Meet the Makeout Blouse

Meet the very green happy vibes blouse that I'll enjoy the spring to come in. And no I didn't buy it solely for its name's sake - although admittedly that could have been the last detail that made me take the investment plunge, being a the buff for quirky ideas as I am - very obviously it has lots of other pros to it.

Like it being sweet and most pleasingly oomphy apple green with...

orange butterflies entangled in ornamental details and...

pink birds and...

more embroidered pink roses and then there's...

cute dark blue ribbons making the final touch of zestiness to its green delight. Your average Odd Molly style shirt I suppose, but since I adore (with a critical mind) many of their designs and styles - although far from always the ridiculous pricetags attached to the garments. Not to mention their silly huge several times per year collections, ever heard of slow fashion and the clothing industry's environmental impact...? If the pricetags had anything to do with the environmental consciousness, then obviously fine, but otherwise... - I'm sure I'll be very happy in it come lush green springtime.

Doyen Blue Eyes

In this world of mine there are many many blue skies, Monday morning blues, blue sisters, blue beings, Blue books, blue castles, blue handbags, bee blue, many a blue day, blue mittens, blue-white cats and then we have this fur face with these amazing eyes that are as blue as last year.

A pretty face that's attached to a whole cat, that is a cat that's not only a cat but a Persian seal colourpoint cat. Totally and completely kind and sweet in every fibre of his furry little sealpointed body. He might not be the brightest - which Persian cat is? - but he truly is the oldest and most kind-hearted of the bunch.

He reached the rather impressive cat-age of 17 years last month (I try not to think too much about the fact that this means I've also become 17 years older than when he came to live with me...). The doyen, if not by brain but by age and gentle nature. Ol' fluffy sweetheart Emil.

Discolouration

Here in The World According to Pia we - a k a I - don't shy away from extremes in topics, one day something seriously heartfelt, the other something not nearly as grave and profound. And now and then just the odd, or not so odd, picture when we - still a k a I - have run out of words. Which actually happens now and then, the supply needs replenishing. And the we - I! - lean against the fact that a picture says more than a thousand words. Which surely is debatable, a truth with modification indeed.

But what isn't really debatable, as far as we (I) are concerned, is the plain fact that a little bit of this, a little bit of that, a dash of so and pinch of it makes for a vital and perhaps now and then unpredictable blog to visit. So I, I mean WE, will continue on this path of main-lines as well as sidings. Which can be called ramblings, musings or reveries we, I, suppose. Pondering.

So, having said that I'll now muse a bit about the very interesting fact that I have, actually, never, until yesterday... discolourized anything when doing the laundry. I have now. And the irony of it all is the fact that just before I filled the washing machine I saw this silly TV-commercial about some new slip you put in the washing machine with your laundry to prevent discolouration. Since the magic slip supposedly absorbs any superfluous color... So from now on it's hello-red-hello-white-let's-take-a-spin-in-the-washing-machine-together. Isn't it just amazing what the human mind and research can come up with?

I didn't see the omen there, instead I made the horrific mistake of filling the washing machine with some favourite garments and an orange scarf from last summer who's now had its pre-hibernation wash. And decided to share *a bit* of that lovely colour with the bath buddies...

So my favourite mustard yellow shirt with pretty white trimmings is now mandarin coloured with peach trimmings. The pretty raspberry pink cardigan is now very red - which wouldn't be too bad if I hadn't adored that raspberry nuance of the pre-washed cardigan... - and a mauve vest is now lilac with blue - imagine! - trimmings.

The only thing that didn't absorb any orange colour was a red/pink skirt with white (!) stripes. Odd indeed. One of life's great mysteries.

I have, and I suppose I will, shed a tear now and then over the loss of these favourite garments, of course they're still usable, but they lack that certain *oomf* that made me fall for them in the first place. And the worst thing is that I'm totally responsible for that loss of *oomf*, I snootily snickered at and disregarded the omen of the magic slip commercial. I feel just awful. This must be regarded as one of my life's all-time lows.

And once again I take to the comfort of self-therapy blogging.

