BITTERSWEET PINEAPPLE

omg karen, you can't just ask people why they blog

2012-02-01T21:19:00.000+02:00

I'm still trying to learn to fold the cranes. Getting a little frustrated to be honest lol.

I don't have many photos to publish, but wanted to write a post since I haven't done that in a while. Since I was clever and took two tests today, tomorrow I'll have kind of a day off, though I'll wake up early, go job hunting, buy school books, go to school for a couple hours and then head to the library to study, then go to Japanese lesson and finally go home - to study some more. I really want to get a good grade so I'll have to work hard.

... Due to the previous sentence I had a flashback to the time when I was told that grades don't matter, only the fact that you learn. I would like to tell the kids that just started going to school that grades do matter, more than you'd ever know. They define you as a learner and as a person - are you a perfectionist, what are you good at, do you work hard or prefer taking things easy. But still, I don't want to kill their spirit by doing that, they'll be happier when they live in a world where trying your best is enough, like they should. It's just that when they grow up, the reality will hit them so hard. /rant

Yesterday I tried something quite extreme, thanks to our arts teacher who gets these student-friendly ideas more often than we'd like. We went to a Croquis event; the word is probably French and we were basically just making quick drawings of a live model. Who was naked. And also, a male. I can tell that we weren't astonished by the idea in the beginning. Well, it was nice and challenging to draw a person in four minutes or thirty seconds, but seriously, I wish he had worn even a pair of underwear. I guess I don't even have to mention that I left an hour too early because this is the last bus goes home. Yeah, right. I didn't even have money for bus. Have you ever tried this kind of thing? I now officially have, and won't probably do it again any time soon.

!! iPhone & iPod users, follow me on instagram @ardula ♥

money can't buy you happines but i like stuff too

2012-01-29T15:25:00.000+02:00

The Internet has taught me that whenever you get an Apple product, you must blog about it. After months of saving, yesterday I was finally able to buy an iPod for myself. I really can't stress the word finally enough, I've been living without a proper music player for so long that it was about time. Of course I've been going cray cray about the apps too - because of iMessage and other messaging apps I've had endless conversations with my friends since yesterday.

The last photo taken with my old camera. No it's time to say goodbye to the grandpa dslr.

Taking photos with my new camera is just like taking photos with a new camera - amazing. I have to admit that my old camera fitted my hand better because of its bigger size, but overall I'm in love. With the a350 I had problems using the viewfinder because I was grossed how my face always touched the lcd screen. Now, the design is much better, and actually, I don't even have to push any button when I want to switch to the viewfinder - the camera does it automatically when I get close to the tiny hole. Hallelujah!

I'm using Barbapapa letter paper for paper cranes because I'm classy like that.

Origami experts: please don't send me hate because of these photos. I have noticed that I suck at folding paper. I spent so much time folding that crane and I think our Japanese culture club leader was quite annoyed when I couldn't get that fish right. I need to practice a lot. Could begin with finally finding the origami book, sigh.

I'm so relieved that it's February soon. The days are getting longer and longer and soon I don't have to take bad-looking photos because of the low light! February should be a nice month; I can't wait for our prom dance and Valentine's Day. On the other hand, I'm gonna have to say goodbye to a person who's going back home from Finland and the next period at school isn't definitely going to be easy. Everything has its pros and cons and we'll just have to cope with them.

you put your arms around me
and I believe that it's easier for you to let me go
you put your arms around me and I'm home

vimeo favourites

2012-01-28T17:24:00.000+02:00

I'm a huge fan of videos; I may spend hours on Youtube watching Shane Dawson's daily vlogs and cute animals. But on Vimeo, there are some pieces of gold I wanted to share with you now. I have been bookmarking my favourites through the past months and here you go! Tomorrow I'll be back with lots of photos, I have bought some nice stuff and I can't wait to share them with you. Hope you enjoy these, and please, send me links to your favourites as well!

Murmuration from Sophie Windsor Clive on Vimeo.

Address Is Approximate from The Theory on Vimeo.

Aurora Borealis in Finnish Lapland 2011 from Flatlight Films on Vimeo.

[ Homeland ] - with my DIY motion-dolly from Asa Li on Vimeo.

Meme Proposal | Tim * Audrey from Crazy Monkey Studio on Vimeo.

my best friend is you

2012-01-24T20:40:00.003+02:00

Sometimes the world can be quite a beautiful place. Even though the sight out of my window isn't exactly an aesthetic experience, I can't see anything but beauty in this universe today. My new camera is on its way here. ♥ ♥ Well, obviously I can't be all smiles today. Tomorrow I'll have an English listening comprehension test and I'm miserable at them. *Insert a sad emoticon here* I'd want to skip tomorrow if the camera thingy wouldn't make me wait for a phone call all day. But you know.

shirt h&m, jumper and jeans jc

By the way, the sweater / jumper / I don't know, that big blue piece of clothing anyway, is a new one! It cost like 8 euros so I couldn't resist even though it's way too big. They had only two of these; this one and an XS-sized one that would've been too fit, so I bought the bigger version. Though it doesn't really matter because it's so comfy, I could wear it all day! But, I wouldn't, because I don't trust that anything that's designed in Sweden and made in some African country I've never heard of would stay nice after a 24/7 use. Like, you know how the H&M cardigans turn out after some time? Horrible.

A physics exercise I managed to get correct. Bow down to me, I felt like an effing Einstein.

So, I guess next time I'll be here with my new baby. Though I have to remind my dad to buy a memory card for it, because people always forget about them. Like me and my dad. And it's awful to have a camera without a memory card. It's like having a plate but no food. Ok, a bad example. But also a sad situation!

Is there anyone out there who's also studying physics? Anyone who shares this pain?

When you go after honey with a balloon, the great thing is not to let the bees know you're coming.

2012-01-21T15:57:00.003+02:00

Super duper yummy desserts my big sister made today.A sketch of Aly.Fresh strawberries in the middle of the cold winter! Obviously not Finnish.

In reality, someone who asks you how you are doing doesnt really want to hear the truth. He wants the pat answer, the expected response so that he can go on his merry way.

I've been trying to figure out something to write for almost 30 minutes, so I decided to give up and say hello, how are you? I had quite a long week but I had fun too and now I'm only going to relax and eat like I've never had food before. Ok, a lie. I have to wait for my dad to come back home before I can even taste those white chocolate desserts we have. I just. Hate. To. Wait. We have no plans for the weekend but I hope I'm gonna take a lot of photos though. And yeah, the layout is again quite radically changed but I wanted something baby blue... Don't judge me, please.

a cinderella story

2012-01-19T18:16:00.002+02:00

For the past weeks I have been so negative that I wanted to write something happy for a change. Sometimes Finnish people are talking about "ihana arki" (the lovely weekdays) which I'm totally unfamiliar with; I'm unable to see anything lovely in a rainy Monday or a Wednesday full of assignments to do. To me, most of the time, weekdays are just plain stupid.

That is how I feel like on a sleepless night while I'm thinking about the upcoming Swedish lesson that's about to start in five hours. But there's another perspective too.

What I really should learn to do is to find what makes me happy each day. For instance, today was just another day of the week for me. But when I really think about it, a lot of happy things happened today that make it special. I finished my arts course work and was pretty pleased with the result and a friend of mine who is a magnificent drawer (she's out of this world, really) told me that she liked it too. In the school cafeteria we were planning a birthday party to my friend and laughed a lot. In English class another friend of mine sat on my left and we practically didn't concentrate on the lesson at all. She also gave me a Milky Way even though I insisted her to take it back but she didn't want it so I ate it and it was delicious because I hadn't had a Milky Way in ages before that. On my way back home I saw a group of dogs playing together in the dog park and it instantly put a smile on my face. At home I cooked for me and my little brother and he told me that the food was good. After my little sister came home from her clarinet lesson she let me try the instrument even though her teacher had told her she shouldn't let her friends play it. I didn't manage to make any kind of a sound with it and then we laughed.

So, it's all about the little things. When I think of this day as a whole, I'd say it was not good, and really, it's not even on the top 5000 days of my life list, but forgetting the bad stuff makes everything much better. I know, just forgetting the bad things is the worst solution ever, but come on, you can't feel shit all day long.

photos gyarugal 365 days with ida asos matka maailmankaikkeuteen weheartit weheartit weheartit weheartit weheartit

people will always let you down

2012-01-18T18:33:00.000+02:00

Wake up, go to school, head back home, sleep, repeat.

Since my DSLR's still broken, photographing has become a pain in the ass. To me it's ridiculously difficult to squint and use the viewfinder because of my eyeglasses and horrible eyesight. But I tried my best to capture some moments of my life this week.

» I've done all of the homework I've got this week, quite proud of myself. Because, you know, it's not always necessary to do all of them, just some to prove that you've at least tried... But I got this weird motivation and hopefully it lasts for a while!

» I'm almost done reading the book for my English course and I can't wait to see how it'll end. The House Rules is going to be another novel that I will never forget; I've found so much of my own thoughts on the pages of the book that I'm rather astonished.

» Tomorrow I'll have to write an essay in English and the topics are the most boring - again. Music, books, movies and acting/theatre, I feel like I've got nothing to say about them anymore. And how on earth are you able to write an essay that's interesting and showing some clever points of view when the topics are everyday stuff like these?

Now I'm off to make me a cup of tea and then maybe watch a Skins episode or just sleep. It feels kind of good when you listen to your body and not your mind, except when you really need to know what happens after the previous episode of a mind-blowingly good teenage drama. Have a happy Wednesday!

Or are you, Hermione?

Nils sanoi jag älskar dig

2012-01-15T14:15:00.000+02:00

“How could you be so alive one moment, and then have everything stop - not just your heart and your lungs, but the way you smiled slowly, the left side of your mouth curling before the right; and the pitch of your voice; and the habit you had of tugging at your hair when you were doing your math homework?”

Sometimes I can't help wondering that what on earth am I doing? Where am I ever going to use this information I'm getting each day? Is studying like crazy worth anything? You know, yesterday I went shopping by myself and on the way there I felt something rather weird. It was so bright outside that I wasn't used to it at all. And then I realized that yesterday I actually was outside while the sun still was up! All week I had spent the light hours inside the school building and hadn't seen the world as its brightest at all.

I rarely read the most popular fashion blogs like Fashiontoast or Style Scrapbook (I don't even know what are the most popular right now) because they make me feel so boring, so ordinary and middle-class. While the super bloggers are spending each week in a different continent, I spend my weeks trying to get my arts class work done in time, doing my Swedish homework in my pyjamas and teaching my dog that the cars that drive past our house are not dangerous. Yeah yeah, what the blogs show is not the whole truth but knowing that isn't making me feel any better.

(The reason for this rant is that I was just trying to upload photos from my camera to the computer but because the screen is still fucked I didn't notice the dead battery sign and now I'm waiting the battery to come back alive so I can continue on editing the photos. The world's biggest sigh.)

Since today's weather is semi-sunny and beautiful, I went out with the dog to take some photos of him. Apparently there was something much more interesing under the snow and all of the photos turned out like these. He's a total muppet but quite a loveable pet though. I just wish he would stop barking at all the loud noises and smell a little less.

Being oh-so-healthy is my newest hobby. However, I might have possibly just eaten two slices cardamom bread but that was only because it has to be eaten today - tomorrow it'll be bad and probably thrown away. Just trying to be economical here! But yeah, I'm trying to eat more fruits again, and with fruits I mean mandarins and apples due to my pickiness. On Thursday I ate a banana at school and it burned in my mouth and my palate begun to bleed, so I guess I'm not gonna eat them that much in the future...

Next week is going to be probably a lot like this week, hopefully with a little less of the usual drama though. Now I'm going to go through all the unread blog entries on bloglovin - I still have nearly a hundred of them. Have an amazing day!

escapism

2012-01-11T21:50:00.000+02:00

When someone dies, it feels like the hole in your gum when a tooth falls out. You can chew, you can eat, you have plenty of other teeth, but your tongue still keeps going back to that empty place, where all the nerves are still a little raw.

My favourite things week 2/2012

(1) Clipper organic white tea with orange - it's tea made in heaven. I bought that package for my mum as a birthday present and even though she thought that the other Clipper tea we have is a little weird (which it's not - my another favourite tea actually!) she loved this one. And so did my whole family except my little brother who is the only one who doesn't drink tea. There area many things I love about these teas. For instance, the packages are marvellous, so pretty they aren't meant to be put into the kitchen cupboards. The tea is organic and the bags are unbleached. However, only UK residents are able to get free samples from their website. Which like, makes me sad. I wanted to join their club.

(2) Watching the series 5 of Skins. I'm a huge Skins enthusiast and love the show to bits and I was so excited when they announced that the "new" series will eventually be aired in Finland too. But, I have already missed the first three episodes and decided to give up and watched them online. Recently I've found it quite difficult to open the television but it doesn't matter since everything's online these days. I have already picked my favourite characters of the new generation (Grace, Mini and Franky) and the characters I don't like that much (Rich, Rich and Rich). But still, miss Stonem will always be the number uno.

(3) Studying. I don't know man, but somehow I've enjoyed this week at school. We've had quite a lot going on but it's been a lot of fun, too! Today I had a presentation in English and it was okay, tomorrow I'll have my first eleven-hour school day and on Friday I'll relax with my friends (we planned baking a cake but we'll see). My books for the Japanese course aren't here yet and I'm a little nervous but it'll be allright I hope. The biggest problem is that I am probably never going to find the right auditorium.

