Unelmatalo myynnissä / Dream house for sale

Tämä myynnissä oleva, vuonna 2009 rakennettu puutalokoti hurmaa. Harmaa on yksi ehdoton suosikkivärini sisustuksessa ja tässä talossa sen eri sävyjä on käytetty yhdistettynä puhtaan valkoiseen ja tummaan puuhun. Talo huokuu rauhallista tunnelmaa ja kodikasta tyylikkyyttä. Tässä talossa on tilan ja avaruuden tuntua.

- Miss Mo

I was checking houses when my eye caught this beautiful wooden house located in Vantaa being sold via Arvoassunot. I love wooden houses (see my Kannustalo post here) but sometimes I think the interior doesn't match the exterior. However, with this house I love both the interior and exterior.

The thing I like most about the house is how wonderfully the rooms flow into each other. The kitchen is connected to the dining/living room which in turn leads to an office space and the hallway. The hallway leads to the utility room, bathroom and sauna area. It really has a wonderful yet practical flow to it.

I also love the use of colours in the interior. Lots of white, black, dark and light wood, leather and natural colours have been used. The mix has a modern yet cosy feel. The house also has some quirky details such as the basin in the downstairs toilet. It has a good sized utility room and the sauna easily fits a family.

One of my favourite things about the house has to be the gorgeous hallway. I am such a sucker for white combined with dark wood and they have gotten the balance just right in the hallway. 

The hallway leads to the second floor. The hallway of the second floor is cleverly being used as an extra room with a sofa and piano. Perfect for relaxing. The second floor also contains three very spacious bedrooms one of which is being occupied by a Twilight fan and another is being used as a gym. Furthermore, you will find a second bathroom and a spacious walk-in closet (every girl's dream) off the master bedroom.

Last but certainly not least, there is a wonderfully spacious porch on which I can see myself relaxing for hours. Imagine having barbecues with friends or family, enjoying eating outdoors and chatting away for hours.

If I had the money I would buy it right away. If you have the money and are looking for a wonderful, spacious family home in a nice area close to Helsinki, then why not go have a look on Wednesday 17:30 - 18:15 as there will be an open house.

- Miss My

For more details:

Etuovi: http://kuluttaja.etuovi.com/kohde/7528932

Oikotie: http://asunnot.oikotie.fi/myytavat-asunnot/7864571
Arvoasunnot: http://www.arvoasunnot.fi/ostamassa/?kohde=7528932

My love for all things Pentik

When Miss Mo and I met in Ireland we immediately found out we had one thing in common. Our love for Pentik. According to their website "Pentik is an international interior design retailer, with over 70 stores in Finland, Sweden, Norway and Switzerland. The stores reflect our holistic interior design philosophy that emphasises quality and attention to detail." To me Pentik means lots and lots of beautifully wrapped gifts to my loved ones and myself. Whenever I buy a Pentik item for myself I have them giftwrap it as just looking at the package gives me a warm and fuzzy feeling. When my sisters visited me from Holland they spent hundreds of euros on Pentik items as they saw so many beautiful things and their greed got the best of them. They bought so much they probably ended up paying extra for excess baggage. But it's really worth it as their items are real classics.

There is so much to love at Pentik. But here are some examples. Please note that all pictures have been taken from www.pentik.com.

How to Ikea

I have been to Ikea many times. With my daughter. Especially after another mom told me you can drop your child off at the play place for 1 hour. 1 HOUR! For free! It doesn't cost you anything and you can shop in peace for 1 hour. Of course it's just a marketing ploy as it allows bored, stay-at-home moms to buy stuff they really don't need within 1 hour. It takes 1 hour to go through the whole place so moms probably end up chucking really useless things into their shopping cart as they have no time to reconsider. At home you realise you don't want to go back to Ikea with your child so you end up not returning the aforementioned useless things.

Today I went with my daughter and her father, L. L has rarely been to Ikea (too many things and too many people) and when we were walking towards the entrance he was unsure of which shopping cart to take as there were a number of different ones on offer. Tip: you always take the one which fits your child. Inside I was already walking towards the elevator when L asked me, a bit bewildered, where the elevator was. When arriving at the play place I told L to take off our daughter's jacket and shoes while giving him a box to put the things in. I then went to fill out the required questionnaire. Our daughter was already washing her hands (she knows the drill) and had placed her hand on the counter so that the child minder could put a stamp on her hand. I got a stamp with the corresponding number, said bye to our daughter and was ready to do some shopping. I was heading towards the elevator when L asked puzzled "You don't have to stay with her?". Today was a busy day (Saturday) so instead of 1 hour our child was allowed to enjoy the play place for 45 minutes. L was so bewildered by the whole process that when leaving to do some shopping he said he saw our daughter in the ball sea. It was not our daughter. The girl he referred to was wearing completely different clothes and had way more hair.

We came to buy a storage box for our daughter's toys and we managed to find a good (=cheap) one within 5 minutes. So, we made a big mistake by going through the whole place and checking the goods on offer. I was tempted a few times but luckily I only managed to add a measuring jug (99 cents) to the storage box.

