A few weeks ago I had the honour of Attending photographer Hannes Heikura's exhibition at a local art gallery with my art class. He's a news photographer by trade, but the images in the black and white collection crossed over to a more artistic side (if you can say that). They were all dark, mostly melancholic pictures and some of the most impressive photos I've ever seen and a huge inspiration (I guess gloominess appeals to me). His use of shadows, urban elements (concrete, puddles etc.) and unusual settings is like nobody else's. All of the pictures feature regular people, going about their daily lives, unglamourized and unedited. To my understanding all of the pictures were completely candid, which definitely amped up the wonder of it all.
What made it even more special was that we actually got to see the man behind the pictures as he came to take a look at the exhibition!
The pictures are quite hard to come by online (at least for a rookie like myself), but here's a few that I did
find:
NOTICE: I don't own the rights to any of these images, they are taken by Hannes Heikura. I am solely using them to share with you this wonderful source of inspiration.
If you live in Finland, or have the chance to get your hand on a copy of his book I promise you it's worth it!
Does this appeal to you, or is it just the little old me who finds romance in this melancholy?
The title refers to us Finnish seniors, who are just noticing how close the matriculations(a form of standardized testing that affects Uni applications) are...not that the songs has ANYTHING to do with them, whatsoever. Mine start on Tuesday with my English listening exam. You'd think that it would be pretty easy for me, since English is my strongest language, but no. The catch is that there are sections where we have to translate English into Finnish (not so good since I've lived most of my life abroad). I'm still aming for the maximum, but we'll see how it goes. I also have my English written part very soon, followed by my History exam on the 19th and religion on the 30th. The "tricky" thing about History is that we've had six courses, so the test area is HUUUUUGE. However, I think I've studied pretty well (all through the summer!).
Now I'm taking a study break and updating my blog (my baby!) and reading Glamour magazine, before popping in a series of WWII documentaries (I got SICK of reading :P).
In addition to these I also have regular school assignments, so stress is piling up. Tomorrow the bff and I are having a de-stressing day: manicures, facials, movies etc. I could not look forward to it more!
The Finnish firework championships were on last night, close to my boyfriends house, so we climbed onto the roof for an amazing view of night time Helsinki and, of course, the fireworks themselves.
Another pretty cool thing is that his mum submitted us into an ice cream tasting panel. We're going to taste new flavours of healthy/light ice cream on Wednesday for two hours. The best part is that we both get 40 euro gift cards to a department store. Yay! We're planning a movie night with lots of yum-yums to celebrate :P
Here are my fuss free looks from yesterday and today:
What I wore yesterday: jumpsuit from H&M, denim biker jacket, black crocheted scarf and CT Converse (yes, again...)
Notice the little floral pattern :)
We also went out for some ice cream...mmmm!
Helsinki by night
Those were actually heart-shaped
Another rock and roll inspired look: H&M pants, KISS tee, Denim Vest by Mimika and my beloved Converse.
Well, the blitzkrieg calls and I must answer.
Strength, patience for your work and studies (I'm sending you happy thoughts!)
xxx Ninja
p.s. My apologies for the rant...sometimes it's just easier to take it out on you lot ;)
Today was our celebration of 100 school mornings till we finish, 99 more to go! ;) (Since it's our senior year, we only have courses for half a year, followed by a study break). It is so relieving to think that its all going to be over soon :)
As I mentioned yesterday, our theme of the day was to wear pyjamas. We hijacked the hangout room, blackened the windows with trash bags, played obnoxiously loud music and ate all we could. I only had 2 hours of lessons, so the rest of the time I got to chill out in our little lair. Pretty awesome.
Afterwards I went out for a bit of a walk in the park with H, since the weather was so nice.
Good day, good day. :)
I kept today's look super simple, since I had to get in and out of it several time to change into my jammies. So, I went with a thrifted blouse, H&M boy's parka, pieces jeggings and boots from the fleamarket
I fell in love with these chunky boots AND the price: only 1 euro!
A peek at my pyjamas. A fleece onesie from Primark
A recent obsession of mine is leggings. Pretty much anything goes! The unfortunate truth, however, is that most leggings tend to overpower my vertically challenged frame and make my legs look stubby. So I'm on the lookout for the perfect funky pair, that will not only stand out, but give me the illusion of longer (sightly less curvy) legs.
Here's hoping ;)
Marc by Marc Jacobs
I want these for the after ski (like half a year away...but a girl can dream, right?)
Alexander McQueen
I might have gone a teeny tiny bit overboard with the inspiration pictures, but I just love how effortlessly cool leggings are- not to mention comfy!
