my future home

Like I mentioned previously, I had a wee blunder in my planning of what sights to show to my Finland friends and we waited for the Changing of the Guard that wasn't happening on that day. But that's not the worst thing that could happen. I mean, it was a beautiful day and Buckingham Palace is so worth seeing even without the Changing of the Guards (I still want to see that, though, as I haven't yet!). I just love all the statues and how much detail there is no matter where you look. And as Victoria (and Albert) are my all time favourite royals, I especially love seeing them and anything related to them. I do love the Royal family, which is why I see Buckingham as my future home.. You could do worse than Prince Harry after all, and it isn't that impossible for him to become the King... Right? (Maybe more realistically I'll get a job there, housekeeping or something..)


Photos of me are by Johanna and Jenna, again:-)

evening adventures in london

How pretty do both Westminster and Harrods look when it gets a little darker? And how pretty is Harrods in general? I find it really hard to navigate myself inside Harrods without being stupefied by all the perfumes and smells that'd give me a migraine, so I do look like a tit burying my face inside my clothes or shielding it with my hands. Can't complain as I still go there. I was a bit disappointed that Morelli's had moved, I even emailed asking them if they only have a place in Covent Garden nowadays. Morelli's used to be my favourite thing about Harrods. Then again since my last visit I've become lactose intolerant, so it wasn't even as if I could have enjoyed their delicious gelato, haha! And Johanna and Jenna seemed to enjoy the ice cream at the new place, so all was good. Also, being lactose intolerant didn't stop me from dreaming of all the cheese and cakes and other goods at Harrods. I might even have to risk it and have a wee trip to Morelli's at some point. Can't help myself.

liebstering again

I was nominated for the Liebster Award again by a few lovely gals. I'm not really going to do this properly this time, but as I really like posts like this, I still wanted to answer some questions. If you want to take part, just answer the Qs yourself, too (by making a post or just leaving a comment), I'd love to hear your answers! :-)

QUESTIONS FROM MOLLY AND STACIE
1. What is your favorite book? Obviously I can't pick one, but here's the three I always mention as my favourites; Le Petit Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen, and Harry Potter by J. K. Rowling (because Harry Potters count as one book, right?). Go see my Goodreads if you want to see more books I like and read:-)

2. What made you start blogging? I'd been reading lots of blogs for years, and then one day finally decided that what I'd post about could be just as relevant as anyone else's, haha!

3. What is your favorite lipstick? Right now I'd say MAC's Film Noir.

4. What is your favorite thing to do on vacation? Reading, travelling and eating. I like simple things, hehe.

5. How do you like to spend your free time? Reading, travelling and eating? HAHA. Seriously though, those are probably the three things I like doing the most. I also like blogging, making things with my hands and watching/listening to things:-)

6. What are your blogging goals for this year? I don't really have any goals.. But I still wish I'd make the time to blog more regularly and engage more within the blogosphere because you're all so amazing. Really.

7. Who did you think was best dressed at the Oscars this year? Is this a good indicator of how late I am with answering these? :') I'm not really one to be into Oscars or the awards season in general.. I did check out all the winners the next day, but that's basically all. I've seen photos of Eddie Redmayne though, and he was looking smart at the Oscars (like he always does), so I'll say him.

8. Would you rather have a surprise party or casual dinner for your birthday? Casual dinner.

9. What’s the next vacation you have planned? I've nothing planned, how sad! I'd like to go to Paris next though, I've never been! Or maybe just travel somewhere in the UK, as there's so many places I want to visit here as well:-)

10. What’s your favorite thing to cook? Maybe Sunday Roast? I miss making Sunday roasts every week.

11. How many languages do you speak? Five altogether, but only 2 fluently.


 QUESTIONS FROM NIESZKA
1. What inspired you to start blogging? I think a lot of bloggers say they weren't aware of the community related to blogging, but when I started that was kind of what I wanted. I just wanted a place to talk about clothes and stuff with others that liked the same things as I didn't have people like that in my life. So other bloggers:-)

2. What would your dream house look like? I am so fickle when it comes to houses, haha! I think I'd like a Victorian house in a pretty colour with all its asymmetry and interesting little details. But I also like traditional little Nordic houses, and Hobbit holes and the Moomin house and what not. In short, I'd say I want a house that has character.

3. What are you most proud of about yourself? I think just about letting myself be myself? Makes me cringe a little writing things like 'being true to yourself', but, you know, that is important. I've never really cared what people think about me, I've always been independent, strong-willed and proud to a fault. And even though as I've grown older I've maybe become less vocal about my opinions and learned to compromise and to come across as a nicer person, I've never compromised myself.

4. Who is your fashion/style icon (Pick three): Uhh, style icons aren't really something I have either, but I'd say Audrey Hepburn (do I need to explain), Queen Elizabeth II (not only the queen of UK and Commonwealth realms, but also the queen of matching), and Marina Diamandis (just to add someone who's maybe a bit more contemporary and whose style I like).

