I bought these bubblegum pink Nikes from Footlocker on my trip to New York. I often wonder why is it so that they only make cool sneakers like this for kids?! Adults love bright colors too! I'm lucky to have small feet but unfortunately that's not the case with everyone. 

I was very disappointed with Nike Town in New York. I had high expectations. I had been to the one in London and even that was bigger and had more cool, colorful sneakers to choose from. 

Yesterday I took my new Nikes for a spin! I had my first hiphop dance class in years! It felt really good both physically and mentally. 
I'm extremely picky when it comes to teachers. I've had some bad ones in the past - I want to leave them there. Let's face it, anyone can dance but to teach someone else, a total stranger to dance, that's an entirely different skill. It's challenging and not everyone can master it. A good teacher makes you want to learn more, leaves you craving for that next dance class, even inspires you to work on some moves at home. 
The atmosphere in class should be relaxed and secure, it's okay to make mistakes, we learn from them. A good teacher interacts with students, is encouraging yet knows how to give constructive critique. You should be able to feel comfortable enough to ask questions regarding dance technique etc.. Most likely someone else ponders the same question and feels relieved that you asked. 
Most importantly, you should never feel completely defeated when walking home from class, since that's rarely motivating. 
I'm definitely looking forward for my next class. 

Try something colorful this year for Christmas! These wreaths are easy to make if you're looking for a nice crafting project! 

These two shades from Essie, Tart Deco and Aruba Blue, compliment each other beautifully! It brings back memories from my graduation from senior high school when I wore an electric blue, silk dress which I designed, paired up with peach colored eye shadow, blush and lipgloss.

Eräänä syyskuun lauantai-iltana satuin kulkemaan Liisankadulla sijaitsevan pienen kahvitarvikeputiikin ohi. Katselin näyteikkunoita kaikessa rauhassa, kun näkökenttääni ilmaantui värikkäät take away -kahvikupit, KeepCupit. Ajattelin mielessäni: "Hei, KeepCuppeja!" ja jatkoin putiikin ohi tallustelua, kun aivoni vasta todella rekisteröivät nuo värikkäät kupit: "KEEPCUPPEJA!!!". Harpoin suuria askeleita takaperin takaisin näyteikkunan luo. Nojasin nenä ja kämmenet vasten ikkunaa niin, että lasi huurustui.

Putiikin ovessa luki: Crema, kirjoitin sen ylös. Myöhemmin kotona huomasin, ettei liikkeen nettikaupasta löytynyt KeepCupeja, joten marssin putiikkiin heti maanantaina. Ilahduin putiikin KeepCup -värivalikoimasta ja yllätyinkin myyjien kertoessa, että moni asiakas ihastelee kirkkaita värejä, mutta lopulta päätyy kuitenkin mustan, harmaan ja valkoisen sävyisiin yhdistelmiin. Mieleisensä kupin saa siis koota itse, sen kaikki 4 osaa ovat irroitettavia.

On a Saturday night in late September I happened to walk past a small coffee shop on Liisankatu. I was windowshopping, I had no rush. I noticed some colorful take away coffee cups in the window and thought: "Oh, KeepCups!" and carried on walking. Only then it rang a bell:"KEEPCUPS!!!". I took giant marching steps backwards and pushed my nose and palms against the glass window leaning against it. 

Above the shop entrance I read the sign: "Crema", I wrote it down. When I got home I noticed Crema's web shop doesn't sell KeepCups so I decided to visit the tiny shop on Liisankatu the next Monday. To my surprise Crema had a nice range of colours to choose from when it came to KeepCups! They told me customers usually ponder a long time, they first try out all kinds of colorful combinations just to end up choosing shades of black, gray or white eventually. All four parts of the KeepCup are removable and you get to choose the colors you desire.

Cremalla on myymälässään suurin valikoima Juran käyttövalmiita kahvikoneita. Ennen ostopäätöstä asiakas pääsee siis "koeajamaan" koneen ja maistamaan, minkälaista kahvia sillä saa aikaan.

