tori.

there are little girls who love barbies and ponies, but who are anything but barbie-like and fear real live horses.

there are adolescent girls who, instead of dressing up in frilly costumes and riding to the sunset their hair flowing wild, hide in the attic reading edgar allan poe and crime scene depictions.

there are ripening girls who build their soundscapes around faerie dreams and wild yelps.

there are grown girls who find the boxes surrounding them tangible and mutilating, but fight back with redefinitions and the full strength of their mind.

wednesday night i relived 20 years of what a life as a girl like that can be.

pic courtesy of tori.

a musical timeline facebook cannot even dream to provide...

fall barlotto.

the best purchase of this fall has without a doubt been our vegetable dryer.

yellowfeet + trumpets of death. gotta love the names of these delicious little fungi.

with limited freezer space, a flourishing garden and a shared love of mushroom picking, our stocks are overflowing. drying shrooms and veggies feels almost like cheating: vast piles shrink into diminutive heaps that promise a year long pleasure.

all dried out: mushrooms and leek.

since we had not dried anything previously, i had to make sure everything turned out all right. hence, i took a bag of organic barley – local, nutricious and much smaller in both carbon and water footprint than rice – and simmered it with dried leek and mushrooms until a creamy "barlotto" decorated my plate.

barley, veggie stock, leek, mushrooms, butter, salt and pepper. that's it.

simple and delicious.

35.

about a fortnight ago i entered the company of people who can round their age up to the four-oh. yes, i turned 35.

needless to say, i do not feel any different nor am i in any way obsessed with age (or lying about it, as you can well see).

i guess i should believe that i have reached a point which somehow sums up my life's direction: i am definitely on the adult side of things and past certain points of no return. i guess the stress is on the "should" since i might feel all grown up, but am too much of a ditz and way too preoccupied with my happiness to consider any path unalterable.

i still have the insecurities and strengths that come together as the personality i am, and i remain quite convinced that growing older will hardly eradicate any part of my persona even if i mellow out.

dress by rodebjer, earrings by chao & eero.

nonetheless, bdays are always a good excuse to get some happiness action going and that is something i was excited about.

therefore, i threw a brunch party at shanghai cowboy on a bright saturday. beautiful food, a bit of bubbles and the company of friends is all a bday girl really needs.

glass noodle, tofu and chillies.

goat cheese, raspberries and rocket.

omelettes.

when the restaurant opened for other clients, we fetched the doggie from home and walked over to glo hotel.

i had booked a corner suite to enjoy the weekend uninterrupted by mundane matters, and continued partying with a small group of my closest ones. i fell asleep on the sofa with jorma on my lap still surrounded by happy chatter.

Lisää kuvateksti

in the morning the sun was bright and i woke up in soft sheets to the smell of room service brekkie.

perfection.

***
p.s. in case you're not following oo on facebook, go clickety click. since i am, despite my firm intentions, slightly too busy to update as often as i'd like, i post links and all sorts of stuff there in between actual blog posts.

soft darkness.

last week i briefly visited the opening of ida pimenoff's exhibition at photographic gallery hippolyte.

each work is from the series and her first monograph, a shadow at the edge of every moment of the day, the title of which so readily and accurately embraces what you see. soft darkness, shadows filled with warmth.

the defense – and proof – that the edges of life as we tend to conceive it are not harsh or cold.

untitled, 2011.

the door, 2010.

two windows, 2010.

crabbie festing.

warm fall weekends are the time to enjoy the company of family and friends, lanterns, a little vodka and lots of fresh crayfish.

our transportation.

stella.

a beautiful summer day.

jorma having a dip.

what little dogs dream about...

the tradition of crayfish parties is something rather novel for a vegetarian of two decades, but i've grown into dealing with the massacre, peeling and cracking the shells and enjoying my toast with a shot and some singing. i am not sure whether i should worry about my moral development or continue oblivious.

crayfish!

watch dog.

lanters watching over us.

islands receiving the fall.

this past month i had the chance to escape outside to the islands near sipoo. first with close family, second with plenty of friends.

in surroundings like these, it ain't half bad. gotta love the finnish archipelago.

gotta love life.

life in pop.

well now, i usually do not do competitions. i hardly ever take part in them myself since i am not too into random free stuff and i find it rather awkward to bother someone with postal services in case i do win.

