9th Month in Iceland by the Numbers

This post was suppose to go up while I was in Croatia so it is a bit late. I am still recovering from my trip but will be back next week with lots of beautiful pictures of Croatia!

This past month has been filled with more rain than should be allowed in the middle of summer. I never would have thought I would be wearing my winter coat in July! But don’t feel to bad, I am currently enjoying the beautiful beaches of Croatia as this post is going up so I am finally getting my sunshine fix.

Without further ado lets get to my 9th month in Iceland!

13.1 Miles Ran
Midnight Sun Run

It has been on my bucket list to run a race abroad and I couldn’t have chosen a more beautiful place to do it at!

First World Cup experience

This video cracks me up and is basically how I feel when watching soccer, someone is all fake falling down!

Three delicious lunches at Gló
Lunch, Glo
This is my favorite place to grab lunch in Reykjavik, I love all the fresh ingredients they use and have never had a bad meal here.

Two trips to Stofan cafe
Blogging
Speaking of favorite places in Reykjavik, I just love this cafe. It has such a cozy atmosphere, like you are hanging out in someones living room, well outdated living room but still it is great.

First time sending someone flowers
Mom's Birthday Flowers
Ordering a flower deliver order online was a new experience to me, I am just glad they made it on time. A very happy birthday to my beautiful Mom!

Five trips to the libraryReykjavik Library
All of these trips where to try and find the third book in the Divergent series. On my fifth time I jumped up and down like a little kid when I saw the book sitting on the shelf. And imagine my disappointment when I was told I couldn’t check the book out because it was on hold.

Two minute walk from my house to see this sunset
Reykjavik Sunset
If it was not cloudy outside around 11 pm you could find me walking to the sea near my house to catch the beautiful sunsets. This night it looked like the clouds were bright red cotton balls, so beautiful!

Three am wake up call
Iceland Planes
It was a rough day of travel but my excitement for our trip got me through!

18 hours in London
London
This was my first time in London and it was an amazing day. A longer trip back is definitely needed!

Two days exploring Dubrovnik
Croatia, Red Keep
As major Game of Throne fans H and I were running around like excited kids. The old city of Dubrovnik was beautiful and we loved exploring the little streets!

One hour ferry ride to Korčula
Korcula, Croatia
Our second stop in Croatia, the beautiful island of Korčula.

Croatia was amazing and I can’t wait to share our trip with you all. This month may of had a rainy start but it sure has ended on a sunny note! And what better way to start my 10th month in abroad than on a beautiful beach in Croatia.

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

Question of the Day?
Where are you traveling to this summer?

School’s Out For Summer!

Happy Monday!

Today is my first day of summer holiday, woo hoo! I can]t beleive I have 5 whole weeks off before it is back to the grind, Icelanders know how to do summer holiday right! With lots happening lately I figured it was a good time for a little check in.

life_lately
Wearing: jeans and sweaters still! Ugh this weather lately has been very rainy and grey and it is affecting my mood. I need some sunshine and am counting down the days until I will be laying on a sunny beach in Croatia!

Loving: that I am now on summer vacation! I feel like a little kid excited for school to be out so I can sleep in and have no responsibilities.

Needing: a spa day, my nails and eyebrows are in serious need of some pampering.

Eating: at my favorite restaurant in Reykjavik today with two of girlfriends.If you ever in Reykjavik looking for a good lunch spot I highly recommend trying Gló!

Watching: the World Cup. I have joined the bandwagon and am now hooked on the World Cup. Although I am quite glad that there is not three games every single night so now we can watch something else, like my other latest obsession Nashville.

Feeling: loved. Is there anything better than that?

Drinking: iced coffee. I finally bought a coffee filter so I can make iced coffee at home, I missed it so much.

Writing:a list of things I want to accomplish over my summer holiday. Lots of writing and crafts are on the schedule!

Training: for another half marathon this August. I almost signed up for the full marathon but H talked some sense into me before I made that decision. Traveling for most of the month before a marathon isn’t exactly the best way to train for one, next year though it is on my to do list.

Wanting: to go on a major shopping spree. Not buying anything new for almost 9 months can really make you start to resent those two bags of clothes you moved with.

Missing: sunny days and warm nights. It is great having the beautiful midnight sun but I really miss those lazy summer nights sitting under the stars.

Wondering: how I got so lucky with my job and co-workers. It isn’t easy being the only English person in the office but my co-workers always make me feel welcomed and comfortable. Having friends in your co-workers really makes work that much better.

Looking: up things I want to do and see in Croatia. I am getting so excited for our trip, only two more weeks!

Thinking: that H and I have totally different ideas when it comes to interior design. For the most part we have been able to come up with a great comprise but at the moment we are currently having a photo wall design battle and I am not feeling his idea. Oh grownup life.

Reading: my NASM textbook. I only have a few more months before my personal trainer certification exam and I have really been slacking on my studying. Time to kick it into gear and get my study on.

Laughing: at the skype conversation I had with my family yesterday. No matter how far away I am they can always make me laugh.

Wishing: my family could come visit me this summer. I can’t wait for the day they visit so I can some them all over my new home.

Dreaming: of a new camera. Sadly this won’t happen until I go home this Christmas but until then I will keep dreaming about all the beautiful photos of Iceland I will be able to take with a proper camera. Any camera recommendations from my fellow bloggers out there?

