Weekly Grocery Shopping #4

I haven't done one of these posts in ages, I really liked doing them but we have been slacking in buying groceries only once a week! I as well want to see what we are buying, I find it quite interesting and I noticed by looking back at the other posts that our milk has gone up in price, not a lot (and that is why I didn't notice before). I noticed as well that we buy a lot of limes. 

Fruits & Vegetables
Avocados (2x)	3.40
Broccoli	1.60
Chives	0.90
Cucumber	1.40
Limes (3x)	2.10
Onions	1.15
Sweet corn	0.90
Tomatoes (on sale)	2.65
	14.10
Dairy
Butter (on sale)	2.95
Cream Cheese (2x)	4.30
Crème fraîche	2.65
Milk (2x)	3.50
Sliced cheese (2x)	4.40
	17.80
Baked Goods
Le Croquant	3.70
Pain Genevois	2.30
Soft mini Tortillas (2x)	7.40
XL Toast Vitality	3.40
	16.80
Other
Agnesi Olive	3.60
Balsamic vinegar	4.50
Basmati rice	5.90
Chicken cold cut (2x, on sale)	7.80
Chicken Mix	1.30
Condensed milk	3.65
Cup-a-soup Minestrone	2.50
Cup-a-soup vegetables	2.30
Farmer Croc Pecan	4.70
Farmer Flakes Chocolate	5.40
Filets de maquereaux	2.70
Heinz ketchup	1.65
Raw cane sugar	2.30
Refried beans	3.60
Shredded coconut (on sale)	0.80
	52.70
Total	101.40

All in all it was 101.40 Chf ($113,40/£66,50), it should last all week since we have quite a lot of stable items that we need to finish.

Sadly one of the avocado was molded on the inside and the other one super unripe. I hate buying avocados here because of this, they go from unripe to moldy in less than a day. It happens every single time we buy avocado and I try never to buy them because of this but sometimes I just really want an avocado!

What is always on your shopping list?

Bisous

Outfit of the Day #10: Deleting Facebook.

A while ago I decided it was time for me to delete Facebook. There wasn't really one thing that drove me to it, but it was a concoction of multiple things and thoughts that just in the end got to me.

Bag - Satchel Bag With Zip Flap (in Orange) - ASOS / Skirt - ASOS Skater Skirt in Darling Bud Print  / Tanktop - H&M (old) /Tights - H&M (old) Wrap Cardigan - Kookai (old) / Shoes - Reebook (old)

I have to say that I don't miss Facebook at all, I feel invigorated and more creative and at ease. It wasn't that my Facebook feed was filled with negative things it was more that my Facebook was somehow filled with false connection and that false connection was something I hated. 

If someone liked my status didn't mean that they had communicated with me, and the same went with me. I somehow forwent all real communication and connection and chose instead of reading status updates and liking with occasional comment. It just didn't feel right.

I can't deny that since I quit there has been even more lack of communication, mostly because I did use the chat function on Facebook a lot, I am however still in contact with a lot of my friends and family. I as well made sure that by deleting Facebook I wouldn't block and be blocked from messaging my friends, now I just use Skype for it, and I like it more.

I don't feel like I am missing out, most of the people I had as Facebook friends weren't even in the same country as me! Why did I need to be able to watch their life? The truth was I didn't need to watch anybodies lives except for mine, I was getting to focused with other people instead of focusing on what I wanted and what I was going to do.

Have you ever thought about deleting Facebook?

Bisous

26 Things Before my 26th Birthday: Update 14-26

This is the second part of the 26 Things Before my 26th Birthday list! You can read part one here.

14. Do a 30 day photo challenge
I haven't started this one since I am planning on doing it in September.

15. Photograph my outfit 52 times
I have posted three outfit of the day posts! That is as many as I posted ALL last year and I will have one up tomorrow! So this one might actually be accomplished!

16. Write 10 monthly goals post
Half way done with this one, I have written 5 monthly goal posts!

17. Reach 100 000 hits on my blog
This is a work in progress, but I am getting closer!

18. Get to a healthy BMI
Hasn't happened yet but I am working on this!

19. Write a food journal for 100 days
I decided to start taking pictures of the food I ate and did that for a week, I want to post it but I just need to write the post and edit the pictures, so at the moment I am on 7/100!

20.Write in a journal for 100 days
I have written 4 times in my journal, there are still 196 days left of this year so I am still in green!

21. Wake up at 5 am for 30 days in a row
Noooooooo...

22. Have 10 photograph posts about places I have visited.
I haven't done any. So that is a big fat zero. I have couple of places in mind, I just need to get going!

23. Be more of a minimalist
This is something I am doing and I am really happy about, I feel better with every item I don't have any more.

24. Grow out the dye in my hair (as much as possible in a year)
Still going strong in not dyeing my hair, and it helped a lot cutting it short.

