Best buys of 2011

I really was terrible at posting last year. This post will serve as proof positive.

I bought a lot of things last fall (some of them in August!), and while these things were in frequent use, I completely failed to mention them on the blog. Or maybe "gush" would be a better word. Regardless, here we go:

The best purchase in a while was a pair of black velvet pumps (above) by French Connection, which I originally got because I needed nice shoes to wear when performing. Since then, they've served me at many a gig, and even a wedding. My calves where in such pain the first time I wore them (I'm woefully unaccustomed to wearing heels), but once my feet got used to them the pumps turned out to be surprisingly comfortable.

As fall went on I managed to develop a liking to suede shoes, which was kind of idiotic considering Finnish weather conditions. Fall is usually a mix of rain and slush – neither of which work well with suede – but I found that actually, you know, looking out the window and checking the weather forecast before going out is a very effective way of keeping your shoes in good shape. And when all else fails it's best to just ignore style in favor of rain boots.

I finally also saw reason in the form of a cap made of 100% wool. I've been wearing various H&M hats for pretty much as long as I can remember, but when I visited Stockholm in August I decided to shell out for this pretty green Whyred cap, and haven't regretted it once. I've been wearing it all  winter and it still looks brand new, which is more than I can say for any of the articles I've bought from H&M.

I also spent a little on a cute safety reflector, which is a must-have during the darkest months in Finland. If I have to wear one on my coat, I figured it might as well look nice.

The only article that hasn't gotten much wear is this beautiful cognac clutch that I also found in Stockholm, but that's mostly because I just haven't had a chance to wear it. I can't seem to get it to go with any of my winter outfits, but come summer I'm sure I will find plenty of use for said purse.


What is you verdict? Did you guys find anything extra special last year?

Choices, choices

So. A friend of mine (or rather, my boyfriend's best friend) is getting married this spring, and I immediately thought shoes. I haven't actually attended a summer wedding since high-school, which means I don't own a single pair of heels that would work for festivities in warmer weather (because well, I just don't consider clogs suitable attire for a wedding. And the one pair of high heel sandals I do own is not a viable option when there is going to be dancing involved. I feel like I should add another parenthesis explaining that my dancing is really much closer to flailing, but until prescriptive grammar starts allowing double parenthesis this sentence will just have to suffice). Also, I kind of just want a new pair of shoes for the summer. 

Long story short, after browsing online shops I quickly fell in love with two possible candidates, both from Filippa K (what can I say, she just really understands the kind of understated elegance I go for in footwear). But the real issue here (aside from my abuse of italics) is that after ordering both pairs and trying them on at home, I still don't know which ones to choose. And my budget will not allow me to keep both. Rich world problems, I know, but help me decide, will you?

Our first contender is from this year's spring collection, and is suede in a soft, putty color. The heel is sturdy and good to walk in, but I'm not sure about the size.

Our second contender is from last year's collection, but is still not outdated as ankle-cuffs are very on-trend right now. They're black, which makes them versatile, but the leather is not as soft, which means there's a risk of chafing.

What say you? Comfortable and modern, or classic and timeless?

Friends

Happy Valentine's Day, everyone! I know I'm extremely late with this, but it's still the 14th after all. In Finland, Valentine's Day is more often spent with friends than with significant others, and I honored this tradition by inviting my best friends over for a small get together. The night was spent laughing and reminiscing, and so this is the only time today that I've had a moment to myself.  So, you know, better late than never...

My father – who is a far more seasoned photographer than I am – sent me this wonderful photo today, and thought I would share it with you (in the spirit of celebrating friendship). I hope all of you got to spend this day with your loved ones, as well!

Toast SS/12

Oddly enough, I'm really  feeling the love for British brands right now. I don't know, maybe it's the English student in me. Or maybe it's the Japanese-inspired prints. Either way, I was browsing online shops a bit disinterestedly when I came upon these pictures from Toast's Spring/Summer 2012 campaign.

It was love at first sight.

I think I'm more in love with the relaxed bohemian styling and accessories than I am with the actual clothes, but that's probably due to the fact that really loose-fitting clothing works badly on me. The prints are absolutely beautiful though, so I could see myself investing in the dress and skirt in the top two images – even if they didn't cling to my frame as flatteringly as they do on the models'.

Girl's night out

Because of the extreme cold, I spend most of last week confined to my apartment. That was fine for a while, but when Saturday came around I felt as if I needed to get out if only to avoid cabin fever. I started by checking out what Restaurant Day had to offer, and when it got dark I headed out to a bar to meet friends. We spent hours talking, laughing and drinking wine. Lots of wine.

 

Sunday, in turn, was spent suffering from a wine-induced hangover, feeling old. I was originally planning to make poached eggs and salad for dinner, but when I woke up salad greens were pretty much the furthest thing from my mind. In a stroke of genius, the salad ingredients were then put to use in the form of breakfast (fried eggs and bacon) and dinner (fries and the best burger ever). We used this brilliant recipe for chili-lime ketchup to give the burger a little extra zest, and the result was just perfect. Definitely beats any burger you could get from the local fast-food joints.

