my life, spirituality, travels and more
Our New Home: a preview
In collaboration with SMEG
Our New Home: a preview
If you follow me on the gram, you might have lately noticed an increase in sunset shots in my stories. The reason is, that’s our new view from our brand new home. We’ve recently moved into a new building with a stellar ocean view just a stone’s throw away from the heart of Helsinki. I counted that I’ve lived in 17 different homes (in three different countries) before this apartment, which is the first apartment that I have bought (well with the bank 😅).
We’ve now been living here for a couple months and I still feel like I need to pinch myself as it feels like a dream. Having lived in Mexico for so long and having been in such close proximity to the ocean and nature, I’ve really missed seeing the ocean on a daily basis and now having this view and being able to watch the sunsets from the convenience of my own home, I feel connected to the ocean again. I find it very calming and soothing to just stare out at the sea without doing anything else.
We bought the apartment last year before it was completely built, without fully knowing if we would love it when we were going to move in. Some would perhaps argue that is buying a pig in a poke, however as my boo works within the field of real estate and property management, I trusted his expertise on this. Obviously we got to see numerous illustrative 3D drawings and images to get an understanding of what the apartment would be like, its layout and design. We also got to pick all the materials, such as the flooring, kitchen countertop and backslash, bathroom tiles along with choosing between a bigger wardrobe or a sauna (we obviously chose the latter). We also got to pay a visit to the construction site a couple times to see the process.
Buying a new build means we didn’t have any pre-conceived ideas of furniture arrangements from the previous occupants, so we had the opportunity to create a layout that works perfectly for our needs. The apartment is a three-room apartment with a sauna and a balcony and as the apartment is high up with big windows with lots of natural light, we wanted to keep the airy feel and keep it light. We both love Scandinavian design, but I am very into well, I guess what some people would describe as ‘bohemian’ decor. So we had to balance out the boho with some clean Scandi elements. We both love small sprinkles of colour and this is something we are slowly bringing in piece by piece.
It’s all in the details
Head over to my instagram to win a SMEG toaster like this!
Decorating your home in a style you love doesn’t happen overnight. For those of you who have moved know that it takes a while before your furniture and all items find their new places. What really makes a room design special are the little details and for this reason, I was super excited to team up with SMEG from Idelux to collaborate with their kitchen appliances. I am obsessed with their style, 50’s design and colors and in love with my mint coloured toaster and kettle, which sit in our kitchen perfectly. I am also very excited to host a giveaway on my instagram feed, for you to able to win a SMEG TOASTER of your own. Make sure to participate! (in Finland only 🇫🇮)
Even if our home isn’t exactly how I envision it to be yet, I still am quite happy and pleased with how it is right now and the process of slowly collecting more beautiful pieces one item at a time. It’s a creative process and it’s not easy to decorate slowly, it is hard patiently piecing things together over time. But I guess that’s the beauty of it too.
Work in progress…
One of our bigger projects is making our balcony cozy, as it’s quite a large space. I am content with the table and cushions that I got from Nougat as they match the style I want to create perfectly. Nougat offer these tables in two different sizes and have a beautiful collection of decoration items for you to explore, if you live in Helsinki. The best bet is to go check out their showroom in Kalasatama. We are also planning to add a wooden flooring to the balcony to soften the feel, plants and more floor cushions to create a cozy little nook to read a book, enjoy the sunset or perhaps have a glass of wine.
Another still not finished project is the second bedroom that is currently my boyfriends work space (gaming room 🙄)/my yoga space. We are still deciding on how to decorate the room, but in the meantime it works to keep the space quite empty, as I’ve used it to teach yoga virtually during the era of covid-19.
Last but not least, we are also in the hunt for beautiful lamps as lighting has a huge impact on the way a space looks and feels, and it can make or break an interior-design scheme. If you have any ideas on beautiful bedroom lamps, please hit me up!!!
That’s all for now!
Hope you enjoyed this post!
Much love,
Evita
10 things you can do right now to feel better + learn the energetics of the situation
10 things you can do right now to feel better + learn the energetics of the situation
Did you know the word ‘Corona’ translates to Crown?
The seven chakras of our energetic body.
The crown of your head is the highest part of your physical body, but the same applies to energy. If you’re unfamiliar with the subtle body, it consists of 7 primary chakras, or energy fields (the word ‘chakra’ translates to wheel and refers to how the energy moves and spins in the energy center).
These chakras are all connected to different areas and aspects of ourselves, our physical bodies and our lives. All of these correspond to functions of different organs. The chakra system runs along the spine and is connected to our nervous system. The first primary chakra is located at the base of our spine and is connected to our sense of survival, our home, our finances and everything we need in our lives in order to feel stable, grounded and supported. The second energy center, located by the reproductive organs, is connected to creation, creativity, sensuality and sexuality. The third energy center is linked to our ego, our core, our sense of self and sits in our solar plexus. The fourth is the heart center, our center for love. The fifth energy center i connected to expression, communication and truth, located at the throat. The sixth sits between our eyebrows and is connected to vision, intuition and wisdom. And the seventh and last one is our sense of unity, belonging, connection. The seventh and last chakra is considered to be the highest chakra representing higher consciousness and unity. You can think of it more as WE energy instead of a ME mindset. It’s what brings us all together and connects us all into one. Interestingly enough, this virus also carries its name.
For a long time already, humanity has been dormant and in darkness. Blindsided to our own greed, actions and choices, we’ve reached a point where our planet is hurting. Here’s the thing, everything is energy and everything has its tipping point. The energy we all hold individually also gathers and forms together into what is called a collective consciousness. This collective consciousness holds our shared beliefs, thoughts and ideas. This collective consciousness has been napping, for well, quite some time now. But now, we’re being told to wake the *insert whatever strong word of your liking* up in a very real way, that surely affects us all in some way or form. The coronavirus is on everyone's lips and minds right now. We’re all talking about the myriad of ways of how it’s touching our lives and worry for our health, finances and the insecure future. As horrible as the situation might feel, this is also an opportunity for change and to become united.
