goodbye february

I have to say that despite my excitement about February it has been a rather crap month overall. Both from a professional and personal point of view. It has been a blah month. And I'm very glad to see it gone.

But I'm glad that on the last day of it I got a text about a short notice lunch and as I'd just recieved a cancellation I was able to go and it was lovely. Both from a professional, personal and palate point of view.

So even a blah kind of month have had some silver linings, I'm glad the very last day got one too.

Goodbye February, you were sadly not very nice.
Welcome March, please bring proper spring and bright, good things!

cat, pony and pug ad

If my new internet provider wasn't already 3 Three I'd seriously consider switching to them after seeing these silly, hilariously adorable ads (very few commercials can instigate such urges in me...). I especially can't stop looking at the dancing pony one. Go watch, it will cheer up any kind of day!

Sing It Kitty

Dance Pony Dance

Pug one

Pug two

dragon spray bottle

i'm all for chosing beautiful/fun/colourful design when it comes to boring but useful household items. somehow those boring tasks become reasonably fun to do with pleasing to the eye design. 

this dragon spray bottle ticks all the fun boxes. bit pricey though, so it will likely not come home with me any day soon.

but a little colourful dragon that sprays water instead of fire, as far as i'm concerned it's something every home needs.

a shopping cart for small sized woollies

Passed this fabulous li'l piece (what is the   awesomeness of miniature things?) and there was immediate a unison squee of bobbaloo delight 'oh can we have our picture taken pleeease?!?'.

It was however a rather dispirited trio that climbed back into their travel cabin, when they learnt the perfect shopping cart wasn't for sale.

So I guess, in order not to cause a bobbaloo depression of unforseen proportions, I have to look for such a miniscule shopping cart that is in fact for sale.

about.me

Not sure why I (about a year ago) decided to join the about.me site. One of those "it's free, why not try it" things I guess. A year later I have to admit I'm still far from sure what the purpose is. And when I ask around people either don't know what it is or have the same attitude towards it as I have. Noone I've talked with has it as a part of their social media strategy.

So why do I still have my about.me page? Well, mainly because

• I thoroughly enjoy that you can create a really cool tiled background with your Instagram photos. Thus I update it regularly. (It looks especially awesome on an iPad.)
• I also enjoy the idea of a supersized, dynamic online business card (of sorts). I shy away from having a really long bio, because noone really care to read that through anyway. Via selected apps I link to Twitter, Blogger, LinkedIn, Flickr and Instagram instead, if anyone would like to know more.

I've also found that

• Their customer service is really friendly and swift, when there's a glitch or question.
• People tend to view other people's pages quite a lot, much more than they give compliments about them. Although you do get compliments regularly, far from always from people you feel you can compliment in return. So a "thank you!" and then a pass it forward to someone's page/photo/bio you enjoy is my way to deal with that.
• To use tags on your page (a maximum of 10) is a great way to find likeminded people. 
• You get added to weird collections like "Viewed", "People I thanked", "People who glanced at me" and I have no idea why one would even bother with that... 
• But you also get added to nice collections like "Creative people", "Amazing people" (oh my!), "Interesting people", "Compassion for all life" (how sweet is that?!) and of course "Twitter friends".
• I've only made a collection of "Twitter friends" - obviously I don't really see about.me as a networking site for me per se. Perhaps that will change.

How about you, do you have an about.me page?
Is it a part of your social media strategy?
If so, how and have you had good use of it
from a business point of view?

cat toys in digital times

1) there's apparently possible to buy cat toy apps these days - behold the catpad for sophisticated cats in the digital era. the mouse runs back and forth over the screen and squeaks when touched.

2) but why bother with a silly catpad when you can get all close and personal with a really big screen?