We decided we were ready (= 45 minutes had passed) and went to pick up our daughter. Whenever I go there with another mom we end up eating at Ikea as the food is so cheap and the children's' menu only costs 2 Euros and includes ice cream. At the restaurant the queues were long and we decided to just get some hot dogs and ice cream from the stand behind the check out. Big mistake. Isabella was unpleasantly surprised when we told her we wouldn't eat at the restaurant but was quickly consoled when we told her she would get ice cream. Little people can be so easily pleased. She got her ice cream, a hot dog and a cookie I took from a tasting platter. Cookie was good. Hot dog was too. We had the storage box, Isabella had her ice cream and we were ready to go home. Now L knows how to Ikea.

Nice but for people without children.

Miss My

Hello, this is My. My being a 34-year-old mother living in Helsinki. How I ended up in Helsinki is a long story. I guess it would make sense to start from the beginning.

I'm Chinese but I was born in Vietnam. If you know anything about the history of Vietnam you know about the war which ended in 1975. Vietnam was recovering from the war but burdened by communism. When I was a baby my parents decided they wanted a better future for their children so like many others they tried to flee Vietnam. Their first attempt was unsuccessful and as a punishment my mum and dad spent some time in jail. My older brother, sister and I were in jail with my mum. So, that means I was a jailbird before age 1. Their second attempt to flee Vietnam was successful. We were some of many Vietnamese boat refugees. We ended up in a UN refugee camp. My mum told me that while in the camp I almost died of diarrhoea. It's not the best way to die, is it? But as you might have guessed, I made it.

We then ended up in a refugee camp in the Netherlands. My younger sister was born there. After a while we were provided housing in a very small village in the northern part of the Netherlands. The part where they speak Frisian. Like my life wasn't complicated enough I had to learn Frisian and Dutch while my parents were speaking a Chinese dialect at home. My parents decided we didn't speak enough languages so my siblings and I had Cantonese lessons on Sundays.

Slowly but surely we got settled. Back then refugees weren't the outcasts they are now so we got a lot of help and support from the locals. My dad got a job and I went to school, learned Frisian and Dutch and made friends. Life was very good back then. I have many happy memories from that time. Such as my father coming home from work by bike. We could always hear it when he came home because his bike's breaks sounded like a big fart.

There were also unhappy memories. I remember my father being sick a lot back then. The doctor visited our house a lot. I guess the doctor became a family friend as I remember a play date with his daughter. I think the culprit of my father's poor health was his welding job at a shipyard. So, when my parents had the chance to purchase a Chinese restaurant they took it. The Chinese restaurant was in a slightly bigger village so the change in scenery wasn't that big for me. I was 9 at the time and assumed that my life would be pretty much the same as before. It wasn't. My parents spent a lot of time working at the restaurant and that was quite hard on my younger sister and I. At that time I started craving a normal family life like my Dutch friends had. Normal being: a house, a father who works, a mother at home with the kids and possibly a dog. I really wanted a dog. It all resulted in an identity crisis.

Fast forward to September 2001. The time I started law school. I was very proud of getting into law school. However, I knew my law study was doomed when we got an internet connection. Someone introduced me to a chat program and that was it. I was very excited to have the chance to talk to people from different countries from the comfort of my desk chair. Imagine! I found out I liked talking to Finnish people more than my law study. So, after struggling in law school for 3 years I decided to put my study on hold (I don't think it will ever be 'off hold') to work as an au-pair for a year. My destination? Finland.

In Finland I met a guy (why does that always happen?) and we started dating. After my au-pair stint I had difficulties finding a job in Finland so the guy and I ended up in Ireland. As you do. In Ireland I worked at a company where at some point I befriended a Finnish girl. She was the only Finnish person working at that company (with at the time hundreds of employees) so naturally we instantly bonded and I had her at "moi". We spent many a lunch hour making jokes (and fun of others) in Finnish.

After three and a half years in Ireland my guy and I moved to Finland. We now live in Helsinki with our 4-year-old daughter. For a long time I was struggling with my identity and didn't feel like I belonged anywhere. Now, for the first time in my life I feel like I'm at home. The main reason why I feel at home in Finland is because my sense of humour is very Finnish. Some Finns have even told me I am more Finnish than they are.

I have many interests and like to write about whatever pops up in my head. I could write about food, fashion, celebrities, interior, books, art, restaurants, Ryan Gosling, parenting and what life as a foreigner in Finland is like. You name it, I'll write it. Your input and comments are very much appreciated. Also very much appreciated is the friendship of my blog-buddy, a.k.a. my blog-partner-in-crime: Miss Mo. Together we have shared many a sweet moment and together we will write about the sweet things in life. I hope reading our stories will make you feel like you are sharing our friendship and make you feel, in today's individual society, a little less alone. I also hope that reading our stories will make you remember the sweet things in YOUR life!