When you think of the virus from an energetic point of view, one could say it pierces through our heart center, both through how it actually affects the people who get sick and also through causing anxiety (that is often felt in the chest through heart palpations or pressure) for many others. In a more Western view we know that the virus attacks the lungs. We know that the virus spreads through touch and physical closeness. These are also aspects of the heart chakra. The heart chakra is connected to the element of air, our lungs and breathing. The sense that is connected to the heart chakra is our sense of touch and the virus also spreads through both the air and through our biggest organ, our skin, again, both connected to the heart center. Emotions that are connected to the heart chakra are; grief, sadness, compassion, love, joy and balance.
And clearly we’ve been living out of balance for a long time already. When this energy enters our hearts it drops down to the root chakra, where many of us might feel compromised currently. We feel a rush of fear take over, as our root chakra is connected to our adrenal glands and to our sense of survival. It’s interesting when you think of people’s reactions and how their primal instinct is to hoard toilet paper and groceries, which are all very basic needs. A primitive reaction, but very understandable when you think at it from an energetic point of view.
In yogic philosophy we are taught how the Kundalini energy sits at the base of our spine and by rising it up to the crown chakra we can become united. In order to reach samadhi or higher consciousness (lift the energy to the crown chakra), our lower chakras need to be in balance and harmony, so that the higher chakras can also open. In order for us to balance this, we need to take care of ourselves, our mutual home, our planet, and each other, and now more than ever so. We need to start building the energy from the bottom up, so that we can feel united and lift the energy up to the crown chakra, our last and seventh chakra and become united. We need to start with the basics.
We’ve clearly been exploiting mama earth and too focused on the material plane (first chakra), which is why now we are being shaken to the core in this energy center. This overcompensation and exploitation of natural resources has no reached a point, where we have an opportunity for change, to become more united. Interestingly enough, from an energetic point of view, when you think about the origin of where the virus stems from, it’s from a food market with animal products. And this is part of the problem and key causes of global warming: animal agriculture. We’ve been consuming and using meat and animal products that are not necessary for all to live and particularly in the amounts that many are consuming. The heavy and toxic energy from dead animals transforms to energy too, which is something we’ve been carrying in our fields of energy.
Now, we are asked to to wake up, think about our choices when it comes to consumerism, our diet and health. But without being too hard on ourselves. Surely there’s a bigger picture here at play and a call for a collective wake up. That doesn’t mean you need to stop being human. We are all in this together and we need to come together and support each other, but we also need to take care of ourselves and our health. Fear lowers the immune system, which is why it’s even more important than ever to stay connected to ourselves through self-care, a healthy diet and exercise (did someone say yoga?). You know what else helps; HUMOR. I think just like with everything in life, balance is key. Don’t be hard on yourself for enjoying your Ben & Jerry’s or binge watching your favorite Netflix show, while everyone else is posting their workout videos. Because self-help can mean a lot of different things and this is also a time to rejuvenate, relax and destress. Take this time to do you. And if you’ve had a breakdown or two, that’s okay too (🙋🏼♀️). This is the human experience. I’ve been on an emotional rollercoaster during this time too and just because I am analysing the energetics of the situation, doesn’t mean I have it figured out. But I try to remind myself that, the only constant is change, and this too shall pass and luckily there are ways to work things out.
Here are 10 tips for the handling the situation:
Buy a voucher from a struggling local business.
Boost your immune system & get your vitamins! Tip: If you live in Helsinki, I highly recommend ordering a berry snack in form of a Quarantine package from Bär Bar
Stay connected to your body. Practice yoga & meditate! Tip: You can check out our online community on Facebook with a local studio here in Helsinki. I had a class yesterday for stabilising the Root Chakra
Make sure to maintain healthy diet and get your exercise going! Tip: Check out my fave PT Kanerva Ahonala and her e-course Paremmille Tavoille (Improve your Ways), which is an e-course for making healthier choices with your diet. Only in Finnish tho.
TURN OFF THE NEWS. You don’t need to read every single news there is - instead you can use this energy into something else. read book or listen to ebooks. Tip: If you’re into spirituality or want to learn more, join me and Jonna Monola for our online course Sacred Ceremony with two guided meditations, and ebook and two yoga practices.
Get your creative juices flowing or start a new project/course/hobby: paint, draw, sing, dance. Tip: Here’s a playlist I made to calm down your nervous system. Or sign up for an online class! I just signed up for Yale’s most popular class for free: How to be happier in your daily life
Nature. As long as we are still allowed outside, take a walk or go out for o run. Enjoy the sunshine. I promise you’ll feel better afterwards.
Gratitude. We are privileged. At the end of the day, we are told to stay home, not to go to war. That being said, you’re allowed to feel your feelings so don’t be hard on yourself if you do feel confused, sad, worried or fearful. It’s human, when you feel those lows try to direct your attention to the good stuff you already have.
Call your friends and loved ones. Tip: There’s a bunch of great apps such as Whereby and Houseparty, where you can talk to a group of friends simultaneously and host virtual wine parties/coffee chats or whatnots.
Laughter. There’s a reason they say laughter is the best medicine and I’ve seen some of the best memes ever during this time. A special shoutout to my meme sender and good friend, Eder, who always keeps me supplied with the funniest stuff. Please feel free to share your favorites with me too! Either by commenting or DM on instagram. Here’s a couple of my faves this far:
MOON MAGIC: YOUR MOON 101 GUIDE
MOON MAGIC: Your Moon 101 guide
Happy FULL MOON!
On my birthday I made a post on instagram stating that this year, I will be more authentic. This blog post is as a step towards that direction and a way for me to shed some light on what some of my deepest interests and passions include, which happens to be spirituality, the moon and my connection to it. And what better time to do that than the day the sun fully illuminates the moon, which happens to be today.
