Yesterday evening, my oldest son went on a skiing trip and I made these apple cupcakes as a treat for him. (Well... I did save a few for myself as well to be honest and they are delicious.) I used the small cupcake tins for the first time and I think they turned out pretty well.

When I first saw the family necklaces from Swedish Hand with the names of family members I thought they were so beautiful. Visiting their website I also realised they made so many other beautiful things. I haven't ordered anything, but who knows... I might do so in the future.

All images from Hand.

I felt like putting together a moodboard fitting for February. Some of the things I would really like to have whereas other things are more for inspiration. (I do know that I will need the blazer from Esprit sooner or later, since the black blazers from Marie Philippe I've been wearing so often for so many years begin to look... well... old and worn.) I wish you all a good weekend!

Images: The blazer comes from Esprit, the photo from the ice hotel in Jukkasjärvi was found at Anniz place, the skirt and the black handbag are from La Redoute, the tea is from TLC Cooking, the interior and the stack of cushions come from Shepherd, the chocolate truffles from Åre Chokladfabrik, the necklace can be found at Edblad & Co, the grey handbag from van Deurs was seen at Trendenser, the "semla" was found at Arla, and the blanket at H&M.

...is visible outside our window. I like that. It also feels great to know that a lazy weekend lies ahead, with only very little that has to be done. I'm not sure what we'll do, but that feels pretty okay. It would be great if we'd get some sun. I would like to be able take some sunny winter photos, but it all depends on the weather. Anyway... thank God it's Friday!

It's interesting, T. and I have been discussing for a long time now that it would be great if that kind of tablet computer was released, and we were really looking forward to anything Apple might present. Both of us are Apple veterans (since the early 1990s) even though we're not Apple fanatics by any means, we do like the intuitive and reliable OS, the often very nice design and the innovative thinking. We think the iPad would be very suitable for people like my father, who is not an avid computer user but curious nevertheless. The iPod is too small for him, but its simple interface would be very easy to navigate, and therefore the iPad might be the perfect solution. We just might buy one for him.

I was also happy to see the new jug Marigold designed by Filippa K for Rörstrand. I already have ten of them, but I really like them and wouldn't mine having a few more.

I also have some news on a more personal level. At work, decisions have been made to safeguard the financing of my project, which means that I will not have to have anything at all to do with the small clique that has tried to take control of the department. They are increasingly questioned and the stories the rest of us, both people still working within the department and those who have already left because of the bad work climate, have to tell are being told and heard. What will it lead to? I don't know. But the constant pressure and the lump in my throat is slowly decreasing.

Frida Berglund at Trendenser recently blogged about some amazing photos taken by photographer Denise Grünstein for the Mateus catalogue. These photos not only provide tons of ideas for decking the table, even if this one seems a bit too cold, it also gives me inspiration and ideas for how to take better photos. They are simply awe-inspiring.

More of Denise Grünstein's work can be found at Cameralink.

About a year ago I was diagnosed with rosacea, a facial skin disorder characterized by redness on the cheeks, nose, chin or forehead; small visible blood vessels on the face; bumps or pimples on the face; and watery or irritated eyes. I have experienced the redness, the bumps and the small visible blood vessels on the cheeks, but I haven't noticed that much else, but that on the other hand was pretty bad. At some points it really hurt...

Nobody knows why it appears and it has no real cure, but it is possible to control and manage. For me it seems to get worse if I am emotionally stressed out (I think this was how it all started), when I stay out for too long in the sun, and when I have an allergic reaction to something (dogs, horses, hay or pollen). I have also learned that my skin is very sensitive to creams, cleansing products, and make-up. I had to find completely new products and adopt new habits, and I was really happy to discover the exceptionally mild skin care series from French Avène and the mineral make-up from Bare Minerals, even though I'm not using make-up that often. With the help from the medicine I use, a gel, the products from Avène and Bare Minerals, my rosacea, while not having vanished, is most of the time barely noticeable except for an occasional pimple. It's honestly such a relief and very nice to feel the difference from what my skin was like a year ago.

I'm really blogging a lot at the moment... Perhaps it's simply because it feels as if I'm further away from all the weird things at work at the moment, the things that have drained all my energy. I do feel happier in general and things feel great!

Unfortunately, my hair doesn't exactly agree. It's that time of year when it just feels dirty/boring/dry even if you've just taken a shower. I realised that it has been ages since I treated my hair to my favourite shampoo from Kérastase and, as I searched for it on the web, I found both the schampoo and the conditioner at really good prices at Feel Unique in the UK. Perfect!

