brilliant!

Its Christmas soon!

A cinnamon latte makes it easier to spend some time at the lib on a sunday. 

Its beginning to look a lot like autumn, everywhere I go..

Getting out of bed is sooo painful in this country. Since they lack the knowledge of how to isolate houses it is always a cold and humid experience. And to make it worse, I had a really bad idea this morning, I decided to look at pictures from the summer. You'd think that would make you feel a bit warmer, but no. If anything I'm feeling colder when I remember the warm days of summer. 

I am from the middle of nowhere, and that is where this picture was snapped. It was probably not as warm as I remember it (to be fair the summer was quite shitty) but it was a wonderful summer night... 

And today. Waking up to the rain on the window and seeing the autumn outside. Beautiful. But I wish I could stay in all day long cus I am cooold!

Walk the line

I am not sure whether to envy this woman or not. Amazing looking shoes, but can you imagine walking around in the streets of New York in them? 

Any guesses on who the owner of these shoes are?

Hot crown princess Mary of course! 

The pictures and the blogpost idea is a complete rip-of. One of my favorite bloggers EBBA is the brain behind it! All the cred to her and her impeccable taste! 

Christmas has come to London

A bit to early really, but then I cant help loving christmas. I love the cosiness when thousands of candles are lit, I love the gingerbread, the food and the sweets. And I love the decorations, all the red and golden colors  everywhere. And I love spending spending time getting ready for it all, all the baking and decorating, maybe not so much the big christmas house clean but as I listen to christmas melodies all the time not even cleaning is too bad... I makes me miss home a little bit, luckily I have an extra little family over here which is brilliant, even if it still isn't our cosy lovely house...  

This one is from John Lewis I think. We were there yesterday when Emla came for a quick visit. Neither she or the tree mad me miss home any less ;) It is not bad, and we had a brilliant time yesterday, so don't pity me at all! It was awesome to have her here, it would have been even better with Victor, but then you can never have it all, can you? Ill see him for christmas, hope he recognizes me....

What a great weekend!

On wednesday Johanna arrived! My fellow London-Swede from Stoby måleri AB. We have had Italian dinners and a tiny bit of room hunting (she is way too lucky, got a room on her first day here, what is the odds of that happening!?) Feels great, unfortunately she escaped the camera but I managed to document some other things from the awesome weekend... 

...as this pic of Kate and Lyd as we were having dinner down by the thames. Lovely food and I cant complain about the view either:  

  

just amazing.

Also this weekend we went to Brick lane and Shoreditch for some shopping. A 2nd hand winter coat was the plan. But as you all know things never go as planned so I ended up with an 80's jacket (yes, with shoulder pads!) and a fake pearl necklace. Not the one in the picture below though, that one I just snapped cus it locked so nice on the roe deer and gives you a sense of what the Swedish place fika is all about :) 

Tomorrow more brilliant things are happening, Emla is coming for a quick visit, will be great! 

I am such a geek!

Ja! Ja! Ja! Ja! JA!

Ok, so I'm not running a fashion blog...

But please have a look anyway. As all my friends know I love kids and I like to keep up with what organizations such as childhood and UNICEF does at the moment. And right now UNICEF and H&M have teamed up and are running the campaign all for children.  All for children primarily aims to help children who are forced to work on cotton fields in India. To give the food, medical care and education. 

The collection may be a bit limited but very cute, and as I know that a few of my readers have children I want to urge you to have a look and spread the message on your own blogs! 

See? cute, right? AND for a good cause, go shop mamas n papas!

I'm back!

In London, on the blog, everywhere :)

Happy B-day Fabio! 

Fina!

Puss!

Today we went to Nova Lund for some serious shopping. This little guy kind of distracted us though, like always!

Do you really mean that I should EAT this!?

I brought him his very first cucumber slices, and he was somewhat skeptical. The slices grew on him though and towards the end he actually chewed on one, well done auntie Lina!  

As for the shopping? well, I got home with a lovely blanket/cardie, hairpins and müsli. Oh well, let's do better tomorrow ;) 

This saturday...

... the fantastic four met up for some wine, food and celebration of the 80's...

 ... we had male company in the start of the evening, unfortunately he got sick of us girls rather quickly and went to bed...

...seeing this picture I can imagine why. I was by the way completely tricked by my friends, being the only one to show up in a real 80's outfit. Cheers! :)

And the next day started with a morning cuddle! It doesn’t really show here, but he is really baking a cake and throws it to the birds, silly boy :)

How we survive is what makes us who we are

I just saw a friend of a friend on Facebook with that tattooed on her collarbone, and it doesn't just luck amazing the words are so very well chosen too.

