Booklist 2019

Hello everybody, how are you?
I've had a busy start to the year with school and work but I feel very refreshed and like I have gotten my ambition and willpower back. One of my resolutions was to make more time for my hobbies and especially read more! Although I read quite a few books last year I still have a big stack on my bedroom floor (yes, floor hahah) and desk of books I have yet to read. For today's post, I want to share with you all the books I want to read this year that have been staring at me for the past year or so.

Metamorphosis - Franz Kafka
Shakespeare - Macbeth
Shakespeare - Twelfth Night
Robert Galbraith - The Cuckoo's Calling
Robert Galbraith - The Silkworm
Robert Galbraith - Career of Evil
Ami McKay - The Witches of New York
Helen Fielding - Bridget Jones's Diary
Eleanor Atkinson - The Greyfriar's Bobby
Jane Austen - Pride and Prejudice
Alison Rattle - The Quietness
Rainbow Rowell - Eleanor and Park
J.R.R. Tolkien - Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
Ernest Hemingway - The Sun Also Rises.

As you can see I have a lot to read this year. I plan to read The Sun Also Rises in March because it takes place in Madrid and that's exactly where I'll be going on a school trip in late March. I'm also going to London and Oxford with my school, soo exciting times ahead! If you have any book recommendations please comment below as I'd love to hear your suggestions.

That's it for today's blogpost, hope you have a great day and keep on reading! Love, Stella xx

New Year - New Times

Happy new year everybody!

I have a feeling 2019 will be a good one and I'm excited to see what life has in store for me in the new year. One resolution of mine is to be more active on this beloved blog of mine since I have missed writing posts for you lot. The reason for my dry spell is simply because I have been a bit down and not made enough time for the things I truly enjoy, but that is no more! This year will be great and I already have ideas of new blog posts. 

To catch you up on what has been happening in my life these past months I´ll tell you a short version. I started my senior year which has had its ups and downs. It's been stressful and I've been super busy in my extracurriculars and I started ballet again which has kept me busy too. I've also been applying to universities around the world and I just sent in my application to Brown and Colby this morning, so there are exciting times ahead. I'll also be applying to The University of Edinburgh, University of St. Andrews and Trinity College, Dublin.

Hope you all have a wonderful 2019 and life will be good to you!

I'll be posting again so be sure to follow my blog below and check out Instagram to keep updated.

ig: onegirlblogger

Love, Stella xx

Fabulous Scotland (and Harry Styles!!!)

Hello everyone, hope you've been well!
I know it's been horribly long since last but I've been really busy with school and taking The SAT's to go to uni in the USA. Now I'm back and back for good!

Recently I went to Glasgow with a friend of mine to see Harry Styles in concert. We spent three nights there and had a great time.

Day 1: The day we arrived we had a look around Finnieston, the neighbourhood we were staying close to, went into Kelvingrove park and had a look at the beautiful University of Glasgow. The weather was rather boring, cold and wet, but that did not stop us at all. Later that day we did a bit of shopping and had some Nando's for dinner.

Day 2: We decided to leave Glasgow for the day and took the train to Edinburgh. I cannot express my love for that city enough, I simply love everything about it. Last time I went I was twelve and it was just as great as I remembered. It was cold, wet and foggy the whole day but that just gave the city more charm. We did a bit of shopping, strolled down Victoria Street and had lunch in a nice little pub. After having some fish and chips we walked around looking at various University of Edinburg buildings like Old College. We also strolled through George Square Gardens where there were alpacas! It had gotten really cold and foggy by then and we had been walking for hours so we sat down for some coffee at Starbuck's before we wlked through The Meadows and look how foggy it was! (bottom photo) It was also pouring rain in Glasgow when we got there.

Day 3: The main purpose of this trip was to see Harry Styles in concert and the day of that event was finally here. The concert was in the evening so we had the first part of the day free. We decided to hit the shops again since there's so many more options than in Iceland. I got some books, more clothes from Urban Outfitters (cannot tell you how much I love that store) and I also bought some postcards to send to my family in Iceland and England. We had some wonderful Pad Thai at Wakamama for lunch and then decided to head back to the hotel to just chill and get ready for the concert. Since our hotel was fairly close to The SSE Hydro we walked past it on our way to the hotel and saw that the merchandise stands were open so I bought a t-shirt and some bracelets/hairbands that said "Treat people with kindness".

When we had gotten dressed in our new merch we went to the venue again. It had gotten pretty crowded but we had seats so it was okay. When we got in they were offering to take people's picture in a photo booth which you then got sent to you. The concert itself was sooo nice, I have been a fan of Harry's since the beginnig of One Direction and it was so lovely to finally see him in concert. We both had such a great time and it really was one of the trip's highlights.

