Buddy

I'd like for you to meet my new special someone.

This little fawn-colored pompom with legs is Buddy and he is the newest recruit in our household.

He was sold to us as a Maltipoo, the same breed as our sweet girl Millie who we sadly lost after only a week. However the vet seems to think he is half Maltese and half Shitzu. So what does that make him~ a Maltishit?? 

Oh dear! Well, whatever he is, we are smitten with him. 

My Dad wanted to name him Walter, so we would have Walter and Jessie like the two main characters in Breaking Bad, but my Mom vetoed it and we all settled on Buddy.

Jess is 5 months old now and a lot more sensible so she is being very good at tolerating this sassy little guy all up in her personal space. Buddy has a mean case of 'bite worse than his bark'~ he has the girliest little scream/bark but watch out for those piranha teeth- oosh!

I remember Jess was the same at is age, we all loved her best when she was sleepy because that's when you can sneak in a few cuddles before they get all squirmy and want to get to the toys on the floor.

He's proving much easier to train though and homeboy already has a good handle on peeing on the paper.

Does that really justify me making him dance for his supper though??

hee hee!

Buddy says "Happy Friday Loves!"

my kinda therapy

My auntie whisked my mother and myself away today to treat us to lunch and a spot of much needed retail therapy!

We ate at a beautiful little Italian Deli which also had a grocery section where I scooped up these delectable little macaroons and splurged on my porridge addiction by purchasing this lovely bottle of Irish porridge flavored with Madagascan vanilla~ I literally cannot wait till tomorrow morning when I can eat this with bananas and blueberries, although the packaging is so pretty I feel it's almost a shame to break the seal and use it!



We then proceeded to browse the shops and I immediately spotted this beautiful little bed buddy, she looks sweet as can be nestled between my pillows, I feel like she was just waiting in that shop to be bought by me!

I can't wait to snuggle with her tonight!

 



We then found this darling farm shop that sold fresh produce and I stocked up on brie, strawberries and dark chocolate for a recipe I've pinned that I'm dying to try out~ I'll post the results if it turns out right!

While we were there I couldn't resist adding this creamed coconut and dark chocolate fudge to my straw basket of goodies~ again, packaging, I fall for it EVERY time!

I honestly almost squealed with delight when i popped into a stationary store and found this scalloped paper punch~ i have been hunting one of these down for the longest time and cannot wait to scallop the lips of all my future snail mail envelopes ^.^

Then I almost squealed again when I saw they stocked washi tape! I told the sales girl how popular they are in Asia and she said they had only just arrived in stock the week before and they were baffled by what people would use them for!

Finally, I have to say I have the best Momma in the world who bought me a few wee treats as an early Thirtieth birthday present~ this beautiful patterned scarf and wedge sandals. my heart skipped a beat when I spotted these sandals as they are so close to the Blowfish Gypsy sandals which I couldn't get my hands on last summer.

I love you Mom!



It's been such a long time since I've been able to go out and splurge like this.

There's no doubt in my mind that a little retail therapy is good for the soul ^.^

Happy Friday, friends!



heart sabbatical

This past year since I arrived back in Korea has been a full one, packed like a bulging suitcase with  extremes; extreme highs , extreme lows, landmarks and downfalls in both my personal and love life. Things of which I have alluded to on here but not given the full un-edited version.

Sadly, for the past few months the bad moments have overtaken the good, and while I could brush them off like raindrops before, now I feel as if I'm caught up in a full blown rainstorm. 

For these reasons I have made the difficult decision to cut my contract with my school early and take some time off to go home and be with my family. To give myself the time and space for my heart to recover, for wounds to heal.

Living in a foreign country has the most amazing benefits in terms of life experience and rich memories to treasure but when things turn sour it can be a lonely, lonely position to be in.

Right now I'm looking forward to returning to the familiar, the loved ones, the comfort of my real home.

I hope you guys keep following me while I'm on my healing heart sabbatical.

My parents live in the rural countryside of Ireland, the perfect place for relaxation and wound-licking!

And gosh how I can't wait to give my parents a big koala-bear hug! 

peek at my week// winter warmers

Beomgye High Street

The Korean winters can be long and brutal.

The deepest freeze can come along and take your breath away, red your nose and numb your ears in the blink of a night time.
If you squint your eyes and turn your head to the left you can semi make-believe you're living in Narnia.
But I don't much feel like an arm-circling ice skating lesson every time I put a foot out the door!

