Hopes and goals for 2015

Hi there,

It's a new year, and even though it's really just a number changing, I like to see it as a fresh start with new possibilities. If you read my blog yesterday you know I didn't get the best end of 2014, and maybe not the best start since I still have to work hard to get back on track again. But, none the less, I have big plans for the year to come. Many of them will affect this blog in one way or another. Sit back and enjoy the teaser of the 2015 journey.

Education - As you may know, I'm starting my studies to become a makeup specialist the 20th of January. I am overly excited about this, and can't wait to start. Not sure where this will lead in my career. Maybe it'll give a start to something brand new, or it will just give me a boost in what I do now, as I get some new input. For the blog, it's easy to figure there might be way more makeup on here during the year.

Home - As I also wrote yesterday, Martin and I have been looking for apartments during the fall, and since it didn't turn out then, we know for sure 2015 is the year we will find our place to live and move in together. Even though this is for us personally, I think it will give a boost to the blog as well since I will get a proper working space in our office, and Martin has promised me to build a makeup studio in the guest room (aka my sisters room, as she comes to visit).

Travel - Our adventures has just started! We love to travel and have a few plans for the new year. New York and Bahamas is on top of the list, but there might be some more places that we don't know about yet. We seem to figure that out over time. Of course you will get to join us through text and pictures on here. Who knows, there might even be a video or two as we're planning to buy a GoPro camera.

Blog - I really enjoy writing this blog, and I love how it makes me interact with lovely people all over the world. For 2015 I wish to make the blog, and the contacts, to grow even more. Maybe expand to YouTube as I learn more about makeup to share tutorials and get great space for it in our future apartment. I also want to put effort into taking better photos. My boyfriend is really supportive and encouraging, and I know he will do everything to keep me going, as he sees how much this gives me.

I want to make 2015 my year. I say that every year, but somehow it feels like 2015 is the year to be. I've found the love of my life. I'm planning to move out. I'll get to see the world as I've always dreamed about. And, what will be of great importance this year, is that I've taken the step to an education to find out what I really want to do. It's time for me to find my way to conquer the world.

Me and Martin before yesterday's party. Really look
forward for a brand new year with you.

I wish you all a very great 2015!

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New York, I'm in love

Hello!

Now we've been back in Sweden for a couple of days and been trying to get back on track from the jet lag. It doesn't make it easier with birthday parties and an all night out, but we're getting there. 

New York was AMAZING! I really didn't want to go home so soon, and I can't wait to go back. Hopefully I will just have to wait for a few more months before I go back with Martin and my sister, Fia.  

We decided to live in a hotel on Long Island, with the view over Manhattan, which was genius! We lived in a very nice and calm area, and it was really easy to get to the city center with the metro. Also we got a way better hotel for the price compared to what we found in Manhattan. (I'm planning a review on the hotel in the near future.)

Visiting New York has always been a big dream of mine, and it was just as fantastic as I had imagined. I got a little starstruck at Times Square, "I'VE SEEN THIS ON PROJECT RUNWAY", and a whole lot of other movies and TV-shows, but that's what got on my mind. Walking around, and eating breakfast, in Central Park was just as beautiful and fairy like as I had hoped, with all the squirrels and birds that allowed you to come really close. Rock of Ages was way better live on Broadway, than watching the movie from the couch at home. And 9/11 became real, when I stood there at Ground Zero and noticed all the names of victims. Not to mention the view from the pier in Long Island, both day and night, at the Manhattan skyline that gave me goosebumps all over my body.

Aaaand, for a shoppoholic like me that was an insane experience as well. We got time for a lot of shopping in the city and a whole day at Woodbury. THANK GOD, I have a boyfriend that loves shopping (almost) as much as I do, and don't mind spending the days in a whole lot of stores, and a whole lot of changing rooms. USA is extremely cheap compared to Sweden to start with, and if you go to an outlet or a sale it's impossible to not go bananas!  

I could write about this trip forever, but it's getting really late and I need to work tomorrow. Stay posted though, I do have a few more posts about New York planned. It's just a matter of finding spare time, which is sort of scarce commodity at the moment, but we'll get there!

Good night for now!

