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  • I actually felt a bit sorry for this guy Therehellip
  • I went for a walk in Gamla Stan the otherhellip
  • The weather was great over the weekend in Stockholm sohellip
  • I really like the classic red Swedish houses! Im nothellip
  • When we were in Vaxholm something scary happened A kidhellip
  • Jeremy and I sat down to watch the boats gohellip
  • Jeremy and I went to Vaxholm on the weekend Ithellip
  • A couple relaxing in Vaxholm Sweden Such a lovely place!hellip

    I’m still here…

    April 23, 2017

    I haven’t written anything in months. For multiple different reasons. First of all, my blog was hacked and my posts kept being changed into spam messages and crap like that. As much as I wanted to sort that out, I felt I didn’t have the time or energy to, so I sort of just stopped updating my blog. I still haven’t really done anything about it, so it’ll likely happen again.

    Secondly, I feel like I haven’t had anything interesting to write about. I still don’t to be honest, but I thought I would just write a post to let you know why you’re not hearing anything from me!

    At this stage, I’m unsure if I will keep my blog going. But I will leave it for now and have a think about it.

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    Train

    Turns out commuting is pretty exhausting

    February 26, 2017

    I haven’t written a blog post in a while. Some random hacker wrote a post for me recently though, so that was nice of them to try to keep my blog going while I was busy trying to sort out my life. I guess I should be flattered that they considered my blog hack-worthy.

    I’ve now completed three weeks in my new job. Time flies! I work for a start-up company called Tinitell. Look it up, it’s pretty cool. The only thing that is a bit tough about it at the moment is the fact that the job is in Stockholm and I’m not. This means I have to commute there and back 5 days a week. The travel time is about 3,5 hours per day. It may not sound that bad, but it’s actually quite exhausting.

    Continue reading…

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    Which travel destinations are next on my list?

    January 18, 2017

    I can’t wait until I get a job and start earning money again. It’s great to have time off, but when you look at your bank account and realise that there is no money coming in, only money going out, it gets depressing pretty fast. I’d like to be able to spend some money without freaking out about going completely broke.

    One of the first things I’ll do after getting a job is travel. Now that we live in Europe, I can’t wait to see a bit more of it. You can easily do a weekend trip here and there without having to take time off work (unless I’ll work weekends, which I suppose could be quite likely). I’m sure we’ll make it work somehow.

    So what countries are at the top of my list? Well, quite a few of them, but I’ve narrowed them down to the ones that I’ll most likely be picking from next.

    Denmark

    They’re my neighbours and I’ve still never been. In fact, the only neighbour country I’ve been to so far is Norway. Denmark is super easy to get to as well, so there’s really no excuse not to go. It’s literally a 20 minute drive over a bridge to get from Sweden to Denmark. I’d of course have to get to the bridge first, which could take a bit longer, but still! I’d love to visit Copenhagen.

    A photo posted by Emilia (@emilia.etc) on

    Scotland

    I’ve always wanted to visit Scotland, but more so lately after meeting some Scottish people and finding out more about the country. I’ve seen pictures that are absolutely stunning and I would love to visit to take my own stunning photos to share. It’s only a couple of hours away by flight, so again – really easy to get to.

    Ireland

    I want to visit Ireland for the same reason as Scotland, I’ve met some Irish people and seen stunning pictures. I’ve also got friends who have visited and let me know that it’s a wonderful place. It would be super ideal to visit Scotland and Ireland on the same trip, but if I were to do that, it would obviously have to be a longer trip and not a weekend getaway. Perhaps I could make that happen in summer when taking some actual time off work.

    A photo posted by Ireland (@tourismireland) on

    Finland

    Another neighbour I haven’t visited. There are daily cruises from Stockholm to Finland that are cheap as chips, so I feel I have absolutely no excuse here. Well, I do get travel sickness, so I don’t do too well on boats, but I’m sure I could manage a day on a boat if I tried. In fact, I have actually been on one of these cruises before, but it only went to the Åland Islands, which I don’t really consider Finland.

    A photo posted by Elisa Karhula (@laizak) on

    Italy

    I’ve wanted to go to Italy since forever. I almost booked a trip for Jeremy and I back in 2008. It was supposed to be a birthday present for Jeremy, but I ended up booking a trip to Amsterdam instead, because I knew that he really wanted to go there. The main thing that is pulling me towards Italy is the food. I absolutely love Italian food, and I’ve heard from friends who have visited that the food really is to die for.

    Belgium

    Jeremy has actually already been to Belgium. When we visited Sweden in 2013, he went on a trip there without me. He wanted me to come, but I decided that I wanted to spend as much time as possible with my family, since we were only here for a few weeks before going back to New Zealand. He seemed to really like it, so hopefully he wouldn’t mind going back.

    A photo posted by Ghent (@visitghent) on

    Estonia

    Another country you can get to by cruise ship from Sweden. I think I’m going to have to endure a boat trip here as well. I mean, I could fly but it would be a whole lot more expensive. Plus, the cruises are pretty fun from what I remember. I don’t actually know too much about Estonia, but the pictures I’ve seen are enough to make me want to visit.

    A photo posted by I G ⊕ EUROPA (@ig_europa) on

    Latvia

    Yet another cruise ship destination. I’m not sure which one to pick between Estonia and Latvia to be honest. I could go to either really. Of course I want to visit both, but if I had to pick one, it would probably be a coin flip in all honesty. Unless someone can give me a reason why one is better than the other!

