February 2018

Spring, where are you?

After so many chilly and windy days during this month, I'm so ready for spring to arrive already. But not going to lie, looking snowfall and covering the ground is still one of my favorite things to watch. It makes the city of Copenhagen look like a fairy tale land. 

Another favorite during this season was seeing the inner city lake frozen! People were walking and playing on the icy lake. 

I can't wait for warmer days to come. Spring, pretty please arrive to this icy land.

Winter Wonderland

Sometimes little things like this are what makes my day so much better. After a few rainy grey days, snow finally arrived and made the city look like a winter wonderland. It was so cozy to go outside to the park and walk in fresh snow on the ground. Not bothered at all by being covered head to toe with snowflakes. Now, I'll just brew some coffee and take in the view from the warm inside. Have a nice Sunday! 

xx

100 days

I finally visited my family and friends in Puerto Rico 100 days after the passing of hurricane Maria. It is a relief to say they are safe and healthy, but just like many in the island they were affected by the damage caused from this natural disaster. Not only the architecture and surroundings look different from destruction but how their everyday life has changed. Things are progressing but at a very slow passe, the majority of the island is still without power, people have lost their jobs and many professionals and students have left sadly for better opportunities abroad. It really hit me when I arrived how things were not the same anymore.    

I just hope things get better with time and the people in need receive the help to find home and safety. Even at this difficult times people are still marching forward and that was a beautiful sign. It was nice to hear people were helping each other with their needs and support during the first few days, which were horrible without communication to know about your loved ones. But as for today lets keep things positive and not let this get us down. Everyday is a new day, the sun still shines bright, the trees are growing and the birds are still singing. That is very nice, indeed!

 xx

Summer Snapshots

 Favorite moments from this summer:

• My mother & sis visiting for two weeks in the month of June. It was my sister's first time in Copenhagen and I so happy to show her around my favorite places. 
• Roskilde festival, of course, was the highlight of the summer
• Visiting GL Strand to see the Tove Jansson exhibition. Lots of Moomins! But overall, her art is very interesting and learned a few things about her biography. Now, I want to visit again to see the Stanley Kubrick exhibition which just opened. 
• Last but not least, I enjoyed very much celebrating friends graduations. August was such a joyful month with lots to celebrate (and too many drinks), but at the same time a very stressful one.

Thank you summer 2017 you were a good one! 

xx

Kanelsnurrer

Baking season it's finally here so I had to try to make this babies- kanelsnurrer or cinnamon swirls. I thought it was going to be a challenge to make and for a rookie baker like me I found it quiet easy. I followed this recipe which you can follow here (dansk version) and try it! This is great for a weekend stay in baking time with family or friends. But it should not stop you if you want to bake alone, you can give it away later on since this ones hold pretty well for a few days. This will be my breakfast for the next few days. It goes perfect with a warm cup of coffee. 

xx

Autumn has arrived

Autumn has official arrived in Copenhagen. You can easily get all seasons in one day, cold mornings, rainy afternoon, throw in a little bit of hail just for fun and a really sunny evening because why not, let's finish the day on a good way. Thank you Denmark! Tak for det!

On a serious note, I love autumn in this city. Like how all the leaves turn in beautiful tones of orange and burgundy. I'll definitely will miss the flowers and greens that the summer brings but it feels very hyggelig to stroll around the leaves laying on the ground. Also, very hyggelig (okay I'll stop) to have a quiet evening and enjoy the colder evenings with tea and candles. Best way to finish the day!

Also, it means Christmas is around the corner! xx

October 2015

 Autumn is an exciting time for this Caribbean girl.

• I saw an apple tree for the first time
• Saw the sunrise at 7 am and sunset at 4 pm. Winter is around the corner!
• Foggy days!
• Went for a walk at the beach...with a coat and scarf (that's not usual)
• Brown leaves on the ground, brown leaves everywhere
• It has become now an habit to drink two cups of coffee a day for two reasons - one to keep me warm and two for keeping me awake after 5 when it gets pitch black
• Had a Star Wars marathon..yeap all 6 movies in one day. Not ashamed to admit this. hah I can't remember the last time I watched them. Now I'm very excited for the new one!
• Booked airplane tickets to celebrate Christmas at home
• Went to 'Kulturnatten' or Culture night in English. It was fun and freezing cold. Walked a lot and eat some hot dogs along the way... I'm still a "tourist" you know!

