friday favourites

Friday favourites on a Saturday. I'm exhausted. Jakov got sick with fever Christmas night...a few days later Marko got a fever and today

 I'm not feeling so good myself. Once I publish this post I'm throwing myself in bed to watch the new season of Reign!! Yay!

On to my favourites!

Oversized, chunky with stripes. LOVE.

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2017! Can you believe today is the last day of 2016. I've been thinking alot about the new year....resolutions, goals. I want to try and give people more of my heart and less of my mind...not that I do that a lot but there always room for improvement.

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Next time we paint our living room it's going to be white.

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Chocolate chip cookie cake. No words needed.

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Where ever you are, if you're with friends, family or alone this new years eve I hope you are well and your heart is filled with hope for 2017. I really genuinely do.

xo

christmas past

Could you believe Christmas has come and gone already!

I hope you had a lovely Christmas. We had family come over. Only thing poor Jakov got sick Christmas evening (fever) and now it's Marko's turn.

Just look at this beautiful gingerbread house made by my neighbours daughter....and I can tell you, it tastes just as good! Decor you can eat!

Every Christmas I need some gold and glitter on my nails. I don't know what it is about the Christmas holidays, maybe it's inspired by all the lights but I need me some glittery nails. This shade (gifted to me by my friend) is called Antique Gold and it's beautiful (unfortunately my cuticles are not!).

Since Christmas Eve my main food group is what you see below. Mama's gonna have to go on a juice cleanse! I kinda feel gross...but it's not stopping me from picking up another friggin cookie!

One of my favourite things to do is to gift wrap. I LOVE it! I found gorgeous wrapping paper...kinda had a theme going on (gold, black and white). I made the tag with my stamp set called Winter Fun (which is on sale btw). 

I was going to do a blog post of gift ideas but somehow with all the crap happening in the world I just couldn't......because at the end of the day it's not about presents but about the people you love. I love finding little treasure to gift to family and friends. I try to keep them small, special and useful (teaching my kid and myself to be less wasteful).

I have been watching every Hallmark Channel Christmas movie possible and catching up on my crochet projects while watching. My husband and kids are going to throw up if I watch another one! ;) I can't help it!

I hope you all are enjoying the holiday season. Much love, good health and peace to us all.

xo

friday favourites

I want to wish you all a very Merry Christmas. Much love, peace and good health to you and your loved ones.

Here are my Friday favourites.

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FYI - Christmas sale! Ends on the 28th.

xo

bean stitch

I've already shared this picture on my blog here talking about the cowl and the gorgeous Tina (who's blog, instagram and youtube channel I follow) wearing it.

I love the texture these cowls have and I make them using the bean stitch (one of my favourite stitches).

Why I'm sharing it again is because I was so happy to see in her latest video she's wearing it! I gifted this cowl to her last year and she's wearing it which is so amazing...makes me happy! 

Her amazing blog with so much inspiration is called House of Valentina.

xo

HO HO HO!

Ends Wednesday.

xo

friday favourites

Here they are!

Love the little xmas trees and I love that dresser.

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It is the most wonderful time of the year...but I am very aware that for many it's not and it weighs heavily on my heart. It really does. I pray for them.

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Love.

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I will be making loads of cookies for Christams and I think I'll add this one to the list.

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xo

Cosmel & Jane's Doodles giveaway

Hello! 

Evo što sam vam pripremila za nagradnu igru!

Dobit ćete sve što trebate za izraditi čestitke osim škara i ljepila. Sve sam već obojala i izrezala za vas!

Za inspiration kliknite tu i posjetite Jane's Doodles blog.

Savjet za izrezivanje: ne režite likove po vanjskom rubu već malo izvan njega. Bit će urednije. Koristite male škarice (svoje sam kupila u Mulleru).

Vjerujem da ćete se zabaviti izrađujući ih a nekoga ćete i razveseliti.

xo

cosmel - tri care cream

If you follow me on instagram you'll know about the Cosmel and Jane's Doodles giveaway! To play along click here (it's open to Croatian residents). And you'll also know I'm a fan of Cosmel products. I've blogged about it here, here, here and here!

Cosmel is giving away 5 Tri-Care Creams and along with these creams you'll get a Christmas card kit made by me, all stamped, coloured and ready for you to cut out and put together (more on that tomorrow).

