5 tips for making the summer even better!

Good evening cuties!

Wow, it's so hot here now. In fact, Northern Norway just got a new record on amount of sunshine in May. And our town got a new heat record for May month! I can't believe it went so fast.
I mean, where did spring go? It feels like we jumped straight from winter to summer. I've barley had time to adapt to the changes. Summer is great though! I've been wearing some summer dresses lately, and it feels so light and feminine. (That is two words you really miss when you walk around dressed like an Eskimo in a blizzard.)
Every season has both good and bad sides, so in this post I'm going to write a little about how to best enjoy the summer!

1. Stay safe and protected!

You thought I was going to write about molesters and rapists, didn't you? Nope. Your enemy is the sun! Of course, sunlight is good as well, but that's what makes it all so dangerous. The worst enemy you can have is an unstable one. The sun might hate you then love you then hate you again. Your job is to ensure that you can handle it. First of all, you must must must use sun lotion! It doesn't matter if you live far north, south, east or west, the sun rays are still harmful. And just because you don't get burnt, it doesn't mean that your skin doesn't get damaged. Did you know that getting tanned is a sign of damage? The skin is building up its protection after it's been hurt. The results of bad sun protection might not show up right away, but in the future. Too much sun lowers the quality of your skin, and gives you early wrinkles and uneven skin tone. You may also develop sun rash, even though it often appears a year after the damage's been made.
Just to clear up; I don't want you to avoid the sun either! Sun light gives you a lot of important D-vitamin, and it makes you happy. Just enjoy the sun, but protect yourself at the same time.
It's not that important to get a deep tan either, though many of you might think so. Learn to appreciate your own, nautral skin color, and you'll have a much better summer already. And it will save you from sun burn disasters.

My long time favorite sun lotion from Hawaiian Tropic. It gives good moisture and protection, and smells addictively  good. 

After sun is important too!

      2.  Feel confident in your own body!

Yeah, yeah, we've heard about it before. "Summer work out!" "How to get the bikini body!"
Of course working out and staying healthy is important, but when it comes down to it you can't completely transform your body figure. It's something we are born with. You can't starve away your hip bones, or stretch your legs longer. If you are healthy, it will shine through anyway. We have to understand that there is no such thing as ideal body, because everyone is born with an unique one!
Find the good points in your look, and highlight them. A tiny, almost non-existent swimsuit might be sexy, but self confidence is sexier! Don't be trapped in your own body just because someone else told you that you're not good enough. Wear whatever you want, your friends don't care. And if they actually do, you throw them in the trash can together with that crazy diet magazine article.

     3.  Live it!

There are two types of to-do lists; things that you have to do, and things that you want to do.
Summer is the perfect time to focus on the last one. Write a list of things you want to do, see and experience during two effective months, and make sure to get as much as possible done!
May it be BBQ-party, road trip, boat trip, summer boot camp, working as a street musician or whatever project you got hidden in your brain; sign up those involved and start planning!

Random picture of me taken in Thailand, because Thailand was amazing.

     4. Create your summer playlist

I always create a playlist on my iPod for each summer like "Summer 2012" and so on. The music varies for each year depending on what I'm doing, so every list has a different "theme". Music is a great way of remembering stuff, so you can always sit down later and dream yourself away to ice cream and blue water.

     5.  Meet the summer in style

Okay, so this might come natural for many of you, but refreshing your wardrobe and make-up palette really helps putting you in summer mood. I don't think you should spend a lot of money, or throw away all your old clothes, just refresh. Summer is the perfect time to experiment with bold colors and accessories, especially if you're not used to it. We tend to get more daring and playful then usual, so use the opportunity!

 I hope all of you will have an amazing summer! Of course, it's hard to beat Gulli and I who's going to Tokyo, but...

Talk to you later! ~

What I can't live without during winter ^.^

Morning sunshine's ~

I haven't had the time or energy to blog the last days because I'm all out of energy or don't have time... But today I'm staying home from work because I'm sick, and finally have time to catch up on the blog. So today I want to show you my winter essentials that I can't live without.

1. My bellowed knits <3
First we have the knits that I've been writing about often. I know I've mentioned before that I easily get cold and that knit sweaters, socks, skirts and even shorts are great things that help you keep warm and look good at the same time.

2. Hand cream <3
My hands can't live without a good hand cream. Because of the cold wind they get super dry really quick, and a big plus is that your hands smell super good after(warning; you might end up walking around smelling your hands for a while). Silje got me an awesome one for Christmas from soap and glory called Hand Food, and it smells really good. It even says it's got marshmallow in it, fits perfectly for marshmallow me. ^^

3. Tea <3
Good, warm tea is great after being out in the cold, and especially green tea since it's a tea with lots of benefits such as; weight loss - it increases the metabolism, heart disease - works on the lining of blood vessels, skincare - helps with wrinkles and aging signs. It can also help with diabetes, cholesterol, tooth decay, blood pressure, depression, and it's anti-viral and anti-bacterial. So it's time to start drinking loads of green ten. Green tea has actually been used as medicine in China and rest of Asia for thousands of years.