I feel like such a lazy student after only one proper hour of school today and with only three to come tomorrow! Then again, this autumn is really taking its toll on me. I can't believe that my (much dreaded) matriculation exams are starting exactly a week from now (I'm pretty much shitting bricks right now). Even though I've studied throughout the summer it just doesn't feel like enough!
After school my friend and I had our regular hang out session at Maccy D's, followed by a venting session in the car. It helped me (hopefully her as well!).
Tomorrow us third years only have 100 more days of school left, so were having a pyjama party at school (during recesses and skips), which is going to be a blast (unless I'm the only one in a pyjama :/ !). This is a bit of a tradition here. I'm interested: do you lot have special celebrations, theme days or traditions at your school?
And this is what I wore today:
denim shirt (flea market), Elvis tank (Istanbul), leggings and a scarf
I also wore one of my favourite pairs of shoes: these beauties that I got from MONKI on sale last summer (thanks to the bff!)
Ring from Istanbul and recycled cola bottle cap-earrings from Tanzania
one of the more attractive mug shots out there ;)
Here's wishing that I'm not the only fool wearing jammies tomorrow!
I'm rubbish at sleeping in, even though I start school at 12 today. So I decided to update my blog while mr. silly over there snoozes away. I don't have too much to say about yesterday, except that the mystery trip has been booked and it's going to be amazing, but I'm not telling yet ;)
Here's yesterday's OOTD:
H&M oversized knit with plait detail, another Gina Tricot oversized tee, leggings and a scarf from Stockmann,
I kept my shoe choice obvious and went with a skinny pair of white converse.
And I finished the look off with this cockroach ring from IBERO.
That's all for now, folks. I will be back with more this afternoon :)
Yesterday was pretty awesome: fleamarketting with the bff and Back To The Future and home made pizza with H :)
I also have the chance to go on a really cool trip IF I find cheap flights. I won't get too excited and share all the details yet, because it might not happen...But I'm moderately excited already ;)
I've noticed that I'm really into patterned leggings and I'm looking for the perfect pair at the moment. So look out for an inspo post about those.
Here's yesterday's outfit:
Tunic from Gina Tricot, ASOS rusty orange leggins, H&M denim biker jacket and a scarf from the fleamarket.
I made a bit of an effort on my hair for date night: a little twist in the front and a fishtail plait. Simple and cute. AND convenient, since it looks better the messier it gets! (No constant mirror checks)
Another favourite pair. I've glued these ones together a number of times already.
I apologize for the awful picture, but I had to show off my new silver eye liner from ZARA.
Okay, so I guess there's an excuse: I was at H's house eating junk and watching telly and my camera was conveniently at home. But tomorrow I WILL have it with me :)
This is a bit of a double post, since he got his winter jacket from ASOS not too long ago and is dying to show it off, so I'll hand the spotlight to him for a minute.
We got him this gorgeous military cut coat from the ASOS summer sales for only 3 euros (not bad since the starting price was 120!)
Not completely serious here :P He just HAD to borrow my Lennons.
As to my outfit: I went with something super comfy and boyish, but brought a bit of girly charm into it with a pair of ballerina flats and a ring.
H&M (boy's section) parka, H's Zara man T-shirt, Levi's boyfriend jeans (This theme was actually quite accidental), a big woolen scarf (one of my favourite accessories) and Tango flats
The only good thing about shooting at night is the random body parts that disappear, it's always such a fun surprise!
And then I became the koala-ninja
Waking up bright and early tomorrow to go to the fleamarket with my bestie and then I have a subway and pancake date with the mr. Good day coming up! :)
On a more negative note: my matriculations are creeping up on me and I still don't feel confident that I'll do well. I got my English listening preliminary test back today and I only got the second to best score...not good enough :P
You all have a lovely lovely weekend and you'll hear from me again very soon :)!
As some of you lot may know by now, I'm Tanzania (almost) born and raised and I consider it to be my native country. My parents had to bring me here literally kicking and screaming. I've been here for almost five years now and lately homesickness has been driving me crazy.
Well, last night I was feeling very emotional and made the HUGE mistake of listening to Toto's Africa on repeat. Cue the water works :P And I've been feeling a little down and melancholic today (nothing mum's lasagna wont cure though ;).
Well I'm feeling better now, but it doesn't help me from missing the gorgeous country that played such a huge part in how I turned out. Long live Africa <3
Gold-threaded blouse from Turkey, Levi's jeans, Bag from Turkey, belt is mum's old and scarf is thrifted
Thrifted ring, nailpolish by MAVALA
Bag from the bazaar (Turkey as previously stated), notice the cool umbrella holder from TZ
Gourd drinking bottle bought on our trip to sonjo land a few years ago
So I know that this is really a love song, but somehow I just link it to home.
Thank god tomorrow's Friday. I can tell you that I'm looking forward to another super weekend.