3) the more the merrier, let's chase anything that moves! 

myself i see less, very less, meaningful tv-watching opportunities in my future from now on.

on the pia day

As usual, February 22 is a very distinguished day, it's Pia day! (Granted not only my own day, but everyone who shares this grand name's day.) So what did I do to make it a bit special and lovely? Well this;

• Went outside for the first time since Tuesday (when the cold struck) - I'm not completely well yet, snivel, cough and tired, but still fresh air and walking was great.
• Had a special breakfast - although neither sense of smell nor tastebuds work as they should yet. But sometimes you're okey with just the memory and notion of how lovely it usually is.
• The sun made a surprise visit and stayed all day, yay!
• Managed (the way only I can...) to find a pair of special boots on sale - it has become more and more obvious that this is apparently one of my specialities. I hope the colour turns out to be just as sunny and fabulous as it is on screen, because who wouldn't want to walk in sunshine?!
• Had not only one, but two fresh juices overloaded with ginger (one was the above carrot, spinach, apple, kiwi, more fun to look at than pleasing to drink I suspect. But darn good for you!) - ha, take that, cold!
• Had a semla.
• Woke up ridiculously early and went to bed like a granny on a Saturday evening.

All and all it was a pretty great day of a name day I have to say. 

When I was little I really didn't like my name, it was too short and uninteresting, a bit silly (and apparently the most common name for bitches in Sweden. Bitch as in dog.) and childish. I wanted a *real* girl's name like Charlotte, Camilla, Catharina, Pernilla or Susanna and such. As a grown up I really enjoy my name, it's not a very common name but still common enough to feel very Swedish. Easy to say, rather fun and perky somehow and I've never had any unwanted or ugly nickname. 

Pia is derived from the Latin name Pius which means "pious" - definitely not one of my features. But I'm well-known for having an innocent zero set poker face, while my brain is pretty much always filled with not so innocent thoughts, analyzing people and situations. Maybe it's a common feature of women named Pia?

My middle name is Karina (with a name day on May 7), also a Latin derivation from Carinus/Carus which means "beloved". What a lovely meaning to carry around in one's name! I enjoy having the "K" as a middle name initial, but I'm more comfortable with my three letters first name. It's easy and unpretentious to carry around. And rather fun.

How about you, do you enjoy your name?
Always or have you grown to accept it?
What's your favourite name/s and why?

from spring to winter and back again

after weeks of (sadly too early) springlike weather the winter returned.

but it was a short visit. because 12 hours later the rain has washed most of winter away again.

we are living in strange and worrying times indeed.

bond girls and copacababies

I haven't bought any new nailpolish since the fine Opi You're such a Budapest. It was obviously about time. And ebay is always much kinder to the wallet than a Swedish shop. I got myself two mini bottle-collections, 007 the Bond Girls Liquid Sand and 2014 Brazil copacababies (spring 2014).

I have to say that unfortunately I'm not all that impressed by neither of the eight colours - the Opi Top Ten was a much nicer buy.



The liquid sand texture is really rather unpleasant, it feels like my nails have been wrapped in sandpaper not being able to breath somehow. I wonder how easy (or not) it will to remove the polish.

From left to right of the Bond Girls - Pussy Galore, pale pink which is rather nice to look at; Solitaire, frosty white is not really my thing; Jinx, orange which is rather nice to look at; Vesper, matte dark purple which would have been nice if a usual polish, this sand texture makes it pretty nasty instead.

At least I know now that liquid sand kind of nailpolish is not my thing.



From left to right of the copacababies - Next stop...the bikini zone, a metallic violet that looks very cheap imho; Kiss me I'm Brazilian, bubblegum pink which I think will look rather sweet with a tan come summer; AmazON...AmazOFF, petrol/teal green which usually is a colour I enjoy, this one however I find somehow uninteresting and bland; Where did Suzy's man-go? (he went to fetch her a delicious mango smoothie), I would so prefer that mango smoothie over this peach-coloured polish that doesn't do a good cover with three coats.

Ah well, you can't be lucky with them all, it was a risk taking (of a non important kind) that didn't pay well - at least I didn't pay a lot of money for those four x two.

Have you had any nice or not so nice encounters with any new nailpolish lately?

when life hands you lemons

You can of course make lemonade or bake a scrumptious cake. Or as in my case right now, get a darn cold apparently. It's been a year since the last one and it's been a grand year with lots of work and of good things happening.

All that work and then a few recent setbacks and professional nuisancery have most shaped this cold (despite all that fresh juice!) so now I try and be a kind and caring employer of me, myself and I. And drinking more carrot and ginger juice. In order to get back on the inspirational mojo track asap.

