Owl Things Considered

Ever since I "became an adult" my dad has found it hard to pick out birthday/Christmas presents for me. However, every once in a while -and completely out of the blue- he will surprise me with something small that is absolutely perfect!

I actually received this owl tin with chocolates (that are now long gone!) quite a while ago, but I am still so happy with it!

Birthday

So my birthday was quite recently. I had an adorable little birthday party that involved pastries, rose lemonade and a wonderful card game. And through the magic of snail mailed gifts I also celebrated with a dear friend from overseas.

Let's start with cake! Since I had a little party I decided to go with fancy pastries... One of the best decisions I've ever made. I got these adorable pastries with red fruit and chocolate mousse. They were as divine as they were adorable!

But my day started with opening some amazing birthday mail that was beautiful inside and out, so let's take a peek.

I received these amazing animal hair pins and brooches. The three cats I've had in my life so far have been black, grey and kind of white, so it seems this set was pretty much made for me! I also adore the wooden bobby pins.

This amazing owl package held an Alice in Wonderland coloring book! I already did one page, which I posted here.

I also received a gorgeous monogrammed journal I'd been eyeing. And some pencils that are a perfect match for it!

This golden package held a stunning book called the Vintage Tea Party Treasury; which I'm sure I'll show you soon.

One of the friends at my party gave me these adorable stamps. There's an owl, a penguin and a cute little heart. I also received an ink pad in one of my favorite colors, so I'm good to go and can start stamping whenever I want.

I hope you enjoyed this glimpse of my birthday! There are actually still a few more things I hope to show you later...

Le Petit Hobbit

Father's Day has long passed, but I still wanted to show you what I gave my dad. Or more importantly… how I wrapped it. It's hard to shop for my dad, but I think he was quite happy with the Le Petit Hobbit shirt I got him.

Anyway, I figured "Parent Days" are mostly about the effort you put in. So I took some extra time with the wrapping. As the shirt was a mash-up of Le Petit Prince and the Hobbit, I decided to combine the two in my drawing as well.

Somehow the gift wrapping I do for my dad always turns out well. (This one too.) It's quite magical, haha... I mean, even the Elfish ring became a perfect circle in one go, and I did it freehand! Since the actual shopping can be stressful, I'm very thankful the wrapping comes naturally. But I'm mostly glad he appreciated it. He even took it home with him!

Late Birthday Recap

Even though I should have done this many weeks ago, I'm only sharing my birthday gifts and pictures with you now. It was quite a relaxed day and I also had a lovely little party a few days after. Anyway, here are some pictures!

If you're a long time follower of my blog you might have seen a very similar cake before. They had green ones in spring or for Easter or something, but when my birthday came round they had the pink again. Not complaining though, it is absolutely gorgeous! And it actually looked much better in my pink home than the green ever would have.

Tofu was a little disappointed he didn't get his own slice though. But he did enjoy the gift ribbons a lot! Anyway, I received some beautifully packaged items from a very dear friend. The bunny box in the first picture was hers too.

I didn't really mentioned this to anyone I invited to my party, but I was really hoping for gifts that didn't take up too much space, were useful or even edible.  Somehow they all picked out perfect things anyway. Like these chocolates!

Another edible gift was this awesome jar of cookie ingredients. I look forward to using it up, but I also enjoy the way it looks in my kitchen. So I'll keep it as decoration for a while longer... until the cookie-craving becomes too strong.

The same friend gave me an amazing notebook that has cute tabs, a zipper pocket and even little folders to hold pictures and loose papers. She also included some magnetic bookmarks that actually match the notebook very well.

These gifts were wrapped in a gift bag with a beautiful crocheted butterfly (which is now gracing my door). And inside I found not only the quirkiest knitting book I'd ever seen. But also an invite to a Burlesque Show! (Which I've always wanted to visit!)

Next up was another dream come true, or maybe more accurately… a nightmare averted. Growing up I just adored Joan of Arcadia. I had always remained sad about it getting cancelled, and I was also afraid I'd never get to see it again (because the DVDs weren't released here). I now have both seasons to watch over and over and over again. I'm so happy!

The same friend also gifted me this amazing owl shirt. I actually blogged about it a while back. It looked so pretty on the picture online, but it's even better in real life. The fabric has such an interesting blend of colors and it's super soft.

Lastly I got my first ever Lush gift box. It contained mostly items I had never tried before, and I'm loving all of them. The shower jelly smells amazing! And the shampoo will probably be a re-buy for me once I finish this bar.

I also got a few items that aren't shown here… some amazing Japanese cookies, a remote for my camera, and I'm actually still getting a nice new water boiler from my mom, but we haven't been able to go shopping for one yet...

In the Mail… Christmas Edition!

