Randomness by Petchy

To This Day Project

noreply@blogger.com (Solveig Petch) — Wed, 20 Feb 2013 20:08:00 +0000

It's beautiful. It's sad. It's powerful. The message is important, and a little too close to my heart for comfort.

From the project website:

To This Day Project is a project based on a spoken word poem written by Shane Koyczan called “To This Day”, to further explore the profound and lasting impact that bullying can have on an individual.

Please watch, share and help spread the message: bullying is most definitely not ok.

Not Nutella

noreply@blogger.com (Solveig Petch) — Mon, 11 Feb 2013 21:27:00 +0000

What if...

What if there was a chocolate spread, that was both ridiculously tasty and healthy?

Guess what? There is! And it's easy to make: Take one ripe avocado, a few drops of stevia, a pinch of salt and a tablespoon of cocoa powder. Blitz. Eat. Soooooo gooooood!

How can 7 years feel like 7 seconds?

noreply@blogger.com (Solveig Petch) — Fri, 08 Feb 2013 12:57:00 +0000

It feels like only yesterday that I finally got to meet my baby after the longest 9 months in my life. You've changed my life in ways I never thought possible - you challenge me, infuriate me, you make me laugh, cry and worry, you make me proud every day, and you make me marvel at how it is possible for my heart to contain so much love. Happy birthday, R! I love you so much ♥

Recipe: Home made "Bounty"

noreply@blogger.com (Solveig Petch) — Thu, 10 Jan 2013 19:48:00 +0000

I've brushed the dust off my Flabfight blog and am attempting to give myself a good kick up the derriere to get fit and shed some of the flab that has crept back on over the past two years. Please forgive the cross-posting if you follow both blogs - this recipe was too good not to share!

"But, that doesn't look like diet food?!" I hear you ask. I know it doesn't. But I also know one more thing - if I deprive myself totally, I will fail. Fact of life. What I will strive to do is to go for the healthier option when I allow myself a treat. Like these sugar free "Bounty" choccies. Simple to make, low carb, and totally delish.

RECIPE:

1 tin of coconut milk
2 tbsp cocosa (virgin coconut oil)
Desiccated coconut
Sukrin (Erythritol) or stevia to taste
Dark and/or sugar free chocolate (I love the Cavalier brand)

Use only the solid bit from the tin of coconut milk (use the liquid in a sauce later, if you don't want to waste it) and melt it in a pan with 1-2 tbsp of cocosa and sukrin or stevia to taste. Stir in desiccated coconut until the mixture has a porridge consistency. Shape the micture in one of the following ways:

Put it in silicone moulds and place in the freezer for half an hour.
Put the mixture in the fridge to set, roll into balls and place in the freezer for a while.
Put the micture into a lined cake tin and place in the freezer for a while. Once set, cut into bars.

Dip them in some melted chocolate. Leave to set in the fridge. Enjoy! Try not to scoff them all in one go though... They may be a healthier option, but they're not totally innocent!

(Note: if you have a low fat, rather than low carb, approach to weight loss - these might not be ideal for you. They do contain a fair bit of fat from the coconut milk and -oil.)

Oh, Kubus!

noreply@blogger.com (Solveig Petch) — Sat, 05 Jan 2013 23:40:00 +0000

Where have you been all my life?

The Kubus candlestick was designed by Danish architect Mogens Lassen in 1962. Intended as a rebellion against the ornate, elaborate home, it has now become a design classic.

I've been lusting after this for years, but haven't quite been able to justify to myself spending so much on a candle stick... The irony is that in my attempt to find a cheaper alternative, I have probably spent the same amount, maybe even more, on other candle sticks that have been discarded along the way. Lesson learnt: buy one beautiful thing that you love, rather than 5 mediocre alternatives you don't. You can call me materialistic, but every time I look at my new Kubus, I smile and my heart skips a beat.

Best x-mas present ever - thanks mamma & pappa!

