under the cherry blossoms

Time again for the cherry blossoms in annual bloom in Kungsträdgården (King's garden) in Stockholm. It's enchanting, delectable, poetic, the essence of loveliness. And all in pink.

~ Have a frabjous Walpurgis night ~

malte turned canvas art

Malte on canvas and a letter box too, I think both motifs turned out quite lovely. Such a neat and simple idea for your photos. Now I can't wait to see what the gift recipient thinks...

Edit - reciever of above gifts was might happy as well as impressed. I do believe this will be my new "perfect gift", only for very special people of course.

ms tulip head proudly presents

The state of my tulips, and it isn't even May yet... As this is only an itty-bitty fraction of all the tulip action Ms Tulip Head is pleased. Indeed. Now a bit of rain too and all is dandy in garden.

animal prints

Generally I do find animal prints - if not naturally attached to a beautiful animal of course! - to be (more than) rather tacky and signalling manhunter-with-bleached-hair-fake-tan-bad-taste-and-too-much-bling. In fact it makes me shudder in horror and I'm borderline therapy just by thinking about it.

Having said that, I have to admit I did felt kind of strangely attracted by this mascara from Helena Rubinstein, although it is clearly signalling everything I associate (prejudicial or not) with animal prints (see above). The allure might have something to do with the promised drop dead gorgeous lashes - have you heard that one before? Still one has to try, at least once... - and went by the name *ta-da* Feline Blacks. Oh. my. have. to. have.

The serious try outs haven't begun yet. Still have some old mascaras to finish and not being a big user - but still like to search for the ultimate product, yes I'm dash weird in more than one way - that might take some time. Will be sure to return with a verdict on the piece though. Can looks be deceiving, will the feline touch always prevail, can I be a lash queen, that remains to be seen.

wellies, oh wellies

As much as us Scandinavian sun worshippers adore the sun there can clearly be too much of a seemingly good thing. Sweden, at least the Stockholm area, needs rain. Quite a lot of it if the parched nature is anything to go by. The ideal would naturally be rain by night and sun by day. But of course, at the moment I'd love to see a dash, or much more, of rain anyway the weather deities see fit. Because it is dry, too dry for comfort, too dry for this time of the year.

If (when!) it rains I will be wearing my wellies. At least if I'm not going to walk a whole lot, because frankly, they do leave quite a bit to be desired as far as long wearing comfort and feet ergonomics - is there such a word? Now there is anyway - are concerned. Something I didn't realised until after I had walked a lot in them. Their sweet looks are both alluring and very deceiving. I blame it on the pink lining, I couldn't resist that.

Or the mesmerized chequered pattern on the one pair (brand unknown) that came with a rather hefty price tag that I wouldn't dream of paying today, but which I felt was totally reasonable all those years ago. The lining of the apricot ones also have flowers. Always a big plus. And they come from NoaNoa. Another big plus. Pretty to look at. Pretty to wear. For about 15 minutes. I blame the less than completely satisfactory investments on my wellies-soft-spot.

Because such a spot I'm guilty of - in a very pure non fetisch way of course -, I would love to have loads of wellies in different colours and patterns. If they were comfortable. And if the amount of rain falling would make such investments justifiable. At the moment it clearly doesn't.

quirky bracelet

When you get to a certain age, you pretty much now what you like and dislike, and gift giving tend to get a bit more difficult to appreciate if you're not certain the gift giver has a certain knack for it or know you very well. So to keep from total disaster (money less than well spent) I do think giving hints on gifts one would appreciate, or for that matter things that would be very less than welcome, is the way to go.

And no, I actually don't think it's always the thought that matters. Because what if the thought is completely warped and out of touch. Giving money to a good cause instead of splurging on something silly that won't be appreciated is of course always a decent thing to do instead.

This quirky - and inspirational - bracelet is such a hinted thing though. I happened to spot it in the window of a certain favourite shop of mine - one I don't frequent nearly as much as I would like, but that is a very good thing... - and as it happened to be a distinguished day coming up, hint giving was the uttermost appropriate way to go.

I think this designer unknown bracelet is quite lovely in an understated way. In an ideal world of quirky bracelets I would have liked the silver rose bud to be a bit larger, but the bracelet that did offer that had such a drab fabric.

Haven't inaugurated it yet, as I am waiting for the perfect short sleeved day for that. Come that I'm sure we'll have much fun together.

leo, the easter squeaker

Meet Leo, the new Easter friend of one loaf dog. Leo squeaked about three days before he went all quiet. Not a lot of lionly stamina in that friend. And that despite being ra elative to both Hippo and Pongo.

