During summer in Sweden, almost everything closes down, whilst everyone going on holiday. Being one of the few still working it's easy to get envious. But luckily the weather in Stockholm has been amazing this summer. I really got a taste of what's Swedish summer is like at it's best. 

With no or little money or just stuck at home, I thought I would give you a little tip on what you can do close to home and still get a holiday feeling. 

Under sommaren i Sverige nästan allt stängs ner, medan alla går på semester. Att vara en av de få som stannar kvar och jobbar kan det vara lätt att bli avundsjuk. Men som tur är har vädret i Stockholm varit helt fantastiskt den här sommaren. Jag har fått ett smakprov av hur svensk sommar är som bäst. 

Med inga eller lite pengar eller bara fast hemma, tänkte jag ge dig lite tips på vad du kan göra nära hemma och fortfarande få semesterkänsla. 

1. Take a day out

Whether you do a day trip or just go to your local park with a good book. Make sure you get out to enjoy the weather. 

Vilket du gör en dagsutflykt eller bara går till din lokala park med en bra bok. Se till att du går ut och njuter av vädret. 

2. Hang out with friends

I'm sure not everyone is away. Find some friends who also are at home and get together. Have a barbeque if nice weather. Don't forget to have fun. 

Jag är säker på att alla inte är borta. Hitta några vänner som också är hemma och gör något tillsammans. Ha en grillfest om det är fint väder. Glöm inte att ha roligt. 

3. Be a tourist

Explore your hometown. There's always fun to be a tourist in your local area. Go to a museum. I recently went to the modern museum in Stockholm and saw the Yayoi Kusama exhibition. It was fun and so interesting. 

Upptäck din hemstad. Det är alltid kul att vara en turist i ditt lokala område. Gå på museum. Jag gick nyligen till moderna museum i Stockholm och såg Yayoi Kusama utställningen. Det var kul och intressant. 

4. Cook exotic food

Last year we did a cooking class in Thailand. Every time I cook Thai food it reminds me of our holiday. Don't forget to invite some friends, add some cocktails and you might as well be on holiday. 

Förra året gick vi på matlagningskurs i Thailand. Varje gång jag lagar thaimat påminner det mig om vår semester. Glöm inte att bjuda in vänner, ha några cocktails och du skulle lika gärna vara på semester. 

What do you do when having a holiday at home? 

Vad gör du när du ska ha semester hemma? 

Review | Green People Edelweiss sun lotion And how to protect yourself from the sun

It has been a week of glorious sunshine in Sweden. It's given me a chance to use my favourite sun lotion from Green people, edelweiss sun lotion SPF15 with the tan accelerator.

Det har varit en vecka av strålande solsken i Sverige. Det har gett mig en chans att använda min favorit solkräm från Green People edelweiss solkräm SPF15 med solfärgsaccelerator. 

It's a perfect protection from the sun. I was recommended Green people sun lotion by every green beauty blogger I have spoken to. 

The first time I used it was last year on my holiday to Thailand and it was great. It protected me from burning in  36 degrees. 

Det är ett perfekt skydd från solen. Jag rekommenderades Green Peoples solkräm av varje grön skönhetsbloggare jag pratat med. 

Första gången jag använde den var förra året på min semester i Thailand och den var bra. Den skyddade mig från att brännas i 36 grader. 

I know many people don't use natural sun protection because most natural sun care products don't use high SPF as many like to use up to SPF 50 to protect themselves and their children. But it doesn't mean SPF50 gives almost double protection than SPF30. 

In fact, SPF30 lotion offers 97% protection against UVB rays, while SPF50 offers 98% - just 1% difference

People who use SPF50 sun lotions often reapply less frequently and stays in the song for longer, than when using lower factor sun lotion. 

This can dramatically increase your risk of sun damage because, in order to get good UVA defence, you must regularly top up your protection no matter what the factor.  

