New home…

Amazing view from our balcony.

In Perth, finally. After 23 hours. Bittersweet, overwhelming and surreal. Those are the words that describe my feelings perfectly right now. After all, many things have happened in a short time; leaving my family and dog, seeing my SO after over three months and seeing our apartment for the first time!

I am excited to be back in Perth after six months – I have always loved the city and now I get to call it home! I should be extremely happy. Am I? Sort of, yes. Ask me again tomorrow after I’ve had a good night’s sleep and the answer will be a Yes  - with a capital letter. And with tons of exclamation marks.

I wish you all a very happy New Year and I am so excited to be able to share the new year with you!

Next year

A new year always comes with an immense amount of anticipation through new beginnings, new plans and new realizations. It feels like every new year starts with a fresh, spotless, whiteboard. Then, in the scope of hours, days and months, the year starts to draft up; suddenly a whole life can be read on the board  - dreams, plans and reality.

The end of a year is always an amazing time for self-examination and making plans for self-development. Next year, more than ever, I will try to…

1. Exercise more

I’m all about a healthy life and I got into a very good start with running this year so the only way to go forward is trying to get even better. It is such a fulfilling feeling when you notice that you’re able to run one kilometre longer.

2. Stay in close touch with friends and family

Every time I have spent a longer time abroad, I always notice that it is easy to drift away from the ones back at home. People’s lives go on – that’s why it requires some effort to keep things like they were.

3. Drink more water

… and eat more healthily. Self-explanatory! It is just an amazing feeling get when you truly eat healthily. Besides, don’t they say we are what we eat?

4. Study hard but play harder

I did well at law school but it has had its toll. Next year I will keep in mind that it is OK not to full-load semesters and it is also completely OK not to study excessively. The most important thing is just to listen to yourself, go at the pace that is not too comfortable but also not too uncomfortable. There needs to be a balance in life.

5. Find inner peace

Sounds very fancy and far-fetched but I am all about self-development. I have always been a bit of a worry wart and often my mind is racing at the speed of 200 km/h. Recently I got very interested in meditation and next year I am hoping to find (at least a bit of) my inner peace.

Timed – writer probably somewhere above Singapore.

Photos: weheartit.com

Moving day

The day is here, eek! I am starting to be ready and I am looking forward to sitting back on the plane and catching up on recent movies – I hardly ever watch movies at home but for some reason on every long-haul flight I always end up watching a movie after another in almost a trance-like state!

I do think I have completely overdone packing. But a) I hate unpacking so once it is in the bag it stays in the bag and, to my defence, b) we’re not exactly talking about a normal holiday here – I think it would be purely abnormal if I managed to pack everything for a few years in just one bag when I usually struggle taking only one bag to a two-week-holiday. Though I do have a feeling there will be a shocked look on someone’s face when I arrive in way too many hours (and that it will result into going to IKEA to get a massive storage system)!

Ps. how cute is the very sparkly little moose that my family insists on taking with me…?

Empty

Today is my last whole day in the Northern Hemisphere in a long time. I can’t believe the day has sneaked in already, almost like without a warning! A month or two ago I thought I had all the time in the world to get ready… which is why I keep thinking (and hoping) that I have already taken care of every single thing that is written on the multiple bright-coloured post-its covering my mirror.

I wish I could say that everything is under control and that now I can just sit back and enjoy one last mug of Glühwein. Everything from my closet may have been transferred to my bags but nevertheless there’s pure chaos everywhere; little things just lying around, nail polishes waiting to be packed and the world’s greatest dog waiting to be cuddled. Despite of being close to having my room declared to be in a state of emergency, I still find myself finishing up a bunch of random projects – like some may argue that today might not be the perfect day to change the protective cover on my phone’s screen. Prioritizing… never been my strength.

At the moment, instead of action, I am hoping for a miracle to happen (aka me finishing packing), slowly starting to get ready for a family dinner and I am also getting mentally ready to rush through airports due to my very tight connection times. After all this it is finally time to sit back and enjoy that Glühwein. Hopefully it happens before I actually board the first plane!

