tirsdag den 30. oktober 2012

Just a Thought | Monday





Monday is always a little overwhelming for me.
I'm always a bit more tired, and it's virtually impossible to get everything done.
Yesterday was exactly that.
In some ways. 

Honestly, yesterday wasn't too bad of a monday. 
I got off uni earlier than I thought I would,
and even the 20 minute walk in the pouring rain wasn't that bad, because
1. I was wearing boots and a winterjacket, so the only thing getting drenched was my jeans.
2. the rain drumming on my hood sounded a little like the rain drumming on our tin roof in Nigeria,
and that is one of my favorite sounds in the world.
3. at one point, where the rain was beating down on my face, I closed my eyes,
stuck out my tongue and imagined they were little snowflakes instead of raindrops.
So if you saw a girl walking along the sidwalk yesterday with halfclosed eyes
and tongue sticking out, that was probably me. 
Or some other looney. 

But the thing that really made my monday all better was when I got home,
completely drenched and starting to feel a little cold 
(and foolish because of the whole tongue thing),
I was met with hot cocoa, jazz and lit candles.
Having a hubby ain't all bad, I tell you!

How was your monday?

- Lea Binta

torsdag den 25. oktober 2012

Thankful thursday

Yesterday I was thankful because my hubby bought a big cake.
Today I was thankful because there was still some cake left over.



Did I mention that I love cake?

And TGIFT!
(Thank God it's friday tomorrow)

- Lea Binta

tirsdag den 23. oktober 2012

Confession | "needS"



I consider myself a nice person,
but I have a nasty side that not many people know about.
It's not an obvious "call-you-bitch-to-your-face"-side,
but more like a battle in my mind.

Do you remember the cartoons with Donald Duck, 
where he would have an angel on one shoulder
and a devil on the other,
and they would battle each other?
I have that.
What do they battle about?
Judging others.
Based on what?
Mostly spelling and grammar.

That's right, I judge people based on how they spell.
They worst part is that I'm not that great at grammar myself.
I just always notice other people's mistakes.
Then after noticing and ridiculing the person in my head
I get mad at myself for being that way.
But I can't help it.
That devil on my shoulder is having a field day sometimes.

It might go something like this:

Reading an article/folder/ANYTHING with spelling or grammar mistakes.

Devil: Ha! Who wrote this!? The person must be a moron. 
They can't even tell the difference between "break" and "brake"!
Angel: Hey - be nice! The person could be dyslexic.
Devil: I know dyslexic people, and even they know that one!
Angel: Well, maybe they had a hard time growing up,
and couldn't focus on school work becausey they had an abusive parent.
Devil: They can't ALL be dyslexic or come from abusive backgrounds -
look at all these pages with mistakes!
Angel: Maybe english is their second language.
Devil: English is YOUR second language too!
Angel: JUST SHUT UP AND BE NICE!
Devil: Fine.. 

Then I spot another mistake and the whole thing repeats itself.
It's quite exhausting.


I have this coffee cup with a lovely quote on it.
It says,
"The world needs more flowers"
Yup, that's what it says. 
In my perfect world anyway.
Because you know what? 
It doesn't say that.
It says,
"The world need more flowers"
When I noticed I almost gave up drinking from that cup ever again. 
They can't even check their grammar before producing the cup nationally?
What has this world come to!?
My devil had a real good time when that happened.
Then I figured,
heck, it's just a cup.
Nobody's perfect.
I guess coffee cups aren't either.



- Lea Binta


lørdag den 20. oktober 2012

Quick DIY | Pink Lemonade

I'm seeing a friend tonight who just moved to a new apartment. 
I wanted to bring her a little something, but I'm totally broke,
so I had to make use of stuff I already had.

The weather this past week has been rain, rain, oh, and a little more rain,
so I thought it would be nice to reminisce about those summer days,
and what better way than to enjoy a little pink lemonade
and pretend the sun is shining outside? 

I don't really have a recipe, I just kind of taste it along the way,
but for just over a liter I use about 1 cup of lemon juice,
1 cup granulated sugar and 4-5 cups of water, depending on how strong I want it.
Add a touch of grenadine or some other red syrup for the pink color,
et voilá!




It's also great for cocktails!
Simple cocktail:
Squash a couple of berries (black berries are great for this) in
a glass, add 1 part vodka and 2 parts lemonade.
Top with a couple of fresh berries.
- Lea Binta


mandag den 15. oktober 2012

Home Decor | Pictures

Our livingroom used to be the other way around, 
with the dining table where the couch and tv are now, 
but even though it's been almost 6 months sinced we switched it around
we still hadn't gotten the pictures on the wall switched around.
Until this saturday. 

A couple of months ago we had ordered a large canvas with 2 of our
wedding pictures on, and I wanted to hang it over the couch,
along with some smaller wedding pictures.
Job done.

Before:

During:

After:


Much better!

- Lea Binta

torsdag den 11. oktober 2012

Thankful thursday

Today has been filled with negative energy! 
Mostly my own fault, but when my day starts at 6:30 am, 
then I find it hard to be positive.
This may not be early for some of you,
but for me it kills.
Every single morning. 
It's not like anything majorly terrible happened, 
just lots of little things to irritate me.