    There’s of course plenty more countries I want to travel to, but if I included them all, the list would get incredibly long! I’d be curious to know which of the above countries people have been to and which you recommend that I go to first.

    Let me know through the comments, and don’t forget to subscribe! 🙂

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    I bought myself a gift from Colourpop

    January 16, 2017

    So here’s the thing – I’m unemployed. Being unemployed means I can’t really afford spending money on unnecessary things. That can sometimes get quite depressing, especially if you see something you really like. You feel the disappointment growing and it makes you sad.

    Last night, I was just watching YouTube videos as I usually do, when I came across some Colourpop swatch videos. I’ve only got one Colourpop lipstick at the moment, but I absolutely love it and I’ve been complimented when wearing it countless times. I haven’t bought any more because they were quite difficult to get a hold of in New Zealand (or so I found anyway).

    However, after watching the videos, I felt I had to get one as a little treat for myself, so I went onto the Colourpop website to have a look at the prices and to check how easy it would be to get it shipped to Sweden. Continue reading…

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    10 things you may not know about Friday the 13th

    January 13, 2017

    Yup, today is Friday the 13th, a day many fear. I’m not going to lie, I’m extra careful when it’s Friday the 13th and I don’t even know why. I don’t even believe in it, and still there must be a small part of me that does. I can’t actually recall anything terrible happening to me on that day, except one time when I just had an overall shitty day. That doesn’t count though, does it?

    I decided to look up some facts about Friday the 13th, and I thought I’d share what I found with you.

    1. Friday the 13th happens at least once every year, and the longest period of time that can pass without one is 14 months.
    2. The fear of Friday the 13th is called Friggatriskaidekaphopia.
    3. Tupac Shakur died on Friday, September 13, 1996.
    4. Taylor Swift turned 13 on Friday the 13th, and considers 13 her lucky number.
    5. Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen were born on Friday the 13th
    6. On Friday April 13, 2029, a large asteroid will be visible without a telescope in Africa, Europe and Asia according to NASA.
    7. In some Spanish-speaking countries, Tuesday the 13th is considered unlucky.
    8. The 13th ‘Friday the 13th’ movie is due to be released in 2017.
    9. There are no mentions of Friday the 13th before the 19th century.
    10. Friday the 13th occurred three times in 2012 and 2015, all 13 weeks apart.

    To those of you who fear the day, I’m sure you’ll have a great day, just try not to think about it. 🙂

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    And so our adventure in Sweden finally begins!

    January 12, 2017

    It happened. Jeremy’s residence visa was approved and I couldn’t be more excited. He’s now a permanent resident in Sweden! It feels a bit unreal at the moment. Maybe because he hasn’t come back from London yet, but I’m sure it will all sink in once he’s back.

    We contacted Migrationsverket a few times to get updates on how long it would take, and we weren’t too hopeful, because this is what they said:

    When an application has been assigned to a case officer, it’s in its final stages, but it could be a matter of a week to a few months before a decision is made.

    We stressed that Jeremy would have to travel all the way back to New Zealand if we weren’t able to get a decision soon, and that it would be such a waste of money. Money that we really need to start our life in Sweden. She said she would make sure the process was as fast as possible, but couldn’t make any promises. But she came through, and we’re so grateful for it!

    Now we can finally start planning our future in Sweden. It’s going to be a stressful and testing time, for sure. We both have to find jobs, and somewhere to live. Our preference is somewhere in or close to Stockholm, but we already know it’s near impossible to find a place to live there. We will still try our very best.

    Jeremy comes back to Sweden on Monday 16 January and my dad and I will drive up to Arlanda to pick him up. I’m really hoping there won’t be any problems with weather, because it’s been snowing and has been really windy and icy. It would be pretty lame if there is an issue and he can’t land in Sweden.

    On Thursday, we’ll drive down to visit Migrationsverket in Norrköping, where Jeremy will need to do some fingerprints and take some photos. We’ll literally drive 65 km for a 5 minute meeting, but unfortunately there is no closer office he can do it at.

    I’m going to an information meeting at Skavsta airport the same day, in the evening. It’s basically a meeting where they’ll tell you what it’s like to work there and if you’re interested after, you can have an interview straight away. They’re not currently offering any full time jobs, which is a shame. But I’ll still be handing in my CV, and perhaps I’ll do the interview and let them know that I’m super interested if a full time job comes up later on.

    Other than that, I’m applying for jobs in a few different places at the moment. Haven’t heard anything, but please keep your fingers crossed for me!

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    7 Delicious Milkshake Recipes

    January 11, 2017

    OK, I have to admit – I haven’t tried a single one of these. So by describing them as delicious in the post title, I’m basing this on looks and how delicious the ingredients sound. I would love to try them all though, I really would.

    Today is National Milk Day, so what better way to observe it than sharing milkshake recipes. Well, trying them would be a tad better I suppose. If you want the recipes, just click the titles or the images and you’ll be taken to the website where they were published!

    Kit Kat Milkshake

    Oh my, this looks amazing. The only thing I would change would be the Hershey’s chocolate syrup, because I’ve never been a fan of Hershey’s. But I’m assuming you could pretty much replace it with any chocolate syrup. Sure, it would probably alter the taste slightly, but I’m sure it would still be delicious.

    Continue reading…

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