Christmas Baking

One of my favourite things about Christmas is all the baking. There are so many cookie recipes out there to try and for this post I wanted to share with you three of the treats I made this year. All these recipes are very quick and easy so everyone should be able to do these.

The first batch I made this year were small meringues, these are actually very easy and you only need 3 ingredients!

Recipe:

• 3 egg whites 
• 200 g brown sugar
• Your choice of chocolate or any other sweets (I use chocolate chips and here in Iceland it's popular to put liquorice pieces in as well)

Whisk the egg whites 'til stiff peaks form. Gradually add in the brown sugar and then stir in the sweets.

Bake in the middle of an oven on 150°C for 20 minutes.

Secondly I made gingerbread cookies. This recipe is just something my mum found online and then changed it a bit. Also very easy and such a good recipe for the family to bake together.

Recipe:

• 500 g flour
• 250 g sugar
• 250 g butter or margarine
• 375 g syrup
• 4 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp cocoa
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1 tsp ground cloves
• 1 tsp white pepper
• 1 tsp cardamom
• 1 tsp nutmeg
• 1 egg

Blend together all dry ingredients and then using your hands break the butter into the mixture. Add in syrup and egg and knead together. Flatten the dough and cut out cakes. Bake at 175°C for 10 minutes.

This last recipe is from a school book I had in my 5th grade cooking class. It's very easy and also very good.

Recipe:

• 2 dl flour
• 1 dl sugar
• 1 dl corn flakes (crushed)
• 1 tbsp grounded coconut flakes
• ¼ tsp salt
• ¼ tsp baking soda
• 50 g butter or margarine
• 50 g semi-sweet chocolate
• 1 egg 

Mix together all dry ingredients exept for the chocolate. Grind the butter into the dough with your hands. Next, add in the chocolate and lastly the egg. Roll up into small balls, you should get around 50 cakes. Bake for 10-12 minutes in an 200°C oven.

That's all for this blogpost I hope you liked it and it will come in handy to you for some Christmas baking.

Stella xx

Christmas TV Binge

Can you believe it, there are only 6 days 'til Christmas? Have to admit that I'm not as festive as I want to be mainly because there's no snow, not common in December in Iceland. However, there are a few ways you can put yourself into a more festive mood. One of my favourite ways is watching a movie or a christmassy TV-show and I recently got sent a personalised TV-guide (from Luma, who offer secure surround wifi for your home) that I would love to share with you and I believe these movies and TV-shows will get you into the mood!

Now, these are not in a specific order, just random.

1.  Gossip Girl - OK these don't have a lot to do with Christmas but they do have great Christmas episodes in between and I just think this is a great show to binge over Christmas.
2. SKAM - I have mentioned this show before and I just had to do it again, it's so good! Also I found a place where you can watch it with english subtitles so you're welcome ;) 
3. Home Alone 1&2 - These are classics. I feel like you can't have a proper Christmas without Home Alone
4. Arthur Christmas- Saw this movie for the first time last year and I loved it. Also I'd say it's good for any age.
5. The Grinch- No words needed, love that story.
6. The Holiday- Now this one is also a classic, like Love Actually. I feel like a good way to describe it is: "a very sweet movie"
7. (Gilmore Girls) - Now I know this isn't on the list but I recently started watching this show and I love it so much, very relatable. I used to watch this show when I was small but I can't really remember it so I started again.

Thanks for reading, merry Christmas,

Stella xx

Winter Must-Haves

Hello lovelies. As winter is upon us it means, at least for most of us, that it has gotten a lot colder and a lot darker in the span of a few weeks. So to survive this dark and cold time I've put together a list of things I find necessary to help me to get through winter.

Good skin-care. As the weather gets colder your skin gets dryer as a result (at least for most people). Here's a list (sorry about all the lists in this post) of my must-haves for winter skin-care.