i am also butt lazy and cannot be bothered with mailing stuff myself which also prevents me from selling my surplus gear via interwebz...

it is not that i do not appreciate you, my dears. i do. other bloggers say that it's a cool way to reward readers, and sure, i agree.

but still preposterously like to think it's the content that draws people to read a blog. or merely the need to sneak into the life of someone they know – or do not.

here's the story: i gave in this time because it really is no bother to me (no mailing involved) and i think you guys might actually appreciate this. that is, i presume that you share my taste in music, even partly.

since you're quite an international lot, my dear readers, this little competition will not perk most of your lives. but the better for you locals, then.

now i feel the obligation to provide a competition to international readers. oh chucks, the slippery slope i just tapped my toe with...

but yes, to the point.

a new regular club night is launching this friday called poplife. it is the child of positively notorious club hosts that were behind the tavastian lauantaidisco and misf*ts, and they cater great music. you just have to trust my word on that.

ok, the official release says it's pop, rock, indie and tiny bit of dance music. but if that ain't the official definition of great music, you've officially got poor taste in music.

now, i've got 5 tickets for two courtesy of tiketti to the opening party. it's soon and you should polish your dancing shoes, but before that, you need to enter by leaving a comment below.

i guess this is where i come up with a funky little question you need to answer... here goes nada.

in your comment, tell me which shoes you'd wear to dance to your favorite tune. describe the shoes, name the tune, please. (finnish is more than ok if you do not want to write in english.)

and of you feel the need to say you'd dance barefoot to some hippy tune, please leave. 

i will then use the random number generator and pick five lucky winners – if enough of you leave a comment. make sure you leave your email-address in the comment section – unfortunately blogger does not allow hidden email-providing as far as i'm aware. in case do not want to share your email, you can also just send it to me at stellageezer [at] gmail.com with your nick. but do leave a comment, nonetheless.

and yes, you will need to be 22 years of age to participate. and you've got till 11am on friday (finnish time) to participate.

whoah. ok. good luck!

you can like poplife on facebook here.

see ya on friday!

hope in pink.

the imagery of japanese born new yorker fumi nagasaka so completely captures the visual world that i have grown into from my teen years that i sometimes find the photos and videos almost too familiar.

this is not to say that i consider her images alike the reality i live in, but rather that they embody everything i find beautiful and aesthetically pleasing in the world. her romantic colors suggest a softness that surrounds her consideration for awkward beings. beauty is not about symmetry, or when it is, there's a suggestion of frailty and impermanence.

a contributor at dazed, she created a short film with model du jour, andrej pejic, about her experience in japan when the earthquake hit and how people kept expecting good news in the midst of all the pain and suffering. and then the cherry blossom season begun...

 

flip through her website and blog for photos and film.

exquisite.

resourcefulness required.

my habit of picking and building a devotion to daily essentials regardless of their availability in finland has provided friends and family an endless resource for presents and souvenirs from trips abroad.

it was first my habit with mac cosmetics that was eradicated when they opened a counter at stockmann's. now the store i long anticipated opened in kämp: kiehl's.

my habit was formed in 2004, i wrote about it over two years ago (and a few times after that) and there seems to be no end to my fondness of the white label bottles. although cosmetics play a very small part in my life – i am still very low-maintenance, too low at times, i have to admit – i am picky and consistent with my products... as can be seen from the pic of my shower basket below.

thus, it was always easy for friends to pick up a bottle or two from trips in case they were thinking of getting me a bday or xmas present. i also planned my shopping schedule around finding my "chemicals".

to add to the insult of destiny, i switched my daily facial care to malin+goetz in the fall of 2009 when they were recommended by a friend in nyc, and i was recently told that gaudete will be stocking the line very soon.

hence, i am partly happy and somewhat sad to say that these options are gone. the double edged sword here implies that the benefit i personally get from finland hosting a wider variety of goods is a straight deprivation of my close ones abroad.

i guess this means that i will have to start getting creative around holidays again...

mm6 does opening ceremony.

one of my favorite stores in nyc, opening ceremony, has always brought to the forefront the most interesting new designers. many names that i consider household, like pamela love and alexander wang, were lifted to the public forum via the racks of oc. they know what they do, and therefore the store is always such a pleasure to visit.

however, their collaborations keep on adding up and rather than following the usual designer-going-high-street, they seem to do their lines just for the sake of creating a capsule collection that's, yes, limited, but most importantly interesting to their custormers.

