Unboxing the Body Shop Calendar (part 3)

Coming a teeny bit late, but for a good reason. Our cat was a bit sick for a couple of days after getting his paws into some Christmas food, and I had to focus on getting him well before focusing again on blogging. So sorry for the delay but then again I'm not sorry for making my pet a priority. That being said, let's get into the last unboxing, okay?

body shop calendar

Christmas Eve Glitter Nails

Merry Christmas my loves! I know Christmas Eve isn't the main celebration day for many of you, but in Finland, it's just that. But I thought I'd take a little moment from digesting the Christmas treats and would actually blog the latest nails. Which I crafted today so this is hot off the press, so to speak. So in case you need very last minute Christmas nail inspo, here you have it!

clear jelly stamper nails

Bake With Me: Chocolate Chip Cookies

This time of the year, when you might be together with family and/or get surprise guests at the door, having an easy recipe in hand may be useful. That's why I'm reminding you of an easy, but classic one; Chocolate chip cookies! I found a recipe through Kinuskikissa (linked after the image), and just made it into a gluten-free one. 

cookie ingredients

Lithuanian Surprise Box

A while back, my friend Vita suggested a Christmas time box swap. I haven't done a swap with anyone in years, so I got excited right away. We had talks about what categories each one would include, and agreed to general rules for it. And we would have no clue what the other has chosen into the box before opening our own one up. If you want to see what I got for her, you need to head on her Instagram @vi.kazlauskaite and check through her pics to find out, but I will share you what she generously got for me on this post.

present from friend

2018 Recap

Today, I thought it would be fun to go through the bucket list I had for this year, and see what I did and didn't get done and why. I think I did good, although I didn't try to get everything done actively enough - that being said, I'm not disappointed in myself for the most part, because overall this year has been one of the best in my life. I wouldn't really change a thing.

selfie

Things Making Me Happy Right Now (List of Gratitude)

As I talked about in my stress relief post, Holiday times can be so stressful for people due the commercial nature of this time of the year and so on. Therefore, it's easy to compare to yourself, your advent calendar (or lack thereof), your home and everything to the seemingly perfect ones you may see on social media. If you are a young person reading this, it's worthy for you to know that a lot that perfect Holiday content are related to the big Christmas marketing budgets businesses have and use to sponsor people to create all the perfect-looking content. Therefore, rather than comparing things, take a little time to list things that make you happy right now and/or you are grateful for, so that you can get to that perfect Holiday mood.

Because today, I'm sharing my list with you all.

ornament arrangement

Bake With Me: Gingerbread Brownies (gluten-free & dairy-free!)

My mom linked me this recipe last month, and it sounded so amazing I just had to try making it. And I actually had the perfect time to do so about month ago, when my boyfriend's sister was visiting us. I've seen the same kind of pastries being currently sold in cafes, so this might be somewhat popular in Finland right now. Maybe. Not that I'm the one to know anything about trends since I kind of don't care.

christmas brownie

Body Shop Calendar Unboxing (part 2)

Today, let's open more of the boxes from The Body Shop Calendar, shall we? In this post we're opening from where we left last time up to the box 18. So in case you don't want spoilers of any of those for some reason, stop reading here and come back once you won't get spoilers!



body shop calendar

DIY Christmas Gifts

I've been dreaming about making some of the Christmas gifts myself for years, but haven't really been in a place to do so until now. Now, before we go all in to this post, if you belong to the inner circle of mine (you know who you are, darlings) DO NOT read any further. This post will contain part of your presents so don't go spoiling yourselves, please! If you are not someone who would possibly receive a present from me, go ahead and continue along!

christmas gifts

Emerald Nails

Today, I wanted to share my latest nail art with you. I feel like I have had so much in my hands in many ways that I haven't been able to keep up with artsy things and blogging as much as I would've liked to. Not that it's wrong since this is so far a hobby for me and therefore can't be my main focus over the things that actually pay my bills and further my career and/or mental health. That being said, I still have quite a bit of content coming your way, so hopefully you all like having some Christmas reading.