Chicago - Tourist tips

Hi there!

So it's time for the last post about Chicago, for this time. Since we got to Chicago on an impulse, we didn't know much about the town before we got there. In this post I want to share some of the things we learned and might be useful tips for a visitor.

Airport transfer

When we got to the airport we asked for the best way to get into city center and was recommended to take a shuttle bus. For $46 we got to go with a mini-bus that left us just outside the hotel entry. It took quite a long time (close to 1,5h) because of the trafic, and we had to sit stocked up with a few strangers, but it was still perfect for a first time visitor that didn't know where to find the hotel.

On the way back to the airport we realized how much better the train was. It took about 40 minutes and costed us in total $6. The walk from our hotel was just 10 minutes long, so we saved both time and money. At the hotel they asked us if we wanted them to call a taxi and when we told them we wanted to take the train they just said "Smart move". It's quite easy to get stuck in traffic during rush hour.

Next time we go to Chicago we will skip the shuttle and just take the train. Especially since we now have a clue about the city and isn't completely lost when we arrive.

Shopping

If you, like me, are used to European (not to say Scandinavian) prices the shopping is great. Both Macy's and Nordstroms was like heaven to me! The have just about everything you might need, good prices to start with and quite a lot of sales.

If you are from abroad and shop at Macy's you can ask for a discount card at the information desk, and show your ID-card. This gives you 10% off, which covers the taxes.

If you have a day to spend, I would really recommend to go to the Fashion Outlet (read previous post) It's impossible to leave without a great deal!

Sightseeing

Since we didn't have much time, we didn't do much sightseeing, but we did take a stroll in Millennium Park which was quite an experience. The modern art was really cool!

A walk down to the pier to watch the skyline in sunset is also highly recommended. It was so beautiful, and powerful, for someone coming from a little town like me.

If we would have had one more day, we would like to go on a guided boat tour around the town as well. It seemed like a really nice thing to do. Next time, Chicago!

Other

If you haven't checked out The Cheesecake factory, do so! Yummy!

Bring a pair of good walking shoes, because it's really easy to get around by foot. And don't forget a jacket! Chicago is called the windy city, so even when the sun is shining the air can feel quite cold.

Don't come with full bags. If you like shopping you will need as much space as possible. Just bring the most important stuff!

So what do you think? Is Chicago a place you would want to visit?


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Fashion Outlet of Chicago

When we decided to go to USA we were recommended to go to a Premium outlet. We had our eyes on one in San Francisco, but since we didn't end up there we had to rethink that plan. We asked our friend Google if he knew a place in Chicago and was told to go to Aurora. Good thing, we thought, but wasn't sure how to get there. We found a tourist information and went in to ask for help. The lady we met told us that they had opened up an outlet center close to the airport, and that it was a lot easier to go to than the one in Aurora. The center was called Fashion outlets of Chicago, which is why we didn't find it googeling Premium outlets.

From city center we took the train from Clark Lane to O'Hare, and a shuttle bus to the outlet. When we got back home we found out that you could take the train to Rosemont instead and get a free shuttle. We paid about $20 for our shuttle.

The center has 130 stores, which is quite a lot compared to the malls I'm used to at home. And the prices are not to talk about. USA is really cheap compared to Sweden to start with, and with all these sales I can tell you I was in heaven!

To give you a hint about the prices in USA compared to Sweden, I bought a shirt for my brother that he has been looking at here. I didn't buy it at the outlet, and it wasn't on sale, but still it was less than half price of what I would have to pay here.

When we arrived we went to the information desk because we wanted to buy Green Saving cards with additional discounts. As we told them we were from Sweden we got the cards for free (instead of $5/each) if we could show our ID-cards, proving we were visitors. Most discouts were something like "additional 10% off if you shop for $100". We did use quite a lot of those discounts, so they would have payed off, even if we hadn't got them for free.

We arrived around 11a.m. and left after 6p.m. And we did some great findings! Brands that I would never be able to buy at home, to prices that I usually spend. US Polo and Calvin Klein became the stores that we opened up our wallets to the most. Did some fantastic deals there. If I did have to pick my absolute favorite from the outlet I think it would be my DKNY "cozy", a cardigan that you can wrap in several different ways. Original price on the price tag was $175, I paid around $50, including taxes.

