The New Life of Kiseleff House

Autumn is still here with its beautiful colour carpet. This is how our yard looks like now. Isn't it just beautiful? I would like to put it directly on a wrap dress or stiletto shoe as a print. I am sure there will be a young design who will do it before me:

Today me and Leo decided to visit the Kiseleff House Design Mall. It is located directly on the Main Square of Helsinki in the old building which was built already back in 1770s.  Kiseleff is the name of the trademan (Russian, as one can decide by the last name) who was running the sugar processing business in the building. Later on it has been under the Stockmann empire ownership (first Helsinki Stockmann was right here!) and once it was even a police station. Now, since May 2011, it is a trendy design boutiques gallery with very well-preserved original atmosphere, beautiful staircases, old elevators (only for decoration, they have got modern hi-tech ones, of course, which are perfect for moving with a pram). There are also several cafes in the building including Patisserie Teemu Markus, where two guys are preparing macarons and cakes in front of your hungry eyes. visit their mouth watering home page here: http://www.patisserietm.fi/

The peaceful downstairs cafe of Kiseleff house:

The original elevator:

The shops:

The most interesting boutiques of the Mall are Samuji (androgynous styled clothes by a Finnish designer, once working at Marimekko but then opened an own label, I still own his Marimekko designs) and au3 (one of a kind jewelry store with precious metal jewelry in trendy designs).  Check au3 designs here: http://www.au3.fi/Mallistot.html

Kiseleff house from outside:

The magnificent view after exiting the main entrance of the Kiseleff house:

Kiseleff house is opening its doors very soon on 03.11 for a special event:

We are in! remember to check in by 01.11 ;)

Food & Good Life & Book Fair

Back to the Fair Center we were today with Leo, this time for the Food & Book Fair. It was predictable - the place was full of people, expecting to get canapes and free tasty bites instead of the regular Saturday brunch.

Parmigiano Reggiano Corner was so crowded that I could not get a proper pic of it:

At noon the Fair Hall started to get so full that I could hardly move with the pram. Here is the Dutch cheese corner (I would have liked to get a bite of cumin cheese from there, as it is one of the sweetest memories of Soviet childhood) and the Sushi place:

In the British corner there was a very wide selection of very decently priced porcelain. I loved the floral and cupcake ones, with those Dior looking a bit too brand conscious for me:

And this was the most popular stand of the Fair (after the wine corner, of course) - British fudges. It was also the place where i made my first purchase. I got some orange and chocolate, rum and raisin and coconut fudges, they were far too sweet for me, luckily I have male support to finish them:

They also had a sushi school for 20eur, which I certainly missed, but that is one of the things I would love to do in the future.

We also got some foie gras from Deli deli stand and honey with asian and italian spices. So now we are well prepared for the cold autumn nights indoors.

Something that was not advertised in the Fair but was a very pleasant surprise was an exhibition of art works, also by Russian painters. I have very sceptic approach to modern art, but there were things worth buying, the future antiques, definately. I loved the paintings of 2 young Russian women. One is Ekaterina Chekalina (her style is romantic and sweet and fairytalish with a bit dreamy compositions, no wonder she exhibitied in the International Doll Museum in Moscow). Another one is Marina Fedorova (she paints realistic situations, usually people in nature, a bit photographic style, but very natural and touching). I met their gallerist and she gave me an invitation to Marina's exhibition opening on 10.11 at 18 o'clock in Gallery Kadieff. Here is the link to the gallery pages: www.gallerykadieff.fi. I am in for the opening ceremony, definately!

And now some pure pleasure for the reader, a few paintings by Ekaterina (pay attention to her level of detail, it is amazing!!!):

BOOTS OR NOT

Today the most interesting place we have been with Leo (after Laura's carnival in kindergarten) is actually an online store YOOX.  Beware, girls, its address is www.yoox.com but luckily they have got Halloween discounts now for loyal customers. That amazing opportunity could not have been missed by me, so a long searched black leather bag by Michael Kors is coming to mummy. The leather is butter soft and ages beautifully, this bag is mid-sized (I started hating spacy bags when things started to get lost in their bottoms). I think this one will accompany me to many places. And hopefully those little pockets won't be used for nasty parking tickets storage.