It’s interesting how my soul chose to be born in a country where we today are so disconnected from nature and spirituality (and within that same spectrum, also the moon). Growing up in Finland, I’ve throughout my life been conditioned to a society where we are surrounded by systems, order, rules and regulations. Everything is perfectly planned, systemized and scientific. Don’t get me wrong here, I am grateful and aware of my privilege and I do feel lucky to have been born into a country that is so well functioning. But in terms of being connected to nature and its cyclical essence, our surroundings and spirit, I wouldn’t rank Finland very high today. Quite the opposite actually. But it didn’t always used to be that way. Finnish shamanism is one of the oldest shamanic lineages as it stems from the indigenous peoples of Finland; the Finns and the Saami. Both peoples developed rich shamanic traditions, where for instance going to the sauna was seen as a spiritual act (similar to a sweat lodge in Native American culture). The sauna was a sacred ritual and you had to follow the sauna rules. Sauna also had its’ own spirit called löylynhenki. So even if we Finns might seem detached from nature and spirit today, we still have our deep traditions that live and thrive.
Despite us Finns having these deep roots and traditions, to be openly interested in things most people would describe as occult or new age mumbo jumbo, is not always the easiest path. When you mention the idea of aligning your actions with the lunar phases, you might get eye rolls or be ridiculed. On the flipside though, I actually find it sad people are so detached, as they see everything they don’t understand as woo woo. Luckily however, I’ve been fortunate enough to have connected with many like minded people, who understand the ancient wisdom of connecting with la luna and its cycles. When I lived in Mexico, I used to meet up with a couple friends during full moon and new moon. We would go to a very special place overlooking the town of Sayulita to share our deepest desires and hopes and do various ceremonies to connect with the moon. And if I can inspire even one more person to find this connection, this blog post serves a purpose. Aligning your actions with nature is so so powerful.
HOW THE MOON AFFECTS US
As some of you might know, the moon affects the ocean with its tidal pull. If you’re a surfer, it’s helpful to use this information to decide the most ideal time to shred the gnar. What you also might be aware of already, is that the human body consists up to nearly 70% of water. You do the math (moon + water = effect). Another interesting thing to consider is the link between the lunar cycles and menstrual flow. A menstrual cycle lasts 28 days, which is about as long as a moon cycle. The moon takes 27 days, 7 hours, and 43 minutes to complete one round around the earth. Normally, the ovulation happens around full moon, when everything is coming into full circle and fruition and the shedding usually happens around new moon, which is the darkest phase of the moon. When you start to observe your body more you might notice a clear correlation with the celestial events and your menstrual cycle.
The moon has always been a big theme in religions art and rituals. The moon represents powerful feminine energy. It signifies wisdom, intuition, birth, death, reincarnation, and a spiritual connection. Throughout eons of time, peoples across the world have worshipped it and gathered to celebrate the full moon. Each phase of the Moon’s cycle has a unique visual characteristic and spiritual meaning. The lunar phases are also used in agriculture as these same forces affect the water content of the soil, creating more moisture in the soil at the time of the new and full moon. This increased moisture encourages the seeds to sprout and grow. The lunar cycle is like the cycle of a seed: it grows up into a flower, it blooms and then it dies.
Meditate and center yourself during a full moon to connect with yourself. Pic: Vuokko Salo
We are all capable of attuning with the moons energies and activating our inner power. The lunar cycle is made up of different stages.
Traditionally the full moon and the new moon are considered to be the most potent phases to align with the moon. There is a myriad of ways you can work and connect with the moon through intention and ceremony. Each month of the year also holds a specific symbolic meaning for each full moon as well as the weekday it falls upon. The full moon also falls each month in a different astrological sign and you can learn specifically about each full moon and its themes. As there is so much to dive into, I’ve gathered a simplified list here below of the different lunar phases of one moon cycle about what the various phases represent and what you can do in order to connect with them.
New Moon
New moons represent new beginnings. The Moon is positioned between the Earth and Sun so it cannot be seen from Earth.
WHAT TO DO: This is a time to start new projects and phases within your life.
Waxing Crescent Moon
This phase signifies intention. ‘Waxing’ means the moon’s illumination is growing, and ‘Crescent’ means less than half of the moon is illuminated.
WHAT TO DO: Write a list of your intentions and keep them in mind. What things do you want to accomplish or get done?
First Quarter Moon
This phase signifies decision making. Exactly half of the Moon is illuminated and the other half is shadowed.
WHAT TO DO: During this phase spend extra time making decisions.
Waxing Gibbous Moon
This moon phase signifies purification. ‘Waxing’ means the Moon’s illumination is growing and ‘Gibbous’ means more than half of the Moon is illuminated.
WHAT TO DO: Assess your goals and figure out what is working for you right now and what may need to change.
Full Moon
Fruition, completion, bloom, release and sealing of intention. The Sun illuminates the entire moon.
WHAT TO DO: This is a the time to set goals and make any promises to yourself on a soul level. If there are any areas that no longer serve you, it is time to let go of them.
Waning Gibbous
Gratitude. ‘Waning’ refers to the decreasing of the Moon’s illumination, and ‘Gibbous’ means more than half of Moon illuminated.
WHAT TO DO: Make a list of all the things you are grateful for.
The full moon is a powerful time for looking within, for healing and shifting. A great way to channel these energies is through a sound bath. Pic: Vuokko Salo
Third Quarter
Forgiveness. Exactly half of the Moon is illuminated and the other half is shadowed. We will see the opposite side than the First Quarter Moon.
WHAT TO DO: Use this time to forgive others and forgive yourself.
Waning Crescent
Surrender. ‘Waning’ refers to the shrinking of the Moon’s illumination, and ‘Crescent’ means less than half of the Moon is illuminated.
WHAT TO DO: Spend time being mindful, going with the flow and surrendering to the world around you.
February Snow Supermoon 2020
Like I mentioned above, each full moon has a specific theme and meaning. The February’s moon is the Snow Moon. In the northern hemisphere, this name reflects the time when winter is in full force. This moon has other names as well such as the Hunger Moon, Storm Moon, and Chaste Moon.
This specific full moon falls upon the sign of Leo and is a supermoon, meaning the moon appears to be closer to earth. The theme for this full moon is passion, motivation and shining brightly, burning away anything that stands in front of you from achieving your deepest desires. Leos like to be in the spotlight and this full moon is a time for all of us to embrace our inner Leos and celebrate ourselves. As full moons represents fruition and/or completition, it’s a great time to look back at all you’ve accomplished.