clear jelly stamper christmas

End of the Year Declutter: Memorabilia

Some of you may look at this title and think: What the heck is memorabilia? It means objects that have sentimental value to you one way or another, and therefore they are harder to let go of. That's why they are the last on the Konmari list, because when you get to this, you have learned to let go of things and this will be easier. I'm not overly sentimental with stuff anymore, and don't have too much trouble to throw things away if I don't have room for them. That being said, I'm human, and I do have things I have hard time letting go.

youtube subs

Super Simple Snow Nails

Since I'm back into posting, let's continue with a nail art post, shall we? I created these ones during the weekend, and I like them a lot. I wore them to the Raskasta Joulua concert we went to, which was amazing - I mean metal music but it's Christmas songs so that's pretty perfect!

china glaze snow mani

Body Shop Calendar Unboxing (part 1)

This year, one of my Christmas gifts from my boyfriend is the medium-sized calendar from The Body Shop. It is adorable looking, and I love The Body Shop products a lot, so this was such a perfect surprise to receive. Clearly, the man is a keeper. So, like a true blogger, I decided to share all the unboxings/first impressions with you.

If this didn't already tell you, this post contains spoilers of what's in the calendar. If you are opening yours later, and want to actually have a surprise for yourself, don't read beyond this point until you have opened the first eight doors from the calendar. That being said, let's get to the calendar, shall we?

the body shop calendar

How to Avoid/Release Holiday Stress

Today, I wanted to do a post that is not the most typical to my blog, but possibly very important for some of you. As we're in the holiday season, and get bombarded with commercials from the left and right, see all perfect pictures on social media and may even get pressure from our families, it's easy to get stressed about things. So, I'm sharing my tips on how to avoid stress.

fall outfit

Snowflake Nails

The first nails of this holiday season are here! I have been brewing ideas for nails the whole November, and try to bring few to you here in the blog and in case I have extra time in my hands, I'll post some additional ones to my nail Instagram @silvertigonails. But without further ado, let's get into the nail art.

snowflake nails clear jelly stamper

Christmas Time Bucket List

It's here. December. Time for all the Christmas vlogs on YouTube, calendars on blogs and social media, everyone posting Christmas treats, Christmas lights, and other Holiday cheer. I'm a Basic bish and also plan on posting a lot of Holiday related stuff everywhere, and want to make this Christmas one of the best ones so far.

penguin knit

Sweater Weather Nails

Today, it's time for the last autumn inspired nails before I get to the winter/Holiday designs next month. I've already started doing them as you may spot if you follow my nail art Instagram @silvertigonails. But any ways, today we'll focus on these autumn nails.


stamped autumn nails

Low Buy & My Plan for More Sustainable Wardrobe

As you've gathered if you've read my closet declutter post, you know I have more than enough clothes in my possession. Therefore, I can quite easily go on a low buy at least for a while. The only things I'm not denying are things that I "need" to replace. Like, when I recently broke my only pair of Black flat knee-high boots and gave myself a pass to get new ones if I couldn't fix them myself. So I've been on no-buy with clothes since the start of October, and am planning on trying to do this until February or so. I'm also trying to avoid collecting too much stuff by starting to put away one or two things every time I'm bringing in something new. That may also go for other things than clothes. (Exception being my nail art things because that is my collection that makes me happy as huge one. Not giving that up just to be minimalist.)

DSC03624 (Large)

End of the Year Declutter: Komono (Miscellaneous)

This part of the declutter series is one I could probably divide into a couple of posts, but then again I think I rather save posting spots for other things as well since not everyone cares about me going through my unnecessary amount of belongings. This part would've included my makeup as well, but if you've been keeping up, you know I decluttered those in a previous post.

