I don't consider myself to be an expert on cats, but I've had one for 3 years now and there are some things that you just pick up along the way. Most importantly, I wanted to write this post because I feel like a lot of people would disagree. I mean, when we fist got Oreo, everyone was telling us that cats can't travel, can't be educated and so on. Despite that, we still decided to try and realised that our cat was perfectly happy with all of these things! Sure, it might just be a one-time cat, but I just think that cats aren't as complicated as we believe. ;)

If you know me, you know that my brain is a giant mess when it comes to languages. Sure, my CV states that I speak 4 of them, but in reality, calling what I speak one language would be somewhat of a euphemism. It all depends on the setting I'm in. When I lived in Germany, I was able to manage two languages perfectly fine. Russian at home, German outside of home. No problem so far. The problems started when Matt came in, basically. I consider us a patchwork couple because there's four languages involved. He doesn't speak German or Russian, my family doesn't speak French, everyone's English combined is insufficient for a fluent conversation and my brothers go through a phase where they only speak German anyway. Are you still following? Probably not.

My cat is currently sitting outside our living room, looking at me through the glass door, asking to come in. In a second, I will get up, open the door to let it in and get back to work. And when I do, my cat will take a look around, go back to the door, sit in front of it and meow to be let out. This game has been going on for quite a while, ever since we brought our cat to our new house. Staying in the living room apparently would be too boring...

Moving house with a cat is a whole adventure in itself. And let me tell you, it's not always easy. So if you want to know more about my personal experience with it, just keep on reading!

I've never been big on New Year's resolutions. Not on any resolutions at all, actually. My diets usually last until the next meal and my workout schedule shouldn't even be allowed to be called a workout schedule. I have the self discipline of a two year old when it comes to all these things and I don't even try anymore. And yet, this new year is all about new beginnings for me. New home, new life, new me?

Well, as much as I don't believe in keeping New Year's resolutions, I still decided to make some for the first time this year. I mean, if not now, then when? 😉

Why is it that I always decide to move in the winter? I'm currently writing this post curled up with a blanket in an armchair, right next to two portable heaters, wearing the chunkiest sweater I could find this morning. Let me tell you, the house is freezing cold, it has been for a week and I'm just hoping that we'll get the heating installed this afternoon. And yes, I did just say house and I am so excited to finally be writing from my new little home (not that anyone else cares, haha)!

2017 is almost over, and I really wanted to share some things that I have been loving throughout the year with you! These might seem random or not work for everyone, but I truly love all these products and maybe some of you will, too!

I'm really curious to know if you guys have Christmas markets in your country as well?

I've lived alone a couple of times in my life. When I studied in Paris and actually had an apartment to myself, I was mostly eating pasta with goat cheese. Like, every other day. I did try to be healthy and cook vegetables as well, but I have to admit that it never really tasted right (goat cheese helped).

Then I moved to Oxford where my lovely flatmates usually invited me to eat with them. And for the past 3 and a half years, I have been living with Matt who (thankfully) is a pretty good cook. Hence I find myself in a dilemma: whenever he is out of town, I see myself forced to actually try and make myself something to eat...

And so, while searching for an easy recipe online, I got inspired to do write this post: 7 signs that you are really bad at cooking. And here we go:

Whenever winter is right around the corner, and especially on a cold, rainy day, everyone around me seems to be complaining about the horrible weather. It's such a common opinion that whenever I dare to disagree - or even confess that I actually really love this kind of weather - I get looked at like an alien. I mean, I get it. The cold is not exactly inviting you to go outside. But let's talk about the positive sides of this season, shall we?

1. Drinking hot chocolate with marshmallows

I've been obsessed with this for the past couples of weeks! Oddly enough, I had never tried it before, but seeing pictures all over the internet has finally pushed me to buy some marshmallows. And let me tell you, I didn't know what I was missing all these years! To compensate for that, I'm probably adding way too many marshmallows now...

2. Netflix days on the couch are actually acceptable

In summer, everyone expects you to go outside and enjoy the nice weather, when all I actually want to do is stay inside, right in front of a ventilator (air conditioning inside your house it not really a thing here in Europe), eat frozen anything and most of all, avoid any movement to keep as cool as possible. While I'm probably a vampire and most people don't feel this way, you have to agree that there's something nice and cosy about staying in without being judged for it, watching Netflix and drinking hot chocolate with marshmallows (just saying...).

3. Cosy clothes

Okay, it's true, I'm absolutely obsessed with jumpers and will use any excuse to wear one. But it's not just that! Any item of winter clothing is more comfortable than their summer equivalent. I very gladly switch my ballet flats and sandals to boots and sneakers once it gets colder, and the same goes for jackets: winter coats can be soft, furry and comfy, while summer jackets.. well, I wouldn't know, because I would be way too hot if I wore a jacket in the summer!

