Halfway

Woho, I have finished the backside of my knitted sweater. I have hopes of finishing the whole sweater before the end of the year.

This little thing is part of my 30 before 30 list, which I have 1 year left on and more than half of it left to finish, I'm good with procrastinating.

Project 333 / Capsule Wardrobe - The Purge

As a part of my journey into getting a sustainable wardrobe, and part because I love organizing anything, I've made a big spreadsheet of the content in my wardrobe. Not only did I make a list of each piece, but I also added information about color, appropriate seasons to be used, what state they are in and whether or not I want to keep the piece. Took me some time, but it was a lot of fun...

Yes, I'm a dork and proud of it

With help of my honest and though loving sister, I've purged my wardrobe. It was great fun and lots of undressing and dressing quickly and a new joke was formed.

*tada* Släktmiddagar *jazzhands*

I'm left with a few decisions and two big bags with clothes for donations (as I'm too lazy to try and get some money from them by selling them). I also have shoes to sort through but their fate is kind of already set. If shoes are to uncomfortable to wear, than there's no reason to have them.

So from 91 pieces of clothing (including outwear but excluding shoes and accessories) I'm now down to  66 pieces, all of whom will be used and loved and tended for.  It feels wonderful to have purged the wardrobe. I now have a wardrobe only of clothes that I will wear, no more guilt over that skirt that I bought 5 years ago but never worn. Having things that I don't use does not make me happy. 

And with this purge done I feel ready to try the 333 Project for this autumn. 33 pieces of clothing to use for 3 months.  

Project 333 / Capsule Wardrobe - What is it?

Over the summer I've been introduced to a concept refereed to capsule wardrobe or Project 333. It's all about having and using a small wardrobe. The Project 333 refer to using 33 pieces of clothing, often including outwear, shoes and accessories, and using these clothes for a full season, 3 months. It's goal is to use your clothes, minimize the "One day I'll wear that"-pieces in the wardrobe. It is also combined with saying good bye to fast fashion and instead, when needed, invest in clothes from sustainable sources. Well, that's at least what I've taken from it. And from it I will take these things:

• Start buying clothes from sustainable sources
• Think through my purchases more, no longer buying clothes that will not be worn
• Mend and take care of my clothes
• Give the 33 clothes for 3 months a change, try make new and fun combinations
• Stop using softener and the drier, as these does more harm than good to the clothes 

Interested? Here are some links and information

My Green Closet Youtuber all about sustainable fashion and with great tips on how to get the most out of a smaller wardrobe.

List of a ton of sustainable shops, not only fashion

Project 333 Here you can find a lot more information.

Good Morning Sunshine

It has been a morning for sure this Wednesday. For the third night in a row I'm woken up in the middle of the night. This time by a Milky cat complaining that he didn't get any dry food before bedtimes. It was a very tired Maria that later rolled out of bed after snoozing an hour.

I recently changed my breakfast from yogurt and müsli to smoothies, as I had started to loathe my yogurt and müsli. Though this new breakfast of mine surely is tastier, I'm a bit worried about its protein content. To ease my worry I've ordered some protein powder that the postman jammed into my mailbox, was a lot of cardboard destruction to try and get that out, thank you postman.

But back to this morning. It was the first time for me to add this healthy powder into my smoothie. The backside of the bag said to use 30g of powder to 300ml of water. Since my smoothies are about 300ml, I made the decision to measure up and add 30g, which is roughly 100ml. Big mistake. My smoothie tasted nothing but powdery, nothing like my usually so tasty blend between banana and raspberries. I tried my best to add more oatmilk and more raspberries, and though it started to taste more like raspberries again it was still rather powdery. Ended up with probably 600ml of smoothie, so at least I have some of it waiting for me when I get home.

Well, after the powder-disaster it came time to close the bag of the protein powder. It had one of those zip-locks, clever little things to make your bags reusable. Except this one wouldn't work at all. After trying for half an hour I had to give up and instead find a container to put the powdery content into. Only I didn't have one big enough, but after pouring over most of the content I could at least fit the bag into one of my reusable zip-lock bags (oh the irony). 