This full moon also has the moon trine Mars aspect. This condition helps us to acknowledge the fears that have been holding us back,and the things we have tried to avoid resolving. This creates a new setting for change and progress. The projects that we start during this Full Moon will blossom into something truly beautiful. So if you’ve been waiting for a sign, let this be it. Source & read more here.
How do you connect with the moon?
It’s been a while since I wrote my last guide. Let me know if you enjoy these posts or you have any topic you’d want me to write about.
Con amor,
Eva
Follow your bliss: Why I quit my job
FOLLOW YOUR BLISS: WHY I QUIT MY JOB
One of the biggest struggles for me has always been decision making. Be it big or small, I find myself pondering the options and outcomes way too long. Lately though, I feel as the universe has been handing me big platters of decision making practice and I am slowly honing this skill and becoming more intuitive, especially when it comes to decision making for myself.
I feel like I’ve always been pretty gifted in seeing and supporting my peers in the right direction for their highest self, but when it comes to myself, it’s often been foggy, messy and uncertain. Luckily though and like I wrote in a previous blog text on my decision to relocate back to Finland (after having lived in Mexico for nearly seven years), I am slowly learning to listen to that squeaky little internal voice and whisper (before it becomes a roar).
After moving back to Finland, I quickly started working with event production. It was a massive change coming from the laid back beach life style and after having been my own boss and working within wedding planning and the hospitality and wellness industry in the tropics. All of a sudden I found myself in a hectic corporate world with completely new tasks, in a new environment and with a very different client base. With a pace where your daily hours run out and you add darkness, cold weather and adjusting to Finnish culture and customs into the mix, you have yourself one exhausted gal. And when exhaustion happens, energy shifts.
This shift manifested in many ways; I started experiencing bodily stress symptoms such as eye twitching, bloating and even mood swings. My body knew before my head did, it was time to slow down and change direction. It was simply way too much and way too fast. I did my best to keep pushing through as I didn’t want to give up and I thought to myself that maybe things would change for the better as there was a vague silver lining in foresight. When things didn’t fall through as I had hoped, I finally decided to resign. It was time to breakthrough my fears and leave the secure corporate world for the unknown world of entrepreneurship.
“My body knew before my head did, it was time to slow down and change direction.”
Letting the dead leaves drop.
Follow your bliss.
Because what it all comes down to is time. And life is short. The time you have in this precious life is scarce and your days are limited. As cliche as it may sound, if you’re not going to chase your dreams or try something you’ve always dreamt of, you’ll probably regret it later in life. Sure, it’s risky, crazy and nerve wrecking, but for me it is absolutely necessary and having regrets later is not an option. There’s also the benefit of working with what you love and on your own terms and you get to enjoy a whole new level of personal, professional and financial freedom. Besides, being an entrepreneur is not completely new to me as I used to work for myself also while living in Mexico. That being said, in all honesty, there’s a huge difference in running a business in Mexico compared to Finland. But, I am up for the challenge and more importantly, I simply have to give it a go.
I also believe in the phrase “todo pasa por algo”, meaning everything happens for a reason. I needed to go through this year to get clarity on what it is that I want to pursue and what is truly important to me. I am extremely grateful for this almost one year that I worked with a lovely team and for the fact that I get to call my ex colleagues not just my former co-workers, but friends. We had a good run and I truly wish the team all the best of luck and success in the future.
You know, it’s interesting now in hindsight reflect upon my decision and notice how big decisions and releases tend to happen around fall. There’s wisdom in nature and just like the trees you can let the dead leaves drop. You release and shed and let go of the things that did not serve you for something new and better.
So what does the future hold for me right now you might ask? Well, I am going to work with the things I love; yoga (corporate yoga classes, privates, studio classes and yoga retreats), wellness, copywriting, content creation and marketing. I am very open to new opportunities and projects and if you see that there is something we could work on together, make sure to drop me a line. I will also be launching something I’ve always dreamt of, so stay tuned for this secret I am revealing in the near future. Oh, but first things first, I am heading to Mexico to enjoy life on the beach for the darkest month of the year; November.
Let me know if you’ve made any similar transition or have any tips, tricks or input on this scary journey that I am about to embark. I would love to hear from you!
Stay tuned,
Con amor and excitement for this new chapter,
Eva
Pimp my cabin (with before and after pics)
If you follow me on instagram, you’ve probably seen some of my stories with the hashtag #pimpmycabin during the past few months, if not, let me open it up a little bit. My parents have a beautiful summer house on a nice piece of land just an hour outside of Helsinki, by the sea. On that piece of land, there’s the main house they spend the summers in, but then there’s also a smaller sauna cabin that’s been mainly used as the dressing room for the sauna. Well, not anymore.
My mood when the reno is over.
During this past easter, me and my boyfriend paid my folks a visit and started playing with the idea of turning the sauna cabin into a more cozy summer cabin for the two of us. Things escalated quickly and only moments later were we throwing out old furniture that we decided to burn as a big ole traditional easter bonfire. The bonfire sure was impressive and big, but what sucked, was that we later learned that we ended up burning a Danish wooden table worth 700€. FAIL. Anyways, as fire is the symbol for transformation, the project was now officially initiated.
The plan was to give the cabin a facelift and make the space feel more open, as it felt dark and cramped with old junk. Little did we know how much work we were taking on. As the space is not that big (about 33 square meters), we wanted to make the best out of it by moving some things around. First we gutted the entire cabin and threw out the bunk beds along with the funky and outdated furniture. On this second round of getting rid of things we made sure to be more cautious and not to throw away any lavish furniture. We also felt like we wanted to honour and respect the history and feel of the cabin, so we decided to keep some of the items to create a unique combo of rustic and new.
Burning that 700€ Danish table sure made a nice flame.