 YOOX is a dangerous place, really. They have got nearly EVERYTHING one may wish for. And they often do the reductions, so really dangerous place to check. But still in search for a perfect boot i was adoring some funny inventions by

D&G (didn't know what to put on for the cold party night?):

Mister Marc Jacobs (wanna be a gentlewoman?):

Kenzo (wanna shock?):

Still the boots that qualify for my search requirements are these Gaia Bardellis (elegant -tick, sexy - tick, useful - tick, comfortable - tick). I could wear them with LBD, with skinny satin trousers, with city shorts and with mini denim. Perfect.

I keep on reading Helena Frith Powell's book "All You Need to Be Impossibly French".  To be French (read "chic, classy, seductive") it takes only a few things, really. A lover and 2 lipsticks. One for day and one for night (the lipstick, of course!). Well, that was an introduction joke to the book, but it goes through those most important tricks chapter by chapter. So far I learnt it's important to:

1) be arrogant (trying, won't work for me)
2) wear matching underwear, no matter what and how, underwear is #1. (agree, 100%)
3) no obsession over sports, but taking a chance to move at any moment of time is a key (subconsciously i always did, but i love some heavy aerobic classes, though they are not too chic but i love to use my energy to full)
4) use cosmetics and believe in its power (it works, it really does. I started using a moisterizer at the age of 25 only which is terribly late for a French girl (author tells French girls start waxing their legs at the age of 11) and i started using day and night cream only at the age of 28. I notice immediately when i do not forget my morning and night routines for at least a week that my skin becomes glowy and smooth.) Currently my favourite products are Estee Lauder's Night Repair serum and eye cream which i use at night. Shop assistant warned me that i would fall in love with these products and they do make the difference. Or maybe it's a placebo effect, but at least i did not get any additional wrinkles.

I have to confess I have got one naughty habit of browsing the whole book ahead. So I checked that books every chapters beginning for those wisdom quotes that the author has put after every chapters heading. Here are the ones I loved:

"There is no time for cut-and-dried monotony. There is time for work. And time for love. That leaved no other time". Coco Chanel.

"Elegance is refusal". Coco Chanel.

By the Sea

I found a new great route to walk with a baby pram - the Eteläranta coast which leads to the Helsinki city center from its western end. I have walked it also yesterday but the landscape is so amazing with open sea that slightest weather change, new boats in harbour, new people walking - all change the spirit of the places i pass. Another important and rewarding part of the walk are the 4 great cafes: Carusel (a huge seaside cafe with a nice indoor terrace and outdoor seats), Ursula (a more cozy cafe with a champagne bar and an outdoor terrace with a tent shaped like a sail and jazz evenings held regularly), Mattolaituri (newly built, all white and sleek bar with outdoor seat and a terrace on a top with open view to the sea and Moet bar with macarons and cocktail snacks) and finally the Old Market Hall in the Main Market Square of Helsinki. Market Hall has recently received more attention and new stands with fruit, vegetables, meats were opened there along with excellent restaurants and cafes. Today on test was Norisushi place and i would totally recommend it. By the way, cooks are Japanese ladies.

The lunch with just an excuse to meet Louisa, looking all great in the autumn coloured outfit. After the sushi lunch Leo requested a brief visit to Cafe Jugend, now a permanent favourite of ours with its excellent location on Esplanade and very impressive Jugend styled interior and cereal cookies.

Cafe Jugend definately deserves an own post and i will publish more on it when i learn not to forget things home (iPad, camera). After that we certainly had to visit Muotikuu, a Finnish boutique selling own line and Italian brand clothes. All clothes are colour coded and it is easy to browse them through. My wedding dress was bought there and Elle Finland has published a story of finding it in that boutique. Here is the link. I am the bride in peach shoes, naturally.

http://www.elle.fi/muoti/uutiset/_a221615/kesan+upeat+morsiamet/

Muotikuu is a beautifully decorated boutique with a very sophisticated atmosphere. It is one of those private little shops where there are always customers. I think it may be due to the exceptional friendliness of the staff or maybe just that oversized crystal ball has some magic inviting power.