And that was October for me. Hello, November! 

xx

P.s. I uploaded a video on YouTube that a accompanies this post. It's not great and with free music...but oh well. I just didn't want to let this footage go to waste. Watch here :)

Hello Autumn!

Hello Autumn! It's finally nice to meet you...

It's so great to finally feel the change of seasons, something I only imagined and looked from afar through pictures and movies. So it's finally here! The air feels colder even if the sun is out and that it's a very weird feeling. I love the warm colors around me, the trees are changing and everything looks magical. Leaves are everywhere on the ground and it just makes me want to run and threw them to the air - just like in the movies, you know?

Now, in this cold and cloudy day I sit inside with a cup of tea to warm me up and wearing a cozy sweater not bothering to go out at the moment. I've noticed the only down side of autumn is that the days get shorter. For the first time it did bother me a bit that the sun was not out by 6 in the morning. I'm slowly getting ready for whats to come in the winter...my first winter! But at the moment everything is great and beautiful. 

xx

Life Update

It's Summer! And I've been away from here for three months. So here just a peek of what has happened in that time:

• Finished the semester
• Received acceptance letter from my preferred Masters program *happy dance*
• Graduated from University (I'm officially a graduate student)
• Went on a family road-trip (and all my photos from this trip are gone...forever. I don't want to talk about it.)
• Flew to New York City for only four days (and my love for this city grew even more and now I'm sad because I wanted to stay)
• Now I'm home, trying to make the best out of this summer before my studies starts and waiting for my student visa to be approved...because I would be studying abroad! *fingers crossed* 

Hopefully you're having a great summer! I will try to keep this blog updated. I had so many ideas for blog posts that I left on process three months ago...I need to work on that.

But just in case, most of the time you'll find me on Instagram @cristiland

xx

Motivational Friday

Should I say Thank God It's Friday? 

It's official that I'm half way threw the semester and sometimes routine can be exhausting. I'm so glad that spring break has already come. I have like a need to breath and have some space before continuing with my routine. I don't mind it most of the time but it's always nice and, I think, even healthy to take a break from it. Maybe even reflect on what going on and change a few bits. In moments like this where there are lots of work and uni exams, things can easily stress me out. In those moments it's kind of easy to loose track and forget why I'm still doing what I'm doing. Those are signs that I need to leave what I'm doing and go to the nearest beach. Listen to the sea. The other good alternative, have a very long tea break (with some Netflix, please and thank you). So for today I decided to share some positivity over here not only for myself, but for anyone who needs it as well. 

SOME MOTIVATIONAL QUOTES

"I'd rather have a life of 'oh wells' than a life of 'what ifs'"

"Nothing is impossible, the word itself says "I'm possible"" 

- Audrey Hepburn

"Great achievements involve great risk."

"With every sunrise you are given another chance to make your life shine even brighter! Take on the day!" 

"Life is very interesting. In the end, some of your greatest pains become your greatest strengths." 

"Do not give up, the beginning is always the hardest."

THINKING POSITIVE 

Instead of going for what I dislike, I need to remind myself of the little things in life that make me happy. Sometimes I feel like I take things for granted. It's better to appreciate what I have and love.

a good cup of coffee · my dogs playing · looking up the night sky · challenging myself to things that scare me · arriving home in the afternoon · having a warm shower · tea before bed time

WORDS TO NEVER FORGET

Bloom where you are planted

°
Exist to be happy, not to impress

Hope you have a very lovely & positive day! 

xx

Entertainment & Lifestyle | What I've Been Loving Recently?

WHAT I'VE BEEN LOVING RECENTLY

➀ "Yes Please" by Amy Poehler. I've never been someone who's interested in autobiographies or memoir books, but since I read Not That Kind of Girl I decided to give this one a shot. I love everything that has to do with comedy, so to pick this book was a no brainer. I'm still a few chapters away from finishing it, but I like it so far. I recommend it if you are into sarcasm and not taking things too seriously. It is a very entertaining book even if you don't know much about Amy Poehler or a huge fan of SNL.

➁ Music need to be included on this list because it's part of my life. Also, I love discovering new music. Lately I've been putting this few songs on repeat. I find them very soothing and perfect as a background music while studying or just relaxing at the end of the day.