My kitchen is coated in powder now, I nearly forgot to feed the kitties before leaving. Lets hope I don't fall asleep at the desk at work

Bedtimes?

It is nearly one AM, middle of the night and yes I am still up. My alarm will go off in six hours.
I have been up painting this late evening. There is something therapeutic about painting this late in the night, when no one else is awake. I love it and I could easily stay up  another two hours painting. But I do have a day job waiting for me in the morning, so I better get to bed. Good night to you all.

Flying... Or rather just waiting. Part 2

After a hot and wonderful weekend in Vienna it was time to get back to Gothenburg. I checked in on my phone early in the morning, downloaded my boarding-passes and went on with the day. Got ice cream, almost won at minigolf and had tasty nachos before heading out to the airport.

Upon arriving to the airport we noticed that my flight was an hour delayed, of course. Since my battery was around 30% I thought it was best to print out the boarding-passes in case the phone died, because I forgot to pack charger. To my surprise, Airberlin no longer had machines for that, so I had to go to the regular check in line for this. It was moving slowly but after 15 minutes it was finally my turn. And here is were the chaos starts.

After minutes of buttonpushing, phonecalling and tripple-checking my passport I got sent of to the ticket custom service place. Went there and got informed that I had been rebooked for a flight with another airline. I'm handed a printout of my flights and sent to print my boarding-passes with this airline. So we head off to the other side of the airport, a bit stressed since it is now getting close to departure time. We had arrived to the airport one hour before departure, since all we had to do was hugging goodbye and get me through security. Now we had 30 minutes for said tasks and no boarding-pass.

When arriving to the new section of the airport we quickly found the machines and tried printing out the boarding-passes. Big no from the machine because check in was obviously closed for that flight. The lines were huge to the check in counters so we're trying to explain my situation to two different workers until getting send of to a third lady that could help me. She did her best trying to catch the gate, but couldn't help me as they had already started boarding.

All I could do was to get to the next ticket customer service place and be rebooked. Again. Lucky for me there was one more option available that day, leaving in 1,5 hour. So after a quick meal me and Rhys sadly said goodbye and I headed to my gate

.

And guess what. My flight is delayed an hour. Which meant there was a very big chance of me missing my connecting. Oh well, I got on (eventually) and as we were approaching our destination I asked the flight attendants about connecting flight, but they had no information at all. We landed the same time that my connecting flight were to take of. I got of and hurried to a message board and found that my next flight had not taken off, but was an hour late. Thank goodness for that.

I join a group of tired travelers as we're waiting for a pilot. I check the shuttlebuses in Gothenburg and realize that there is no chance of my making it to the last bus. My only option is to take a cab. I'm terrified of going alone in a cab and I will avoid cabs as much as I possible can. I can count on one hand the occasions I've been in a cab. Once with my family on the way from airport home, from the city after seeing the Return of the King with my brother, after I fainted at the blood donation place with boyfriend at that time, between restaurants when we celebrated my dads 50th birthday with family, once in Thailand with parents. Lucky for me I found a girl to share the cab with and got home around 1.30 AM. 

Flying... Or rather just waiting. Part 1

Goodness gracious me has my flying luck been on the edge of not working at all this weekend.

On the Friday I got an email midday from airberlin informing me that my 19.20 flight has been delayed to 20.00. which sucked alot since I had a connecting flight that would be hard to get onboard before I got to Berlin.

When getting to the airport there's no information about the delay at all. Foolishly I thought that was a good sign (I'm laughing inside at the foolishly naive young woman I once was). All through the security and all I get another email saying my flight is only delayed to 19.50. Half an hour later I get yet another email, saying 21.00. Big oh no as that would mean that I would miss my connecting flight. Well, things kind of got better from there, as I got yet another email, but this time about my second flight. It was delayed by two hours as well, making it again a narrow change but in the end I made it.