1. A good cleanser. For everyday use I tend to use witch hazel, it can dry out your face but I have oily skin so it works well for me and it helps get rid of blemishes (you can buy it in most pharmacies). 
2. Moisturising. It can sometimes be a bit hard for me to find the right moisturiser because I have quite oily skin but I find that Garnier Moisture+ Matte really works for me (I've mentioned it before in this post). It both moisturises and it doesn't make my skin more oily like some moisturisers. 
3. Face mask. A good face mask can do wonders but they can also dry out your skin if you don't use a one that suits your skin. At the moment I'm trying a new L'Oreal face mask. I still haven't quite made up my mind whether I like it or not but I'll let you know*. So far it does minimise my pores slightly and it makes my skin more matte, but it doesn't make my skin as soft as some other masks have.
   *Update- I've now tried it a couple times and it works really well if I put it on right after I shower.
4. Body lotions and hand creams. I've always liked body lotions and butters and I've tried a lot of types. I used to always buy the ones from The Body Shop because they have many scents that I like and they're affordable. However for the past year I've been trying to use less products that have paraben's as they are not supposed to be good for you. So, I have found a great natural body lotion by Lavera that is honestly the best body lotion I have ever had. I love the coconut scent!
   Hand creams are also so important for me because I get really dry hands in the cold and I think Lush's and L'Occitan's hand creams are the best.

Adding brightness to your life. Winter is in many places a very dark time of the year. Especially here in Iceland where in the summer we have almost 24 hours of sunlight but that means that in the winter we sometimes only get 3 hours of sunlight during the darkest times. This much lack of sunlight can actually make people depressed (very common in Iceland actually) and it can really be depressing when you go out in the morning in the dark and when you go home after school it's dark again. I personally think fairy lights and candles really brighten up your world. You can buy fairy lights in many places this time of year, for example IKEA. 

Dress for the weather. I would personally like to wear playsuits and shorts all year round but I sadly do not live near the equator. However, it is possible to make dressing in winter more fun. You can try all sorts of styles and I do love myself a pair of jeans and to be honest, jeans fit with everything. Christmas jumpers are also the best thing ever so I guess winter does have its perks.

That's all for this post, I hope you liked it and if you did please comment below. <3

Love,

Stella xx

Christmas 2016

Last christmas I really wanted to do a whole lot of christmassy posts in December but somehow I only did a few. A lot of bloggers were doing 24 days of christmas and 12 days etc. and I thought it was a really good idea but I also don't want to take other people's ideas. So, for this December I really want to do more posts than normal to get me and other people into a christmas mood. Since I have exams 'til the 16th I was thinking about doing a post a day from the 16th or 17th to the 26th or so. I already have a few ideas in my head and I also want to do one or two collabs so if anyone wants to collab, contact me. :)

Well, that's pretty much all there is to this post I just wanted to tell you about my plan and again I'm really not trying to steal other people's ideas.

Stella xx

November Feelings

How has November been for all of you? Well mine has been good. Bit stressful but still good. I've also been able to spend more time with my family which is nice. 

Lately I can also feel things getting more christmas-y by the week. But the end of November and beginning of December can also be really stressful, mid-terms and lots of school work. So lately I have found that I'm getting more stressed every day. Hence I mave made a playlist with a few somgs that make me feel good and calm and I've decided to share it with you. Enjoy!

2 years of onegirlblogger?

Wow, I can't believe I've been writing this blog for over two years now. I honestly didn't think about it until I saw a fellow blogger do birthday post (so. to Baking Boutique!) and I went to check when I wrote my first post and it was October 5th 2014, exactly two years and a month.

I feel like I've grown a lot through this span of time, whether or not it has come across on my blog (hopefully). Feel free to take a look on my oldest posts even though I can't say they are my best work haha! Although I think this blog has not been as good lately as it was a year ago and the beginning of this year. Somehow I've gotten less views and comments. I know that shouldn't make a difference but I think most of you can understand that you feel like it does. However, I feel that can change and I'm definietly going to try to give myself more time to go out and take photos and write posts more often.

To all of you readers that have kept reading my blog over the past years I feel like you are my friends and for that I am very greatful, thank you!

To finish off this post I felt like this photo from one of my first posts was ideal. :)

Thanks for reading, love you very much,

Stella xx

October Favourites

The past month has passed so quickly and I honestly have forgotten to blog - sorry!

But here are a few of my favourite things in October:

First of all and my favourite, SKAM, it is a Norweigan TV-series for teenagers and oh my god it's so good. It's are kind of like Gossip Girl except realistic, because let's face it we're not all millioneires who live on the upper east side. I can honestly relate to this show on so many levels. My whole school is obsessed with it. They are in Norweigan but as I come from Iceland I know both Icelandic and Danish so I understand almost everything. If you're from anywhere else in the world than the Northen countries I still really recommend this show even if you have to watch with norweigan lyrics and google translate every word, it's worth it. No joke. I did google it with english subtitles and I think there might be some on YouTube. This show is something every teenager should see! The characters also have real social media accounts which you can follow. There is a new whole episode every friday but they post clips from the episode through the week. Link: http://skam.p3.no  

The L'oréal Brow Sculptor, this 3-in-1 pencil is so great when you are in a hurry in the morning. It is very easy to use and it instantly gives your brows a nice sculpted look. Has come in handy quite a few times when I'm running late.