Quiet Nights - Catching Flies

Infinite Cities - The Bright Light Social Hour

Long Night - Guster

Awake - Tycho
Big Jet Plane - Angus & Julia Stone

➂ Waking up early. This one is huge for a night owl like me. But since January, studies and work has made me realize the importance of going to bed early and waking up very very (very) early. I noticed that I don't feel the same through the day if I don't have my usual morning rituals. For example, I need to have my daily intake of caffeine, a good breakfast and to take my time to get ready. And I can see a huge difference in my performance through the day comparing it when I used to wake up late and rush everything in the morning. That it's not good, I end up being tired and annoyed by noon. Waking up early has made me more productive, more alert, and overall happier. Of course, then Friday comes and I have a little happy dance because I can enjoy a good long sleep!

Hope you're having a lovely day!

xx

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10 Random Facts About Me

For this year I thought it would be a good idea to add a little bit more personal posts around here in the blog. It's the Internet, so I always tend to stay away to talk too much about myself and concentrate mostly on things and subjects that I like. But I've to admit I do love silly posts like this because you get to know better the person behind the blog and get a little inside to their personality. So here it goes, little silly and random facts that I may have never mentioned:

1. I don't mind repeating movies especially when I like it and enjoy it a lot. But sometimes I may carry away. The amount of times I've watched the movies Shrek and Tangled must not be healthy. Plus, I've watched them each in three different languages: English, Spanish & French. I think I can call them guilty pleasures? 


2. Started playing the guitar at the age 12 and around two years I kinda gave up because of my little fingers not getting right some chords. Now I have an urge to get back to it but thinking about getting an ukulele instead (it's smaller). 


3. My favorite part of a pizza it's the crust. 


4. I've visited New York City only once in my life and one of my wildest dreams is to move there someday. One trip was enough for me to fall in love with that city. 


5. I like to collect movie tickets. Even thought some of them are already almost completely blank or unreadable I still hold them because...memories. Maybe I'll throw them away someday but not for now.


6. I only own one pair of heels because I can't stand the pain. Flats and sneakers for life!


7. My favorite kind of candy is dark chocolate. I don't actually like many sweets, always prefer sour flavors.


8. Most things (a lot of things and situations) can make me laugh which can sometimes be awkward and for some reason it makes me still feel like a teenager. What can I say? "I like to laugh, laughing is my favorite!".


9. I prefer to go shopping in the morning. Too many people in one store can make me feel anxious. I like to take my time to look around especially when everything is well put together and not in a mess. 


10. If I could I would eat sushi everyday for dinner. But thinking about it maybe I could grow tired of it. So let's keep it the way it is - every once in a while. 

There you go, now you know a few facts about me that might not interest you at all. So sorry about that! But hope you enjoyed and maybe we could know more about each other? 

Have a lovely rest of the day!

xx

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February 2015

visiting the local market for fresh fruits · enjoying an afternoon coffee · always enjoy a good cup of coffee in bed · valentine's day outfit · finding symmetry in the bridge · breakfast, coffee & a book on the weekend · you can tell i love my breakfast especially if it's yogurt, granola and raspberries · a little sneaky selfie before heading out for the day · a few perks of living in a tropical island - fresh coconut water

Another month of the year gone already but enjoyed each day the best I could. I'm very excited of what the month of March may bring. In reality it's a mix of excitement and anxiety but in a good way. Anybody else graduating this year? Ohhh the wait!!

have a lovely day!

xx

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LIFE UPDATE

Hi! It's been awhile I've updated this blog and I really do have a small reason for it besides uni and work. This last December I decided to come back to live at home after living for four year at my university's students residence. I do actually miss living on campus and it feels very weird coming home everyday...just like high school time! Then I decided to make a little project around here. Something I never noticed is how small or almost none changes I made in my room through all this years. And that needed to change because I'm not the same person I was four years ago. So I decided to take small steps in changing things around here, starting with painting the walls, new bed sheets, and adding lots of other new decorating items. At the same time there was a need for a good cleaning, moving things around, removing things I don't need anymore, clothes I haven't worn in years, books that I don't tend to use or read anymore and even magazines from 2009. Yikes! 

So that's what my weekends have looked like - cleaning and organizing. Even if it's very exhausting I find it very entertaining and fun since I love decorating. The other downside of it is my limited time for blogging! But I'll get back to it on time. Another little project I want to do is to update my wardrobe. I think one of the reasons why I "never have something to wear" is because I'm not loving what I have. I notice that I tent to buy a lot of trend clothing pieces instead of buying more stuff that I love and that I would still wear over and over again. This is something that I'm learning and it will be a long process to actually have a closet full of basic and useful garments. I didn't do any resolution for this year so that could be it! Resolution 2015: to spend less on stuff I don't need and invest better on things that I would like for months and years to come. 

