Happy New Year/Godt nyttår!

2013 has been the most amazing year of my life. I have:

- moved out of London, my home for the past 6 years.

- been pregnant, the strangest and most exciting experience in my life.

- finished the first year of my masters degree

- moved to the country side, something I've been dreaming of for a long time.

- given birth.

- become a mummy to the most wonderful little baby girl.

- met some new, wonderful people.

It is safe to say that this year has changed my life entirely, and that I'll never be the same again. I feel stronger, happier and more scared than I ever have before.

May 2013 be a year full of happiness, love and good health for you all.

Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas /God jul!

This is a Christmas of firsts:
-first Christmas as a family
- first Christmas for baby F
- first Christmas on our own
- our first Christmas tree
- first Christmas in England


I've got a few Norwegian treats, a lovely family and the most beautiful little baby daughter, and I will sit back and enjoy every minute of it.

 .  .  .  .  .  .   First Christmas dress

 .  .  .  .  .  .   First Christmas tree



Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and all the best for 2013!

By the river

Landsbyen vi bor i ligger i nærheten av en liten 'market town' som heter Hertford. Siden vi kun har en bitteliten dagligvarebutikk (og to puber, slakter, baker og et postkontor) er det hit vi drar for å handle, gå på kafé eller bare rusle rundt. Det fineste er å rusle langs elva og beundre alle elvebåtene som ligger ankret opp for vinteren!

Hver uke kommer denne bussen til landsbyen vår. Jeg har enda ikke våget meg inn (det byr på sine naturlige utfordringer med barnevogn og liten baby), men gleder meg til å kunne ta med lille F for å velge ut nye bøker hver uke når hun blir litt større!

Coffee

Jeg er egentlig ikke fan av Starbucks, heller ikke av kaffe med masse sirup og krem, og går dit svært sjelden. Jeg liker aller best kaffen min svart, kruttsterk og av god kvalitet, kanskje med en liten dott skum på toppen. Men det er én ting jeg har en svakhet for, ironisk nok siden den er søt og har pisket krem på toppen, og det er Starbucks sin Gingerbread Latte som de har hvert år før jul. Den er knapt kaffe å regne etter min mening, men den er god likevel. Som en flytende kake.

Starbucks har i disse dager begynt å spørre om navnet ditt når du bestiller, noe jeg heller ikke er særlig fan av, men da benytter jeg sjansen til å prøve ut ulike navn hver gang. Kunne jeg vært en Emily? Eller Maria? Hva med Pippi?

His and hers

Jeg elsker disse tøflene fra Camper! Mannen og jeg har like.

Prepared for the cold

Min kjære bror og svigerinne kjøpte disse til lille F, og jeg syns de er verdens søteste lille sko! Nå skal den lille hvertfall ikke fryse på de små føttene sine!

Peace

Apologies for being so quiet, I will be back soon. I'm enjoying my days with this lovely little lady with lots of cuddles, long walks in the forest and meeting other little people. My little girl is very peaceful and happy and such a joy to be with. I am completely in love.

A very happy and peaceful weekend to you!

Happiness is...

.. listening to the sounds of a sleeping baby.

Happy things..

- beautiful autumn days in the country side

- meeting lovely people for coffee and cake

- being able to sleep on my tummy again

- two beautiful big blue eyes looking up at me
- tiny baby hands and feet
- the smell of a newborn baby

- eating my favourite cheeses again
- pretty little baby clothes


What makes you happy?

Finally!

Little F is here, finally! She is the prettiest, cutest, most amazing little bundle of joy!!

Happiness on a Friday

A forest so full of brambles that you can come back every day and pick your basket completely full and then fill the freezer with bits of sweetness for the dark winter months..