Anticipating: tomorrow’s Travel Tuesday linkup. I am looking forward to reading everyone’s post about their travel style, don’t forget to link up with us!

Question of the Day?
What are you looking forward to in July? Any summer holiday plans?

Daily Diaires III

Saturday & Sunday: My weekend started off with sun shining through my window bright and early but I am not complaining. I spent my day enjoying a run by the sea, coffee downtown with old classmates, and a girls night fueled by wine. H was off all day Saturday for a bachelor party so we ended up meeting up downtown that night for a few hours of dancing fun together. Our late night just meant that Sunday was a very low key day. We lounged in the pools and sat out in our yard welcoming the sun rays to our very pale bodies. It was a great weekend, I can’t wait for more beautiful sunny days.Sunshine in Iceland
Monday: After such a fun weekend Monday felt like the longest day! It probably didn’t help that I had to work late at an event I had coordinated. Many of the people who work with me are Icelandic so I get so nervous when I have to go to these events alone knowing that everyone will be speaking Icelandic. Luckily the event turned out great. My evening ended with a run on my favorite path along the sea, you just can’t beat these views.

Sunset
Tuesday: What a busy day at work! I love those days though when you look up and its already time to head home. I also got my hair done for the first time since moving to Iceland. I was really nervous to try a new hairdresser but it turned out great. Apparently here in Iceland hairdressers go to school for 4 years before they are licensed to do hair so they really know their stuff. It felt great to finally say goodbye to those nasty roots and deadends!

Goodbye Roots
I must have let the hair color chemicals get to my head though because I ended up taking two wrong buses on the way home so instead of a nice 20 minute bus ride home I spent over an hour riding all over Reykjavik. At least I got to see parts of the city that I have never seen before :)

Wednesday: The highlight of my day was getting a new desk at work, exciting right? I was pretty excited though, my new desk can be adjusted electronically so I can stand or sit while I work. I love this feature!

Thursday: We had the day off yesterday for what Iceland calls Labor Day(or Union Day), this is the third Thursday in a row we have had off of work! There were parades going on downtown so H and I headed out to see what was happening. So many people were downtown to watch the parade, which had an awesome marching band!
Union Day Parade
It was such a nice sunny day outside, H and I spent most of the day walking around the downtown area before coming home to sit out in our yard for the rest of the afternoon. My face is finally not a ghostly pale!

The rest of our day off was spent looking at flights for our trip to Croatia this summer. Trying to make everything work when you are going to a few different stops and have to match connecting flights is so difficult! We think we finally have it planned out though and I am already getting so excited for our summer vacation:)

Friday: Today feels like Monday all over again after having yesterday off. These days off in the middle of the work week really mess up my schedule! I am already looking forward to sleeping in tomorrow.

Happy Friday Everyone!

Question of the Day?
Did you have Thursday off this week for Labor Day or is that just here in Iceland?

Daily Diaries with Diaries of an Essex Girl

Daily Diaries #2

Welcome back to another Daily Diaries post. This week was a short work week for us here in Iceland so it was a quiet week filled with lots of fun!

Saturday and Sunday:
My weekend started off with a shopping trip downtown where I finally found the perfect red beanie. I have been searching for a red beanie all winter so this made my day. After this great success (its the little things) I met a friend for lunch at a vegan restaurant in Reykjavik. I have heard great things about this place and have been looking forward to try it myself. Dragging H to a vegan raw foods restaurant isn’t so easy though so I was thrilled when my friend asked me to join her. My meal of raw lasagne did not disappoint and I am already planning my next trip back. Just look at all those beautiful veggies.

Glo_Reykavik

As I was walking home after lunch I ran into crowds of different movie characters.

Reykavik_Downtown

I was so confused at first as to what was going on with all these costumes, they were everywhere! Apparently when kids graduate high school here they dress up in these costumes and spend the day walking around downtown drinking beer and doing crazy things. Interesting.

Monday: Since it was a short week before the Easter break things at work were quite slow. A good part of my afternoon was spent browsing travel sites for vacation ideas for this summer. I am pretty sure Croatia is our choice so any tips from those who have visited there are welcomed!

Tuesday: I woke up an hour before my alarm feeling certain that I had slept through my alarms and was late. I can thank the early sunrise for this. We now have sunlight from about 6am to almost 10 pm, the midnight summer sun is almost here! And when the sun is shining on your way to work you must take a selfie. #shamelessselfie

Selfie

Wednesday: After work H and I braved the stores to get some supplies for our trip. Most stores are closed during Easter break so everyone in Reykjavik was stocking up. Not kidding we stood in line waiting to check out for over 30 minutes! It felt like I was back at home on Black Friday, minus the good deals. I spent the rest of our night baking snacks for our trip.

Cookies
These cookies are amazing, I will be sure to share my recipe soon!

Thursday: H and I headed off early in the morning for our two day road trip in the south coast of Iceland. We spent all day driving along the coast taking in some breathtaking landscapes. We did get caught in a bit of a snow storm but that all just added to our adventure. We had such a fun first day, I haven’t laughed so hard in a long time!

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Follow our road trip adventure on Instagram

Friday: This morning we are headed off to Jökulsárlón glacier lagoon and I am so excited! So many things have been crossed off my bucket list on this trip and I can’t wait to share our pictures with you all.

Daily Diaries with Diaries of an Essex Girl

Question of the Day?
What are you doing Easter break?