friday fixations

{multi-coloured iceberg} This is just too damn pretty.

{scroll down to riker} Super cute.

{ramon todo} I'm so fascinated with the work of this artist. Especially the bones and rocks.

{world's largest ball pit} This seriously makes me so happy, I feel like crying.

{airbnb} I really love the idea of this rental website. Choose your destination, then find a home or apartment to rent in your budget and the area you like. I find this so much more desirable than getting a hotel room.

{nordic christmas magazine} Just a little something to get myself primed for a nordic Christmas this year. I really like the ideas for non-traditional Christmas trees. Depending on the size of our apartment, I'll probably be going that route.

{restaurant day} Basically, anyone who wants to can open their own restaurant for a day. I have dreams of participating and making marshmallows (or something else that's entirely impossible to find in Finland). I'm just slightly bummed out that I'll be missing this one since I want to experience one before trying to do one, but there's another happening in February so I'll keep you posted on how that works out!

{pie chart} A handy little guide to pies.

{no buy gift guides} While it's really fun to start fantasizing about all the things we want at this time of year, the process of moving and getting rid of most of my stuff has sort of changed my perception of gifts. There are already countless numbers of things that I've gone through and gotten rid of that I had that I didn't need or even that I didn't like, and some of those things included gifts from friends and family. While I felt badly (for a moment, really) for getting rid of the item because of the intended sentiment behind the gift, getting rid of it also felt really freeing. I realized that I wasn't looking at something thinking, "Look at this great thing I have! The details of getting this gift are so vivid in my memory! What a great time!" I was mostly thinking, "Remember when this person gave this to me? Nope. But they did and here it is." There wasn't really any emotion behind it which I think really negates the whole point of this season (and giving in general). So this year, I'm far more receptive to memory gifts. A dinner out, a nice walk, a movie -- they don't have to be expensive or fancy moments, just moments that I can remember or have pictures of which I think is a far better gift than a something. I couldn't think of any gift guides that focused on this concept except for the two existing over at Design*Sponge. So read up on them, (2013; 2012; 2011) and maybe start considering doing something a little different this year.