Stockholm Pride has been. And apart from the love is love, kindness and equality vibe that's in teh air during that week, I always enjoy taking rainbow coloured pictures near water. This year we were at magical Millesgården for a really sweet exhibition with illustrator Lena Andersson's adorable drawings and work. A perfect place for a little rainbow gang to pose.
The exhibition is on until September 22 and well worth a visit.
Car-pooled to the retrieval plant the other week. It was such a bliss to finally get rid of years of broken old stuff that's too heavy to take on the bus. I should make this a regular thing. Not that I got that much heavy stuff to get rid off currently. But a good cleanse of stuff in general is liberating.
The cats were less than happy though, since I threw away one of their favourite chairs (nasty old thing). These were the scenes after I had pulled it apart, making it ready for throwing away. As if there would never again be a better place to lie on.
The season for cherries seem to get shorter by the year, but I have enjoyed the reasonably priced ones I've seen. Ah, cherries, on my top three of best fruit and berries in the whole wide world, alongside raspberries and pineapple. Closely followed my mango.
I was so excited when I saw that Fjällräven had turned their beloved Kånken into a little messenger bag (the big one made in collaboration with Acne last year has alas leather details). For those days when your dress doesn't have pockets (which is such drawback, I know, but still it happens) and your good with a smaller bag or wear it with the Kånken to have your most essentials close at hand. (The pretty red bag from Matt & Nat is of another style, for other days and occasions...).
Granted I thought it would be the same size as the Kånken Mini, but as you can se the Kånken Sling is much smaller. I deliberated if it was a keeper or not, but I decided it was. Even if it isn't big enough to fit both umbrella, sunglasses, a big wallet (I need to downside to a mini one) and all the extras I usually carry in my backpack. And a keepcup is definitely out of the question. So either you have it for very special occasions, with the backpack or with a cotton tote bag.
One interesting sighting of this summer - which has been so so much better than last year, thank goodness for that, at least a little grace from global warming effects - is that there have been so much butterflies, as well as (too many) mosquitos and flies. And since the mosquitos lovez me... But at least, touch wood, the tics have been very few and far apart. And last week I got my final TBE-shot, so now I'm fully vaccinated, hooray.
It was a petty costly affair though, and given the devastating consequences of getting TBE, it's very strange indeed that the usual Swedish health care doesn't cover these costs too. There are so many more unnecessary things it covers, it's baffling.
Remember the sunglass clip-ons I got for one of my new glasses back in February? Well, for some reason, somewhere, I must have misplaced them recently and I can't find them (yet, as the search is still on). So I thought I might pop by the optician and ask if I could buy a new pair. A simple plastic design, as they were included in the very reasonable price for my glasses I couldn't imagine a replacement pair would be very expensive. Boy, was I wrong, the price would be 1/3 of what my glasses cost. Thanks but no thanks. Seriously.
So I'll keep on looking for my misplaced ones, and really, just a quick google search I find the equivalent much more reasonably priced. There are many things worth paying for, while others are just ridiculously overpriced.
I posted a list of 12 (old and new) books I recommend for summer (or year around really) reading on LinkedIn the other week. On which these two appears, the above book is by much loved Swedish artist, painter, feminist, body activist Stina Wollter (I attended a writer's talk with her in June and it was amazing). Only in Swedish, obviously, so far, but I highly recommend you read it.
And the first book in the trilogy by Sylvain Neuvel, "Sleeping Giants" had me mesmerized. Can't wait to read the other two.
Last week I was inspired by pic A to do an even shorter blunt cut. But the result turned out like pic B. And all of you Swedes who grew up with the TV-show Hedvig & Helge know what I mean, the rest of you have to google. The cut was also a bit shorter than I had planned, as I was trying to multitask by talking on the phone at the same time. Yes, true story.
However, after a wash and slight styling it didn't look too bad. And the funniest thing of it all is that after years of being super-reluctant to cut my hair short, and having been pretty sad when I let my hairdresser cut it shorter than usual, is that I basically don't miss it at all. And I can still make a tiny ponytail, if I should so wish.
And I got myself five little jars with the vegan Maria Nila colour refresh. As I am curious if any of them is as great, or as crappy, as the pink resp blue colours I've tried before, I only went for small jars instead of the bigger bottles of the previous two.
I tried the Lavender one the other day, but alas it added only a very faint hint of colour to my sun-bleached grombre hair. But it was a nice nourishing hair pak at least. Fingers crossed the next colour will be as great as the Pink Pop.
Realised it's really quite easy to use public transport to get from here to Sigtuna. It doesn't have to be more time-consuming than 1 hour and 20 minutes from door to door (and if you didn't have waiting time between train and buses it would be even shorter). So I had a little fne outing with little mum last week, with fika at Tant Brun and a stroll around town. I'm looking forward to the fact that it will now be a no biggie to get there for the annual Christmas fair.
More on Sigtuna and its history as the oldest town in Sweden, in this old blog post.
On my above visit to Millesgården I was smitten by this handmade glass ring with coloured water. It wasn't easy to chose colour but in the end I went for a pink + pink one. It's such a nice summer statement ring. From Pylones.
After weeks of deliberation I also decided to get myself this amazing pre-autumn classic shirt dress. It haz pockets. Obviously from Marimekko with its Unikko pattern. (I admit to a slight addiction.) And isn't the pale pink-beige colour combination adorable? It will look great both on cooler summer days with a tan, as well as colourful stockings and cardigans come autumn and winter. For many years.
I've also become a sponsor to this beautiful boy named Benjamin. A young bull at Swedish animal sanctuary Gotlands Djurfristad. May he live a long and happy life there with his friends. As opposed to all the billions of his species that are needlessly oppressed, abused and killed for food we don't need.
And that was a few things I've done lately while I'm still looking for my dream job - and now there's even a reversed job ad up as an article on LinkedIn on that. And if you care to like, share or do something other positive and amazing to spread the word on my quest, that would needlessly to say be much appreciated. Onwards and upwards.
Now I'm looking forward to the vegan cooking class this week, that will be so much fun I'm sure!
Reading, volunteering, cooking, learning -- you're off to an active start!
ReplyDelete