Falling for Sparks

I can't remember the last time I read a book that wasn't school literature. It was probably almost a year ago in Nice and I was so captured by those books that I started and ended a lot of my days with those. Now I've grown interest in Nicholas Sparks books. A staggering 8 of his books have been transformed into movies. The Notebook is absolutely a legend, and a recent favorite of mine Safe Haven. That's the newest movie. I bought some of the books for Christmas and as soon as the school stress gets easier I'll get on with these. One book I wanted wasn't there so I'm still waiting for that. And there are two books adapted to movies coming out soon. Any experiences about Sparks? Have a nice weekend!

En muista koska viimeksi olen lukenut muuta kuin koulukirjallisuutta. Taisi olla lähes vuosi sitten Nizzassa, ja ne kirjat todella veivät mennessään että usein aloitin ja lopetin päivän niitä lukemalla. Nyt olen ihastunut Nicholas Sparksin kirjoihin. Huikeat 8 hänen kirjoistaan on muutettu elokuviksi. The Notebook on ehdottomasti legenda, ja uusin suosikkini Safe Haven. Se on uusin elokuva. Ostin joitakin kirjoista jouluksi, ja heti kun koulu stressi hieman helpottaa aloitan tämän urakan. Yhtä kirjaa vielä odottelen kun sitä ei Akateemisen hyllystä löytynyt. Parista kirjasta on myös tulossa lähiaikoina elokuva. Onko teillä mitään lukukokemuksia Sparksista? Hyvää viikonloppua! 

A new year has started

Well, it's a new year. How has yours started? I've been taking it easy but been quite busy with working and more school deadlines and such. Today I also read some news that winter might be called off cause the weather hasn't been like that at all. Can you imagine? Canceling winter in Finland. In the northern parts, Lapland that is there's plenty of snow and minus degrees though, but here in the south it's like a long fall. I don't mind the "warmth" but some snow would be nice though. Then again what snow usually causes is huge parking problems in the cities and when it melts it gets all brown and wet, that's gross and not good for the shoes either. Hehe. Lapland isn't that far away, only an hour by plane so it's easy to get some winter for a while if you wanna get some. And apparently it's a big hit now since a lot of British and French tourists are visiting up there. Even some royals.

Yesterday my brothers and I were watching some old home movies from 15 years back. Gosh how the time really has flown by. Some was from our trips around that we used to do, especially at summer time. I remember back then I had an obsession with a teen show called Sweet Valley High. Anyone else? I was obsessed with reading the books too, I think I have all of them. Watching my mum's home videos made me realize how movies and television has been a big passion of mine since a kid, even more than music. I was remembering the lines back then already and it hasn't changed until this day. I still remember so many lines and scenes from movies especially and watching them with my family in particular gets them annoyed since I usually spit out the lines before the actors say them. So I dunno, maybe I am in the wrong field and should switch to the film industry, it has always intrigued me. What do you guys think? You have something you're really passionate about? Btw, the phase also included me copying the twins hair and the style of clothes they wore. Those were the days. And it's fun remembering them. 

Uusi vuosi on täällä. Miten teidän on alkanut? Itse olen ottanut iisisti, tehnyt töitä, hionut koulutehtäviä ja sen sellaista. Tänään luin myös uutisista että talvi saatetaan peruutta. Voitteko kuvitella? Talven peruutus Suomessa. Lapissa tosin on reilusti lunta ja pakkasta, mutta etelässä on aivan kuin venähtänyt syksy. Minua ei kyllä "lämpö" haittaa, mutta olisi kiva jos olisi vähän lunta. Toisaalta lumi aiheuttaa niin paljon harmia varsinkin isoissa kaupungeissa. Parkkipaikkoja uupuu, ja kun lumi sulaa niin se on likaista ja ruskeaa loskaa. Ei mukavaa kengillekään. Hehe. Lappihan on vain noin tunnin lentomatkan päässä, joten talvea kaipaaville on myös mahdollista lähteä siellä käymään. Ja näköjään siitä on tulossa trendikästä kun siellä ravaa paljon ranskalaisia ja englantilaisia turisteja. Jopa kuninkaallisia.

