Where I've Been

Sooo.. You may or may not have noticed I've stayed away from the blogging world for a while now. 19 days to be exact. 

In case you're wondering, I've done so intentionally. Not that I had too many brilliant ideas for upcoming posts, but my lack of motivation did strike at a good time for once. To be honest, I grew a little tired of blogging, because I felt like nothing was happening. Let's face it; where's the fun when no one reads your blog or writes their own? 

I hate to rant, so I'll just leave it at that, and tell you what I've been up to in the past few weeks. 

Nothing too significant has happened. I know, right? Kinda boring. While not wanting to blog, I didn't really have a reason to, either. I did book bus tickets and hotels with my friend Minna, for our upcoming trip to London! That's always exciting and fun :) Only a little over a month to go! We are super excited and happy about that. 

I've also been visiting friends, went to see an apartment I will be moving in in the fall, have made some plans as to how I will decorate it, I've done some reading and watched a lot of Orange Is The New Black, The Nanny, and Disappeared. I made a little trip to Staples with my mom, to check out what I would need when school starts. I swear, Staples is my heaven. I LOVE office supplies. 

I can't say I've enjoyed summer, because the weather is nothing like summer... it's been very cold and rainy so far, and I can only hope it'll get better by the time my vacation starts, which is July 21st. I'm having a friend over from Germany, and I would love for her to see how lovely Finland can be in the summer :)

This week I've been sick, and spent a few days at my mom's new house in the country side. Even though the weather sucks, she still found wild strawberries from her yard :) so yummy! 

So yeah, that's what's happening. I'm still a little ill, running a little temperature and coughing. I'll return to work this Saturday, though, and can't wait to get back to some kinda routine. Tomorrow I'm getting together with some old co-workers and that ought to be a lot of fun! 

And what comes to my blog's future; I honestly have no idea. I'm sure I won't stop, I just love this too much. I'm excited to share certain things with you, and would love to get back to regular blogging, but right now I can't make any promises. While I love blogging, I also loved not having to stress about it for 19 days. 

If you're reading this, and happen to have good tips on blogging (ideas, how to not give up, etc.), then please leave a comment below. Love you all for reading, and still remaining in my list of followers. It means a lot. 

Hope you're all having a good week so far!

England Calling!

Ah! I am so happy and excited, you guys!

Today I booked a flight to London. 

In case you didn't know, I love London. 

I haven't visited London in six and a half years. My two-hour layover last December does not count. And being away from a place I love for over six years is just wrong. I am so happy to be going back, even if it is only for a week. London has a special place in my heart, and I can go back any number of times and still feel the first love. 

I'm going on this trip with Minna, who is one of my very best and closest friends. And this trip is going to be very special for us, because at the time we will be in England, it will be exactly ten years since the last time we were there together. In the summer of 2004 we spent three weeks in Torquay, South West England, and that journey was what sparked the desire to travel in us. We were just a couple of fifteen-year-olds on a language course, traveling without our parents for the first time. And our hearts were stolen by Torquay in the English Riviera and London. We have both been to London after that first time, but never in Torquay. That's a place where we should go together, and in just two months we will :) 

I will most definitely share my trip with y'all, and can't wait to go! I'm so happy to have something this great to look forward to. 

Have a happy rest of the weekend! <3

Jammin' June: Country Music

I LOVE country music. I thoroughly enjoy everything about it. This is actually something I think not a lot of people know about me :) well, you know now. The thing is, country music isn't a Finnish thing and we rarely hear it on the radio. So I put on my jams on YouTube or Spotify (bless the Internet, right?!) and whenever I'm in the US, I find a country station to listen to. 

Today I want to rave about Lucy Hale and her debut album Road Between, that came out today! 

You might know her from Pretty Little Liars, but in case you weren't aware, she's an amazing singer!

I was so excited when I heard she was working on a country album and now it's finally out... Gotta raise a hat to a girl this young who's doing so well in the entertainment business and seems to have her head and heart in the right place, and her feet on the ground. 

Road Between is a wonderful album with catchy tracks. Lucy's voice is pure and clear (and lovely), and I'm happy to be listening to real country music after a loooooong time. I hate to say it, but I feel like some country singers have lost their touch and are doing music that's not really country anymore.

I'm not lying when I say I love all the tracks on this album, but here are some of my favs:

Road Between

You Sound Good To Me

Red Dress

Nervous Girls

And now, stop reading this, and go get your copy of the album or listen to it online! :) If you love country music, you'll love this album. 

