The Facts and Fictions of Life According to Shekira

Ut på tur, aldri sur!

2011-04-19T23:12:00.003+02:00

På denne tiden i morgen er vi i fantastiske London! Frode & jeg. Og der skal vi kose oss i hele 7 dager. Løse planer for oppholdet, men på øverst av lista troner: gourmet-middag på Avista, besøke Tate Modern & Saatchi Gallery, spise pekingand i Chinatown (hurra!) og dra på marked. Gleder meg masse!

God påske, folkens!

Et godt kjøp!

2011-03-07T22:34:00.005+01:00

Hurra, hurra! Idag ble en splitter ny, og svært etterlengtet, vaskemaskin levert! Et vidunder fra Whirlpool. En kjær ankomst etter at den Herr F arvet fra gode venner takker for seg tidlig i høst.
Vet ikke hvem som er mest lettet - jeg fordi jeg nå kan få unna vaskehaugen som gradvis har blitt større og større - eller Herr F som slipper å ta seg av all klesvasken fordi jeg er for pysete til å gå ned i vaskekjelleren. Uansett er det et innmari godt kjøp!

Men ett lite problem. For øyeblikket er vi på akkurat samme plass om for 24 timer siden - vi har en ubrukelig vaskemaskin på badet. Splitter ny, men ubrukelig, som er noe den vil fortsette med å være frem til vi får en rørlegger på plass. Kryss fingrene for at klesvaskgudene er vennlig innstilt og at han er på plass i løpet av morgendagen!

Mama needs to do some laundry!

Det snør, det snør...

2011-02-10T14:53:00.004+01:00

...tiddelibom.

Etter gårsdagens forsmak på vår med sol, plussgrader og mang en osloborger som nøt kaffelatte ute i sola, var jeg sikker på det nå var slutt på tulleværet vi har hatt de siste ukene. Men værgudene var visst ikke enige med meg, mer snø. Snø i massevis. Hvitt overalt!!!

Lengte seriøst etter vår nå... Litt mer sol? Noen dager til med plussgrader - helst uten at det smelter og så fryser på igjen?!? Det hadde vært digg!

Hatt en litt slapp dag hjemme så langt. Til tross for gode intensjoner om å gjøre noe fornuftig. Min kjære mor & tante B kommer på besøk til oss om ikke så mange uker, og før den tid bør vi ha fått skikk på leiligheten. Viktigst av alt er å få istand gjesterommet som så lang kun er brukt til oppbevaring av alt mulig rart. Et riktig roterom. Rydding har det bare blitt med tanken i dag. Prøver å skrive jobbsøknad, men merker at ordene ikke kommer så lett akkurat nå og jeg lar meg lett distrahere av TV og håndarbeid. Har latt meg inspirere av E og hengt meg på geriljabroderi-trenden. Har ikke brodert siden barneskolen og det er faktisk ganske så artig :)

Men det er ikke lenge til jeg må våge meg ut i kulde og snø, for det skal nemlig selges bøker til den store gullmedaljen ikveld! Tilbake til søknaden...

totusenogelleve

2011-01-08T13:59:00.007+01:00

Vi er nå en uke inn i det 2011 og det føles seriøst som om det er en evighet siden vi feiret årsskiftet med brask og bram. Med andre ord, det har vært en lang og slitsom uke her i huset. Men nok om det!

Nytt år - nye muligheter! Jeg er tildelt en bunke blanke ark, og jeg gleder meg til å se hva året bringer av spennende og mindre spennende opplevelser!!
Jeg har i grunnen aldri vært flink til å holde nyttårsforsetter, men tradisjon tro har jeg noen få punkter som føyes til en liste, selv om det fort blir lagt til side og glemt. I 2011 har jeg de beste intensjoner om å bli flinkere på følgende punkter:

Tid ...bli flinkere til å være presis!

Penger ...bli flinkere til å spare!

Ferdighet ...lære noe nytt!
Årets ferdighet = strikking, og ambisiøs som jeg
er er jeg i gang med ett selbuvotter.

Nytelse ...leve livet fullt ut!

...og utnytte alle sjanser som byr seg til å gjøre mitt beste, være best og være lykkelig!

Hurra for det nye året!

50 years of rock n' roll

2010-09-24T22:02:00.006+02:00

Today a very special family member celebrates his 50th birthday.

50 years of rock n' roll, as he likes to put it.

I hope you're having a wonderful day.

Happy birthday, daddy!

