His laugh is contagious and his smile is enough to melt all of our hearts.  Is he really going to be two in just a few weeks?  Oh, yes.  His tantrums and super sonic energy will attest to that!  But he’s a keeper for sure!

PS  Please excuse our brief absence.  We have been getting our flat set up and enjoying long strolls in the sunshine before the cold comes.  With your permission we would like to move Shop 52 posts to Wednesday, so be sure to come back and see the very cool shop we have for this week!

It was by chance that we came across this shop, Portobello.  We were meeting a leasing agent a couple doors down, but she wasn’t there so I started roaming a bit while we waited.  As it turns out, the agent had given us the wrong address and we ended up seeing a flat a few streets over, which we did not end up leasing.  But I had gotten one quick glance at this shop and I knew I had discovered a gem. I promised myself that I could return… which was the only way I could drag myself away!

We have been back a couple times since then and each time I am thrilled by the beautiful selection, the careful editing, and the thoughtful placement of each item.

One hardly even needs an imagination to dream of how wonderful each item would look in her home!

Not only does Portobello carry many well known Danish brands but Mona, the shop owner, also makes trips as often as she can to places such as Italy and France to find one-of-a-kind treasures.

She also has a supplier that brings her beautiful furniture that has been carefully brought to life and I have to admit that I have my eye on more than one piece.

We are so excited to finally be moving into our own place this week.  Traveling Man has, perhaps with a dose of wisdom, made me wait to purchase anything for our new flat, but my wait is almost over!  What shall I choose first?

Portobello, NDR. Frihavnsgade 62, 2100 Kobenhavn O, +45 35 55 64 84

She spends her winters forsaken and cold.  The vast sea mocks her with it’s damp bitterness and threatens to beat her down… She is dreadfully weary… as if the weight of the world is upon her.  She feels broken… brittle… and all her flaws are exposed for the whole world to see.  Just when she does not think she can take one more minute of the agony, she sheds her isolation and is filled with laughter and hope.  Summer has arrived and with it comes fresh perspective and a renewed sense of who she is.  She is the sommerhus, the place they come to when they need a time of restoration.  She nurtures them, encourages them, reminds them of who they are and what they are made of.  They are better because of her and it is then that she realizes that it is enough… enough to wait, enough to just be, enough to make her happy no matter what the next winter brings.

This week’s word of the week is in honor of our Traveling Girl who has spelled this word for us all week long and got the highest score ever on her very first Danish quiz.  We are, of course, planning a celebration dinner over the weekend!

To me, nude means wearing no makeup and revealing body parts that show any sign that I have had three kids… and trust me, that doesn’t leave a whole lot.  But in Morocco, nude had a completely different definition.  While most our friends there would have defined nude as a person being without clothes, there was always an underlying social law that dictated that very little flesh was ever seen in public.  The only way I knew how to deal with it was to imagine someone in the States walking into the grocery store in their bathing suit.  Who would do that, right?  That is how my Moroccan friends felt about wearing shorts or tank tops… it would have been like that poor girl in the States wearing her bathing suit who is being eyed with suspicion while Moms cover their little boys’ eyes and run away from the crazy lady.

And then there is Denmark… the land where nudity is viewed completely different.  I wondered how girls could ride their bikes wearing skirts without… you know, revealing stuff… and the truth is that some don’t.  And I don’t think some of them care either.

Then there are the beaches.  In Morocco it was nearly scandalous for a girl to wear a bathing suit to the beach and many of the women even wore their jilaba straight into the water!  But Denmark there are actual nude beaches… and most are topless otherwise.  I heard that some women were trying to pass a law here to allow women to go topless in public… and no, it was not the guys trying to get this passed, it was the girls!

I wanted to share a story with you that happened recently but I don’t know if I could get through it without blushing.  Just suffice it to say that I have now seen one woman very naked and it was by Danish standards- not mine!  I am going to have to spend some serious time at the gym before I am willing to go to the pool, the beach, the harbor, or even a creek.  In the meantime, though, I have to say that I do have a certain level of respect for women who are that confident in their own skin.  They are not all young and skinny either, but they carry themselves proudly and there is no shame.  Of course, I can hear my Moroccan friends telling me “hashuma” (or shame) for even talking about such a subject.  I’m just an American girl who has realized that not everyone sees the world the same way and if you think I’m wrong… head to the beach!

I have had to wait almost two full days to share this darling shop with you and it has just about killed me!  Oh, yes!  It really is that amazing and I am so glad that Monday has finally arrived so I can share all the beauty and inspiration this sweet shop, Brinja Kobenhavn, has to offer!

I first met Brinja through her blog, which is such a wonderful window into her lovely life.  Finding out that she had a little shop just across the bridge from Copenhagen’s city center, had me running for my purse and keys!  I could not wait to see what this delightful girl had created in real life!

There was not even an inch of disappointment either.  Brinja is such a warm and inviting shop owner and we even got to meet baby Vilja before she was whisked away by her Daddy for an afternoon stroll in the park… in the hopes of a good afternoon nap, of course!

I think what I loved most about this shop was that each item had been carefully selected and many things were handmade by Brinja herself and other artists.

There were fun bins to browse through and even the tiniest treasures were strung with care.

This was the kind of place that spoke to me so much… like a cup of chicken noodle soup to the creative soul.

And, really, Brinja Kobenhaven, is just the kind of shop that we had in mind when we started our Shop 52 Project…

Filled to the brim with beautiful things, focused on handmade things, and just the kind of place that you would want to come to over and over because you never know what Brinja has come up with next!

I have a list of things that I regretted not buying, which I suppose is just the excuse I need to return!

I could not; however, leave without my own set of those beautiful birds.  It probably will not surprise you that mine are turquoise.  I promise the next thing I buy will be some other color… any color… maybe!

If you are here in Denmark, or plan to visit, please note that I have added the address and contact information below and have gone back and done the same for previous shops featured.  But, if you are not here, do not worry!  Brinja has a lovely online shop that you can purchase from as well!

Brinja Kobenhavn, Islands Brygge 21, 2300 KBH S, TLF: 88 38 87 85, website: Brinja Kobenhavn

and everything nice… that is what a little girl’s room is made of… and perhaps lots of closet space for all her shoes and purses too!

Images: 1. our image 2. The Black Apple 3. Le Souk

Inspiration rarely comes from the same source. Sometimes it comes from a sight…sometimes a smell…and other times a sound.  Sometimes all of these are combined to create an emotional environment that simply must be captured.  Gilleleje on the Northern Coast of Zealand is one of these places.  The city sits on the North Sea and is a place that seems to embody the spirit of the open sea.  The harbor isn’t dormant with abandoned yachts of distant weekend sailors but is alive with working, active, fishing vessels. The normal seaside accessories of tourist shops and high-rise hotels are thankfully absent and the town appears to have avoided the madness of the summer tourist season.

There’s a unique emotion experienced when one encounters such a place.  It’s as if you can hear the call of the sea…leading those trapped on land to throw caution to the wind and to explore.  The call to abandon the norm and embrace the adventure…to cast off the ropes of safety and engage the unknown.  The city isn’t the destination but instead serves as a place to encounter the culture of the sea. This is the place where dreams are dreamed…adventures are lived out and along the way we find ourselves being changed.  It’s as if the salt of the sea serves to bring out flavors in us that we didn’t know we had…or had forgotten that we had from so long ago.

When we leave we feel renewed, inspired, a little sad but thankful for the moment….thankful for the call of the sea.