hello red smoothing iron

Apparently I'm in a gadgets-breaks-phase right now. From toaster to iron to yes, the electric kettle too (more of that later). Touch wood and fingers crossed this isn't the start of more serious, expensive things giving up. (I'm looking at you freezer, fridge, stove, heat pump and boiler...)

Funny enough this beauty of an iron is actually my very first new one! Yes, I've always inherit or got hand me down irons from relatives and friends. Which, just like with furniture, is perfectly fine as long as they work. And that they've certainly done since I've never had to splash out any money on them +four decades down the life span.

I didn't buy this one myself though, it was a gift from M. But I would probably have chosen something like it. Love the colour. And finally I have an iron that I can steam hanging clothes with. Although, being a semi-technophopic as usual I find even the simplest of new gadgets a bit scary and somewhat daunting to begin with. The steam spray is very loud and hot!

But it has been properly snoopervised and paw approved. But apparently it isn't good enough to eat. A bit hard and tastless, even for fierce kitty teeth.

Good for smoothing though. And that's really all that matters.

three reds in winter

Red 1 - these boots have been with me for six winters now and are still going strong. Thank you El Naturalista for making quality products. 

Red 2 - little miss Redhead have been with me for four winters now. Still going strong, but obviously not in the 'made for walking in snow' kind of way.

Red 3 - better late than never - amaryllis in bloom. And it has 10 flowers. Amazeballs, I'm redstrucked.

the lady in unikko red

On the shivering last days of 2015 I finally found the red Marimekko Unikko umbrella that's been on my wish list for so long. And on sale.

When I got home the umbrella met its two red relatives, the fabulastic dress and the iPhone cover. An obvious case of the more the merrier. And a lovely way to round of the year.

merry christmas 2015 ~

This Santa isn't terribly pleased with the live in reindeer. But after a bit of different opinions we did settle the matter reasonably well, Ms Grumpy Santa and I.

Happy, kind, compassionate 

Christmas one and all!

happy second advent 2015

The snoopervisor named Zigne has always been (too) fascinated by candles, from Drac-ulla to countless of close encounters of the unhealthy lighted candles kind. Always supervised by humans of course, but still, i would be nice if one could just enjoy the candles without that nose and whiskers so close by...

And true to form she really HAS to, again and again, inspect the advent candles. Which have been, since it has been an incredibly dark and gloomy week, lit quite a lot.

Hope you're having a
wonderful second advent Sunday!

a blingy christmas cat sweater

As a LOHAS (Lifestyles of health and sustainability) I rarely shop at H&M (for a gazillion reasons obviously). And I do hate bling.

But this. THIS. I spotted it at an H&M store in Helsinki and was actually pretty darn smitten right away - since clearly the template for the bling cat adorning the front of the simple sweater is chubby Zigne. Not as Finnish as a Marimekko Unikko must, but still...



I was very hesistant if I should get it or not in the changing room *seriously, I can't stand bling!* and *really, I do not shop at H&M!*, but M just 'well you know you'll never ever find a similar sweater again...'.

Inaugurated it today. It was lovely. Despite the bling.

And it's very obvious how the Christmas photo of 2015 will look - Zigne just doesn't know it yet.

the unikko sweatshirt dress

Well of course I bought it, the Unikko sweatshirt dress I tried on at the Marimekko outlet in Helsinki. Ever since I spotted it in one of thecompany's newsletter I've wanted one. 

I might have preferred one of the gorgeous Unikko blouses or flowing dresses, but sadly they're all made of silk and not cotton or linen so that won't happen in my world.

If I could change one thing it would be a different neckline, more open or a V-line. Other than that it's a great happy dress that clearly shows you can, quite effortlessly, combine  comfort and style. 

Snoopervisor agrees.

window display happiness helsinki

There are a lot of window displays in Helsinki that get my juices flowing -

and others that certainly don't given that Finland is the 3rd largest producer of fur in Europe (3,8 millions per year compared to Sweden on 5th place with 1 million and that is really really heartbreakingly bad enough)... -

these wonderful Moomin lamps are certainly on my top five list of those! Pretty fantastic, wouldn't you agree? Especially on a dark winter night. Instant happiness.



Marimekko's collection colours for 2015 are just up my colour alley, a lot of pink, red and orange - which obviously the average dull Swede is afraid of, but I love love love -

And I have been oogling this fake fur coat, also from Marimekko, since I saw it on their website. It's adorable and fluffy, but also quite expensive. I don't think that will be the reserve winter coat for my darling happy coat alas.



