2010

I thought I'd write a year in review post since it's been kind of a crazy year. A year with many ups and many downs and my first full year in Sweden. Happy New Years Eve.

January: We were in Texas and celebrated the New Year with my parents. I ate my fair share of Tex Mex food and drank many margaritas. We returned to Sweden about two weeks into 2010. Upon our return I started to feel the winter depression blues and we tried to spend a lot of time at my in-laws where we went on long, country walks and even trekked across a frozen, snow covered lake. My in-laws house has always been a retreat for us- it's always nice to escape from the craziness of the city to the peace of the country.

February: I didn't take many photos in February. I was pretty down and made the decision to quit my job and start studying Swedish full-time. We celebrated our one year wedding anniversary(!) and my 23rd birthday. My husband baked me a red velvet cake from scratch. We spent a weekend up at my in-laws celebrating both my birthday and my mother-in-laws and we went to the sauna (in their village they have a little wooden sauna right by a big lake. It's lovely). I wore a bikini in the snow (something I never thought I'd do!) but you won't see a photo of that. Nope.

March: Again, not so many photos. At this time I was taking night classes in Swedish twice a week. I was itching for spring, sunshine, and warm weather. We visited Stockholm for a long, cold weekend.

April: Finally! Spring very slowly started to show itself. And with that came sunshine and better days. We celebrated Easter at the beginning of April and at the end of April we celebrated my last day of work.

May: Even more sunshine. I became a lot happier having quit my job and started studying Swedish full time. We bought a few plants to grow on our patio and enjoyed many days outside grilling, reading, and drinking rose. I also read my first full (easy-read) book in Swedish. I finally got to take a picture of the amazing yellow raps fields that I saw during my first summer in Sweden, 2009.

June: It was officially summer! And so sunny and hot. We spent a lot of afternoons and nights by the beach grilling with friends. I got a new hat. And then we moved up to my in-laws while they spent a month in the States. We lived in the country side for awhile and enjoyed an easy life of eating strawberries right off the vine, making sun tea, and celebrating Midsummer with our friends.

July: We celebrated the 4th by working at a flea market and then having a BBQ with some of our American friends. We later took a small trip to Småland to visit friends at their summer home. We stayed in a real log cabin with an amazing view and picked wild blueberries! The highlight of July was my bff, Leslie, visiting us. She was here for two weeks and we had so much fun. Come back to Sweden Leslie!

August: We took a mini-vacation to Germany with G's parents. I applied to a Swedish course that would give me the equivalent of High School Swedish and got accepted! Malmö held it's annual festival  and we saw some cool bands play. I also got my dream shoes! August was a good month.

September: I was in school full time, it was (still is) hard. I planned a scavenger hunt with 26 clues for G's 26th birthday and baked him his favorite cake: princesstårta. I started to get VERY VERY homesick but in late September we flew to NYC for my step-brother's wedding and I got to hang out with my parents! 

October: We flew back from NYC to a lovely, autumney Sweden and I felt less homesick. I really fell in love with Sweden during the fall, each day felt so special. I started a food blog.

November: It got cold and dark. We experienced a lot of snow and started to re-learn the art of layering. We traveled to Stockholm for Thanksgiving and enjoyed the company of our friends. November was cozy.

December: We experienced crazy amounts of snow and I had my final exams. We decorated for Christmas and drove up to Stockholm to celebrate. G played Santa. It was my second Christmas in Sweden and I was very homesick and still am. We also got to sign a lease on our new, beach side apartment.

I feel like 2011 is going to be an amazingly good year for me, for us. 2010 was in all honesty pretty rough. I started to finally adjust to life in Sweden and as a glamourous as living in foreign country might sound, it's also pretty hard. I think that kind of hit me this year. I'm struggling with homesickness and just a general frustration about how I fit in in Sweden. But, I am an optimist and determined to make the best out of it. I know things will get better and I'm excited to see what's in store. 

I hope everyone has a great New Years Eve and is excited for what 2011 will bring. 

