Thursday 8 November 2012

Sweaters Everywhere!

So, I'm not going to lie. I have no idea where I'm going with this post. I guess you could say that I woke up this morning and just had a dying urge to talk about sweaters (lol, that sounds even more ridiculous written down, as it did in my head)... So... yeah! Enjoy... (Okay, I'm being ridiculously awkward today).

Some of my favourite sweaters!
There is just something so versatile about the sweater. It can be worn with skirts, or trousers, or shorts. It can be worn with leggings; and if it is long enough, it can even be worn as a dress.There really aren't that many clothing items that can be paired with absolutely anything and still look really good. They also keep you warm! This, frankly just adds to their versatility and if you live in a country like England, where we spend three quarters of the year in 'below-10 degrees celsius' temperatures, it is sort of an important factor when choosing clothes.

Next, there's also the comfort factor. During the autumnal months, there is nothing more cozy than wearing an oversized sweater with leggings and boots. And while that particular outfit might not always look like it took a lot of time and effort and is really well put together, it will still look cute, and you'll be extremely comfortable!

So, you might have realised that I have somewhat of an unhealthy obsession over sweaters, lately; and I'm not going to lie, I've literally felt the need to buy a new sweater, every time i've seen one I liked, so basically every week. Yeah, I know. Not good. Well, I blame pop culture. With pictures all over tumbler of girl wearing sweaters and looking amazing, and makeup gurus on youtube, who are my age, talking about their look for sweaters in silly youtube tags that I sometimes watch, (e.g. the I love Fall tag) can you really blame me? I always like to believe that I don't let other people's opinions influence my own because I strongly believe in being an individual with your own thoughts and beliefs. However, the reality is that other people's opinions influence my own decisions all the time- and unless you live under a rock, it's quite frankly impossible not to be influenced by pop culture; because the whole point of it is that it is what is popular in our current culture.  Well, at least that is how it seems at my current age. Maybe when I'm older, I'll be able to let go of following trends, even if I do it subconsciously, most of the time, and become my own unique person.

 Well, there's my rant of the day done. I knew it was a good idea to talk about sweaters! As you can see, somewhere along the line, I stopped talking about sweaters and started talking about my views on pop culture and how it leads people to sometimes make decisions that they wouldn't have made in other circumstances. That's right guys. I'm not just talking about buying a lot of sweaters, which you don't necessarily need. I'm talking about how young people will drink and smoke, or take drugs, due to what they hear in songs or what they see in movies.

Okay, maybe that's a little harsh ;)
For example, A lot of young people seem to think that if they're at a party, they have to drink, especially if everyone else is drinking, and this stems from young people seeing what is supposedly cool in movies and television, and feeling the need to do the same. Now, I'm not going to lie, in the past  I have been peer pressured into drinking at a party, while I didn't really want to. And while teachers and parents might sometimes over-exaggerate how awful peer pressure is,it can lead people to do stupid things. Now, I would never let anyone push me to do anything more than drink one glass of alcohol at a party, where I then feel that I have satisfied their need to force me to drink. However, I'm only 15. Should I even be drinking at parties? That was a rhetorical question, but the answer is... Probably not. I frankly think that controlling issues like these, would be a lot easier if people stopped making it seem like the cool thing to do within pop culture.

Kajsa x

Sunday 4 November 2012

Obsessively Compulsively Musically Obsessed

Well, it's the beginning of the month, and you all know what that means. It's 'Songs of the Month' time (cue fireworks and explosions)! I really want to come up with a more interesting name for these. Hmm...maybe i could call them... Nope, I have no idea. Well, feel free to leave any suggestions.

I'm not going to lie, this post is going to be heavily populated by Taylor Swift songs. I know I know, i'm sorry. A lot of you Taylor Swift fans will know that her new album came out a couple of weeks ago and basically I'm obsessed with it. Don't worry though. I won't go over having three of her songs in this post...