The pet shop which actually made a big fuss about this particular kind of latex toy being close to indestructible wasn't the least bit customer friendly when complaining about the lack of squeaker quality. Will the shop continue to be the loaf doggie toy supplier? Nope, shouldn't think so.

Leo is now silently supporting Hip Hippo & the Funky Squeakers.

sneezy wet wipes

One poor nose of undersigned picked this Sneezy up while on the travel. After the first very sting encounter it has been quite wonderful for poor snotty, dry nose.

The horrible cold is persistently nasty and has now been a faithful companion for almost four weeks. I do think I am entitled to a bit of grump regarding that.

I have some of these refreshing, softening wet wipes with rosemary, menthol and eucalyptus left, but when the package is empty nose is left to own devices. Haven't seen these in any shops back home, so what will nose do next time nasty cold strikes?

for the love of colours

The purest and most thoughtful minds are those which love colour the most -
John Ruskin

Ah-ha, heureka, I knew there was some obvious yet not quite graspable reason for me being *slightly* anti, sceptical with people who favour black and bland.

for discerning behinds

Lambi toilet paper limited edition. Finally, what took you so long, all discerning bums praise you. This is obviously a toilet paper making company with a sense of sophisticated humour. Printed with hummingbirds and tropical flowers, suddenly the must-visits have become so much more glamorous and fun.

A) I didn't get the paper because of the limited edition appeal, I always use this brand because me and my posterior are always discerning. The need for soft & stylish is in our genes.
B) I'm not a closet toilet paper collector, I'm simply a finical user.

obviously spring

Ah and sigh, kind of adore
the obviousness of spring ~

tulip head scarf

I love tulips. I love scarfs. I love red. And carefully handmade things in good quality. If it comes at a reasonable price, all the better. Add to the love-list accessories that makes me look snazzy - yes, all things relative - and well combined. Hence this head scarf is of the lovable kind.

The gorgeous tulip pattern on silk screams both spring and me, the reverse side is cotton jersey which neatly holds it in place without hair pins. Yes, thank heavens, in place it stays even on one ridiculously silky, downy, frizzy unmanagable Scandinavian hair type of person. Call me Ms Tulip Head.

More lovely, flattering scarfs can be found in kikapic's shop on Etsy

~ it is the last weekend of april

So do have a good one, enjoy the freshness of spring
and unexpected moments of good fortune!

the love of her life

Mentioned before, chick-lit, not my favourite read no. The cover of this book by Harriet Evans should have been enough to put me off buying it I suppose, but I had read a few nice notes about it and thought I'd give it a go - and a bit more love in our lives most of us do need.

And even if I'm not exactly running out to get another book by the same author, or it being all that likely I'll ever read anything else by her at all, it was a rather enjoyable, simple, relaxing 457 pages read. Not brimming with (too many) genre cliches, not a writer trying too hard to be witty, pretentious, aiming too high, not an awfully lot about being too fat and annoying appearance obsession.

Some memorable passages, some lovely walks through London - I do very much enjoy when one gets to follow the character by street and areas, to restaurants and shops and all the comparisons London vs New York.

Also the kind of book one can safely read before lights out at night without having your sleep disturbed. And that's not to be wrinkly nosed at, and not a minor thing really.

I thought the last quarter of "the love of her life" got slightly lengthy and overall the book would probably have improved with being shortened about 100 or so pages.

One of my favourite bits in the book did occur in that very last quarter of it though, chapter 41, when the main character got that urge to talk, talk to strangers about more or less insignificant details of her life, of things, just to vent, just to get a complete stranger's view on the matter. I too get such urges sometimes. But I never act on them, of course I don't...

thoughts on travelling

Someone once said that the best thing about travelling is coming home. And - apart from the obvious mind and eye opening features travels hold, possibly relaxation or adventure, educational bits and of course the mere experience of something new that most often (at least when older and hopefully wiser) makes one see the old ruts in a whole new, and far from always pleasing, perspective - yes I agree.

Because it's when you return home, had a good night's sleep in your own bed, unpacked the suitcases and bags, admired your purchases, done the laundry, downloaded the photos, had a decent cup of tea in a decent sized cup, recuddled with the furries, it's only then you can really begin to get to sort out your thoughts properly, get the best analyzing perspective of the experience and hopefully just bask in the afterglows of it.

