Saturday 29 December 2007

OFF TO AMSTERDAM!

I'll be travelling in one of my favourite dresses;
the little gray one from Promod

So, I'm off to Amsterdam for NYE, but also to celebrate my friends houewarming party there and Anttis birthday. We'll be 11 people from three countries staying in a flat of 70 m2 (hey, why go to a hotel when you have friends at the destination ey?) so it will propably be a bit like attending a rockfestival in the summer - hour long cues to the shower, uncomfy sleeping positions, too much of partying but a hell lot of fun.

I am also the worst packer ever. First I start off with so few things I feel I can safely take some more with me and in the end I can hardly lift my bag...

Any hints of good shops in Amstedam? I haven't been there before.

Happy New Year to everyone!

Friday 28 December 2007

RED FOR THE HOLIDYAS


Ok, red is sort of the colour of Christmas. But why do so many of us insist on wearing red during the holidays too? Red candles, red tablecloths, red glitter, red sweaters. Red red red. You sit at christmas dinner and everyone has like a red shirt or scarf on or so.

...well, I'm wearing red anyway. Because it's nice. Especially this little puffed-sleeve knit. J says it makes me look like a little adorable grandma. (without the cute wrinkles I hope:)

I've had this necklace with a frame for quite some time but I haven't wore it, I didn't like the chain because it was so thick and when I tried it with a thinner one it just loked stupid. But it's actually quite nice. I'm gonna have it more often. (I'm not sure about the butterfly though, I just like the frames). Can't remeber who made it, but it was from a small shop with a lot of things by small brands and designers.

And for the first time this season, I was wearing my mothers old suede boots. She had them for many years and this is the tenth year I'm wearing them! Go boots I say!

Otherwise, I've been stuffing myself - I got a lot of marzipan (that along with chocolate and dates and dried fruits in general is what I most rahter put in my mouth) and Ive eaten almost everything already, uuuh. And I also had some dates and chocolate and there aint' much left of those either. So this evening I went for a really hard savate work-out training (to be able to eat the rest, that is) adn now my muscles are aiching, but in a nice way. And J is back for two weeks now so earlier we had luch at his oldest sister and her family today. ( I noticed once again that I'm so not ready for kids. Sweet, but uh-oh not yet. You have to do stuff with them all the time. They just dont' get enough of anyting. And J told this toddler not to have choclate and she started crying her head of. Oh my.)

Thursday 27 December 2007

CALEIDOSCOPE

me me me me mememe

I forgot to mention that there was a little hand-made caleisosope in the sailor purse J's sister gave me. She had made it herself, and it has a picture from an old newspaper of a ballerina on it. I used to love these as a kid! And I had totally forgotten about them.

(and why oh why did I make this picture. It almost scares me with all these flying faces of me. Uuuh, too psychedelic. My flying multiple heads will haunt me in my sleep. Nice one.)

CUTE


I gave myself a little Christmas pressie too just before the holidays... This is the cutest kitchen cleaner ever! (and also the most expensive I guess... it costs three times as much as the regular one and twice as much as the ecological I normally use ... but it's so cute! I want my kitchen cute.) This ecological cleaner is from the House Doctor.

OOOH SOME NICE GIFTS

I had som really nice gifts for Christmas, and me being very tired that evening I was so touched by the effort some had done I felt like crying all the time. Wino me.

My sister gave me this book, and I'm really happy about it, I love it:

J's sister gave me this adorable vintage purse from her shop:

(I have this thing with sailor stuff. Not only because of my sailor style tattoos and J, but also because of where I have worked, when I did the whole "heavy-labour thing". I guess I have to return to that topic someday...)

And then my dear friend K gave me this. She so knows I love Klaus Haapaniemi!

Inside where the cutest gingerbreads ever, even with a piggie that said "veggie":

Lulu likes the gingerbreads, but she can't hav'em:

J gave me a new Wacom drawing pen and pad. Thats such an amazingly nice gift, because I really needed that!

MY CHRISTMAS

So, I hope everyone had a nice holiday - and still will, because it's not totally over yet now is it.

I spent Christmas eve with at my parents with my sisters and my grandparents (I'm lucky to have all of them alive). My mother had made me nice beetroot fillets instead of ham and it made a really nice and colourful plate togehter with the purple fillets, green peas, dark prunes and the birght orange carrot patée. Yesterday I had some leftover my mom gave me together with mustard-marinated tofu. No ham or turkey in this house no!


