the diy book chair

One of the cutest, most brilliant armchairs I've ever seen! Spotted in a bookstore and such a great inspiration for a DIY, wouldn't you agree?

Discarded and thrifted books, and wood, together they get a new life as a chair, table or some other furniture. And if you haven't decided on the perfect Christmas gift yet, well it's high time to get building!

same same but different cat

Spotted this adorable ceramic cat by Swedish ceramic designer Lisa Larsson in an antique shop's window. I grew up with lots of classic ceramic pieces by Larsson, which was a popular thing to have in a Swedish home during the 60-70ies. So to be honest I'm kind of tired of the look, although I can still see the beauty and appeal of their design of course, I'm just not so interested in having even more stuff and pieces that need dusting (which certainly isn't a favourite thing of mine).

But the ceramic cats in different shapes and sizes are indeed adorable. And especially so when they look spot on like mine, naturally.

So can you spot which one is a real life colourpint Ztina and which one that's made of clay in the quartet below?

first batch of lussekatter 2015

The first batch of the classic Swedish saffron buns (lussebullar or lussekatter) I usually bake for Lucia on December 13. But I decided to be a bit early this year. And tried out a new recipe which claimed to be "the best lussekatter ever".

It was not.

The buns turned out rather dry. And very tasteless. The latter could be due to that the saffron was crap, but that has never happened to me before, so who knows.

The recipe was vegan, but since it's impossible to find dairy-free butter in Sweden without palmoil I can unfortunately never go fully vegan when I bake recipes that calls for butter, so I used my usual liquid blend of butter/oil. And that can certainly not have been the reason for the buns turning out so dry. Most Lucia bun-recipes are pretty much alike, with only small variations.

As I shy away from dairy products as much as possible nowadays I don't use quark in the buns anymore - this is the old trustworthy recipe for lussekatter with quark, if you want to try it out - but that wasn't an issue last year, when I omitted that and used oat milk. The buns were flavourful and moist anyway. I don't think there's a vegan substitute for quark and oat milk usually makes bread extra moist.

I will bake a second batch next week and fingers crossed they'll turn out much better than this first one. Pretty ain't everything, but flavour and consistency is.

Read all about it: 
Previous years lussebulle-baking posts

the organic fairtrade owl dress

Apart from a sustainable, vegan world of peace and kindness, a fairtrade owl dress owl in organic cotton jersey from People Tree was pretty much all I wanted for Christmas.

I spotted it at Bric-a-Brac when I picked up my first prize gift card a couple of months ago, but they didn't have it in (what I presume would be) my size. So I looked in the PT webshop and made a pre-Christmas wish.

I was heard and yesterday it arrived. I guessed the size and I'm glad to report it's a delovely, quirky dress and that it fits in a lovely way. 

Call me the Owl lady in teal. With perfect side pockets. Love the neckline details that adds a bit of style and versatility. And I'm fairly sure you don't necessarily have to wear it with matching glasses and boots. Though it's nice to know I can if I wan't too.

That's my Christmas sorted. Looking forward to finding thoughtful gifts for others now. 

the thoughts of an introvert

A while back I saw a t-shirt with a print that said "Introverts unite! We're here, we're uncomfortable and we want to go home" - needless to say it was very easy to relate to. And one day soon I'll get that t-shirt.

For now, after spending a day in the city I'm ever so grateful (no matter how nice the city visit/meeting has been) to know I usually don't have to do that the next day or two or even more days in a row. That I can work from home, not having to share my space with others, plan my days in whatever way I want just as long as I meet my deadlines.

That's bliss. And deep gratitude. Plus it does make me appreciate my must-days amongst people the more, both from an inspirational and introvert point of view.

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!

acorn tea strainer

Since acorns are one of my favourite shapes and things again and again and... this tea strainer - like the manatee one also from Kränku's web shop - gently called my name. 

Not the greatest fan of silicone kitchen utensils, I think they're a bit slimy and not easy to clean in general (like the submarine tea strainer). But sometimes their shape still calls... And this one happens to be really easy to both fill and clean (like the umbrella tea strainer, of which half the strainer has been played away by a tyke cat named Ztina unfortunately. I hope to find it again some day...).

I try to use strainers as much as possible though with my fondness for rooibos and its fine tea leaves I have to use the nifty T-sacs a lot too. But variety is the spice of life etc.

Do you have a favourite tea strainer?

moomin chewing gum

Yup, there's *a bit* of a Moomin theme going on here now. A Helsinki trip can do that, apparently. (Even if I never did get to fondle that fantastic Ivana Helsinki Moomin dress irl...)

And obviously really cute, good for the teeth chewing gums is a must too. The yellow bag with raspberry & fruit flavour I kept for myself and sadly the flavour is very short lived. But the bag is adorable and the lack of long lasting flavour doesn't diminish the teeth and gum benefits. And it wasn't exactly the investment of the year.

the christmas soaps are back

Just like last year Swedish soap company Gunry has released liquid soaps with Christmassy scents. This time with two new scents Hollyoak Cranberry plus Apple Cinnamon, the Hollyoak Cranberry smells like cheap aftershave unfortunately, but the Apple Cinnaon is really lovely.

So far I haven't seen the wonderful Candycane one from last year, but I've heard it's still around.

moomin pillow case

This is certainly not my first Moomin pillow case and probably not my last, but it is my latest. And one of the cutest. I love when they tell a little story rather than show a scene.

Plus it always put a smile on my face at bedtime.