december / 2020

kai: i am always AMAZED that he taught himself to play instruments, he can even pick up the ukulele and play a tune. so cool.

christmas time!

finally, it's christmas time. 

i love these days. they start on the eve of christmas with a classic swedish menu featuring jansson's temptation and sill, bubbles, and board games. before bed, i do last minute wrapping, an activity i find enjoyable and relaxing.

the next day, we linger at breakfast, enjoying kai's cheesy omelet. and, as we eat and chat, we also begin opening our stocking stuffers (pic above).  i love my ABBA tee and stefan and kai unwrap lots of chocolate and licorice. finally, we open gifts while an 80's soundtrack is being played (much to kai's chagrin). the jean-luc picard biography made me laugh out loud. if you know me, you know i have a crush on patrick stewart. then, we take a gazillion selfies to get that one photo that will do... my boys are patient with me :) it lightly snowed too, perfect. it's become tradition to have meatloaf for christmas dinner. yes, simple but we love it with its sides of mash and broccolini. the evening ends with more board games.

the in-between days follow the same flow... leisurely (last pic) and filled with good food.

omg, i am so short... when did that happen?!?

merry christmas!

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 :)