Celebrating Finland

Happy independence day, Finland

Today is 97th independence day of Finland which means it’s a holiday in the whole country, stores are closed and we are celebrating this day with our families. This is kind of serious day in here, maybe because there are still lots of WW II veterans alive and people who remember the war. So it’s not like we are having a carneval or something. Depressing Finland -blog wrote well about our celebration, so I’ll share it here with you guys.

In Finland you wont see anyone on the streets celebrating loudly (Unless you go to the cemeteries where some people might take a walk and lay candles to the graves). Finns respect holiday this important by silence and peace. It would be rude to carouse on the streets.

Traditionally people mostly spend Independence Day at home with family. They eat something, probably sauteed reindeer with mashed potatoes or Karelian stew. Then, of course, there’s blue and white colored candles lighten up in front of the windows.

“The Unknown Soldier” movie from 1955 is traditionally shown in TV in the afternoon. The movie is about the Continuation War and it’s based on a book with the same name, written by Väinö Linna.

But the Main Event of Finnish independence day, the TV broadcast of President’s party, the “Castle’s Party” begins at 18:00. Traditionally we watch TV for three hours and watch as famous people and people on high position shake hands with the President Sauli Niinistö and his wife. And of course you judge all female dresses and condemn etiquette blunders.

Happy Independence Day! Hyvää itsenäisyyspäivää!

I shared this because it’s so funny and also because it’s a true story! While I was writing this, I watched how the Finnish celebrities shaked hands with our president 😀

I hope you had great day too!

xx Iida-Emilia

8 ways to make your December more magical

December is the most magical time of the year. It’s time when people are spending time with their loved ones, eating lots of delicious food, decorating their houses for Christmas, being nice to each others, resting and also setting goals for the next year. It’s also the darkest time of the year, but you almost forget that when you are looking outside your window and seeing all those beautiful lights people are putting on their gardens and balconies. It just feels like pure magic.

December is probably my favorite time of the year. There are so many things to do right now. I have made you a list of 8 things that will make your December even more magical. Hope you enjoy it.

1. Mulled wine

I love mulled wine, if someone asked me how does Christmas taste, I would answer that it tastes exactly like mulled wine. During December I drink it like one litre a day and right now when I’m writing this, I have this nice cup of hot mulled wine in front of me. Here in Finland you can find this delicious drink from most of the supermarkets. There are all kinds of mulled wines, with alcohol, alcohol free, blueberry taste, vanilla taste, white wine based, etc. But did you know that you can also make your own mulled wine? It’s actually quite easy too! This recipe is my favorite and it’s great for a christmas party.

Glögi (Finnish mulled wine)

• 1 1/2 cups water
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 5 whole cloves
• 1 cinnamon stick (ca 3-inch)
• 1 teaspoon whole cardamom seed
• 2 inches candid orange rind (about 1 tbsp)
• 1 bottle of red wine
• 2 tablespoons raisins (optional)
• 2 tablespoons almonds, blanched whole (optional)

In a non aluminum mid-size sauce pan, heat water and sugar over medium heat until sugar is dissolved, about 1 minute.Tie all spices and the peel into a small piece of cheesecloth for easy removal. Add the spices and peel and wine to the sauce pan and simmer, covered, 5 minutes. To serve stand one spoon in each glass, evenly divide glögi into each glass. Add few raisins and almonds in each or serve separately. Enjoy!

2. Movie marathon

Invite some friends over and have a Christmas-themed movie marathon. I’m actually gonna do this next Sunday when me and my best friend are going to have sleepover at my place. Lots of cookies, mulled wine and Netflix. If you don’t know which movies are worth watching, these classics always work.

It’s a wonderful life (1946)

White Christmas (1954)

Gremlins (1984)

Christmas Vacation (1989)

The Nightmare before Christmas (1993) MY FAVORITE!