10. Madness- Muse

9. Stupid Hoe- Nicki Minaj

8. Beneath Your Beautiful- Labyrinth ft. Emeli Sande

7. It's Time- Imagine Dragons (I also love the Glee version, but the original has to win here.)

6. Red- Taylor Swift

5. The Kids from Yesterday- My Chemical Romance

4. I Knew You Were Trouble- Taylor Swift

3. Skyfall- Adele

2. Six Degrees of Separation- The Script

1. 22- Taylor Swift

There have been a lot of really great songs this month, and it has been really difficult to choose just ten songs, but at the end of the day, I had to choose the songs that got stuck in my head the most. Hmm... I think I've just come up with a new title.

Kajsa x

Wednesday 31 October 2012

It's Johnny!

Hi everybody! (I'm not the only one who immediately thinks, "Hi, Doctor Nick!" when they hear that phrase, right?)

So anyway, it's Halloween today and I've just come back from taking my little brother trick or treating. It was the most awful experience ever because, typical English weather, it's torrentially raining continuously, right now. That's right guys. I walked around for two hours in the pouring rain... Except the rain isn't even pouring. It's like, Monsoon season in one night! So, as I'm sure you can imagine, I'm fairly soaked right now...

Anyhow, tonight I guess I just felt the need to do a Halloween related post. After all, the pumpkin lanterns are burning, I'm completely drenched, and my only salvation is the peppermint mocha I am currently savouring.

What's your general opinion on Halloween? I know that in the US, Halloween is a really big tradition. However, in the UK it isn't celebrated even half as much and it's actually pretty rare for anyone, past the age of trick or treating, to do anything on Halloween. We don't have haunted houses, or haunted hayrides, or haunted corn mazes and I'm not going to lie, I don't actually know what the latter two things are. No one throws huge halloween parties, and as I discovered when I was out tonight, there aren't even that many people who go trick or treating. I have on some occasions, invited some friends over on Halloween, and we've watched scary movies and told scary stories to each other and just basically tried to scare each other silly, but that's about it for my Halloween festivities.

Now, on the note of scary stories, I want to talk about brushes with the paranormal. I'm quite a scientific person, so I'm sort of skeptical in my belief in ghosts, although the rest of my family do believe in them. However, saying that, I have had some unexplainable things occur to me, as have my parents, and on one or two occasions, I have thought that I saw a ghost. I don't know whether it is just my crazy imagination, or whether it really was a ghost but my experiences with the supernatural have made me more open-minded about ghosts. All of the following stories are 100% true. These things really did happen to me- or at least I think they did... It's time for story time with Kajsa!

When I was 10 years old, I went on a week long school trip to Wales. We were staying in an old farm house and the room that I was staying in, was in the attic part of the house. It was a dorm room and next to my bed was my friends bed. I woke up in the middle of the night and next to my friend's bed, I'm certain that I saw a little girl in a white dress with long dark hair, staring at my friend sleeping. On the first night, I put it down to just tiredness and my over-imagination. Except it happened again the next night, and then the night after that. Every night, the same little girl would be standing in the same place, by the same bed. On, I think the third night, I had just seen the 'ghost' and was desperately trying to get back to sleep, when about five minutes later, another one of my friends walked over to my bed, sleepwalking, shook me, and said to me, while still asleep,"Come with me. We have to leave. It's not safe." I didn't leave. I was tired and I just figured that it was sleepwalking craziness, even with a possible ghost in the house. I've always put down that experience to my imagination playing tricks on me, except that particular experience has stayed with me always.  

A couple of years ago, I went round a friend's house, and she lived in a really old building. Every so often, I would see someone walk past me, except he was moving ridiculously quickly. He'd just whizzed past me, when I asked my friend, "Who's that guy? He was really quick."
"Which guy?" She replied. "The one who just ran past us." Needless to say, she avoided answering my question, suddenly becoming nervous. Eventually she admitted that her house was haunted by a ghost, and that people often see him walking around the house. I'm sure you can imagine that I've never returned to her house.

When my mum was a kid, she once fell down the steep stairs of an apartment. It was quite the fall, and she was lucky to have not been badly injured. The part that scared her, however, was that she was certain that she had felt someone behind her, their breath on her neck and their hands on her back- and that they had pushed her down the stairs. I wasn't there, so I can't say whether it really happened or not, but believe me when I say that my mum does not sound like she's joking when she talks about it.