Perhaps be utterly grateful for what you have. Long for something better, different, change. And the latter may apply for other beings than yourself.

So, before I've sorted those thoughts - and photos - out, any wild, or possibly educated, guesses, what have I been up to lately, where have I been hearing the omnipresent wing beats of history and basked in the real sun, just by looking at this single photo...?

Magpies & Pansies

There's something special about magpies. This wee one turned up in my Easter egg. I love it, her, him. Says one scarecrow with two birds.

Scarecrow also kind of seriously dig pansies, pansies, pansies, so much that more of them have mysteriously moved in on the premises and planted themselves - yes, honest truth - in flowerpots here and there. Resourceful little happy faces. What's not to love ~

Stockholm's Hemstitching & Pleating Studio

I somehow doubt this place, these premises still serves as that, but I do think it's a seriously lovely sign - and a gorgeous building - that brings pleasant wafts of the past with it. And I just bet the place, hemstitching or not, is just lovely and inspirational to work in.

I can imagine it would be utterly nice sweeping by there in the mornings - park the red vespa prudently outside - and get to creative work, oozing brilliant ideas all day. Yeah, I kind of think it would definitely be rather sweet to go to work on those premises, pleating or not.

EDIT: a couple of years after writing this post I learnt that the studio is actually a famous recording studio these days. It can in fact be a bit chaotic on the narrow street when boy bands and such have recording session there. No pleating, no sewing, but music playing.

Sourpuss Surprise

Something extraordinary arrived in the book package. AdLibris has obviously extended their repertoire for the discerning reader. Me pleased. The content itself somehow seems less than pleased. Sourpuss.

Ely Cathedral

A few glimpses from one of my favourite (over sized) churches, Ely Cathedral. A stunning work of intricate detailed (including a charming plethora of one of my favourite quirky things, gargoyles) architecture and art, situated in Cambridgeshire, England.

I also like the fact that you can have a lovely meal, tea and cake - although the lack of whipped cream for scones and cakes despite asking politely is of course appalling and extremely close to a mortal sin - at the Almonry situated tucked away in the gardens behind the cathedral. How often do you get a view like this with your lunch?

If you want to read more about the cathedral, Ely and the interesting surroundings in fiction I suggest you pick up Jim Kelly's first book and possibly the second, in the suspense series about Ely journalist Philip Dryden.

Spring Sun Worship

The first glimpse of proper warming Spring sun in Sweden always, without fail, brings out hoards of beings with their sun thirsty faces turned up greedily trying to catch even the faintest beam of sun after a long Scandinavian winter. No strangers jostling for the good seat.

But the truly bravest and shiny ones of course opt for a nap in the sun first chance ~

Happy April Friday ~

The first pick of wood anemones,
now that is Spring!

Remember to have a lovely weekend ~

No Ordinary Tomato

Mr Weird Tomato jumped into the shopping bag. Any suggestions as to what to do with him? Because slice, dice add him to fellow tomatoes just doesn't seem the right thing to do. Rather indecent and a dash unsympathetic somehow ~

Eating Out - Café Lion, Esbjerg, Denmark

Ah, reminiscing the good ol' days (last summer) with a really lovely lunch in Danish Esbjerg, before we drove to the England ferry. Quite unexpected, unpretentiously tucked away on one of those boring, uninspiring same looking everywhere European main street shopping areas. One delicious vegetarian bagel brimming with fresh, crisp vegetables teamed up with garlic - chili cream cheese on the perfect bagel bread, need I say more... And one delightful freshly prepared fruity smoothie.

As the crepes looked mouthwatering, and the chance that we would ever eat there again sadly rather slim, it was a shared decision to share one. believe it or not, despite bananas and chocolate sauce, the verdict was that it looked far better than it tasted, not bad but just quite... uninteresting.

If you happen to be in the Esbjerg vicinity - and don't mind a café sign that clearly needs some word police tweaking - and fancy some scrumptious bagels and smoothies, head to - the place that I hope is still alive and thriving - Café Lion, Kongensgade 72, DK-6700 Esbjerg

Wastebin Lids

Just a few inspirational, colourful waste bin lids to start the day. If more care could be taken to details like that, oh what a difference that would make...

The Easter Weekend That Was, part III

The new kitchen table wax cloth,
loved by everyone, tulip marauders alike.

Sitting outdoors at a café by a lake.

Shoes, not boots.



Blue slopes.

A shared bowl of guacamole and tortilla chili crisps followed by...

...springy lemon and poppyseed cake.

My Easter in summation.