25. Finish writing a children's book
This is something I am working on, I am about half way through with the text and the illustrations are still in the design stage.

26. Do 10 weekly vlogs.
I have done 2 weekly vlogs (can see them here)

Book Review: The Apprentice by Tess Gerritsen

The Apprentice is the second book in the Rizzoli and Isles series and if you have watched the Rizzoli and Isles tv-show reading The Apprentice is just like watching the pilot of the tv-show. At certain times when I was reading the book I wasn't sure if I had read the book before or not because of the similarities between the book and the tv-show.

The first book The Surgeon (reviewed here) does not include Dr. Maura Isles but she is introduced in The Apprentice. 

I am not the only one of my kind who walks this earth. Somewhere, there is another. And he waits for me… The Surgeon has been locked up for a year but his chilling legacy still haunts the city, and especially Boston detective Jane Rizzoli. But now a new killer is at work and Rizzoli senses something horrifyingly familiar about him.

Then the FBI starts taking an interest in the investigation and Rizzoli begins to wonder just what makes this case so different and so dangerous?

But then the unthinkable happens: the Surgeon escapes. And suddenly there are two twisted killers on the loose – master and apprentice… 

While I was reading the book I wasn't really sure if I liked it or not, and even now I am still not sure. I think it was because how similar it was to the Pilot of Rizzoli and Isles that I somehow didn't get to enjoy the book as much as I probably would have if I hadn't known the plot.

There are several new important characters introduced in The Apprentice, as I mentioned previously Dr. Maura Isles is introduced as well as the FBI agent Gabriel Dean. 

The book is set up as Tess Gerritsen usually sets up her books, there main story is written in third person and then there are couple of chapters written in first person that are from some outsiders part of the story.

And of course some quotes, I love quotes to see how the book is written. 

"Today I watched a man die." 

"The blood pours from his chest like holy water from a sacred spring. I press my palm to the wound, bathing my skin in that liquid warmth, and blood coats my hand like a scarlet glove."

"But this is not his work. Warren Hoyt is safely locked away in a place he can’t escape. I know, because I put the bastard there myself."

"Rizzoli brought home a pizza from the deli around the corner and excavated an ancient head of lettuce from the bottom of her refrigerator vegetable bin. She peeled off brown leaves until she reached the barely edible core. It was a pale and unappetizing salad, which she ate out of duty and not for pleasure."

"Happy people are self-contained; they breathe different air and are subject to different laws of gravity."

"The question, asked so softly, made her fall silent. She resented his probing. Resented, most of all, that he’d recognized a truth she could not admit. Warren Hoyt had left scars. All she had to do was look down at her hands to be reminded of the damage he’d inflicted. But the worst damage was not physical. What she had lost, in that dark basement last summer, was her sense of invincibility. Her sense of confidence. Warren Hoyt had taught her how vulnerable she really was."

"‘It’s just like last summer,’ murmured Marquette, still staring at the trees. ‘The Surgeon started killing around this time, too.’ ‘It’s the heat,’ said Rizzoli as she reached for her cell phone. ‘It brings the monsters out.’"

Even if I am not sure if I love this book or not I still would recommend it, mostly because the Rizzoli and Isles book series is great and this book is important for the flow of the rest of the series.

Bisous

Outfit of the Day #9: Haircut

So I finally got my hair cut! I have been wanting to cut it short for ages now. AGES! But as usually, I postponed it and postponed it until it was in dire need of being cut. I've had shorter hair than this before so for me cutting my hair wasn't a huge deal, I just haven't had the time to do it until now.

Bag - Satchel Bag With Zip Flap (in Orange) - ASOS / Dress - Kookai (old) / Shoes - Reebook (old)

There are couple of reasons why I wanted to cut my hair short, since I am not planning on dyeing my hair this year (see: 26 Things Before my 26th Birthday) I felt like it was a great time to cut out as much of the old dyed hair. I have as well for the past year (and probably even longer) been horribly bored of my hair, my hair is very hard to handle and it takes ages for me to dry it and style it, and it doesn't help how windy Geneva is! I step outside with gorgeous hair and two minutes later someone is touching it or the wind has blown it in the sky. So for the past year I have pretty much worn side braids and buns. So I am hoping for my hair to be more manageable at this length.

You can still see a lot of the hair dye in my hair but it feels more manageable to grow it out when I cut off so much of it. And I feel quite liberated for cutting my hair, frequently people are shocked when I told them I was cutting my hair. There is some stigmatization for cutting long hair shorter. But it just isn't an issue with me, if you want to cut your hair cut it, it grows back most of the time.

Maybe I should write as well how the hairdresser was since I find it hard to choose a hairdresser in Geneva. I went to is called Rhizone and is over at Rue de Monthoux 23, it is super convenient since they are right by the Monthoux bus stop (bus 25 and 1) direction Jardin Botanique.

