New York, New York!

Matilda the Musical on Broadway
Sorry I haven't blogged in a while but we have had a busy couple of weeks.  This weekend is of course Thanksgiving (yeah!) and last weekend we took it easy recuperating from a wonderful weekend in New York City.  This is a brief overview of NYC and what we did, which was basically only touching the tip of the tip of the iceberg that is Manhattan.  Mainly we went to see the theater -- everyone got to see Matilda the musical based on a subversive children's book by Roald Dahl -- a play that we all loved.  Read more here, Matilda. 

Then parents, aka handsome hubby and I, were lucky enough to see "A Midsummer's Night Dream", with my father at the brand-new Brooklyn home of "Theater for a New Audience" produced by Julie Taymor.  Julie Taymor is the woman who directed the "The Lion King" and "Spider Man - Turn Off the Dark" on Broadway, and I feel that this production with its eerie fairy world and wild woods does not disappoint.  She is a true artist and I love how she paints her vision with costumes, scenery, and yes, in this case flying.  Puck,  played by Kathryn Hunter, especially was amazingly elflike and flexible in all her various guises and poses.

a review here

I also enjoyed the Chagall Exhibit at the Jewish Museum of Art.  Chagall is one of my personal favs and his art is still so inspiring.  Chagall wore his heart on his sleeve and keeping his memories of his childhood and loves ever present in his work, striving for optimism even in the face of Bolshevik Revolution and World War II.  His works about Bella, his first wife, will melt your heart.  I find the couple on the chicken to be so romantic.  A chicken flying into the night sky with the two loves, kind of reminiscent of "A Midsummer's Night Dream", actually.  There is a lot of family in his paintings too, and symbols representing his homeland. 

 This is an approach I only touched upon in my recent work, "Fika Paus", and a style I want to explore more when I have the time to paint again.  Chagall reminds us to be open, and expressive and I love that.  I am very grateful that we were able to go to New York and enjoy so much theater and art with my family.

Happy Thanksgiving! 

Swedish Christmas shopping and Christmas Markets

Good morning everyone.  Feeling nostalgic today for all the wonderful Christmas markets in Sweden that start to take place this time of year.  Here's a picture of Svaneholm, a castle in Southern Sweden, that hosted one a couple of years back that we attended.  The kids are all bundled up, it was cold, drinking hot chocolate and eating bullar (Swedish cardomon buns.)  Music played and it was lovely.

Mmmm, the crisp, cold weather coupled with the smell of glögg and fir trees, the handmade gifts, and special foods and lights all combine to create a very special memory.  I love the Christmas Market in Tivoli too which I wrote about here, http://livinglavidalagom.blogspot.com/2012/12/christmas-market-2.html.  Here are some great ideas for Swedish Christmas Markets right here in the States, Jul markets.

Of course a big part of the holidays is the shopping for food, goodies and gifts.  Here are some of the places that I get my Swedish food fix in the Boston area:
http://www.karlssausage.com/: one Bourbon Street, Peabody, MA
http://www.thecrownbakery.com/ 133 Gold Star Blvd, Worcester, MA
http://www.danishpastryhouse.com/, 330 Boston Ave, Medford MA
http://www.ikea.com/us/en/store/stoughton, 1 IKEA Way, Stoughton, MA

And on-line:
http://www.wikstromsgourmet.com/
http://www.scandinavianfoodstore.com/

But if I were a resident of New York I would prefer to head here -- https://www.sockerbit.com/ -- really any time of the year at 89 Christopher Street, New York, NY.

(Urk, I can't believe we were just there last weekend, and apparently walked right by it!)

Or a lucky London denizen here -- picture courtesy of my friend Margie -- who is such a person.

And finally, maybe here -- this is my storage room full of fun things waiting to get sold this holiday.  Send me a note if you are interested in any of these Christmas items.  I will officially launch my "bloppis" (Swedish word for online flea market) this weekend but here's a sneak peak.  Just add a comment and I will get back to you.  Tack!

Color my vida

Color, love it, but it can be too much.  Trying to figure out the golden mean of color ... when to stop and when it blast it on!  I am really loving a bright citrus yellow for our house right now, like this:

 or this:

I am so enamored of bright yellow and blue.  Could it be because of this? ;-)

Have a colorful day!

Time to cook Mårtens goose

Smultronställen

My family is from the south of Sweden, Skåne, where it's time to cook your goose.  This celebrated medieval holiday, which of tradition takes place on November 11th or Mårtens day, is named after Martin av Tours who, as the legend goes, hid in with the geese when they tried to crown him bishop.  The geese cackled and gave him away.  Ha, ha!  Not everyone wants to get into politics.  See http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/one's+goose+is+cooked

The Swedes of rank and privilege often ate goose before fasting for 40 days (the medieval diet).  This was most likely not the case for the poor people of Skåne whom Linne (the famous Swedish botanist Carl von Linne, 1707 - 1778) during his trip there in 1749 found to be among the poorest and most miserable that he had ever seen.  They were so cut off that the villagers of Skanör and Falsterbo didn't even know one another!  (These villages are only about 2 miles or 3.2 kilometers apart.)  