I am really looking forward to when we'll learn to make traditional green Japanese tea ceremony.

4. Tights <3
I really like wearing dresses, skirts, shorts or just really long/big sweaters, so tights are a big part of my wardrobe, both thin, medium and really thick ones. Really wish I had more with fancy pattern because I have mostly just black, grey and red tights, but I am on the look for more patterns. ^^

I LOVE the tights far to the left! <3

5. Hair oil <3
Just like Silje, I also need hair oil for my hair, especially during the winter. I don't have as long hair as her, but mine is very dry and damaged because of my failed bleaching and stuff. So now I'm trying to grow out my hair again, and the hair oil is really helping making my hair more healthy and shiny.

6. Chocolate <3
Yeah, I know I have been talking about not eating much candy and stuff, but here I'm referring more to the dark chocolate or the healthy chocolate. It is said that dark chocolate with high percents of cocoa, such as the 85% dark chocolate, is actually healthy since it contains antioxidants  It can also help control your blood sugar, is good for the brain and good for the heart. This chocolate also contains very little sugar and really helps on my mood.

7. Friends <3
During the dark days the one thing that can light up my day will always be my dear friends. They are always able to put a smile on my face. I am so glad to have my friends, and they days would be pretty boring without them. You guys know who you are, and you're awesome! ^^

I hope you liked this post, and let me know if you guys want me to make something like this again. ^.^
Bye bye~

Living healthy the cozy way

Hi fellow candy-lovers!

Today I thought I was going to share with you my battle plan on healthy living this year! ^^
First of all, let it be said, I'm not the healthiest girl around. I'm a little to weak for chocolate, caffe latte and ice cream, and I'm very fund of having things cozy and comfortable. But I'm not the most unhealthy either, so this year I made it one of my new year resolutions to find a healthy way of living that I would really enjoy too! (People say that "without pain, there's no gain", but I'll find the most unpainful way)

That is why I made this list to follow:

1. Swap the cocoa or caffe latte with tea!
Tea is healthier and haw a lower amount of sugar and fat. Some people say that they don't like tea, but I'm sure that's a lie. There are endless sorts of tea out there! If you're having troubles finding one you like, I recommend going to a shop for nature medicine or another store where they are specialized in tea. I also recommend the brand YogiTea, as they have a lot of great tasting tea made for different types of problems: tea to help the digestion, tea to help against stress and so on.

2. Find a way of exercising that works for you!
Let's face it: you don't usually do your best if you hate what you're doing. Especially when it comes to exercise. In my case, I found yoga to be what works best for me. I don't really like team sports, as I feel like I'm letting my teammates down if I fail. Remember that this is highly individual, and only you know what works best for you! Once you find something you enjoy to do, exercising is going to be so much funnier ^^

3. Plan your meals to be healthy -and tasty!
I love food. I taste almost everything, and I'm always open to new ingredients. However, when something tastes bad, it tastes bad. And I don't believe in learning to like something either. Try to be a little creative with your meals. Fitness magazines are stocked with recipes, but you don't have to follow them strictly. Use recipes to get inspiration instead! You mostly know what's healthy or not anyway, so try to add the healthy stuff in the food you like. For example, use whole grain pasta instead of normal pasta. And you can also do some research to find totally new food to try out. Be creative, and plan and vary your meals.
Personally I love Asian food, especially Thai, and luckily that happens to be quite healthy too. Wok is my favorite dish, and it has so many vegetables in it. I'm sure there is a lot of healthy food out there you'll love too!

4. Treat yourself with spa instead of candy!
This line speaks for itself. I don't want you to ruin yourself on expensive spa treatment, but very little is needed to get a great home spa. A facial mask to use at home is much better for your skin than the caffe latte, and it's usually cheaper too. If you light a candle and add some aromatic oil to your bath, you'll have a luxury spa in no time. A simple foot bath does miracles to tired feet. So don't grab the chocolate bar when you come home after a stressful day, grab the massage oil!

This was some simple steps to a healthier life, which I'm going to follow myself. ^.^
I hope you find some of this helpful! If you're looking for a balanced and relaxed lifestyle, I also recommend meditation. I wrote a post about that some time ago, feel free to look it up :)

These are just supplements, I'm never giving up my precious Friday chocolate!
Bye bye :D

A little depressed? Yeah, me too.

