the little yarn shop cat

In the adorable yarn shop Garnboden Ulligt & Gulligt (The Yarn shop Wolly & Cuddlesome) - neighbour in Enköping with one of my favourite cafes - with oh so many droolworthy yarns and a very enthusiastic, helpful and sweet proprietor there is also a feline helper.

It's not until recently I've met him, but I do love any business that have furry helpers. And it's somehow kind of obvious that such a cute shop filled with addictive candy for yarn-aholics should also have the purrfect helper.

The help consists of sleeping in an armchair behind the counter. But I'm certain his mere presence, like any cat's or dog's or fine being's, oozes extra magic over the shop and its yarns.

My Lovikka mittens to be and the sweet sweater to be will be even more splendid for it, I'm sure.

Do you have a favourite shop or 
other establishment with a perfect furry helper?

roundabout bluebells and other artsy matters

A supersized button and a cat trio on a bench. Delightful and inspirational diy in Krakow.

Yarnbombing is always the right thing (yarn shop, Enköping, Sweden).

Pretty fabulous roundabout bluebells (Katrineholm, Sweden).

Cute shoe painting trio (Säfstaholm castle, Vingåker, Sweden).

Friends, rabbit and fox sculptures (Djur/Animals exhibition, Säfstaholm castle, Sweden).

French bulldog meet cute shoe per diem (Djur/Animals exhibition, Säfstaholm castle, Vingåker, Sweden).

Have a happy, artsy, creativity flowing weekend one and all ~

sweet cakes bakebook

Having Saturday breakfast at one of my favourite cafés - blogged about the place 4,5 years ago here - is always a treat. This time we also found that they'd published their own bakebook, "Söta kakor" = Sweet cakes/cookies, by Cafe Tant Gredelin.

I certainly don't bake as much as I used to, but getting my own signed copy was obviously a must.

To be honest it was a long long time since I felt cook- and bakebooks were inventive and inspirational, so many recipes are the same or very similar, like they desperately trying to invent the wheel all over again. Even if I mostly get them to look at pretty pictures I also find that the style of pictures continues to be oh so very similar too. We're living in a world where it gets continously harder to be truly original, be it cookbooks or crafts or fashion or anything really. 

It would have been nice if the recipes held less sugar, no gelatine (or at least pointed to the vegan options) and the cake tin measures. That said, I do overall enjoy the bakebook - mainly because there are two favourite bake goodies from Tant Gredelin in it I'd love to try making myself (custard bun and  crunchy raspberry pie with white chocolate) and other mouthwatering things too of course. It's a sweet book, in every sense, much like the cafe itself.

Eating out - Café Tant Gredelin, Enköping

In the not-so-small town of Enköping, some miles northwest of Stockholm, you'll find the adorable little Café Tant Gredelin - which translates Auntie Violet, the literary sister of Auntie Brown/Tant Brun being the name of the cute café in Sigtuna. Both names deriving from the lovely children's book series by Elsa Beskow, about Auntie Brown, Auntie Green, Auntie Violet and Uncle Blue. Sigtuna being the hometown of the real life models for the characters, Beskows own uncle and aunties who remained unmarried and lived in Sigtuna.

In the case of Café Tant Gredelin, if you happen to be in the vicinity of Enköping this is simply a must stop for a lovely, cosy, yummy experience in an oldfashioned environment. When opening the door you're met by tempting whiffs of bread and buns, the prices are decent and the staff friendly. Great care in details as far as interior decoration goes without being overdone.

The only obvious negative aspect about the place for us vegetarians is that the sandwich options are very limited, the cheese sandwich not that good (at least that's my taste buds' opinion) and due to the Swedish *rather* ridiculously restrictive regulations concerning food handling they're not allowed to make other sandwiches in the café...

But if you're only looking for tea - vast selection served at the table in your own teapot - or coffee or hot chocolate with a nice piece of cake enjoyed in a delightful surrounding you've definitely come to the right place!

Situated at Sandgatan 29, they're open Mon-Sat (at special occasions also on Sundays) and apparently also serve afternoon tea buffet every Thursday 14-17 (2pm-5pm), that sounds indeed lovely. As much as I enjoy my tea/coffee outdoors in the summer I really do think this place is best visited during the colder and darker time of the Scandinavian year, indoors, since there are old sofas, wicker chairs, candlelight, warmth and cosiness that just can't be reciprocated in an outdoor area, even if the inner courtyard does look nice too. The place seems to be very popular amongst the locals hence can be rather crowded, so be prepare to wait a while for a table or, if you're feeling adventurous, possibly share.

Now, let the pictures do the final talking -