The un-party girl

I'm not much of a party girl, you could say I'm the party pooper except that I most often don't attend the party at all to be able to be the "pooper" at it. I prefer small groups of people (selected people), and I prefer quiet, cozy hours in an armchair with a cup of tea and a good book or my computer. Parties are to a big part everything that I don't find enjoyable, yet at times I find parties to be fun. I only need a week or two to recharge my batteries post-party.

The things I like the most about parties are the hours before. There's an excitement in the air, and as you're getting ready you get to do fun things. I like getting dressed up, and made up. I like fixing my make-up and hair. I find it enjoyable to create an outfit that'll look fantastic. It's just, when all of that is done... I feel pretty done as well. The getting ready for the party is the most fun a party is, in my opinion. Am I the only one?

Getting dressed up is so much fun that I sometimes get dressed up and made up for no real reason, other than getting dressed up! Please tell me there are others out there that also do this...

Dress: My Fair Lady Baroque Embroidery Dress from Chicwish

Cardigan: Old from Zara

Flats: Ballet Flats from Asos

Earrings: Old from River Island

This outfit is not from one of those "only-getting-dressed-up" days, I actually went somewhere afterwards and it was fun and very tiring, like parties are. I wore this fantastic dress from Chicwish that I had had my eyes on for months, until I finally found a reason to get it!
So - yay for parties (that gives you a reason to get new dresses) even though I'm the un-party girl.

Cute and quirky

The lovely illustration above is by the very talented Amy Rose. Isn't it just so cute!! She's enhanced my cuteness to a point where it will decay teeth - I love it!!

Amy and I got to know each other on instagram (Amy's instagram is @amyrosestudios). I was already a fan of her work when I decided that I needed to own her girly, quirky and sweet art to brighten my room. I'm a proud owner of two of her illustrations and they hang beautifully on my wall like pastel-coloured dreams. I'm also saving up for some more illustrations and a macaron brooch (or two...).

Illustrations by Amy Rose, here.

Amy takes sweet characters and makes them even cuter (I don't know how she does it - must be magic). Her art is happy and colourful and I adore it!

I wanted to talk a little more about the illustration she did of me (because it is just so cute I might pass out)!! Amy totally surprised me with the illustration, she was inspired by an outfit that I wore a couple of months ago (IG people will have seen it, but I'm adding some photos here anyway). I can't describe the happiness she brought me by illustrating me, it totally warmed my heart, and I remember I was having a bad day that turned completely on its head when she surprised me.

Dress: Miss Patina

Earrings: FemmeDeBloom

Amy does custom work, as well as having so many beautiful prints in her etsy shop. She definitely made me feel joyful, bubbly and excited. So I suggest you take a look at her stuff if you want to feel that way too. This is not a sponsored post, I just wanted to share this lovely illustration everywhere I can! Haha!

Perfect summer dress

Summer finally came to my city in northern Sweden this weekend. It was so warm that I didn't even need a jacket (woohoo), so naturally I pulled out the most summery dress in my wardrobe and went out to have ice cream. Because that's what you do when it's warm - ice cream!

This lovely dress with it's adorable hand-drawn print of buttercups and tea cups is from Book of Deer. I've worn Book of Deer on the blog previously. And once again tea cups are involved. This dress is the perfect summer dress. It's the sort of dress you put on and run out the door without a worry. It's delicate and feels amazing in a light breeze. This is not a sponsored post, but this dress is 50% off, which I felt like I needed to share with you because it is such a spectacular dress. You can find the dress: here.

Dress: Book of Deer

Cardigan: Zara

Shoes: Daisy Street via Asos

Long summer days and berry cakes

In Sweden we celebrate Midsommar (=Midsummer) at the time of the summer solstice. It's an important festivity in Sweden, only rivalled by Christmas really. I enjoy Midsommar very much, not so much because it finally means some warmer weather but because it is the longest day of the year (on the northern hemisphere). Where I live, the sun doesn't even set, giving us a full 24 hours of daylight - I love it!

Dress: Fleet Collection

Another thing that I enjoy about Midsommar are the berries. And for the celebration of Midsommar cake is a necessity, so what better than a cake filled with juicy delicious berries!

For Midsommar this year I made a No-Bake Berry Cheesecake, and I topped it with fresh berries. Oh how I love berries!

NO-BAKE BERRY CHEESECAKE

INGREDIENTS

• 1 package of Oreos (154 grams)
• 50 grams butter, melted
• 300 grams cream cheese
• 250 grams ricotta cheese
• 4 dl heavy cream (whipping cream)
• 120 grams sugar
• 250 grams raspberries
• 250 grams bilberries (or blueberries)

DIRECTIONS

Crush the Oreos to crumbles and add the melted butter to it. Press the Oreo crumbles into a round pan (preferably a springform pan). Put into freezer while preparing the rest.

Cook the berries (can cook them together as they will be mixed) and purée it.

Whisk together the cream cheese, the ricotta cheese, the heavy cream and the sugar until it thickens. Add the berry purée and whisk until it is evenly distributed. Pour onto the Oreos in your pan and freeze for a minimum of 6 hours, preferably over night.

Remove from freezer 20 minutes before serving.

Much love!

Princess of the Highlands

I sometimes wear tartan and pretend I'm a Scottish princess with locks like Merida from Pixar's Brave (only instead of the ginger curls, I have dark curls).

My hair draws (to my misery) a lot of attention, and I think it's because there's lots of it and it's long. Don't get me wrong, I am extremely flattered at the attention it gets and I wouldn't change it for the world. What bothers me is when people try to touch it. But that's a story for another time.

Pinafore: Mod Dolly

Blouse: Old from H&M

Shoes: New Look via Asos

What I wanted to talk about today is my hair routine, or lack of a hair routine. I get this question a lot, especially from other curlies, and I understand that because curly hair is incredibly tricky. So I thought, I'd once and for all let you know what I do with my hair.

I want to start by saying that I like frizz. Many curlies want to avoid frizz and use anti-frizz products. I feel like anti-frizz products weighs down the hair, while I like my hair to be fluffy! So I embrace the frizz! The halo of frizz gives the hair a natural look, in my opinion. Second, I haven't always been this accepting of my hair. I've struggled with it for years, and have gone through my fair share of "curl controlling" products, before I decided I wasn't going to "control" it anymore, but let it roam free.

I cut my hair myself. Mostly because I haven't found a stylist that "understands" my hair. So although it is time consuming, I go curl by curl and cut a little bit off of it. I wash and condition my hair with a fragrance free mild shampoo and conditioner I get from the pharmacy here in Sweden (for the Swedes: Apolivas schampoo och balsam för normalt hår). And basically that's it. At times, especially in the winter when the air and also my hair gets drier, I use the LuxeOil from Wella in my hair when it is still wet. I try to let my hair air dry, or if I dry it I use a dryer with a diffuser attached to it. And that's all I do. What I don't do is what I think matters more. I try not to touch my hair too much, so that it doesn't get dry and tangled. I use elastics without the metal thingy, so it doesn't pull on my hair. And most importantly I don't try to make my hair something it isn't. I don't straighten it, I don't colour it, I don't bleach it. I try to keep it as healthy as I can, and that's all there is to my "routine".

So now I'm interested, what are some of your tricks or routines for your hair?

Much love,
Mona