Post x-mas catch-up

noreply@blogger.com (Solveig Petch) — Sat, 05 Jan 2013 23:09:00 +0000

Happy new year everyone! I had planned quite a few posts in December, with how-tos and recipes and... and... and then kazooooom! Xmas was there, it came and went - as did the whole of December, really. Or even the whole of 2012. 2013 has started in much the same way. Where is the "pause" button?! Anyways, we did manage to fit in some fun and festive activities too, and here's a bit of a re-cap.

R and I made x-mas decorations - some to be pressies for friends and family, others to keep for ourselves. We made glitter-filled snow globes by glueing ornaments to the bottom of jam jars and adding water, glycerine and glitter:

My fave is this Lego one that R made for his friend. How cool is that?!

...and we made clay ornaments following a cornstarch clay recipe I found here. Simple and so decorative!

We also made various other creatures. I love R's idea of letting the hole in the bead become a mouth!

A candy-laden gingerbread house is a must, of course! It was demolished and devoured by eager little hands and mouths on new years eve.

These toffees were a huge hit too. Since the recipe is in Norwegian, I have taken the liberty of translating it – just scroll to below the photo.

Vanilla toffee

500 g sugar
200 g butter
200 g double cream
1 vanilla pod (or use vanilla extract)
50 g coconut oil

Melt the sugar slowly in a cast iron pan, until golden brown. Be careful not to burn it at this stage! Meanwhile, place the vanilla pod and cream in a pan and bring to a boil. Remove the vanilla pod, and pour the boiling cream into the caramelised sugar. Watch out, this will bubble like crazy! Stir well, add butter and boil rapidly for 5 minutes. Pull the pan off the heat and add the coconut oil. Stir well, and pour into a lined baking tray. Leave to cool completely, place in the fridge for a little while, and then use a sharp knife to cut the toffee into chunks. Enjoy!

Phew, so that was a glimpse into our x-mas preparations. After a hectic few weeks we went off to my parents to spend x-mas with my family. R was poorly for a few days, but we did still find time to go for a nice wintery hike.

R forgot about his post-illness-grumpiness for a little while and had fun with my sister's boyfriend (I guess it's about time we upgraded his status to being R's uncle now, or what say you sis?) on the ice.

R also lost his first tooth! He lost the second one yesterday, so now he's really toothless!

We went back home for new years eve, and spent it with good friends and good food. Can't beat that combo!

Decorated the table simply, using a scrunched up linen table runner, birch bark stars and squirrel motif paper napkins from Kremmerhuset, pink washi tape and dymo labels. I also went and chopped down a whole tiny little baby spruce, placed it in a vase and used the remaining stars to decorate it.

That vase used to be a brown and orange 70s bonanza, by the way. Just goes to show what can be achieved with a can of spray paint... I'm a sucker for quick and easy DIY projects like that!

Minimalist xmas tree advent calendar

noreply@blogger.com (Solveig Petch) — Sat, 01 Dec 2012 21:02:00 +0000

I saw a really funky danish designer xmas tree somewhere on the internet, and fell in love. I did, however, not fall in love with the price tag. I can't justify spending the equivalent of two weeks worth of groceries on a modern minimalist xmas tree, especially not when I know the materials to make one will cost me less than a third of the original. And so, the DIY version was born:

The plan is to use this as our advent calendar in years to come. I have printed out little notes for each day, with a fun activity written on the inside. As the days pass, the notes will be replaced by baubles one by one until xmas eve, when the tree is complete. I can see this becoming a cherished xmas tradition in our little household!

If you want to make your own, you'll need the materials listed in the top image. I wanted to make my tree 1.5 metres tall, so I cut the thickest dowel to this length. I cut the top at a 45 degree angle, to make it look a bit more elegant. I then cut the thinnest dowel into pieces measuring 70, 60, 50, 40 and 30 cm respectively (two of each length) to make "branches". Next, I measured out and marked the placement of the branches on the tree trunk. I started 10-15 cm from the top and spaced them about 10 cm apart. I placed them at right angles to each other, but the original tree that I saw had a more random placement. Do what you think looks nice!