My mom asked my grandparents to tell us some memories from their childhood Christmases. My grandmother told me about how they'd in the late twenties go to their grandparents place a bit out on the countryside and stay there for several weeks with many relatives from different sides of the family coming. Her youngest uncle, who always had his hair neatly done - and who had a fling with some cousin's cousin, oh how charming- bought records with sad and cheeszy songs and all the women cried when listening to a song about some man who had fallen for a beautiful spy's eyes and had been sent to Siberia. I can picture that moment really well, and every now and then I wish I'd been there too. I just love the mens' ( and womens too, but especially mens') style in the twenties!

On christmas day I went down to the harbour where J's ship was staying over Christmas. I spent the night there and gave him his gift that I sadly had...well, f***d up (I was printing a t-sirt but something went wrong with the textile printing paper when I applied it and the print went all-white. Well, I promised to make him a new one later...) On Boxing Day morning J drove me through the harbout to the gate in a forklift truck. That must have been quite the sight with me and my heels and red lips and all :)

Sunday 23 December 2007

SO IT'S MERRY CHRISTMAS THEN


I love this photo, it is taken by my father sometimes before I was born (and while his camera was still working...). The picture is from our family's summerplace in the archipelago (but taken in the winter, obviously :D).

Hope you all have a great holiday!

THE FRENCH ART-CHICK

Me in 1999.

(And no, this is not photoshopping from the nineties; it's just my fathers good old system camera from the 70's that broke -it wasn't me- and messed up the film.)


Earlier I wrote about finding it somewhat hilarious when J defined my style as always looking like I'm in France and it's autumn forever, one of the biggest reasons he said being my black beret (that I found in the school corridor when I was sixteen and still use, always use, the only one that ever fit my head). But then I remembered my alter ego (kind of) from my late teen years - the french art chick. And now it makes more sense. See, when I was a teenager I was quite the hippie (I went to a gymnasium/lycée for art, music and ecology so we were all hippies, almost :D) but aside from my colourful 70s or Indian dresses I still had my weakness for the all-black(as a remnant from when I was 15 and everything was black, and as a preminission of what to come I guess...)

In 1999 me and my friend Julien Frost, as he was nicknamed by me back then, went on a short student exchange to Copenhagen. We got a scholarship so everything was paid for, we got a weekly allowance and a flat for free. I had just turned 18, life was great and we smoked ciggies and had wine all day long, listening to the rasta hippies at Radio Christiania and just hanging around town (and every now and then we went to school). We used all our allowance money so in the end we threw parties and collected the bottles afterwards to get breakfast.

Anyway, Julien and I spent hours in The Moonfisher Cafe and that's when he named me the French Art Chick. She would always wear her black jacket with fur (it was fake fur. I'm a vegetarian, I draw the line at leather) with the beret and she'd smoke long slim ciggies with a holder. We came up with these on purpose-silly art-movie ideas about how she (me, that is) would sit in the cafe hour after hour just looking interesting, bohemian and adorable, and about the people she met.

So that was me at the verge of the new millennium.

Saturday 22 December 2007

THE FABULOUS FOUR

So, I've been challenged by Vasiliisa; the Suburban Queen to answer four blog-related questions and then challenge four other bloggers to do so.
I'm so bad at keeping things short but I'll try...

1. What’s the story behind the name of your blog and your nickname?
The story of my blog's name is quite simple - I'm a freelancer, even if I do work sort of regularly as an all-round designer for a clothing company (and I'm also employed at two other companies too on freelance basis. Btw this spring I will start doing some mystery shopping. Great . I get to go shopping, be critical and get paid for it :)
But why I named my blog after my sort work is because of a thought my friend and co-worker K and I were playing with : kind of a statement, an "anonymous anti-fashion fashion blog"-project about someone who works a lot from home and just wears the same slobby home wear or stays in the pyjamas everyday (beacuse sometimes it actually is like that when you work a lot in your home "office"). Well, obviously that blog never happened, but the name remained.

I don't use a nickname here in the blog, but for the comments I left before blogging, or the ones I leave somewhere else than on Blogspot when a name is requested is "Blondie"; not so much because of the hair color but more because of the band (Debbie Harry being one of my favorites stylewise).

