Maple and Oak Designs

Hello all,
Once again I disappeared. I'm having a very hard time fitting my blogging into my life somehow. Whether for lack of time, inspiration or content. However today I'm back with a post (as you very clearly can see), and it's half-outfit post, half-introduction (to a company).

Without further ado, I want to introduce you to Maple and Oak Designs.
Leonie, the creator, owner and designer of Maple and Oak, and I have been Instagram friends for some time, and I have secretly admired her company of fun and unique accessories. So when Leonie contacted me about a collaboration I was very happy indeed.

Leonie kindly sent me one of her rockabilly headbands from her shop, and I love everything about it. First off, red is probably my favourite colour to wear. And secondly, and more importantly, polka dots! Polka dots people! I do love me some polka dots.

This headband instantly lifts any outfit with it's vintage inspired design. It's so cute, and effortlessly so. Gosh it's adorable!

Maple and Oak's accessories are hand made from vintage, reclaimed and retro fabrics, to reduce the strain on the planet, and it came from all the way over in Canada.

In August Maple and Oak will relaunch their website and shop. You can check it all out here.

Also, check out their Facebook page (here) and Instagram (@mapleandoak). I will let you in on a little secret too. If you follow Maple and Oak, there might *wink* be a coupon code coming in time with the relaunch of the website.

They ship internationally (yay) and have a whole myriad of wonderfully funky, quirky accessories. I've personally got my eyes on the hood scarves and felted ponchos (as well as the rest of their rockabilly headbands).

Headband: Maple and Oak Designs (here)

Blouse: Miss Patina (old)

Dress: Closet via ModCloth (old)

Shoes: ModCloth (here)

I love when you can feel the heart that goes into a creation, and with Leonie's Maple and Oak the love, hard work and fun is tangible.

Hope you're all doing great.
Much love,

Creamy-cheesey-chocolatey

Hello all,
Hope you're doing great.

It is time for a new recipe! Yay!
This is my go-to cheesecake. I baked it for my boyfriends family when they were over to my place for the first time, and it was a success. I've made it many times before, so I knew that it would be good.

This cheesecake is creamy, chocolatey and delicious. One of the things I love about it is that you can decorate it however you want. You can add berries or fruits during the summer season, or sprinkles when berries are scarce.

I added berries, some whipped cream and biscuit crumbs for decoration, and I think it looks rather nice.

 

Chocolate Cheesecake

INGREDIENTS

• Digestives, crushed - 200 grams
• Cocoa powder - 2 tablespoons
• Butter, melted - 100 grams
• Cream cheese - 900 grams
• Sugar - 150 grams
• Eggs - 4
• Dark chocolate, melted - 200 grams
• Vanilla powder - 1-2 teaspoons

DIRECTIONS

Preheat the oven to 150°C.

For the base: Crush the digestives into fine crumbs (I use a food processor) and mix with the cocoa powder. Pour the melted butter over the crumbs and mix until all crumbs are moist. Prepare a 24 cm springform cake tin by greasing the sides and lining the base with parchment paper. Press the moist crumbs into the base of the cake tin, flatten with hand or spoon, and then put into fridge.

For the cheesecake filling: Melt the chocolate (I use a double boiler), and allow to cool a little. Mix the cream cheese, sugar and vanilla with a handmixer until smooth and thick. Add one egg at a time and mix in. Do not over mix! Now spoon a little of the cream cheese mixture into the melted chocolate. This will even out the temperatures. Continue in this way until half of the cream cheese mixture is mixed with the chocolate. Then mix it all in.

Pour the filling onto the base. Place the cake tin in a larger baking tin and fill the outer tin with water. Bake in this waterbath for about 50 minutes. The times varies, and depends on your oven. The cake should be wobbly in the middle. Once you've removed the cake from the oven allow it to cool before placing it in the fridge, preferably overnight.

Dress: Joanie Clothing (here)

Hope you all liked this recipe, it really is worth making as it is so delicious. I'm sitting here drooling a bit just as I'm writing everything down.

Have a fantastic day.

Much love,

Galos de Joanie

Hi there you,

Long time no see. I'm back for a blog post, you guys.

I want to start by asking you how you are all doing.

What's going on in your life and how's the weather where you are?

Here it's just about getting a bit warmer. Last week it snowed basically every day, but finally the sun is out and you only need a regular spring jacket.

I wanted to write this post and let you all know about a brand that I only recently discovered (not sponsored though). I might have been late to the party (it's amazing that I even arrived at the party at all), as it seems to be a pretty popular brand on instagram.

