Last Christmas we received a wonderfully warm woolen blanket each at work, and the tag confirmed that they came from Toarp Säteri. It has been a real treat to curl up under it the last year. Today it's kind of grey and snowy and the blanket really comes in handy as I'm relaxing on our couch in between our laundry sessions. I think I will try to get hold of one more of these Toarp blankets when we move to somewhere bigger and can use both of our sofas again. Yet another plan for the future.

Images from Toarp Säteri.

Yes, Christmas is over, but I decided to see if I could find any Christmas bargains on sale — and indeed I did. I bought two very practical deep red table cloths called Julia on the sale at Hemtex, red "Uni" bed linen for my children at Ellos, and a few more christmas ornaments and candleholders from Georg Jensen found at Danish Alstrøm. The candleholders are extremely difficult to find nowadays and I was happy to be able to add to my collection. Now I'm sort of looking forward to next Christmas, which hopefully will take place at a new location, since we're contemplating moving.

We bought our Christmas tree early this year in order to be able to enjoy it for a while before leaving to visit our families over Christmas. It's beautiful, dense and green, and it feels great to be able to use the Georg Jensen candle holders I have received as Christmas present in previous years, as well as the beautiful ornaments from for instance Royal Copenhagen, Georg Jensen, Rosendahl, and Pia Wallén.

In the family we have had some discussions about the colour scheme, however, and we don't seem to agree. My own favourite tree is crisp, all in white and silver, whereas T. and my sons would prefer a warmer and more colourful version. I've promised that they might be allowed to include some red next year, but in that case it had better look good... :)

I know it's only mid October, but I have begun to think about Christmas presents and what I would like to do in terms of decorations here at home. I have always preferred a Christmas in white and silver, but last year I began to long for at least some elements of red. Primarily, I thought of buying some bed linen in red, but I didn't get around to it. It was a horrible autumn last year, and I simply didn't have the energy then. This year, however, I have.

I have already ordered the bed linen above from Ellos, hoping the quality will be good enough. They will arrive a bit late, not until the end of November, but there will still be plenty of time until Christmas. In the collage above I decided to include some of my other Christmas favourites: The modern classic candlestick, Elflugan, from Scandinavian Design Center, the Dala horses in the form of a jigsaw puzzle and the classic Lovikka mittens from Rädda Barnen Shop, the huge 118 centimetre star from Watt & Veke was found at Syster Lycklig, and the Season candle holder from Georg Jensen at Dansk Design.

I'm drawn to mellow colours, the softness of sheepskin, lit candles, and cuddling up on the sofa at the moment. And I really like my new pair of Bonfire shoes from Rocket Dog. It's getting colder outside now, and I somehow like it. I just wish we had a fireplace... and a cat. I just wish I could have a cat... Hmmm... this wishing bit doesn't work that well.

Sheepskin from Shepherd, candleholders "Kivi" from Iittala, Dorothy sheepskin bag from Designer Desirables, Siberian silver tabby cat from Zazzle, and a nice interior from Decor4u.

The solid pine bed we have right now was custom made for my parents in the 1970's. It was given to me in the early 1990's and has accompanied me on every move I've made since then (five so far). The possibility to screw and unscrew all the screws in it has diminished for every move, however, and the last time we moved, we realized that it has become time to look for a new bed.

This morning T. and I began to discuss for real what kind of bed we would want. Both of us like simple designs but we also want it to be practical and not too expensive. We would want to be able to have storage facilities underneath the bed. Additionally, the bedroom we have right now is not a big one, which means that we'd probably have to settle for a 160 cm wide bed at the moment and have the possibility to upgrade at some other point in time when we live in a place where we intend to stay.

Most of the things in the image above has been found at IKEA, except for the left box underneath the bed, which was found at Jula, and the wonderful ivory Buddha from Aspen Country.

Summer has arrived, it seems. It has been really nice and warm here today, and although I've had to spend most of the day indoors it still feels okay, since it looks so nice when I look through the window. The stitches after the minor surgery two weeks ago were taken out yesterday and this means that I'm not really allowed to be in the sun anyway.

Our balcony is in the shadow now though, and T. is sitting there reading. I think I'll join him soon... The sun is shining, the sky is clear blue and there is a small breeze. Work is done for today and I'd better take some time to enjoy and relax.

Today we've been on the lookout for the bacopas and we actually found them quite easily at a garden centre nearby. We bought three of them, have planted them in the pots on the balcony and it really looks the way we envisioned it. Perfect!

Otherwise it has been a pretty good day, but I feel rather tired and a bit sad without any real reason. Perhaps it's just time for a nice hot bath.

Today T. and I began transforming the boring winter balcony into a greener and more Spring-like version of itself. Most of the job will be done in late May, when we receive all the new herbs from T.'s sister, but we really wanted to do a few things now to brighten things up. We planted these white Saxifragas first in the hope that they will like it here on our balcony and then we planted some lettuce seeds as well.

Last year we had planted six bacopas that grew tremendously and were in bloom all summer. It would be great if we were able to find three of those again.

