Feel Good February: Treat Yourself

I cannot believe February is almost over! Tomorrow is the last day and I will be spending it partly on a plane, traveling to Germany to see some friends. The flight is slightly less than two hours, so that's nice, and I can't wait to go! So excited and I will be posting about my trip some time next week!

As this month is drawing to its end, it is time to do one more Feel Good February -post and reveal the theme for next month! 

I am a penny-stretcher but do like to treat myself occasionally with something extra. Whether it's going to the hairdressers, shopping, or whatever floats your boat, it is so incredibly rewarding to allow nice things for yourself. Within reason, of course ;) I don't want to be the person who sucks the fun out of everything, but I feel like if I keep treating myself all the time, it loses its value. What do you think?

This month I've treated myself to a new hair (I'm blonde!) and my most recent thang is eyelash extensions. It's very popular and common to have those here in Finland, and this isn't my first time, either. I l-o-v-e them! In case this is a new thing for you, here's what it's all about: an individual fake eyelash is glued to one of your own. That's it, simple. So for each of your own lashes there's one fake lash and they're glued in, and they look more natural because it's not one strip of lashes that you glue into your eyelid, the kind you can buy from anywhere. These stay on from 2-4 weeks, depending on your lifestyle (how you take care of them etc.) and of course the person who does them for you. I have mine redone every 3 or 4 weeks. The first time is a bit expensive, but the maintaining is cheaper. 

I don't know if you can tell by this sucky picture, that my lashes are 13mm long (1,3cm = about half an inch?) and I'm not wearing any eye make-up at all. That's the beauty; these are so convenient and take half an hour away from my usual make-up routine. And, it's so worth it. I look like a human being even straight out of the bed or shower! WIN!

So that's how I decided to treat myself; what do you like to do? Let me know in the comment section! :)

And now, saying goodbye to February and looking forward to March (spring is coming!), here's next months' theme:

Make It Happen March

I hope you will all have a great weekend! I won't be posting again until after my trip, but will check in at some point, so leave me some feed back and let me know what you thought of February's theme and pitch some ideas! :)

<3

Internet Down!

Hey guys!

I am so sorry for the lack of posts within the last week or so; now the reason is not my motivation (or the lack of it) but my stupid internet!! Or my laptop.. the thing is, my wifi works on my ipad and phone just well, but not on my laptop, and I don't know what's wrong with it. Sometimes I get a connection and then it gets cut off again. I don't like blogging with my ipad, so now I'm at my brother's and taking advantage of his wifi. I was supposed to bring my own laptop along, but forgot about it... so I can't even add any cool pics for this post now. Sorry!! :( 

I don't remember if I've told you guys, but I'm leaving for Germany on Friday and staying there until Monday. I'm staying with a close friend of mine and I can't wait to go; my life has been pretty stressful lately and I really need a few days to just calm down. Work has caused some anxiety along with other stuff, I feel like when one thing goes wrong, everything goes wrong. Damn snowball-effect. 

But I don't want to complain, I just wanted to let you guys know that I haven't forgotten about you and that I will get back to regular blogging asap! :) I will try to squeeze in at least one more post before I head out to Germany. So I will get back to you soon, hope you are all having a good week so far! :) 

<3

Feel Good February: Take Time for Yourself

I am a loner, and really cherish the time I have just for myself, the time I can spend doing nothing productive and no one will give me a hard time for it. Everyone should find the time for that. Spend a night by yourself doing what you want to do, not what you should do. I admit, it's not always easy, because let's face it - life today can be very hectic. But it is so worth it to forget about everything for just one night every once in a while, and take some time for yourself. Always remember to take care of yourself. 

*Watch movies / TV shows

*Read a book or a stack of magazines

*Don't forget the snacks

*Take a freaking three-hour nap

*Draw or paint

*Knit or cross stitch 

*Go for a weekend get-away to a place without internet and TV

*Listen to relaxing music 

*If you're a writer, like me, take a break from your current project and write something totally different, a short story maybe, and just for the fun of it :)

*Rearrange your closet and/or junk drawers. (this is not what I would do, but some people find this extremely relaxing and calming)

Go have some fun, people. Don't be so serious all the time :)

Things That I Don't Want To Do

Here are some things that I don't have time to do don't want to do. Because I don't care.

1.

 Make my bed. 

Why would I make my bed in the morning when it gets messed up again at night when I go to sleep? WHY? Unless someone who's not that close a friend of mine is coming over, I never make my bed. Ever. My close friends don't care if my bed is made. They freaking jump on it, so why bother?

