Last day of 2011

2011 is almost over. I always find the end of a year a bit sad, but I'm excited about 2012! 2011 has been a great year, and I'm hoping 2012 will be even better. Tonight I will be celebrating with some good friends in Scotland, and I will miss all the lovely people who are celebrating on the prettiest farm in Norway..

In 2012 I will:

- take more photos
- get better at keeping in touch with people I don't see very often
- plan some girly weekends away
- explore new places
- dress up a lot
- wear pretty dresses and red lipstick


I'm sorry I haven't been very good at updating the blog recently. It's partly due to the fact that I've been travelling around without a camera and partly because I have felt very uninspired.

I'll try and get better at updating in the new year, but I need your help. What do you like reading about? What should I write about? Any wishes?

A very Happy New Year to all you lovely people out there!

December 23rd

So sorry that I haven't updated very frequently lately! It's been so busy these last few weeks, but it's all starting to calm down now. I have baked lots of cookies, Husband has chopped wood for the fire, we have watched the snow come and go again, and tonight we're listening to Christmas music and decorating the trea.

I wish you all a very Merry Christmas! Thank you so much for reading my blog, and for all the lovely comments you make. I really, really appreciate each one!

December 20th

The perfect box for Christmas treats!

December 16th

I have always loved Elsa Beskow's books, and to me this picture represents the perfect Christmas. I've got my book of Christmas carols out, and I sit down to play and sing them every now and again!

December 14th

On the weekend I had some lovely friends visiting, and we went to the Royal Opera House to see The Nutcracker. I had never seen it before, and it was just as magical as I had imagined!

December 13th

It's December 13th, St Lucia's day, which is traditionally celebrated like this in Norway. Sadly I have been too busy to make 'Lussekatter', but I have been thinking of all the little children dressed in white, parading in the dark in Norway. 

December 8th

Rocky road! I've been so busy these last few weeks, and I'm so grateful for Christmas treats that are easy to make..

December 7th

I always light lots of candles at this time of year, to try and suck up as much light as i possibly can. I even light candles at breakfast in the morning. It gives a little warmth as well, in the darkest of mornings.

December 6th

I love this song. Happy Tuesday!

December 5th

I love Christmas trees; the smell of the tree once it's been brought into the house, the way it looks with the lights on... In my family we've had a long tradition of going to the farm to pick out and cut down our own one. It's always great fun, except for the couple of years that we've been too ill to do it, and exciting to see who gets the best tree! I'm so looking forward to doing it this year with Husband.

December 4th

Homemade always tastes better. The time before Christmas, busy though it might be, is the perfect time to make something tasty and share it with friends. Sit down, light a candle in the dark, listen to some music.

A very happy Sunday to you!

December 3rd

Christmas in London is wonderful with all its Christmas markets, Christmas lights everywhere, mulled wine, Love Actually, mince pies and carols. But nothing beats proper Norwegian Christmas and all its lovely traditions; advent- tv, baking cookies, making candles, gløgg, marzipan, snow, nisser, making candy, watching Three Wishes for Cinderella, hearing Sølvguttene sing on tv, big family parties and everything else.

Which tradition is your favourite?

Peter Pan

I found an old pattern for a blouse, and thought I'd try just making the collar with a ribbon sewed onto it. I think it worked quite well!

A little tip..

Photo from the blog A Beautiful Mess

If you haven't read the blog A Beautiful Mess I recommend that you do!

December 2nd

I love decorating for Christmas! I also love starting new traditions and keeping old ones alive.

All I want for Christmas this year...

Anything related to tea drinking and cake eating.

Books are always welcomed gifts!

Any of these lovely things from Green Gate. So pretty!

December 1st

December is finally here! Hooray!

What I miss right now..

The town by the sea.

Marilyn Monroe

This is how I want to look for this year's Christmas parties!

Christmas earrings

These lovely earrings arrived in the mail the other day, from Smykk Deg in Trondheim. They make really beautiful jewellery, and if you live in Trondheim you should have a look in the shop Sukker, which sells their stuff.

These are just perfect for Christmas!

Pictures from a Sunday

Christmas tea in a nice cup,

and 'Pan Am' on BBC.

Advent

Happy Advent!

I am listening to one of Bach's advent cantatas, drinking coffee and making Christmas cards. This is probably my favourite time of year, and I will try and enjoy it as much as I can this year.

Hope you are having a good Sunday!

Finally Friday!

I am, for once, spending my Friday at work, singing with lots of tiny little children dressed as sheperds, wise men, cowboys (yes, that's right), Mary, Joseph, sheep and a donkey. It is so lovely to work with children at this time of year, I love it so much! It is cold, it is Friday, I am happy.