To start off, let's see my nightstand. I keep my hair tools, colors and all that in the lower drawer, and in time, I've placed also everything else there, like old cards in Forex bag, papers and so on. You know I've told you I'm messy? Yup, I'm messy.

hair items declutter

Winter Capsule Wardrobe

New season, new wardrobe. Well, I'll be using mostly old things again but as I'm changing up the core items, I think it counts easily as new. For the winter, I like dressing cozy, having options for layering and staying warm as in Finland the weather can get as cold as -30 degrees Celsius and below on worst days.

winter clothing

Depotting Broken Palettes + Decluttering my makeup

A while back, I saw YouTube videos about making your own palettes with existing eye shadows and depotting stuff etc. (Like this one from Angelica Nyqvist where she duped a Jeffree Star palette) That made me think about all the beat up palettes I have (without lid and so on as they are old and have travelled/got dropped on the floor), and how I should put the shades into Z-palettes to possibly get more use out of them. So, I hopped on Beauty Bay, and got a couple of palettes and some extra magnets.

z palettes

End of the Year Declutter: Papers

Let me start this out by saying this is the declutter I hated the most. There's almost nothing worse than sorting old papers. Or new papers. Or papers in general. I just hate it. But on the other hand, that's a good reason to do it. So I can get the package out of my life, not weighing me anymore.

But seriously, I really don't want to do this. Not that I don't like having less unnecessary stuff but I just hate paperwork a lot.

folder

First Clear Jelly Stamper Design

It's been a little while since the previous nail art post, right? Well, if you have been missing those, today is your lucky day as I'm sharing a new design with you. And in addition, I'm talking about some new products I got not too long ago. If that's something you're interested in, keep reading!

Autumn nails

Operation No Foundation

So, after all the Halloween looks, and as the dry inside season of winter is coming up, I thought I should consider some actions for my skin to make it feel better. And even though I love an occasional full glam with perfect coverage, I'm also intrigued to get my skin in such shape that I can go no-foundation style most days.

Everyday base makeup

End of the Year Declutter: Books

I don't know how many of you know this, but I'm pretty sensitive to dust and other allergens like that. I'm not allergic to animals, but if the basic cleaning is lacking, I get a stuffy nose and other flu symptoms. Now, what does this have to do with decluttering? The less stuff, the easier clean-up. When there are fewer things to lift when cleaning, I will do a better job at it - and also, the fewer items a place has, the less it collects dust. So again, it's better (and more aesthetic) to get rid of everything that's not loved or needed. The book part is kind of an easy one as we don't have that many, I donated a big load of them to salvation army before we moved so I don't think I have very many to get rid of.

Bookshelf_1

Vanilla Spice Latte (dairy-free!)

As the evenings get darker, I like to make more warm drinks. My favorites are flavored coffees, and I often google for new coffee recipes to find something to create and try out. Today, I'm sharing a vanilla latte with a nice twist. A DIY Starbucks Vanilla Spice Latte (recipe I found here, and adjusted to my needs/liking)


vanilla spice latte

Cruelty-free Hair Care Routine

Today, I'm sharing my current routine with my hair. It's been a while since I did one (if I've ever posted one), and as I have been switching my products into cruelty-free ones, I thought it was time to share what I love when it comes to hair.

purple andblue hair

Sweet Mayhem Autumn/Winter Pieces

This post may seem strange after I just posted a closet declutter, but hear me out. I ordered these items before I decided on getting rid of stuff, but they took a while to get to me. Since I do love and support this company, so I figured I would share this small haul with you.


baseball top sweet mayhem

End of the Year Declutter: Clothes

Since starting to look more into sustainable lifestyle and all that this year, I've come across minimalism. Most of you probably know what it is; having only the stuff you need and love instead of having tons of stuff that just lays unused around the house. I have been raised mostly on a mindset that buying too much is bad, but also my parents have a bit of "keep a spare, you might need it" attitude. (Sorry mom, but we both know this has been true, although now you are good at getting rid off unnecessary stuff.) And I am an only child, so that comes with people giving me quite a bit of things when I was a kid as there was not another sibling wanting the same as well. So not that I was super spoiled, but some might still say I was. I did have a lot of stuff, and also got a lot of secondhand clothes from an older cousin. All of which has led to adulthood, where I'm used to having quite a lot of stuff.

