Sinimalist

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SEPTEMBER SUCKS

I am not one of those people who like autumn. I don´t enjoy dark and chilly nights. I don´t understand when people rejoice about how nice it is to wear woolly sweaters again and how they can´t wait to get their new autumn jackets out in the cold. I´m already done with blogs and social media posts about candles and warm blankets in the cold, dark night. Don´t get me wrong, blankets are my weapon of choice when I´m protecting myself from the chill, but I shure as hell don´t romanticize about that shit. There´s one thing that I like about autumn. It´s the only time of the year when I get to lie in my bed all day without someone constantly trying to get me outside to do stuff.

Sorry (not sorry) about the negativity, but I have been fighting an aggressive flu for the past three weeks. I don´t know what kind of a super flu this is, but it has been f****d. Luckily, we have a proper fireplace at home, it´s a real life saver and one of the few things that help me stay sane in the upcoming months. Can´t wait to get that thing going, I will definitely post lots of pics of me hanging in a woolly sweater by the fireplace, surrounded by blankets and candles 😉

Dress Asos

THINGS THAT MAKE MY APARTMENT

In my last post I talked about an interesting new apartment we had in sight. Unfortunately, it didn´t work out, but there´s a silver lining too. We discussed with a few repair companies and professional people and managed to find a guy who seems very fitting for our next project. Of course we are bummed since we couldn´t get our project going, but that is nothing new to us since our standards are pretty high (and that´s putting it very lightly) when it comes to apartments.

I thought I´d share a few of our must haves with you, so here we go:

1. LOCATION

Southern Helsinki, no question about it. Katajanokka, Ullanlinna, Eira and maybe Punavuori, if the street and the building are ok.

2. AN OLD BUILDING

Built before 1930. Yes, we love Jugend style houses!

3. WOODEN PLANK FLOORS

Preferably original, a massive NO to laminate, etc.!

4. LARGE AND BROAD WINDOWS LEDGES

Because you must be able to sit on the ledges while sipping a cup of coffee, right!?

5. AN OLD TILED STOVE

What is better than relaxing by a beautiful and a warm fire place during the winter months? It´s a great interior accessory too!

6. HIGH ROOMS

Room height minimum of 3 metres, I love the space and the effect high rooms create.

7. 60-80 SG. METERS OF SPACE

This one´s tricky since most places require relocating walls or even the kitchen in order to meet our ideas, since the layouts in these old apartments are what they are.

8. 2nd  FLOOR OR HIGHER

Unless it´s something special and different with own yard, etc.

9. POOR CONDITION

I want to do an extreme makeover and get creative without having to feel bad about knocking down walls or dismantling a relatively new kitchen or re-doing a three-year old bathroom. Oh wait, I´ve already done all that before!

10. OLD WOODEN DOORS

Original doors would be perfect, but there are brand new doors with nice styling as well!

If the place has gypsum / plaster lists it´s a massive upside. I really love those Parisian style plaster roofs and we are definitely going to have one in the future! Also, I wouldn´t mind a panoramic sea view from a nice balcony, but I have to stay even a little realistic.

THE DRESS

I´m crazy about girly dresses. Seriously. This summer I´ve been wearing them more than anything. Then again, my jeans and other pants don´t seem to fit me anymore, so…

This dress may not be the most practical, but I love it to death. Yes, there is a constant threat of me flashing someone, but I don´t care because I love the color. And the fabric. And the short sleeves. I rarely wear longer dresses, since I´m pretty short myself, but this seems to fit me well. I was on the verge of bying a second one in a different color, but then I came to my senses, since this dress is not for everyday use. Or what do you think… would you wear something like this, say, at work? You know what I mean.

Otherwise things are back to normal, apart from the fact that we are back looking for a new apartment! We have managed to find a place that just begs for a proper makeover, but there are a lot of if´s involved. Exciting times, since I know we could turn that place into something special…but it´s way too early, so I don´t wanna get ahead of myself. My criteria for a perfect apartment are quite broad and that is why we don´t run into potential places that often. More of that later, I´ll keep you guys posted!

Dress H&M

POST-VACATION VIBES

My vacation ended this week and it was time to get back to Helsinki. Vacay was much needed and once again it was time realize how great it is when you don’t have any schedules, responsibilities or deadlines lurking in your mind all the time. This is nothing new, I know, but I seem to make this discovery once a year, usually in the summer time! When I’m on vacay mode, routines fly out the window, as I like to do whatever I feel like whenever I feel like it. If I need a pizza at midnight, I’ll make myself one. If I feel like having breakfast after midday, so’ll be it. Or maybe I feel the urgent need to go out and hug the horses next door? I’ll do it, even if it’s midnight. Not everyone in the family enjoys this feature of mine. Some say it’s somewhat annoying when my ideas and plans are all over the place all the time. I might have ten ideas in an hour and especially my boyfriend is having hard time trying to keep up with me. At least it is never boring!

The best thing about the post-vacay-bliss is when you realize how your brains are functioning again. You’ve slept and eaten well and you don’t bitch about small things. Anyway, it’s great to be back to Helsinki again, it is such a different world than the one I’ve spent the past 4,5 weeks and I love the fact that I’m able to enjoy the best of both worlds. I know I’m gonna miss our summer house, the space and the feel it has. And the horses. This summer I have become that same horse loving girl that I used be as child. Some of you know what I’m talking about, the feeling when you listen to a horse way bigger than you breathe calmly, the way it reacts when you stroke it and feel of it’s muzzle, just how soft it is…all of this is just so therapheutic. If you haven’t tried being close to a horse and really feel it’s presence, you ought to try it.

Anyway, back to reality. It’s great to be back working again. But the fact is, in order to balance my life, I need a vacation just like the one I had. No stressful brain activity, timetables, etc. Now, there are interesting times ahead at work. I’m involved in many interesting projects that I’m honored to be a part of. And most importantly, during my vacay I finally had the time to start this blog, which has been a dream of mine for so long.

Welcome autumn, I’m ready!