2.

Brush my hair daily.

Um, no. Basically I only brush my hair on my days off (not always) and when I'm going some place other than work. On work days I just gather my hair up on a bun, because at work I have to wear a stupid hat. After taking that hat off, no matter how nicely I've put my hair, it's flat and ugly. No point in wasting precious minutes every morning trying to make my hair look nice. 

3.

Watch stuff on TV.

YeahNO. Why not? Commercials. Timing. BLAH! I'd rather watch my shows online or on Netflix, or a recording at a time that is good for me and I can just fast forward the commercials. 

4.

Use the library.

Now, I LOVE books. But I don't have time to make a gazillion trips to the library to browse books, take them home and then return them. I'd rather take one trip to a bookstore, a.k.a my heaven, and buy what I want to read.

5. 

Redo my make-up.

Other than reapplying powder and occasionally filling my eyebrows again, I never redo my make-up. I hate putting on make-up, but I'm one of those unfortunate people who look horrible without make-up. I look for easy solutions, and can't wait to go get eye lash extensions again in a couple of weeks, so that I won't have to waste a half an hour every morning to do my eyes.

6. Dress up on my day(s) off.
I know that some people feel lazy and even depressed if they don't put on their every-day regular clothes. Spending the day in PJ's is out of the question. Not for me. I'm perfectly comfortable wearing my sweats or PJ's at home if I'm not planning on going anywhere. I can do the same stuff at home no matter what I wear. And whenever I come home from work, my jeans are the first ones to go!

7. Do the dishes before I go to bed.
Seriously, I have no problem at all going to sleep with my sink full of dirty dishes. I'll do them when I do them!

This is how I choose to rebel.
Feel free to share your wild ways ;)

Feel Good February: Change It Up!

Change is refreshing, no matter how little. Whether it's a new outfit, a new pair of shoes, new make-up, new apartment or new school, there's always something about it that gives you a good kind of rush. 

You don't have to overwhelm yourself by thinking of ways to change this up a bit. There are so many simple ways to do it! :)

*Rearrange your furniture 

*Buy new stuff for your home (I did this last spring; one trip to IKEA and that was it. I got a whole new look for my apartment by just changing the colors and buying a new shelf, comforters, and pillows)

*Change your work schedule if possible

*If your work schedule allows it, change your weekly routine

*OR forget about boring routines and go by the feeling

*Be a tourist in your own home town / country

*Change your job (definitely in my near future…)

*Go back to school

*Change your hair (I did this today!)

Went back to blonde after being dark-haired for quite a while! 

It's so easy to get stuck in a certain way of living. It's easy to get cradled into that feeling of security when you have a job that pays the bills and a little extra, when everything just seems to be going fine. And you know what, that's perfectly ok :) If you're one of the fortunate ones who's got it all figured out, I am sincerely happy for you. I just happen to be the kind who needs that change every once in a while. I think if I knew where I was going, I would lose my way. 

Today I changed my hair. It's nothing, but like I said, even a little change can give you a rush. It sort of pushes you to reach for more. That's how I like to think of it. 

I hope you all will have a great week! Thanks for reading :)

Feel Good February: Get Inspired

Sometimes it can be hard to feel good about yourself or your life. Trust me, I know what I'm talking about. One little thing goes wrong and suddenly all that's wrong in my life resurfaces and I dwell on… well, all of it. Truth be told, it's horrid. After a not-so-fun period in my life a few years back, I forced myself to learn the art of positive thinking. And you know what? It actually works :)

I don't want to go on and on about how staying positive will change your whole perspective of things, because honestly, sometimes life just sucks. It's good to allow yourself to be sad every once in a while, but it's more important to know how to pick yourself up again. Here are some ways that have helped me:

*Make achievable goals for yourself
When you achieve something, no matter how little a thing, your reward is that feeling afterwards. The feeling of succeeding will lead you into making more goals, bigger each time. You don't have to reach for the stars on the first take -make little stops on the way.

*Find out your true passion and make it happen
What do you want out of your life? You want to be a cook? A singer? An Actor? A writer? Sky's the limit, because when you set your mind to it, I'm sure you can be what you want to be.

*Find out what inspires you
And then surround yourself with that, whatever it is.

*Don't worry about what you can't change

*Don't worry about something that's going to happen six months from now

*Don't let others' negativity bring you down

If you want to be happy, be. 