2.Why did you start blogging in the first place?
The first fashion blog I ever came upon was by accident a long time ago. It was a very shallow and consumption-orientated one that I was both annoyed and fascinated with in the same time. Thats when the idea of this incognito freelancer 'hey-I-work-from-home-and-look-he-same -every-day'-blog was formed. Well, I've never been too quick at getting things started (and that wouldn't really have been a fun blog for more than a week now would it), and soon after that I begun reading more blogs and found a lot of wonderful and really cute ones and also the ones I like to follow today. So I forgot about the idea of the ironic blog and instead I decided to combine my interest in clothes, vintage and fashion with the fact that I, after several years of just making vector graphics, should start drawing more. It took me quite some time to begin but I'm glad I did.

3. What has been your best blogging related experience? What about the worst?
First of all, all the other nice blogs and bloggers! I like the efforts most of you put into the blogs; nicely thought-through texts, great pictures, inspiring outfits. And its just nice to read blogs in general, see how people are doing and so on. Most bloggers are also so positive towards antother, there is a nice atmosphere, and then of course it's always nice to see some interaction and get comments.

The bad thing related to my blogging is that I come up with too many things I would like to write about and draw ,but I just don't have the time to make all the drawings I want...

4. What do you think will happen to your blog in 2008?
I'll continue as usual and hopefully I will have time to make all the drawings I want to.

Me and K have been planning this big fashion-related project so when we get it started that will be a big topic.
But that's for later. Later later.

I've noticed that a lot of bloggers have answered this one already so let's see... I will challenge the following four:
Wendy B , Miss Woo, Tagtraeumerin and Krisatomic.
(and to wendy I'd like to add to point 1: how did you choose the name to your line of jewellery?)

Wednesday 19 December 2007

UUUH CHRISTMAS

First of all and in spite of all, tonight I felt very cosy and calm. But this last week has been quite stressed and lonely. I've always liked the time before Christmas a lot; I don't mind this dark time of year for all of the colourful lights and candles, I love the different scents of Christmas and the way houses are decorated (ok, we are talking quite clean and moderate decorating here but anyway, I guess you get my point), I like to do christmas shopping together with my friends or sisters. I'm normally never stressed about Christmas, and if 've been, it has only been in a positive, almost childish way.

But this year I've felt like those other stressed peole that run out of time and ideas and see christmas more as a burden than something nice. The biggest reason being a lack of time - I have an enormous amount of work to do and haven't had time for any preparations, and won't probably have that either. Sniff sniff, no ginger breads this year=(

The other reason being that J is away. I can deal with not having him here during the actual holiday, that's ok, but not having him here before it has been a bit sad. All the buying and planning of the gifts for both our families alone and with no time to do it and then the whole thing with Christmas cards. But the saddest thing is the lack of all the nice things I mentioned above. And I'm so tired because of all the work. Of course, I could just think "fuck it all". But then again I I love the giving of gifts more than I like receiving them, I like to plan gifts carefully for each person and I feel happy about the reaction when I see someone likes the gift they've just had. I'd rather make all gifts myself, but this year the only thing I'm going to do by hand is a printed T-shirt for J. (I can't understand how I some years ago had the time to sew something for everyone in my family. I could never pull that off these days. Oh, being all adult busy and working is sometimes so boring!) I also appreciate receiving cards from friends and relatives and I like to return the thought (and I love making the cards a bit tacky on purpose too. You send me a photo of your toddler in an angel-suit, you get a picture of my cats playing with glitter garlands. Ha!). Or then you get this:


Our retro-inspired christmas greeting from last year.
It's really tacky, isn't it ?
:D


So I've been trying to work and trying not to skip too many work-outs and in the same time get all the stuff needed for the holidays and send all the cards; which I didn't do until today - it didn't help that everyone else pointed out for me that I should've sent them last week already, thanks, I know.
And my flat is all a mess; I missed my laundry turn (I use the machine in our building) my plants are dying and my cats are winy due to the lack of attention.

But today suddenly everything changed. I had just bought the last gifts and was walking home and suddenly this wave of empathy came over me - it happens every now and then, I just feel like hugging everyone on the street and I feel great sympathy for everybody I see, I like everything and I kind of smile on the inside. It's a great feeling (a hell lot better than the one when you hate everyone and nobody can drive or people can't use the staircase or just are ugly and stupid in general and its raining). The evening sky was beautiful in red purple and gold, I went home, had some hot juice and wrapped my gifts nicely in old newspaper and tapestry, burned a candle and felt happy about just being at home and about going to my parents on christmas eve.

