Wednesday 2 September 2009

bed rest & the ten of cups


here i am on tour in a hazy yesterday-ish
sort of hello kitty meets rest stop blur.
im on bed rest today so.. its time to do the
10 things people might not know about me post! ♥

♥ i share a birthday with florence nightingale.

♥ when we were little,
our tv only had 4 channels.
and no remote.

♥ i never had a barbie doll.
i had kelly from charlies angels.
(the original series) and the van.

♥ i used to work at a knitting store
and teach people how to knit
sweaters, socks, and hats.

♥ my favourite band is cocteau twins
(not just because my boyfriend was in the band!)
its always been my very favourite ever.
i think its the most perfect music there is.
may i suggest four calendar-cafe :)

♥my first kiss was on my 13th birthday
with a bastard who kissed my best
friend the next week.

♥ during the summer, i would always
play the piano at about 5 pm.. because the
sun would pass through the water in our fish tank
and cast a long perfect rainbow down the keys.

♥ my magic wand has a little knot in the tip that
resembles an owl so perfectly youd think it was
carved by a pixie. i had it for 2 years before i even saw it!
i love how time reveals magic things every single day.

♥ quite often i have dreams about ballerinas,
swimming with dolphins or cuddling lions.

♥ my house smells really woodsy and nice and people always want to know how i do it. about once every few weeks i take cotton balls and drench them in patchouly, lavender, cypress, cedar wood, sandalwood, neroli, tea tree and violet oils. (not all together.. but in little combinations) then i run the cotton over every door and door frame along the wood, especially by the front door, go underneath every table, on the bottom sides of all the book shelves, underneath every wooden place i can find. the bed, the shelves, the railings, the rafters, the banisters, in the dresser drawers, under along the couches and chairs, on every light bulb, on the radiators, and the air vents, the fan, and even on the tops & backs of picture frames. then i put the cotton balls in the dryer when i dry my towels. im a total incense snob! i hate the heavy smell of it and only burn morning star cedarwood which smells exactly like a campfire. i do this inside my bookshelves because it makes them smell like magic. i also burn sage and pine cones by the handful! its one of my secrets and i always feel really ritualistic while im doing it! sometimes when people ask me why my house smells so good i cant even begin to tell them all this insanity so i just say.. i dont know! ha ha ha! i already have enough to explain with all of the trees inside and the little ghost dolls and strange books everywhere.
ps. be careful about doing this on painted surfaces or in visible places
because the oil will take off the finish.. thats why i do it under stuff ♥

36 comments:

Anonymous said...

oh, i really enjoyed reading this post dear, and that picture is so beautiful ♥

Anonymous said...

and i forgot to say that i love the idea of the woodsy oils, i shall definatley be trying this myself :)

Sara said...

You are full of magic! I really enjoyed reading this, very much :)

Chelsea said...

You need to tour to the countryside and spread your magic here. I think I will steal your trick to make my room smell warm and homely this autumn.

Julianna said...

Ohh, thanks for sharing your secret to a woodsy smelling home!

the notebook doodles said...

this is an adorable post :p

stephanie dosen said...

yay thanks :)
i feel like i rambled on a bit
but i guess thats what the
10 things about me challenge
is all about!.. xoxo
ramble ramble ramble
puppies dressed as cats!

Karen said...

How interesting to hear little snippets about you :)
I love the woodsy smell too, its one of my favourite smells ever!! I shall be copying your rituals now!!

Starr Crow said...

your such a magical human being...
simple and magical (in the very best way).

my faaaaaavorite thing you shared was about the piano and the rainbow keys. the fact that you noticed it and made a point to make music on rainbows is so beautiful.

Laura said...

your house DOES always smell so good! i stole the cotton balls with cedar oil from you for my yarn stash...but i need to use it on furniture. brilliant! <3

AuthorMegNorth said...

Wow, so you're born on May 12? I had to look it up - I heart Wikipedia ...

You are full of magic dearie. Wish I could see you play live at some point, so come on up to chilly New England so us Mainers can dig out of our snow angels! Hubby and me just bought a house so we will make it smell yummy like you! Love your sweet white kitties, too ...

BEESTLYproducts said...

you are pure magic :-)

Charlotte Drene said...

Number 10... Oh, it is fantastic.
Best Things People Might Not Know About Me answer I think I've ever seen!

stephanie dosen said...

AH! ha ha thanks laura
im TOTALly sorry if
i never told you that before!!!
ha ha ha ha
i forgot to mention the
insane cedar cotton nest in my yarn stash!
!AH i could probably combust into flames
in about 5 seconds.

thanks everybody for saying
all the really nice things like
im magic.. i am smiling happy about that.
i thought i was going to get
hate comments like
"omg you like said like.. SOO much
stuff about yourself.. it
made me sick. why
do you rub cotton on
stuff you are WEIRD"
but nobody said that.
i love you all for that..
very
very
much.
xoxo

Josephine Tale Peddler said...

