Fika Paus - Coffee Break

"Fika Paus" by Tina Rawson c 2013
Hej, this painting among others is now at the show "art in season" at the Provident Bank at 5 Market Street in Amesbury, MA.  See I really do paint!  (Just not that often.)  :-)  It's an homage to my mother and the Swedish "fika", a coffee break with friends, co-workers or family.*
A total of three of my works will be up in this show from October 1st - January 3rd.  I am so excited to be included with the other 19 women artists whose art I admire including our fantastic teacher Lully Schwartz. Check out Lully Schwartz beautiful art.
Hopefully my Franken frames will arrive today for two more oil paintings to be entered into a juried show.   We will see if I make it in time... they are due today!
*For more information about the Swedish coffee culture, check it our here:
http://www.visitsweden.com/sweden/Featured/Sweden-Beyond/West-Sweden2/

Swedish Fashion Bloggers

Do you love fashion? It's hot and happening in Scandinavia, and there are many young bloggers who post on the Swedish scene. Melanie Richtman at "Your Coffee Break" gives her top five below:

1. Ebba, at http://ebbazingmark.devote.se/.  Check out this youngling's (only 17!) fresh take on fashion and photography.

2. Kenza Zouiten, at http://kenzas.se/.  She is 22, lives in Stockholm and is a Swedish blogger/model/designer with Moroccan roots. Co-founder & creative director at IvyRevel. Her blog is the most visited in Sweden and just beautiful (as is she.)

3. Victoria Törnegren is model and blogger at http://imnext.se/victoriatornegren/.  This is for the real fashionista. It's over my head (no way I could wear these pants!) but fun to dream.

4. Felicia Akerström at http://akerstroms.devote.se/ This lovely young woman does an amazing job of photographing her life and fashion.  Check out the cool photos of New York!

5. Try Caroline Blomst's blog for shots of Stockholm edgy street fashion at http://carolinesmode.com/caroline/art/282150/black_is_black/ but my favorite part is the "get the look" page, here.

Here's the link to the complete article, which I pretty much paraphrased (thanks Melanie!), to learn more about fresh young fashion bloggers in Sweden.  5 Swedish Bloggers  There are plenty more, and for those of you who want to get more inspiration this link is for you:  10 fashion bloggers from Stockholm  Enjoy!

Home Swede Home

From the store Udda Tina at http://www.uddatina.se/
Gotta love that name!  (Odd Tina)

Please excuse the veering off into the global internet, but my head is full of facts and figures and I needed a little DIY escapism.  I love this ottoman at Better Homes and Garden for example, that will have to be added to my many pins in the folder that should be called "Crafts-that-I-think-that-I-could-do-but-never-get-around-to-doing." Check out the instructions here, DIY Ottoman.  I blog about all things Swenglish but actually this global bohemian look is really popular in Sweden, especially against a white background, as just a few pictures from various Swedish blogs attest.  Hey, we all need colors!

http://ludvigsdal.blogspot.com/

http://www.majascottage.com/sv/

NORTH - food festival

For those of you lucky readers who are in New York City, take a look at this fun foodie festival coming up on October 2nd - 7th celebrating Nordic food.  Scandinavian food has not typically been considered great but has recently had a renaissance with a fresh new approach due to the locavore movement and innovative twists.  Here's the link with the scoop http://honestcooking.com/category/north-festival/.

Some yummy Swedish recipes are posted here. Mums Jansson's frestelse or temptation.  Haven't tried it? You should!  Anchovies are tasty.  Don't say "eww" until you've tasted it.

I also want to give a shout out to our fabulous friend Emma, owner of Jazz-it , who inspired by flavor found across the globe just started a burgeoning private chef business in the beautiful village of Falsterbo, a southern peninsula of Sweden.

If you want some incredible recipes using the freshest ingredients with a jazzy melange of flavors try her blog on FB here at jazz it, or blog, http://jazz-it.se/blogg/

A recipe for the road, thanks to Emma's delicious blog below. Note she likes anchovies too, so there! I trust Emma's taste, so it's gotta be good.  :-)  Mangia!

Tapenade with garlic, chili and parsley.

One jar of black or green pitted olives about 300 grams.

2-3 tablespoons of capers. One trick I learned about capers is to soak them in milk for about 10 minutes. The milk helps to draw out the nasty brine flavor that its preserved in. If you don’t have time, just make sure to rinse them properly.

