queen vic

 Playsuit - Vintage/Diy

Blazer - Grandma's old

Belt - Primark

Bracelet (that you can hardly see!) - Gift/Avon

Over-knee socks - KappAhl

Shoes - New look

These are from my latest exploration when I just went for a wee walk. The Victoria Arch in Queen's Wood is just something so unexpected. I mean, if you didn't know it was there and just stumbled upon it, it'd be a bit surreal. It's mighty pretty, though, and I really had to go and have a little peek. As you can see, it's to commemorate the Queen's visit to Leeds in 1858 and apparently after this it was removed from the city centre to the woods. That's quite strange, but I think I like it. Victoria and Albert are my favourite royals, so I get excited about anything related to them and this was no exception. (I say they are my favourites, and most of the time they are, but sometimes I do prefer Liz and Philip. Surely I am not the only one who thinks about who their favourite royals are?) I might go for another walk in the summer as I'm sure the arch will look very different then!

Also, hooray for warm days! You can be sure that I didn't actually wear my blazer and hope that I won't have to do so for most days from now on:-)

st george's fields, pt. 1

I divided these into two posts, because it just seemed easier that way. I don't even know if anyone reading this finds cemeteries interesting, but I do, so maybe that's enough. I love the appearance of old gravestones, modern ones just aren't that detailed and  grand anymore. (Well, most of them at least.) I also love the little - or longer - texts of remembrance or quotations from the Bible. Personally, I want to be cremated, but I also want to have a gravestone. It may be a bit morbid of me, but I use the old ones I like for inspiration. For example, for quite a while my headstone quote-to-be has been "Thy will be done". "Saviour in thy gracious keeping, leave we here our dear one, sleeping." is pretty neat, too, but who knows if I'll be dear to anyone at the time of my death.. As I'm interested in strange things like this, I'm also the one who's had a chat with my mum about what she wants her funeral/burial to be like (not that she is likely to die soon!). Her favourite headstone quote at the moment is "Henki elää Jumalassa, muisto rakastavissa sydämissä." which is Finnish for "Spirit lives in God, remembrance in loving hearts." and is something I found in a gravestone last summer.

Anyway, for me the main grave to see at St. George's Fields was that of Pablo Fanque. Nowadays he's most known because of the song "Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!" but he was also a pretty big deal as a circus proprietor in his time! I must admit that I wouldn't have known anything of him if it wasn't for the Beatles connection. But I am wiser now and he seems to have been one interesting lil' man!

thursday thoughts pt. 28

I was hesitant to post this because I don't know if I've attributed the quote to the right person. And if so, I don't even know who Ferdinand is. I still like the sentiment of it, so I suppose that is all that really matters.

into every generation a slayer is born

Cross ring - Urban Outfitters

Rest - Primark

Joint&bird ring - H&M

 

Leather jacket - Auntie's old

Skirt - Still Young Vintage

Crop top - Primark

Brooch - Vintage

Shoes - Skopunkten

 I think it was the Sunday before the last when I went on a wee adventure.. on our campus cemetery! That I had known nothing about. Now it is easily my favourite place on campus, how could it not? If you know me a little bit, you will know that I love exploring cemeteries and although this one is now just more of an open space, it's brilliant. I'd imagine I would've loved it even more before most of the gravestones were removed. For instance, when my dad went to uni they would've still had a proper cemetery on campus, which I think is pretty neat! I would've been the weirdo hanging around the graves. I have more cemetery pictures, so you'll probably be seeing those soon, too.

When putting together my outfit I had not realized at all how loaded with 90's vibes it was. Long floral skirt, crop top, dark lips, platforms, even the leather jacket I suppose. Actually, even my hair is like that of a 90's grunge boy. Obviously, I've been influenced by Buffy too much; 90's fashion and hanging around graves. I don't carry wooden stakes. Yet. Anyway, I have very much enjoyed plum lips lately. I'm not too sure about the skirt though. I like it, but the length feels just a tad awkward for me. Maybe I'll get used to it after a few wears!

Also, sorry about the terribly out of focus shots of my hands/rings. By the end of my adventure, my hands were getting cold and I was too impatient to care..

happy easter!

Just like last year, my mum sent me an Easter parcel. It must be well known that receiving post makes me excited, and getting a big parcel is such a happy occasion. And it's pretty obvious that my Moomin obsession is well known to everyone as well..

1. A Moomin print parcel, how fitting!

2. All the chocolate (, some of it Moomin chocolate)! After my lent, I cannot wait to eat all the chocolate and sweets!

3. Some Finnish and Swedish magazines and such to read. Also, a Moomin card!

4. Some paints and brushes, I am so excited to start painting again! Since coming to uni, I've come to realize that I've stopped doing a lot of the things I love, and am trying to change that.