It's been great to see that I've got new follower and readers and I want to welcome you all! Thanks to Ida for mentioning my blog on yours, it was an honour really. I'm sorry that there aren't any proper photos for this post right now but I haven't been able to photograph lately. Now I'm off to do my homework, see you on the weekend peeps!

heaven is a place on earth with you

2012-01-07T17:30:00.002+02:00

Today I had a tiny photoshoot with my sister and she even took some photos of me! It was fun because she wasn't wearing much clothing at all and I had a parka, a hat, mittens and my dad's military boots. But it was rather cold! Today's been quite an ordinary Saturday including sleeping late, drinking coffee, listening to old songs and straightening my hair like a crazy bitch. We are planning to go to visit my grandmum later since she has a new coffee machine and needs to learn how to use it. That means more coffee for us! And probably not so much sleep at night.

Do you like the photos? More of my sister on her blog here, she was freezing so send her some love! Though after taking them she ran back inside and put on her OnePiece, it looks so comfortable and warm but I have to get the iPod first. Sigh, I want to throw an onesie party!

Born to Die | Video Games | Blue Jeans

Lana Del Rey

Weeds are flowers too, once you get to know them

2012-01-06T18:08:00.000+02:00

Maybe another resolution for this year would be doing things I wouldn't have done last year. Yesterday I went to the local bookshop and asked if they had any origami books available and they had none. And like, I had waited for so long for buying one with my giftcards and when the lady shook her head, I was so pissed off I went crazy and bought some school supplies and a Moleskine. I have never understood why they are so special - to me they are just notebooks that cost a lot more than you'd ever thought. But now I have one and I'm ready to be hip and cool.

However, the question is: what on earth am I going to do with it? I don't feel like using it for sketching because I can't create art just like that and I would only waste the precious notebook. Or should I become a lyric writer and write all down my deep thoughts of the moment if I happen to have any (most likely not). I would be good at wearing a scarf and an old beanie in a bus early in the morning, doodling on my notebook like a true melancholic and thoughtful person. Too bad I walk to school. I must add that I have always been fascinated about the idea of public transport.

This Christmas I got many great presents including a lot of tea. The number of teabags in my room is almost silly, but I'm not complaining. In addition to my new favourite Clipper tea which is, by the way, ~organic~, I've been drinking this tea my English pen pal sent me. It's basically just normal black tea, but still somehow different to the black teas I've previously enjoyed. Though last time I forgot the teabag in my mug for almost 10 minutes and the flavour was maybe a little bit too strong. Anyway, I just wanted to tell you that I like this tea.

Last night I edited the layout (photos not related) because I wanted a sidebar back and just something different. I don't know if I like it or not, it's very grey but with a colourful background pattern it looked just so weird and definitely not me. Hopefully it works all fine! A proper header would be nice though but I haven't got any inspiration right now. #NerdProblems

So this is what I've been up to while I've been away and not blogging. We only had 3 days of school this week which was a nice start for the busy winter. We also begun practising for the prom which is only a month away and everyone's a little nervous since the first lessons didn't go that brilliantly. I'm sure that it'll be allright in the end though. What really makes me worried about the ball is that I don't know if I should go to the 'official' after party or arrange a private one with a group of good friends.

Thank you all for your comments on the previous post! I love to have readers who actually interact with me and read my boring rants.

and i feel homeless

2012-01-02T18:09:00.002+02:00

2012. My Finnish teacher told me to never begin a sentence with numbers, but you know. Just breaking the rules here like a real rebel. 2012, I know you get these messages addressed to you all the time even though you're not even a person, but please, I hope you will beat the shit out of 2011.

Another new start, new goals, new disappointments, new smiles, new tears. It's a silly thought that everything will get better next year, that just the change of a number is going to make a miracle to happen. It's silly to think that just an hour can make such a huge change between two different periods of time - it's like becoming fully grown-up and adult the second you turn 18, which is quite unordinary in my opinion. But we need to believe that things will get better or they never will.

I will turn 18 this year which sounds so weird. I'm not expecting to become a fully-responsible, sensible and classy human being, not this year, not in many years. Turning eighteen just means that I will be able to buy alcohol, I will be able to drive a car and that my dad will stop paying child support of me to my mother. The number of years I've lived doesn't make me a mature person. The experiments do, and they're what I'm still lacking. Most desperately.

I've thought quite a lot about my New Year's resolutions because - why not? So like I always do, I googled the topic and found an article called "Celebrities reveal their New Year's resolutions". And oh how it made me realize that being a 17-year-old nobody from Finland is the most unexciting thing in the world. I mean, Zac Efron is planning an adventure with his brother. Cool. Jessie J is going to shave her head for charity. Brilliant. Christoph Waltz wants to direct a movie. Outstanding. Is there anything that I could do? Other than starting to exercise more and eat junk food less?

For the whole year 2011, I was pretty much lost with myself. All of my friends were planning their future - the word that I'm slowly beginning to hate - and discussing whether to go to a university in Turku or Tampere. And I just sat there listening to them thinking whether to keep listening or run away. In 2010 when we applied for our upper secondary studies, I decided to go to a high school because it was the only option for me. Oh man, if I had got inspired by any of the vocational schools, I would have gone there straight away. I am so happy for my friend who can go to work in a restaurant when she graduates while I just have a diploma in my hand and a big load of decisions to make.

So, back to my New Year's resolutions. This year I want to 1) find a career for me or at least a school where I want to study after I graduate 2) get a proper summer job and fill out the tax deduction card for the first time 3) travel somewhere - at the moment I'd really want to go to England, Holland and Germany, and of course everywhere in Asia but they're not possible right now 4) go to a bar for the first time and realize that it's just a waste of time and money that could be spent on much nicer things 5) meet some blogger friends and pen pals and spend a whole day speaking a foreign language. These are the things I want to experiment this year.

Because writing a blog is fairly interactive, I'd love to know your New Year's resolutions! And is there anyone there who's feeling like I do? And if you read the whole story, wow, I probably love you. And if you didn't, well, I probably wouldn't have done it either. Let's all try to live life to its fullest, no matter what year it is! And let's not send requests in Castleville on Facebook, because who even plays that shit? Happy New Year and I hope you'll continue reading my blog this year too. ♥

Something to love this year.

Part of your world

2011-12-30T18:42:00.005+02:00

“I like drinking coffee alone and reading alone. I like riding the bus alone and walking home alone. It gives me time to think and set my mind free. I like eating alone and listening to music alone. but when I see a mother with her child, a girl with her lover, or a friend laughing with their best friend, I realise that even though I like being alone, I don’t fancy being lonely. The sky is beautiful, but the people are sad. I just need someone who won’t run away.”

Sitting here writing this year's last blog post feels a little weird when I think about it. Another year of my surprisingly short life has almost passed by and what have I been doing? This year has not been the best to be honest but it just makes the others even better. Sometimes we have to feel shit to feel awesome.

I'm not really a person who wants to start a completely new life in every January but something has to change. I love trying new things but I easily get stuck with the old ones. In January I will begin Japanese lessons in an open university which is exciting and hopefully it's going to be challenging and fun. My dad has already promised to take me to Japan for a holiday when I handle the language well enough. Definitely motivating me to study hard!

The camera situation is getting solved, eventually. I'm probably going to get a new camera soon which is super cool. I already tried it at the camera shop and it's quite small but much better than my old one. I can't wait to take photos with it! #technologyfreak

I copied this thingy from Jemina's blog and thought it'd be fun to try to recall some highlights of the past year.

1. How did you spend the New Year's eve in 2010?

I hung out with a friend and fell asleep quite early. Didn't really do anything special.

2. Did you date someone during the past year?

I didn't...

3. Did you travel?

Yes! I went to Italy with my family for a couple days but would've wanted to travel a little more.

4. Did you have a summer job?

Nope. And I still loathe the people of the local market for bitching and lying ugh.

5. What was your biggest achievement this year?

Staying alive.

6. Did something make you disappointed?

Yes, the weather. Summer was too hot and this winter is just so depressing and lame.

7. The best memory of the year?

That summer night when I sneaked out to take photos, and the moments spent with my friends.

8. The best piece of clothing you found?

Inexpensive cheap monday jeans x 3. I really don't know what I would be wearing if I didn't have them.

9. Favourite clothes of the year?

Probably some cheap ass h&m cardigan.

10. Did you get a tattoo?

No. But hopefully will get one soon!

11. Did you move somewhere?

No, but I would have loved to.

12. Did you make any new friends?

Yes I did!

13. The best party of the year?

Me and my best friend at her place in Tampere. Just us two pulling a semi all-nighter on a wednesday night. Going to school on the following day.

14. The worst party of the year?

Some boring school 'party' I was forced to attend.

15. What do you remember of the year 2011?

Lots of loneliness, new blogger friends. ♥

16. The cutest thing you saw?

I honestly can't say.

17. The most beautiful day of the year?

The day I went skiing with my sister.

18. Did you make any clothes by yourself?

No. But I can't understand why! I really want to make a t-shirt with my own print in 2012.

19. The best memory of school?

Japanese lessons! All the other school memories are proper bad.

20. Did you get something you had wanted for a long time?

Not really.

21. What did you do to your hair?

Dyed it multiple times. I was a blonde, a bit more natural blonde, a redhead and a brunette with a pink spot.

22. Did you lose something?

Does losing a friend count?

23. The best shoes you bought in 2011?

Converse shoes!

24. What tv shows did you watch?

Desperate housewives, Skins and some Korean dramas.

25. *insert a question about driving a car*

Musta tuntuu että ojaan ajaminen on aika suomalainen sanonta, mutta en tosiaan ajanut ojaan haha.

26. Did you get a new phone?

No! But I will get a new one in 2012. I'm so sick of this laggy Nokia right now.

27. Your favourite shop of the year?

For clothing, Weekday and JC. For food I prefer the nearest Siwa (a mini-sized food market) which I visited quite often...

28. Did you go to movies?

Yes, but only roughly five times or so. It's so expensive!!

29. Did you get a seasonal affective disorder?

Not really. I just hate the darkness in general.

30. What are you waiting to happen in 2012?

I want to make new friends, travel somewhere, advance my Japanese skills, get a driving license, buy more DVDs, hug all of my friends and go to a Korean restaurant in Helsinki.

See you next year!

the owl and the tanager

2011-12-29T13:26:00.000+02:00

Hobbies: taking random photos when you don't anything else to do

You know what guys. I just fucking broke my dslr's screen. My beloved baby is hurt. And I'm afraid it's going to be way too expensive to repair. Well, I still can take photos with it but I can take a look at them only when I upload them to my laptop. But today I'm gonna take the camera to the shop I bought it from and see what can be done. If the screen is going to be repaired, I'm probably gonna be without any camera for weeks. I'm seriously going to die. /rant

Last night we came back home from a cruise which was okay but would've been much funnier if I was 18 already. There's nothing to do for people of my age if you don't have a fake ID or your sister's driving license with you so yeah. I bought 10 cans of Lipton ice tea because I love it too much and can't buy it here.

By the way, still no snow here. I want to go downhill skiing though I only do it like once a year since I usually hate it. Idk, I'm a diffucult person.

I've got quite a many questions about coding, html, css and photo editing lately, and thought that if you sent me some questions about them now, I could answer you with a big answer post! I love to help people to make their blog templates and photos more advanced and unique but answering to the same questions all the time isn't that fun really. So now, ask me and I'll answer you! I'll do my best and share all the secrets I have lol. Just because I love you !!!

It's not beginning to look like christmas

2011-12-24T16:10:00.000+02:00

Real tree or artificial? The real deal even though when I was smaller I couldn't live near a real tree because of my allergy so we always had an artificial one and I kinda got used to it.
Foil or wrapping paper or gift bags? Does someone use foil for gifts?
When do you put up the tree? In December before Christmas - depends a lot. This year we put it up on the 23rd which is probably the latest ever in my life.
How is the tree decorated? With lights and some ornaments, this year we tried to keep it more simple ( = my little sister wasn't allowed to decorate).
When do you take the tree down? In January unless the tree's making a big mess already earlier after Christmas.
Do you like eggnog? I've never tasted it, sounds quite horrible to be honest. All I can imagine is a drinkable omelet.
Favorite gift received as a child? Oh a hard one. Probably some lego stuff, I was crazy about them.
Hardest person to buy for? Some of my friends / school buddies I really don't know that well.
Easiest person to buy for? My sister and the rest of my family.
Worst Christmas gift you ever received? I think I haven't got anything that bad. I appreciate every gift I get.
Mail or e-mail Christmas cards? I'm too old-fashioned for e-mail Christmas cards. Favorite Christmas Movie? Uh I have no idea. The Holiday? It's Christmas movie to me at least.
When do you start shopping for Christmas? In December - starting earlier would be horrible because I want to give the gifts right away when I buy them.
Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? No, who does that omg.
Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Salad? Or chocolate. I hate the traditional Finnish Christmas foods.
Clear lights or colored on the tree? Both look nice! We always have clear lights though.
Favorite Christmas song? This stupid but beautiful song called Jouluyön hymni. My friend sang it at my school's Christmas party and I loved it.
Travel for Christmas or stay at home? Never travelled but I'd love it.
Can you name all of Santa's reindeer? They're nameless to me.
Angel on the tree top or a star? A star.
Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? Christmas Eve!
Most annoying thing about this time of year? All the shops are too crowded and children singing Christmas carols in department stores are annoying as hell.
What I love most about Christmas? The happiness of it.What to do when you really don't get the jolly Christmas mood? Although I already have overused the word 'Christmas', opened the presents I got from my friends, eaten too much chocolate, sung Christmas carols in a church, eaten the yucky rice porridge, wished Merry Christmas to people and so on, I just don't feel like it's Christmas. Aaand I'm gonna blame the weather. I can't remember the last time we had a black Christmas in Finland especially because the last two winters were the coldest and snowiest ever. But this year on my way to church I noticed that the grass was still green. The people who travelled all the way to Canary Islands for Christmas, you really are wasting your money. It's just the same here in Finland, we're just missing the palms.

