All Things Pretty

All Things Pretty

Motivational Monday

"Life is beautiful."

"There's so many beautiful reasons to be happy."

"Trust that everything happens for a reason, even when you're not wise enough to see it."

-Oprah Winfrey

"Make today beautiful."

Happiness. Joy. Beauty. Laughter. Moment. Bliss. Memories.

Experience. Live. Enjoy. Feel. Smile. Love.

Fun. Cheerful. Beautiful.

"Sometimes you have to go through hard times to realize how strong you are."

"Just believe in your dreams."

"Being happy doesn't mean everything is perfect. It means that you've decided to look beyond the imperfections."

-Gerard Way

"Happiness is a journey not a destination."

"Change your thoughts and you change your world."

"Beauty begins the moment you decide to be yourself."

-Coco Chanel

"Enjoy the little things."

"Be Happy. Be Bright. Be You."

Beautiful beginning of the week. 

Love,

Annastiina

Rainy day

Two days ago, to be exact Thursday afternoon a storm hit Malta. It did not last for very long but it was quite a strong one in some areas.

In the area i was in earlier in the afternoon it started with some rain but quickly after stopped. Later on followed the surprise. I was in the kitchen cooking dinner when started hearing sounds like someone was throwing stones to windows. I wondered what was going on and ran next to the door which leads to our backyard.

// Tämän viikon torstaina pieni myrsky iski Maltalle. Niinkuin tavallista täällä etelässä,  myrsky ei ollut pitkäkestoinen mutta joillain alueilla voimakas.

Alku iltapäivästä  saimme nauttia pienestä sateesta joka kuitenkin loppui lyhyeen, mutta yllätys seurasi myöhemmin. Olin töiden jälkeen hellan ääressä valmistelemassa päivällistä, kun alkoi kuulua voimakasta ääntä. Ihankuin joku heittelisi pieniä kiviä ikkunaan, kiirehdin takaovelle katsomaan.//

At this point I started to see some hail (round pieces of ice) storming down from the sky. In Malta it is not unusual to see hail during the autumn - winter time.

//Lasisen takaoven läpi näin kuinka taivaalta rakeita alkoi sataa lujaa vauhtia. Syys ja talvi aikaan on tavallista että täällä Etelässäkin saamme nauttia raekuuroista.//

It continued pouring rain and hail at the same time and suddenly our whole small yard was covered in ice!

//Raekuuro yltyi ja voimistui ja hetken päästä huomasin kuinka koko pieni pihamme oli jään peitossa!//

I opened the door a little just to see 15cm layer of pure ice covering the entire yard floor. I have seen alot of ice and snow in finland but this amount of hail I have never seen in one place, especially in a southern Europe country where temperature will not go below 0°C. The temperature was around 22°C at this time and still late in the evening we could see small iceberg on the yard.

//Raotin takaovea hieman vain nähdäkseni että siellä oli koko pihan peittävä 15cm jääkerros. Suomessa on tavallista nähdä lunta ja jäätä mutta näin paljoa rakeita en ole täällä ennen nähnyt, varsinkaan maassa jossa lämpötila ei laske alle nollan kylmimpänä aikanakaan. Tämän tapahtuessa lämpötila oli noin 22°C. Vielä myöhemmin illalla pihassa oli pieni jäävuori näkyvissä.//

We have some planters with perennial plants and seasonal flowers in them. Perennials got damaged only by the speed and strength of the hail which broke some branches but all the seasonal flowers were frozen. Apart from few plant losses nothing bigger damage was done to us but a storekeeper next to us had his last year's model of Renault seriously damaged by the hail. It's roof, front part and windscreen were literally full of hit marks..

// Pihallamme on muutamia kukkaruukkuja joissa on moni- ja yksivuotisia kasveja. Monivuotiset kärsivät vain hieman vahinkoja mutta kaikki yksivuotiset kukat jäätyivät rakeiden alle. Pieniä kasvi vahinkoja luukuunottamatta omaisuutemme säilyi vahingoitta.  Toisin kävi läheisen kaupan omistajan autolle joka oli viime vuoden mallin Renault, jonka katto, konepelli ja tuulilasi kärsivät mittavat vahingot. Rakeet olivat jättäneet jälkensä pahat lommot joka puolelle autoa..//

Here is a photo of the weather prior to hail storm. Even though being a little scary and loss of few plants it was a great experience! And it almost felt like being back in my northern home when I could walk in the cold ice and do "snowballs". It was like having one of the winter days from the north was here in the south.

//Yllä kuva otettu ennen myrskyä, jolloin ilma oli tavallista lämpimämpi. Myrskyn ja raekuuron jälkeen tuntui kuin olisi ollut Suomessa talvisena päivänä. Mukava kokemus saada vähän "lunta" tänne eteläänkin, vaikka vain illaksi.

Thank you for tuning in!
I would like to hear from you by comment.

Kiitos että tulit lukemaan!
Kuulisin mielelläni kommenttejasi.

See you soon again,
Pikaisiin Kuulemisiin,

Annastiina

Fancy Monday

Monday, the greatest day of the week. not. For someone sometimes even hearing or thinking a word Monday sounds painful especially after a relaxing weekend. I am one of those. Who wouldn't like to stay in bed for just a little bit longer?

Actually it doesn't have to go this way always. Today I got inspired to turn my Monday upside down. It does not need a lot of work to make your Monday just a little bit better and more enjoyable. It only requires some attitude adjusting, positive way of thinking and something you enjoy.

Here is how I turned my Monday blues to Fancy Monday. Good food, beautiful decorations, candles and good company. This time my inspiration was my dear friend. Thanks to Saara, who visited us for her holiday. Below Birthday dinner my way. Colours, ambience and good food. Fill up your day with everything that brings you happiness.

