I worked a week at a showroom of a famous Italian fashion designer. I was waiting for the experience a lot and as a plus I got to work with one of my best friends. The week turned out to be complete opposite of what I had expected…

It was cool to see how you arrange a fashion show, but the way I felt in the evenings after 10-12 hour working days wasn`t nice. I was pissed off and I don`t normally lose my temper that easy. Behind the scenes it isn`t always so perfect as it seems or feels…

In the beginning of the week I got surprised by a Finnish model Anna Piirainen. She came for the test make up and after chatting with her in English we finally found out that she is from Finland. Hih hih…  So cool! I just read that she walked Givenchy in Paris after Milan. I am so happy for her.

One of my favorite models was Kamila Filipcikova. Her personality and beauty was absolutely amazing. It was a pleasure to work with her.

Best parts of the week was meeting new people, talking with the models that came to make the castings and fittings, the fashion show and finally the cocktail party after the show.

Hanne Gaby Odiele`s attitude rocks and so does her dress!

I was supposed to have a business meeting in Helsinki, but there came some last minute changes and my friend had to fly to New York. I already had my tickets and decided to use them anyways. I left Italy`s sunshine and arrived to chilly Finland. My dear friend had arranged a driver to pick me up from the airport. I thought that I would have plenty of time to leave my luggage, change my clothes, say “hi” to my friend and walk to Tennispalatsi for the premium of Wall Street 2, but instead I ended up almost changing my clothing and putting my make up in the back seat of the taxi. I made it to the premium in time (with the driver).

I didn`t have any expectations and I thought that the film was good. The after party was in Tiger. I was starving after skipping my lunch and tried to fill my tummy with Moët & Chandon. Not bad… When the party was drying up we changed to a birthday party where was UltraBra`s acoustic private concert. Cool!!!

Kuva: Pasi Murto

The next day I met some friends and in the evening went to Noolan`s 10^th anniversary fashion show.

I couldn`t believe my eyes when I saw my old friend walking down the catwalk. That was the best surprise of the day. We had so much fun catching up in the backstage and remembering all the crazy things we once did.

The evening ended late like the one before. Helsinki is great and so are my friends.

On Saturday evening was time to return to Rauma`s night life. Yes, there was some. After the private birthday party by the sea we went to Kalliohovi to see Juha Tapio`s concert, made a tour in Apollo and finished the evening in Onnela. OMG! I know!!! I had the best time though and I need to admit that my old friends and the new ones made the night special.

The women fashion week of Milan is almost over for spring/ summer 2011. Last week I worked for Gabriele Colangelo and I will post an article later about the week. I am having some trouble finding the right words how to describe everything.  On Sunday evening there was a fancy party of Ferragamo after his fashion show.  I would have loved to take pictures of the people there; the dresses, shoes and bags were all superb. Unfortunately I didn`t have the guts to disturb people and all I have is only a few pictures of the party.

Quite a piece of art outside in the square.

I came in at the same time with Claudia Schiffer. She is even more beautiful in the real life than she is in the pictures. I need to admit that rests of the celebrities were pretty much unknown to me…

Last weekend was the wedding of Cècile and Luca in Varese about an hour away from Milan. The sky broke before we even got to the church up in the hills. In Italy there is a saying “sposa bagnata sposa fortunata” meaning “wet bride, lucky bride”. I believe that even all the guest will be fortunate because it rained the entire day.

I had to use my flip flops when walking to the church. I didn`t wanna ruin my Roger Vivier heels…

The place of the wedding party was Villa Andrea Ponti built in 1858 by Milan architect Giuseppe Balzaretto. It was beautiful. I was enjoying of the day and finally when going to the wedding I knew some people before. My dear friends from Berlin were also present and that made the party even more special.

One of the stars of the wedding was for sure little Grace. She was adorable and her mommy promised that if I ever need a child model for my baby clothing line she will be available. I can`t wait to have some time to make the dresses for her.

The catering was really good and that meant that the bubbles never ended.

Lately I have been quite lazy of taking pictures of myself but luckily there are even these 2 of me.

The evening continued with dancing and music.

I guess the next wedding is going to be of my friends…???

I was asked twice today why I haven`t updated my blog for ages. I know, I know… I just have been too busy; moving houses, being back to Finland, working with baby clothing line and getting ready for the women fashion week. No excuses anymore. I took some great pictures from Berlin this July when I spend there an amazing weekend. This article will be more like a photo diary from there.

