And now she has left.

They called this weekend and told me a woman was interested in adopting her and yesterday evening that woman came to our apartment to pick Bella up and take her to her new home. For a while we talked about keeping her, but truth be told I think Bella is better off somewhere else. This lady apparently lives in a house out on the countryside, has no other pets and is retired so she’s home all day. Bella would love that! She could get all the attention she wants, be allowed to go outside and no annoying dog

I’m definitely going to miss her though.

Every morning for these past months she would come up in our bed when the alarm goes off and curl up against me and purr (like she’s trying to stop me from getting up ) and this morning… nothing. No cat, no cuddle, no purr. Just the dog snoring in his basket.
He for one is not sad to see her go – for some reason she really liked his basket and he’s too much of a wimp to chase her away when she was sleeping in it. Lots of times the teeny tiny cat would be sleeping in the big dog bed and the dog would be sleeping on the floor next to it. Silly creatures

What? Is the perfect size.

I hope everything turns out well for her. And if it doesn’t, she’s welcome back to us

The choice fell on a Samsung Galaxy SII.
I’ve heard nothing but great things about it and I’ve even heard hardcore Apple fans admitting that it is in fact a pretty good phone. So far I like it a lot and it’s definitely cool having a mini computer following me around everywhere I go. I love that I can actually do stuff with it, like check my email or take a photo or whatever.

I can’t compare it with an iPhone since I’ve never had one, but compared to my iPad I’m surprised at how similar they are. What I mean is that I didn’t have any trouble navigating and figuring out how things work with the phone. It’s not THAT much of a difference. What I love about the phone that I can’t find in the iPad (at least not without installing an app for it) is how I can deep dive into it and check and tweak everything from how much battery power is allowed to use for certain processes to how much CPU Facebook is using. Not to mention the back button! I wish the iPad had one.

Although, I must say the best part is almost the cute case I found for it Behold the red devil:

Here it is next to my old phone, a Sony Ericsson of some sort. But seriously, how cute is that demon!? Markus has a phone case with an angel (it actually had little wings on the sides, but he cut them off ) so we’re sort of matching. Out of us two I’m definitely the bad guy

It might not sound all that special, but it’s absolutely delicious! Semlor (plural) are probably my favourite pastries in the whole world And now is the right season for them! Semlor are traditionally eaten around Fat Tuesday/Shrove Tuesday so a couple of weeks before and after the stores are full of them.
Every year I try to find the balance between eating as many as I can before they disappear and not eating too many and put on weight It’s a thin line…

In other news, I finally got my procrastinating ass to make an appointment with an optician and order new glasses, and now they’re here:

Photo taken at work. I'll show you my office some day

My eyesight hasn’t changed much in the past 10 years so I don’t need stronger glasses or anything, but the actual glass in my old ones was so full of scratches it felt like I was constantly walking through mist. When I put on the new ones I was all “Whoa… HD”
These new frames are slightly bigger than my old ones too, so my field of sight is almost twice the size it used to be. I can’t believe I didn’t bought new ones sooner…

This English-language adaptation of the Swedish novel by Stieg Larsson follows a disgraced journalist, Mikael Blomkvist (Daniel Craig), as he investigates the disappearance of a wealthy patriarch’s niece from 40 years ago. He is aided by the pierced, tattooed, punk computer hacker named Lisbeth Salander (Rooney Mara). As they work together in the investigation, Blomkvist and Salander uncover immense corruption beyond anything they have ever imagined.
Written by Anonymous

I thought it was a good movie and I liked it for what it was, a cool action/drama film with lots of sex and violence. It really is well-made and thrilling and flashy and all that – but with the Swedish version in the back of my head this felt waaaay to much “Hollywood” for me.

I can’t help but compare the two versions, and while the Swedish movie didn’t have nearly as much action and effects it had more grey realism, and by being more realistic it felt much more grim and disturbing.
Or maybe it’s just that I’m Swedish myself and that’s why it, by nature, feels closer to home than anything Hollywood can come up with?

With that said, Rooney Mara was excellent as Lisbeth Salander! Her appearance is exactly the way I had pictured Lisbeth in my head. Noomi Rapace who played in the Swedish movies was great too, and I kinda liked her performance better, but she’s a bit too… I don’t know, pretty I guess. No matter how they dress her up and how much make-up they slap on her face they can’t hide that she’s a breathtaking beauty, and while reading the books I imagined Lisbeth to be a bit on the ugly side. I can’t choose between them to be honest, they both play the role to perfection. Different, but perfect.
Daniel Craig was also a bit more charismatic than Michael Nyqvist who played the Swedish Mikael Blomkvist. Altough it was a little embarrassing that he couldn’t pronounce his characters name properly

Noomi to the left - Rooney to the right.

