Kotona chillaillen

Alan jo hieman totttua tähän koti-Suomen kylmyyteen. Tänään oli hiukan viileämpää kuin eilen eikä aurinko paistanut yhtä paljon, taisi olla jopa pakkasta. Jatkoin Oscarien katsomista nauhalta ja nautin äidin tekemää makaronilaatikkoa, lempi(koti)ruokaani! ;)

Päätin myös käydä moikkaamassa kummityttöäni Gretcheniä. Hän on kasvanut viime näkemältä, on jo lähes 5kk ikäinen. Pyöreät posket ja hymyilee paljon! Ihana pikku prinsessa. Rupattelimme tytön äidin kanssa niitä näitä ja vaihdoimme kuulumisia. 

Home sweet home

I flew to Finland on Tuesday since we have winter holiday now. It was the same flight as my friends took to get back home. It was my first time flying Lufthansa and I have to admit that even though there was a delay because of the snow storm in Munich I'm quite pleased with the service. The food was good I liked especially much their gouda-rucola sandwich. There were several male flight attendants who made sure that female passengers were served first and they were extremely polite in every other way also. They even apologized for the delay even if it wasn't their fault. What kind of experiences do you guys have with Lufthansa?

Tuesday was a sunny and rather warm day in Finland. It felt good to be home and since the temperature outside showed around +5C and sun I decided to take Oliver for a little walk with my mum. I missed Oliver so much and I'm so happy he came to meet me at the airport.

Monaco

Monday looked less rainy than Sunday which was pouring rain all day long. My friends Jonna and Markus arrived to Nice on Friday and Monday was going to be the day I show them around in Monaco promised land :P We started the day by walking around in Nice Old Town first before heading to Monaco. The sun was shining and it was going to be a great day.

We arrived in Monaco and took a moment to admire the beautiful view of the harbour. It was a little windy but that didn't stop us. The reflection of the sunshine in the water made it shine like a million diamonds, simply beautiful.

We strolled towards the Monte Carlo area and sat down on the terrace of the well-known Café de Paris to enjoy some drinks and pie. From the terrace you can see the entire Place du Casino with the Casino and Hotel de Paris. 

From Café de Paris we continued with some shopping. I found my way to Chanel where I bought a pair of gorgeous earrings. We also took a look at the luxurious Métropole Shopping Center which is located close to the casino area. There I also bought some delicious Ladurée macarons as a souvenir to take home to my family. After the daily dose of shopping we came back to the Casino and had dinner at the Brasserie du Café de Paris, a well-known and luxurious restaurant in Monte Carlo.

                                       

This is how the restaurant is described on their website 

The Brasserie du Café de Paris is the most well-known setting for "rendez-vous" in Monaco : its warm and welcome extends a promise of enjoyable moments, the decor with its "Belle Epoque" windows recalls that of old Parisian bistros, the atmosphere is glowing and gay. For a lunch break or dinner at the heart of  Monte-Carlo, on the legendary Place du Casino, you'll discover the delicious ragrances of the cuisine proposed by our great chef Jacques Lambert.

The atmosphere was so welcoming and the service excellent, you are treated almost like royalty. If you decide to dine in Monaco I definitely recommend this place. The steak was excellent and the wine selection very good also.

This is the dessert I had, I must say it was delicious. Both flavours and presentation was impeccable. My overall impression about the restaurant is very good and I will definitely return. After a fantastic dinner we headed to the Casino. It was not allowed to take any pictures but the inside was extremely glamorous and refined. I had an Apple Martini and Markus had some Macallan whiskey. We walked around and sat down by a table in the other hall and enjoyed our drinks. All and all I can say that we had a really great day and my visit to Monaco was once again very enjoyable! :)

Fashion Review | Versace's Fall 2013 Vunk Theme

Vunk! This will become the new word of the fashion dictionary – punk style mixed with the sex symbol of Versace. 

Versace literally nailed it this season. The manner of turning punk into something vunk was beyond perfection.  All items – mink skirts, tight fitted vinyl pants, and nail dresses – were convincing enough for any women who loves to take risks. There were elements of Gianni’s past work except they were modernized for today’s glamour chicks. It seemed Donatella wanted to be original…….and she was. 

Lately, there have been negative buzzes of people commenting how awful this collection was. Really? It seems they don’t quite understand where the authentic DNA of this brand falls. I wonder what was awful for them, because for me this was extravagant, energetic, and revealing – typical of Versace. What was the surprise? Too much Vunk in your face?

If they ever asked me to describe this collection in one word it would be vinyl.  It may sound dirty for some, but boy did Donatella know how to make this fetish fabric sexy and wearable. She added some plaid to some of the dresses and skirts, but I never remembered them extremely vividly as I did with her vinyl. Suits had no button, for nails closed the deal (don’t mess with me). I could go all day watching the models wearing those designs in various colors – white, black, purple, and yellow – which screamed party. 