And for my latest story... This I think is just craziness, but it freaked me out nevertheless. My grandma isn't crazy, but on this occasion... well I'm not sure. During the summer, I was staying at my grandparent's house in France, as always. I was talking to my Grandma, when suddenly her face turned to one of pure shock and fear. We asked her what was wrong and she replied to me and my mum, " Don't you see the man behind you? " We didn't.

Did she really see a ghost? Are ghosts really real? Am I tempting fate by saying that I don't believe in ghosts? Those are questions that I can't answer, but you can tell me what you think in the comments. Do you believe in ghosts? Have you ever seen a ghost? Let me know because I'd really like to hear about your past experiences.

Well today's post has been a long one. If you're still reading this, kudos to you. I wouldn't make it to here. Happy Halloween everyone! Sleep tight and don't let the sparkly vampires who watch you in your sleep, bite!

Kajsa x

Sunday 7 October 2012

Songs of the Month

Okay, I'm slightly late this month with this post, but I have been crazily busy recently. Schoolwork has been taking up so much of my time recently. I've been spending an hour and a half each day practising my viola because I have my exam soon, I have to work on my composition for music (worth 25% (and believe me when I say that writing a string quartet piece is not easy)) and on top of that, it's currently netball season and there's been a lot of matches and late practises, so basically my life is hectic. I swear September was just one non-stop month of action!

10. Hall of Fame - The Script (ft. Will.i.am)

9. Gangham Style- PSY 

8. Give Your Heart a Break- Demi Lovato

7. One More Night- Alex Goot & Friends (Youtube collaboration) 

6. Americano- Lady Gaga

5. Teenagers- My Chemical Romance

4. Hey LA- Ryan Beatty

3. Summer Paradise- Simple Plan (ft. Sean Paul)

2. We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together- Taylor Swift

1. One More Night- Maroon Five

Sunday 30 September 2012

Wanting what you can't have...

I really love Fall fashion, and shopping this Autumn, has just been so much fun. Here's a list of things that I still really want.


I'm really into cool coloured or patterned jeans at the moment, especially some of the jeans they have in Zara at the moment. I recently bought these amazing camouflage print jeans from Zara, which I have been using all the time. This brings me onto the first item on my list. These exact jeans!  I'm not a fan of leopard print jeans, but when I saw these ones on the Zara website, it was love at first site. I love how the fact that they are dark blue, makes the leopard print a little more subtle, while still letting it stand out at the same time.


There are two more bottoms on my list of Autumn wants. First of all, I really want a pair of maroon jeans. I've been seeing people wearing them everywhere, and maroon is definitely the colour of this Autumn. However, I can't seem to find a pair in a shade of maroon that I like, and I've looked everywhere. Oh well, maybe it's just not meant to be (insert teary face). 

Anyhow, I've also been looking for a pair of leather style trousers, but I'm having the same problem I'm having with the maroon trousers;I just can't seem to find a pair that I really like- but it's okay! Because I'm an extremely determined shopper, and I will not rest until I find the perfect pair! Feel free to leave now if I've scared you away with my slight over enthusiasm and possible signs of psychosis.


I also really want a pair of combat boots. (Maybe this pair by Steve Madden). I've wanted a good pair of combat boots since last Autumn, I just hadn't really gotten around to looking for a pair. I'm looking now, because I think that they'd be the perfect shoes to match with all the clothes I've bought for the Autumn time. I also love the versatility of the combat boot- you can wear them with shorts, dresses, jeans, anything really and they'll still fit you're outfit.

I own quite a few scarves, but one type of scarf that I do not own, is an infinity scarf. Since last year, I've been desperately wanting to buy an infinity scarf, however I kept buying normal scarves instead. Now I'm really frustrated with myself, because the time for wearing scarves has come around again, (although with English weather, it's only really been a month since we stopped wearing scarves- no joke!) and I don't have an infinity scarf to wear, even though I urgently want one!
    Grr! The situation is so depressing, I might cry. Nah, that might be a little too dramatic. Lets save save my tears for the awful and terrible injustice, that is that my Starbucks are not yet selling the Pumpkin Spiced Latte. I know! I gasped in shock when I heard the news too. I was forced to  have a Caramel Frapuccino, filled with a ridiculous amount of calories and completely unhealthy (yeah, I know that the Pumpkin Spiced Latte isn't much healthier). All for a drink. Yep, the dam walls are definitely breaking.