We found the center big enough to have everything we wanted, but not too big so we were able to check out all the stores and still go back if we realized we missed something. There was a big food court so it wasn't any trouble finding a place to sit when you needed a break.

We would really recommend going to this outlet center, especially if you're used to European prizes. Keep in mind though, that this is the first one I visit and have nothing really to compare with. We will for sure go back there next time we go to Chicago.

 

 

 

Chicago - Hotel Felix

Hi there!

In Chicago we stayed at the Hotel Felix. Since we booked last minute, we got a good price of the hotel, and it was much worth the money.

I'm used to staying at cheap places in London where you have to struggle to get the big bags up, or down, quite narrow stairs. That was far from the case this time! It felt quite luxurious stepping in to an elevator and having a well dressed man delivering the bags up to your room. A room that was very nice and clean. Not very big, but just perfect for two persons staying three nights. And that bed was impressive! It was so comfortable. I rarely sleep well away from home and my own bed, but here I slept like a baby. Free WiFi that worked without any trouble! Perfect for us that would be charged plenty from our operators if we used the 3G-net. Now we could still check out maps, transfer and other information we needed.

The staff at the hotel was really friendly, and helpful. They answered all of our questions and gave us useful tips about the city.

The location was great. It was close to everything in the city center. About ten minutes walk from the John Hancock Center and Water Tower Place. In the other direction it wasn't far to Millennium Park and the train station to the airport.

There are a few minor things that could have been better. For example they took a deposition of $50/night that they didn't inform us about until we questioned the way to high amount of money drawn from our card. Money that still isn't transferred back. Maybe this is common in the States, but for a first time visitor we would have wished for this info in advance.

We we're also hoping to be able to have a late check out, but the fee of $50/half an hour, was way too high in our opinion.

Overall, we were very happy about the hotel and can defiantly see this as a place to go back to next time we visit Chicago.

Our adventures

Hi there!

I've always loved crafting, but the past few years it has pretty much been packed up in boxes since I've had so much else going on. Recently I've been falling back into old habits a bit and enjoy my little crafting corner again.

Me and M both loves to travel, and M has a job that makes it possible for us to get around the world as long as our employers gives us a few days off every now and then, which they seem willing to do most of the time. This fall we're planning trips to San Francisco, Madrid and New York, and in January when the Christmas stress and sales at work are over we want to go to Iceland for a weekend to recharge.

These two little hobbies ended up in a little notebook, to keep notes needed for the trips and save memories. The first trip to Prague in July already has it's place in here.

Salzburg

Hi everyone!

Here we are, gathered together again. Me, my laptop, my camera AND the cable that was missing last time. Keep on reading and enjoy the adventure to Salzburg.

As you may know I love football, and especially a great team from the same town as me. Since we won the Swedish league last year we got to qualify for Champions League this year. We made it to the Play off and were drawn against a team from Salzburg. This happened to be during my vacation (well planned!) so I booked two bus tickets with the supporter club and brought my sister. We left Monday evening and after 19 hours we arrived in Salzburg just in time to get something to eat, stroll around the city and enjoy the beauty of it for a couple of hours before the game. Afterwards we got back into the buses for a 19 hours' ride home, and got back around 6.00 PM on Wednesday. Short but intense!

You may think that 38 hours on a bus in just two days would me a nightmare, but the people on the bus really found the balance of party, fun and enough time to get some sleep. The music was a really good mix of house, Swedish good old classics and Old MacDonald (in Danish). Most of it is impossible to retell, but let's just say we laughed till we cried at times. A bus ride can be a whole lot of fun if you spend it with people that are there for the exact same reason as you.

When we arrived in Salzburg me and my sister felt like we needed some time on our own though, so we went for a nice dinner and walked around the city before it was time to head to the arena. Since I had so much in my mind I had forgot to buy the tickets to the game, so we had to be there a bit earlier to be sure to get in. Still we had enough time to walk around, see the Mozartplatz and visit a lovely Christmas store.