Keep your heart strong.

During the weakest moments and darkest hours, I can’t help but acknowledge that there’s something a little bit intimidating about uprooting your life and relocating it to a place that is 20 hours and heaps of cash away from home.

“Keep your head up. Keep your heart strong. Keep your mind set. Keep your hair long.”

I suppose making a 90-degree-turn, like for me starting law school from square one again after graduating in another country, is intimidating – no matter how perfect the setting itself is. It is almost like a card in poker that you just need to see. Or like holding a dice in your hand and then rolling it… a gamble. Luckily, I know I will hit the jackpot – like a remarkable 84-year-old woman told me during Christmas; one has to go there where the heart takes… if you follow your heart, it is just impossible to go wrong.

I feel like I’m standing at the doorstep of an amazing adventure. An adventure that will have its up and downs but at the very end, you will realise how it has been one of those things that have refined you, made you who you are.

In these thoughts I better continue packing – 46 hours left.

Christmas aftermath

After every Christmas I feel a little bit empty. There just seems to be so much anticipation about Christmas. For me it’s not because of gifts but because of being able to spend time with family without anyone rushing anywhere. It feels almost hard to rush right now and that’s probably exactly what I should be doing as reality has started to hit me - the reality where I have only two days left to get my things together and be ready to leave the country for quite some time. Has it sunk in? No. Am I prepared? I only wish.

Christmas itself was lovely – as always. It was amazing to be able to catch up with heaps of relatives and many of them already invited themselves over to visit us in Australia. I sincerely hope they will come! I was also gifted with a ton of things with a little round red symbol with an i on it, sparkly earrings and some books. I think I might need a third checked in bag when I leave…

The 24th

When I was little my two dream professions were a) a lawyer and b) a gift wrapper. Last night, at 2 am, I felt like I had chosen b instead of a and figured that the life of a gift wrapper might not be  so amazing after all (odd-shaped items – do I even need to go there?). Anyway, now all gifts have finally been wrapped up, salmon mousse has been made and Christmas porridge has been eaten – it actually feels like Christmas now.

My advice for a great Christmas is to eat too much Christmas food (you get it only once a year), take time in unwrapping gifts savouring each moment, make new special traditions, watch an old-school Christmas movie if you already haven’t and just enjoy the smell of Christmas.

I hope you all have a happy Christmas and that you enjoy your gifts!

Chapter changes

This week I walked through my faculty’s doors for the last time… It was graduation time for me.

Now, a week before I’m leaving, it has slowly started to be the last times of everything; the last time of logging into my uni e-mail, the last time of going to Stockmann Deli to buy a delicious salad and the last time of sipping white tea at Fazer and catching up with friends.

It is a whimsical feeling when one chapter comes to an end… at the same time you can be excited for the future and think back at all the moments that made you laugh. I am very lucky to be able to say that I have had a tremendous amount of those laughing so hard your stomach hurts-moments during the years I spent at uni and at the same time I have gotten amazing friends, found a career direction (only to lose it again), gotten a frequent acquaintance of long-haul flights and, the most importantly, I have become a stronger me.

These years have been very fulfilling; if I had had a wish board when I was 20, it would be easy to see that the past years have been exactly what I wished for four years ago. Luckily, I have a feeling that the next years will be even more amazing. To absolutely ensure that, maybe I shall actually make a wish board! After all, the first step to make dreams come true is to acknowledge them. And what is more than a dreamer? A doer.

Pictures: weheartit.com.

This time of the year…

I haven’t ever been the biggest fan of snow and cold weather but sometimes a snowy landscape just takes my breath away – isn’t there just something so dewy and extremely beautiful when everything is covered with clean powdery snow?

I have spent 22 Christmas holidays surrounded by these views. One year I spent Christmas in Australia and it just wasn’t the same. I just couldn’t shake off the feeling that it felt all wrong – there needs to be snow on Christmas. Also, ever since I was born, my family has had very strong Christmas traditions and I missed not being a part of them – unlike many other people, I am in love with traditions!

