Stockholm i mitt hjärta (Stockholm in my heart)

After New York, Stockholm is my favorite city. I've been longing to go there again for some time now, and reading this and this blog (scroll down a bit for several great Stockholm posts) just reinforced that longing. To cut a long story short, my friend Maggie was eager to go somewhere too, and yesterday we booked our tickets and hotel, leaving in a couple of weeks. We intend to explore and be tourists rather than shoppers... I still hope to make a few vintage bargains. It is Stig Lindberg and Marianne Westman country after all.

I visited Stockholm for the first time 10 years ago with the experienced traveller (not to mention shopper!) Paul Löwe (now of Sweet Paul fame) and I couldn't have asked for a better guide. I picked up the Stockholm Modern - a guide book to the city's design, then, and although some of the info is now dated, I still love it. (It's a shame it hasn't been updated, because it is such a well designed book.) Today I picked up my second Stockholm guide book, the Phaidon Wallpaper City Guide. It is very small, but has some good stuff in it.


In recent years I've come across the program Allsång på Skansen on Swedish TV, and having watched it a few times, it grew on me. To the extent that I now want to go there and be part of the crowd... NOT because of the audience's participation in the singing or because I hope to get on TV or anything (heaven forbid!). I think it must be that whole Stockholm atmosphere brainwashing me. So, fingers crossed, I might finally make this tacky little dream come true :-D



Top image from flickr.

Mon Amie from Rörstrand

This beautiful cup and plate are new products from Rörstrand featuring a vintage pattern by Marianne Westman from the 1950s. It's called Mon Amie (My Friend). Just right for the season, I think.

My little gardener

I'm not good in the hot weather. Sorry about the complaint, but I'm just not. Luckily I have a little garden and someone to entertain me while out there.



Watering the flowers.


Watering the dog.

Maxi dresses

My latest obsession is caused by fantastic weather - I want a maxi dress. But can I be asked to trail the shops in this heat...? I fear defeat on this mission, so I've been searching a bit online, and I quite like these:


By Marimekko. Breaking the bank, I'm afraid.


From mail order catalogue LaRedoute. I might just get this one, taking the risk that it will not fit.


H&M. Too synthetic, I'm afraid. Nothing but cotton will work in the heat.


From Asos. Not available in my size...

Coming up roses

It's suddenly turned really really hot and summery here, and I'm finding myself trying to fix up the garden a bit. It doesn't come naturally to me I don't think, green fingers and all that, but I do like some colourful flowers around me. I was trimming some rose bushes (which for once have decided to bloom fantastically) and three tiny rose buds came off, so I put them in my smallest vase, not expecting much. But this morning they had sprung and were quite stunning in their minuscule way.




Have a nice weekend everyone – I hope to bring you some more summer treats later.

Etsy shop update

I have just added some items from my vintage mid-century collection to my Etsy shop. Please check it out for more info and bigger images.

The shipping costs are based on International shipping outside of Europe. Shipping within Norway will be less than half that, and anywhere else in Europe somewhere in between. Don't hesitate to ask if you have any questions :-)

Designer home: Eero Aarnio

I keep a scrap book with articles of houses and interiors that I like. One of the houses I have in there is Finnish designer Eero Aarnio's. If you're not already familiar with the name, he is the designer behind such classics as the Ball Chair (1963), Tomato (1971), Pastillo (1968), Puppy (2005) and Double Bubble lamp (2001). Aarnio is regarded as one of the great innovators of modern furniture design, experimenting with plastics and bright colors in his furniture pieces. He's represented in some of the world's most prestigious museums (naturally :-).

I particularly like the bright, light feel of this house, all the built-in bookshelves and the touches of bright colors.

These photographs are all borrowed from photographer Rachel Smith.

Kiddie room

I got the latest Expedit shelf from Ikea that I like so much. I decided it would be great for storage in our son's room, as toys and books started to take on a life of their own, multiplying like rabbits. Unfortunately Ikea were all out the red drawers that fits the shelf so nicely, so I will have to go back for those at some point. The shelf was really easy to assemble, by the way. Although I was a bit taken aback when I opened the boxes and found the little bag of screws and counted 76 wooden pegs...

When I put the dollhouse on top of the shelf, I thought it was quite interesting how the shelf compartments resemble the room compartments in a dollhouse. If you're looking at this thinking it's a bit too high up to be played with for my boy, you are right. It's MY dollhouse, you see, and as long as I can reach, selfish, childish Mum is happy. (To be honest, he's not that into it anyway. Cars are more his thing.)




The first sewing project to come out of my new workshop is this banner of flags (what IS the proper name for it?). The framed illustrations hanging on the walls are two etsy finds, one by Mrs Eliot books and the other one by Dee Beale.