I am almost speechless with all the potent beauty in that post! I suspect you have charmed us all and this Blog is some entrance to your magical, beautiful scented world! I love the quote about time revealing magic things every day. Thank you for that reminder. And dreams of ballerinas sound just lovely. And your magic wand sounds incredible. Hurry up and write a book or open a magical knitting shop or get a CD I can buy out! xx

E R I N said...

awwwwwww beautiful.

its all beautiful!

i can almost smell your house from here


x

Suzi A said...

Lovely post! I feel I know you a little better already :) Your house sounds just perfect to me...

Bethany Heron said...

I LOVED reading this :) That picture is so beautiful :)
xxxxxx

Eliza said...

oh, Stephanie, what wonderful little facts you let us know :) thank you for all the magical tips for having a woodsy-fairy house. it's wonderful! i will most certainly apply it to mine as well, at least to my room. what you said about the rainbow piano is absolutely wonderful as well.

you are such a wondrous person, oh, i wish i could meet you :) <3

. said...

another beautiful, magical post :)
i really would love to get into knitting when high school is finished. i always start scarves but never finish them. are there any tips you can give me, you always create the most wonderful items!
and i'm so excited to use the oils to make my room smell lovely :)

. said...

another beautiful, magical post :)
i really would love to get into knitting when high school is finished. i always start scarves but never finish them. are there any tips you can give me, you always create the most wonderful items!
and i'm so excited to use the oils to make my room smell lovely :)

anji-jane said...

(probably) the best post you ever wrote :) magic on a raindrop day. and now I know how to make my house smell very pretty too. thank you! x

stephanie dosen said...

wow im completely
astonished by how
much everybody
liked this post :)
i almost didnt
post it at all!
i have a hard
time sometimes
just coming out and
saying stuff.. it gets
stuck behind the cotton
candy in my head.
yes theres even cotton in my head.

actually i knew a girl once
that had cotton in her head.
she had surgery on her brain
and the drs. left some gauze
in there. she used to tell everyone.
i guess they had to tell her
because of legal reasons.
but if i was that dr. i might
just leave that bit of info on the d low.

Anouk said...

'oh, i really enjoyed reading this post dear, and that picture is so beautiful ♥'

word.

that's a great one, dear.

PinkBow said...

i really really adore this post & finding out more about you! i like to learn & from you i do!

Anonymous said...

This post smells good !
Also, just got "Mice, Ghosts and Vagabonds" home, and I watched a dutch interview where you speak about the "ghosts" that were around during the recording, awesome magical interview!
I read your blog every day and you accompany me all the time ;)

Anonymous said...

"GHOSTS, Mice and Vagabonds". OOps.
Ghosts always come first ♥

Anonymous said...

Hehehe...funny!
I really liked your idea witht he scented oils. I always try new things to keep our house fresh but this way sounds really natural as opposed to market crud and *cough couch* incense.

A long time ago a friend of mine intrduced to me to this Japanese incense. No animal ingredients, no synthetic oils or fragrances AND no wood in the center to get rid of that burning smell. They are sooo nice! Here is one link I found on them but I usually buy them at the organic/trendy type markets.
Magnifiscents

PS Diamond is my favourite.

Aline said...

What product would you recommend? I love this ritual idea! Thank you for sharing it and stuff about you.
My husband works with pine everyday and he smells like wood...so this would be perfect for our home!
You can come teach knitting at my shop anytime! A.xx

Jo Potter said...

A very lovely post and full of magical words.
Hmmm... I love wood incense, especially Neroli and Sandalwood oils.
I use to work in a New Age shop and we use to use oil burners to make the shop smell nice.
I like the smell of bonfires too in Autumn because of the woody smell!:)
Thanks for posting a good side view of yourself. I want to try and get a good likeness of your face for the illustration. Can you believe I have nearly finished it!:)
A bit of fairy magic is in the air and I can now also hear owls screeching outside my window (I'm not joking, they really are while I'm typing this). Thanks again for telling us a bit about yourself.
Love, Jo May.x

I V Y said...

pretty blog! very lovely.

WILDFLOWER said...

Thanks heaps for sharing your wood oil nice house smell trick! I've just been enjoying all your pictures too. Very lovely and light x

JOWY said...

Ur magical words are just puuuuuurrrfection dahlin!

One Love,
Jowy
www.iseejanemary.blogspot.com

harps said...

your boyfriend was in the Cocteau Twins? how splendid! I, too, only had 4 channels as a child. I turned out ok though!

Such a Wondrous Place this Faery Space said...

We are sitting laughing, Liv and I because, well... shorten story, Amy, hmmm... bought some lovely Tokyo Milk perfume from my dear friend at Windmill Antiques in Evansville, lovely lovely I say! Well, began wearing it and all the kids got twitchy rabbit noses at it I have four kids going...
Mama, where is your smell? I wear patchouli and lavender with a hint of rosemary and they missed it! Who knew what choices make what reactions? So, off the Tokyo milk went to my dear friend, Rena, with whom I have been published with and is like a sis. So, there is our patchouli giggle coincidence!

EBro said...

I love getting little peeks into the lives of others, maybe I am nosy but I like to say "curious." I love the honest little things that most people would never disclose... I might just have to use this idea. I despise air fresheners because I feel like I am just inhaling chemicals but oils are different and I had never really considered it! Thank you for the lovely & natural idea...
<3