Memoirs

Just had a look through my journal/diary/notebook, and saw a tendency of starting to write something at the beginning of every year, but lasting only a week or two, and then returning to it 6 months later.

Although I love writing, and do write long thoughtful messages to my friends, I still can't keep writing all the time, not because I don't have any thoughts or ideas to speak out, but just because I'm lazy or don't have anything to write on.

And of course the best writing, or better say expression of thoughts, come during the night hours (or in the shower :D).

Once again I find myself thinking about subjects that bother me for a long time lately, and thankfully this time I had my notebook around so I could write it down. The funny thing is that I don't like (and kinda scared of) re-reading what I wrote there. After sometime I still have an idea of what I wrote there and in my head it still sounds great (if I was some kind of French novelist). But I'm scared that I might read it, and find that it's just a childish rubbish :D But anyway, that's what my thoughts look like.

People say, in order to write good you have to have some experience, the weirder and more extreme - the better. But what about the state of soul, heart and mind in which some people are, who aren't experiencing all the joys and sorrows of the world? What about people who don't get to experience all that, or just scared, or not ready to? The emotional roller-coaster that one's going through by not getting those experiences is as much important as anything else.

I once heard from my teacher that memoirs are better to start writing (or write) when you're still in your twenties, or even earlier. Back then I thought that it's weird because memoirs are made of experiences and stories about them, that happen along person's life. But now I really think that a good pile of memoirs can be easily written by a 20-years old person. Of course none of us get to experience the world the same and we see it differently, especially at a young age.

So I'm kind of hoping and want this blog to become a kind of memoir of my current life.

This post doesn't really make sense, but whatever, just sharing my thoughts and in the next few posts will write more about things that bother me.

Let this be some kind of psychotherapy for me :P

Love yourself

Here comes the beauty and skin care products post!

(Sorry for such an uplifting title, but if you think about it, this stuff is also a big part of loving and taking care of yourself :) )

Lately I've been obsessed with beauty products and I'm really enjoy it!

One of the things, which is a MUST when changing your life to better is

LOVING YOURSELF

Many people might think that of course they love themselves, but they're often wrong. 

I now realize it more, because not only I've been eating very unhealthy, but I also haven't given my body and skin the care that they need and deserve.

I want to share these 5 products that I've been loving lately.

1. Face Scrub, Fresh Skin by St. Ives

This is a very lovely facial scrub that does a great job of removing dead skin from the face and that makes face so silky and smooth. Also the smell of apricot adds to the effect. This is not like usual facial masks that you only put on once a week. This is a really good product if you want to use it a few times a week plus you don't have to wait for it to dry. I usually use it while in the shower; it's quick and effective. 

I went for the small package just to try out, but when I finish it, I'm sure going to buy a large one. 

2. Body lotion "Sexy Little Things. Noir" by Victoria's Secret.

This lotion is the best one I've ever had!! It's just magical!
The silky texture makes your skin so smooth and hydrated, plus it smells incredible.
Highly recommend it to everyone! 

3. Body scrub "Flake Away" by Soap&Glory.

I finally got 'round to trying Soap&Glory products and decided to go with this one, because it can be used as just regular scrub for the body plus helps you to get rid of flakes of skin that are hard to remove. Of course I'm loving it (otherwise it wouldn't be here :P)! It's a bit oily, so when you wash it off the skin stays double smooth and soft because of that oily effect. Tip: apply it at the end of your shower time when you washed your body and use only water (no soap) when washing it off. That way you'll have an even better result of a smooth skin. 

And this one probably wins the "Best Smell" contest :)

4. Express Hydration body lotion by Nivea

In addition to my VS body lotion I decided to buy another one, that I can use daily and that is less pricey. After watching Tanya Burr's vlogmas day 22, where she talks about her bathroom products, I tried to find a Nivea body lotion that she talked about, that you apply on a wet skin. I didn't find that one, but instead I went for this lovely lotion that hydrates my skin SO well and it's also a bit more liquid than others, which I like. 

(No need of saying it also smells great :P)

5. Elnett Satin Hair by L'Oreal

My hair need volume!

So I went on a quest for something that'll give them volume, but without too much (or hopefully any) damage.

Unfortunately I should say this product doesn't give a good volume to hair, but it gives some. I like it because it makes my hair silkier and a tiny bit puffier. 

(You guessed it right, it smells great too).

Hopefully this was helpful and informative :) 

If you have any recommendations for me, please feel free to share them in comments!

Hope you're all having a wonderful time,
and don't forget to
love yourself! :)

The rain is in my blood, or a day in my life

   I've grown up in the city where it rains probably 80% of the time.

   That's why I like when it rains in Toronto and don't mind the walks in the rain. Especially if it's pretty warm (for the winter) outside.

   This was a very lovely day spent with my friend, and I'd like to share some great photos (took by my friend) of the city. 

   We also found a REALLY lovely cafe, called Fika. They have the most delicious tuna sandwich and lavender flavoured white hot chocolate (which is to die for!!). What we liked about this cafe, is that it's very cute, simple, and European stylish as the owner of Fika was inspired by Sweden. I love everything European looking (and tasting), because it reminds me of my home town. This cafe is now on my top favourites list of things and places :) 

   Toronto does look the best on the rainy days plus when it just starts getting darker; the reflection of city lights on wet streets creates a magical effect.

   As I write this post it's freezing cold outside, and I really hope we'll get more of these rainy, autumn-like days very soon!