(I suspect the secret to a good burger lies in using fatty meat and fresh ingredients, but I am still going to claim it was all due to our cooking prowess.)

The perfect beginning to a Saturday

It's time for Restaurant Day once again, and since I skipped the previous one I figured I might as well check out a pop-up restaurant or two today. (I ended up sticking with one, because that was more than enough in -20°C, thank you very much.)

Because I absolutely love Mexican food, we decided to brave the cold and headed to ¡Viva Mexico!, an outdoor taqueria opened by students of Turku University.

The boyfriend was not impressed with my food photography.

What be both were impressed with, though, was the size of the burritos. I was barely able to finish mine, so the portions were more than reasonable considering the price. The chili verde was spicy and excellent, and worked really well with the rice inside the burrito. I was freezing when we got to ¡Viva Mexico!, but by the time I had the taqueria's burrito in my hands I was feeling pleasantly warm (and by the time I finished eating it my belly was pleasantly full). 

Can't wait to see what the people in my city come up with for the next Restaurant Day!

Christmas present

I know, I know, it's February already – but humor me, will you? Because I have a lot of Christmas presents and shopping to talk about, especially now that it's finally light enough to get decent pictures.

After scouring the shops and the web for Christmas presents for my boyfriend, I ended up finding an excellent watch by Guess (in silver) that both him and I were very happy with. In fact, I ended up liking it so much that once I spotted a rose gold version of the watch on ASOS, I asked for it to be my present.

And it's been in frequent use ever since.

I normally never wear gold (or anything by Guess), but I find rose gold to be a tad more wearable than regular, yellow gold. It certainly seems to work paired with the rest of my jewelry arsenal, which is all silver. And it makes for awesome arm parties, à la the Man Repeller. 

Now if only this watch could teach me to actually be on time...

Good news

I don't know whether I'm weirdly late with discovering this, but since the blogosphere seems to have been mum about this development, I might as well share the information with you. Last night, while browsing online shops, I found myself rubbing my eyes in disbelief upon seeing this:

So, not only is J.Crew suddenly shipping to Finland (and Europe in general), but they are offering flat-rate shipping! I realize this might not be as terribly exciting for some of you as it is for me, but just think about it this way (and imagine me giving you a pointed look) : maybe Madewell will be next.

Regardless, I think this is pretty awesome. Especially considering I've recently taken a strong liking to silk shirts. And, you know, pretty shirts in general. In fact, I wouldn't mind giving any of these beauties (the shirts, not the models, though I suspect the boyfriend wouldn't mind that either) a home:

Teatime

I got plenty of Christmas presents this year (and I'll get back to those later), but the best present I could have possibly asked for was the one I least expected. One of my best friends suddenly returned home after four years of studies in Australia, and it's been great to have her back.

The last few weeks have been filled with girl's nights and girl talk – and man, how I've missed this! It's great to have our little posse back together again, and fun to have someone I can talk to about clothes and fashion (at least without having them roll their eyes at me).

Much time has been spent giggling in cafes, and hopefully the rest of this spring will be spent in much the same manner.

During one of our visits to Café Art last weekend I tried to combat my soy latte obsession with japanese tea, but ugh – too sweet! Staying away from amacha from now on. Regular green tea is clearly the way to go.

Aubin & Wills, Spring 2012

Aubin & Wills is one of those slightly obscure British brands whose name I recognize, but know little beyond that. I ordered a nice, basic grey cardigan from their webshop last fall, but dismissed the rest of their collection as too boring, too preppy and too A.P.C.

So imagine my surprise when I came across this spring shoot for Aubin & Wills, which (while still admittedly a bit preppy) epitomizes pretty much exactly how I want to look this spring. Clean-cut, soft and relaxed. And I guess it doesn't hurt that the model for this photoshoot is the lovely Irina Lăzăreanu.

Enjoy! I'm off to vote at the presidential elections.

Compulsory holiday update

Christmas passed really quickly this year, which is part of the reason I haven't gotten around to posting these pictures earlier.

I spent most of the holidays with my family, and because I was so busy helping out in the kitchen I even managed to avoid the customary weight gain. Most of that can probably be chalked up to me not being a huge fan of traditional Christmas food, but keeping busy also definitely helped prevent me from stuffing my face with chocolate. My hat goes off to my mother though: just helping with menial tasks resulted in me being completely exhausted, so I can only imagine the effort that goes into banging out dinner for eight people.

I received a surprise present from my mother in the form of a pretty bouquet of tulips, and now I've developed an obsession with keeping cut flowers at home. This winter has been so dark and grey that I've found myself wishing for spring earlier than ever, and fresh flowers seem to alleviate my lethargy a bit. (But only a bit. Not enough to actually get me started on my thesis.)

I've also tried to combat my laziness by drinking lots of green tea, but during the last few weeks I seem to have switched to soy lattes. The green tea was probably a better idea, as drinking coffee makes me so hyperactive it's difficult to focus (especially on thesis writing. Do you sense a pattern here?). But there's nothing like waking up to the smell of coffee in the morning, especially if you can shamelessly take advantage of your boyfriend by sleeping in while he makes you a fresh cup.