Favourite Facebook pics of February!

So far 47 brave people are keeping me company at my Facebook page - thank you for that!

This is some of the pics I´ve posted there during February:
As you can see, it´s really been a little bit of this and that and then some.

If you´re wondering my half of my face is covered, it was cold that day and I was freezing like crazy!

I hope to capture small signs of spring during March - we´ll see what I´ll find!

Braids...

I´ve forgotten about braids for a long time, most likely because the pretty braids I want to make takes too long when I´m in a hurry in the mornings.

But hey - a simple, basic one is kinda nice too:

A little more fun than just the usual ponytail, right?

I´ve finally decided to cut my hair off so I may not be able to have braids that much longer - we´ll see when my hairdresser can make time for me. It feels good to make a change now when spring is getting closer!

The joy in creating

Yesterday I spent a couple of hours building LEGO with my rascals and it was super fun. I try to do that now and then even though they can manage on their own now, being big and all.

It´s good moments between a mama and her boys, we talk a lot while looking for the pieces we want.

The thing that really thrills me is how it sparks the creativity - anything can become everything. My boys takes great pride in their creations as you can see - look at that smile:

I hope you´ll have a great Tuesday, join us and link up if you want!

Lemon and ginger beverage

Eva - a friend from my university years - shared this recipe of Lemon and ginger beverage with me last week and of course I had to try.

You´ll need:

1.5 liters of water, 2 cinnamon sticks, 3-4 tablespoons honey, half a lemon, 1.5-2 cm ginger:

Slice the lemon and the ginger and put it into the pot with water. Add the cinnamon sticks and the honey and let boil for about 15 minutes:

Let cool and pour through strainer to remove all of the ingredients. Fill your pretty bottles:

If you like lemon water, you´ll like this. A refreshing taste - and everything in it is very good for you. Of course you can adjust the recipe very easily with more or less lemons/ginger/honey.

My boys liked it lukewarm, my hubby and I have taken a chilled glass in the mornings to start the day in a healthy way.

Wow - two drink and food related posts in one day; one healthy and the other not so much.

How´s that for a balance, huh?!

Vanilla and blueberry panna cotta!

I hope your weekend has been great - let´s make this week a good one too!

So here´s the blueberry I was talking about earlier; Vanilla and blueberry panna cotta:

I took the pic a while before I was serving the dessert so the berries are a little frozen as you can see.

It´s nice to make the panna cotta pretty with stripes, and you do that easily with tilting the glasses like this:

It´s takes some patience and waiting time, but it sure makes it a little extra.

It was just us in the family who was going to enjoy these, so I didn´t work that hard with decorating (or making them look that neat as you can see); only a white chocolate heart and some blueberries on top.

Tasted yum though - I love panna cotta! You can find many recipes online if you want to try.

I´ll show you the ginger part of this weekend later today, take care!

Friday at last!

Nana naaa na na - it´s Friday and a weekend lies ahead!

Do you have anything special planned or will you take it easy at home?

For me, this weekend will include a little bit of ginger and some blueberries - not at the same time though.

It will be drinkable (hence the glass bottles above) and eatable - that´s all I´m saying. I´ll show you after the weekend!

I wish you a really nice weekend and I´ll see you Monday!!

Five years ago...

... we didn´t have a perky, cheeky Cairn Terrier by the name Elsa in our home.

We had Moa.

Moa the Magnificent, Moa the gentle soul with mild eyes and will to please beyond words. The dog who almost choked herself on a apple she gobbled down without chewing.

Boy, was that scary. Silly dog who didn´t want to share!

She was the first dog my hubby and I got as a couple, though I had a dog before on my own. We drowned her in love.

When she was almost 9, we had to let her go. She was sick and no longer the always happy dog she used to be. We knew it was bad when she snarled at the kids while they were playing.

Because she loved them, she intensely did.

Yesterday I missed this girl a little extra by some reason. I felt the need to tell you about her so you´d know she once existed, that she was real and true.

And now you know.

Oh, now you just wait..!

I´ve been a bit in awe when seeing all these bloggers who actually plan ahead with their blogs.

For me, it´s usually an in the moment thing - I come to think of something and have to get it out of me at once.

That works, but I don´t just think of something when I´m in front of the computer - it´s an endless process during the days. And most of those thoughts I lose, since I forget when the next thought appears.

There´s some storage limitations in my brain you could say. Very tragic.

But when I saw this notebook - with the ever so modest title - I knew that it could be the help I needed:

Oh, just you wait - now I´ll be able to hold on to those few, elusive flashes of genius that comes around every decade or so!

I´ll be so organized I´ll scare myself.

And right now - when writing this - it feels like I´m setting myself up for the biggest writer´s block ever.

