Wyndham Garden

Hi everyone!

Time is running by so fast I barely manage to follow. Can't believe it's December already! I do still have a few New York posts I'd like to write and share, so hopefully I'll manage to get that done during this week.

At first we were looking at hotels on Manhattan, but found it was quite expensive if you wanted a private bathroom and wifi in the room. Since it's crazily expensive for us to use 3G or 4G abroad, wifi is essential for us, as we might want to look up things for the trip or re-book our flight as we travel on standby. We found a hotel that seemed okay and almost booked it, but through a deal on Secret Escapes we got to think of the possibility to live on Long Island instead, getting a lovely view over Manhattan. We looked at other hotels in the area and found Wyndham Garden. The reviews were great, and it was said to be really easy to get to Manhattan with the metro. For the same price we were about to spend on quite shabby hotel, we got a four star hotel, close to the pier with one of the most amazing views I've ever seen. (See pictures in my last post about New York here)

To not live on Manhattan was a great decision. It was so nice to get out of the city, to a calm area, after a whole day with loads of impressions. The area was great. People were out walking their tiny dogs, and not once, as we were out in the late evenings, did we feel unsafe in any way. The hotel offered a free shuttle bus to the Metro station every 30 minutes (it was just a four minutes walk though, so we went by foot) and it was just one station away from the first stop at Manhattan. It was also just one line to the AirTrain to JFK airport.

The hotel was very nice and clean and the staff was really friendly. The room included two double beds, which was perfect! One for sleeping and one for packing and showing off all the nice shopping. The bathroom had a small bathtub, just perfect for a foot bath after a long day of walking. No way near big or deep enough for two persons to take a full body bath. Not even for one person to be honest. But, since the first hotel we were looking at barely had a private shower in the room, this was perfect!

We would defiantly recommend this hotel, and we will for sure look at this hotel again, the next time we're going to New York.

Glossybox November

Hi,

 

After a week of running to the mail box everytime a car that could have been the mail man drove by, my November Glossybox finaly arrived. It was waiting for me when I got home from a crazy day at work, so it was perfect timing! And YES I was happy with the contant this time too!

 

Make Up Store Lipgloss Wand

Glossybox and Make Up Store is still giving away a full size product every month. I got the lipgloss in colour 381 Dahlia. It's a nice pink shade with loads of beautiful shimmer. I've been really happ with the eye products, so I'm excited to try this one as well.

 

Model Co More Brows, Eyebrow Thickening gel

A brow gel is actually something I've been planing to buy, but always find other things that seems more fun at the moment. I think I will re-think that thought from now on. I gave it a try right away, and I really liked the result. I got the colour medium/dark and thought it would be too dark for me, but with a light hand it works perfect.

 

Hot Make Up Glitter Glam

This is a really glittery gel, that works just as good on the eyes as on the nails if you secure it with a top coat polish. The colour isn't something I would pick myself, but I could see some cool Christmas inspired make up with this one. Look forward to give it a try.

 

Sumita Beauty Eye Shadow Pencil

A shimmery eyeliner in the colour Champagne. I think it's a little dark for it's name, but it does look fantastic! Neutral colours can never go wrong. It's very nice and creamy and gives lovely pigment even with a light hand, which I really appreciate working on the eyes. This one has lots of potential to be a favorite!

 

L'occitane Shea Butter Hand Cream

I've read lots of great reviews about products from L'occitane, but never tried them myself. I was actually planning to buy something at Woodbury in New York, but there was so much to chose from and I didn't know where to start looking, so I endend up buying nothing. Now they have a new chance to convince me!

The hand cream is with shea butter, honey and almonds. That does sound like something for me!

 

That's it for tonight. More New York posts are still to come, but when the box arrived today it jumped to the first place in the line.

 

Have you tried any of these products? What do you think about them? Let me know in the comments below.

 

 

 

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!

PJ Salvage

Hi there!

Long time no see. Things have been kind of crazy lately. Long stories short, we didn't get the apartment we were looking at, I got sick during our trip to Madrid, two colleagues quit our job (which is quite a lot since we're only five people in the staff) just before the Christmas sales are about to start and I found an education I want to take part that starts by the end of January. It's fair to say my head has been ready to explode for a while now.

Since Christmas is around the corner, at least in the retail businesses, we get a lot of news to the store at the moment. A brand new brand for us is PJ Salvage, that makes adorable PJ's. Cats, dogs, owls, elephants, cookies & milk. They all look lovely! And one of the best parts is that it's delivered in a pizza box! Who can not fall for that?

Recently we reached a sales goal at work from one of our suppliers, and they were kind enough to let us pick a gift from one of their brands. I had fell in love with the elephant PJ's, so for me the choice was easy. (Even though I did try the other ones as well, just to be really sure. And Oh, Lord it was a good choice! I've pretty much moved in to this lovely piece of clothing. The first thing I do as I get home in the evening is to jump into this one. Maybe I should invest in one more, so that I have one in each of my two homes... And my little fur ball, Max, would like you all to know that it's totally cuddle approved.