Yay!!! A couple has decided to buy the apartment and it feels great. Nothing has been signed yet, and we're of course a bit cautious, but the fact that someone has said that they intend to buy it is a huge step forward. They are supposed to move in on May 1st.

This is one of the last photos I took from T.'s apartment before we cleaned everything out a few weeks ago. The view of the harbour and the sea from the living room is truly beautiful and I know we both miss it, but is time to move on now. It is time to sell it.

Today we learned that a couple had been to look at the apartment yesterday and today they had phoned the real estate agent because they wanted to have another look, which sounds encouraging of course, but we don't know... We're a bit afraid to get our hopes up already. We hope they like the view as much as we do, though.

Sunday morning. It's 9.30 am and I'm already almost done with four loads in the washing machine. I have also been at the store, since I realized I had almost run out of washing powder, so I guess I've been pretty productive. It's almost time for breakfast but I though I'd go down to the laundry room once again and before that I have to wake up my oldest son to see if he has some more laundry. I hope not. I need to be done with it all in an hour, so I'd better get going. Happy Sunday, everyone!

Image found at Stores Online Pro.

Yesterday, I decided that it was time to see to my windows. It looked so wintery and boring and it made me want to change everything. Firstly, I've bought two new orchids and I've moved all my orchids to the living room window. I now have a window full of orchids in various colours and I really love that. Secondly, I bought some daffodils for the kitchen table and put them in a white porcelain bowl. I need some more plant soil, but I think they look really nice. Thirdly, I also bought some white ranunculus for the vases on the bedroom window sill. Now it feels good!

It's certainly time for some spring cleaning, though. Hmmmm....

Seeing some of the new things designer Jimmy Schönning has created for department store Åhléns, I realised they have a lot more to offer on their website. I really do love the simplicity of many of the things from MUJI, and I also like clean lines of some of their kitchen and bathroom series... and the books... and gift wrapping... I haven't been to Åhléns in a while, but it seems as if I should. :)

The book Sött, sweet, dulce by Anna and Fanny Bergenström, the oak tree fruit bowl, the wooden mortar from MUJI, the jewellery tree, the bamboo bathroom mat, the waste bin, the gift wrapping, the pens, the scented candle from MUJI, and the bed tray are all available, just as all these images, at Åhléns.

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 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!

A friend and colleague asked me if I'd be interested in attending a club evening at a local interior design store together with her this evening. I didn't hesitate for one second, of course I said yes. One of the highlights was a representative from Alessi who came to talk about their products. The Alessi representative also happened to work together with designer Pia Wallén, who has designed all the products above and is perhaps most famous for the high quality Crux blanket to the right and the felt slippers in various colours. It was a really nice evening, and yes, we did indeed buy a few thing... :)

Today we have just enjoyed ourselves. I bought some Saturday chocolate and pop corn for the children, and some shoes for myself. I'm positive that their candy was far more expensive than what I bought for myself. ;) Anyway, the last few days I've been looking around for party shoes, but, since my feet are pretty small, I always have huge problems finding shoes that fit. Today I found these at Skopunkten and since they also felt fine when I put them on I decided to buy them. T. calls me a shoe fetishist, but I wouldn't agree. At all! I also bought some Christmas presents, and even though he might not consider the shoes useful, he ought to be happy about the presents at least. :)

The cake, with lots of almonds and peaches, I baked yesterday. My oldest was a bit annoyed by the almonds bit, but he ate it anyway and I think he enjoyed it. I know I will have to get back to reading (for work) soon but for the time being I'm just relaxing happily on the couch.

As a child I remember the nativity scene my mother put up every Christmas. It was a dark brown wooden house, a baby Jesus and his parents, shepherds, sheep, and the three wise men. And a star. It stood there in the living room even though we somehow forgot it existed, but today it reminds me of more traditionally celebrated Christmasses.

As an adult I've never been much for Christmas decorations even though, most years, we've had a tree. The children have become used to travelling a lot and the period before Christmas has been the one we have focused on here at home. We have baked and made candy. We have enjoyed the smells of the approaching holidays and planned Christmas presents for everyone. This year's Christmas will no doubt mean a lot of travelling as well, since we have family in all kinds of places, but I have nevertheless decided to buy our own nativity scene from Serholt. It was extremely difficult to get hold of last year, but now it's in the stores again. I just found the subdued white and gold so beautiful and I think it will function as a very good reminder of the Christmas spirit, the reason why we celebrate Christmas. We'll probably be putting it up in mid December in order to have some time to enjoy it. :)

The image is a montage with photos from House of Hedda and Design, Photography and Fun.

T. has been extremely productive. He finished painting the wooden tiles for the balcony floor yesterday and we put them up this morning. After breakfast we then went to IKEA and bought a new table, ÄPPLARÖ, and two chairs, SANDÖN. A few things still remain — we need some cushions for the chairs for instance and some kind of shelf on one of the walls — but all in all it feels really nice. My youngest son has already decided to make the balcony his favourite spot when he's drawing his own Superman comics.