The brand is called Joanie Clothing and wow!

I want everything they make. They have vintage and retro inspired clothes that have a south European feel to it, with French-inspired tops and this lovely dress that I'm wearing with a Portuguese Galo de Barcelos print. About this dress, I adore the warm summery colour and the detailed print. The little bow is like icing on a cake. It has become my favourite dress and I got plenty of compliments when wearing it this weekend.

Had you heard of Joanie?

Dress: Joanie Clothing (here)
Lipstick: Besame Cosmetics (here)
Necklace: Edblad

I wish you all a happy rest of the week. Take care.

Much love,

Mona

Crystal clear

Hello you,
Hope you are all doing great and that you're keeping warm or cool depending on where you live.
Where I live in northern Sweden it is cold (not very, but enough to not be able to photograph outdoors), and I'm keeping warm with blankets and hot cups of tea.

When I was a kid I loved rocks, stones and crystals of all kinds. I used to collect some and at times I would get them all out and arrange them in order of colour, just look at them and be joyful. The little things really make me happy, and I was like that as a child too. The littlest thing could amuse and preoccupy me.

Top: Book of Deer (here)

Jeans: Forever 21 (old)

Lipstick: Bésame Cosmetics (here)

This lovely top from Book of Deer with a crystal print reminded me of my box of rocks, and I went searching for them in my old stuff, and to my surprise, my box was still there, with crystals and stones of different shapes, sizes and colours - all living in harmony. It made me happy.

This unique and dreamy top also makes me think of the 70's, and I imagined that it would be what I would wear on the cover of my soul-rock record. Arms outstretched above me, my curly mane billowing behind me, a cross between Freddie Mercury and Erykah Badu. Well, I sure wish anyway...

I think I'm going to go arrange my rocks now.
I hope you all have a fantastic week, take care of yourselves.

Much love,

Faves of 2016

Hello all,
I hope you are doing well, and I hope that 2017 has started off in a brilliant way for you!

I have a hormonal disease known as Hashimoto's thyroiditis that leaves me feeling really crap at times, and this last week has unfortunately been like that. I'm thinking about writing a post only about that at some point, but for now, I just wanted to let you know that I'm not doing so well, so new content will have to wait.

But I have been seeing that a lot of bloggers make a little summary post about their favourite outfits of the past year in January, so I'm doing that! Here are my 10 favourite outfit posts (+ 1 baking post, and 2 extra photos) of 2016.

The past year started really well for me, and I posted quite a few outfit posts. My favourite of January would have to be this one:

Magical year

I wore a beautiful velvet dress from Book of Deer that I just adore, with an icy grey bow with embroidered bears, and a rose gold zipper. Ugh it's to die for.


In February I had my 25th birthday and my favourite post from that month is the post with my birthday cake:

A Quarter of a Century

However, my favourite outfit post of the month was this one:

Are you still here?

Once again I wore Book of Deer (wouldn't be the last time), this time the perfect winter's dress. And I topped it all off with specs!


In March you'd think that Spring would make an appearance but it didn't (not in northern Sweden anyway), so I continued to photograph my outfits indoors. My favourite was yet another Book of Deer dress:

Flora and Fauna

This dress is stunning and with it's embroidered magpies it is a really unique and quirky dress. I added saddle shoes to complete the look.


April came and I wore berets a lot. This is my favourite outfit from April:

Silly nilly

I wore a Dear Creatures dress, and have since then heard that there is no more Dear Creatures, which makes me sad. But I'm glad I've got this lovely dress to remember them by. The red accents really made this outfit.


May was perhaps the best month yet - I had my 1 year blogiversary, and celebrated by hosting a giveaway together with Book of Deer.

1 year Blogiversary - Giveaway: Win your favourite Book of Deer dress

I wore a stunning summer dress from BoD with the cutest pattern, and headed outdoors to snap the photos (finally some sun and warmth).


My favourite outfit from June is this one:

Vintage Joy

I wore my first ever vintage dress, and I loved it!


July came by and I wore Windram Design:

Summer florals

This dress and the petticoat I wore it with made me feel and look like a cupcake. It was fantastic!


In August the country is at its greenest and everything is beautiful.

Country life

I wore an old Miss Patina dress, with a hat from ModCloth as I went poké-hunting.


September was an exciting month for me!

