stockholm weekend pics

we didn't plan this weekend very well.  with the gorgeous weather we should have been riding our bikes or frolicking in a park or hiking in a forest but at least we felt the warmth of the sunshine.  it was a quiet and relaxing weekend.  here are a few pics...

kai is #16, he blends in well with the swedish boys next to him.

finally, after four months of waiting kai has been placed on a team.  he played his first soccer (fotball, here in europe) match.  due to misunderstanding about the length of the game, stefan and i missed most of it (we had to go find our caffeine fix). we felt terribly guilty about it but there will be more matches in the near future, like next weekend!

photo from pelikan website

  

we ate a delicious meal at pelikan.  they serve swedish cuisine like herring, meatballs and reindeer.  i had the mushroom risotto which was very good, full of flavour and i think the ambience of the place contributed.  wood paneled walls and faded murals. it feels like a place that was popular before south sodermalm was the place to be and considering the restaurant was packed full, it still is popular.

stefan and kai geeked out at the science fiction fair!

   

stikki nikki, the ice cream shop, opened it doors this weekend and so, of course, we indulged.  we've been told it's the best ice cream in stockholm and it didn't disappoint.  each of our ice creams - lignon berry yogurt, pistachio, chocolate - was full of flavour.  the ice cream is made daily, it's all organic with no artifical flavours, and one of the shops is dangerously located just around the corner from us.  to read more about nikki, the person, visit glasskoll.se.

our neighborhood movie theatre

we went to our first movie in stockholm!  the three of us wanted to see the new avengers movie. i love all the marvel movies so you won't get any criticism from me.  it was wonderfully spectacular. 

hope you had a lovely weekend too!

weekend pics, 33 hours

33 hours is the amount of time i was on my own this weekend while stefan and kai went on their annual boys-only camping trip to the sunshine coast (they had fun!).  if you'd like to read about it, this is what my 33 hour weekend without them looked like:

do: i went to the khatsahlano music and art festival popping into shops; stopping to listen to the variety of bands playing, my favourite was e.s.l and the lion, the bear, and the fox; sipping on iced tea, the one from david's tea really did taste just like a pina colada, it was so refreshing; and i really really wanted a corn on the cob but couldn't because of the braces (argh!) but i did have a snow cone :)

exercise: over the course of the weekend i went for a run, worked out at the gym, and cycled to kitsilano pool for a lovely long swim.  i am feeling good despite the indulging...

indulge: i ate biscotti (my favourite) dipped in tea and came across a gluten-free salted chocolate chip cookie from culprit coffee that was the best i've tasted thus far.  i will definitely return and bring my boys with me.

watch: i went to the movies to watch before midnight and while one person walked out of the cinema in the middle of the movie and another, at the end, turned to me to say it was a waste of money, i actually loved it.  i enjoyed strolling through greece with jesse and celine, their dialogue and the realism of their relationship was mesmerizing.  if you haven't seen it, be sure to see the first two movies in this trilogy first, before sunrise and before sunset. 

eat: i treated myself to a japanese meal from shizenya.... their tofu and avocado salad with black sesame sauce is incredibly delicious.  and i cooked a one-tray bake for my boys' return home (thank you for the suggestion lyda!).

pamper: i ended my 33 hours with a pedicure and manicure from pure nail bar. 









 



 

 

dog swoon... isn't this the cutest mohawked dog you've ever seen?

 



espresso coloured toes!





despite missing my boys - that kai of mine grows more quickly when he's away from me, he did the same thing last year - and not enjoying being home alone at nighttime (remember this post about noises in the night), i had a lovely weekend on my own.  i hope yours was lovely too.

bill and sarah

a couple of days ago i was home sick (another cold).  i stayed in bed the entire day ignoring the dishes in the sink, the clothing that needed washing and the pillows that needed plumping.  instead, snuggled under the blankets, with loki and a cup of tea nearby, i watched two documentaries.  it was a completely lazy day.

the first documentary i watched was bill cunningham new york - it was such a delightful film.  bill, now 84 years old, is a street-style photographer for the new york times column on the street.  his passion for fashion photography left me speechless.  and i love that he rides his bike (rain or shine) everywhere around new york to photograph anyone (not only celebrities) he deems fabulous.

bill is a funny, quirky, humble, and lovable person.  he may capture beauty with his camera but he exemplifies the beauty of the human spirit.  please watch it (see trailer below)!

 





 

the stories we tell is an incredible movie directed by sarah polley.  it's a personal film about her late mother's life and secret.  what's remarkable is that she not only interviewed her relatives and her mother's friends, each with their own perspective and truths about her mother and her secret, but she was able to hear all the stories and then make a movie about it!

 

when the documentary is being touted by the critics as riveting and genius and a triumph you have to see it right? 





celebrity crush

am i too old to write about celebrity crushes?  well i'm going to go ahead anyway!  i don't have many celebrity crushes but there is just something about patrick stewart (and his accent)! 

i first loved patrick stewart in his role as jean luc picard in the star trek: the next generation series. 





sorry, i cannot locate source of photo

then i loved him for his role as professor charles xavier in the x-men movies.

he will be in the new x-men movie!

and now i love him for his role as simply patrick stewart. i knew nothing about his private life until now... thanks stefan for the link!

 who is your celebrity crush?  do share.

spring break: afternoons with kai

i love it when the focus is just kai with nothing else on the to do list but hang out, enjoy each other's company, and laugh.  how i wish all of our days were like these.

i took the afternoons off work during the first week of spring break so i could spend time with kai (he gets two weeks!).  i worked in the morning while he was learning about classical animation and computer arts and then the afternoons were ours.  we had a really fun time in the sun at granville island, went to the movies, explored science world, rode our bikes in the sun (then in torrential rain, all in the same day), lunched twice with stefan downtown, met up with friends and their adorable dog, and kai did not have a pedicure and leave the salon with orange toes (shhhh, don't tell him i told you about the latter). 

here are some photos - taken from the perfect (and new!) little camera - to capture the afternoons.  i had fun playing around with it during march break. 









 





 

 

  

 

 

 

 





 

 

 

 

 

 



 





 



 

 



and there was homework too!