TBT: Our Group of Four

I was thinking about some of my closest friends the other day. Wondering what the heck happened to us. 

Life happened, I guess. 

There were four of us, and we were very close. We knew everything about each other and our girls' nights were legendary. Gosh, I miss those times! 

There was a point when we were all living in different cities, and then closer again. Now one of us is married and living pretty far away. Two of us live within 15 minutes from each other, and one an hour away. I'm still blessed that I get to call them my friends, but as a group we haven't been together in... almost 18 months. It's kinda sad, but like I said: life happened. 

What is friendship? Really? 

To me, it's when friends don't judge each other by their mistakes. When they listen to your problems and do their best to help. If they can't help, listening is enough. It's when they see each other, they can pick up from where they left off the last time. When there's no awkwardness. When they have fights, realizing it started because they care for each other. It's when one look is enough to tell them all they need to know. When their secrets become your secrets. It's group-chatting online. Laughing and crying at the same time. Hiding each other's phones so no one can do anything stupid. Making a complete fool out of yourself knowing that there's nothing that can make them not love you. 

It's the need to see each other after a long time, and the wanting to make that happen. 

When I see them, we continue from where we left off the last time. Sometimes I get a little anxious before seeing someone I haven't seen in a while, afraid that we will run out of things to talk about, afraid that time has erased our friendship. But that doesn't happen with real friends. I may not have a lot of people in my life that I get to call true, ultimate friends, but the ones I have, are not going anywhere, and I will always be there for them, too. 

I will always miss the times I had with this group, and who knows, maybe one day we will all be reunited and have one more fabulous girls' night. 

SO MUCH TO SAY! Too Much.

I don't talk about my writing that much with my friends. Most of them know I love to write, they know I would love to be a published author, but for some reason it's not a subject that comes up often. I always hear how writers should surround themselves with people who share the same passion, and I too think it's extremely important. But I don't actually mind that my friends don't ask too many questions. When it comes to my writing, I'm very private. I haven't shared the details of my novel with anyone so far, and won't be doing so in a long time. 

But when it comes to talking about writing in general, I could go on and on. 

Which is probably why my friends know to keep their mouths shut ;)

There are a couple of beautiful souls in my life who still ask me how my writing is going on a regular basis. They are the two people I've promised will be the first two to read my novel when it's finished. 

I could not appreciate their interest and input more, even though I can't share too much information. You know who you are, and if you're reading this, I love you for putting up with my endless rambling about writing. I rarely get to do it outside my blog. 

And you, my precious reader, I love you as well. Thank you for sticking up with me. 

Have a beautiful week <3

Happy May: Summer & New Things!

Hi guys!

Ah! I am sorry for totally neglecting my blog and you all for soooo long. This past week I worked for six days, including today, and I hurt my back yesterday morning.. sad face here. It's much better already and I think within a couple of more days I will feel as good as new. Which is perfect, because SUMMER HAS FINALLY ARRIVED TO THE ARCTIC!

I am loving the warm weather, and am so happy I actually get to enjoy it, because I won't be working again until Saturday! Five whole days off! I'm psyched! 

Here's an Instagram picture from a few days ago, my hair has gotten so long! Yay!

My plan for the next five days is:

*writing

*enjoying the summer

*see some friends

*clean my apartment (I really have to...)

I do have another reason I haven't been blogging lately, but I can't share too much yet, because nothing is for sure yet... Let's just say I was working on another writing project and it might actually lead to something very exciting! :) I will definitely keep you posted. I don't know much yet, and am hoping to hear something within a week or so. 

Other than this my life hasn't been all that exciting lately, same old, same old. I am now cat sitting for my mom, as she is in Brussels for business, and I'm enjoying my time with that cute little hairball<3

I hope you all have had a great week! 

I snapped this picture the other night at 11pm. So light outside, I love it!!! :) 

Talk to you later!

Happy May: 100 Happy Days Update

I've been doing the 100 Happy Days -challenge for about a month now, and I still have until July 24th to go. I have to say that I'm amazed by how this is easy and hard and wonderful at the same time. 

Some days it's easy to find the thing(s) that make me happy. Other days not so much. What's so wonderful, is that there is still something to be happy about in every single day. How great is that? No matter how crappy a day I've had, I still remember this challenge and am forced to find that something, that makes me smile. 