[photo: scanbike.se]

P.S. I'm hoping he'll like appreciate this photo better than last year's.

His complaint was that he didn't look tough enough... Boys will be boys...

A miniature love affair

2010-09-23T13:53:00.009+02:00

I bought a Diana Mini-camera during our stay in Copenhagen earlier this month. I've been wanting one for ages. Been ogling the Diana F+ & Mini-Diana whenever I happened upon them in a shop, but always pushed the thought of buying one away. It seemed silly to pay that much for a toy, plastic camera... But I finally gave in, and couldn't be happier! Haven't seen the photos yet - it's true, it does take forever to finish the film when you get up to 72 half shots! Just got notice that my first film is finished devloped, so going to pick it up now! Can't wait to see the photos!

...now to remember, apply some restraint and don't go crazy with Diana-accessory shopping!

September 7th -10th

2010-09-03T23:09:00.004+02:00

Hihi, I've cashed in my x-mas present from lover-boy (see here) and really soon heading off on part II of our holidays this year. From Tuesday 7th to Friday 10th of September we'll be exploring & enjoying the best of Copenhagen! I can hardly wait!
None of us have been there before, so there's just so much we want to see. So far there's two definitive to-do's on the itinerary: 1) A visit to Louisiana - a must to catch the "Warhol after Munch" (ends on September 12th) + "Sophie Calle", and 2) pick up our first (?) design addition to the flat, a floor-lamp that looks like an oversized desk lamp. We came across it in a shop in Rethymnon and it was love at first sight. And after some internet research to find a seller closer to home, we deemed it easier to lug back from CPN than Crete.

Other than that we're bound to hit the tivoli at least one day, I have to have a drink at the tiki bar The Brass Monkey (too bad their own souvenir tiki-mug is first released in October) , eat smørrebrød, check out the amazing shopping & just walk around and enjoy life, time off & eachother! Hi hi... I'm already in love with Copenhagen!

Friday Fling!

2010-08-27T13:51:00.005+02:00

Happy Friday! Late morning start today. Home alone last night (1st time in new flat!) as the beau was of on a work-related trip. Combined with working late, let me a not so sleepy Sheki when I finally got home. Anyway, soon of to work again (that's basically all I've been doing lately). Got the day off tomorrow as Mommy Dearest is coming! Yeah! Lucky lady is jetting of to Rhodos with a friend and we're the gracious hosts of their sleepover in Oslo. "Patsy & Edina" reunited - again, haha!

On another note, I'm hoping to get round to posting some pictures soon. Haven't had time to look through the many photos of the last two weeks. Lots of photos from my farmstay at Bokerød (had a wonderful stay in the beautiful countryside!), and also some documentation of my recent experiments in the world of cooking. Last Friday, for the first time in my life, I made a pie. From scratch! Had to try cooking with the berries we picked the previous Sunday, so blueberry pie it was. Delicious, even though I say it myself!

..but enough said.

Wishing you a wonderful & adventurous weekend!

Friday Fling!

2010-08-13T13:34:00.003+02:00

Yeah, another week's over & the weekend's here to again, bringing promises of good times with the best of company! Great! I've got the day off which is even better.

However the weather is not quite what I was hoping for. Rain, rain and even more rain. Not quite ready for the arrival of autumn, understandably. In any case, had an slow start this morning with net surfing & an episode of Project runway - I love that show! But now it's time to get my bones together and head out to do those errands I've been thinking about for days ... mainly window-shopping! Spent some time this week perusing cool DIY/craft sites on the net - really inspirering - and I've come across several projects I wouldn't mind getting my fingers on. Just supplies needed! So out we go!

The rest of my weekend, you say? I'm going for a 2 1/2 day visit to E's family farm in Østfold after work tomorrow. We've been talking about this for years, so it's high time we put it into action. Rumour has it the woodlands surrounding the grounds are full of mushrooms & blueberries, gotta check it out.

...now out into the city we venture.

Just watch out for the black cat (Friday the 13th you know...)!

Happy weekend!

ØYA - OH YEAH!

2010-08-11T16:25:00.003+02:00

Woho - today's the Øya-festival kicks off at Middelalderparken, just outside the city centre of Oslo. F & I have tickets, and man am I excited!!! It's my first time at Øya, and tonight we're going to see Iggy & The Stooges and Air! I'm hoping for a "dry" experience - not looking good so far, so I'd be delighted if someone could please put in a good word for me with the weather goods ... pretty please!