Christmas time is also a bit melancholy – after all, the year is coming to an end. It is a good time to think about the people who have left us or just went on during the past years. Why not also light a candle for them? It is amazing how there is something so extremely reassuring and theatrical in something as simple as lighting a candle for a person who has passed. No wonder why Finnish graveyards are like oceans of candles on Christmas Eve – a tradition I have always found so lovely. After all, what is a better way to honour someone’s memory than by lighting a brightly burning candle for them in the middle of the darkest time in the year?

In addition to the deeper more meaningful side Christmas is also a time for happiness and joy – it’s the perfect time to play board games with family, take long walks outside, play with the family dog and just spend time together. Speaking of which, I think it’s now time for a game of Pictionary…

Decisions?

Australia’s most famous (and a bit controversial) sister and brother… and my favourite songs from them.

 

During the past days I have struggled with trying to decide whether I’m going to continue writing in English or if I should switch to Finnish. Or maybe both for a while. Both languages have pros and cons… and realistically, writing a bilingual blog would be rather time consuming and not necessarily the best long-term option. I will be making decisions very soon and at the moment I think I will try to write in both languages at least until my university commences in two months… and then make the final decision. I have always been amazingly good at postponing decision-making… Not necessarily an amazingly good feature, though.

Three things

It’s Christmas week! Now it’s time to buy the last presents, watch old-school Christmas movies and make some gingerbread men.

In my case it is also my last week at home as I am spending next week elsewhere so I only have a few days to start and finish packing. It is a surreal feeling to be finally boarding a plane at the end of next week – it feels like time has gone very fast since my SO left a short forever, namely 13 weeks, ago but on the other hand it feels like time has just flown by.

I am excited to see my SO soon and I am also excited to be able to take my blog to the other side of the world – I am humbled by all the 65 weekly readers I’ve got according to Blogilista. It is a start and something like that only motivates to write a blog. In fact, there are going to be new things happening in the blogosphere too; like as a starter, I am starting a weekly post where will be listed three random photos I find on my memory card… and now it’s time for the first post like that.

1. Lovely Christmas ornaments; ornaments in bright colours just spice up any Christmas tree!
 

2. Some serviettes from Marimekko. I love the details; a boots-wearing elephant with zebra stripes!
 

3. Some self-made Christmas cards ready to be given to the dearest ones.
 

IKEA - Inspiration!

 

I’m getting very excited! SO moved to our new home on the weekend and sent me a picture of the view from our bathroom. I must say that the view is amazing but I’m quite happy there are blind shades in the windows! I have already had many Skype-tours around the apartment and my head is already going crazy planning how to decorate our new home… I can already see it full of plants and I am quite set on turning our balcony into a second living room!

That is why straight away after my first tour I started to make a wish list on IKEA’s website (how surprising) – I suppose I don’t just look very Scandie but also am one by heart! IKEA’s furniture just hit home for me, it always has. I am just unconditionally in love with white, simplicity, open spaces and fresh flowers… which is why it is self-explanatory why these things caught my attention…

Furnitures: ikea.com.au

I am already starting to look forward to a trip to IKEA – it’s like a home away from home! Partly because in winter they have a snow machine there (I think I might actually miss all 50 centimetres of snow there is here at the moment!) and because where else could I buy Bilar and frozen cranberries to make delicious cranberry porridge?

Not long to go anymore!

Two hearts

One of my Christmas traditions is to get a new Christmas ornament every year – an ornament that somehow reminds me of the past year. It is almost a whimsical feeling to unpack all the ornaments once a year and hang them one by one on the tree while reminiscing past years. I just love the meaningfulness of each ornament and I am (almost) looking forward to see how my Christmas tree will look like in, say, 20 years.

This year has been full of changes; settling down in Finland after spending a long time abroad, unpacking everything just to pack everything again, finishing law school, deciding to move to Australia years before we had planned, applying to universities… It has been a very fast-paced year but at the same time it has simply been an amazing year, maybe the best one till now.

