life at it's most daily...

no editing.

no make-up

no fancy set-ups.

just life as it is.

the perfect linen

I'm so very, very happy that I've finally found the PERFECT linen

(and a little bit of time)

to make some of my dotty doily coasters 

in a pure linen version...

 The first sets are now available in the shop!

PS. I hope you like them as much as I do!

double firsts

This past year has been a year of firsts...

the birth of our first babies

the first time I held you both,

your first nursing session,

our first day home together,

the first trip in an airplane,

the first time you noticed each other,

your first teeth,

the first time on your feet, 
the first time you fell and bruised your cheek,
your first banana,
and the very first piece of cake.

Happy first birthday, my sweet, sweet boys!

a house to match (y)our dreams...

Are you living in the city? By the ocean? Or is your house surrounded by green pastures?

And is that where you want to be?
Or are you (secretly) dreaming of moving away?

F. and I are currently living in a small city but we are looking to buy a house in the countryside.

The thing is we never really saw ourselves as city people. We moved here for work, 

but we always imagined ourselves moving back to the country one day to a house on a hill with a dog and two chickens.

Having children didn't change that for us.

If anything, it only made it more urgent for us to follow up on that dream.

And so now that our babies are starting to walk, and are getting more and more aware of their surroundings every day, 

we feel it's time to prepare to move to that house on a hill.

Now I'm sure you'll all agree that looking for a house is not easy.

F. and I have been dreaming about getting our own place for a while now 

and so we have a pretty clear idea of what we're looking for:

Something old with a story and a lot of soul.

Something big enough to fit all four of us. (And maybe even more.)

Something we could move into immediately, 

but that still needs work so we can turn it into the house we've been dreaming of 

with a garden, and maybe some land to grow our own fruit and vegetables.

See... very clear ideas. Yet finding the house to match them it is a whole different matter.

But of course you can't find something if you're not looking for it,

and so this weekend we're heading out to visit another set of houses.

And who knows? Maybe this time we'll find that gem we've been looking for?

Wish us luck! 

Pictures: Birdhouse Rooftile by Klaas Kuiken

love me for my weakness

I know I'm a day late for a real Valentine's post,

but my baby twins don't always agree with me when it comes to allowing me the time to blog!

And yet, I didn't want to let the occasion go by

 to post this wonderful quote on love by philosopher Alain de Botton:

Do you love me enough that I may be weak with you? 

Everyone loves strength, but do you love me for my weakness? 

That is the real test.

I guess this quote has only acquired real meaning for me these past few months... 

It really ìs in the most difficult times that your love gets put to the test.

And to come out of it, knowing that you have easily made it to the other side,

is the most empowering feeling I have ever known.

Thank heaven for love.

*

Picture: 3191 miles apart

on my desk...

ok... so here it goes.

It's not much,

but this is what I've got on my desk these days...

...a pile of baby vests and bonnets!

(and one still to finish..)

^_^

*

And what about you?

What's on your desk these days?

Hello!

Emile and Arthur are nine months old today.

It's hard to believe, but that means that nine months ago today, my babies were born.

So here I sit now... staring at the blinking cursor on my screen, wondering what to write.

Because the truth is, there's so much I could tell you about these last nine months,

that I don't really know where to start.

And yet, at the same time, there's really not much I can tell 

as I haven't really been up to much else than trying to keep up with the basic needs of two newborns. 

Taking care of baby twins is without any doubt

the most difficult and the most humbling thing I've ever done.

In these past months, I have been more tired, more frustrated 

and more out of my debts than I have ever been.

And yet I feel that all of this is part of the most beautiful transformation I could possibly undergo.

Becoming a mother has filled my heart with a love I have never felt before,

and not a day goes by that I'm not simply amazed

by the fact that we were lucky enough to welcome not just one, 

but two perfect little creatures in our little family. 

*

But nine months are nine months,

and so I decided it was about time to make my reappearance.

So... here I am.

I'm back.

I'm not sure how often I'll make it here, but I'm going to try my best.

So... hopefully, you're still on board!

Lots of Love,

k.

They have arrived!

Emile & Arthur

Born exactly two minutes apart, on May 7 2012

Emile:

(on the right in the pictures)

46 cm

2.18 kg

Arthur: 

43,5 cm

1.76 kg

We have been home a little over a week now, and we are doing great! 

The boys are eating well and growing bigger and stronger every day,

and I am starting to feel more and more like my old self again.

Only that now I am a mother of two!

And even though at times it still all seems quite unreal to me,

I simply couldn't imagine life without them any more! 

Love to you all, k.

time to wish you all a happy weekend!

I only just realized it's friday evening already,

which means another week has gone by. 

A whole week without posting that is.

I guess in my head it's just all about getting ready for our babies right now...

Anyway, we're all doing well,

and unless something unexpected happens 

we now have got only 16 days to go

and then they'll be here.

wow. 

time flies.

the home stretch

So here we are... I am now almost 32 weeks pregnant,

and since our babies are sharing a single placenta,

my doctor has made it perfectly clear that she will not let me go past 36 weeks.

