through the years: december

 Ending the year with not reflecting on 2018, but on all the past Decembers of this decade. And reflecting only on my personal style, really. Here we go:

moomin mug inspired: winter forest

 Wishing you all a merry Christmas, happy holidays and all the best things in the form of these photos that are the second batch in my Moomin series! What could be more festive than me as Moominpappa in a winter forest looking for a Christmas tree? (Nothing, clearly!)

project 365: week fifty & fifty-one

 It's been a while yet again, but this is what's been going on in my life:

 344: Making Christmas cards and such.

project 365: week forty-eight & forty-nine

I've been pretending to be busy all month, but this is what I got up to on my first two weeks in Lapland:

 330: Arrived at mum's after a day of travelling, and just had a hot chocolate before calling it a night!

moomin mug inspired: the groke

This is a thing I've been thinking of for quite a while and finally decided it was at least time to start. I'm going to do a series inspired by/recreations of all of my Moomin mugs! The plan was to get to the north before proper winter to get autumnal photos, but on arrival it was rainy for almost a week, then snowed and so we're starting with wintery scenes! I'm really excited, though, as there's so many Moomin images to create, something for every season and my collection is ever-growing. I love Moomins and I know a lot of people reading my blog love and are interested in them, too, so this shoud be fun!

through the years: november

As it's the end of the month, it's time for yet another look at old outfits I've worn in Novembers past. Here we go:

project 365: week forty-seven

 323: Started the week with getting some more blood tests done.

tosca cake

It's my godmother's birthday and nameday this week, and although I had initially planned to go visit during this time, that didn't quite happen. I'll be up north in Lapland later in the month and in December, though, and am looking forward to all that. In the meantime, I thought I'd share this recipe of one of my godmother's favourites.

project 365: week forty-six

 316: It's been very November..

queen's house

Since it's Thursday, let's make it a throwback one. These pictures are from 2015 when I visited the Queen's House in Greenwich. If I had actually posted about it back then I would've probably had more to say as I remember having thoughts about it and thoughts while visiting. But, as per usual, I've let this post sit in my drafts for years and the only notes I've made re: what I wanted to write are: "Inigo Jones. Queen. La de da. Architecture, man." Why do I do this?

project 365: week forty-five

 309: What a fun time: trialling new drugs. I'm currently trying out these two and going to physiotherapy. It's expensive being ill, guys. Both of these meds also have drowsiness and tiredness as side effects, so my general mood these days is just bloody sleepy!

evening star

 My hope and expectation when thinking about and taking these pictures was to look ethereal, elvish and Arwenesque in every way. But the reality is that I am more of an Aragorn - in the photos and in real life. I was cold, windswept and at times felt and looked like I had been striding in the wilderness for weeks. My visit to the seaside and the little forest area on the peninsula was definitely closer to a couple of hours than weeks, and even though I was majorly unprepared for the frigid autumn wind I did enjoy it. Because I will love and enjoy any time spent by the sea. (I will not and have not, however, been kidding myself that it is still no-tights weather or that it's appropriate to leave the house without gloves and other autumn essentials. I don't know who and where I think I am sometimes.)

project 365: week forty-four

 302: Running boring errands that I didn't take photos of. So here's a quick self-portrait.

through the years: october

It's the end of the month, so here's a look into outfits I've worn during various Octobers since 2011:

project 365: week forty-three

 295: Spent the feast day of Pope Saint John Paul II by going to the beach, burning this candle and eating cake. I got this candle from my sister and was fairly excited about it. For someone who's not Catholic, I'm strangely into some Catholic things.

how i am not coping with chronic pain

 I was going to say that I haven't been coping well with my chronic pain lately, but that's not exactly true. "Lately" is more or less a year at this point and "coping well" is always relative. Maybe I have never coped well, but the last year has been the hardest since I first got ill and has actually led me to seek more permanent (medical) help for the first time in quite a while. Because although I have seen various people over the past decade and a bit it's often only been a quick check up or revision/refill of prescriptions. And it actually took a semi-casual remark of "what? you're in pain all the time every day - that's not right" from a friend for me to figure out that no, it is not right, I shouldn't have to live this way and I actually deserve to be fully examined and treated (again). Shockingly, I deserve more than the bare minimum in this area of my life, too.

project 365: week forty-two

turku day, pt. two

 If you've not seen the first few museums I visited on Turku day, you can find them here. Out of those ones I had been to a couple of the places before, but all of these three in this post I was visiting for the first time. And, honestly, all of these are so good they would be worth revisiting!

everything is yellow

 These autumn colours have been pretty amazing at the moment. If only they lasted even a tiny bit longer! I obviously had to match all the leaves and live a proper yellow moment.

project 365: week forty-one

 281: Starting the week by making soup so I have food for the whole week, haha! Soup is life at the moment.

turku day, pt. one

 About a month ago (16/09) it was Turku day. There were lots of events all around the city, all through the day. But it was my favourite because most of the museums had free entry! So I took the whole day and visited six. And had to divide these into two posts since I took so many pictures.

a day in ranua

 Back when I was at my mum's in Lapland I went on a church trip to Ranua and it was a good day.