This was my second time in Berlin, but completely different from my first business trip there about a year ago. We stayed with some friends outside the city center in a big villa, but still only 15 minutes away from Kurfürstendamm. (My definition of the city center is where I can find Chanel & Louis Vuitton stores.)

After the burning hot summer in Milan it was great to get to Berlin where it was green and not as humid as in Italy. I felt more like in Scandinavia there as well. My friends had a huge garden where we had a barbeque party the first evening we arrived.

Something funny was to realize that all the restaurants and bars where we visited during the long weekend were owned by Italians and I never stopped speaking Italian while staying in Berlin.

On Sunday we spend the day in a huge park where there was some kind of outdoor market… and the atmosphere was extremely free.

In Finland I couldn`t imagine people selling and buying alcohol or even some smokes from the streets. The spirit was somehow even too free for me.

Anyways, I had the best time in Berlin and I can`t wait to return there. Tomorrow I will get my friends to Milan and I will post you pictures later of the wedding I am attending. It feels that somebody is getting married all the time… Luckily I finished my new evening dress in time for tomorrow`s wedding.

I planned to dedicate the entire July for my baby clothing line, but instead I had to concentrate on moving houses. What a nightmare! I was such a nerve- rack that I almost drove my friends insane. I have never left until the last minute buying tickets to fly home, but now I had no other choice. I flew via Copenhagen and I was surprised how nice the airport was. Luckily moving took and will still take lots of money, so I had to leave all the stores for the next time. I did drool behind the windows of Hermès and by mistake went in to try on a new bag from Mulberry, but survived to my Turku flight without any extra baggage.

Always when I come home I like to cook my favorite dishes and bake yummy desserts. Last year I gained a kilo/ week during my vacation. This time I don`t want to become “pullukka” and I have already started going to the gym with my dad. I think that now when I do have the kitchen fully equipped and all the ingredients ready why not pamper my family a little bit.

My first 1, 5 weeks I have spend reading in the garden, going to the library, meeting my friends and finding new occupants from our garden. I don`t know any more if I want a baby or a 4 legged friend. Getting friends for visits with babies and dogs is pretty dangerous…

On Tuesday I did make a quick trip to Helsinki with my dad. In 11, 5 hours we managed to drive 510 km, he saw Leonard Cohen and his friends and I had aperitif and a dinner with my friends. That was slightly crazy, but at least I got to see some of my Helsinki based friends.

What are vacations for…?

Last Saturday after returning from Florence we left to Verduno in Piemonte. My friend had already invited me there a year ago, but I never had the time before. This weekend her father arranged a barbeque party and there was a village party after the dinnertime. If someone else besides me adores drinking Barolo, might be interested to know that Verduno is one of the villages where the vine is produced.

Even before we arrived to the village up in the hills, I fell in love with the scenery. One day in the future I want to make my baby collection`s advertisement pictures there. It was absolutely gorgeous! I understand now why my friend wants to leave Milan`s smog for the weekends and return home.

There was something similar in the narrow streets of Verduno that made me miss my home city, Rauma. I can`t wait for August to return home. Walking around the village after lunch didn`t take that long. There are about 530 habitants in Verduno.

The barbeque party was great and I met a bunch of cool people. I was surprised of the amount of red wine we enjoyed during the evening. Grappa was very popular during the evening as well. It was too strong for my taste and when I saw how it made the guys sweat I left it for them. ;o)

On Sunday we stopped in Alba for lunch. It must have been +35C and we couldn`t wait to get into the car where it was cooler. My dear friend is unfortunately leaving from Milan to Australia and he had his going away party in Parco Sempione late afternoon. I don`t know how to survive here without him after he is gone. I know for sure that I will miss him like crazy…

I dedicate this song to my dear friend. He knows for sure why. <3

I want to start my own line of baby clothing, but getting started and learning what is possible and what I should do isn`t that easy… Sure it would be easier if I would have a daddy to pay it all, but I do not. (Pappa betalar inte!) So I need to understand well how everything works before I start investing for my own brand. We left to Florence with my friend Betta on Thursday for a little vacation with a plan to visit Pitti Bimbo, a fair of children`s clothing.