Then I called J whose phone luckily had coverage for the moment and we decided to make ginger breads when he comes home instead.

Ok. That's that. Phew. Next time I'll just write about outfits and fashion. And then I'm going to answer Vasiliisa's challenge.

PATTERNS

Some more about patterns - some patterns I've always liked and seen for my whole life (on table cloths, my grandmothers dresses, on my morning-tea cup...) are Marimekko's. I love some of the old ones from the 50's and 60's but they have a lot of new interesting patterns by new designers nowadays too.

Marimekko has been somewhat much in the media recently. I think no-one has missed the news about the coming re-launch of old patterns on clothes by H&M - I think it will be really intersting to see how it turns out, even if I, in order to avoid a christmas tree effect (heavily patterned clothes together with many colourful tattoos can be a bit over-the-top), personally prefer Marimekko designs on interior fabrics and acessories. (Another recent Markimekko issue was the Unikko pattern rip-off that Dolce Gabbana did, that for example Nanó recently wrote about.)

I also like the clothes by Mariekko's quite new designer Samu Jussi-Koski. But I'll return to that later.


(patterns to the left by Maija&Kristina Isola from 1957 and 1960, to the right from the 2000's by Anna Danielsson and Jenni Tuominen)

ROSES ROSES OR ACTUALLY NOT THAT MUCH OF ROSES ANYWAY


During the weekend I spent too many hours on making the rose-style pattern (that turned out not to actually be that "rosy" after all) for a package for a product range for a small clothing label. (Uh, what a long scentence). Too many hours considering the pattern plays suchs a small part in the actual package, and will propably be quite unnoticed. But on the other hand, I enjoy working with things like that, detailed ornaments and so on. And in a way its a bit funny that most of the patterns I make and like are quite detailed, when the patterns I wear or have in my home are more simple and graphic (must be some left-over from my hippie years when I was a teenager drew a lot).

Since I've made the pattern anyway and it will be shown on the package in only one form I played a little bit arund with it, forming different combinations with the elements. I love the color combination of white and gray and use t a lot - too much maybe- when I work so I played with some colours too. Made it into snowflakes and made christmas cards out of it and thought of kitchen towels, tapestry and underwear with it... Heh, but maybe it would just be best for gift wrapping paper.



Tuesday 18 December 2007

GIRL ON THE STREET
- some more outfit spotting

Hey ohoy, where were the streetstyle photographers when this girl was running around town?

She was wearing such a nice jacket with pleats, textile buttons, a round collar and wide puffy sleeves together with a huge knitted green cap and a matching green leather bag. Nice nice nice.

WHAT'S A GIRL TO DO

I just love this song and its video by Bat for Lashes



And Natasha Khan looks great, I love her make up in all pics.

Monday 17 December 2007

ROCKABILLY BOYS AND ROCKABILLY GIRLS


For those who don't know I'm quite into the fifties and rockabilly style. I've always thought "style before fashion" (it sounds sooo kliché I know :) and I greatly enjoy watching the creativity in the dressing of some strict style followers or people belonging to some certain underground styles.

I went to a gig on Thursday to see a cool band of rockabilly boys from the north, with the upright slapbass and ironwire guitar and all but the gig was kind of shit - too few people, the night never really got started. The next day I saw the same band plus a great local band at another venue and it was a rocking great night! And I have to add - stylish people; fifties girls and boys and some punks and oi-punks, rudeboys n'girls. When the rock club closed for the night we went for the clubs still open and ended up at a deep-house party. Quite the contrast :D

And then about the outfits: on Thursday I went out in my s&m china-insipired flower shirt and my favourite skirt, the denim skirt I've made. And I can't believe I can still wear my red peeptoes now in December! My thanks to the dry weather (and to thick stockings...).
On Friday I re-discovered my black wrap-around dress again, and I was happy for that; I hade totally forgotten about it. I figured out a way to hide the wrap-lace and thus higher the waistline of the dress a bit with my tacky-but-oh-so-lovely-cherry belt.