Zebrawood & Champagne 

I went on my holidays to London, I saw Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, as well as some other awesome plays and musicals. I met with Andini from Adventures of an Anglophile, and Nora from NoraFinds, as well as meeting BoD creator Eilidh. Best month ever!!!

The gorgeous and beautiful Andini and I, on the Millennium Bridge (the Harry Potter bridge). Look at her awesome outfit!! That hat!

The ever-stunning Nora looking ridiculously classy, the ethereal beauty Eilidh dressed in an own design, gorgeous as ever, and I.

In October and November I was very lousy at blogging, and I didn't get one outfit post worth mentioning posted. But in December, at the very end of 2016, I went out with a bang, and an awesome outfit (if I may say so myself).

New Year, Good bye 2016

I discovered the brand Tatyana, and wore this incredible skirt for New Year's Eve.


And that was my year in outfits!
Hope you enjoyed this post, I personally loved looking back at the year in style.

Much love,

New Year, Good bye 2016

Once again it is New Year’s Eve!
I hope you all have a very Happy New Year and I wish you all the best!

Last year I summarised the year that had passed in a blog post, and I thought I’d do the same thing this year. But before that let me just mention my outfit of tonight!

I am wearing this skirt that is ridiculously beautiful and I feel fantastic in, from Tatyana. I saw this skirt on Instagram and knew I had to have it. It reminded me of something... I couldn't quite place my finger on what, but I was serious about owning it.

I was lucky enough to get it on sale, and I was even luckier to have it arrive in time for NYE. As I was getting ready I put on this V-neck top and bam! It hit me! It reminds me of the beautiful outfit that Grace Kelly wore in Rear Window (which happens to be one of my favourite Hitchcock's). Google it! It's uncanny!

I decided to keep the rest of the look completely 50's, so I wore my perfect Besame Red lipstick from Besame Cosmetics and finished it off with a loose powder (Vanilla Brightening Powder, also Besame). You'd think I was sponsored by Besame Cosmetics but unfortunately I'm not. Their products just feel very authentically vintage.

To top it all off I actually googled retro hairstyles for natural hair and got a brilliant hit. I found this blog post on the blog Bobby Pin, and I adore the hairstyle. It is really hard finding vintage and retro hairstyles for naturally curly hair. Most hair tutorials start with much looser curls than I have. So if you have any ideas for retro hairstyles for natural hair please leave me a comment!

On to the 2016 round-up...

While 2015 was one of the hardest years of my life, 2016 has been one of the best years! I have not recovered from my illnesses, and probably never will as they are all chronic, but I have gotten to a point where I manage my mental illness in a way that enables me to live my life.

I’ll be honest - I’ve had crap times in 2016 (as those of you who have followed me might remember). Days where it’s been impossible to get out of bed. Weeks where my anxiety has been so high and my OCD has made it so hard to get out of my apartment. I’ve even had months during this last year where I’ve felt so very low and uninspired in life. But it has all been isolated times surrounded by, in large, better times.

Top: Topshop (old)

Skirt: Tatyana (here)

Heels: B.A.I.T. Footwear (here)

Pearls: Borrowed from Mum

I started this year feeling better than I had for a decade. Last year ended with me being on a high. I was on good medication and I was continually working with a psychologist fighting against my OCD, anxiety and depression. In 2016 I have been entirely free from suicidal thoughts, and that, my friends is a major step in the right direction. I am back to work, full time! Which makes me so happy I could cry. I have bad weeks, and days, but all in all I am back to my previous self. I recognise the person that I am.

I still have OCD. I still have my obsessions and perform my compulsions, but as I mentioned - it is manageable now. I can lead a life at the side of being sick. It’s not all about my illness anymore. All of this, getting back to being happier and healthier has made me realise how important health is. And I’ve decided I want to end this year with a message of hope.

If you are doing unwell, whether physically or mentally, believe me it can get better! It’s not impossible! Get as much help as you can, and be as open as you can be - a healthier life is possible. I went into 2016 feeling hope and joy, and it has treated me well. I will continue to fight in 2017 for a happier, healthier life. And I wish all of you find your joy and happiness the same way I have.

Thank you so much to everyone that I’ve interacted with! You are all incredible! It still means everything to me that you are here and are willing to listen to my story. I also want to say that I am here and willing to listen to your story too! If anyone suffering from any mental illness feels the need to talk, I’m here! Talk to me! Because talking about it really eases something.

Here’s to 2017! May it be all you hope for and more!
And for the last time this year - Much love to all of you,