Wednesday, June 30, 2010

My love for vintage and fashion moments that changed my life, Part II

So, at last here comes part two! So get ready for a long read! In case you missed pt I you can read it here!

Yesterday I had a reunion with my old classmates from "high school" (the term does not really apply in Sweden). It has been ten years since we graduated, we were eighteen years old. We were ninteen in our class, all girls. It was a great group and all have grown into fantastic women. Only six of could make it to the reunion since we are scattered all over the globe. We had a great time!

Not unexpected it got me thinking about old times. What is it about reunions that make you evaluate your whole life? Yesterday in the car on my way there, I started thinking. How would I describe my life? What happened the past ten years? What am I gonna tell them? Somehow you just want to be someone, just like in all those silly comic movies about reunions where the characters lie about their achievements. But what is an achievement? Really? Is it money? Is it a fantastic career? Fame?

Isn't it strange that the first question often is, "So what do you do?"? Meaning, so what do you do for a living? Maybe it should be, "Are you happy with life?"?

I just finished reading "For One More Day" by Mitch Albom. A fantastic book about life, death, motherhood, love and everything else human. There was one part that really stuck with me when Chick's (the main character) mom tells him she worked as a cleaning lady to get him through college. His reaction is a feeling of shame. And he tells her: Is that what you always wished to be, a cleaning lady? And her calm response is: I was what I always wished to be, a mother.

In the ten years since we left school and our parental homes behind I have found the love of my life, married him, gotten a master degree, lost both my grand mothers, found new friends, lost friends, worked, given birth to two kids and started to raise them, become a house owner, run my own business, become an aunt, been hospitalized for two weeks and coming to accept that I will probably die here before they figure it out, had surgery, recovered both mentally and physically and my style has evolved and I think it is just becoming more ME every day.

People often refer to style as something superficial, something elaborate we present to the world to create an image of ourselves. I think style could AND should be the exact opposite. Style should come from your core. Style should be an extension of your personality.

When I was in "high school" my family moved from a big town to a small town in another part of the country. We moved a lot when I was a kid because of my dad's job. The town we were moving from was (at least by Swedish standards) rather large and with a lot of diversity. The town we were moving to was a small town. And dare I say, not very accepting...

I have always loved vintage clothes and experimenting with my style. At the school I left different was rule. No one lifted one eyebrow if you turned up one day in pyjama pants and your dad's shirt. I used to dress in long flowing black skirts, jeans, thirties coats, berets and everything I found in a closet at home or at a thrift store. I just wore what I liked and didn't think twice about it. Then we moved. I was stared at. It was like they where all wearing uniform by choice. And I bent. And twisted. And tried to conform. I learned to shut up. I am a major chatterbox. And when I moved two years later to go to university I realized, I had lost myself.

The way back was sometimes painful. I started by throwing away all horrible, boring clothes I had bought even though I didn't even like them. And so the journey began.

So never say style is superficial. It is an artform and tells a story about who you are, who you'd like to be, where you've been and where you're going. And whether you are a person who care about fashion or not your style signals something to the world. I would like to signal hope, dreams and a whole lotta love!


Saturday, June 26, 2010

Food, Fun and Great Rides

So, you wish for some recipes? Well, your wish is my command! I will throw in some recipes now and then. I enjoy cooking and baking and often come up with my own recipes.

My Own Custard

2,5 dl milk
1,5 dl cream
2 tablespoon corn starch
2 egg yolks
1 teaspoon raw sugar

Whisk together in a sauce pan. Bring to a boil, let it boil til it thickens. Don't let the sauce overcook or it will separate. Pull the pan from the heat and add 3 teaspoons vanilla sugar. Pour it over pie or use it to fill a cake.


This is me yesterday on my way to Midsummer celebration! I wore the thrifted dress I bought last weekend, my Judith Ripka heart earrings, sandals from H&M and DIY hairpins made from metal string and pearls.


This picture was taken on the way home, when my shoulder was sunburnt. The weather was fantastic!


My nailpolish, "Lacy not racy" by Essie.


The celebration took place in a rural area by the sea. So beautiful!


There were a lot of different activites like: guess the size of the log, dancing, horses and wagon, boat rides, shooting hoops, darts and also there was a car show! We had so much fun.




My Prada "inspired" glasses are from Forever 21.


This is the real thing, they cost a bit more than the six dollars I paid for mine.

