Midsummer

Midsummer in London. Bird’s don’t sing, there is no light in 1am. On the roof I can see how the city goes to sleep, only taxis are driving under the street lights. We have some Rose wine on the Coca cola glasses and the neighbors’ cat is joining our celebration. Happy Midsummer I say. It doesn’t feel like it. Sky is dark, we cannot see any stars. No lake, strawberries, sauna, flowers, pagan magic and nature. This is London; Cars, buildings, people. No place for Juhannus.

xx Lipstick

London lifestyle

My week has been hectic; all of my weeks are hectic. It’s London. This metropolitan city makes people busy, when you do something you know that you should be doing something else in a same time. My friends and family don’t understand all the time that I just don’t have time. And when I have holiday and I come to Finland, it’s not a holiday for me, it’s keeping my relationships on. I feel that I would need a holiday for a holiday. I was talking about this to my aunt who has lived abroad almost all of her life and she said that she use to have couple of days “her” holiday in spas or doing something just by herself, before going to see all friends and family.

The truth is harsh, you cannot see everybody. For me first things what I want to do in Finland is spend time with my family and unfortunately friends are not the first ones in my mind.

London is busy. I realized yesterday after a work week, that I race with a clock every day. My normal day goes like this; I woke up at 6.45, leave to work at 7.20, start at 8am, and finish at 6pm, usually I work over time to 6.15 to 7 and then go to gym where I spend an hour then walk home and time is almost 9. I couple of times I do couple of hours more. Even if I crave more time, I know that this year has teach me how the life is really going to be in my future and how hectic it’s going to be then!

Today I’m going to meet some new people in First out café. It’s one of my favorite café in London, good vegetarian food, free g-magazine, down stairs there is a small bar and the decoration is warm and cosy.

Hyvää Juhannusta kaikille!

xx Lipstick

Feel the summer breeze...

Last weekend I walked central London and back to find a dress I desired to buy, but couldn’t find the right size anymore, size 14 is too big even if I would put 10 kilos. Day was warm and windy; we walked through Finsbury Park and found a duck pond where we saw these super cute ducklings!

xx Lipstick

ps. I have some big project going on now, so I’ll be busy!

Have you seen the light?

Time is 10pm. when I cross the bridge over Thames. Almost 60 hour work week is over and I feel exhausted. Light reflections from the river are like hundreds of twinkling stars. Bridge is beautiful and my dream house is standing next to it, big windows where the morning sun can shine easily in.

Night is warm, even if the day was cold. This city never sleeps. Lady Gaga billboard is on right side, H&M on the left. White limousine passes by, who’s inside this time; Famous actress or millionaire businessman? Sirens after them, other ones little bit further.

I think that London is the most beautiful in the night time, when lights are bright, it’s warm but dark and you can smell all the restaurants and hear all the police sirens.

xx Lipstick

Poppy King goes Boots!

I cannot remember when I first heard about Poppy King and her lipsticks, but I fell in love with those lipsticks and the story behind the woman right away. She started her own business age of 18, only six months after graduating from high school.  She has worked cosmetic business ever since and published autograph.  

I was more than happy to discover that this lipstick queen is doing something for Boots! Even if I don’t usually buy lipstick which cost more than 5 pounds I’m going to invest some money for these beauties. I would love to have the History or some nude color.

xx Lipstick loves lipsticks

Skinny Lattes

Oh gosh! Had a amazing day in central London! The weather was nice, little bit windy, but warm and we walked through Soho, China Town to Trafalgatar square, then Covent Garden and back to Oxford Street. It was so much fun and I took finally photos like a tourist. Have to send some of them to my family, that they can finally see, “yeah I live in London and I have seen those famous places”.

 

Realized today how happy I’m right now to live in London. London’s summer is the best time of the year, winter was dark and rainy and cold, mostly because it was freezing inside! Finnish people should be so happy about their double glazing windows and warm houses.

I felt so relaxed when we sat on a Costa Café drinking skinny lattes and watching people outside. I realized that this was the life I had dream about couple of years ago. I had dreamed about cafés and restaurants, interesting conversations and friends. Okay let’s break the bubble, mostly it’s just normal life, too long working hours, jeans and messy hair, but today it was what I had dreamed about.  It was life in a metropolitan. It was love, coffee and the city.

What else could I ask for?

2/52

Taxi driver

London’s lights were bright, I sat on a taxi middle of the night and driver asked which side I liked better, this side of Thames or the other one. I didn’t know. “I like them both, but the other side is quieter.” I felt that I had lost all my English skills, but still the driver tried to have some small talk with me. I was tired, but city was living, living its normal crazy Saturday. People, alcohol, fun, they wanted to forget last week to survive other one. Weather was warm, and when I walked out of a taxi, driver said: “Take care darling.”

Now week behind, tired as hell and going to relax today. Usually I work 10 hours per day plus some weekends so my hours go 40-50 hours per week really easily. Now you can understand why I don’t have that much time to write every day.

xx Lipstick

China Town

When I came back to London, there was this beautiful creature waiting for me. I got a hug and presents, actually too many. I got a bag full of Chocolate and sweets, and when I say full of it, I mean bars and bars of chocolate. I don’t know how I’m going to survive with them.

Today was Bank Holiday and I spend time with my special one and we went Soho to eat some Chinese food finally! We have walked there like million times, but never went anywhere to eat. The weather was nice and Soho was packed of tourist already. Chinese supermarkets were selling weird looking things and some fried chickens were hanging on the windows. Chinese people mixed to all ethnic backgrounds were walking on those streets and you could hear so many different languages. I tried to choose place which wouldn’t be that full of tourist, but most of them were more or less for tourist. Don’t get me wrong the food was delicious and it was nice to have a dinner at China Town, but the truth is that I have had better food and atmosphere in small Chinese at small town in Finland.

I would like to know how to cook Chinese or Thai food. I have good opportunity to use all of London’s Chinese supermarkets if I just could know what to need from there. I promised to cook next year some Chinese food, but will see if it’s going to happen. Chinese take away is so much easier and cheap.

Okay now going to prepare myself for the next work week.

xx Lipstick

Glimpses of London

Morning's first tube. Sky is still dark and the moon is like New Yorks cheese cake; full and creamy. Outside, sun is starting to shoot it's first shines to this amazing city. This mornings is London's morning, it's not like in Finland. It's warm, but the birds aren't singing 4am. nor the lights are bright enough.

These are glimpes from London.

Writing place: Piccadilly line
Time: 4.35am.
Mood: Excited

xx Lipstick

London is a wonderland

Someone says that London is a wonderland. Everything is possible here they say. City is full of opportunities. Lights are brighter, skyscrapers are higher and women are thinner in here. Some parts are true, but there’s so much more to tell. How the sun shines first time after rainy winter or how I felt when that gas meter guy entered the room while I was still sleeping.

 I could tell how I got in a bar being a VIP or how I met quite well-known artist, but the fact is that those moments weren’t highlights of my life, they were just a moments, maybe good, maybe okay, maybe bad.

People work hard in this city and seeing Big Ben the fiftieth time is not glamour. It’s a life. And like everybody else’s life, the small moments are those which counts most of happiness.

And I’m going to tell u about those moments.

This morning, sun was shining to my eyes, while I was drinking my fresh mint tea at our favorite café. All the waitresses know us and they laugh when we order the same things everytime. I promised to have a breakfast with my ex roommate and her boyfriend. They were planning moving back to Sydney on this autumn. They said that they missed their families and the lifestyle. London is too serious for Australian people. I have lived with many Aussies and they all have had this laid back attitude! I know it’s a cliché!

xx London says good night