Look like the innocent flower, but be the serpent under it

Today is a rare event, both Friday the 13th and full moon. Hope you've all had a good day without any severe misfortunes! Mine has felt exceptionally lucky, something that's also been rare these days. But it feels like the winds are starting to blow in more positive directions, shedding negativity away like snakeskin and letting new things in.

Maxi dress eBay / buckle shoes local flea-market / bracelet antique market in Budapest / necklace  Alchemy gothic Eve Crystal Pendant (a sponsored gift from David at bodyjewelleryshop.com, thank you so much!)

One of my many goals for this summer season is to adapt to the heat rather than complaining about it, because that obviously gets you nowhere. This mindset has actually worked like a charm, I'm happy with the heat as long as I have my SPF50 and can escape direct sunlight to the shadows. Transparent maxi dresses have felt like the best thing to put on when the quicksilver speaks with tropical numbers. (They also neatly cover up all summer scars, derby battle bruises and mosquito bites!) 

I've went with more casual looks like this one lately, adding large jewelry pieces to minimalistic outfits. Do you have any summer style favourites?

A few April pieces

April flew by with minimal blogging, so I thought I'd share a couple of joys from the past month. I had the best of luck with flea markets in April! You know the feeling when you go second hand hunting with a specific thing in mind, and you find just that? That happened so many times I can't believe it. Here's a pick on some goodies that I found only last week, including a vintage lace collar that camouflages me with innocence, two books that I've been meaning to read, frames for my wall projects, another bell jar and a nice stack of other treasures. I wonder what May will bring my way!

I spent countless hours in the woods in April, remembered how lost I feel when nature is not constantly near. I only wish I could live in the middle of a city and the woods at the same time.

Hanged out with Nana, a darling black whippet. (She reminded me so much of Nipsu, the Moomin character as all Finns may know!) 

The big thing about this encounter is that I wasn't allergic at all to her, no matter how much I rubbed my face against her silky black fur. This gives some light hope of having a dog at some point in my life! I'm seriously having the worst case of dog fever, must be driving everyone around me nuts with my daydreaming after huskies and other precious canines. I could die from joy each time I get to pet and hug puppies on my walks.

Had many date nights with the dear one, this one was Cthulhu Mythos themed. Vegan Elder Sign cupcakes, cold brews, 20's jazz and horror soundscapes on the background and the only board game that I can actually enjoy and focus on; Arkham Horror. Nothing says romance like fighting against the elder gods and cultists while desperately trying to prevent the apocalypse, right? The great thing about the game is team work, you don't fight against other players and if you try to go solo you will likely just lose your mind or trigger the end of the world. A true treat for any Lovecraft lover!

And best of all, I FINALLY earned myself a new laptop. This is a huge thing for me and very good news for the blog too! Working on a deeply broken down machine was simply too tiring, so most days I never even opened the wreck. But this beauty works like a charm (plus the red glow is wonderfully diabolical). It's been years since I've had a new computer so I'm ridiculously happy about this! I couldn't even remember how it felt to be able to access files quickly and edit photos without your Photoshop crashing every 30 seconds.

The only flaw is that the HD screen makes all photos look like crap and I can't fix that, haha. All my photos are in a fixed size so they should appear normally here, but Blogger expands and chops them oddly. At least on my screen, I hope you're not seeing what I'm seeing!

9: Travel treasures

Shopping often feels too tedious and time-devouring when the adventure mode kicks in, but second hand treasure hunting is an adventure in itself. So, although I don't usually feverishly circle around stores while travelling, something always seems to make its way into my hand luggage. 

On my November journeys I tried to find some vintage dress treasures but didn't manage to find anything I really liked. Those garments are such things that come to you by luck, and this time luck eluded me. But I stumbled on these lovelies instead, most of them are from Budapest's antique market (like the things in the first photo) and Berlin's Mauerpark. 

Old bones, the prettiest hand-cut medical bottle, used Der Kleine Vampir books to improve my fading German skills, anatomical tote bag, and a bracelet that screams Finnish folklore and druidic rituals. Imagine my surprise when the security check didn't stop me at the Budapest airport, after all I had black lips, a Baphomet shirt and animal bones in my bag.

The Raven

*Sponsored post!*

"But the raven, sitting lonely on the placid bust, spoke only,

That one word, as if his soul in that one word he did outpour.