Garnier Moisture + Matte. I first bought this moisturizer around a year ago and I have tried others but I always tend to come back to this one. It is great for oily skin (like mine) and it really helps keep the oil down but moisturize at the same time. It is also not expensive!

This month I also got sent a new debit card and now I can order online without having to borrow my mom's credit card. Hence, I have been browsing more for clothes online and I have come to love asos. I have known of that website forever but I seldomly looked through it well. Last week I ordered a jumper from there and I'm hoping it will arrive soon. Anyways if you're looking for online shops asos is a definate favourite of mine!

Last but not least, a hairbun, or a pony tail. With school being in full swing it can be annoying having your hair in your face so I've been wairing buns and pony tails most days of the week now.

That's all for this post, hoope you liked it and I'll heard from you later,

Stella xx

Books and Breaks

Finally, I'm getting a little break from all school-things related because I get two days off school + the weekend for a mid-semester break. The last two months have honestly just been about school, I've had 26 exams in 3 1/2 weeks and I've got to say it's a bit much, but, I'm coping.
I've also just started a new job, again. I got a job in late August at an ice cream shop which I actually enjoyed and I was working with my friends so it was quite nice but then two weeks ago a coffee shop offered me a job with higher pay so I took it but I'm not sure if it was the right thing to do as I don't enjoy myself as much but I've only gone three times so hopefully it'll turn out fine.

Now, to a more interesting subject. Books. I have to say I have not done any reading recently except for books at school like Of Mice And Men but that doesn't count. To be honest I haven't properly read a book since christmas probably, which is not like me. I'm actually a big book-worm but I haven't made any time for reading however, that's going to change because I have a list of books I want to finish before the year ends. Here's that list:

• Eleanor & Park - I've had this book for around two years now and I've never finished it, I've started a few times but I never make any time for reading :(.
• Let It Snow - Got this book from my mum as a present last Christmas but I wanted to save it for Christmas next year so I could read it to get me into a Christmas-y mood.
• Binge - I've wanted to read this book for so long now but I always thought it was so expensive in the book store but maybe I'll just buy it online.
• Harry Potter - Believe it or not I've never read Harry Potter, judge all you want hahah but it's a long story. I have seen the movies and they are probably my favourite movies among others. So I want to read at least the first one before Christmas.

That's all for now, I'll let you know how this reading goal of mine will get along,

love you all very much, Stella xxx

My Plans to GOMO

Recently I came across the term GOMO, Going Out More Often, and I think it's necessary for us to try to be more outgoing, especially these days when people (including myself) tend to use all their spare time watching netflix etc. Hence, I made a list of 3 things you could do this autumn to go out more often, you could do these with a friend or just by yourself.

1. Go for a walk. Walks are a great way to both excerise and to explore your town. They're also especially fun in the autumn when there are pretty coloured leaves everywhere. 
2. Go to the gym. If you're like me and have loads of schoolwork everyday, it's very important to exercise. It releases energy to your brain which helps you learn, and it reduces stress.
3. Go to a coffee house. Call up a friend and ask them to meet you down town. Who isn't in the mood for a good chai latte?

Hope you find these helpful or give you inspiration in going out more often. If you're still looking for more ideas to go out you can check out sites like Eventbrite and look up events going on in your area. You can find everything from classes to fitness events or even a music festival, whatever you're into there's probably an event going on for it.  If you don't find what you're looking for you can use their event planning tools to set up your own event for you and your friends.  The possibilities are endless, so there's no reason to stay inside when you can GOMO!

Lots of love,
Stella xx

New School - New Everything

Hi everyone, how are you? I know I've been a bit inactive lately but the new school is keeping me very busy but I swear I will try to be more active. I also haven't taken any photos in two months :(.

As you might know I started a new school this semester and so far it's been quite nice, hard, but nice I suppose. I think my favourite subjects are math og spanish.
Although I haven't take a lot of photos lately I did get into a photography committee in school which will be fun I hope!

School isn't the only thing that has been changing but also my home life, my mom just bought a house outside the city so we're moving, can't say that I'm very excited to move since it's so far away for everything and everyone I know. I'm hoping everything will turn out to be ok but I can't say I'm very positive right now.