But I guess I will just have to cope with this. The world is changing, the climate is changing and the weather is unpredictable. The Christmas-y questions were copied from Anita's blog (follow her!!!). And I just want to wish you all Merry Christmas and I hope you have a great time. And don't forget to show your love to your friends and family ♥

House rules

2011-12-22T01:27:00.000+02:00

Everywhere I look, there are signs of a struggle. The mail has been scattered all over the kitchen floor; the stools are overturned. The phone has been knocked off its pedestal, its battery pack hanging loose from an umbilicus of wires. There's one single faint footprint at the threshold of the living room, pointing toward the dead body of my son, Jacob.
He is sprawled like a starfish in front of the fireplace. Blood covers his temple and his hands. For a moment, I can't move, can't breathe.
Suddenly, he sits up. 'Mom,' Jacob says, 'you're not even trying.'
House Rules, Jodi Picoult

As you can see, I've begun reading a new book and fell in love with it. Today after school I was going through the books in our library and found something interesting by Jodi Picoult (again). Her books are A+ really, for example I read Nineteen Minutes in a few days 'cause it was too difficult to stop. The plot of House Rules is quite interesting, you should check it out!

When I came back home, there was a big envelope for me from Jemina! I was so surprised and had no idea that she'd send me a present, but the most amazing thing is that she gave me these rilakkuma post-its and I loooove rilakkuma. Ohmygawd I'm so happy, thank God for amazing people that actually exist. Go send her some love on her blog here! And uhm, the last photo is my first origami crane ever which I folded at school with our Japanese assistant teacher. Her origami skills were a little more advanced than mine but at least it looks like a bird yay.

Three more nights before Christmas eve. I'm rather enthusiastic.

I like your cuddles

2011-12-18T14:28:00.000+02:00

This weekend has been sooo busy if you compare it to the other weekends of the past two months but I've enjoyed every minute. I spent the Friday night at my friend's place, played with their cats, suffered because I'm terribly allergic to them, cycled back home at half past one at night and fell asleep on my bed with my computer open, woke up at seven in the morning and noticed that I the computer had fallen on the floor, went back to sleep and slept until my little sister woke me up. I probably turn into some kind of a superhero at night because I cycled over 6 kilometers and it was cold. Yesterday evening I went to an other friend's house and she lives 8 kilometers away from me and it was snowing and I still only had my bike. What's wrong with me? But still, it was most lovely to spend time with them! ♥
Now I'm going to spoil myself with some greasy ass food and get some important Christmas things done. Two days of school and then I'm free for a moment!

I like it here beside you dear

you're even more than you appear

Fighting for peace is like fucking for virginity

2011-12-15T20:58:00.000+02:00

Things to do in December:
1) Donate money for the people who need it. If you can buy a shit load of Christmas gifts, you can give two euros for a good cause. A good mood is guaranteed.
2) Fall down while walking to your school / workplace / anywhere. The icy roads will make this extremely easy, but be sure not to hurt yourself.
3) Drinking tea is a good thing to do in any month, but it's especially nice in December. Though I'm starting to like hot chocolate too, when it's served with whipped cream or something that makes it even more sweet and unhealthy (marshmallows are quite good).
4) Take photos of the snow falling because it'll melt away soon. Don't forget to complain about the weather even though last winter was -20 degrees celsius colder and not good either. Every time it's snowing, make a facebook status update filled with excitement or alternatively write something sarcastic about the "yay snow!!!" statuses because you're just too cool.
5) Don't clean your room before the 22nd day because you will mess it up anyways. I'm totally saving all this mess later because cleaning up twice before Christmas would be a pain in the ass and I have better things to do (a lie).

So yeah, I'm feeling the most uninspired and nothing makes me excited at the moment. Ok, that's also a lie. Today I was buying Christmas presents and sending packages for my penpals and got quite excited because I saw these Moomin stickers ~random crazy bitch xD~. But seriously, I'm so tired.

Me ~~just bein Miley~~ taking photos of myself after shower.

i think i'm breaking down again

2011-12-10T21:41:00.000+02:00

An old-fashioned photo spam. Haven't done this in ages. Or actually, I'm not sure if I have ever posted this many photos at one time.

For the past week I've been the worst blogger ever but I haven't felt like posting since I haven't been doing anything. The school has been nothing special and I'm not that interested in any of the subjects I'm studying this period. I only have motivation for Japanese but the lessons are always so late that I'm super tired during them and I'm not sure if I'll be able to learn that much... I don't know, this whole period is just uninteresting and boring, bleh.

On Thursday I received a letter from my new Japanese penpal who sent me the cutest post card ever. They send those when celebrating New Year but that one is last year's card I suppose. But the bunny and everything, so perfect! Fuck Santa Claus, I prefer adorable animals.

Today I went shopping with my family and bought a bunch of movies which we're going to watch later on today and tomorrow. Today we'll begin with Amélie which my sister hasn't seen yet, so it really is time for her to watch it. Yay ♥

the grass was so green against my new clothes

2011-12-05T23:48:00.001+02:00

1, 2, 3, 4, 5

A few things I desperately need. Desperately. I have been Christmas shopping which is nice, I like to buy presents for my friends, but damn, I'm looking forward getting some high-quality gifts myself too! I would've wanted to buy a cd, a cardigan, a dvd and a cute notebook for myself but I couldn't because I wanted to be selfless and generous and a nice person. Ok, I'm quite excited because one of my friends is going to get the greatest present she has ever gotten ... at least the greates present she has ever got from me. Well, I would love it. And I also sent a package to the US which is hopefully still going to look like a Christmas present when it arrives to my penpal's home. Fingers crossed.

I've been chatting with Jemina about iPhone cases 'cause that lucky girl is getting one of those phones and you know that when you get an iPhone, you have to get a case. She saw these couple cases which are absolutely adorable, amazing, perfect, the best thing ever, but I can't see myself buying them. You know, I'm missing the two important things you need for them; the other person of a couple and an iPhone. Life is so hard at times.

Any advice for a boy whose nokia-loving dad doesn't understand that happiness starts with a small i?

PS. Happy independence day Finland. You kinda suck, but I guess you're okay.
PPS. Send me an email if you want to exchange Christmas cards! Especially if you're living somewhere far away or just are the best person in the world.

She moves in her own way

2011-12-02T19:15:00.002+02:00

Friday ♥ I've been studying for days now and it's nice to finally just sit down without panicking about anything. Today I went to town to eat some Chinese food and damn it was good! And the place was just recently renovated so it was super cool and cozy. Totally recommending Long Gong for everyone.

It feels extremely weird that it's already December because there still isn't snow in Finland. The last two winters were almost too snowy and cold but I don't think this is any better. No snow = no Christmas, that's just the way it is! I haven't even bought any Christmas presents because the event feels so far away. However, 22 days will pass quickly, I'm sure of that. And I'm even more sure that I'm going to be panic shopping just a couple days before Christmas eve.

Uh, these days have been so boring that I don't really have anything to write. But yeah, isn't my new beanie cute? My mum was shocked when she saw it, but don't worry, I won't be wearing it at school. I'm trying hard to stay normal.

あなたに夢を見せたい
終わらなくて消えなくて
そんな夢を見て欲しい
それが僕の願いです

sometimes i ignore you so i feel in control

2011-11-29T20:29:00.001+02:00

What have I been doing recently:
[01] Eating too much chocolate - don't ever give me something to eat for my birthday / christmas unless you want to ~~destroy my banging hot body~~ make me fatter because I sure will eat everything I get.
[02] Being at the same time delighted but confused because I got a Big Bang poster with this Finnish magazine that usually prefers rock bands etc. But K-pop, whattaaaa?! They are really getting big in Europe too. Waiting for SNSD's and 2NE1's posters, they would probably be the only ones I'd put onto my door. (Though I was just googling life-sized SHINee posters but shh, don't tell anyone)
[03] Taking naps. Seriously, even the thought of studying maths is making me exhausted and today I thought that I'm gonna start studying after I have rested a bit. Well, I woke up at 4pm and I still haven't touched the book. Way to go, me.
[04] Being annoyed because of the H&M + Marni collaboration. I mean, it's okay, they can make clothes with the Queen of England if they want to, but now every single blog is posting about these clothes which are probably going to be overpriced and weird. Just look at the latest H&M + Versace collection. I'm not gonna say the word vomit (oops), but they're just a little bit too extreme for me.
[05] Cooking. Today I had problems with cooking rice but it turned out eatable, and yesterday I made something, well, some food. I wanted noodles and I just threw stuff onto the frying pan and then ate it! And no, I still don't like broccoli. The whole dish just looked so pale without it, but I didn't even eat it. Name a food or an ingredient and I probably don't like it.

Tomorrow I'm gonna have to debate in front of dozens of people of which some are natives in English and I'm terrified. And I should have something appropriate to wear but I have no idea what that means. This is going well. Have a good week peeps!

Pretty in pink

2011-11-26T23:52:00.000+02:00

Weird things happen every day.

When Siiri and I get an idea of doing something, we have to do it immediately. Sometimes even waiting for the next day is difficult and we can't handle our excitement. Today early in the morning Siiri went shopping and came back with some hair dye packages which usually means a chemical-smelling day spent in our bathroom. Today was not an exception. She had bought bleach and pink dye for herself but somehow my hair turned out more pink than hers. I'm sure that the British judges will like my very classical hairstyle on Wednesday when I'm going to participate in an English debate. Judge me.

My new instax camera is already my new best friend. Every photo I take with it looks so good I can't even believe it. It doesn't matter if the objects are out of focus or too light - that cheap toy makes all the flaws look pretty. I'm quite a perfectionist when I'm photographing with my DSLR and hate when the photos look worse on Photoshop than on the camera's screen. But when you're holding a photo on your hands, you can feel it and forget about the imperfect parts. Loves it.

Instant love

2011-11-24T21:11:00.001+02:00

Guess what I just got?! My new Fujifilm Instax mini 25 instant camera! I have been looking forward trying it out since my dad ordered it on Monday and today I finally took the first photos with it. It actually arrived in Finland on Tuesday so the delivery was super quick. The film is pretty expensive, but I'll just have to use it carefully. But I really want to order some Hello Kitty film from amazon, it's £12 a package, but so damn worth it. I can't wait to show you more of the photos I'll be taking with this lovely thing. Any other instax camera owners?

Tomorrow is quite a special day since I'll have my last P.E. lesson ever. It's the last day of this period too and next week is going to be boring as hell - exams everyday and nothing else. But I don't mind really because I've been so tired this week, two exams and long school days have been more exhausting than I thought.

I am a kitten ♪

2011-11-20T18:52:00.001+02:00

I hate it when you start talking to someone and they’re really nice to you (compliments, smiles, bonding etc.) and you feel that you’re getting closer to them but then suddenly they stop talking to you. For no reason. Just like that. x

Last night I was chatting on facebook with my friends and we decided to meet up in the city today. We didn't have anything special to do, so we just ate and had a good time. We had these huge portions of ice cream and it was a little difficult to walk back home because I was so full. It is also clear that the Christmas time has already begun because there are lights and music everywhere, and yesterday while shopping with mum, there were kids singing Christmas carols. In November. Time to start panicking about the presents, right?

Since my birthday is tomorrow, my mum bought me some stuff I wanted yesterday. I got a pullover which is super warm and cute, a scarf, Miyazaki's movie Castle in the Sky and bed sheets. Thank you mum ♥ It was nice spending a day with her even though she started whining when I still would've wanted to visit some stores. She said that she's getting old but seriously, you're not too old for shopping when you're 42.

As you can see, the layout is different again and I'm just wondering is it working properly for you? I don't have a Mac so I don't know how it looks like with Safari, but Firefox, Google Chrome and even IE should be okay. (But if you're using Internet Explorer, please, stop. There's a whole new world you don't know about.) And I promise, no big changes for a while. I only have some Christmas decoration on my mind...

Come dine with me

2011-11-19T20:31:00.001+02:00

メニュー
みそしる、すし、にくじゃが
私たちはきのう日本の料理を食べた。この肉じゃがはおいしいです！あかりさんとトゥーレ先生、ありがとうございます。

Some photos of our partly chaotic cooking session. You know that when there are 16 non-Japanese students and only one Japanese girl trying to make something eatable, it's not going to be easy. However, the food was pretty good! Most of us weren't that good at making sushi so it looks like a little kid had made them - but that's just cute. And I even tasted sushi, can you believe it? I never thought I would put seaweed into my mouth. The nori wasn't bad but... I still prefer, like, salad. But I can't wait to try some new Asian dishes!

I guess I don't have to even mention that I failed seperating my chopsticks while our Japanese assistant teacher did it with her teeth. I feel like a failure. I recommend watching this video which tells more about the o-hashi and especially waribashi. Soooo funny ~ And please, ignore my poor Japanese, I'm such a beginner.

The one that got away

2011-11-17T23:04:00.002+02:00

I should've told you what you meant to me 'cause now I pay the price.

Finally got my own Christmas lights and I love them. At first I tried these cute and small led ones but they didn't work (which made me so annyoed since I had spent half an hour putting them up) so now I have those heart-shaped lights. They look so lovely when all the other lights are turned off though the wires aren't that pretty. Well, we'll see if I find a proper solution or buy a new pack of lights - these I found when going through the stuff we have in our hall.

Tomorrow should be an exciting day. We are going to make Japanese food instead of the usual studying. I hope I can take my camera with me even though I'd feel like a fool taking photos there without a friend... Well, they all know that I'm a weirdo, so whatever.

Kiss the rain

2011-11-15T21:20:00.002+02:00

Sometimes I wish I could be something else than a human being. I'm getting tired of the mood swings, arguments, relationships, everything. Like some people would like to be the Queen of England for a day, I'd enjoy spending 24 hours as a caterpillar. A day without drama, hate, love or duties. The goal of the day would simply be trying to stay alive.

