Life In Oslo

Category: Utvalgte moteblogger • Author: Airam • Comments: Comments Off

It’s my second week here, Boyfriend came yesterday and I’m applying for jobs like a mad person. Still no internet, but I’ve found a lovely café with free WiFi, so I’ll keep you up to date whenever I can. I know some of you are very curious to see my new place, so here we go!

These are my very first pair of properly red shoes, and they make me happy every time I see them.

I know my closet looks insanely tidy – I can assure you this is not its normal state, but as most of my clothes are still at my mother’s, this is all I’ve got. I’m becoming very good at accessorizing.

Yesterday’s to-do list, and it’s my pleasure to say I’ve done everything on it (except for one little thing, but that’s no hurry).

Isn’t she a beauty? The only problem is that I’ll probably end up killing her. Unintentionally, of course.

The kitchen. The steps to the left lead up to a tiny attic.

I bought these at a market on Sunday, I like that they look a little dangerous, but still pretty.

Yes, I took a picture of my breakfast, simply because the colours were so pretty. I promise this won’t turn into a food-blog, though!

Bathroom. It’s so light and airy you just can’t believe it! My first day alone I had to sit on the floor and paint my toe nails, just to enjoy all the space properly.

The living room, which transforms into my bedroom at night. It’s a work in progress, but it definitely has potential.

Outside the windows there is this enormous tree, which filters the light during the day and protects me from curious eyes at night. It’s almost like living in a forest, except once I leave my apartment I’m smack in the middle of everything. I really don’t think it could get any better than this. When are you coming home, Cookie? The tree says hi.

Not Homeless Any More!

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See those papers in my hand? They’re saying I have an apartment in Oslo with my sister Cookie – happy papers indeed! We’re renting, of course, and will be moving in next week. The price is high, but it’s completely worth it. Just look at the kitchen!

Cookie was happy, too, naturally. Not only because of the apartment, but because she had to buy five pairs of dancing shoes (including pointe shoes) for her studies.

I can hardly wait to fly down and get started on my life there, but there’s still a week to go and some things to sort out. I need a job quite desperately, and I’m also sad because it means leaving darling Boo, my band and Boyfriend behind in Tromsø. Still, it had to be done, I felt like I was wasting away up here, and Oslo will be a fresh start. Fortunately, we do live in the 21st century, so they’ll be just a few hours away by plane.

What do you think of my new “watermark”, by the way? Maja made something similar for her photos and I absolutely loved the idea, so I stole it (with permission, of course) and adapted it to include my url. I still need to work out a few kinks, but I like the concept a lot!

Twilight Eclipse-Hair

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My sister Cookie and I just got back from the premiere of Eclipse, and I have to say I was pleasantly surprised. More on that tomorrow, I think, right now I just wanted to show you how my hair looked. You see, I’ve discovered a new way to create curls using my ghd-straightener – here’s how you do it:

I like how the curls resemble the ones you get from rollers, but this method with straighteners works better with my hair, as rollers tend to just make my hair a big poof that goes flat after a few hours. I also have a strong suspicion this might be the way to create those 40′s curls I so desperately want, but I’ll have to practice a bit more first.

This method is slightly more advanced than the good old ribbon curl, as it looks the best if you can make all sections curl the same way (this will make it resemble roller curls/pin curls even more), and kinks are hard to avoid. Still, I’m determined to master it, so expect a lot of curl-talk in the near future. If I get really good at it, I might even make my own tutorial, if anyone’s interested?

PS: Thank you for the photo, Cookie! And don’t worry, I’ll be back before you have time to miss me.

She’s a Dancer

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Did some photos of my sister Cookie the other day, as we had to show off her new thrifted skirt (49,- NOK, if you can believe it!). Isn’t she gorgeous?

Which photo do you like the best?

Lately in Pictures

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The nails for my vocal exam. Very sparkly, quite time-consuming and slightly unpractical for everyday wear (the glitter won’t stay completely flat, not even after seven (!) layers of topcoat).

My drummer’s set list for today’s vocal exam. The numbers represent “bpm” (beats per minute), and yes, that’s my lipstick mark. I did that on all the programs to give them a more personal twist.

My Saturday was like this. Ah, simple life.

The skies at 11 p.m. yesterday. Northern Norway is very pretty nowadays, with the midnight sun and all.

Photo shoot: You’re a Stone Fox

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A while ago Cindy and I did a photo shoot together, and here are some of the pictures I shot. Editing them, I couldn’t help but be inspired by the Virgin Suicides, as I’m reading the book for the umpteenth time and still love it. The movie is gorgeous, too, by the way.

Cindy is a joy to work with (as you can probably tell). She’s very creative, but often in a completely different way than me, which always makes things interesting. You up for another one as soon as we’re in the same city again, Cindy? Please say yes, it was so much fun!

Outfit Again

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New favourite earrings: H&M.

Shoes: Eurosko (I think?), tights: Lindex, skirt: H&M, belt: Topshop, t-shirts: H&M, jacket: Gina Tricot.

Mr. Photographer (thank you for the photos!)