Oh well, at least I´ll have a cool notebook!

The need for baking

I´m really in the baking mode right now and it bugs me a little bit that I can´t play with my new stuff just yet.

I may go for Focaccia again tonight - because I saw something very interesting the other day while watching a food show with Italian chefs. Instead of just brushing the surface of the dough with olive oil before placed in the oven, he poured the olive oil all over.

I´m talking serious pouring - the olive oil almost drowned the dough!

It just looked too much, but he explained that it would become perfect once done - and I have to say that the finished bread looked fantastic.

The Italians should know their own bread, right?! Absolutely worth a try, so I think I´ll do that tonight.

What are your plans for today?

Ehum. Sorry, but...

... I have to be an enabler again.

I promise I´ll not behave naughty again in a month or so - cross my heart.

Heh.

I actually hold on to my money quite hard right now since we´re saving up for the house we hope to build - but sometimes one have to give in to the temptations, especially when they are not too expensive.

A good price and a great find - that´s what it´s all about!

Vicki who runs the lovely blog Simply Hue has opened a Prop shop at Etsy and that´s where I found this beauty yesterday:

(photo by Vicki Dvorak)

I swear to you that I clicked that baby home within 60 seconds from when it was uploaded in the store - what´s not to love about it?

Minty color.

Chubby shape.

Vintage feeling.

Perfect, perfect - can´t wait to get it home!

I find the idea of a prop shop really nice. All of us who takes many photos tend to collect pretty things to portray - but sometimes it floods our homes. What better than letting someone else enjoy it instead of storing it where it can´t be seen?

Ok, over and out now - I´m off to exercise at the gym!

Tuesdays around the world!

Yes sweeties - another Tuesday and another Tuesdays around the world!

Today I´m telling you how this rascal of mine - who I know so well - still surprises me almost every day.

I was brushing his teeth the other night and asked him a question while doing so - and all of a sudden he responded in english and said: "I don´t know".

I dropped my chin and asked him if he knew what that ment, and he sure did. Then several sentences in english bubbled out from his mouth, like he had just waited for a chance to reveal this secret of his. Very scattered sentences, but all in correct english.

Kids are so cool.

They hear things, sort it out in their heads - and when you least expect it, they smack you in your head with it in that "Don´t you think you have me figured out" kind of way.

And I love it, every single time.

The logic of a bakeoholic

Note that this post isn´t sponsored. I wish it was, but no such luck.

Anyway.

I felt a crave for these super cute Pie molds and found them at Williams-Sonoma (all pics are from their site)- and they ship internationally so I did a little happy dance.

Mission accomplished - right? They were after all the only thing I craved.

Well - it was the only thing I was after until I saw this Cupcake corer:

I didn´t even know there was such a thing as a Cupcake corer - and I got this vivid vision of how extremely delicious cupcakes I´d be able to do, if I just got this thingy.

But if I make extremely delicious cupcakes, they need to look equally cute - right? Just like that, these Leaf cutters jumped into my shopping basket.

All by themselves I might add, I hardly moved my clicking finger. Just an inch.

Oh, and then I noticed this Toaster pastry press.

I can´t even come up with a reasonable excuse there, I just wanted it. I´m sure it will become great company dark winter nights.

If I add that I did all of this shopping around 1 AM in the morning - in bed with the iPad - I´m sure you´ll be even more impressed.

What is sleep after all, if one can excess in the dark and tempting world of baking..?

Happy Monday!

What have you been doing during the weekend?

I´ve been lazy, oh so lazy - and it felt so good. The boys have had friends over which gave me the time to just sit in the sofa, enjoying magazines and coffee.

That is kind of funny actually; it always feels calmer when we have more kids in the house. Have you experienced that too?

Oldest son made a snowman on Saturday - the snow was perfect for that. It was not finished in the pic above, but turned out really cute.

Then he smashed it - which makes perfect sense in the world of boys. His little brother was very amused..!

Let´s make this a great week, spring is in the air sweeties!

Tattoos...

I came home to two tough rascals with tattoos today. They were way cool of course - and I remembered when I got fake tattoos as a child.

I did feel way cool.

Then I became 20 something and got myself one that wasn´t fake.

On the plus side; it wasn´t an ugly tattoo at all. It was a thin, swirly thing with a shamrock in it because I had just visited Ireland and fell in love with the country and culture.

Somehow, I didn´t think I´d remember how much I loved that country if I didn´t get that tattoo. It felt very sensible at the time.

My understanding of what was sensible was very different back then you might say.

I can´t say that I ever hated that I got it made - but two years ago I suddenly felt that I had enough of it. Since then, I´ve been in the process of removing it - and let me tell you; that takes a lot of time.

