Love is...

...someone who understands you
even when you're speechless.

Let's talk about weather

It's terribly cold outside.
Fortunately the rain has stopped (it was pouring in the morning)
but it's still very windy.
Every time I go outside, even for a short while,
the wing goes through my clothes to my skin, and then through my whole body.
I've been sitting inside in a warm office for two hours now, and am still shivering.

This kind of weather makes me wanna crawl back to my bed and stay undercover for the rest of the day. I also dream about a chunky knitted jumper or a cardigan, which would be so big and long I could pull it over my knees when I'm sitting. (The habit that always made my mum snap when I was a kid...) That way I could have my tea in our cold kitchen without freezing.

I also dream about marshmallows. I don't know why, maybe it has something to do with the cold as well.

Monday despair of a customer service personnel

- This book is due today, but I still need it. Can I renew it?
- Absolutely no idea. But with my superpowers I'm gonna find it out soon.

- Can I pay my fines?
- Well, I never say no to money. As long as there isn't any sex involved...

- Can I return this book?
- Well, why not?

- Can I get a new password?
- Can I dance a little dance every time it rains?
- Sorry?
- Yes, yes you can. As long as you don't ask any more stupid questions.

- How are you?
- And why do you ask that?

PS. I've only used number one in real life. So no need to pull that paper bag to your head, luv.

Cute or what

All these wonderful, handpainted vintage shoes
(and pics of them) from Scholarly Articles in Etsy.

I just wish I could send my Doc Martens boots
to her and ask her to paint whatever she wants.
That would be a lovely surprise,
and the most unique shoes you can get.

Please?

Love is...

...when you feel safe and secure
when someone's holding you.

Disgustingly happy

- Good morning!
- Good morning, dear, how are you today?
- Oh, I'm fine. Very very fine.
- ...?
- My boyfriend is coming to London tonight and I'm exited.
- Well, that's a good reason to be exited.
- I think so too.
- You know, dear...he's a very lucky man. A very, very lucky man.
- Well, it might be so...but I think I'm a very lucky girl as well.
- You're lucky too?
- Oh yes. And that's why we are so good together.
- Cause you are lucky together.
- Yes.

I couldn't explain my feelings better even with thousands of words, so that's why I just wrote down this conversation I had this morning.
I'm all jolly and sunny and chirpy. I'm even skipping a little when walking.
But now I'm off to annoy someone else with all this smiling.

Photo-Friday

PLEASE DO NOT RETURN...
by David Shrigley

In my mind there are treasures to find

[This is for Adele from Poptart]

If you were in my head for a day you would find...

- a lot of details piled neatly on the shelves
- piles of forgotten items in the corners
- things arranged by colors
- boxes full of memories
- tons of dust
- various dreams
- silly ideas
- creative plans
- little wishes
- pits and pieces all around
- things I've forgot
- bright light
- beautiful pictures
- annoying tunes
- dirty thoughts
- many questions
- something blue
- some desire
- a bit of shame hidden in the back
- lots of love
- a complicated system keeping things going
- and the big picture looking messy, but everything actually being in it's own place

(Picks borrowed from here, there, there and here.
Thank you!)

Love is...

...when you wanna keep loving even when it hurts.

Wednesday's Wish

By Christopher David Ryan

Two more nights and this wish is gonna come true.

Love is...

...when you have someone you can give

all the beautiful stones you find.

Just a normal Tuesday evening

Something nice happened to me yesterday.

I found my new favourite café and in there I had a long, good conversation.
With a complete stranger. About one of the most difficult subjects to talk about even with someone you know very well: God and religions. I don't know why or how it happened, but I suddenly just realized I've been sitting there 1,5 hours and they're starting to close the café.

But I felt happy when I went home.
That kind of stuff doesn't happen every day.
(Kiitos, tack, thank you.)