Things that make me smile

 Tasty plums

 French toast for breakfast

 Freshly baked banana muffins

 Colourful lunch

 Growing

 Teeny- tiny shoes

 Homemade granola

Sunny mornings with dew on the window

Summer

I can't believe how quickly summer has passed, or at least, the summer holiday. It's still hot here, and even though the evenings are getting colder and darker, it's too warm to say that summer is over. This summer has been incredibly busy with concerts, painting our living room, finishing uni assignments and preparing for the baby. Less than three weeks to go now, and it is almost surreal that this is actually going to happen. Here are a few snapshots of what I've been doing recently:

Growing my tummy bigger

Discovering lovely new places to eat

Getting fruit and vegetables delivered from our local farm

Writing, trying to focus on something other than baby (almost impossible)

And discovering yet another place to have lunch or afternoon tea.

I'm feeling so excited and thrilled about the coming few weeks!

Hope you are having lovely days!

The secret is out..

Husband and I are finding it so hard to keep our secret, and it's more or less out of the bag now.. Especially since we're so used to talking about 'her' amongst ourselves, and not 'it'. I've been keeping busy lately, making lots of little things for her and for her room.

Bunting for the wall in her room

A little dress

A pin board to pin pretty pictures on, and another little dress

And this little friend

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: I really love Penhaligon's. I love how exclusive their shops feel when you walk into them, I love their pretty, old fashioned looking bottles, but most of all I love their perfumes. I also love that you won't find that every other person in the street is wearing the same smell as you. Both Husband and I are big fans, and we have a little collection of bottles now. Ellenisia has been my favourite for the last few years, but when I got pregnant it didn't smell the same on me anymore, so I haven't worn it for a while. So the other day I acquired a new smell in my collection; Lavandula. A lovely floral smell, not too sweet, perfect for summer!

If you're ever in England I would definitely recommend a visit to one of their shops, it's the perfect way of experiencing a proper British boutique with lots of tradition!

Wishing you all a good start to your week!

Happy things....

Eating strawberries

Playing Scrabble

Baking (and eating) fruit tarts.

Growing..

Only a few weeks left now, and we're getting very excited! It's getting harder to move around and I'm feeling more tired than before. It doesn't help that the temperature has been over 30 this past week, and it looks like it's going to last a while. I'm desperately longing to dip my feet in the sea and to feel the fresh sea breeze on my face, but instead I'm stuck in a valley two hours from the sea and with no water nearby to stick my feet in (except my bath tub). I'm crossing my fingers for a refreshing rain storm soon!

Afternoon tea at the farm

Since it's holiday time we've been exploring the area around us, and we came across this lovely farm where you can buy fresh vegetables, meat and eggs from the farm shop and have afternoon tea in their little tea room next door. When you've filled up on sandwiches, cakes, scones and tea you can take a little walk in their forest or buy some food to feed the animals on the farm.

The perfect little getaway, just a 10 min drive down the road!

Welcome to the village

I'll show some more pictures from our lovely village soon, but I thought I would give you a little preview first. There are so many beautiful old buildings here, an old pretty church and lots of lovely gardens.

And around the village we are surrounded by open fields, and woods where there are lots and lots of brambles and mushrooms. I really like these 'hay towers' that are popping up everywhere at this time of year.

The perfect surroundings for late afternoon walks!

Stripes

I don't know why, but I find striped baby clothes so adorable! So when there was a sale in Baby Gap I couldn't resist..

I love summer, and picking flowers from the garden..

Bump to birth

A nice way of recording and remembering our story from the very beginning...

New old things

We got this trunk really cheap on Gumtree, and it's perfect for hiding things in, particularly toys!

I love these curtains that I got on ebay. It's a William Morris pattern from 1892, and I absolutely love his work!

Sunday

Breakfast

And lovely Wish magazine from Carrie.

Happy Sunday!

Early

I don't know if it is the kicking of the baby that wakes me up, or if it is simply down to the fact that I can't seem to get comfortable in a ny position these days, but I have been waking up with the sun most days lately. I love the early morning light and how quiet everything is..