Especially during the past year my family has sometimes had a hard time to keep up with my life – sometimes even I have only barely managed to keep up with my own life. I suppose being spontaneous is good, then you don’t have too much time to think. I’ve noticed that it quite suits me - no matter how great the past year has been and how excited I am about the following years, I am feeling a little bit melancholic; I suppose I’ve never been the biggest fan of changes.. and the biggest change of them all is just around the corner.

It is almost an extraordinary feeling; the combination of being very excited about something that is about to happen but also at the same time being a little melancholic about everything that is being left behind. But, don’t they say that the only way is going forward?

In the middle of all these feelings it was very easy to pick this year’s ornament. A sparkly heart. After all, the reason for why this year has been full of changes is so very simple but yet complicated; love. I may be going away from many things and people I love but, well, what could be a better reason to do that than The Love? And, in all honesty, everything I am leaving behind soon will always be there - just a plane ride away, waiting.

That is pretty damn amazing.

Finland in a box

I have come to the realization that you can take a girl out of Finland but you can’t take Iittala out of the girl.

Today I realized how I have only about six days time to pack as I will spend the entire Christmas week at my family’s cottage – like I have done every Christmas for 24 years. This realization motivated me to go through some of my things and to separate must-takes from everything else. I was actually happy to see that my must-take box for little mementos is a lot emptier than I had expected – maybe because I already put my Babushka-dolls and Dala-horse in my SO’s bag when he left (and maybe also a couple of Aalto-bowls – who wouldn’t need six of them? There needs to be harmony!).

At the moment my box consists of some 60-year-old hand-made towels with my grandmother’s initials, some (more) medium- and mini-sized (these are amazing to use as salt & pepper-bowls!) Aalto-bowls, fridge art, Marimekko-pillow cases and Iittala Satumetsä-mug and bowl – the mug that makes my day every day.

I may be still getting a friend or two for my Iittala Vitriini as Christmas presents  but otherwise that should (hopefully!) be it!

Disharmony

For me a lovely cup of coffee consists of 1/3 of very dark roasted coffee, 2/3 of milk and a few drops of vanilla extract. It is the perfect harmony – unlike my morning today.

Today started with contacting my new university’s IT-support desk. I had activated my new e-mail a week ago, used it yesterday and today… was unable to log in. Or some may say, I had forgotten my password. This is certainly what the helpful IT-Michael was thinking about even when I was claiming over and over again that it’s impossible “after all my password is the easiest in the world”.

I also kept going on about how I can’t even reset my password because their system doesn’t work; I do know the answer to my challenge question! IT-Michael must have been rolling his eyes at this point and he friendly tried to ask me if it was possible that I had misspelled the answer. Well, of course not, it was a four-letter name – only a fool would misspell it!

After a few minutes I finally got a new password and was able to log in. When I went to see what the answer to my challenge question was, I decided that there’s a new name in the Finnish calendar now so happy name day Ennei!

After the short, and a little bit embarrassing, oops-moment, I decided to follow IT-Michael’s advice too and changed my world’s easiest password to the world’s hardest password… even though I’m not certain that it was the best idea. I have a feeling I will be talking to IT-Michael again the next time I want to log in…

Never let me go

My current favourite on-repeat song…

“Though the pressure's hard to take
It's the only way I can escape
It seems a heavy choice to make
But now I am under, oh
And it's breaking over me.”

Now that was a good decision.

Last summer I was very lucky to get to see Florence + The Machine at a Belgian music festival and I must say that she is so talented with her voice – I thought she was the best performer at the festival even when there were also e.g. Regina Spektor, Lana del Ray and RHCP.

If you ever have a chance to go to see them, I highly recommend it!

The Perfect Trio

I’m not a fan of flying… or airports. It is just a time of being in transition, waiting – something I have never been good at. However, there is one very good thing about airports, especially when flying outside the EU; tax-free in its purest form; I love sniffing all the perfumes. I love trying on expensive make-up I have no intention to buy at first. I love buying something small and spending the following flight trying it on. In other words, tax free shopping is ultimately the best part of travelling (except for actually getting to your destination).