If you are still reading this, then congratulations, you managed to make it to the end of this post without losing you're sanity! Just remember guys... YOLO!

Kajsa xox

P.S. I really hate the phrase 'Yolo'. It's just so overused. Way too mainstream for me.  






Saturday 22 September 2012

10 Things I Love About Fall

Hey guys, long time no talk! I don't have any excuse for my month and a half absence from blogging. So let's just pretend it didn't happen...

Anyway, in England the weather started getting cold around about mid- September and the signs  that Autumn has arrived have long-been here already. Autumn has always been my favourite season and there is just so much I like about this season. Today, I've written a list of all my favourite things about Fall.

1. Sweaters

2. Pumpkin everything (including pumpkin spiced lattes) 

3. Halloween


4. Boots

5. The leaves on the trees in all their Autumnal colours.

6. All my favourite TV shows return!

7. Crunchy leaves

8. Cable knit tights

9. Darker shades of makeup

10. Scarves

Thursday 2 August 2012

Songs of the Month

I'm not going to explain what this post is. I think you've all got the idea by this point. Oh, and just a heads up. I'll finally be going on holiday in a few days, and seeing as I am not going to have internet all the time, I won't necessarily be able to post anything on this blog all the time. Saying that, I do plan to try and blog while I'm on holiday and then put up the blog posts up when I can.


10. Whistle- Flo Rida


9. I Hate This Part- Pussycat Dolls


8. Runaway Baby- Bruno Mars

7. Our Last Summer- ABBA


6. Wide Awake- Katy Perry


5. Just a Kiss- Lady Antebellum 


4. Fascination- Alphabeat


3. Spectrum (Say my Name) [Calvin Harris Remix]- Florence + The Machine 


2. Good Time- Owl City & Carly Rae Jepson 


1. Brokenhearted- Karmin

Tuesday 31 July 2012

The Lazy Girl's Guide to Packing

Well, a few days ago, I came to you all with a post about the difficulties and hardships of packing. And while I do really really hate packing, I am not a damsel in distress. And so, today I want to talk about how exactly to master the challenge, that is packing.

Me, writing my plan...
1. Plan

It is so easy to get overwhelmed when packing. The easiest way to stop this from occurring, is by planning. Make a list of everything you will need to bring, which you can check items off of as you pack. Go as far as to plan out what you are going to wear each day if it will help you. Just make sure that you know exactly what you need to bring, even before you start packing. 

2. Know your destination

Don't bother looking at guide books, but do check the weather forecast. You can then pack accordingly. Oh, and if, for example, your destination is cold and it's the middle of winter, don't bother packing shorts and skirts. You'll just be wasting space. It is good to be prepared, but sometimes that preparation can lead to wishful thinking and unrealism.

I think I'm doing pretty well on my packing, so far.
3. Work your clothes

Overpacking is always the worst thing you can do. (I once heard someone say that you should always lay out everything you want to pack, and then pack half of it). The best way to avoid overpacking, is to make sure that every item of clothing you pack can go with multiple outfits. That way, you can take less clothes and you will be less tempted to overpack.

4. Pack for where you're going, not where you wish you were going!

This links back to what I said before about packing and wishful thinking. It is so easy to pack for a holiday you wish you were going on, instead of a holiday you are actually going on. I am excellent at doing this, and I waste a lot of space, packing clothes that I am unlikely to wear. This being said, do pack to the requirements of your holiday. If you are going to be attending some formal event, then bring  a nice dress. However, don't bring four fancy dresses, if you are only going to one event


And finally... Don't forget to leave room for any purchases you make while on holiday!

And that's basically all you need to know. Packing can be easy if you just tackle it in the right way. A lot of being good at packing is down to good organisation skills and planning. Oh, and resisting the temptation to bring your entire wardrobe! ;)

Kajsa x  

Wednesday 25 July 2012

Packing...

