Hurry hurry hurry!

Hey!

These days have been a bit hectic! We are getting ready for my graduation on Saturday and the house is full of stuff...plus the fact that four women (me, mom, gradmom and sister ) and one man ( my grandfather ) live in one small house can be also very nerve racking. I don't know how we are going to fit into this small space when my father and my brother with his wife and their baby are going to come here for the weekend. Also I am going to make all the cakes for my graduation ( 4 cakes ) which I am not so sure about, but I started making them today so I guess everything will be ready by Saturday. But I have to admit that the right word to describe my feelings right now is HELP! I am sure I will forget something and run to do everything the last minute. I am glad that I have my family to help me out with this mess :D

My mom made these two hats for my cakes and I made the flowers as a decoration also for the cakes. We have been working really hard as a team! 

Me and my sister

Ufff! Got to go now!

Karoliina

Ulalaaaa eurovision!

Hello!

I don't know if anybody else watched eurovision last night! It's a tradition to watch at least the finals every year even though I don't take it too seriously, but it's fun to see who is going to win. I remember when Greece won in 2005 and the next year Finland won, we were like what the heck is going on? I don't know which country to support, but usually to be honest Greece has better songs than Finland. This year Finland didn't even make it to the finals and the song of Greece really sucked! So I voted for Serbia which came third...not bad! :)

Oh well, congratulations to Sweden! The song wasn't too bad, but I didn't really get those kung fu moves she was doing...looked a bit stupid to me. The russian old ladies were quite good actually...they had the guts to go on that stage and they nailed it! In case you didn't watch eurovision last night here are the three songs that europe voted as the best songs.

Okay, enough about eurovision! Last night everybody's facebook status was about eurovision so I'm not going to say anything else about it!
And now something embarrassing that happened to me. So as I have made pretty clear my graduation party is in a week so I wanted to try this self-tan thingy because I am very pale...whiter than snow white, I am "sparkling white" as they used to say when I visited Skiathos with my friends two years ago. Anyway...I put the self-tan last night before I went to bed and today when I woke up....SURPRISE! My legs were sooo brown that I freaked out! I look like Snooki D:D:  Thank God I just put that on my legs! Maybe I will just stay pale for the rest of my life....there is nothing wrong with that! The good news is that the self-tanner worked, so thumbs up for that hehe! :D
In case you want to try this self-tan don't put too much of it, unless you really want to look like Snooki! :P
Okay,  I guess that was it of my embarrassing moments. These things always happen to me...hehe

Anyway my mom is coming tomorrow and I need to organize this place a little!
Have a great day everybody! :)

Karoliina

Pulla on hyvää!

Hei!

I decided to make korvapuusti for a change! I don't even remember when was the last time I made these, but they are really good! We eat these in Finland a lot and my friends in Greece who have tried them they liked them very much so I decided to put the recipe on my blog, because I am too lazy to send it to each one separately :P I think these are similar to cinnamon rolls, but I have never tried them so I don't know if the taste is the same.

Here is what you are going to need:

5 dl milk

2 packets of dry yeast (if that's even a word )

2 dl sugar

1½ spoons of cardamom

2 teaspoons of salt

1 egg

200 gr melted butter

about 15 dl of flour 

The oven 200 degrees

 
Start by warming up the milk. Don't boil it though! It just needs to be a bit warm and then add the dry yeast.

In the milk with the yeast mix the egg, the salt, the sugar and the cardamom. Add about 11 dl of flour.
( I don't know if you can find cardamom, but it looks something like this. I am sure you can make it without it, but the taste is quite different. )
Melt the butter and add it in the mixture. Add the rest of the flour in the end. To mix it you are going to use your hands...it get's quite messy I am warning you!  Voilá your dough is ready! Just leave it to rise for 30-45 minutes under a towel. 

When the dough has risen cut it in half and roll out one half of the dough. 

Spread a thin layer of butter, then a layer of sugar and cinnamon. 


