Coffee and sunglasses

February gave way to March, and just like that, spring arrived. On the evening of the first of March, a strange, dense fog enveloped the whole town. It was a night of odd coincidences and unexpected encounters, and it made me think of a play I was in where we used artificial fog to distract the audience during scenery changes on stage.

The scenery change thing turned out to be a pretty apt metaphor, because the next morning the dreary February weather was replaced by blue skies and bright sunshine. Since then, I’ve not left home without my beloved tortoiseshell (extremely fake) Raybans and my floral wellies, and the sun stays up for longer each day, as a promise of the white nights of June. March is off to a lovely start.

Lent is going surprisingly well - the only sweet thing I treat myself to is some sugary, milky coffee every now and then. I’m doing pretty good with my writing too: Right now I'm happily submerged in a particularly theory-heavy chapter, a cup of aforementioned coffee next to me. Tomorrow I'll hop on the train to my still-wintery home town for a long weekend of family celebrations and reunions with childhood friends.

(No, not really. But I do love that quote.)

Whishing you all a beautiful month of March!

Art is

I went to see a contemporary art exhibition yesterday. Now, I'm first and foremost a lover of expressionists like Chagall or impressionist like Renoir, but that love is mainly about passive appreciation and admiration. Looking at contemporary art, on the other hand, is rarely as enjoyable, but it definitely kicks my own creativity into gear.

As a result, I'm now in that slightly pretentious, artsy mood where I just want to listen to Scarlett Johansson while being crafty. Right now I'm crocheting hippie-ish beaded bracelets and stitching together decorative hearts with little trinkets and words on them. Just because it's fun to actually create something, not because I actually know what to do with my creations. Oh, and I'm listening to Falling down on repeat. Anyway, it's a very nice way to spend a sunday evening.

Loving lent

Life is peaceful right now. I had a nice weekend with baking, concerts and one last bowl of mint ice cream before ash wednesday: I'm giving up all things sugary for lent this year. I've done it once, and it was definitely a challenge, but then again, that is kind of the point. The religious aspect of it all is a strong motivator for me, and of course, it's also about being healthier. Plus I want to prove to myself that I do have the willpower to do it. Mind over matter, and all that.

Just to warn you though, as a consequence of this, there might be whining. I'm going to miss my chocolate, that's for sure. But at the same time it's a relief, in a way, to be able to pass by the candy section in the grocery store and not even have to think about buying something. It's just not an option, it's like that whole decision is out of my hands for the next month and a half. Which is kind of liberating.

Are you giving up anything for lent?

Valentine's eve

In my language, we call tomorrow "All hearts day".

I'm going to paint my lips cherry red for no reason at all, and buy myself white chocolate with strawberries. I might also go get some roses and watch a movie, or simply go about my day as I always do. Whatever I do, I know I will enjoy my singledom tomorrow. My friends seem to be breaking up left and right at the moment, and while I'm happy to be their shoulder to cry on, I'm not at all jealous of their heartache.

On this Valentine's eve, I want to share three brief boy-related memories with you:

There once was this boy who unexpectedly picked me up and threw me into a huge pile of snow as we were out walking in the city. I could have been furious with him, but I wasn't - I loved it. Then there was this other boy who put his leather jacket over my shoulders after noticing that I was shivering as we were walking home from the cinema. Yet another one wanted to take me on a surprise date, which turned out to be an art vernissage.

I didn't even properly date anyone of these guys, but they all gave me some nice memories and taught me a lot about what I actually like and how I want to be treated. (Respect + playfulness + chivalry = Win!) I think it's a good thing to remember things like these on a day like Valentine's day. Or on any day, really. Remember that you deserve to be treated like the princess you are. Remember that there have indeed been boys in the past who have known how to treat you. And above all, remember that there most likely will be other boys, or men, in the future who will treat you even better.

Whishing you all a happy Valentine's day!

Take ink and weep

 

February. Take ink and weep,
write February as you’re sobbing...