No, I'm not in my teenage angst mood again, I'm just disappointed in life. Today I received a heart-warming little letter from my penpal which made me so happy. I'm glad that some people care about me so much that they send me chocolate when I'm moody even though they live over 4000 miles away from me. Thank you, it was delicious! I also bought an early birthday present for myself today - two of Miyazaki's movies. Yes, I have seen them both before and should have bought them after buying christmas presents, but a) I need to collect them all b) they are helping me learn Japanese c) they were only six euros each and in my opinion I'd deserve a lot more expensive gifts even from myself d) my blood glucose level was dangerously low and I just needed the endorphin rush of buying something.

I also got this huge Kanji book from the library and I feel like crying when just going through those pages full of signs that I will never be able to learn. Though I have noticed that I learn them pretty quickly and doodling them during boring physics/maths/English/Swedish lessons is helping a lot, I think! For example, I know the kanji for an umbrella! So useful, I know. But 2000 signs... Challenge accepted.

Listen to these two music files together at the same time - I guarantee you'll love it.

talk that talk

2011-11-12T20:29:00.002+02:00

ディナーパーティー!

My dad & stepmum had invited some friends for a dinner today so it has been a super busy day. After waking up at 10 am because of my ~~stupid~~ lovely little brother and his horrible music taste I have been quite tired all day. I wish I would be tired when I'm supposed to go to sleep too. But that's stupid to even think of. Yesterday I went to see Paranormal Activity 3 with my gurrls and it was so scary. I was leaning on my friend and we both screamed everytime something bad happened. I can't wait to see the next Paranormal since I find the story about the sisters & the demon pretty interesting actually. Before the movie I saw this Paul Frank wrapping paper at some shop and I have to go buy it when I get money on Tuesday. I'm a Paul Frank fan forever and I want to give cute Christmas presents to my friends.

A lovely guitar cover of Big Bang's 하루하루 played by the amazing Sungha Jung. I wish I had that kind of a talent, his fingers are just moving like magic! Thanks to Elina for introducing me to his music.

christmas & birthday wishlist

2011-11-08T22:12:00.001+02:00

Just dreaming of these things...

My birthday is coming soon and I am super excited. And even though I just listed some things I'd like to get (and never will get), I'm not excited because of the presents. I'm excited because I'm going to make a cake for myself and eat it.

But seriously, I really don't know if there's something I actually need at the moment. I have been dreaming of a new phone because the one I have is now two years old. At the same time something like a Galaxy tab would be so cool but they're so expensive and I don't know are they that useful at all. #FirstWorldProblems A new camera, Nintendo DS Pokémon games, an iPod, Spotify prerium, a ticket to this k-pop concert in Paris, a Fujifilm Instax, Hannah Montana seasons 1-4 on DVD, a fisheye lens, an order to Yesstyle.com... Are all those things so important? I have mixed feelings of... life.

One thing I know for sure is that I need to buy Christmas lights to my room. All this because of the Finnish Queen of Christmas lights Jemina who posted these adorable photos on her blog. I can't wait to watch drama, drink tea and take bokeh photos of the lights during the dark winter nights. Yes.

Photos Verkkokauppa.com Rajalacamera.fi

レーザービーム

2011-11-06T23:10:00.001+02:00

~~FAKE~~ BLOOOD!! Ughhh

Yesterday me and some of my friends arranged a Halloween party and I can't remember the last time I had so much fun! It was great to see that people really had dressed up and weren't wearing just the usual party clothes, I was happily surprised. I had a problem with my costume and came up with this idea of a crazy artist... Not scary or anything but better than nothing. Many of us, including myself, had fake blood on our faces and you know, when we finally decided to go to sleep, there was blood everywhere. I can tell you that it wasn't a pleasure to wake up in the morning and see red stains on the floor, on the sofas, on the tables... Thank God it was easy to remove! Though the blood I had on my face can still be seen even though I have cleaned my face like 5 times today. I'll wear a scarf tomorrow at school then. But anyways, I made some new friends and everything went smoothly so I can't be happier ~ Have you already celebrated Halloween?

leave my body

2011-11-03T19:06:00.004+02:00

I guess I don't even have to say that this week's been a not-so-good one. If I could tag these four days like blog entries, you'd see something like headaches, stress, chocolate, school, tumblr, panic, pain etc. My room is a big mess but I have no energy to clean it, there are clothes everywhere and I'm running out of fresh socks. I should write a speech for tomorrow, practise ひらがな and Japanese vocabulary for tomorrow's test, get halloween-y music for Saturday's party, make a costume for myself and sleep more than 5 hours a night. Somehow I just can't handle even one busy week without losing my mind.

Yes, I'm one of those people who take photos of themselves while brushing their teeth at night. Don't jugde me.

I've been reading my old blogs and diaries and I don't know should I be surprised or not when I'm noticing that some things never change. I've been complaining about the same issues since 2007 and I see no end. My livejournal blog is such a great place to make myself embarassed but it's sad that I've deleted so many entries. Somehow I miss the time when all the cool people (including me, of course...) had friends only blogs and people didn't try to be so professional. And nowadays I feel that when I write more, people aren't that interested in the entry. I miss writing but these days blogging without photos isn't considered as interesting.

So I'd like to know which do you like the most - text or photos? And is there anyone who is taking this NaNoWriMo challenge this month? I feel like trying but I can't concentrate enough to write a 50,000-word-long novel.

P.S. This video shows that boys can wear animal costumes as well. Plus, the dance is just epic, I can't breathe.

i want you oh my love

2011-10-30T18:00:00.001+02:00

16/m/finland and you???!

So now I have officially lost my self-respect and published an idiotic photo of myself. This isn't the worst one though, you should see the herp derp photos, oh my God really. Nevertheless, Siiri had painted this mainstreamish (they're everywhere on the internet right now) sugar skull thingy which looked pretty good! See some of the photos I took on her blog here. Now we're baking cupcakes, the last time we made them was like a year ago, soooo weird. Some time ago we used to bake them all the time (literally).

Happy Halloween!

TURKU | ÅBO

2011-10-29T00:06:00.000+03:00

Today early in the morning I left to Turku with my family. We went to a spa and a shopping centre and practically spent the whole day there. When we were back at home it was already dark, soooo typical in Finland in the Winter (+ Autumn and Spring too......). On the way back home I had maybe the worst cup of take-away coffee, but it did its job. So bitter but the cup was adorable! Aand by the way, I'm attending to a halloween party next weekend and I still have no idea what I'm going to wear!! I just want to be a cat but I have been told that only girls can be cute animals... But I just want to draw whiskers on my face! Got any costume suggestions for me? I'm gonna get killed if I don't have a proper costume. Literally. You should meet my friends.

ミ☆ I'll be back

2011-10-26T00:24:00.003+03:00

HELLO CHRISTMAS. Even though it's not even November yet I finally have decided that it's a good time to start preparing for the year's most materialistic event. I mean, Justin Bieber's new christmas-y song is out and they are selling advent calendars in supermarkets, so why not. Today I baked these pastries called joulutorttu for the third time this year (= past two weeks), and I have no idea if there's a proper English word for them but whatever, jultårta på Svenska! Oh how I miss them during summer, they are so good with hot - not warm (or cold, God it's gross), glögg. ♥

Apparently my friends have abandoned me so all I have left is dramacrazy.net and you know what that means. Lots and lots of dramas! I'm soon going to finish Heartstrings which I really grew to love - at first I thought it's just a boring love story but man, it's so lovely, funny and cute. Why isn't my life like that?!

gifs from here

Snail mail always calls me "Mr."

2011-10-23T19:53:00.001+03:00

For such a nerd I have some quite weird hobbies and I was asked to make a blog entry about one of them which is the old-fashioned snail mailing. For some reason I have always liked writing and receiving letters and the thought of sending an e-mail is frightening to me. I always wonder how to begin en e-mail, how to write it (politely / casually etc) and how to end it, but when writing a letter, it's clear that I can start the letter with "Dear..." and end it with "Take care,...". And the rest just comes naturally. Nowadays everything has moved to the internet and people hardly ever even send a postcard to someone because you can just say it on Facebook. But I appreciate a hand-written message - even a short one, more than a copy-pasted Merry Christmas wish. Call me a granny, I don't care.

Snail mailing is usually considered as a girls' hobby but I think it's a great way to make friends and learn about other countries for everyone. When chatting online with foreigners I find it hard to remember their names if I've talked to them only a couple times, but after receiving one letter I will never forget the sender. At the moment I have penpals from the USA, England, South Korea and Japan. And some of them are already real friends to me and I hope to meet them all one day!

And here's a little DIY project for you! I constantly complain about the ugly envelopes and papers they sell in Finland so I tried to do something with my own hands. I have fallen in love with the vertical envelopes which we don't have here. I made one by myself and one of my penpals is going to receive this after I've bought a stamp. I hope you don't hate True Blood!

First you want to make a sample on a regular white paper so you can use it several times. It's important to get the measures right - these ones I used are just examples. Fold the letter paper you use once and measure it so it'll fit perfectly in your envelope.

Choose a coloured paper, poster or anything you want and cut it to the right shape. I thought that I could use these posters I have since there are hundreds of them in my drawers and I never use them. Remember that some parts of posters are quite fragile but you can use small pieces of contact paper on the back side to make them stronger.

After cutting just glue the paper to the shape of an evnelope but be careful and don't make the same mistake I did. I applied glue on the wrong side of that part and failed the Lady Gaga envelope. So obviously you should glue the side that is now showing and hide it inside the envelope. I'm so damn stupid at times. You can also cut the 3 cm part to a shape you like - it'll be the part of your envelope that closes it before sending. I didn't want to glue it after I put my letter inside so again, I used tiny pieces of contact paper as a tape. It's probably one of the most brilliant inventions ever. I also used it to attach the address - it protects the white paper and the text from water.

If you have any questions, send me a comment. I will happily help you out! And if you want a penpal from another country, go to Interpals.net - signing in there is the easiest way to get to know foreign people! And please share your opinions on the topic, tell me about your snail mail experiences and so on. And have a great Sunday!

Why are you offline when I'm missing you?

2011-10-21T22:18:00.002+03:00

I have a love-hate relationship with perfect people. Mostly love though.

Autumn holiday!! Oh man I'm so happy it finally begun. No, I don't have any plans for the following week and yes, I will be praying for school to begin not later than on Friday, but still, I'm going to enjoy this peace for a moment. I have tons of thoughts in my head at the moment and thought that sharing some of them with you would be the worst idea ever. So I'm definitely going to do that.

• I want to dye my hair very dark but I'm so pale I'd probably look like an idiot. Seriously, my mom still has tan lines and I didn't even get tanned at all even though I tried my best! I'm the least succesfull sunbather.
• I need new friends but I'm not sure if I have too high expectations of people. I want someone to eat chinese with me, to take silly selcas with me and you know...! Or actually, I just want one person to be my friend. Oh well.
• Today has been the worst day in ages. Ugh.
• I listen to the same songs all the time and I don't care. I'm stupid and I'm proud of it! Though I'm a bit unhappy now because my brother came to my room, told me not to listen this "shit" and he even wanted his loudspeakers back. I guess I really should get my own speakers but I don't want to pay for such nonsense!
• I want to get my ear pierced. But it costs like 10 € and I could do that by myself for free but omg I could never actually do it. So I'm just sitting here like a fool.
• I like your comments ♥ Have a great weekend!

Photos from weheartit.com

Week 42

2011-10-20T20:31:00.001+03:00

I'm just too tired to write anything - enjoy the photos and music. (All songs are heartily loved and recommended) I'll be back when I'm on my Autumn holiday, see you soon!

waiting on the world to change

2011-10-17T21:35:00.003+03:00

Ugh, back to work again! This week's not going to be bad and Friday is the last day before the autumn holiday that lasts for a whole week. Yay! Today's been all about school, studying Japanese and listening to Ayumi Hamasaki. I'm amazed how much I've learned in such a little time, now I can write hiragana without a problem - usually I've struggled with memorizing certain signs, but not anymore. Can't wait to start studying kanji! I'm so excited.

Apart from that, I'm bored as hell, being alone at home all the time sucks but what can I do. Oh the joys of being the only single in your friend group ~ I need to get a life, more new friends, something. At least I just got a new penpal from Japan! And I'm gonna make a post about my snail mail hobby soon. Have a great Monday!

一人きりで生まれて

2011-10-16T01:52:00.000+03:00

Some bits and pieces of what I've done today.

001 For once I had a proper breakfast - I ate Turkish yoghurt with honey and raspberries, baguette and drank coffee. I hadn't been drinking coffee in a while and it tasted so good even though my first cup was ruined because apparently that Alpro soya milk isn't supposed to add to coffee. It was so weird, after some minutes my café au lait had become completely heterogeneous. Oh well!
002 My bed head was quite interesting today and as you can see, my hair can be very curly at times. At school one of my friends couldn't believe that I use a hair straightener because I always have to do something to my hair and she's never seen me like this. Me, superficial?
003 After we came back from the supermarket, me and my sister baked some white chocolate bisquits while listening to our old favourite songs. It was so funny to realize that we still remember the lyrics to these silly songs we loved over five years ago! Gwen Stefani, The Black Eyed Peas and The Pussycat Dolls were the coolest artists back then, I don't even...
004 Roasting marshmallows indoors is so much fun! You just have to be so careful because they burn very easily and there aren't many things worse than burnt marshmallows. My sister was doing a lot better than me, mine were always on fire! Well, it needs a lot of concentration which is not my speciality really.

Have a great weekend!