A Tourist in My Own City - Reykjavík

Travelling can be extremely giving but most people should know the feeling of being tired of the same environment you see every day. Coming from down town Reykjavík, the only city in Iceland, I've probably seen the majority of the city I grew up in. That old corner shop in the old west village, the small brunch place down town and a hidden tree swing in a small wooded area. Despite loving my city it can be quite tiresome staying at the same place you've lived for 18 years. Therefore I decided to look within myself and look at my environment with new eyes, the eyes of the tourist! By doing this I noticed a lot of things I had never noticed before. The beautiful architecture in some of the older buildings, doves flying around and the small public parks around every corner. This past week I took my camera with me to school every day and since it's right in the city centre I went out exploring in all my breaks and thought of a list of things that I think are must-do's when visiting Reykjavik.

• Hallgrímskirkja (a church on a hill in the city centre) - Even though it's always fun looking at churches, I recommend going to the top, you can see the whole city from there! 
• Bæjarins beztu pylsur ("The town's best hot dogs") - One with everything or "Ein með öllu" as us locals call it, although I do prefer one without fresh onions. The typical Icelandic hot dog with everything on has ketchup, mustard, remoulade, fried onions and fresh onions. Whatever your preference is this is old traditional food that is a no-pass with all visitors - unless you're vegan sadly. The hot dog stand turned 80 years old last year!
• Alþingisgarðurinn - An underestimated tiny garden behind the House of Parliament so you really kill two birds with one stone, the garden and the beautiful old house!
• Hlemmur mathöll  - Used to be a shabby bus station longer than I can remember but now it's this chic food hall with everything you can dream of eating. From the best cinnamon buns to ice cream and a rhubarb bar. 
• Pétursbúð - Walk into the past. On of a few corner shops left to be seen in Reykjavík. They used to be everywhere along with sweet shops but sadly they've gone quite rare.
• Tjörnin (the city pond) - Birds og feathers everywhere, doesn't get much better than that. In the winter when the pond is frozen my school plays football out in the ice in gym class, good fun. 
• Grandi/Höfnin (the old harbour) - The old harbour has it all. Whether you want to eat a fancy meal, have a gorgeous cupcake or the best ice cream, have a locally brewed beer, go to a museum or just enjoy the pretty view there's everything there you could possibly want! 
• "Eigum við að fá okkur ís?" ("should we get some ice cream?") - Us icelanders have ice cream at every occasion and in every weather. You can often find tourists looking at you with horrid when you're eating ice cream in -3°C or pouring rain. The Icelandic "Þeytingur" or "Bragðarefur" as we call it is when you have a big tub of ice cream mixed with three ingredients of your choice ranging from fruits to sweets and even condiments like peanut butter! This is a must do if you come to Iceland as it is little doubt something every Icelander has done!

Thanks for reading and if you ever go to Iceland I hope these tips will come in handy!
Also if you have any questions regarding Iceland or just whatever feel free to leave a comment! xx

Love,
Stella xx

Gloomy But Great

Exam season has officially begun. After a very quick passing season it is time to prove that I've actually learnt something this term. My first exam, in physics, is today and I hope I'll do good! I've had two days off to study and it was quite nice just staying home revising. Yesterday the weather was really misty and gloomy and you could hear ravens croaking in the distance. I took my dachshund for a short walk into the forest close to my home and it was so wonderfully mysterius, I felt a bit like I was stuck in a Harry Potter movie.
         With my extra free time this month I am plannig to post quite a lot, all sorts of christmassy stuff to get me and others into the Christmas mood!
       
Hope you liked this short update and will continue to read throughout this December!

Stella xx

It's That Time Again

Leaves falling, wind blowing and crisp smelling air. It's the time of hot drinks, candles and fairy lights. This can only mean one thing, it's autumn again!

Lately I've been in such an autumn-y mood,  admiring the colours around me, reds and yellows everywhere, having coffee on crisp cold days, and roaming through book stores. One of my favourite bookstores had a sale this week and I even managed to buy a christmas present! However I've been extremely stressed and anxious lately which is partly why I haven't blogged as much as I've wanted to. I think I really need to do something about my anxiety now that it's gotten so bad. When I was younger I went to therapy and to courses that helped me a lot and I started to be able to manage it but now it has gotten a lot different. Other things trigger me now than before so I don't quite know how to control it. Anyhow autumn is peaking and I love it. There is just something about all these colours that brings me joy so here are my favourite autumn photos I've taken these past weeks. Hope you enjoy them as much as I do!

Thanks for reading, have a great autumn!

Stella xx

School Playlist + GIVEAWAY WINNER

Hey lovelies, how are you? xx
It's been so long, and I'm so sorry! I was going to announce the giveaway winner 10 days ago but my camera is not working ( :( ) and I wanted to upload pictures to the post. Then, another problem occured with the winner picking. Originally I was going to choose a winner that commented on the first series post and follows me by email however I decided to change that so anyone who commented in any post in the series and follows would be eligible to enter.
So without further ado, the winner is Lailabee! Which is so fun since I've been foolowing her for a while and I loveee her blog xx

For this last school related post in the small series I decided to make a School/Autumn playlist. It's very 'chill' if you can put it that way. You can listen to it while studying, driving or just when you're hanging around. It's not very big so if you have any suggestions feel free to comment them below! I find it perfect for studying and having a bit of cosy time.



Thanks so much for taking part in the giveaway and reading these posts.

Love,
Stella xx