Okay, so Pasternak's poem is a little too sad. But it is now officially the shortest month of the year, which means it's time for me to get back into some kind of routine - regarding studying, workouts, sleeping, cooking, everything.

January was pretty great, and I was a little all over the place, not really focusing on anything. It was fun, it really was, but this month, I need to get things done. An absurd amount of things, to be specific. Still, it just might be a good month. Here's hoping!

This little town of mine

I'm back in my university town again, after spending the weekend in the capital, like I mentioned. And yes, it was exactly what I needed: Hours and hours of deep conversations with people who know me almost too well, but in a good way. A great gig at a cozy bar. Some nice shopping and a much-needed change of scenery.

The trip also served as a reminder of how much I do appreciate this little town of mine: No hour-long bus rides to get everywhere, no walking for ages looking for that shop you've been to several times but suddenly cannot find... But mainly the bus thing. And the grit-and-gloom-of-a-big-city thing. These things are kind of nice every once in a while, but in my everyday life I can definitely do without them.

I didn't get back until around midnight last night, so today I started my week with a lovely, lazy morning trying out some of yesterday's shopping, i.e. showering with the Lush Sweetheart soap and moisturizing with the Mange Too massage bar. My apartment now smells like a Lush store. If I just ignore my slight headache from lack of sleep and the fact that my apartment is freezing, this week is off to a promising start.

Casual adventures

In my last post, I mentioned going to the capital, and it turns out that trip will happen sooner than I expected - I'm going this saturday! I'll be doing some shopping (As always, I'm on the lookout for bath products, whimsical jewellery and floral prints), have coffe with an old friend and then meet up another to go to a concert: a dear childhood friend is playing his first payed gig. It will probably be, well, perfect.

As I hung up the phone after confirming that I can indeed stay the night after the concert, I had to jump around in my apartment and squeal for a little while, chickflick heroine style. I'm ridiculously excited. Which is probably a sign that I really need this. I love the thesis work I'm doing right now, but I'm getting a little fed up with my university town - I simply long for new surroundings, old friends and casual adventures. Yes, this is perfect.

Brand new things

She's a butterfly in mid-july 

who just can't wait to try her brand new wings

on brand new things...

I've had somewhat of a mellow monday, but Johnny Cash never fails to brighten my day. I had a dream about the scent of fresh Jasmine last night - I can't remember ever having scented dreams before, and it was wonderful. Outside my apartment building there are several large jasmine bushes, and the scent they give off in the summer is unbelievable. But summer is far away, and life is moving slowly these days.

Rose coloured glasses

Good morning everyone! 

Well, it's almost midday, but I'm sitting here still drinking my morning green tea, getting some work done before meeting up a friend for lunch and another for coffee. Last week, my first week back at uni, was filled with so much socializing that I needed a proper break from it all, so this week I've completely isolated myself and focused on writing. It's been so nice!

I just realized I'm all flowers today. Flowery underwear (TMI?), flowery dress, flowery scarf. But I'm pairing it with black stockings and my chunkiest black knit cardigan, so it should work. I'm just feeling very spring timey today, which is probably odd considering that the snow lies deep on the ground outside, but it doesn't seem to matter to me... My favourite spring timey thing right now is my dainty rose-patterned tea mug to which I have matching napkins. Yes, matching napkins. That's borderline ridiculous. But hello, old-fashioned rose printed napkins, how could anyone resist?

(No, I'm not in love or anything. It's just one of those rose coloured days.)

Ice Ice Baby

I finally did it, I got started on my thesis work again. Finally. Which automatically means my week is off to a good start! I spent the weekend in blissful isolation after last week's excessive socializing - I only left my apartment to go to church and to go ice skating.