Miscellaneous Week

And now follows, a very condensed version of my week, so far;

* It's been quite a beautiful week in Stockholm, lots of sun, yes quite windy and sometimes just too chilly, for my personal liking, I want to experience some more Indian summer days still - and then the next day it's all +10 degrees and mild weather again. One really doesn't know what to think - or wear for that matter.

* Which brings me to the fact that I've found, and bought, a couple of niceties to wear during the week. I'm so very pleased with these things that will most definitely brighten up any gloomy weatherday - and keep one warm if needed. And possibly even make one sing in the rain...

* ... and singing in the rain was something I felt really much inclined to do after - and perhaps slightly before... - having seen the musical the other day. Ok, for sure there's only one Gene Kelly, but oh my were they great, the Swedish performers! Some stunning dance numbers, as well as the singing, and humour and they'd captured that wonderful playfulness of the movie so well. Not to mention the decor and the massive rainfall, on stage and on some of the audiance - we were safely, and excellently, seated in row five. Most of the actors were unknown to me, but they were real gems. Since I actually, in this case, very much kind of managed to look passed the theatrical part of a stage production... Yes, I so enjoyed the show - and as I've said before, I'm both finicky as well as not a fan of musicals in general... - and I highly recommend it! A sure moodlifter!

* Another moodlifter - and possibly a skin-deep appearance enhancer - was the facial I had the other day. Thought it was well due after a long, sunny summer, and lovely it was indeed. Though I'd really appreciate it if the beautytherapist didn't so desperately try to coax one into buying all the "miracle products" afterwards. I've tried *a few* over the years, I'm not all that impressed, they really cost too much for what they give and I'm pleased with most of the products I used right now, thank you very much.

* ...and those products I stocked up on, in a small way, afterwards instead. And don't you just love it when the shopkeeper wonders why she haven't seen you for so long and remembers what you talked about nearly six months before... Talk about that extra little touch customer-relationswise...

That was the fun highlights of the week not mentioned before - the not so fun lowlights are a whole different story to write blog about...

Outfit of April 22nd

It was really a depressingly cold and wet day today, but at least the outfit of the day whispered of Spring.

• Light beige camisole, Odd Molly
• Brownish tan knitted cotton cardigan, Odd Molly
• Yellow/offwhite printed silk scarf, NoaNoa
• Pale green, crinkled silk skirt, NoaNoa
• Black brouge MaryJanes, Bronx
• (Red trenchcoat)
• (Handbag, Mulberry Rosemary)
  

Outfit April 12th

Too much fresh air is (not) good for you - it's been a partly sunny, quite lovely day in Stockholm. Though rather windy and sort of chilly. But yes spring is really here - even though the month of April is well known for being fickle in Sweden so there might still snow one of these days...

I've lots of ideas for blogentries, but I'm just too tired to write them - so I'm going to be slightly boring and just show the outfit of the day.

* green skirt with raw edges (favourite!), NoaNoa
* pale green vest, NoaNoa
* babyblue jerseywrap, NoaNoa
* cerise cardigan, Odd Molly
* red trenchcoat, Cubus
* pale pink patterned silk scarf, Maïa
* black shoes, Doc Martens (so comfy!)
* dark pink handbag, Rosemary Mulberry
* (jewellery, Inkaroo, Pia K Stockholm, Yvone Christa)

April Fool's Day

When you begin to analyze and think too much - or whenever really! - it's good to go and get some fresh air and lots of sun. Today has been an excellent day for that! And sometimes that's just what you need, the simple things in life that takes your mind off the not so simple.

So on this super-sunny April Fool's day (so far, I've only been fooled once, and I haven't even thought about fooling someone myself...) we took Malte, limpvovven (the loaf-doggie), with us, drove to Ulriksdal, went for a brisk walk and then enjoyed a light lunch outdoors.

We weren't alone at Ulriksdal... I have never seen so many cars at the parking lot and beside the road... It looked quite busy in the gardencenter too. And there wasn't much left to choose from at the lovely castlegardencentercafé, one of my favourites in Stockholm.