Crema has the largest selection of Jura coffee machines available in the shop for testing. So before deciding on a certain machine you get to test it! How convenient!

Näitä Lucaffén kahveja pirteän punaisissa peltipurkeissa voisi ostaa joululahjaksi yhdelle jos toisellekkin ystävälle! Nämä ovat nimittäin myös herkullinen sisustuselementti!

Crema toimittaa tuotteitaan ympäri Suomen. Valikoimasta löytyy jokaiselle jotakin! Teevalikoimaa laajennetaan entisestään, joten tarjonta ulottuu myös kahvin ulkopuolelle.

These bright red tin coffee jars by Lucaffé make a great Christmas gift for any coffee lover! Besides, the jar itself is a great detail for home décor. 

Another great feature Crema embodies is that they ship their web shop products all over Finland! There's something for everyone! In addition, their assortment of teas is constantly expanding.

Crema myy Malmö Choklad Fabrikin suklaata. Tämä ruotsalainen merkki valmistaa suklaansa alusta loppuun itse.

Crema sells Swedish chocolate by Malmö Choklad Fabrik. The company manufactures it's chocolate from scratch.

Photos above by me

KeepCupit ovat jo pitkään kiehtoneet minua, en vain ole löytänyt Suomesta aiemmin näin pirteitä värejä! Näiden austraalialaisten kuppien takana on kaunis tarina.

"KeepCup on rakkaudella valmistettu. Olemme innoissamme siitä, että ihmiset ovat omaksuneet kupit ja niiden uudelleenkäytön sekä levittäneet sanaa niistä! Hienosti tehty!", Abigail & Jamie Forsyth.

Sisarukset Abigail ja Jamie Forsyth perustivat Bluebag -kahvilat Australian Melbournessa. Kahviloissa myydään paljon tuoreita sämpylöitä, salaatteja ja tietenkin kahvia, take away -muodossa. Sisarukset huolestuivat huomatessaan, kuinka paljon pakkausmateriaaleja heidän kahvilansa tuotteet kuluttivat, joten he alkoivat miettiä tapoja, joilla kuormittaa ympäristöä vähemmän. Tehtyään laskelmia, sisarukset päätyivät siihen tulokseen, että pahviset take away -kahvimukit olivat määrällisesti suurin taakka ympäristölle. "Yritimme etsiä standardikokoista "matkamukia", mutta markkinoilla oli vain isoja, kömpelön kokoisia ja rumia mukeja, jotka eivät mahtuneet espressokoneen alle. Halusimme luoda mukin, joka täyttäisi meidän vaatimukset. Uudelleen käytettävän mukin valmistaminen tuntui kalliilta vaihtoehdolta, jos asiakkaat eivät omaksuisi niiden käyttötarkoitusta. Kysyimme itseltämme jatkuvasti: Pesisivätkö ihmiset mukejaan uudelleen? Myöhemmin ymmärsimme, että tämä tapa meidän kaikkien on vain pakko oppia omaksumaan. Näemme päivittäin enemmän ja enemmän todisteita siitä, että ihmiset ovat valmiita tekemään pieniä muutoksia päivittäisiin tapoihinsa, jotta maailmamme olisi parempi paikka." Abigail & Jamie Forsyth.

Ensimmäiset KeepCupit tulivat myyntiin kesäkuussa 2009.

Jos silti tuntuu siltä, ettei unelmien KeepCup -väriyhdistelmää löydy, voit suunnitella juuri sinulle sopivan, merkin omilla nettisivuilla. Mukeja on neljää eri kokoa ja hinnat  vaihtelevat noin kymmenestä kahteentoista euroon. Mukit lähetetään Australiasta, joten postikuluja  noin kymmenisen euroa, kannattaa tilata vaikka muutaman kaverin kanssa yhdessä! Uusi Cosmic Sky Collection on juuri saapunut ja sen myötä myös uudenlaiset kumipidikkeet!

I've been intrigued by KeepCup for a long time. It's been a challenge to find bright colours from Finland though! There's a beautiful story behind these cups that fascinates me!