Thursday, June 24, 2010

A Midsummer Night's Dream





Yes, I loooove Shakespeare. And I own a copy of "A Midsummer Night's Dream" and read it now and then. It is a very readable play. And also tomorrow is Midsommarafton, "Midsummer's Eve". So I have been preparing by baking bread, making Swedish cream and strawberry cakes, strawberry jam, homemade custard and a raspberry-blueberry pie. I still have to do tuna sandwiches. Midsommarafton is an ancient Swedish holiday. In old times people were celebrating the longest day of the year and performed fertility rituals and dances. Today it is a celebration of summer.


This is a traditional midsummer pole. It is dressed in leaves and flowers. Many people also wear a flower wreath in their hair. After the pole is raised the dancing starts. Today this old tradition is mainly for the children, but there are some dance groups still performing traditional dances in traditional clothes.


Our garden and the ditches surrounding it is filled with flowers in bloom!






And look at our kitchen garden now! I have already pulled up the first harvest of radish.


And this is what I was wearing today. At least until I was making pork chops in tomato sauce and spilled all over myself...


A tank from Aeropostale and khaki shorts that was a "hand-me-down" from my sister-in-law. The khaki did not mingle well with tomato sauce... I love the pink lining of the shorts!

Tomorrow we will be celebrating with friends and family. I will wear my "new" thrifted dress and have a great time! And you will read about it soon! :) Happy Midsummer Weekend to all you lovelies!

Monday, June 21, 2010

Royal Wedding

We have been visiting my sister and her family this weekend. We had a great time, even though the rain was pouring down the whole time. Most of Saturday was spent in front of the TV anyway because our Crown Princess was getting married.

The seven year long love story between Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden and Daniel Westling from a small Swedish town is every bit a fairy tale. And so was their wedding, it was soooo beautiful! They broadcasted the whole ceremony, their tour afterwards through Stockholm in a horse carriage and then in the royal boat, the speeches, the cake cutting and the dance. The speech Daniel (he now holds the title Prince Daniel, Duke of Västergötland and Knight of the Serafim order) held to his bride was so touching and there were huge crowds outside the church and the royal castle cheering and waving.




The Crown Princess was wearing a dress by Swedish haute couture designer Pär Engsheden. Her train was 5 meters, about 16,4 feet. The veil and the cameo tiara was worn by her mother, Queen Silvia on her wedding day. The veil was first worn by Queen Sofia when she was wed to King Oscar II 1858. The cameo tiara, that she wore as a crown, is believed to be a gift from Emperor Napoleon to his wife Josephine 1809. It has been inherited for centuries and now belongs to the Swedish King Carl IX Gustaf. If you wish to learn more about cameos check out Vested Bee Vintage's great post on the subject!


The wedding cake was eleven stories, about 3,3 meters and weighed 250 kilos which is about 550 pounds!

Here are some of the dresses I loved on the red carpet! Which was actually light blue.


This is Princess Madeleine, the Crown Princess' sister and their mother Queen Silvia. I love that blue colour!


This is the sister of the groom Anna Westling Blom and her husband. She is not used to these kinds of events, but I think she outdid a lot of royalties and socialites in this dress! She is also a mother of two!


Queen Rania of Jordan. I didn't really love the dress, but hey, she's Queen Rania! She is so beautiful I wouldn't notice if she was wearing rags. Also she is a great role model for any woman!


The Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt and his wife Filippa who is also a politician.

And my absolute favorite..


The Australien-born Crown Princess Mary with her husband Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark. I looooved her dress! The fabric was amazing and the lace detailing was perfect!

All of Sweden has gone wedding crazy and you can buy all kinds of products with the Crown Princess couple and a pattern made especially for this event.

Like Wedding Chocolate.

We also found time for some thrifting and I found a cute floral dress.


We just enjoyed each other's company and a lot of great food!




 I hope you all had a fabulous weekend too!

Thursday, June 17, 2010

Summer Checklist




This summer I want to...


...hang out on the beach...


Vogue Italia June 2010


Vogue Germany July 2010

...spend time in my garden and in nature...


Vogue Nippon February 2007

...be with my family and take care of them and our home...



Vogue Italia June 2010


Vogue US July 2010

...take some great pictures...

Vogue US July 2010

...get dressed up for some great parties...


Vogue US May 2010


...eat great food, hold hands with my man, hug my kids, read fabulous books, listen to the rain, light a candle and play classic board games as the sun sets, wake up to birdsong, take long walks, spend time with friends, find something fabulous at a vintage store (I dream about it when I sleep, for real!), walk slowly through museums, be madly in love (even after eight years!) and hopefully find that perfect job!