The favourite-things about it being - now when that superfriendly and open atmosphere allowing dogs inside a part of the café is now gone... Partly due to complaints from people who apparently think its their absolute right to visit that café without having to share their space with dogs and not the owners right to chose what kind of guests they want...

And also that overly rigid health-regulations and laws Sweden has. Ah, sometimes I just get so tired of this fussy, Swedish mentality!! One just have to travel some hours south to our neighbour of Denmark to experience a totally different non-rigid attitude towards these matters... And I bet they're a much happier crowd for that too...

- that they serve an excellent vegetarian buffet during weekdays and yummy sandwiches during the weekends. Today's mozzarella on ciabatta was tasty, tasty!

Sometimes the cakes are yummy too. Today they weren't at all. Their looks promised far more than they could keep; dry, boring and yeast-tasting... And the coffee was just terrible.

I guess the thing to keep in mind, when you want to have a walk at Ulriksdal on a sunny Saturday/Sunday, browsing through the garden center, enjoying a meal at the Ulriksdals slottsträdgårdscafé (castlegardencentercafé) is to be sure to arrive well before noon!

Pick me up-wednesday

This is how my gloomy day turned into a rather nice pick me up-day:

* The walks was pretty powerful (to the station incl "the hell-hill" plus in the woods with little dog)

* I didn't have to pay for the train-ticket on my way into town (if I hadn't been so tired when coming home I could have used the public transportion for free all day, but Mister Bus-driver wants to use his tools and I wanted to use his bus...)

* I found a really cute basic magenta-coloured Odd Molly cardigan with a bit of a discount. (But I also tried on an equally cute grey embroidered one. And when I look at the website I find even more "must-haves"... So perhaps I've been very good and perhaps someone would like to put some goodies in an Easter egg...?)

* I also found a really lovely short, red trenchcoat, which I'm really happy about! But I'm not going to share the brand since I fear my reputation will be quite blemished if doing so... Do I have to mention I'm not a fan of high-street stores...?

* We managed to just beat the lunch-crowds for tables at Texas Burger and thoroughly enjoyed our veggie portobello burgers.

* I found some fun, colourful papers which I'm going to use for variation in pictures. I hope for good outdoor light tomorrow, so I can try them out...

* The latte from Coffee cup was, as usual, a much enjoyed friend on the train back home.

* Arriving home I've written several applications, letters and e-mails. There's only a week now until a new kind of reality strikes again... I'd lie if I said I didn't dread that a bit... Fingers crossed for a suitable solution!!

* Now I'll fill the washing-machine, and then enjoy tea with semla (this now makes the 6th this year I think, it's now a fact, I've eaten more semlor than the average Swede...) and a movie - Just like heaven - I think I deserve a bit of cuddling up in the sofa!

best of 2006

I think the best way to approach this is to have some different kind of categories, like niceprice, well-worn etc, since every best buy, or experience, isn't (of course) the cheapest...

Best handbag: Dark pink (no way it's lavender!) Rosemary Mulberry (yes even though it sort of fell apart a bit and I had to wait a looong time for the mending and I didn't get any compensation for it...), my dearest Rosa. Who went with me almost everywhere all Summer. So stylish, so cute, so very Pia!!

Best outdoor garment: Pinkish trenchcoat, Kapp-Ahl. For once in a blue moon, both design, fit, colour AND a nice price go hand in hand.

Best cardigan: Darkgrey lambswool bow jacket, Odd Molly. So warm, so casual, so always right.

Best dress: Greenish blue patterned jersey wrapdress, Mongul. Such a lovely colour, model and flattering shape. Not to mention a very nice price. Bought at one of my favourite boutiques in Copenhagen (one of my favorite cities of course), Bella Anna. Where one always find fashion with a twist in decent materials at more than a decent price

Best shirt: pointelle longsleeved jersey, Odd Molly, three of them, in mustard yellow, brown and dark grey with white trimmings. Always comfy and cute!

