On television we managed to catch a glimpse of the work of sculptor Tom Otterness and his team, and I really fell in love with the humour with which they have created the sculptures that can be found on Manhattan and other places in NYC. More about their work can be found here.

A week ago T. and I decided to buy a package of chocolate chip and oatmeal cookies. They looked really delicious and two boys seemed to agree when they got a chance to try them out. We adults loved them too. In fact we loved them so much that we decided to try the recipe which we were happy to find printed on the package. Equally delicious! And now it feels as if we have cookie monsters everywhere. I'd better try to store them in a safer place...

Images from Göteborgskex.

There is no real warmth in the air even though it is late May, but I've realized that I somehow link bright golden colour and jet black. Perhaps it is the contrast between sunlight and hot asphalt, or golden sand against dark shadows on a hot summer day. Somehow I've always liked to wear black in summer as well. In an attempt to conjure up some warmth I thought I'd make an exposé of things I like right now and wish I could wear.

The dress and the tunic are both from La Redoute. The necklace We is one of my absolute favourites and it comes from Edblad & Co. The hat was found at Source and the Bvlgari glasses at SpecSuperstore. The flower was found at H&M.

We have been on the road again, travelling approximately 1200 kilometres since Friday, and we've been amazed by bright yellow of the rapeseed (Brassica napus) fields we've seen everywhere. The weather has been great too and Saturday's birthday party was fun. (Thank you, S. and T.!)

Getting back home pretty late last night, we decided to put the sofa together properly — we had brought the last parts back with us — and now the sofa both feels and looks great as I'm sitting on it writing this. Well, well... I'd better get going. It's time to get to work.

I had surgery today. Nothing major, though, but I am rather tired. I've had a irritated and extremely active sebaceous gland on my back annoying me for years, and after a major infection two years ago it was removed. When seeing the scar, T.'s father asked if I had been stabbed.

But then it came back. So the doctors decided to give it another go at removing it and the procedure was made today. It was done under local anasthetics and it didn't hurt a bit, but it still left me a bit drained. Funnily enough I've never actually seen the sebaceous gland or the scar myself, since it is placed right between my shoulder blades.

The children needed new passports and my oldest son also needs an ID and a credit card of his own. It's amazing how fast they grow up!

Subsequently we have spent most of the afternoon at first taking photos, then talking to the people at the bank, and, last but not least, taking new photos and measurements etc at the local police office. These things tend to take forever, it seems.

T.'s cousin has become a father to a beautiful baby girl. She weighs 4,5 kilos and is 55 centimetres tall. We so look forward to meeting her. A huge congratulations from all of us!

Images from Ulrikas scrapsida and Photobucket.

With one eye on the ice hockey world championships, I decided to use the second one to browse for news at the Carlsson Interiör webshop. T. and I have talked about the tray for the sofa before and it might be time to get one or two of those soon. The rest of the stuff is basically just a bunch of fun things that have caught my eye. The heart-shaped frying pan would be really cool!

I really like the Change series from Cult Design and I was happy to see the outdoor version of it. Too bad we don't have a garden! Yet. I'll just have to keep it in mind for later.

Images from Carlsson Interior.

Using my parents' neighbour's old recipe for making crisp bread, we decided to put the newly bought baking stone to the test. It worked perfectly. The bread was actually as good as when it has been baked in a real wood heated stone oven and it is actually much easier to make when you don't have to pre-heat such an oven for at least 24 hours before using it. My mother was thrilled at the result because this means that she finally will be able to make this type of bread again.

It's usually pretty hard work since they, my mother and her neighbour, bake almost uninterruptedly for two days, and it's nowadays a bit of a mouthful for her. The dough is, in their case, made of five litres of milk, 6 packets of yeast and a mix of rye, wheat, and graham flour. We made a smaller version of it where we basically divided the original amount by twelve, and then tweaked it slightly. When my father returned from the hospital earlier today, after yet another successful coronarangiography, he was pleasantly surprised to be able to taste the wonderful crisp bread he hasn't had for years.

I think I just found a new favourite brand. I accompanied my mother to shop for a new tunic for her and the only one she really liked was from Danish Masai, from which all the photos above are borrowed. At the boutique, I picked up a brochure and I have to admit that I really like the rest of the Masai spring 2010 line just as much as she likes her tunic. Wonderful colours, good quality, relaxed and quite cute. Perhaps I'll try to get hold of some of the items for myself as well.

Today T. decided to bake some "källarfranska" (buns made of wheat and rye) on the baking stone and they turned out marvellous. We ate them with some jam and cheese. My mother got inspired and decided to bake some Greek bread as well and the smell in the kitchen was fantastic. She tried the baking stone as well, liked the result, and decided that she will try to make some "knäckebröd" (crisp bread) on it as well. I have to admit that I'm looking forward to it. Her crisp bread is one of my absolute favourites.

The images are unfortunately not my own. I found them at Kryddburken and Kaksmulan.

We're pretty far north in Sweden right now and spring has not arrived for real yet. It was actually snowing amidst the rain earlier today, but luckily nothing stayed on the ground and right now the sun is shining again. It's cold though.

A little more than a week ago it was far nicer though. We were in the south of Denmark enjoying what can be described as summer temperatures. I really miss that now. The photo of the wonderful cherry blossoms above was taken back then.

When I look through my window I can see only grey skies. It's very windy and rather cold. It makes me dream about holidays passed and holidays to come. But really, why not both?

This photo was taken when we were in Paris in July 2007 and I have to confess that I wouldn't mind going back. At all. (I'd better try to persuade T. that this indeed is an extraordinary idea.)

We've had a pretty busy day today. I have a deadline on Friday which means that I've been working hard the whole day. We did the laundry in the morning as well and in the evening we have assembled our youngest son's new bed. For dinner we made some homemade pizzas and now I'm kind of busted. I certainly wouldn't mind crawling into bed with bedlinen such as these. The pattern Moln (Clouds), designed by Gunilla Axén, is more than 40 years old, but it is definitely one of my favourites. A classic.

T. and I received a joint present for our birthdays last year, a Weber Q100 Gas Grill, and we used it frequently all summer. Since we live in an apartment, barbequeing has been difficult, but with this baby it works very well and the result is really good too. I really look forward to start using it again, and even though we did have lunch outside on Sunday, it still feels a bit too cold to actually have a barbeque for real. Soon!

Image from Waring Industrial Tool.

A drizzling spring rain has fallen earlier today, but right now it's sunny and nice. It's getting greener and greener and there are flowers in all possible colours in the garden of my in-laws. It feels great.

I'm beginning to think about the upcoming summer, what vacation plans we might make (we have a few things planned already) .... and what I'd like to wear. (I'm sure T. is smiling by the time he reads this). Well, well...

The dress can be found at La Redoute, the mini wallet at Walk on Water, the cream shoes at Din Sko, the evening bag at Lindex, and the trenchcoat at La Redoute.