Hey again! We all here at Hourglassy decided to do this challenge so yesterday you got to read more about Darlene and today it’s my turn and on Friday you’ll be getting to know Leah a little better.

50 frivolous facts about Tina:

1. What time did you get up this morning? Alarm was on at 8:30 but only got up 2 hours later because had slept so badly and had no morning meetings in my calendar.

2. How do you like your steak?  Medium.

3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema? Hardly ever go to cinema but have a HUGE DVD/Blu-Ray collection and the last movie I saw was The Expendables II.

4. What is your favorite TV show? Newsroom!!! Also Game of Thrones, Poirot, Sherlock Holmes, Mrs.Marple, Beck (a swedish crime series), Pushing Daisies (sad it was discontinued), Battlestar Galactica, Star Trek, The Borgias and Hornblower. Also all David Attenborough nature documentaries.

5. If you could live anywhere in the world where would it be? I’d like to live by the sea here in Helsinki but if I’d need to pick somewhere else then Auckland, New Zealand. Have lived there and love the pace of life, the nature, people and the climate. It’s just way too far from home on the other side of this globe.

Helsinki silhouette.
Me in Devonport – Auckland.

6. What did you have for breakfast? Ooops, nothing.

7. What is your favorite cuisine?   Does everything spicy and hot count as a cuisine? Love different cuisines so it’s easier to say I don’t care for Thai, Greek, Middle Eastern or Caribbean cuisines because of the spices they tend to use (or not use) + some ingredients. Other than that I love to eat pretty much any cuisine I know. If I’d absolutely have to eat just one cuisine for the rest of my life I’d choose Italian, endless possibilities!

8. What foods do you dislike? Garlic, ginger, coffee, hamburgers, kebabs, ketchup, mustard, coconut milk, use of fruit in a warm dish and local ester foods like mämmi and pasha or any of our traditional Christmas casseroles.Wheat or corn beer, whisky, port wine, Baileys. Energy drinks too, yuck!

9. Favorite place to eat? Gosh, this answer depends on my mood as love so many eateries in Helsinki. I’m really hungry atm so thinking of Panimo restaurant & microbrewery on the sea fortress island of Suomenlinna in front of Helsinki. Yume at Hotel Kämp is my fave Japanese place and Loiste, a rooftop restaurant for views and value for money food. During the summer any of the island restaurants, especially Saari.

Yume – modern japanese cuisine restaurant at Hotel Kämp, Helsinki.
Saari restaurant on Sirpalesaari island, Helsinki.
Loiste rooftop restaurant in Helsinki city center.


10. Favorite dressing? On salads, nothing. Subs – chipotle. Fish – just the butter it was fried in with a pinch of pepper and salt (basically beurre blanc). Asparagus with bearnaise. Chicken wings – HOT SAUCE!

11.What kind of vehicle do you drive? 2012 Volvo S40 Classic in orange flame color.

12. What are your favorite clothes? My Wallis dresses and my purple Pepperberry wool coat.

13. Where would you visit if you had the chance? I would love to take a roadtrip in Japan, take a cruise to Antarctica, travel from Helsinki to Beijing by train (the trans Siberian), see the Atacama lake in Chile. These I’d pick on this list IF I had the chance. There’s another list of trips I’m certainly doing and have the chance – like my Easter trail riding trips in different corners of Europe.

14. Where would you want to retire? Home.

15. Favorite time of day? From 2 pm to midnight, when I’m awake and full of energy. NOT a morning person, never have been. 

16. Where were you born? Loviisa, Finland. Idyllic small seaside town on the southern coast.

Loviisa, coastal city in southern Finland.

On sea ice in Loviisa. Crispy -34 celsius degrees, -29 fahrenheit.

17. What is your favorite sport to watch? Dressage.

Me taking a dressage lesson, horse is a Budjonny – Trakehner mix gelding.

19. How many siblings? One, an older brother.

20. Favorite pastime/hobby? Learning more and more about cooking. Also read a lot and am in love with my new Kindle Fire HD, had to get one because my bookshelves are full! We also watch a lot of movies. I take walks with my dog and love to ride horses whenever I can. Weekends at the summer house an hours drive from where we live are a blissful relaxation break whenever.

Chili!!!

21. Who are you most curious about their responses to this? Darlene and Leah 🙂

22. Bird watcher? Nope. The mechanical sort yes, planes land on Helsinki international airport over our house 🙂

23. Are you a morning person or a night person? Night.

24. Do you have any pets? A dog, tiny (even for her breed) miniature pincher called Mini. She is soon 3 years old and a handful!!! Very “talkative” and strong willed little thing.

Mini!!!

25. Any new and exciting news you’d like to share? Exciting, I’d wish. Unfortunately only bittersweet – first Christmas without my father coming up.

26. What did you want to be when you were little? A poet, seriously! Don’t know why, still like to write though.

27. What is your best childhood memory? All the sunny summer days I spent boating on the sea with my family or just with my father. He worked in 3 shifts so he’d have 5 days off between the cycle + normal days off so there was a lot of opportunity for boating and we loved doing that.

28. Are you a cat or dog person? Dog.

29. Are you married? No and no need to, we’re good as we are.

30. Always wear your seat belt? ALWAYS!

31. Been in a car accident? If you count a train + cars accident then yes, luckily I narrowly avoided getting run over by the train. Sadly many others were not lucky 🙁

32. Any pet peeves? People who drive under the speed limit.

33. Favorite Pizza Toppings? Pepperoni, ham, mozzarella and gouda cheese.

34. Favorite Flower? Calla lilies.

35. Favorite ice cream? Ben & Jerry’s Chocolate Chip Brownie. Well, any chocolate ice cream – although I like savoury things much more than any sweet things.

36. Favorite fast food restaurant? Only one I’ve ever liked was the Georgie Pie chain in New Zealand which is a thing of the past now.

37. How many times did you fail your driver’s test? Once, had I not done what I did–I had driven over a girl on a bicycle. (The guy who evaluated my test was fired later on that year cause he was unfair and cruel and costing people money).

38. From whom did you get your last email? Work colleague.

39. Which store would you choose to max out your credit card? I’ve learned my lesson with money so would not do that but if it was an option then uhm, well, can’t think of anything. Oh but now I got it, Gigantti – a home electronics store. Love gadgets and all things home electronics!

40. Do anything spontaneous lately? Bought a washer/dryer washing machine (both things in the same machine, brilliant!).

41. Like your job? Yes! I love to do project & change management.

42. Broccoli? Good with a steak.

43. What was your favorite vacation? Fishing trips to arctic lake Inari in Finnish Lapland. Cuisine is fresh fish every evening and amazing views under the midnight sun, water so pure you drink it directly from the lake.

Me and Mini, lake Inari in July 2011. Camping & fishing trip.
Lake Inari on a map – A marks the spot.
Beware of reindeers on roads! And a view from our campsite on an island at around midnight.

44. Last person you went out to dinner with? My mother and my boyfriend’s sister + parents.

45. What are you listening to right now? British Wheeler Dealers on Discovery.

46. What is your favorite color? Depends if in interior design or clothes. White and all shades of it in the first and black on the latter.

47. How many tattoos do you have? None and never would even consider getting one.

49. What time did you finish this quiz? 6:07 p.m

50. Coffee Drinker? Never, strictly tea for me please.