16th Month in Iceland By The Numbers

Sticking with this little tradition I started 16 months ago (wow time has flown by!) it is time for another by the numbers recap of my past month.

Month number 16, you were cold, dark, and well cold, but I made sure to make the best of you! So what do you do when your hiding out inside from the cold and trying to fend off the winter blues? You redecorate, have game nights with friends, and enjoy every minute outside that you can, and that is exactly what I did this past month.

So let’s say goodbye to month 16, and start this recap off with one of the most magical moments from my 16th month in Iceland!

One item crossed off my Icelandic bucket list

Northern Lights, IcelandNorthern Lights, IcelandIt doesn’t matter how many times I see the Northern Lights I am going to be in awe every time! And thanks to my new camera I finally was able to capture a bit of the magic of the Northern Lights on film and cross an item off my bucket list.

Two exhibits visited during the Reykjavik Light Festival

Reykjavik Light FestivalReykjavik Light FestivalReykjavik Light FestivalWhat is a city to do when they are in the middle of a long dark winter? Throw neon lights on everything that is what! I wish Hallgrimskirkja was lit up with dancing neon lights every night!

Three hours hiking around Helgafell

Helgafell, IcelandHelgafell, IcelandHelgafell, IcelandHelgafell, IcelandIt may have been a bit icy at times but it was so worth it to get outside and hike around this beautiful area! I can’t wait for more hiking adventures once it warms up a bit. Iceland is packed full of beautiful places to hike and I am ready to get out there and explore!

One weekend spent painting our bedroom

Weekend in IcelandWeekend in IcelandWeekend in IcelandIt is amazing what a little bit of paint can do for a room. My bedroom went from a very white room with a hospital vibe happening to a colorful cozy room I love spending time in. Added bonus, we got a new mattress, it is like sleeping on a cloud, oh how I am loving my room now.

Ten snowballs thrown in a mini snowball fight

Snow in Reykajvik H and I let out our inner kids and spent one Sunday morning having a mini snowball fight in our street. That is until the kids on our street came outside to play and we booked it, there was no way we were getting in the middle of their “real” snowball fight ha.

Fourteen waffles made for Galentine’s Day

Galentines DayFor February’s Girl Gone International event we hosted a Galentine’s themed evening. It was so fun making waffles for all the ladies and I loved all the Parks and Recreation references throughout the night, I don’t think I stopped laughing other than when I was shoveling waffles into my mouth. If you haven’t yet already, look up a GGI in your area, such a wonderful group to be apart of and I am loving being one of the Reykjavik host.

Two sunny days!

Walk by the sea, ReykjavikWalk by the sea, ReykjavikSunny winter days in IcelandOkay it is a bit depressing writing down two sunny days but after such a long winter those two days need to be celebrated! As soon as I see the sun shinning I layer up and head outside, I need to soak up every minute of Vitamin D that I can!

Sixteen hours of my life documented for the blog

A Day in the LifeA day in the lifeA day in the life This was such a fun post to write! I felt like I was being followed with a camera crew all day, other than the fact that my camera crew consisted of only me. Days just fly by but having to document everything I was doing made me really think about the little things I get up to each day. I hope you all enjoyed reading it because it is a post that will show up on the blog again I am sure:)

Fifth Valentine’s Day celebrated with H

Valentine's DayValentine's DayValentine's DayValentine's DayValentine's DayH and I kept out Valentine’s day celebrations pretty low key this year, and it was wonderful. We gave each other DIY gifts, which are my favorite kind, had a lunch date with some tasty burgers, and spent our evening in our pjs drinking red wine, eating a cake shaped like a rose and watching Parks and Recreation, my kind of day.

And lets back up to the DIY gifts we made. I am the least crafty person I know but I am so proud of myself with the gift I made! After browsing Pinterest I got the idea to create a date book full of date ideas for each month of the year. I filled my date book with date ideas for each month, plus a few extra date ideas, and added a few cards with little things I love about H. Awe, so sweet I know. As someone who avoids crafts I really enjoyed making this one and H loved it. Bonus, now we have a full year of date ideas which is perfect for an indecisive person like me :)

Three days studying for my Icelandic test

A Day in the LifeIcelandic testLast week was full of studying for an Icelandic test, which H quickly became my tutor in, and wow am I glad it is over. That test was so hard but I think I learned a bit more Icelandic, just a bit.