What Is Happening To Blogging?!

Usually when I post something new, my page views go up almost instantly. They've never been crazy high, but there's always been a little peak when I publish stuff. I loved that, and still do, of course. 

But lately nothing has been happening. I got three (3) page views the other day. Three. Hurray. I've always been very conscious about when I publish my posts; I try to find a time that serves as many time zones as possible as my stats show that I get views from many different countries. Even that doesn't help anymore. I've also noticed that the bloggers I follow are not as active as they used to be. 

So what's wrong?

Is this just a phase? 

Does this have something to do with summer starting and people spending more time outside?

Or has blogging taken a serious hit with no chances for recovery?

What do you guys think?

You probably know I post stuff in both Blogger and Glipho, and I've definitely noticed the change in both platforms. No one is reading other people's stories, no one is commenting or liking anything. At best, my feed shows five new posts a week, and that's not a lot considering the amount of bloggers I follow. It seems only the already popular bloggers survive. It can be very tough to gain followers nowadays. Especially when people don't seem to be reading anything anymore. 

I gotta tell you, it takes the fun out of doing this. What's the point in writing a blog when there's no one to read it? If I want to write just for myself, I can do so privately. And I do. But my blog has always been for you guys, too. That's why it's so sad that blogging doesn't interest people anymore.

Should I just embrace this and move on to vlogging? I'm not so natural in front of the camera, so there's a chance you'd get a good laugh.
I will continue blogging for now, just for the heck of it. I don't think I could quit cold turkey.

Anyways, if there are people reading this, leave me a comment telling me what you think is the future of blogging. Tell me I'm wrong, tell me I'm right, curse, write in capital letters, express yourself in whatever words you choose. At this point any feedback is more than appreciated.

Talk to you peeps later!

Happy May: New Beginnings!

Hey y'all! :) 

In my last post I said I've received some very good news, and I am so excited to share everything with you! If you follow me on Instagram you already know this, but if you don't, then here it is:

I GOT ACCEPTED TO SCHOOL! YESSS!!!

I am so excited about this! I applied on a whim, took the entrance exam with no expectations, and refused to stress about it. I was prepared for any scenario, but when I found out I got accepted to Lahti University of Applied Sciences, I realized how much I had actually wanted it. I will be studying International Business, and this all makes me very happy and I can't wait to start school in September! Well... I can wait. I have the entire summer ahead of me before school starts, lots and lots of happy things! :) 

I'm a sucker for office supplies, and can't wait to go shopping for school stuff, including a desk! I will definitely need one now.. My bed is awesome, but not ideal for homework. I'm on the hunt for a new apartment as well, because I simply can't fit a desk into my current one + now that I'll be going to school in the same city I work in, it would make more sense to move there, too, right? (I live 20 minutes away now, so it's not that bad, but still).  

And, another month is coming to an end. It's time to say goodbye to May, and embrace June! It's officially summer! Although depending where you are, summer has probably already began a loooong time ago. Here in the north it comes and goes. 

The theme for next month is 

Jammin' June

Ooooo... Next month will be all about music. I look forward to sharing my favorite music with you guys! :)

Love you, and as always: thanks for reading <3

P.S. I do have one more piece of good news to share, but I am waiting a confirmation on that one. Will keep you updated! 

TBT: Home Sweet Home

Hello, lovelies!

Today has been a very emotional day. More so than I expected.

This spring my mother has been renovating her late grandmother's old house, and today she moved in. Today I said goodbye to my childhood home. 

It was weird seeing the house so empty, when just a little while ago it was full of stuff, and full of life. I have so many wonderful memories from there, and those will never go away, of course, but still it was very sad to leave. Even though I haven't lived there in five years, my mom has, and the house was always there for me and my brother to go back to when we felt lonely and wanted company. 

I lived there for 19,5 years. My mother lived there for almost 25 years. When we were kids, my mom attached glow-in-the-dark stars on the ceilings in the bedrooms, and when the lights went out, we fell asleep under those stars. I could go on and on about my happy childhood memories, but you get the picture, right? I'm very blessed to have had such a great childhood and a happy home, and I don't take those things for granted. 

My mom felt it was time to move on, and seeing her so happy and content now makes me feel happy, too. The old home was our home, and her current house is her home. It's time for another family to make memories in the old home. 

The new house has apple trees on the yard, that are in full bloom now. I'll go steal some apples in the fall. 

Now we have another home to go to :) I can't wait to make new memories there!

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 ;)