At the arena we met a few hundred fans of our team, known and unknown. It's a pretty great feeling being in a completely different country, and still know so many people. We didn't win the game, but we got away with 2-1, witch was a pretty good result since we had the return game at home and away goals are worth more. 1-0 would be enough at home! It was a hopeful, but exhausted group of people that packed up on the buses to spend another 19 hours there.

Footnote: We did win at home with 3-0 and are qualified for Champions League. The first time in 14 years a Swedish time qualifies!

Beautiful surroundings

Mozartplatz

Christmas in Salzburg

Christmas in Salzburg

Excited and exhausted

Champions!

Countdown

Hi there!

I'm currently staying in M's apartment, and don't have my cables to the camera here. (Yes, I'm very bad at having it at the right moment.) But, I am planing to bring it next time I go home. Hopefully that means I can do a post, with pictures, about the trip me and my sister made to Austria earlier this week. Salzburg is a very beautiful city. Although, I do have some other news that I'm pretty excited about!

In September I'm turning 25, so I decided to take the weekend before, and the actual day, off to celebrate. Since both me and my boyfriend love to travel he came with the fantastic idea to ask for a few more free days so we could take a trip. I would never have guessed what he had in mind, but the answer was YES, without a blink. We're going to San Francisco!

USA has been on the top of my list of places I want to visit for a long time, so it's a dream coming true to get to see both San Francisco and New York within just two months. Double WIN! Kind of great to have a boyfriend that shares two of my biggest interests, football and travels. Can't wait for all the adventures we'll have together!

Follow my countdown to the trip here:

Summer (so far) in pictures

Hello there! 

Summer so far has been really busy. It has been the warmest summer in the country for, I don't know how long. People have been coming to the mall just to get away from the heat. I've never seen so many people shopping in the summer before. On top of that all colleagues has been on vacation. Not at the same time, fortunately, but it has meant a lot of work. Even so, the summer has been amazing and my vacation is still to come. I work for one more week, then I'll have two weeks off. Starting with a bus trip to Austria with my dear sister to watch my lovely football team qualify for a rather big tournament. 

Since I didn't post any pictures last time, I thought I'd share a photo bomb with you today. Enjoy! 

My love is treating me with flowers from time to time. Always
brightens the day. 

I've been spending time with my loved ones,
in one of the places I love the most. (Our cabin)

I've taught my boyfriend to eat sushi. He now
loves it! (And actually suggested it for dinner
tonight)

We've been to the beach and watched the
sunset. Never really realized I had such a beautiful
place so close

We've had cozy nights with tea and
pretty awesome chocolate. 

I've been practicing my cooking skills by
learning to make fudge. 

I've been treated with even more beautiful roses.

Pancakes at Portobello Road market in London

Cupcakes from Hummingbird Bakery. Insanely tasty! 

Charles Bridge in Prague. First trip together with my boyfriend.

John Lennon wall in Prague

More Thai food

My last post about Thailand for now will be full of pictures on food, just because it was so awesome!

Smoked duck sallad

Lobster with saffron rice

Tuna steak

Sushi

Oreo Brownie sundae

Mango sundae

Beef with aspargus

Rice in a pineapple

The Family tree

One of the days me and my sister went strolling a bit. I don't really know what made me see it, but there was a tiny store that caught my eye. It was called The Family Tree. (Which felt special since we were in Thailand to visit our relatives) I told my sister I wanted to have a look inside so we went in. Inside we found every thing from soaps to jewelry and mugs. We met an old lady, and an Englishman. The Englishman told us that everything in the store was handmade from local produced raw materials. Parts of the profits made along with donations from costumers were used to plant trees to help the environment.

We found some soaps that smelled really nice and smelled them  all. The Englishman approached us again, this time with a story about the soaps. These were made of three women that lost their homes and everything they owned in a big fire. They were taught how to make soaps and sell them to earn money to get back on track with their lives again. This story really touched me so I was happy to buy both soaps and a salt scrub from them. I paid a total of 500 baht, including a small donation for the tree planting.

Salt scrub Vanilla, Honey & Ginger. Soaps Cinnamon & Milk, Vanilla, Honey & Ginger, Peppermint & Lemon

Home sweet home

Finally!