Now, I’m curious to know why they decided to make the movie like this when there’s already a Swedish version? I would’ve understood it if they had taken the plot and the characters and moved it to the US. If they had changed the names and settings and made a truly Americanized version with American characters and places – but this way, with all the Swedish names and places still intact (and it’s even filmed in Sweden), I can’t help but wonder if the only reason they made the movie was a) money and/or b) so that the American audience wouldn’t have to bother with the subtitles..?

1. What did you do in 2011 that you’d never done before?
Ooo, lots of things. I cut my hair into a mohawk, went to Munich, discovered Geocaching, bought an iPad (my first ever Apple product) and received an honorary award for work.

2. Did you keep your New Years’ resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I don’t make New Year’s resolutions. I have my 101 list and I think that’s enough.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
Nope.

4. Did anyone close to you die?
No, thankfully.

5. What countries did you visit?
Germany

6. What would you like to have in the new year that you lacked in this?
This time last year I wanted to be more creative, and although I did do a lot more art in 2011 than in 2010 I think I’m going to say the same thing again: I want to do more drawing, pixeling and general creative stuff.

7. What date from 2011 will remain etched upon your memory?
July 22, when first the bomb and then the killings happened in Norway. It was surreal on a whole new level.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Did some awesome projects at work that I’m rather proud of. Oh, and and cutting off the hair! That was pretty big

9. What was your biggest failure?
I’ve been rather lazy when it comes to exercise this year. Not enough walks, or not long enough anyway, and not enough time spent out in the woods. I need to get back on track!

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
No, I’ve been pretty healthy.

11. What was the best thing you bought?
The iPad. It’s amazing and I love it

12. Whose behaviour merited celebration?
Mum, for being an exemplary senior citizen She retired last winter and made a solemn promise to herself and everyone around her that she would NOT turn into on of “those” old folks who get up before dawn, go to the store/bank during lunch hour or start complaining about how teens dress. So far she’s living up to her promises, haha.

13. Whose behaviour made you appalled and depressed?
Certain people who shall not be mentioned.

14. Where did most of your money go?
The iPad was the most expensive thing I bought, but 2011 was a big shopping year overall. Lots of clothes, make-up, games and other fun stuff.

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
Munich! ZOMG Munich!!

16. What song/album will always remind you of 2011?
Crazy Bitch by Buckcherry And Polarvargen by Raubtier.

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
a. happier or sadder? Happier
b. thinner or fatter? Same. I think.
c. richer or poorer? Richer

18. What do you wish you’d done more of?
More reading. And spending more time out in the woods.

19. What do you wish you’d done less of?
Same as every year: worrying about silly things I can’t do anything about anyway.

20. How did you spent Christmas?
Like this.

21. Who did you spend the most time on the phone with?
Markus I assume. I hate talking on the phone so I don’t call people unless I really have to.

22. Did you fall in love this year?
I’ve been in love since 2007

23. How many one night stands in this last year?
0

24. What was your favourite TV programme?
Game of Thrones!! And The Tudors! Jericho was also a nice surprise, can’t believe they cancelled it

25. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?
Hate is a strong word. I dislike some people, but hate? No.

26. What was the best book(s) you read?
A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini and Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë.

27. What was your greatest musical discovery?
I don’t know if I discovered anyone new… I always just listen to the same stuff over and over again, I suck at finding new music.

28. What did you want and get?
The iPad and travelling abroad.

29. What did you want and not get?
More travelling

30. What were your favourite films of this year?
Bridesmaids and The King’s Speech! Paul was pretty good too.

31. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
I turned 28 and I had dinner with some friends.

32. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
I don’t know… I had a pretty good year. If the fairy godmother had dropped by with a new car maybe?

33. How would you describe your personal fashion concept this year?
I did wear more dresses this year than I used to. I’ve always been a jeans and t-shirt kind of girl but now I’m finally getting the hang of dresses.

34. What kept you sane?
Markus. Zappo. The forest. Music. As always.

35. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
Ian Somerhalder :3

36. What political issue stirred you the most?
They’re debating whether or not to build a railway along the coast all the way up to Luleå (a city 140 km north of my town) and so far it looks like it’s not going to happen. Everyone living in this part of Sweden, including me, wants the railway but nobody wants to cough up the money needed and the politicians in Stockholm doesn’t seem to care one bit. They don’t seem to understand that there actually are people living in the north end of the country too…

37. Who did you miss?
Alex. I wish I got to spend time with her more often. And Johan at work. He got a job at another agency and left me Ok, it’s not that dramatic, we’re friends outside of work too so it’s not like I never see him any more – but I really miss him at the office.