The trip started already with bad luck. We couldn`t get the hotel we had booked and ended up walking around Florence with our trolleys. Finally after 3 hotels/ B & B`s we settled down in a residence close to the Duomo. The owner of the place seemed crazy, but we didn’t have any other choice. We spend the rest of the afternoon wandering around the center and shopping with our friend Francesca who came to the city to meet us.

All the happenings seemed so absurd that we decided to dedicate the evening for bubbles, nice dinner and new friends.

The view from our roof top terrace was not bad at all after all.

On Friday we went to Pitti Bimbo and spend the whole day there. The fair area was amazing, but walking around in hot Italian sun was pretty tough. I wasn`t allowed to take that many pictures which is a shame. Some of the clothing was so pretty.

I had a thing for Snoopy when I was younger and I still find them adorable. I remember making clothing for them already years ago.

Silvian Heach`s department was cool like a year ago in Berlin`s Bread & Butter.

Like quite often in Italy (every other week), there was a strike with the trains and we ended up waiting for 4 hours for our evening train to home. Finally when we were in the boiling hot train with tens of others the train stopped in Mantova for a lack of crew?!?!?! We arrived to Milan at midnight. I had a headache since the morning and at some point on our way home I was sure my head would explode…

Like always everything comes at the same time… On Saturday morning was the second wedding of the week of Simone and Federica. I have been waiting for somebody to get married for the past few years and now it was twice in 4 days. Friday evening was a huge birthday party of my sweethearts and of course I wanted to celebrate with them. I wasn`t having a blast anymore on Saturday morning. I honestly was ready from bed to get out of the door in 20 minutes. I didn’t have much of a choice because my ride came.

I was terrified how to survive (read: stay awake) the whole day. Outside the church I met a bunch of new people (also the groom to be) and by mistake dropped down my bra. Luckily I was still in the mood of the night before and I only made the others smile. My new friends were great, I can`t wait to meet them again.

The wedding was completely opposite from the one before. The marriage party was organized outside of Milan in beautiful surroundings in Villa Valentina.

The late lunch turned to be a dinner before we get up from the table, but I guess that is the Italian way to celebrate.

The wedding lasted the entire day and when we finally returned to Milan it was ten o`clock in the evening. So much of working or just relaxing anymore… I am happy to attend these weddings though, one day it will be my turn. Vero Amore mio?

It is a while since I was in Paris last time with my Dad and my little brother (who is not so little anymore).  I wanted to get away from Milan for a long weekend and got a bargain of flights to the romantic French capital. I have some friends in the city, but for my surprise I didn`t get to see any of them. Some friends I have! I didn`t mind, my long weekend seemed to be too short anyways.

The weather was windy the first day we arrived. We walked from the hotel in Latin Quarter to the Seine to see Notre-Dame. Already after the first day I noticed that the distances in the map aren`t the same when walking. I fell in love with the Latin Quarter and its atmosphere, I guess just like all the other tourists.

Finding a restaurant where to eat wasn`t easy. There were so many options. We made a wrong one in the beginning, but luckily I kept my mind and we changed place. All the other evenings we ate great. The trick of the cheap restaurants in the area was great; you eat cheap and spend the same money for a bottle of water and a glass of wine. Nice!

You really get to see the most when walking around. We did take the taxi pretty often as well, mainly evenings.

My idea of paradise… <3

I really liked the architecture in Paris. All the buildings were light colored or white, in Milan they are all darker. I found the city beautiful and I was even planning to move there. The only problem is French people… I do prefer Italians!

The French style…?

I had an awful luck. I had a few things in my shopping list from Louis Vuitton and Hermès, but the entire city of Paris didn`t have the pieces I was drooling. Maybe it was a sign that I shouldn`t get them… Can`t be possible!

We were pretty good being tourists; we saw almost all the major landmarks. There was no time for museums, but that was fine. I have seen Mona Lisa`s smile before and some amazing paintings in Musée d’Orsay. This time I liked to take it easier; watch the people and enjoy the Parisian spirit.

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Cool!  The Crookers` poster was in Pigalle. We went to see their record release a few weeks ago here in Milan. I might post something of that night later. I didn`t know that they are so big in the world.

The long weekend was great! I have way too many pictures from Paris, what a shame that I can post only a few of them. Now planning the next weekend break somewhere in the world…