5. A Moomin tea strainer (is that what it's called?). I don't even drink tea, but I may have to start because this is just too cute not to use!
6. A key ring:-)
7. A heart-shaped egg/pancake/food ring. To be honest I didn't know what this was when I got it, but am now looking forward to eating everything in the shape of a heart!
8. Mämmi! If you're 0% Finnish, you probably have never had mämmi and might think it is disgusting. Which it is not. Mämmi is easily one of my favourite things about Easter and as an Easter treat I prefer it to chocolate. And I'm saying this as someone who loves chocolate. But I think it's kind of an acquired taste and maybe a bit like Marmite. You either love it or hate it. (Mämmi doesn't taste like Marmite, though. I don't know how to describe it, but it's amazing! Trust me.)

From the overuse of exclamation marks you can probably gather that I'm preeetty excited for Easter. And I hope you all lovelies have the most wonderful holiday filled with Easter treats and all things nice♥!

Q&A

 The ever so lovely Krysten tagged me in this Q&A a wee while ago, so here we go:

1. Why do you blog? My main reason at first was to have a place to talk/write about my more superficial interests, so I'd have my diary for "real" thoughts like i had a conversation with a stranger at a bus stop about the banking system and i didn't realize at the time how deep this brief encounter was, this somehow reflects my whole life and makes me understand the meaning of life a tiny bit now (ok, that was ridiculous and has never happened, but you know what I mean, haha!) and my blog for something like look at this pretty dress I found, I love it! But now it's both that and more. Instead of just reading other people's blogs like I did before I had my own, I actually connect with others on the internet and can discuss things we all love. And I love that.

2. What's your favorite pastime? How sad will it be if I say eating? I do like eating, though. I also enjoy reading, sewing, doodling, cooking (kind of related to eating..), travelling, writing, buying pretty&old things, watching TV&films, wasting time on the internet and stuff like that. Oh, blogging is quite nice too!

3. Do you have any pets? If so, tell me about them! Nope, no pets anymore.

4. If you had the option of going to the desert, ocean, or mountains, which would you choose hands down and what time of year? Ugh, can I have an option of a place with all the three at once? If not, I'll go for the ocean as I've not been to an ocean-y place in a long long while! During winter when it's too cold over here, of course:-)

5. Is blogging your full time gig? If not, what is? I'm a full-time student.

6. Sweet or savory? Why do I have to choose when I like them both? I have a massive sweet tooth, which probably overrules my love for all things savory. Probably.

7. Where did you grow up? Maula, Lapland, Finland. Wouldn't've wanted to grow up anywhere else.

8. What is or would be number one on your bucket list? I don't really believe in bucket lists, but the one thing I really would like to do at the moment is go on the Orient Express train. I know I obsess over this too much and it's silly, but I just love it so much.

9. What kind of music do you normally listen to? I listen to all music. And when I say all I do mean all. From baroque music to rap, there is at least one song from every genre that I can say that I like., and I go through phases. Buuut, mostly I'd say I listen to indie-ish music, old school-ish rock and pop and also movie soundtracks.

10. Bright colors or neutral tones? Brights:-)

11. Tell us one thing about yourself your readers don't already know. This is the most random thing and of no interest to anyone, but what the hell.. I used to eat paper when I was wee. Mostly stamps, because that's the taste I liked best. (Yeh, I even had a preference.) In addition to being extremely strange you might think eating stamps is gross because they would've been licked by other people and contained all kinds of bacteria. But not really, because to get used ones off the envelope you steam them which also kind of cleanses the stamps. Just so you know that I wasn't completely disgusting and my parents weren't neglecting me. This also reveals another thing you lot didn't know: I used to collect stamps and still have my collections at my mum's house.

And as always, I'm supposed to tag some lovely bloggers to do this fun lil' Q&A. I'm the worst at tagging people, so if you don't want to do it, don't (obviously) and if you're not tagged and want to do it, go ahead!

Corinne
Holly
Emma
Amy
Gail
Marisa
Marlen
Florence

Also, if you're interested, the bird's nest cake I made in the pictures is really good. The instructions are on Amanda's blog, from where I stole the idea. You should look at her blog in any case. As you should at everyone else's above mentioned!

if more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world

Jumper - Dad's old

Dress&Socks - Primark

Shoes&Bag - New look

Necklace - Gift/Kalevala Koru

I went on a walk to see this house J. R. R. Tolkien lived in in the 20's while working at Leeds University today. It was a bit creepy of me to take photos of a house that someone actually lives in, especially as it was so obvious that I was there only for this reason. But maybe nobody noticed.. I do love Tolkien, though, and seeing his old house was rather sweet. If the house is ever for rent, I'd definitely go and live there. Even though it isn't ideally located. I'd just love to say that I live in the same house as Tolkien once did!

Another thing that I love is not wearing tights! Cannot shut about the weather, whether it's nice or awful, so I must say that today was absolutely beautiful:-) I did wear a jumper, but I think I might've been alright without one. Despite the fact that I don't really like wearing green, I've had this jumper on an awful lot. It has elbow patches, so that compensates for the colour! And mind when I said that I bought the same dress in three different patterns? This is one of them.

