Things That Make Me Happy Right Now

Lately Estonia has been covered under a thick layer of depressing gray clouds day and night. Darkness arrives earlier every night and it is already really cold for October, it even snowed yesterday morning! Since there are only couple days a week when I am required to be in the office I have started taking a lot of home office to be able to sleep longer. And I also want to avoid going out into the coldness as far as I can. This means that my weekends have sort of stretched to three days long and all of those three days I just lie on the couch either staring at my laptop or TV... I can't remember when I have felt so useless and as if there is absolutely no point to my life anymore. Even if somebody asks me for a drink or whatever I take one look out of the window, see the depressing clouds and people walking with thick hoods drawn over their faces and I return to the sofa... But I am not yet completely defeated! There are still some things that brighten my days in addition to the knowledge that in couple weeks I'm traveling to Turku again. Until then I take joy out of the following:

Candles

When September slid into October it was officially Autumn and it was time to dig out candles in all shapes and sizes! I scatter them around the apartment even with the knowledge of the fire hazard that they present being precariously set on shelves and stools. I hate darkness but the shady light that candles provide I am ok with. It’s very romantic and relaxing and just makes you feel very content somehow.

Flowers

I never bought flowers in Finland. Simply because they are an expensive luxury that is associated with parties and achievements like graduation or a major birthday, and also I was not very good at keeping them alive. But when I moved to Slovakia I saw people every day buying flowers, you could even get a bunch of flowers from the grocery store, they were everywhere. And on top of that they were cheap! So I started buying flowers and it was a very simple way of having a teeny bit of glamour in your everyday life. Nowadays I link buying flowers to having a cleaning day. A messy flat doesn’t deserve flowers, a clean one does. My apartment gets a completely new look with such simple, small additions like flowers. Lilies are my absolute favorite because they have such a wonderful scent. When it comes to keeping them alive I have had to learn through failure. The other day I was googling instructions on how to keep your lilies content and alive while two of my friends texted me how they were knitting woollen socks... The 30's are approaching... Or more like the 60's :D

Red wine

We have this weird “rule” with my girls that during summertime white wine should be consumed, whereas when nights darken we should switch to red wine. It makes sense, though. White wine is lighter and it’s supposed to be enjoyed cold, which suits the warm summer days (assuming we have any). Whereas red wine should be room temperature and the dark colour and taste of it suits the long, dark evenings in the Autumn spent on the sofa with a book or a movie. Somehow red wine defines indulgence and a little bit of simple everyday luxury. When it’s already dark at five and you get home from work, cook something simple but hearty accompanied by a glass of red wine and have yourself a Downton Abbey marathon. I can't help but be reminded that it is the little things that really matter in life in the end. 

Christmas approaching

Yes, I said the C-word! Usually I think that Christmas can be revealed from the cupboards after Halloween has passed but this year somehow I am really looking forwards to the Christmas lights glittering in people’s windows and the Christmas markets opening. Although I think Christmas lights are more of a thing for the Western countries, not so much for Eastern European countries. In Slovakia Christmas decorations home-wise weren't a big thing and I think Estonia is going to be just as disappointing. So I took a little head-start and put out my only Christmas lights, very tacky ones that I got for a housewarming gift in Slovakia. The plan is to buy more and prettier ones as soon as possible! When I go home next I intend to go through mum's Christmas decoration supplies and take everything she can spare back to Estonia with me. My apartment will be a beacon of light for all Christmas lovers arriving to Tallinn from the D-terminal! 

Wolt

As mentioned before I am avoiding going outside at all costs from now until temperature rises to 20 celsius again. And even though the fridge needs filling out every now and then there is an alternative: the app for ordering food from any restaurant to be delivered to my doorstep. Wolt is a Finnish company but thankfully they have also started operating in Tallinn and I happily live so close to the center that I have a huge variety of restaurants surrounding me, from which Wolt will deliver food for me whenever I want it. Their selection includes everything from cheap burger places to fancy restaurants like Kaks Kokka. The brilliant thing is that now I can order 5-star food to a picnic in a park if I want to! I really don't have to go outside for weeks!