What do you do when life hands you lemons?

one year without little loaf

It's difficult to grasp but today it's been a year since we were forced to say forever goodbye to one little loaf named Malte.

After the initial few months it has of course been easier to cope with the loss, but I think about him a lot. "What would Malte have done in this situation? He would never have behaved that badly! I wish I had someone to share carrots with. He sure would have helped keeping the cats in order." His enthusiastic approach to pretty much everything (apart from trimming the claws and taking a bath) was contagious and uplifting. And yes, sometimes annoying, he was a tyke by nature. But a well-meaning one.

To adjust to a life without a dog has been surprisingly easy, after those first months, and now I don't see another dog in my life anytime soon. We were blessed to have him, we were heartbroken to let him go.



Malte, norfolk terrier
2003-08-04 -- 2013-02-18
Forever remembered, forever loved

one chance

Have seen the movie 'One Chance' about the life of Paul Potts, the guy who won Britain's Got Talent with his fantastic tenor voice in 2007. 

Great actors and an inspiring true story, tears and laughter made for a very enjoyable couple of hours. 

If only more people would dare to follow their dreams! And if only more family and friends would encourage and support that. To slowly die inside because you aren't true to yourself, heartbreaking.

Dream and follow your passion. The world will be a much better place if more people dare to do that.

it's a cat's life

It's a tough life, but someone's gotta live it.

And deep down I think they are really pleased it's their life. Not that they have anything to compare with, but if they did, I'm pretty sure they'd give four paws up for this residence. Because to be really honest, the times you're forced to wear funny hats are few and far apart. And you always get a daily offer of the prime, spongy, human seat in sofa.

someone lost her heart

It happens.
Unexpectedly.
Though it's rarely this literally.
Or obvious in other aspects.
But it happens.

a mess of necklaces

A couple of years ago I thrifted a (white) bureau with the intention of repainting and upcycling. In the end I went with changing the 10 knobs into pretty porcelain ones only, since the bureau was in good condition and white is such an easy-goes-with-everything colour.

In this bureau I decided to keep my jewellery, accessories and hair thingies for easy storage and reach. Easy storage yes, but to be honest I've ended up using less and less jewellery because - just as in life in general - "if it isn't visible it doesn't exist".

Today however I rememembered an old necklace I hadn't used for ages and decided to rummage through the bureau for it. Which to my surprise was easier said than done. I know I put all those necklaces down in the drawer very carefully so it wouldn't get tangled, but today it was just a big mess when I tried to liberate this one necklace.

Clearly there's (at least) one mischiveous house elf in this household. And no I don't mean the fourlegged, furry herd.



I managed to detangle the necklace mess and get my heart out. All was in the end well. And it got even better when the juice was juiced of course. Cheers!

new girl

I know, "New Girl" isn't exactly a new TV-show and I have been watching it from the start (2012 in Sweden), laughed until I've cried but not making it public until now. I'm really not a general fan of sitcoms (and definitely those with audience/taped laughters, jeez...), but there's always exception to a rule. And "New Girl" is one in this case. Quirky, absurd, awkward and hilarious.

I love the four main characters, each with their own oddities, their interaction, plus Zooey Deschanel is of course adorkable (and how great a word is that?!).

It's been on and off here on TV in Sweden since 2012, but now it has a period of definitely on. Every Monday to Thursday and it's now my own little tradition to end the day watching it, to end the day with a good laugh must be good for you, right?

What do you enjoy watching on TV?
And what kind of TV-shows always give you good laughs?

wednesday words

Today's post will be about collecting recent thoughts of frustration and sorrow (the Weltschmerz kind) - but as writing is therapeutical I'm sure there'll be something sweet in the end of the collecting...

~ These past couple of weeks I've felt strangely out of tune with people. Some people. I know we can't always be wise, logical and rational but seriously, what's up with some??

And what is that, when something bad happens it always happens three times in a short row? Although I guess it is evened out by the fact that the same goes for the good things times three.

