Lots of news

Hey everyone! It's been some time since my last entry, but life has been hectic.

We are already living in the new apartment. It's great in many ways; it has lots of light - it's a fifth floor -, it has a newly remodeled kitchen and bathroom, and we even have a balcony., which is good now that summer is coming. But I miss greatly my old basement; it's difficult to fit everything in place without it! But I think we have managed pretty well.

Now I have my own study, with room enough for computer stuff and crafting - yay! I just have to find a place for a new sewing machine... I can't wait to open again the shop (very soon, I promise!).

My dollhouse and its contents arrived all in one piece, thanks to my careful packaging (almost piece by piece, which was a nightmare, but I did not want to risk it). I spent yesterday's afternoon putting everything back in its place. It's fun to think that the mini people has moved at the same time as me, to a house similar to the one they had :)

My absinthe stuff has also arrived safely, for which I am very grateful. It's more difficult to find dealers in Europe than it was in the States, much to my surprise. I have tasted my first absinthe brand, Philip Lasala, and I have enjoyed it very much.

Hope everybody is doing fine. I promise I will post soon pictures of the new house.

We have an apartment!

Yay!!

We signed the contract yesterday, and we already have the keys. The owner needs to move out some furniture, but she said that we can move after Saturday if we want. We don't even need to pay for these last days of March :) I am dying to go and begin decorating to make it our own. This weekend we are going to go looking for a comfy mattress. We have a beautiful vintage hand-made wooden carved bed that I am eager to try. I hope I can post some pics of our new place soon.

It has been a difficult month. Both we and hubby have had 2 colds each already - I guess contamination and being in a crowded city it's not being easy on us after having been living in the green Virginia.

But we have most of our legal documentation in order, and I may even have a job in perspective (crossing fingers!). We still have not got our stuff, but the ship it's supposed to arrive in Valencia today, so hopefully we will by the beginning of April.

We arrived in Spain

So, we are finally here!

We did not have a very interesting trip, which in this case is something we can be grateful for. No trouble at Dulles, our planes left and arrived on time, our luggage was not lost or stolen - thank goodness!

Both our moms were on the arrival terminal to greet us, and we did have a very nice meal. But hubby is exhausted (napping now, after 2 days of almost not sleeping). It's 5.35 PM here, 6 hours more than our standard EC time - we should be preparing for lunch now.

In any case, I hope I can have news of our new apartment soon - already looking for one!
Wish us luck :)

They say ignorance is bliss...

and sometimes, just sometimes, I agree with it.

On one hand, I do believe that people should keep learning stuff until the day they die. Knowing as much as you can, and from as much topics as you can manage, it's the ideal way for me to go through life.

We are watching at home NCIS, third season. My favorite character (apart from Abby, for obvious reasons) is Ducky. Damn, the man is good! He knows a lot about a lot of different things. And the best part is, he shares the knowledge! Why people keep telling him to shut up? I want to work with somebody like him! Sign me up, right now!! But Jethro... Yes, I get he is charismatic and all that, but the guy is... Well, Ducky told him yesterday he had been waiting for 3 months to see Giselle, and Jethro muttered something about being sorry for him not been able to see his girlfriend. Imagine a co-worker of yours telling you a jewel like that. What would you think of him? Because I would personally think the guy was a dork, and uneducated, and dumb as a bucket. What would a woman on a date with him talk about? No pop culture, no cultural references, no cinema, no ballet, no theater... It's no wonder the guy has divorced 3 times! He only knows how to work, and not even that. His team does all the research for him. He can barely turn on his own computer!!

And on the other hand, even though Jethro does not watch TV (his own words), I am sure he would enjoy TV shows more than me. NCIS is quite well done in terms of scientific research, unlike CSI, which we no longer watch for that reason; the day we saw the team using a centrifuge to do a DNA analysis, we called it quits. Having a scientist watching shows with you keeps you on edge when there are mistakes about lab work. But when a popular series like Vampire Diaries does things like these, it makes me cringe:

And what is wrong with these shots, you may ask? Well, the first one is fairly obvious. They are playing football! We are taken back to Civil War years - think Gone with the wind. Can you imagine Ashley Wilkes and Rhett Butler playing football? Really!? Why not making them go horse riding? Play with dogs? Train falcons? Football. Right. Maybe they think audiences can not relate to the Salvatore brothers unless they are doing something that today kids do... Really? They will not see just two brothers playing and spending time with each other? Are they suggesting that young people today are really that stupid?