Then comes the fun part. Errrr... Make that the f***ing difficult part. Drilling holes in the thickest dowel, to accommodate the branches. I'm pretty handy, so I figured this was going to be really straight forward. Not so. Seriously, my attempt resulted in the most outrageous swearing fit ever heard south of the Arctic Circle. I clamped the darn thing in place, I attempted to pre-drill a small hole... but no. I just could not do it. In the end, I was rescued by a friend who works at a school and has access to a woodworking workshop complete with all sorts of wonderful tools. I handed her the rock hard piece of ~~shit~~ wood, and the next day, she brought it back to me with all the holes in place. Yay!

So... let's assume that A) you've managed to drill the holes yourself, or B) you've persuaded someone else to do it for you. Either way, you now have 10 holes in your mighty rod – into which you will now place the pre-cut lengths of thinner dowel. Starting with the shortest pieces at the top and working your way down.

Next you need to make the base. I cut two pieces of my plank to about 40 cm length, and two smaller pieces about 6 cm long. I used the hole saw to cut a 35 mm hole in the middle of one of the longer pieces. I then placed this on top of the other piece at a 90 degree angle, and screwed them together. The shorter bits were attached to the ends of the top piece, so that the whole thing would be stable.

Finally, I slotted the base of the tree trunk into the hole in the base (having applied a generous amount of wood glue first), and used a long screw (from the bottom up through the base and into the dowel) to fix it firmly. I sanded the tree and gave it two coats of white paint, but you could leave it unpainted if you like the natural look.

Good luck!

This year's xmas card

noreply@blogger.com (Solveig Petch) — Wed, 28 Nov 2012 23:45:00 +0000

It doesn't really fit the "wear a santa hat and smile sweetly" template, but it's very us. Stay tuned over the next few days, and I'll show you our DIY advent calendar too...

Spot the difference?

noreply@blogger.com (Solveig Petch) — Sun, 18 Nov 2012 10:12:00 +0000

I got acutely fed up with the charcoal grey feature wall in my living room. Yes, it was cosy, but... I want light! I want white, white, white! And when I get an idea into my head, I have to get it done asap. Good job I had plenty of white paint on hand, then. Three coats later and the dark wall was history:

Love, love, love it!

And next: spot something familiar? How fun to wake up to see that three of my Instagram pics were featured in an article on Aftenposten.no (a national newspaper): my plate rack that I made from old bed slats (pictured), my 1950s table, and my vintage educational wall chart.

That concludes today's claim to fame from me - have a nice Sunday!

Norwegian November

noreply@blogger.com (Solveig Petch) — Mon, 12 Nov 2012 20:56:00 +0000

Yeah... I know, I know... I disappear for weeks on end only to return with two posts in one hour. That's probably against all blog etiquette ever heard of. Sorry, I like to break the rules.

I'll let the photo pretty much speak for itself – I'm so lucky to live right in the middle of all this gorgeous scenery!

The photo was taken at Kvalvik Fort, a coastal fort built by the Germans during WW2. The fort is very well preserved and is widely used as a recreational area, and exploring the many bunkers is a real adventure. We didn't bring headlamps this time round, unfortunately...

You know it's been too long...

noreply@blogger.com (Solveig Petch) — Mon, 12 Nov 2012 20:37:00 +0000

...since you last made an appearance on your blog, when readers from near and far start emailing you to see if you're ok. Very very sweet of you guys! I'm fine though, still here - just busy getting caught up in life outside the computer screen. Too much to do, and too little time!

I've been meaning to show off my new lamp that I bought a couple of weeks back - love the turquoise/yellow colour combo:

The lamp is by Danish brand Sebra, and I guess it's meant to be a children's lamp... not so in my house!