On Friday me and M are going to New York! It has been one of my  biggest dreams since I was about 15 years old, and now it's just a few days more until it comes true. Overly excited about that! Hit me with your best trip advises if you've been there!

   

When everything happens at once

Hi there!

 

My head is a real mess right now. There is so much going on I don't know where to start.

Me and M found an appartment that we really want, and yesterday we brought my parents and sister to see it. They liked it too and saw all the opportunities that we did. We did think we would be the only ones there, but the estate agent had invited other potential buyers as well. Made us kind of nervous to see how big the interest was. We booked an appointment at the bank this morning to make sure we would get the loan we need. They said okay, so we placed an offer and now we just need to wait and see if they accept it. Probably won't get any answers until the end of the week. It will be a constant stomach ache until we know. I don't know how many times I've decorated that appartment in my head.

Tomorrow we're going to Madrid, something that we've been looking forward to for months. What we didn't plan was that Lufthansa would strike today and tomorrow, which means our flight is cancelled. In panic we booked new tickets last night, and today M has been trying to get the money back for the first tickets and make sure our tickets home are still valid, even though we will cancel the first tickets. Still not sure what will happen since no one could answer, and didn't call back as promised. When he tried to call back they had closed their phone service. I like being spontaneous, but when things are planed and the time is limited I just want things to go as planed! But it will work out one way or another.

As this wasn't enough to mess up a girl's mind, I've also been thinking about education and there are things going on at work that I'm not sure what to think about. I really want to study to makeup specialist, but I need to know what happens with the appartment, and what happens at work so I know when it's a good time to start. It's just six weeks, and only one day in school, so I should be able to combine it with my job during the time. But still, need to fix that first! Why does everything always have to happen at the same time? It's close to impossible to think clear at the moment! A good night's sleep on that one?

See you soon, from another place in the world!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Christmas in October

Merry Christmas!

Our lovely days in the woods are now over and it's time to go back to reality again. Christmas have been wonderful and we can't wait for the real Christmas with the whole family.

First night we decorated Gingerbread cookies to hang in the window for decoration during our stay. Everyone enjoyed it and made some beautiful creations. The focus was on top, as you might see on the pictures.

 The morning after we got up really early for a few hours drive to a big wholesale store. We did find a few Christmas gifts and some things to M's apartment. I don't know any other guy that would go there voluntarily, and not complain once! M is kind of great, I must say.

For dinner we made a traditional Swedish Christmas table. Or sort of, we took a few of our favorites that was doable at the time. Meatballs, sausages, eggs with mayonnaise and shrimps, potatoes, mackerel in tomato sauce, beetroot salad... And of course a few picks of candy with chocolate, oranges and marshmallows shaped like tiny Santas. It all tasted like Christmas is supposed to do. We only missed the ham, and the meatballs should be home made. And all of Grandma's cookies.

 

 After dinner we played the Christmas gift game. In case you haven't heard about it I'll run the rules quite quick. Every contestant bring one, or a few gifts, for a given amount of money. They should be wrapped nicely. It's more fun to see everyone fight over your gift. Everyone around the table takes turn to throw a dice, a six and you get to pick a gift. Do NOT open now! When all gifts are taken, one person sets an alarm clock on a secret time (usually around 15 minutes or so, depending on how many people taking part). The dice keeps walking around, but now when you get a six you get to steal a gift from someone else. When the alarm rings you get to keep the gifts you've won.

 We finished of with some hot chocolate before we went to bed, and today it was time to go home and work for a few hours. Overall it couldn't have been better. It was so relaxing and, I think,  very much needed for all of us, I wouldn't be surprised if there was some sort of mini-Christmas again before it's time to celebrate for real.

Hope you enjoyed reading about our little celebration!

Christmas is here!

Hey!

Almost done with my packing. Tonight I'm taking two of the people I love the most, my sister and my boyfriend, to our cabin for a few days of Christmas!

In Sweden Halloween is not a very big thing. They sell a few pumpkins in the store for decoration, and there might be a few kids doing Trick or Treat, but not much more than that. The next big holiday here is Christmas and we are excited! 

We all work hard and could use a bit of relaxation. We all love Christmas. No one else is on the same level as we are yet, so we thought, 'Why not go away for a couple of days'. And now it's all in for Christmas. (Don't worry, we will not go with all this until December. It will be packed down in boxes for a month or two after this. We just want a pre-taste.)

Tomorrow we will go to a big discount store, a few hours by car from the cabin. I think everyone in Sweden knows about this place, and people go there from all over the country. We will see if we can find some things for M's appartment (since I'm pretty much moving in one step at the time) and if we find some Christmas gifts we will purchase them now.

If we find some gifts we will wrap them tomorrow night, watch a Christmas movie, eat Christmas inspired snacks, play the Christmas gift game and just have a cozy time.
Have you started thinking about Christmas yet?