Sunday 16 December 2007

AAAH CHOCOLATE


Since I went out on both Thursday and Friday and had lots of work to do stayed home yesterday on Saturday night. I was working until 5 in the morning on a pattern with latin-kitsch rose vibes for a package, very many details, very tiring. Sometimes in the middle of the night I had a moment of despair and ate all the pieces from my chocolate calendar that my thoughtful mother had given me (one of those nice calendars with actually good chocolate, not that kind of crappy one that kids get). I did save number 24, I didn't just have the heart to open that one too.

Those small little pieces left me craving for more so today I gave myself some chocolate pampering with a chocolate facial mask and with Freeman's Brown-sugar Chocolate body scrub (the jar says "do not eat" in big letters. It's good to be reminded because it smells so delicious). And I just love Montagne Jeunesses' chocolate mud mask! I have no idea weather my skin looks any more smooth or not, but it feels just like putting choclate pudding on you cheeks, all soft and cool and nice smelling, yum.

Then I went christmas shopping and bought some of my favourite chili-chocolate to put back in the calendar so I'd have something to open until christmas (...but I ate those too while making the drawing... I'm such a chocolate slob!)

( And if I write the word chocolate one more time today I'm going to scream.)

Saturday 15 December 2007

YESTERDAY I WOKE UP TO A WHITE CITY


It'sthe darkest time of year right now, but yesterday was so surprisingly bright. I finally made it out during the time it is still light, and was struck by how bright everything was. Everything was white - there is no snow yet- but white from frost, from the pale light the sun gave, shining from behind the all-white thin layers of clouds covering the sky. The air was cripsy and cold, and everything was so silent. I walked down to the harbour and saw almost no-one. In a photoshop-adjustable world, someone would have turned the saturation down and the brightness up, put the opacity of everything to 50%. To a paler shade than white.

DIAMONDS ARE A GIRL'S BEST FRIEND

I like jewels and glittery and shining stones, even if I mostly wear very simple or no jewellery. I like the shape and form of diamonds when characterized and simplified. It's something about the lines formed in a stone when cut that fascinates me, (lines which I have sometimes used and played with in some of my graphic works). Here are some of my "diamonds":

Earring from H&M
Reflector for my jacket (that I found in the local supermarket :)

My diamond-heart tattoo (the only one of my diamonds that actually is forever -except for the cute tiny tiny ones in my engagement ring).


Here's another diamond I would yet like to have - New Florentine Brooch by Lotte van Tongeren.

Thursday 13 December 2007

MOST WEDNESDAY NIGHTS


heart-shaped lock -necklace by my friend Johanna (once again..)

Most of my Wednesday night are spent in one of the many semi-shabby rock bars just around the corner (in my part of town there is plenty of them...). This is when the weekly music quiz is held. We always compete with the same team, even though our memebrs may vary a bit from night to night. Its really fun but the questions and the songs are quite difficult. We have some beer and a lots of cigarettes. Or the other way around. We don't suck but we're not that good either. Once we were last, we've never been first, but mostly we are among the better half of the teams. At least we are mentioned on the chart for this seasons' quizzes. Maybe not that bad considering we are partly competing against rock journalists, music nerds and just otherwise pro-knowitall-bar-hangarounds. Partly, that is.

And once I'm at it with the music I might as well mention this band and their website with dancing trees and bumping cars and lots of other stuff. Dance!

Wednesday 12 December 2007

TODAY'S


Hey ho, I'm on my way to the forest to choop wood in my kneesocks and small shorts and little checked shirt.
No actually, I'm just gonna go do some christmas shopping.

ON THE STREET

Some outfit spotting:
This one girl was wearing a bright red wool jacket with a brigt purple scarf. Not the kind of colour combination I would do, but the strong colours looked really nice on her!

Then I saw this other girl with adorable braids in her hair who was wearing an all-knit outfit, layer on layer, except for her leather jacket and boots. Very cute.

I'm not sure my drawing does this outfit justice, but this girl was very retro chic. I saw her waiting for a tram in a huge cape with a deep red beret, matching stockings and a very lady like purse.

Then I ran in to my old colleague from the clothing store. He looked really good in a short square-cut sailor jacket, very skinny black jeans and awesome vintage shoes that he had coloured red with leatherpaint (I didn't know you could do that), the original colour cognac showing just a bit where the paint had wore off around the edges. Great.