How the Grinch stole Christmas (2000)

Bad Santa (2003)

3. Decorate your house like a winter wonderland

My plan is to get little white christmas tree to our house and decorate it with silver and blue ornaments and with lots of glitter. Also I’m gonna make those cute little paper snowflakes and put them on my windows. That reminds me of my childhood when me and my mom were doing these every Christmas. If you need inspiration, search it from Pinterest or from here. There are many great tips and ideas for serious christmas decorating.

4. Visit a Christmas market

I think there is some kind of Christmas market in every city right now. In my city they opened it today, 5th December and I’m totally gonna go there this year, like I’ve done every year since I was a kid. It’s so nice to see all those small business owners selling their stuff while eating chestnuts and gingerbread cookies and listen how some kids are singing Christmas carols. Christmas market is also great place to look for unique Christmas gifts. I’m actually quite proud of the Christmas market of Tampere, because it managed to get into the Telegraph’s list of best Christmas markets in Europe.

5. Send some nice Christmas cards

I’m not sure how is it in other countries, but here young people don’t send Christmas cards very often. I think it’s a great way to see that you care, even if your friend or relative lives far away from you. And I am totally going to send my Christmas greetings in this year too! You can buy cards or you can make them. This year I’m going to do all the cards myself. I don’t have that many cards to do, probably 7-10 is enough, so it won’t be that big thing to do. You can find inspiration from Pinterest again. This board is full of beautiful christmas card ideas I’m totally going to try.

6. Spend a whole day in your pajamas

In my family there is a tradition that my parents give us children new pajamas every Christmas. Then in Christmas day we hang around the house in our new pajamas. I love it and I can’t wait to get my new pajama in this year too. My dream is to lie on the couch reading my new books and eating lots of chocolate in my new pajamas. This year I’ve been dreaming of these 3.

Ariel and Spongebob are from Topshop, One piece pajama from Cubus.

7. Host a glorious Christmas party

If you are young like me, I’m quite sure you are spending you Christmas at your parent’s. That’s at least what I am gonna do. BUT that doesn’t mean you can’t host your own Christmas party. Choose a day before Christmas, invite some friends over and have a serious party. It can be more formal party with dinner or maybe it’s more relaxed situation with some snacks and cocktails. It’s totally up to you.

It’s not very common that one of my friends would host a party. This year I’m gonna change it and I’m going to have this “dress up, dinner and cocktail party” for my 5 closest friends in next weekend. I’m already excited and I’m all the time planning what I’m gonna cook, what kind of music I’m gonna play etc. It’s so much fun to just plan things. I hope that this party is gonna be as fun as this. Lauren Conrad has written about hosting a great dinner party and I think there are some great tips, so it’s totally worth reading.

8. Take a look back

Watch your photos, read your diary and write down your most special moments and life lessons of the year 2014. Think about the mistakes you made, what you learned from them. Think about the people you met, Maybe you made friends with someone new or maybe you lost someone. Life is all about ups and downs and your year has probably included them too. Think about your dreams, are you closer to them than last year? Are you happy with your current situation? If not, what could you do better next year?

Write down your highlight moments, print out your favorite photos and set your goals for next year. Put those memories in some place you can always look them when you feel like that. Then write down your mistakes, arguments and disappointments on the piece of paper. Then rip that paper or burn it. Promise yourself you won’t repeat your mistakes. When you’re done,it’s time to move on.

I hope you have a magical December!

xx Iida-Emilia

Tampere 4.12.2014

No more crappy Christmas gifts, please!

Christmas is coming and I know everyone is thinking what to buy to their loved ones. Blogs and magazines are full of every kinds of Christmas gift guides. “Christmas gift guide for your dog/boyfriend/auntie/mommy/sister/teacher/coach/cousin’s stylish boyfriend. I admit I’ve thought it too. It’s nice to give gifts and sometimes it’s nice to have one too. But honestly, do you really need all this stuff your friends and family are giving you? Or does your boyfriend really need that new wallet or lotion? I think this is something to think about.

My closets are full of clothes I never wear and every christmas my aunts and friends give me new clothes and accessories. Most of the clothes are not my style at all, the same thing with accessories. I used to wear those black band T-shirts when I as fifteen and I still get those from my aunt! I don’t need that stuff and I don’t want that stuff. World is already full of things people don’t even need. My house is full of stuff I don’t need. And every christmas I get more of it.