I'm a perfect colleague today

- I'm gonna steal your computer for a second.
- And did I say that was all right?
- No... but that's why it's called stealing. It would be borrowing if I've asked first.

Girls just wanna be special

- You see, last year I made him a scarf. A one that looks like a snake. It's bright green and has curves.
- Wau, that sounds cool. Unusual.
- Well, I'm a bit unusual sometimes.
- Yeah, definitely.
- Was that a...?
- Yes, take it as a compliment. Please.
- Well, in my opinion it was a good one.

When I grow up I wanna be...

...at least one of these. The more the better.

{via}

A knitting terrorist
(as my colleague put it)


{via}

One of those persons creating names to nail polishes
(what a lovely way to use your creativity)


{via}

A graffiti artist
(what a shame that I can't draw at all.
I just have to keep writing slogans, I guess)

{via}

A cat lady
(you know, one of those old ladies with at least seven cats)


{via}

A lollipop tester
(There has to be a job like that, right?)


{via}

A Mother
(And I don't believe in that "my kids are just like little angels"-crap
all the other parents seem to repeat to themselves.
I'm sure mine would be like little demons.
Hey, with my genes...)

Love is...

...when someone is worth a tattoo.

{via}

Creativity by a random generator

I handed a student a note including his new password. The guy looked my neat handwiriting forming the word Misery followed with two numbers. Then he looked back to me.

- Yeah, I know... But they are randomly generated, I didn't make that up. Just try not to care.
- (Laughing) Okay, thank you anyway.
- If it makes you feel any better, the first option was Maniac something. But I just decided to skip it.
- (Laughing even more) Yeah, this one is totally fine. Thank you.

I'd just like to know who picked all those words the generator uses when randomly generating.

Creativity on daily basis

I today found a carton of eggs in my fridge. The use by -date was 7 weeks ago (how time flies by...), so I don't think they're gonna end as my breakfast. But at least I now know what to do with the carton.

Week 47 - The Best Of

* An e-mail from an ex-colleague saying he misses me
Cause I had the best jokes, and working without me isn't that fun.
Hard to believe, but it still made me smile.

* Moustache bandages
I have one at my left ankle right now

* My heart at weheartit.com
What a wonderful site

* My new Over-the-top - cameo from Topshop
I've always loved cameo brooches but never used them as they always look so posh and classy. My new one is so exaggeratedly posh it just looks ridiculous and makes me laugh. And cause I love to look ridiculous myself and make other people laugh, i had to buy it, of course.

* Knitting
And the unbelievable fuss it caused when I made it in public.

* My new haircut
even though I still feel a bit weird in it.

* Long weekend without going anywhere
and just relaxing instead.

* Getting compliments
made me happy. But complimenting others made me even happier.

Oh how I miss you.

(Sorry, no idea where the pics originally come from.)

The name of the game is the most important part

pic

Okay, I just fell in love. I've never used OPI nail polishes, so I've got no idea if they're good or not (even though I've heard some rumours they're the best ones). But I'm not in love with the product itself, even though you can get it in almost any color. I'm in love with the clever catchy names they have for every single one. That little detail makes me wanna buy all of those, even though I don't wear nailpolish that often. Yes, I'm that kind of shopper who makes her decision based on details and buys the product that's estethically perfect even though it may not be the most practical, the cheapest or the easiest to use.

Here you go, some examples:

In my back pocket // Kinky in Helsinki // Need Sunglasses? //Privacy Please
No, I am not really a waitress // Keys to my Karma // Louvre me, Louvre me not
You don't know Jacques! // I'm fondue of you // Dating a Royal
And this little Piggy //No room for the Blues

...You can find more at the OPI web page.

Good morning sunshine, I'm ready to see you

"Dear Diary, I will call you Princess Naomi Moonbeam Rainbows from now on, as Diary is a stupid name and sooo boring."
Roopa Farooki - How things Look to Me

I might blog too often.
But please excuse me, I just can't sleep anymore.
And when you can't sleep, you can do whatever you want.
As it's a night and there are no rules awake.