When I fretted over all the nuisance someone wise (thank goodness for the wise ones!) said that it is kind of the nature of running your own business, win some loose some. And not really getting through to some.

Mollycoddling when needed - so not my nature with grown ups that should know better and behave accordingly to their professional status, but oh my have I learnt a lot of lessons about that this past year... -

and being professional no matter how more or less outraged, stressed and frustrated you get over certain behaviours. At least I can take pride in being that kind of person, calm and professional, despite all the other ways I'd like to deal with certain people's behaviours.

Because really, someone should pinch them in the ear and tell the truth about their behaviour, how very less than professional it comes off as and how it effects others. How do some people get anything done if they act like that all the time? None of us is wise all the time under every circumstances, but to seemingly never be that in one's professional role. I just don't get it.

Even if I granted do have full understanding of stress and what that can do to the brain and behaviour I also feel that a certain degree of self-perception, the tiniest grain really, should make them stop and think instead of pushing on in the same ol' worn tracks. To be quite honest, if you're really true to yourself, that doesn't work all that well, does it?

So much potential, time, great things and collaborations wasted due to that. It makes me sad. Although, on another level I do have faith in the universe, things happen when they are supposed to. I'm just at a time in life when I have this feeling that time waits for noone, I'm impatient, I want things to move along and I want to make it happen.


~ Outraged on a completely different level is my feeling over the senseless slaughter of poor Marius the giraffe in Copenhagen Zoo the other day. 

Absolutely horrified over the inhumanity and complete lack of compassion. Why do humans see fit to capture other living beings, lock them in far away from their natural habitat in small enclosures, breed them, use and abuse them for all sorts of entertainment. When they're deemed "worthless from a breeding point of view" they are sentenced to death. And as the plebs like public deaths of innocents, why not make a spectacle of it to?

Why do parents in the 21st century still see it fit to take their kids to zoos? In doing that you send the message that it's okey to capture and lock animals in for humans' entertainment's sake. Captivity kills. Zoos exploit living beings. No amount of spin doctors and PR can change that basic fact.

Zoos are dirty businesses, The Cove is just one bloody example, now a poor innocent, trusting, peaceful creature named Marius has become another horrific example. Because he wasn't concidered to be genetically valuable. Well, from an objective point of view very few humans would be concidered genetically valuable and still the world is an overpopulated place by that specific specie and human life is somehow regarded as special. While other animals are treated as products without value, feelings and right to exist if they can't entertain us in zoos, circuses or served as flesh on a plate.

Marius, what a poignant heartbreaking example of a mad, mad world devoid of compassion and sense.

~ The older I get, the more I know my instincts are good and I trust my gut feeling, but some people just give such mixed messages I'm not sure what to think really. I wish we could just be more open, clear and straight forward in our communication. So what if we make a bit of fools of ourselves now and then? Isn't that better than missed opportunities, drudging along, the what ifs and regrets of not having said and done what we wanted but was too scared to?

Yes, I direct that last paragraph to myself too. I need to challenge myself more, in different aspects in life. Time waits for noone. On the other hand, perhaps sometimes one is better served with "the right moment". But when is the right moment? Will it just magically appear? Or does one need to make it happen, nudge destiny a bit in the right direction?


~ While contemplating all of the, in different ways, very important for real, matters above I take great comfort in three "things" I'm very happy about at the moment;

:: the juicer and all the goodness and glory it makes happen every day

:: a new pair of boots (you didn't see that coming, right?)

:: a very clingy redhead named Zigne, who this past week for some unknown, odd reason has become even more adorable, cuddlesome and adoring of yours truly than before. We are simply two peas in a cuddly pod, mini-me and I. Blessed.

Yes, writing those thoughts and feelings down was a huge relief. It's also a great relief that life is always full of the good stuff and good people too. And now I do believe it is about high time for some seriously good stuff to come true, what do you say, universe?

semla so far

Since the first semla of 2014 I've had three more. With various degrees of satisfaction, but everyone was definitely more worth it than the numero uno.

I know many people, or well, some people, think its borderline scandal to eat your first semla before Fat Tuesday in February. I used to be one of those myself. Now I don't much care, just as long as it's after New Year.