Best shoes: Camouflage sneakers, Puma, at a discount. So very, very, VERY nice for my feet and kind of cute too

Best sale: Almost everything at Noa Noa, but an extra plus for that sweeter than sweet white cotton dress shirt with embroidery and a bunch of really comfy, all-year-wearable cotton vests

Best jewellery: well, apart from all my own then, I must say Heather Wynn's lovely, simple bird earrings. I really love the delicate design of lampwork and silver (even though I admit to not being completely satisfied with the soldering and the finish of parts. I feel they could have been more polished. On the other hand beauty can certainly be in that tad imperfection)

Best beauty product: Hm, a hard one... Since I'm in a generous mood I'll pick four;
* Lisens Organics Rose-scrub;
* Bettina Barty Chocolate Showergel (can't beat that smell of chocolate in the shower!);
* Kiehl's Algae Mask (yes it actually do work and leaves skin feeling soft and smooth. Not a nice price buy though...);
* Philosophy Kiss me lip balm (kissable, soft, plump, sligtly red but still natural lips. A slight minus for the sort of yukky scent...)

Best buys always: all books, all yarn, all pearls and semi-precious stones and all café-visits

Best dessert: Well, that has to be two; Ivôiredome pastry at Vetekatten and vanilla icecream with warm cherries in Lübeck...

Best coffee overall: ice latte, Baresso Copenhagen

Best coffee Sweden: caffe latte, Coffee Cup

Best drinks: Alex pavillion, Hamburg (on a hotter than hot July day overlooking the Alster lake)

Best book: Not technically from 2006, but read my yours truly during the past year. It has been a good reading year, in many ways, to name three of the truly great ones;
* Caipirinha with Death (Caiprinha med Döden), Maria Ernestam (oh what joy, what intriguing fantasy and such an enjoyable language in this well-written novel)
* A heaven for Ellott (En himmel för Elliott), Katarina Danielsson (less can really, remarkably be more)
* A widow for one year (Änka för ett år), John Irving (better late than never, it has been standing in my bookshelves for years... A huge fan of Irvings fantastic language and way of composing a truly remarkable story over and over again, I do think this book is one of his best)

Discovery of the year: those extra tiny socks you can wear even in sneakers and summer shoes without looking a complete and utter unstylish nerd (yeah, I know it isn't news for anyone else but me...)

That sort of sums up my shopping year. It was a nice one, 2006, in many aspects not only shoppingwise. Still, it would have been even better if I didn't have to say goodbye to it with the cold/flu of the century and greet 2007 with the same...

The huge, overwhelming questions this shivelling last day of 2006 are: how much snot can there be in one, tiny nose? How much cough can one throat bare? How long lasting can an ophthalmia be? And above all, how long should a normal kind of earinflammation last??

I WISH YOU ALL - especially you owned by a cat or two - A HAPPY & PROSPEROUS, NEW YEAR! MAY IT BE FILLED WITH EMPATHY & GOODWILL, GOOD FOOD FOR THOUGHT & LIKEWISE SHOPPING!!

Outfit Dec 15th 2006

On a day with winds so strong you thought you might be swept away to another place, perhaps somewhere over the rainbow, my outfit was as follow;

- heathercoloured vest, NoaNoa
- dark grey shirt, Odd Molly
- soft pink cardigan, Jackpot
- black nylons, Åhléns
- honeybeige cableknitted mohairish skirt, H&M
- black boots, Vagabond
- hunter green corduroy coat, Jackpot
- mustard yellow silk scarf, Gudrun Sjödén
- winter white wool shawl, old one from grandma
- china blue cap & matching mittens, Odd Molly
- oak handbag, Roxanne Mulberry

Outfit Dec 7, 2006

Today I had a really nice day with my friend Anne at the Handicraft fair. Can't say I was very impressed with the items for sale overall, a lot of cheap entertainment, in every sense. Of course with some exceptions, most of the exceptions being somewhat pricy for the wallet of the day. And who needs more stuff, really... If it's not a handbag, the pricy kind.

Anyway, home with me came some smaller things named this and that but mainly foody things. And yes, I actually bought some material for scrapping. This year I do plan to use my skills in calligraphy and top the Christmas cards off with not only superexclusive cat-pictures but also some glitter and tinsel! If my patience is with me that is...