Attic room sneaky peek

noreply@blogger.com (Solveig Petch) — Sun, 07 Oct 2012 21:00:00 +0000

So, remember that attic room? And this staircase? Well, a couple of weeks ago, my dad very kindly helped me make a huge hole in my ceiling - and ta-daa: I now have an extra room! (Ok, the whole process did involve more heavy swearing and less actual ta-daaing, but hey.)

And even though it's nowhere near finished yet, here's a sneak peek:

The wallpaper was a bargain from the hardware store. The white cabinet is this one that I found in a skip four years ago - I finally got round to painting it white! There's still no safety rail around the opening in the floor, and my dad is helping me make a hatch that will sit flush with the floor when closed, and act as one side of the railing when opened. For now, mainly to stop the darn cat from going up there and clawing the wallpaper to shreds, I am using those really fetching woodchip board offcuts as a makeshift hatch.

The screenprinted lilac cushion in the chair was a gift from my incredibly talented sister.

FYI: that darn cat was this close to being turned into a helicopter after the wallpaper clawing incident. But rest assured, she is still alive and unharmed. Just.

Can shoe love conquer all?

noreply@blogger.com (Solveig Petch) — Mon, 17 Sep 2012 20:58:00 +0000

What is it with me and shoes these days? I'm drawn to them like Winnie the Pooh to honey. Ah well, I'm off the carbs again - and a girl's gotta have some pleasures in her life.

Although... pleasures? I'm not so sure. I don't do heels. They hurt my feet - specifically the balls of my toes. Ouch. So why on earth have I gone and bought a pair of really high heeled shoes?! Because they are gorgeous, that's why. Can ~~true~~ shoe love conquer all? I hope so.

I shall have to practice. A lot. Good job I have a job that requires me to sit at my desk for 90% of the time!

[Oh, and if all else fails, I'll display them on a shelf as pieces of art!]

Autumn

noreply@blogger.com (Solveig Petch) — Sun, 16 Sep 2012 21:39:00 +0000

Autumn makes me want to knit. Until I remember that knitting requires patience – something that I seem to lack. Nonetheless, I have started knitting a hat, and am still hopeful it won't end up just another UFO.

Autumn also makes me wanna curl up inside fluffy, knitted scarves. This one's about the size of a small blanket. No, I didn't knit it, that would just be crazy!

A random photo of a relatively new (and therefore still alive) houseplant. Just because I like it.

Oh, and my staircase to the attic room is being installed this week - thanks to my handy, helpful dad! Really can't wait!

House rules

noreply@blogger.com (Solveig Petch) — Tue, 04 Sep 2012 22:25:00 +0000

Inspired by similar types of posters and wall decals, adapted to fit us. Soon to be framed and hung in our hallway ♥

Can be downloaded here, if you want your own: English version // Norwegian version. To fit frame size 30 x 40 cm - or it can be scaled up or down.

Plate shelf made from bed slats

noreply@blogger.com (Solveig Petch) — Sun, 02 Sep 2012 19:49:00 +0000

I've been scouring the shops for a nice plate shelf, kinda like this one from IKEA, but without the curved bits. No such luck. So what's a girl to do? Make her own, of course:

This one was made from some old bed slats I had in my basement. They were the perfect size for what I wanted, so no cutting was required = even better! I decided I wanted two "normal" shelves at the bottom, for mugs and such, and a plate rack style shelf on top.

If you want to make one too, you'll need 6 bed slats (or 6 pieces of timber cut to desired length), and a piece of 1x1 timber cut to the same length as the bed slats. The latter is used to make a guard rail to keep plates in place - you could use a dowel rod for this, but I used what I had on hand. You also need 18 wood screws, 30mm long. And a drill and screwdriver.

I assembled a frame from 4 of the pieces first, by drilling two holes in each end of the side pieces, then screwing them to the top and bottom piece. I then decided on the distance I wanted between the fixed shelves - I wanted to be able to stack two Moomin-mugs on top of each other, so about 16 cm - and the placement of the guard rail. I then marked, drilled holes, and screwed the shelves and guard rail in place.