I thought it a perfect time to give my review on this cream. I used up the whole jar. I actually got this cream by accident (about a year ago). I asked the sales lady (at Lavanda Mia) for the eye cream and she gave me this...I didn't even look in my bag until I got home and realized it's not the eye cream (which is one of my favourite Cosmel products). Because it says it's also to be used around the eyes I figured I would just use it for my eyes and also test it out on my face too.

In short this is a beautiful cream perfect for sensitive skin (I would think any skin type except for maybe really oily skin). It's so gentle and nourishing. That is one thing I notice about all of Cosmel's products is that they are so nourishing.

I mostly used it for my eyes and neck (because I already have my face oils and creams) but I did use it on my face for a good two weeks to see how my skin would respond. All in all it left my skin soft and hydrated. Didn't leave my skin feeling oily at all (I had my skin tested and it's pretty much normal, a little dehydrated. During hot months I would say it's combo skin). Didn't irritate my eyes. I also used it on my husband. He has some redness ( mostly around the hair line) and this cream was perfect for him.

This cream is made up of organic oils like almond, grape seed, apricot, peanut, marigold, linden, geranium, lavader oils.  It also contains vitamins A, E and F. It helps with wrinkles and dark circles. Accelerates the formation of collagen, soothes, tones and softens skin. I has medium UV protection.

More about the giveaway tomorrow.

I know I'm writing in English. First, most Croatians know English (svaka čast) and my Croatian is horrible BUT if you have any questions about my post just ask (samo pitajte)!

xo

shipping, shipping, shipping

Hello!

I've been meaning to talk about Jane's Doodles and shipping for a while. 

First up if you order from my shop your order is being shipped from Croatia. Yup! There are still many who don't know this. :) 

Shipping is calculated by weight.

Your package is sent through the Croatian National Post registered and with a tracking number. Registered means you'll have to sign for it. If you want a tracking number then it automatically is sent registered.

Now the part that drives me bananas and to better explain what I'm saying I've added some examples below.

The last entry for Croatia says this...

19.11.2016. 2:36:49

Croatia

ZAGREB 10003

Insert item into bag (Otb)

It reads 'Insert item into bag (Otb)' This is the LAST STOP for Croatia. The next entry is the country where the package is going. Most of the time the other country will process the package and the tracking will continue but sometimes they don't and I don't know why. Australia for example never shows up on this tracking. So if you don't see any changes to this tracking page my advice is to call or go to your post office and ask. Once it leaves Croatia there's nothing I can do and like I mentioned before when it says 'INSERT ITEM INTO BAG (OTB)' this is the last stop for Croatia.

ITEM n° RC405223408HR new search Local Date and Time Country Location Event Type Extra Information 17.11.2016. 19:26:32 Croatia 10128 Zagreb * Receive item from customer (Otb) 18.11.2016. 16:06:10 Croatia 10128 Zagreb * Send item to domestic location (Otb) 18.11.2016. 19:18:34 Croatia 10200 Zagreb LP Send item to domestic location (Otb) 19.11.2016. 2:30:07 Croatia ZAGREB 10003 Receive item at office of exchange (Otb) 19.11.2016. 2:36:49 Croatia ZAGREB 10003 Insert item into bag (Otb) 21.11.2016. 12:14:00 Germany FRANKFURT/FLUGHAFEN Receive item at office of exchange (Inb) 23.11.2016. 16:14:00 Germany 81033085 Deliver item (Inb) SIGNED BY : KLADEK ANJA You can see below the last stop for Croatia says again 'Insert item into bag (Otb)', next entry is the USA. 21.11.2016. 11:36:25 Croatia ZAGREB 10003 Insert item into bag (Otb)  ITEM n° RC405223399HR new search Local Date and Time Country Location Event Type Extra Information 17.11.2016. 19:25:49 Croatia 10128 Zagreb * Receive item from customer (Otb) 18.11.2016. 16:06:10 Croatia 10128 Zagreb * Send item to domestic location (Otb) 18.11.2016. 19:18:34 Croatia 10200 Zagreb LP Send item to domestic location (Otb) 21.11.2016. 11:17:20 Croatia ZAGREB 10003 Receive item at office of exchange (Otb) 21.11.2016. 11:36:25 Croatia ZAGREB 10003 Insert item into bag (Otb) 25.11.2016. 5:34:00 United States of America (the) ISC NEW YORK NY (USPS) Receive item at office of exchange (Inb) 1.12.2016. 16:27:00 United States of America (the) 29928 Deliver item (Inb)

