FREEDOM FASHION: ZEBRA DRESS

  I wanted a black ´n white dress with print. That´s all the plan I had when heading for the fabric store. I found this unusual but subtle zebra cotton knit fabric, that I fell in love with right away. For once shopping was easy!

The texture is quite rough, but the fabric still feels comfortable to the skin and breathes so well.

I surprised myself by choosing to make a dress of the zebra print, because at a first glance it calls for a shirt. When accessorized minimally, the look stays casual yet interesting.

This outfit is a great place to wear my new MBT walking shoes (yes, I know they were a hit ten years ago, but to me they still rock  =), which also dress it down.

Instead of being cut on a straight fold, the center back seam sculpts the figure slightly. The weather is still mostly cool here (I´m even wearing my winter coat still), so I made the sleeves in 3/4 length to keep me warm enough.

With natural makeup and a pair of sleek earrings, this look makes a great staple for work. 

  Two funny occasions took place today, when wearing this dress.
  First at work a colleague of mine came up to me complementing my dress, and telling me she has made a sweater for herself of the exact same fabric! I mean, what are the odds to that?
  And then second, after work shopping for groceries, an elderly gentleman came to talk to me, calling me a princess, and telling me how I looked prettier than the newly selected Miss Finland... What a joke, but we both got a good laugh and he made my day. By no means do I think of him as a perverted weirdo, who ought to go where the sun does not shine. Just the opposite! It´s awesome how he spread a positive and playful tune around him. We need not be so serious all the time, even with strangers!

TEATOX

  I don´t ever recall doing a detox in my life... (if a poor try on Master Cleanse twenty years ago does not count as a detox, it´s more like a fast). My outlook is merely a continuous overall healthy eating, not a diet or detox.

  BUT now I ran into this "teatox", which sounded so subtle and easy that I decided to give it a go. You know, just for fun and to see if it makes me feel any different. For a tea lover like me, a teatox sounds just perfect. =)

The duration is four weeks, during which you drink a refreshing cup of herbal tea right in the morning to kickstart your day, and another the last thing in the evening, every other night, to ease you into a good sleep.

The teabag fills up as it soaks in hot water, and there´s enough flavor to make two cups of tasty brew.

  If there´s any internal clarification or soothing effect on the way from this teatox, I welcome it with open arms. If not, at least I´ve been able to enjoy numerous cups of delicious tea!

PROJECT SUMMER HOME

  Finally we got our hands on the main cabin at our summer home! It is about time to renovate it, we´ve had it for nearly four years now. Easy does it, we´ve learned. Living in and getting to know your property is the key to successful remodeling.

  The ice finally melted off, and we were able to go there by our boat. It actually feels like summer season has started already!

Looking at this picture of our boat bay, it also looks like summer too! But in reality, it was only a bit above freezing...

Signs of spring have arrived here too.

Flag up to show summer season has started! Yay!

The project begins. This is the main room, I guess it could be called the living room. So far we´ve already taken down the old bunk beds and half paneling on the walls. The bunches of panels are awaiting installation.

Originally this room was the kitchen, which we turned into a bedroom two years ago. Now it is getting another makeover.

When it comes to survival in cold and windy weather, something´s got to give. In this case it is style... =)

It was not all springy sunshine, we also got cold rain (and occasional sleet).

An unfortunate creature on the shore...

I got a tip from a Kentuckian friend of mine to try out Jack Daniel´s. Wow, so different and tasty from the Scottish or Canadian whiskies I´ve tried before. Really yummy, and surprisingly girly. Me like. Thanks Carl!

I was actually able to be helpful!

After two days of work. We built a whole new bedroom and added a window to it too. Now there are two bedrooms, in which three of us can sleep (we´ll see where the fourth one will end up... on the couch maybe?).

This is the first bedroom after makeover (the one that used to be kitchen.).

The new, second, bedroom. Here the color of the walls is quite close to the original. We used breathable and non-toxic wood wax for finishing the wood paneled walls.

In between the bedrooms we were able to squeeze a tiny toilet. It will be an eco-friendly waterless one, but more about it later.

  Phew, that was a lot for one long weekend! Now we just can´t wait for the next one!!!  =)

THURSDAY TORTILLAS

  Thursday and tortillas rhyme and swing, making my Thursdays as healthy as these vegan and low-fat tortillas are delicious. It is still a weekday, not yet time to indulge in unhealthy and hard-to-digest party foods of weekend. Especially this weekend when it´s Easter!

A complete meal. Marinated veggies and tofu as the filling.

As much as I like to eat home-made foods, tortilla bread is one thing I cannot do. It always ends up either too thick or too thin, and it always tears apart (I use wholemeal spelt flour for the dough). So this is one place where I take a shortcut, buying them ready from the store. I figure that filling them with fresh, fibrous vegetables adds up to a lunch on the healthy side overall. It´s okay to aim for perfection, but it´s also okay to understand it is impossible (and inhuman  =).

  The recipe (yields two big fajitas):



1/2 small zucchini, thinly sliced
1/2 orange bell pepper, thinly sliced
1-2 tomatoes, halved and then thinly sliced
5 mushrooms, thinly sliced
3-4 kale leaves, finely chopped
6 oz. (200g) firm tofu, cubed

Mix all with this marinade:
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp soy sauce
black pepper
1/2 tsp cumin
1 small clove garlic, minced
cayenne pepper, to taste
a squirt of raw honey

+ Let sit in room temperature for 15-30 min, mixing occasionally.
  Ladle on tortillas, roll up and enjoy.

  If you like yours more creamy, some plain (soy) yogurt or avocado do the trick well!

  This is my version of the always gorgeous Mimi Kirk´s fajita recipe from her book Live Raw. She is such an inspiration!