So... that means I've got about 4 weeks to go before my baby boys will be here!

 4 weeks... Oh my!

And while at times 4 weeks seems like absolutely nothing,

I must admit that I'm now really starting to look forward to

not being so hugely pregnant anymore...

Especially since there's really not much I'm able to do anymore 

except sipping lots of herbal tea with honey, 

(I got myself a nasty cold while out shopping for the boys this saturday),

 taking long afternoon naps (our cat Maia has suddenly become one of my biggest role models...),

making sure all the baby stuff is neatly washed, ironed, folded and stacked,

shopping online for lots & lots of gorgeous baby stuff,

(I actually got two of the wooden teether toys featured below, and they're simply amazing!),

and knitting of course...

So this is what this week's inspiration looks like for me:

I hope you like it!

*

honey dipper - biodidactic

newborn pixie cap - cstirlen

lavadela by sisasola on flickr

wood teether toy - littlesaplingtoys

Happy Easter!

So... what are your plans for the Easter weekend?

Usually F. and I travel to Belgium for Easter,

where the whole family meets up for a cosy brunch, 

but being 31 weeks pregnant with twins,

you don't get to travel pretty much anywhere 

besides your neighbourhood supermarket,

and so we're looking ahead at a rather odd, but relaxing Easter weekend...

The biggest (and to be honest: only) events we planned 

are a trip to the flea market later this afternoon

and a small scale Easter dinner with two of our friends.

So I guess this year's Easter will be all about cooking, and baking, and roasting,

and who knows... maybe I'll end up trying my luck at painting some pretty Easter Eggs too!

*

photo: abby try again

a fun easter tutorial for babiekins magazine

With less than a week to go before Easter, 

I though it was about time to tell you all about 

a little DIY project I made for Babiekins...

*

Most of you have already met Mr. Egg by now, but he is no longer alone!

Because now, you can make a whole family of egg people!

*

Meet:

the king of eggs, Gregg the egg pirate, and little red riding egg!

For more information on how to make these little egg friends 

(and nearly 300 pages (!) of gorgeous spring inspiration)

have a peep at Babiekins Magazine, issue 8

*

a pin? a piece of string? or a pretty bow?

It might start to look like all I do these days is knit, and knit, and knit,

but that is because... well... because it pretty much ìs all I ever do these days.

(That is of course when I'm not eating ice cream straight from the bucket, 

reading or taking one of my many naps...)

 And the truth is... I have acquired quite a taste for it!

It's just so much fun to imagine little outfits for my babies!

Plus, I have discovered knitting is not nearly as scary and difficult 

as I initially imagined it would be... 

*

And so... without further delay... here is what I made this time:

After having done a number of wrap-around vests

(which I imagined might get a little too hot during the summer)

I wanted to make something a little lighter.

Hence I started working on a classical shepherd style vest.

But to make things just a little more exciting, 

I decided to give the vest two little button holes instead of just one!

That way the vest can be closed using a ribbon, a piece of string, a pin, 

or even a pretty scrap of fabric as I have done to create the gingham 'bow'!

*

Easy...as can be!

And the result is a vest that ALWAYS matches baby's outfit!

101 Woonideeën

Hello my dears!

I hope you all had a lovely spring weekend!

Mine was fairly lazy (read: incredibly lazy), but then again, what else could be expected?

We're now more or less 6 weeks removed from my final due-date,

and so I'm just keeping a low profile, hoping to make it to that day,

so our boys can grow as big as they can be before coming into the world...

But enough about that!

I'm here this morning to let you all know that our very own Mr. Egg has been featured 

in the DIY Easter Special of the famous Dutch design magazine: 101 Woonideeën!

And that's not all! 

To celebrate the happy occasion, an exclusive little interview with yours truly

has been published on the 101 Woonideeën Blog!

I'm afraid the interview is in Dutch,

but I think you might enjoy a little visit to the 101 Woonideeën Blog anyhow,

as it's a great source of inspiring eye candy, and fun DIY's!!

And for those of you who are using Pinterest;

you might want to have a peep at their impressive collection of design tips and ideas!

ENJOY!

*

(I'll be back with a little more news from the pilli pilli home soon... Promise!)

mint & mustard

MINT & MUSTARD... not some crazy food mixture I'm craving right now 

(in fact, anything with a minty flavour rather puts me off these days)

but a colour combination that has been one of my favourites for a long time now...

It's just always so pretty & fresh... just perfect for spring!

And since spring has now really arrived  

(with lots of bird song, warm lunch hours, and pretty pink blossoms),

I thought it would be fun to show you a little selection of my Etsy favourites in mint & mustard! 

mustard satchel - golden ponies

light showers print - eloise renouf

hand printed cushion covers - buttongrass

mustard flowers apron - oktak

*

And how about you?

What's your favourite colour combination?