 
Oh, ice skating. Almost as fun as building snowmen, ice skating is by far my favourite winter outdoor activity: The beautiful white, oldfashioned shoes, the smooth ice, the silence - no gym shoes thumping against the floor, no water splashing, no music, no nothing - and the fluid motions, the ability to move so fast with so little effort - it's all pretty perfect. Plus for me, it conjures up these very romantic pictures of couples ice-skating together back in the day, of girls in pretty peacoats and (faux) fur collars and chivalrous gentlemen tying the ribbons on their lady's skates...
 

 
Although to be honest, I prefer to tie my own ribbons. And to skate alone, doing as many laps as I can. I do wear my prettiest winter coat when I go skating, just because, but the skating itself I treat more like a workout... And while I find it way too cold to do my 30 minute walk to the gym right now, I seem to be perfectly fine spending a full hour outdoors ice skating instead. I'm not even going to try to explain that one.

That, along with lots of ginger tea, crocheting and card making, was my weekend. Right now, I will finish off this lovely monday with a little more writing, then a movie - I'm thinking Melancholia, as it sounds beautiful. I'll let you know.

Getting started

I definitely wasn't planning on not blogging for a month. Sorry.

The thing is, I've been home for the holidays, and my family provides far too many distractions for me to actually sit down and write. Big distractions at that, such as playing the piano with my brother, cross-country skiing with my dad and crocheting with my mum. Oh, and board games. Lots and lots of board games.

I also got to properly catch up with my closest friends from home, the ones I get to meet only a few times a year these days. And then there were vintage-looking buttons to buy, cheesecake to make, sleep to catch up on, snowmen to build... I've been a busy girl. A busy girl who now has the hardest time ever to actually start focusing on school again.

I know. I KNOW.

But I'm back in my university town now, for a lovely spring semester of thesis writing. (I wasn't being sarcastic - I actually do think it will be lovely, once I do get started...) This first week, however, has been spent solely socializing with former coursemates and friends, culminating in a really nice get together from wich I just returned. Old friends, new friends, intellectual conversation and mindless crazyness - a perfect friday 13th. (Plus I was escorted home trough the blizzard at midnight in the most gentlemanly manner. Lovely.)

I hope you've all had a wonderful first few weeks of 2012!

Nights like this

 

It's currently two o'clock at night. Or, some would say, in the morning. Sensible people are sound asleep by now. Not me - I'm engrossed in schoolwork. Not because I have to, I could just leave it until the morning. Only that's not a very good idea: Try to get me to concentrate on my writing at eleven o'clock in the morning, or at three o'clock in the afternoon - it will not happen. Trust me, I've tried. But as midnight approaches, I find myself becoming more and more focused by the minute - all of a sudden, I'm blind to things that normally provide huge distractions (cleaning, arts and crafts, a new episode of Pan Am...) and will write for hours if you let me. That's what's going on right now.

Make no mistake: This is not me "buckling down" or reluctantly sacrificing hours of sleep  - this is just me getting happily wrapped up in the task at hand (which tonight is pretty mechanical, as it has to do with translating), taking advantage of these wonderful midnight hours of distraction-free work. I'm quite content to be working for another half hour or so. This, to me, is part of the beauty of being a student: I can allow myself these kinds of nights when I feel like it, since I'm quite often free to sleep in the next day. I won't have to be at uni until one o'clock tomorrow. It's all good.

November love

How absurd - the last day of November is here. October felt like it went on and on forever (albeit in a good way), but November just whizzed past. A quick look in my planner tells me I've had quite a few tests and presentations, more lectures than usual and several church related activities along with a couple of visits from friends this month. Over all, it's been a good one, although I haven't got nearly enough things done. (Then again, I feel like I'm always saying that... Not good at all.) Tomorrow, I'll be starting my December off with a bang by taking my final Italian test. Madonna mia... I feel like we need an inspirational, uplifting picture here:

(This one will do.)

November favourites:

Mint chocolate milkshakes. 
I'm getting into a habit of bringing my laptop to my favourite café in order to escape the distractions of my apartment. (So far, it seems to be working.) I usually get there too late in the afternoon to be able to order coffee (as it would keep me up all night if I did), and they happen to serve the most fantastic mint chocolate milkshakes on the planet. Plus drinking it makes me feel very 50's American. I quite like that feeling.