Eilen katsoimme veljieni kanssa kotivideoita 15 vuoden takaa. Miten aika onkaan lentänyt. Osa materiaalista oli reissuiltamme joita teimme varsinkin kesäaikaan. Muistan että niinä aikoina minulla oli pakkomielle Sweet Valley High teinisarjaan. Muistaako kukaan? Olin hulluna niihin kirjoihin myös ja minulla taitaa olla ne kaikki. Kun katselin näitä vanhoja kotivideoita tajusin miten elokuvat ja tv on ollut intohimoni jo nuoresta lähtien, jopa enemmän kuin musiikki. Muistin repliikkejä ulkoa jo silloin, eikä se todellakaan ole muuttunut. Muistan edelleen liian monta repliikkiä ja kohtausta elokuvista ja jos katson jotain varsinkin perheeni kanssa saattaa se ärsyttää heitä. Sanat tulevat suustani yleensä ennen näyttelijöitä. Joten en tiedä, ehkä olen väärällä alalla ja pitäisi siirtyä elokuva-alalle, se on aina kiehtonut minua. Mitä mieltä olette? Onko teillä jotain mikä on intohimonne? Muuten, SVH vaihe sisälsi myös kaksosten hius-ja vaatetyylin matkimista. Ne olivat aikoja. Ja niitä on hauska muistella. 

Boxing Day in Helsinki

After spending Christmas with my family I also wanted to show my friend around Helsinki. So what do you do on a day when all shops are closed? Walk around as tourists do. We stopped by at some churches, just walking and no stress. The market square was empty, as it was only Boxing Day. I wanted to show something very traditional so we walked around until Café Strindberg opened and had some lunch and coffee there. I always like the atmosphere there, the seats are comfy and you almost feel like you're in a Parisian café. We then took the ferry to Suomenlinna fortress island and before we got back it was dark. It was getting a bit chilly so it was better to catch the tram back to my place and on the way we stopped by to get tickets to our movie for the night, The Hunger Games - Catching Fire. We had a bit time to relax and get ready before heading out to dinner and the movie, and after we were both so tired that we didn't go out for drinks as we had planned. The next day was already time to say goodbye. The time went by so fast and I really hope to see each other again soon! :)

Vietettyämme joulun perheeni kanssa oli aika näyttää Helsinkiä ystävälleni. Mitä sitä voi tehdä kun kaikki kaupat ovat kiinni? Kävellä kaupungilla turistien tapaan. Pysähdyimme matkalla kirkoilla, ja kävelimme ympäriinsä ilman huolen häivää. Kauppatori oli tyhjillään, olihan vasta Tapaninpäivä. Halusin näyttää jotain perinteistä joten odotimme kunnes Cafè Strindberg avas ovensa ja nautimme siellä lounasta ja kahvia. Pidän kahvilan tunnelmasta, istuimet ovat mukavat ja se on aivan kuin olisi pariisilaisessa kahvilassa. Lounaan jälkeen hyppäsimme Suomenlinnan lautalle ja ennen kuin ehdimme takaisin oli jo pimeää. Ilma alkoi viilenemään joten hyppäsimme raitiovaunuun ja matkalla kotiin kävimme ostamassa liput illan leffaan, Nälkäpeli - Vihan Liekit. Meillä oli hieman aikaa rentoutua ennen kuin laittauduimme ja lähdimme ulos syömään ja leffaan. Olimme leffan jälkeen molemmat niin väsyneitä että emme enää jatkaneet iltaa drinkkien merkeissä kuten alunperin suunnittelimme. Seuraavana päivänä oli jo jäähyväisten aika. Aika kului niin nopeasti ja todella toivon että näemme taas pian! :)

At Café Strindberg there were people lining up to get in before the official opening time. I could feel the warmth filling me once we stepped in. The waiters instantly circled around offering people some glasses of water to drink before ordering. Once we had made our order something weird happened. I was still checking the menu and all of a sudden my glass fell down first spilling the water on my jacket on the couch and then falling down on the floor and breaking to pieces. I swear I didn't even touch it. The waiter and I had a laugh since he was sure it was the elves who did it. Well, maybe those pieces will bring me good luck for this year.

