I don't know if it is just me, but since I have Pepa, smells are kind of a problem. I can't leave my windows open like i normally did. And even if you have a great diaper pail, the smell! The smell!

While strolling around Kollwitzkiez visiting some of my clients, I went in Home Go Lucky, to get some props for blog posts, and I saw the Lampe Berger standing by.

There were several colors and kinds of bottles, but I immediately fell in love with the "Tradition" Lamp.  The lamp is made of transparent glass with ornaments cut, inspired from the traditional pattern used on precision cut crystal. A retro design that fits into the Vintage scandinavian style of my flat.

You can chose from over 30 different perfumes. I was suggested to get the neutral one and a perfume one, and the owner of Home Go Lucky was so right. It made the smell subtle. 

The great thing about this product is, that it doesn't hide the bad smells but cleanse the air and truly destroys undesirable smells. It was very cool that I could smell all the perfumes at the store and I finally decided for Jasmin. 

The steps are easy:

let it burn for 2 minutes and it starts cleansing your room, home, bathroom right away. And it looks incredible just sitting there. Now my flat smells like jasmine and not like diapers or like a "closed room".

Yeah, and this is not an Ad.

It is impossible not to have a doll when you are a girl. I tried to delay it as much as I could, but when Pepa visited her BFF Atlas, she cried of happiness when she saw a doll for the first time. I had to buy one for her asap. Though I got her the little brother of the Annabell series, instead of baby Annabell herself.

After a couple of days laying around my flat, it started to bother me. I know it is terrible to get annoyed by a doll just because of its clothing, but I couldn't see that terrible light blue/pink outfit anymore. I mean, it took me a long time to get my living room looking nice for me and Pepa... And this wasn't fitting at all. I looked online to buy some nicer clothes, but it was a total fail. So I started planning the little "Pelle" new outfit.

Dont be scared of knitting. I was the worst knitter at school, and one day I bought yarn, a pattern and needles. And now I have knitted several sweaters and dresses. And you can do it too! I cant move 2 fingers of each hand :) So I am sure you will make it!

First choose your colors. I went for 50 gr of grey for the pants, 50 grams of mustard yellow for the sweater, 25 grs of navy and 25 grams for the grey on the sweater. The hat was a present, but you can look for a baby born hat pattern or write to me to send you one.

I am adding the pattern of the sweater, but if you don't feel comfortable, just make it plain, just don't switch colors and continue with one color.

First the Pants. I HATE using sock needles, so I just use a circular needle and bend it into two (tutorial here), but you can use sock needles (tutorial here) 

Start casting 32 stitches in a needle size 3 (tutorial here) now knit 6 rows with the "purl knit stitch". (tutorial here) Change to needle size 3.5 and knit using the "knit stitch" (tutorial here) and increase 2 stitches at the end of each 6th row (tutorial here) and knit as long as it covers the whole leg. Then bind off 8 stitches (tutorial here) and set aside. Repeat all the steps for the other leg. 

Once both legs are done, put them together in the circular needle, be sure that the binded 8 stitches are together, this will be the crotch. Knit 6 rows with the "knit stitch", then knit 6 and decrease 1 stitch (tutorial here) on each side of the 6th row and repeat until the work is 72 stitches.

Change to needle 3 and knit in "purl knit stitch" 12 rows. Add an elastic band, fold it and sew it. (tutorial here) Be sure to sew the crotch, just regular sewing to sew the 8 stitches of one leg with the other binded off stitches of the second leg.

Now The Sweater. I decided to go scandinavian style. This is my version of a Marius Sweater. It has 3 colors and you will start at the bottom of the sweater with a circular needle and work your way up until the armpits. Then knit each arm and join them all in a needle, knitting your way up towards the neck. It sounds difficult, but it is actually not so hard.