The other day I learnt that men do not understand that – men just want to get in and out of airports as fast as possible. I probably should have realized this before I gave permission to my SO to book my flight to Australia.

It is easy to see that a man has booked your flight when you have to change planes twice and on both times you have pretty much exactly 60 minutes time to do that. And, boarding on these jumbo-jets starts always at least 40 minutes prior to departure. So, technically, in ideal conditions, I might be able to make a 2-minute-visit to the nearest tax-free but chances are that I need to run past all the lovely perfumes while trying to make it to the next flight.

In some circumstances this could potentially break my cosmetic junkie-side’s heart. Therefore I decided to get prepared for it; on the weekend I returned from Hamburg and allowed myself to get a new lipstick at the airport – well, in reality, a lipstick trio travel pack – a.k.a the Perfect Trio.

The Doutzen Kroes-inspired package included all the colours a girl needs; pale pink, fresh fuchsia and Christmassy bright red. Result? Very, very happy (and beautifully coloured) lips.

Rouge Caresse; 01 Pink Fashionista, 606 Impulsive Fuchsia, 06 Aphrodite Scarlet

Psst! Try using your lipstick also as a blush!

Studying in Australia?

I thought to write a little about applying to Australian universities. There are companies that are more than happy to do it for you for a fee but all in all the process is very simple so in my opinion it would be just pure laziness not to do it yourself. Also, if you have any problems, the universities are more than happy to help you out – they have a big incentive in getting as many international students as possible.

Anyway, here are a few points about the process:

1. Choose the university you want to apply to

In Australia there are massive amounts of universities so comparing them really does matter. The Australian version of Ivy League is called the Group of Eight which is a coalition of the leading universities that are UWA, ANU, University of Sydney, University of Melbourne, University of Qld, UNSW and University of Adelaide. You can’t really go wrong with these universities; they may not all have the best teaching etc. but Australia is quite traditional in this sense; there is very much stigma related to these names as they have been known as the country’s best universities already for decades – in other words, a rumour is that top companies don’t even look at applications from those who went to a non-G8-university – how true that is, I don’t know.

2. Apply!

For most courses you can apply either for Semester 1 (starts in February) or for Semester 2 (starts in July) and it is usually not required that you meet all the admission requirements at the time of applying.

It seems like especially the G8-universities require paper applications and many of them also charge a processing fee to even look at your application – like in my case, I had to pay $150 to have my application processed but in my opinion it was all worth it as it was the university of my first choice.

There are also many universities that allow online applications. This means that you can just fill in a form and upload all required documents on their websites. Do note that the documents are usually required to be officially certified; this basically means it’s time for a visit to a magistrate.

The biggest part of the process is writing a personal statement/motivation letter. The universities put a lot of emphasis on it and that is why it is definitely worth it to spend time on it. It should state e.g. why you should be accepted to the programme, what makes you different from all the other applicants and also how the degree would benefit you.

All universities require proof of English competency. However, don’t take the English test before the university has specifically required for it; many Scandies are exempted from taking it based on their high school diplomas. Since the English tests cost around 200 €, it is definitely well worth it to just wait; if you’re otherwise eligible but the university doesn’t think you can be exempted, you will just get a conditional offer.

3. Accepted?

The processing times are usually fast – you may hear back from the university even within a week!

4. Then what?

Accept your offer – basically this means paying for one semester’s tuition fees. Studying in Australia is a little bit pricey - the tuition fees for international students are usually around $20 000 – $30 000 a year. Also note that living in Australia is more expensive than in Europe, especially in the biggest cities. Typically rents are higher (and there aren’t almost any studio apartments) and when looking at apartments, keep in mind that in Australia rent is marked as a weekly rate.

After accepting your offer you can apply for a student visa. The process to apply for a student visa is a very simple one but, again, costs money. The visa fee is $530 (2012) and to be granted a visa, you need to get OSHC (Overseas Student Health Cover) for the whole duration of your studies, e.g. for a three-year-degree your OSHC is about $1300 depending on the provider and it needs to be paid before you can apply for a visa.