Dr. House is quirky, intelligent, mean, controlling, gruffy, and somehow nice. At times. Hugh Laurie is an amazing actor, whom I've followed since his Black Adder days, and it is very interesting indeed to see him in this type of role.

Right now Swedish TV-channel 4+ is in the middle of a early evening, four times a week re-run of the very first episodes of House and it has been great to see how it all started (which I missed when the show was sent for the first time here in Sweden).

I usually don't like people who are like House, but I think the reason why (apart from the fact that it's fiction) I somehow like this character is because he has an overarching goal I can sympathize with: he wants to save lives. With a goal like that it's easy to be seen as a boring do-gooder, a naïve idealist who, like Don Quijote, might end up fighting windmills, and this would probably not result in good television. By being the way he is, House somehow fights anyone's notion of him as a genuinely good man. This show certainly has good script writers.

Image from Fanpop.

T. thinks my cupcakes are too big. And since I obey him in everything (hrmpf, hrmpf!) I managed to get hold of small cupcake baking tins. They cups are indeed very small and, since I usually use paper cups inside the holes of the tins, I need to get hold of paper cups in the right size.

Lucky me! I just found out that the same company that has produced the large paper cups I used when I made the chocolate muffins yesterday, [kala:s får:m], also makes smaller ones — they call them truffle cups — at exactly the right size. The diameter at the bottom has to be 28 millimetres. I think I'll just try to get hold of a few.

I'm working so much right now, but occasionally I do look outside and realize that it is indeed getting lighter by the day. It's interesting in a way, because at some point around January 25 this realization seems to hit me every year. The most difficult part for me is always to decide that "I have worked enough for today" and pack everything up and decide to do something else. It probably has to do with the fact that I work from home most of the time as well. But in this case the light helps me as well, but this time it's the vanishing light. When it's dark outside I know the time has come to finish with what I'm doing. I really love to be able to live by the signs nature provides in this way.

And now it's time for dinner as well. Yeah, occasionally I do recognize those signs, too! :)

Together with the rest of the children at their school, my boys will be spending the entire day out in the snow. When they are to go on outings, such as this one, they usually beg me to bake chocolate muffins especially for the occasion, and of course I did. Since it's rather cold outside they have also brought some hot chocolate, pancakes and hot dogs to be grilled over an open fire. I hope they are having a lot of fun today.

...but trying out very fine Italian chocolate from Cuorenero (which literally means black heart in Italian) makes me realize that I do. The one I tasted had small pieces of mango in it and I simply loved it.

I decided to look to the Internet for some spring inspiration and found a whole bunch of things. It's not necessarily things I would want to have — well, a few of them I might not say no to — but rather things that triggers my imagination and give me input to what I would like to create in the future.

I'm not entirely sure what I'm referring to at the moment. I have a feeling that things will change soon, but I'm not sure in what direction and in what area. Well, well... Let's wait and see.

The images can be found at IKEA (cushion), Svenssons i Lammhult (chair), Designtorget (Magbag), Västerbottenskuriren (fireplace), Kvik (kitchen), Urban Living (bookshelf), Signerat (charm for daddy), Signerat (chopping board), Flickr (tulips), Slow muse (Floating in a Moon Green Pool), and Your Wallpaper (Cassandra Rhodin's wallpapers).

I have been debating with myself about whether to post anything about the catastrophe in Haiti or not. It can easily be seen as cynical attempt to draw interest to the blog, and that is definitely not my intention or wish. I would just like to add my voice to the chorus of voices around the world encouraging people to do something actively for the survivors of the earthquake in Haiti.

For a few years now my family has supported a young girl in Rwanda through the SOS Children's Villages. It has been a joy to see her grow and develop... to learn more about her everyday life. Knowing that SOS Children's Villages has two villages for orphaned children in Haiti, it was therefore self-evident for me to give what I could at the moment through the SOS Children's Villages organization. I will follow the developments closely, for instance on SOS Children's Villages' communications contact Georg Willeit's blog, and see to what extent I can help in the future as well.

It probably does not matter through which organization help is distributed as long as it arrives. Just help, please, and do not forget that the people of Haiti might need help for a long time to come. Just help...

Images from The Examiner and SOS Barnbyar.

I'd really like to get hold of Anna and Fanny Bergenström's Sött, sweet, dulce. It's one of those books that seem to be an absolut must for me. I'd really love having some orange salad with walnuts and dark chocolate right now — and I can't — but the cover of this book seems to invoke that type of taste.

