Autumn is upon us

So, long time no read.I haven't been blogging for a while. Autumn is a busy time.
It is time to harvest what the garden and the forest has given us,

time to turn that harvest into jam, marmalades, bread, muffins, pies,

marmalades from left: peach with menthe, plum with cinnamon and black currant

time to pick also the non-edibles from the woods and make decorations,

time to sew curtains for the kitchen from grandmother's old hand-embroidered sheets that I coloured grey,

time to pick up some "new" reads from the thrift store for those long autumn eves,

time to raid the after-summer-sales and thrift store for some new loves

like this thrifted dress and tights bought at sale that goes perfectly with some of my old loves

my grandmother's brooch

and these gorgeous vintage leather shoes

and then, the love you thought lost because of a price too high suddenly appears on the sale rack for a fifth of the price! Thank heaven and all the angels! The dream dress now resides in my closet. Til it falls apart. ♥

Autumn is also the time for a new season and I will soon be back with some of my favorites from the runway!

Cold Weather and Creativity

Yesterday I cleaned up in my "creative corner".

My mother's aunt got this desk probably around the 1930's from a family she was working for.

In my little creative corner I have trinkets, treasures, ribbons, scrapmaterial, inspiration, books, magazines, pearls, wool, thread, glue, paint, pretty papers, tools, scissors, pencils and a lot, lot more!

And when I get a moment by my desk, this might be the result.

A bit of decoupage,

cards

or some jewellry.

Today we went to pick up a dear friend at the airport and have lunch at our favorite Chinese restaurant. It has been a cold and windy day, but with the evening came the sun. I really hope we will enjoy real summer temperatures soon!

Jeans and necklace Forever 21, Cardigan Gina Tricot, Tank American Eagle, Earrings was a gift from mom and dad (one is  black and one blue and they are REAL pencils!) and the shoes are thrifted.

And I got this cute award from the lovely Silver Strands! Check out her inspiring and empowering blog!

This really is an honor! So I will share ten things that make me happy.

1. My family!

2. Sharing laughter and tears with real friends

3. Great food

4. A sunset at the beach

5. Being creative

6. A feel good movie with some popcorn

7. Laying on the sofa reading a fashion magazine

8. Watching things grow in my garden

9. Finding the perfect item at the thrift store

10. Watching my kids learn

Here are the two bloggers I would like to pass this award on to!

The Looking Glass Vintage
and
Hey Gorgeous

These are two fabulous women whose blog posts are always lovely and inspiring! Check them out!

A Major Bookworm and a Whole Lotta Lovely!

♥ My little boy's room  ♥

The framed angel was a gift from my parents on his namegiving/blessing day and the hamster is from my mom's childhood. She got it as a gift from a German boy they had living at their house during the summers. A lot of German kids spent their summers in Sweden in the decades following World War Two. The shells I have picked on various vacations.

The porcelain dog comes from my mother's family, I really don't know who used to own it. I loooooove these books! "Guess How Much I Love You" The drawings are so pretty and the stories are so lovable. These four are themed after the seasons. Cute!

My kids play a lot with these Duplos. And of course more books!

♥ My daughter's room. ♥

She also got an angel on her namegiving/blessing day, but she got it from our lovely neighbours.

This plate is from my childhood. My grandfather worked at one of Sweden's finest porcelain factories, I have a lot of pretty porcelain!

My daughter's bookshelf, she loves books!

♥ My books ♥

See what my husband made for me!

When we moved into this house four and a half year ago, I gave away a LOT of books. But still I have quite a few left. My husband made me a wall of books! It is like my mini library. It sits in our study/crafts room. Actually I gave away so much, now I have room for some new ones!

That picture of me and hubby kissing was taken atop of the Empire State Building, even though some think it looks like we are in prison. The picture behind it is four generations, the baby is me, then it's my mom, my grandma and my great grandma.

And one of my favourite books!

It is called Hattliv (Hatlife). Ylva Elzén has taken pictures of elderly women in Stockholm wearing hats and interviewed them about their lives. Lovely!

My four year old daughter loves this book too. She will go get it and say, "Mommy, can you please read to me about one of the ladies?"

Today I am wearing my "brave" skirt. It is a lot deeper orange than these pictures show. I cannot get my little camera to capture the colour. It is really bright!

I am not wearing it because I am brave today, but because I need to be! Keep your fingers crossed for me and send a little prayer!

Skirt was a gift from mom, random cutoff tights, tank Tommy Hilfiger, cardigan H&M kids, necklace KappAhl.

(also, I just have to brag a little more about the hubby, can you believe he built that bed behind me!?)

Getting crafty!

Yesterday I finally pulled out my sewing machine again!

It used to be my grandmother's. It runs like clockwork!

I pulled out the pretty bunny print fabric that I got from my mother-in-law. She works at a store that sells fabric, curtains and sewing supplies.

And I made a curtain for my son's bedroom.

Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head

Today is a rainy one.

The down side is that I'm getting wet and the weeds are spreading faster than I can get rid of them.

The upside is...

... I get to break out the cute rain gear...

... and things are starting to sprout in my kitchen garden. These are radishes.

Still today I will huddle up inside with a cup of hot green tea with honey...

... dreaming away with this amazing Vogue feature.

(All of the pictures above were shot by me inside and around our house.)

To see all the gorgeous pictures from "Two if by the sea" go to Vogue US. It is shot by Mikael Jansson (Swedish!!!) featuring Raquel Zimmermann and Matthew Morrison. Had no idea who the man was, apparently he's an actor starring in Glee. Zimmermann and Jansson I knew of. Maybe I should start watching more television.