First I need to mention the fact that their hair washing station has massage chairs! MASSAGE CHAIRS! It was a bliss! They as well use kms California products which are cruelty free! The guy that cut my hair was great as well, he understood what I wanted with my hair and made it better then I thought it would turn out. He didn't chit chat, which is something I prefer since it gives me time to think instead of having to think about what to say and he didn't try to sell me stuff I didn't need. Definitely a perfect hair cutting experience.

Bisous

Wellness and Weight Loss Wednesday

I haven't written one of these posts in AGES, I haven't been feeling very motivated. I need to start weighing myself again and actually start to work out. As you can see on the picture I have maxed out my 10 000 steps stars so if I don't start working out and drinking water I will never finish this chart!

At the moment I have 43 stars, and I had planned on having 65 stars by the end of the month.

I decided to get a haircut before I reached 70 stars since I really wanted to cut my hair and I felt it might kick me back into gear.

Bisous

26 Things Before my 26th Birthday: Update 1-13

I wanted to write an update for my 26 Things Before my 26th Birthday list but at the same time not much was happening with my list since it is more of an ongoing project. I decided to split it into two parts since it might be too long for one post! 

1.Only buy Kindle books (University books excluded) 
This one is working very well, I even bought some of my Uni books in the kindle format and I really liked reading them on my laptop so I might even try to buy more of my Uni books on kindle next semester.

2. Only buy Cruelty Free products 
I am doing very well with this one, I haven't bought any products that aren't cruelty free!

3. Finish a full year of University (60ects) 
I could almost check this one as being done, however, I sadly failed one of my final exams so I only have 55 ects credits at the moment! I have to see when I can retake the final exam but that might be in January.

4. Have 500 posts on my blog
I think this post is number 288 so I am slowly getting there.

5. Read 12 books and review them 
I have read six books and reviewed one! I am writing the other reviews and I am pretty sure I will accomplish this goal!

6. Re-style the blog
Hasn't happened at all, it might happen when I move to Iceland.

7.Advertise on 12 different blogs
I need to look into what blogs I want to advertise on and all that jazz.

8. Have 12 sales in my store
Nope, has not happened, it isn't even open.

9. Have 50 YouTube videos
I am doing great with this one, at the moment I have 29 videos. I am trying to upload twice a week and I might try to upload three times a week. I just really like making videos.

10. Post 12 recipes
I haven't started this one and I am not really sure if I will manage since I will be moving and all that hassle this year.

11. Do a spending ban challenge
This one was an easy one! I was on a spending ban for the first couple of month of the year and I am on a spending ban this summer until I move!

12. Finish my novel
I have a story about this one! I wanted to get the file from my old laptop, I turned the laptop on, deleted the file and then I emptied the recycle bin. Not a great moment for me. I had however send me the file but it wasn't with the most recent changes.

13. Do a project 26 pan (without choosing items)
This is going on at the moment, and I have finished 6 items, I am pretty sure I can finish the rest in the next 6/7 months.

Bisous

My Monthly Goals: May Recap and June Goals

I haven't been blogging as much as I would have liked in May, every day I log into blogger and open a draft and just stare at it for couple of minutes.. I somehow managed to get tangled in a horrible writers block. Even writing this post took hours! HOURS! And my sentences are just all different kind of wrong.

May Goals: 
1. Start reading novels again. 
This was an easy one for me, and I think in May I actually read (I think) 5 books!
2. Start with Weekly Make-Up Basket 
Check, I have even posted 4 videos about this (right here)
3. Start Project 26 Pan 
Yes, and I have actually finished couple of makeup products this month!
4. Have 50 stars on my Wellness and Weight Loss chart.
At the moment I have 41 stars! Almost reached this goal!
5. Start blogging more regularly again. 
This one is both accomplished and not really accomplished. I did blog more in May than in April, so I feel that I accomplished this goal!
6. Spring Clean the apartment. 
Accomplished :)
7. Reorganize my personal planner 
This one is still in process but I feel quite good about my personal planner at the moment.
8. Get a hair cut
Sadly this didn't happen, I think I have chosen a hairdresser to cut my hair but I know it is going to be super expensive so I am not sure what to do.
9. Start practising Arabic again.
Nope, I really want to start again and I don't know why I haven't.
10. Sew one item
Yes! I finally took out my sewing machine and made reusable cotton rounds.

June Goals: 
1. Get to a great sleeping schedule
2. Work out for 120 minutes
3. Write 4 book reviews
4. Have 65 stars on my Wellness and Weight Loss chart
5. Finish reading the Rizzoli and Isles book series
6. Write down everything I spend/earn
7. Reach 300 blog posts
8. Reach 30 YouTube videos
9. Have a great morning work out routine
10. Paint a chest of drawers

Bisous!