Sweet Memories (and lots of pictures)

Hi! I'm back home again and I brought some sweet memories and photos.

Vasa, a Swedish 17th century warship. She was built by appointment of king Gustav II Adolf of Sweden. He was a protestant king waging war against the catholic king Sigismund of Poland who had claims on the swedish throne. Poland had a large fleet and Gustav II Adolf wanted to match that fleet. Vasa was supposed to have been crown jewel in that fleet. It took three years to finish the ship.  In August the 10th 1628 Vasa takes her maiden journey. The journey only lasts for about 20 minutes. A strong wind catches the ship, because of  her high center of gravity she tilts. All of the canon holes are open to show the ship's full power. When Vasa tilts water rushes in under deck. The ballast consist of round rocks that all roll with the ships movement causing her to tilt even more. Vasa goes down. Luckily almost all crew is rescued since large crowds and lots of boats have gathered along the stream of Stockholm to watch Vasa in all her splendor. Somewhere between 25 and 50 people perished. Vasa rested on the floodbed until 1961 and since 1990 resides in a museum especially built for her.

The royal castle in Stockholm, residence of King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia.

Clothes worn by members of the royal family of Sweden at the wedding of princess Margaretha (a sister of the king) in 1964.

Dress worn by princess Sibylla, mother of our king Carl XVI Gustaf, to festivites surrounding the wedding her daughter princess Desirée also in 1964.

Wedding dresses worn by swedish princesses.

The royal castle in pouring rain. That black thing in the upper right corner is my umbrella.

Luckily, the rain let up and allowed for a cloudy but dry wedding!

I wore: dress from Sister's Point, shoes Donna Girl, cardigan MQ, headband H&M, earrings Judith Ripka and an old bag that I bought about 14 years ago.

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!

Dior's new New Look

John Galliano has NAILED it!!! I am in loooove!

Dior's spring 2010 haute couture collection is the perfect combination of history, fashion now, feminity, fierceness and sexy. The silhouette is clearly Christian Dior New Look. Inspiration for the looks seems to have been found at the Ascot and a weekend of hunting at an english castle. Some of the looks are for haute couture fox hunting and some are made for drinking afternoon tea after the Ascot horse races.

And the accessories!

The shoes are FABULOUS!! And the long gloves, the HUGE jewellry and the HATS!

And my trademark look exaggerated! The bun!

And the evening gowns!!!! Every single one is beautiful!

To see the entire collection go to style.com If you don't you'll miss out on some serious inspiration and style!