I have a relatively small struggle that I need to win at the moment. Well its big for be, one of the trickiest things I have ever had to sort out. Finding a decent place to live in London isn't the easiest thing in the world. I mean I'm used to a certain standard. I want both hot and cold water in the tap, I don't want carpet in the wc and I appreciate to have access to some sort of heating system. To find a place that tick all the boxes (that is not located in the outskirts of London) is hard if you are not rich. For me the awful part is really not knowing what is going to happen,  I like to have some sort of control over the situation, which I  don't have here. So I get depressed, and comfort myself with my lovely friends Ben & Jerry. That is how I survive. I wonder what it makes me, cus it may not be the most constructive way, but it gives energy and comfort long enough to get through it.


/ Lina who is totally not exaggerating or pitying herself. At all :p

Its not easy, being this popular!

Today I visited the most gorgeous and well behaved boy I know! A tiny sweetheart called Victor. And his mother Emla of course! I always love spending time with them and I hope they feel like ways. I think they do. I hope so. But then again, maybe not:

I try to tell myself that it is the sour apple mash he is frowning at, but who knows? It’s quite strong of him to pull of this face and still look gorgeous <3

xx

Welcome to my world..

Let's call it muffin-heaven...

These darlings were first created by wonderful, beautiful Leila Lindholm in the picture below. And what makes these little pieces of heaven sooo much better than any other muffin you have ever tried is the delicious crumble on top!

And this is how it’s made;

100 grams butter

2 eggs

150 ml sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla sugar or extract

200 ml milk

Tiny bit of lemon

400ml flour

2 tablespoons baking powder

A pinch of salt

And so, the crème de la crème, icing on the cake, THE crumble;

75 g butter, 200 ml oatmeal, 100 ml flour and 100 ml sugar. Pinch it all together and sprinkle on top!

As for the filling, use your imagination, I have used blueberry, dark chocolate/almond and apple/cinnamon, delicious!  

xx

What a great celebration

Bachelorette-weekend. I’m still tired. But it was all so worth it! My cousin was kidnapped from her workplace on Friday. She was completely confused when she saw everyone as she was running towards her car as someone had told her she had got a parking ticket. amazing! Then the group took of to go bear-feeding and Champaign-drinking at Skånes animal park. Then all went to my cousins place to drink a bit more and have take-away pizza before leaving somewhere between 23 and 24.

Christina (the bride to be) was really baffled, even telling her boyfriend; that was a bit quiet. She says she wasn't disappointed but I felt soo guilty all night cus I thought she was. Could barely sleep at all!

Anyway. On the Saturday, at 10,00 sharp, all the girls came back to Christians’ flat to surprise her once again with an awesome Champaign breakfast. Freshly baked buns, melons, strawberries, cheeses and loads more of lovely stuff :) Oh the look on her face! I so wish I would have taken a picture!
Throughout the day we had a pentathlon (including sumo-wrestling, a toilet race, boxing in an air castle, basketball and bungee runs), fed the ducks (for some reason the bride loves that) and had a light spa treatment in the hot water pool. And we ate of course, a lot of brilliant food! And to top it all off we went out to eat even more at a favorite place where the food was to die for and the drinks even better! 

At the end I think the bride-to-be was more than satisfied :)



Unfortunately all the pictures, except for this one, are classified until after the wedding so you´ll have to trust your imagination on this one!  

xx

So lets think of Norway for a bit.

The country which in my eyes represents a calm temper, peace and outstanding living conditions. It’s also Norwegians that, together with Danes, in my opinion resemble Swedes the most. It is so close and I’m not sure if I would feel much different if it actually happened an hour or so east instead.
I do know that I would feel different if it happened in the middle east, cus there it happens all the time. And how horrible is that sentence? I know it’s really really bad cus all humans are equally worth in my eyes and I do feel bad for reacting like that. So why do we think like that (and yes, I know it’s not just me)? Well my guess is that we are only human and when tragedy hits close to home we can’t detach ourselves from it anymore. And maybe it’s wrong to detach ourselves from what happens in the rest of the world. Maybe we do it cus it is so hard to comprehend, but when evil stares in our faces we can’t avoid it anymore. Maybe after this weekend we will see other attacks around the world with new eyes.

It is truly unbelievable how one man can change the reality for thousands and thousands of people. How one man can consider it ok to kill someone else’s child, friend or sister? And I don’t think it stops with immediate family, I believe that the whole country, entire Scandinavia and maybe even Europe changed a bit over the weekend. Even if I don’t know anyone directly affected by the attack I know my reality has changed.

To all Scandinavians reading this, you should also read this!

Lots and lots of love to our brothers and sisters in the Northwest!

xx

drawing wins!

Ok, so I thought I would tell you what I do for a living over the summer cus I really, really like my workplace. Actually I’m doing different things all the time, sometimes you can find me in the reception, sometimes selling/drawing kitchen solutions, sometimes in the construction department and occasionally by the tinting machine. All parts are quite different from each other, except for the very important task of problem solving which follows you wherever you go. That’s how I see it all; I’m there to find solutions for customers or to find someone who can solve an issue in my place.

Today for example, I have been working in the kitchen department all day but accidentally got a call regarding a missing toilet (I know, it sounds hilarious, but I assure you it is not for those who are moving in to their new house this weekend..) which I spent hours trying to track all over Sweden and then replace.

