Happy Book

Who would’ve thought that one simple question could cause such a stir? I’ve been trying to figure out the answer but it seems to trigger a lot more than I could possibly imagine. So I’ve decided to start another what I call ‘Happy Book’ and dug out one of my many gorgeous notebooks so I could start with a clean slate and lotsa blank pages.

I’ve chosen the bigger version of the Moleskine notebook that I normally carry with me in my handbag. It was a birthday gift and I had put it away in one of my house moving boxes knowing that one day it would be useful for a certain project. I intend to cut out pictures and glue them on the still empty pages along with notes that I’ll jot down.

The questions that started all this were: ‘what do you want in your life…’ ‘what is your goal…’ whilst following a method to ‘reprogram the mind’: picture yourself in the new situation as if it is a present one, not a future version. But I have so many goals and/or wishes that in order to make them real I need to put some kind of structure in the chaos.

Because of this I needed to start a new ‘Happy Book’… this way I can reorganise my thoughts by organising clippings, sketches and written affirmations. While working on this I suddenly realised that this might take a bit longer and might need a bit more effort and hard work than I first thought but ‘the plan’ is going to be a great one…

Mark my words! *wink*

Old Treasures

When you’re young you have different values so you don’t always notice the treasures that surround you. Twenty years later you might see things in a different light and the items that were taken for granted at the time start to become of great value for no particular reason other than the fact that you’re older (and hopefully wiser as well *wink*).

Sentiment might be the reason, perhaps you’d like to bring back the past, memories, a link to your childhood or the stories that are attached to a certain item or object. Me, I like really old things: old lettering, books, labels and package design. Objects that were once loved and used by their previous owners, objects that tell their own enchanting history.

Like the beautiful fifties tea set that I got from M. and W. or the tea cups and hundred-year-old books that I found at Greenwich Market. This time I found my treasures close by and I only needed to mention the fact that I absolutely adored the dark blue one and the brown one magically appeared… Hidden for years in the back of a cupboard.

To my surprise I was told that I could have them. Out came a few others but not as nice as these two which I chose. I just love the drawing on the blue one, it reminds me of fairy tales, cozy fireplaces and cold winter nights. The design of the brown one is just gorgeous simplicity, there’s (export) text on the sides in e.g. Chinese, Indonesian and Dutch.

Time is a strange concept that seems to add value to otherwise ordinary things…

Aren’t they cool?

I love the design! Chinese text on one side…