Finally this place starts to look like a home! Just in time for the Holiday Season! It feels great! Friends have also had a chance to enjoy the new arrangement. The biggest accomplishment was indeed the installing and assembling of our new Ikea Pax wardrobe with the help of an uncle. Altogether it took eight hours to get the piece together and steadily attached to the wall.

Even our ceramic rhino head got it's very own spot on the wall, it had been bubble wrapped since August, waiting for this glorious moment. I decided to decorate it for Christmas, covering one of its horns with a festive hat. 

We got everything done by the 20th, just two days before throwing a lovely Christmas party for a bunch of good friends. One thing is for certain. Drilling a rock wall, as noisy and terrible it might sound like, has never sounded so good! The sweet sound of getting things done!

A highly unpractical, tall vase, bought a few years back from a sale got a new life. I was on the verge of throwing this piece away, numerous times, since it's only purpose seemed to be collecting dust in a corner. The assortment of Christmas tree baubles look great in it, like it was meant for this use all along!

This might seem superficial for some, but finally getting a place to both look and feel like my own, has a much deeper meaning. Something to be truly grateful of and cherish every day. For the first time in my entire life, a place actually feels like home. And boy, does it feel phenomenal! Hopefully no one takes that mutual feeling for granted. 

The very first batch of Christmas tree cake pops by me and C.C.! The dough tastes like gingerbread with a hint of tiramisu. We made three different icing flavors: strawberry, milk chocolate and vanilla. They turned out delicious! This was a very nice little Christmas project for me and my dear little sister C.C..

Cake Pops Recipe

You'll need:

- 1 dl of brown sugar

- 1 dl of farine sugar

- 2 teaspoons of vanilla sugar (you can also use 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract)

- 4 dl of wheat flour

- 1,5 dl of sour milk

- 2 eggs

- 1 dl of cream

- 125 g of melted butter

- 1 teaspoon of salt

- 1 teaspoon of baking soda

- 1 tea spoon of baking powder

- a pinch of cinnamon

- about 50 g of tiramisu flavored sour cream (or choose another flavor) 

- 100 g of natural flavored cream cheese

- chocolate or Candy Melts of your choice for the icing

- sprinkles etc. for decorating

Mix the wheat flour with baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and sugars well. Add the eggs, cream, sour milk and butter. Mix well using a spoon. Pour the dough into a cake mould of any kind. Bake in the lowest level of the oven in 175 C for 45-60 minutes. The cake should be moist so be careful and check the texture every once in a while with a fork or a stick. 

Let the cake cool down.

Break the cake into tiny crumbs in a bowl using your hands. In a small bowl mix the tiramisu sour cream with the cream cheese to make it nice and even, then combine it with the cake crumbs using your hands again.

Make tight balls out of the dough, then press them into the cake pop moulds and put them into the freezer for just a little while, less than 10 minutes. Take each piece of dough out of the mould and melt the chocolate for the icing, use a mug etc. . Dip a cake pop stick into the icing, then push it a few centimetres inside the piece of dough, repeat with all of the Christmas tree shaped pieces. Then put them into the fridge for ten minutes and then dip each cake pop into the icing so that it's covered, tap the excess amount off. Quickly decorate them before the icing gets hard. The Candy Melts especially are extremely fast when it comes to drying. Put the cake pops into the fridge until you serve them!

I recommend the strawberry flavored chocolate for the icing, it tastes and smells extremely delicious! The pink ones were the most popular ones among my friends. 

You can make these a few days beforehand if you like!

For about 50 cookies you'll need:

-  milk chocolate
-  Fazer gingerbread chocolate
-  some cinnamon
-  an assortment of nuts
-  4 eggs
-  450 g of butter (let it warm up in room temperature for a while)
-  0,5 dl of milk
-  13 dl of wheat flour
-  3 teaspoons of baking powder
-  3,5 dl of farine sugar
-  5 dl of brown sugar
-  3 teaspoons of baking soda

Dice the chocolate and if you want, the nuts too. I like my cookies with big chunks! 

Use a cake mixer to mix the soft butter and sugars together. Add the eggs one at a time and mix well. 

In a separate bowl combine the baking powder, baking soda and some cinnamon with wheat flour - then using a spoon add it into the butter-sugar mix. Use the cake mixer to add some milk. Make sure the dough is smooth and even. 

Roll small balls of dough onto a baking tray, then press them flat. Remember that they will turn out bigger in the oven. Press pieces of chocolate and nuts onto cookies. 