All photos by Zhanna Oparina

Check out her awesome Instagram

Bucket list

    
 Coming up with a bucket list was a part of one youtube channel's topics, but I've never found time to make it, so let me leave it here in text, so I can always go back to it and check out what was already accomplished :) 

     This is a pretty long list, but I love it and can't wait to experience every single item in it! 

Go to London

Travel all over UK

Go on a Keane Trail

See U2 live

Meet/see live Brian May

Go on a road trip all over USA

Drive into Las Vegas with Brandon Flowers' "Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas" on full

Make Mark Stoermer (from The Killers) smile (Victims will get it :P)

Meet Keane

Meet The Killers

(Dave Keuning and Ted Sablay done)

Have a coffee with Richard Hughes (from Keane)

Swim with dolphins

Go to a music festival in UK

Go camping with friends

Visit Grand Canyon

Go to Paris and walk in the rain (like in Midnight In Paris)

Visit John Lennon's Memorial in NYC

Visit Imagine Peace Tower in Iceland

Visit Freddie Mercury's statue in Montreux, Switzerland

Travel all over Russia

Go to Japan

Go to New Zealand and Australia

Meet with Strangers (Keane fans) and Victims (The Killers fans)

Follow Keane and The Killers on tour (or at least a few shows in a row)

Read 300 books in a year

Fall in love

Get a boyfriend

Visit every room in Louvre

Get lost in London

Go to Italy (Florence!!)

Swim in all oceans

Spend a night somewhere far from the city, watching stars all night long

Become friends with a rock star :P

Find a profession that I will love

Finish psychology degree

Meet/see live Ringo Starr

Write a book

Be on the radio

Get fit

Be the best aunt in the world

Take my niece to see Keane and The Killers

Make my parents proud and happy

Move to London

Meet Miranda Hart

Learn to play drums and bass guitar

Go to Morocco

Ride through the desert of Nevada, Utah, Colorado, and Texas

Go to Disneyland and Magical World of Harry Potter

Visit all cool restaurants

Make a (successful) blog

Meet my favourite Youtubers

(Hannah Hart and Mamrie Hart)

Watch Doctor Who, Sherlock, and Broadchurch

See/meet Jake Bugg 

   This is of course not a full list (what??) and I will be adding more and more things to it when I remember them! 

   I really hope that my life will give me a chance to do all of it!!

Make a bucket list too, so you know (and see on a paper) what to strive for!! xxx

Turning 20: scary or exciting

     January not only meant a bright new year, it also meant that I turn 20.

20 years old....

TWEN-TY!!!

     Honestly I wasn't excited for it as much as I should've probably.

     Yes this means finally stepping into adulthood, but this is exactly what scared me.
I was thinking about it for the whole autumn (at least) and realized that things aren't as they were (oh really?).

     Suddenly you start thinking of things that wouldn't bother about just a few years ago (or even a year ago)!
     Now, getting a job is almost the first thing on my mind, and if few years ago "a job" meant spare money only, now what it means to me is: getting my own place to live, pay for the university tuition, pay the bills and yes, spend a good amount of money on concert tickets, food and maybe some cloth (merch).

     But the worst thing is that everyone thinks of you as a adult now and that you HAVE to do 'adult' stuff from now on. Suddenly the world has SO MUCH expectations from you (not even mentioning the parents).

     I guess in my head what I don't like is not the number 20 and becoming an adult really, but the thing that now I worry about the stuff that I don't want to worry about yet! I'm not ready!
And also I do feel like the clock is ticking and soon I'll be 80 years old lady that haven't accomplished anything. This is not only scary, but also sad as hell.

     Hopefully with a time I'll get used to it, and will try to finally get a job, so I can properly experience what 20 feels like :P 

Changes

I feel this year is going to be a year of changes for me, and I feel they're going to be good ones. But in order to let them happen, I have to start doing something about it.

During last year I've been thinking about things I want to do, places I want to visit, cloths to wear and foods to eat, but non of them (almost) happened.

Don't know if it's the pressure from the internet (amazing blogs that I read, and videos on Youtube), but I want to do something with my life, and yes, I want to experience everything I've read about or seen in the videos myself!

This blog is a small start for these changes to happen, because it's something that will keep me on track to accomplishing my goals.

Changes are always hard, but the ones that I'm looking forward to are the most hard ones for me.

From now on I have to promise myself to stick to the plan and look out to those changes, because in the end, I know, they will be a dream come true.

New Year's Targets

Another year came to an end, but nothing seems to have changed, so I really decided to make some resolutions for this bright new year that I'm more than ready to bring to life.

As Tom Chaplin said on Twitter  "Targets are better than resolutions", and I have to agree with him on that :)

I've set some targets already, but still have to make a plan for each of them.

Here they are:

- Study harder (!!!)
- Find a job (!!!)

- Keep this blog running and try to make at least one post once a week

- Be more involved in university life

- Start a healthy diet and get fitter

- Discover what I really like and try to find "myself"

- Read more

These are really important things that I should work on, because if I wanna change my life to better, I have to do something about it. I made this blog as some kind of a new beginning for myself, and what a better way to start it with a new year. 

I believe that this might keep me on track, because it's not something that I said in my head and no one heard it (and I can get away with it). 

I will be posting all the progress that I've made here, and will set new challenges regarding each of the targets. 

In the upcoming days I will share my Holiday cook book and how I tried to eat healthy during the holidays :)

Hope to bring some of you on my journey and help with advice!!