Café Strindbergillä oli jo jonoksi ihmisiä ennen varsiaista avaamisaikaa. Tunsin kuinka lämpö täytti minut kun astuimme sisään, ulkona seisoskelu kuitenkin verottaa. Tarjoilijat jakoivat välittömästi asiakkaille vesilaseja ennen kuin kukaan ehti tilata. Kun olimme antaneet tilauksemme jotain outoa tapahtui. Tarkastelin vielä ruokalistaa kun yhtäkkiä vesilasini tippui ensin kastellen sohvalla olleen takkini ja tippui sitten maahan pirstoutuen miljoonaksi palaksi. En edes hipaissut koko lasia. Naureskelimme asiaa tarjoilijan kanssa ja hän oli vakuuttunut että tontut olivat asialla. No, ehkäpä ne sirpaleet tuovat onnea tulevalle vuodelle. 

The Suspects Wore Louboutins

I recently read an article about Christian Louboutin shoes in a women's magazine and somehow I ended up watching the movie Bling Ring and all that made me write this post. Louboutins or "Loubies" for short are probably the most well-known and desired shoes in the world. The red soles are undeniably recognizable. No wonder Louboutins were chosen as the sexiest shoes in the world last year. Everyone wants a pair. It's a status symbol you could say.

So what do people do to get these shoes? That's what the movie Bling Ring (directed by Sofia Coppola) is about. A group of Valley teenagers in LA are so obsessed with celebrities and their possessions that they start robbing their favorite celebs. Their favorite target is Paris Hilton, at whose house they go "shopping" as they call it several times even. They grab a bag or a suitcase in the closet and start filling it with jewels, clothes, shoes, you name it. And usually they find a stack of money too. Especially at Paris Hilton's closet they saw tons and tons of Louboutin shoes. So why not steal a few pairs, she won't notice right? Then things got out of hand and they started robbing other celebs such as Audrina Patridge, Orlando Bloom and Miranda Kerr, and the Bling Ring-leader's favorite celeb, Lindsay Lohan. They got caught on some surveillance tapes and together with those and some tips the police got a lead. Anyone of you seen the movie? It's based on real events. 

These kids didn't think they were doing anything wrong until they got caught and sentenced with stealing stuff altogether worth about $3 million. They always checked the address in advance and made sure the celebrity is out of town by checking news online. What makes it scary is that they just walked into these houses without anyone noticing. The fancy lifestyle and nice things was so important to them they were ready to steal the things. The movie is made based on an article from Vanity Fair called The Suspects Wore Louboutins. If you wanna read it there's a link, it's rather fascinating.  I just finished reading it myself. What's your opinion on the issue?

My favorite pair of Louboutins, classic Pigalle in black patent leather

Luin hiljattain artikkelin Christian Louboutin kengistä eräästä naistenlehdestä, ja jotenkin päädyin katsomaan elokuvan Bling Ring ja kirjoittamaan tämän postauksen. Louboutinit tai "Loubiet" ovat varmaankin maailman tunnetuimmat ja halutuimmat kengät. Punaiset pohjat tunnistaa kieltämättä missä vain. Ei ihme että Louboutinit valittiin viime vuoden seksikkäimmiksi kengiksi. Kaikki haluavat sellaiset. Voisi sanoa että kengät ovat statussymboli. 

Mitä ihmiset sitten tekevät saadakseen tällaiset kengät? Siitä elokuva Bling Ring (ohjaaja Sofia Coppola) kertoo. Ryhmälle Valley teinejä Los Angelesista julkkikset ja heidän omaisuutensa ovat niin syvä pakkomielle, että he alkavat varastaa tavaraa lempijulkkiksiltaan. Heidän suosikkikohteensa on Paris Hilton, jonka kotona he käyvät "shoppailemassa" kuten he asiasta puhuvat, useita kertoja. He etsivät vaatekaapissa ollessaan laukun tai matkalaukun ja alkavat täyttää sitä koruilla, vaatteilla, kengillä, millä vaan. Ja usein löytyy myös tukku rahaa jostain. Varsinkin Paris Hiltonin vaatekaappi on täynnä Louboutin kenkiä, joten eihän hän varmaan huomaa jos nappaa mukaansa muutaman parin eihän? Sitten asiat riistäytyvät käsistä ja he alkavat ryöstää muita julkimoita kuten Audrina Patridge, Orlando Bloom ja Miranda Kerr, sekä Bling Ring-ryhmän "pomon" suosikki Lindsay Lohan. He jäävät kiinni turvakameralle ja yhdessä poliisin saamien vinkkien kanssa heidän kannoilleen päästään. Onko kukaan teistä nähnyt kyseistä elokuvaa? Se perustuu tositapahtumiin.