Photo of the Week: #19 *

2010-08-03T14:52:00.005+02:00

Week 31: "The Street"

Photo of a random street in old town Rethymnon. Might have mentioned it before, but F's parents own a house in the old part of the city and that's where we were staying during our holiday. A beautiful house over 3 floors with the most amazing rooftop terrace! I'd love to live on a street as lovely as this. Especially fond of the tree in bloom hanging over the street and the flowerpots standing outside the houses. Wouldn't just you love to live here too?

On another note, I'm way behind on my photo & travelreport posting. Been back from holiday 2 weeks today already. I need to get at it soon, but it's sort of easier said than done. I've got 2 computers but both are only 1/2 working. I edit photos on one, and post on the other. Goes without saying that it's a bit of a hassle, but I've just got so many nice photos & good memories I want to keep safe + show of of course!

*Doing a come-back! Time will tell if I'll be able to keep it up. Might just have to re-invent the whole concept. Perhaps on a monthly basis, or just an act of impulse. We'll see...

Blog of the day!

2010-08-01T18:55:00.000+02:00

I've never been one to turn down food nor drink - always been a great lover of anything yummy, just ask my mom! And recently with a lot of extra time to surf the net, I've come across some great blogs centering on the subject of, yes your guessed it, food!

The two hot tips of the day I personally found so inspiring that I spent hours upon hours paging back through the posts. Great photography, well written, in fact, they just want to make me run straight into the kitchen and get on cooking! I hope you'll check 'em out too - enjoy!

1) Bakerella:

I've always had a sweet tooth and a soft spot for cupcakes. What's better than a miniature cake, beautifully decorated and just for you? Also a lover of anything chocolate, it's certainly a given that that's the one I go for when I bake. Preferably chocolate cupcakes full of chocolate chips! Guess what - Bakerella's blog is certainly the holy grail of baking! Cupcakes, pops & bites, cakes & pies... 7th heaven for a sweet tooth like me, indeed! Colourful & cute photos all the way, and recipes too so that you can recreat the little wonder in your own kitchen.

2) Khymos:

Norwegian foodie writing about what happens when food meets chemistry. A great blog on the truely exciting topic of molecular gastronomy. A subject I fist read about in a post by an American blogger known as Luxirare (great food & design - she's definately an artist), and read more about in a cocktail book my brother gave me for x-mas. But now, after reeding Khymos' blog, I'm ready to start experimenting! Let's just hope I don't blow up/burn down the house ;)

That's my hottest tips for interesting reading. Check it out if it grabs your fancy.

Have you got any foodie blogs you follow? Drop me a line, I'd love to know about them!

Candid shot

2010-07-29T19:38:00.005+02:00

...taken outside the Nobel Peace Center, on my way to work on a rainy afternoon.
Quite morbid actually, when you come to think of it.

2010-07-23T13:26:00.004+02:00

Happy Friday! This time last week I was based on a sunbed on a beautiful beach in Crete. That's the good life. Wish I was still there... However, can't complain about the weather in Oslo at the moment. Sunny with almost 20 degrees. My only complaint is that it seems to be blowing quite a lot, though that won't stop me from enjoying an ice-coffee in the sun before work (though the weather-gods ruined that plan yesterday. Sunny with clouds when I headed for the subway at Grønland, raining cats & dogs when I reached Nationalteateret). So just got to finish my bowl of pasta (spiced with home-grown basil!) and get ready. Yeah, and by the way, no plans this weekend other than work and perhaps squeezing in a better dinner date with my beau - I sort of think we've deserved it!

Have a fab weekend! å

Back from holiday!

2010-07-21T13:28:00.003+02:00

O'hoi there!

Back again in Oslo after a lovely week in Crete. We had a fabulous stay with several days at the beach, two outings to check out sights on the island, delicious food & drink, and great company! Just what I needed to keep myself motivated for work and play for the next few months. Already started on my holiday report and as soon as I can reach my computer located in the far corner of our guest bedroom-come-storage room (put there during a speed cleaning the day we departed), I'll get it posted along with some pictures.

But now it's time to get the new curtains for our bedroom sorted!

Friday Fling!

2010-07-09T12:36:00.003+02:00

Happy Friday! The last one before our big break - yes, next time this week we'll be laxing on a beach in Crete! ;)

Had a horrible night, just couldn't sleep at all. Was tired, but everytime I tried to fall asleep, my head would fill with a myriad of thoughts just swirling away... Finally fell asleep just after 7 am and I'm planning on getting through this day on a major caffeine high. And bucket loads of entertainment!

