Detailing Life

Paris vs New York

2010-11-07T11:02:00.000+01:00

I haven't travelled that much really, I've been around Europe a little, to Thailand and I've visited Russia. Those laying-on-a-beach vacations have never been anything for me, in those cases I rather like to sit under a shadowy parasol and read or just watch people strolling past.

No, for the last couple of years I've been longing for city vacations, and last summer me and Per went to Vienna, which was a really nice place. So much grandeur and amazing history. It was great! And the next two stops on my list are of course the cities of cities - Paris and New York. We've chosen Paris for our honeymoon which will take place next spring. We felt that we'd rather like to see Paris in May than late October... And then I hope that we'll be able to squeeze in a trip to The Big Apple. Per gets to travel now and then in his work, so hopefully I can accompany him next time he'll go overseas.

I fell upon these amazing Paris -vs- New York pictures via the swedish blog Niotillfem.

Pocket watch

2010-11-06T11:58:00.002+01:00

At my bachelorette's party, I got this beautiful pocket watch. The party itself was themed Anette in Wonderland, and was of course a crazy tea-party (at first) with all my darling friends dressed up as the characters from the book. The whole thing was a semi-surprise, I knew something would happen, but hadn't got a clue what. I was snatched up, blindfolded and driven to what I later would know as a friend's summer cottage. Upon arriving, and before I really knew what was going on, I was dressed up as Alice herself and got a small present containing this piece, and a note attached to it spelled out: "To ~~Alice~~ Anette, try not to be late next time." I, who had been soo nervous about the whole thing was really relieved at this point. We ate cake and cookies and cupcakes until we couldn't move and then we somehow managed a barbecue dinner, had a lot of delicious drinks and spent the night in the cottage, and in the morning we had pancakes and leftover cupcakes for breakfast. I have the bestest of friends and I couldn't ask for a better party.

The clock is a wound up and I am immensely attached to it. The filigree shell and the clockwork mechanism peeking out of it makes the whole thing perfect! It will accompany me and my steampunk outfit tonight at the party.

If someone wonders why all my picture is taken at the same place, it's because the light is so bad right now, I have to stand directly by the window to give the photos a chance to work at all. November in Sweden is a dark place. I actually hope for snow soon, to light up the place.

Sneak peak

2010-11-05T09:02:00.001+01:00

Here's a first look at one of my halloween projects. It's a recycled faux leather bag that I've turned into a sort of pair of saddlebags (it does sounds funny), and decorated with some of the cogs I scored for the wedding decorations. So far, very happy with it all. I promise a full look as soon as it is all done!

"Me-an-ma-hotglugun-sittin-in-a-tre---" Love the thing!

Costume hunt

2010-11-02T11:09:00.006+01:00

Image from here.

Hello again! I've been rather busy the last couple of days, so no blogging to talk about. I'm in the midst of collecting things for my costume that I'll wear at a big (huge) Halloween party on Saturday. Yes, I know that most people have already celebrated Halloween, but this club we're going to thought it fitting to use the swedish day All Hallows Eve instead. I'm going for a kind of steampunk look, and if any of you know what I'm talking about, then you also know that it demands quite much in the area of creativeness and DIY. I will post my projects as soon as they are on their way.

Tata for now.

Detail of the day

2010-10-28T14:53:00.000+02:00

Christmas gifts on their way!

A Winter's Walk

2010-10-28T12:32:00.001+02:00

The weather is quite typical for the season - only rain rain rain. And it's almost entirely dark all day, and really hard to get pictures that doesn't end up being blurry and non-recognizable.

But some days ago, there was the first real frost bite for the season, and the sun shone bright and clear and the sky was that unreal blue you get on cold days. At those times you really should hurry up in getting your coat, scarf and mittens on, and soak up some of that glorious sun. You never know when it will show up again.

Busy

2010-10-27T10:21:00.002+02:00

I've been working a lot the last couple of days, hence the slow pace here at the blog. Spending my days helping P at his work, sorting through millions of dried oat plants to get the grains out, for their research projects. It really slow and menial work, but at least I get to feel appreciated by his science group and I can listen to audiobooks during the many hours so it's not that bad.

And yeah - I get paid. Everything that pays you works for a student.

Cogs and Wheels

2010-10-24T21:43:00.002+02:00

Pictures from the wedding are starting to pour in, and it's so much fun reliving it once more, and from the perspective of our family and friends. This picture shows details from the table decorations. The glass piece is really supposed to host a votive candle and be faced the other side up, hanging in a chandelier. I found five of these at a flea market and thought of using them as a sort of a bell jar.

The cogs and wheels theme went through the whole wedding, from the invites to decorations. I searched high and low for the bigger cogs, since all that the internet - including eBay and Etsy - would seem to offer were the tiny watch parts. If I happened upon the larger sized cogs they were ridiculously expensive! Finally I got a tip from a friend's steampunking friend about taking apart old wall clocks, and lo - success! I bought three old and broken clocks from a second hand store and spent a night feeling oddly whimsical with tools all around me and grease on my nose. It was fun though! One clock gave me about 15 cogs in different sizes, but none of those really small ones.