Oh, and before I leave I wish you a happy Valentine's day! Kind of sad this is not a fun post to share today, but I hope you don't mind. For today I don't have much to do, so I will be with my family, maybe watch a movie and eat some dark chocolate. Yum! I'm actually really boring on Valentines day, I think it was more fun back in school when I could see my friends and give little presents to each others. At home today it's not a big deal, but we do love buying flowers to each other and our favorite chocolate/candy. Anyway, any fun plans for today? Even if you are spending it alone, with a friend or special someone, just remember to have fun and truly appreciate the ones that are with you every single day, including the good days and even the bad ones. So send some love, hugs and kisses to those!

Take care! x 

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Relax, It's Sunday!

I always need some time for myself whether that be on a Friday night or a Sunday morning. Start the day with some coffee, taking my time making the espresso and heating the milk. I enjoy those moments especially alone or with great company having a small talk. Then I have a break to read at least one chapter from a book. I'm really enjoying "How to be Parisian Wherever You Are" it is surprisingly funnier than expected. It's a fun read if you like dark humor. At the same time it has some more informative chapters, recipes which I would like to know if someone has tried them and of course, amazing photographs! Plus, I do love how many list there are in this book. I do like...no, I love lists! Especially with bullet points, thank you.

In the beauty department, it's rare for me to wear red nail polish but I've been loving this Essie one called "Fishnet Stockings". It looks really bright in the pictures, but if you apply two coats it is more like a deep red. Actually one of my 2015 resolutions is to wear more red. It's a color it has never grabbed my attention before since I always think it looks very daring and bright, the opossite of what I like - black and neutrals. So I'm going to try to add some red in my wardrobe and even wear red lips once in a while. I really like the look of red lips and it would be something different than my usuall which is MAC "Shy Girl". 

The last thing on my list for today, study time. Kind of! The semester is starting soon and I'm going to be taking two language courses!! Hopefully I can manage that. Therefore I need to clear my mind first and review, review, review. 

Hope you're having a nice Sunday!

xx

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It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Things are getting festive around here and I'm loving it! Everything looks and feels more magical with lights everywhere, fake snow, holiday music playing on the radio and Christmas scented candles around the house. All I need now is a cup of hot chocolate and start to write down all ingredients needed to start baking. After all for me winter time is baking season. For now I have my thoughts only in sugar cookies and apple pie. Only 18 days left! What?!

Happy Sunday! 

xx 

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The Sun is New Each Day

 

I think we already know but I’m still going to say it: We’re at the end of October! Where has time go? On the plus side holidays are coming soon! I’m very excited too that it feels more “autumny” now than it was in September and I love it. Oh yes to the sweater weather, hot chocolates and candle lighting. Here a few shots from the past few weeks.  

My Take on Green Juice

Oh, the famous green juice! I started making my own for the past month and I'm loving it. I always thought you needed a great juicer to make these but with my student budget I need to work with what I have and a nice little blender does the job! So here is my version, but you can try with other types of fruits and vegetables. 

Time Flies, but not Memories

 Good morning! (or good day, because time zones!) Hope you're having a lovely day! I wanted to take a time today to do a little update in my life. I like to do this little updates in my blog because I really want to look back at them someday in the future. I know lots of you have started school and universities by now, so just a little tip from a university senior over here. 

Remember this: Time truly goes flying and fast! I always laughed when 'grown ups' like my parents always told me this, because the one thing I wanted was to time to go fast so I can be a 'grown up' and be independent. Well I think that is good but I think I needed to remind myself more often to have fun because these years are never coming back and now it shocks me how fast four years past by. So yes, I’m feeling very melancholy just by thinking this will be my last year at university. But at the same time I’m very excited and eager of what’s coming next in this journey of life. I’m trying to treasure every moment I’m spending here, capturing everything I can, things that I know I may forget but maybe these pictures will remind me of how I felt, what I was going through at the moment. For everyone who is starting university, do work hard but have fun and truly treasure that time, meet new people, learn something new everyday, get out of your comfort zone once in a while, just live the moment. 

xx