My favourite products

L’Occitane is my favorite brand of all time, I have been liking their products for long time. From the packaging to scent, they are awesome. I remember years ago when I saved my money to buy the hand cream for winter or a shower gel, I felt very happy. 

Aromachologie Rebalancing Exfoliating Shower Gel

I bought this and used after a long and tired day of working, it smells very relaxing and calming. 

This is the Christmas gift from my friend last year. From left to right: pivoine flora, rose 4  reines, cherry blossom, amande. I have used the first three, except the almond one. Last but not least is verbena shower gel, my favorite which i don't have the picture here.

Shiseido BIO-PERFORMANCE Advanced Super Restoring Cream

My skin has been improved much after this, but it is a thick cream so best use is in the night before going to sleep. I wouldn’t use before makeup.
Sense Fluid Finish Foundation in the shade FF102 Soft ivory 

I love this foundation. Firstly, it suits my skin color very well. Secondly, it has a light/medium coverage, which makes me feel I had put nothing on my skin. Thirdly, it’s easy to apply which creates a smooth finish.

Free days at home

When I have free days from work, I’m looking forward to do nothing but rest and chilled out so I can get my energy back. 

What do i do to rewind? Here is the list of things I usually do to rewind myself:

1. I want to have a bathtub where I can immerse myself in warm water while listening to music (or not listening to music) with some lighted candles near by to create spa ambience. Unfortunately, I don't have a bathtub so I have to go with normal shower. One day, I tried to bring a candle to the bathroom and turned off the light but it was so dark so I ended up turning the light on and still keep the lit candles. It’s fine! The purpose is: to take a long shower, feel super clean and refresh
2. Put cream on my face and do a massage. It really makes me feel relaxed.
3. Put my feet in salted water. I have 2 bottles of foot soak: one is peppermint and another is lemon. To be honest, I feel lazy to do this sometimes except when I came to my boyfriend’s place, he brought a bucket of warm water with sea salt for me, the only thing I did was to put my feet in. How lucky I am!
4. Make some delicious meal.
5. Listening to music.
6. Do some short and simple yoga exercises.
7. Read books, news or watch movie on Netflix. In my case, sometimes I was browsing Internet very long, sometimes I spent whole night watching series on Netflix. Books: I only read what I found interesting.  

I like to clean my apartment, my mind is clear when things are clean and organized even though it’s hard to achieve it sometimes but I try whenever I can. And of course do laundry.

I believe plants and flowers bring positive energy. Those are flowers and plant my boyfriend and my friend gave me. I feel happy when I look at them, they just brighten a corner of my kitchen. 

Kalanchoe or tulilatva in Finnish

Flamingo flower, in Finnish also flamingokukka

As a fan of moisturizers, I rarely do makeup or make up very lightly but moisturizer is a must for me, I want to feel my skin super hydrated. My favorite moisturizer is Kiehl’s which I bought in Stockman in Hullut päivät (crazy days) occasion and I love it, I used it up very quickly.  

Kiehl’s ultra facial cream, perfect for my winter dry skin

My summer trip to Dubrovnik, 2016

The lime tree in front of the place we stayed, limes in the sun

Today is my free day so I write a little bit about my summer trip to Dubrovnik, Croatia. The moment our host picked up us from the airport and drove us to home, I felt instantly in love with the city. It was a sunny day, the car drove up to hill, from there I could see the sea below and the scene is like picturesque Mediterranean that I only got chance to see through photos but now with my naked eyes: blue sky, sunshine and pink flowers quivering in light breeze together with those lovely houses along the road. I was thrilled to check out the city. 

Firstly, I love many ice cream places near by the beaches and the old town. They have generous added fresh berries. I guess there are many good places to eat in Dubrovnik in general since they use fresh ingredients, but do a little research before going is never hurt. Last time we would like to eat in Proto restaurant, which was recommended by a waiter in one restaurant we ate, it is famous for its sea food but we didn't book in advanced so when we came there was no place for us and a few couples were waiting in line. I was hungry so we have to find somewhere else which ended up in the place that the food i didn't like. I still feel regret that we didn't book in advanced.

We came frequently to a pizza place called Mea Culpa where I had a big crush on their pizza Bolognese, drank some coffee and chilled out just like many tourists did. 

Places I visited in Dubrovnik

I had written the long lists on this but since time was short, i had to omit many of them. Below are places I actually visited

1. Ancient city wall

According to our local host, the best time to visit ancient city walls is early morning, when the weather is cool and avoid the crowds. The evening is ok too but since the stone absorb heat during day, it is still somehow hot.

2. Stradun

3. Island of Lokrum 

4. The city gates

5. The Old town

6. Dubrovnik Cable Car 

Wait for sunset, it worthed waiting, absolutely amazing!

On the way from home to the centre



Roses on the balcony where we stayed



Grapes on the balcony where we stayed



View from the balcony


Bougainvillea, city's signature flower?



Downtown



View from ancient city walls



















Sleeping beauty cat





Stradun




Arriving in Lokrum 






The island has a lot of peacocks and rabbits



Chilled out with my cappucino


View from the cable car
When it comes to travel, some people like adventures, some like to rest in luxury hotels. For me, there is no wrong or right, depends on your goals, your budgets,…as long as you enjoy, everything is fine. Even discover the nearest town near to where you live is a pleasure.

My experience with Farang

I’m not the type who used to go out to eat, I would rather stay home and make the food I like so I don’t really have many experiences about dining. Most of the time I went out was because my friends asked me to go. I have been in some restaurants but they did not much fascinate me.

The first time I decided to eat in Farang was when I got a new job, I thought I gave it a try but it was better than I had imagined. In my second visit, it truly made me happy. The food was very good. We ordered Crispy pork and palm sugar caramel and Caramelized beef cheeks in rendang curry. My boyfriend could not take coriander but the chef mistakenly put it on top of our curry, we didn’t change to new dish even though the waitress suggested, we just simply put coriander away. However, they were generous to give us half price for the beef dish and 2 others free extra food which were super delicious: Chin la lot & tamarind, the other one was Morning glory “salt& pepper” tofu, the tofu was insane: silky soft inside and crunchy outside. Caramelized pork came later, we were too full. It was funny; we didn’t finish our main dish.





We did order cocktails in the beginning Farang Bellini and Manilla sky. I’m not much into drinks even the second one was quite refreshing, but I would like to try their dessert next time :)

Prague by iphone

A trip to Prague, 2014

Prague 2015, part 3

It has been a year since I came to Prague. I don’t remember all the names of the places I have visited, but it is a city with many lovely sceneries except when I came there at the end of May the weather is kind of cold and windy, I hadn’t brought enough warm clothes with me so it was a bit hinder for me to go out. I think it would be much nicer in summer when it is warm. This post is nothing but to show you some pictures of the places I have been.

On my way to Prague castle
 

Astronomical Clock in Old Town