And some cute cups seen in the Design Quarters shop's window display, shop was never opened when I went by though. Which probably was a good thing. Window shopping should not be underestimated. Still inspiring but also good for the wallet and the planet.

a beautiful little book

I rarely read classics anymore, although I've had both wonderful and awful experiences with them. But mainly I think it is because there are so so SO many new books published that I want to read (and of course never will be able to catch up on) and I prioritize those.

Once again the novella format comes to aid. I had never read anything by Marcel Proust before this one. Possibly because he's rumoured to be *difficult*. But you know what, this little short story about madame de Breyes melancholic summer was so beautiful. Wonderfully written - I can see that in an ideal world you should read it slowly slowly savouring each word - and surprisingly easy to relate to. 

Love issues and emotions never change, deep down we are the same, it's just the way we express ourselves in words that varies through the centuries. I love how connected one can feel with the old classics. Even more so than with modern books, which in many cases, to be honest, leave me feeling rather more alienated than before.

Yes, I should explore more classics. And look for the novellas first.

strawberry smoothie delight

With all the strawberry action going on these days it's, believe it or not, easy to get tired of eating them berries in a bowl. So I decided to do something I rarely do these days (mostly because my blender is pretty useless, old and tired); a smoothie.

And I don't think I've ever made one with fresh strawberries actually.



Initially I thought I'd just go with the strawberries and a splash of almond milk, but that turned out to be too liquid and really rather lacking in natural sweetness. So I added a couple of bananas and a dollop of agave syrup. Which certainly did the perfect trick! The smoothie turned out perfectly delicious and satisfying. And certainly gave me a vitamin C overdose that day.

What's your favourite blend of ingredients
in smoothies you make yourself?

there's a bobbaloo car in da house

I really really have been looking for a proper small sized woollies car for a long time. Promise. But up until now the closest they have been to a car is the rather slow bus tour some years ago.

No more of that now. A fine red car has arrived in da house! So far five of them has tried it out, for a very very very short trip. For a comfortable ride there's room for five, possibly seven if they are of the extra small size. I fear there will be all sorts of uproar about car trips from now on though. There will have to be some system set up.

Still pretty certain they are still too tiny to go on longer road trips on their bobbaloo own though.

swedish strawberries, british inspector

As usual the swedishness of these strawberries doesn't tempt me more than if its origin was another country. Still there are a lot of them around this time of the year and I try and eat as many as possible, without getting tired of them.

So far the quality has been 50 - 50 ie, half have been very good, juicy and sweet, half has had one of these flaws: not sweet or juicy, unripe or moulded within 24 hours before I could even clean them (those were the most expensive once from an organic food store that turned out to be very less than 100% organic AND sold their non-organic strawberries in plastic containers...).

My very best li'l kitchen gadget, the stem gem, has worked a lot this summer. And I have consumed a large amount of vitamin C in strawberry shape.

Hopefully there are lots more to be enjoyed. Summer food delight.

all marimekko dress-ed for success

This has certainly been a summer for quite a few dresses moving in with me. And the Unikko one is not the only Marimekko, it now has the company of two more.

And while I still advocate downsizing, wardrobe cleansing and not hoarding plus anti-consumerism I apparently struggle a bit to not only talk the talk but walk the walk. Of that I am aware. But that, my dears, is a whole other blog post. So in order to keep this one a bright, light, carefree, non-guilty and happy post, let's talk dresses. Because dresses is always a happy subject, old and new.



For the last-ish 25 years I've been a skirt and blouse/sweater gal. Rarely have I been seen, or comfortable, in jeans and trousers. They make me feel uncomfortable and restrained, like I've dressed in someone else's clothes. While skirts make me happy, at ease and comfortable. From a lawyer in a suit, to a lawyer in a skirt and cardigan to an ex-lawyer whose suit is basically just that; skirt + shirt + cardigan althrough the year.

The past 8ish years or so I've been lucky enough to find really great dresses too. Possibly not as many as I would like to have as a change in my wardrobe all-year-round, but more than good enough for most people. *She writes with slightly pink cheeks*.



Because to be honest, a really good and comfortable dress that fits your body-type and curves (or non-curves) and will last in quality and style is hard to find. So whenever luck would have it and a perfect one comes your way you really have to say yes to the dress, right? Right.