I’m not saying that you shouldn’t buy any gifts for Christmas just because world is already full of items no one wants. But I want you to think about couple of things before you go out there and shop ’til you drop.Think about what you buy and from where you are buying it.

I like giving some gift cards, for example to a beauty salon or to a restaurant. I like to think that I am giving experiences and memories, not only some physical products. Evening in the finest restaurant of the city is more fun than some ugly T-shirt from H&M. At least I think so. If I want to buy clothes or other material stuff, I like to support small business owners, not big companies. That’s why I love Etsy. You can find every kinds of products from there and in my experience I think most of the products are also well made. I also love to visit those little shops in my city. The items may cost a little bit more, but I am happy to pay if the quality is good. World is full of crappy made products and I am decided not to buy or give that stuff to anybody. And I also hope no one is giving it to me either.

Christmas is time for relaxing and spending time with your loved ones. It’s not about gifts, decorations and new products. I think everyone should remember that and not just go shopping like a maniac.

P.S. If someone wants to buy me a gift, I would really need (want!) a pair of perfect vintage heels 😉

How does it feel to live without sun? It feels awful.

Happy Friday to all of you! It’s weekend again and time to relax after the long week. I hope you guys have amazing plans for the weekend. Or maybe your Friday looks the same as mine: Home alone, one relaxing yoga lesson, two episodes of Mad men and eating pomegranate for the first time in my whole life. For myself I can explain that those red, yummy fruits are quite expensive here in the far north and not very popular either. But I think it’s my new favorite : D

But as my title says, days are getting darker and darker and I have to admit that during the past week I’ve felt like I could need some extra energy. I’ve tried taking naps, training, yoga and vitamin D, but nothing seems to help. I’m not depressed, but I tired. And I know it’s just this season. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, you are lucky to live somewhere in the south… But for example today sun rose in my city at 9.08 am and set at 3.17 pm, which means we only have 6 hours “daylight”. And it’s not very light even then, because I can’t even remember the last time I saw the sun, because it’s cloudy all the time. And here is not even snow yet 😦 I shouldn’t complain, because in Lapland (northern Finland) the sun will rise next time at 12.07 in 15th January :DD but I still feel tired and it sucks to take photographs, because it’s dark all the time and the photos just won’t look good.

I think the best way to survive this season is to just take it easy. It’s dark outside, so it’s good to put some christmas lights on windows, burn candles, read books and do yoga. It’s important to just listen to yourself and your body and that’s what I’m gonna do the next month. And now I have a good excuse to watch all episodes of American horror story from Netflix 😀

I know it’s still November… But it’s never too early to bake some gingerbread cookies!

I know it’s still November and my boyfriend keeps telling me that all the time. but it’s ALMOST December so I am allowed to listen to christmas songs, bake gingerbread cookies and decorate our home for Christmas. Please, tell me that’s okay, because that’s exactly what I’ve been doing this weekend.

I’m still studying as you know so I don’t have that much money to put on decorations. But thanks to Pinterest I have already so many great ideas how to prepare christmas without using any money. Or at least with only a little money. Problem is just that I am not a huge fan of DIY projects. But I promise this year this is about to change : D

But even when it is still November, I’m gonna enjoy the most wonderful time of the year with these two traditional Finnish ways.

I already baked some Piparkakku, which are like the gingerbread cookies. I’m not sure if they are exactly the same, but in Finland these cookies are the must-have’s of Christmas. In my childhood we baked them always at 6th December, which is the independence day of Finland and we had a day off from school. So I’m little early this year. If you want to try them, Here is a great recipe.

In Christmas time I drink loads of glögi, in English I think it’s called mulled wine. But there isn’t always alcohol in glögi. It’s hot and sweet drink and I put some cinnamon on my mug to make it even better. Perfect for the cold winter evenings with those gingerbread cookies. Yummy!