Daily Outfit: Errands

Today I had a bunch of errands that I had to run, and so I bundled myself up and got out into the chilled Canberra morning as soon as possible, with the clear intention that the sooner my errands were over; the sooner I could get back into my trackies.

To be perfectly frank, I am surprised at just how cold it is here in Canberra at the moment. It snowed while we were in Lapland, and it was still warmer there than it is here right now! Thankfully, I have this amazing synthetic jacket that I picked up at H&M in Jyväskylä, which kept me nice and toasty as I was running about the place today. It was a sound investment at €7.

Daily Outfit: Stockholm Island Hopping

I spent today Island Hopping here in Stockholm, Sweden.

Granted, this isn't the sort of Island Hopping that you might do in Greece, largely because despite the sun being out it was still very chilly. But, Stockholm is a city made up of a series of thirteen islands, and though you can easily walk between each, it is still Island Hopping in its own way.

Well, that is my story and I am sticking to it!

Travel: Graffiti Hunting part 2

Travel presents a great opportunity to emerge yourself in the culture of an area or areas. For me, this means seeing what is on offer in the local Graffiti scene.

Graffiti has always been an interest of mine, and I love having the opportunity to see what local artists are doing. I find the work of graffiti artists really engaging and inspiring, and I am positive that the images below will be memories that stay with me once I have returned from my travel.

Daily Outfit: Aanekoski to Helsinki to Turku

Today we travelled from Aanekoski to Helsinki and then on to Turku.

The end result of the epic multiple city trip was to wind up in the port city of Turku, where we will be for 24 hours before catching a ferry to Stockholm for three nights.

We took a little stroll once we got here and then grabbed some dinner; but honestly we've mostly spent the evening relaxing in our hotel room. I did, however, find time to climb into a fountain so my sister could take my daily outfit photos for me.

Daily Outfit: Midsommar Eve

Today in Finland it is Midsommar Eve, the night that precedes the Midsommar Holiday weekend, and also our last night at the Lake House in Aanekoski.

Midsommar is traditionally a time of myth and magic, with the evening hours all but stripped away by the presence of near constant sunlight. It has been said to be the best time to divine the future in matters such as love, and is to this day a celebration of surviving the dark winter that went before.

Daily Outfit: Lakeside

For today's post I thought that I would show off some of the beautiful location where we are currently staying in a house by the Lakeside.

The nearest town is Aanekoski, and the Villa that we're staying in backs onto a truly stunning lake. When we booked it, I had all these visions of swimming in the Finnish summer evenings, rowing out to the nearby islands and exploring, and living in shorts and singlets.

Which is probably the sole reason Finland is currently experiencing its coldest summer in 50 years...

Daily Outfit: Ranua Zoo

Today's daily outfit photos were taken at Ranua Zoo, a short drive south of Rovaniemi. 

I can honestly say that I had been looking forward to this since we started planning our trip to Finland and a random Google search turned it up as something to do in the area. Ranua is unlike any other zoo I have ever seen in my life, almost seamlessly integrated into the forest around it, with huge enclosures and some of the animals just roaming around free!

I got to see a Red Squirrel in the wild at the zoo, so that was pretty cool and special; plus there were Polar Bears, Brown Bears, Grey Wolves and loads more.

Daily Outfit: Arktikum

Today's daily outfit shots were taken at the Arktikum, by Mags.

The Arkticum is a huge, partially underground building with an immense glass roof, which houses a museum, and art gallery, and a science centre. Visiting the Arktikum was a very spur of the moment decision, but as we had no real plans today besides visiting the Arctic Circle line, it made sense. And I am so glad we did visit, because it is a truly beautiful building with some great exhibits inside.

It also proved to be a great location for my daily outfit snaps.

Daily Outfit: New Threads in Rovaniemi

Today we left Jyvaskyla and drove six and a half hours north to Rovaniemi, Lapland, where we will be staying for two nights.

I decided that this lengthy drive was the perfect opportunity to break in this gorgeous new 100% cotton sweater that I picked up at H&M yesterday for $19 Euros.I have been wanting something along the lines of this sweater since I touched down in Helsinki and started seeing example after example of hot Nordic guys in blue and white striped tops!

