Showing posts with label books. Show all posts
Showing posts with label books. Show all posts

Thursday, August 14, 2014

Greenway: Agatha Christie's House

Unfortunately this picture isn't mine, I fished it from Google. When we went to see the house, it was under construction on the outside, and we couldn't see any of it. We were able to see the inside of the house, though; all the tours were arranged as usual. 

During our short visit in the English Riviera Minna and I wanted to go to Greenway to see Agatha Christie's house. It's a short way from Torquay, and it's really easy to get there. You can actually take a ferry, a steam train, your own car or a Vintage Bus. We settled on the latter, and it was so cute! I've heard some tourists make the mistake of riding a coach bus, when the thing is that coach buses don't fit in the roads close to the house, and the people on board are forced to walk the rest of the way. The vintage bus takes you right to the entrance. 
The ride was spectacularly beautiful. It was straight from the British detective shows, if you've ever watched any... At one point we saw the steam train. Sitting on a vintage bus, seeing a steam train right next to us, in those amazing sceneries, it felt like we had traveled back in time. 

Lyhyen Englannin Rivieran vierailun aikana haluttiin Minnan kanssa matkustaa Greenwayhyn katsomaan Agatha Christien taloa. Sinne on lyhyt matka Torquaysta ja sinne pääsee helposti. Valittavanasi on lautta, vanhanaikainen höyryjuna, oma auto tai vintage bussi. Me päädyimme viimeisimpään, ja se oli niin suloinen! Kuulin, että jotkut turistit tekevät sen virheen, että menevät talolle isolla tilausbussilla, mutta ne eivät mahdu ajamaan lähelle taloa, ja matkustajat joutuvat kävelemään lopun matkaan. Vintage bussi vie vierailijat suoraan sisäänkäynnille.
Matka Greenwayhyn oli henkeäsalpaavan kaunis. Näkymät olivat suoraan brittiläisistä dekkarisarjoista, jos olette koskaan sattuneet katsomaan.. Jossain vaiheessa näimme edellämainitun höyryjunankin. Siinä kun istuimme vintage bussin kyydissä, höyryjuna edeten vierellämme, ja niin upeissa maisemissa, tuntui kuin olisimme matkanneet ajassa taaksepäin.


When we entered the house we were handed booklets with information about every room. The house was big and gorgeous, and wanting to be a writer myself, it was exciting and thrilling to visit the house of one the great ones. There are 4000-5000 books in the house (I don't remember the actual number), and we were told that every year or every two years ( the lady couldn't remember exactly) all the books are cleaned page by page. Every single page of every single book is dusted. Pretty impressive, I'd say. 
The grounds were as impressive as the house. If I lived there, I would probably write a ton of books, as well. 

Kun pääsimme taloon sisälle, meille annettiin kirjaset, joissa oli tietoa joka huoneesta. Talo oli iso ja ihana, ja oli jännittävää vierailla mahtavan kirjailijan talossa; haluanhan itsekin tulla kirjailijaksi. Talossa on 4000-5000 kirjaa (en muista tarkkaa määrää), ja joka vuosi tai joka toinen (opas ei muistanut tarkalleen) nuo kirjat putsataan sivu sivulta. Joka ainoa sivu joka ainoasta kirjasta putsataan pölystä. Melkoisen vaikuttavaa.
Talon ympäristö ja piha-alue olivat yhtä vaikuttavia kuin talo itsekin. Jos asuisin siellä, kirjoittaisin varmaan itsekin kasoittain kirjoja.

A painting of Agatha when she was four years old.

Greenway is most definitely worth a visit, if you happen to be in the area. I don't know why we didn't go there ten years ago. I am glad we went now. Did you know that they've filmed Hercule Poirot at Greenway? :)

Greenway on ehdottomasti vierailun arvoinen, joten jos satut olemaan lähistöllä poikkea ihmeessä. En tiedä, miksemme menneet kymmenen vuotta sitten. Hyvä, että nyt menimme. Tiesittekö muuten, että Hercule Poirotia on filmattu Greenwayssa? :)

Sorry for the not best quality of the pictures. I only used my iPhone camera during the trip!










