Archives for December 2013

Best of 2013

December 30, 2013 by Kiki 12 Comments

Happy New Years Eve Eve everyone!
I am beyond excited to be celebrating New Years Eve this year in Iceland. Rumor has it this is the place to be on NYE and I can’t wait to see the firework show I have heard so much about! Aside from a kick ass party, fireworks and a midnight kiss New Years to me is also a time to reflect back on what the past year and to make goals for the next year.

Looking back on my 2013 it was quite the roller coaster of a year for me. From going back to my college job and taking classes to pursue a second degree, reuniting with old friends and saying hard goodbyes, to making the move to Iceland it has been a busy year! Before I get my NYE party hat on and welcome 2014 I wanted to reflect back on my year and share some of my favorite moments from 2013.

Getting matching tattoos with my Mom and Grandma
My little sister is type 1 diabetic and she is the bravest person I know. To show our never ending love and support for my sister we decided to get matching tattoos of the diabetes ribbon inside an infinity symbol. We got the idea after my sister had seen a family who had gotten similar tattoos and had told me what a cool idea she thought it was. While it was my second tattoo it was both my mom and grandmas first and it was quite the interesting experience. Once we showed my sister our tattoo’s, which was a complete surprise, and I saw her faces it made it all worth it and it is such a special memory to me.

Lady Gaga concert
Lady Gaga’s concert was nothing but amazing and my mom and I had a blast, definitely one to check off the bucket list!

Easter trip to Iceland
After H had visited me in January we were reunited In March back in Iceland. I spent a few weeks here and had the chance to celebrate Easter with some waterfalls.

Ran my first Marathon
In April I ran my first full marathon in under my goal time of 4 hours! The pain and joy I felt during this experience was unforgettable and I am now hooked on running races. Next up another full marathon this summer here in Iceland.

Abolition Project fashion show
May not only brought my 24th birthday but also the chance for me to participate in a fashion show with Abolition Project. Abolition Project is an organization with the mission to stop human slavery through the art and fashion made by the everyday person.They promote such a great cause and I am so glad I had the chance to participate in one of their fashion shows. Bonus, my sister got to walk the runway with me, and I didn’t fall!

Running in the Dirty Dash

This summer H came in June to spend a month with me and the first thing on our list was to participate in the Dirty Dash. The Dirty Dash is a 5k mud run filled with mud pits and obstacles. Costumes are also encouraged and we like to go all out with costumes, even if they are about to get ruined by the mud.

Road trip to California

In July while H was still here we packed up my car and headed down to California for a week long trip. The trip was full of wonderful memories with some of my favorites being our rides on the trolley cars in San Francisco and our visit to Napa Valley, aka wine heaven.

Willamette Country Music Festival

To close out the summer in August I went to a 3 day music festival with my parents and it was an absolute blast! My parents sure know how to have fun and they can rally much better than me. I was glad to have that time with them knowing I would be moving soon, and of course seeing Carrie Underwood in concert was pretty awesome as well

Moved to Iceland
In October I packed up my bags and made the move to Iceland. It was the most nervous, terrified, and excited I have ever been. Saying all those goodbyes was very difficult and it has not been an easy transition for me but I am happy to be starting 2014 in Iceland.

Started a blog

In November I finally got the courage to do something I have been wanting to do for a long time, start a blog! Unlocking Kiki has been a wonderful experience so far and I am already hooked on blogging.

The small things that make me smile
All of this pictures are things that make me smile when I look back on the year. Morning cuddles with Azora, reuniting with my childhood best friend for many nights filled with nonstop laughter, my sister finally turning 21 and being able to go out and have drinks with me, and of course that sushi that I now dream about over here in Iceland!

Through it all I am happy with where I am ending 2013. I feel like I am in a good place to make some great things happen in my life in 2014 and I am so excited to see where things will go. I hope everyone has a wonderful and safe New Years Eve and that 2014 is all you hope it to be!

Question of the Day?
What is a favorite memory from 2013? Will you make a New Years resolution this year?

First Christmas Abroad

December 27, 2013 by Kiki 15 Comments

This week has been filled with family time, lots of laughter, and more food then I think was possible for me to eat. After all the delicious Christmas food I have been left feeling like this adorable guy.
Growing up with pugs this picture just cracked me up. Those dogs are such characters and I am pretty sure this was how I looked laying on the couch after the Christmas dinner.

