Helsinki Coffee Festival

What could possibly beat a nice day in the city? Why, coffee of course! So. Much. Coffee.

Helsinki Coffee Festival was honestly one of my favourite events in a while! The convention was set in Kaapelitehdas which is an old factory building with tiles and everything. Black curtains had been pulled over the huge windows to block all the light. Hundreds of industrial light bulbs were hanging from the ceiling. The atmosphere was so cozy and hipster-ish. Just add coffee and it was perfect!

The whole downstairs area was filled with stands of different coffee companies. I absolutely loved the fact that almost all of them (if not all) were somehow promoting organic and ecological production. Paci, Ellu and myself tasted so many different coffees all the way from domestic products to civet cat coffee (yuk, by the way). In addition to the stands a barista competition took place on a big stage right below the loft. Up on the loft there were several panels about previously mentioned organic coffee but also about topics such as how to make brilliant coffee at home and what's new / weird in coffee.

In a nutshell this festival was absolutely fantastic! I loved everything in it: the venue, the music, the people, the programme and above everything the coffee, of course. If you happen to be around Helsinki in next Spring make sure to visit this one. It's definitely worth the price!

In the end I want to quickly run through my outfit. I wore my mom's A-line jacket form Zara which I think is really cool with its gentle 60's touch. This jacket is brilliant for every occasion as it is quite simple yet clean and stylish. I'm also wearing these gorgeous silk blend shorts by Cameo I bought a year ago from Australia. They are most likely the most expensive piece of clothing I've ever bought but God are they worth it! They are quite summery but with a right tights you can wear them all year round. 

Here I've paired the shorts with some 40 denier dotted tights. I actually go through these tights really fast. They are a staple and an absolute must to have in my wardrobe. Someone once asked how many have I bought. I said (if I was to use them every day) 2-3 tights per week. Of course, the key is to alternate both tights and shoes.

On my shoulder I'm carrying a classic Long Champ... shopper, I want to say. It's quite huge and I usually use it in school but for these kinds of events it's perfect too. I want to get all the free stuff off my hands but also have all my things such as camera easily accessible. This bag definitely does the trick. Mine is actually my mom's old (once again) and so it has a tiny hole in the bottom. The thing is, once you've found a good bag you hold on to it till death.

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cold day in April

This was a beautiful yet super cold evening in April. It was a beautiful yet cold and very gray morning exactly a year ago when my plain from Singapore landed. I recall wanting to turn around and fly all the way back to Australia the minute I saw what was waiting for me: a cold monochrome Finnish morning. It wasn't my place anymore.

Somehow I adapted back to Finland. The summer was somewhat easy as it was quite warm and a lot of people to meet. I was really unsure of who I was supposed to be, though. Then I went back to school to meet more people. I was a bit concerned about how I would do. Turns out, everything is better than I could have ever imagined. I took part in everything I could and I still really enjoy all of it. I am rather clear on who I am now. It's really nice.

Now I have this summer to spend with my friends after which they'll all move to the next part of their lives. This time everyone else leaves and I have to stay still. I suppose it's harder this way around. 

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mist by lake

The morning was gray. So was the evening. This beautiful mist rose over the lake and the field surrounding the water. I absolutely adore the soft light one might catch at the certain hour of the evening. We took some liberties and climbed up to the birdwatching tower nearby. We managed to see two swans flying to North but in the end it wasn't even our goal to see birds. We also managed to have so so much fun taking photos. It's been a while since I previously had a proper photoshoot. It was honestly on the crying-out-of-laughing level. 

I've borrowed this coat from my lovely little sister. It is an A-line black hooded coat from Zara with some metal details. The leather gloves are my mother's so they are borrowed as well. I have found myself hoarding really dark brown clothes / accessories lately. Is this a thing? Anyway, the skirt is my own. It's just a very basic okra skirt from Zara. It's so handy especially considering I have it in dark forest green as well. They go with practically everything and build up an outfit really easily combined with some nice tights. Here you can't actually see the ones I'm wearing but they are black striped ones from Lindex (where I actually buy almost all of my tights, they have a brilliant selection!).

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Fore!

Having been ill for about a week now I have suffered from a serious lack of human interaction. It has been killing me, gah! It's not really the illness, the runny nose, the sore throat or even the hurtful cough, no. Apparently I have become a bit obsessed and depended on people. Friday night the people had a gathering kind of party-like evening thing. I got invited. Even my illness got invited. I had to say no.

Yesterday I picked three of those people from the station and drove them to my place. I had visited the grocery store, bought far too many kinds of biscuits, chocolate coated dried fruits and all that goodness. We sat on my floor, sipped coffee and played board games while casually chatting. Just what I had needed. The darkness crept in and and we headed to the golf course with all my cameras. It was awesome! Jumping, posing, painting with light... Thank you, for saving my social life!

Today I woke up. The throat ache is gone, the cough is gone. People, you are my placebo. 

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Kuusamo

My family used to drive 11 hours up North every year for a skiing holiday. As me and my sister got older this tradition faded away. Until now.

Skiing has been a great thing in my life and one of those very rare sports I genuinely enjoy. Living in Australia there wasn't to many options for skiing, barely none. So I skipped a year in skiing and learned how much I could miss it. A few weeks back my family flew to Kuusamo, a skiing town right below the border of Lapland. Three days on skies was amazing yet amazingly exhausting. I wasn't as rusty as my suit which had been bought to me nearly 10 years ago. Knowing me, I get cranky in "wrong" clothes.

It's not a vacation without a bit of shopping, right? I found beautiful snow wear in a tourist-money-ripping store which, obviously, wasn't even possible to get. So I did some research and found the same French-made eco-suit half the price. I ordered it, I got it and love it. If you're interested, here is the Picture snow suit. I absolutely love the fit and the colour. Above all, the clothes are organically made out of recycled materials which is a big thing to me at the moment. 

My father having spent his childhood in this beautiful nordic place my grand parents have a cottage in Kuusamo. So a couple of weeks after our first trip to North we packed the car and drove all the way like in good old times. 11 hours in a full car wasn't as devastating as one might imagine. That is, when we kids are old enough.

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