Like the fact that the bus was 7 minutes late.
I mean, 7 minutes is enough to time to brush my teeth,
put on makeup and pack my bag. 
I could have slept 7 minutes longer! 
That just annoys me.

And then, when on the bus, I saw the sunrise.
A sunrise is genuinely one of the most beautiful things ever,
but witnessing one always creates a tug-o'-war in my mind,
between how beautiful it is
and how it's way too early to be awake when the sun isn't even up yet.

And then I spent my 2 first 15-minute breaks trying to call the doctor's office,
which was virtually impossible.
And that just annoys the crap out of me every time I have to call them.

So then I figured, this would be a good day to focus on the positive,
and be thankful.
So here goes, things to be thankful for..

1.
 I spent all saturday celebrating my daddy's 45th birthday.
Lots of cake, good food, and lovely company.

2.
This weekend we will be celebrating hubby's daddy's 50th birthday,
both friday night and sunday,
which means even more cake, good food and lovely company.
(Of course, company comes before the food, even though they're
listed the other way around. Well..
Who am I kidding, the cake means as much as the company!)

3. 
I got to spend an afternoon and evening hanging out with my brother,
and some seriously delicious coffe and cake. 
And obviously, cake is always a plus.
(Said brother is now in Prague, and he better bring me something!
A piece of cake will suffice..)

4. 
Speaking of coffee, I am sooo thankful I have a husband who takes the time
to make me coffee every morning, 
even when he doesn't make any for himself.
It makes my day!

5.
Speaking of hubs, he bought me some christmas chocolate the other evening,
when I had a migraine and spent the whole day/evening in bed.
It totally cheered me up, and even made my migraine better!
(Or so I like to think.)

6. 
Speaking of migraine, it's finally gone! It pestered me tuesday,
all the way through wednesday, and finally left me alone
wednesday evening. 

7. 
I also finally suceeded in getting through to the doctor's office,
so now maybe something can be done about this horrible migraine 
that comes to visit once or twice every month.

8. 
Lastly, but not least, tomorrow is friday.
And friday is always better than any monday, tuesday,
wednesday or thursday.

What are you thankful for today?

- Lea Binta

onsdag den 10. oktober 2012

Just a Thought | The cat's what?

You know when you take two perfectly good words, put them together, 
and suddenly they just don't make any sense?
Like the cat's pajamas. 
What the - what!?
I know it's a real phrase and all, I just don't get it. 
The cat's pajamas. 
Like a cat would ever willingly wear a pajamas.


So I thought, where did this expression come from? 
And I googled it.
Naturally.
What in the world did we do before Google? Were we just ignorant?
And this is what came up:

"A slang phrase coined by Thomas A. Dorgan
The phrase became popular in the U.S. in the 1920s,
 along with the bee's kneesthe cat's whiskers 
(possibly from the use of these in radio crystal sets). 
In the 1920s the word cat was used as a term to describe
 the unconventional flappers from the jazz era.
 This was combined with the word pajamas 
(a relatively new fashion in the 1920s) 
to form a phrase used to describe something that is the best at what it does, 
thus making it highly sought and desirable. 
Similar phrases that didn't endure:
 the eel's anklethe elephant's instep, and the snake's hip."

Okay, so I guess that makes sense. Somewhat.
But wait - the eel's ankle? The snake's hip?
Honestly, I would rather walk up to someone and say
"Hey! You're the eel's ankle."
than 
"Hey! You're the cat's pajamas."
Or is that just me?
I just find it a bit more catchy.

So, I tried googling "the eel's ankle", I mean, come on, I had to,
but nothing really turned up.
But if you hear me describe someone as the eel's ankle
then just know that it's a good thing.
And then start using it yourself!
Wouldn't it be cool if we could get this thing to catch on,
when people in the 1920's clearly weren't up to the task?

Yeah, so there was really no actual point in this blogpost,
I was just wondering.. 

Hope your week is the cat's pajamas so far!

- Lea Binta

Image found on google.com

tirsdag den 9. oktober 2012

DIY | Crochet

Something about the windy, cold, rainy weather that makes me want
snuggle up on the couch with lit candles and yarn between my fingers.

I'm working on a bowl, which so far only looks  like this:

It's looking all slouchy right now, but once it's done it'll look 
more like this one I finished earlier:


And there's plenty more yarn when I finish this one.
I know what I'll be doing this winter..

- Lea Binta

fredag den 5. oktober 2012

Confession | Coffee

I realized something this week.
I've always been careful to not drink too much coffee in the morning,
so as not to end up needing coffee to wake up.
I've failed.
If I don't have my thermus of coffee with me when going to uni
early in the morning, then I will never wake up properly.

Then last week I thought, 
"well, I only need coffee for my 8 o'clock classes"
and I didn't bring coffee the day I only had a 10 o'clock class.
Fail.
I should have brought coffee. 
Sleep doesn't cut it anymore - I officially need coffee to wake up.

Have I had coffee today?
No, but it also took me like an hour to find a nice coffee picture
on pinterest.
I rest my case.

- which is why my hubby always makes me coffee in the morning,
but makes sure to leave as I get out of bed.
Smart man.

- Lea Binta

Picture found on pinterest.com