Tuesday, May 27, 2014

May Favorites

TV & MOVIES

I have all ten seasons of Friends on DVD, and what can I tell ya.. probably one of the best sit coms of all time. My brother was borrowing the DVD box for a loooong time, and I finally got it back. And watched all of the seasons, back to back. I know, right? No life. 

MUSIC

Lucy Hale - Road Between

Emeli Sandé - Read All About It

FOOD
We got to enjoy a pretty amazing weather here in Finland. For about a week, and now it's cold again. But anyways, during this weather wise weird week I had six days off (I know, right?!) and I got to enjoy the company of my friends and had a loooooooot of ice cream. Yummy!

MAKE-UP & BEAUTY

Primo Self Tanning face lotion by Dermosil. I've never used self tanning lotions before, and I don't intend to start, BUT, this one only gives your face a light, beautiful summery glow. We're not talking about a strong tan here, just some color ;) For us white people in the North, this lotion is perfect! The result is natural and the lotion doesn't leave any awkward lines on your skin. 

BOOKS




I read Lauren Oliver's latest novel, Panic. The plot was absolutely thrilling; young people facing their worst fears in a game that came to be because there was nothing else to do in a small town. 

I'm a fan of Oliver's other books, too, and this one wasn't a disappointment either! She has a unique way to depict young peoples' lives. Make sure to check this book out!



I usually prefer to read the book first before I go see the movie, but I admit I hadn't even heard about Divergent until they started promoting the movie. I'm so off the wagon when it comes to YA literature right now... My reading has taken a hit lately, but I'm working on fixing that. So yeah, I went to see the movie and loved it, and bought the book the same day. I'm now reading it and loving it so far. I think I might have to go out and buy the other two books as well :P








These were my monthly favorites from May! What do you guys think? I know there's not much to promote now, but it's been kinda slow. Again. I have received some VERY GOOD NEWS this month, but instead of sharing them in this post, I will be doing a whole separate post about them. Stay tuned ;) 

Sunday, April 27, 2014

April Favorites

Am I the only one who's had a slow month? As in nothing happened -kinda month? It's a bit of a challenge to build a monthly favorites- post with what I've got, but I'll do my best :) can't wait for May!

Fashion, Make-up & Beauty

This hand lotion is by far my favorite. The scent is delicate and this leaves your hands very soft! Dermosil is one of my favorite brands and I use a lot of their products; self-tanning face lotion, powder, eye brow pen, lipgloss and lip liner. 

Music

Phillip Phillis - Gone Gone Gone

Clean Bandit feat. Jess Glynne -  Rather Be

Movies & TV

I went to see The Amazing Spider-Man 2 with my brother and I gotta tell you... it was an amazing movie. I'm a total super hero nerd, I love Spider-Man, Iron Man, The Avengers... This movie just blew my mind and totally made me cry at the end. I won't spoil anything, just letting you know I cried. I wish the third movie wouldn't take two more years!

When I was a little kid I watched The Nanny every Friday night on TV, and now that it's on Netflix, I've been refreshing some of my childhood memories. Yup, it's still funny! :D 

Reading

I mentioned earlier that I started reading Lauren Oliver's Panic. Here's a picture of me reading it in the cutest company! My baby fell asleep next to me and I just had to appreciate the moment by snapping this picture. And yes, the book is excellent. 