38. Who was the best new person you met?
Matilda, a freelancer who is hiring a desk at work. She’s really nice, I like her

39. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned this year.
I don’t think I learned anything big enough to be considered a “life lesson”. But I did learn not to wear studded boots if you’re going on a plane. You’ll have to take them off to get through the metal detector and then everyone see the hole in your sock… Better yet: never wear tattered socks!

40. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year?
“We pity you loves leftovers,
we look down on those who can’t stay true.
We are safe but we can’t stop wondering,
if this is it then who’s fooling who?”

Visit to Vienna // Sahara Hotnights

The tree + presents. On the wall is a photo of Markus as a kid

We had a traditional dinner consisting of gravlax (raw spiced salmon a.k.a. most delicious food in the history of foods), various types of pickled herring, beetroot salad, patés, christmas ham, meatballs, sausages and Janssons Frestelse (big glass tray) which is sort of a casserole made with potatoes and anchovies. If you’re living here it helps if you like fish, which I do.

I must have been unusually good this year since I got some pretty amazing gifts
Markus gave me a Nintendo Wii with Mario Kart AND the Harry Potter movie box! Markus parents gave me a sewing machine, which is something I’ve wanted for some time now. My life will be so much easier from now on! Markus sister gave me a deck of Tarot cards. I got a book about Tarot for my birthday this year and I’ve been meaning to buy a deck, but now I have one – and it’s beautiful

Just have to show you one of the presents I gave Markus! It’s a Star Wars bath robe made to look like the Emperors robe, with the emblem of the Galactic Empire on the chest The store had a Jedi version too, but Markus thinks the dark side is cooler so… evil black it is.

On Christmas Day (Sweden celebrates on the 24th) we went to the movies to see The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. It was… weird, but I’ll post about that later. Sunday we went bowling with some of Markus relatives, which was lots of fun. All in all it was a good weekend, I’m more than pleased

Anyway, I hope you all have a happy Christmas/Yule/Kwanzaa/whatever!
See you on the other side!

My living room. It’s mostly black, white and purple. I think the British house-hunting show Escape To The Country is on the TV.

Big plushie snowman + small blue snowman in the flowerpot.

More snowmen… Can you tell I really like them? The biggest one is holding a real bell so it tinkles every time the cat walks by in the window.

My kitchen. The Santa in the window is actually last years Christmas card from Ori
I just finished writing all the cards for the Quilting Bee card exchange btw! I’ll be putting them in the mailbox tomorrow so expect cards, my fellow bees!

BONUS PHOTO (because everyone loves pets, right?):
Bella playing with a package of wrapping string. How silly of me to put something on the floor and expect it to be left alone

Keira Knightley. One of my girl crushes <3

Michael Fassbender. Because he has such an expressive face.

I don’t normally draw celebrities so this was a little weird. But I guess if you’re going to experiment you might as well do it all the way – both medium and motif

In other news: IT’S SNOWING! For real this time! Thick fluffy flakes of beauty

There was a market on the town square. Mostly old ladies and school classes selling home-made cookies, bread, jam and such. Didn’t buy anything from any of them though since I’m one of those modern persons who never carry cash…

There were two reindeer at the market too, one brown and one white.
I don’t think a crowded market is the right place to bring an animal, but reindeer are tradition and they were very pretty.

Speaking of crowded, I couldn’t believe how much people were out! This is normally a town where a queue of more than 3 people is something to roll your eyes at, but yesterday was nuts. Where did everyone come from?

For the first time in my life I actually have all Christmas gifts ready, which is odd since I’m usually so last-minute with my gifts… But it’s a nice change – and it means I can relax and buy fun stuff for myself instead Here’s yesterdays catch:

You can never have to many candles! Especially not candles that look like gingerbread cookies and snowballs

Look, a Moomin print! I love Tove Jansson and her Moomin characters, so I’m really happy I found it. Just have to buy a frame for it and figure out which wall to hang it on.

I also found some simple white candle holders and a crazy disco deer Like the magpie I am I can’t stay away from things that glitter, so when I saw the deer I had to buy it! It’s tacky, I know, but I can’t help it – to weird and to fun