Painted nails. 
Just painted nails in general - nothing makes me feel so instantly polished (no pun intended) and put together as a good manicure, preferably in bright red, ink blue, lavender or burgundy. Right now I'm wearing my vampiest, most Marilyn Monroe-esque red, so that I'll at least have something nice to look at while I'm trying to conjugate irregular Italian verbs tomorrow...

Academia.
Aside from struggling with my language classes, I've been quite into the rest of my studies and the whole university thing this month. I've recieved surprising support regarding my work, I've done some research of my own, I've picked up a couple of lovely thesis related books, and I'm just generally feeling good about that part of my life right now.

Christmas card making
Er, yeah. Some people go out dancing on friday nights, I make christmas cards. Several november evenings have been spent with a friend who's just as much into arts and crafts as I am, covering my floor with paper, glitter, old magazines, sequins and everything you could possibly need to make christmas cards. I do feel slightly ridiculous looking at the giant pile of cards stacked on my desk, but we did have heaps of fun making them.

Not that exciting, huh? I'd love for a month to come when my favourites are things like "going for spontaneous roadtrips with the windows down", "skinny dipping at midnight with new friends", "getting a poem published in a super pretentious anthology about the power of nothingness" etc... But, alas - it's too cold for skinny dipping, I don't have a car, and my poems really aren't that good. (They are very pretentious though. Brownie points?)

The last red berries

  November comes
And November goes,
With the last red berries
And the first white snows

...and we're somewhere in the middle of those two stages right now. Winter is very late this year. My university town is looking very Tim Burton-esque: The river running trough the town reflects the starry evening sky, and all the naked old maples provide quite a haunting sight - it's very Sleepy Hollow, very Corpse Bride. Beautiful.

Even I, the most easily spooked person I know, cannot bring myself to be afraid of the dark in this town - it manages to look charming even on the darkest of November evenings. And they are getting dark alright - darkness falls at four in the afternoon now, and soon we'll be down to just a couple of hours of daylight every day. (I told you I live high up north...)

I do find it quite cosy. It's a great excuse to indulge in some way-too-early christmas decoration-crafting (I'm very much into making beaded metal-wire hearts and fabric flowers right now) while watching cozy movie of choice. Personally, I've never really fallen for Love, Actually, so I'm going with one of my favourite guilty pleasures: Dirty dancing 2. Yes, the "Havana Nights" one. It actually features a christmas celebration, so I think it's justified... But really, it's just such a sweet movie. And so visually beautiful.

We just wanna make the world dance

I got up unusually early today (I normally have fridays off and sleep in) for a meeting with my professor, but he cancelled - which means I now have a whole long lovely friday all to myself! Considering that I've been out of town for four weekends in a row it will be so, so nice to not go anywhere this weekend.

My Big Friday Plans:
-have an early lunch
-bring text books to café, study
-write overly pretentious poetry while people-watching in said café
-draw something colourful while watching inspiring movie of choice
-make birthday card for dear brother
-sing along to Price Tag, Pack Up and other happy tunes

(I really, really liked the original 90210. I kind of still do.)

This week has been slightly packed - since I got back on monday, I've been working non-stop with thesis stuff and an art presentation. My Italian and French classes also take up way too much time, but they're fun in equal measure, so it's been worth it. The problem is, I never seem to have the time to just sit down and read for fun, or even read thesis-related texts, as I'm so busy producing text myself or learning grammar. This is probably why I find myself getting all excited at the prospect of emerging myself in books on postmodern theory and narrative method... Which is exactly what I'll do today.

Whishing you all a lovely friday!

Oktober love

I had a surprisingly lovely weekend, going back home to attend a celebration with the whole clan. My relatives rarely gather, but when we do, there's singing. A lot of it. And it's kind of awesome.