"KeepCup is a labour of love. We are thrilled that people have adopted, reused and spread the word about KeepCup all ovet the world. Well done everyone!" Abigail & Jamie Forsyth.

Siblings Abigail and Jamie Forsyth founded the Bluebag startup, their several stores sold salads, soup and coffee in a takeaway format. They became increasingly concerned about the high environmental cost their products packaging material was causing. They thought about reusable to go salad and soup containers. The paper coffee cups seemed to produce the most waste, so they started looking for a reusable cup:"We tried to find a suitable commuter mug – but they were bulky, ugly, didn’t fit under the espresso machines and came in irregular sizes.  We thought about making our own but the costs were prohibitive and we always returned to the question – will people wash their mug? Later I realized it was not, will people wash their cup - we have to, we have no choice. It was all about changing our behavior. I see daily and growing evidence of peoples' readiness to make changes to our daily habits to make our world a better place. Better and better." Abigail and Jamie Forsyth.


The first KeepCups were sold in June of 2009.


You can also design and buy your own KeepCup here. You can choose from four different sizes and the prices vary from ten to twelve euros. Postage fees to Finland are ten euros. The new Cosmic Sky -collection has arrived and with it, new grip rubber bands!

Photos above by KeepCup

Crema halusi ilahduttaa lahjoittamalla yhden KeepCupin arvottavaksi lukijoitteni kesken, suurkiitos siitä! Osallistuaksesi arvontaan, lähetä etu- ja sukunimesi sähköpostilla osoitteeseen: t1ppytoes.info@gmail.com
Onnea arvontaan!

The people at Crema wanted to give away this KeepCup for my readers, thank you for such a nice gesture! To participate send an email with your first- and last name to: t1ppytoes.info@gmail.com 

Good Luck!

 For this DIY project you'll need:

- a string of clear Christmas led lights (I used two sets of Airam Tähtitaivas -lights that have 120 led lamps each)

- a glass jar of your choice

This is one of the easiest DIY projects ever. Just stretch the strings of lamps out and place them inside the jar, make sure they're not clustered together tightly. If your jar has a lid place it loosely on top of the jar, you don't want to squeeze the wires. Attach the plug(s) to the socket and hit the light switch! Voilá! 

A friend of mine bought this bad boy of iPhone cases from New York. She thought it was practical when carrying many small items at the same time in her hands (or atleast that's what she told me). Turns out she really has an eye for fashion. Since Rihanna seems to have a weak spot for bad boys it's no surprise she has the exact same case for he iPhone. 

To get more information on Knuckle Case products, click HERE!

As some of you might already know Finland has two official languages, Finnish and Swedish. Our country was once occupied by Sweden so both languages have strong roots in our country's history. I think it's definitely a very enriching feature! 

Finnish and English I speak and write daily, it's been that way since kindergarten. I don't use Swedish that much (I only took up the language at the age of thirteen) so I try to keep the rust from settling on it by watching the news or reading articles. I've found a fun, refreshing and exciting way to keep up a soon, on the verge to be forgotten language! Elle's Swedish issue caught my eye at the news stand and I thought sure, why not? Besides, you've got to admit the cover looks quite irresistible (bright colors are certainly my weak spot).

This method only works as a back-up. I wouldn't try to learn e.g. Japanese by merely reading magazines, but this can help motivate or arise curiosity. After all, we learn a language best when keeping ourselves curious! 

Every girl's must-have! This tiny pouch for her by Pinch Provisions won't take up a lot of space in your bag! It contains 17 essential items that are good to carry around with you:

- stain remover
- nail polish remove pad
- deodorant towelette
- earring backs
- adhesive bandage
- pain reliever
- breath freshener
- double sided tape
- safety pin
- mending kit
- tampon
- dental floss
- clear nail polish
- hair spray
- lip balm
- clear elastics
- emery board


The Minimergency Kit might act as a life saver day in day out! I love the bright, delicious colors in the collection designed for J.Crew!