from prison to flower field

it's been a day of contrasts. yelp turns 10 this year apparently and the stockholm party was held at långholmen prison (now museum - hostel - hotel - restaurant). 

so from being marched to prison, to having a light 'lunch' - only 2 of the 6 things served at the buffet were suitable for vegetarians, the flavours were lovely but i'm glad i wasn't hungry - in happy company of fellow yelpers.

to flower picking at växplats nybyn, the day has been full. and colourful. 

and shoe changing. though accompanied by my wistful mind throughout. 

the shoes are keepers and other fine things du jour

A week later I've decided that the shoes I discarded as cheap bling looking and not at all for me are indeed rather fine anyway. Because a) in another light they're not as shiny metallic as I first thought b) they're not bling in a tacky, tasteless (animal printsy) i wanna grab a millionaire bling but more of a summer fun dash of a bling like c) look lovely with a tan d) just as comfortable, cute and kind looking as their red siblings e) little miss redhead agrees. Ie they're keepers. Inaugurated today and de-lovely.





A week later I also painted both toe- and fingernails in the same monochrome but perky colour (Essie Turquoise & Caicos) and left the house for the first time since the cold struck. Far from fully recovered, but still back on the life track one might say.



And it was for a dinner date and fika with my bestie fellow happy muse. Lovely dinner, lovely talking, lovely fika. Well hello there best soy latte in the whole wide world at favourite cafe it's been a very long time no see or drink!



The cooler weather, the being out in public again, the food, the coffee and most of all the company and the conversation left me really inspired and invigorated. A day of very fine things that made me most happy.

How was your day?

having a heatwave and kombucha

When you thought the temperatures wouldn't rise, they did. Hottest day so far in Stockholm, at least +34C.



Did some errands, had a lovely meet up, sought a shady spot for fika and conversation.



The ice tea was really fab and refreshing. The cake, too sweet. Which was a bit surprising as it was said to be a polenta GI-cake (the GI-bit I couldn't care less about, but all the nuts on top looked lovely), but the glazing was really too much.



Someone wanted ice-cream, I wanted a cold drink. And this was a really great discovery, a Swedish kombucha, from a Stockholm based micro-brewery. Peach and pomegranate flavour, another refreshing meet cute of the day.

And it made me think a lot about the fact that you can make your own kombucha and even if I'm no great fan of home brewing as such (it seems a bit messy to me) it's a beverage with many health benefits I'm very curious about and instead of paying a hefty price for bottles why not experiment with making one's own. After the summer, after the heatwaves, I think I'll do just that.



Also, on this very hot day I, befittingly, met George Clooney. At least I think I did. It might have been my mushy summer brain playing tricks on me. Or was it the kombucha? Well, if so, that would certainly be another reason for making your own me thinks.

standing on a happy magic carpet

If you don't have a happy magic carpet to ride, you can read these five articles for a happier life.

:: Sometimes the simplest solution is the most powerful one - take time and thought to connect people with eachother. How to make a big difference in people's life in 5 minutes a day.

:: Other people matter, strengthen your relationships.

:: Chat up a stranger - if it feels uncomfortable (in this age when most of us have a smartphone as our daily security blanket) my suggestion is dare to compliment.

:: Small is happier and other facts about what makes us happy at work - as in micro-business with fewer than 10 people are happier at work. I took a survey recently and I'm happy (pun!) to report that my happiness index as far as working in my own one woman business goes gave me 8,7 on a scale of 10 being the happiest. Yay!

:: The key to finding fullfillment in your job or how to find a meaningful job.

A year ago today I had a meaningful meeting. Then I wrote about the shapes of a heart. Today I wrote about happiness. It's been a year of rollercoasting. But mostly up and few downs (even with a certain down very fresh in mind), I'm happy to say.

red summer sandals

Not a fan of wedges, but when a friend swore that her new pair of summer sandals were one of the comfiest ever and they happened to be available in red too I was very tempted despite the wedges bit... Because even if I *hrmf* have been known to get a pair of pink sandals recently I've been wanting a red pair for many years. In vain since it's seemingly impossible to get just the model I want and whenever I've found a good model they don't have my size.



Ordered them online, something that always go well with models from El Naturalista and ART which I know fit, this was a bit of a gamble as I haven't worn Camper for years and this model never. But I'm glad to report they fitted perfectly, look great and above all, they are very comfortable. Have so far worn them once and I was worried I wouldn't be able to wear them all day without issues, so I carried around an extra pair of shoes. Which turned out to be unnecessary, they were fab all day!



The Camper model is called Ada Beetle, like the bestest car. And I'm a sucker for such coincidences. The first time I wore them I spotted their car equivalent. In red. If it had been possible I would have crawled upon the bonnet begging someone to take an awesome shoe per diem snap. Alas it wasn't.



I also like the fact that the sandals are both sporty - despite me not being a sporty animal - giving springy steps as well as stylish in a surprisingly elegant way. Ie they go with most everything. And so do the Prosit sisters think. They have inspected every little corner of sandals in a most impressive way.









They're not only thoroughly paw approved, they also happen to go very well with radishes (and strawberries), which always is an extra plus of course.



How about you, have you found any great summer sandals this year?