1. I love magazines. Like - love. Fun fact: I have a massive collection of old British Vogue that I was gifted from my mum’s Brit friend.

2. Speaking of, I like to buy a Vogue from every country I’ve been to - if they have Vogue, of course. Last out was Japan & Spain!

3. My eyes are very dark brown - close to black, but weirdly get lighter every year.

4. I am a deeply emotional person, yet hate showing myself vulnerable to others.

5. I have the worst (or you know, *best*) sense of humor.

1, 2, 3, sluuuurp

6. I used to work in a bookshop, and loved it!

7. Speaking of books, my all time favourite book is Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain.

8. And one of my favourite quotes is ”Comparison is the death of joy” - also Mark Twain.

9. I’ve lived in both Australia & Italy and they are two places that will always & forever hold a big chunk of my heart.

10. Pasta and feta cheese run through my veins, and so does coffee.

11. I am an old soul and still refuse to have my calendar in my phone, and walk around with an agenda.

Well, hello there, 2018. These first few days after New Years have felt like some sort of weird limbo. I'm back at work and back to normal, yet I feel like 2018 doesn't really kick off properly until Monday. Is it just me?

Anyway! I've seen my year- in-review posts rumble all over the blogging world in the last week or so, and of course I also wanted to do some sort of round up from the passed 12 months. This is my little version of a yearly round up, where I list 17 good things that happened throughout the year of 2017.

1. I got my first ”proper” post university job in January. A mile stone and a great way to start a brand New Year.

2. I evolved my cooking skills and have gotten more and more into vegetarian food & recipes (after several failed attempts I’ve also realised I’ll probably stick to food as I'll never gonna be a good baker...).

3. I learnt to say no (more often) to things when I felt like I needed to rest, something I still need to practice even more.

4. I fell back in love with writing for my own sake, for "my eyes only", if you will. Mainly just to clear my head and to put down my thoughts into words. You should try it if you haven't already!

5. Photography and I had a fling over the summer, and I took loads of photos - and actually loved what I created.

6. I had a well needed long weekend in Rome in the beginning of summer with a person dear to me. I ate loads, laughed and just wandered the stunning Roman streets.

7. Not long after I got back from Italy, I went on a few weeks summer holiday, and I spent it up on the west coast in my family’s cottage. Glorious.

8. I cut my hair off to my collar bones in spring and realised that the long hair just ”wasn't me” anymore (reminds me, it's gotten really long again, need a trim ASAP!).

9. I set long term financial goals and felt like a proper adult, hehe.

10. I reduced my sugar intake a lot and my body loved me for it.

11. Piece by piece, drawer by drawer, I’ve been getting rid of random stuff that’s been cramming up my space and I feel kilos lighter - mind and soul.

12. I (finally) got into podcasts and now can’t understand how I didn’t give them a go earlier.

13. My love for whipping up cocktails grew and you can see some evidence here.

14. I read the book Food Pharmacy about gut bacteria and anti inflammatory foods and it was like I had the biggest ”aha-moment” ever (read it!).

15. Speaking of, I generally read more books than the year before *pat on the back*.

16. I found invisi-bobble hair ties and life changed for the better. Nope, no joke there - they're that good.

17. I stopped snoozing my alarm a billion times every morning. I'm down to one. Okay, so maybe two...

Ah, life. It flies by like a bullet train; so quickly and mostly in a big blurr. When time travels so fast, it can be hard to focus - even on something as far away and as steady as the horizon. But, sometimes I feel like the train goes by in slow motion, and I have time to actually see - to stop even - and to properly think and reflect on it all. "It all" being; life.

When the train slows down usually coincides with my birthday every year. Birthdays for me consists of a day of cake, breakfast in bed and celebrations. But it's also a day where I tend to reflect on life & time a lot more than I usually do, since I'm officially turning one year older that day.

Last Sunday, I took that step again, I turned one year older. Am I any wiser though? Who knows. I'm not scarred of getting older, I'm just scared I won't have time to do all the things I want to do. You know what I mean?

For those who are older, 26 might sound like I'm still very young. But, for those who are younger, you probably see me as a "proper adult". Well, I'm no near an adult yet (in my mind), but I've also been on this Earth for quite a few years, after all. And in those years, I've actually learnt a thing or two - go figure.

So here it is. My list of 26 things I've realized about this thing we call life - during my 26 years on Planet Earth.

1. A trip to Italy is always a good idea.

2. Don't let anyone tell you what you can and cannot do. Spoiler: they have no idea.

3. Go and see a dermatologist and invest in good skincare at an early age.

4. Cherish your friendships and appreciate the people closest to you.

5. Learn to end relationships where you only give, but receive nothing in return.

6. People deserve a second chance, but very rarely - if ever - a third.

7. Being a teenager is tough - but those years they will eventually pass. Hang in there.

8. Be responsible with your money, but don't forget to treat yourself once in a while.

9. See as much of the world as your time and money allows you to.

10. Being kind to others is like big & warm hug for your soul.

11. Grab on to trends that suit your style and body type and stay far away from the rest.

12. How confident you feel in yourself is closely related to the type of people you choose to surround yourself with. Choose well.

13. If it isn't your body, you have no right to comment on it.

14. At first - red wine, coffee and olives taste like poison. And one day, your taste buds take a 360 and you cannot seem to remember the times when all of the things above weren't yum.

15. Never let go of your inner child.

16. What makes a job fun isn't the job itself, but the people you work with.

17. Traveling alone will teach you a lot about yourself.

18. The phrase "you can retake an exam but not relive a party" is the worst phrase ever.

19. Trust your gut and not your heart when making life desitions. Your gut instinct is way more reliable and stable than your heart.

20. Listen to other people's advice, but always make your own decisions.

21. I's okay not to have it all figured out by 25.

22. Living abroad for a year or two will change your view on life for the better.

23. New things are scary because they're unfamiliar, not because they're necessarily not a good idea.

24. Never think you haven't got more to learn, always seek more knowledge.

25. If you find jeans that fit like a glove, buy several pair.

26. I don't known who ever said you're strongest alone. That person was clearly ludicrous and a bore. And probably never experienced great team work. "Go team!"