The one thing I'm most thankful about taking home with me is my skirt though. I actually discovered it going downwards - being far down around my thighs - twice this day... I'm really grateful I'm nowadays, mostly, on good terms with my not-to-be-embarrassed-gene.

And once I found it on it's way up instead, sort of wrapping itself around my upper torso and head with its new friend the wind. At the same time as the shawls also wanted to play with that new and interesting friend, up they went - to Anne's delight. I actually managed to bring tears of joy to her eyes... Glad to be at service. Don't mention it. My next much needed investment will be a pair of braces for that naughty skirt. My question of the day must be, what on earth has the world gone to, when clothes demand new friends and accessories?

From top to bottom of the day:
- white cotton vest, Dolce & Gabbana
- brown cotton shirt, Odd Molly
- black, flowery skirt, Gudrun Sjödén (silly little, too large thing!)
- black boots, Vagabond
- green tweed jacket vintage bouclé, Noa Noa
- mustard-yellow silk-scarf, Gudrun Sjödén
- brown with white trimmings mohair shawl, Pia K Stockholm
- china blue mittens, Odd Molly
- handbag, Mulberry Roxanne
- jewellery, Heather Wynn, Pia K Stockholm, Yvone Christa (I'm so varied...)

Outfit Dec 1st 2006

Oh, I'm just too tired for posting anything remotely intelligent and original here today. So I'll just show you today's outfit. With those very dark and uninspired snapshots in front of the mirror with the once-upon-a-time-kitchen-sofa-now-standing-in-the-hall-basically-acting-as-a-cat-food-stand in the background. For that extra glamour-feeling to the outfits!

Anyway, when the temperature just seems to rise and head for up to + 15 C - weird beyond words, and rather alarming... - I opt for layers - as usual I guess...

- sort of darkish pink cotton vest, Noa Noa
- brown, shortsleeved chiffon blouse, Noa Noa
- grey wool cardigan, Odd Molly
- jeans, Levi's
- black boots, Vagabond
- yellow lace knitted wool scarf, Tiger
- hunter green corduroy coat, Jackpot
- china blue mittens, Odd Molly
- jewellery, Heather Wynn, Pia K Stockholm, Yvone Christa

Off to an early bed for me now! A good night's sleep is essential if one wants to celebrate the Cat's day which always is celebrated in Sweden on the first Advent's Sunday - this year it'll actually be a whole weekend celebrating the wonderful Cat!

How are you going to celebrate the cat(s) in your life this weekend?

Wonder of Wonders

Nothing much on the agenda for today, a doctor's appointment on the other side of town, having lunch with my mum, that was about it. A nice-little blogging about the lunch-food was to be today's topic.

But wonders of all wonders, when I went into H&M close to the doctor's to have a look around for those turquoise sweatpants that were sold out in town, and then a pair of cute red knee socks happened to find their way down in my shopping bag - which is actually closed for the season! - and then I was heading over to the cashier...

But what is THIS?! That Viktor & Rolf pale peachcoloured silkblouse I really wanted, but more REALLY didn't want to queue for, and that trench and some other V&R items as well. Was it really true or just a hallucination??

Since black is basically a no-no in my home (the amount of cat-hairs plus the costs of sand is basically the only negative aspects of sharing your home with the furry darlings, the hair being a thing that for me excludes clothes in black...) there wasn't much more of interest to me on that rack.

But I tried these to on, the trench being in a very weird shape, too bad, but the silk blouse was a true find. So home with me it came. Congratulations to me! And to the blouse of course, being a part of the very distinguished wardrobe of Pia.

And having continued to talk about clothes and shopping, I might as well continue with sharing this day's outfit with you. A bit too much clothes really for a mild - very untypical weather for the season... - winter day. But what is a winter day without a nice little wool cardigan to snuggle up in, not a day worth mentioning I'd say!