So I'm a little behind on my Christmas posts, but I received some amazing gifts that I'd still love to show you! A very dear friend from the US sent me some things that just arrived recently, and they were very much worth the wait.

Everything was beautifully wrapped in the cutest papers and ribbons. Such a treat to look at and open! And the insides were amazing too! I got a stunning silver owl mug, along with chocolate-y treats and even hot cacoa mix to go in it.



In the United States a lot of people make it a tradition to give each other pyjamas. No one does that were I'm from, so I was really excited to be part of that tradition once, and receive three beautifully patterned flannel pyjama bottoms!

Hot drink? Check! Lounge wear? Check! All I need next is books, right? And maybe an owl ex libris sticker set? Yes!

But my friend also took care of any actual reading needs, because I got those gorgeous Puffin in Bloom books I am so smitten with. I had the feeling they'd be amazing, but to see them in real life… wow! They are fantastic!

 

And there were more owls… This gorgeous barn owl plate. I love how it's lifelike, yet really colorful at the same time!

Apart from the beautiful plate, there was also an adorable little hedgehog dish. It even has some slight 3D effects!

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My lovely friend Amy also sent me some adorable things for Christmas! I got a teeny tiny owl planner that will come in very handy!

And a gorgeous notebook with the most beautiful patterns on the outside as well as inside, on every page even!

Anyway, as you can probably guess, I was over the moon with all my Christmas gifts! Did you get any in the mail too?

Christmas Gifts!

My mom and I had a lovely little Christmas at my place this year. It was small, but sweet, and we both gave each other some wonderful gifts! I, for instance, received some awesome owls, including this beautiful owl lamp I had asked for.

There was also a gorgeous little purse, that can be hung around your shoulder, or used as a clutch. I love the floral pattern on it, and how the three-dimensional flowers almost make owly ear tufts.



She also surprised me with a handy owl box that opens like a book. Quite the perfect gift for an owl-loving bookwurm!

How did you celebrate the holidays? Did you get any nice Christmas gifts from your family or friends?

Christmas Gift Guide

After yesterday's Christmas Wishlist, I thought it would also be nice to post a cute Gift Guide, to hopefully give you some fun ideas of things to get for your friends or family members. So let's get started!

Twenty Fingers is a shop I've been eyeing for ages, and they have the perfect winter/Christmas brooches! They also make brooches with mittens or socks, but my favorites from the winter collection are these animals.

This set of bowls from Belinism would be cute all year round, but it happens to have some Christmassy colors that make it very fit for the Holidays as well. Not for all budgets, but they sure are beautiful!

Winter is cold -at least, in most places!- and gifts that help keep one warm are quite a good idea. Especially when they're cute. And this hot water cover by ZippityDooDah definitely is. And it's even made from recycled materials!

Though it can be very nice to receive Christmassy gifts, I know certain things are a little too traditional for some people. Maybe they would like this cute santa tote bag by helloDODOshop. It's modern and very cute!

A wonderful gift for owl lovers would be this sterling silver owl pendant from Jewel Be Charmed. I'm pretty smitten with it myself! I love how the back is very detailed too. They're so endearing, these little owls!



I think Wassupbrothers' creatures are perfect in any season, but there are some furry ones that are especially great to cuddle up with at Christmas and during the entire winter, like this amazing Henry the deer!

Lastly, I'd like to show you Anna Wiscombe's wooden Christmas collection. It's absolutely stunning! And perfect for people that prefer a more subtle and natural color palette for their home. These decorations are very sophisticated!

I hope this gave you some nice ideas for Christmas gifts! Or maybe you found something to put on your own wishlist.

Are you busy getting ready for Christmas too, of do you do everything later on in December?

P.S. Perhaps I should also take this opportunity to mention that I have a ton of Christmas items in my own Etsy shop too. So if you need to shop for any bookworms, look no further. (And all designs can also be made as brooches!)

In the Mail… for Halloween!

Halloween always seemed wonderful to me! Unfortunately, my country does nothing about it... However, a very dear friend of mine sent me a whole bunch of amazing things from the United States so I could celebrate anyway!

Of course that means there's some candy involved... And it was all delicious and chocolate-y! I received marshmallow Jack-O-Lanterns, chocolate ghosts, and these amazing little chocolates, some of which were even orange-flavored!

I also burned an amazing smelling candle. Pumpkin-spicy-Fall-goodness is floating all through my living room!

I couldn't dress up and go trick or treating, of course, but all these items definitely gave me that Halloween-feel!

Are you going door-to-door tonight? If you have a costume, leave it in the comments, I'm always curious! And I hope you'll have a wonderful Halloween! Even if it's a makeshift one at home, like me, because those are awesome too!