For a number of years, my mother in law has received beautiful Christmas tree decorations from her mother in law (and her own mother). They are all in yellow gold (from Georg Jensen) and function as candle holders, making the tree look like a dream in gold.

I like the idea very much. Gold is not really my thing, however, and for many years our own tree — whenever we have had the time to put one up — has been in silver and white. Browsing through the stores earlier today, I noticed that Georg Jensen also has the Christmas Nordica collection, which features Christmas decorations in stainless steel, white and black gold. I fell for it immediately, and, following the example of my mother in law, I'm considering putting it on this year's wishlist.

Images from Georg Jensen, put together in a collage by me.

I've been working pretty hard for the last few days and since I'm done with most of the things I need to do, I decided to take a break and have a cup of tea.

I found my favourite tea in one of the major department stores in town the other day, and now I'm enjoying every second of drinking it.

A few years ago I discovered the Ambient Nights project by chance. I completely fell in love with Alex Hephaestion's Brighton Beach and I have continued to download his work from time to time after that. It's all for free, but you can donate a sum should you want to.

I will focus a lot on work today, but I nevertheless took the time to take a few pictures through the window this morning. The harbour was calm and quiet and the colours of the rising sun were amazing. Ok. Back to work.

It actually didn't take more than two days for the candlesticks to arrive and I'm so pleased with them. They will be perfect on the windowsill in a month's time or so.

The other day we had lasagne (to my youngest's immense delight... ok... we weren't actually unhappy either) and we decided to put on a table cloth and use real napkins and Swirl napkin rings. It all turned out... gray... but I kind of liked the subdued colour scheme, especially when it was accentuated by the vivid yellow of the hawthorne juice (to the right, elderflower juice to the left).

I just found Poladroid, a free application which enables you to drag and drop digital images onto the Poladroid interface to create something that looks like a Polaroid photo, and of course I had to play around with it. Intuitive and really cool!

I've come to realise what is expected of me: a wish list. For Christmas, birthdays and other occasions that "requires" gifts. And reluctantly, but obediently and increasingly more enthusiasticly, I write them.

I have always enjoyed looking for gifts, I really like finding the perfect gift that someone wants but haven't thought of buying, and to me the surprise bit has often been as important as the actual gift. Moreover, I also *really* like to receive surprise gifts.

In the past, my parents have usually spoilt everything by telling me beforehand what I'm going to get (sometimes even bringing me with them shopping for it). Alternatively, I get the same thing that I've received for the past ten years. "Oh, it's so practical! Then we know that you like what you are going to get." Yeah, great! I do like the gifts, but the surprise part is gone completely.

When I met my partner I learned that there are other intricate ways to do it as well. In his family the tradition is to write wish lists. Everyone writes perhaps five or six things that they wish for, things they have thought of, things they would like to have, but haven't bought yet. The first time it was a shock. I was sitting there staring at a blank e-mail window, not knowing what to write, but then I learned the trick: When you come to think of something you would like to have for Christmas (even if it's in July), don't buy it! Just add it to your mental wish list and remember to wish for them when the time comes. Since I'm bad at remembering these things I decided to use Wishabi on Flickr. That's where I keep my list, never further away than a mouse click.

So... on my list right now: the amazingly beautiful Decemberdage (which admittedly is a bit difficult to get hold of, but I haven't given up yet) by Dorrit Elmquist and Birgitta Wolfgang Drejer, equally interesting and beautiful Franske forbindelser by Lise Septimus Krogh, designer Holger Strøm's classic IQ light, my favourite tea from Kusmi (available at Urban Living), a good frying pan is something I really need, and why not crisp, white bed linen such as these from The White Company. I kind of like this tradition now. Not a "proper" surprise, but there are at least a few things to choose from on the list. And we do step away from the list occasionally — if we find the perfect gift.

I decided to work on the layout of this blog a bit more, something I haven't had that much time to do earlier. I *think* I'm done, but I'm sure I will tweak it again sooner or later.

I was reminded by Weronica earlier today that Christmas isn't too far away. She blogged about just having ordered two of these Advent/Christmas candlesticks and, seeing her picture, I really fell for the simple and classic design. And even though I know we will be in the middle of moving this year, I ordered two and was lucky enough to see my purchase go through. A bit later, comments on her blog made us aware of the fact the they had been sold out. I think they will look really good... this is the type I've been looking for for a very long time. Photo from Ellos.

This novel is amazing! Alameddine is truly a hakawati himself, painting both contemporary Beirut and ancient places (as sprung out of Arabian nights, the Bible or the Quran) in vibrant colours. Ancient stories or myths are woven together with the tales of a family gathering around the dying patriarch, the grandfather, who has amazing stories of his own. I have a feeling that I don't want this book to end...

Images in the collage from John Douglas, Hand of Fatima, and Global Voices Online.

I drove the children to school and was mesmerized by the view on the way back. This is one of the things I really like about living where I live. The sea is so close, so visible, so tangible...

