Best Fake Scandi Life

10 Apr 2019

I just finished 'Quicksand' Sweden's newest (and actually first ever!!!) release on Netflix and let me just say that it's reignited that inner Scandinavian in me (but let's be real, it never really went away). 

 I'm obsessed with everything Scandinavian, I sometimes feel like I was born in the wrong country. I always tell people that the second I stepped off the plane in Copenhagen airport, something shifted and I knew that I was in my favourite place in the world, I knew that I was home. It sounds like a lie but when that fresh Danish air hit me I knew that I loved this place.

How do I embrace the Nordic life when I'm over 1000 miles away from my home away from home? Well here's a few ways to live your Best Fake Scandi Life, just like me

 Music
The Scandi music scene is booming! Especially with Eurovision coming up it's the perfect time to get stuck into some sweet Swedish symphonies (100% a Zara Larsson reference). Here's a little playlist I've put together of some good Scandi pop to brighten up your day! (also Rix FM which is Sweden's top radio station play absolute bops all day every day and I highly recommend giving it a listen if you're tired of your own local stations)


 Media
As I mentioned I've just finished watching Quicksand on Netflix. Nothing truly screams Sweden quite as much as Scandi-Noir series, from Wallander, to The Bridge, to The Killing there are so many Scandi-Noir dramas to choose from but moving away from the dark dramas, Norway's SKAM truly revolutionized tv as we know it and to this day is one of (if not my absolute) favourite shows of all time. (I wrote a post about that as well, you can check it here if ya wanna see what it's all about!) and there's plenty of other good Nordic tv shows that you can sink your teeth into. 

 Style
I'm trying my hardest to live my best Fake Scandi Life by stealing the Scandi style, Minimalist, Basic, Black, Layers and Details that's the Scandi way. I recommend checking out brands like Arket, Samsoe Samsoe and Cos if you're after that high-class Scandi look or my absolute fave Monki if you're going more for a casual everyday look! Here are just a few of my top picks for embracing Scandi style as we come into the Spring!


Interior
IKEA IKEA IKEA, who doesn't absolutely bloody love a trip to IKEA? surrounded by Scandi design it truly is my way of escaping back to Sweden for a few hours even though I've just driven 20 minutes down the road. With a minimalist, classic design, you really can't go wrong with the flat-pack giants to add a touch of Scandinavia to your home! I'm also a huge fan of Søstrene Grene for homeware but also literally everything, I once went in to look around and came out with playing cards, scrunchies, socks and a bag of sweets, so never underestimate the sheer power that Danish things have on me.

 Language
Learning a language has never been easier than now with everyone's favourite passive aggressive bird on Duolingo. I've completed the Danish course but I'm definitely far from fluent but it gives me a sense of achievement after I learn some new words I can use the next time I visit. Duolingo is currently available to learn Danish, Swedish, and Norwegian (Bokmal) as well as a whole load more.

getting fruity.

3 Apr 2019

I haven't written a faith post in a while so I thought I'd use today just to share a little bit about what I've been learning recently and it's a biggie. How can we live a godly life? What does that mean? How can we best portray Jesus in our daily living? SO MANY QUESTIONS but here's a simple way to make a start.

I once heard a sermon (it's this one by the way, I highly recommend checking it out, he talks about this all way better than I can) which talked about how to be most like Jesus, one time Jesus spat on people, do we do that? Jesus wore a toga, do we do that? Jesus had long hair, do we do that? We could, but it's not the best way to do it. I probably wouldn't even try to do the first one though, just to be safe. The best way to do be like Jesus is to take on the characteristics of Jesus. These are most exemplified in the Fruit of The Spirit.

Raise your hand if you were also a Sunday School kid who had the Fruit of the Spirit drilled into you from an early age, because I know I was. Ephesians 5 says that 'The Fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.' (if you sang that to the tune of the song you get bonus Sunday School points).

We all learned the Fruit of the Spirit as kids but how good are we at actually putting them int practice as adults. Notice how they are referred to as FRUIT and not GIFTS, this means that we all have the opportunity to grow them in our lives. One small way that I've been doing this recently is by finding one way that I displayed the Fruit of the Spirit each day.

Maybe it was patience when a co-worker is not co-operating, maybe it was showing love to that person who was by themselves, maybe it was showing kindness to someone when they were alone, maybe it was having peace among the stress of deadlines, maybe it was choosing joy in the times when joy didn't seem like an option.

It's a really simple thing to do, just reflecting on the ways we live a Godly life can help us grow in developing our Godly life. Some days we might not show an awful lot of patience in one area, but we found peace in another area. We're not perfect, none of us are going to be able to display all of these characteristics all the time, some of them will come more naturally to us than others but by growing them and reflecting on how we've been displaying them it really helps you to harness the things that matter enabling us to live the best possible life that God has mapped out for us.

Coat: Zara (thrifted), Sweater: M&S (old), Jeans: TK Maxx

Wearing the Trousers (Literally)

27 Mar 2019

I've spent a long time curating my style, in my teenage years I went through a phase of wanting to dress how everyone else was dressing, followed by a period of dressing how I felt people expected me to dress but now I've found a style that I really love and lemme tell you all about it. 

 It's trousers. How groundbreaking! 

It feels like I turn up to church every week in a new pair of trousers and every week someone will compliment me on my trousers, so I feel like I'm in a good place to give some recommendations on my favourite places to buy my trousers as well as some that I'm currently crushing on!

 Monki
I blaaaddy love Monki, It's scandi-european style on a budget and honestly what could be better? I swear by Monki's jeans so if you're after a new pair of jeans I definitely recommend checking out Monki's Kimomo selection.