How has your school year been so far? What are your favourite subjects? Any crushes? Comment below!

That's all for now,
Stella xx

ps. The worst happened the other day, all the photos from my blog got deleted, isn't that the blogger's nightmare? Anyways I managed to add all photos back onto my blog since i had albums on my computer but I'm sorry if anything has changed from how it was originally :) xx

Photo from the beach this summer :)

Goals For The School Year

The school year has officially begun, I've been a week in my new school now and I have to say it's quite hard, at least different, there's a lot of homework but I'll manage. I guess I could say quite like it. Most of my teachers are nice and so are the kids in my class. I think I'll get used to it as the weeks pass by.

When you start a new school it's always a bit frightening, new people, new subjects, etc. So for this school year I decided to make a list of my goals for this year.

1. Make friends. I really want to make some new friends and I know what people I would like to make friends with but I don't really know how to because it's not like play school when you could just walk up to the person and say: "Want to be friends?", although that would be nice. So any advice well-taken.
2. Not stress too much. My anxiety tends to act up when there's a lot going on, like exams etc. and this year I've decided to try to be as calm as I can.
3. Work out more. This point kind of intertwines with nr.2 because working out really helps me relax and I really do feel a lot better when I work out regularly. It also boosts your self confidence which doesn't hurt.
4. Do my best and not get upset if I don't get the best grade, for example. At least I did my best.
5. Be positive. Because life is just better that way and I've found that being negative never helps. 

Well, that's all for this blogpost I hope you liked it and be sure to comment what your goals or tips are! :)

Stella xx

England Haul

Couldn't find these last two items online but I got them in Zara

 Both of the dresses aren't available online in these colours but they have them in other colours. The first dress is in the colour khaki and the second one is navy.

As you might know I recently went to England and I did a bit of shopping while I was there. Mostly in Brighton and then also in Guilford. I was mainly focusing on things for school and I was looking for jumpers and pants but didn't really findany since it wasn't fall season yet but I found some nice things that I thought I could get a lot of use out of. Then beauty wise I re-purchased two of my favourite items that I've mentioned before in this post: Favourite Beauty Products, and then I also decided to try some new things as well and I quite like all of them actually! And btw. the Le Fizz bar smells soooo good I actually wish I could eat it haha. 

Last but certanly not least I also bought Tanya's new book and it's sooo good I've already baked from it a few times already.

Here are the links to all the items (couldn't find the links to the zara items) : 

Hollister Polo Top

Hollister Lace-Up Dress

H&M Jersey Dress

Lash Sensational Mascara

L'Oreal Eyebrow Pencil

Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer

Zoella Le Fizz

Rimmel Wake Me Up Foundation

England, July 2016

You might be asking yourself where I have been lately and the answer to that is well, where haven't been? For the last few weeks a lot of things have happened and I've not had many "not-doing-anything-days", but I've had some fun. This post isn't about what I've been doing for the last three weeks though, that's a whole other post. So for this blogpost I wanted to tell you about my instant decision of going to the UK to visit my gran and g.gran (great gran).

I flew out on Thursday morning (last week) and landed at Gatwick Airport where my gran came to picke me up. And before we went to my g.gran's we decided to spend the day in Brighton where we did some shopping and went to the beach.

The day after we went around to my gran's sister who had just gotten home from The Alps and her garden was lovely! Then, me, my gran and my g.gran just had a walk nice walk around the village. That evening my gran's sister and her husband came around for dinner and we had a lovely sunny evening.

The day after we went down to Hayling Island in the beautiful weather and had a stroll on the beach. For lunch we went to a cafe called Driftwood Cafe in Emsworth which was so lovely, I had a very nice baked potato jacket, yum! After lunch we looked in a few charity shops and went down to the boat pier. 

When we came home me and my gran took a walk to a small lake in a little "forest". On our way back we stopped at a pub called The Links Tavern and had a small drink.

That evening my gran's sister and husband invited us to dinner and their oldest daughter came too, it was a very pleasant evening.

On sunday morning we got up and had nice morning, I watered my g.gran's plants, had a little stroll in her street, and packed. Before we left we also went for a walk with my g.gran. 

Before we headed to the airport we decided to go to Guiford to do some shopping. (Would you like to see a England haul?) Then we headed up into the skies!

Thank you for reading this blogpost I really hope you enjoyed it. Please comment below if you did. xx

Love, 

Stella