Social Media

Again, Instagram. I lost 90 followers when IG fixed the bug, but I've regained the lost ones and even more. Thanks for the follow all of you! :) I love Instagram and update it every day, so if it gets quiet on the blog front, make sure to check out my IG if you're interested in knowing what I've been up to! :)

Thanks for reading, folks! :) Hope you will all have a fabulous week! <3





Wednesday, April 23, 2014

World Book Day

Happy World Book Day, everyone! :)


How has your week been so far?
I'm so happy because I'm finally done with my school entrance exams! No more studying, life's back to normal again. Unless I actually get to school in the fall! That would be something. I think the exams went well, but I have to wait for the results maybe even until July. I'll keep ya posted ;)

But, returning to the World Book Day, I started a new book today! I'm really trying to read more; lately my reading has suffered big time (studying doesn't count) and that's not good for someone who wants to become a writer. 

Anyways, today I started reading Lauren Oliver's new book, Panic. 


I've decided to try and read one book a month at least. If I read faster, I'll read more, but unfortunately I don't always have as much time to read as I would like :( adult life sucks at times. 

When I'm done reading a book, I will add a review of it into the Books -section you'll find under the top banner (this concerns Blogger only, not Glipho, though all you Gliphers are welcome to go check out my Blogger site as well!)

I hope you're all doing good :) Have a happy Wednesday!

Sunday, March 30, 2014

13 Things

It's time for another tag, yo! Feel free to copy-paste this and fill it with your own answers :) Let's have some fun! (tags are always always fun! except when they're not.)

13 Things You Like

1. Day dreaming
2. Sleeping
3. Solitude
4. Coke Zero
5. Books
6. Songs that take me back
7. Photographs
8. Book stores
9. Desks
10. USA
11. Weirdness
12. Playing with outfits
13. Instagram


12 Movies You Like

1. Pitch Perfect
2. Titanic
3. White Oleander
4. Wonder Boys
5. Soul Surfer
6. Jurassic Park I-III
7. The Heat
8. The Hunger Games
9. Accepted
10. The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 1 & 2
11. Transformers I-III
12. Thelma & Louise

11 Bands / singers You Like

1. Celine Dion
2. Christina Perri
3. Snow Patrol
4. Ellie Goulding
5. Taylor Swift
6. Icona Pop
7. The Strange Familiar
8. Vanessa Carlton
9. Evanescence
10. Pink
11. Jason Walker


10 Songs You Like

1. The Script. feat. Will.I.Am - Hall of Fame
2. Christina Perri - I Don't Wanna Break
3. Christina Perri - Human
4. Sara Bareilles - Brave
5. Celine Dion - Somebody Loves Somebody
6. Jenni Vartiainen - Suru on Kunniavieras
7. Miley Cyrus - Stay
8. Snow Patrol - Just Say Yes
9. Ellie Goulding - Figure 8
10. Emeli Sande - Daddy

9 Things You're Looking Forward To

1. This summer
2. Finding out if I got into any school(s)
3. Traveling
4. Finishing my book
5. Sharing my book with someone
6. My days off
7. Moving
8. Getting white converse
9. Summer clothes shopping!

8 of Your Favorite Foods

1. Chili & cornbread
2. Mac & cheese
3. Chicken pasta
4. Chicken, rice & veggies
5. Kebab
6. Pizza
7. My mom's mashed potatoes and meatballs
8. Salmon



7 Good Things About Today

1. It's my day off
2. It's a beautiful day
3. Blogging
4. This much closer to summer
5. I'm alone but not lonely
6. I'm so inspired
7. Daylight savings time? I have mixed feelings about that. 

6 Things That Annoy You at the Moment

1. The lack of common sense these days. 
2. Stupid people. They annoy me 24/7.
3. My apartment is too small
4. That I don't own a blazer 
5. I have a huge pile of laundry that never goes away even if I washed one load a day
6. That my hair isn't the shade of blonde I would want it to be xD 

5 Things You Touch Every Day

1. My hair
2. My phone
3. My laptop
4. My fridge
5. My face



4 TV Shows You Watch

1. The Big Bang Theory
2. How I Met Your Mother
3. Pretty Little Liars
4. Revolution

3 Places to Find You

1. Home
2. Work
3. Mom's place

2 of Your Favorite Books

1. The Help
2. The Fault in Our Stars



The 1 Thing That Means the Most to You

My Faith.

