Breathe...

Here's a lovely picture to calm and center your day.  I have been feeling very harried lately with the move, enormous mounds of homework, house fixing, looking for work, preparing for guests, and getting ready for Halloween!  This is fun work, I enjoy the DIY, and I can't wait to unveil our costumes, but somehow I can't focus enough on one thing to enjoy it.  Peace.  Breathe.  Live la vida lagom.  Ah yes, my mantra. Somehow looking at the lovely picture (and unlocking my jaw) works.

Have a Happy Halloween, and may you get your costumes done in time.  "Breathe deep the gathering gloom" seems appropriate given the season, by the Moody Blues.  (Don't worry the picture is racier than the rest of the video.)

A great night for my sports teams!

A big win for Malmö FF, who clinched the Swedish league title last night, see here, and for the Boston Red Sox who beat the Cardinals 3-1 in game 5 of the competitive 2013 World Series.  I'm a little bleary eyed this morning so forgive the short post but a big "rah, rah" to two of my favorite teams!  

Go Sox!  Read more below about their game 5 win:

http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/eye-on-baseball/24151856/red-sox-top-cardinals-in-world-series-game-5-grades

Aladdin's Jewels

Just some pics from a fun weekend project from here at "Home Swede Home".  I was inspired by the beautiful antiques I inherited recently and decided instead of putting them in a cupboard and using only "for fancy", that I would put them right to use and enjoy them everyday instead.  Kind of like when your daughter insists on putting on her tutu and wearing it to school, and why not?  Beautiful things are meant to be enjoyed.  Loving the mix of textures - rough leather, smooth glass, reflective silver and my baubles all together on the old wood.   The old strainer spilling over with jewels especially tickles my fancy.  Hope you like it too but let me know!  (And yeah, I could have cleaned and polished everything first but that wouldn't have been any fun.)  Have a great weekend!

The land of beige

Welcome to the land of beige... our new home, vast "acres" (OK, square feet) of beige carpeting, beige walls, and beige wallpaper.  Yes, I get it, beige is a good neutral.  It's non-offensive and safe, which is exactly why I don't like it.  Also, this carpeting is ancient.  As much as I love the people who sold us our house I don't appreciate inheriting their odors too, like old cats, feet, and third hand smoke.

 

So, first on the list - get rid of the carpet!  Right after I've sat down to another cup of coffee, and some blog posting for support.  ;-)  Why is it so hard to get going with DYI?  I like the idea of it but the actual physical labor?  Yuck.  I guess that's why Pinterest is so popular.  No fuss, no muss.

So before I get going, some inspiration to keep my spirits up.  Hope you have a wonderful weekend, and unlike me, aren't stuck inside breathing old feet fumes, and dust bite bunnies. lovely white organic style on houzz

Welcome the land of beige

We are family! (IKEA family)

Finally here after a long drive.... IKEA!  We just moved so what's a Swedish girl gonna do but head to the land of blue and yellow, and snag me a "FOTO" and some "Gyllen".  I love those weird Swedish names don't you?  Pictures are below (this wall sconce was cool but we went with a different style with frosted flowers).  Hope the electrician comes tonight as promised, and we can see again.  Let there be light!  Ljus!  Thank goodness we are not in Sweden right now, or we would be getting a little depressed in the murky fall light.  Are you an IKEA family?  I have to admit that we are. :-)

FOTO, pendant light in different colors

Gyllen, a wall sconce, but we went with one more subdued

Backyard bliss and bikes

Sometimes the best things are right in your own backyard (right Dorothy?) like this old timey truck and bike displayed at the recent "Pettengill FarmsVintage Bazaar", see Pettengill Farms, which takes place twice annually in Salisbury, MA.  There are loads of vendors, food (food trucks - even better!), music and more. Master Luke and I headed out on that crisp beautiful autumn weekend to check out the vintage motorcycles, antiques, and old custom campers among other things.  Loved the care, thought and creativity everyone put into their booths and their work.  The seaside themed camper and Simplicity booth (found Flukes & Finds, in Newburyport) were some of my personal favs.  Take a look!