Bake in 175 C for about 15 minutes. Let them cool down on a grate. 

A last minute diy gift idea! Decorate glass jars and bake something to fill them with. These are from Clas Ohlson, 2,50 € each. I used a window decorating paint to decorate them with because it's water resistant and therefore the jars are easy to clean. Transparent glue and glitter would've been an alternative if non-eatable things would've been put inside. 

The winner of the Essie giveaway is Amanda! Congratulations! 

Thank you to all participants!

This year I'm going to bake cake pops for Christmas. C.C. and I will be trying them out for the first time! Exciting! My "little brother" Bubbaloo volunteered as the official taste tester, a task that shouldn't be taken lightly. The best part of Christmas is when you get to prepare for and spend it with loved ones. 

Cake pops are perfect party food, they're easy to eat and they look - as well as taste delicious! Decorating them allows to be creative. Customized treats!

I ordered supplies from Confetti's online store. Ofcourse the moulds went on sale for 50% off the next day after I had placed my order. Classic! So if you want to receive yours before Christmas I suggest you order within a few days. 

I bought the sticks from Kokkipuoti on Korkeavuorenkatu in Helsinki. 

Photos of the ready cake pops soon to come! Until then, get inspired by the ones below! Also check out the video by Cupcakeaddiction for cool ideas and tips on decorating! 

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If you're looking for indirect lighting in your home Ikea offers a solution for a reasonable price. 

We placed our Ledberg led light above the mantlepiece in our living room. It highlights the dark corner nicely! I might have to go back and buy another one above the kitchen cabinets. 

Ledberg led lights last for approximately 20 000 hours. They use 85% less energy and last 20 times longer than normal lightbulbs. Eco friendly! 

Zara blouse, Levi's jeans, Marc Jacobs earrings

In a very sneaky way the color green has made it's way into my wardrobe. The subconsciousness is a fascinating thing. Do you ever wonder why you choose clothes in a particular color? Why do you become fixated on that color during a certain time but find it absolutely horrifying later in life? Why do you dislike some of the colors that are said to look good on you (by color analysis e.g.)? 

If black appears too harsh against your fair skin, try something softer like dark green. Don't just settle for harsh! Get out of your comfort zone and try new colors, you might find yourself liking the unusual and the unexpected. 

Have you considered making some of your Christmas gifts yourself this year? You haven't found anything worth trying out yet that's easy and fun to make but also looks nice and doesn't cost a fortune to make? Well here's an idea. Make a chain bracelet with his/her favorite color! Materials are cheap if you make a few, maybe ask a friend to join!? 

For this DIY you will need:

- cotton thread of your choice

- some chain with a silver finish/coating

- something to cut the chain with (I used tongs and a hammer)

- scissors

- a clasp (optional)

Start with measuring the chain, you can use any bracelet to help. If you know he/she has a small wrist, just make it a little smaller (obviously). If you want to be really sneaky, measure one of his/her bracelets - without him/her noticing! A good, standard size that should fit most wrists is 17,5 cm   . Double the length, since the chain will go around in two layers, so you'll need about 35 cm of chain with a silver finish. 

If you wish to add any kind of clasp to your bracelet, make the chain shorter. I made two versions, one with a clasp. Scroll down to see photos of the both of them before deciding.

The cutting of the chain was the hardest part. Use tongs and a hammer like I did if you can't think of anything better or if you're like me and don't own your own toolshed with all the goodies. Don't use expensive tongs for this!

Measure a generous amount of thread. For a standard size bracelet I used a double 1 m 60 cm. The bracelet looks good in any color so choose one that you know he/she will love (obviously). Black is always a safe choice though. Or make two, one in black and one in a brighter color that can be worn both separately and together.

Fold the chain in two. 

Start by pulling the thread from both rows of chain. Turn it around upside down, each end of thread goes through the other hole, so they change places with each other. Turn it upside down again so that the side you started with is facing up, toward you. 

The side you originally started with will be the criss cross side. The thread forms a row of X's. On this side you always cross the thread over and go through the next hole in the chain. Then turn the piece again upside down. 

On the other side, the thread will form a row of letter I's. Here the thread always goes from the two holes of the chain that are on top of each other. 

It's simple. On the other side of the bracelet you form a letter X with the thread, then just turn it around and make a letter I on the other side. Continue all the way to the end of the chain. Tie the thread and add a clasp if you like.

The bracelet with a simple, tie it around itself -version compared to the one that has a clasp made of a screw nut bolt.