As one of our main goals was to create a more airy and open feel, we concluded that the “easiest” way to do this, would be to give the entire cabin a white out paint job. This meant painting all surfaces white, including the ceiling and the floors. As the floors had a lot of sun damage and were a little murky and stained, our next step was to polish the floors. And this, my dear readers, ended up being a pain in the butt. Neither one of us had ever polished wooden floors before, which basically meant that we had to simply learn by doing. It also meant messing up a couple times and renting all the wrong gear to begin with. Thank goodness for youtube and tutorials, as we finally (after hours of studying) found the best machine possible for this bothersome work. After the floors were finally polished, we proceeded with the walls. This was a pretty straight forward kind of thing and actually somewhat meditative, but it ended up taking way more time than anticipated. We ended up giving the walls three layers of white. Last, but not least, it was time to varnish the floors and voila, the cabin was now a white light filled new space. It might sound all effortless outlining the project here, but I can assure you this took us days and days of hard work and so many times of driving back and forth to various hardware stores.
After all the surfaces were done, it was finally time for the fun part: redecorating! As we had shuffled things around quite a bit and gotten rid of most of the furniture, we had to buy alot of new stuff. Hooray for Ikea. In addition to making the interior all cute and fresh, we also had a large new terrass built, that further enlarged the living area and gave the small little cabin a bigger feel. Now that the project is nearly finished (we still want to buy some outdoor terrass furniture and get a SMEG fridge) we are super pleased with how it turned out. Plus, the terrass works perfectly for yoga too. But, before we dive into the reveal, here’s a bunch of before pictures to start with, if you scroll further down you’ll find some making of pics and last, but not least the final revamped and pimped cabin pics. Let me know what you think! When you scroll alllll they way down you’ll see two before & after comparisons! Lemme know what you think :)
xx,
Handyman Evita
BEFORE RENO
MAKING OF
AFTER RENO
MY BFF IS A BEEKEEPER
MY BFF IS A BEEKEEPER
Meet Elisa Nordman, a long time friend of mine who is an avid hobby beekeeper from Helsinki with a passion for sustainability, green thinking and a deep appreciation for nature and our planet. She keeps her two hives at a farm outside of the city and produces artisan honey under the brand name Hunter House Honey. I sat down with Elisa and picked her brain about her super hipster, yet actually amazingly impressive side hustle that she’s been doing for a while as I felt the urge to to introduce this insanely cool save the bees- gal with my fellow internet scrolling audience. Here goes.
Q: Who are you?
A: I am Elisa. I currently work as a graphic designer and in my free time I love to get outdoors and spend time in nature, read a lot, do sports and then of course beekeeping.
Q: What made you take up beekeeping and become a bee-person?
A: In all honesty, it was actually half a coincidence as I stumbled across an ad in beekeeping at a Christmas fair in Helsinki (Tuomaan markkinat). It immediately caught my attention and I took a photo of the ad and then the next day I thought to myself, what the heck, why not. I signed up for the course online, without truly knowing if I would follow through or not. Fast forward 5 months and I found myself in a beekeepers farm shopping for the gear. Once I had all the necessary items, I knew I would have to buy the bees as well. Even though there initially was some slight hesitation, I’ve always been aware of the role the bees play in our eco system and how they are struggling and declining in numbers due to the pollution, harsh pesticides and changing weather patterns. Since a very young age I’ve always loved the flavour of honey, so that worked as one motive as well.
Q: How did you get your hives, did you buy them?
Learn the difference: 1. Honey bee 2. Bumble bee 3. Wasp 4. European Hornet
A: Yes, I bought my hives from a beekeeping shop and the bee colonies I bought straight from a beekeeper I was referenced to through the beekeeping course. The beekeeping community is a quite small and there are forums online where you can exchange knowledge and buy equipment from people within the industry. So basically all the bee colonies are bought from another beekeeper, you can not buy them from a shop, or at least not that I know of.
Q: How do you get started in beekeeping?
A: Well, in my opinion the only way to start is to participate in a course and learn the basics. The other option might be to have a mentor who walks you through the step by step process of starting your own colony. I still highly recommend participating in a course as it’s quiet complicated and you’ll get into the community easier and learn to know other people within the community.
Q: Most people do not react well to the sight of swarming bees, were you afraid of the bees when you first started out as a beekeeper?
A: No, I wasn’t afraid of bees. Bees are actually really calm and they don’t mind us people if we let them be(e) in peace. I’ve noticed that people can not distinguish the difference between bees and wasps and most people easily mistake wasps for bees or vice versa. To clarify and in case you were unsure, bees and wasps serve different purposes in nature. Bees pollinate our food, our plants and produce honey, whereas wasps eat pests from flowers and plants, but their pollination value is lesser than their hairy cousins. I think it’s only relevant to be afraid if you know that you’re very allergic to the stings.
Q: Do beekeepers get stung by bees?
A: Yes of course, however not very often. I’ve only been stung while beekeeping less than 10 times through my gloves and suite. The stinger has not been able to penetrate my skin properly as I am always wearing my protective suite.
Q: As a beekeeper, do you become more sensitive or more in tuned to nature?
A: For sure. I’ve always been a nature lover, but now after beekeeping you have to pay more attention to the weather, to the seasons and to the flora around you as it all affects the bees and their behaviour. This is actually the part that I’ve enjoyed the most and it’s been very fulfilling to become more aware of my surroundings.
Q: What's the most fulfilling part of a beekeeper's job?
A: I’d have to say that the most fulfilling part of this job is to actually get to know your bees and to learn how to work with them as honey bees are not wild bees, even though they are free to fly, come and go as they wish. Honey bees need our help and I try my best to read their signals and their behaviour to my best ability and make the right decisions in being their caretaker. As an example, I need to prevent mites from invading the hives and when the season has ended it’s my job to feed the bees and prepare the hive for the winter.
Q: How long does a bee live?
A: On average a worker bee lives 40-50 days. A queen bee usually has a lifespan of 4-8 years.
Q: How much time does it take to take care of your hives?
