Busy week-end

This week-end has been lovely! 


On Saturday Aline and I went to the Foodie festival in Oxford. Lots of different small producers were showing off their goods and giving out tasters so we tried lots of scrumptious things. My favorites were Ismael's sauses, Rapeseed oil from Cotswold Gold, Fudge from YumYum tree, liquorice and mint tea from teapigs, Black Garlic and conscious chocolate -which is dairy and gluten free and absolutely divine. They were serving kangaroo and ostrich burgers,but I must admit the cute photos of kangaroos put me off.

Thanks to Angeline for the photo!

On Sunday we went to Greenbelt. Even though we didn't get to go to many of the events it was still great fun to walk around and soak up the vibe.  


   

Sometinhg in the house that inspired me today!

Our bookcase! 

I've inherited it from my Grandparents who used to live in a village outside Oxford. When my Grandma had to move after my Grandpa passed away it was given to me. The bookcase use to sit in their breakfast room and was filled with old books and china. I used to imagine it in my kitchen filled with china, beautiful glasses, tablecloths and baskets with nice craft supplies. Currently our kitchen is to small so it lives in our living room filled with our books. 

Stefan and I like books, this is only a tiny fraction of them... we like reading out loud too so lots of these books hold fond memories of nights curled up on the sofa with Stefan reading to me and me sewing or knitting. 

There is one book in particular I want to share with you today - it's a rather new addition to our bookcase and already very much loved. It's called "Tales from outer suburbia" by Shaun Tan. I have completely fallen in love with his stories and illustrations.

I especially like his story called Eric (my brother is called Erik, and thinking of him makes me happy too). Eric is an exchange student who sees our boring things around the house in a new light. Right up my ally. You really should look him up! 

One final thing - do feel free to leave me a comment or a reaction, it's nice to know if someone's  out there! It would totally make my day!

Sometinhg in the house that inspired me today!

Today's inspiration:

A heart of buttons, a cool card and Aline's giraffe.

A Family tradition

Every year the cherry tree at my parents house is loaded with cherries. They are rather sour and therefore an acquired taste if eaten straight from the tree. For several years now my mother has made a delicious cherry liquor with them - which in turn has become the cornerstone of our family's traditional Christmas pudding. As we are going to have Christmas at home for the first time this year, it is our turn to keep the traditions going. And of course give me a taste of the big family Christmas which I'll miss terribly.

So on the last day of our holiday in Oslo my nephew and I picked cherries that I could take home to Oxford with me so that I could have a go at making my own cherry liquor. 

Back home in my kitchen I layered cherries and sugar in a big (sterilized) jar and topped up with Gin as I had been instructed by mum. And I've been turning the jar a few times a day for the past week until the sugar has dissolved. So far very easy. And now for the hard bit - letting it marinade in the cupboard until Christmas...    

So if your in Oxford for Christmas pop by for a try!

Sometinhg in the house that inspired me today!

Now that I am back at home and settling into a rhythm with Aline, I am inevitably spending more time at home. But I don't want to degenerate into nothingness - or more likely end up watching soaps on Iplayer all day - so I have a given myself a little task. 
- Which is to notice and appreciate one thing or situation that inspires me. I want it first and foremost to be something in the house as a way of being conscious of that being at home with Aline is not a matter of putting my life on hold or being trapped at home and that there is beauty in the everyday moments of life.

So this is my first contribution:

A

A belt that I bought this summer, a card I bought yesterday, a flee-market find from a few years ago and a flower from our garden. 

Good to be back! 

Hello again!

I'm now back from our trip to Norway and Aline has now been introduced to the family. There I also meet up with my friend Ingvid, who has this amazingly inspiring sewing blog -Drømmehjertet She is celebrating her 10 000 visitor with a prize-draw - go have a look.

 This is some of the lovely fabric she is planning to give away! I hope it ends up in my mailbox...