Life of Jana

I quit my job this month and am starting a new one next week. Even though I've had a week off work, I haven't had the chance to go out as much as I'd have liked. I thought that the ''Patriotic'' theme would be quite easy to photograph but for some reason I just couldn't get many theme-related pictures. Anyway, here are my 5 pictures for the Photo Blogging Challenge this month: Beetroot-cheese-garlic salad As an Estonian living in England, I get homesick once in a while and I've found that the best way to heal it is with food. Beetroot salad is a typical Estonian celebration food . My mum used to always make this salad for birthdays/at Christmas, so when I get a bit nostalgic I like to have it.   Fish and chips We celebrated Tristan's birthday down south in a little seaside town called Lyme Regis. The same evening we arrived, I had a massive craving for a traditional English food - fish and chips. When I first moved here I didn't re

I like to wear super comfy outfits most of the time. A hoodie, sweatpants and Toms are my best friends when it has been raining outside.  I bought my black and maroon jacket from the eBay Asos outlet for £15 (RRP £40). It looks good with everthing - sporty clothes, casual clothes or even with a dress! My hoodie is from Primark and my sweatpants are from Promod. Each time I go to Debenhams, I can never miss their little Promod section. There's never too much to choose from but every now and then I find some really nice clothes.  This outfit was dressed up a bit with some make up. I don't usually wear anything on my face on Sundays but I made an exception this time.

Tristan and I are always looking to go on a holiday. We want to see the world as much as possible but obviously some countries are more attractive than others. Here are both of our top 5 dream places we would like to visit some day - I hope we can start crossing them off soon!  JANA'S TOP 5 1. Petra, Jordan - It has been a long dream of mine to visit Petra. The second I learned about this city, I was intrigued about its history and archaeology - I am a big fan of both. I love deserts.   theplanetd.com 2. Fraser Island, Australia - I've already visited Australia and I would love to discover more of it. I love nature, so the idea of visiting this heritage-listed island with rainforests, sand dunes and amazing fauna and flora would be a dream come true! www.australiangeographic.com.au 3. Machu Picchu, Peru - Everyone has heard of the Inka and the mysterious ruins of Machu Picchu. The saddest part is that the site suffers from the pressure of too many touris

I've changed my hair care regime completely over the past few years. I used to dye my hair a lot when I was younger - nothing extreme, just either blonde or dark. There were three products I would constantly buy: shampoo, conditioner and very strong hair spray. I washed my hair every day with shampoo which wasn't designed for daily washing; I used conditioner rarely, maybe once every two weeks and hair spray almost every day. My hair wasn't exactly in bad shape but it was far from amazing. My dark hair has now almost completely grown out and it feels so much lighter and healthier. The picture on the left was taken exactly 1 year ago - you can see how long it has taken for me to grow my natural colour back. My ends are still a bit darker but I am planning to have a haircut pretty soon! Now that my hair is so much healthier and I have more control over it, I thought I'd share my top 5 hair products for the summer that I've found useful.   Aussie Shampo

  Recently, one of my favourite things to bake with has been banana . I always buy big bags of fruit and have found that most of the time I am not able to finish it all. I usually leave bananas until last, as they keep longer and I like them more when they are sweet and soft. Also if I am ever in the mood for baking, ripe bananas are the best!  Another recent obsession of mine has been coconut milk and coconut cream. I use coconut milk in soups, sauces and curries; while I use coconut cream in cakes, muffins, smoothies and cocktails. Rather than buy ready-made coconut creams, I make it myself by seperating it from coconut milk. Coconut cream ''appears'' when you leave your coconut milk to sit in the fridge overnight. The milk separates and the non-liquidy creamy part rises to the top - coconut cream! By shaking the cream you can combine it back into the milk. There is even a way to make a coconut whipped cream, although I've not tried it yet. Ingredients:

Tristan and I are big foodies. We are always searching for new places to eat but so far our most visited place has been Solita . This American style restaurant is located in the Northern Quarter in Manchester and is easily accessible as we live in the city centre.  Our first time at Solita was in January this year. How can I remember this? I found some photos of our very first Solita experience on my phone - we were sitting downstairs and everything was so... red. Thinking about it now, it almost felt Christmas-y. I had a Krabby Patty burger (with a whole soft-shell crab!) with chips. For dessert I had a Peanut Butter Chocolate Fudge Brownie with Oreo ice cream . Tristan's favourite burger is The Schnitz - chicken schnitzel and barbecque chicken (in the picture below he had it with pizza fries). My favorurite is the KFB - melted Monterey Jack cheese, jalapenos, bourbon BBQ sauce and Kentucky Fried bacon.  Solita also does specials not on the menu. T

Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland was first published in 1865, so I am celebrating the 150th ­anniversary of its ­publication today with this cute crop top inspired by it. I am such a big fan of the book and I think I have seen almost all of the movies - I even have a copy of the book on my iPhone. Maybe it's time to read the sequels too? The top was ordered from Choies and even though it took quite a long time, I was really happy when it finally arrived. It is lightweight, flowy, colourful and perfect for summer. I paired the top with my black maxi skirt and brown flats. The whole look is a bit bohemian - I can't remember the last time I looked like this!

As you all know by now, I love baking cookies. Most of the time they are chocolate cookies. To spice things up a bit, I decided to bake oat cookies this time with what I had in the cupboard - without any chocolate! I bought a little packet of Goji berries from Tesco a couple of weeks ago, usually I will have them in a bowl of fruit, use them for making tea or have them on top of ice cream. I thought I'd try them in cookies!  These came out amazing so I will share my recipe with you! Ingredients:   A handful of dates A handful Goji berries 1/2 cup water (berry soaked water) 1 egg 2 tablespoons peanut butter 2 cups oats 1 - 3 tablespoons coconut flour (just to make it thicker) Directions: Preheat the oven to 180 degrees and line a baking tray Soak dried fruit (dates and Goji berries) in a small bowl with water and set aside. Let them soak at least 5 minutes In a larger bowl, beat an egg lightly and add peanut butter. Mix until creamy Add the soaked fruit with w