Random

2011-10-15T15:55:00.001+03:00

Some random photos again. I have survived another week of school and I'm so, so tired. Yesterday we were eating so much I can't even believe it - a typical Friday night here at my dad's place. In the evening we went out to take photos in the dark with an ugly flash and most of them were quite artistic. My sister got this stupid idea and was outside without a jacket even though it was only about three degrees celsius and I was freezing and wearing a jacket. Today we've been hanging out with the family, went shopping and other stuff like that. Since I was supposed to publish this post yesterday I'm gonna spam another load of photos soon again, hope you don't mind! I always have too many photos during the weekends and only few ugly ones during the weekdays. But now I'm going to eat some chili con carne, see you soon!

花ざかりの君たちへ

2011-10-11T22:08:00.003+03:00

This Twinings Voyage tea has the most amazing flavour of orange and obviously, I love it.

Days like today are not strangers to me anymore. I hardly slept last night because I have too many things in my head right now, I was almost late from school and I nearly started panicking during my first P.E. lesson. I'm trying to convince myself that I can do it - it's the last P.E. course I'll ever have to take, but seriously, I can't. I don't hate excersice nor sports, I really like to go swimming and jogging by myself. But I hate to do it with people who don't know me and vice versa. I want to believe that our dog senses that I'm not happy right now because he insisted on coming to room even though I stepped on his foot earlier today since I didn't see him in the dark. But probably he just hopes to find another piece of a bisquit under my bed. (Sorry baby, I have just vacuumed.)

One thing that has made me smile this week: Hana Kimi and its total randomness which is so funny. After watching lots of Korean dramas I can see a big difference between Japanese doramas and Korean dramas, but I still love them both.

Sunday in photos

2011-10-09T20:05:00.000+03:00

You asked for a "my day in photos" post, and I decided to do it today even though nothing special has happened. It was nice to spend a day doing nothing because next week I'm gonna be at school from 8:30am to 4pm every day (except on Fridays school ends at 2:30pm, yay). But anyways, my Sunday!

#1 I woke up at 11:30 because my little sister came to wake me up, thank you dear... She thought that I had slept enough already but I really didn't mind because I hate to wake up at noon.
#2 I made myself a breakfast because everyone else had already eaten, those early morning birds. I loved the karelian pasties but that cheese looks so gross I can't even look at it! As you can see, I've started eating more fruits again and I'm totally addicted to clementines now! Though that one was so sour it made my eyes water.
#3 I took stupid photos of myself and edited the layout, I get bored so easily! At the same time I was discovering and downloading new music and my brother was mad at me because I stole his loudspeakers. Come on, I have to right to do that, I'm your big brother!
#4 I will have my first Japanese lesson tomorrow and I've already been going through the book, so excited! I'm probably going to be the only 2nd year student there, but whatever. It should be fun.
#5 After spending the whole day indoors I went out to take some photos, saw my friend and had a quick chat with her. It was really cold, only 6 degrees celsius - winter is coming...

So that's what I've done today. Now I'm going to take a hot shower and start preparing for tomorrow. Have a relaxing Sunday everyone! ♥

I was a heavy heart to carry

2011-10-08T23:52:00.000+03:00

Today was probably the best day of this horrible week. I went to meet my friend from Tampere and we hung out with other friends and had a lot of fun. Sometimes everything you need for a good time is your friends and a big package of the cheapest ice cream which you eat shamelessly on a public bench while everyone's staring at you. Days like these make you realize who are your real friends and who are not and I really hope that it's true what they say - better to have one really good friend than lots of fake ones.

I went out to take some photos of stars since a lot of shooting stars should be seen tonight but it was really cold and I got bored after ten minutes so I don't have any good photos to show. But the Moon was well pretty and sooo bright! Have you been out taking photos of the night sky lately? And hey, is it possible to find working film cameras from flea markets? I've seen a lot of them but haven't bought any because I really don't want to buy something that's broken. At the moment I just feel like spending my last euros on a lovely, old camera!

Comic Sans is for pussies

2011-10-07T23:40:00.001+03:00

A while ago I discovered this amazing webstore called Glamour Kills and almost died. Even though they don't have hundreds of different prints and t-shirts available, the stuff they sell is pure quality. The prices aren't too high either - I'd definitely spend $50 on that hoodie (which I totally have to get) if I had the money at the moment. It makes me sad to find such cool clothes when I'm out of cash but I guess I could spend the money I get wiser at times...

The exams are finally over and I'm exhausted. Yesterday I studied physics for the whole day but the test was way too difficult and I started panicking and had to leave the class. Well, I tried my best and it's all I can do. I just can't help feeling like a loser when some people in my school get straight A's and I don't. Anyways, onnea kaikille koeviikoistaan hengissä selvinneille ahkerille opiskelijoille! ♥

The best thing of the week. Florence Welch, fucking marry me. Now.

Photos: Glamour Kills

Our love is pastured such a mournful sound

2011-10-05T14:51:00.000+03:00

I had my math test today and I think I didn't even fail it! Everyone was panicking before the test, it was quite funny actually to see people (including me) studying like crazy at the last minute. Yesterday I went to buy something nice for myself because I was proper bored after finishing my Finnish test at 9:30 and bought Kiki's Delivery Service! I want to watch it already and I'm happy to own one more of Miyazaki's masterpieces. I still want to get Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea and Princess Mononoke - at least. Definitely the movies I'm going to force my kids to watch. Now I'm off to my dad's place to study some more, gotta love physics!

You can do anything you want to

2011-10-03T14:41:00.001+03:00

So it's October now. Today I woke up after only few hours of sleep and didn't see the usual sunrise - it was almost pitch black outside. I panicked because of my tiredness and quickly drank a cup of coffee (with cream, damn it tastes fatty but good...) and then was being totally hyper. My social studies test was pretty easy and I think I did well, at least I had prepared for it quite a lot. Yesterday I spent the whole day studying so I could give you an hour-long presentation about the parliament of Finland! Tomorrow I have Finnish and on Wednesday maths test. Oh well.

I'm out of ideas what to post at the moment, so do you have any ideas? A day with me? Or you challenge me to photograph stuff? At the moment I would even have time to do something like that, so send me a comment!

Oh lord, I have sinned.

2011-09-30T23:48:00.002+03:00

More photos on my sister's blog.

Today I went to take photos with my sister again and these photos show pretty much what they look like. I decided to edit them to black and white this time and I'm still not sure if I like it or not. In some ways it looks great, but man, how can this be so hard to decide? Anyways, today I went to school only because of the English debating club and I sucked at it big time, I just couldn't come up with any great arguments on the motion we were discussing. After school I've been eating and doing nothing, how interesting. Welcome to my life! Soon I'm gonna have to start studying for my social studies test but not yet since it's Friday. Never studying on a Friday.

my heart is beating like a jungle drum

2011-09-29T20:41:00.002+03:00

Riikka challenged me to write 7 random facts about me. I feel I'm always writing random facts about me but hopefully I can come up with some new ones this time! I'll try my best...

1. My opionions change as my mood goes up and down; today I may say that I like being alone and tomorrow I may be sure that I need people around me all the time. And actually sometimes I'm happy to be alone and sometimes I'm dying when I have nobody to talk with.
2. My handwriting also depends on my mood. When I'm feeling well my handwriting is very neat but when I'm bored it's sometimes even undeadable. Also I can change the style of my k's or a's etc. while writing a sentence and my notes usually look quite ridiculous. Why am I like this?

3. I'm addicted to Photoshop. I really like editing the photos I take but it's not just that. Nowadays I'd never publish an unedited photo of myself, I always spend some time on fixing the flaws on my face. Sometimes I think it'd be nice to be a girl since it would be acceptable to put on a ton of makeup, but no... So I just use Photoshop!
4. I love baby food. Yesterday I bought a six-pack of Mango jam (though it's really not jam but I don't know what to call it) which is meant for 4-month-old babies, but hey, there are no age limits! My dad was laughing at the small jars but I don't care, he can eat his adult food if he likes. Humph.

5. I can't decide whether I love black & white photos or not. Some bloggers make them look beautiful but mine always seem so plain and boring! #TeenageBloggerProblems
6. I'm rather picky when it comes to food. There are many things I don't like and I just can't eat food that's too "weird". That's why I've never eaten sushi in my life - the nori part is making me nervous. People say that it's delicious, but I just can't!
7. I don't have to go to school tomorrow before 12:30pm, yay! Exam weeks are actually well nice, all we have to do is a bit of studying and the school days aren't even long. In my opinion we should stop complaining since it's really not hard at all.

Today I went out for a walk with our dog and for once took photos when it still was bright outside. The darkness comes so quickly that I don't even notice it before it's too late - that's why my 365 challenge photos have been quite boring lately. But anyways, the old graveyard was looking really charming today and I'd like to take more photos there in the future, but is it okay to go and take photos in a place like that? I don't know much about the rules of graveyards, so, help?

Chase after your dreams

2011-09-26T22:08:00.002+03:00

001. Penpals & tea My English penpal sent me a pack of tea with her letter and wrote that if I like, she could send me more. Umm, yeah? English tea seems to be the best in the world. Even though we have the international tea labels in Finland including Twinnings and Lipton, the real British tea has always tasted the best to me. So, I thought that if she'd send me tea, I should send her something Finnish instead. I thought that maybe she'd like to try out some Finnish tea labels' tea and then some Finnish sweets. I thought of salty liqourice but it's probably a too common thing to give to foreigners, though it's one of the most Finnish things I know. Any suggestions?

002. Good books I just finished Sofi Oksanen's novel Purge (Finnish Puhdistus) and overall loved the book. I have seen the theatre play of it and it was great too but the book was totally a different experience. After I finished reading I spent a lot of time just going through different wikipedia articles of Estonia's history and honestly, I hate history. So this was something really unusual. Totally recommend the book for everyone!

003. Inspirational blogs I started listing my favourite blogs to the sidebar yesterday and now it's almost complete. The blogosphere caught me over 4 years ago and I've grown to read blogs everyday - a true addiction really. I find new blogs weekly and the list on the sidebar will get longer in the future.

004. Party planning We're going to have a small get-together with a group of friends on Halloween and everyone's so excited! I still have no idea what I'm going to wear but I still have more than a month of time to think about it. Hopefully people will spend a little time on their costumes, that makes the party ten times funnier.

005. New hobbies Okay, I actually wouldn't call our school's English debating club a hobby, but anyways. Our English teacher has been trying to get me and my friend to attend the club for a long time and at last we decided to do it on Friday. We thought it would be horrible but actually it was quite fun since we had a nice group of people and the atmosphere was relaxed. It's really going to help me to improve my speaking!

Well, I'm positive today... Have a great week!

minä olin solmu jonka sinä avasit

2011-09-24T21:47:00.003+03:00

Sometimes I feel everything is easier when don't have opinions on anything, don't complain or be happy about anything and don't just be anything special. Because of the things I say or do some people think I'm a selfish, ignorant, ungrateful brat who doesn't care about others. I can say that I am selfish and everyone should be and to be able to care about other people you have to care about yourself too. But apparently I should never say aloud what I want - I should just accept what I get without complaining.

On the photo you can (hardly) see my new cardigan I bought on monday. Recently I've been spending my money on all these stupid things, but I hope I'll get money for my birthday so I could do some serious shopping. I hate to go shopping when I don't have much money because then I tend to find much more things to buy than usually.

Right now I'm writing this post in darkness, every light bulb in my room is broken. I'm not amused. And hey, I think I'm going to make a blogroll to the sidebar or somewhere, so you can send me a link to your blog and if I love it, I can maybe put a link to it to the list!

tonight we are young

2011-09-22T15:00:00.000+03:00

#1 On Tuesday before I knew I was ill, we visited some place that my friend's family owns. The house was very old and in the upstairs there was a wall that was covered with Hufvudstadsbladet's (a Finnish newspaper in Swedish) pages all the way down.
#2 I hardly ever go to cafes because I'm such a penny pincher when it comes to certain things but then me and my friends went to this lovely cafe in the city and I really enjoyed it. I had a way too small cup of tea and a peace of this pastry that people in my city call masaliisa, I'm not even sure what is the official name of it.
#3 Today I've been feeling a lot better than yesterday! After waking up my body temperature was very normal but now I'm too scared to check it again, I just want to go to school tomorrow! I survived yesterday because of the medicine I took - without them the fever was as high as 39.6 °C so I was practically dead. Thank you for commenting yesterday - really made me feel better.

fun. - We Are Young ft. Janelle Monáe

I totally fell in love with this song when I first heard it and I recommend you to watch this music video, the girl's such a beauty.

Pumped Up Kicks

2011-09-21T10:40:00.003+03:00

Right now I feel absolutely awful. Yesterday after I came home I was feeling so ill and realized that I have fever. Great. I hate this so much and I'm so hungry but I don't feel like eating at all. Last night I had these super weird and agonizing dreams and didn't sleep welll which makes me feel even worse. So yeah, just wanted to write an entry to tell that I'm still alive and now I'm gonna watch Heartstrings and hope that I'll get better soon.

PSST! Huomio oululaiset, ihana Essi vinkkasi mulle tästä! Pistäkää korvan taakse ja käykää kattomassa, mä ainakin menisin jos vaan tuolla päin asustelisin.

Good morning, sunshine

2011-09-18T15:22:00.001+03:00

I want to be one of those people who get straight A's, always look flawless, have three hobbies, go jogging every other day, sleep well every night, eat nutritious breakfast every morning, never complain but always get the best, have lots of buddies but close friends too and just are not like me.

