Crap.

By kaatje | Published: January 26, 2012

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…need I say more?
My voice is getting creakier by the hour. (I’m reminded of Alex in Happy Endings, when she was sick on Halloween and everyone thought she was a dude in Marilyn drag.) Luckily I have this *points to photo* awesome stuff from the States. We swear by it in this household. It’s the stuff of magic.  So at least I have medicine. Also bought a bag of cough drops today and will be drinking lots of chamomile tea with honey tonight. Bring it the hell on, cold / flu (I haven’t figured out which one it is yet). Let’s tango, bitch.

I joke. But being sick is no fun, especially not considering my asthma has been acting up the past two weeks and I already had to take it easy for a few days; went back into work mode last Thursday, started feeling better… Until today.

I just hope I’ll be good to go tomorrow. Us ladies (Wil’s mom, me and some other women we know) are taking our men to a cooking workshop. Where they will cook for us. Ha! Yes, Ferdinand The 7D  will be there, bearing witness, shamelessly saving visual evidence to share later on…

To see Wil’s dad cook, that is something I will not miss. NOT FOR ANYTHING *bold underline italics*. So cold, flu, whatever - rain check. If you must, let’s do Saturday. Okay? Let me have this one joyous day tomorrow. Please.

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Current favorites

By kaatje | Published: January 26, 2012

Time to list a few new faves. First up is my new matte nail polish. I’m really loving it. I expected it to feel weird, like chalkboard-ish (probably because it looks chalkboard-ish) but it feels like regular nail polish, smooth :) Softer even.

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I still feel weird taking photos of my nails, it feels and looks a little awkward to me. Anyway, more favorites:

* This reading nook. We’re planning to do something with this idea over the summer. We have the perfect space for it:
Book Nook
* Happy seal pup is happy
* It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia (IMDB). Holy shit. This is a comedy about some serious assholery. No one is sympathetic. Everyone’s a jerk. But it’s strangely addictive. Wil and I regularly look at each other in a “Why… are we watching this?” sort of way. Maybe because it reminds us that we’re pretty decent people compared to The Gang, haha.
* This mug
* Or this mug
* 5 year memory books: one line a day or one question a day. I’m thinking about one of these for when I’m 30-35.
* Zooey Deschanel. Suck it, Gawker.
* Pickwick Chai Spices rooibos tea sold here in Holland is the only rooibos tea I’ll drink. I’m generally not a fan of rooibos tea at all (I do drink green, white & black tea), but the chai spices just taste beautifully with rooibos, so much that I actually prefer it to black tea chai blends.

Keep an eye on my Pinterest for more faves! :)

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Nail polish: Catrice, ASHley

By kaatje | Published: January 25, 2012

One of my resolutions for 2012 involved doing more with my (daily) appearance. When I have a party or concert happening, I do take the time to get dolled up. But I’m often too lazy to put on a little bit of mascara or to put in even the slightest bit of effort on regular days.

It’s not that it bothers me out of vanity, otherwise I wouldn’t be sitting here posting about “needing to work on my appearance”. I’d be standing in front of the mirror with my face caked in foundation and powder, my eyelashes nearly falling off because they can no longer handle the weight of 20 layers of mascara, adding that 21st layer of mascara in hopes of having similar photoshopped Maybelline volume lashes. No, it’s that I realize jewelry and nail polish and cute accessories reflect personality and style. And I’d just like to show it some more.

Today I got myself a few new nail polishes. And I figured I should actually wear one of them today. Because sure, I buy nail polish regularly. If I see a color I like, I get it. But I hardly wear nail polish. I know. What! That’s laziness, yes, but also work-related. I work with my hands a lot, and can’t keep my nails long anymore, plus nail polish will chip off pretty much during the first 5 minutes on the job. My hands are also really dry because of work and so are my nails. I just don’t like how they look at the moment. (I use hand & nail creme regularly though, as well as Palmer’s. That helps!) But nail polish does cheer it all up a little bit :)

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I like bright colors every once in a while. I own a bottle of yellow & turquoise, have several reds. But I’m also a big fan of simple & neutral. I’ve been looking to get some earthier tones. Because a lot of my bags are grey or black (or a combination thereof), and because my coat is grey, I bought a grey polish today at Kruidvat (Dutch drugstore): Catrice 610 ASHley. Takes one coat, very easy to put on, and what you see is what you get. Might get a warmer color of the same brand tomorrow. (My base coat is from HEMA, dries super fast so I can quickly apply the intended color on top of it.)

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Here’s today’s loot:
1) ASHley
2) Miss Sporty’s Check Matte top coat (because I like the matte look)
3) Miss Sporty’s #27 looks a bit warmer in this photo than it really is. I got it because it matches my favorite H&M vest beautifully. I’ll probably wear this one a lot.
4) Limited edition “Hidden World” polish by Catrice, #C01 White and Seek. It reminds me a little of frost.

A first today: my right hand’s nails looks nicer than my left hand’s. Being right-handed and all, it’s usually the other way around. That’s it for today. Am still working on home photos. Yes. xo

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Oscar noms are in..

By kaatje | Published: January 24, 2012

Just as I was wondering about this year’s Oscar nominations, they are announced. Heh. Well it was about time anyway! Last year Wil and I tried to see as many of the nominated movies as possible, we’ll try to do the same this year. The nominees:

Best movie
- The Artist + director nom
- The Descendants + director nom
- Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
- The Help
- Hugo + director nom
- Midnight in Paris (seen it) + director nom
- Moneyball
- The Tree of Life + director nom
- War Horse

Best actor
- Demian Bechir (A Better Life)
- George Clooney (The Descendants)
- Jean Dujardin (The Artist)
- Gary Oldman (Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy)
- Brad Pitt (Moneyball – really?)
Best supporting actor
- Kenneth Branagh (My Week with Marilyn)
- Jonah Hill (Moneyball)
- Nick Nolte (Warrior)
- Christopher Plummer (Beginners) (seen it)
- Max von Sydow (Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close)

Best actress
- Glenn Close (Albert Nobbs)
- Viola Davis (The Help)
- Noomi Rapace Rooney Mara (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo)
- Meryl Streep (The Iron Lady)
- Michelle Williams (My Week with Marilyn)
Best supporting actress
- Bérénice Bejo (The Artist)
- Jessica Chastain (The Help)
- Melissa McCarthy (Bridesmaids – Did not see this coming)
- Janet McTeer (Albert Nobbs)
- Octavia Spencer (The Help)

Who are your favorites? I’ll give you mine just as soon as I’ve watched some more of the movies in question.

(I might live blog the Oscars this year…)

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Like sketches

By kaatje | Published: January 23, 2012

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This self-portrait is the result of me just testing out an idea for a mood. Because I had an idea in my mind about what kind of photo I was looking for, but no concrete idea. I just did something today without much thought. I do feel rusty at self-portraiture, a bit clumsy, winging it. But I am allowing myself to get back into it slowly, doing something with ideas but being okay with it if it’s not exactly the result I was hoping for. Like sketches, building towards the bigger, finished picture.

The most important thing is to just keep going and to not shoot for perfection, but shoot for enjoyment, for the evolution of self.

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