An Epic Tale Where I Tell You About Our New Place

We're back from Stockholm now. We arrived home yesterday and spent a lazy afternoon (well, for me) unpacking and scavenging through an empty fridge for lunch. It's good to be back but we had a good trip too. I hope everyone who reads this had a great Christmas. Like I just said, ours was.
It was, however, inevitable that I experienced homesickness and longing for my family. But that's just how it is. Sometimes it gets so bad that I look through people's photos on Facebook just to see familiar landmarks, food, or even the ugly brown grass that Texas gets this time of year. I don't want to go on and on about my homesickness so I'll stop here, it's not fun to read about.
I mentioned in my last post that we received an early Christmas present which was a signed lease on our new apartment. It was really unexpected and exciting.
Basically I've been looking for us to move for the past four months or so. When we first moved into our current place we were so excited! We'd been living in a second hand rental for a year and it was a teeny, tiny one room apartment (460 square feet). Our current place is a huge two room apartment (730 square feet) with a very big kitchen. It is incredibly hard to get a first hand contract in the big cities (and Malmö is Sweden's third biggest city after all...) so we felt lucky to get our current place. It even has a patio! But the neighborhood was a bit iffy and we should've been tipped off by our neighbor's broken window but naively chose to think maybe it was the neighborhood kids playing ball...
It wasn't really until late summer that I felt the need move. The police kept visiting our neighbors, we caught a person trying to break-in to their apartment, and it just became a safety issue. We're pretty sure our neighbors are involved in something illegal. Our current apartment company promised they were evicting them but this is Sweden and that was going to take awhile (try three months, even after two big police visits!).
And then a bunch of little things started to annoy me. Like, our apartment is on the ground floor (which is ok) but our bedroom faces the street. We hear EVERYTHING! The lock to our laundry room was broken into and removed. It took three weeks until it was fixed. Our cellar storage has been broken into and stolen from a few times. The list goes on. It was time to move.
But like I said, getting an apartment here is HARD. Pretty much the only way to obtain a first hand contract is to have queue days. The longer you've been in a certain company's line the better chance you have at getting an apartment with that company. We had about two years worth of queue days with one of the major companies (MKB) but most people had four or even five years. It felt impossible.
We tried trading our apartment with others and deals that almost worked out (as in, the papers were signed and dated) fell through.
And we changed our search criteria to apartments ranging from tiny (355 square feet) to the outskirts of town. Still, no luck.
I applied to anything and everything that came our way.
On MKB's website I saw an apartment in an amazing area of town although a bit far out from the center. It was at the max end our budget and was a one room apartment, but a big one room (699 square feet, so similar in size to our current place). I applied for it and we were 7th in line. We got a chance to view it and found out there were only five other contenders. Since we didn't know how many dropped out we had no idea of our queue placement. We liked the apartment, we liked the area, we said yes.
We found out the day after viewing the apartment that we were 1st in line. That was a surprise. And the day after that we signed our lease.
To make a long story short: we're happy.

Now let me tell you a bit about the new place. It's a big one room apartment. I'm going to call it a loft because that sounds fancy. But we have plans to build a temporary wall to make it a proper two room apartment. It's on the ground floor but away from the street. We have an in-glassed balcony/patio. There is a walk-in closet, a HUGE bathroom, many windows, and even a utility room (washer and dryer!). The kitchen is big with a dishwasher and a dining place. It's a newly built apartment so everything has a high standard.
The area is really nice and quiet. The building are all built by the architect Charles Moore and are really spectacular. If we were one floor higher we'd have a view of the sea but that's ok. We're super close to the beach and I think it's going to be an awesome summer.
We move on February 1st!
As far as decorating goes, I'm a bit stumped. We will use the pieces we already have with a few new things that I've had on a wish-list for awhile. I can't really envision anything yet. But that will come.
I thought you'd like a picture or something so here is a very exciting one of our layout.

For privacy purposes I won't include any photos of the building but I'll try to take some of the area as soon as I have a chance.
The next few months will be crazy.

Merry Christmas

I'm writing now from just north of Stockholm where we are celebrating Christmas. We left yesterday morning and traveled about an hour through a really intense and terrible snow storm. Coming from Texas I'd never seen anything like that. But after awhile we made it through the storm and arrived safe and sound five hours later.
Swedes celebrate their Christmas on the 24th. They celebrate with lots of bread, cheese, butter, meat, meat, ham, herring, and red cabbage. Oh and snaps. Then they watch Donald Duck on tv. After Donald Duck someone has to go get the newspaper and while they're away Santa visits! It's very exciting and bad timing for the newspaper fetcher.
We've had a good Christmas. We planned to celebrate the 25th as well but since we were traveling we opted to save space and not bring those presents up with us. Instead we celebrated a bit early! Besides our many wonderful presents I think one of our favorites is a signed lease on our new apartment!
Yup! After MONTHS of searching it finally worked out. I promise to tell more about it later, once we're back home. But for now I'll just tell you it's right by the beach and has a washing machine and dryer!
God Jul everybody and Merry Christmas.

Photos from Christmas 2009

This morning I was looking through our Christmas photos from last year and they made very happy. This time last year we were packing for not only Christmas in the Swedish countryside but for a trip back home to Texas! I'm trying my hardest to not feel homesick as Christmas draws closer and closer, but it's hard.
This year we will be celebrating in Stockholm and I have a feeling that will also be magical.
Here some photos from last year.

