christmas prepping, a favourite pasttime

1. picking up the christmas tree! we left it late this year... as the christmas tree lot, right on the water, taking over carnegie bryggeriet's patio, came into sight our mouths fell open, they were closing up! there was one lone tree left, no choices to be made, it was ours. and you know what? it was one of the best trees to adorn our little home :)

2. putting ornaments on the tree! i bought a new one this year from a danish company, the pretzel that hangs on the buildings of bakeries. i chose to go monochromatic this year. it took some getting used to but we all liked it.

3. putting out a few christmas trinkets, to join the starlights that have been hanging in the windows since mid-november, like the candelabra and the new straw wreath. love it! 

4. wrapping gifts! love, love, love. again, i chose to go monochromatic for the wrapping paper too but kept the ribbons interesting.

5. making overnight oats with saffron which is a popular spice during the christmas holidays. i especially love the saffron biscuits and bulles (buns) that show up in the bakeries. but, i am not a fan of the st. lucia saffron buns, often they are so dry (pictured below in candy form on the gingerbread house, the little yellow figure eight).

 

hope you enjoy the prepping, revel in it :)

stockholm weekend pics, days leading up to christmas prepping

december was quiet and relaxing. 

we completed our first puzzle since covid-19 arrived, rooftops of stockholm. i know, we are late to the game. and now i am addicted, it's challenging yet i had not realized just how meditative it is too. so ready for my next one! 

stefan made, for the first time, sausage rolls which were a hit. and, all sorts of snacking went on too... kale chips, gingerbread cookies, and chocolate chip cookies to name a few. 

i looked forward to my daily johan och nystrom tea advent calendar. and this year, i gifted stefan a coffee calendar from drop coffee, one of his favourite coffee shops.

despite the darkness, my cactus is thriving, do you see the two new shoots? i feel like a proud plant mama, which rarely happens. and, because of the darkness, we loaded up on candles, lots of candles.

we spent weekends on södermalm. lunched at nook restaurant and devoured their bau buns and ordered seconds and devoured those too. had fika at café pascal and sébastien på söder who had saffron buns, yum! popped into some shops for stocking stuffers too. and, waited in line to buy some sill (pickled herring) - to avoid crowding in the shop, the fishshop set up table outside, especially for sill which the swedes love at this time of year.

i received two packages from vancouver! thank you suji and patrycja (insert heart emoji here).

i finally went to the hairdresser for some low lights (i think that's what it's called).. trying to ease into the gray.

we spent time with friends too. 

a julbord with ximena and family at hellasgården, our favourite tradition! while is wasn't a buffet with all the swedish classics (due to covid), the food prepared at the table was, as always, very good. 

and, we also took a ferry to djurgården with jenny and nils to eat at  rosendals trädgård and walk around the island. walking back into downtown, we had fika at kavalleriet before boarding the ferry home. it's always such fun hanging out with these two (did you catch nils sense of humour?).

i am getting excited for christmas, days spent at home with my boys :)

travelogue: trysil, norway, a ski vacation

while traveling is great fun for me, the idea of doing so with friends is even better. we immediately abandoned our plans to go to slovenia for sportslov (sweden's week long sport's break) and instead tagged along with our friends despina, george, and their daughter marilena. 

trysil, a norwegian classic, is the largest destination for skiing in norway that swedes travel to. located close to the swedish border, it's about a 6-hour drive from stockholm. 

the resort, trysilfjället, has two sides, and on the south side, where we stayed, you find long wide slopes for all levels, a children's area, restaurants, bars, and a teeny main street with a couple of sports shops and cafes.

most cabins and hotels are located right by the slopes, which means that you never have to walk far – it’s ski-in, ski-out. while there are no real views, unlike our visits to the dolomites and the pyrenees mountains, it was quaint and convenient. even after the sun goes down, some slopes have floodlights for night skiing, which kai took advantage of. my boys are experienced riders, and while there is not an abundance of choice, they did manage to ride a few black slopes despite the lack of snow this year.

while our hubbies and kiddos skied/snowboarded, despina and i took it easy. we met up for chai lattes, lunched with our people (i won't even give you an example of how much a sandwich and a coffee will cost you), had a spa day, and enjoyed an afternoon of snowshoeing too.

marilena and i loved the chicken sandwich served with the perfect fries

one morning we let the sweetest huskies show us the way through norwegian's beautiful unspoiled nature on a dog-sledding tour. while i was a little apprehensive at the start, it was magic.  

such peaceful surroundings on this easy snowshoe stroll.  while it wasn't strenuous (like my grouse ascents in vancouver), i enjoyed sharing this favourite activity with despina. and the hot chocolate was a treat. 

we tried to see the northern lights but to no avail. i don't think seeing a wavy green streak in the sky for just a moment counts, nor does this photo below, taken and photoshopped by our guide. but, we did experience frigid temperatures, it was freezing! 

our stay at the radisson blu was really convenient. they had a lounge where we could enjoy pre-dinner drinks, the boys enjoyed a dip in the pool, despina and i pampered ourselves with a spa treatment and we went bowling too. yes, they had a bowling alley, and it was such a fun evening! although someone (i won't say if it was me or maybe george) was a bit competitive but all in good fun. 

best of all, we were just a hop and skip away from our friend's rental apartment. depsina and stefan cooked, so we enjoyed good food and drink, we played games, and just relaxed in the company. 

i will look back on these special moments fondly... until the next time!

we didn't manage to make it into town, but on our way home, we stopped by kort och godt for the highly recommended solbullar ('sun buns')... a delicious vanilla cream-filled pastry.

vacations are always better with friends! thank you, despina, george, and marilena. we look forward to more hangouts back in stockholm.