From inside out, top to bottom:

• lavender cotton vest, Indiska
• greyish blue cotton shirt, Jackpot
• grey wool cardigan, Odd Molly
• grey cotton leggings, Lindex (and yes, there is something called a size or two too big...)
• black/flowery skirt, Gudrun Sjödén (see above...)
• black boots, Vagabond
• hunter green corduroy coat, Jackpot
• violet mohairshawl, Pia K Stockholm

A woman of mental substance

I'm so very satisfied with my buys of today, mid November! Mood-lifting on a day when the rain and wind played oh so happily together and the mood couldn't be anything other than grey and low. At least to begin with.

A meeting with the career coach in the morning - guess what, as of today I somehow suffer from a great fear of bosses. A problem that I probably should "work on". Agh, shouldn't think so, an incompetent boss is always an incompetent boss. Idiots will be idiots, a pity they happen to be in the position of being boss now and then!

But apart from that remark - nominated to the stupidest remark of the day perhaps... - I think it was once again a positive and fun meeting. Now I have about two weeks to work with some tasks before we'll meet again. More about that later...

Now to the simpler things, but oh so fun, things in life, shopping really nice, totally necessary items! Ill-willed people would put an un- in front of that word, little do they know...

The picture doesn't show the things I came home with today, but the things that absolutely screamed in a very demanding way to come home with me last Saturday. And them being:

My search for a red jacket/coat this winter seems to be totally futile. So in order to still keep the economic wheels of Stockholm, Sweden rolling I really had to find a sort of option... Of some sort. Which happened to be a lovely, beautiful jacket in medium blue winter velvet, at one of my favourite boutiques, Noa Noa (Danish fashion rules!).

And then a nice "little" bottle of awardwinning ultrarich shampoo, shower gel & bubblebath Melon Daiquiri from Philosophy *mmmm*

And for the really basic things in life one (being me) might head to a high street store like Lindex and pick up some washingbags (which always seem to tear while washing), a pair of grey leggings (or longjohns like Lindex like to call them. Where's the sence of fashion there?) plus a really nice pair of dark brown and patterned over knee long socks (for a day when I really feel like wearing a skirt without jeans again...).

So now, we have come up to date with today's shopping. Since I somehow to my great surprise seem to have some money left over this month I thought I might as well treat myself. A bit. Big department store Åhléns has 20% off any one chosen item this week for members only.

An opportunity which o b v i o u s l y can't be missed - so hey, home with me came yet another Odd Molly cardigan, this time a supercute grey lambswool bow jacket. And a red cotton-vest on sale.

Åhléns nowadays also sell Origins great beauty-without-cruelty products, that range of cocoa products, and lavender-vanilla, ginger, a perfect world, mmm, just too much to chose from all those must-haves. I'll be back...

After having a nice lunch at Texas smoke house (the only thing I can eat there is the veggie burger with portobellu mushroom and it's soo tasty!) we headed down to Noa Noa once again, where I got a really cute, short-sleeved brown chiffon blouse plus a sort of lavender coloured cotton vest to go with that.

On the way back a grande latte at my favourite place for good coffee in Stockholm, Coffee Cup. For the train-ride back home I really think I deserved a good magazine, Damernas värld once again. Unfortunately such an investment more often than seldom makes me all starry eyed an eager to shop again...

But since I am a woman of mental substance and integrity of course I won't fall for such cheap tricks! My must-have-buys for this season is over and done with! Yes indeed. Over and out.

Outfit Nov 10th

Perhaps the outfit-demon has gotten me in its grip, since I thinks it's kind of fun to look at others outfits-of-the-day and take pictures of my own. No award-winning pictures though, probably not any pictures the least bit worthy to be a part of the big Photographic-fair (Fotomässan 2006) which takes place this weekend at Nacka Strand, Stockholm.

But somehow a documentation of a day in November in the life, yes in the world according to Pia. A silly, little documentation, but a documentation nonetheless.