Roll it and cut it into small triangles...or if we want to be mathematically correct into small trapezoids or trapeziums ( no idea which word is the right one ) :P
To make the shape of the korvapuusti just push it with your finger in the middle. 
Whisp an egg and lubricate the korvapuusti.  In Finland we add raesokeria which is some kind of sugar on the top, but I don't know if you can find it abroad...at least in Greece they don't sell it. 

 

Do the same thing with the other half of the dough. Leave them in the oven for about 15 to 20 minutes...till they get this golden brown color :)

So this is the way I make these. If you want you can leave your korvapuusti to rise under a towel for 15 minutes before you put them in the oven.

Good luck with the recipe! :)

Karoliina

Got to love Jazz!

Hello!

What do you think of the new look on my blog?? I'm still not giving up of the green, but I have wanted to make a change for a while now and yesterday I finally had the courage to change it a bit. If you haven't noticed I have this section on the right that says labels to make things easier in case you want to search a recipe that I put on here or something else. I am trying to update my blog and make it easier for you and for me. Now I have actually learned how to use this thing! It just took me five months to learn but what the heck! :D

I don't know if I have ever told you this and I guess you might have noticed that I love Jazz! I have been searching all these different songs and the best that I have found are from the forties and fifties. They really knew how to make the best jazz ever back then! It's a pity that I haven't found any good contemporary jazz artists. If you are a jazz fan as I am and you have any good links on youtube please leave a comment! My friends don't really get my passion for jazz and we all have very different taste in music...the only songs that we can listen together are the ones by Abba! On the other hand I am not the kind of person who listens to only one genre. One day I can listen to Scorpions or Nightwish and the next day to Enrique Iglesias for example. I am open to listen to almost everything, but that doesn't mean that I am going to enjoy it :P

Here are some of my favourite jazz songs! Not sure if all of them are quite jazzy maybe they have a twist of blues or gypsy jazz.  (the deluxe one is a bit random, but a friend of mine sent it to me and I have been listening to it since then )

Okay, I guess that's enough for today! :P I have no idea why those videos can't go the way I want them...ugh -_-
The sun is shining so I am heading out and enjoying this lovely weather now that I still can! :)

Karoliina

One step at a time

Moi!

Today is my name day! I almost forgot about it, but it's good that I own a calendar. I had an awesome time with my dear friend Essi and finally I bought my ylioppilaslakki for my graduation...isn't it gorgeous? :D It looks like a sailor's hat, I'm in love with it! hehe

 

I am so nervous and excited the same time for this big event! This is the end of school and 13 years of torture. Okay, I have to admit that school in Finland was awesome! I loved going to school here because most of the teacher's were really nice and I don't know why Finnish students complain about everything, but I guess they haven't seen how schools are in Greece! This year has been the best so far and I really feel good that I made the decision to move to Finland and finish high school here. I will never regret this decision even though I went through some rough times at the beginning, but that's life! You have to take risks and see what happens...if you are too afraid to do anything then you are just playing safe all the time. To be honest I used to hate Finland when I first moved here, but now for the first time I am happy to be here and just take it easy. I am a big dreamer and I live in my own little world sometimes...all this time I have wanted for time to pass by fast so I can move to Spain and do something different, but that's not the right way to live your life. You have to enjoy this day, this moment, this minute...not live in the future. It is good to make plans, but sometimes those plans take over and you end up hating the life you live now...or at least that's what happened to me. 

Enough of my big speach! Here are some pictures that I took today. The weather has been so great and the temperature is getting warmer and warmer every day wohoo! :D Everyhing is so green and fresh again...ahhh! :)

Have a great day! :)

Karoliina

Yeah! :D

Hey!

