My favourite shopping centre

I've been feeling a bit feeble lately so I was glad when a friend suggested a trip into town to sweeten our Tuesday afternoon. We always do the same tour: first the recycling centre, then a meal in a fabulous Turkish restaurant followed by luxurious soya lattes in a very nice book shop.

The recycling centre is really the best possible place for hunting for treasures - big or small. You can get anything from sofas to earrings and at a very reasonable price! (This one also has a free shop where you can just get stuff for nothing or bring some things you want to get rid of.) This time I got a bit carried away and got a blouse, a skirt, a toy dog, a towel, a painting, a big wooden toy and a pair of shoes - all this for less than 10 euros! The pair of shoes was my favourite find this time - they're decorated with Mexican sugar skulls I've always found very pleasing!

Chakra sniffing

Picture pinched from www.joogakauppa.com

This weekend I was very virtuous and spent it in a yoga course. I got heavily into it again! I used to do hatha yoga years ago but it had to come to an end when the orange-clad guru (who was a white American trying to speak with an Indian accent, often slipping back into his rather thick Southern accent) wanted to sniff my chakras to see if I had reached an appropriately high yogic level. No one sniffs my chakras so I led an yoga-free existence for several years. This current yoga school (Helsingin astanga joogakoulu) feels right though and so does the type of yoga. I fear I haven't yet got very deep into the philosophy though since I really, really want to go and buy a new nice yoga mat even if my old one still works! ( Well, someone did use it as a mattress in a party few years ago and spilled beer all over it but it seems very durable!) But these days you can get these recyclable ones too, and in pretty colours...

Super slow smoothie

This is what I drank today - minus the beads!

Smoothies are very much the thing in vogue at the moment, I've noticed. Every magazine has to have an issue of super-food smoothie recipes and smoothie bars have started to appear even in Helsinki. I bumped into one accidentally today and gave it a go. It was a place called Cocovi-smoothie bar and had just opened on Monday. ( I didn't happen to have my camera with me unfortunately but another blogger has beaten me to it and taken some rather nice pictures!)

I was served by an earnest young man who was very keen to tell me all the beneficial properties of the smoothie I was going to have.  I chose one that had lemon, orange, ginger and cocoa nibs amongst other things - and something exotic called chia seeds which apparently are a bit like linseed but million times more beneficial! If it was to be healthy it certainly was no fast food either. The careful, loving composing of the drink took about twenty minutes - luckily the smoothie bar is located in an eco shop called Ruohonjuuri so I didn't get too bored! I was starting to regret I didn't choose something from the shop for a quick snack but when I finally got the smoothie I have to say my regrets were washed away! It was indeed delicious - chocolatey but yet fresh at the same time and it did taste like it's good for you. The price felt a bit on the high side - 5 € for a cup - but the smoothie actually was so filling I shared it with my family (who liked it too) so you got your money's worth. But why the plastic cups and straws? I would've been quite happy to pay a bit extra for something more recyclable!

To believe or not to believe?

I am not at all sure that these firming and anti-wrinkling and plumping and whatever eye creams work - still I always diligently use one. Am I a victim of the cosmetics industry? (Maybe, but it's so worrying to think what the state of affairs would be if I didn't use one!) I started using one when I was about 28 and I don't think I look much younger than my current age of 31 - but hey, I don't look much older either! So best stick with the cream! 

I've long used Weleda's organic Wild Rose Eye Cream but my husband bought me this (by mistake I may say!):

It contains organic pomegranate and golden millet and claims to reduce the wrinkles and regenerate ageing skin.  It was also twice the price of my usual one so I expect it's twice as effective too - so I should look like a 16-year old any time now!

Lego jewellery

I've always thought Lego bricks are somehow pleasing objects.  Now I can wear them! These are made by Pop Art jewellery maker called Kookygems. They have lots of other things I'd like to dangle in my ears too! I think the sugar skulls may have to be the next purchase.