Hello loved ones!

Today is a rather crappy day. I'm exhausted, frustrated, sad and I feel sort of ignored. Does it sound familiar? School wasn't bad either, it's just that I have tons of gloomy thoughts stocked up in my mind that keeps tormenting me. Confusing words coming from a meditation enthusiast? Yeah, I know. I've had trouble finding a solution for my problems though, and the main reason is that I don't know for sure why I feel so depressed. At the beginning of a new year, and everything!

And as always, you have Facebook. Honestly, it isn't many other webpages where you can find so much crap. Or maybe there is? Well, Facebook is being used by almost everyone in your social circle, so it's hard to avoid people you don't like at the moment, and it's very hard to control the content. Your news feed can be hilarious, sad, frustrating, boring and everything in between depending on who of your dear friends that has been active recently. I think one should be able to label Facebook content. Like: "stupid girls", "alcohol involved" or "relationships you don't wanna know about" or "annoying popular person that knows way too many people and have 200+ likes on his/her profile picture".
You don't want to hear about those when you're depressed. And so, you could just cancel out all posts with those labels... Ah, at least I can hope.

It is indeed very frustrating when you feel like you're just never good enough, pretty enough, effective enough and successful enough. I know it sound like a big cliche, but we often forget the most mean and merciless criticizer of all: ourselves. 

Sometimes there is so painfully little you can do about how things work, and how people see you.
And when you're way to tired to concentrate on pan flutes and breathing techniques, it's time for the classic emergency break.
Chocolate, sad/angry music, and a cute childish movie with a happy ending. 
It may not be a long term solution, but it works perfectly when everything else is wrong. Don't ignore any feeling, take it all out and actually taste it, so you're prepared to deal with them once you have the strength. Remember, it's absolutely perfectly fine to break down!

Hope you all have much happiness ahead of you, and have a nice weekend! ^.^
Now I'm going to eat chocolate and watch Barbie and the 12 dancing princesses.

My day + 2013 New Years resolutions! ^.^

Hello cutie pies!

I have managed to catch a slight cold... Not funny because it's soon New Years eve and I don't want to be sick at the party, so I've spent most of today drinking cup after cup with tea. At the moment I'm sitting in bed with my blanket, a biiig cup of tea while listening to some music and watching some cartoon on the TV. So hopefully I'll feel better tomorrow! 

Apart from drinking tea I've been a quick trip to the town today delivering a late Christmas present and swapping a pajamas I got into a smaller size. Also managed to find a quite cute dress at sale in the same store. Lucky me! ^.^ Will most likely show it later.

2013 is approaching and I have started to work on my New Years resolutions. I have almost never managed to accomplish any of them... But I will try again this year!

2013 New Years resolutions!

1. Exercise and eat healthy!
I really wish to become more healthy and fit, but I always have a craving for sweets and unhealthy food... I am quite healthy compared to many, but I also have a weakness for unhealthy food... This unbalanced eating might not be too good for me. I love noodles and everything that is called pasta, but it is really not good for my skin or body, but that is gonna be one of my biggest problems... -__- oh noodle, why you so yummy..?

2. Drink loads of water everyday!
Water is really good for both skin and body, plus it makes you feel more full and less hungry all the time. Drinking water cleanses you from the inside and helps to hydrate you skin, so drinking loads of it is important. On this part I am actually quite good because I really like water, and can drink a lot as long as I have it close to me. This is where my laziness comes inn...

3. Be less lazy!
I am a very lazy person at times. Once I've sat down I usually like sitting there. The only thing I can say on this one is to get my ass up from here! So hopefully 2013 will be a more active year. :p

4. Be tidy!
My mum always questions if I'm really a girl or not because I am horrible at being neat. I keep my clothes and makeup neat, but my room, well that's a whole chapter for itself. I have quite a small room so it's not exactly easy to keep it tidy all the time, but I will try!

5. Go to bed early!
I am in need of more sleep. Because I take the buss to school I need to wake up early to be able to make everything before the buss leaves. Am also in need of my beauty sleep, but luckily I don't get grumpy or such in the mornings. I'm just really sleepy and almost in a trance until I properly wake up.

6. Travel!
I really love to travel and experience different countries and cultures. Me and Silje are going to Japan this summer and I am SUPER excited about it! Going to Tokyo is one of my big dreams and this is not gonna be the last time there I'm sure. I am very interested in language and I wish to study it once. This resolution is going to be accomplished.

So hope I will be able to do these ^.^ Do you have any reaolutions you want to share with us? Let me know so we can try hard together to reach our goals for 2013!
There might be more later, but these are the ones I can come up with now. Now I'm off to bed
Good Night! ^w^