Below you can see the last entry is 'Insert item into bag (Otb)'...again BAG being the key here. Means that's it for Croatia...next up is the country where the package is going and like I said sometimes the package is not processed by which ever country the package is going to. So if you see something like this (below) it doesn't mean your package is sitting in Croatia...it left. It means the country where the package is going hasn't processed it (most of the time they do and sometimes they don't).

ITEM n° RC445986553HR new search Local Date and Time Country Location Event Type Extra Information 30.11.2016. 16:17:05 Croatia 51114 Rijeka * Receive item from customer (Otb) 30.11.2016. 16:35:29 Croatia 51114 Rijeka * Send item to domestic location (Otb) 30.11.2016. 19:06:20 Croatia 51200 Rijeka LPP Send item to domestic location (Otb) 1.12.2016. 8:06:10 Croatia 10004 Zagreb CAR Receive item at location (Otb) 1.12.2016. 9:03:39 Croatia 10004 Zagreb CAR Send item to domestic location (Otb) 1.12.2016. 10:28:01 Croatia ZAGREB 10003 Receive item at office of exchange (Otb) 1.12.2016. 10:47:26 Croatia ZAGREB 10003 Insert item into bag (Otb)

You can track your orders here. 

Just type in your tracking number into the box and hit submit.

Please don't hesitate to ask me any question. I really do my best to make sure your packages get to you.

xo

friday favourites

 My husband and daughter are sick and I got maybe 4 hours sleep on the couch last night. We're watching Home Alone 3 tonight with popcorn and crocheting (me crocheting that is).

Here they are!

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Simple and lovely. LOVE the mirror!

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This is the time of the year I want to wear gold glitter! :)

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butter cake

My nephew celebrated his 3rd birthday the other day and I baked him this yellow butter cake with chocolate frosting. First time trying this recipe out. Really easy and I like the cake but the frosting is too sweet for me.

Cake

2 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
1  1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs

Preheat oven to 350*F.  Grease and flour two 8 inch x 2 inch baking pans and set aside.

In a large mixing bowl sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.

Add butter, milk, and vanilla.  With a hand mixer, beat for  2 minutes, occasionally scraping down the sides of the bowl.  

Add eggs and beat for 2 minutes more.

Pour batter into prepared pans, dividing equally between the pans.  Bake 30 to 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.  Remove from oven.

Frosting

1 stick (1/2 cup) butter or margarine
2/3 cup Hershey's cocoa
3 cups powdered sugar (confectioners' sugar)
1/3 cup milk  (plus an additional few drops to make a nice consistency)
1 teaspoon vanilla

Melt butter.  Stir in cocoa.  Alternately add powdered sugar and milk, beating on medium speed to spreading consistency.  Add more milk if needed.  Stir in vanilla.  About 2 cups frosting

I found this recipe on pinterest here.

xo

netflix favourites

I'm sharing some of my Netflix favourites. Most of the time I'm watching Netflix while I'm working at my desk. I have two screens so it's more like I'm listening than watching while I'm drawing etc. Or late at night I'll watch while crocheting.

First up is Gilmore Girls of coarse! 

LOVE LOVE LOVE!

I am not ashamed to say that I watched it 3 times already and now have the need to go back and watch all 7 seasons again!

I love to watch the History Channel so The Crown was another show I couldn't wait to watch. Watched it....LOVED it! It's so so good! I want more. And I think I want to move to England.

You'll see a pattern with the following shows. I love history, castles and the Irish! :) I really enjoyed this series. 

The Tudors. Wow! LOVED this. Only problem with it is it's not a show you can watch with your kids if you know what I mean....you know...there's a lot of 'threading the needle', the 'horizontal mambo'. 

Didn't think I was going to like this one much but I loved it!

Will share more favourites soon but for now

 I'm watching cheesy Christmas movies....the cheesier the better! :)

xo