So, what to wear a really chilly, windy, but oh so sunny day in the middle of November in Stockholm, Sweden, Scandinavia? Well, longjohns would have been appropriate, but wasn't up for it. Felt like staying at home, in the closet. So from inside out, top to bottom it was like this:

- Kaki linen, Indiska
- Brown jersey shirt, longsleeved, Odd Molly
- Mustard-yellow wool vest, Gudrun Sjödén
- Jeans, Levi's
- Kaki anorak, origin unknown
- Multi-coloured wool scarf, Pia K Stockholm
- Cognac-coloured boots, origin unknown
- Handbag, Mulberry Roxanne a k a Blända
- Chinablue mittens, Odd Molly

So, what did you wear today?

The outfit of November 4th 2006

I thought it could be nice to keep a diary of one day in the life of Pia, regarding beautyproducts and outfit. I don't think I have the energy to keep that up every day, but now and then. So before I tell you about my good Saturday I'll tell you what products I used - from shower products to makeup (and it wasn't a day for a lot of that) - and what clothes I wore.

In the shower:

• Facial scrub, Nuxe (nice!)
• Moroccan sugar scrub, Tesco (I finished the can, and it wasn't a very good product...)
• Cinnamon-orange soap, l'Occitane (supernice!)
• Blue Malva Shampoo, Aveda (so-so)
• Conditioner WhyKnot, Aussie (great! Love their cute names on every product)

Post-shower:

• peanutoil, Apoteket (good to prevent dryness allover)
• deo, Nivea (you never go wrong with Nivea)
• couperose serum, Babor
• glycare lotion, MD Formulations
• night-cream, Babor (my superdry winterskin needs that both day and night)
• blusher, Stila
• lip balm, Kiss me red Philosophy
• hairmousse volume, Taft Schwarzkopf (not a good product)
• edP Fragile, JP Gaultier

And it's sort of fun to see what people wear in a pic or two, so above you can see yesterday's outfit. I really need to get som new, tighter fitted jeans... But these are so comfy baggy, well-worn and supernice to wear...

Anyway, from top to bottom, inside and out:

• kaki vest, Gina Tricot
• darkgrey shirt, Odd Molly (a new favourite model!)
• short puffsleeve, petrolblue chequered blouse, Vila
• jeans, Levi's
• brown suede boots, Jackpot
• earrings, Heather Wynn
• necklace, Pia K Stockholm
• rings, Yvone Christa
• pink/beige woolen cap, Charlotte (my alltime winter favourite!)
• brown oversized velvetjacket, Marc'o Polo
• olivegreen handbag, Mulberry Tooled Bayswater

And with that outfit I went to the handicraft fair and out on the town for some shopping yesterday. A day with snowy rain and slippery roads and streets. Today the rain has melted almost all the snow away - it's difficult both for body and mind to come to terms with these quick changes in weather... Not to mention the difficulties in planning for and chosing the right outfit!

The Treats

I began writing my Swedish blog, and then realized I wanted to be a bit more superficial and write about the things I did buy for a special treat on my birthday yesterday (Oct 25th) - yes I know, not another day of Pia's birthday matters, but come on it's once a year, one has to make the most of it! - I never ever write, well not really, about things like that in Swedish (some might disagree), then I'm always far more intellectual - sort of.

Anyway, the day began with me finding that Odd Molly lambswool, folklore-stylish cardigan with a twist - of course accompanied by some words of wisdom, I'll write more about that another day.

Plus a pair of black, thick nylons - always needed and too often expensive and/or to short in legs or the waist-part. One of life's great and irritating mysteries!

Then I headed over to Yves Rocher - I haven't shopped there for at least 20 years - since I read about some really neat cream perfume boxes. At an unbeatable price. I got one in mango - smells more like peach - for myself and a vanilla for mum. Perfect little gifts and equally perfect to have in the handbag instead of perfumebottles. And then it turned out they had up to 50% sale on everything in the store - and since the prices are really low to begin with... So I got a green tea - one of my favorite scents! - EdT plus a shower gel.

Time for the well-deserved massage. And it was really, really nice, with aromatic oils of citrus for energy (not that I felt any of that afterwards, more like sleepy...). Unfortunately they didn't have that sort of oil for sale, so somehow a Scen Tao body mousse made its way down in my shoppingbag instead...

