stockholm weekend pics, rosenhill tradgarden

rosenhill is an organic farm in the country, on an island called ekerö, a green oasis.

we have friends that have gushed about their cafe so we had to visit before they close for the winter.  they serve delicious homemade pastries and cakes and really good, in season, food.  the food is served on mismatched plates with mismatched cutlery and cups too.  all very quaint.  there are plenty of places to enjoy your meal too... on the veranda, in the greenhouse, on the lawn and in the courtyard. 

there is a cute little shop in one of the sheds too, selling home goods but also their produce. during harvest time you can even pick your own flowers, berries, fruits and vegetables.  and they will turn your apples into cider to take home...  we watched a machine crush a bunch of apples into a very flat pancake of apple mush, extracting all the juice!  kai was mesmerized by the process.

photo credit: laurie, from vancouver!  so lovely to run into new friends at the farm.

on sundays, they host a loppis (flea market) and also have a shed where you can take one thing as long as you leave something else. it's on the honor system.  so awesome, right?

we roamed around the property, taking it all in.  walk among the apple trees in the orchard where there are makeshift comfy benches to rest, trampoline and swings for the kids, or lounge in one of the many hammocks throughout the property.  there are sheep and pigs to visit too :)

the workshop

you can rent one of these sheds for an overnight stay.

a short walk takes you down to lake marlaren, where you can swim.  but we'll have to wait until next summer for that activity.  and there will definitely be a next time.  it's such a lovely place to just enjoy and feel good.  we weren't the only ones, kai ran into a couple of school friends while we were there too!  they are open for a couple more weeks, do visit.

friday interiors

this home in stockholm is lovely.  in decorating her home, the owner, emma johansson, says she's a patient consumer and will wait until the perfect piece reveals itself to her.  often, this happens at flea markets and auctions.  patience shows up brilliantly in her home.

have a lovely weekend.

37 / 52 weeks

kai: his first dungeons and dragon game based on his favourite character from the r.a salvatore series, the legend of drizzt.

already autumn

do you feel the first signs of autumn already?  it will be my first one in stockholm but i feel the mornings are colder already, that specific smell in the air, the darkness coming earlier. and i definitely felt the change of season during this 'summer' picnic with friends.  

for me, autumn has always been a favourite season.  it's cozy, the leaves change colour, the temperature is perfectly cool.  i'm counting on you, stockholm, to provide us with a marvelous fall.  pretty please.

and you?  how do you feel about the change of the seasons?

stockholm weekend pics, a twelfth birthday

kai turned 12 on saturday!  so crazy how quickly time flies.  he was so excited to be turning 12 and although a part of me feels a bit alot sad that my guy will be entering teenage years in just a year, i also feel excited for him to explore life, to learn, to be happy and successful.

we hosted a party for him.  we invited his favourite friends and their families to hang out with us.  it was so nice to witness this new group of friends in our home to celebrate kai.  it was heart warming and i am so grateful.  when we moved to sweden i wondered how it was possible that we would be lucky enough to find a community of friends like we had at home.  then saturday happened.  we are so fortunate.

i realized at the end of the day that i actually hadn't taken many photos.  i feel a bit sad about that, it certainly wasn't a conscious decision.  i think i was a bit shy to snap away but also wanted to connect with our new friends.  photos or not, kai had a blast.  there was minecraft gaming going on, running around outside in the courtyard, pasta al forno with meatballs made from scratch, such generous gifts were enthusiastically opened, and the most delicious homemade birthday cake eaten - caramel in between layers of chocolate sponge and covered in chocolate icing!  

oh, and everyone sang happy birthday in their native language - hindi, dutch, italian, spanish, macedonian, swedish and english - which was so not synchronized but so awesome nevertheless! 

in his birthday suit :)

 

"kai is twelve"

end of the day selfies that kai took...

there was a bit of melancholy too.  we noticed the absence of our vancouver friends, the ones that have been to each and every one of kai's birthdays.  we missed you so very much and send you lots of love.

36 / 52 weeks

kai: after school chillin'