Today in Pictures

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11:43 am. Waking up to what’s practically a blizzard. Yes, snow. In April. Tromsø is brutal.

1:00 pm. Time to put on a face. Can’t be bothered to do much because of previously mentioned blizzard, but can at least smell good.

2:58 pm. This is one of the rehearsal rooms at my school. People spend a lot of time in here, and I’ve started doing the same as exams are approaching.

3:01 pm. Rehearsal essentials (from left to right): MacBook Pro, throat lozenges (my voice has been rather sore lately), lip balm, my access card to the school, a portable recorder, water.

4:34 pm. Real comfort food for dinner: pasta, rucola, bacon, onion and a cream sauce. Yum.

6.04 pm and the rest of the day – composing. I have to arrange a song for various woodwinds and brass instruments, plus vocals. Oh, and it has to be done by Friday, which means I’m almost in trouble. Almost, but I’ll make it work.

Having a boyfriend with a 27″ iMac, Logic Pro (it’s a recording application), a midi keyboard and good speakers is so much help. Now I just need to create something. *looking around in search of muse*

Oh, and by the way, tomorrow I have a sweet little surprise for you. I really do hope you’ll like it.

Lost In Ash

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I’m stuck in a hotel room near the Oslo airport, everything is grey and it’s very isolated. I don’t feel very inspired, fashion-wise, but I’ve managed to take some pictures. This is the view from the hotel window, and yes, that’s snow falling.

If you follow the red carpet road, you can find the way out, or -

- vending machines! Containing real food for dinner, and chocolate for dessert. Definitely a good thing when it’s Sunday and everything else is closed or really far away.

Microwave dinner. Not exactly Grandma’s food, but it still did wonders for my mood. And anything good is worth treasuring when you’re stuck in Nowhere!

Yesterday I took the train to Oslo and met these lovely people. They were nice and cheered me up, took me shopping and made me dinner. They even let me win a game of Monopoly, which I appreciated.

Ingvild and I saw a tree with laminated notes hanging on the branches. The spring green one says something like: “New passion and joy. Thank you!”

Oh, and I’ve cut my hair. I’ve got a fringe now (or bangs, if you prefer the American word), and the layers aren’t so pronounced as they used to be. It could use a wash here, I see, but you get the idea.

We have a small hope of being able to fly back home tomorrow. Fingers crossed, eh?

Photo Shoot With Masks

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Cookie, Boyfriend and I suddenly decided to do a little photo shoot in the garden. We found some masks that turned out to be a lot of fun, and Cookie and Boyfriend were wonderful models! I’ll show you more photos later, but here is a little preview. It’s shot by yours truly and fixed by clever little Cookie in Photoshop (with me watching – I’m dying to learn!).

What do you think?

This Is a Happy Easter

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How is your Easter, darlings?

I finished knitting the scarf!

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Yes, Cookie, I finished a DIY. Well, sort of a DIY. I’ve knitted my second scarf, and the first one to turn out nicely. The best thing about it is that it’s so soft and warm. Perhaps I could knit a house of the same yarn? Oh, and I’ve coloured my hair. It’s almost black now (but golden in the sun), and I love the change.

I cannot do any fancy knitting at all, just the basic thing, but the lady at the yarn shop told me that if I used one rather thin (5mm) needle and one quite thick (12mm), it would create a sort of pattern all by itself. The lines that look thin and opaque come from the thin needle, and the wide and see-through lines were made by the thick needle. It turned out so nice I just might have to make another one.

This picture is closest to the real colour of the scarf, a gorgeous, dusty red-orangey shade.

PS: Thanks to Boyfriend for being the photographer. I paparazzied him while he wasn’t looking, moahaha.

Things

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From the paper for the No Siesta, Fiesta!-festival. Translation of the circled part: The costumes of a samba parade are especially important, naturally. This year they’ve had help to dress the participants of the parade. – We’ve been fortunate enough to have Maria Hansen Troøyen (me!) to help us with this. She’s very good with clothes and fashion, and has an eye for the original, so I think this will be really good, says L-Jay.

A Walk in Harstad With Airam

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The gazebo in Harstad is still decorated with Christmas lights. It looks very pretty when it’s dark, but a little absurd during the day.

Some kids had hung some beautiful plastic butterflies in a tree – they’re about as big as my head, and the colours are so lovely.

Cookie fixed this picture for me in Photoshop (thank you, weird one!). It looks like an old movie, don’t you think? The only thing missing is Audrey Hepburn wearing some huge sunglasses.

One of the shopping malls in Harstad (there are three, can you believe it?) has this glass bridge to connect the two buildings. I remember I thought it was sooo cool when they built it.

The reason why it’s called “The General’s Park”. It actually used to be his private garden originally, and wasn’t made public until after the war.

Some street in Harstad. There are lots of old, rather charming houses in that area, with special windows and roofs and such.

This used to be a nightclub with karaoke every Tuesday or something (I never went, actually). Now it looks like a fantastic place for a photo shoot, or maybe to throw a slightly secret concert.