 A yellow mink coat was one of my favorite outerwear pieces. I was intrigued by its unique tipard (tiger and leopard) print. Fun and deceiving.  Another that made the list was a yellow mink skirt I will be rooting for someone to wear soon. Will it be you?

Accessories were another big hit here. Spiked chokers and necklaces seemed painful, but wanting.  Nail earrings seemed daring and could become the next must have accessory of the season.  

For evening, slits, spikes, and vinyl portrayed the sexual vunk.  Cara Delevinge ported an intense red number with spiky pride. A purple evening dress wrap around with nails was striking. Karmen Pedaru in a white vinyl slit dress was too high we could even notice her underwear. The last two models finished Donatella’s glorious triumph. She took her bow like the queen she is……….in vinyl pants.

The 85th Academy Awards - The Red Carpet

Needless to say, I love the Oscars. It combines two of my favourite things; fashion and movies. This time was going to be different since I'm in France. I was watching the red carpet in bed and listening to the interviews and of course admiring the gowns. Our school's Annual Ball happened to be in Helsinki the same day so if I would've been back home it would've been even more Oscar feeling for me. Some years it occurs right on the same day since our ball is always on the 24th. I think we can all agree on that Jennifer Lawrence and Amy Adams (my absolute two favourites, what do you guys think?) shined like real stars on the red carpet. This year the fashion was very focused on basic colors such as white, black, red and a lot of sparkle. Here are the best picks for this year.

One of my two favourites: Amazing Academy Award winner Jennifer Lawrence in Dior Haute Couture

My favourite: Gorgeous Amy Adams in Oscar de la Renta

Amanda Seyfried in Alexander McQueen

Kelly Rowland wearing Donna Karan Atelier

Jennifer Aniston in a gorgeous red Valentino gown 

Naomi Watts wearing Armani Prive

Katherine Zeta-Jones in  Zuhair Murad

Zoey Zaldana in Alexis Mabille 

Academy Award winner Anne Hathaway wearing Prada

Nice carnival parade

My friends arrived in Nice late on Friday so I decided to show them a really good time since they happen to be here while the two biggest events on the Riviera are on, the Nice carnival and the lemon festival in Menton. Last night we went to see the carnival, it was fantastic. We were freezing a bit towards the end but it was worth it. The theme for the carnival this year is King of the 5 continents. Here are some of the best bits.

Macarons and other treats

The day in Geneva felt long and as I arrived back home I went early to bed. Before that I did enjoy some of the well-earned treats I bought in Geneva, some Ladurée macarons. They are probably the most well-known macarons in the world, created by Pierre Desfontaines, second cousin of Louis Ernest Ladurée in the early 20th century. Among the flavours I chose were chocolate, raspberry, chestnut, hazelnut and vanilla. They were exactly as they were supposed to be; crispy on the outside and soft on the inside.

My sister also brought me some lovely souvenirs from back home, Fazer chocolate. The Fazer blue as we all know is the most sold chocolate in Finland, they also have a patent for the Fazer blue color. It was first introduced in 1922 and has been nominated the most valued brand in Finland. For my foreign readers you can find out more on http://www.fazer.com/Brands/Karl-Fazer/ (unfortunately the information is limited in English)  I also noticed that while I've been gone the wrappings have also received a new design. I enjoyed my pastries and chocolate together with some stories and fashion from the February issue of Finnish Cosmopolitan. 

Salutations de Genève

Bonsoir et salutations de Genève, la Suisse! Today was an early wake-up so I wouldn't miss my flight. I really had been looking forward to this day. I was gonna meet my sister and our cousin in Geneva for a day on the town. I have never been in Geneva so it sounded like fun. Once the girls arrived a bit later after me we took the train to the center, it only took 5 minutes that's why this is a good city. When we got out it felt like colder than Finland, and I've been living in a warm climate for almost two months now so it was a shock for me and even for my sister even if they'd been in Finland all this time.

It is good Geneva is in the French part of Switzerland so I got to practice my French. Getting a map and asking for direction didn't cause any trouble at all. :) We walked around towards the shopping area. Occasionally we stepped in into certain store to check things out, only to discover that the prices went through the roof. I got to notice this already at the airport. I paid 11,5 euros for a bagel and a bottle of Evian (0,5 litres). Seriously!

We were goofing around and going to stores, the city itself doesn't have much to offer but I'm glad I went there. We went to check out this cute toy store where I also found a little gift for my new and only god daughter Gretchen. I hadn't been in a toy store for a while and they just had so many sweet things. Before taking the train back we also stopped by at Starbucks.

Sisters :)

The shopping street

The Louis Vuitton building

My gift to Gretchen! Isn't it cute? ;)

Tall caramel frappuccino