Enjoy your Monday evening  and

Have a nice week!

Thank you for reading,

 Annastiina

Colorsplash

White rose/ valkoinen ruusu

Friday afternoon, I'm walking on the street of Mosta. Sun is shining and it's warm but breeze cools the air down. I'm not in a hurry and I don't need to be looking at the time. Feels almost like the time has stopped. A wonderful moment which I can enjoy by myself.

I'm looking around me and I see many beautiful things which would look great in a photo. I love taking photos but not in a way that I would buy all the very expensive tools to do it but because I enjoy doing it with my mobile camera. It travels with me always so it's easy to take a photo whenever I see something beautiful, something I can't leave behind me without keeping a memory.

Yesterday this thing that caught my eye were flowering plants. I work with plants and their colour, shape and texture inspire me. Some of them are lighter coloured than others, some have thorns, their leaves and flowers have different shapes. Even by seeing part of a plant usually also only from the leaf or flower it is possible to recognise the plant.

In my opinion plants and flowers in all the colours represent life. For example if bouquet of flowers is put to the table it instantly makes the space look more cozy. Same with adding an 
indoor plant to the room or even a fruit tree to the garden outside.

Below are these photos I took yesterday, I hope you enjoy their colorful beauty. //

On perjantai iltapäivä ja kävelen Mostan kadulla. Aurinko paistaa ja ilma on lämmin mutta tuulen vire viilentää. Ei ole kiire mihinkään, eikä tarvitse mennä kellon mukaan, melkein kuin aika pysähtyisi. Ihana hetki jonka saan viettää itsekseni.

Katselen ympärilleni ja näen kaikkea kaunista joita voisi ikuistaa kuviin. Rakastan valokuvausta, en sillä tavalla että hankkisin kaikki hienot ja kalliit laitteet, vaan  kännykällä omaksi ilokseni. Se kulkee aina mukanani, joten saan räpsäistyä kuvan kun näen jotain kaunista. Jotain jota en voi ohittaa kuvaamatta ja joka jättää jäljen ihanien muistojeni arkistoon.

Tällä kertaa tämä kaunis asia oli kukkivat kasvit. Työskentelen kasvien kanssa joka päivä ja niiden värit muoto ja tekstuuri inspiroivat minua. Jotkut ovat vaaleamman sävyisiä kuin toiset, toisissa taas on piikkejä, eri muotoisia lehtiä, villainen tai vahainen pinta, kukan väri ja muoto.. Näkemällä palan kasvin oksaa tai usein myös kukasta tai vain lehdestä on mahdollista tunnistaa mikä kasvi on kyseessä.

Mielestäni kasvit ja niiden eri värit kukissa ja lehdissä edustavat elämää. Esimerkiksi jos asettaa kimpun kukkia pöydälle, tila näyttää heti kodikkaammalta ja elävämmältä. Samoin vihreä huonekasvi sisällä tai vaikkapa hedelmäpuu ulkona.

Alta löytyy eilisen kuvasaldo. Toivottavasti viihdyt otosteni parissa. //







Close up of Bougainvillea flower/ ihmeköynnöksen kukinto

Bougaivillea/ ihmeköynnös

Orange Hibiscus/ oranssi kiinanruusu



Red Hibiscus/ punainen kiinanruusu

Jasmine/ Jasmiini

Plumbago




Many thanks for visiting my post!/
Kiitos että piipahdit lukemaan!

See you soon/
Kuulemisiin

♡ Annastiina

A morning by the seaside

A MORNING BY THE SEASIDE

Last weekend was a longer weekend, due to Malta's independence day. Having Monday off every now and then is a great way to relax in the middle of weekly routines.
I will let the photos speak for themselves.

Cirkewwa

 A place in the North. Last Monday we visited place called Cirkewwa located to the North of Malta. It was a windy and sunny day, waves of the sea were hitting the rock walls, water splashing over them. Even though sea is powerful and strong, one can feel its rage, it has calming effect in me. 

Absolutely beautiful place.

Mellieha

We stopped to enjoy the beautiful day to Mellieha for a lunch. This town is probably best known for the large and very popular sand beaches.

Colourful drinks are instant lift for mood :)

I appreciate your visit,

Yours,

Annastiina

Tour around Tallinn

Arrival to the city

Värien tanssia!

Entering to the old part of Tallinn

Alexander Nevsky Cathedral

St. Nicholas church

View over Tallinn

Moe 1886 Icebar

To these glasses no need for ice cubes to cool down the drink!

Tallinn

Right about month ago, on the last days of our summer vacation we did a visit to the capital of Estonia, Tallinn. From Helsinki it is very easy to get there in just few hours by ferry. We had time to enjoy the city from Saturday to Sunday afternoon, which was a great way to end to our two week holiday in Finland. 

Even though we saw huge part of the city centre in only 24 hours, we would have loved to spend more time there.

Weather was on our side and we had great sunny and warm over night stay.

We walked many kilometers, saw many places and enjoyed what this slavic city had to offer. We stayed in a nice small hotel right next to the port. Walk from the hotel to the old city was not very long but just to try it out we hired a bicycle taxi which took us to the hotel in few minutes, as drivers mostly young students. It was fun way to experience the city also.

Besides this and the old part of the city the most memorable 30 minutes were a visit in a local Icebar. It was decorated like any usual bar but the difference was that everything was made of ice. According to wikipedia they have used almost 19 tons of ice in the interior. Outside air temperature was around +25 degrees Celsius and going in to the bar it was -6! We got warm capes to wear but open toe sandals and bare hands were not so happy about it.

I hope that you have enjoyed this small tour around Tallinn with us.

Thank you for reading!

Always, 

Annastiina