First month of sponsorships!

AdvertisingAfter several weeks of debating I finally decided to open up sponsorships on my blog. It is exciting and nerve racking at the same time! So far I am really enjoying it and all the lovely bloggers I have made connections with (check them out on my sidebar!). And if your looking for a new blog to sponsor I will just throw in a little self marketing here and recommend you check out my advertising page. I will work my tail-feather off for you and your blog, just sayin :)

On to month 17th! The days are getting longer, Easter break is just over a month away, and the hope of spring is in the air. We have lots of fun things on the calendar this coming month, in fact every weekend is now booked with something until sometime in mid April, yikes. It is going to be a busy, but fun, month number 17!

Previous by the numbers month recaps:
First Month in Iceland by the Numbers
Second Month in Iceland by the Numbers
Third Month in Iceland by the Numbers
Fourth Month in Iceland by the Numbers
Fifth Month in Iceland by the Numbers
Sixth Month in Iceland by the Numbers
Seventh Month in Iceland by the Numbers
8th Month in Iceland by the Numbers
9th Month in Iceland by the Numbers
10th Month in Iceland by the Numbers
11th Month in Iceland by the Numbers
12th Month in Iceland by the Numbers
13th Month in Iceland By The Numbers
14th Month in Iceland By The Numbers
15th Month in Iceland By The Numbers

February 24, 2015 by
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  • http://guntersabroad.blogspot.com/ Jamie | Gunters Abroad | Fit F

    Yay for 16 months!! I think I’m right there with you…I lost count lol! And I think advertising is an awesome idea! I just check and your already booked up woohoo!! I will be signing up for sure ;)

    • http://unlockingkiki.com/ Kaelene @ Unlocking Kiki

      I know! I had to go back to my last month by the numbers a few times to make sure I had month 16 right, I have totally lost track of time. Its funny because I counted every single month to the day until month like 7 or 8 ha. And yay hope to see your lovely button on my sidebar:)

  • http://www.adventurings.com Cynthia

    A dark and cold month, but a good month. That photo of you and H with the Icelandic book still cracks me up…. he is smiling such a knowing smile like, “yeah, Icelandic is hard”. Your 12 months of pre-planned date gift is such a wonderful idea!

    • http://unlockingkiki.com/ Kaelene @ Unlocking Kiki

      Haha I think that is exactly what H is thinking lol.

  • http://www.deutsch-bitte.net/ Natalye

    Looks like a productive month. And while it doesn’t get dark for as long here as it does up there, I definitely know what you mean about the sun! So glad to be on the other side of winter, with more of those sunny days coming up!

    • http://unlockingkiki.com/ Kaelene @ Unlocking Kiki

      Me too, I am ready for more sunny days and to leave those long dark winter days behind!

  • http://www.somethingsaturdays.com/the-blog.html Elizabeth @Something Saturdays

    Referring to the Day in the Life post: it’s actually crazy what people do in the span of a day that they forget about by the end of it, so it’s cool to record everything for one whole day!

    I guess that’s the good thing about blogs in general - they’re great to look back on and see everything you’ve done!

    • http://unlockingkiki.com/ Kaelene @ Unlocking Kiki

      Isn’t it though. We just get so use to our routines that we don’t really think about everything we get up to so it was a fun way to reflect back on the whole day!

  • http://the.pyreflies.org/ Jessica ThePyreflies

    That date book full of ideas is so cute! I know someone else who wrote down 12 date ideas for the year (one for each month) and I thought that was fun too. I really should come up with my own!

    Jessica
    the.pyreflies.org

    • http://unlockingkiki.com/ Kaelene @ Unlocking Kiki

      It was a lot of fun to make and I am excited to do the dates each month :)

  • http://www.adifferentpieceofsky.com Sara

    The Valentine’s gifts are so cute! I too much prefer homemade gifts :) And your Galentine’s celebration looks lovely too!

    • http://unlockingkiki.com/ Kaelene @ Unlocking Kiki

      I am with you, homemade gifts are always my favorite ones!

  • http://www.tothedayslikethis.com/ Sammy @ Days Like This

    Exciting you are opening up your blog to sponsorships! I had been wandering when you would do that. I love the gift you got H, that’s what V day is all about :) x

    • http://unlockingkiki.com/ Kaelene @ Unlocking Kiki

      I know, I took forever debating about it, I remember talking to you about it on your trip, which was much to long ago, come back!