Another problem I think I have cracked today is the layout of a kitchen in order to be both functional and match the customer’s aesthetical desires.

The kitchen is quite classic with white mirror doors from Ballingslöv and countertop in black granite from Naturstenskompaniet. One of the main requirements were to keep the floor clear to allow them to entertain rather large groups.

Please consider that I don’t know what sort of fan the client wants yet and that spotlights are missing. Also, I didn’t have time to decorate it today, might give you a better picture tomorrow :)

And to go back to the very start of this post I have to say that I also love working there because of my co-workers, great gang!  

xx

I’m gonna dye my hair black, get cool clothes and start a music career.

Oh boy
You make me feel so,Oh boy
You really turned me, On boy
and I don't know what to do
I really really wanna...

..make me swirl, like a tiny little pearl
I will patiently wait,'Til you're done
with this other girl

Oh my, what a weekend! I know blogging hasn’t been my strong side lately and I have tons to tell you about my marvelous trip, but all that will have to wait even longer cus right now I want to share some info on my new love with you guys.

Her name is Miss Li. She is amazing. She’s got long dark hair, the coolest clothes and her voice is to die for. I attended her concert yesterday and I have never seen anyone perform as good live as she did.

 

Yes, me and Jenny where so close to the stage and could almost touch her!

Have a looksie!

But the music didn’t stop there, after miss li we went to se Sahara Hotnights concert as well. And once again I was completely blown away! They really rocked! And locked hot! Bay far the hottest rock chicks I have ever seen, grrr ;)

And the fun didn’t stop there. We went to see another favorite of mine,  Artmade! The local awesome guys who kicked as, once again!

To top it all off I met so much fun people. Friends from the past whom I haven’t seen for ages and made some new ones as well.

I love picnic concerts/festivals! Don’t you?   

xx

Chandrias, Dassia, Corfu, Greese

As you probably know this is a family vacation, and I must say that the view from my parents room is the most impressive one ever!

Quite nice huh? Across the see is actually Albania. Which we might visit one day this week, would be quite interesting since I know NOTHING about the country.  

As you can see below my view isn't too bad either ;)

The clouds in the pictures are the only ones i have seen since we arrived. The wether is brilliant. Warm, but not too hot and windy in a very good way. So I have spent my time sunbathing, eating, drinking wine and eating a bit more (Breakfast included and it is totally amazing!). And tomorrow well take a drive on the mopeds! :)  

Oh and I have been good, haven't gone lobster just yet!

The only downsides here is really the politics and economy as they cant afford to go out as mush anymore, a lot of local tavernas are way too empty. And another bad, I have totally smashed my toe nail, two cracks and too much blood, isch!    

In whole, its amazing. Love Corfu, love Greece!

Jamas! 

7 days of pure pleasure!

I can’t wait to get on Corfu. In less than 24 hours I’ll be in paradise, and I’ll have a drink, a pink one with a tiny umbrella in it.

The photo is from the hotel area and I can’t wait to get to live in the luxurious environment for an entire week! I have never lived in such an awesome hotel before, and it’s not likely to happen again anytime soon so I’m going to enjoy every moment of it. I’m going to relax by the sea, drive moped in the mountains, eat lots of brilliant food, get a tan (Fabio: high Spf I promise! I’m not going lobster!) and hopefully go sailing a bit :)  And of course, the reason to this awesome trip; Ill celebrate my dad’s 60^th birthday with family and friends!

xx

So farytales does come true, or..?

Hah! Just found this one on a friends Facebook. Must say that the resemblance is striking. The only part that doesnt match the farytale too good is unfortunately prince charmings hair.

I think I know what I want my wedding bouquet to look like..

Made of Swedish wildflowers and as beautiful as can be!

Other than bouquet-making I have just been working and working. Am getting quite worried about work by the way, today was the last day in one division, which I will go back to and manage on my own in four weeks time. More than a little nervous I must say… Oh well what to do. Exept be even more creative on my spare time to manage the tension :p

Hard work work

It has to show where you work - painting company!

Yesterday

The day started down by the lake where we dressed the pole.

Must say that its hard to find a better setting

The men compleated thier task of putting the pole where it should be beautifully. 

By the time for coffe and snaps it got windy and we took shelter in the 60+ year old locker rooms :)

My seven flowers. Unfortunately it didnt work this time, I still dont know who ill marrie...

The evening turned out to be more quiet than expected, some wine, a good dinner and movies with the neighbors. It will end harder tonight Im afraid, in half an hour we go again :) You can never celebrate midsummer too much!



Tonight I’ll walk home in complete silence. I’ll pick seven different flowers, from seven different fields; I’ll put them under my pillow and Ill dream of my husband to be.  That’s the magic of midsummer night, the peacefulness and love.

Its all about the hair!

No crown thins year, but the wild flowers are there and we are ready to go :)

daisies and cornflowers does the trick!