Christmas Tour Hemma Hos Oss

This week has been a pleasant mix between calming and insane. I've had a lot of tests and a lot of school in between relaxing days at home.
I've complained a lot this week. We've been trying for what feels like months now to move and every time we get close to having a deal it suddenly falls apart. I think this is like the fourth time an almost-sure deal hasn't worked out. It's disappointing and frustrating. But persevere we do and persevere we will. And in somewhat good news, we have two maybe-sure deals on apartments and that equals one really sure deal, right? I'll keep you updated.

And in even better news, we finally put up our Christmas tree and the whole apartment feels very cozy. There are two little presents under the tree wrapped in plain, brown paper. We have full bellies, warm radiators, and each other. A lot to be grateful for.
Above is a photo of my Christmas/winter decor for our bedroom. I used a big glass IKEA bowl and filled it with Christmas lights. It has a really nice glow and I'll probably leave it until March. It makes the bedroom feel magical (and bedrooms should feel that way, right?!!)
I'll now take you on a tour of our Christmas decorations. I bet you're excited about that.

Here is our tree. He's cute and a bit scrawny. Thankfully my mom is awesome at decorating trees and I learned a lot from her. Like, put bigger ornaments toward to back to cover up the empty spaces. Thanks, Mom. Last year G and I got in a huge fight about the Christmas lights on tree. When I asked him to buy Christmas lights I assumed he'd buy the normal ones, the ones I'm used to. He bought candle lights, the ones he's used to. It was a silly fight. It's interesting to think about how different (and still so much the same) Christmas is for the both of us. I really like the candle lights now.

Oh, please pretend to not notice our "tree skirt." It's an old sheet. I just hate the bare legged look- not that the sheet is much better.

This is what you see when you walk into our apartment. A little silver tree! And my collection of old science beakers, a candle, and a necklace.

It wouldn't be Christmas in Sweden without one of these "jul ljusstakar" (Christmas window lights) in our window. Or our glögg cups. I hope you like our view, it's of a parking garage.

Advent candles. It my first time to celebrate Advent. I'm very focused on making sure the candles burn correctly. And our nativity scene! It fits inside a little matchbox, very cute.

Our living room window has a better view (of our garden) than the kitchen but here the blinds are closed. Last year I dipped a bunch of branches in white paint to use for decorating presents. I had some left over so I stuck them in these IKEA vases.

And finally here is an up close of one of my favorite ornaments. A beaded pine cone. Just for a bit of sparkle and pizazz.

Merry Christmas you guys. Remember to be grateful for the small things like warm shoes, chocolatey brownies, and big hugs from those you love. It makes everything else a bit less chaotic and crazy and your creepy apartment feel like a penthouse.

all I want for Christmas

Today I miss Texas. Every once in awhile I wake up with an extreme missing, a longing, to be back home. It's only natural that this feeling is coming around Christmas. I miss everything about a Texas Christmas, including the almost always warm Christmas Day weather (except last year, the year I was in Sweden, where it snowed on Christmas Eve). I would give you guys a big list of all of the things I miss but it really comes down to this: family.  I miss my family.
I've been making Christmas lists for the past few weeks, trying to only place reasonable, affordable items on them but the one gift I really, really want is for my parents to be here on Christmas morning.

kitchen inspiration board #1

1. Shelves: from Design*Sponge  2. Shelves: from Apartment Therapy 3. Light: IKEA 4. Sheepskin: IKEA 5. Chairs: from here but we have similar ones already 6. Table: Design*Sponge

Here is my idea of a small dream kitchen. Lots of open (organized) shelving with clear glass jars, an industrial lamp, and light colors. In my head this kitchen has room only for a small table and two chairs (don't worry, there's a dining room in this apartment too!) Since it's a tiny kitchen, the cabinet space is limited and should be saved for the ugly things which is why there is floor to ceiling open shelves. I also want to keep the colors light since it's so tiny.
1. I saw these shelves on Design*Sponge and loved the idea of them. Since we bought our pressure cooker we've been collecting a lot of dry beans and placing them in pretty glass jars.
2. Same idea as #1 but with some of the cookware included.
3. Both G and I love this lamp from IKEA. I think it'd look nice and strong in a kitchen. Does that make sense, having a strong kitchen?
4. I should've placed the chairs before the sheepskin because they are meant to cover to the chairs and to make them comfortable but still add texture and warmth.
5. We have chairs that are similar to these (these being replicas of the Bertoia Wire chair) except ours aren't even name brand replicas. They are just wire chairs that we use as patio chairs. I like them and think they'd look great with a sheepskin.
6. I included this table not because it's my dream table but because I think it's smart. The top is made from plywood that was sanded and stained. It's a reminder that even the most basic materials can be made functional. And since we have student's budgets I like the idea of DIYing a table out of plywood and some old desk legs (we just happen to have a pair that would love to be a part of a table!).

