HELSINKI STROLL

Yesterday we went into town for a stroll together with Dag's oldest (half)brother . Which does not happen that often, having a day off and haning it in town, when you spend most of your time way out in the countryside.

Walking in Ruoholahti, which is something I almost never do; walk around in, other than walk just trough. I used to come trough here almost every day when at lunch from the harbour.

Some hundred meters further a whole new part of town has sprung up during Dag's lifetime on parts of what was once the old harbour. It looks different every time I pass. When I left work before Dag was born this was all just one big construction site. (And half of it still is.)

Do you know how many times I stared at those shipyard cranes and the blue dry dock wall opposite of our spot in the harbour? Do you know how many times? Of course you don't, but many, many times I tell you.

 We popped by the flea market. Dag got a red smiling tractor.


Had lunch at Moko market. Salad with kale and marinated carrots and fresh pea puree. Nom.

 Moko is also an interior store, with lots of wonderful useful-and-less usefull stuff, books and some foods as well.


 Moko has a playground space for kids too. Convenient.

I used to go there and shop all the time before, you know, when I had a job with a steady monthly wage and could do shopping just for fun. When you work solely by yourself things are so much more uneven. (I might have to get myself some pineapple and palm tree boxes though. Because they are always good for somehting...)

But I wasn't really there to get anything for myself but to pick up some things for our studio. Which I will get back to later. (And get back to a lot to; you'll see.)

 Later we did some toy shopping -there are a many small misters all turning one year old in August.

Sometimes I wonder how these small stores that are specialized in something can pull trough when rents in town are what they are - I remember thinking so about this toystore too when walking past it before, do people really buy enough to make it go around? But now I get it, in this case at least, I just wanted to buy everything in there.

Then we went to join up with some 15,000 other people at the Citizen's Square. 

The rather impromptu manifestation for multiculturalism and anti-racism; We Have A Dream, took place. It was organised in just a couple of days as a counter-reactions to some writings of a politician and the discussion it sparked.

Then the teenager got tired.

So we had burgers at the new-in-town hipster burger place Friends & Brgrs. (Everything there is made from scratch and with clean ingredients. The queue in the restaurant is thus thereafter. Here's my veggieburger. Approved!)

And strawberry milkshake. Made on actual real berries, not just aromes.

More days should end with strawberry milkshakes.

BABY BLUE MIMMIS

Because it's snowy and wet outside and we are in the middle of winter I naturally got myself a pair of summer shoes!


Well, thinking in advance, thinking in advance.


I had been eyeing these for some time already and now that they were on super-duper sale I decided to strike and be prepared for blue skies, dry streets and a warm breeze, come the day. I have another pair of high heeled clogs that are very comfy and they will last a lifetime if properly taken care of. And you can wear them to the playground sandbox too.


Pupuppi-duu.

My mind is also set on a pair of red clog sandals for summer. And then I will never need to get another pair of shoes again. (Well, sort of.)

(Most clogs I've tried are true to size; so are these. I go for the smaller size since I am often in between.)

CHRISTMAS AND ALL THAT

I know it has not really begun yet * although it is just around the corner, and we had the first little hint of snow now, so I did a little cheating and hung up the first Christmas lights at home already! November is so dark anyway, but I did wait with the stars and advent lights so far though. Plus, I have different led-and fairy lights at home all year round so in some ways I sort of have a Christmas all the time (much to the joy of my husband).
*) other than in all the stores, everywhere,  right after Halloween as usual and apparently, as I heard, at Ikea already in October...


Then, because I had some extra banans hanging around (they sometimes tend to do that, become extras that just stay there and turn way too dark all of a sudden) I baked a chocolate-banana cake. Vegan.  It was good. Had it wit the first glögg (mulled wine/glühwein. Altough -yes really- this was the wine free version. More like spiced warm juice  really) of the year to go along. And as I was in the pre-Christmas mood I put some gingerbread spices in the cake too. Muy bueno. We can have a closer look on the how-to some other time.