Start casting 72 stitches in a needle size 3 in yellow. Knit with a "purl knit stitch" 6 rows. Change to needle size 3.5 and knit with "knit stitch" 16 rows. Knit Pattern A (start on the lower row to read a pattern). You can add a marker on the sides of the work (tutorial here) if you don't have any, use security pins :) In the last row of Pattern A, bind off 4 stitches next to each side of the marker. that will leave you a space of 8 stitches that will be the armpits.

Arms: Start in sock needles or circular needle size 3. Cast 24 stitches and knit 6 rows with "purl knit stitch" then increase 8 stitches and change to needle 3.5.
Knit with "knit stitch" 6 rows and increase 2 stitches. Then knit 6 rows more and increase 2 more stitches. Start Pattern A and bind off 8 stitches. Set aside. Repeat for the second arm.

​Now that both arms are ready and the body as well, Put the body and arms in one needle and knit 2 rows in blue. And start Pattern B (remember from the lower row upwards) Please notice that the 8 stitches from each arm should match the 8 stitches from each side of the body.
​ 
Once you finish Pattern B, change to needle size 3 and knit with a "purl knit stitch" 6 rows and cast off. Remember when casting off (tutorial here) not to make it too tight. If not, it will be a bit hard to dress the doll. I had to struggle a little to fit the head in, but it worked wonderful. Remember wool stretches a bit :) Now you just need to weave the loose ends (tutorial here)

I added a little wooden button as decoration, and made a pacifier chain with wooden balls covered in crochet. You can buy them already done in daWanda or Etsy. It just adds a bit of flair and you wont be losing the pacifier everywhere in the house.

I hope you liked this tutorial! Don´t be afraid of trying this at home. I am pretty sure you will make it! If you have any questions, write a comment below and I will help you. I love how this adorable doll looks in my living room and Pepa loves to play with her doll in soft cashmere and alpaca wool.

Sometimes you go to the playground or the Kindergarten and you are in a rush and forget to look around to see what is happening, new store or even the old ones. 

I went with my dear friend Ailine searching for kitchen props for our blogs. She lives in Kreuzberg and she wanted to see what Prenzlauer Berg offers, Store-wise. ​And we found beautiful things from stores I didnt really saw in my every day.  So I decided to explore more my district last week.

1. PALM STUDIO:

I have been watching this location for a while. But it wasn't open yet and to be honest, even though it is next to Pepa's Kindergarten, I never have the time to stop. But I did one day. And guess what? it is an awesome store. Not only because the design off all their products is beautiful and minimalistic, But they are good for the environment. Once your organic soap, shampoo or product is empty, you can take your bottle back and refill it instead of throwing it away.

And a very big plus for me (besides looking awesome in my bathroom), the owner is Peruvian like me, so I get to chat a bit in castellano when I come by. You should pay a visit to Marchi at Palm Studio, Lets Re-fill not Land-fill!

2. TING:
This store has loads of scandinavian style objects, hence the name (means "thing" in Norwegian). You can find from plates to earrings, all beautiful, so beautiful I wish I could buy them all! 

​I got myself a wooden oval plate that you might have seen in my Papa Rellena Blogpost some days ago.

A vintage-look citrus press made of wood. I love it! not only looks great while making ceviche, but works even better than my old metal one.

An environmentally friendly coffee filter. Instead of using paper and tossing it away, You just rinse this one. Lovely for my Kalita, when I feel like hand brewing.

Raise your hand if you detest the neon pink and green kitchen cloths from the supermarket? I cant stand them laying around my black/white/red kitchen. But I found these at Ting and I love how they look even laying around.

I will continue to explore my district and find some more stores I haven't check. I might get surprised again. Do you know all the stores around you? Do you ever go exploring in your own block?

I have never had green fingers. My dad once told me: "First have a plant, if it survives, have a pet, if it survives, have a kid"... No plant survived, but my kid seems to be happy and ok. So I decide to work on my plant skills.

