Friday Finds; Free Spring Art Prints

Over the years I've lived on my own, I have discovered that it doesn't take that much time, money and efford to do a wee bit of changes on the home decor front. One of the things that I sometimes do is to take advantage of free printables online that I print out and frame. If you happen to live close to an IKEA, I could recommend the FISKBO frames in A4-size that costs around NOK 25 (or around $ 3). Btw, IKEA has a lot of fun stuff in general and that store has rescued me more than once when I've needed something for my flat.

Stock photo from Pexels

What I wanted to share with you in this Friday Finds post is a few free spring art prints. Some of the links are round ups of spring art printables, while others have just one printable. So feel free to check out the links and see if you might find something you can hang up on the wall in order to decorate a bit for spring.

PRETTY FREE SPRING PRINTABLES: SPRING ART FOR YOUR HOME!

10 Spring Art Printables

PETER RABBIT PRINT & SPRING BLOG HOP

Free Watercolor Art Printable – Field of Flowers

10 of my FAVORITE Free Easter Printables!

Spring Printable

Do you know of any other places to find pretty spring art printables? Feel free to share below.

Menu Plan Monday Week 13

It's a new Monday, which means a new Menu Plan Monday post, thanks to Laura at I'm an Organizing Junkie. This week I'm having some relatively easy dinners, as I'm in the middle of writing my BA thesis about Bram Stoker's Dracula. Whether one study or work, we all need food in order to function properly.

Stock photo from Pexels

Here is my menu plan for this week.

Monday; Leftovers from Sunday

Tuesday; Chicken Tikka Masala

Wednesday; Leftovers from Tuesday

Thursday; Norwegian Pancakes

Friday; Gently Breaded Cod

Saturday; Norwegian Pancakes

Sunday; Fish & Chips

Friday Finds; Patent Leather

(Contains ads/affiliate links)

City Slickers; Patent Leather by gothicvamperstein featuring destructed jeans

Miss Selfridge stripe shirt, 52 NOK / Motorcycle jacket, 1.915 NOK / Destructed jeans, 125 NOK / Knee high heel boots, 415 NOK / Clasp purse, 310 NOK / Evening jewelry, 760 NOK / White Warren triangle shawl, 1.380 NOK / Lack of Color wool fedora, 1.495 NOK / STELLA McCARTNEY sunglasses, 1.760 NOK

Menu Plan Monday Week 12

New Monday and time for a new Menu Plan Monday post, thanks to Laura at I'm An Organizing Junkie. Earlier today I found out I was one of the 10 lucky winners of a giveaway hosted by SocialCooking.no who would recieve a ticket to a cooking class of our own choice, which means that in late April, I'll be attending a class on Malaysian street food.

Stock photo from Pexels

Anyway, here is my menu plan for this week.
Monday; Leftovers
Tuesday; Vegetarian burgers
Wednesday; Fish and chips
Thursday; Pasta with Cheese Sauce
Friday; Fish and chips
Saturday; Pasta with Cheese Sauce
Sunday; Seekh Kebabs

Weekly Happiness Week 11

New Sunday and time for a new Weekly Happiness post. Here is some of the things that put a smile on my face this week.

Printing out this typography art print and framing it

Recieving some organic garden seeds in the mail

Meeting this little girl

Weekend Cooking; Easy and Slightly Spicy Hot Chocolate

For me, one of the simple pleasures in life is a cup of hot chocolate. It is also something that is really easy to make and it doesn't require a bucketload of ingredients. So today, I wanted to share with you the recipe I tend to use when I'm making hot chocolate from scratch.

Hot Chocolate

1 liter milk

100 grams dark chocolate, in small pieces

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon vanilla sugar

1/4 chili powder

1 tablespoon honey

Put all ingredients in a saucepan and bring it slowly to a boil. Stir all the time, so the melting chocolate blend in well with the milk. When it boils, take it off the stove and ladle into big mugs. This recipe is for around three or four mugs/cups, depending on how big the mugs are.

Feel free to add marshmallows or whipped cream, if that is for your liking.

Friday Finds; Planters

(Contains affiliate links/ads)

Grow a Little; Planters by gothicvamperstein featuring a wood planter

Garden decor, 1.355 NOK / Tiered planter, 1.185 NOK / Ceramic flower pot, 205 NOK / Succulent planter, 415 NOK / Flower centerpiece, 670 NOK / Wood planter box, 905 NOK / Wood planter, 44 NOK / Modern planter, 350 NOK

Everyday Creative Activities and Well-Being

I am one of those long-time knitters who almost get a bit cranky if I don't get the chance to be creative one day, either it is by knitting, baking or cooking. Recently, it seems like researchers at University of Otago in New Zealand has discovered a link between everyday creative activities like knitting and baking, with well-being.

Stock photo from Pexels

During a recent study, the researchers found out that engaging in creative activities like cooking, baking, knitting, art etc lead to an increased well-being the next day. I would guess it is no surprise to those who us who love doing such activities, but when science backs it, we basically get an additional "legit" excuse to do it. At least I can verify it is something relaxing with the repetitive motions of knitting or baking, so I don't feel the need to meditate, as I've got my own version of it.