When I was a kid I didn't like semlas at all, I couldn't stand almond paste and I wasn't a fan of whipped cream. As if that wasn't bad enough I had a father that enjoyed his semla the old fashioned way as hetvägg (translates hot wall); you serve the semla in a bowl and pour hot milk over it, letting it dissolve into a soup of sorts eating it with a spoon. Nasty.

It's only these past 10 or so years I've come to enjoy almond paste. And it's probably about the same amount of years I've enjoyed semlas. But I'm a discerning semla-eater, they mostly disappoint when you try a new bakery so I usually stick to favourites.

Anyway. The three I've had have been from

1) Bakery Fabrique (which makes great cardamom buns and other sourdough breads), it was better than my first one, but the almond paste was too smooth and sweet.

2) Chic Konditori (one of my favourite Stockholm cafés), first time I tried one there and it was just darling actually. Not too big, very nice cardamom bun, good almond paste and the perfect amount of whipped cream.

3) Today of all days I had the classic one from Bananza, one of my, along with many other Stockholmers, favourite semlas.

I still haven't tried the Stockholm Super Semla this year, but all in due time.

To be honest, feeling quite full from today's semla I don't much feel like eating anything else ever again. Funny how that will change. It always do somehow.

How about you, any semla so far?
Good, bad, in between?

happy and repair

A couple of skincare products I've tried for a month plus now. Unfortunately neither of them works magic, not the least bit, not even a hint. So no repeat buy.

Which in the case of the Happy eye area lightener may be a relief because the price of the 15ml bottle would be the equivalent of gold. And no I didn't pay that, it was on 75% sale and I just stumbled over it, thought I'd give it a go since I'm very prone to panda eyes ever since that week in Gothenburg...

- I never use eye creams because I always feel really uncomfortable with them on, basically my eyelids get warm and my eyes start watering. As unwanted wrinkles and such are probably the least of my problems I really don't see the use of it anyway, I've only tried samples. If the products should work at all that is... I may love good skincare, lotions and potions, but some products I really don't see the use of. Just a ridiculous part of a billion dollar industry. -

To be honest I hadn't heard about the brand Phenomené before, but it seem to be a good company with sustainable work, products and ideas. Too bad the first product of theirs I tried was a, to be quite honest, crap one. As far as I and my panda eyes are concerned.

As for the Dermalex repair I was recommended that at the pharmacy. The background to the purchase (which is nowhere near the price of gold as above) is as follows. I've always had rosy cheeks, but in my mid 30ies the look became more flushed. Went to a skin specialist quite a few years ago, "no it isn't rosacea it's just sensitive skin". It might be that my granny sort of let my cheeks and nose freeze when I was a baby and we were out playing having fun in the winter. It might be hereditary. I've never seen it as an issue really, until this past year or so.

Even if rosy cheeks make you look healthy, being proned to the flushed look isn't all that fun. Even less so when the winter weather and dry air makes the skin terribly dry. I'm always the apple-cheeked woman so to say. And some days, in some situations it would be neat to not look quite as... perky.

So I tried this tube. And I have been using it every day since a month back. Unfortunately it hasn't made any difference to my rosy cheeks. So the search for the ultimate facial cream (because guess what, the Kiehl's centella recovery skin salve didn't work wonders either...) AND something to make cheeks look less rosy continues. I don't use foundations or powders so looking into that is not something I will do.

Any other suggestions for sensitive and (winter) dry skin would be much appreciated though!

the morning juice

My new morning routine is a large glass of fresh juice (yes admittedly I've strayed a bit from the soygurt and seeds breakfast due to this, but I'm just so smitten with the juicer!). I firmly intend to stick with it - to be honest I haven't seen any major changes in my mood or perkiness, but I'm thinking it most likely will take more than a week. Not that I'm exactly in a bad place moodwise, but still, Scandinavian winters are tough of the soul - because it's such a lovely lovely thing with a daily fresh vegetable (no juice without at least one carrot!) and fruit juice. At least during this bleak time of the year, when sunshine and natural perk me uppers like that are scarce.

My favourite is still the carrot ginger one. But I also quite enjoy carrots and apples.