It is good to note that on a student visa one is allowed to work only 20h a fortnight and that it is not a definite gateway to getting another visa at the end of your studies. In fact, one of the conditions to get a student visa is that you are only a temporary entrant to Australia.

5. Board a plane and get ready for your orientation!

Coast to Coast

Two years ago I was trying to find a way to get from the Australian east coast to the west coast. I figured that flying would be a bit too boring and decided to find out if three days on a train would inspire boredom… and after all, what would be a more appropriate way to travel to the world’s most isolated capital?

As some of you may have guessed, I opted for the Indian Pacific; the train that connects two coasts and two oceans. The 4352 km long train ride takes a short forever and I must admit that before getting on the train I was a little bit worried that the following three days would be mind-numbingly boring in my recliner seat without any sort of privacy… but how wrong was I.

Even though I have never been a fan of train rides, the Indian Pacific was truly magical. It was the ultimate relaxation; there wasn’t much else to do except to just listen to music and look at the (almost) never-changing scenery… and it was still extraordinary. Only people who have been on it, know what kind of a mighty experience it is to spend three days seeing the Australian desert out of the window with occasional kangaroos and reminders of bush fires. Even the Indian Pacific is mighty; how else would you describe a 700-metre-long train crossing the country at the average speed of 85 km/h?

It would be wrong to think that the Indian Pacific is just a way of transportation. It is more of an experience and the staff goes over and beyond to ensure that; they make sure you know all the time where you are and share little details about the places and landmarks the train passes. Also, you do get to get off the train at the whistle stops in Broken Hill, Adelaide, Cook and Kalgoorlie – there are even short tours available in these places!

       

A stopover in Cook – population: 5.

“Congratulations, you’ve just completed riding Nullarbor, the longest stretch of straight track in the world at 477kms.”

As the train started to pull into Perth, I was very surprised of the melancholy I felt. It had never crossed my mind that I might be disappointed to say farewell to the recliner seat I had been sitting on for three days. In other words, it wasn’t just the best train ride of my life, it was one of the best experiences I have had – and ever since I have been planning on taking the Ghan – the train that crosses Australia vertically…

Memory

Recently I lost a relative and on the same day I walked past a church and went to light a candle for their memory. At that moment I started to think about how fine the line between life and death is; it can be easily crossed but there’s no coming back. There’s something very dramatic about it; the body is left behind like an empty shelf and everything that used to be inside it has vanished – just like that; it’s like a game-over and you can only dream about second chances.

They say it takes a full year to get over losing a close person. Instead of being sad we shall cherish their lives, keep the traditions they set up going strong, talk about the good memories and be grateful that they were a part of our lives – maybe without them we wouldn’t be who we are today an after all, we will always have the memories.

To cherish the life of my grandmother, I will add her bracelet to my wrist and from now on I will be carrying both of my grandmothers’ memories with me along the way. It feels almost extraordinary how many memories can be linked into just little bit of gold and how that little bit of gold is suddenly the most valuable possession I have.

Picture: weheartit.com

Granted!

In early August I lodged an application for an Australian partner visa – in other words for a visa that is almost impossible to get without heaps of evidence (like wills, joint bank accounts, joint gas bills...) for every month you have been with your partner. Well, at least this is the case according to some.

Well, turned out it’s not impossible. We may have had full 1,3 kg of evidence but definitely not as much as people had tried to scare us; On Friday, when I had just gotten my mug of Glühwein in a German Christmas market, I got the best news of the year; I was told that my Australian partner visa had been granted, four months earlier than it was supposed to happen.
Right after getting the news I naturally called my SO who was also very excited; therefore already before I had had time to finish my Glühwein, I had a new e-mail in my mailbox – this time from Qantas. I shall arrive in Australia an hour after the new year has started. Needless to say that I am very excited to start my life there and I am already almost in the middle of packing!