Jag vet många människor inte använder naturliga solskydd för de flesta naturliga sol produkter använder inte höga SPF eftersom många gillar att smeta in sig i SPF50 för att skydda dem själva och sina barn. Men det betyder inte att SPF50 ger nästan dubbelt skydd än SPF30. 

Fakta är att SPF30 ger 97% skydd mot UVB strålar, medan SPF50 ger 98% - bara 1% skillnad.

Folk som använder SPF50 solkrämerna, applicerar oftast inte krämen lika regelbundet och stannar i solen längre, än de som använder en lägre faktor i solkrämen. Detta kan dramatiskt öka din risk för solskador, för att få ett bra skydd mot UVA strålar måste du smörja in dig ofta vilken faktor det än är. 

Many sun lotions out there use synthetic chemicals to make their creams water resistant. It works like creating a seal that stops water coming through. But it's like wrapping your skin into cling film and stops your skin from being able to breathe. It can lead to heat rashes and irritation. 

Många solkrämen därute använder syntetiska kemikalier för att göra krämen vattentålig. Det fungerar som att skapa tätning som stoppar vatten från att komma igenom. Men det är som att slå in din hud i plastfolie och stoppar din hud från att andas. Det kan leda till värmeutslag och irritationer. 

This is why I choose natural sun lotions like Green people because it still allows my skin to breathe and it protects my skin from the sun just as well. 

What sun protection to you use? 

Detta är varför jag väljer en naturlig solkräm som Green People för att den fortfarande låter min hud andas samtidigt som den skyddar den från solen 

Vad för solskydd använder du? 

Why my holiday reminded me of why I choose organic and fair trade

As you may know, I recently went on holiday to Thailand and Cambodia. An amazing trip that I would love to do again. It was a great trip to relax and discover new things. But also to reflect and think. 

Many of the things I saw inspired me and also reminded me of why I choose to choose 

• organic, 
• natural and 
• fair trade products

Here are some of the reasons

Seeing how exploited parts of Thailand is. 

Thailand is becoming more and more westernised. You see all the big brands everywhere. There's rubbish everywhere. You can see that many tourists have no respect to the beautiful nature that is Thailand. It reminds me of the damage many multinational companies do. Therefore I like to avoid them as much as possible. 

Making the right choices

I was so happy to choose a hotel that making the most of staying true to nature and being as eco friendly as possible. Tubkaak boutique resort has tried their hardest to not spoil the nature around and in the hotel. The reason why it felt like being in a jungle. All the materials they used are as natural as possible. Even food was local produced and I was able to have organic wine.

Local produced food

Having local produced food and how yummy it is. The fruit is beyond delicious. Mainly because it doesn't have to be picked long before ready and being transported around the world. It's picked when ready and it taste so good. And even the food is all local ingredients to what grows in Thailand. It makes such a difference and reminds me to pick local produced and in season ingredients.

Simple life of the villagers in Cambodia

I often forget how spoilt and lucky I am. I have so much. Sometimes we need to travel to be reminded of these things. In Cambodia we visited a few small villages. Firstly a floating village. They build their houses on water and the water is their life. They make their living out of fishing. They live simple lives but they didn't seem to lack anything. It was humbling experience. We chose the urban adventures tour guides because they make sure some of the money they make goes to the villages. Our guide make sure he buys something from the villagers everytime he comes there. A great example to support the small independent businesses at home. 

Looking after your community

Another village we visited was a self help community. Here they help people who are less fortunate either been homeless or have disabilities. They help them to learn how to look after themselves. How to grow things and they have a market where they sell stuff. Teaching me how to care for and help my local community. 

I can live out of a suitcase

Again I don't actually need that much stuff. My house is full of stuff and many of those things I really don't need. Living out of a suitcase teaches me to be more minimalistic. 

Everywhere I go I can see the damage we do to our planet. I want to make as many conscious decisions as possible in making the world a little better. So it's great to be able to choose food, clothes, beauty products and many other things that can help and support independent and local people that all working to make their difference. 