I have said it before, I really am a Christmas person. The Holidays could last for at least a month and a half for all that I care. Well it usually does, as we seldom manage to get the Christmas tree out before the end of January. Ehrm. But mostly I am a "Christmas person" on the inside - for the past decade I have always been so busy I never manage to do that whole cal-getting-in-the-mood-and-relax-thing, where I have lights and candles and tingling everywhere and bake and make goodies for weeks and make and sew presents to all of my friends and family (one year I actually did, but that was a long time ago). It's more the thought of it I suppose, the same with the thought of autumn where I always wear knits and scarves and go out on walk in colourful crispy cold woods and come back home and drink cocoa. That which I have done perhaps once the last five years. Perhaps.  As with most other things and times and seasons in life, it comes surprisingly fast and is over before you know it. This year will be no different as I have lots of shows to do and classes to teach ahead of me still, and producing no less than two events within two weeks. But then I will try my best to take it easy and bake and prepare and all that and plan, make and shop gifts; I do love to hand out presents!

Speaking of which. This one here is mainly for my readers in Finland; a little hint if you plan to do some, or even some more of your Christmas shopping online, one that I had almost forgotten about myself but that comes in handy this time of year - do so via Ostohyvitys! Sign up and shop. This of course applies to all your purchases all year round as well, as you get various discounts (money refunded to your bank account) at most major online stores, both Finnish and international ones such as Apple Online store & iTunes, asos, cdon, Finnish Design Shop and The Body Shop to name a few, as well as at various smaller speciality stores, when you shop via the site. That, and discounts on many services and on magazine-subscriptions and at several travel companies etc. The system is very smart and it is easy to use - log in and then navigate to the store you want to make a purchase from and receive the discount in euros to your bonus account (and later to your bank account ). Well, as I do very little shopping nowadays I have forgotten to use the service the times I have actually bought something, so this serves as a good reminder for myself as well!

And ahoy! As a reader of my blog you will now get a 10euro gift card to use at any of the S-group stores (S-ryhmä) when you sign up and make your first purchase at any of the stores and services via the site (within 90 days).
Sign up here for more info and in order to receive the gift card: Ostohyvitys / S-ryhmän lahjakortti

Disclaimer: nothing in this post is in any way sponsored or paid for by Ostohyvitys but I am part of their affiliate network and can thus offer you the chance of to receive the gift card.

THE JAYNA DRESS IN BLUE HAWAII / ABOUT TRASHY DIVA SIZING AND MORE

As you may know, one of my absolute favourite brands is Trashy Diva. I have many many TD dresses and they all have a great cut and as I’ve come to notice, will flatter your curves weather you have a lot or a little of them. So when Trashy Diva asked me to try out and review one of their dresses from their new Blue Hawaii collection I was not late to reply with a big and happy Yes!

As I have ordered from Trashy Diva numerous times - I think it’s the brand I own the most dresses from - I am more than often asked about the sizing, and ordering form there. So I thought I’d also do a brief on that here at the same time.

I chose the Jayna dress, which is also a brand new model. The dress is made out of rayon.

Then I stated thinking that I’ve done it again - added one more fancy dress to the collection of “good-if-I -manage-to-wear-it-once-per -summer”-dresses. I just can’t help myself, I am a sucker for all things pretty! (Well, one day when I do no longer have small children I shall strut around in my fancy dresses again and all of the time.)

But, turns out, this is one of those floral dresses than can be just anything! That goes with anything, you know. Basic monday or wedding wear -everything goes depending on how it is styled.

See, nice and everyday normal if you so like.
The kind of floral dress that is not too fancy for day wear and would look good both with flats and heels - that would probably look good even when worn with Birkenstock sandals.

And -ta da! -with fancier hair it turns into a fancy piece - especially with and up-do that will show the beautiful cut-out in the back of the dress. I also like that is has a more narrow skirt than most of my other dresses, a little variation is always nice.