A: Holy moly, it takes quite a lot of time. The general rule is to visit your hive every nine days, but usually I go there once a week. You never know what to expect, so it’s hard to know in advance wether you’ll end up spending an hour or five tending to your hive with each visit. In July I take a little more free time to myself as this time is usually the time the bees are collecting honey and you can actually let them be. That being said, this is not set in stone as it also depends on the weather. Many professional beekeepers are so good at reading the signs of nature that they can visit their hives according to weather (meaning less times), but I am not there yet personally.
Q: What has been the most surprising aspect about beekeeping?
A: The complexity of a bee colony. The system is totally astonishing and I am continuously learning more by each visit. For example, did you know that the queen is not the ruler in the hive, but the worker bees are. The worker bees make all the decisions collectively so if they see that the queen is not laying enough eggs, they will start to make a new queen bee by starting to feed an egg with royal gel.
Q: What do you have to say to anyone who is interested in starting beekeeping?
A: Find a course in beekeeping and you will get a good start. After my first course I was still completely and utterly lost because at that time I didn’t have my own hive yet as all the information was only theoretical. Slowly and after my first summer in beekeeping I took another advanced course in and finally things started making more sense to me. Just like with any new skill or hobby, learning takes time, so be patient! In Finland there are great courses in Työväenopisto, so make sure to check in with them.
Q: How much honey do you get per season and is it difficult to collect the honey?
A: Last summer I got around 30 kg of honey from only one hive. This season I am not sure what to expect yet, since one of the hives is very weak after the winter and the other is strong, but there has been some issues with the queen. Honey collecting is hard work. Firstly, the hive boxes are extremely heavy and it’s quite challenging to pick them up from the hive tower and your body positions while doing the labor can end up being super uncomfortable. In addition to the hard physical work, the bees usually get pretty upset with me fiddling with their home (understandable) , which adds an extra challenge to the whole process. That being said, last summer was my very first time collecting the honey, so I am hoping for it to run a little smoother this year. Fingers crossed. The bees do not hibernate during the winter, instead they curl up keeping warm and eat sugar water that we feed them in the autumn.
Q: Where can we find out more information about beekeeping and your bee endeavours?
A: I have an instagram account @beetvsuomi , where I share videos and posts about my beekeeping. I sell the honey after the summer and I have my small artisan label called Hunter House Honey.
Q: Any further plans for Hunter House Honey?
A: Not currently, my aim is to keep beekeeping and learning more as I go. I wish to spread awareness about bees and their importance to us humans.
Q: Tell us something weird about yourself?
A: I am extremely organised and well prepared when it comes to packing and my friends always make fun of me when we go on trips together, but I always have something they end up needing. I have issues with jello-like food textures and can not eat anything wobbly, slimy nor spongy, such as eggs, tofu or creme brûlée. Wherever I go I always make sure to check out the nearest exit route and I am passionate about whales. I have a degree in prosthetics & orthotics (prostatic legs.) I’ll just leave it at the list could go on for a while…
Q: Favorite quote?
A: I am bad with quotes but I guess you can’t go wrong with ”Always smile more than you cry, give more than you take and love more than you hate”.
Below an episode of BeeTv. Enjoy!
Thanks Elisa!
So long honey,
Evita
SUMMER UPDATE: What I've been up to lately + how to listen to your body
Dear reader, thanks for circling back to my blog even after this mini break that I’ve taken. The reason for the little pause is very simple: I’ve needed time to recharge, reset and relax. I definitely still believe in the practice of commitment and consistency with blogging, but what’s even more important than that (or more valuable than SEO optimising), is to truly learn to wind down when you need to. And I feel like this is something many of us can relate to. People (we) need to stop glorifying being busy and make room for, well, nothingness. Can’t we just please start a new trend where doing nothing is the coolest thing on planet earth 😅!? No but, jokes aside I feel that especially as a yoga teacher and someone who teaches people to unwind and tune in with themselves, I also need to practice it, not just preach it. And that’s exactly what I am doing right now, sitting in my summer cabin overlooking the Baltic Sea and simply taking it super chill without any schedule nor plans. Thanks to taking this time for myself I’ve now finally felt inspired and energized again to start writing and I started to reflect over how much I’ve actually needed this, to just be still without the hustle and bustle of the city life.
Lately I’ve been spending a lot of time here at our summer cabin, which is just an hour outside of Helsinki. We are in the midst of remodelling a small cute summer cabin (the sauna house) and making it into a space for me and my boyfriend. It’s been a bigger project than we first anticipated but I won’t go too much into detail right now as I am dedicating a full blog post to it very soon (with before and after pics, so stay tuned!!). In addition to spending time here, I’ve also been to a friends summer cabin celebrating midsummer and then enjoyed a fun and wild weekend in Hankoo (the most southern city in Finland) with an amazing group of friends. I’ve also taught a few yoga classes, gone to an amusement park (Linnanmäki), but other than that it’s been down time and laying low. And lemme tell ya, it’s been very needed. I feel like I am still digesting my new life of living back in Finland and trying to rejuvenate from the heavy winter and the busyness of it all (my day job as an event planner can be pretty hectic). Luckily, I am planning to escape this winter for at least parts of it.
At Linnanmäki, pic by Jonna Monola. Pants Vimma Company.
So how do we make sure to stay energized, healthy and balanced without burning out or over exhausting ourselves? What it all comes down to is learning to listen to your body and knowing when to slow down. I wanted to share some practical tips I’ve found to be useful as I’ve learned that my body is often way smarter than my head let alone my silly ego. The thing with your body versus your mind is that the body is continuously giving you cues and subtle messages on what is good for you and what isn’t, the problem is just that we a) ignore them or b) don’t see these messages in the first place. The mind loves to come up with excuses, distractions and falsities. Listening to your body or yourself is applicable to not just your health, but any other area of your life as well. If you just learn to tune into your intuition and gut feeling more than staying in your head, you’ll start noticing how things unfold in a very different way.
But what if you don’t know how to listen or you don’t know what actually works for your body, then a phrase like “listen to your body” can feel like nagging or plain useless. The truth is we are all different. Not only through our unique lives, patterns, relationships, circumstances, jobs, living situations, rhythms, eating & sleeping habits, we also differ in what our idea of health is. So where does one start? I made a few key notes that I feel that can be helpful on this journey towards becoming more self aware.
