VERO MODA tank top
H&M MAMA jeans
H&M maxi cardigan
CONVERSE sneakers
LINDEX bracelet
Let me start this off by saying how much this family loves Lotte from Gadgetville. I’m not sure if you’re familiar with the character and the movies (I think they’re available in most languages) and if not, I think you should get better acquainted. The characters in Gadgetville are kind, clever, fun and very colorful – the latter is what makes the movies so fun and so easy for adults to relate to. Since a little more than a month ago, Gadgetville a place you can actually go with the characters (and all their homes exactly as they are in the movies) we all know and love. Since they announced it, there has been a LOT of criticism thrown around for pretty much everything starting with the supposedly outrageous 15€ ticket price to the amusement park itself. I’m not even going to comment what I think of those bitchy, whiny and petty idiots (oh wait, I just did, didn’t I?) so I’ll go ahead and tell you about our experience!
We arrived in the afternoon and it was raining so hard we were starting to question whether or not we would even be able to get out of our car. Once we did, we ran straight to Lotte’s house and who did we find? Lotte herself! We said hi, took photos and sat down in their family kitchen because Lotte told us uncle Klaus’ story hour was about to begin. I was so excited! The actors characters are so incredibly wonderful and if you’re the least bit playful and can channel your inner child, you would have been as thrilled as I was. Story hour ended with uncle Klaus playing jew’s harp and my Ladybug and Lotte dancing hand in hand! I still get a little teary eyed when I think of how happy having that dance with her biggest idol made my princess. :’) 15€ still looking too expensive?
Then we moved on to Adalbert the Rabbit’s lesson on electricity (Gadgetville is educational, after all). Adalbert is probably all the parents favorite character because of how loud, entertaining and socially awkward he is. If he doesn’t give you a good laugh, there’s something seriously wrong with you!
One of the criticisms I’ve heard is from parents who claim the characters were nowhere to be found during their visit and that all the houses were empty. Gadgetville has a very tight schedule – from early morning to closing time, there’s constantly something going on. We got to witness Klaus’ story hour, Adalbert’s lesson on electricity, a part of the big play (we went to lunch when it was starting and missed it, but that was our own fault), Paula’s music lesson, a session at the planetarium (it was FANTASTIC, fun, educational and even my two and a half year old was completely mesmerized) and that’s all considering we arrived late and didn’t even try very hard to follow the schedule. In addition to all that, we met all the characters on many occasions off-schedule and I even got to take photos with Gadgetville’s foremost inventor, Lotte’s dad Oskar. Guess how proud I was! 😉
How someone would think Gadgetville is a bore is beyond me and with all these WONDERFUL actors playing my kid’s favorite characters and interacting with her… I was in awe. There is much more we didn’t have time to experience, but that’s all the more reason to visit Gadgetville many more times.
I hope Lotteland prospers and that the creators of this magical place get all the credit they deserve for giving our children this wonderful gift. 🙂
Alustuseks olgu mainitud, KUI väga selle pere liikmed Leiutajaküla Lottet armastavad. Ma ei tea, kas te olete selle tegelase ja multikatega kursis, aga kui ei, siis soovitan kiiremas korras tutvust teha. Leiutajateküla elanikud on lahked, nutikad, lõbusad ja väga… värvikad – just selle viimase pärast on need multikad ka täiskasvanute jaoks nauditavad. Veidi enam kui kuu aega tagasi avati Pärnumaal päris tõeline Leiutajateküla koos tegelastega (ja majadega, mis on täpipealt sellised, nagu filmideski), keda me kõik tunneme ja armastame. Sellest ajast, kui avamine teatavaks tehti, on Lottemaa pihta soppa lennanud nii paremalt kui vasakult – küll on 15€ piletihind liiga kallis ja küll on teemapark ise täiesti mõttetu. Ma ei hakka isegi kommenteerima, mida ma nendest vinguvatest, väiklastest ja kitsarinnalistest idiootidest arvan (ups, ma vist juba tegin seda), nii et ma räägin teile parem meie kogemusest!