Tuesday 11 December 2007

HAPPY HAPPY


Peackocks by Klaus Haapaniemi


My grandmother just called and told me I could have her dress that I tried on once and liked. This must have been some years ago because I can't remeber the dress but I'm very happy anyway since she said she has lots of other old dresses from the 50's, 60's and 70's that I can go through before she gives them away. Happy hapy joy joy!

(Pictures by Klaus Haapaniemi makes me happy too and I would love to have his illustrated Iittala set of plates and cups and bowls on my table, but J thinks they are too decorative. That makes me less happy but hey, you just cant have everything, right? At least I'm gonna have myself some new nice old dresses soon :)

Sunday 9 December 2007

FOLKY FLOWERS ON A DECEMBER NIGHT


Recipe for a nice Saturday:
Short flowery shirt-dress by S&M
Vintage boots in leather and suede
Red lips (of course) and a few beers
An 'iron wire'-surf music (I love it!) happening; great gigs

(recipe for sunday: sleep)

Saturday 8 December 2007

COLD WEATHER

...but I keep myself warm.

COSING IT UP

Since J is gone until after christmas, it's grey, rainy - just horrible weather outside and I've just been working all the time I decided to make it a bit cosier at home and just take it easy tonight with the cats, with something warm to drink and some cigarettes by the window, listen to Devotchka and Beirut. During winter I enjoy that kind of orange-yellowhish light that candles and old lampshades gives. My home feels a lot nicer after just closing the main lights and lighting up my christmas star in the window. It's less alone.





Tuesday 4 December 2007

RUBY TUESDAY



Skirt in thin corduroy - made by me
Cardigan & beret - second hand
Shirt & bag - Indiska
Shoes - Attitude
Tights - H&M

I've been real cutlural and arty today. Earlier today I went to the Museum of Arts to see the basic exhibition of fine arts; the one that is constant. Before studying graphic design I studied painting for a year and then we went there all the time, but now I haven't been there for ages. It felt nice just to walk around and look at the pieces I've seen so many times before. Muesums are such nice buildings themselves, there is always an atmosphere of... I don't know how to put it, reverence and calm I guess, in them.

Now I'm on my way to see a play with my mother that I've been looking forward to. We always go to see plays by this theatre group, they're a bit close-to-the-edge-arty and experimental but most of the time it works. Exciting to see how it will be tonight then.

(and yes! Referring to yesterday, I am wearing flat shoes for once :)

Monday 3 December 2007

BLUE MONDAY


Knitted dress - H&M
T-shirt - Diesel
Shoes - Vagabond
Legwarmers - old
pin - Ansa

For me, monday is like an extended sunday. I sort of start my week on Tuesdays, so today we slept late and took it easy. It's J's (my boyfriend's) last night home before he leaves for work again, so we did some stuff toghether; went swimming and cooked dinner. Toghether with our two cats we went to our friends' place to let meet their two cats to see if they all get along. Then our cats could stay there over new year's when J is back and we go to Amsterdam. (The cats didn't get along that well but they didn't fight either so we'll see what happens...)

And today I did my makeup like I haven't done for years (I'm so stuck to my black eyeliner) - with a blue pen and electric blue mascara on the lower lashes. Quite refreshing, and nice to do something "out of the usual". Hmm, once I'm at it I might aswell wear my flat shoes tomorrow.

(I'm not sure about legwarmers as an accessory btw. It looks nice sometimes and kind of I-just-came-from-dance-class casual, but sometime it's just so wrong. But today was really cold and wet so I guess it's ok)

Saturday 1 December 2007

THIS IS ME LAYING LOW ON A THURSDAY NIGHT

Too much work to have time to make drawings...
No, we do not always dance like retards, we are just doing some moves from this strange clip)


...As mentioned before, I never learn and laying low is not for me. Spent a lot of money and a lot of my good health last night. But it was fun. Then I woke up very... fatigued this morning realizing that my mother and grandmother were on their way to my place for some afernoon tea and I still had the flat to clean and a pie yet to bake (but it was worse for my boyfriend who had pomised to help his friend move so he had to leave in the morning for some heavy lifting. Huh!). But, I did some quick organizing and I made a very yummy applepie and hid my hangover pretty well.

And since there has to be a little ying and yang in everything to balance things up I stayed home tonight, friday night, working hard with drawing nightgown collection for kids.