Miserable mascara

www.lavera.com

I am not in a perky mood today so I'm  going to tell straight out what I think of Lavera mascara: it's shit. It may be organic and natural but it's still shit. I quite like some of the Lavera products but the mascara is really the worst I've ever tried - and it wasn't particularily cheap either. It didn't stay on the lashes for a minute but did stay horribly smudged around the eyes and was extremely difficult to clean off. And it was of a strange gooey consistency. I binned mine after a couple of cranky days spent looking like a raccoon. 

Get up and jump!

I really like jumpsuits. I think they are a good fashion - or are they out already? Who cares, I like them anyway. I have one black woolly one my mum used to wear back in the 70's - it's really cool. You always look smart in it! And it can easily be accessorized up or down with different belts or shoes. (The only downside is that going to toilet is rather tricky!) I have my eyes on this one at the moment:

The picture is snatched from Fashion Conscience's website!

It's fairly made of organic cotton. I must be strong though. I have too many clothes already. Not one quite like this however...

My sturdy vegan friends

Come summer or winter, rain or snow, punk festival or city holiday they follow me. My mother-in-law bought them for me four years ago and I'm still ever so grateful! They're from Vegetarian Shoes and called Airseal Engineers boot. Mine are with steel toe cap in honour of my punky youth! A word of warning though: if you're after a pair of these you should note that Vegetarian Shoes claims they take little "breaking in". This is the underestimate of the year. Mine took a whole year to get totally comfy and yes, they are the right size. I tried with thick socks, insoles and what have you but still they rubbed my poor toes! Anyway, they've been great for the last three years - I just wouldn't recommend a walking holiday with a brand new pair and no other footwear with you!

I am addicted!

To exercising! If I can't get my dose of  it I will get cranky. Since my daughter was born I don't have so much time in my hands so I've got all kinds of weights and other equipment for work-outs at home. I still do enjoy trips to the proper gym or exercise classes too.  Anyone who does a lot of exercise should take care they have enough protein in their diet. (We vegans have no problems with this - there are even vegan bodybuilders!) You can buy strips of soya or seitan that are made to look and taste pretty much like dried meat - they're packed full of protein and are a very handy snack to have after working out. However, if I'm very lucky this is what awaits me when I come home from the gym:

Slices of tofu fried in olive oil with lemon juice and soya sauce! Mmmm! It's my husband's speciality - I'm specialised in munching them!

Vegan haven

Where can you get a good, cheap vegan meal in a nice friendly atmosphere? And take your kids with you too? Where can you watch an interesting film for free or browse the excellent free shop? In Sosiaalikeskus Satama, of course! They have a nice vegan café every Tuesday starting at five. Sosiaalikeskus Satama is a collectively run autonomous social centre in the middle of a former industrial harbour Kalasatama in Helsinki - now the area is going to be built full of flats so sadly the collective will have to get a new place at some point. They have many interesting activities besides the café - gigs, bike workshop, drum workshop... They got to rent the place from the city because they just kept squatting places until they got something more permanent! Really nice food and nice atmosphere - definitely a good way to spend Tuesday afternoon. Especially when Tuesdays tend to normally be a bit boring somehow!

Last Tuesday´s portion was seitan with rice - there was salad too but I missed it! Not bad for 1 € - and the week before there was a rather delicious blueberry pie too.

Detail from a lovely mural covering one of the walls - the whole place is impressively tidy and well kept. There are even toys to entertain kids!

These shoes are made for working...

Now I fear this isn't a particularly frivolous pair of shoes but I needed something comfortable but relatively smart for work. I do sometimes prance around in heels at work if I need to be impressive but these are all right for the quieter days! They might be OK as summery everyday shoes too. They're from Bourgeois Boheme's own brand so they're fairly made and vegan. A tiny bit on the too sensible side (they're even called "Ertha"!) but I can always wear them with something more outrageous. I bought them from a very nice shop in Helsinki called Heluna Fashion - definitely a luxury to be able to buy vegan shoes on your way home! Just a few years ago you always had to order them abroad  - I actually remember getting my first pair of vegan shoes from Brighton via complicated postal order more than ten years ago!