Two coats of paint later, and I was ready to hang my shelf. I used 4 metal corner braces for this - two on the top and two on the bottom.

Very pleased!

Sofa, so good.

noreply@blogger.com (Solveig Petch) — Thu, 30 Aug 2012 20:20:00 +0000

"But, didn't you just buy a new sofa?!", you ask. Well yeah, I did. About eighteen months ago. It was - to put it bluntly - a piece of shite. Officially the crappiest sofa I have ever had the misfortune of placing my behind in. It was ok for the first six months, and then it started sagging and looking like it had been left out in the rain since 1992. Or something. So I am in contact with the shop that sold it to me and it looks like I am getting a refund. And here... is my new sofa - that will hopefully last a lot longer than 18 months!

So, no prize for guessing where my bum is now firmly placed, and will remain for the next hour at the very least.

Recipe: chocolate cookies with mini Smarties

noreply@blogger.com (Solveig Petch) — Sun, 26 Aug 2012 11:15:00 +0000

Sundays are perfect for baking. Today, we whipped up these chocolate cookies in no time. Healthy? No. Yummy? Most definitely.

What's that, you say? You want the recipe? Oh, ok then:

CHOCOLATE COOKIES WITH MINI SMARTIES

50 g butter (at room temperature)
175 ml sugar
3 tbsp water
250 ml plain flour
75 ml cocoa powder
½ tsp baking soda (or natron to you norwegian readers)
¼ tsp salt
3 small boxes of mini Smarties (or use chocolate chips, nuts, whatever)

[A handy metric to imperial recipe converter can be found here]

Place the butter, sugar and water in a bowl. Beat with electric mixer until light and fluffy. Mix all the dry ingredients and the smarties in a bowl and then add to the sugar/butter mixture. Combine by hand (yup, very messy) until a sticky dough has formed. Shape into 24 little balls and place on a lined baking sheet.

Bake at 200℃ (middle shelf) for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool slightly before transferring to a wire rack.

Enjoy!

Not so mellow yellow.

noreply@blogger.com (Solveig Petch) — Sat, 25 Aug 2012 21:02:00 +0000

I think I have a chair fetish. I have more chairs than I can find space for, yet when I come across one random chair like this one, I can't seem to help myself.

This one now resides in R's room. My excuse is he needed one by his desk now he is a school boy - even though I know full well that his homework is more than likely to be done by the kitchen table while I cook dinner. Tee hee.

Spuds! And footie.

noreply@blogger.com (Solveig Petch) — Sat, 25 Aug 2012 20:45:00 +0000

A slightly random combination of topics today. First: spuds. Yup, here is my first ever crop. My 40 litre bright red plastic potato "field" yielded a grand total of 2.1 kg. Not exactly large scale farming, but enough for a decent taste of new potatoes. Mmmm, just boil them, add butter, salt and pepper - and that's all it takes to make a meal fit for a king!

Growing the spuds was easy peasy - I just left some shop bought potatoes out for a few weeks to sprout, and then planted them in a large basin filled with ordinary potting soil. (I had drilled holes in the bottom of it for drainage.) I then left them to their own devices, I hardly even touched them until I dug the spuds up today!

And now, footie. Not going to elaborate much on this topic as the only kind of football of interest to me is the kiddie-version. But how could I not show off my cute little football player and his trophy? We had so much fun at the local children's football tournament today!

A proud soccer-mom moment indeed. And the little star himself? Completely zonked out immediately upon going to bed this evening. Oh, how I love that boy!

The Week with a capital W

noreply@blogger.com (Solveig Petch) — Tue, 21 Aug 2012 20:09:00 +0000

And so it was time. Time for school. School! My little boy, suddenly so grown up. I am so glad they don't start till age six over here... perfect timing if you ask me! Such a milestone shouldn't be allowed to pass quietly, so we have made a bit of an event of it. It all started last Tuesday when we threw a party to mark R's last day at kindergarden:

Brownie muffins, a bunch of children, popcorn, good friends... and cheesecake! An unbeatable combo.