Even though meditation, working out and the "look good, feel good" might work for some, it might not work for everyone. What I wish is that more psychologists and therapy-centers would explore the option of either culinary therapy, craft therapy or a combination of both.

Have you ever thought about how creative outlets affect you? Do you have a special story about it?

If you want to read a bit more, feel free to check out The Science Behind Why Cooking and Baking Help You Feel Better, Creative Activities Like Baking and Knitting Boost Mental Well-Being and Knitting, baking and painting improve well-being and mental health, study finds. 

Menu Plan Monday Week 11

It's a new Monday, which means it's time for a new Menu Plan Monday post, thanks to Laura at I'm an Organizing Junkie. I technically had written a menu plan for last week, but life happened and I unfortunately forgot to write a blog post.

Stock photo from Pexels

Here is my menu plan for this week.
Monday; Norwegian Rice Porridge
Tuesday; Fish and chips
Wednesday; Tortelloni
Thursday; Fish and chips
Friday; Spaghetti Bolognese
Saturday; Leftovers from Friday
Sunday; Chicken Tikka Masala

Do you have a weekly menu plan, and if so, what's for dinner this week? Feel free to comment below.

Weekly Happiness Week 10

I've forgotten to write the weekly happiness posts in the last couple of weeks due to stress at university, but it doesn't mean that I haven't had anything to be happy about lately.

Some of these things include;

Purchasing some books at the big annual book sale in Norway called "Mammutsalget"

Purchasing a heart shaped lantern that I've had on my mental wishlist since December AND managing to save 280 NOK due to a customer-club deal

Friday Finds; Teddy Bear Coat Outfit

(Contains ads/affiliate links)

Snuggle Up; Teddy Bear Coats by gothicvamperstein featuring flared dresses

Emporio Armani flared dress, 5.510 NOK / Platform boots, 195 NOK / Ann Taylor clutch, 420 NOK / Witchery pearl jewelry, 255 NOK / Bib necklace, 280 NOK

Making a Home; Spring Cleaning

(This post contains ads/affiliate links.)

It's spring and some of us might start to think a bit about spring cleaning. I can admit that even though I enjoy having a clean and tidy apartment, there is no kid in a candy store level of joy when it comes to the tidy up and cleaning process. My attitude is that there is a difference in enjoying the process and enjoying the result (though after the labour of doing the cleaning, the contentment is of course bigger).

I've already written a post about decluttering earlier and since I'm by no means a spring cleaning-expert, I wanted to share a couple of links that could potentially be helpful.

Here they come:
20 Things to Purge
The Ultimate Spring Cleaning Checklist {FREE Printable!}
National Spring Clean Week
Spring Cleaning Your Apartment, It’s Time
Simplified Spring Cleaning
Spring Clean While Helping Others: Donating Your Yarn

Spring Cleaning by gothicvamperstein featuring a blue crock

Blue crock, 92 NOK / Hedgehog Wooden Table Brush, 99 NOK / Coir Fibre Wooden Sweeping Brush, 52 NOK / Better Houseware Flip-Up Dish Rack, 75 NOK / Water Hyacinth Laundry Hampers (Set Of 2), 615 NOK / Lavender Laundry Set, 250 NOK / Pottery Barn Galvanized Laundry Drying Rack, 660 NOK / Small Beechwood Toilet Brush, 52 NOK / T-Fal Neutral 4 Pack Waffle Weave Dish Cloths, 50 NOK / STOUT Insect Repellent Trash Bag, 410 NOK / Black & Decker 4316 AirSwivel Upright Vacuum Cleaner, 750 NOK / Copper Cleaner Cloths, 52 NOK / Vigar Margot Dish Brush, 52 NOK

Friday Finds; Embellished Sleeves

(Contains ads/affiliate links)

Embellished Sleeves by gothicvamperstein featuring a v neck t shirt dress

WearAll v neck t shirt dress, 140 NOK / Bagatelle patch jacket, 4.795 NOK / Bandage pants, 48 NOK / Dr. Martens vegan leather boots, 1.165 NOK / Brown drawstring bag, 215 NOK / CLUSE bohemian jewellery, 825 NOK / Wilsons Leather tartan shawl, 125 NOK / Topshop wide brim fedora hat, 415 NOK / Sunglasses, 290 NOK / Shiny lip gloss, 23 NOK / Bodhi beauty product, 335 NOK

A Little Help Goes a Long Way

For the last five years I've aided over 40 people around the glode with micro-loans through Kiva.org. I will probably never meet any of the people I've helped, but for me, knowing that I've made life a bit easier for someone else, is a still a good feeling.

In our "bubble" of wealth and privilege, sometimes it is easy to forget that not everyone has the same opportunity and I do believe that options like Kiva can give an impact, even if it is just small scale.

If everyone could do just a little bit in order to change the world for the better, just imagine how great the world could be.