My Vintage Finds

2010-10-24T15:52:00.002+02:00

From my thrifting adventures I've managed to collect these glass decanters, all with stoppers. The three middle ones are depression glass. I've managed to find enough information about the rose glass to conclude that it is likely to be from the 20's-30's, and I more than love it! That one comes with a set of six tiny glasses, and a footed glass plate, all in that gorgeous pink color (not pictured below).

I really love the glass stoppers!

For the rose glass decanter set I paid $7, and the clear ones pictured I got for about $3-7 a piece. Have I told you I love thrifting?

Butterfly Tea

2010-10-22T16:34:00.005+02:00

This is another DIY that I did for our wedding. Since I didn't want to use the regular teabag labels, I simply printed out sheets of butterflies on regular print paper. There is one kind for each flavor of the tea. I cut them out, and then took away the old labels and fastened the string with tape on the backside. Then I scrapped together a small explanatory picture and framed it in one of my thrifting finds so that our guests would know what they were drinking. Isn't it cute? And it would be so ease to make it fit whatever theme you are trying to incorporate into your wedding.

Lemon Curd

2010-10-22T13:13:00.003+02:00

I never really tried Lemon Curd, until the husband made a lemon meringue pie some year ago, and it was instant love. The citrusy flavor, the smooth texture - what is not to love? Since then, I've been on the hunt for the perfect recipe, and now I've actually found it! It's very easy to do, takes about half an hour and gives instant satisfaction.

The process is very straight forward, 2 lemons - peel and juice, 1 egg and 2 egg yolks, 2 dl sugar and 100 grams of butter. Beat eggs and sugar until frothy, add lemon peel and juice and put into a water bath on the stove. Then you stir the mixture for about 15 minutes, until thickened. Take it off the stove and add butter into it, stir and let cool. I made a label to put on the can, but that is of coarse optional. I don't really know how long it will hold for, since it always seems to be gone in a couple of days.

Result:

Lemony goodness!

My wedding jewellery

2010-10-21T14:03:00.002+02:00

The first time I laid my eyes on the stunning stones pictured above, I knew I had to wear them on my wedding day. In the sun, they're sparkling like mad, and in more cloudy weather they almost glow with an inner light. It's the prettiest thing I've seen, and it would be the perfect accessory to the autumn nature surrounding us during the ceremony. It is made by the lovely Lara Lewis, who, other than her homepage also has an Etsy store. When I asked her if she could make me a bracelet in the Fireside stones, she answered pretty much instantly, and the whole process with shipping and all was completed in a little over a week. If you are looking for that classic estate jewellery, I can recommend Lara Lewis with all my heart.

My other piece of jewellery were these dangly earrings, which I spotted at another Etsy store, Dreamy Vintage. As with the case above, I have only good things to say about this seller. I got so many compliments for these, and I would recommend every bride to dare to wear something other than diamonds or pearls on their wedding day.

This post has not been compensated for in any way.

Embellish Your Knits Month

2010-10-21T12:28:00.000+02:00

image via Grosgrain

The wonderful blog Grosgrain is sporting the best idea I've heard in a while, Embellish Your Knits Month, where she will be taking an old sweater and make it over in some way - every day for all of November. I can't wait to see what fantastic creations will come out of this, and I might get an idea or two for my self too. I'm always on the lookout for new projects to occupy my hands with, but now there actually seems that I need to start checking them off too. When will I get the time for all the cool stuff there is in the world?

I've always loved looking for clothes in second hand stores. There is no better feeling than getting really nice looking clothes for just a small part of the original price. Oh, I don't care for most of the older clothes, but if you have the time to search through everything, you can many times find clothes that's actually still in stores for the season.

In sickness and in health

2010-10-20T21:07:00.001+02:00

Beautiful print from here

I'm gonna bury myself in bed for a while and work on that cold or whatever it is I've managed to get. P bought me juice and I've got some sweet audiobooks loaded into my iPhone. Could be worse.

Apple pie

2010-10-20T13:30:00.002+02:00

I know many of you out there eat pumpkin pie when fall is upon us, but we don't really have the same tradition to use pumpkins for so many things here in Sweden, so I've actually never tried it. What I do think is necessary during these darker, colder months is apple pie. The local apples you can get now are so delicious and scrumptious that I wanna make loads of stuff with them. But as always - pie first. I actually think most of you wouldn't call this a pie, as it's really a layer of cinnamon coated apple slices, covered with a basic crumble, but I have never really understood the difference. The swedish word for this dish is 'pie'.

Served with vanilla sauce. And coffee, always coffee.

So, anyone wanna tell me about pumpkin pies? Are they sweet, or are they more of a dinner pie?

The Christmas Project

2010-10-20T10:40:00.000+02:00

I've started to think about christmas lately, about gifts and candy and cookies and all that. This year, me and Per have decided to stay in Gothenburg, just the two of us. The problem with having your families at different ends of the country - both our sides - are that as the youngsters in the family, we sort of was expected to show up at their places. Last year's bus ride to my parents was hell, I'll tell you. All the planes and trains were booked, so we had to sit on an ice cold bus, for 14 hours - one way. I guess I don't have to tell you how I felt when we had to do it all over to get home again.