There's so much about this part of the year that invites the seasonal blues but I say blues are for the birds and I'm gonna keep some warm winds in these sails of mine!

This involves warm woolen socks, making blanket caves in the bed, cranking the heat and spending an extra ten minutes under the hot shower...

... it also takes wool lined slipper-socks for padding around the apartment....

...belly warming bowls of banana and almond butter porridge before work...

...treating myself to a soy chai tea latte date, wrapping my mittened hands around the hot cup for extra warmth in a classroom not yet heated by muffler-clad energy balls...

...and opening care packages filled with warm pajamas, marmalade, chocolate and all the things only an intuitive Momma could know that I need most in the world right now.

Hope y'all are keeping cozy ~.^

the crafty little christmas tree

I've been the busiest of bees the past week. 

I've been putting all sorts of grand Christmas schemes into action, making big messes in the apartment and starting new yule tide traditions with the beau.

This will be our third Christmas as a couple but our first living together and I'm not sure poor ol' Dallas knew what Christmas prepping does to this gal!

Happy for days.

I picked up this plastic tree for less than ten dollars and I knew I wanted to decorate my first ever Christmas tree using only found objects, nature and crafty odds and ends.

This is the result. Think Santa will approve?

 Mamma Gillanders would certainly approve of my decorating efforts~ she has filled my Christmases with colors and warmth and delicious smells since my memories began. 
Now here I am, arms wavering as I try to follow behind in her well-trodden footsteps.  I wonder what 10 year old Louise would think of grown-up Louise's first efforts at dinner and decorating? 

Sure there were bugs crawling out of the pine cones when I washed them before painting and the tree itself has a tendency to topple over if you so much as breath on it. But it's ours, and if a christmas tree's only job is to cheer up a room and give the 10 year old inside you a warm christmas-y, santa is coming kinda feeling when you look at it, well it's doing it's job just swell.

Happy Christmas!

blowing out the candles

I was so happy to be able to celebrate my Mom's birthday with her yesterday before I hitch on out of here on Wednesday. This gal's gonna miss her Momma that's for sure!

Yesterday morning was for surprise birthday breakfast trays, handmade cards, homemade jam and scones and the three of us huddling and cuddling on my parents bed giving hugs and kisses which were half birthday, half  'Sweet Lord I'm gonna miss you'. I can't even let myself think about it yet.

That afternoon we threw on some glad rags and went out for a fancy family lunch, picking up a few recruits along the way...a cousin here, an uncle there. It was nice to get everyone together in one place, to eat, to laugh and talk, I'll be leaving with such lovely memories and a heart so full and thankful for my amazing family.

This was the birthday breakfast tray I made for my mom. I made her Raspberry & Vanilla Jam with Cranberry & Coconut scones.

I found the jam recipe here and the printable jam jar labels here.

The birthday card tutorial is here.

The happiest of Mondays to you all! x

yesterday and me.

                                                

Yesterday was a keeper. A hidden gem of a day...

...a day to wake up and make fruit panckakes for breakfast just because.

To spring-clean barefoot, throwing open every window and door to let the sun colour in the dark corners.

It was finding a sunny spot and curling up in it like a lazy cat to read and think.

It ended with my Mom coming into my room at bedtime to roll up my blind and show me an amazing moon hung like a shiny silver half-penny against the sky .

Yesterday and me were best buds.

I hope me and today get along just as well.

a little Mother lovin'

After two years of  Mother's days and birthdays apart it was a pleasure last Sunday to shower my Mom with a little Mother's day sugar. She's such an inspiration to me in so many ways. Like the way she accepts and never judges me, her support for absolutely anything I choose to put my hand to, and the breathing space she has always given me to learn and grow.

I remember when I was 11 and she was a subtitute teacher at my school. The girls in her class would run up to me in the playground and tell me how great she was. I felt so cool.

She was the kind of mom then who would sit on the edge of my bed at night reciting shel silverstein poetry and making up half the words, who always encouraged me to write and who bought me a pack of stickers every single saturday. She's the kind of mom now who sits and does crosswords with me on the sofa, tells me to listen to the lyrics of a leonard cohen track and think about my boyfriend and who cooks the most delicious sunday roasts. i can only hope to be such a mother one day.

i'm lucky to have her.

Beautiful and loved.

Mother's Day sugar :)