swedish grace, stockholm's stadbibiotek

on a sunny day back in june, when the air was warmer, i ventured a little north in the city into vasastan to find one of the world's beautiful libraries.  stockholms stadbibiotek - stockholm's public library - has a gorgeous dome central reading room.  take one of the two winding stairs up to the circular balcony to browse, sit with a book down below, or scout out the english section.  all the while marvelling at such a beautiful place.  it was created in the swedish grace style by the architect gunnar asplund. 

stockholms stadbibiotek sits next to a leafy park with a view of the neighbourhood and apparently the cafe up on the hill serves the best waffles... i think i will have to return with my boys ;)

how i love wandering the streets finding treasures in stockholm.

the march + this fantastic tote

via karen walker instagram

in music class, kai is learning about protest songs - russians by sting, dear mr. president by pink, war by bob marley.  they delve into the historical background, the interpretation, the music analysis.  he believes there will be a song about the 45th president, soon.  that win weighed heavily on kai; wondering how hate could triumph love.  

so, how amazing was the women's march?  we didn't get a chance to attend in our part of the world but kai and i have been devouring the coverage online.  it's allowed us to continue the discussion about equality, kindness, and hope. 

images from here, here, here, here and here.

 

i purchased this fantastic tote.  under the trump administration, america's planned parenthood is under threat of being defunded which would be a tremendous loss to women who count on the organization for their reproductive health care needs.  visit mother mag, who has shared a list of products that support planned parenthood... 

birkenstocks and paul

i love that paul mccartney is wearing birkenstocks in his new music video.  i always knew they were stylish.  i've worn birkenstocks since my teens; i am a huge fan.  these kairo braided ones, in grey, are the ones i wear.  if you haven't broken down and bought yourself a pair yet, do it.  you now have sir paul's stamp of approval :)  but please, don't wear them with socks.

 



ok, back to sir paul.  the celebrity pop up in the video is great. meryl is dancing which makes me smile.  love her.  johnny depp is so cool.  it must have been quite the party.  have a peek/listen and happy tuesday.

bubble lamp swoon

the george nelson saucer bubble lamp hangs in my dining room and it makes me happy every time i am in view of it.  when we decided to change up the dining room pendant (we lived with low light for far too long) i knew exactly the pendant i wanted.  it is a mid-century classic that i have coveted for many years and finding it locally was very exciting!

 

i thought i would compile some inspiring images of nelson's bubble pendants (originally designed in 1947)... you really can't go wrong with one of these whether over the dining table, in the living room, bedroom, or hallway.





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alice munro

i was giddy with joy upon learning alice munro was awarded the noble prize for literature. she is the first canadian and the 13th female writer - out of 110 - to win the prize.  it feels perfect that she won; i am so happy for her. 
 
i love stories about women, about their relationships and i love short stories - alice munro, i think, is brilliant at it all.  she has an understanding for women's varied ordinary lives and great empathy.  i have her latest book of short stories, dear life, and i can't wait to get to the last four stories which are somewhat autobiographical.  alice munro says, "they are the first and the last – and the closest – things i have to say about my own life.”

photo from here



pick up an alice munro book - the love of a good woman or too much happiness perhaps - and have a lovely long weekend. 

yellow submarine pebbles

"freeze dried pineapple pieces are coated in white chocolate and dusted with a golden metallic finish."  they. are. perfection.  the small batch of yellow submarine pebbles belonged to stefan - they were in his august's chocolate union box - but savourly devoured by me.  pure deliciousness.

adam chandler, you need to make more.  pretty please? 

 

a room tour + hot wheels cars

after giving a room tour of kai's bedroom last year, i thought i would finally share the renovation of his sleeping space.

i did some organizing of his things and his new bed provided much needed storage (i also purchased new bedding and blanket). kai loves to play in his room when he has friends over and so i kept some his favourite things on display and accessible instead of neatly behind cupboard doors. 

he needed a reading light and love the orange vintage one we found (instead of orange walls he got an orange lamp!).  not much light gets in so i added a new second lamp too.  it's not a very big room so to lighten things up further we painted the walls the same off-white as the rest of the house. 

the furniture and art was rearranged too and i like it a lot better this way.  the changes were small but i think the total effect is calm and playful. 

what i most want to share about kai's room is the new photograph.  kai loves his hot wheels so i had a few of his cars photographed and i love how it turned out.  he loves the photo too and i've enjoyed listening to him share the personal nature of the photo with friends.  i couldn't decide on a frame so i had it stretched on fabric instead.  claudette, the photographer, was so lovely to work with.  i attended one of her photography workshops last year.  to see more of claudette's work visit her website and blog; she has the best job!  thank you claudette.

 



photo from claudette carracedo