This Vespa was my favorite ride.  Just my speed unlike my motorcycle friend Mindi who prefers cool vintage motorcycles. She is selling these fantastico shirts, very flattering and cool, for $25!  Leave me a comment and I'll direct you to the place to buy them.

Vintage Bazaar 3rd annual Motorcycle Show T-Shirt

Alice Munroe wins Nobel Prize in Literature 2013

Alice Munroe is 8 million Swedish krones richer today!  As The New York Times states today:

"The Nobel, one of the most prestigious and lucrative prizes in the world, is given to a writer for a lifetime’s body of work, rather than a single novel, short story or collection. The winner receives 8 million Swedish kronor, or about $1.2 million.

Previous winners in recent years include Mo Yan, a Chinese writer, in 2012; the Swedish poet Tomas Tranströmer, in 2011; Mario Vargas Llosa, the Peruvian writer, in 2010; and in 2009, Herta Müller, a Romanian-born German novelist and essayist...."

complete article: see New York Times Alice Munroe here

I love her short stories and we are all happy for our neighbor in Canada.  As you can see some of my friends in Stockholm were happy to hear the news - HAPPYstlhm in Stockholm, Sweden's Gamla Stan is throwing a party in her honor! Heja Alice!

take a look at Kajsa's beautiful design store http://www.happysthlm.se/

Funny Picture

Coop, Västerås, found on "Tjuvlyssnat.se"

The Swedes do too have a sense of humor, see?

Swedish Pancake with Bacon

This is what we had for dinner tonight.  Everyone loved it.  It comes out the oven puffy, and smelling of bacon, mmm.  For Special K. my young daughter who detests meat, I saved put the bacon on one side of the pan and not the other.  It worked out well.  Serve with lingon and cold milk ... it's comfort food Swedish style.

rep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes

Total Time: 35 minutes

Yield: 6-8 servings

Ingredients:

• 12-ounce package of thick-sliced bacon or salt pork
• 5 cups milk
• 3 eggs
• 3 cups all-purpose flour (or try a 50-50 mix of all-purpose and spelt flour)

Preparation:

Lightly spray a large roasting pan with Pam. Remove as much of the excess white fat from the bacon as possible and discard; chop the bacon into a fine dice. Scatter across bottom of pan. Place on middle rack of cold oven and then preheat oven to 425° (the bacon should be cooked at the point the oven reaches heat; if not, leave it in a minute or two longer until it's crisped).  Note, I just fried the bacon and then cut it into small pieces into the pan.

Meanwhile, whisk together milk and eggs. Gradually stir in flour in 1/2-cup increments until well-blended into batter (Note: Purists allow the batter to sit for 30 minutes before baking, although this isn't absolutely necessary when you're baking a pancake in the oven rather than on a griddle - it will "puff" quite nicely without the wait).

When bacon has crisped, pour batter into the pan, then whisk lightly to evenly distribute the bacon. Return to oven and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until puffed and golden brown.

Serve with lingonberries, (lingonsylt is available at IKEA) as the Swedes do, or accompany with maple syrup.  I pulled this recipe from Scandinavian Food and it was quite good.  Smaklig spis!

The Flying Fox - what does the fox say?

Isn't is amazing how quickly news and not-so-news-worthy stuff spreads on the internet?  I just saw this video by Ylvis last week and today my son was singing "What does the fox say?"  (How many people bet the fox will be a Halloween hit?  I do!)  So funny, even Ellen DeGeneres is a fan, watch Ellen Degeneres speaks fox.  I appreciate that the fox has important things to say, but my favorite video is actually "The Cabin". Norwegians, Swedes, and I dare say some New Hampshirites probably relate to this parody of owning your own tiny piece of parody.  Hey, it's like the Taj Majal except for the shape and the size! :-)

And here's what Wikipedia says about these guys from Norway for those not in-the-know:
Ylvis is a comedy duo from Bergen, Norway, consisting of brothers Bård and Vegard Ylvisåker. They debuted as professional variety artists in 2000 and have since had a string of very successful variety shows, humoristic concerts, TV shows, radio shows and music videos. Their song "The Fox" went viral on YouTube in September 2013, bringing the brothers to international attention.  

And just 'cause it's Friday and you need a fun start to the weekend, here's "The Fox" by Ylvis.  Enjoy!