Food addict

Hey,

Here is a second post on food. Yes, I gotta admit I eat a lot! But I love to prepare (and sometimes buy) all kinds of salads so that is not a problem :)

Some of the salads:

Handmade :) spinach (I need to it a lot of iron), avocado and other veggies + sesame seeds, sunflower seeds and below other version of it :) with feta cheese

Life of a researcher without coffee is (almost) impossible.... My daily intake: 3-4 cups. Here morning portion :)

And afternoon one, delicious espresso with Sonya

And soya latte with Edith

My dear husband made me a chocoholic... :P He brought me the best chocolate in Europe - Milka, triple choco (dark, milk and white). Could not resist myself, had to... lick the cow immediately! ;)

I even tried the infamous dark choco

Finally grilled veggies and halloumi cheese 

Final outcome with some quinoa (great source of iron and protein) :)

Healthy food is cool and makes me feel great! Meatless and milkless diet really suits me. I feel light and happy although it does require a lot of effort. 

I went to Mc Donalds this weekend. I have been a pain in the ass when I had ordered:

- Mac Feast burger

- on a rye bread

- with a falafel instead of meat

- no mayo dressing

- carrots instead of french fries

- and orange juice instead of coke

Uff... :) 

Fri 13th

Hey,

I had been told today I should be writing my thesis instead of writing this blog. Hmm, I don't think I am in any way behind with my thesis because of my blog. Actually, it is quite opposite, I am much more into my thesis after I started my blog. I need some other stuff than work, after work of course :)

Some people have their own hobbies and I have my blog, because I like to write and take pictures. If any of you likes my blog and wants to read it, I am very pleased :) I decided to take a blog to a bit more personal level, therefore I will sometimes say what I mean... :O

Today is Fri 13th. Day like any other day. Nevertheless, as we already have a black cat we are in trouble for bad luck, said our friend the other day. Hmm, Leo is not totally black but still as our last name means 'Lucky Penninsula', our bad luck and good one are perfectly balanced :P 

black cat, the ultimate symbol of bad luck

ah, even my Swatch watch says it is Fri 13th...

***

 

It is actually funny how people believe in good and bad luck. They buy talismans, they don't do certain things cause they may bring bad luck...

eye of a Prophet, symbol of good luck

according to a lish belief, one should not dry the flowers received from the loved ones (these are not from my husband...)

the bride throwing her bouquet so that other woman can get lucky too ;)

me in Brussels, instructed to touch this sculpture for good luck

doctor's hat, the symbol of ultimate happiness and great luck ;)

very old building in Cambridge with a ghost that likes this window to stay open... this is spooky

imaginary unicorns, people believed in them until 19th century (!)

Getting some fresh air

This summer is very chilly. I mean it is neither cold nor warm. It is actually OK for me. This year I started to be allergic to some pollen, as many other people, so I don't like when it is too warm and I started to appreciate the rain... Nevertheless, I still try to spend as much time as possible walking outside and thanks to some medicines, I am actually able to :)

Besides walking with Leo, I enjoy strolls next to the sea side, swimming in the lake and grilling. I got so hooked up with grilling veggies: zucchini, corn and paprika, as well as with grilling this one awesome Halloumi cheese (originally from Cyprus). I really recommend these!

I wish I could take a pic of everything I do, but that would be slightly crazy.

Last Sunday, we managed to get to the city centre and go for a short walk on the sea side. We met our friend and went to get some sandwich in the nearest cafeteria. The view was amazing. Afterwards, we managed to go to Kaivopuisto and enjoy some green colour ;)

 

Last night, two of our dear friends that live in Turku visited us. We had taken them to swim in the lake. It was pretty chilly, but it seemed that the water was much warmer than the air. I enjoyed this swimming soooo much, it was a pity to go out of the lake, but we managed to warm up drinking some Spanish apple cider and long drinks ;) We had also grilled some food. Yummy! What I really like about Finland is that there are so many places to swim, hike, grill, play sports. And these are all for free, for everyone. Even wood for the grill is already there, all you need to do is to chop it into pieces.

Tonight we also meet two of our dear friends. We went to this one restaurant on the island and it was pretty OK, although the service was really bad (at least our waiter). I don't want to go into details but waiting for water to drink for 30 minutes is not OK :( Fortunately, food was pretty tasty. I had a vegetarian pizza and it was very nice.

Btw, if my Mom is reading this: MOM, I am pescetarian now! Good night! ;)

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Everyday life

My everyday life consists of two constants: 1) going to work at the University, 2) walking my cat :)

(1) Here are some pictures from my way to work:

I start here at the Malminkartano train station. It now takes super looooooong time to get on the train. Normally it comes every 10 minutes but now, because of some renovations it is always late and then it stops on the way (except on the regular stations). I actually like this station because it is in a tunnel, so it usually not so cold and windy in there and in the summer it is actually nice and chilly.

 

In the tunnel one can find some advertisements. The newest one is a pure piece of art, because it is a poster of the most popular fizzy drink in Finland - Jaffa (tastes much like Fanta, although Finns do not like this comparison :P ). These posters were designed by Erik Bruun whose posters are very popular in Finland. Original version of this poster called Blue Jaffa Palm goes back to 1959 but now it has been drawn again by the author and made into a poster.

 

Larger version of the picture can be found below. This picture is from Hakaniemi metro station.

 

After a looong train trip (15-20 min.) I end up in the central railway station. It is now green and cosy due to some campaign :)

 

There are many cool shops at the Central Railway station in Helsinki, one of them is a cool Finnish Design shop. I also like to buy berries from the fruit stand.

I really enjoy walking through this station, it is an excellent start to my day. 

 

After that I walk next to a flower shop and I just love the smell of that shop! As a small girl I dreamed of working in such a flower shop...

Next to the Museum building one can find beautiful flowers that change depending on the time of the year.

 

Here is my corridor at work. The university building is really cosy and I feel very well in the building from 1950's :) I love this style, I wish I could move to '50s!

 

My office is very '50s too :) I want such brown chairs at home! When can you get such from?

 (2) And here are pictures from the area around my apartment. 

 

 view from my balcony

 

 

here I walk with my cat

 

 

Leo on a leash enjoying some sun

 

 Tuomas walking Leo

 

 

forest 

 xxx

Summer mood

Hey,

Ah summer is here, at least for a while. I had already swam in the lake twice, been to the sea side. Relaxing...

 

My balcony

 

Park couple minutes from our house

  

Nuuksio, my new Koli

 

Nuuksio

 

 

 Kaitalampi

 Seurasaari

I had also eaten lots of ice-cream ;)

 

 My fav tofu ice-cream!

Today it is still very warm but cloudy and in the evening it is supposed to rain :( Nevertheless, I had tried to enjoy my summer moments, despite the fact that I am working :) I try to dress summerish (shorts, skirts, sandals yeah, finally) and take some sun outside our work building....

I also made a little decorating at home, putting summer accents everywhere:

 

Eero Aarnio Finnish design pillow. I just love it!

 

 Sleeping between the flowers :)

 

Moomin stuff is super popular in Finland. This is one of my six cups, my favourite tough.

 Getting into real summer mood while looking @ this curtains




And food, yes I feel like eating some light stuff, besides ice-cream, of course.

 

avocado salad

 

 

cheesy pasta

I had also been into berries. In any form ;)I had not yet seen blueberries in the forest tough, this one pic is from last year. I had however found some wild strawberries in the nearest park (not included in these pictures tough) :)

 Leo has also been in the summer mood. Walking outside a lot but also swinging in his personal hammock:

Wishing YOU a relaxing weekend... Don't get too lazy tough, like these bunnies from the metro station... ;)