Dreaming Of Summer

No words needed.

2017 Resolutions

Happy new year everybody! How has your year been so far?

I've never really had any official resolutions for a new year but for now I decided to do a few realistic ones that I'm pretty sure I'll be able to stick to. So here are my (sort of late) resolutions.

1. Drink more water. I really need to hydrate more and I got a really pretty water bottle for christmas which makes it more fun to carry water around and to the gym also.
2. Be more ambitious. I used to be really ambitious concerning everything but after I started my new school there's been so much to do that all my ambition has gone away and I don't like that. Therefore I want to try to put ambition into everything I do. Even if it's history class.
3. Bring my own food to school at least 4 times a week. For the last few months I have spent so much money on food every month buying my lunch. However if I'd bother to make lunch, take leftovers or just go to the shop with my parents I wouldn't have to spend so much money on food. So that's what I will try to do this year, at least 4 times a week. Since my school is in the centre of downtown it can sometimes be nice to go out with your friends once a week for lunch.
4. Go to the gym 3 times a week or more. When I had exams in December me and my friend decided to go to the gym everyday in the exams it was about 14 days ca. And it felt so good to move everyday, even if it was just for 45 min it was so nice. I also felt so much difference in myself whilst I did this.
5. Read at least 10 books other than school books. Over the holidays I read Binge by Tyler Oakley which was so good and I also read the first Harry Potter book which was brilliant! 
6. Be more active on my blog. Because I love blogging and it really makes me feel good. So if you have any ideas for what you'd like to see on here or you'd like to collab, please just leave a comment or contact me by email. <3

That's all for now my lovelies, hope you liked this post and be sure to comment if you did. 'til next time,

Stella xx

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!