January Favorites

Hollaa!
Another new thing that I'm going to be doing in my blog, is monthly favorites. Monthly this, monthly that… This is something I've noticed a lot of YouTubers do, and since making videos didn't exactly work out so well for me (I'm not saying I'll never do them again, but I think I'm better at writing) I decided to present my monthly favorites to you in the written form with pictures. From now on I will be posting my favs either in the end of each month or in the beginning of the next. Yay!

JANUARY 

Make-up & Beauty

I am absolutely in love with Covergirl's Lashblast Fusion Mascara. I hadn't used it in a long while, because unfortunately Covergirl isn't sold in Finland, but my December trip to Florida fixed this problem and I stocked up on this! It stays on very well and leaves my lashes looking full and longer.

This primer by Dermosil leaves the skin so soft and silky feeling, and it doesn't create that stuffy feeling, like you have too much stuff on your face. Love it!!!

My toiletry bag from Victoria's Secret has proven to be extremely handy and useful! Not to mention it's so pretty :P

Other things from Victoria's Secret have quickly become my go-to products; especially the Mango Temptation. I love VS's fragrance mists, because they don't have that strong perfume smell, they smell fresh and I use them every chance I get. 

Movies & TV

Chick flicks that never get old…

I watched Frasier when I was a kid, because I was a weird kid who liked witty comedies, but last year I started watching the show again on Netflix and finished it last month. Hands down, one of the best TV shows e-v-e-r!

Music

Books

I read this book last month and now I can't wait for the movie version! I really hope they won't mess it up. This book is about a terminally ill teenager Hazel, and her first love, Augustus. The story is tragic and beautiful and I think the author depicts everything in a real and honest way. Make sure to get your own copy and read this! :)

Food

I've been more into cooking from scratch lately. For those of you who don't know, I'm a cook by trade, and I'm maybe the worst ever. Cooking at home has never been a passion of mine… cooking in general has never been a passion of mine, so for me to actually buy fresh ingredients, prepare them and make myself a nice home-cooked meal is kind of a big thing. Also, I sort of fell in love with tea. I don't really drink hot beverages, but when the weather's really cold, I do enjoy a few cups of tea and just relax on the couch under a blanket. Heaven<3

Social Media

I am becoming more and more addicted to Instagram. And seriously, who doesn't want to wake up and see that when you log in?! Made my morning. Awesomeness, right there. 

So what do you guys think of the Monthly Favorites as a continuing thing for my blog? Yay or Nay? Let me know! :) And link me your monthly favorites if you're doing them, I would love to read/watch them!

xxo

iira

Blogger Tag

Is it too much if I do one tag per week from now on? I don't really keep track on how much other bloggers post tags, but I love them and think they add something fun to any blog. I don't know if I'll be doing more of them, but here's another one for ya! :)

1. What is your dream vacation?

Well.. y'all know how much I love to travel :) For me a dream vacation includes good company, new and exciting places to see, new experiences, relaxing and preferably a nice, warm weather. It's not always about the location. One can have a shitty vacay in Hawaii and a perfectly good one in Siberia. Not that I have experience on either, but you know what I mean ;)

2. Are you spontaneous or do you like to plan ahead?

I'm a bit of both, but mostly I do like to plan. I hate it when plans change at the last minute, but sometimes I'm the one who makes the last minute change. So go figure. 

3. Tell us one thing you want to do, but don't dare to do it.

Getting a tattoo. It's something I've been thinking about for a very long time but haven't had the guts (or the money) to do it. Maybe some day I will. 

4. What's your biggest phobia?

Well, I only have one phobia. I am insanely afraid of heights. 

5. If you were stranded on a deserted island, what three things would you want with you? (Not your laptop or family)

Can I pick my phone? If not then a thick notebook with empty pages, a stack of pens and a camera. 

6. Name three things in your life that you are thankful for.

My mother, the internet which allows me to share my life with you all, and having experienced a lot in my 24 years. 

7. What was your nick name in High School?

I don't know. I hope I didn't have one. Toward the end of high school I was pretty invisible, so I think people just knew me by my first name. 

8. If you could meet the President of the United States, what would you say to him?

I think I'm supposed to come up with something incredibly profound to say to him, but honestly, I would just ask him to arrange it so that I could get a green card and move to the States. Pretty please with a cherry on top? :)

9. If you could be any literary character, who would you be?

Elizabeth Bennet, Hermione Granger, Katniss Everdeen, Lena Morgan… The list goes on and on. 

10. What is your favorite quote?

Right now, it's: "It's hard to wait around for something you know might never happen, but it's harder to give up when you know it's everything you want." by unknown. But right now, this hits me. 

As always, consider yourself tagged! Have fun :)