1-2 filets of anchovies.

One small clove of garlic

Half of a red chili finely chopped or 1/2 teaspoon dried chili flakes.

Chopped fresh parsley and lemon zest. Optional

Basically, finely chop or using a food processor or hand-held mixture, mix the first 6 ingredients to a coarse paste. Add the chili and chopped parsley. and lemon zest if using.

Hint:  Many people dislike the fishy taste of anchovies including my husband, though his favorite spaghetti dish that I make is spaghetti a la puttanesca. Used correctly, anchovies are essential in giving both complexity and flavors to many dishes. You can’t make a puttanesca without anchovies.  The key is to use a light hand and avoid using the oil in which it has been preserved. That’s pretty potent stuff. I myself looooove it, but it’s not for everyone. The tapenade can be used on crostinis,  used to stuffed poultry, or even as a condiment in sandwiches. I recently posted my favorite tuna salad recipe made with tapenade. Click on Perfect beach picnic to check it out.

Swedish Home Decor

A while back I promised to post regularly on Nordic design, and I must say home decor has fallen a little by the wayside.  But a quick visit to one of my favorite blogs "my scandinavian home" fixed that in a heartbeat! Check out this lovely apartment and the contest to win this lovely Pia Wallen cross blanket from Story North here at "Sweet Paul Magazine" Pia Wallen cross blanket contest.  I love the use of black, white, grey and rugged warm touches like the furs that give you the coziness of home.  And I want me that blanket, so don't enter please? ;-)

Interior: Pella Hedeby, Photo: Christopher Johnsson via here and here with thanks

This kind of staging done by JM Staging in Stockholm provides inspiration for those times I am pulled into a staging project, like last week on the North Shore.  It was a fun staging the beautiful condo with my friend Mindi at MPH Home Design.  See below, for a smattering of my photos which although not as professional as the ones above, can show you what a difference staging can make!  

Happy Friday!

Did you see my post about Snaps visor (schnapps songs) and the contest?  It ends today so get your entries in now! Here's the scoop: http://livinglavidalagom.blogspot.com/2013/08/skal.html  Speaking of drinking songs, this fun one is sung to the tune of the Jungle Book’s “Bare Necessities“, or in Swedish, “Be satisfied with all that life gives” (Var nojd med allt som livet ger Disney's song in Swedish here!)  

Var nöjd med allt som ölen ger                           Be satisfied with all beer gives 

och även om du dubbelt ser.                              Even if you’re seeing double

Glöm bort bekymmer sorger och besvär.       You’ll soon forget your worries and your cares! 

Var glad och nöjd för vet du vad                      Be happy and satisfied because, you know,

en folköl gör ju ingen glad.                                A low alcohol beer doesn't make anyone happy! 

Var nöjd med ölen som vi dricker här.            Be satisfied with the beer that we drink here. 

If I seem a little flippant it's because life has been throwing a lot at me pretty fast.  So, time to relax with my family and friends, and a glass of small-batch beer (http://www.nbptbrewing.com/) this weekend. We will be staying put for once, enjoying our own little house, and I think that's a good thing.  So, cheers to being content, and happy with whatever life throws your way! I'm getting ready for this weekend! See 9/14 - Spinners and Beer.

First Aid Kit, Swedish "soul sisters"

Love these girls, First Aid Kit, a band from Sweden that sounds like EmmyLou Harris, June Carter or early Dolly Parton. As Wikipedia says:
First Aid Kit is a Swedish folk duo composed of sisters Johanna and Klara Söderberg, whose close vocal harmonies and woodsy, folk-influenced songwriting take influence from the likes of Fleet Foxes and Joanna Newsom. Wikipedia
I don't know much about music, I just like to listen and enjoy their sisterly harmonies.  Also, check out the fashion - very Janis Joplin here.  How is it that these young women are so cool and confident?

This song seems appropriate as fall approaches and with it the cold weather, take a listen to "Emmylou". "Just sing little darlin', sing with me."  And speaking of singing, if you like this kind of folksy music (and you live on the moon) you may not have heard of this sister duo.  They are from Canada and their latest You Tube video got over 20,481,000+ hits!  Young Lennon and Maisy Stella are amazing. They even have roles now on ABC's hit show "Nashville" as Rayna James' two daughters.  (See what living without a tv can do for you.)  Check out more about the Stella sisters here, Lennon and Maisy Stella and enjoy the song!