These past few days have gone by pretty smoothly hehe! It's already Friday...I have no idea how time pasts so fast! Yesterday Hanna and Essi came to my house to celebrate the fact that it's now official that we are all going to graduate because the final results came! Also our names were on the local newspaper on the list of the graduates of 2012 so it's all goooood! :D
Actually, yesterday was pretty exciting as I didn't have work and then we went for a "small" walk with Hanna and Essi which ended up lasting more than an hour and it was about 5 km long. At least we got to be out in the nature and fight with those evil ants that were all around us :P

So after they left me all alone I was so bored that I decided to make a new video! I have to be honest that I am not a good video maker and the quality of my video again was pretty low, next time I have to zoom it better or something. I don't understand how actors can work in front of the camera all the time, because personally I don't know how to act normal in front of my own little camera! Also about my video on the second verse I didn't remember the lyrics so I made up my own words hehe...got to be creative! Okay, that's about it! I don't think I will ever be totally satisfied with any of my videos, but I guess I will have to live with that.  Hope you can hear me better this time :)

Karoliina

El cine español

Hey!

I don't have anything interesting to write about my life, but I'm definitely determined that I am not going to sit around and just let my life pass by this summer. I got my first payment yesterday and for the first time I have my own money which is so exciting! Yey!

So to drive you more crazy with the fact that I'm a big fan of Spain. Today I am going to write about some Spanish movies I have watched so far. No, I am not creepy that I put this guy's picture here! This is Pedro Almodovar the most famous director in Spain. He has the craziest hair I have seen on a guy :P
Anyway, that's not my point! I just had to mention him because most famous Spanish movies are his...for more information about him go to google hehe

Numero uno "Los abrazos rotos" or "Broken hugs" in english. As expected with Penelope Cruz! She is in every single Spanish movie I have seen so far.

I don't know what's wrong with Almodovar, but his movies have always something weird about them. I am not saying that this movie was bad because it wasn't, but the plot had something strange about it. Maybe it was too dramatic for my taste, I don't know.

The story is about this director Mateo Blanco and this girl Lena ( Penelope Cruz ) who is in a relationship with this old rich man. At some point she wants to become an actress and she makes it. But as she is chosen to act in a movie she falls in love with the director ( Mateo ) and they have an affair. It isn't as simple as it sounds...there is a lot going on, but I don't want to tell you everything in case you want to watch it.

Numero dos " Volver" ( "Return" ) directed by Pedro Almodovar with Penelope Cruz...again! I guess Penelope is Pedro's favourite actress or something :P

I have to say that this is movie has also a lot going on. At some point it really freaked me out especially the end was quite shocking, but at least you don't know what is going to happen!

I don't even know where to start because the plot is so complicated. Well...if you want to know you can read it from here : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volver#Plot I am not even going to try to explain it to you.

I thought it was a good movie...not my type, but if you like thrillers I recommend you watch it.






I guess that's it for toninght!
Goodnight guys ¡Buenas noches! :)

Karoliina

Oh mommy!

Hey!

First of all, HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY or hyvää äitienpäivää as we say in Finnish! Even though my mom isn't here I would like to wish her with all my heart a very happy mother's day! Sometimes I used to make my mom breakfast this particular day, but somehow she always woke up too early! Just a hint to all the mothers out there...don't wake up so damn early! Anyway, this time I send a picture of the breakfast we made with Nadja and ate it by ourselves hehe...got to say that it was pretty yummy! ( coffee and chocolate for breakfast mmmmm! )

I have to say that my mom has done a pretty good job so far and I am quite proud of her. Not only she did the things she wanted by herself without the help of her parents, but she also moved to a totally different country just to be with my dad and start something new. I am sure it wasn't easy taking such a big step, but she made it! Even though she stayed home to take care of me and my older siblings I give her a lot of credit for doing that, because being a mom 24/7  is ten times harder than going to work. I also appreciate the fact that she has been very supportive of me going to Spain in October and encouraging me to do the things I want in life, so a big thank you for that! :)

I have had moments in my life that I haven't liked the things my mom has told me, but here is what I think. Moms are not perfect, but all they want is the best for you and they want to protect you by scaring the hell out of you sometimes. You can't avoid the fact that they are going to tell you things that you don't want to hear and give you advices, but just shut up and give them the chance to be part of your life. That way they feel that they get to spread their wisdom, but in the end it is up to you what you are going to do, it's your life! But that's just what I think...