♮ Remember that you can follow me with Bloglovin’ ♮

Harstad Is Frozen

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I’m at my mother’s for the week, spending time with the little sisters and watching three movies a day. I wanted to do an outfit post for you, but it was simply too cold, so you get pictures of some things I like instead.

Band Photos: Solid Breeze

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The band Solid Breeze, photos by me

On Monday I had the honour of taking band photos for Solid Breeze, a jazz band from my school. Before you ask, no, I’m not a photographer at all, but rumours about me having a proper camera have spread, and I’ve had a couple of requests to do shoot some bands. Apparently there’s a real need for someone to do band photos up here, as there are so many bands but not that many affordable people to shoot them.

Although I still have a lot to learn about photography I usually say yes (as long as they understand what they’re getting into, that is). It’s a really nice way to learn, too, and I’m going to be as bold as to say that I’m 200% better now than I was a week ago. If only Tromsø wasn’t so dark at the moment… if there’s one thing I’ve learnt, it’s that there isn’t such a thing as “too much light”.

Also, turns out that doing something creative with band photos is really tricky. I’ve understood that a brick wall is something that must be avoided at all costs (as demonstrated so lovingly in this band photo gallery), but the options are still endless and very limited. If anyone has any great photo tips about band photos/group shots, do let me know!

I have to say this is my favourite photo, simply because it shows off their different personalities so well. I love getting lucky! (and I didn’t mean that in the dirty way)

Why is it that slightly purple B&W’s look so much more alive than the grey ones? It’s becoming something of an obsession with me.

Oh, and the band was great, by the way. It was about -10 C and an icy wind, but they still managed to look relaxed and happy.

Nice going, pretty ones!

Posted in Music-Airam, Playing With the Camera

This Is Where I Live

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I’ve spent the entire day tidying my room and doing laundry (and taking breaks and watching Ally McBeal/Gilmore Girls, of course), and now I can spend time in my room without cringing over the amount of MESS everywhere. Phew. As the place has become rather nice during the day, I thought I’d show you some pictures of it so you can get to know me a little better (and yes, there are still some messy areas, I just didn’t take any pictures of them).

The wall over my desk. Feeling rather B&W at the moment, as you can probably tell.

The shelf is full, which means no more books – or simply keeping the new books in piles everywhere else instead.

My old ballet shoes. If you look carefully you can see my name written on the ribbon inside the shoe.

iPod, sheet music, tiny recorder, notebook for my own songs and headphones. Everything you need to pretend you’re studying music.

I like the increasing amount of tulle and lace that’s been sneaking into my closet lately. Now if only I could find a mint green tulle skirt, preferably vintage…

Today I put all my belts on nails behind the door so they’re close to the mirror. I usually try on at least three different ones, and leave the discarded two on my piano. But nevermore!

Stuff that’s always in my bag: a book, phone, my walletbag, lip balm and a hand lotion.

I’ve learnt how to make origami birds (by looking at this website), and have some special plans for them. More on that later, kittens!

What is your living space like?

Posted in My Life, Playing With the Camera

Happy 2010!

Category: Utvalgte moteblogger • Author: Airam • Comments: Comments Off

First: Boyfriend is wearing an elastic and some cards on his head because of a game we played just before midnight. There, now I can say HAPPY NEW YEAR! I do hope you all had a lovely time?

I spent the day/night with Boyfriend, my mother, Cookie and a friend of hers. Boyfriend set up the table nicely while Cookie and I made ourselves pretty. Then we ate sweets and played this wonderfully entertaining game – it is a version of the one they play in the tavern in Inglourious Basterds, where you’re supposed to guess what famous character’s name is written on the card placed on your forehead. Strangely addictive.

Cookie doesn’t look very happy in this shot, perhaps because the card she wore at the stroke of midnight had “Barbie” written on it, which I insisted would affect her entire 2010. Boyfriend was the Loch Ness monster, and I was the oldest of the Three Billy Goats Gruff, so I can’t imagine how our year will be. I’d take Barbie any time, Cookie!

Boyfriend has been playing with my camera ever since he got here, and now knows much more than I do about how it works. He took some really cool photos of the fireworks, and has also made his own Bokeh, which makes all lights that aren’t in focus in a photo turn the shape of your Bokeh, like this:

(taken with a star-shaped Bokeh)

Cookie and I sleeping on the couch. I have weird hair and a burn on my arm from when I touched a lamp by accident. Said lamp shall pay, trust me. Cookie is the dark, hairy blur to the left, by the way.

I’m in love with my Scrabble ring. I’ve decided to wear it every time I’m singing on stage this year.

Yes, I’m still practicing my nail art. This is how they look at the moment – the only bad thing is that every time I got a glimpse of them while washing the salad, I thought they were spiders. Freaky.

As you’ve probably noticed I’ve started adding a “© Airam” to my photos. I’m not deluding myself into thinking I’m the world’s greatest photographer or anything, but people steal pretty much anything nowadays, so better safe than sorry, right? Do tell me if you find them distracting, though, or if you have a better way to copyright your photos!

Posted in My Life, Nails, Playing With the Camera, Sisters