Well, this is kind of an impromptu post, and I'm still not entirely sure where I'm going with this. This post could turn out to be life-changing (pretty unlikely), or it might turn out to be a rant which is, although interesting- completely pointless (very likely). Oh well! We'll see, I guess...   
           When I was a kid, I used to love packing to go on holiday, because it meant that we were leaving soon and it made the holiday seem all that more real. I have memories of myself, walking around the house, dragging my little pink suitcase around with me, and pretending I was leaving right then. 
            Unfortunately, as I've gotten older, packing has become more of a chore. I'm still always incredibly excited before I go on holiday, but no more do I get any joy out of packing. This is probably because, as I've gotten older, packing has become more difficult. When you're little, and don't really care about your clothes, you can pretty much just pack anything because you don't really care that much about what your wearing. On the other hand, at my age, I do care about what I'm wearing. Which means that I can't just throw anything into my suitcase because I have to be bringing clothes that I actually want to wear. 
             On top of that, you have to make sure that you don't pack too much, which means that you need to choose clothes that are versatile and will go with many outfits. However, I'm going to be gone for a month, and a month is a long time to be wearing the same things. I'm always bored of my clothes by the time I'm coming home! 
              You also need to deal with the inevitable reality, that you're probably going to do some shopping while you're away, so you need to leave space in your suitcase for that. After all that, you then need to think about what the weather is going to be like. Can you really be certain that it's going to be 30 degrees celsius everyday, or is there a risk of the temperature dropping? 
               Then there's shoes to think about, makeup, accessories, swimsuits, toiletries and the list goes on and on and on...  And with so many things to remember, there's always the risk that you might forget something (I'm pretty good at forgetting my toothbrush) and it's just the worst feeling, when you realise that you've forgotten something you need for your holiday. 
                Holidays are supposed to be relaxing, but there is nothing relaxing about packing. And so, as I sit here writing this and procrastinating on my packing, I can't help help thinking that life would be so much easier if we had robots to pack for us. Of course, they'd have to be fashionable robots! and then I think of I, Robot, and that whole thought process goes out the window. 


Kajsa x  

Monday 23 July 2012

Fall Fashion Trends

It's funny thinking that we are already half way through summer. For me, it feels like summer's only just begun- probably because in England, summer has only just begun. We have sun! Sorry, I'm just so excited at the prospect of being able to go out in the sun (although that makes me sound like a vampire). I can finally bear my legs without having to wear tights! I can finally wear sunglasses and not look desperate! I can finally get some semblance of a tan... Okay, rant over. Anyhow, what I was trying to say, before I got distracted is that very soon, summer will be over and fall (or Autumn as we call it here in England) will be fast approaching. The runways have already bared their fall collections, and I'm here to tell you about some of the trends for this fall.

Gold
Gorgeous gold dress by Prabal Gurung.
The runways were filled with the colour gold. This fall, it seems that flowing gold clothing, studded with sequins, paillettes and glittered sheen is the way to go. Designers from Michael Kors to Paco Rabanne were embracing this flashy trend. Gold is definitely the colour of this fall!    
Pretty structured dress from Paco Rabanne.




















Beautiful dress by Jill Sander.

Wax
Unique styled coat by Fendi.
It's time to find that old pair of wet look leggings because a laminated- waxy finish to clothes and accessories is a big trend this coming fall. This trend has been spotted on the runways of designers such as Acne, Fendi and Jill Sanders











Military Style
Military style suit combo by Salvatore Ferragamo.
The military jacket is definitely popular this coming season. Designers brought a fresh and new appeal to the military style, using luxe fabrics and fitted silhouettes. Now this doesn't mean that women should start wearing cargo pants. I don't think that quite fits into any trend at any time...
Stunning coat by Burberry Prorsum.


Suit up
Beautifully bright orange suit by Prada.
Forget the statement skirt, this season it's all about the pantsuit. Whether it's a cropped and flared retro pair, or a modern layered ensemble, the suit is the trend of this fall. Suits aren't just for work anymore. This trend has been spotted in the collections of every designer, from Prada to Chanel and is definitely the trend to rock this fall.
I love the coat in this piece by Bottega Veneta.



