon it's enough for 3 to 4 persons.

latest buys

2009-03-01T13:03:00.000+02:00

sleepers. left: urban elk, right: lindex

lovely lovely sleepbag by moonkids

by monsoon kids

bodysuits by lindex. i really like the brand's colour and print designs. don't really want to dress my little girl only in the stereotypical pink clothes.

an early sunday walk

2009-03-01T12:34:00.000+02:00

We live a five minute walk away from the baltic sea. today we took out the chicken and the macro lense for an early walk.

the chicken exercising

our breakfast. coffee and delicious voisilmäpulla from the little café at the seashore. if you want to taste these buns yourself, here's a recipe.

i love the colours of the winter.

Lovely kitchens and bathrooms

2009-03-01T09:30:00.000+02:00

I hate our own bathrooms (luckily though we have two - shower and toilet are in separate rooms) and i don't really like our kitchen either. But we rent from a big housing company, so there's really not much i can do about it. So, i spend my sunday looking at pictures of other peoples' bath and kitchen spaces. being a tiny bit jealous.

finnish modern kitchen with vintage elements. seen at dekolehti.fi. photography by Mirva Kakko.

family bathroom. seen at dekolehti.fi. photography by Morten Holtum.

dining space and kitchen. seen at dekolehti.fi. photography by Mirva Kakko.

a few favourites on altphotos.com

2009-03-01T01:46:00.000+02:00

I am currently looking for photography or illustration prints for our very empty living room wall. Today i found these photographs on altphotos.com. Please visit the artists' porfolios. From up left to down right: Lukasz Biederman, fresh water tank, JP Zorn, florin cristescu

Zoe aka "the chicken"

2009-02-28T23:24:00.000+02:00

This is the little one my blog is named after. I wanted to dedicate the very first post to her. She tried out the new carpet in the nursery today. Seems to be very comfortable.