Photo-Friday

Pic by Rune Guneriussen. More awesome pictures in his gallery.

I chose this as a Friday Photo cause it made me miss
the northern winter.
Those days when winter is so much more than just darkness and exhaustion,
and you feel warm even if it were cold outside.
It also made me think a globe of my own,
last year's christmas present from my boyfriend.
(For once he listened me and remembered my wish.
I might keep him, I think.)

It's a compliment, not a lie

I was helping a lady to find a book she needed and told her where she could look for it. It's always a bit tricky to explain that it could be in a place called shelving trolley, which sometimes is a real trolley, but can also be a shelf full of books waiting to be shelved. When she left the desk I though that I really seem to be struggling with English today, but hopefully she understood even a bit.
At that moment the lady turned around and came back to me.

- By the way, I have to say your English is brilliant. What is your native langugae?
- Finnish.
- Oh, I could never speak Finnish the way you're speaking English now. Very good job.

I don't know, if she really meant that or if she just wanted to be nice, but this episode made me happy anyway. Especially when there seems to be some huge delays in my langugae center today. I can hear people talking to me, but it takes at least 30 seconds before I understand what they say. And for that 30 seconds there is a terribly stupid look on my face while I'm processing the case. What a good day to work in customer service.

I just called to say I love you

Yesterday my boyfriend called me to say that he had found a grammar mistake in my blog and I should do something for that. Doing mistakes doesn't surprise me at all, I just was a bit surprised he bothered to call about that. A long-distance call. Especially when he's been complaining calling me makes his phone bills so huge he can't pay them. Men, what a weird creatures they can be.

I couldn't make my mind if calling about that was the cutest or the most annoying thing he could do. But cause it's always nice to hear his voice, it might have been more on the cute side. Especially when I checked the grammar and found out I was right after all. Ha!

Cute or what - finds

Pic and necklage by Yellowgoat.

Etsy shop here
and blog here

What happens when you take an anarchist to the zoo

Last summer, me and my boyfriend visited the Korkeasaari Zoo in Helsinki. It was a hot sunny day, and all the animals were either lurking in the shadows or laying in the sun staying as still as possible. We were standing in front of a fenced area hosting some red-necked wallabies. Next to us stood a little pink-dressed girl with his father. The girl pointed at one of the animals and asked: "Dad, why is it just laying there?" "It's sleeping", answered her dad.

"But...", started my boyfriend then, "...how can we know it's sleeping? What if it's just passive and depressed? Depressed cause it has to live whole of its live in a cage?"

The dad stared at us, took the little girl's hand and walked away. As quickly as possible. I started to laugh. "In my opinion, it was a very good question", mumbled my boyfriend. And I had to agree it was. The situation just was so awkward I couldn't help laughing.

I love him cause of making questions like that. But I'm wiser now. When he comes to meet me in London, we're not going to the zoo.

Pirates all around

Yesterday, I wrote my No Shame list with number ten being I swear too much (like a pirate), also in public. After that my beloved friend Pikkutiikeri published a list on her own in her blog. Number one was, surprise surprise:
I swear. Fuckloads. All the time. Ok, there are certain situations where I try to tone it down a bit, like around small children or at work. But the occasional naughty word might escape my lips even then. This is one of the several things that I share with Ms Notebook, the author of No Shame November list. Except, I dare say, I swear more.

Yeah, she might be right. With she swearing more, I mean. Anyway, this shouldn't be something to compete about, so I won't start a fight. I just want to let her know that when I read this A Softer World - strip, I thought both of us.


PS. I like being called Ms Notebook. I think I'll start using it.

