The Interior DIYer

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A matter of coincidence

Humour me for a moment while I share some facts that have slightly boggled my mind recently … 
1. While discussing honeymoon options, fiance and I head-over-heels wanted to go to Russia, more specifically, St. Petersburg. That day I started reading Anna Karenina to get in the Russian mind set. As I began reading, only then did I realize a huge part of the book takes place in St. Petersburg. Not ground breaking, but it was weird at the time.

2. When I first saw the posters, I was so excited to hear there was a new adaptation of Anna Karenina to hit the theaters. When I looked up when it was due in cinemas, my heart stopped. Anna Karenina opens in theaters today {in Ireland}. Today is my birthday. 

3. My mom gave me this water colour painting about 8 years ago. Even though the vibrant colours are not what I typically like, I adore it and it’s my favourite painting. I tried to find out where in Russia the painting was, but I never got very far. I knew it wasn’t the Kremlin, and that was about it.

Fast forward 8 years, after copious researching of what to see and where to go in St. Petersburg for our honeymoon, I was dusting my living room one day, picked up said painting, and nearly screamed in fiance’s face when I realized it’s a painting of the Church of the Savior on Blood in St. Petersburg. I’m going to see my favorite painting.

The above is nothing ground breaking, but these coincidences have been blowing my little mind. As corn-ball as it sounds, I sometimes like to think things are meant to be. Queue ridicule.

Image cred 2 and 5.
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Retail therapy

If I’m out and about crossing stuff off lists, I try to find time to stop in some home departments to make myself fell all nice and fuzzy on the inside. And this is what I found, impulse bought, took home because they’re awesome.
First up, this floral cut velvet cushion from Marks & Spencer. A little steep at €35 for a pillow, I still picked up this big burgundy beaut the moment I saw it. Consider it an investment. You can see my other recent pillow purchase here, which you will be glad to know get along very well with their new neighbour. 
I oogled this swank curtain tie-back down in Arnotts Bargain Basement. At under €5, I’m determined to go back and get a couple more. I really like the contrast of the body of the tie-back with the dare I say modern {that word makes me cringe a little} lines of the clear glass. Winning. 
And just to show you don’t have to go to high-end brands to find pretty stuff, I picked up this double bedspread at Penneys {aka Primark} for €18. Once I saw the incredible aubergine hue and in stripe form, I needed it, and I needed it 5 minutes ago. PLUS, it’s quite good quality / not the typical crappy cheap fabric. Yum, yum …

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Lately …

… I’m feeling a smidgen more relaxed this week. In a blind panic, I ran around after work like a crazed woman and crossed a good amount off our list last week. Our countdown is now in SINGLE DIGIT WEEKS, so excuse me while I have a moment. You can’t hear it, but I just screamed. Excitement, and a lot of nerves. 

I ordered this amazing black and white stripe ribbon from Press Gang Supplies over on Etsy. 5 meters of excitement. All of which will be used on bouquets, buttonholes and whatnot …

Ceremony bubbles, and lots of them. Not sure if we’ll use these though. Kids + bubbles + sticky hands + moms new dress might = a lot of not so happy parents … Your thoughts?

We also finally got our Russian VISA’s in order. It took us three attempts before our applications were approved = an extra three scoops of stress.

We also got stamps for our invitations – another minuscule detail to remember. My dad told us about the limited addition {typical Irish weather} wedding stamps. Side note – our wedding invitations arrived today! I am going to pee, they’re so awesome. I will be dedicating an entire post to their fabulosity.

And another thing not usually remembered until the last minute – you gotta smell good on your big day. Fiance and I happen to both adore Paco Rabanne’s 1 Million and Black XS. We haven’t worn either fragrance in ages, so it will make extra special olfactory memories on the day ♥