Independence Day

Even Australia has noted that today is Finland’s Independence Day! ABC Radio went on about this morning and naturally played the notoriously famous Monty Python Finland-song; “Finland, Finland, Finland, the country where I quite want to be. Your mountains so lofty, your treetops so tall. Finland has it all.”

What else needs to be said? Happy Independence Day, remember to burn the blue & white-candles!

It was the best of times

For me Christmas time has always been that time of the year when it is OK not to even glance at exam books and just curl up with an enchanting book and a few chocolate truffles. It is also the time when many people like to buy books as gifts and therefore I’d like to share one of my favourites with you, The Best of Times by Penny Vincenzi. It’s one of those books I just couldn’t put down after starting. And after finishing it, I truly felt connected with the characters and kept thinking about how their lives would go on.

At first sight the book has illegally too many characters; the first two pages just cover a list of the characters with brief descriptions. I must admit that the first time I saw it, I was almost ready to put the book down – I thought that reading the book would include going back to the first pages all the time, now who would remember 49 characters? Well, apparently it’s actually very easy. Each character is complex and throughout the book they all develop in some way.

The book is about an incident that connects many people who didn’t know each other before – all of their lives change in a domino effect; some worlds are torn apart, love affairs are ended while some are ignited. It’s a book that shows how everything can change in a blink of an eye on an ordinary afternoon.

What I loved the most is that each character is complex and throughout the book they all develop in some way. It is an indulgent read which is written with amazing personalization and instead of just one story, it is several stories. Despite of several narrators the stories are woven together in such a way that you still truly get to know all the characters and their stories.

It is definitely chicklit but much more serious than most other books in the same category. It also is one of those books that has a happy ending – but then again, doesn’t life always have a happy ending if we just keep our eyes open? It is a story that tackles everyone’s subconscious fear – what if something happens one day and changes our lives completely?

The Green Pasta

When the weather gets colder, we often start to crave for a little bit heavier meals. Heavier meals can also be relatively healthy and nutritious which is my main focus point when I’m in the middle of cooking -  I live by a very simple rule; the greener a meal is, the better. Therefore I’d now like to share my favourite pasta recipe!

What you need:

- Spinach tagliatelle
- 150 g chopped spinach (boiled because of nitrate!)
- 200 g baby broccoli

- sliced chicken
- 2 dl onion flavoured cream
- 1 tbs green pesto
- 1 big tomato
- 1 big red onion
- spring onion
- salt & pepper

Anniversary

Picture taken at the Bolivian Salt Flats.

Today is the cotton anniversary of the day when I was very lucky to meet my best friend whom I will always hold up on a pedestal… as I already (sort of) did when SO and I were travelling around South America a year ago.

 

Due to logistics it is a little bit hard to celebrate an anniversary when the other person is on the other side of the world. Therefore my mind is already going crazy planning an anniversary date in Perth… Not that long to go anymore.

DIY: tuning up shorts

I am the biggest fan of everything DIY. I love crafts stores and I could spend endless hours in them!

A few days ago I found a pair of jeans that had been in my closet for about 6 years and probably never worn. I have never been a fan of white jeans (they make me think of the 90s). I had already almost thrown them out when I got inspired… white shorts wouldn’t be such a flashback to the 90s as white jeans, right? And if they had some lace and bead details, they’d also be a little bit more special than basic white shorts.

1 - 2. First figure out the right length and made a little cut there. To get a more vintagey look, it’s better to rip than to cut!

3. Do the same to the pockets; make a little cut and rip the rest.

4. Add some lace to the sides. Secure the lace on the fabric and then cut out the excess jeans from under the lace. You should leave about 0.5 cm on both sides of the seam.

5. Add some bead details. I opted for champagne colored beads and added a few to the front.

6. Done!

Very easy, very wearable!

Beginning of Winter

I don’t quite know why but this year winter has just seemed lovely. Don’t you think there’s something quite whimsical about first snow? I spent almost 15 minutes just looking out of the window and I was almost amazed by the prettiness of fresh snow – and I have never even been a winter person.