So that's what I've done recently, not only once but twice apparently. First one is, granted, the kind of dress I've dreamt about for years and years but never ever found the perfect model that fits; the shirtdress. I had oogled this fabulous orange-white linen dress since this spring.



I would gladly have tried it on pre-sale except it has not been available in the Swedish Marimekko shops in this model. I've laid my hands on the same fabric in another dress though and it was so lovely. I adore linen, but rarely find good clothes in it. (Laid hands as in touched, not bought,)

So when the sale finally came I was really keen, even though I didn't know my size or fit of dress, to buy it online. I'm so happy to say it fits like a comfortable glove. So I am now avery  happy proprietor of a great summer shirtdress! Yes it does have side pockets. Fab fab fab.



A professional AND summery relaxed all in one dress me thinks. Over to dress number two:

When in Berlin I tried a Marimekko jersey dress on just for fun. It was in a black and white doodle pattern, oversized with side pockets and it looked lovely - although I never ever buy black/white things ya' know, this one did have a quirky pattern - until I put it on and the top part of the dress model was so ridiculously tight while the bottom part had room for someone 10 sizes larger. Such a pitiful design flaw. But well, I definitely hadn't thought of getting yet another dress this summer. I really hadn't. It was alright. Really.



Then as luck would have it I popped by one of the shops in Stockholm where they now have 60% sale and spotted a black/white doodle jerseydress in a likely to fit size all alone there on a shelf. tried it on and it was adorable! I will never ever be a black/white person of course, but this one is such a fun piece (alas no side pockets, it wasn't the same model as in Berlin). For a really great price. I will save it for autumn I think though, it will look great with colourful stockings and red shoes. And it's nice to have something unworn and fresh to look forward to I think.

And that's the story about this year's summer dress-mania. Hopefully they will make many a day stylish in the many years to come. All dress-ed for success etc etc.

playing tourist in my own city

I've talked about taking one of those hop on hop off buses in Stockholm with a friend for ages now and finally we did. Unfortunately we ended up chosing the wrong bus company for it, Red Buses Sightseeing. The tour was crap in so many ways and you can read all about it in my Yelp review.



So if you're looking forward to having a good tour, with a great audio guide and a clever ride in Stockholm, whatever you do do not chose Stockholm Red Buses. You will be sorely disappointed and miss out on great sights and good information.



Felt like a mystery shopper when I did the tour and discovered just how bad it was and I will certainly email the company and tell them just how bad it was + give them tips of improvement. I've done many hop on hop off-tours in other European cities and they have all been great, some more than others and I can safely say that absolutely none has been as unprofessional and irrelevant as this one.



As far as I know there are two other companies doing the hop on hop off tours in Stockholm, the green buses by Strömma  and the other red buses by City Sightseeing, surely they can't be equally bad to the Stockholm Red Buses? Obviously I haven't tried the City Sightseeing-buses in Stockholm, but I have enjoyed them in other European cities, hopefully they are as good here.



Despite having thrown away 280 SEK on a rubbish bus tour it was a lovely day. All due to the friend-company, the unusual view from the top of a bus and the great lunch we had afterwards.



You'll most likely have a lovely visit to Stockholm, but chose your bus tour company carefully. Actually you will probably have a better tour around the city with a regular bus and plan your own intinerary.

In fact I've put together a little list on Yelp on what to see, do and experience in Stockholm  - in Swedish, but feel free too Google translate it even if it won't be as accurate you'll probably get the idea.

Welcome to Stockholm!

welcome to my colourful garden corner

Certain lassies might think the new garden seat cushions are for them. But really they're not. 

I had always said that when I got around getting another perky garden chair they would get a pair of special seat cushions. 

I had my eyes set on a nice one from Gudrun Sjödén, but when I saw this - in the same style as my carrot cardigan from last summer - it really REALLY screamed my vegetable loving name. 

Organic cotton in the most wonderful pattern. Very robust and comfortable for the heinie. Snatched the very two last ones. So happy and relieved about that.

Inaugurated them with a luxuary breakfast the other day. It was de-lovely and I'm looking forward to more weather permitting summer days to come.

And no no no, they are not perfect seat cushions for adorable fluffies. They are not.

Chairs from IKEA

Seat cushions from Gudrun Sjödén