I find the dress quite timeless with a touch of the forties at the neckline with it’s sweetheart shape and fabric-coated buttons. Which also can, if you want to and style it so, give a very trendy 90’s vibe. (Would I be young and trendy I might shorten this dress and wear it nineties style with heavy boots or those thick soled canvas shoes and a jacket to go along. But I’m not, so I won’t.)

I’ve never had any issues with my orders from Trashy Diva always received the right items ind the right sizes. (Do keep in mind that when ordering from the US to the EU customs will most likely apply. The first years I always had my parcels coming straight home to me without having to pay vat and import tax but nowadays everything seems to go via the customs automatically.)

The sizing of the dresses is very accurate to the size chart but measurements run a little bit different for each dress and cut so always check the charts (it is very easy to find next to every dress on the site). For exampe, I have dresses in size 8 and 10 but even some in size 6!

In general I’d say to choose the dress according to your waist size. For those dresses with stretch you can take the smallest size possible, but the cotton and rayon dresses won’t really stretch so remember that, although getting one or half an inch smaller than my waist size when that has been the closets has not been a problem for me. If it gets any smaller than that it won’t feel comfy when you sit down for example, even though you might still fit in the dress. As I have noticed from some of my old dresses thank you very much pregnancy.

Now with the Janya dress I was not sure weather to go for the bigger or smaller size, to leave some slight comfy room in the waist or go for a snug fit with perhaps half an inch more to long for. The bust measurement on the bigger size would have been to big for me so I went for snug which was the right choice, and it does not feel too tight at all! Ta-da again!

The dresses that consist of a waist section, like the Forties dress for example, are often rather roomy in the bust and fit up to big cups. Still, they don’t get bulky on a smaller bust either, but actually gives a very good shape. I’ve noticed that the dresses that have the top cut in just one piece - like the Americana, Day dress or Anette for example - have less room in the bust. For me with a big rib cage they come out as perhaps a bit flattening and tight on the chest. Going for a bigger size does not really help as the dress then will be too big all over. But all in all it’s not a disastrous thing, I stil love those styles and wear my dresses happily!

An issue I know others also have had is that the dresses with a waist band are sometimes hard to close; the dress is lined in the waist to keep a good shape and the invisible zipper is very thin. That can make it hard to close over the seams. For one of my dresses I didn’t manage it without a helping hand; it usually gets a bit easier with wear though. The Jayna dress here is of the same kind of cut, with a waist section, but it actually closes up pretty easily.

The only tricky thing with trashy Diva in general is that most of the dresses are dry clean only. Which can be an issue over here, where dry cleaning is expensive (for example SOL charges 30-50eur to clean a dress, and silk dresses will be over 50eur). I hang out my dresses to air after wear and “steam” them by hanging them in the bathroom when I shower. But, I *confess* I have washed quite many of them by hand and they have turned out fine, expect for one on which the colours ran a bit (which luckily does not show at all due to the pattern). My jersey knit dresses have even been washed in the machine on a gentle program without problems. BUT do bear in mind that clothes should always be cleaned according to their instructions, so I’m not going to recommend washing the dresses yourself even though it has worked for me.

Well, there you have the answers to the most asked TD-questions in a nutshell. So enough with that for now and time to let this new dress out in the strong sunshine!

Blue is one of those colours that go with a lot, and this dress was well paired with red shoes. I also happen to have shoes in both the same blue and the same white shade as in the dress . But this time I went for orange ones instead!

MINT GREENS (OR CLOSE ENOUGH)

That mint green itch of mine is back.
Not that it ever really has been gone either. Sea foam or pistachio works for me as well.

