A few things that boost my happiness

I read a blogpost from one of my favourite bloggers about a month ago that inspired me to make this list. I originally wrote the list over a course of two weeks, writing a little bit every day. The list was so long and full of the most stupid things that I only chose a fair few that I found highlighting and might be inspiring for someone. I encourage everyone to make a list of their own and I hope you enjoy mine. 

1. Music

To begin this list of things I´d like to say that i find it amazing how music can affect the mood. For example the best way to start the day in my opinion is with the Swedish theme song from Pippi Longstocking. It is the perfect song to walk to wherever I have to go in the morning and you simply cannot go through the whole song without smiling. Another song that never fails to put me in a good mood is Pocketful of sunshine by Natasha Bedingfield. One simply cannot listen to it only once so I usually have it on repeat while I do my chores (pray for the neighbours ears who must hear me sing the same song for 1-2 hours every day). 

2. The people around me

I am both talking about the people have met during my stay here in Italy and the ones I speak to at home. Its very easy to get isolated when you´re in a new country where you don´t know anybody and I really had to step out of my comfort zone when I posted a group for aupairs that I was looking for friends. I think everyone experiences homesickness sometimes and specially when spending a long time from home. What I think is best to do in that situation is talk to somebody at home (preferably about how shitty the weather is in Iceland) and then plan to meet up with some other aupairs as soon as possible. 

3. MOM! 

Talking about homesickness... In case of super-duper homesickness the best and most fool-proof remedy is to call a close family member which in my case is my mom. Talking to her is simply the best and a list of things that make me happy wouldn't be complete without her. 

4. Having something to look forward to

I can be a bit hyperbolic when it comes to having something to look forward to and I am always planning something. Whether it it tomorrows lunch, next weekends meet-up or the next 10-ish years of my life. You can bet I am planning it! For the spontaneous people in my life this can be a bit annoying but for me to get through a gloomy day I think it is very important to be able to see the sunny days ahead. 

5.  PASTA! 

Ok, food generally always makes me happy but oh, boy. Pasta. For the past two months I have been eating pasta almost every day (and sometimes twice a day) and because I am in Italy, NOBODY is judging! 

6. Gelato

Like I said, food in general makes me happy. Same as with the pasta, Gelato every day. And because of the heat - you need it!

7. The sun

Apart from being the greatest source of vitamin-d (which is known to help with depression) I simply cannot look at the sun without smiling like an idiot. The joy of being able to go outside wearing almost nothing and NOT feeling the cold biting your skin just makes me feel very happy. 

P.s I am wondering about weather to keep writing in Icelandic as well or simply switching into english completely... I guess we will find out in the next few posts.

-Freydís

Fair trade, minimalískt OOTD

ENGLISH VERSION BELOW

Ég var ekki alveg viss hvað ég ætti að kalla þessa færslu þar sem þetta outfit var ekki fyrir neitt sérstakt tilefni heldur eitthvað sem ég klæðist mjög oft þessa dagana. OOTD er því kannski ekki alveg rétti titillinn en þið fattið mig vonandi. 

Ég fjallaði um það í færslunni Ég er að pakka að ég yrði að tileinka mér ákveðinn minimalisma þegar kemur að klæðnaði og það hefur reynst mér ágætlega hér á Ítalíu. Ég þarf lítið að pæla í hverju ég vil vera, þvæ þvottinn minn einu sinni í viku og þarf ekki sífellt að vera að taka til eða brjóta saman þvott. Ég hef alltaf haft mikinn áhuga á mannréttindum og eftir að ég komst að því hvað fataiðnaðurinn skeytir litlu um réttindi fólks sem vinnur við fataframleiðslu langaði mig ekkert að taka þátt í þessum leik lengur. Áhugi minn á tísku færðist úr því að langa að eiga eins mikið af fötum og ég gæti yfir í það að búa mér til klassískan fatastíl úr færri en gæðameiri flíkum. Minimalískur, klassískur fataskápur er langtímamarkmið sem ég vinn smátt og smátt að. 

Mig hefur langað til að fjalla um þennan kjól frá því ég fékk hann en mamma mín gaf mér hann í fyrir fram afmælisgjöf nokkru áður en ég fór út. Hann er frá merkinu Kowtow sem framleiðir flíkur úr lífrænni, fair-trade bómull. Sniðið er mjög afslappað og er kjóllinn mjög flottur við gallabuxur eða leggings en er samt nógu síður til að vera berleggja eða í sokkabuxum. Ég hef líka prófað hann við blazer og kom það mjög vel út. 

Ég geri mér grein fyrir því að hér er ég að birta mynd af drulluskítugum skóm en ég hef notað þá daglega frá því ég kom til Ítalíu svo það er ekki að undra. Flestir eru eflaust farnir að kannast við TOMS og hugmyndafræðina á bakvið merkið. Þessa skó keypti ég mér seinasta sumar á Spáni og er þetta annað parið sem ég eignast. Hitt parið notaði ég þar til það gjöreyðilagðist með götum á tám og hælum. 

look at all my mosquito bites! 

I wasn't sure what to call this blogpost because this isn't really an outfit of ONE special day but an outfit I've been wearing a lot recently. OOTD didn't really seem to fit but i hope you get the point. 

I talked about it in another post that I would have to adopt a more minimalist lifestyle when it comes to clothing and it has been serving me well now that I'm spending the summer in Italy. I don't have to worry about what to wear and I don't have to spend all my time washing and folding my laundry.

I have always been passionate about human rights and after I found out how the clothing industry doesn't care about the rights of it's workers I didn't really feel like playing this fashion game anymore. My fashion goals and interests went from wanting to have as many clothes as possible to wanting to build a classic wardrobe with good quality clothes. This is a long term goal that I am slowly working towards.

I've been wanting to write about this dress ever since I got it. My mom gave it to me as an early birthday present about a month before I left. He is from a brand called Kowtow which produces clothes from fair-trade organic cotton. The fit of the dress is very relaxed and it looks good with anything. Jeans, tights or bare legged and I've even worn it with a blazer. 

The shoes, which are VERY dirty are my true and trusty TOMS. I have used them daily since i got here so there's no wonder why they are a bit dirty. I don't think I have to go into details about this brand and the ideology behind it because it has become so popular in the last few years. This pair I got in Spain last summer and is the second pair of Toms I've owned. The first pair I used until they were destroyed and there were holes on the toes and the heels.

-Freydís