A very happy Friday to you!

Christmas tree

I bought a few of these lovely Christmas cups for a fraction of their original price on Ebay this week. I just love them! They remind me of H. C. Andersen's Christmas stories, and although they are really quite sad, they are some of my favourites. When I was little I had a cassette with Per Aabel reading them, and I used to listen to it again and again.

The other day I realised that next Sunday is the first advent Sunday. I can't believe how quickly time has passed!

Hope you are having a good week!

Monday happiness

After a long day at work it's lovely to come home when Husband has made dinner and poured you a glass of sparkling!

My London Alphabet: F

Fortnum and Mason is a wonderful place. I often go there to get my tea and to look at all the beautiful teacups and other lovely things they have there. It is also a great place to have afternoon tea! I could spend hours in there just walking around, smelling different types of tea, looking at people and thinking about my dream house full of tea cups. The closest tube stations are Piccadilly Circus or Green Park, and it is located on the south side of Piccadilly.

La Fromagerie is a café and cheese shop just off Marleybone High Street. It has great atmosphere and a lovely selection of cheese, wine and food. It is the perfect place for lunch! You could for instance order a cheese platter to share with a friend, or a sandwich or salad...

Foyle's books on Charing Cross Road, near Tottenham Court Road is my favourite book shop in London (apart from Daunt's), and is a must to visit if you are a book lover. It also has one of my favourite cafés in it; Ray's Jazz. The shop has five floors full of books, in every genre you could possibly imagine. I regularly spend hours and hours in there, and would have no problem spending my entire savings in one day. (Thankfully I haven't.) They also have music scores and a record shop that only sells jazz records!

Fulham Palace is dated back to the 11th century and used to be the residence of the bishop of London. It is surrounded by a big park which is lovely to walk through, and it has a nice café on the ground floor. And the best thing is that it is FREE to visit!

Sunday

Sunday morning. Freezing fog outside. I have coffee, the house to myself and the table full of craft projects (my course literature is hidden underneath in all). Bliss. I'm thinking of Christmas projects and presents, trying to figure things out.

A very good Sunday to you!

My London Alphabet: E

I have tried and failed to find anything for the letter E, so I will just repost this post about Eating in London.

Finally Friday!

I changed the buttons in this cardigan with some that I have covered with some lovely pink fabric. It looks a lot nicer now than it did before!

What makes me happy today: cold weather, coffee and a nice weekend ahead

What I am listening to right now: She & Him

Plans I have for the weekend: do some work, read, go for long walks, have breakfast in bed, watch a good film

What I am reading right now: a lot of course literature and 'Irr! Grønt!' by Dag Solstad

Things I do that make me feel better on a bad day: read a good poem, put on red lipstick, wear high heeled shoes, listen to a great song, sing really loudly with my hairbrush as microphone, wear bright colours, send a text to someone I love, eat chocolate.

What about you?

A very happy Friday to all you lovely people!

Winter

I took these pictures last year, on a frosty morning at work. I really love proper winter, when everything is covered in frost and the light is so blue. Beautiful. It's getting colder now, and I'm crossing my fingers that we'll have a winter like last year. The sound of frozen leaves underneath my shoes, seeing my frosty breath in the morning and wrapping up warm are things that make me so happy in winter.

A good Wednesday to you!

Finally Friday!

I love Fridays, and it's here again! Winter has arrived with fog, rain, naked trees, dark afternoons and gloomy light. I've been making apple crumble and custard to feel a little lighter. Lighting candles also helps. And listening to Edith Piaf.

I don't have many plans this weekend, apart from drinking a hearty cappuccino like this:

And looking through my kaleidoscope:

Hope you have nice plans this weekend!

Happy Friday to you and you and you!

Like a dream..

I love these clothes from Cabbages and Roses, they're like a fairytale or a dream. Walking into one of their shops is like walking into Narnia, a different world. I wish my wallet would allow my closet being full of these clothes! But for now I'll settle for dreaming...

Pictures from cabbagesandroses.com

Teacup love

I absolutely love this new collection from Green Gate! Perfect for Christmas. It is, of course, essential to have separate Christmas crockery. I don't think Husband would agree, as the cupboards are already pretty full of tea cups, bowls and plates.. I'm still putting in on my wish list, though!

Finally Friday!

It's Friday again, and the last one before work starts again.. This weekend I will:

enjoy the rain

drink tea and read books, both coursework and hopefully other things as well, if time allows.

enjoy the piles of leaves on the ground.

enjoy a visit from a friend.

have a nice pub meal.

celebrate Bon Fire Night.

drink mulled wine and watch the fireworks.

bake scones.

Hope you have nice plans for the weekend too!

Happy Friday!