Also, if you know where the title's from, you're a great wee fellow in my book!

sunday, monday, happy days

If you follow me on Instagram you may have seen me doing the 100 happy days challenge. Which is literally a challenge for you to take a 100 daily pictures in a row of things that make you happy. I'm generally quite a negative person (I say I'm a realist, but I do lean towards pessimism.), so I thought this would actually be something beneficial for myself. This will possibly be a feature on le blog until I get the challenge completed. I'd love it if you fancied doing it as well, and seeing your happy photos! So let me know if you are going to take part in the challenge and I'll check out your pictures (or go follow me on Instagram and see what silly things make me happy, you know you want to!) :-)

1. I love the Cottage Road Cinema, it is the cutest lil' cinema. And I also loved The Grand Budapest Hotel.
2. A wee front French braid. Can't do this anymore though, as I went a little shorter once again..
3. Collars&nice prints!
4. I'm reading Daniel Defoe's Roxana at the moment. Still.
5. Easter holiday!
6. Brunch always makes me very happy; pirate's pancakes and berries.
7. Ohh, I've been rewatching Buffy and I love it so much! Currently on season 5 and all I want to talk about is Buffy. Honestly, if you love Buffy, holla at me and we can have proper discussions. Or just compare our lists of in which order you would marry all of the cast, because let's face it you want to marry them all. Whichever you prefer.
8. Wearing my insect ring:-)
9. This cream cheese and bacon tart.

1. A Moomin cake! This's my cutest cake tin:-) I might post a recipe if anyone fancies seeing it, though it's literally the most basic recipe ever?
2. Food in general is probably the #1 thing that lifts my spirits, haha:-) That's pasta and cake because I eat so healthily..
3. Cut my hair a bit more than my usual trim!
4. Lil' blossoms and spring weather:-)
5. Duvet days, eating cereal for dinner. I can't be the only one who occasionally lives like a 5-year-old.
6. Writing letters!
7. Top socks from Topshop.
8. My latest vintage purchases; A cat pin and a dress pattern from Sue Ryder and a photo album from Oxfam!
9. Writing with pencils that my dad bought while he was at uni or started working as a teacher. I really wish I could find these somewhere, just to be cute. And also, my 60-year-old pencils will soon be non-existent.

I'm sure I don't mention this often enough, but your comments really mean a lot, so be sure to let me know what you think! There'll most likely be a post like this again as soon as enough days have passed. I'll see you all lovelies later!

because there is a place and i've been there before

Top - Mama's old/Made by my auntie

Jeans - Vero Moda

Leather jacket - Auntie's old

Shoes - Skopunkten

Socks - Gift

Necklace - Gift/Kalevala Koru

Bag - Stolen off mama

I think it was Tuesday when I took these and it would have been so nice if it hadn't been so windy. It is always windy, though. Hence my hair is all over the place in all of the pictures, I just cannot keep it the way I want even now that it's been short for over 6 months. (Then again, I don't try too hard, ha!) Short hair flies away just as easily as long, and is just as annoying! Another annoying thing about the wind is, that I'm too scared to wear hats, boo:-( My head's quite tiny so it's too easy for a hat to blow away with the wind and leave me forever. Other than that, life is quite orite.

I've taken pictures at this church before, actually around the same time last year. It's just a handy place for outfit photos now that Leeds is less studenty and less busy. At other times too many people would walk past the church, and I probably wouldn't be as comfortable stopping by to pose for a while. But anyway, I've now decided to go on more adventures and explore more. Obviously not only for outfit photos, but to genuinely explore. If you live in the Leeds area I'd love to hear about places that are worth visiting and seeing! (Or become my adventure buddy. Really.) So hopefully, I'll just be doing more and you'll get to see what I get up to. Catch you later!

black and white and eyebrow talk

Shirt - 2nd hand

Skirt - H&M

Shoes - New look

I had my first ever job interview this weekend. Well done, Laura, you're in your 20s and only now had your first interview! I've kind of had jobs, but I've never been interviewed, haha, and I really do hope I soon get a lil' job. Firstly, I have too much free time for my own good at the moment. And secondly, if I want to stay in Leeds for the summer I need to be able to afford it. Fingers crossed.

I was going to take outfit photos on the day outside, but it rained and I had to abandon the idea. Anyway, I wore a different skirt than the one in the photos, and also had a blazer on. It's still not warm enough to go coatless. I wish it was, though! I used to wear this shirt backwards and tie it to the back so it became a crop top. Lately I came to realize that it's a perfectly alright shirt just the way it is and think I now prefer it as it is. The black buttons and tiny leaf/flower pattern are rather neat:-) Also, this probably sounds really weird, but honestly do my eyebrows look normal? I hate it when people draw their brows on and now fear I may have become one of the people I despise.. Obviously they aren't Scouse brows, slug look-alikes or drawn by 5-year-olds, but still. Most of the time I let mine be, but have recently gotten into actually doing them again. And so far in my life I have always struggled to find a colour and a method that'd really match/go well with my brows. In any case I just feel like I'm too partial to my eyebrows to judge without any bias, ha. This turned into a bit of a ramble now, didn't it.

Hope you have a wonderful week♥!