Weekend Recap

First of all, I'd like to apologize for the blog silence. Lost my blogging voice there for a second but I'm back, even better than before! I wish. Well, another weekend is behind us and a new week has started with completely new energy and excitement!

Returning back to Friday night though; it's 8pm on a Friday night and what does the Finn do? Goes to a bar, clubbing, gets crazy?

Wrong.

She goes figure skating! Until 10.30pm I might add... That's right, I finally found an ice skating club which I first tried out earlier last week and found myself right at home! As it happens, training takes place on Friday night. Until 10pm. And I actually ended up staying half an hour more since there was still a little ice time left and skating is just... well, love.

After training I got to talking with a fellow skater and turns out she is also in a synchronized team here and told me I should join the team. Tempting, we will see what next season brings with it... ;) I can't tell you how much I've missed skating and connecting with people who share the passion for it!

Anyways, getting home I took probably the fastest shower in the history of showers and fixed myself up a little to go out JUST shortly for a drink to the friendly neighborhood Kneipe (corner pub) with a few friends. Going out for a while turned out (surprisingly) being a few hours too long since we were having such a good time and after getting a few hours of the Zzz's I found myself sitting on the S-Bahn, on a Saturday morning, before 9am, heading for the ice rink yet again.

Die spinnen, die Finnen, I guess. Well, I gotta keep up the reputation, right? ;)

Saturday night was spent in the comfort of our own movie theater with a couple of room mates watching movies on a projector. The winners of our movie lottery turned out to be Trainspotting and Youth. I can't believe I never saw Trainspotting before, it being a classic and all. Youth wasn't exactly what I expected from the trailer and the plot was a little random at times but I liked it nevertheless.



Hope everyone is recovering well from a weekend of fun, I know I am! :)

My Latest Obsessions

I'm a person who gets (overly) excited about new things and I thought I would share my most recent discoveries that have made their way into my daily routines!

Well, as you know the best beauty tip out there is moisturizing and lately I've been all about avoiding chemicals and opting for natural solutions like coconut oil. Every blogger out there has been raving about coconut oil since 2014... But why?

Well, some amazing benefits of coconut oil include aiding weight loss, strengthening the immune system, moisturizing and protecting skin and hair as well as acting as a disinfectant. I've also been using my fair share of coconut oil as a sweetener in coffee, face and hair mask and also tried oil pulling, which is awesome by the way (and I just might be doing it right now ;)).

To explain shortly, oil pulling helps get rid of all the nasty bacteria in your mouth more effectively than brushing, flossing and using mouthwash (although you should do these as well)! It leaves you with the feeling of having your teeth professionally cleaned. Also, along with some great health benefits, it makes your teeth whiter over time!

How many of you are thinking of researching it right now?! More can be found here.

However using coconut oil as a makeup remover was something new! And sounds kind of strange, right...? But as I told you before, I'm one to try out everything, so I just had to give this a shot as well!

At first after using it for a while I had a few break outs in my skin, as toxins made their way out but having used it for over a month now, I can seriously say that my skin has never been better! As coconut oil acts as a disinfectant, it helps to clean your skin in a natural way while moisturizing at the same time. Just swoop up some of solid coconut oil with a cotton pad and gently wipe your face with it.

How great is this for travelling when you don't want to carry 1000+ beauty products?!

Also, I have been rocking yoga lately! I've never really been into yoga before since I prefer high intensity workouts more. But after being sick and still not feeling up to super intense killer workouts, I decided to give yoga a try. And maybe got a little addicted. I found the best yoga workout videos on YouTube, Yoga with Adrienne. Her workouts really kick ass and she's not the dead serious yogi you might expect but adds a little humor into it as well!



The new year is a perfect excuse for giving new things a chance, right? ;)

German, German and More German

Learning a new language is fun but it's also incredibly hard work. So, I would like to share some tips that have helped me with the language for any of you out there learning new languages!

Although I've studied German for 8 years, it has been several years and one other new language since then and therefore my German is very rusty at the moment. Fun fact though, when I lived in Spain a few years ago, I probably learned more German than Spanish since almost all my friends were from here!

Well, at this point I've been here for several weeks and I can say that I now understand almost everything (as long as people are not talking too fast)! However talking is still HARD. When I'm out I try to talk only in German but I still find talking with friends quite difficult as it takes me a long time to form a sentence in my head and by the time I'm done the conversation has covered another 5 topics!

And getting back to the topic, here are my best tips!

1. Read a book! 

On my first night here I raided my friend's bookshelf to find a book that is pretty easy to read. I have taken on a routine of reading in bed every night as it also relaxes me and helps me clear my mind off other things. At first I was a little frustrated with my unbelievably slow pace (I'm not the most patient person out there) but after a while I was happy to notice that I really picked up the pace. I have gotten more than half way through the first book and I already have another one waiting! Also, reading the news, articles, blogs, whatever interests you online is great!

The best part of these two books; I get to watch the movies after I'm done with the books to fill in any possible gaps! :)
























2. Listen! (and watch TV)

Listening to the language helps you get used to it and you start being able to tell the difference between words, sentences and the overall grammar structure. This is especially easy when you are actually living in the particular country and hear the language on a daily basis. Living in Germany it's great to learn by watching TV since everything is dubbed in German and therefore you have no other option (except Netflix, which can also be watched in German or at least with German subtitles).

My friend introduced me to The. Best. TV show EVER! Gute Zeiten, Schlechte Zeiten (or Guze!). It's a German soap that has been around probably as long as I have and everybody seems to have an opinion about it; they either love it or hate it, there's no in-between! The plot is really easy to follow even though the twists are pretty bizarre!

But the funniest thing about this series is that we have exactly the same kind of soap in Finland and it's on at exactly the same time (19:30) on week nights. Any Finnish readers out there know exactly what I'm talking about! Also, reruns are also shown at the same time on the weekend! Hilarious!

And the absolute most important tip; Talk, talk and talk. 

Talking is the most important thing for learning a new language. I'm really attempting to but I do have to admit I slip into English way too easily as I can't fluently express myself and I get frustrated. But it's a learning curve and while learning German I am also learning patience...

Talking about talking as I've been trying to talk more German with one of my room mates, the other day we went out for breakfast to Linds, the cutest little café in Schöneberg (which I for some reason keep saying in a Swedish accent...). The Kleines Veganes (Little Vegan) breakfast was truly awesome, containing bread, fresh hummus, ginger jam, vegetables and fruits.

Any other tips YOU might have on learning languages are more than welcome!