I've blended a handful of frozen blueberries and raspberries with carrots and apples.

Carrots, apples, oranges or 

carrots, apples and blood grapefruit are treats in their own ways.

Today I made my first beetroot juice, 5 small beetroots, 2 apples, 1 orange, 1 carrot. It was nice, but next time I think I will take less of the beetroots, because it was a bit too earthy for my taste.

The juicer is really easy to clean, so it's an easy routine to keep I think. Hopefully.

the sign of snowdrops

Discovered this wee beauty in the winter lilacs hedge today. Alongside many more hassocks of snowdrops. As much as I love the sign of spring I have to say this just makes me sad, because the time and nature are so clearly out of joint. Spring on these latitudes should still be at least a month away. And just the other week it was about -10C. Now suddenly the snow has melted, it rains a lot and the temperature varies around +1-5C.

And still too many people just keep on living, shopping, eating, travelling like they've always lived, shopped, eaten and travelled...

The sign of too early snowdrops.

love peace & the planet haircare

A couple of years ago I asked if anyone had tried the love peace planet haircare range from Tigi, with no answer. (I'm guessing that wasn't because I didn't call it love peace & the planet, which apparently is the correct name.)

I'm so glad I went ahead and eventually bought that bottle of Free ur mind cherry almond hairspray anyway. (Daring, that's my middle name.) Because that one bottle has been seriously good to both my hair, me and hopefully the planet too for a very long time now. Talk about long lasting!

For various reasons I suspect that Tigi has unfortunately discontinued the range - please correct me if I'm wrong! - and the Facebook fan page hasn't been updated for over 3 years (which is of course very unprofessional, still in production or not). But it still seems to be available in online beauty shops and such. Which is a huge relief, even if it still is a bummer that they possibly don't make the range anymore.

I was looking forward to trying more of the products from the range. I've only tried two more bottles and they've been truly great too. Which, to be honest, you sadly can't say about very many beauty products if you look at the ingredients list and its ecological impact.

The leave-in conditioner Let it be (cherry almond too) makes the hair incredibly soft and swishy, if you're looking for that, I'm more of a I wan't volume in my hair kind of gal. But some days its good with some TLC for the hair like that, let it rest a bit.

The conditioner Eco Awesome (cranberry orange mint, not crazy about the scent truth be told) is just what it says, awesome. A great detangler, giving hair bounce and volume. It immediately took a place on my very short list of favourite conditioners.

Have you tried the love peace & the planet range?
What did you think?
What's your favourite organic haircare range?

happy semi-colon day

Isn't it fabulous that this lovable, understated punctuation mark has its very own day?! February 6 is the day, since today is the death day (in 1494) of the man who is said to be behind this ingenious wee mark called semicolon, Aldus Pius Manutius.

I think it's such a stylish and useful punctuation mark, somehow it makes texts come alive in a new way. And it doesn't hurt that it's pretty to look at, it flows and it flirts with the reader, compared to its stodgy and unimaginative cousin, the colon.

One of my favourite writers, John Irving, is a master at using semi-colon.

Did you know that the name "Pia" is the feminine version of the Latin word "Pius" meaning "pious" (which certainly doesn't describe me) - perhaps I was meant to love the semicolon.

Happy Semi-colon Day, dear ; !

a man and his dog on the train

This man and his dog I regularly see in the afternoon rush hours on the train home - although something I relish running my own business is the fact that I can shy away from those hellish hours of commuting, I'm so grateful I can mostly get away not riding the train during those parts of the day.

I love how the man clearly dote on his dog and how the dog reciprocate. Their interaction is absolutely precious. Wish all good beings could be appreciated and appreciate eachothers company like that.

I also love the fact that even during rush hours there is time for scenes of human/animal interaction that makes your heart melt a bit.

a rockin' kind of dress

keep spotting seriously gorgeous dresses in windows. though i don't take photos of them all (maybe i should?), but i still remember that dreamy red dress a few months ago.

this though is even more awesome, mushrooms, rocking horse, gnomes, butterflies, flowers and i think i see a castle... oh my! probably ridiculously expensive and minuscule in sizes. but so so so lovely. what a wonderful and magic fabric! and pretty, simple design. i give this dress lotsa hearts.

meet the juicer

When this mouthwatering gorgeousness meet this strict looking thingie



magic happens and you end up with this



- yes I am a very happy owner of a juicer! Finally. I've been thinking about it for many years but never prioritized a purchase. But I guess that lovely carrot-ginger juice at Wagamama made me think about it even more.