Earl Grey tea with lemon slices and American pancakes

During the weekdays I tend to eat very minimal breakfasts including only a slice of bread and juice or sometimes just nothing. This weekend we wanted to spend a little more time on what we're eating in the mornings and today wanted to indulge ourselves with these delicious American pancakes. We tried a completely new recipe and they turned out to be the best we've ever made. They had such a soft, almost creamy texture. I also have been enjoying slices of lemon in my tea, they give the drink a pinch of sourness that I love.

My sister's been ill for these two days which means that I have been her personal assistant and nurse. In addition to all that I even made a new layout for her blog. She asked for a pink one and that's what she got... I'm hoping that I won't get ill too because I have so much to do next week but my immunity system has been quite good for past few years so, no worries!

マル・マル　モリ・モリ - スーパーかわいい！

Who's to say that dreams and nightmares aren't as real as the here and now?

2011-09-17T00:02:00.001+03:00

t-shirt protest, cardigan jc, jeans cheap monday, beanie volcom, shoes converse

What happened, I haven't been blogging since Monday!? Truthfully, I've been too busy with schoolwork but today's Friday and I don't have to worry about all that stuff now. I have dozens of unread blog posts so at least I have something to do when I begin to feel bored. Today me and my sister went to take photos and she didn't pay attention to it at all so all the photos of me are horrible - only the ones of me looking at my shoes are somehow bearable. Oh well, in fact I never like to see photos of me, I feel much more comfortable behind the camera.

I really don't know what to write so I'm just going to tell you whatever comes to my mind. It's been raining for days but today sun was shining! My little brother stepped on a nail but it should be all right, poor baby. I've been craving for an iPhone and made a presentation about Isaac Newton. I read two children's books and enjoyed them, so funny and different to all these super serious books I've been reading for past few years. I also wrote two essays and didn't do that well, but back got an essay that I wrote some weeks ago and was delighted to see my grade; I had done better than many of the third-year students. What have you been up to lately?

Where are you gonna go when the night is over?

2011-09-12T21:09:00.000+03:00

Today after oversleeping, being almost late from school, walking in pouring rain with a broken umbrella and realizing that I forgot my notes at home, it hit me. The Autumn's definitely here. For a second I hated it - but then, I arrived to school just in time, noticed that the rain stopped, got my notes from my dad and went to buy some chicken salad and a doughnut. At the end of the day, not that bad at all.

I was about to write an entry about people sending exactly the same comments on blogger to different people, but I don't want to rant. I just think it's not cool at all when I'm going through my blog feed and I see this one Finnish girl who is apparently using copy & paste and telling with absolutely the same words how she loves everyone's blog. Seriously?!

I guess I'm kind of an old-fashioned blogger when it comes to certain things - for example I would never advertise my blog on facebook. Yes, I do have a facebook page for my blog but I mean linking my new entries on my personal fb profile - never. I send comments when I have something to say, not when I want to gain more new followers. I appreciate every reader I have and every single comment I get, but if you guys stopped following me, I wouldn't stop blogging. I've had a friends-only -livejournal, and if my main reason for blogging was getting rich and famous, after these three years I think I would have stopped already.

Anyways, I just want to say that I like you. A lot!

and who do you think you are

2011-09-11T21:58:00.000+03:00

The weekend's over and it's time to go back to school again. The list of things I've done during these two days isn't long but hey, at least I got out of the house. Yesterday my friend asked me out and after hours of cleaning, re-organizing and being bored I was more than ready to go. I love it when someone spontaneously gets that kind of ideas - I was going to spend the night alone at home but thanks to her we had so much fun!

While cleaning I found my unfinished Totoro mitten and thought that maybe I could finish it and knit the other one too! It should be super cold this winter so I'm definitely going to need them. I just need to find the energy for knitting even if once I've started it, I won't be able to stop easily. I'm such a granny. And proud of it.

You are a cinema, I could watch you forever

2011-09-10T01:47:00.002+03:00

Today I went to see these wind turbines with my physics class. I didn't remember that they were so huge and I would've loved to go to the top of one but of course they don't allow just anyone to do that. So, we just listened to a woman who gave us some (boring) information we mostly knew already and then we got free candy and other stuff. Yesterday I went to see a theatre play because of my Finnish course and I quite liked it. It was a musical and way too long but some parts were absolutely hilarious and on the whole it was great. There's also a movie of it, I really want to watch it some day! Tomorrow me and my mum are gonna go shopping and we are gonna try to find a birthday present for my little sister. Can't believe she's turning ten years old on Monday! She already got a waterproof digital camera and I'm so jealous. I'm totally gonna steal it one day, go swimming and take silly underwater photos of me!

Not many things make me as happy as seeing a talented young person - check out these two singing Christina Perri's Jar of Hearts. Love the song and both of the cover versions.

Come on skinny love just last the year

2011-09-06T21:20:00.001+03:00

Cassie, I don't care if you think you're odd, because I feel like singing when I see you. And you're beautiful. And I've been such a fucking chapstick this past few weeks. And all I want to do this morning is sit on top of Brandon Hill and hold you, and tell you how wonderful you are... and stick my hand down your knickers. - Sid Jenkins

After trying to begin this post several times already, I decided just to say that and think it's some kind of a beginning. At the moment writing seems somehow almost impossible - I feel like my brain was replaced with air and emptiness. Today I saw a girl who looked a little like Ellie Goulding, or actually, quite a lot. I was late from school because I decided to walk instead of cycling and we had the soup I hate for lunch so I only ate bread. The fact that I'll have P.E. soon again is making me anxious but luckily it'll be the last course of it ever. I love Janet Devlin's cover of Someone like you and all the new songs I've discovered recently. I like my chocolate brown hair colour. My new Cheap Monday jeans that fitted well are too big now, what happened?

Yesterday I watched Water for Elephants and it was well nice even though some parts made me so sad. Last year during a boring physics lesson me and my friend thought that if there were pet-size elephants in this world, we'd definitely get one of them. Really, who doesn't love elephants?

P.S. If you know an inspiring blog or think you have one, please send me the link. I really want to discover new blogs!

deer in the headlights

2011-09-04T15:54:00.001+03:00

Another recipe for chocolate goodness. Originally we were supposed to make brownies but we didn't have any baking paper so we decided to make a cake instead. Of course, the amounts of chocolate and calories are enormous but obviously this isn't something to eat every day.

• 175 g butter
• 200 g dark / baking chocolate
• 2½ dl sugar
• 2 tsp vanilla sugar
• ¼ tsp salt
• 3 eggs
• 200 g Marabou mint krokant chocolate
• 3 dl flour
Frosting
• 200 g Marabou mint krokant chocolate
• ½ dl cream
• 25 g butter
1. Preheat the oven to 175°C.
2. Melt the butter and the baking chocolate together.
3. Add the sugars and the salt.
4. Beat the eggs to break the texture and add to the mixture.
5. Chop the mint krokant chocolate and add to the mixture with the flour.
6. Put into the oven for about 25 minutes.
7. Chop the chocolate and melt it with the butter and cream in a kettle.
8. Pour the frosting onto the cake and let it cool and cut to small pieces.

Because of the sweetness I can only eat small slices of it so I recommend to keep the beverage sizes abstemious. But still, this is one of my favourite recipes - it's simple and the result is always heavenly. Have you ever tried making anything of that Marabou chocolate?

Wake me up when september ends

2011-09-03T14:24:00.000+03:00

When Green Day's Wake me up when September ends was released in June 2005, it became my favourite song almost immediately. Since then it's been one of my theme songs for autumn in addition to Manic Street Preachers' Autumn song. The autumn has now officially begun because August turned to September and I have a list of things that tell me the season's changed.

1. I can hear apples falling from our apple tree at night.
2. I have to wear a beanie to stay alive outside.
3. Our school is freezing and I must wear multiple layers of clothes all the time.
4. I'm already planning my birthday party.
5. The weather has been weird and I've never seen as many rainbows as I've seen this week.

Today I've been hanging out with my sister, we went food shopping and bought lots of chocolate for these yummy brownies. Even though I already have posted the recipe some years ago, I thought that maybe I should rewrite it in English for you guys. Now we shall continue baking!

we are not what you think we are

2011-08-31T20:33:00.000+03:00

Find this look on lookbook.nu

At this very moment I should be preparing for my essays and doing my homework, but here I've been editing photos, reading blogs and listening to music for hours. Procastination is so easy but at the end of the day it never makes me truly happy. So I guess I should just go and start making notes - or at least select the title for the essay. That'd be a very good start.

P.S. I just love it when I'm listening to a random playlist and suddenly a song I loved ages ago starts playing and all these memories fill my head. Yeah, that's what happened when I heard the beginning MIKA's We are golden just a few minutes ago.

when you're around me i'm radioactive

2011-08-30T17:15:00.000+03:00

After seeing that almost magical place, I couldn't resist going to the sunflower field to take some photos. It was probably the first time I ever saw a sunflower field - maybe that tells how much of a countryman I am... I remember that roughly ten years ago when I planted a sunflower seed (it was actually birds' food!) in the beginning of that summer, by the end of it we had a big sunflower in our garden. I really loved to see it grow especially because everyone said that it wouldn't grow! When I move to my own place I'm going to have loads of herbs and stuff growing on my window sill.

I feel bad for my other clothes since I'd like to wear this hoodie all the time. It's super comfy, warm, soft and I love the colour too. Thanks to my habit of not wearing the same outfit two days in a row I have to leave time for other clothes too. My outfits have been utterly boring since school started but I can only blame my own laziness and lack of creativity. At the moment my mind is on the Finnish essays, not on what I'm going to wear tomorrow - and it sucks! Especially when we have these mind-numbing titles like How I became me and Finland through a car's window. And if you want to write something fictional, you can pretend to be a boy in the 19th century who just got his first job and write a letter to your family! How fascinating... I really want to do more creative writing and use my imagination, but apparently that isn't in our curriculum.

So, I'm asking you, is there any good website for uploading your own short stories? Maybe in English since these days I do most of my writing in that language. Though it wouldn't be bad if I wrote something in Finnish for once so if there's a quality site, please tell me!

random photos

2011-08-28T20:39:00.001+03:00

1 It's really heartbreaking to hear stories of natural disasters like this ~~bitch~~ Irene. But thankfully the worst part should already be over and it hasn't caused as much damage as they expected. One upside of Finland is that those kind of things would never happen here and I'm greatful of that.
2 On thursday when we celebrated my friend's birthday, my other friend had made a cake that was such a cutie! Gotta love the chocolate and m&m's on top of it, so good. And because it was her 17th birthday, there were 17 candles in the shape of 17, naturally. You're never too old for that!
3 Yesterday a random cat turned up to our garden and it was just sitting there. Our dog went nuts, didn't understand what was going on and would've wanted to play with the cat. Pets are such fools!

As you probably can see, the layout changed again. At the moment I'm quite happy with it, a little different than usually. If something isn't working properly, please send me a comment. And I hope you like it too!

Florence + the Machine never fails to make a beautiful song.

One track mind like a gold fish stuck inside my petri dish

2011-08-26T22:12:00.001+03:00

I'm back again! The past two days were crazy; I met new people, I was sad, I was happy and at the moment I'm just really tired. I've been sleeping on a train, feeling sick on a bus, speaking English a lot, learning new things, singing rhymes, having deep conversations. Realising that some people are worth liking and some are not.

I've got more and more sure about the fact that I want to get out of here. This town and the whole country just aren't for me. I've fallen even more deeply in love with Marina and the Diamonds and their new song Fear and Loathing - could listen to it all day long. There's this one girl in mathematics who has an amazing style and I'd really like to take a photo of her and publish it here but I'm too shy to ask, silly me. I'm pretty sure she has a blog too or at least she follows them because she wears things that you can see online but most of the girls at our school wouldn't wear (they're quite boring at times). If you read this, please continue dressing up like that. Thankyou.

Now I have two movies to watch and a lot of sleep to catch. I'm satisfied.

Different Names for the Same Thing

2011-08-22T23:37:00.001+03:00

Some of my favourite photos from we♥it's ulzzang tag. Why can't I be as perfect as they are? I really love the blue backpack and the couple's shirts are just so cute. Dear future girlfriend, prepare to wear one of those! After seeing my terrible roots today, I decided I'll dye my hair warm brown next, maybe with the violet highlights. And then I could let my hair rest for a while, I guess... Has anyone else gotten inspired by ulzzang lately?

For me it's been quite hard to combine school and free time together - I do have time after school but I feel like I don't so I don't do anything. Anyways, this week should be so much fun but in some ways very sad too. On wednesday I'll meet my friend from another city and on thursday I'll meet a friend that I'm going to miss loads after she leaves. But we'll see each other again, I'm sure of that.

This will be my last confession "I love you" never felt like any blessing

2011-08-20T00:32:00.000+03:00

I’m quite harmless now you see. To you. And now nobody can hurt me on the inside. I have this trick — anything you can do to me, I do to myself already. And I hit harder than you ever could.

I survived, the first week of school is over! And because a reward is always needed, we bought some ice cream and ate it almost right away. It was absolutely delicious, but I still think that Strawberry Cheesecake is the best of all ice cream. Those little peace signs were so cute and it was all fair trade stuff! Happiness.

1. I thought that maybe I could dye some purple / violet highlights on my hair - I think It'd look cool with blonde. Opinions? There sould be at least this shade available here and Mystic Violet, Cosmic blue and Damson wine are more than bearable too. Gotta love the names.
2. I have one more tattoo dream now since I saw a photo of a girl with a Totoro inked on her skin. I seriously need one of those and I'm feeling rather upset because one of my friends went to get a tattoo today. That lucky girl!
3. I've officially seen the first mushrooms of the year. I would never eat them but I like to photograph them. For some odd reason I just think that they are adorable.
4. Would I be too late if I bought a Fjällräven Kånken bag now? I think I need one, like, right now. Is someone willing to give me 60 dollars?