But I couldn't relax just yet. As I now we're arriving to the airport at 00.05 and the last train from the airport goes at 00.18. We did of course land at the furthest end of the airport, making it a long run. I could barley breath for half an hour as the AC on the airplane had dried out my poor throat.

At least I got there and got to enjoy a wonderful weekend with my sweetheart.

July Goals

It took me rather long time to figure out what I wanted to achieve this month, but after a lot of thinking I think I have a few goals.

Get to physiotherapy
Did that this week and I now have four exercises to keep up with on a daily base.

Get back to the gym
Haven't been there all June, so it is time to get back because it cost a lot of money. Found a few group trainings that I will try out.

Fix the balcony
Half of this is done, by making a tiny little table. The second half is to put net around it so me and the kitties can all relax put there. I've found a good alternative that I'm goingto order as soon as this is done

Sort out clothes and fix them
During June I've been inspired by capsule wardrobes and sustainable living. I will explain it all more in its own post but it has had me inspired to critically go through my clothes.

June Notes

June sure went by quickly with its mini vacation and all its special events. I will admit that it has left me little time to fulfill my two goals for the week. The 30 days of yoga has 5-10 days left on it and the painting was finished a few good minutes past midnight on the last day of the month. But I feel good none the less. I've tried new things, like yoga outdoors and paintball. The later was not really my thing though. And Rhys and my parents have successfully met eachother and we all had a good time.

On the downside I'm still in a lot of pain, so I'm going to book a visit to a physiotherapist as my two visits to the chiropractor hasn't improved much. Coming back from Stockholm I've also had a longer time of depression and anxiety, which has been a struggle. Usually I'm good after a day or two, but this time it took ten days before I got out of the low. I think it was just very lonely coming back after such a wonderful time with loved ones and not even having my kitties. Can't wait to have them home again.

Relaxing Evening

Hot yoga followed by sauna, cold shower and floating in a skin temperature pool. That was my free and relaxing evening after a dreadful day at work with headache and nausea. Wish this was something I could do more regularly, but a monthly membership fee of 699sek is simply not in my budget right now.

Rounding off the evening with a visit to Blackbird, a vegetarian restaurant that everyone seem to live, for dinner with a friend.

Life without the kitties sure makes it easier for afterwork adventures, but I do miss them terrible much. Falling asleep was nearly impossible last night.

When Sweden met Australia

I'm currently sitting on a delayed train heading back home to Gothenburg. I've spent a week in Stockholm, together with my parents and Rhys and his parents. We have all had a lovely time.

Thursday started early at 6.00 AM at the airport, picking up our guests. We had a peaceful morning and lunch at home before making way into the city. We walked through the southern island, took a ferry and ended up at the park theatre for a Midsummer night's dream, performed in English. It was lots of fun.

Friday was spent celebrating the Swedish midsummer. Rhys took his parents for a quick coffee and lunch inside the city, as mom and I prepared the midsummer dinner and cake. I also made some flower garlands, very quickly as we were running out of time. We took the car to the nearby celebration area, which was jammed packed with people. Dancing around the midsummer pole was rather cramped, but we were all doing the famous frog dance before heading home for dinner and cake.

Saturday was a day spent singing and dancing at the Abba musuem. The evening was first spent in Koh Phangan's jungle with tasty Thai dinner. We then took the stroll to Katarinahissen for a beautiful view as the sun started to set.

Sunday took us on a tour through the City Hall and then on the ferry out to Drottningholm Castle and it's theatre, two places I've never been. The City Hall had many hidden treasures and shame on me for never realising that the local government/council of Stockholm actually used the place daily for deciding the faith of the capital. We also took a tour off the 250 years old theatre out by the castle. It was very special as they are still using all the original scenery and mechanics. Rhys and I actually got to go backstage and produce wind and thunder with these original devices. It was a lot of fun and I have to make sure to make visit next year for a real show.