Meie jõudsime kohale alles pärastlõunal ja vihma sadas nii meeletult, et tekkis kahtlus, kas me autostki väljuda saame. Kui me seda siiski tegime, jooksime sirgjoones Lotte majja ja kelle me sealt eest leidsime? Lotte isiklikult! Ütlesime tere, tegime pilte ja istusime pere kööki maha, sest Lotte oli öelnud, et mõne hetke pärast algab sealsamas onu Klausi jututund. Oi, ma olin elevil! Näitlejad tegelased on nii uskumatult toredad ja kui sa oled pisutki mängulise loomuga ja suudad endas leida oma sisemise lapse, oleksid olnud sama elevil nagu mina. Jututund lõppes sellega, et onu Klaus mängis parmupilli ja minu väikene kullakene sai Lottega käest kinni tantsu lüüa! Mul tuleb siiamaani pisar silma, kui ma mõtlen, milline rõõm oma suurima iidoliga tantsimine mu tütrekese jaoks oli. Noh, kas 15€ tundub endiselt liiga kallis?
Siis liikusime edasi jänes Adalberdi elektriõpetuse tundi (Leiutajateküla on ikkagi arendav, eksole). Adalbert on tõenäoliselt kõigi lapsevanemate lemmiktegelane, sest ta on nii pööraselt vali, naljakas ja veider. Kui sa temaga kohtudes korralikku kõhutäit naerda ei saa, on sul endal midagi tõsiselt viga!
Üks peamistest kaebustest, mida lapsevanemad Leiutajatekülale ette heidavad on see, et majad on tühjad ja tegelasi pole kuskil näha. Leiutajatekülal on väga tihe graafik – alates hommikupoolikust kuni õhtuse sulgemisajani toimub igalpool koguaeg midagi. Meie kogesime Klausi jututundi, Adalberti loengut elektrist, osa suurest näidendist (see oli meie viga, et me selle ajal lõunat süüa otsustasime), Paula laulutundi, planetaariumisessiooni (see oli IMELINE- lõbus, hariv ja isegi mu kahepoolene oli täiesti lummatud) ja arvestades, et me jõudsime kohale poole päeva pealt ja isegi ei püüdnud väga graafikut järgida, on seda ikka väga palju. Lisaks kohtusime kõigi tegelastega mitmeid kordi ka väljaspool ettenähtud graafikut – mina sain isegi Leiutajateküla prominent-leiutaja, Lotte isa Oskariga sõbrapilti teha! Ma ei hakka ütlemagi, kui uhke tunne mul oli. 😉
Kuidas keegi võib väita, et Leiutajatekülas igav hakkab, on minu jaoks absoluutselt arusaamatu ja koos kõigi nende SUUREPÄRASTE tegelastega, kes mu lapse lemmiktegelasi mängivad ja temaga isiklikult suhtlevad… ma olin lummatud. Lottemaal on veel paljut, mida meie lihtsalt ei jõudnud kogeda, aga see annabki põhjust Leiutajateküla veel kordi ja kordi külastada.
Ma loodan südamest, et Lottemaad saadab edu ja et selle maagilise paiga loojad saavad oma suure südamega tehtud töö ja vaeva eest vääriliselt tunnustust. 🙂
Somewhere between telling me her wardrobe was a disaster because of all the dresses in it and ordering a new batch of stuff from Sheinside, Mariann told me she couldn’t find enough clothes she liked and kindly let me pick out two garments of my own. Since I’m the worlds foremost advocate for maxi dresses (guess why?), I grabbed these two without hesitation. The first one looked super comfortable and like something that would go great with fringes and cognac leather. In reality… well, it was exactly that. The fabric is soft, the length is perfect and the seams are faultless. WIN!
While the first one seemed like a pretty foolproof pick, choosing the one below was a little riskier. To look as flowy and gorgeous as it did in the product photos it would have to be made of tons and tons of fabric in reality, which kind of sounds like too much to expect from a Sheinside dress. Once it arrived, it was honestly so much more than I could possibly have hoped for. It fits perfectly (except for the cleavage – I have to secure it with a safety pin to not show the girls off in all their glory) and looks more elegant than any dress I’ve ever owned. Compared to Zara dresses, for instance, the correlation between price and quality is far better in these dresses of mine.
I’ve always thought of Sheinside dresses as something people gladly receive for free, but noone would ever buy. I swear to god, had I known how good these maxi dresses looked in real life, I would never have hesitated to buy them. Surprising, isn’t it?
~ küüned
Above: tomatoes, potatoes, beans, red onions, carrots, courgettes, herbs and sunflowers from K who came over and was kind enough to bring along all these colorful (and FLAVORFUL) homegrown treasures.
Below: carrots, beetroots, potatoes, onions and a huge turnip from H’s grandparents’ magical garden.
