Friday 31 October 2014

Samhain

Hi there!

It has been silent here for quite some time because I had a lot of personal and medical issues and I had a mini-holiday at my grandparents' too. She lives in the middle of the only real forest in the Netherlands - a beautiful place, and great to rest, get away from the busy city life and enjoy autumn! I'll post something about the stay itself later!

It was about one and a half week before Samhain but it was the ideal place to celebrate, so that's what I did. I'm going to attend a group celebration this Sunday but for me, last week was my 'real' Samhain, or, the Pagan new year.

I started out with a long walk at dawn, taking my camera and tripod to take some pictures in the woods, to experiment with them later. I found a lovely double tree with beautiful fungi on them. It reminded me of some kind of portal to the spirit world. As some of you might know, Samhain is the time that the spirit world merges with ours. I could not resist to take some pictures. I tried different edits too.



On my walk I was also looking out for a nice spot to carry out my personal ritual. After about an hour of walking I found the most beautiful flat tree stump, with its roots still firmly in the ground. It was perfect!


I laid out my circle and started collecting some 'treasures' I found around the stump, to put in my ceremonial bowl; some moss, twigs, mushrooms and leaves. All beautiful, just as the forest around me!


I started out with a meditation and a thank you. This year has started out quite horribly due to the massive winter depression I had last winter, but I think I have never experienced as much personal growth as I had the past year. I am grateful for so many things!


Due to the practice of dressing up for Samhain I wore a wig for the ceremony. It was so early in the morning on a Monday so I was all alone and loved it! I had the opportunity to dance and sing and do anything I wanted without the restrictions of people watching you (which always makes me uncomfortable).


At the end of the ceremony the sun came through the clouds and it was utterly perfect. I think I stayed there for hours (I lost my track of time!), enjoying and celebrating life, the end of the beautiful summer and preparing for the upcoming winter.


Winter will probably again pose for lots of difficulties as I have a hard time with winter depressions. I'm going to do my best to stay positive and spend lots of time with my family and friends. I hope they can bring back the light in my life when winter takes it away.



When I left I laid out the treasures I collected in a small circle and left it at the stump, as a reminder of the best ceremony I ever had. I hope I can visit my grandparents again soon!

Love, Jopie




Monday 6 October 2014

Happy Outfit: Blue, Mint and Roses

Last Sunday I went to Vintage Per Kilo with my boyfriend. It's a vintage clothing market held about once a month, on walking/biking distance from my house. As the name suggests, it contains heaps of vintage clothing, shoes and bags for 15€ per kilo. There are large scales where you can weigh your stuff to see if you keep within budget, and there's always a small canteen where you can sip on your cup of tea afterwards. It takes a bit of searching, but there's always some nice stuff there for crazy cheap!

This sweater and skirt are what I bought yesterday. I'm usually not really into high necks and denim, but this looks pretty cute, doesn't it?


With a petticoat underneath and some killer shoes this is a perfect fall combination!


I surprisingly enough really love the skirt. I don't really like denim myself; I own 1 pair of jeans and to be honest I can't remember when I've worn them for the last time. But this skirt is super cute. I love the pockets, the buttons and the white lace!


The shoes are also new and something special! I've never owned anything with such huge platforms. I got the shoes at a super cute shop in Amsterdam called Madchique. They are actually a spinoff from the shop where I work, but they are more focused on clothing and they sell the most gorgeous shoes.


Don't you just love those fluffy flowers on top?


Makeupwise, I went with mint, teal and dark blue eyeshadows from Boozy Cosmetics 120 palette. On my lips I gently blotted a vibrant matte pink Rimmel lipstick.


The necklace was one I already had but it broke. I fixed it today! I bought it at Fantasyshop Chimera.


Love,
Jopie


Sunday 5 October 2014

Happy Outfit: Family


Hi guys! Another outfit post here, because they're fun!


Today's outfit is centered around my family! I really love my family and they'll always be dear to me.


 I sometimes give my clothes to my mom and grandma for an 'upgrade'. The blouse was embroidered by my grandma and the flowers on the skirt were made by my mom! The tights are by No Guts, No Glory and the shoes are by Miss L Fire.


I really love the skirt, it's thick wool and therefore ideal to wear in autumn weather! I bought the skirt at a flea market for 2€ and let my mom work her magic on it. I love the felt flowers my mom made on it; it really makes this dull grey tartan skirt pop!





The blouse is really something special! It needs lots of closeups to show the detail. I left this vintage blouse at my granny's last Easter. I got it back last week with these absolutely stunning butterflies and flowers on it. The butterflies were inspired by Japanese embroidery.  I wore it to work straight away and got lots of compliments. I really appreciate all the work and love she put into this and I think it's absolutely beautiful. I think I'm going to wear this a lot! It's also great for layering under dresses for the upcoming cold weather.


This is also one of the rare days that I wear 'nude' lipstick. My boyfriend thought it would be nice to ditch the red/pink lip once in a while so I went out with him and we picked out a lipcolor that was closest to my own skin. I'm still getting used to it, but I kind of like it. It goes well with a dark smokey eye. Since I also consider my boyfriend to be family you could say that this entire outfit came true with the help of my family!


The lipstick is by Estée Lauder and my eyes were done with the Boozy Cosmetics 120 palette.
My necklace is from Fantasyshop Chimera.

Love,
Jopie