As usual at this time of year it struck me, the need of a slight  renewal. Both when it comes to cleaning out the closet(s) and re-arranging at home, and, of course, the irrational urge of putting new stuff in. That includes me dreaming of new dresses (and strongly believing that the upcoming summer will very long and warm and sunny and full of moments to strut around with those dresses on).  I have luckily come to the point in my life where I've learned not to click anything home at 3 in the night -that's when I usually do my inter netting nowadays - but wait until the morning or a day or two before I do so, which often means I have the time to grasp my breadth and remember I can live without whatever it was I thought I just had to get. Especially this year, as I decided  - well kind of, let's not set any limits her quite yet - not to get anything new for summer and instead use my money for paying for more work outs with my personal trainer (which I have been doing this winter; it's rather expensive but I have to be honest, it's awesome working out like crazy again, more worth than any Trashy diva dress in the world!  Or well, almost. ) So any dress browsing I might indulge myself in now would be totally useless. But looking won't hurt,  right?

And then of course another thing struck me, which is -and how is this even possible : I don't own one single mint green dress!  Very little mint green anything as a matter of fact. Perhaps my butt muscles will forgive me if they get one or two hours less of work and can instead have something nice and mint green draped around them, hmm?

The shorts are from Vivien of Holloway
The dresses with a grey background are from Etsy/ Fleet Collection
Light turquoise dress with embellishment from Trashy Diva
Dresses in the lower left corner from old fav and affiliate ModCloth
Sweetheart top from Etsy/Contrariety Rose

THE WALLET

I finally got myself a new wallet! Or, matinee purse as this one is called.  I've been meaning to get a new one forever as the one I had until now was literally falling apart. But it was rather hard to find one that was both big enough and pretty.  I guess I don't have to write this out but in case there's something going on with somebody's monitor out there I'll do it anyway: it's  MINT GREEN! Hallelujah.

The wallet-purse-which-ever-you-prefer is by Ted Baker. (In case you were wondering I bought mine old school over the counter at Stockman; they carry a lot of TB bags and accessories and I have a soft spot for most of them. I haven't found the exact same one online, but very similar styles though.)

ENTREPRENEURS AND LIVE MANNEQUINS

Last week I, for different reasons, visited a few small businesses. Small businesses that are all doing great, all of them started by people -in this case they all happen to be women - with a strong will to do something they really like, starting from scratch and making it work. I started thinking about this and it made me happy -it's great to see people I, in one way or another, know succeeding!

First my colleague Ruska and I stopped by Vertical Club, which is a studio for, well, all things vertical - pole dancing and aerial classes like aerial yoga, -hoop etc. One of the owners used to share rehearsal studio space with us before. Now they are doing so well they are expanding into more studio space in their building! We'll be doing some collaboration with Vertical Club , with the possibility to book private dansative burlesque workshops with us there.

I also popped by Jolie for some cosmetics shopping. Jolie is a wellness concept founded by two friends a couple of years ago, with the dream to build up something totally new in Finland; a media portal and shop around healthy lifestyle and natural luxury cosmetics. As some may remember it became a rather special business for me as I was at their launch when my water broke and I had to head straight to the hospital and give birth :) Jolie is also growing has now opened up their own spa at a separate address from their shop; Jolie Spa. Well done!

Then we did some collaboration with PinUp Garage, which is a lifestyle and fashion store for all things related to the modern pin-up culture. (I added some photos I shot at the store to illustrate this post - because who doesn't like fancy dresses, high heels and fluffy petticoat lamps?)

PinUp Garage has moved from a location rather far away into a big space in the city, also fitting their own photography studio and a sewing atelier, so it's going really well for this store as well!

We were invited to do a humorous little live mannequin fashion show with their range of What Katie Did lingerie in the store window last weekend after closing time. It was part of the store's pre-Valentine's Day shopping event.

 
PinUp Garage is the only brick and mortar store selling WKD in Finland. On a side not, I have had What Katie Did as an affiliate of mine for a long time as I really like their vintage repro underwear. Apart for stockings I haven't bought any products myself for a few years though but now got to try out a whole lot because of the show! When ordering online I never managed to find out which size of the bullet bra would fit me best and tried a few different sizes but now came to the conclusion it just does not suit my shape that well, but found a great fit with the Dot bra instead! I can also recommend the Morticia corset which pretty much as good as one that I have had custom made for myself. (You can see both products on my instagram picture here.)