Nämä nuoret eivät uskoneet tehneensä mitään väärää ennen kuin jäivät kiinni ja heidät tuomittiin varastettuaan tavaraa yhteensä noin 3 miljoonan dollarin edestä. Ennen keikkaa he aina tarkistivat julkkiksen osoitteen netistä ja seurasivat viihdeuutisia selvittääkseen koska he ovat poissa kaupungista. Pelottavaa tästä tekee sen että he vain kävelivät sisään näihin taloihin ilman että kukaan huomasi. Elokuva perustuu Vanity Fair-artikkeliin The Suspects Wore Louboutins. Jos haluatte käydä lukemassa tuossa on linkki, se on aika kiehtova. Sain sen itse juuri luettua. Mikä on mielipiteenne aiheesta? 

Saturday night champagne and a movie

On Saturday I was on the town running errands all day. The day went by really fast and we decided with my friend Mary to meet up for some drinks at a nice wine bar and then go see a movie. We got the tickets first and went to this cool little wine bar called Vin-Vin on Kalevankatu(Yrjönkatu). I liked the atmosphere and their selection was very exclusive, and the staff really know what they're talking about so listen to their recommendations. After some champagne and gossip we headed back to catch the movie called We're The Millers. I have not laughed so much in a while. :)

Lauantaina juoksin kaupungilla hoitamassa asioita koko päivän. Päivä meni nopeasti ja tapasin illalla ystäväni Maryn drinkkien ja leffan merkeissä. Hankimme liput ensin ja menimme mukavaan pieneen viinibaariin nimeltään Vin-Vin Kalevankadulla(Yrjönkadulla). Pidin ilmapiiristä ja valikoima oli erittän huolella valittu. Henkilökunta tietää mistä puhuu joten suosituksia kannattaa kuunnella. Nautittuamme hiukan samppanjaa ja juoruiltuamme suuntasimme leffaan nimeltä Millerit. En ole vähään aikaan nauranut niin paljon. :)

Now You See Me

Friday is an excellent day for a movie night right. I haven't gone to the actual movies in a while so it was about time. We went to see the movie Now You See Me starring Jessie Eisenberg, Isla Fisher, Woody Harrelson, Dave Franco, Mark Ruffalo and Morgan Freeman.  It's a story about four illusionists who pull robberies during their shows and reward their audience without getting anything for themselves. It's interesting cause you'll never guess who the bad guy is and hey, who doesn't like magic right? ;)

Movie night

I've always been a movie fanatic. My collection consists of over 300 movies which is why I host a lot of movie nights for my friends. It's Friday and the weather is not as good as it could be so I don't really feel like going out so having a movie night sounds like better idea. Of course you need the proper snacks too but since I wanna still keep it somehow healthy and hit the gym tomorrow we're skipping the chips and dipping some veggies instead, they taste even better than chips actually.

The movie will be What To Expect When You're Expecting. I usually tend to watch movies as soon as they come out but haven't had time to watch this one and I've really waited for it since I've heard so much about the bestselling book (even if it's not a current topic for me yet). And of course I'll watch anything with Chace Crawford! ;)

Any of you guys seen the movie? What did you think?

Cannes Film Festival

Sorry for being absent for a while. My time in Nice is almost up and I've been traveling and taking care of things. Anyways back to my current post.

My Cannes Film festival experience didn't turn out exactly how I had imagined because my friend bailed on me. But fortunately I got to experience it anyway. Our plan with my family was to rent cars and drive to St. Tropez for the day, but all the small details made it a little complicated and the traffic would've been crazy. So we took a little day trip to Cannes. After all, it was the film festival. The weather couldn't have been better. We were outside the Palais and I was lucky enough to get offered an invitation to the festival, to see the movie Only God Forgives by Danish Nicolas Winding Refn. The movie was also starring Ryan Gosling. As a true movie fanatic it was an amazing experience for me, walking by the red carpet even if I'm not that familiar with the director. I got to watch it from the front row. I know you're going to watch the movie Lukas so I'm not gonna spill any details! ;)

I have a rather large movie collection, more about that later. Since Cannes is a rather small city we left quite soon after the movie finished. The weather was changing so we girls spent a few more hours shopping back in Nice.