My Christmas celebration began on the 23rd with a evening stroll on Laugavegur, the main shopping street in downtown Reykjavik. Its a tradition that on the 23rd people walk downtown to finish up some with last minute shopping, meet up with friends, or just wander the streets and see what is going on.As you can kinda see in this picture the streets are just packed! It was fun seeing all the Christmas cheer and listening to carolers along the way. My night even including shopping alongside Bjork, no big deal:)

Christmas Eve is the main day of celebration here in Iceland. We started our day with a delicious lunch with H’s family that included rice pudding, smoked salmon, and smoked lamb with the Laufabrauð we just made, which is so good together! We spent the rest of the afternoon playing board games and preparing the Christmas meal, it was a relaxing day and much quieter than the chaotic Christmases I am used to back home. I was completely spoiled by H and his family and had such a lovely time celebrating Christmas with them. They made me feel so welcomed and apart of the family which really helped make my first Christmas away from home much easier.

Christmas Day H and I opened our gifts from each other in the morning, I had to keep a little bit of the American Christmas going on over here. Typically in Iceland the 25th is when everyone sleeps in, relaxes around the house and eats the leftovers which is basically opposite of what I am used to. It was so nice though having a day to just relax and enjoy the day instead of being rushed around. It also gave me time to catch up with everyone back home.My sisters dog Fergus just cracks me up in this picture! He spends the entire time I am on skype with them running around the house looking for me since he can hear my voice. Very sweet and funny at the same time:) Of course I got some Christmas love from my other favorite pup.She looks quite comfortable enjoying the Christmas morning fire with my sister It was great getting to skype with everyone back home but also made me miss being there with all of them. At least I was able to see their faces and send some love, maybe next Christmas they will all be over here with me celebrating the day!

The 26th is a holiday here in Iceland as well so most places are closed on this day making it an extra long Christmas vacation for everyone. I find this so nice compared to what I am use to in America, it is always so exhausting having to go back to work the day after Christmas so it has been great to have these extra days to just lounge around and try and come out of my food coma!

We spent our afternoon on the 26th out enjoying a walk in the freezing weather. The sun has been out and shining so bright during the few hours of daylight so we couldn’t pass up the chance to get some vitamin D. The pond in the middle of the city is now completely frozen over, it looks like a beautiful frozen wonderland People were taking advantage of the sunlight as well and getting their skating on. I for one am not talented at all when it comes to skating, as soon as those things go on my feet I fall down. So instead we used the sunlight for picture taking.Yes this is how we ice skate, by taking frozen statue pictures of each other while everyone else skates around us:) At least we didn’t fall down! Check out my beautiful new scarf H got me for Christmas, I now finally have one of those thick Icelandic scarves I have been eying since I arrived, to bad it doesn’t help block out the crazy winds!

Today things are starting to open back up again so I am hoping to head out and take advantage of some after Christmas sales, if they even have such a thing here. Basically if something is on sale in Iceland that means that it is a normal price to me and I can justify buying it. Also on the agenda is The Hobbit, which I am so looking forward to! Hope everyone had a great Christmas with their families!

Question of the day?
How was your Christmas this year?

An Icelandic Christmas

December 23, 2013 by Kiki 13 Comments

Merry Christmas and Gleðileg Jól to everyone! Our Christmas cards (yes that is us inside a snow globe) another crafty creation by H

In Iceland Christmas is celebrated on the 24th so that means tonight is really like my Christmas Eve! Tomorrow we will be enjoying an Icelandic Christmas dinner that I am looking forward to learning how to prepare as well as eating. Here is a quick recap of my weekend though before I am off to enjoy all the Christmas fun this week.

We spent our weekend finishing up the last things before Christmas and I am glad we can now just relax and enjoy. On Saturday I headed downtown to finish up some shopping and was joined with what felt like the entire population of Iceland. At least I got to enjoy surroundings like these while out in the busy streets of downtown Reykjavik. I know it looks like I am out shopping at midnight but these photos were actually taken around 5 in the evening, they weren’t joking around about the dark winter days up here! At least we have all the beautiful Christmas lights to help brighten up the dark winter days.