Monday was sadly Rhys's last day, but we managed to cram in a visit to the Vasa musuem in the morning. I've never see this huge ship, forever famous for sinking after 1000 meters on its maiden voyage. It baffles and amazes me how big and detailed they were able to build back in the days before machines and proper measurement. After a quick lunch at home we had to take Rhys out to the airport. We first missed our train and then had to drive all the way to the airport.

Tuesday, or today as it also is when I'm writing this, has been a day filled with journey. I managed to drive us wrong, twice, as I tried to take us to Skokloster. In the end we had to give up on the idea of making a visit to Skokloster before having lunch in Sigtuna, as we also had to make it in time to Arlanda as Rhys's parents had their flight to catch. We had a nice time in this little peaceful town, filling our tummies with tasty food from Tant Brun.

And now I'm on the last part of the adventure, slowly getting back home to my empty bed. Feels a bit sad going back as I don't even have the company of my kitties. But I will head over to Vienna next weekend, so I do have that to look forward to that at least.

I Made a Promise, Mr Frodo

Last time at the chiropractor I made a promise, to go swimming once before going back. I saved that to this weekend that we've just had, so that Rhys could help me as he's a very good swimmer than me and I need lots of help and practice to improve my crawling.

Well, things didn't go as planned. And today is Monday, the day I have that next appointment with my chiropractor. Guess who went up at the crack of dawn and went to the pool before work. Because I made a promise!

It was actually a really nice way to start the day.

June goals

Summer is here upon us and since I'm saving most of my vacation for a long Christmas-vacation, it means that I'll still be working. But I do have a week in Stockholm to look forward to later this month followed by a weekend in Vienna, so it won't be all work and no play. Actually it seems to be lots of fun, only one weekend unplanned as my parents are currently visiting.

Due to all the fun plans I don't have many goals. Mainly two. First one is to complete my "30 days of yoga" challenge and second goal is to finish a watercolour painting that I've been working on for ages. There's also my goal of trying something new with the hair, but it no longer needs to be in the list as I've become more creative on my own with this hair of mine.

I should probably put "start physical exercise" on the list. But I feel very intimidated by the fact of getting a session with a PT and I don't want to hurt myself by working out in the wrong way.

May notes

Spring is now over as we're leaving May and get headed into June and summer.
May have been a really good month, even though I've barely done the things out on my goal-list.
I've run my first race ever, mended my bike (it's broken again though) and last weekend I took an extra day off and had four sunny days with my Rhys. We walked through the Slottsskogen daily, saying hi to all the seals, penguins and baby goats (so fricking adorable).
Earlier in May I had my mother over for a weekend of shopping, eating and spending time together. She stayed and cheered on me when I did the race which was lovely.
Due to getting visits almost every weekend I really didn't have much time for mermay and more ambitious creativity. And June is going to be quite similar I fear. So that little dream of mine to start Etsy this summer are delayed. But that's okay.
That basically sums up my May. Now let's head into June and.

New Challenges

Starting today I'm doing a 30 days of yoga challenge, following this playlist by Adriene. It will surely be a well deserved change for this aching and stiff body that I've neglected since I got it. My shoulders and whole chest are in an awful state to say the least. A visit to my chiropractor and wonderworker is going to happen soon to help my body's healing process.

Earlier today I finally fixed the flat tire on my bike, which means I will start taking it to work starting tomorrow. It's going to be so nice not having to miss the bus every morning. And I'm of course wearing a helmet!

Since I'm going to get most of my cardio from riding the bike 7km two times per day, it is time to change my routine at the gym and do more muscle work. Have some research to do for that one, to get myself a good program.

As my crawl course finished last week it is time to start swimming on my own. Found out the other day that the outdoor pool will open on the 25th which is great since there's barely anyone using it on weekday evenings. I also found out that you can get a season pass just for the outdoor pool which is a lot cheaper than the regular card. So swimming on Tuesday will probably still be one, might get a bit flexible if I have anyone joining me.

And that's all the changes to my training clothes routines. Feeling very excited about the yoga and I'm really hoping it will help me get rid of my hurting chest and shoulders.