Happy Halloween!

Today, I don't have too much to say. So I'd rather let the pictures speak for themselves to wrap up this month.

_DSC1823 (Large)

Blogoween: Wiccan Inspired Nails

In line with today's previous post, I bring you "witchy" nails, inspired by Wiccan symbols. Now, as it's a serious belief as any religion or such, I really don't want to offend anyone by my nail art. I just personally think Wiccan symbols look beautiful, and that they have wonderful meanings that are often ignored and made look worse than they actually are. I tried to choose symbols that could have a positive meaning for me, were I to believe in all this wholeheartedly, and my reference article can be read here. (If you're a Wiccan, or more informed about these than me, please don't hate on me if I've missed a point here. I did this mostly for the visuals but wanted to acknowledge in this post where the symbols come from.)


symbol nails

Blogoween: Witch Costume

Like I promised yesterday, today there'll be two posts. This is the first of them, and another one will be up within few hours. I know I did one witch costume already (the Hogwarts one), but I also wanted to create one not tied to any brands whatsoever.


witch outfit

Blogoween: Blue Skull Nails

Quick post before I head to bed; I created Halloween nails I'm excited to share with you! These aren't in traditional Halloween colors but again, not everyone wants the traditional color scheme. So these might be just for those of you.

Skull nails

Blogoween: Halloween Frappuccinos

The other day, I was searching the Internet in hopes of finding the right drink recipe to share with you. I wanted something non-alcoholic, relatively easy and something that would translate well into a dairy-free one in case you, who are reading this now, happen to be vegan or otherwise dairy-free. I came across articles describing Japan's Halloween frappuccinos their local Starbucks' are serving. You can find them here and here. They sounded challenging but not impossible, so I created my own copycat recipes of them. Mind you, I haven't tasted the real things so I don't have exact measurements, but I think with a little tweaking and having a real one to compare these to, I could make the recipe perfect. 

http://www.craftyminx.com/2012/05/diy-iced-white-mochas.html
https://www.thebittersideofsweet.com/2013/10/09/simple-apple-compote/


Starbucks Halloween Frappuccinos homemade

Blogoween: DIY Paper Bats

So, as you may have noticed yesterday there was no Blogoween post yesterday. That's because my PC couldn't connect to the Internet and this is the only appliance I can actually post from (it has my editing software and all). Therefore, I figured we'd skip a day, and make it up on the weekend with three uploads instead of two. I think you're going to be okay with that. But now, let's get to today's craft:

paper bats

Blogoween: Glitter Nails - Two Ways!

Super late upload today as the cat was feeling under the weather yesterday, and it stressed me out to the point that I couldn't handle prepping this post. Sorry about that, but as you understand, my cat means more than any blog post.  However, today I want to share two very different nail designs with you. Yes, you heard it. Two.

Purple and orange nails

Blogoween: Elize Ryd for a day + HELIX by Amaranthe is out now!

Fun story: When I originally planned to do this look, it was purely for the fangirling and love for Elize. While I am a hardcore fan of Amaranthe and they are my ride or die band, I don't have any more inside knowledge about anything the band does unless it's officially announced in socials. But, I had in early August planned this post for the 19th of October, and then 10th 0f August rolled around and the band announced their new album Helix being released on the same day. I immediately got chills and knew this was more or less meant to be. Also I'll sneak in an album first impression and a link to the music video of "365" from the same album in case you haven't seen it before. Another cool coincidence from that day was the said music video launching the minute my summer holiday started AND they announced gigs in Finland.