Tuesday, February 11, 2014

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 ;)


Wednesday, February 5, 2014

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

Sunday, July 21, 2013

Not dead

Oh my goodness... Sorry for not writing. Again. I feel bad :( sorrysorrysorry.

Blogging used to be one of my very favorite things to do, but lately I've been feeling like all the ideas just escaped from my head. I want to write, it's basically all I want to do, but there's nothing to write about!! I could tell you about the major writer's block that's been bothering me for too long, but writing about writer's block... meh.

My internet failed a couple of weeks ago, just stopped working. Both my laptop and iPad have the same carrier, which had some problems, but my phone has a different carrier and so I was able to run errands online (facebook) with my phone. Not having Netflix take all my time, I had to get creative. I got a lot of reading done (Stephen King's On Writing is uh-mazing!!) and worked on my novel. I'm not completely happy with what I came up with it and might just erase everything and start all over. But at least I'm writing something. There should be a way to transfer images from one's head to paper.

A while back I realized this summer is almost over (here in the arctic at least) and I have worked through most of it. I have vacation days that I'm saving for December, when I will be traveling to the States. Totally worth working for the summer, and despite my hectic work schedule I feel like I have improved my social life from what it used to be. At least my friends seem to know I exist nowadays ;)

So yeah.. That's what's up. There's always something. Sometimes I wish there was nothing.. Hope you're all having a good weekend :)

xxo


Friday, May 24, 2013

TGIF

Sometimes, no matter how much I love to write, I make up excuses to postpone it. Especially when it comes to my novel. I have this idea stuck in the back of my head, that I will ruin the images in my head by putting them into words on paper. This is something that I'm slowly learning to ignore, and have more and more courage to write every day. 

And today Amazon shipped me two more reasons to postpone the writing just a little bit more.


But this time I want to postpone, because I want to be better, not because I'm afraid. 

Can't wait to read these! :)


Thursday, May 23, 2013

From thoughts into words

It's a long, rocky road to get a story finished on paper. For me, at least. Here's how the process goes for me:

1. A rough idea comes to mind
2. Figuring out if the idea's any good --> developing it further
3. Storylines, twists, etc.
4. Naming all the characters
5. Characters relationships and backgrounds
6. Random scenes go through my mind like movies
7. Writing some scenes, in no particular order

I'm bad at taking notes. Basically, all of the above is in my head in the end, and when the mental exhaustion is getting too overwhelming, it's time to start the actual writing process. By the way, I'm using the term "mental exhaustion" very loosely. I find all of this too much fun to think of it as something exhausting. Sometimes it does get to me, though. I get very attached to the story and the characters, and when things don't go as I want, it can be frustrating. Even though it's a world and people I've created, what happens to them is sometimes out of my hands. 

I'm sure other writers have their own ways to transfer thoughts into short stories and novels, but this is mine. I would be very interested in hearing your thoughts :) The nerdy side of me is dying for some new information!

lovelovelove,
iira

Monday, May 13, 2013

Write Great Fiction

A couple of days ago I allowed myself a little treat. I ordered books on Amazon. Yeah.. Books do it for me ;) 

As someone who wants to be a serious writer one day, the books I ordered are important and I've heard a great deal of positive things about them. 



It'll take at least a month for me to get my hands on these babies, but I'm so excited to have some summer reading to do! :) The Write Great Fiction -series has other books, too, and they are: Dialogue, Revision and Self-editing (I SO NEED THIS!!) and Description & Setting. I'm going to wait to get the first two I ordered, and then see how I feel about them. But right now I think I will just order the rest of the series as well. 

The past few days I've kept a little break from working on my novel. I'm basically done with the plot and all that, and feel ready to write, and I have started writing. But with these books, I feel like I could be better (and I haven't even read them, yet!). I'd rather take things slow and get a better result than hurry and be sloppy. 

Have a nice week! :)

-iira

P.S. I have three days off! Stoked!