Bond. James Bond.

I've been a little MIA here this week. I have no school right now and it's been like a holiday especially with this weather. The sun has been shining bright since Friday and the beach has been full.

I've still kept my workouts going even if I have all that holiday and beach feeling. Tomorrow's gonna be a little different since we're gonna go watch the Rolex Masters at the Monte Carlo Country Club. Yeah just for once just watch sports. So I'm taking tonight easy. I managed to find an old classic on tv. GoldenEye with Pierce Brosnan. He is definitely my favourite Bond, though Daniel Craig and the new Bond movies are almost becoming my new favourites. I remember when GoldenEye came out. I was still in elementary school and we even included it as a part of a school spring play. Don't remember who was Tina Turner but it was fun. I have to say GoldenEye is one of the best Bonds to my taste. Bond number 17. My mother prefers Roger Moore cause she says he has the same kind of charm as her father has. The crazy movie fan I am (with my collection of 300 movies plus some tv series) it also includes all Bond movies, except for the latest one, but that's gonna come later. ;)

What/who is your favourite Bond movie/actor?

Gossip Girl here...

"Gossip Girl here. Your one and only source into the scandalous lives of Manhattan's elite." I've heard that sentence toooo many times and I still love it. After the only class this week I got back home and had some quick dinner. Since there are (possibly) no parties going on I decided to stay in, get comfy on the couch with a good book, sweets and some good old Gossip Girl that I managed to find in English on tv. It must be my favourite tv show and I'm so sad it ended. I have the whole production (except for the last season yet) on dvd. I've seen all the episodes over and over but I can still watch them again and again.

New York is an eternal love of mine and I'm having a hard time deciding which to love more, NY or LA. Both have their good (and bad) sides. A lot of my favourite tv series and movies are set in these two cities; Pretty Woman, The Ugly Truth, Friends, Sex and the City, Breakfast at Tiffany's, An Affair to Remember, Grease, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, The Devil Wears Prada, 27 Dresses, Bride Wars, New Year's Eve, the list is endless.

I'll try not to give away too much about Gossip Girl's real identity since all of you might not have seen the final episodes yet. When I actually found out about it the whole thing made sense but I would've never guessed it myself. I love the whole story, the setting, the characters and their interaction and of course the fashion, especially the creations worn by Serena and Blair. I know this might not be as interesting for guys to read but has anyone of you ever watched GG? 

Sleep tight! 

xoxo

Fondue night

I checked out from my hotel yesterday and waited in the lobby for my dear friend family to come and get me. I hadn't seen them in over 10 years (since I lived with them for one summer here in Switzerland) so naturally I was a bit nervous but once they arrived all those feelings went away. The kids have grown up so much. Yannick is already a 16 year old almost grown-up and Alexandra is a 14 year old young lady. The weather turned very snowy and cold but somehow being in Switzerland the first thing that comes to mind is snow and the alps so it fit the scene perfectly. We also went to visit a friend of theirs at her new apartment, I'll show you pics later it was so beautiful and she had done the decorating and renovating herself.

On our way to Sursee from Zurich we stopped by a store to buy some bread and get some white wine for our fondue and movie night. I really love it here. We drove by the apartment building where they used to live and arrived to their new house. Everyone was so tired and hungry so Timo just made some fondue and we all switched into comfy clothes and sat down on the couch to have some nice fondue and decide on a movie. As Jutta put it we were almost done with the fondue before we chose the movie! :D

We ended up deciding to watch Our Idiot Brother starring Paul Rudd. The (German) trailer didn't give me much out of the movie but watching the movie itself (in English) changed my mind. It was hilarious we just had so much fun with the fondue and some great white wine, not those way too sweet ones I've ended up buying in a rush in France. We decided to watch another movie also, Letters to Juliet. Oh it was so nice and now it makes me wanna visit the city of Verona even more. The classic story Romeo and Juliet is incorporated into the story of course. I warmly recommend it (especially to you ladies) the guys thought there was too much romance involved.