I wanted to send my positive energy with this picture, but it looks like I'm yawning than laughing...ugh -_-

Anyway! Hyvää äitienpäivää and love you mamma! :*

I have to add this commercial that I fould...hahahaha

Karoliina

Nice and tidy

Hei vaan kaikille! :)

I write all the time in English so I thought I would say hi in Finnish this time. Today I worked my ass off and still there are so many things that need to be done. My day started at work as usual and then I came home and cleaned up the whole place. The first thing that I had on my list was to clean up my wardrobe oh yes!
Now I can actually close the doors of my closet, yey! I also had to get rid off some old clothes which was really hard for me to do because I get so attached with my things, but I am happy that there is more room for new clothes hehe!Also I washed the dishes, cooked, had the laundry done and stuff like that. Tomorrow I just have to vacuum and change the sheets! I feel like a little housewife... noooo I am too young for that! :P
Actually now that I said housewife I remember looking at my birthday pictures one day and in one picture particularly I look like a housewife from the fifties showing off my new kitchen equipment hehe... What do you think? (okay they didn't have microwaves back then..hups! )

 I love the fifties which was my theme on my birthday. I had never been to a theme party and I thought it would be fun and we were all dressed up which was even more fun! :) Probably the best birthday I have had!

From one thing to another...yesterday I called my headmaster to get the results from the exams I had in March and I am going to graduate this year...which means I PASSED MY EXAMS! WOHOOO! :D:D
So the graduation party is going to be in June and I haven't done a thing about it so I guess I should start getting ready for the big day! :)
At least I won't have to think about the dress as I have it already...but you will get to see it when I post pictures from my graduation party ;)

I guess that's it for tonight! I have to wake up early and go to work...yey!
Have a great weekend the rest of you who don't work :):)



Karoliina

Me gusta cantar :)

Hello, hello!

After a long time I made a new youtube video! My friend Nadja came today to try my tiramisu and she liked it SCOR! haha :D I played this song for her and I can't believe she started crying...awwwwww! ( she is probably going to hate me that I wrote about it on my blog...hups am I bad? :P ) This is my first song that I sing in Spanish so don't be too harsh on me please or should I say por favor! I usually make more than one videos, but this was one take and that's it, I didn't even bother to cut the video or do anything with it. I don't like playing in front of the camera because I get so nervous and I don't play as well as I do when I'm alone. The name of the song is Cuando me enamoro ( When I fall in love ) by Enrique Iglesias and Juan Luis Guerra. Anyway, hope you like my video and here are the lyrics in case you want to sing along or something :P hehehe.

Cuando me enamoro

Si pudiera bajarte una estrella del cielo
lo haria sin pensarlo dos veces
porque te quiero, ay
y hasta un lucero

Y si tuviera el naufragio de un sentimiento
seria un velero en la isla
de tus deseos, de tus deseos

Pero por dentro entiendo que no puedo
y a veces me pierdo...

Cuando me enamoro
a veces desespero,
cuando me enamoro,
cuando menos me lo espero, me enamoro
se detiene el tiempo,
me viene el alma al cuerpo,
sonrio, cuando me enamoro

Si la luna seria tu premio,
yo juraria hacer cualquier cosa,
por ser su dueño, ay, por ser tu dueño

Y si en tus sueños escuchas el llanto
de mis lamentos,
en tus sueños no sigas dormida,
que es verdadero, ay,
no es un sueño, no

Y me alegro que a veces al final
no encuentres un momento, ooh no...

Cuando me enamoro
a veces desespero,
cuando me enamoro,
cuando menos me lo espero, me enamoro
se detiene el tiempo,
me viene el alma al cuerpo,
sonrio, cuando me enamoro

Cuando me enamoro
a veces desespero,
cuando me enamoro,
cuando menos me lo espero, me enamoro
se detiene el tiempo,
me viene el alma al cuerpo, al cuerpo,
sonrio, sonrio, cuando me enamoro.