Long story short, Elize and the whole Amaranthe band just know how to rock my world constantly.

elize ryd look

Blogoween: Halloween Popcorn

As promised, today we're making a popcorn treat for Halloween. I like creating these mix and match type of popcorn snacks, as they are super quick and easy, and they can be made suitable for all the diets - unless someone's allergic to corn, of course. Popcorn is a good snack ingredient since it's not very unhealthy (I cook mine without any oil, even), it can be made into both savory and sweet, and the kernels are very inexpensive.

sweet and savory popcorn

Blogoween: Pumpkin Nails

Time for another nail art post! Yet again I have a very simple mani for you, you need two polishes and decals and that's basically it. 

halloween nails

Blogoween: Vampire Ariel

Ready for another costume idea? Once again it's more makeup than the outfit, but I try to give some sort of outfit suggestion in the end as well. Wanna learn more about this look? Then keep reading! 

vampire ariel

Blogoween: Halloween Garland

Can you believe we're already halfway through Blogoween? Me neither! It seems like it was just July and I started planning for all of these and now we're halfway done with the posts. Time really flies.

Anyway, today I'm sharing another cute DIY that will bring some Halloween spirit in your home without being too overboard or spooky. And it will compliment minimalistic home decor if that's your style!

halloween garland

Blogoween: Harry Potter Nails

Today, I'm sharing the nails I may be the most excited about this Halloween. Harry Potter nails. I was afraid I couldn't make any justice to these, but I feel like the design I came up with is actually really fun. And again, not too difficut to recreate, although I admit this one took me a while to make. Below, I'll break down why it took a bit more effort than some others. 

harry potter nail art


Blogoween: Hogwarts Student (Slytherin)

Today it's time for our weekly Potter movie (we're having themed movie nights throughout October), and I felt like dressing up for it. Or maybe I had decided to do this earlier, but it went nicely with today's movie theme.

slytherin girl outfit

Blogoween: Sorting Hat Cupcakes (Gluten-free!)

Happy Friday my loves! Today has been a good day because Amaranthe released their new single "Inferno" - which is a killer song, and if you haven't heard it yet, please stop reading and go put it on to the background while reading this post. You'll love it. Like I hope you'll love this little food post I have for you today.

sorting hat cupcakes

Blogoween: Haunted House Nails

Before any one of you says "that's too complicated, can't do that", stop and hear me out. This design is much more simple to create than you think. I promise.

Halloween nails

Blogoween: Lady Joker

Happy Wednesday everyone! Today, I'm sharing with you a look I wasn't originally going to do, but this called to me more than what I had planned before so... We're going with this look. It's a relatively easy for anyone to do, as with this one you don't have to be super neat or anything, but the messy application can actually make this look better.

girl joker

Blogoween: Indoor Pumpkin Lanterns

Who feels like crafting today? I would, if I hadn't already done these! As the night's get darker, it's nice to have something to light up the place with. But, as a new cat owner, I had to come up with something that is safe indoors and around pets/children.

diy halloween decor

Blogoween: Mermaid Nails

Time for another nail art post! Today we're creating something not necessarily super creepy but something that goes together with yesterday's makeup look. Mermaid nails.

Shopkeeki decals

Blogoween: Sultry Siren

Happy Sunday people! I'm again a bit late on today's post but I was more or less having a mental health day and not really sitting on computer that much - but rather having a long phone call with a dear friend and playing with the cat and chilling with my boyfriend. However, here's something I created on Friday:

sea inspired makeup

Blogoween: Pumpkin Donuts

It's weekend, so what better way to spend it than making (and eating) treats. In today's post, I will teach you and easy recipe for cute and tasty Halloween donuts!

frosted donuts

Blogoween: Black Cat Nails

Ready for another Halloween mani? Because I got one for you all! Today's design can be done with two polishes and some decals, so yet again it's something easy to recreate.




cat nails