obviously, not every collaboration has had me jumping for joy – for example the latest from rodarte felt just infantile when not fussy and deliberate.

but the news from maison margiela had me expecting something good, and i was not disappointed. the clever ideas behind margiela design thinking and the street wearability of oc are combined perfectly. and they created the coolest gif-animation series featuring hannelore knuts to promote it, too.

the boots and leather bag are amazing, and i would not mind the grey v-neck button down or one of the jackets...

the entire line is available online both at the mm6 store (click on the link and you can watch their video, too) and at opening ceremony.

alternative bar.

not for the thirsty kind, this bar is meant for the vinyl aficionado and those who want to preserve their precious cassette tapes and vinyl records.

opening as a part of the city centre library, kirjasto 10, the vinyl bar serves as a platform for beginner dj's (or those willing to learn more) as they offer two quality turntables and a mixer in addition to a selection of records for your listening or practicing pleasure. there's also a recorder to preserve the sound on a cd, in case that's something you're after.

opening tonight, i'm proud to say i have dug from good old my vinyl collection a set of 30 minutes to play in the company of otto talvio, islaja and dj orkidea. the event starts at 7pm and you're very welcome to pop in before 9pm.

pic by mikko rasila

chief cannot let go of the feather toupee and warrior duck gone insane.

it was flow. it was festival. and i was dj'ing prime time on saturday night with stella.

because it was diesel garage and style was expected, we did our best. hence, may i present: the duck hat – my only purchase from a style blogger trip to stockholm.

moreover, since we're ladies and ladies to lady things, we looked our best.

wearing rick owens top and martin margiela mm6 necklace. and a duck.

always.

the time was perfect for partying, from 8 to 10 pm, but lykke li was booked simultaneously. fortunately for us, she suffered from stomach cramps (or so we heard) and cancelled.

the party was off the hook...

this is what i call a pleasant view from the dj booth.

if you were there, i hope you enjoyed it. we did. and will do again. and again. and again.

(did i say again?)

quack.

all photos by mikko rasila.

neighborhood recommendation #20: nibbly chic.

for someone like myself who enjoys great food, but is terrible with arranging their daily schedule to accommodate regular eating – not to even speak about exercise or other hobbies – the variety of nearby restaurants is a crucial part of survival. with my hectic days, the time i can allocate for cooking seems to be evaporating and frequently i notice that an entire day has passed without a single morsel of nourishment passing my lips.

for days when i've had lunch and feel slightly overwhelmed, a tapas bar is a great option for dinner. a small selection of plates provides enough variety and even better if the fare is fresh, organic and local.

ever since restaurant juuri (root) opened i have adored their little "sapas", and their boutique of a grocery store is a destination for tranquil days of cooking bliss. the fact that the restaurant is rather pricey, small and usually full, it unfortunately isn't a place where i'd just pop in for a quick little meal.

a couple of months ago a corner space in the same block just off the design museum was transformed. the basement bar that was first known as bob's which later evolved into the cleverly catchy ob's after ownership change by just scraping the unnecessary b off the windows – how genius is that, huh? – had been hosting local winos for years.

juuri took over and turned the below-street-level space into a cosy wine bar. they named it latva, as in "top of the tree", and serve the sapas familiar from and similar to their original venue.

view from below.

quality organic and biodynamic wines and local brewery products make sure you do not have to stay thirsty. moreover and not meant as critique, the pricing guarantees you enjoy just a couple, carefully selected glasses.

limited edition wines... i heard that this barolo is quite exquisite.

each sapas costs 3,90€ which feels very decent regardless of their minuscule size – the ingredients are local and they're delicious.

our selection.

parsnip chips and spruce shoot gelee.

perch wallenberg and dill sour cream.

perfect for dates or just hanging our when something a little more chic is needed. i already look forward to winter, a glass of beautiful red wine, cheese and conversations with friends.

after the rain.

during the last weekend of my holiday, a hot and humid summer storm passed right above us booming and pouring down water.

afterwards it was calm and green under the ivy-covered terrace.

i armed myself against the tropical weather with a silk dress and sandals. simple, flowing and airy.

silk dress by cos, necklace by martin margiela mm6.

sandals by carin wester, dirty toes my own.

turku modern had me dancing through the entire weekend.