I used to over-water or not water plants enough. Or have no idea what to do with them. I went crazy and got myself 4 plants:

White Birds of Paradise  I have been in love with this palm tree and as it is kind of expensive so it would make me push myself a bit harder on taking care of it.)
Banana Tree Because I love the leaves and reminds me of my hometown
Monstera Because I killed my last one
Butterfly Palm Because they are pretty and seem to be easy to take care of

I went to an Averna Event at Maison Palme (the most beautiful urban jungle studio in Berlin) And they told me they spray their plants everyday. And it hit me, palm trees come from a very high humidity places. For the most part, the water that is applied to the surface of your soil is only helping strengthen the roots and stems. The leaves, however, could really use a spritz or two of water every day or two. I gave it a try with a regular spray bottle and my plants got so much happier. Next step: Buy a real mister.

But the plant misters are mostly made of plastic and not so pretty to have around my flat. As I need to use it everyday and remember to do it, I started looking for a pretty one that I can have laying around and look as pretty as deco.

I found 3 mist sprayers that would fit any interior design lover's home.

1. Haw's Mist Sprayer in Brass. This company makes beautiful gardening items. I would love have a garden just to buy all of them. This is the sprayer I chose. Many details of my living room are made of brass, so It fits perfectly.

2. Urban Outfitters Glass Plant Mister. This antique-inspired glass plant mister makes you  just fill with water and push down on the pump because it looks as pretty as the old perfume bottles.

3. Magideal Water Spray Bottle. I found this in Amazon, it cost the half of the other 2 and has amore Vintage-y look to it a bit more bohemian.

Now that I got the spray, I need to solve the over-watering or lack of watering. I had no idea how much is much or too less water. After doing some research online I found the Elho Aqua Care Watering Balls.

I couldnt find a smaller version if the watering balls from Elho, but I found smaller glass balls in Amazon: Royal Gardineer Mini Glass Balls in a Set of 4. For now they are ok, but I am not super happy of having glass when having a toddler running around. 

It has been a month and my plants are happy. If they survive like this, I will get myself many more plants for home! I would love to have an Urban Jungle.

How do you feed your plants? any tips for me?

For Pepa's Birthday, I decided to buy a Tipi. She loves hiding and cuddling to pillows and what best than a tipi for it. Our bedroom is a bit too small for hosting a tipi, but I was thinking to make my all white scandinavian minimalist living room into a kids-friendly zone keeping it sleek enough for me to be happy and comfortable in it.

First, Make some space and change the wall color. The color is Black Blue from Farrow & Ball. I wanted a light greenish color, but I noticed my Bolia couch didn't match at all (even though the sofa color is grey-beige seems a bit rose color with light green) 

I moved some furniture and the sofa. Now there is enough space for Pepa's Tipi and indoors playground.

I started with a carpet. The Jute Carpet with black triangles from Ferm Living was my choice as I needed a 130cm diameter carpet. And it would fit perfectly under the tipi. Second and third place were The World Rug from Oyoy and Ikea's Ådum

I went to IKEA and got an anti-slide mat called Båring, as I noticed the rug went everywhere once Pepa stepped on it.

I bought a "Chrysalidocarous Lutescens" at IKEA and moved my "Bird of Paradise" Palm next to the Tipi to make it more like an urban jungle.
About the Tipi. I was looking for some nice Tipis for a while but I finally decided for the Nobodinoz Tipi in natural white. Second and Third place were Cyrillus Kinder Tipi and Granit Zelt Tipi.

I love the feathers detail on the Nobodinoz Tipi and I added the soft cotton Kiowa rug from Nobodinoz for more comfort.

For cushions I used the Polar Bear I got Pepa at the Berlin Zoo, Her favorite shark from IKEA, 2 linen pillow cases from H&M, her lion and a white organic pillow she got as a present.

And as you see, I have a happy girl in love with her new crib! Now lets she what can I do with all this toy mess. I should start looking how to store them all!