This has been one of the longest days ever. The alarm clock rang at 4:45 this morning, but I had time to snooze for 30 minutes. We had arranged for a taxi to pick us up at the hotel LATEST 6:00 to get to the airport in time. After having the receptionist calling for the guy that should pick us up three times he finally arrived at 6:20.

The ride to Bangkok took about three hours. He was driving really fast to make up for the time we lost, but of course we had to fill up gasoline and have a few coffee stops on the way. We did arrive just in time for check in and running trough the airport to the right gate. Luckily the driver was used to Scandinavian tourists so he knew just were to drop us off. Thumbs up for us that could check in without overweight! It was really close!

The flight from Bangkok to Helsinki was delayed with 20 minutes and took about 11 hours I think. (I'm too tired to double check if my calculations are correct) This was probably the worst flight I've ever been on. There were a lot of kids and babies, so it was really noisy and a lot of screaming. The lady in front of me fell her seat as much as she could and laid there the whole time, so I had minimum space for my legs, and it felt like I had her in my lap. I don't get claustrophobic easily, but this was really close to it. I managed to focus on two movies to make the time pass a little faster. Both Rio and 500 days of Summer was quite good.

Since the flight from Bangkok was delayed we really had do hurry in Helsinki. The boarding was already on the final call when we got out of the plane. Of course the security was annoyingly picky when we had to go through the control. Even though we went though the control in Bangkok, and couldn't possibly get anything more on the plane that we weren't allowed to bring, they emptied two of our bags completely. Just to find out there was nothing wrong!

From Helsinki to Copenhagen we had 1,5 more  hours to go. Would have wished for a calmer flight, but most of the kids were also flying to Copenhagen and now they were even more tired, and so was I!

When we got all our luggage we went out to the arrival hall and found Daddy waiting for us. He was kind enough to pick us up with the car so we didn't have to take the train the last part of the way. The first stop on the way home was to drop of Grandma and say hi to Grandpa. We must have looked like zombies when we got there. At least I felt like one.

When that was done we got back into the car and drove the last 15 minutes of the trip. After about 20 hours trip and 12 days away from home it felt awesome to roll up on the driveway and see Max through the window and meet the happiest dog I've ever seen. Oh, what I've missed that little fellow! On the inside my brother was waiting for us with open arms and it was quite good to meet him as well (Hey, don't tell him that).

Now, 23 hours after I got up this morning, I've left Thailand, spent an hour in Finland, arrived in Denmark and gotten home to Sweden. Can't wait to get a long night's sleep in my own bed, in my own room.

Nighty!

Reclaim of my laptop

Hello there!

The past few days Mum has been steeling my laptop to prepare for the big 3x70:th birthday party tonight, but now that that's all done I've reclaimed, which I'm very happy about. I will share some of my stories from here, but I need to get some sleep before the party as well, so time will bring them to you. 

The day so far has been great. We got up really early to go on a boat trip. We had lunch on the boat, and did some fishing, but the main destination was Monkey Island. What an experience! When we got to the beach the monkeys were waiting for us. Our guide gave us fruit and vegetables to give to the cuties. Oh, the feeling when that tiny hands carefully took the fruits from mine. They were really comfortable with people and gladly jumped up on peoples backs. I want to build a little house there and live with them! 

Monkey Island

Food!

The food here in Thailand is fantastic, so this post will be only pictures of just that. Enjoy!

First day of shopping

Hi there!

Today was the first day of shopping for me and sis here in Hua hin. We went to the Market Village. We had lunch there yesterday, so we knew there were some things we wanted to have a look at. Before we went I had head that Thailand is cheap, but that things have become more expensive the past few years, so my expectations was cheap, but not too extremely cheap. But it's insane! A few times we asked each other "Is this really right?" and some times we even asked for the price on marked things because we didn't really believe in the price tag. 

This is a sneak peek of today's shopping. I plan to do a summary, either in a blog post or as a Youtube video, when I get back home. So stay tuned if you want to see everything close up and know the prices (as far as I can remember then).

Feeling like a queen

Sawatii ka!