¡Muchas gracias a todos!

Karoliina :)

Tiramisu per favore!

Ciao bambini!  

Sooooo a month ago I sent a message to this Italian school in Florence that teaches photography and finally I got an answer from them and I'm just more than happy that there is no entrance exam...the only thing that I need to do is learn Italian and do the paper work. Tomorrow I will probably go ask this Social Insurance Istitution (or KELA in Finnish) what kind of paperwork I need to do and how much the Finnish goverment is going to pay for my studies abroad and all that boring stuff. I will keep looking for other places in Italy, but this one sounds pretty good...but we will see how that goes :) I just can't hide my excitement...sorry!

After I read that message I wanted to make tiramisu just to cheer up my mood a little bit more! So here is my version of the recipe. I remember asking my friend who lives in Italy how to make it and when I told him that I don't have the machine to make espresso he said "you can't make tiramisu if you don't have espresso!".
Oh well...I made it anyways buahaha
This is what you are going to need:

Ingredients:

500gr mascarpone
5  eggs
200 gr Savoiardi ( some kind of biscuits I suppose )
1 dl sugar
0,5 dl disaronno  
espresso of course! ( Okay, I just used instant espresso that I found from the store )
cocoa powder

First make the espresso so that it cooles down a bit by the time you start making the tiramisu. In 2 dl of boiled water add the espresso instant coffee and the 0,5 dl of disaronno.

Whip the egg whites. In another bowl whip the yok with the sugar and add the mascarpone. When you have done that add the egg white to the second mixture. 

Voilà! Your mixture should be ready! If you want you can leave it in the fridge for a while or not :P
Personally I just started making it right away.

Dip each Savoiardi biscuit  in the espresso for two seconds ( one second per side )
and put them on the plate side by side. Put a layer of the mascarpone mixture and sieve a bit of cocoa powder on the top (I have to admit that I messed up with the cocoa powder). Do the same thing and put a second layer of savoiardi and cream. Leave it in the fridge for a night or at least 5 to 6 hours.

So this is my version of tiramisu! Hope you understood my instructions...I'm not very good at explaining, but the pictures might help :)
Grazie mille e buona notte!

Karoliina

Wanna see a movie?

Hey there!

I haven't told you this before, but I am a big fan of movies. It is so relaxing after a hard day at work to sit down and watch a good movie. Because renting in Finland is very expensive I borrow from the library which doesn't cost a thing! Here are some of my favourite movies that I though you might like as well if you are a girl hehe. I hate action movies...I never get the point of them and I usually fall asleep during the film :/
You might have noticed that my taste in music and books is a bit...different, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. Old classic movies are always the best and they have a little bit of everything!
If you have any good movies in mind please leave a comment! :)

So Roman Holiday with Adrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck! This is one of the classics I was talking about. I can't say that I fell in love with this movie, but there is something about it that most movies these days don't have.
So the story is about this young princess who goes to Italy for a few days and decides to escape for a day and explore Rome. Of course on her way to new adventures she falls in love with this young charming man as expected! It has romance, comedy and a bit of drama.
To be honest a movie with Adrey Hepburn can never be a total disaster. It is annoying how gorgeus she is or used to be.
Out of ten I would give this movie a seven or an eight.

Numero dos The Help. No words to describe this movie and I mean it! This gets ten and no doubt about it.
I went to see this with my friens at the movie theater and then I got so excited that I bought the book and the DVD.
The story takes place in Jackson, Mississippi in the 1960's during the civil rights movement. It is about a young girl who wants to write a book about the life of African-American maids. It is not a true story, but it really shows how much those people went through and the racism that used to exist those days.
I usually don't like to cry when I watch movies, but gosh I couldn't help it! Don't worry though it has many fun parts too :) 