Pic: Chiara Hammerer Watch: Aarni Woods
Every day make sure to have a quiet moment just for yourself where you ask yourself these three questions: What am I feeling, physically? What am I feeling, emotionally? What am I thinking? Pay attention to what comes up. Just like with any new skill, this will be a process and some days you’ll get answers right away when at times you’ll think about your neighbours dead cat. Lol.
Journal first thing in the morning for 30 days straight. Commit to this practice and write two pages each morning before anything else. You’ll be astonished at how much will come up.
If you feel like you need to learn to listen to your body more think about the why’s. Why do you want to listen to your body. What is it, that is not working for you? Do you perhaps already have some physical symptoms such as tiredness, headaches, bloating, insomnia, lack of energy, a disoriented body image, relationship issues, lack of drive or direction. Or anything else that does not sit right with you. Think about your goals. What are you hoping to achieve? Is there a specific goal you want to reach, such as a more balanced relationship with food or better stress-reduction habits? Why is this important to you? Any goal is most successful when grounded in purpose.
Meditation, yoga or any other practice, exercise or hobby that helps you connect with yourself.
SLOW DOWN. Your health is your greatest wealth and priority. If you don’t know where to start or everything else sounds like gibberish, this one is pretty simply. Just clear your calendar, baby steps.
Pic: Chiara Hammerer
Towards a healthier, happier mind body connection y’all.
Happy trails and summer smiles!
Con amor,
Evita
PS. I will be posting more often from now on now that I am feeling energized again, pinky swear!
Why did I move back to Finland?
Why did I move back to Finland?
Yes, why!? I guess it’s a fair question and a question I have received a lot. I mean, why would someone trade the tropical breeze, warm weather and an easy lazy lifestyle for slush, darkness and the 9- 5 grind? Why oh why would one leave a life of sipping margaritas on the beach and dem delish tacos for a society where the norm is not to say hi to their neighbors.. And lemme tell ya, dem tacos sooo good. So yes, I get it, it’s a legitimate question to ask and I understand that it might seem odd, and rightly so. But before spearheading into the why’s, I just want to acknowledge that it’s kind of impossible to write this post without spilling the beans on some sensitive and personal stuff. I will do my best to not dive into the details of things, partially to protect the people I have crossed paths with and also to protect myself as I don’t see it necessary to vomit my private life all over the interwebs. That being said, my aim has always been to be honest and to express my truth, so there obviously will be some personal sharing along the way. I also want to emphasize that life isn’t always what it looks like and this needs to be addressed more and more and more. The images we see on social media or in blog posts are merely little, snippets of framed perfect moments, so next time you see a chick posing with a coconut on the beach, don’t be fooled, she might actually be lost.
I mean, look at that beauty. By Jess Leigh.
Perhaps the first step towards answering this question is revealing why I originally moved to Mexico. Well, I moved there right after having graduated to help run my exe’s (important notice, he obviously was not my ex back then) family businesses in a small little beach town, called Sayulita, on the Pacific coast of Mexico. I had been to Sayulita twice before moving there and I had also spent one semester in Bali, Indonesia, so living in a tropical climate was not new to me. Even so, moving somewhere with the possibility of never returning can be a little intimidating. And that it was indeed. Initially, I felt a little anxious, ungrounded and lonely without my tight group of friends and my only support at that time was my partner. I’m a Capricorn and my people are my everything (you might know this if you’re into astrology, however if you think it’s complete woo-woo, well, let’s just say my friends and fam mean a lot to me), so the start was not just smooth sailing. I was surrounded by a new culture and a language that I did’t speak nor understand. I sometimes felt like a sore thumb as I stood out with my light blonde hair, even though Sayulita has a fair share of blonde expats and even more so nowadays. So, what I’m trying to say is, I was faced with some challenges in the beginning. But slowly, just like with anything else in life, I started settling in and making friends and gradually I learned to understand Spanish and then finally later to speak it. Life became easier, things started flowing and all of a sudden I was living the dream in a beautiful, vibrant, boho beach town of Sayulandia (a nickname for Sayulita). My life felt good and things were looking up.
My days consisted of co-leading my exes family businesses (hotels, surf school and shops), practicing yoga, surfing and watching the sun set over the Pacific Ocean, not too bad, huh? So it’s only fair to say that I had a few truly magical years. I was also running my co-owned yoga & surf company, hosting retreats and working for a handful of interesting businesses in a completely new environment. Boy, did I learn a lot and this time definitely shaped me. But as some of us might already have learned in life, life is not always a walk in the park, nor is it always a bed of roses and sometimes it can throw you curve balls. And as you might have guessed, a curve ball was thrown at me. Hard. Eventually it led to me and my ex parting ways.
Okay dokay, so there I was all alone on the other side of the world in a small Mexican beach town. Life hack: do not live in a small town with your ex. Ha, no, but seriously, you can imagine it might just be a little challenging. Also, rumours travel very quickly in small communities and I with all do respect, there’s definitely some cultural differences in how men view women and wether or not it is appropriate to move on (or even be seen out) after a break up (stay tuned for our next podcast on Machismo!!). In the grand scheme of things, I was was alone in Mexico living on the other side of the world far away from my fam going thru a break up in a place that felt like the Big Brother house and everyone was watching the show. As I had worked with my ex (we had a company together) and also with his family biz, it didn’t feel appropriate to continue working with them, so besides to dealing with a break up, I also had to figure out what to do business-wise. Luckily, I quickly found myself on my feet, working with new projects and clients and running my own mini one person company. I also started working within wedding production and for a big luxury hotel along with my private yoga clients. Life was okay…ish, but in all honesty my heart was broken and I felt lost. Fortunately I had a group of amazing friends to share my days with and the distraction of living in a party town. In lack of better phrasing, I had a semi-good time for a while, but as I didn’t fully have a direction in life and was kind of floating in this in-between state of not knowing what to do, I eventually started drifting just a little too much. Unless you have the discipline of a true christian, Sayulita will suck you into the mañana mañana lifestyle. Even tho the easy tropical party paradise lifestyle can sound like all fun and games, it kinda gets old after a while. Not to mention the non existing dating scene in Sayulita that is, well, extremely limited. Slim pickings y’all. Another coping mechanism I had was traveling, which I did to distract myself from the reality of things, and the truth was that I was completely lost. Being lost and ungrounded led me to a couple of very interesting picks on the dating scene (🙈). But they did serve a purpose as they also pushed me towards the direction I needed to go. Which was, back home.
