Some of my new friends in the house: Old and new, big and small. Found here and there. 

The only things that catch my eye at antique stores and fleamarkets right now are vases, glasses, bottles, jars. Anything that can hold a flower. 

But I think I have to stop now. Time to start buying summer dresses!

Have a good weekend!

Those of you who are on pinterest: Do you read your pins sometimes? I mean: Do you look back at your latest pins and find moodboards you created randomly, according to your current passions and cravings?

The other day I looked back at my stream of pins and found this combination. It's screaming: I want summer! Don't you think? 

sources: wallpaper | pomegranate and ginger spritzer | vessels | rhubarb tart

...and I'm here.

We just got back from a long weekend at my mom's countryhouse and garden and found ourselves in a picture postcard when we arrived... Unbelievable that it was all covered in snow the last time we were here, only six weeks ago.

We spent our time collecting snails for a snail-race...

building boats...

spotting ombre textures and colors...

finding some beauties at a small fleamarket in the village...

urban jungle.

{this is an instacollage instead of an instaweekend because: I spent most of the weekend at my desk and he's not that photogenic. and: It's tuesday already.}

A little DO IT to end  - and start - a busy week {with lots of DOing, but not so much of it blog-related}

For new readers: DO IT is a column where I transform one of the pins from my ideas board on pinterest into reality. I try not to copy it exactly, but to use it as a starting point - and I try to work with things I already have instead of buying more. The motto: Stop pinning, start doing! {note to self}

The pin it all started with this time was this one. I pinned it because it reminded me of my growing collection of little stones, broken tiles and other little treasures from the beach and elsewhere that I have wanted to turn into pieces of jewellery for a long time.

But I was always imagining something a little different from the usual hippie shell necklace  - something more simple.

I was actually going to use a little piece of a broken tile to make a ring because they're so flat - but then I saw this red stone which seemed to have appeared on my desk out of nowhere {things appear on my desk out of nowhere all the time. On yours, too?} and turned this one into a ring.

I like the odd shape and the color. And the way it's shimmering and glimmering in the sunlight!

And you know what? Turns out the stone didn't come out of nowhere - but directly from India. My husband was pretty suprised to see that little stone he had just brought back from a business trip to India on my finger. In fact, he even found it close to the Taj Mahal. And I had no idea.

This little guy down there will be my next victim, I think. Does anyone of you happen know what it is? 

Have a wonderful start into the week!

A long time ago I fell in love with collages, a little while ago I fell in love with Sandra Juto's illustrations - many of them are collages. I knew I wanted to buy one of her prints some day and when Sandra started a "buy 1 print, get 1 for free" sale I hopped over to her shop and filled my virtual shopping cart with two of her illustrations. Hmmm, hard choice. I picked dada up there. Because: "You say collage, I say dada." 

And can you guess my second pick from my favourites down there? You'll find a hint in my name!

{The sale is still running until may 10. Just in case you were wondering...} 

Photos via sandrajuto.com

Sandra Juto is originally from Sweden and lives in Berlin. She shares bits and pieces of her life on her blog and is a self-confessed instagram addict. Good for us! Hop over, you'll like what you find. And I just found out now that there's also her little personal Berlin guide on her blog with some excellent tips and choices and wonderful photos. {Which reminds me of my own Berlin guide plans, ehem... Well, I think the best guides come from new-Berliners, anyway. They see the city with fresh eyes!}

And if you still can't get enough of her - Sandra Juto's and Johan Pergenius' home in Berlin was featured on Freunde von Freunden a while ago, too.

I know, I'm bombarding you with links here. But: Sorry, she's that good.

white on white.

{back from a little blogging break - I hope I can come back to my usual routine this week. Have a good one!}

rustic // shades + textures

Welcome to DO IT No. 4!

I really surprised myself with this round because it has to do with something that is not exactly my biggest strength: Gardening. Plants. Green things that you're supposed to water, love and talk to. 

(In case you're a new reader: DO IT is a weekly column on MINA MOKA where I try to transform an idea from my ideas board on pinterest into reality. The motto is: stop pinning stuff, start doing stuff.)

This week: Stop pinning, start planting! 

The pin it all started with today was this one. I liked the idea to have an herb garden in an unusual planter. I don't have a wooden box or drawer like the one in the pin, but I remembered that I had a vintage metal tub that we got as a baby bathtub for our first son. We thought is was super retro and very cool. It turned out to be super heavy and very impractical. But very retro, indeed!

After a couple of months I decided to buy an ugly plastic baby bathtub and use the metal one as a planter. End of story. I bought an ugly plastic baby bathtub and never planted anything anywhere.

Until today.

Voilà: My mini herb garden. Parsley, Thyme, Rosemary, Basil. 

And I can even see it directly from my desk!

When I find out about a designer, label, artist or brand it's usually because I see an image of their work and want to find out more about it. This time it was different, and it all started with a name: Poppy von Frohlich.

Fröhlich means happy in German and I love poppies, so I wanted to find out who is behind that happy name. Well - turns out it's not exactly a who, but a small fashion and home decor company based in San Francisco. And a very special one, too! Trudy, the who behind it (there must be a who somewhere, after all!), founded her brand Poppy von Frohlich in 2010 after working as a freelance fashion designer for various local companies for 10 years. Her concept is very unique: Every six weeks she designs a new item, usually a coat or jacket, sews a sample of it and posts it on her website. There's always a limited number of each design which will be produced, either in local sewing companies or by herself in her studio.

Her latest design is the one you see up there: Lumber Jane. (Again: Great name, don't you think?). Made for walks along the beach when summer hasn't really arrived yet, with giant pockets for all the little treasures you find along the way. She just finished the first sample and will only make 15 of them on pre order.

Where I live, I will need a coat or a jacket on about 300 days of the year and by now I know that only good quality and timeless designs will stay with me for more than one season. I've seen too many of my jackets fall apart after a couple of months - that's why I fell in love with Poppy von Frohlich right away. 

And if all you want to think about right now are airy summer dresses - there's also a beautiful dress Trudy designed: Dandelion Days. I was a little sad to find out that it sold out already - but I hope there'll be another Poppy von Frohlich dress this summer!

Photography: Jen Siska