From Wikipedia

On the positive side the people of Falsterbo were spared the plague because they were so isolated.  Not so today, now it's a cosmopolitan village that's just the prettiest place.  Check out the geese walking around!

Pictures from Malmös tekniska Museum below honoring Carl von Linne, our famous scholar.  Now go cook your goose!  You can also serve it for Christmas as this entrepid soul did, check out the recipe here, http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Scandinavian-Roast-Christmas-Goose-20112

Skånska resa, by Carl von Linne, copyright 1751

Father's Day November 8

Happy Swedish Father's Day!  Love all you Swedish men who are such great fathers, share in the chores and take care of the kids.  You deserve a wonderful day!  If you are so inclined read more about gender equality in Sweden here,http://sweden.se/society/gender-equality-in-sweden/

The battle of the beige!

before

After

Well I recently won one battle but not yet the war on beige!  See the pictures from my son's newly painted orange wall. (We call him El Tangerino because he loves orange so much.)  I only did one accent wall in case he tires of it, and it came out great.  I mixed two Benjamin Moore colors - Sweet Orange and August Morning - because one was too bright and the other too brown, but together the paint is perfect.  We call the color "Sweet Morning" and I hope my "gubbe" has a sweet orange morning every day in his newly painted room. Also, check out the welcome sign made with his old socks.  We welcomed him home from camp with the sign and the surprise paint job.  Note, it's his art on the wall!  It's so good to have him home at La Casa Lagom.  :-)

Gustaf Adolf would approve

Gustaf II Adolf, Swedish King, 1611- 1632

Props today to Gustaf Adolf.  He gets his very own day in the Swedish name calendar.  Every day has a name, and today we honor the king that is credited with making Sweden a power to reckon with.  He died today, November 6th in 1632 in the battle of Lutzen, Germany.  Wikipedia states: " within only a few years of his accession Sweden had become the largest nation in Europe after Russia and Spain."  He is know as the first great modern general or "father of modern warfare.  He was also father of Christina the queen of Sweden, the only remaining child from his marriage to Maria Eleonora, Queen Christina reigned from 1633 - 1654.  Being named Christina I have a fondness for her, and she was a very interesting woman.  Seriously, read more here! Christina, Queen of Sweden

So heja to Gustavus Adolphus the Great!  Your history lesson is now complete.  

On to my own battle -- the battle of the beige -- from which I shall emerge victorious!   

Queen Christina, Swedish Queen 1633 - 1654

I'm a lumber jack and I'm OK

Looks like I have a new DIY project on the shelf -- turning my jeans into a semblance of Junya Watanabe's patched ones that, according to The New York Times (Sunday, 11/3/13), are all the rage in Paris.  NYT "On the Street" by Bill Cunningham Why not?  My boyfriend jeans are all ripped and stained with oil paints so it could only help the look.  Besides I seriously need to jazz up my look.  Anyone out there is cyberspace have suggestions on how to easily make a couple of quick, fun wardrobe changes for fall?

One thing I do want to do is adding a wardrobe rack so that my favorite fun items are out there, and easily accessible.  Pus as many Swedish interior mags have shown us, clothing can be art.  I'm planning on adding a rack to our dining room with a shelf for hats and space for my funnest coats and dresses.  This way if the dinner guests are so inclined we can quickly put on a charade or Mad Hatter tea party without any effort!  More pics to follow...

the aftereffects of Halloween...

2. Candy, candy and more candy
3. Teeth brushing, flossing and mouthwash (I make the kids do this for about two days)
4. Funny pictures on Facebook of all our friends' antics
5. Watching the kids compare and auction of their goodies (a hoot)
6. leftover costume parts all over the house (for example makeup and fake blood in bathroom)
7. squirrel eaten pumpkin in the front yard
8. Candy and alcohol-induced hangovers
9. Did I mention funny pictures on FB?

Hubby and I were foxes in honor of the internet pariah "Ylvis".  If you read my blog you'll see I was immersed in making these costumes up until the last day, but they came out pretty good.  Luckily for us there wasn't anyone interested in filming our interpretive dance of "What does the fox say?"  Thank goodness for that although it did get some laughs!  Hope you had a fun Halloween too, we missed our friends in Sweden this year, but we hope that you partied and had a blast too without us.  One more time for that video, just to really hammer it home.... A-oo-oo-oooo!