Then I took three days off work, and we spent a long weekend in Bergen, visiting my sister and her other half. Much fun was had!

A highlight of the trip was visiting Haakonsvern naval base where we were shown round by my sister's other half - and even got to go inside a submarine. That's pretty cool stuff if you're six years old. Actually it's pretty cool if you're 31 too. A visit to the VilVite-centre also proved equally entertaining for young and old (?!) alike:

A brand new rucksack and pencil case were of course also acquired - and then yesterday... after a week of fun stuff, it was finally time for the big day. The brand new outfit bought especially for the occasion had been hanging neatly on display for weeks, and finally, it was time for it to be worn. And so here he is - my school boy, ready for the next chapter of his life:

My heart is full to the brim with pride and love, and it cannot be denied that I had teary eyes and a lump in my throat yesterday as he was greeted by the headmaster and his new teacher. Good luck, R!

Staircase!

noreply@blogger.com (Solveig Petch) — Sun, 12 Aug 2012 09:14:00 +0000

My alternate tread staircase arrived earlier in the week, and today I finally had time to assemble it. Ikea certainly has something to learn from these guys: 12 pieces, 8 screws and 20 minutes later it was done!

So now I just need a carpenter to do the actual scary cut-a-hole-in-the-ceiling bit. I might be ambitious, but I'm not that brave. Or stupid. Some things are better left to the pros, eh?

Happy Sunday, everyone!

Rounding off a long week...

noreply@blogger.com (Solveig Petch) — Fri, 10 Aug 2012 21:14:00 +0000

...with a magazine, a mahoosive chai latte and freshly baked bread rolls. Perfect. Just perfect. If anyone's interested I'll quite happily share the recipe for the rolls. I just need to sleep first!

[The reason behind the insanely long week? Staying up way past midnight on several occasions to finish this: our new company website. Or rather... redoing it after a major cock-up involving sql databases and other stuff I know nothing about. Moral of the story: there are some things even Google can't help you with. At least now it works, only some minor details to sort out next week!]

Crafting with kids: pebble trolls!

noreply@blogger.com (Solveig Petch) — Mon, 06 Aug 2012 19:51:00 +0000

Getting the kids involved in creative activities doesn't have to be hard work. Or expensive. Next time you're out hiking, why not pick up some rocks or pebbles and make something like this?

You'll need: pebbles, googly eyes (or beads, buttons, whatever...), scrap knitting yarn, a permanent marker pen, scissors, a glue gun and some creativity. Feel free to add other props too, like glitter, fabric scraps etc. Then go crazy and have fun! Younger kids might need a hand with the glue gun, but bigger children should be ok handling it. After all, nobody ever died from a burnt finger!

1950s teak table gets a mini makeover

noreply@blogger.com (Solveig Petch) — Mon, 06 Aug 2012 19:04:00 +0000

So, this table I carried home the other day... it had the most hideous woven wicker shelf. It was broken, it was ugly - it had to go. Immediately. So much did I dislike it, that I even ripped it off without taking a before pic. That's how bad it was. It was kinda like this, only worse. I did say I had plans to replace it, and today I did, using a staple gun and a 10 metre winch strap from Clas Ohlson.

So first, I measured and marked the table with a pencil to ensure even spacing. Then I set to work stapling the webbing onto the shelf frame. I did the short edge first. It's pretty tricky to get it taut enough - a tip here is to use a belt to kinda squeeze the wooden frame together a little, moving it along for each piece you staple on. When you release the belt, the wood will help pull the webbing tauter as it expands back into its original shape. Once the shorter pieces were in place, I wove the longer pieces through, and stapled them in the same way. Voila!

I'm really pleased with the way this turned out, I think it somehow manages to keep the 1950s look and feel of the table, without the hideousness of the original shelf. And it was quick, easy and cheap.

You like?