Before I met my mum for lunch I made a quick stop at COW perfumery to get the Philosophy strawberry milkshake 3-in-1 bubbles - which somehow where no longer available... I then opted for the Melon daiquiri instead - sold out... Then my eyes spotted the little beauty box called Birthday girl - who could resist treating oneself with that?! With five special sized products, all with those cuter than cute names like Soul owner foot cream, Time on your hands handcream, Amazing grace shower gel, Purity made simple facial cleanser and Kiss me red lip balm.

Unfortunately Yogayama vegetarian restaurant turned out to not a restaurant but only a place for take-away or catering. We headed over to Örtagården (ie The Herb garden) at Östermalmshallen. Not my favourite place of vegetarian food at all, but it was nearby and we were hungry. Though the experience was just as I expected, the food was a bad, un-modern, un-well made misch masch of stuff such as mouldy tomatoes... So if you want good, modern, healthy, vegetarian food in Stockholm, don't visit Örtagården!!

But I did get a cup of the best tasting hot cocoa ever at Chokladfabriken afterwards. I even got to take one of their previous used in the café cups with me home (as seen in the very right in the pic above). They're so lovely to enjoy cocoa in! A pity they're not made anymore or used in the café, it was such a part of the hot cocoa-experience.

I had plans of trying to get a birthday girl-discount or two during the day. I forgot though, but it's sort of disturbing no-one offered me that, don't you think? I thought it was pretty obvious it was my day and my day alone! It's not my fault they happened to fly the flags one day too early!

The prettiest mittens

When I met a friend for dinner last evening I thought I should have a quick look at Åhléns - one of Stockholm's largest, if not the largest, departmentstore with a wide range of clothes, cosmetics both in style and prices - if they perhaps had the new Winter-collection of Odd Molly's cute scarves and mittens.

Can't say I was too impressed by the different clerks knowledge of the brands the store sells... I wonder if this really a sign of the times, lousy organization and the "I-don't-know-go-ask-someone-else"? And not only in catclubs and at catshows...

Anyway, I did find some of the berets and scarves in a box in the end. And yes, there they were, the mittens, only one pair left. A pair of cute navy blue ones in lambswool with a hint of nylon. With some nice looking details and of course some words of more or less comprehensible wisdom:

Challenge prudence, consume life, enjoy the grand view

Eh, ok, I'll try, maybe... But the mittens now is a part of my wardrobe for the season anyway. And such a nice part too. Even if they smell a bit strange, like paint and oriental insense...

Dinner with friend shouldn't be forgotten either, a very pleasant one indeed. New ideas mixing with old ones, forming new constellations that perhaps will be truly full of really comprehensible wisdom one of these days. When I have sorted them out and decided what to do with them...

The great sensation of absolutely nothing

The name of the shirt I bought today, or at least the words of wisdom that came with it. I really do like the little words with a twist that often are embroidered or come with the clothes from the Swedish clothing brand Odd Molly.

Always in nature-materials and this Fall-collection also in cashmere. Supercute and personal, unfortunately the sizes aren't too big, from 0-3 (i e XS-L and large not being quite large in general...).

It would be nice if women with a larger breast area or larger sizes also could fit in all Odd Molly clothes - since some of their mottos are "You're perfect because your not" and "Vive la difference!"...

Anyway, having said that I'm very happy with my new Autumn shirt in bright mustardyellow. Thick cotton fabric, with cute details and a flattering shape. Wouldn't be surprised if perhaps the brown or/and the grey one accompanied this one later on...

And the other buys of today were

• some bright red mohair-yarn for that order of a muffler I got last weekend.
• The search continues for the ultimate mascara - L'Oréal Telescopic came with me home.
• And then the smartest thing, a magnet for the dishwasher that says Odiskad (Dirty) on the red side and Diskad (Clean) on the green side. No more arguments over the dishwasher and its content! I hope....

Then I met up with my potter friend with whom I hope to form some sort of exciting collaboration concerning her pottery and my jewellery. We both went home with new ideas and tasks to be done on both parts...

Other than that I realize I do have to go to bed - tomorrow it's time for the annual chocolate-festival here in Stockholm. I need to be in good shape for that!