Anyway, October is over. That month was a whirlwind of doing things and going places, and for most part, I loved every minute. Of course, if I could relive the past 30 days I'd enjoy them even more, because I wouldn't allow myself to worry so much about every task and every trip - but it's still been the best month in quite a while.

 

My October favourites list looks like this:

-Green tea. It's basically the only tea I drink these days. Once I got used to the green kind (that is, once it stopped tasting like hay!) black tea simply started tasting too bitter and sharp for my liking. I do love non-flavoured green tea, but my favourite flavours are vanilla, cranberry and orange blossom.

-cardigans from the men's section. I recently bought a dark green one, and I've been living in it ever since.

-stormy weather. Few things make me as happy as a really windy day! (I feel like I can say this, since where I live, we haven't yet had any storms of the dangerous kind.)

-blue-tinted nail polish. I normally prefer my nails non-sparkly, but recently I mixed together an old silver polish and an ink-coloured one that I had a dupe of, and ended up with a lovely dusty metallic blue. 

-Unexpected coffee-breaks. This one is quite obvious, but there's nothing like running into a friend on campus and deciding to head for a spontaneous coffee to brighten my day.

 

This picture describes my university town perfectly - over the course of a weekend, all the gorgeous leaves disappeared. Just like that. And thank goodness for daylight savings - my mornings were getting unbearably dark. 

Still, I'm embracing November - this month with its foggy dawns and early twilights brings a very specific kind of calm and tranquility, and I intend to fill my days with lots of studying, arts and crafts and painting. October was hectic but wonderful, and here's to an even better November for all of us!

Things my teachers say

All of a sudden it feels like we're expected to choose the direction of our whole life. All of a sudden there are not as many options as we thought, and that feeling is absolutely paralyzing.

Whenever that happens, I try to remember something my professor once told me:

You really need to stop thinking that you need to know what you want to do with your life. Because really, you don't.

He's probably right. After all, not all decisions we make are lifelong and crucial. Those are very comforting words to hear from a respected adult in academia, and possibly the best advice I've ever been given.

Another teacher of mine, one with whom I've shared hours of exciting academical banter, once said with a sigh: "Kids these days - you think life is so short. It's not!" This exclamation was prompted by my rant about wanting to read too many subjects and not having the time to do it. These men are both in their forties, and looking at their careers, it's clear that they practice what they preach.

At some point next year, I will be graduating, whether I'm ready for it or not. (Probably not.) I love my studies, but I have no idea what I want to do with the rest of my life. The plan, for now, is to work on my thesis and enjoy the process. And then I guess I'll just have to take it from there.

Gracious.

Happy Monday! Today, I have two curve-related musings that I want to share with you. Yes, curve-related as in related to female curves.

Curve-related musing no.1: I just finished reading The Lessons. (Lovely piece of campus fiction by the way, wonderful prose and interesting characters.) In that book, I found this description:

His girlfriend was lusciously plump and beautiful, poured into her dress to the point of appetizing overflow.

Isn't that just beautiful? Who wouldn't love to be described in that way? Probably the nicest description of the female form I've ever come across.

Curve-related musing no.2: No matter how much I like curves (my own as well as curves in general) I do feel like mine rob me of a little something - namely the option of going braless in public. After class today, I chatted a bit with the girl I'd been sitting next to. In the middle of a sentence I noticed that she was very blatantly braless. My reaction to this was an instant urge to compliment her on it, just like you would when someone has changed their haircut or wears a particularly nice shade of nailpolish: "Oh look, you're totally not wearing a bra today! Cool!"

That wouldn't have been a weird thing to say at all, would it?

I guess that's how I see the whole going-braless-thingy: like something nicely bohemian that I would definitely go for myself from time to time - if only it wouldn't cause as much, well, bouncing and discomfort as it does. To me, it's mainly just a way to slightly change up your look, and I will never fully understand those (I've talked to several) who will tell you how offended/disgusted they are by it.