Easy living in Mex. By Jess Leigh.
Slowly but surely I started playing more with the idea of moving back home to the motherland. I even flew to Finland in January just “to see” if I could cope with the darkness and cold weather after having lived in the tropics for so long. My conclusion and field research prove me that it was doable, however not ideal, so I needed to think some more, I reasoned. After my trip to Finland in the winter, I returned back to Mex to now in hindsight, seal the deal and confirm my exit. Another few negative challenges took place of which I can name these few; my house was broken into, my safety emptied (yes they use a lot of cash in Mex and the nearest bank was a 35 min drive away) and I got stung by a venomous scorpion. The latter one was pretty gnarly and almost felt like I was being kicked out of Sayulita. Or as my friends like to put it, I graduated from Sayulita. So being the intuitive spiritual tree hugger that I am, I finally listened to that little whisper inside of me that actually at this point was more like a scream than a whisper, saying “buy a one way ticket to Finland” and so I did. And after that, things just aligned.
Okay, if you spent any time in Finland last summer you probs know that last summer was pretty darn stellar. Some people might call it false marketing, but it surely lured me in. People were happy and smiling, the sun was shining and the weather was almost well, tropical….. but most importantly, it felt right. When you are aligned with your direction, things have a tendency of falling into the right places and sure enough I met an amazing person that summer as well. He might have helped with the whole marketing campaign of Finland being pretty cool 🤩.
So here I am, now 7 months later after having relocated back to Finland (I had to go back to Mex after the summer in Finland), feeling grounded for the first time in a very long time. And, yes, of course the winter sucked, and yes of course I miss Mexico and yes of course I miss my friends and yes Mexico holds a place in my heart forever, but YES, this is where I am supposed to be right now. And it feels freaking fantastic to FINALLY feel like you’re where you’re supposed to be. Because I haven’t felt that in a very long time. And at the end of the day, Finland is such a great place to live in (and we also just won the world championships in ice hockey!!), regardless of the grumpy, non saluting neighbours. And luckily I am privileged enough to be able to travel (yes, I know climate change, but there’s a blog post about this) and visit Mex, which I am planning to do in November (the suckiest month in Finland, come with?).
So if there’s only one thing you take away from reading this whole long story, it’s listen to your gut. Because it knows. Sometimes it’s hard to hear, but the whisper is always there. So pay attention.
Con amor,
Evita
2019, a year to manifest your dreams
2019, A YEAR TO MANIFEST YOUR DREAMS
It’s been forever and ever since I last updated my blog and A LOT has happened since. First and foremost, happy New Year (a little late as we are almost thru Jan)!!! I think I had almost given up on this fun little side thing I used to do, but oh well, here I find myself typing yet again. Happy that you found your way here too and are reading my scribbles.
In a nutshell 2018 was a crazy year. It’s hard to even recap everything that happened and honestly a lot of it is very private & sensitive information and not to share with the world wide web. That being said, with great growth comes some growth pain and what I can say is holy shit I’ve grown this last year. In some circles people refer to the years 2016-2018 as a metamorphosis and explain how the year 2016 was the cocoon year, 2017 the caterpillar year and finally 2018 the butterfly year. When I think about my own past it makes a lot of sense as last year was when I finally spread my wings and flew. Not just figuratively speaking, but I actually flew away from Mexico that’s been my home for the last 6 and a half years. This was a tough transition and something I’m still struggling with. Even if Finland is a great country, holy shit, lack of light is a bitch, I’ll tell you that much. Also, moving from the other side of the world to a new location, even if it’s your old home country, is challenging, on many levels. I feel like I am not the same person I used to be before and I don’t perhaps fully fit in. Yet.
Mexico holds a huge place in my heart and I will always keep going back. And perhaps this is just a lil breather, I mean who knows. Life tends to surprise us in many unexpected ways. Either way I feel that I am where I should be right now and that I’ve made some really smart and healthy changes. That being said, there’s still many things to conquer, manifest and master. BUT I’ve decided that this will finally be the year I step outside my comfort zone and actually make shit happen. If not now, then when!? I guess each January we get a spurt of inspiration and feel more driven, for me especially being a Capricorn and having my bday just a few days after New Year’s it truly feels like I’ve turned a new page in my life. And today I took the first step. I understand all of this might seem a little cryptic as I am not revealing what it is, but I promise you, if you stay tuned, eventually I will reveal and show you guys my new project.
To come back to the metamorphosis I’d say that 2016 was a brutal year in many ways. It felt like I was dragging myself forward and everything around me was collapsing. If some of you understand Tarot cards I’d compare the year to the Tower card in the deck. I guess the year 2016 was only preparing me for the the following year, which was even worse. All this while living in a beautiful paradise surrounded by warmth, the sun and happy people. I guess it’s true what they say that paradise is a state of mind and not a location. The following year, which is now last year, was when I finally made some changes. But the changes didn’t come smoothly. I guess they never do. I remember a teacher of mine always referred to the process of a seed sprouting and how violent the actual transition is as it breaks thru and that this comparison also goes with real life growth.
All in all life is full of mystery and I find that this time of the year it’s a good moment to pause, assess the last year (or perhaps even last couple of years), get clear about what it is you wish to manifest for the new year and do some goal setting. I am a huge fan of vision boards and truly believe in their manifestation power, if you’re unfamiliar with the concept a quick google will do the trick even here. I also love writing things down and journaling about what I wish to accomplish and again highly recommend this practice too. So finally, what I wish to say to you is, let’s truly go after those dreams, cuz if we don’t they’ll come and bite us in the butt on our death beds.
That’s all for now. Go get em tiger.
Con amor,
Evita