If you were here I would whisper this to your ear

No Shame November

Misses Molly Yeh and Ema-Leigh made me think about the things I'm ashamed of. And then the things I should be ashamed of, but am not. The things I may even like even though it may not be socially acceptable. Inspired by those girls I wrote a list on my own, about things falling into category "I maybe should be ashamed of this but don't give a damn". Just to remind myself (and you) that it's not that serious, and there really is too much shame in our lives.
So I'll stop for apologising myself and continue doing these things without feeling bad about it. At least for the No Shame November.

1. I eat candies for breakfast. And enjoy it.
2. I cry a lot and shamelessly, even in public.
3. I tell dirty jokes even though people around me wouldn't be too pleased to hear them.
4. I post pathetic emo lyrics to my blog when I'm feeling blue.
5. I use the clothes I love even though I might look fat in them.
6. I'm not ashamed to admit that I love being naive. And acting naively even when I'm not.
7. I color up the truth when I'm telling a story. (But just a bit.)
8. I'm happy for my butt getting bigger.
9. I speak and write in English even though I know I make tons of mistakes. I just don't care.
10. I swear too much (like a pirate), also in public.

Wednesday's Wish

I wish I saw a falling star tonight so I could make a wish without seeming to be pathetic.

Tuesday is a list day

One of my favourite blogs, Notebookdoodles, has recently included some very cute, illustrated lists. This inspired me to make one on my own, and cause I decided that Tuesdays are gonna be list days, I'll post it for you all to see. I can't draw at all, and photoshop even less, so mine is not gonna be as cute as her lists. And the picture is a bit messy as well, but don't let that bug you too much.

Some round things I like:
gumballs, rings, vitamins, cookies, bangles, planets, beads, ears of bears, badges, coins, doughnuts and bagels, soap bubbles, lollipops.

Confidence is all it takes

- What's the user ID for this program?
- Oh, I can't remember it. I've got it written down somewhere, but I don't know where...
- You are so useless. "I've got it written down somewhere..."
- Yeah, I know I'm useless. But it doesn't matter, cause I'm so cute.

...And after that he just had nothing to say anymore. But he laughed. A lot.

As they aren't paying me anything for working here...

I got an email from my father this morning. Cause he uses the same template for every message (from invoices to business letters and forwarding family information) the message looked very official. There was a long signature with his full name, a long status, full address, phone and fax numbers and e-mail address. All this took eight rows.

The actual message took one:
Hi, how much money do you need? Love, dad

This very simple message with so much irrelevant information made me laugh out loud. I had to explain my reaction for a bypassing colleague, who asked why I am so happy this morning. He, as a father, said that dads always know when their kids need them, they just don't need so many words to express themselves. That may be true. And I know he's there for me even when I need something else than money. Even though he wouldn't know how to say it.

I'm still smiling.

A moody monday

Everything is all right,
but I'm just terribly homesick today.
Almost wish I could back my packs and leave already.
When my best friend yesterday walked through the gates at the tube station,
there was a tear in my eye.
I almost followed her, and asked her to stay so I wouldn't have to be alone again.
Cause it's always harder when you've been with someone close to you, even for a short while.
Luckily there wasn't any credit in my Oyster and I couldn't get through, so it saved her for embarrasment.

I miss not only my friends and family, but also my flat.
I miss hot water coming out of the kitchen tap without waiting
and I miss being able to bake cakes (and that pleased smile on my boyfriends face when he walks in and smells the cake.)
I miss our sofas (even the ugly one)
and especially our bed. I miss sleeping together with someone
and not having to wake up alone.
I miss being able to call my mum without having to think how much that costs
and I miss someone who could understand my own language.
I miss a proper pizza (please believe me, you should never eat a pizza in England)
and someone cooking for me.
I miss snow and minus degrees, stars seen from our balcony when having a smoke (or in my case, a lollipop). I miss standing on the roof and being able to see the whole city.
I miss going to my favourite cafés
and spending time with you.
I miss you.

I miss comments.
Is there anyone out there?

Week 46 - The Best Of

• The colorful wrappers of Quality Street sweets. (I have to say I didn't enjoy the actual candies half as much as the view.)