We got up quite early and got a really nice hotel breakfast. We had read some bad reviews from people not liking the buffet, so I said that I was happy with some toast and fresh fruit. When we came down to the restaurant there was every thing you could possible want. Fired rice, noodles, chicken soup, bacon, yogurt, cereals, different kinds of bread, fresh fruits and vegetables, juices... And two girls stand behind a stove and cooked eggs of your choice (scrambled, fried...) Double thumbs up for  that!

After breakfast it was time to check out the beach. Hua hin doesn't really have the paradise beaches as Thailand is known for, but it's great anyway! On the beach there are lot of salesmen (and women) wandering around, trying to sell their stuff and services. We spoiled ourselves with some manicure and pedicure. The woman doing it was really good at her thing and really friendly. While she was doing my hands she at one point touched my thigh and said: "White! Very white... Beautiful!" Can't really say I'm white anymore. More like red. The sun is very aggressive, even though we try to sit in the shadow as much as possible.

After the beach we took a shower and went to try a massage. I went for the oil massage, since I know that the Thai massage is kind of hard-handed. The oil massage was wonderful! One hour, full body massage, for just 400 Baht. And the girl doing it was fantastic! Will probably go back and ask for her again. I'm feeling like a queen with all these treatments and the kind people.

Tomorrow me and my sister will probably have a shopping and pool day. I don't want to expose my skin to much to the sun yet, so I don't think the beach is  the best idea at the moment. Will give that a new chance when I'm not as red.

Hopefully I'll be able to upload some pictures tomorrow.

See you soon!

The eagle has landed

We made it!

It was a very long trip, but finally we made it to Hua hin. The stop in Helsinki was really short, and to that point everything seemed to go fast, but then the long parts of the trip started. Helsinki-Bangkok took approximately nine hours. I watched a movie and a few episodes of The Big Bang Theory, but even that didn't manage to entertain me for very long. I was really hoping to get some sleep but the Finnish guys behind me would never stop talking! One thing if you talk to the person next to you, but when you talk loud enough for everyone around you to hear, it drove me crazy! (Have in mind that I was really tired and that it isn't to comfortable to sit in an airplane for that long. After the flight we had a two hour cab drive from Bangkok to Hua hin. They drive like crazy here!

Well here we met up with my grandmothers cousin and went to get something to eat. We ended up in one of the malls here, and let me tell you, from what I've seen so far it's extremely cheap here and stuff looks good! No shopping jet though. We were way to tired for that! 

When we could check in at the hotel we all fell asleep immediately and slept for a few hours, so we didn't get much done today. What we did do was to have some dinner and visit a supermarket. In my family we are fans of supermarkets abroad since there's so much stuff we've never seen before.

Food here - awesome! Everything we've had so far is fantastic. Can't wait for the next meal!

Short update today, bed is calling again! More adventures awaits for tomorrow.

Will try to upload pictures soon. The WiFi won't allow it at the moment.

  

All set

Everything is packed, the Swedish Krona is exchanged to Thai Baht, camera battery is charged and I am super excited! This is the first time I travel outside Europe so it will be so great to see a completely different side of the world. It's just the laptop left to pack, but that will be the last thing I do.

About 10:00 tomorrow we leave the house to go pick up Grandma and say goodbye to Grandpa. My dad will drive us all over the bridge to Denmark and Kastrup Airport. From there we will fly to Helsinki, where we will take a non stop flight to Bangkok. Well in Bangkok we will take train, bus och cab (probably cab) to Hua Hin, where we will spend the next 12 days. Sun, bath, massages, shopping, food, fruits and the company of some of the people closest to me.

The main reason of the trip is to celebrate my grandmothers 70th birthday and visit her cousin that moved to Thailand many years ago. Since my grandfather doesn't like to leave the house and my brother and father wasn't really into this trip it's an all girls vacation. Me, Grandma, Mum and my sister. I'm pretty sure this will be awesome!

I will try to update when I have access to WiFi. Being away on a trip like this makes it feel more important to keep this going. This is where I will be able to go back and read about everything in the future.

Now I need to jump straight into bed and fall asleep as soon as possible. As my Mum and Dad used to say the night before my birthday when I was younger "The sooner you fall asleep the faster the time will go until you wake up and it's the day you've been waiting for"

All set