All that unfortunately was spoiled by my first ever parking ticket. I really hoped to live till the age of 30 without receiving one.


However, girl can keep dreaming. On a wishlist (before even tried out) is Chanel's new scent "Jersey". That deserves a separate journey to shops, indeed. Reviews say it's really mild and subtle.

I am also waiting for a new parcel from Amazon. This time more style/fashion reading by Cristian Dior and a long searched DVD of "The Last Tango in Paris".

Hakaniemi Food Market

Today was a lazy slow start morning but in the end we headed to Hakaniemi. Hakaniemi Food Market Hall is famous for its fresh meats, fish and vegetables. but the real pearl of the Hall is its tiny soup restaurant called "Soppa Keittiö" with daily delicious menu of 3 soups and fresh bread with a herb oil dip (can not be found anywhere else except its second branch in the Old Market Hall of the Central Market Square).

Today we enjoyed the tomato and goat cheese soup with croutons and basil along with the conversation of some IT consultants in Russian.  Luckily, I am on maternity leave and that was just an unpleasant background noise.

Soppakeittiö in Hakaniemi:

There is also a very authentic French deli shop in the same Market Hall, called Deli Deli. Various jams, sweets and special chocolate for sale there. I got one with the orange peels and with toasted almonds to try at home. the shop has an online store, go ahead and check those out! http://www.delideli.fi/fin/

In spite of this food oriented post, i am not forgetting about my goal of -10kg. I try to walk whenever possible, car is standing in the yard and waiting for better times. The little Man weighs 8kg so Body Pump is useless waste of money. And i got a new faithful friend, new iPod nano with its Nike Fitness applications counting my every step and calory that i lose. Mine is orange, of course. :)

Golden Autumn and Lunch at Ekberg

Today is a beautiful golden autumn day. We have spent the morning in police station with Leo receiving his passport and walking the streets of Punavuori adoring the golden carpet of autumn leaves
and paying a quick visit to Monki, which now has a webstore with a delivery to Finland. Enjoy, at www.monki.com! Monki's style is quirky but also versatile and their clothes actually can find their way into any type of wardrobe (including mesh underwear in neutral colors). Already a while ago I have spotted a star top which print is a direct copy from D&G catwalk, here in a flattering jersey. I like how it looks with a brass jewelry (Charms by Pilgrim - one of those genius Danish brands).

 D&G A/W 2011:

After a short visit to the office on Bulevardi we went for a lunch at Cafe Ekberg with Anna. Ekberg lunches are very generous: soup, salad, bread from own bakery and the best part  - dessert buffet. Cafe is very old and traditional with stone tables and a dying (in Finland) tradition of a table service. Sophisticated old ladies, local business people as well as owners and employees of multiple fashion boutiques are the most common visitors of the place. We had a delicious lunch of carrot and ginger soup, lovely whole grain bread, omelette and princess cake in a warm Anna's company.

The golden autumn of Töölö has really conquered our hearts. Leo did not even sleep watching this beauty from the pram.

The Fashion Fair in Pasila

Today me and Leo had a longterm planned visit to the Fashion Fair in Pasila, which is taking place every year at the same place. Following the golden rule of dressing for fashion events and after reading the "How to be impossibly French" book last night (every Parisien prefers black, or black&white), i selected a black outfit with a leopard cardie, which did make me feel immediately very chic and elegant, even with an extra 10kg load.

At the event, the Fashion space itself was not too big, other halls occupied with Beauty and Health stands. At the Fashion side we were mostly attracted to Lumi stand (minimalistic leather goods made in Finland), 2or+by yat, Hope Hat ( we met the owner herself and had a chat - she made my voile for the wedding (photo below), Jukka Rintala with his amazing evening gowns and various jewelry representatives Including very cool Kooky Jems (plastic charms with mirrored surface in all colors of the rainbow).

Fashion Fair (Lumi stand in the front row):

My wedding voile by Hope Hat in Fredrikinkatu, Helsinki.