(Btw you can spot a poster in the window for the Kustom Kulture show which is next weekend at Kaapeli. We'll do a show there in the evening, and we'll be hanging around the event during the day too. So come and say hi if you stop by!)

PS. Nothing in this post was in any way paid for or sponsored.
Tuomas Lairila and Maria Kimalle took the pictures of the WKD show.

TRIPLE KNITS

It's on-off cold so I'm layering with on-off knits. Easy to add on, easy to take off.


The sweater is from Indiska, the dress the Jenny jersey knit from Trashy diva and the cardigan is an oldie. Socks and stockings from Lindex, if someone wants to know.

I need to get a new pair of boots for winter but so far no luck. Not too fancy but a little chunky and not too bulky but still graceful, not too shiny but not suede-like and not too high nor not too low on the leg and with just the right height on the heel, and warm and keep water out. And yes that shouldn't really be to hard but somehow it still is. Heh.

A little PS. for my Finnish readers. If you do any Christmas -or winter shoe- shopping online remember to check out, sign up and do it via my affiliate Ostohyvitys.fi - it's a win win situation (for you and me ;) Alennusta jokaisesta nettiostoksestasi Ostohyvityksestä. Siitä vaan sitten shoppailemaan!

And PS2. for everyone. There are worse problems than not finding the perfect winter boots though. And as we are in the season of spending why not donate a little something (or a lot, if you want and can) to those who need it. My Red Cross fundraising box is still up until the end of the year and can be found just on your right in the side bar. Or trough here: Red Cross donation
I am so happy to see so many have donated this year!

RED LIPS AND A WINK

'Tell me a story'-heels from Modcloth.

And their sweater twin. (From Sheinside.)

Plus their purse cousin (or cousins, as there are several in the series)  from Lulu Guinness.

I actually got the sweater out of a sudden idea to kind of look like it and wear it with waved hair peeping out of a black - or possibly red - beret, red lips and pair it with tiny black hotpants, dark tights and chunky heels. Would have made a nice combo;  I thought the knit would be kind of oversized and hang loose on my shoulders. Which it didn't. It was kind of fitted and with the fluffy mohair it made me feel like an albino orangutang instead. So I'll pass that look onto some tiny tiny petite person instead :)

SHOPPING, CASH BACK AND CHOCOLATE / OSTOHYVITYS.FI

I have a new affiliate which I am going to present here to you. It is for the Finnish market, but we'll do the talking in English anyway, as we are used to over here.

(To illustrate this post we have a totally not-staged photo moment of me -happy and internetting about- and my son in scarily matching at home-outfits.)

The site I am adding to my affiliate list is Ostohyvitys.fi. It's the first cash back site in Finland. What that literally means is that you get part of your cash back when shopping online;  a certain percentage (or, in some cases, a fixed sum) from a purchase you have made via the cash back site. This service is possible as Ostohyvitys kind of works as an affiliate for online stores, being a portal to shop trout,h directing customers forward and giving part of it's affiliate commission to the shopper itself (from some sites a percentage even higher than 10% of a purchase). By logging in and visiting stores trough the site you collect your bonus which will then be paid back to your bank account. (Which happens when you have collected 15euros in returns, or more). A small forever ongoing sale, sort of.

I originally signed up to get a free chocolate bar (chocolate, you know, always works as a bribe for me ;) without thinking too much about it. But then I looked into the system and now I am totally hooked. I try to remember to always check with Ostohyvitys.fi first if there is something I need to get online - it would be stupid not to. There are over 450 stores  and service providers to choose from -so many it's almost surprising- both Finnish stores as well as international ones. Not the most niched ones of course, but still a crazy lot; several hotels and hotel booking sites (for example 5% off a hotel booking at hotels.com), virtual malls and fashion stores like Asos, Ellos, Zalando and Nelly, flight companies and travel agencies, Akateeminen Kirjakauppa, Apple Store, lots of magazines, etc.
Well, you can see more on the site yourself.