I didn't expect to see any results this soon, but I am definitely seeing a change happening in myself. It's so easy to feel sad and depressed nowadays, while being happy can feel like a tough one. I feel blessed, because I can honestly say that I feel happy every day. Not all day every day, but still...  every day. 

That is why I am encouraging all of you to take part in the 100 Happy Days Challenge with me!

You can learn more about it here.

Have a happy week, lovelies<3

TBT: Portland, OR

I post old(ish) pictures on Instagram whenever I remember to do so on a Thursday. I really like the idea of Throwback Thursdays, and decided to try and blog about some great things I've experienced in my life every Thursday! I'll be super boring and just call them TBTs. Groundbreaking, right?!

I'll start this thing off by telling you about my time in Portland! :)

In the fall of 2012 I traveled to P-Town for three months, and volunteered at the Children's Museum. My job was to take care of the traveling exhibit that was centered around the work of Marc Chagall, and I ran the painting studio! I was in charge of making sure the kids had enough paper and paint, I got to interact with the kids and their parents and whenever I wanted to, I got to sit down and paint. I absolutely loved the job, and I had the greatest coworkers! <3 It was so sad when I had to leave after those three months, but my awesome supervisor gave me the best recommendation letter ever. I'm so happy I went to Portland; they were the best three months of my life!

I was actually talking about Portland just today with my friend Sabine, whom I met there. She's from Germany and she and I lived in the same host family. She and I clicked right away and became really good friends :) 

We were talking about how Portland just grew on us, and how it takes more than just a few days to really see what that city is all about. We love the weirdness, the people, everything! And the city's truly beautiful and offers great views from all around! Oregon's nature is a major perk, and within just an hour drive there are gorgeous places to see, such as Multnomah Falls and Mt. Hood. I got to see Mt. Hood every day on my way to work, and it was always the highlight of my morning. We don't have mountains in Finland, and I think they're just so beautiful with their snow caps and all. Very exotic for me! 

Portland has so much to offer, so if you're planning to visit, don't let the rainy reputation bother you. The summers are gorgeous, and the fall is just beautiful and colorful. I found the Portland rain to be kind of soft. That city made me fall in love with the rain. 

Don't think of Portland as just some city to pass on your way from L.A to Seattle. Stop and visit Voodoo Doughnuts, and have your picture taken under the sign that says Keep Portland Weird! Visit the world's most awesome bookstore, Powells, and have a cup of coffee at Pioneer Square. You might just fall in love with PDX. 

Happy May: Materialism

All right, before I get started I want to emphasize that this post is really not about how only material things will make you happy. I know that's not true, and believe me -I would love to gather up all of my stuff and throw everything away. I think I have way too many things taking up space in my small studio, so I would be happy to do that... 

What this post is about, is how it's ok to allow yourself some things you want. Because when you finally buy that watch or that pair of earrings you've wanted for a long time, it feels pretty damn good! In the long run hoarding stuff is definitely not the path to happiness, but life would be awful if we didn't indulge every once in a while. 

Today turned out to be a good day, thanks to this shirt that finally arrived in the mail! I absolutely love it :) I think it's simple and goes with a variety of outfits being a classic white tee. My face doesn't look too happy, though... well, inside I'm smiling!

This Friday I'm heading to Helsinki with my friend, and I'm planning on sharing the day with y'all afterwards :) We have no special plans; brunch, shopping, shopping, going to the movies, maybe dinner... We're excited. See, it's the small things that make us happy in the end :) a day in the city with a friend will be a perfect day, even if we end up buying nothing. 

Have an awesome week!

Happy May

Holla!

It's officially time to say goodbye to April and welcome May! I'm more excited than usual about the beginning of a new month, because I feel April was a little... blah. I guess my expectations were too high. Oh well. Life goes on :)

What happened in April? Um...

*My GoDoFly -story came out

*I took part in two separate entrance exams for two different schools

*I think I complained how nothing's happening

What is going to happen in May?

*I have absolutely no idea. 

Anyways, the theme for this month is

Happy May

This month I want to pursue happiness, I want to share tips on how to be happier, and I want to share my 100 Happy Days challenge with you. You can read more about that here and here. So far I've done well, I think, and I have not missed a day! :) I'm sharing pictures of small things and big things that make me happy every day on Instagram and during this month I will be sharing more here, too. 

I hope you will all have a wonderful weekend! <3