Mango
This is the best place to get staple pieces for your wardrobe, it can be on the slightly more pricey end but you're guaranteed something that you can wear and wear again!





 Bershka
I'm forever bitter that we don't have a Bershka store in Northern Ireland but it's probably low-key a good thing for my bank account because I would never be out of it if we did! But Bershka is always a store I can count on to deliver me with all my latest style needs and I always make a point of going everytime I'm abroad.




 New Look
Has there ever been a style of clothes you haven't been able to buy in New Look? if your budget is a little bit more limited you can always pick up something cute from New Look, ALWAYS



Also TK Maxx is worth checking out because you can usually snatch up some cute and unique pieces from there

A Belfast Blogger Photo Guide

16 Mar 2019

I'm a Belfast girl, and I blooming love my city and I love living here but sometimes when you're scrolling through Instagram and see all the shots from people in photogenic places like London, Brighton, New York, and Los Angeles you can get a little disheartened. How am I supposed to make cute content when I don't live in a nice looking area? But contrary to popular belief Belfast actually has a multitude of super great places you can go to get those sweet shots so I've compiled a list of my favourites!


Don't Be Scared of 'Blavy'

11 Mar 2019


 Controversial opinion alert!! Black and Navy IS cool! I hear so many people so often not wearing things because they're black and navy but I'm here to tell you to not give in to the peer pressure surrounding you and the overarching presence of people telling you that you can't wear black and navy together because you totally can!

 I'm probably gonna get a lot of hate for this but I wear black and navy (or blavy as it's more affectionately called) on a regular basis and lemme tell you I'm a fan.

I wear these Navy checked trousers from Monki with my black trench literally ALL THE TIME and that's not even my limit. I've worn navy sweatshirts with black jeans, I wear black boots with dark denim, there's been navy flannel over black vests, and I've even worn navy shoes with black tights. there is no limit to the blavy. So don't be scared of blavy, embrace the blavy, let's start a blavy revolution!!! (I've definitely said blavy too much in the post but it's what it deserves)

How To Sleep Well

7 Mar 2019

Night, Night, Sleep tight, don't let the bed bugs bite. It's the words we're told over and over again as children but when we get older suddenly sleep becomes much harder. I love my bed. Literally there is nothing better than a good early night getting tucked into bed but with my brain constantly working overtime, staying up late and watching Netflix and making sure I get my daily scripture readings in the hours can pile up and you'll find yourself just not in a position of restfulness and readiness to enter into a deep peaceful sleep.

 We spend a third of our lives asleep yet it's still something that we're not very good at. As adults, we're supposed to be getting seven hours of sleep a night. If you're honest when was the last time you did that? I've taken some steps recently to try and improve my sleep quality and it seems to be working so far so I thought I'd share some of my tips as it's most definitely something that many of us struggle with but it's something that is so important for our health and wellbeing. Plus sleep is great so who wouldn't want to learn how to do it better?
Photos taken in Belfast Shirt is gifted from VOXI UK,  Backpack from Madlug, Beanie from OutsideIn, Jacket is thrifted

Wake up!
As important as going to sleep early is, the best way, I find, to feel more rested, is to keep your wake up time constant (yes, even at weekends!). I use a smart alarm so it'll wake me up between 7 and 7.30 every morning. At the start it was a chore but eventually getting up early becomes easy! Your body clock will get used to the wake-up time (I forgot to set an alarm a few days ago but still got up at 7am just because my body knew it had to) and you'll feel so much more refreshed having more time to get ready in the mornings. Don't view your 10am classes as an excuse to lie in, treat them as a way to appreciate your morning without the rush.

 Don't drink caffeine after 12pm
This is one I still definitely don't do all the time but by cutting out on caffeine completely or by limiting your consumption to just a little pick me up in the morning it'll definitely help your sleep. I've had coffees at 2pm before and I've still felt the effects late into the night. Drink sleepy tea or a glass of water before bed instead.

 Unplug
I'm still really bad at this but try not to be on your laptop or your phone late into the evening. If a message comes in, it's still going to be there in the morning. Stop being so instant with everything, take a break from your screen and read a book or journal instead! Give your eyes a rest before you close them for the night.

 Don't nap!
Y'all are gonna hate me for this one but don't take naps. I managed to last almost 21 years of life without taking a nap (excluding my baby years). One day I was super tired and nodded off and I felt awful afterwards. If you feel the urge to nap try and do something else productive instead, tidy your room, sort out your closet, read a book, do some homework whatever but try not to nap. You'll sleep so much better in the night if you've not been sleeping during the day.

 Count sheep or something like that
Well maybe don't count sheep but find some way to keep your mind active. You've I love lists and facts and quizzes so my favourite way to get to sleep is by making a-z lists in my head. Don't make them too easy or too complicated, try something like flowers, or colours, or characters from a series. My personal favourite is Eurovision songs! (I'm still yet to complete it.) By keeping your mind focused on something mundane it'll help you fall asleep. I swear by this technique and it's helped me fall asleep in so many places such as camping and in residential dormitories. This might not work for you but find your thing and roll with it.

 Stick at it
It takes a minimum of 21 days (but studies recently have shown it can take up to 60) to form a habit so if you're not finding that you're sleeping better straight away don't give up and revert back to your old ways, keep at it and eventually you should see the fruits of your labour.

 What are your top sleep tips?
Photos taken in Belfast Shirt is gifted from VOXI UK,  Backpack from Madlug, Beanie from OutsideIn, Jacket and Jeans thrifted, Booties are super old so no longer available.
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