When I was a kid my parents used to have a juicer. I really didn't enjoy the fresh juice that came from it, I wanted bought juice, bought cordial, bought jam, bought apple sauce. So having dinners and food at my friends' homes were treats, their parents bought every food item and were clueless on how to make their own jams and juices.

Now I am of course utterly grateful for parents who cared about what we ate and food quality. And now I've brought a childhood gadget (albeit updated and snazzier) in to my own home. A juicer.

I've used it twice so far - one carrot ginger juice (6 carrots and one large ginger made for a big glass of awesomeness. Sorry, Wagamama, I will probably not order that delicious juice from you anymore, I can now make my own any day. Beware of drinking it late in the evening though, couldn't sleep at all. Part of its effect is apparently very much like caffeine...)

and one apple carrot juice (3 apples, 3 carrots made for the big glass above). Both were heavenly. And a pretty perfect way to start the day. Something to beat that winter blues. Even if I still love a good smoothie I think the fact that you can juice carrots this easy makes me even happier (of course I can blend the carrot juice into a smoothie too. Oh my, all the new and improved choices are mindboggling!)

As if I didn't suffer from the carrot defect enough... my fridge is now filled with a massive amount of carrots sold very very cheap right now.

Some of the leftover pulp can of course be used for cooking and baking - I made really lovely carrot and potato rösti with ginger and coriander today for example - but I'm thinking now is really the time to get that small compost I've been meaning to do for ages. Until then I think I have to be really imaginative with fruit and veggie leftovers. The recipe book actually suggested making facial masks from the pulp, which of course is just my thing too.

Do you have a juicer?
What's your favourite juice blend?

voluspa saijo persimmon

Many years ago I bought the Voluspa Saijo Persimmon room scent spray and infusion. Simply adore the scent - some scents have the power to make me go all weak in the knees, giddy and relaxed at the same time somehow. This is such a scent - and the spray was really lovely, the infusion was not. I never enjoy infusions, I had just hoped that one would prove to be an exception to the not nice rule.

I love their scented candles, but I haven't gotten the Saijo Persimmon until now. A big lovely tin filled with many many hours of heavenly scent. Pure luxuary. And just the thing to have on my office desk. Serving me with whiffs of giddiness, inspiration and relaxation.

In other words, a really perfect first buy for the month of February.

What's your favourite scent (in candles, perfumes, soaps and such)?
And what's your favourite scented candle?

a perfect way to start a saturday

It does feel slightly surreal to admit to this because
 
a) I am not a morning person (or so I've thought for the larger part of my life)
b) I enjoy leasurily mornings, lounging around in a cosy robe (generally)
c) I am so not a coffee person (tea ftw anyway)

But I have to say that this is still one of my favourite ways to start a Saturday/weekend;
rising early and heading in to the city (admittedly I would probably not enjoy it as much if I went by bus + train) for breakfast at one of my favourite cafes (the coffee chain Espresso House. Which also feels silly to admit, but it is mainly because of their fabulous soy latte. And this particular cafe has a certain atmosphere that I love, I've had so many great meetings and good talks there).

Sitting in the armchairs in the window is a must (and of course that's never an issue on early weekend mornings... Rest of the week though it has become sort of a sport, 'get a couple of armchairs in the window, just do whatever it takes to get them!'). Snuggle up in an armchair, watching people from all walks of life pass by those huge windows, do a bit of work, having breakfast, start the morning in a soft way.

Having become a creature of reasonable habit - the seedy (not in that way, silly) home breakfast and the weekend morning breakfast in the window. Same same. And really lovely. Soy latte, smoothie (of the best Innocent kind of course) and a veggie bagel or babaganoush foccacia is a great way to start the day. In my world.

What's your favourite way to start a Saturday (or Sunday) morning?