My trip to Cambodia

Me and my husband just spent a few amazing days in Siem Reap, Cambodia. Part of our anniversary trip. Cambodia is an amazing and beautiful place. I loved it from the second we landed. 

Cambodia is country with so much painful history and it's inspiring to meet the local people and see their amazing hearts. They're all so friendly. 

We stayed in Viroth's villa. A small boutique hotel. It was a lovely place and because it was small it felt like you had the place by yourself. 

On our first full day we went to Angkor Wat. It was such an incredible sight. We had a tour guide, Dee from tour company Urban Adventures. She was so knowledgeable and managed to paint a picture of how it was like in the Angkor time. 

We saw a few other temples as well.

Bayon temple, the Kings temple 

The last temple we saw was Ta Prohm, also known for being the location where they filmed Tomb Raider. 

On our second day we visited a floating village on the Tonle Sap Lake. This was incredible. Even just the journey out there was so beautiful and managed to meet more locals. Seeing the life of the villages was humbling yet inspiring. 

After visiting the floating villages we went back into town. To check out the Old Market.

We had some great food. This was their local dish called Amok, served in a coconut. 

I will share more about this trip later but I just wanted to show you some pictures now. 

organic & natural summer hair & beauty essentials

My organic & natural summer hair & beauty essentials

Swedish word: sommar väsentligheter = summer essentials

First of all I just want to remind you that all products I mention are organic and cruelty free.

I'm about to go on my beach holiday to Thailand and Cambodia and thought I'll show you my hair & beauty essentials.

My organic & natural summer hair & beauty essentials

Swedish word: sommar väsentligheter = summer essentials

First of all I just want to remind you that all products I mention are organic and cruelty free.

I'm about to go on my beach holiday to Thailand and Cambodia and thought I'll show you my hair & beauty essentials.

Click here to watch my last video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iXyOtjnO5AM
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1. Coconut oil
Biona organic - Virgin oil
To see my video on how to apply
http://youtu.be/SXjDWbq-rBg

2. Hat - Christys

3. Hair serum - c/o Gerd
For my review
http://www.sarasteele.co.uk/2015/06/review-co-gerd-serum.html?m=1

4. Salt spray - Less is more

5. Hair bobbles - Sally's

6. Nail polish - Zoya

7. Sun lotion - Green people

8. Aloe Vera gel - Sukin
For my review
http://www.sarasteele.co.uk/2015/06/review-sukin-hydrating-body-lotion-aloe.html?m=1

9. Sun lip balm - Hurraw

10. Water (H2o)

What are some of your summer essentials? Tell me about your holiday in the comment box below.

Thank you for watching

Review | Jåsön sun sport

We are slowly moving into summer, sunshine and it is time to find a sunscreen. It's not only for when you go on sun holiday but also needed in England. It's important to protect your skin from dangerous UV lights. When you spend time in the sun it increases your risk of skin cancer and early skin ageing. So protecting yourself is crucial.

I use Jåsön sun sport SPF 45 as I use it when I'm out running and need a stronger and water resistant lotion as I want it to protect me even when I sweat and also perfect for beach holiday when jumping in the sea as well. Hopefully, there'll be a holiday sometime this year.

Jåsön is like the dinosaur of natural hair and skin care. They've been around for a long time. Long before it got popular to be natural and organic and they are a well-established brand, so compared to the dinosaurs I don't think Jåsön is going anywhere.

Jåsön sunscreen is free from parabens, SLS, petrolatum, artificial colours and phthalates. So not only protecting your skin on the outside but is not dangerous for your inside either. As the skin is our biggest organ and absorbs anything you put on it, it's so important to stay away from products full of toxins.

The first things I noticed about the sun lotion was the bright orange packaging and the smell. It smells so nice. I think it smells a bit of coconut and holiday. I have tried many different types of sunscreens in my days and no other smells as good as this one. It feels nice on the skin as well.

I've used it for many of my runs lately and hopefully will bring it on holiday soon.

Do you use sunscreen? Which one do you like?