• The book We are all made of glue by Marina Lewyska

• Having my best friend over for a weekend, it just was wonderful.

• Small, lovely café with the best muffins I've ever had

• Talking, chatting, babbling, gossiping, laughing and whispering. All in my own language. Being interrupted twice by strangers who just wanted to know what language we are speaking.

• Christmas lights on a dark evening when walking aimlessly in the city.

• Lion King, the musical. It may have been the best show I've ever seen.
  

• Reading The Sunday Times in a sunny park

• Buying a gingerbread man from Tesco just because it made me smile. I also smiled when I found small plastic ponies shelved next to tuna (and bought two of them as well).
  

• An email saying only "I thought about you. It made me smile."
  

• A bowl of tasty soup for dinner.
  

Photo-Friday

I just wanna be that girl.
Picture taken by Angélica Vis.

Another Rainy Day in London

Another rainy day a long ago.

It rains a lot in here. Well, not as much as I thought it would ("Everybody always thinks it rains all the time in London. They are so wrong! This isn't bloody Ireland, for gods sake") but still a bit too much for me. For a girl who is always in bad mood when her toes are wet, almost any amount of rain is too much.

A rainy day means...
Waking up on the sound of rain and feeling extra tired because you know you have to go out soon.
Terrible traffic (even more terrible than usual) when people use their cars instead of buses.
Getting late because of the terrible traffic.
But you don't have to hurry that much, cause you're gonna be late anyway.
The smell of damp wool.
Various colors of umbrellas.
A good reason to use wellies.
Steamy windows you can't see through.
Jumping in the puddles (yes, I really love that).
Bad-tempered and sighing people all around.
An extra effort needed if you wanna stay in good mood.

But that's what I'm gonna do today. To be in good mood.
Cause I'm gonna get a visitor this evening and even thinking about that makes me smile.

I L.O.V.E. it. And you.

This picture just took my breath away.
And not only cause I have a thing for scrabble tiles
and different kinds of fonts on the whole.

The picture is taken by Amelia Kay,
The victim of FPOE Ambush this week.
Through FPOE (Female Photographers of Etsy)
you can also find many other breathtaking pics,
so be sure to check that out.

This is me, nice to meet you

I've always had a thing for new notebooks. Every time I'd like to change something in my life or start a new project, I buy a new notebook. Most of those notebooks are nowadays archieved in a long row of hardly used ones on my bookshelf. Usually I fill in just six pages or so, but in my opinion, it's enough. As long as it makes me feel organised.

I also think that the first page is the most important. It tells people who owns the notebook and what's in it. It also should warn them not to read my notes or put their noses is my business. But this time it's different. I warmly welcome all of you to read my notes in this notebook, and I really wish yo will share your thoughts with me and leave a lot of comments.

So, this time the first page is gonna tell something about me. Just that you know who you're dealing with. And if you choose to say, I'm sure you will get to know a part of me quite well.

My name is Inari.
I'm from Finland, but right now I'm working and living in London.
One day I'll become a librarian.
Other things I'd like to be are a photographer, a jewelry maker and a writer.
I love colours, soap bubbles, chocolate, cats, balloons, bookstores and my camera, of course.
I can be a bit moody sometimes, but when having a good day I can't help smiling. If the day happens to be very good, I may even be skipping a little when walking around.
I do have some wonderful friends, a nice family and an amazing boyfriend (yes dear, this amazing can be open to various interpretations.)

I have hundreds of buttons, a collection of nicely shaped stones and many plastic dinosaurs. I like old tins and love to have a cup of tea, especially with biscuits. If I could, I would spend more tome in weird museums, old record stores and cozy cafes.

Right now I am
dreaming about a perfect haircut
and smiling all the time
cause somehow this feels to be a good day,
and I'm also really happy of this new blog of mine.

So, nice to meet you.
Now it's your time to tell about about yourself. I'm listening.