It’s not Christmas, but it’s pretty damn close.
// Üleval: tomatid, oad, punased sibulad, porgandid, suvikõrvitsad, ürdid ja päevalilled – armas K tuli meile külla ja tõi külakostiks kõik need imeilusad värvilised (ja NII MAITSVAD) pärlid.
All: porgandid, peedid, kartulid, sibulad ja suur kaalikas H vanavanemate võluaiast.
While H and Ladybug took a three-hour afternoon nap, there was a fierce thunderstorm outside and since there’s NOTHING I love more than rain and thunder outside while I’m cuddled up in a blanket inside, I lit candles (and our little bio-fireplace next to the TV), brewed a pot of fresh peppermint tea and treated myself to a slice of the chocolate cake I baked yesterday. “Houseboat” (1958) starring Cary Grant and Sophia Loren was on TV and the mantra “dolce far niente” fit right into my Saturday afternoon. I grabbed a couple of cook books, browsed for recipes, read about different kinds of produce and cooking techniques… that’s what I call my kind of quality time!
Even though our living room is mostly black and white and pretty minimalist, it’s still the coziest, most inviting place on earth. Home is where my heart is, for sure. 🙂
Kuigi meie elutuba on enamjaolt must-valge ja küllaltki minimalistlik, on see ikkagi kõige hubasem ja kutsuvam koht maamunal. Minu südame kodu on siin, igatahes. 🙂
Yesterday’s lunch consisted of a classic tuna Niçoise with *drumroll* home-baked bread. The latter sounds intimidating, but in reality (and much to my surprise), baking plain white bread is the easiest job there is. I always like to get some good bread to go with my salad (an olive ciabatta for example, yum), but I never realized I could make my own. I’m totally going to try different varieties and when all else fails, I have this simple recipe to fall back on. 😀
You need: 450g plain flour, 1 tsp. of salt, 7g dry (or 25g fresh) yeast, 3 dl warm water, 0,5 dl oil, 1 tbsp of light syrup (I used honey), 1 egg.
Mix all your dry ingredients together in a bowl and all the rest in another (leave some of your beaten egg for brushing your bread before baking) and mix everything together until the consistency of the dough is even. Cover the bowl with a clean towel and leave to rise for 30 min. in a warm place. After that, knead it through gently, form a loaf and place it in a loaf tin and let it rise there, covered, for another 30 minutes. Brush the loaf with egg (and top with anything you like from seeds to grated cheese) and place in a 200°C oven for 30-35 until the bread has risen and the crust is nice and golden. Allow it to cool (covered) before slicing. 🙂
// Eile lõunasöök koosnes klassikalisest tuunikalaga Nizza salatist ja *trummipõrin* värskelt küpsetet saiast! Viimane kõlab jube hirmutavalt ja keeruliselt, aga minu suureks üllatuseks pole saia küpsetamisest mitte midagi lihtsamat. Mulle õudselt meeldib salati kõrvale head saia/leiba/sepikut (nt. oliiviciabattat, näm) osta, aga ma ei ole varem selle peale tulnud, et seda võiks ju ise teha. Ma hakkan nüüd igatahes erinevaid variante proovima ja kui kõik muu metsa läheb, on mul seesama lihtne retsept, mille juurde tagasi tulla. 😀 Retsept on pärit SIIT!
Fall arriving this suddenly completely caught me off guard. All around the internet bloggers have their panties all in a bunch because it’s autumn and they can FIIIIIIINALLY wear fall fashion and I’m here like: wait, what? But… I haven’t even worn all my new summer garments yet? Pulling on jeans and wellies feels fantastic for someone who has to shave every single day if she wants to wear skirts and shorts, though. Yup, such a lady!
// Sügise ootamatu tulek lõi mind küll natuke rivist välja. Internet on täis kädistavaid blogijaid, kes ei jõua ärrrra kiita, kui tore on, et VIIIIIIMAKS saab sügismoodi kanda ja mina passin lihtsalt: oot, mida? Aga… ma pole ju oma uusi suveriideidki jõudnud kanda? Teksade ja kummarite jalgatõmbamine on muidugi imeline, sest pikki pükse kandes ei pea ma iga kord enne kodust väljumist raseerima nagu mingi loll. Jep, tõeline daam!
ZARA faux leather jacket
CROCKER skinny jeans
BIKBOK knit
EXPRESSIONS accessories
TRIWA watch
HUNTER wellies