Många bäckar små… as we say in Swedish; a buck or two here and there turns into quite a lot in the end. For example, I buy some of my eco makeup via Nelly as they have a 11,5% bonus percentage. So my mascara (Une Green Pride btw, it is very good) which is 20,50 at Nelly is then18,40 for me! So I can't really see any reason for anyone not to sig up, hence the affiliation.

And I did mention chocolate earlier… There is a campaign going on giving you a complimentary Fazer's Blue after you sign up  via me and do your first purchase.
You can join Ostohyvitys.fi HERE!

COTTON CANDY KNIT AND A BEADED TURBAN

The other day I received a gift in the mail from Danish vintage store Style me Betty!
And you know I love gifts, or well, who wouldn't. I mean really, who?

I got a vintage dead stock knitted top.

Which I wore right away.
It requires a cardigan to go along for now but come sunshine and warmth again it will be very happy outside on its own.  It made me think o cotton candy; it's color and knit pattern.

 And, the parcel also contained a beautiful white beaded 1930's turban.
That I decided to use for a fan dance number of mine, and here's a shot of that from a small and very red backstage.

VINTAGE ETSY GIFT CARD GIVEAWAY

My friend Ina who owns and runs Years Since Yesterday and I decided it was time for a little give away to her vintage etsy shop again!

Ina collects vintage items that can be labelled "americana" from her stays in Texas to put up for sale on YSY, as well with some Finnish vintage pieces scouted at home. For the moment she has more items for men than women, which is nice as it's most often the other way around. So something for the guys this time too! Or, you-know-what season is approaching so why not get your Xmas gift  for some special guy in time?

(Btw, read a short article on the fact that not the shopping but "search" for Christmas gifts online starts now already, searching for items for men and children. "Christmas gifts for women" were most frequently searched the last two days before Christmas. Hehe. Not surprised.)

Well anyway, the winner of give away will receive one gift card of 25 euros to use in the shop.
To enter, like the Years Since Yesterday Facebook page (if you don't already do) and leave me a comment on this post letting me know what your favorite item in the YSY-store is.

The give away will run for one week; so participate before Wednesday October 30!
I will draw the winner randomly so one comment per person as usual, unless you share this post, which will give you one more entry per share.
AND, you know, make sure I can reach you trough your comment! Seriously.
I will announcec the winner shortly thereafter, which will give him/her time to shop and receive the item(s) before Ina closes her store on December 10 for her few months trip to the US again.

POLKA DOTS, WINNERS AND DEALS

I haven't worn a polka dot dress for a very long time. I think I've felt they are too, umm, dotted (well, duh!). But then again with one of those magical black berets you can calm a lot of those dots down I think. There are very few things a black beret won't make better I think - slap that black piece of wool on and you've either toned down or dressed up your outfit. Still, I feel a bit on the verge of being a little bit all dotted up. The dress has a great cut though, and - I'm probably repeating myself here once again but yes - it also stretches. Happy joy! Well anyway, this polka dot dress is from King Louie and the shoes are all soft and comfy, from Stockmann's from last winter.

I've bought my King Louie dresses straight of their site but you can also get some of them, like this one, from Zalando as well.  Which brings us to the next subject:  the winner's of my Zalando gift card giveaway!  (Yes I did a little -as we say in Finnish and Finnish Swedish, aasinsilta, åsnebrygga- "donkey bridge" here ; meaning steering a subject into another, sometimes more sometimes less smoothly :) And so, here we have it: the two happy readers that were drawn randomly among those who commented are Katja R and Liz ! You will receive mail from me soon!

The last part here is made in collaboration with CupoNation.fi,  and will hopefully come in handy for my fellow Finns at least;  CupoNation has a set of discounts and codes to use at Zalando, like an exclusive 10% off code. They have a lot of deals for many other online stores too. (For possible discount codes in your own country, you can check cuponation.com.)