Pimp my ride

As seen on a street in Helsingborg, check out this pimped out ride!  Now my friend Mindi might disagree;-) that a bike could be as impressive as a hog but look as this lovely -- all covered with crochet it looks like it fell into an enchanted sleep under a tree somewhere and just woke up.  I hope you had a wonderful weekend, we did swinging from the trees in NH.  Well, at least my kids and hubby enjoyed that!  I had a great time playing mini-golf with my mini-nephew on a man-made green.  Not exactly a jungle that, but well worth a trip down memory lane.  Here he is exploring the mechanics of dropping the ball in one hole and having it come out the other, while my brave kids explore their inner Tarzans.

Lund culture and Stockholm fashion

Kulturen is one of our favorite spots in Lund, Sweden and when we visit my old home town this is usually on the list of things-to-do.  It's an open air museum with a wide range of historical houses located in the center of town -- homes that you can enter and really get a feeling for life back in the day of different eras.  Also they have interesting exhibits.  Currently Carl Bengtsson's fashion photography is showing.  Isn't this stunning?

http://www.kulturen.com/utstallningar/tillfalliga-utstallningar/modefotografier-carl-bengtsson/

They have a wide range of exhibits but being interested in fashion (although sometimes hard to tell) I fell for this one which is showing until November 3rd, and the one to come on Gudrun Sjöden in late 2014 through 2015.  This Swedish designer is an inspiration, she follows her own muse and makes beautiful clothes that women of all sizes, shapes and colors can comfortably wear and feel good about.  I love her clothes and wish that she would open a store in Boston (hint, hint)!  There's one in Soho on 50 Greene Street that just opened.  Check it out, and here is the link to the website  Gudrun Sjoden Autumn Collection

Gudrun Sjöden

Stockholm is having a fashion moment and her's a shot of beautiful participant in Stockholm's Fashion Week.

During Stockholm Fashion Week in August 2013

Obama in Sweden today!

President Obama is visiting Sweden today and they are as pleased as punch about it!  The Swedish locals were talking about this three-day visit as soon as it was determined that he would go there instead of Moscow (after Edward Snowden and Syria push-back).  I hope that he comes away with a good understanding of little Sweden's capabilities in technology and the environment.  The Local's live blog feed of the visit is here, http://www.thelocal.se/50050/20130904/.  One of the stops on Obama's itinerary includes a visit to a energy expo at the Royal Institute of Technology.  He will also be going to a ceremony honoring Raoul Wallenberg (read more about Wallenberg) and meeting the king and queen of Sweden - Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia. He will be having dinner with Prime Minister Frederik Reinfeldt tonight and leaders of Norway, Finland, Denmark and Iceland.  Still not everyone is excited about Obama, for example Anna Troberg (leader of the "Pirate Party"?) who is quoted saying that he should give back his Nobel Peace Prize (see below and here.)  Reinfeldt is choosing not bringing up the security issue saying Sweden is not entirely innocent either.  Read more of that news at Washington Post.  Exciting stuff.

 "A Swedish newspaper described its country a “Little USA” and described the way it was trying to emulate America politically, economically and culturally. Still, the leader of a small political party said Mr. Obama should stop tapping her e-mail account and give back his Nobel Peace Prize."  - NYT

A silver lining

I was introduced to this woman's art recently while in Sweden.  She makes fantastic, imaginative jewelry, chandeliers, and other wearable art inspired by Dalarna's traditional folk art.  For those of you who've read my blog before you know I have a weakness for kurbits (see here for a taste) and Swedish folk art from the 1800's.  Karin Ferner  (see http://karinferner.se/) taps into that tradition and makes it come alive.  I especially like her jewelry with textiles like these:

From Karin Ferner's website

and the chandeliers (see above).  For those Swedish speakers there was an interesting article in DN on her show in 2011.  http://www.dn.se/kultur-noje/konstrecensioner/utstallning-karins-kuriosakabinett?rm=print

On a personal note, I just got back from a wedding in Ohio where I was introduced to the antique trove Heart of Ohio, 116,000 square feet of antiques where things like this can be found as well as great furniture and other Americana and collectibles.  Cool huh?  Has anyone been? Let me know!

Love the wiener-mobile at the "Heart of Ohio" antique store