I don´t believe in regrets, one makes a choice and stands up for it no matter how it turns out - but I hope tattoos aren´t that trendy when my boys come of age.

But then of course, it will be something else - like triple nose rings or so..!

Have a great weekend - and thank you - what a fabulous book list I´m getting from you!

Bookworm in need!

I love to read and usually have at least two books that I take turns with, depending on which mood I´m in.

Now however, I´d like to get some new input and suggestions of what I should read. It feels like I´ve been reading the same authors over and over.

Tell me; have you read anything good lately? Any exciting authors I really shouldn´t miss?

Fire away - I´d be so pleased to find some new gems!

Thanks in advance!

So what did we do with this day..?

Well, among other things we played board games...

... and bought ourselves doughnuts.

Yum.

He picked pear and I picked blueberry. We got one for big brother too of course.

And then we had a cozy time just the two of us - and the doughnuts - talking and stuffing our mouths full.

A good day - but it will be nice for him to see his friends tomorrow.

Sometimes, a mom just don´t cut it - and that´s how it´s supposed to be.

Good morning!

What to make of this day, except rubbing Elsa´s tummy..?

Hopefully, my youngest is well enough to go to school tomorrow, he misses his friends.

Also, I have a nagging feeling that I have a pile of stuff to deal with at work after 4 days of absence... Would be good to get at least some of it done tomorrow, before the weekend.

I´ll deal with that tomorrow though. Right now I have to rub Elsa´s tummy a bit more - she claims it wasn´t enough the first time.

Cairn terriers have demands, let me tell you..!

Etsy inspiration

My son had an intense cough during the night so he´s not as well yet as he seemed yesterday - we´re staying home today as well in other words. Better safe than sorry!

Let´s take a look at the latest things that made me go hubba hubba at Etsy:

(all pics borrowed from the stores)

Beautiful Swirl flower vase from marymeestudio - you have to take a look at her stuff! Very reasonable price on everything and it´s all very, very pretty. I´ll order from her one of these days.

A Feather necklace from smoobage - very nice, great colors.

A gorgeous Snowy Owl Leather Mask from SundriesAndPlunder - another store you truly need to check out. All the masks (cat/fox/different owls and so on) are handmade with a wonderful sense of detail. They are not cheap, but I see these as a piece of art - I want one hanging on the wall here at home!

This world is full of talented people, is it not?!

Have a great day!

The good thing about a sick son...

... is that I could stay at home today and bake some Focaccia for him and the rest of the family:

I made it with rosemary, flake salt (love that!) and also some sunflower seeds since I love the chewiness. If you want to try, you can find a bunch of different recipes if you search online.

Another good thing is that my littlest, sweet boy is better and can go to school tomorrow. He will cough a little still, but he´s been very impatient and energetic today so I think he´s ready.

It´s the coolest thing with kids; how fast they get better. Had it been me, I´d still be in that "feel sorry for myself"-state..!

Oh - and thanks for liking my Valentine´s apple, I carved it just for you sweeties!

Happy Valentine´s Day!

I hope it will be a great one!

Take care!

Luxuary is...

... a hubby who cooks better than me.

My plan is that our two rascals will grow up and be just like him - because then my daughters in law will be forever grateful and feel obliged to take care of us when we´re old and grumpy.

Yep, I try to be one step ahead.

Unfortunately, my littlest rascal is still ill so I´ll be home with him tomorrow. I hate when they get fever - they become so very sick in opposite to the usual colds.

Crossing fingers that it will turn for the better tomorrow!

It has begun!

During this past weekend I could feel a little change in the air towards spring. The sun was shining in that warming pre-spring way and I couldn´t be happier when watching the sunbeams through the windows.

That is not my hair by the way - just one of my pot plants.

Just wanted to clarify that.

Anyway; isn´t it amazing how much energy one gets by a little sun?! My youngest is sick and had a terrible high fever the night between Saturday and Sunday, so I didn´t get much sleep - but thanks to the precious sun I could shake the sleepiness off and got a lot done around the home.

I hope it lasts, I sure do.

So sweeties - what will you do today?

She´s so stylish..!

My sweet cat Saga that is - look at this sweet face and those blue eyes..!

Pretty, pretty girl - though she has been slightly under the weather these last days. Some stomach problems, I hope it will pass soon or we´ll have to visit the vet.
So how has your weekend been?

I´ve been busy as a bee, trying to get that song right. Now; I can´t even pretend I have a singing voice so we focused on getting the timing and such OK and that will just have to do. I have to admit that I´m relieved I won´t have to see the people who´ll listen to it, they will roll around on the floor laughing their behinds off..!

It would also have been easier to be tone deaf. Weird as that may sound, it would have made me believe I could sing alright - but since I´m actually nowhere near tone deaf I sincerely know how wrong it sounds.

