Bye bye Athens

Okey, so I'm back in Finland. It sure is crazy what even a short vacation like this one can do. I got to recharge my batteries and now I'm ready to take on work and everything else. Luckily it's almost summer in Finland so it's not that bad.

 Athens was such a beautiful place. I feel like we were on the move 24/7 because there was just so much to see and since I was there for only 4 whole days there was't any time to waste. Luckily our hotel was in the heart of the city so the connections from there were are really good. The fact that the tourist season hadn't begun yet was also great, since the streets and sight weren't that crowded.

The streets surrounding our hotel were full of cozy cafe's and restaurants.

t-shirt Gina Tricot, pants h&m, bag zara, shoes bianco

The National garden was right next to our hotel. It was pretty much empty everyday so it was great for morning jogs and just walking around.

cardigan urban outfitters, shorts downtown LA

Our "tourist day" started with The Acropolis Museus followed by going to the actual thing.

I got this this salad & ice espresso pretty much everyday from this great little coffee house next to our hotel. It's so good and the prices are super low compared to the cafe's in Finland.

cardigan urban outfitters, pants h&m, sandals Amsterdam

Later on we climbed up Mount Lycabettus. The way up there was pretty friggin long but the view was worth it.

As a vegetarian it was really hard to find a restaurant that served vegetarian food at all. I read about Avocado from happycow.com and had to try it out. I'm so glad we did because the food was so good! 

Seriously the best tea I've ever tasted.

The view from the roof top terrace we had breakfast at every morning was so beautiful.

shirt h&m, shorts Downtown La, shoes h&m

We decided to visit one of the many little islands surrounding Greece called Aegina. There were boats leaving from the pier all the time and it only took an hour to get there after taking the metro to the pier. 

After arriving to Aegina we headed straight to the nearest beach and laid there for the rest of they day. 

blazer zara, t-shirt bershka, bag zara, jeans vero moda, sandals bianco

In the evening after getting back to Athens  we went to walk around and came across this yogurt place called Fresko yogurt bar. They serve greek yogurt and you can top it off with anything you like. Out of the many, many choices I took strawberries, honey and muesli. I can definitely recommend this place! 

My last day in Athens started with an iced espresso and lying by the pool. I still hadn't checked out the stores of Syntagma so that's where I headed. I was on a budget so I definitely had to limit my shopping but I found a few great pieces for the summer and just couldn't resist. 

dress h&m, bag zara, shoes bianco

In the evening we just had to go back to eat at Avocado becuase the food was delicious.

-Suvi

Brazilian Blowout

I tried the "controversial" Brazilian Blowout for the first time in the end of last year. It was honestly the best thing ever! My hair (half Nigerian hair) is really curly naturally and hard to manage, so I decided to try it out. I met a girl last year who had done it and her hair looked amazing. I'm a huge fan of Lifebooker (similar to Groupon, Citydeal, etc.) and I found a great deal and a great hair stylist. I heard she does the best extensions in Beverly Hills, so if you're in need of a good stylist, I recommend her.

The Brazilian Blowout lasted in my hair from end of November until a couple weeks ago (mid-April), so I went to do it again. It makes your hair so much more manageable and the curl softer...it has keratin in it, so it conditions the hair as well...I recommend it and Anush! http://www.anushhairdesign.com/

My sis's fave..

The curl getting softer

The product is strong so this blows away the fumes

Facebookin' under the dryer

The end result

Nice, straight and manageable :)

You're supposed to wash your hair after 3 days of the treatment...before my hair was so curly when it got wet, now it's just wavy

After blow drying the hair dry

Not too shabby..

This week's nail color for fingers+toes...my #1 fave color O.P.I. "Peel Here"

My new fave drink..yum

-Jennine

Greeting from Athens!

I just arrived in Athens a few hours ago and I already love it here. My mom had to come here for business for a couple of weeks and asked me if I wanted to join her for Vappu (Labour day). This is my first time in Greece and it's not what I had imagined at all. It's very beautiful here and it feels like I'm fast-forwarding my life straight to summer. It's funny how all the tourists here are wearing shorts and a top while many of the locals are still wearing jeans and a winter jacket because I guess they don't consider +25 Celsius summer yet.

Finally got my fro-yo fix :D
t-shirt Gina Tricot, pants h&m, bag Zara, shoes Bianco

Tomorrow we're visiting Acropolis and some other tourist-y places so I'll be posting more picures later!

-Suvi

Waiting for Summer

I've had such a hectic schedule lately, so I haven't been on the computer that much... A lot of new things have been happening and I'm really excited that it's gonna be summer vacation soon. Spring break was good and now finally about 7 more school weeks to go!

My family is coming to LA in the summer and this is where my sis, bro and I will be spending our days!

Snacks before going out

Adiam's 25th b-day!

 
 Me and the birthday girl <3

Jello shots in the cab

B-day part 2 

@ Urth Caffe with my girl Anette <3

Chilling at my pool

My dish of the week: Tilapia and broccoli w/ garlic and lemon...I don't know why but I eat so much of the same stuff... I love tuna, salmon and tilapia and I can eat the same dish for many days straight. Easy and quick to make.

Coming from hiking

-Jennine

Peanut Butter Cupcakes

Happy Eater, Hyvää Pääsiäistä, Glad Påsk! Spring is here, the sun is shining and life is good. A few days ago I met up with my friend Kirsikka in Helsinki and it was crazy to see how it's almost a different season there than it is here in Vantaa. There's absolutely no snow in the city while Vantaa is covered in it. We went to eat and get some shopping done. Here are some pictures:

My friend told me about this new little IKEA type shop in Kamppi they opened a while back. It was super cheap and sold a bunch of really random stuff from kitchen supplies to golf clubs. 

Salad with feta cheese and tofu from Teatteri

I've passed this cafe called La Torrefazione tens of times and always thought it looked really cozy but I've never gone in. Luckily we did, because the place was really nice and the coffee was very good.

Jacket Zara, Bag DKNY, Jeans DrDenim

Kirsikka & me

Since I woke up at 6am today (can't believe it myself) I had a lot of time on my hands and decided to make some Peanut butter cupcakes for Easter. I got the recipe from this awesome baking blog, called Kinuskikissa. They came out so delicious and I really recommend making a big badge for the holidays!

Peanut Butter Cupcakes  (makes 12 big cupcakes)   ( -225° -15 minutes)

• 150g milk chocolate
• 150g margarine
• 1½ dl sugar
• 2 eggs
• 3½ dl flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 2½ tbsp cocoa powder
• 1½ milk or cream
• 1½ salted peanuts

Frosting:

• 2½ dl whipped cream
• 1½ tbsp vanilla sugar
• 1½ dl peanut butter

On top:

• Small chocolate eggs 
• grated chocolate

Beat the eggs and the sugar until fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time and continue to mix.

Grate the chocolate and set aside.

Combine the dry ingredients in a a seperate bowl. Alternate between mixing half of the dry ingredients into the egg mixture, then half of the milk and so on.

Add the nuts and the grated chocolate into the mix and stir. Put the batter into the cupcake pan and bake.

Let the muffins cool.

To make the frosting you'll need peanut butter, vanilla sugar and whipped cream.

 Mix the whipped cream and the vanilla sugar until fluffy.

Add the peanut butter and continue beating.

Frost the cupcakes.

Use a peeling knife to carve chocolate curls out of the remaining chocolate. Decorate the cupcakes with chocolate eggs and the sprinkle with chocolate.

Enjoy!

-Suvi