Numero tres Julie and Julia.
I bought this movie for my mom as a Christmas gift and we both liked it very much...or at least I did!
Meryl Streep is one of the most amazing actresses and she really played her role very well.
This movie is based on two true stories. One of which is about Julia Child and her career as a chef and the other one is about Julie Powell who wants to cook all 524 Julia Child's recipes in one year and decides to write a blog about it.
At first when I read the plot I thought...naaah, but when I saw it it was really good! Just imagine doing more than one recipes a day...insane! So much to cook :P
Anyway! I really enjoyed this movie and I hope you do too :)

Last but not least Chocolat!
I watched this movie a few weeks ago and I have to say that it was pretty good! What movie isn't good if Johnny Depp is in it...hehe just kidding I am not too crazy about him, but he is a good actor.
So the story is about a single mom who moves to a small village in France with her daughter. At first she gets many enemies because of the way she thinks and acts, but in the end...oh wait...I am not supposed to tell you that :P
Just watch it and you won't regret it! It had some good music as well :)
I would give it an eight out of ten. Good but not excellent :P











So these are my chick flick movies for today! Now I am going to buy me some chocolate and gain some weight oh yeah! :D

Karoliina

Paulooo..

¡Hola a todos!

 Lately I have been reading this book called Maktub by Paulo Coelho in SPANISH! I have put my best efford to understand everything written in this book and I have to say that I understand 70% of what I am reading which is a huge deal for me! That means that I have actually learned something at my Spanish lessons :) Cool! (as our exchange student from Arizona used to say)

This book contains small stories about important things in life and the author's thoughts. It is really easy to read and some of the stories have really good meanings. I usually don't like to read books that I have to think their meanings, but this one is pretty interesting....let's put it that way :P









As I was reading it yesterday there was one story that for some strange reason made me think about it twice. So I thought I would share it with you. This is the spanish version.

 La vida no es pedir ni dar consejos. Si necesitamos ayuda, es

 mejor ver cómo los demás resuelven, o no, sus problemas. Nuestro ángel

 está siempre presente, y muchas veces usa los labios de alguien para

 decirnos algo. Pero esta respuesta nos viene de manera casual, generalmente

 cuando, a pesar de estar atentos, no dejamos que nuestras preocupaciones

 turben en milagro de la vida. Dejemos que nuestro ángel hable de la manera

 en que está acostumbrado, cuando crea que es necesario.

 Dice el maestro:

Los consejos son la teoría de la vida; la práctica, en general, es muy diferente.

This is my translation of the previous story...so I don't know if it is exactly correct, but I will give it a try! :) If you speak better Spanish than I do please be understanding...

Life is not about asking or giving advices. If we need help, it is better to

 see how others solve, or not, their problems. Our angel is always present and many

 times it uses someone else's lips to tell us something. But the answer comes

 to us by chance, usually when, despite of being aware, we don't let our worries 

confuse the miracle of life. We let our angel

 to speak in a costumary way, when we think it is necessary.

The teacher says:

Advices are the theory of life; practice, in general, is very different.

One part was hard to translate...anyway hope you got an idea of the whole text. Some things I understand about it and others not so much. I guess what it tries to say is that giving advices is the easy part, but putting them into action is a whole different story...something like that??

Anyway...too much thinking for tonight! Here is a song for you! I haven't seen the movie midnight in Paris, but I think I might do that soon. :)

Karoliina

Vappu!! :D

Hello, hello!

So yesterday was the first of May and me and my friends celebrated it in our own way. We cycled around Kotka and ate some really good ice cream, nam! The weather was perffect nice and sunny :) It got a bit windy at some point but it didn't bother us that much. I have to admit that there weren't many people in Kotka which sucked...I thought it would be a big thing here as it was in Helsinki or Tampere...but nope...dead silent :( oh well...things are different in smaller cities.

Today I called to this school to learn how to drive :P I don't know what they are called in english...driving schools? No...anyway doesn't matter! The only problem about this whole thing is that the lessons are the same time I work...so...argh! I just have to organize my schedule and see what happens.

Here are some pictures from yesterday! :) I hope you had a fun day as well!

 Have a good May or καλό μήνα as we say in greek!

Karoliina