project 365: week forty

 274: I started the week the right way by going to a museum. This tiny building that I usually walk by when on my way to uni is a hospital museum, and I never knew! It used to be the hospital gatekeeper's house and inside they have exhibition rooms about the oldest hospital in Finland (i.e the one in Turku) and the history of medicine and all that. It was cool.

travelling or not travelling

I just posted a little (unrelated) throwback picture on Instagram saying how a lot of people irl think of me as someone who travels a lot and is constantly somewhere and someplace different. And I do love travelling and exploring new places (as well as revisiting familiar ones). But, honestly, I don't consider myself to travel that much, less than most people around me, really.

project 365: week thirty-nine

 267: I definitely was not rereading this last Monday (I don't think I was doing anything) but both of Rupi Kaur's books are something that I return to from time to time.

through the years: september

 The last time(s) I did these Through the years posts, I kind of stopped before the end of the year. One of the reasons being that I seem to often not post in September for some reason. But I really like doing these and going through old photos and blog posts, so wanted to get back to this series. So here's some outfits from past Septembers:

thursday thoughts pt. 52

 I haven't done one of these in a while!

project 365: week thirty-eight

 260: Started the week with doing food prep for the week and baking. This was my first time making these coconut and raspberry cakes gluten-free and they were still so good - even though they don't look the best. I'm actually going to try and start making my own gf baked goods more often since I like them so much better than anything shop-bought.

dressed for a funeral

 This is one of my favourite vintage dresses, but also one that I wear the least. And this is one of those rare occasions when I don't necessarily want to wear it more often - it is my funeral and mourning dress.

project 365: week thirty-seven

 253: An actual photo of me on my way to do a food shop. Really though, this is one of the bags I sometimes use for food shops and whatnot. Moomins make everything more fun.

ruissalo-love

 You know how I'm continuously gushing about Ruissalo? Here's some more of that! It is just such a gorgeous little island and a 100% one of my favourite places in Turku.

berry-picking

Blueberry-tinted lips, snack breaks on big rocks, pretty light rays through the trees, forest smells, and tiny plant-life. These are my favourite things when blueberry picking. And of course getting lots of berries - both into my belly and my basket!

project 365: week thirty-six

 246: I had a pretty boring week last week (shocker, I know), and most of these Project 365 pictures are of food - the most exciting part of every day! Dishes like this are my favourite to make at the moment: just toss all the ingredients in a pan and it's done.

migraine awareness week

Apparently it's Migraine Awareness Week, and when I went to check out the Migraine Trust's website about it I came to realize that as someone who has lived with migraines for over a decade I wasn't as aware of them as I thought either. So, how am I expecting those around me to be when it isn't talked about that much (much like most other medical conditions aren't) even though it is so common?

saaronniemi and the sea

 This has been one of my favourite places this summer. And even more so now that it's autumn and the beach is more deserted. I am a bit sad because all the summer cafés have or are about to close down until next year (where can I get my weekly chips after swimming now?), but otherwise the beach and the sea are still where I try to go about once a week.

project 365: week thirty-five

 239: The view from my door.

houses and horses

While I was at my mum's we visited Taavola again and it's still my favourite little café/historical house/boutique/flea market. Not that I know of many places that are all those four things rolled into one! The cakes were still just as good (and gluten-free since that's who I am now), the place just as charming and full of interesting details. I especially like the sign that forbids one from spitting on the floor.

(bday) chocolate and raspberry mousse cake

Since it's still my birthmonth, I thought I'd share a little birthday cake recipe. Or any-occasion cake recipe, really. The cake has a bit of a messy look to it, but I like that and it is really good!

project 365: week thirty-four

 232: Living that boring life.

the fields are alive

It's my birthday!

gems

It's currently my birthmonth and birthweek, which is probably my favourite time of the year. I love the end of summer anyway, but having my birthday during it makes it even more enjoyable. My birthday plans for this year are non-existent so here's a little throwback to a previous one.

project 365: weeks thirty-two & thirty-three

I disappeared for a while (again), but here's what I've been up to:

 218: Mum made me gluten-free pancakes! And the strawberries are ones that we picked ourselves.

project 365: week thirty-one

 211: Lunching.

summer violets

 Violets (I will forever call all violaceae violets) are my favourite flowers, so being covered in them is a dream. I first saw this print on a bikini, but as soon as I realized it was a whole beach look I knew it had to be my beach look. So, I have been living in the bikini and in this skirt and top this whole summer.

project 365: week thirty

204: Making lil' bouquets of wild flowers.

st catherine's

I feel like I only ever have pictures of cemeteries and old churches, but that's what I'm into and that's what you get! These as well as my previous post are from the St Catherine's Church in Turku and you best believe I'm well happy about living in a city with three surviving medieval churches!

project 365: week twenty-nine

 197: While at my mum's I've been cleaning and rearranging furniture among other fun things. But then I got distracted by all the records and am currently in the process of listening to all of them (in order to know what to keep, you know..).

a chapel in the midst

 We all know I love a good cemetery so finding out there was a church, a graveyard and a cemetery all in one place nearby obviously got me excited to go explore. (As well as to test out a new little tripod I got.) And it was a good one.

project 365: weeks twenty-seven & twenty-eight

So, I've been taking a lil' summer break, and honestly I might still continue being on one. But here's what I've been up to:

 183: Started the month by still helping my sister move house.