We also spotted Saimi Hoyer by the Elle stand - she looks even thinner than in TV, quite scary in fact, but her read curls were gloriously towering over the crowd thanks to those sky high black platforms. I had lunch in the restaurant of the Fair Center and got a table company - a lady in her 50s with many shopping bags and sad look under her Chanel glasses. She asked me: "Who is in the pram?" - "A little guy" - I said. She smiled, very sad smile. Then she said that she goes to every Fair held in that Center and she likes the ritual of having lunch in that cafe after the rewarding walk in the huge halls. "Once I had lunch with a few fashion journalists here and they were talking nothing else but calories, calories, calories! What freaks!" I admit, that lady doesn't need to think of calories...I wonder what is she, what does she do...then she finished her food and said: "it's great when you have someone who accompanies you to these events" and smiled with her sad smile again. I think I know enough about her. And yes, it is amazingly nice. It is.

P.S. Another great reading hint is "Parisian Chic", which is not only full of useful hints by a very elegant French model Ines de Fressange, but is also beautifully illustrated by Ines herself and printed in a very "reader friendly" way, with even such a well thought detail as a bookmark.

Still hoping...

...to  be back to size 34. It is naturally obvious that one does not like own body after giving birth, but i think i am facing a miracle of human anatomy as I do at least 10 km walks every day and i eat very minor portions of purely healthy food avoiding anything after 8 p.m. (i allow myself 2 pieces of dark chocolate daily though) and still my weight starts with a 6. Maybe my body has entered some fat saving mode for winter, i do not know, or maybe those 2 pieces of chocolate go straight to my hips after the food processing is over. Well, miracles happen. but I am still hoping to buy a Karen Millen or a Ted Baker dress of a size 1. I used to.

No use to cry, at least the weather in Helsinki is fantastic after a night storm. By chance me and Leo went a bit longer route on the way back home, going around the beautiful island-park of Seurasaari. Here some pretty pictures of autumn nature. Villa Angelica is supposed to be a very nice coffee shop as well, but we still have not been there, as it always looks so suspiciously quiet.

I also finally got the lifestyle books i ordered from Amazon. Lovely light reading for a young mum, and guess the topic - how to get thinner and prettier. does it tell something about my state of mind? hmm...well, in best case I will be as thin as a Japanese and as sophisticated as a French. Hopefully, my Laura will like fashion fairy tales by Viktor & Rolf. The book seems to have very beautiful illustrations at first glance. I will be starting with that one. The Cookbook goes straight to the kitchen, naturally.

And for that long-planned "swap the clothes" girls party i have got those Fashion Cards. The only thing missing are guests and invites. And - 10 kg for a better state of mind, perhaps. :))

By the way, Clean has issued a new fragrance "Skin". I got attracted by the colour of the bottle (purple is my second name) and it really stood up to expectations with a very sensual and warm impression.

Avant-garde a la Russe

Today mine and Leo's destination was Helsinki Art Museum in Tennispalatsi in the Helsinki downtown, the exhibition of Russian avant-garde painters brought from Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow (Chagall, Kandinsky and some other less known ones). There were only some 3 Chagalls: The Wedding, The Window in the Country  and the triptych: Drama, Literature and Dance.

"The Wedding" and "The Window in the Country":

I love Chagall's naive 2D style which is also somewhat realistically sad. The Wedding is definitely a star of the exhibition. Strangely enough, they also had Vrubel's "Lilacs", though I would have never thought of it as an avant-garde work. Very sensitive and romantic, impressionistic painting.

Kandinsky's brights and Chagalls realism made me associate their art to Gotan Project's music - new interpretation of tango music with in a rebel and fashionable way). It was playing on my iPod on the way back. Here the sample of their piece Differente.





Our day was not all that bohemian. Leo needs his new passport and we dropped at a central photoshop to shoot a pic of him (trial #3) and it was a successful effort though with an incredibly ridiculous result. I really could not help laughing when I reviewed his photo in a coffee shop. Well, he looks like a good fellow who appreciates art, doesn't he?

Unfortunately, the reader will notice my weakness for impulse high street buys, especially from Zara and today it was a belt that I plan to wear "with everything, of course". Well, isnt it quite a heavy doze of Chanel chic,ha?