The second one. Not so obvious, I admit it. But a mistake, nonetheless. They are lacing the corset wrong. Corsets are laced in the waist line, not at the bottom of the back. And with a pattern of Xs method, not with shoestring lacing, since this method does not allow the corset to be fully closed. - and it ends breaking the corset. Since the majority of people today does not wear corsets, it's understandable that somebody does not know how to lace one. Well, Google is your friend. Even YouTube. Search "how to lace a corset". You'll get tutorials, pictures, even videos on how to do it properly. It takes 2 minutes. Why the costume people did not do it? Because they thought nobody would notice, or care? And they would call themselves professionals...

When seeing this, two other movies that showed corset lacing came to my mind. Titanic by James Cameron and Gone with the wind. I went to them to check. And lo and behold:

Rose is also having hers laced wrong...

But Scarlett's are OK!

Why a major production can pay attention to these things and not a popular series? Is it really because people (audience and makers) don't care? Is it because they just assume that, same as Jethro, we are ignorant and uneducated? Well, I refuse to call myself ignorant. And if I see a mistake in YOUR production, I will point it out, and announce that it is in fact YOU the one that is uneducated.

Last absinthe accessories before moving

I wanted to share my last finds regarding absinthe ritual tools.

I am so happy I found this saucer! I had it on my Amazon wish list and when I went to buy it it was sold out. Luckily for me, I kept searching for it on eBay and one day I found a vendor that had some left. They seem to have disappeared from everywhere. It is a pity that Bonnecaze and Cie. has closed! Love my sugar holder too :)

Also, I got a two level brouilleur. So fun to use! No need for spoons with it, although I adore spoons... Click here for a demonstrative video.

Kubler is as of now my favorite absinthe. I did not particularly enjoy the Lucid - too bitter for my taste, even with sugar. But Kubler is fantastic! We got the bottle around Christmas, and we need to finish it before the move. You can see from the pic that we have been enjoying it :)

Corsets for all occasions

Did you think that corsets existed only for tight lacing? Think again! Take a look at all these beauties:

Corset choker by ghostlovejewelry

Another style of corset choker, by 666Tristania666

Pinstripe corset choker by annaladymoon

Fingerless corset gloves by fellow Dark Sider ZenAndCoffee. I am warning you, if you visit her shop you will not be able to pick just one...

Corset display for jewelry by AustinJames

Corset bag by fellow Dark Sider beanbun. I need to get me one of these...

The original Coffee Corset by jenngee. I am the happy owner of one of her designs!

Corset cuff by JewelryliciousStyle

Sterling silver corset ring by WarpedMetals

Corset sachet filled with lavender for your drawers, by sherrilenett

And these... I want them. Right now! By lorisplace

The long absence and a new spending habit

It's been some time since my last entry. Apologies for that!

I'll be moving to my home country, Spain, at the end of February. I have been very, very busy cleaning up the basement, selling the car, preparing the move and a lot more things, so my time in front of the computer has suffered as a result. I hope I can have some moments to share my thoughts now that *almost* everything has been taking care of.

I have had no time to do new mini designs, but I have been collecting some vintage botanical images and converting them to mini prints, very useful for witch and wizard libraries; I hope I can share pics of them very soon. Obviously, my shop will remain closed for some time, until we have had time to set up in Spain. I hope I can continue crafting and sharing minis, but one never knows... Wish me luck with that!

Also, I am beginning a new journey. My dear hubby gifted me a corset for my birthday. A real corset! And I have fallen in love with it, to the point that I hope I can begin to have a nice collection of them.

As with any new hobby, I have spent some time perusing the net, trying to learn as much as I can about corsets. I have already found out many things that I did not know, and I am happy to share them. I hope you forgive my enthusiasm...

First, my very first corset was not a real corset. It is what is called a "fashion corset". It has the shape, and the construction, but it is not meant for tight lacing, and it is recommended for novices and people that want a fancy look for a short period of time, such as a prom or a wedding. This video is particularly helpful if you want to know more details.

Also, here are the instructions for you to learn how to put on a corset by yourself. Previous to this video, I always required help from my husband. Not anymore! I assure you it is easier than it looks :)

And finally, pics of my corsets. Sorry they are commercial pics. I hope I can have some taken soon...

My first corset, bought some years ago. Very comfy! From Medieval Collectibles.

My second corset and first underbust. Bought a couple of years ago, and never used until last week. I made a mistake at ordering, and it is a bit big for me, but I have decided I am going to use it anyway. This is a real corset. From Shaper Corset.

My birthday gift, and used today for the first time. I got 3 people complimenting my outfit, and that made me very happy! Also from Shaper Corset.

This one arrived today on the mail. I have tried it on and it is just gorgeous! It really gives you the hourglass figure. From Orchard Corset.

I have a lot of breaking to do with my corsets, but I am definitely looking forward to it!