4. Decorating your place with fairy lights

Nothing makes a room feel more cosy that cushions, blankets and fairy lights. They're such an inexpensive way to decorate your home, but they make a world of a difference. Plus, they add perfect lighting to a comfy Netflix night with marshmallow hot chocolate...😉

5. The Holiday season and Christmas markets

If Christmas was happening in June, it would definitely not be the same! How could you not love the festive season with it's decorations, treats and family dinners? Aren't Christmas markets and mulled wine the nicest thing ever? Don't you love going gift shopping for family and friends?
I'm not going to lie, I love the pre-Christmas season way more than anything after New Year's. Why won't they leave Christmas markets open until March, anyway?

When I decided to get a cat in Paris, a lot of people were telling me not to. For various reasons. Our apartment was too small, it would smell really bad, we didn't have enough room for the litter box, we didn't have enough time... I heard it all, but when Matt and I got the possibility to save a little kitten, we didn't hesitate for a second. And let me tell you, I don't regret this decision at all!

So, let me address some of the most common stereotypes about cats:

There’s two types of people in the world… book lovers and those who aren’t. I’m totally the person to always prefer the book over the movie, to read until the middle of the night only to realise that I have 2 hours left to sleep, and to get so obsessed with a certain story that I reread it right after I finished it, because I’m not ready to let go.

The fist signs started appearing about two weeks ago. From there, it just got worse. And within a couple of days, it all turned into a disaster: my usually very-fun-to-live-with boyfriend turned into a whiny mess of complaint and exaggeration. His diagnosis? Probable death in the next two hours. My analysis? Yep, you guessed right (and the title of this post kind of gave me away, too): a cold.

There is studying abroad - a very fun and rewarding experience where you get to know a foreign culture and make tons of new friends - and then there is moving abroad for good, which is a whole other experience. I have done both, and while studying in France and the UK has altogether made for some amazing memories, moving to France and working here for the past three years has had many ups and downs that I did not anticipate.

As soon as we get to mid-September, the temperature starts cooling down and everyone becomes much more inclined to spend time inside rather than going out. Add rain into the mixture and you'll soon be looking for fun ways to spend a cosy day inside your house.

I'm not gonna lie, I love rainy days for cosy and chill activities with friends and family, and I wanted to share my favourite ones with you today.

We probably all know these days where you have a thousand things to do and feel like you don't have time for anything. And the last thing you want to do is spend hours in front of your closet, wondering what to wear, because you really just want to keep on your pyjamas.

To be honest, this is basically me all the time. Thankfully, I have worked out a little routine when it comes to picking out my clothes in order to prevent minor break downs every single morning. And I would like to share it with you in this post:

The day I moved to the UK ended up being a minor catastrophy. All went well until I landed in London Heathrow airport and got on the bus to Oxford. Then, nothing worked for me anymore. No matter how hard I tried, I could not understand what the bus driver was saying to me. I tried cooking, but the stove just wouldn't get hot. My bathroom somehow had a European plug, but my toothbrush wouldn't fit it. And don't even get me started on how hard it was to find my way to and back from classes.

Most of it was just due to me being dumb, or having the worst orientation sense in the world. But some things could have been prevented if I had done my research properly. And that's my reason for making a list of all the things you should keep in mind when visiting the UK for the first time (or moving there, like I did):

I'm so excited to wear sweaters again. I feel like everyone loves summer so much and enjoys the warm weather, while I secretly crave to unpack all my winter gear once we get to July. I'd love to live somewhere like Iceland where you get to wear winter clothes almost all year round!

That being said, I have quite an impressive collection of sweaters to fit my obsession with cold weather. And since they're basically my best friends and I've missed them so very much for the past couple of months, I wanted to share my favourite types of sweaters with you!

I've been to London multiple times while I was studying in Oxford. Sometimes it was for shopping, seeing a show, or doing some sort of weird activity I found on the internet (vampire conference, anyone?). That was usually with my roommate or on my own, and I didn't use the time to actually visit the city.
Other times, my family, boyfriend or friends from home would come to visit me and that's when we would do all the sight seeing. Big Ben, Buckingham Palace, St. James Park, London Eye, Shakespeare's Globe... we've all heard these names, and a lot of us have seen these places. Sight seeing is a great way to discover London for the very first time. But it doesn't have to stop there: especially when you're going there a second, third or, in my case, probably the twenty fifth time, you might be interested in seeing different parts of the city.

This is the second time I am writing this post. Do you want to know why? Well, originally I only allowed myself to test out SheIn so I could write a review for anyone who's interested. Since then, it has become my go-to place for affordable fashion. Quite an unexpected turn of events, right?

Not really, actually. SheIn has so many cute clothes and accessories and they are just so cheap. Throw in reliable shipping and a decent quality and I'm hooked.