But this year, oh this year I'm planning on spending the whole holiday inside, in my pajamas, eating loads of all our favorite foods and watching all those tv-series and movies that needs to be watched during christmas. It's gonna be great!

Speaking of christmas gifts, I have been thinking of trying to do some of them myself this year, and therefore are on an all time lookout for good and easy projects. I came over the splendid blog Daydream Lily, who featured these awesome coasters from Etsy seller JustNoey. Don't you just love them? I can see myself try to make something similar, the coasters are awesome, but I'm thinking maybe fridge magnets too? You can never get too many of those. And think how easy it would be to personalize for gifts. And if you find yourself crowded with too much ToDo's, you can always just order them already made. Isn't internet the best thing ever?

Weekly wishes

2010-10-19T17:40:00.001+02:00

- these adorable Pradas

- oxford shoes in my heart

- Acne ankle boots

- Oh, dear, Mod Cloth boots

This was a triumph

2010-10-19T13:42:00.003+02:00

I'm not sure how many of you guys who are familiar with the darling little video game Portal? It's sort of a puzzle game, and includes the cutest of all psychotic computers, which is making you jump through hoops (literally) to make it out alive. This was what inspired us to make our cake topper for the wedding.

As you can see, it's a tiny golden ornate frame, which I got from some thrifting escapade or other - I remember it was a steal at like $0.50 or something. Then we printed the warning sign picturing the cake and added the text - which of course, is also from the game - to it. Done and done. And the cakes were indeed more than delicious and moist!

Bonus: End song

Hipstamatic

2010-10-19T12:31:00.002+02:00

You know, I am probably the last person to get this app, but oh how I like it. Haven't quite gotten the hang of all the different combinations yet, but it's definitely fun to get some good looking pictures out of it. I'm trying my best to take more pictures nowadays, and I'm seriously considering doing something like Benita's 365 later on. Every Friday, she's posting a recap of her week so far, with a photo for each day. It's a great concept and I'm gonna try making it into my new year's resolution this year. It really could be great to actually print it out when the whole year is done, and make it into a real keepsake.

My purchase of the new iPhone have really made me more into documenting things. I can't really grasp how I ever lived without it before. Yes, it's nerdy and quite sad, but truth to be told, the damn phone has made my life easier.

Oh, please try to see beyond the messiness of the place. I got an inquire about our apartment before, and thought I should do a real show-and-tell someday. It is actually a kinda cool place, lodged in an old textile factory, so we have a super high ceiling and really tall windows which I love. But before I show you people more, I really have to clean it up. Yep.

Grey skies

2010-10-18T19:52:00.001+02:00

It's been raining all day.

Autumn finds

2010-10-18T12:10:00.000+02:00

1. Tweed jacket 2. Skirt

3. Neckwarmer 4. Ballerina flats

1. Bow bag 2. Cloche hat

3. Gloves 4. Cowl

If I could chose, I'd make this season go on forever.

Follow up: ToDo

2010-10-18T11:08:00.000+02:00

Remember the ToDo from Saturday? Well, here's the result:

I wanted something warm, both in color and texture, and the finished product is more than both. Originally it was supposed to fit on my thermos mug, but because I as always starts my projects before measuring and such, it didn't fit. So it had to go on one of our disposable paper cups instead. But I'm quite happy.

Babysitting

2010-10-17T18:44:00.003+02:00

This is little Mira, six months old. The reason the pictures are all blurry is because she likes to wave her arms. A lot. All the time. Me and P are utterly exhausted after we've looked after her for just five hours. I have no idea how parents do it, it's very impressive, indeed. Now we're slacking out in the sofa, alone, watching Toy Story 3.

Update: Eum. Is it wierd to almost cry at the end of an animated movie? 'Cause I did. Not much, but there was a big lump in my troath. Yeah.

My vintage finds

2010-10-16T18:31:00.003+02:00

Part II in my treasure hunt is all about these tiny glass bottles. They're about 4 inches high and all has small stoppers. I have no idea if these are original or not. Two of the stoppers are made of plastic, but that didn't occur to me until I got home with my stash, so it really looks like glass. For the wedding decoration, I filled these with different sweet tasting liqueur, and tied small paper tags around their necks saying 'Drink me'. But after they'd emptied, I've just used colored water. I squealed like a small girl when finding these, and I was really lucky too - they are all from different second hand shops and flea markets.

I really love how this one looks like the life potion from Zelda! And this picture also shows the glass cake stand I was lucky to score cheap just the day before the wedding. I also got a bunch of silver trays (they're not all silver though) from the charity shop, one which can be seen in the second picture. Thrifting is great!

Total cost for these finds: $ 7.50

Today's ToDo

2010-10-16T13:31:00.000+02:00

amazing sticky pad: Pretty Bitter

Knit a cosy for my new to-go coffee mug.

Stay tuned for follow up.