Daily Outfit: Road Trip stop one - Heinola

Today we left Helsinki for a road trip to Rovaniemi, Lapland. 

It is a nine-hour drive, which we are breaking up into stages. Today our destination was Jyvaskyla, but we stopped off at Heinola to grab some lunch. It was a place of interest to my sister and I, because it is a town which shares our Surname.

Heinola is a fairly small town built on the shores of a lake. It is pretty if a little dull, but it was interesting to see the area where my surname originates from.

Daily Outfit: Farewell to Tallinn

Today I bid farewell to Tallinn, Estonia.

I started off the day with a brisk walk (getting myself completely lost before retracing my steps and finding my way home), and then a short time after I got back to our apartment it started to rain.

Tallinn is a beautiful city, but all the beauty in the world still makes walking around in the rain fairly miserable.  However, I didn't actually notice it was raining until we got outside on our way to grab some breakfast and run some final errands, so I was a little under-dressed for the weather.

Daily Outfit: Tallinn, Estonia

After a very brief ferry ride from Helsinki, we arrive in Tallinn, Estonia, where we will be for two nights and three days.

My outfit for today was planned around two different forecasts for the weather, with Helsinki promising 14 degrees and potential rain, and Tallinn 20 degrees and cloudless skies. I wanted to be prepared for anything.

I'm not exactly sure that the outfit was a success though, especially not in the style sense...

Daily Outfit: Kiasma

Today we went to Kiasma, the Finnish Museum of Contemporary Art, as well as the Rock Church, the Market Hall, and the Natural History Museum. 

I really loved everything that we did today, but Kiasma was a stand out, and also the location of today's Daily Outfit photos (courtesy of Mags). The background that I am standing before is a work from a current show called 'Together', and which was jointly organised by Kiasma and Finnish textiles heavyweight Marimekko.

Daily Outfit: Sibelius Monument, Helsinki

Greetings from Helsinki, Finland!

It has been an action packed 24 hours since arriving in Helsinki, but aside from just being here, the standout for me was taking a walk with my best friend to a park on the opposite side of Helsinki to see the Sibelius Monument, and to take my daily outfit photos there.

Daily Outfit: Helsinki

By the time you're all reading this, I am on a plane on my way to Singapore, before reaching my final destination- Helsinki, Finland.

I'm headed to Finland with my younger sister Hollie, and we're meeting up with my best friend Mags. I'll be away for three weeks, in which time we're travelling all over Finland, and venturing to Estonia and Sweden as well.

If you're wondering "Why Finland?", the main reason is that my dad was born and raised in Finland, and as such I am incredibly curious about my heritage.

Travel: Three Weeks to Go

This time in three weeks time, I will be aboard a plane headed for Singapore, for a three-hour layover. After that three hours it's back aboard and off to our main destination, Helsinki, Finland.

For anyone who has been following this Blog for some time, you will be aware that I am VERY late to the whole travelling abroad thing. I left Australia for the first time in 2013. 

Despite the fact that I've only left the country twice, and both flights were under 10 hours, I can safely say that I am a terrible traveler. I don't enjoy the actual travelling part in the slightest- planes are uncomfortable and other people are gross. So, seeing as I am now faced with two 20-hour plus layover flights, I figured it would be best to start taking matters into my own hands, and investing in some travel clothes.

Daily Outfit and weekend travel announcement

Today's daily outfit was all about comfort for travel, as the boyfriend and I left for Berry after work today, to spend the long weekend with his folks. 

I wanted to take at least one blazer this weekend, because they're so versatile and can be dressed up or down. In the end I went with my oversized Oxford blazer in a navy wool, because it it much more casual than my others, and it's quite warm as well. Berry is a beautiful coastal town, and it does get quite chilly, so I wanted to make sure that I will be warm if we head out to the beach. I also wanted to at least look like I had tried to dress with work in mind. I probably failed in that regard though.

Announcement: AFK - Melbourne Madness

Greetings and salutations delightful readers,

I am leaving for Melbourne relatively shortly for the weekend. I am hoping to update while I am there, but I'm not making any promises.

And I'm getting a new Tattoo.

Xx