(Just in case you were wondering, I obviously didn't say anything. Because, at the end of the day, boobs are boobs. And as we all know, thou shalt not comment on thy neighbour's boobs. Because chances are, thy neighbour might think thou art slightly odd. Even though thou only ment it as a compliment.)

September love

I would quote one of my favourite Bon Jovi songs, it's pretty cold for late September... But that would be blatantly lying. We had 22 degrees celcius in my town today! For us, that's about as normal as a snowstorm in July. I've been sitting in my favourite park next to the art museum all afternoon, reading and taking photos. Lovely.

So, September is wrapping up. For years now, I've been making these lists in my diary, here's this month's:


Favourites of the month 

-old-school aerobics classes (my gym is very retro and kind of dodgy, and I love it!)
-jojoba oil (Has done wonders for my skin this month)
-my new blue teapot (Need I say more?)
-Jean Paul Gaultier: Classique (My favourite perfume of all time)
-dark red nailpolish (Suitably vampire-y and autumn-y)
-homemade facials with tea leaves and honey (Better than any store-bought face masks)
-wire craft (You know, making candle holders and bowls out of wire? I love it)
-my new fringe (Best. Decision. Ever.)

I've been reading a lot more books than usual this month. Favourites have been One day (I'm really looking forward to the movie), The Lessons och La dame aux camelias. I've also been buying cheap but ornate picture frames and made random collages to put in them. 

(I do admit that both the reading and the collage-making have diverted my attention from my thesis work more than they should... I'll do better in October, I swear!)


 My favourite discovery this month has to be the Yale lecture series that I randomly found on Youtube. Yes, apparently Yale University posts a handful of their lectures online. You probably have to be slightly nerdy to appreciate this, but I was over the moon! So these last weeks, in the evenings, while cooking or drawing, I've been attending Yale lectures on gender studies and American literature... Kind of amazing.


All in all, September has been a fairly good month, even though it started out stressful and chaotic. To me, October is usually less stressful and more cheerful - it is my birthday month, after all! I'm planning to spend this weekend making carrot cake, celebrating with various friends, visiting the art museum and hopefully get some studying done as well.

Much love!

Tiro avanti

Life goes on. That's one of the truely wonderful things about life - you can wallow all you want, but life goes on, and at one point it's going to drag you along with it, weather you like it or not.
 

(I do like it.)

Finally, we had our first real autumn day in my university town: The trees and bushes outside my window are starting to turn orange, and the air has a crisp, smoky, almost wintery note to it. Since September has been unusually warm so far, I'm perfectly okay with this - the winters here are certainly very harsh and long, but I'm still always looking forward to the change of seasons.

The change from early autumn to late autumn is for me also marked by my birthday - I'll be 25 in a week. And just like I'm looking forward to winter every year, I'm also still looking forward to my birthday. I don't like throwing parties for myself, but I do like to have that one day a year when I'm allowed to feel like it's all about me. That's what birthdays are all about, really: Simply celebrating the fact that you exist.

Because it truly is worth celebrating.

I'll be celebrating by cutting a fringe, buying the perfect shade of red nail polish and baking toffee-filled raspberry cupcakes. Sounds mature enough.

My birthday whishes this year:

The perfect red lipstick (I've found the perfect shade for my nails, but not for my lips)
A fragrance locket (because I love perfume and the idea is totally romantic)
Juggling balls (I learned to juggle when I was 18, and I really want to take it up again)
A new scent (I'm thinking a cheaper perfume, perhaps a Bodyshop one)
Metal wire (I'm really into wire craft and I'm constantly running out of material)
A negligee (I really want something silky and sort of boudoirish... Which seems to be hard to find in reasonably priced stores, since everything is either hot pink, leopard or flannel)
New skincare (because I seem to be running out of everything right now)


And of course I'd love to get flowers. And flowery things. And flowery pieces of clothing. My year-long obsession with flowerprints shows no sign of fading yet, even though I should probably be looking at knits and wintery things instead... Oh well.

I wish you all a sweet sunday!