september / 2019

kai: celebrating sweet 16 with the best boys

stockholm weekend pics, centralbadet + more good things

pic from slow travel stockholm

the last couple of weekends have been lazy but filled with good things.

1. located in central stockholm, in a lovely courtyard, is centralbadet, a swedish bathhouse guaranteed to relax you. you start with warm roman baths and a cold knee high one too. then off to the sauna area - mineral sauna, steam sauna, herbal sauna, and more. finally, the art nouveau swimming pool. not to mention ending our time with a classic facial, one of many spa treatments to choose from. there's also a rooftop pool which i'll have to visit next time.

2. going to the spa with ange! if i'm going to be partially naked with anyone, she's definitely who i want by my side. her sense of humour to the whole experience made it all the more comfortable. i look forward to her biannual visits, they are filled with laughter, shopping and good food. this is one lovely woman.

3. fika dates with stefan who recently returned from a two week work trip (again!)... magnus johansson bageri (they sell bunches of flowers now!) and kavalleriet are always delicious.

4. and my other guy... a lunch date with kai eating the always delish indian street food. 

5. chocolate chip cookies, just one a day to keep the doctor away. these ones are from jackie kai ellis, who once owned beaucoup bakery in vancouver. recipe can be found in her memoir, the measure of my powers which i highly recommend.

6. cooking healthily with lots of veg, little to no carbs and sticking with it, resulting in fitting into jeans that i haven't been able to wear for the past few years, woohoo!

7. always, the cats.

8. chanterelle season in stockholm... my favourite is just eating them simply right out of the pan or on toast. so good, guys.

9. new purse from danish brand marimekko... i've coveted this one for a looooong time.

here are some pics, taken with my iphone (sorry, not best quality):

marimekko bag and flowers

indian food devoured + healthy eating

  

  

hope you've had lovely weekends full of good things.

friday interiors, my bedside tables

the bedroom is much smaller than we've had before. the previous owner added built in closets and painted one wall gray. other than our bed, a chest of drawers and a wall hanging, which we originally had, we didn't buy anything for the room. actually, in the 4.5 years in stockholm, we've lived without bedside tables, temporarily using what we had on hand, repurposing our things. a chest, a stool, a basket or two have had lives as bedside tables. 

i wanted to be intentional about what i chose to finish the bedroom, to choose something that felt right to me instead of buying simply to fill up the space. it was hard for me to be okay with allowing the room to be unfinished.

and then this spring, while flipping through a swedish interior magazine - an obsession of mine - i saw the one. simple wooden square cubes with a drawer that would perfectly suit the room and space. i crossed my fingers as i looked to see if it would be listed in the description and it was. norrgavel, a local store in the norrmalm neighbourhood sold them.

the cute little cubes come in different pastel shades and i quickly, with the help of a friend, settled on a rose colour to complement the gray wall and beige headboard. 

with my kobo within easy reach on the new bedside table and a place for my cup of tea, lazy mornings in bed just got better.

stockholm weekend pics, kattcafé

kai and i have been wanting to visit the java whiskers kattcafé for some time and this weekend we made it happen.

firstly, what a great concept, offering another channel for cat adoptions, educating and promoting relationships with cats. 

when we first entered, we ordered our fika and the barista told us about the required etiquette while in the cafe to ensure the cats are happy and relaxed (i.e. no waking up sleeping cats, no loud or disruptive behaviour, no picking up the cats). after sanitizing our hands and taking off our shoes (a very swedish thing to do), we entered the cafe.

getting cozy in the living room like space with cats about to play with, we were happy customers. there were two cats in particular that we were smitten with (as seen in the photos) and we schemed how we could adopt one while stefan was away. none of our schemes worked well in our favour. so instead, we stayed a bit longer than our allotted one hour, it was hard to leave.

there are numerous hiding places around the cafe and the cats are taken out for scheduled naps too, all to ensure they have time to themselves and therefore relaxed and stress-free.

even if you are not looking to adopt, spend some fun and relaxing time with cats and the fika is pretty delish too so definitely worth a try.

oh, and i've read that watching cat videos online gives a boost in our mood and reduces negative emotions, so i imagine this effect must be more powerful in real life. 

hmmm, how do we convince stefan we need a third cat?

stockholm weekend pics, sweet 16th birthday

sweet 16.

my sweet 9 lbs 4 ounces and 1foot 10 inches long baby is now a beautiful 130 lbs and 6 feet tall teen... time is flying by and i feel the need to hold on tight.

when he was younger and would tell me, 'mama will you marry me', i'd just melt! while he no longer wants to marry me, the best part of motherhood is the love of my boy and the overwhelming and total love i have for him.

the hardest part of motherhood, fear, it's always inside you. i can just hope that i am giving him the confidence, independence, and respect for himself. it's not always easy, but it's the most rewarding thing in life. 

i love hanging out with him, going to the cinema or a gallery, travelling, playing board games/cards or just sitting on the sofa watching money heist. although i can be annoying about it, maybe even needy, i think the key to our relationship is acceptance, laughter and self-reflection.

he has my stubbornness (not always a good thing), empathy, and relaxed way of being. i love his sense of humor, his perfect nose, listening to him eat an apple.

here are some photos...

waking up on his birthday the swedish way, which i love, with breakfast (donuts!), presents, and singing. we threw in some balloons too. such a special traditon.

gifts from his girlfriend :)

he requested a small 'party' with two of his best friends. there was a very chocolatey caramel layered cake, a delish lasagna and plenty of hanging out, gaming and making music.

 

lovingly made by stefan

the lasagna too, made by stefan :)

hoping for a slow year ahead, time goes too fast.

loki on a leash

we love cats and especially our loki.

we adopted him when kai was just a toddler and it's been a love affair ever since.

being in stockholm, loki has had an indoor life with the occasional stroll out to the balcony enjoying the sunshine. and while he seems content to be indoors, we decided to train him on a leash. it hasn't gone well :)

first, we had difficultly finding him a leash that fit, he's a big cat (currently on a diet). we ended up buying a leash for a dog!

although comfortable being outside, he refuses to walk alongside us. even at the bakery for fika, he preferred to be under the bench observing the world go by.

while leash training is still a work in progress, we loved how he brought smiles to people's faces. 

 

we'll keep working on the training and update you with any progress. i know, you can't wait :) 

happy wednesday everyone!