Braveheart

What would be a better movie to watch after Saint Patrick's Day than Braveheart? And French television offers it with the original language, I just love this kind of accent. Hehe..I know the two aren't exactly correlated but we move around the same areas and the same people. Feel free to disagree but I personally think that the history and music of the film just instantly reminds me of the beautiful countryside of Ireland, the land I've never seen yet. What do you think about the movie? It's a classic right? Won 5 Academy Awards in its year, 1996. The film was made in 1995, and Mel Gibson himself had a lot to do with its success on a lot of areas of film making. It's a very sad story and it just makes me sad too.

The 85th Academy Awards - The Red Carpet

Needless to say, I love the Oscars. It combines two of my favourite things; fashion and movies. This time was going to be different since I'm in France. I was watching the red carpet in bed and listening to the interviews and of course admiring the gowns. Our school's Annual Ball happened to be in Helsinki the same day so if I would've been back home it would've been even more Oscar feeling for me. Some years it occurs right on the same day since our ball is always on the 24th. I think we can all agree on that Jennifer Lawrence and Amy Adams (my absolute two favourites, what do you guys think?) shined like real stars on the red carpet. This year the fashion was very focused on basic colors such as white, black, red and a lot of sparkle. Here are the best picks for this year.

One of my two favourites: Amazing Academy Award winner Jennifer Lawrence in Dior Haute Couture

My favourite: Gorgeous Amy Adams in Oscar de la Renta

Amanda Seyfried in Alexander McQueen

Kelly Rowland wearing Donna Karan Atelier

Jennifer Aniston in a gorgeous red Valentino gown 

Naomi Watts wearing Armani Prive

Katherine Zeta-Jones in  Zuhair Murad

Zoey Zaldana in Alexis Mabille 

Academy Award winner Anne Hathaway wearing Prada

Just Like Heaven

Sorry for not writing in a while. I feel like this week has gone by with being sick and managing school work. I've also struggled with getting my French phone number. They're supposed to send you the SIM card by mail. I've been waiting for over 3 weeks now and still nothing. Gotta call the phone company (Free) tomorrow.

Today I had no classes so I took it easy and thought I'd spend it going to town and running some errands. Recharged my bus card, got some groceries and also found a few cute things. I've been trying to rest as much as possible since tomorrow is the first big party at High Club. I haven't been there yet and the invitation said

Ladies don't forget your most beautiful dresses, Gentlemen Suit up! The most difficult will be the small "shock" detail that will make all the difference. 

so one can expect an awesome night. I can't wait to get all dressy. Hope I'll feel a little better tomorrow.

Tonight I still gotta get some cleaning done and maybe watch a movie on tv, Si c'etais vrai (Just Like Heaven). Hopefully it'll be possible to see it in English. It sounds like fun, just my kinda movie and something I've never seen. On Finnish television it feels like they always show the same movies and there's never nothing to watch, either the same old or really bad ones.

Just Like Heaven (2005)

Bonne soirée!

The Holiday

After a fun but long Friday night I decided I'd take it a bit easier on Saturday. It felt like the day really went by so fast. I hadn't watched a movie in such a long time and I felt that would be the fun thing to do. I love movies a lot, my movie collection back home consists of nearly 300 movies. It is hard to choose a favourite but one of my favourite movies if not the best one is The Holiday with Cameron Diaz, Kate Winslet, Jude Law and Jack Black.  I don't know if you all have seen it but you really should.

                 

  

The official trailer for The Holiday (2006)

Music is also very important to me and in this movie it has a particular meaning. It's this certain part that always makes me feel good (listen especially from part 1.43 from the Maestro track below). Every single time I see this movie I cry no matter where I am. It's a happy and a sad story at the same time. I have to give big ups for Germany and Hans Zimmer. He never lets you down. He has composed music to movies such as Rain Man, (1988) Thelma & Louise, (1991) Gladiator, (2000), Pearl Harbour, (2001) Inception, (2010) the Pirates of the Caribbean movies and many more. The man never lets you down.

Maestro by Hans Zimmer in The Holiday (2006)

I've always told myself I want the kinda love you see in the movies. Yet, when it comes to life I'm a realist. I guess I still, like almost any girl in this world, hope to find a Prince Charming, knight in shining armour. This movie just makes you feel good when you have found that or while you're still waiting or well, in any occasion really. One of my favourite scenes in this movie is lovers' first meeting, when Amanda meets Iris' brother Graham and neither of them realize what an adventure they're gonna have together in front of them.  Below is the link to this scene. 

the Holiday- Lovely Scene