It was a bit colder than I thought today, and after more than two hours outside I was happy to get back inside. Nevertheless, it was sunny and nice then, but now it has begun to rain and it's very windy, which enhances the feeling of wellbeing when I spend the evening curled up in the corner of my sofa. I am enjoying the warmth of a cup of tea, a wool blanket and lit candles while looking through some favourite books of mine (especially at this time of year): Vinterns goda ting ("The good things of winter," my translation from Swedish) by Anna and Fanny Bergenström and Levende lys ("Living lights/candles," my translation from the Norwegian) by Nina Dreyer Hensley, Jim Hensley and Paul Løwe. Everything feels pretty okay.

My son is doing his best to reach the goal in the 1500 m race. He didn't win the actual race, but he is indeed a winner anyway. He walked away with a fine prize when he received some money, which he immediately said he would use to buy toys. I'm just wondering whether I will be able to talk him out of it or not.

Done! The contract has been signed and we'll be moving in January. Right now I'm thinking about what it looks like there and how I would like to furnish it, where to put paintings, and what I might have to buy... A new leg of the journey is beginning.

...is tired, stressed out and a bit sad at the moment. I just wish I could touch him, rub his head, kiss him... but he's 550 kilometres away. So I guess I have to settle for this. For now.

Our search for an apartment has thus already ended and I will be signing the contract tomorrow. I also sent a letter earlier today telling my current landlord that we will be moving out. We will get access to the new apartment on January 15th, and we have to be out of this one on January 31st.

The fact that it all happened so quickly freaks me out a bit right now. What if we don't like living there? What if the neighbourhood is less quiet than it seems?

On the other hand... The apartment where we live right now is in a "good" area, but it's still not particularily quiet. Sounds carry well around here. Additionally, the bathroom is simply impossible to clean, it's old and not very nice. The kitchen has a really old stove and combined (small) refrigerator/freezer, and it is tiny. Four people around the table is a crowd. Almost the largest room in the apartment (not counting the living room, but I almost could) is the hallway, which means that a lot of space simply isn't being used. Additionally, the tumble dryer in the laundry room is a bit unreliable and the parking situation is completely insane. To top it all off: We found mould on the ceiling/wall in my son's room a few days ago and the landlord didn't seem too alarmed. His only response was that we should just wipe it all off.

Well, well... I guess I have decided that the new apartment simply can't be worse than the current one.

This is the only magazine I currently subscribe to, having gotten rid of a number of design, food and "ladies" magazines. There are several reasons why I keep it: the content is always interesting, the articles are very well written, and the layout is simply beautiful. The fact that it's a quarterly and not a monthly publication is actually an advantage, since I seldom actually had the time to read each monthly issue of other magazines.

Intelligent Life is one of the publications in the Economist group. There is even more to be had digitally: More Intelligent Life

I've been thinking things through. I've talked to my significant other, my children and my mother. And we have actually decided that this last apartment (No. 2) would be a good place for us to live. I have just sent an e-mail to the landlord confirming our interest.

True, the apartment is slightly smaller than the one we're living in now, but the layout is better. The hallway is smaller, but the kitchen, the bathrooms (there are only one in our current apartment and it's small), and the three bedrooms are actually bigger. We'll have one walk-in closet instead of three, but I guess we can live with that.

The next step is to contact them tomorrow and make sure that we can have it... then I'll talk to my current landlord. We should be able to move in January in that case — hopefully to the apartment on the sixth floor at treetop level. :)

These are images from the apartment we just visited. I really liked the fact that it had a view. I also liked the wallpapers and the wooden floors. It feels as if I could just move right in, but I guess I need to think things through a bit first. But I really liked this flat.

The apartment itself is a mirror image of the one I looked at earlier today and has windows to the east and to the south. The room numbering corresponds with the layout below.

When my boyfriend (who couldn't come with us to see the apartment) saw the photos, he laughed. He suggested that I liked the apartment simply because my taste is so similar to the people who live there now. We seem to like the same furniture and the same colours. I probably shouldn't admit this, but he might be right. :) Anyway, the view over the treetops, with a shiny full moon as it was last night, was actually breathtaking as well.

I went to look at this apartment earlier today. It's on the first floor in a six-storey building. The apartment has three bedrooms, fairly large living room and kitchen, and is in total 89 sqm. The landlord is willing to put up new wallpaper in all rooms except one (and that one is pretty ok), repaint the cupboard doors in the kitchen and the walls in the bathroom. The stove, refrigerator and freezer are all relatively new and the same applies to the tub. The house is pretty boring on the outside but it's a good neighbourhood nevertheless...

I haven't decided what to do yet. Later tonight we're going to look at a similar apartment in the next door building, but this one is actually on the sixth floor and the view ought to be better at least.

Only a small reminder of the amazing weather and beautiful landscape where we were last weekend. Let's hope we get a few more days like these before winter.

I just received e-mails telling me that the skirt and boots above are on their way by mail. I hope they will be as perfect together as I think, and that they will work well with my dark turquoise Pashmina shawl too. Funny... I've never really liked summer clothing or colours, whereas autumn, winter and spring seem to be more my element. (Images from Ellos and La Redoute.)

At a time when many people turn to novels by the French Nobel Prize-winning author, Jean-Marie Gustave LeClézio, this is the book I will turn to next: Rabih Alameddine's The Hakawati. It has received very good reviews (Borzoi Reader and Herald Tribune) and I hope it's as good as they say. I'll keep you posted.