Everyone else is sleeping already, so I guess it's my time to go to bed now too. I love to fall asleep when I'm really tired, when I close my eyes I feel like I'm falling without a fear.

FICTION

2011-08-17T22:06:00.000+03:00

I was just about to write an entry but then I realised that I was going to write about school and all the lame things in my life at the moment. I don't want to that, I feel like all we can talk about right now at school and everywhere is school, studying and homework. No, no, no.

So that's definitely enough of school. Today it wasn't raining like yesterday, so I went to buy some postcards. I've got two postcards this week - one from Taiwan and one from China. The Chinese person who sent the card had selected many beautiful stamps, it really made my day. I love it when people do that and write something more than just "Happy Postcrossing" because getting an almost blank card is quite sad. I also have some letters to write but maybe I'll still wait a little... I don't want to write them in a hurry! And remember to follow my 365 Challenge blog on tumblr which I'm updating almost daily!

Here we are again, I feel the chemicals kicking in

2011-08-15T21:46:00.001+03:00

Oops, for the whole weekend I didn't pay attention to this blog at all but I was enjoying the last days of summer holiday. I can't believe I was at school today, the last day I was there feels like yesterday. Or the day before yesterday, at least. I was there for only an hour but only 15 minutes of that place made me anxious and stressed. I have to think about my courses, again - there's an English course that I should take but I'm not sure how I'm going to fit it into my schedule. Ugh, I'm so fed up already!

Today I went out with some friends and we met a baby hedgehog that we named Simba. He was kind of lost and scared of my friend's dog, but we bravely saved him and helped him to get out of my friend's yard. And look at her cat! He was hiding there like a boss, my favourite cat in the entire world. He's like old as hell but still alive and kicking! Anyways, how did your week start? Do you also love school too much?

go on and try to tear me down

2011-08-12T01:24:00.002+03:00

It's getting colder and colder and at the moment my room starts to get to the normal temperatures - currently I'm wearing a pair of woolen socks, college pants and a hoodie. I love to go to bed and wear lots of clothes, under the several layers of fabric I feel so warm and safe. My mother told me that they are leaving to our summer cottage for the weekend and I'll be staying alone at home this time. It's great, I want to invite some friends and just have a night full of babbling and fun. Another thing also excites me - I will be able to cook whatever I want!

Last.fm is probably the best place for discovering new music. I hadn't realized that until I made an account and since then I've been visiting the website almost daily. I discovered the most adorable Japanese singer called immi via a friend and it was instant love. Speaking of Japan, I want to open up about the movie I watched. Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (風の谷のナウシカ) is the best film I've seen in a long time. It represents my thoughts quite well and I highly recommend everyone to watch it. Forget about the fact that you're watching anime and concentrate on the plot and the meaning of the movie.

And here's my new hair colour! The red colour faded away and looked not-so-good so I decided to make a change. We bleached it twice during last weekend and it's quite good now, after using silver conditioner. It feels actually pretty good to be blonde again! But I can't wait to see my dark roots...

The song and the video are just... perfect.

My hair colour changes more often than the seasons

2011-08-09T20:23:00.001+03:00

I have managed to get a huge addiction to tea even though I prefer to call it just a good relationship with it. I love to begin my day with a cup or two and there isn't anything better than sitting under a blanket sipping the hot drink that you can feel when it goes down to your stomach. Just pure love.

Some people always say that they would never be able to go to the cinema alone. But they still do watch movies alone at home, right? I personally don't see a big difference in those two - to me, watching a movie doesn't mean that I'm constantly chatting with my friends (though if I'm watching a movie that is very, very bad with my friends, it's different...) and enjoying the company. I like to enjoy the movie itself. Of course when the movie theatre is full of couples and friend groups it might feel lonely to be just with yourself, but when the lights turn off, we all are alone.

Not that I have ever been alone in a movie theatre, but I'm just saying that I don't see anything bad about it. The movie tickets cost so much these days that I like to just rent some DVDs and spend a night watching them. Today I got Pride and Prejudice, Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind and King's Speech. I hope I succeed to watch them before thursday evening.

My favourite song (& artist) at the moment - a bit old but I still love it!

Rasp Berry

2011-08-07T20:04:00.001+03:00

Oh my God how much I hate editing layouts. I've been doing this for like two hours now and I'm already exhausted. Some years ago when I had my own domain and website the editing was so much fun but now when I'm using blogger, it has become much more complicated. Getting the wanted result is hard because some codes aren't even working properly on blogger and still after hours of editing, the layout looks so similar to all other blogger layouts. Oh well, so, I just wanted to tell that I edited the layout again. Even though you could have seen it by yourselves, too.

The blueberries weren't enough for us and yesterday we were picking raspberries and red currants in our backyard. The raspberries we froze while juicing the currants - now we'll have something good to eat in the winter. Our apples are soon ready to eat but we still have to wait a couple weeks because my sister tasted one yesterday and told that it was hard as a rock. I hope it was autumn already! It simply makes everything more beautiful and I really want to have fresh apples from our trees.

Love Is A Laserquest

My Blueberry Days

2011-08-06T16:12:00.001+03:00

Blueberries have a diverse range of micronutrients, with notably high levels of the essential dietary mineral manganese, vitamin B6, vitamin C, vitamin K and dietary fiber.

Yestereday we went to our summer cottage again. After approximately ten minutes we were bored and decided to go to pick berries. At first we found only three tiny blueberries and two wild strawberries but then my dad drove us to a better place that had lots and lots of blueberries! When we got back we made a blueberry pie that was pretty wet but good. It was much better than our regular blueberry pies since we used fresh berries.

And yeah, I changed my mind again. I created another blog for my 365 challenge because I don't feel like spamming the photos here. The link to that tiny tumblr blog is up in the link bar - if you have a tumblr account, feel free to follow. However, I will be uploading some of the photos to this blog too.

zebra striped girl

2011-08-04T22:00:00.000+03:00

Today I went to take some photos with my sister. I wasn't feeling photogenic at all so I just stayed behind the camera. It was fun because I hadn't been taking photos of her for a long time. Just an hour ago we baked delicious cookies and now we're watching House and I'm so confused - what has happened to all the familiar characters?!

Orange juice

2011-08-04T13:42:00.001+03:00

2/365

This is what I call ~~fun~~ killing time. After a long, meaningless day I often find myself at night doing things that I wouldn't do during the daytime, but I like to say that some people's minds work much effectively at night. Still, sometimes when I wake up in the morning I suddenly remember that I wrote a blog post last night and start thinking what the hell have I written - hopefully not anything stupid. Last night I was playing with watercolours and my camera and didn't manage to take anything phenomenal but anyways.

By the way, I just had my hair cut and I don't like this faded red-ish colour with semi short hair, so I'm going to force my sister to dye it soon. I'm a little scared but I hope that I'll be fine with enough bleach and silver shampoo. Right?!

365 CHALLENGE

2011-08-03T11:36:00.000+03:00

1/365

So, I wanted to begin this 365 challenge now. I thought that it would make me more inspired, make me leard new things and of course, make me photograph more. I know that when school begins I will get very uninspired so it's definitely a good thing if I have something to motivate me to take photos. I didn't want to create another blog for this because I already have this blog and my tumblr so I'm just going to post them here with all the regular stuff. And when I'm not able to post a photo everyday, I'll just post many photos at one time.

And about this photo I took last night... For a while I've wanted to photograph starry skies and tonight I wanted to quickly try it. The result is quite bad but when it's winter and the nights are long and dark, I will try this again. I need to try to decrease the noise and find a place that is darkest possible.

save the world tonight

2011-08-03T00:52:00.000+03:00

So today I went through my room and found my stamp collection. I was quite a philatelist when I was younger and looking at these ones I already have made me want to restart this hobby again. A big part of them I have got from my mother because she's done some collecting during her youth and that's why I have some quite old and maybe little precious things.

001: A postcard from 1906 so it's over 100 years old! It's so beautiful and in a good condition. The back of it says that it's sent to a place called Koria and the postmark says Kausala. I checked Google maps and I found those places and they are located near Kouvola. The thing that confuses me is that there is Russian writing on the stamp and the postmark. I don't know much about my country's history, but it may be like that because Finland wasn't independent then, right?

002: Some pretty stamps my mum has collected when she was young. It's funny how back then they cost 0,70 mk (0,12 €) and now they cost 0,75 € (4,46 mk)...

003: These are almost my favourite ones! Everybody loves princess Diana and those stamps are just adorable. I also have a lot of stamps of the Queen.

004: My grandmother gave me this cute collection of farm animal stamps some years ago, there are a lot of them and many different animals.

So, are there any other (ex-)philatelists out there?

Swedish House Mafia - Save The World

sweet dreams

2011-08-01T21:00:00.000+03:00

[01] So, we had the surprise party on saturday and it was so much fun! The birthday girl had no idea about it until she saw a bike outside their house (which we could have moved away from there but we were panicing for the last 10 minutes...) so it was quite successful.

[02] Lately, I have got many super cute stamps! Even though I'm not collecting them anymore they are an important part of snail mailing for me. I have loads of stamps in my locker, maybe I should take some photos of them one day. The letters and the postcard in this photo are from the USA, South Korea, the UK and Japan.

[03] My mom knows how to surprise me. When she came back from work today she brought my favourite salad again. After spending the day with my little sister and brother I really was happy to at least get some good food.

Now I'm going to watch Harry Potter and and the Goblet of Fire with my little sister and eat some sweets! Have a great week everyone ♥

POKÉMON are so nice to hug!

2011-07-30T19:45:00.000+03:00

Now when I'm writing this post, I'm extremely anxious. A good friend of mine has her birthday today and when you're reading this, we are supposed to be throwing her a surprise party. I hope that it's going to succeed and we should be having a great time anyways since we have such a great group. But still, I'm so nervous. On thursday when I was walking back home from the theatre there was a beautiful sunset and even my city looked nice in the evening light. Sometimes I feel like photographing sunsets is such a cliché but I still can't deny the beauty.

And even though I'm not sure if you're reading this, I just want to say this again:
Happy 18th birthday Jess! ♥

She's Thunderstorms

2011-07-28T16:31:00.000+03:00

Boring days at home: making gifs of K-pop music videos, spending hours on tumblr, drawing, not changing clothes, staying up 'til 5AM, sleeping only few hours, staring at the ceiling. This is what my days have been like but I shouldn't complain because when scchool begins again, I'd like my days to be like these. Today I'm gonna go to see a theatre play (some of the actors are my friends) and then I think I'll force my friend to go out with me. I hope that the upcoming weekend will be lots of fun, this boredom is killing me!

2NE1's new song Ugly that came out yesterday - really like it! Though I would like it more if the chours weren't in English.

사랑해 ❀◕‿◕❀

2011-07-26T15:30:00.002+03:00

I guess you all know the feeling when you find an online store and suddenly you have +20 tabs open... Well, that's what has happened to me again. Photojojo's webstore has some pretty sweet stuff and there's no doubt what I'm going to ask for my birthday present - a Fujifilm instax camera of course! That kind of a leather camera satchel is a must-have too, the usual black bags are actually ugly as hell. Oh I wish I had the money, but maybe one day! What's your newest webstore discovery?

Two favourite songs at the moment. My music taste is quite random, sorry.

Photos: Photojojo webstore

heartstrings

2011-07-24T22:08:00.000+03:00

I've been cycling around the city with my little sister's cute red bike today and yesterday, I'm totally going to steal it from her. In my opinion cycling is the funniest and easiest way to get from a place to another - yesterday when there were loads of water on the streets, people with cars had a hard time but I could easily just turn around and take another route. When sitting in a car I always keep thinking about the CO₂ releases so riding a bike makes me feel happier too! I made a promise ages ago, a promise that my relatives still can't understand (sigh), that I'm not going to buy a car. I am going to get a driving license when I'm 18 because my parents want me to, but still, not a car. I think it's ridiculous how people think that they can't live without a car, that it's an absolute essential. Public transport, trains, subways, trams, bicycles and my own feet are my choices.

After yesterday's thunderstorm we haven't been able to watch tv at all. Just wondering if a lightning struck our antenna...

REST IN PEACE

2011-07-23T22:30:00.000+03:00

No words needed.

넌 정말 재수없어

2011-07-23T19:27:00.000+03:00

nike air hoodie

björn borg underwear

two pairs of perfect cheap monday jeans

hollister t-shirt

cottonfield shirt

disneyxmarvel pencil case

Ah, at home again! There are some new things I haven't shown yet so today I decided to photograph them. The Hollister t-shirt and the pencil case are from Italy, the hoodie and the underwear I bought in Joensuu and the rest are bought here in Pori. All of these were on sale - I really love sale shopping, especially when I see something I've wanted for a long time but haven't bought for its high price.

Now I'm gonna go to see what does our city look like after this thunderstorm... One of my facebook friends who lives right next to me (there's one house between our houses) wrote that a lightning struck to their neighbour's house, so it was quite close. I must say that this is exciting even though it's awful to hear such news.

+ All my thoughts go to Norway, I read the awful news today in the morning and still can't believe what has happened. May all the people who lost their lives rest in peace, and the families find strenght to move on but not forget. I'm going to light a candle tonight.

rakkautta on rapsuttaa kaverin kaulaa

2011-07-20T23:38:00.000+03:00

Ah, finally I'm able post! Yesterday, after a long and tiring journey we arrived to our destination. It is so hot in Finland again, the Gods of weather are really getting on my nerves - but the city is lovely. If you compare my home city Pori and Joensuu, you find several differences. First of all, the people are so different, here in Joensuu everybody's so much more open, communicative, chatty and kind. When you go to a supermarket in Pori, talking with a salesman - not to mention a stranger - is totally inappropriate but here it's different. People are so much better at small talk here!