  • http://www.rhymeandribbons.com/ Amanda @ Rhyme & Ribbons

    I’m super impressed by your Valentine’s Day effort! x

    • http://unlockingkiki.com/ Kaelene @ Unlocking Kiki

      Me to ha, I don’t often make DIY gifts so I was quite impressed with myself.

  • http://www.akeanesenseofadventure.com/ Christine @ A Keane Sense of A

    How fun are those neon lights?! Dance party! ha And love the homemade gifts! I need to throw some hints to my husband lol

    • http://unlockingkiki.com/ Kaelene @ Unlocking Kiki

      Right! Ha that is what I think of whenever I see neon lights, dance party. H is always making me homemade gifts so I am trying to keep up. That is what I get for dating an artsy guy ha.

  • http://hillaryharper.squarespace.com Hillary @ Good Day Sunshine

    The Northern Lights are so magical! I wanted to see them so bad while I was in Norway this past winter but it never happened.

    • http://unlockingkiki.com/ Kaelene @ Unlocking Kiki

      Oh darn! Next time your this way hopefully you will see them :)

  • http://ceciliaintherain.wordpress.com Cecilia

    Kudos on the valentines gifts! love the look of them! and yay for daylight coming back - can’t wait!

    • http://unlockingkiki.com/ Kaelene @ Unlocking Kiki

      Thank you, it was a lot of fun making the gifts as well:)

  • http://www.clemandmarcella.wordpress.com/ Marcella ~ WhatAWonderfulWorld

    I love these updates and yay for two days of sun, those pics are so pretty :) What a great Valentine idea for the dates, that must have been really fun to put together!

    • http://unlockingkiki.com/ Kaelene @ Unlocking Kiki

      I am looking forward to all the dates we have planned for the year now:)

  • Beth

    Congrats on taking (and passing?) your Icelandic test! :)
    I imagine during the two sunny days, everybody shut down to go soak up the Vitamin D.

    • http://unlockingkiki.com/ Kaelene @ Unlocking Kiki

      I sure hope I passed the test ha I am just glad I survived taking it :) Sadly the sunny days were still freezing so no one ventured outside for too long, but I will take a cold sunny day over a stormy one!

  • http://www.brookemeaganjones.com/ Brooke Jones

    Yay for longer days!!! Looks like another great month! Love that light festival. That would definitely give my mood an instant boost. Love your little DIY Valentine’s Day gift! I did something similar for Aaron a couple of Christmases ago and I was so proud of myself. I’m not crafty either. My mom is and she didn’t share any of that gene with me!

    • http://unlockingkiki.com/ Kaelene @ Unlocking Kiki

      Same here, my mom is so crafty and I definitely did not get that gene! Go us for putting in the effort though :)

  • http://mishfish13.com/ Mishfish13

    Whoa! That color really added some personality to your room, haha. I wanted to go to Iceland to see the northern lights, but the flights were expensive and I was worried I wouldn’t be able to see it in a week’s time!

    • http://unlockingkiki.com/ Kaelene @ Unlocking Kiki

      I think so too, color can really bring some life to a room :) The northern lights are tricky ones, you never know when they will make their appearance!

  • http://www.undertheashtree.com/ Ashley Hufford

    Awesome!! Sounds like fun (and semi-stressful) month!!

    • http://unlockingkiki.com/ Kaelene @ Unlocking Kiki

      It was thanks, hope you had a great month as well :)

  • http://www.beingleanna.com/ Leanna @ Being Leanna

    Love these posts! Sounds like you had a great month. I hope you did well on the test! I am so excited that you’re sponsoring me! This is the first time I’ve ever put a banner on someone’s page and i’m extremely excited with how it’s going. I appreciate all of the shoutouts you’ve given me!

    • http://unlockingkiki.com/ Kaelene @ Unlocking Kiki

      Thanks Leanna! And I am so happy that you are enjoying your sponsorship experience!

  • http://www.amyandthegreatworld.com/ AmyMacWorld

    Woohoo sixteen months! Congratulations. Seems like February is treating you well so far :) that 12 months of dates is a fantastic idea-great work :)

    • http://unlockingkiki.com/ Kaelene @ Unlocking Kiki

      Thanks Amy :) Now if only Spring would make its way over that would be great.

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