Well, it doesn´t matter - the important things is to have no fear when facing a challenge. I said I´d try and I did - so I´m actually very happy about it.

Enjoy the rest of your day!

Popping in...

Hey you all - I´m just popping in to say that the lyrics are going fine (which is why I have time to make a little post) and the next step will be to record it here at home..!

Yikes!

It´s funny with lyrics - they are swirling around in my head like a total mess, but once I nail one of the lines the rest falls in place just like that. Quite interesting how it works out.

I´ve already prepared my hubby that I´ll let go of all normal sense of dignity when we record it, he said he wasn´t scared. We´ll see about that, won´t we..?!

If you need a laugh today - take a look at this wonderful video:



Makes me gasp for air every time I see it - totally hilarious!

Take care - the recording won´t fall in place with the same ease as the lyrics so I´ll definately be gone for a couple of days now.

In deep water

Well, as it happened I agreed to write a song.

I´m a decent lyric writer so that didn´t scare me - but I´m also supposed to put a melody and song on the track... The eventual artist want´s to know how it sounds, so that´s why I have to do it.

And as Elvis is my witness; I can´t sing.

I´m not saying that to be modest - I really cannot sing.

But you know - one never regrets trying so I want to do just that. It will be a fun and challenging experience even though the risk of me scaring animals and children is quite grand.

Since I don´t have that much time until deadline I have to be absent from this blog for some days. Will let you know how it worked out as soon as I´m done!

(photo from weheartit)

Cross your fingers and toes please - I´ll need it!

In all it´s glory..!

Tuesday again - another Tuesday around the world - and my orchid decided to bloom just in time so I could show you:

Wohaa - I´m so happy! Two other buds are just about to break out in bloom too and I found a fourth, tiny bud that I hope will follow suit.

I´m telling you that these orchids are growing on me, pun intended!

So what are you up to today - link up with us if you want!

Restful weekend and more house pondering

I have not touched my computer all weekend - there has not been time with two birthday parties (friends of my youngest), swim school and play dates for both rascals.

It was a good and restful weekend though - even with those activities lined up. Sunny and beautiful too:

I have also indulged myself with different house catalogs and I can conclude that no matter what house we eventually build, it will be difficult to find the "perfect" one.

One thing is that most houses have all bedrooms on the upper floor by some reason. We want the master bedroom on a separate floor from our boys bedrooms. They will soon become teens and will appreciate having some privacy and freedom with their friends, without me hovering around them.

Also; it´s actually a good thing that the land won´t be sold until the beginning of 2014 - because it surely isn´t cheap to build. Between 3 - 4 million, land and all included (about 449377 - 599170 dollars)..!

At times like these, I´m pretty glad I can be very frugal.

How are the prices where you live?

Wohoo - Friday!

I´m so looking forward to this weekend, I´ve been pretty tired during this last week - much thanks to the chilly weather.

But now - two days off work and no "must do´s"!

I´ll take the weekend off blogging again and may continue with that for a while. As you´ve probably noticed, I´m quite talkative here during the weeks and I think it´s a good thing to shut up a little at least two days..!

With that being said; I´ll leave you to enjoy your weekend with these details I happen to love from our home:

Take care sweet people, I´ll see you Monday!

Oh, look at those buds!

The scheduled TLC I was talking about earlier seem to work, look at these adorable little orchid buds:

I´m so giddy - it´s like being pregnant again!

Except this time, it´s not me losing my figure. I can follow this development with the grace I never had totally intact.

That sentence made absolutely no sense.

I do feel extremly happy though - it will be the first time I´ve managed to get an orchid to bloom on my own!

To be continued..!

Moments that makes my heart bounce...

... comes without warning sometimes.

Like when youngest son plays with a balloon all cross-eyed with concentration and his tongue sticks out just a little.

That´s when I feel it in my chest;

thud

thud

thud

that little goof is mine..!

And it´s all good.

It may snow outside...

... but inside I´m having June right now:

Yes Winter - I´m feeling very obstinate.

Hah.

Home is where the heart is

In the middle of all this longing for house building that I have - which includes writing long lists of all I find absolutely necessary in a house - I try to remind myself that home really is where the heart is.

I´m quite tired and done with our current home, but since we´ll have to wait so long to actually do something about it, I can´t go around and feel displeased for two years.

That would be stupid. And it doesn´t take that much to make a home feel great from the inside; with flowers, a good scent and freshly baked goods I´m pretty much all set.

Oh - and rascals. Very important to have a couple of those.

So even though I can´t wait for the day we hopefully build, I can´t complain that much.

After all - with so many hearts beating in this home (animals included), it must be a pretty awesome place.