The Renaissance Spirit
I love this top by Dolce & Gabbana. 
This fall, think designs that mimic tapestries. Think, patterns with an ornate baroque swirl. Think of the free period that was the Renaissance and you will have worked out the sort of pattern and style of this fall. A more oriental twist, something with large flowers, also fits into this trend. 


This dress by Giles is just amazing!























A truly elegant coat by Emporio Armani
Velvet
This clothing piece by Kenzo,
fits the velvet, military and suit trend, all into one!  
Once considered the fabric of the rich, velvet is making a big comeback this fall. Velvet is beautiful and soft to the touch, so it is definitely about time that it came back into fashion. Amazing velvet pieces have been found in the collections of designers such as Gucci and Kenzo this fall.




Authors note: All the pictures on this post came from Elle

Sunday 22 July 2012

Lets make some macarons!

Well, as I am sure you have all realised at this point, my blog is called 'Macarons and Miniskirts'. Now, I can't have 'macarons' in my title without sharing a macaron recipe that I use with all of you on this blog. So, I thought that it was about time that I did.
        Macarons make for a delicious and light snack or desert and can be perfect with a hot beverage. You can eat them at any time during the year, and most importantly, they look great! Also, being French, macarons are one of the many cakes that we take great pride in having invented and they are definitely one of my favourite foods in the whole world! 

       I'm sure that I am not the only person to have queued for an hour at Ladurée on the Champs-Élysées, just to get the chance to buy (and spend a fortune) on a few of these delicious treats. Luckily, with the recipe below, you can learn how to make your own macarons without the hassle and for much cheaper than if you were to buy them in Paris. 
       Unfortunately, macarons are slightly difficult to make and granted, your first attempt, as was my first attempt, is not going to be great. However, as with anything, practise makes perfect.

 
Ingredients

  1. 175g icing sugar
  2. 125g ground almonds
  3. 3 large free-range egg whites
  4. 75g caster sugar

For the Filling


  1. 150g butter, softened
  2. 75g icing sugar

Method


  1. 1. Preheat the oven to 160°C/fan140°C/gas 3. Whizz the icing sugar and ground almonds in a food processor to a very fine mixture, then sift into a bowl.
  2. 2. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites with a pinch of salt to soft peaks, then gradually whisk in the caster sugar until thick and glossy. (At this point you can stir in flavour extract, such as peppermint or lemon, and corresponding colouring such as blue or yellow, to your meringue mixture, depending on what kind of macarons you want to make – see chef's tip. Or divide the meringue among different bowls if you want to make more than one colour).
  3. 3. Fold half the almond and icing sugar mixture into the meringue and mix well. Add the remaining half, making sure you use a spatula to cut and fold the mixture until it is shiny and has a thick, ribbon-like consistency as it falls from the spatula. Spoon into a piping bag fitted with a 1cm plain nozzle.
  4. 4. Line 2 baking sheets with baking paper. Pipe small rounds of the macaroon mixture, about 3cm across, onto the baking sheets. Give the baking sheets a sharp tap on the work surface to ensure a good ‘foot’. Leave to stand at room temperature for 10-15 minutes to form a slight skin. This is important – you should be able to touch them lightly without any mixture sticking to your finger. Bake for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool.
  5. 5. Meanwhile, make the fillings (unless making chocolate macarons – see chef's tip). In a bowl, beat the butter until light and fluffy, then beat in the icing sugar. (You can now add flavouring or nuts, and colour – see chef's tip.) Use to sandwich pairs of macarons together.

Chef's Tip


Macarons taste wonderful plain, but why not add flavouring and colouring? Flavour extracts – such as raspberry, lemon and peppermint – and colourings are available in supermarkets and cake shops. 
        To add flavour and colour to your macarons, in step 2, add around ½ tsp flavour extract, then add the appropriate colouring, a drop at a time, until you reach the desired intensity. Flavour and colour the buttercream in the same way. For chocolate macarons, replace a quarter of the icing sugar with cocoa powder and use Nutella as the filling. For pistachio macarons, replace half the ground almonds with ground pistachios (whizz in a blender or finely chop by hand), and use green food colouring to achieve a pastel green. Fold chopped pistachios through the filling, if you see fit.