So there it is, my small dreamy kitchen. It has a great view too.

living room inspiration board #1

1. Couch: ours 2. Coffee Table: from Design*Sponge 3. Chandelier: Lindsey Adelman 4. Rug: IKEA Stockholm Rand 5. Shelves: ELFA

This is my first ever "mood board." I read once where someone didn't like the term "mood board" and I'd have to agree. I'll call it an "inspiration board" since all the photos come from the "inspiration folder" on my desktop. As you can see, I'm creative.

These items are what I want for our living room area. We're planning (as it's in the works) to move to a smaller space (fingers crossed) so that's why you only see five items. I have a dining room area planned too and if we do move into the smaller space the areas will be combined. But this is the living room area.

1. This is our couch. You can read about him here.

2. I'm not sure what we'll do for a coffee table. Right now we have a lovely teak table. I have a love/hate relationship with the table. I love the look but I hate how easy it is to ruin. Every time we have guests over I grimace when they don't use a coaster. Teak is such a delicate wood and I really want a table that makes me and our guests comfortable. I like the idea of using an old door (as seen above) or maybe an old shipping crate (but we have plans to use shipping crates for our bed so I don't want to over do it) as a coffee table. I also like the idea of wheels.

3. I love this lamp. Times ten hundred. And I can make it. Go to link above for the DIY instructions.

4. Not 100% sure about this rug. We're trying to move on from IKEA but like any relationship it's well, complicated. I like the rug because it's breaks up all of the brown in our current living room and the pattern is simple and it isn't colorful. But still, not sure. The rug, if we even buy one, will be one of the last things we buy.

5. Right now we have a brown Billy Bookcase and a brown Expedit bookcase. For the past few months we've been talking about building open wall shelves with a desk combined. Easy, simple, a bit pricy, but worth it. We're waiting to see if we'll be moving before making any big decisions.

There. I can't wait to put it all together. One day, one day.

The Saga of the Sofas

I'm calling this post "The Saga of the Sofas" because that's what it has been for us. A long, drawn out search to find the perfect sofa.
Let's begin.

This not a good photo, but it's the only one I have. It's our very first apartment (aw) and it actually wasn't ours. We rented second-hand and it came partially furnished which is why everything is covered in white. The actual owner of the apartment had awkward taste like the coffee table which had semi-precious stones under a weird glass table top. Or the oriental, fake silk curtains I took down the first night we moved in. The couch, a black IKEA couch, was hers and covered in dog hair (G is allergic and even after cleaning it he'd still have problems, hence, the white cover). The apartment was a whole 43 square meters, I know, it was a true test to our relationship, but it was very central and had a great view.  The couch was comfy and huge. I fell asleep on it more times than I can count.
When we moved to our current, bigger place, we thought the owner would want all of her furniture back. Turns out, she could've cared less and we could've kept the dog-hair couch and bought a proper cover for it but by that time we had already purchased a new/old couch...

This little mid-century brown couch. Here he is in our new, bigger apartment. He's a cutie and was much more "in-tune" to our styles than that the IKEA couch was. But despite being cute, he was small. We've spent a lot of time arguing about whose taking up more of the couch (it was usually me, I'll admit that now) and it wasn't that comfy of a couch. We spend a lot of time on the couch, so after a year of cutie couch we decided it was time to get something bigger and comfier...

I call this couch The Beast. We bought The Beast second-hand last week. We read the ad (sits six people!) and negotiated the price and decided to buy this HUGE couch. When we went to go pick up the couch I felt my stomach churn, "this couch is really, really big," I thought, "but maybe it'll be perfect, after all we wanted a big couch." Plus, we had already rented the trailer, G's parents were down with their car, and we drove out in the middle of nowhere to go get it. And we brought The Beast home. Do you see the weird back space? I hate that weird back space. I think if the couch didn't have that weird back space I would've like it. It's a standard, big, really big couch. But that back space made it unnecessarily big  and awkward. It was too awkward for us.
So we decided to trade couches with G's brother who has a nice, manly bachelor bad complete with a projector screen and a comfy leather couch. The Beast would be perfect for him. And now we have the most comfiest, snuggliest couch...

I don't know you guys, but there is something so fantastic about worn out leather. In theory, I don't like this style of couch, but because it's so worn and so loved, I'm smitten. It's so comfy and plushy. I love all the little cracks and imperfections. It's just how a couch should be.

It's big enough and wide enough for the both of us, without being too big or too wide. I think this guy will look really good with this rug underneath and a different coffee table (see the photo of The Beast, it's for sale if you're interested!). I'm planning on re-decorating our living room and we're trying to get rid of all of our brown stuff. I basically want this couch and our side-table to  be the only brown things in the room.

So that is the Saga of the Sofas and we lived happily ever after, The End.

PS. I'm looking for cheap but stylish throw pillows- any ideas? Any?