5. If you could live in any city you wanted and money was no issue, where would you live? You know, I've never wanted to live in London before. But lately, after visiting so often and actually applying for jobs there, I think I'd like to try it for some time now!

  6.What would your dream job be? Haha, I still have no idea. But if anyone looking to hiring me/inviting me to interviews is reading this, I really do want to be a curator! Or be involved in any kind of museum or heritage work. Please, give me a job, I am good at things and I'm a nice person.

7. What is your favorite food or meal? I always say this even though it's been impossible for me to have it for years and years now: My grandma's meatballs, tatties and brown sauce. I do an alright job with this, but it'll never be as good as my grandma made it.

8. Name one place you visited and would recommend. Edinburgh. I love Edinburgh so much, and would love to live there again at some point. It's actually my favourite place, and I'd recommend everyone to visit at least once. I do appreciate it might not be for everyone, but go!

9. What are your top three places (anywhere in the world) you want to visit. Right now at the top of my list are Paris, Island, the Bahamas (+1? Madagascar).

10. What is your favorite book you recently read? Most of the things I've read recently are books for uni, but they've all been quite good! My favourite book I've read this year so far is possibly John le Carré's Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy. And I'm really looking forward to reading more le Carré now!

11. What are your dreams for the future? Short term: Finishing uni and getting a job I enjoy doing, maybe going on a holiday. Long term: Getting a job I enjoy doing and settling down to a nice wee place, starting a family and having a fairly satisfactory life. How boring, but I generally want simple things. I wouldn't mind either becoming a part of the Royal family or starting my own kingdom (queendom?), but I'm a realist.

i know that i need the gold, but what i love can't be bought or sold

 

For me the place I think about when I think of London isn't Westminster with Big Ben and the London Eye or Buckingham Palace with the Guards. It's always been Trafalgar Square, and the lions, the fountains and Nelson's Column. When I get to Trafalgar Square I get that feeling of really being in London. Obviously I feel like I'm in London elsewhere as well, but this is the place for me. And it's so beautiful. I might be going a bit overboard with my new-found love of London.. Like I said, I'm going back soon, mainly because I need to go to the archives, but also because I want to go do fun things as well (haha!). After seeing all the ads for The Ruling Class I'd love to go and see that, but going everywhere I'd want to go is a tad too pricey for my non-existent budget. And what I'd love to go see even more than that is Les Mis. Don't think any of my friends are that into theatre, so if anyone wants to go with me in the next few weeks, drop me a line! (I'm serious. Very serious. We can be theatre pals, right?)

(Photos of me are either by Johanna or Jenna!)

miscellaneous

Sometimes, not that often, when I'm planning multiple posts at once, I either get tired of writing or don't have anything to say at the moment, and leave only photo-filled drafts to be completed later. And if I have an idea I think I'd like to write about, I write it down in the post in a sentence or two, so that I'll remember it when I get back to that particular post. Or if I don't have an idea, I write something in caps lock so that it'll be obvious that the post is not ready to be published. That's what I've done with my London posts, and this is the intelligent and eloquent synopsis I had for this post of miscellaneous London photos; LONDON LONDON LONDON. WRITE SOMETHING ABOUT LONDON. I don't think I have anything to add to that. Haha, I am such a pleb. (Pleb is a favourite word of mine at the minute, although I'm not sure if it's politically incorrect of me to use it. I suppose one can make anything to be politically incorrect.)

Tell me what're your favourite places in London! I might be planning yet another trip already, even though I cannot afford the life of a traveller I'm trying to adopt.. But anyway, do you know of some fun places that you think I'd enjoy? :-)

project 365: 068-074

 068 I had a delightful little cold at the start of the week, and a box of tissues has been my only best friend.

 069 I was - and still am - drinking lots of hot blackcurrant juice as well!

 070 And there's been wee candles in my room most of the time. I really like the shadows they make, you know!

 071 We were reading James Bond for uni, which was great. Despite all its flaws I do love James Bond. And I love the romanticized version of the Secret Services. I might have been 13 when me and my friend were still making extreme obstacle courses of thread as laser beams and what not for each other and impersonating 007. We were cool kids. This was only the second Bond book Ive read though, so I really need to catch up!

 072 I'm sure I mentioned that, like every year, I've given up sweets and chocolate for lent. But I've been eating these and I could die because they're so good. And they are biscuits, so...

 073 Here's another uni book, that I haven't been enjoying as much as James Bond. It's an interesting book, but I just dislike Mosley so much that reading ~700 pages about him is a bit excessive. If you want a recap of who Sir Oswald Mosley is; he's a wee fascist as well as an all-round awful person. Seriously. He cheated his first wife with not only all of their friends but also both of her sisters and her step mother. Such a lil' rat.

074 Hope you all remembered your mothers on Sunday! (And if not, call them tonight and say your phone was out of battery all day yesterday.) I called my mum and sent her a little card. The one in the picture is one that I bought in advance for May when it's Mother's Day in Finland. The perks of having children with dual citizenship, you know!