When I was downtown the streets were filled with Christmas spirit. Carolers filled the streets with beautiful Christmas music, several Santa’s were wandering the city, and almond roasting stands where on every corner. Walking in the city really got me in the Christmas spirit and I definitely needed that to fight all the crowds. I finished up my shopping at the Christmas market they have set up in one of the city squares. While the Christmas market here is nothing compared to most in Europe it is slowly growing every year. The log cabin booths are filled with handmade crafts, food, and lots of Icelandic wool clothing. Even though its small you can still find some great items here and I enjoyed wandering around the market and picking up the last of my gifts. Once my shopping was finished up it was time to go pick out our Christmas tree. I am so used to putting up our Christmas tree the weekend after Thanksgiving but in Iceland you don’t get your tree until after the 20th of December. The trees are much smaller than what I am use to seeing at home as well, but they still smell just as amazing. Our small but beautiful Christmas tree I am so glad that I was able to get a tree this year and decorate it, its one of my favorite things about Christmas at home and always makes it feel like Christmas is here when the tree is out and ready.

On Sunday I had the chance to learn how to make traditional Icelandic bread called Laufabrauð that is typically ate around Christmas time. I have been seeing them in stores for a while now and have heard stories from H about making them so I was excited to make my own Laufabrauð.Laufabrauð originates from Northern Iceland and are very thin flat bread that are decorated with leaf-like, geometric patterns. Once you have cut out your design you then fry the Laufabrauð briefly in hot fat or oil. It took me a few tries to get the hang of making the patterns in the dough but I think I finally mastered the art of Laufabrauð making.I am so glad I got to join in with H and his family and learn one of their Christmas traditions. Sitting in the kitchen baking Laufabrauð all day reminded me of being home with my family making Christmas cookies as well, just with an Icelandic twist to it:)

It has been a lot of fun learning about the Icelandic Christmas traditions and I am looking forward to spending Christmas day with H and his family. Maybe one year my family will be here to celebrate with me and I can show them what an Icelandic Christmas is all about. At least I won’t have to miss out on seeing any of these faces this year on Christmas morning, thank you skype!My grandparents are the cutest ❤My parents are pretty amazing as well I also wish I had these Christmas pajamas to wear, I can’t believe I left them at home! (My baby sister and Azora are very missed as well Sending all my love to my family and friends back at home this Christmas ❤ ❤ ❤

I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas with your family and friends. Merry Christmas!

Question of the Day?
Will you be spending Christmas at home with your family this year? Do you open your gifts on Christmas Eve or Christmas morning?

Linking up with Lisa, Niki, and Karly Kim for some extra blogging fun!

DIY Snow Globes

December 20, 2013 by Kiki 14 Comments

Happy Friday everyone!

As I have mentioned before crafts and I do not go so well together. I am always the one that finishes my project and then admires how much better everyone else looks compared to mine. Needless to say I lack craft skill confidence. Since I have moved to Iceland though I have quickly learned that unless I want to spend a ton of money I need to get crafty and make some things myself. So I bring you my first DIY Christmas decorations.I have seen the idea for making your own snow globes floating around on Pinterest for awhile now and have always been interesting in making my own. I surprised myself though with how well they turned out and just had to share them with you all. They were so fun and easy to make, and if I can make them anyone can make them! This is a basic list of materials you need, you can use more or less items to make your snow globes more personalized.For our figurines we found these wooden pegs/people at the craft store that H was determined to make into elves.H really got into his creation and they turned out so cute, I just love the hats he made for them

Next I prepared the tray we would be setting the snow globes on by first laying out some fake snow (or whatever material your using to make your snow). Another option is to glue the figurines onto the lids of the jars if you just want to place the jars on shelves and not have them set out on a tray. We didn’t want our Elves to be lonely so we added a tree and a little present. We made the tree out of pipe cleaner and the present by folding up some paper into a box and painting it. Whatever crafty idea hits you add it to your winter landscape for your elves to enjoy. Spray your jars with the can of snow to give it that snow fall affect you get when you shake snow globes.And don’t forget to add some sparkle with lots of glitter.Place jars on top of elves and now you have your own snow globe village to enjoy!These snow globes are so adorable and a hit with everyone that sees them. Finally a craft that I made and am proud of. Our home is nice and cozy now with Christmas cheer and I am ready for the Christmas fun to begin!