Today we visited a some kind of a museum that had tropical plants and butterflies. There was a room where tons of butterflies were flying freely, and I really don't like butterflies. I mean, they are very beautiful, but the way that they move makes me so scared. I also chatted with some birds (not sure if they were parrots or budgies) and they were so lovely. The guide said that one of them knew the Finnish f-word (= v-word), but unfortunately we didn't hear him saying that.

Tomorrow we are going to visit my super old great-grandmum with my aunt and my sweet little cousins and then maybe we'll try to find me a new school bag since I've had my converse bag for such a long time. See you later!

HANDWRITING

2011-07-19T03:01:00.000+03:00

So it's happening, I'm leaving tomorrow to Joensuu where I'll meet some of my relatives and so on. I think our hotel has a free wifi so maybe I'll post something too. Thankfully I got a new book to read - Nineteen Minutes written by Jodi Picoult. I hope it's good because at least it's very long and I hate it when I've spent too much time reading a bad book. Nevertheless, it seems to be quite interesting. But now I must start packing, I can't believe it's 3 am already! Sigh, good night/morning/day everyone!

thorn in my side

2011-07-17T21:30:00.000+03:00

Another weekend spent in the countryside and I'm so annoyed. Even though I'll go back to my home city tomorrow, things aren't looking that good anymore. All I want is just to be with my friends and relax a little but noooo. I swear if I'm not allowed to decide what I'm going to do next week I will run away and move to Goa. I haven't done almost anything during the holiday and I hate it.

So, I'm not sure what is going to happen but I will tell you if I won't be able to post because of a lovely family trip to the other side of the country. I'm sorry for not posting anything but there hasn't been any reason to do that... I hope something nice will happen to me soon!

“Life is like a dream, sometimes it is good and somtimes it is bad, but in the end it is over.”

2011-07-15T01:53:00.001+03:00

I think I have already made too many "my favourite things at the moment" posts, but I just like writing them - it makes me think of the positive things happening in my life even when I'm feeling depressed, just like now.

1. French language and French music, especially Yelle. I wish I could speak French, it sounds so much more beautiful than Finnish - if French was a down pillow, Finnish would be a marble board. There are times when I love my mother language but there are times when I don't.

2. Quotes. There are loads of brilliant websites full of quotes and I can spend hours just reading them. I should buy a new notebook for quotes since the old one is getting out of pages and isn't that pretty at all, beautiful thoughts deserve a proper book I think!

3. Daydreaming and wondering what will life give me in the future. I hope my dreams of living abroad will come true even though I have no idea how.

4. Trying new things - I definitely want to try new foods! I really want to make onigiri (おにぎり) but I'm not sure what filling I should use... Asian dishes are interesting me the most but I can't stand fish for example, so there are already some foods I won't be able to eat. I just found this blog called Just Bento which is amazing - I love bento (弁当), those cute lunch / takeout meals!

5. Japan, Japan... Do I have to say more? I've been learning the language and have made some process but it's a bit hard without a teacher. I can read (without understanding most of the words of course) and write ひらがな and カタカナ, but don't know what to study next. Before my Japanese lessons in autumn I could maybe try to make origamis!

6. A band called The Naked and Famous. I actually discovered it a while ago, but whatever. This song is "Punching in a dream" and I love it.

“Scars can come in handy. I have one myself above my left knee that is a perfect map of the London Underground.”

2011-07-13T20:49:00.001+03:00

new shoes from h&m

Sometimes even the greatest things must end at some point - relationships, lives, book series. And we tend to ask ourselves, why? Today the last Harry Potter movie called Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows part 2 was released which means that for me there are no movies to wait for anymore. I was rather sad after I finished the last Harry Potter book but I knew that there still were movies to come. Now when I have seen the last movie, I feel quite empty. Is this the end?

The whole phenomenon of Harry Potter is really hard to understand. It's huge, it's everywhere and there aren't many people who haven't read the books or at least heard of them - 450 million sold copies is like, a lot. There are no other books that I have read this many times and seriously, every single time I find them as fascinating. Usually I have a small break and then read them all, one after another. Sometimes, when I haven't left the house for days, I find myself in weird situations - trying to open a bathroom door with Alohomora, just in case if it would work. Sadly, I still haven't got any magic power.

The Harry Potter movies have always gained (in my opinion too much) critique and some people who claim to be true fans can't stand the movie versions, sometimes just because it's not okay to like them. It's true that movies don't show everything that's written on the books, but really, you shouldn't compare movies and books like that. They are two totally different ways to tell a story and I think that HP movies have always succeeded well. Of course I recommend everyone to read the books because they tell so much more, but I say this without underestimating the films.

“It all ends” said the movie posters, but does it really have to end? Like the film taught us - it doesn't matter if it's over because it will always stay in our hearts. And the announcement of upcoming Pottermore's 18,000 words of new HP content helps too.

So, is there someone who's still waiting for an acceptance letter for Hogwarts? And have you already seen the last movie & what did you think? I can't wait to get it on DVD so I'll be able to cry my eyes out when Molly does... well, you know what.

something new

2011-07-11T21:28:00.001+03:00

eyeglasses ralph lauren, shirt blend

Today I got my new eyeglasses and the world is so different now! My eyesight had gotten a little worse so these came just in time - when school begins I don't have to squint to see what's written on the chalkboard. I've wanted new glasses for ages because the old ones were too small and stupid and fortunately mum agreed with me. What do you think of these? And is there someone who's as blind as I am - I have -4.25 and -5.25 at the moment which is not too bad but not good either... Everything's pretty blurry without glasses!

PS! Help needed: what to do with my hair? The colour has faded a lot and I'm not sure if I should colour it red again or let it fade and start bleaching... I really want to go silver!

i hate mosquitoes

2011-07-09T22:54:00.000+03:00

new tank top from Bershka

One thing I hate: Judging and criticizing other people without a good reason.
One thing I wonder:Why when I'm free to go anywhere, I have nobody to come with me?
One reason to smile: Sitting outside watching the sunset all alone. I love being alone since I always have so many people around me at home and everywhere.
One problem: I'm not sure about my studies and subjects I should choose next year. I want to study every subject (except philosophy...) but obviously it's not possible.
One fear: Dying too young.
One thing you love: All kinds of nuts - cashews, roasted, salted, all of them!
One dream: To study something interesting and have a successful career & a loving family.
One embarassing memory: When I got a call from Britain and totally froze because I hadn't prepared for it at all! Gosh I was embarassed...
One favourite: The best of teen movies: Mean Girls. Forever and ever.
One vice: Buying something for its cheap prize.
One friend: Suvs ♥
One delicacy: LU Domino Choco cookies (not the original ones but, well, at least Finnish people know these!)
One favourite blog: Mon Béret Noir, and this meme was copied from her blog :-)

SONY 50mm f/1.8

2011-07-08T16:36:00.000+03:00

I've been testing my new 50mm lens for two days now and I absolutely love it! I'm going to learn how to use it properly because I want to take as good photos as possible. At the moment we're spending the weekend at our summer cottage and I'm planning to just read books and eat... Sadly we're going to eat some stupid barbeque food, I'm want to eat rice soo much! When we're back at home, I'm going to cook a whole pan of white rice and eat it all by myself, ugh. But now I'm gonna turn my swag on and wash some potatoes, see you later!

PS! Can somebody tell me why everybody's hating Cher Lloyd? I think she's such a sweet girl and I really like her new song but she's getting so many negative comments and dislikes all the time. The same "the worst song i've ever head" comments are showing again and it's not even a long time after this huge Rebecca Black episode. Sigh.

MILAN & BERGAMO 2011

2011-07-06T19:38:00.000+03:00

Bergamo's old town - beautiful!

I'm finally back in the boring, safe, familiar and sadly, hot Finland. Italy was lots of fun but the trip made me realize how different our cultures and countries are. I didn't take loads of photos or buy many things, mostly I just wanted to have a nice holiday. But here are some pics from Bergamo and Milan - we managed to visit both cities!

Some weird ice coffee drink, I'm not sure if I liked it or not.Duomo was beautiful but too crowded so we didn't go inside.
A random pink limo.McDonald's ♥Of course I had to buy something from Disney store... Or actually from both two Disney stores we visited.La Rinascente's food section had some beautiful things.Local people and the most beautiful shopping street I've never been to.

But yes, another trip I'll never forget! The early morning flight wasn't the most comfortable option and I'm quite tired now but I was happy to receive my new lens today! I'm sure you'll get a lot of photos this week and I'll show you the stuff I bought soon. Ciao!

MILANO

2011-07-03T11:23:00.003+03:00

I'm off to Milan now, I'll be back on wednesday! I'll answer your comments then, have a great week!

Photos: weheartit.com

Don't threaten me with love, baby, Let's just go walking in the rain

2011-07-01T20:50:00.001+03:00

There's quite an awful thunderstorm here right now, very near to our house. It's raining and thundering like hell and I love it. The weather was so awful earlier today so this is like refreshing everything. I'm keeping my window open and the fresh air is coming to my room, I'm listening to music and just hoping that my laptop's battery will last long enough. In my opinion, rainy days are the best for:
• watching movies under a warm blanket
• reading good books while sipping tons of tea
• staying inside all day - because you can't go out!
• going out for a walk after the rain, if you must get out of the house

And now I'm going to do the second one with that book I borrowed today! Hopefully you're enjoying your day as much as I am, and remember that without rain sunshine would be just nothing special.

Moumoon - Sunshine Girl

ときがぼくたちのあいをふかめてくれるよ。

2011-06-30T14:08:00.000+03:00

Yesterday really wasn't my day. I woke up too early because I got a call from a deliveryman who said that he has a small package for me. I got really excited and quickly changed my clothes and took the package, but obviously they had sent me a wrong lens. Well, we sent some messages and so on but if they mess this up again I'm going to... break something. Yeah yeah, I know that mistakes happen to everyone, but I have too many bad experiences with online stores! When we ordered clothes from asos for my confirmation, they didn't send me the jacket we ordered and just said that they don't have it anymore, oops sorry.

I tried to make me feel better and made a milkshake but I didn't like it that much so I just had to wash up a huge pile of dishes. Some positive things have happened though, I received letters from South Korea (I got some delicious Korean candy, thank you!) and UK and they made me soo happy. Look at that note paper! It makes me kind of sad though, because I find only ugly papers with hideous faded horses and 90's looking roses (sometimes they smell like "roses" too = absolutely horrible). I really need to find a proper shop that sells good-quality and cute note paper. Any tips? Or then I'm going to start making my own paper, at least it would be organic or something but quite brown and unpleasant... But who am I to say that, how do you make paper anyway? Now off to paint, yay!

one step closer, one step higher

2011-06-29T03:11:00.004+03:00

This is like an inspirational post or something like that --- just some things I want and like at the moment! Today wasn't that great day so all I've been doing is thinking what I need to my life. Okay, yeah, I washed some clothes too (omg they're still outside hopefully nobody's gonna steal them 'cause then I'd have much less underwear), but anyways:

I want...

• to dye my hair blue, pink, platinum, silver or anything that looks cool! When I get bored with red, I'll start bleaching and I'd like to try these colours - they fade away quite quickly so if it looks hideous, it's not a major problem.

• somebody to share my boring days with, somebody to eat chocolate with me when I'm moody, somebody to say something nice about me without lying. As simple as that.

• collar bone piercings (I'm really going to get these someday), everything with feathers, new eyeglasses, the U.S. flag shirts and everything random stuff; poptarts, an iPhone, a life, nicer eyebrows.

++ I want to start a new project, something interesting like the 365 project. Any suggestions? I'm bored as hell!

Photos: weheartit.com / x x x x x x x x x x x x

i just wanna be free, i just wanna be me

2011-06-28T01:48:00.002+03:00

Today has been numbingly boring and I haven't been doing much at all. My mum made delicious rhubarb + strawberry pie and I bought ice tea, yummy! I know that ice tea has a lot of sugar and other bad stuff, but sometimes it's just the best. Tomorrow I may have to go to library again because I've read all the books I got last time and I have some books on my reading list - if I'm not too busy working. Yeah, I'm just gonna do some cleaning, painting and other boring stuff at home, but at least I get paid that much that I don't have to pay for the new lens. But if it's sunny, it's time to try again to get a tan even though I'm not expecting much... Under this text you can listen to my favourite songs at the moment, especially the one performed by Studio Killers is just brilliant. And the singer has to be Teemu Brunila. Or at least I truly hope it was, because after The Crash died there has been a hole in my heart waiting for being filled.

the redheaded slut

2011-06-26T18:48:00.000+03:00

Today I did something I've wanted for such a long time. When we were driving back home, we went to a supermarket and bought two packages of the brightest red hair colour we found, one for my sister and one for me. The results can be seen above, my sister had already red hair so the difference isn't that big, but my blonde hair is really red now. I like it very much and I didn't want it to be any less bright because it's going to fade anyway. Comments? I'm so happy that my hair is something different now, it feels boring to stay with the same old colour.

Midsummer Day

2011-06-25T20:09:00.000+03:00

These days have been boring but tomorrow we're heading back home. All I have done is reading - I've read two books and started reading one. The second book I read was called "Before I die" (written by Jenny Downham) and I really, really liked it. If you're looking for something interesting and at the same time happy and sad, read this! Thanks for the one who recommended this!

Yesterday we ordered something I have wanted for so long... Hopefully pretty soon my new lens will arrive! I'm so sick of photographing with this kit lens, so it's definitely worth the money. I do have a 70-300mm too, but one with less zoom is much more versatile. Tonight I'm going to enjoy the beautiful bright night for the last time this summer, after tonight the days are just getting shorter and darker, even though not immediately. It's commonly said that after midsummer it's time to start waiting for christmas - as a joke of course! Happy midsummer to everybody!