I'm working a lot, T. is still finishing up in his old apartment, and the situation at work is improving, but it is improving in such a painfully slow way that it's a bit difficult to bear. I really wish it had been easier to sack people who are really behaving badly in various work situations — or in other situations for that matter. This situation drains our energy completely at times.

My reaction right now is simply: I don't want this anymore. I need to get away from this. At the same time I don't want to leave other people threading water in this mess. This is no fun at all.

Yesterday, T. and I were discussing plans for the summer and that, on the other hand, felt good. More of that please.

Images from My Own Home, Born to Wear, Flower Avenue, ICA, I love ECO, and Ellos.

Here comes yet another blog entry centered around fighting the chilly weather, and I'm sorry to sound repetitive, but since neither T. nor Spring seem to be arriving any time soon I thought I'd make the best of. Right now I'm wrapped in a really warm blanket as well as in Bvlgari's Omnia. Both do the job pretty nicely (even though it would feel faaaaaaaaar better if T. had been here). Well, well...

Images from AMS Objects of Desire, Velvet Lace, Scarves for Men and Fragrantica.

I'm in "I-wish-it-would-be-Spring-now-mood" at the moment and I'm really looking forward to some warmth. It's not that bad here, there are definitely worse places right now, but there is something about the dirty snow and the grey sky that gets to me.

T. is away again, this time hopefully finishing things in his old apartment. He is looking into renting a lorry and trying to find some storage space for the larger pieces of furniture still left there. Later on, when things have settled down, we will try to find us a home where we'll have enough space for all our stuff, but at the moment we'll just have to try to find temporary solutions. I'm really looking forward to both T. and the light coming back.

The children received some money over the holidays and, after having thought about it, they decided to use it to buy a Nintendo Wii and a few games. Transformers and Star Wars The Clone Wars: Republic Heroes have already arrived and Pokémon Battle Revolution is on its way.

Buying a Wii is something they have talked about for more than a year, and this was the right time to do something about it. I actually think it was a good thing. At times they tend to squander any money they get on smaller things, usually LEGO or something similar (which is good in itself, but somewhat repetitive), and then suddenly the money is gone without them realizing. The Wii has definitely kept them busy both yesterday and today and I'm sure they will continue enjoying it. They are sending their warmest thanks to everyone who made it possible.

I received some money for Christmas from my parents and when they asked me what I intended to buy I tentatively answered "a star in white gold for the Christmas tree from Georg Jensen." The star above is the one I had in mind. When my mother saw it she agreed and said that she in fact would love to have one as well, but continued that she, in that case, would have to have a real Christmas tree (not the plastic one she has had for a long time). I do agree that a real tree would be far more suitable and I hope we will have this combination next Christmas.

I made this apple pie following a recipe given to me by a colleague and friend and it is so good. An oatmeal shell filled with fresh, green apples decked by a mix of crème fraîche, sugar, eggs and almonds to be served with ice cream, custard or crème fraîche. Yummy!

We'll be on the road again soon, this time travelling yet another 470 kilometres back home. There was a storm last night and it is still pretty windy, but I don't think it will be a huge problem. At least I hope so. Perhaps there is some more apple pie waiting for me when we get home...

I received two of these lamp shades for Christmas from T.'s sister and brother-in-law and I think they look really good on the window sills. There was some hassle for T. to put them up, but it was well worth it. They come from IKEA and are called SKIMRA. A very welcome addition to our home. Thank you!

We have been driving a lot this past few weeks and sometimes the road is almost too beautiful. We drove over the mountains as the sun was setting and the colours were almost unbelievable. They say it's going to be even colder in the next few days and it is indeed a cold winter this year, but I have to admit that I enjoy the pastels of this type of weather. It makes the world seem shiny and new, which in itself is a fitting context for the new year.

...and we're on our way back home. I received so many beautiful things for Christmas, among them these ornaments designed by Henning Koppel for Georg Jensen, and it made me so happy. They have had trouble finding them though, since it seems as if no new ones are being produced anymore. I do hope I will be able to get hold of a few more before they disappear completely.

I have also received candlelight holders for the Christmas tree designed by Maria Berntsen (also for Georg Jensen) and these can in fact not even be found in the stores anymore. Luckily my mother-in-law has found a few more, that one of the local stores still had in stock, and I think it will prove enough for next year's Christmas tree, which I also think will be a very beautiful one.