Nothing further then he uttered - not a feather then he fluttered -

Till I scarcely more than muttered `Other friends have flown before -

On the morrow he will leave me, as my hopes have flown before.'

Then the bird said, `Nevermore.'"

I was asked to photograph and portray a few designs by a doll Etsy seller, Dahlia Deranged. Being an old customer of hers my answer was a resounding yes! There's something so bewitching in the mix of dark silvers and bird skulls that makes the more material chambers of my heart beat rapidly, and so these grim birds (and one ghostly bumblebee!) flew across the Atlantic ocean to perch upon the pallor of my skin. 

As you might have noticed, I have a thing for ravens and the rest of the corvid family. 

Obsession, perhaps. When I was in high school I used to sketch bird skeletons everywhere, and I knew most of Poe's most beloved poem by heart. Some verses I still do. The raven spread its wings on my thesis and one even sits inked on my skin, and more of its inked kind will some day appear on other parts, no doubt.

Needless to say, I love these pieces!

The simpler ones go wonderfully with more graphic outfits and the more decorative ones 

match victorian and vintage tinted outfits beautifully.

"And the raven, never flitting, still is sitting, still is sitting

On the pallid bust of Pallas just above my chamber door;

And his eyes have all the seeming of a demon's that is dreaming,

And the lamp-light o'er him streaming throws his shadow on the floor;

And my soul from out that shadow that lies floating on the floor

Shall be lifted - nevermore!"

If you enjoy these designs I recommend checking out Dahlia's shop!:

(You can also find her on Facebook)

I solemnly swear that I am up to no good!

Well I solemnly swore that I would never wear beige, but crazy spandex (another thing I thought I wouldn't wear) does tricks to your mind. Especially when it's covered in an irresistible map print! 

I immediately knew I had to get my hands on this piece from Black Milk Clothing's Harry Potter-collection and snapped mine the very minute it was released.  Mischief managed! I wished to snap a few other things too but I'm trying hard not to buy too many new things these days, with a few exceptions like this of course. Although the fabric choice isn't fully "me", I feel spellbound by this mini dress!

(I look so haughty in this pic that I scare myself a little!)

So guess what's my plan for tomorrow and the days to come? That's right, HP all the way. I watched them all not three weeks ago (!) when I was visiting my parents but hey, sometimes a little too much of Hogwarts isn't still enough. 

(I'm still waiting for my owl to arrive.)

Handful of home

I decided to finally step into the wagon of modern times and so I got my very first smartphone! Even after a few weeks it's still outsmarting me at times, but I'm slowly learning the gimmicks behind the touch screen. It's a rare thing that a young woman has to ask her parents for help with modern devices, but here I am, an old soul in the skin of a 20-something lady. Any suggestions on vital apps for Lumia phones are warmly welcomed. :)

I often get requests to blog more about my home, so here's a handful of home details. All are captured through the phone, most are old things you've seen here before, but some are new. Like the vintage learning boards (is that the right word for them?) of bats and corvidae birds that I've been searching forever in my dreams and have found in real life during this summer. Funny that they should pop right into my eyes in the flea markets of this small town, but sometimes you just get lucky!

My favourite at the precise moment has to be one of those bell jars. It guards the scented candles that have created a glaze of vanilla scented frost insde the jar, and to me it looks so beautiful that I stop and stare it daily! Oh, little chemical wonders.

Sunglasses After Dark

Sun and I, we're not exactly the best of friends. I'm much better off with the moon's luminous glow, although it only borrows its light from the sun. 

But I do enjoy summer and especially a nice pair of shades on the days when the sun scorches the earth and when I'm forced to leave my nest before nightfall. Damn that makes me sound like a vampire wannabe but I'm just really sensitive to sun and blinding light, so I prefer to stay indoors in the hottest days. Shadows, shades and high SPF are my good pals during summer!

I purchased this feline pair from Dahlia Deranged's Etsy shop. The right shaped cat eye sunglasses are hard to come by so I was pretty smitten to get these beauties out of the case! Even the case looks glumly neat with skulls and crossbones to match the design. And the tastefully kitschy skulls&pearls decor makes these beauties fun yet elegant! I feel these have just the right vibe between the realms of vintage and goth that I enjoy.

There was also some other gloomy treats in the package, but I'll save them for later. ♥