Working this evening in the restaurant - quieter days now that the holidays are here. But before that I'm meeting up with dearest Mari for sun, cake or ice-cream ... or all of the above! Really looking forward to hanging-out with her!

And tomorrow afternoon F's celebrating his birthday 3 days early (enroute on the big day), so we're dragging friends out for a BBQ, party & sleep-over on Nesodden! His parents have the most amazing balcony (it's probably to big to call it that), no overview from neighbours and a stunning view of the Oslo-fjord!

Now, let's get this weekend started!

Here's wishing you a fabulous time out!

Week 26 in photos

2010-07-05T13:15:00.006+02:00

Back in early February I had a minor accident with my camera. I sort of caught the strap on a doorhandle when visiting a friend, and the lense mounts broke clear off. Fixing it professionally would cost a small fortune, and buying a new lense wasn't really an option at that time. So after finding a few tutorials on the net, F & I gave it a try ourselves. Micro-surgery... It worked! Though ever since I've lost "my touch" with the camera and I've been rubbish at taking it out with me, and taking photos when I've drag it along. So last week I decided it was high time to hit the button and shot some photos whenever I felt like it. Here's a my week in photos:

Monday 28th of June:
Snow peas in bloom in the window sill...

...and bearing fruit! I've tried them and they're delicious!

Tuesday 29th of June:
Couple time and BBQ with T & E in Sofienberg-parken.
For once the weather gods were playing fair when T & I met for a BBQ, as everytime we've tried this earlier this year, it's clouded over and started raining.

Thursday 1st of July:
How time flies! Already July and the summer has finally hit Oslo for sure. F took of an hour early from work and we headed for Tøyenparken to BBQ & worship the sun.
Perfect summer day!

...yummy! Nothing like a juicy slice of watermelon on a hot day!

Nice view! ;)

Friday 2nd of July:
Made a bad decision and headed for town instead of the sun first, so when I finally got back home it had clouded over. Too bad, but in any case I was totally knacked and lounging on the couch was good. Came home with a few great buys though: Summer dress on sale at H&M for 100kr, pots for the "garden", a new BBQ (nice big one!) and these beautiful lilies!

Sunday 4th of July:
Photo of our supper. A steaming, hot bowl of noodle-soup with scampi!

Friday Fling!

2010-06-25T15:00:00.000+02:00

Happy Friday!

Got the day off again - yeah! I love not having to go to work on a friday. Just taking life easy and relaxing. In fact I like it so much that I never get anything sensible done on a free Friday. Though at the moment I'm comtemplating whether I should try to attempt to do something but sit in the sofa. It might be a bit ambitious... However, the sun's out even though it's a bit cloudy, and I'm planning on getting some fresh air soon. Perhaps I should take my camera with me in case I come across something interesting?

Going to a farewell-party to a good friend who's moving back to Mandal this sommer. Going to be great and sad at the same time.

Other than that I'm working in the bookstore tomorrow afternoon, and a full day in the restaurant on Sunday. Thinking green - as in money - is what's going to get me through the weekend. I need cash for shopping in Crete! Haven't got the roster from the restaurant yet, so don't know how much work there'l be... I hope we get it soon so I can plan the rest of the summer!

Have a fabulous weekend!

Green fingers

2010-06-24T15:37:00.001+02:00

Horrible weather today. Cloudy, gray skies as far as the eye can see. I was hoping for a sunny day so I could get a kick-start on my tan before we hit the beaches in Crete (the way this is going I'm almost certainly going to be lobster-red after five minutes outdoors). But it was not to be. So to bring a bit of sunshine into my life, here's the update on our window-sill garden, already promised last weekend.

The photos were taken early Saturday morning before I work. I'm glad I decided to document the development because it's really exciting to see how much they've grown since the last photo session. And you really wouldn't believe how much they've grown since these photos were taken! There'll definately be another update along really soon - the snow peas are starting to flower, so I want to show it off!

The tomato plant: I was pretty sure that this one had hardly grown an inch since I bought it at the flower marked on Stortorget in the end of May. But when I looked at the previously photo I discovered that it in fact had almost doubled in height! I was totally surprised! The plant support has been extended with some duct-tape and a few wooden skewers. And we'll hopefully have our first taste of home-grown cherry-tomatoes before our holiday as he little yellow flowers are starting to open.

Snow peas (sukkererter): "Jack, you're bean-stalks ready"! It's scary just how much these have grown the past month or so, and since this shot they've grown even more! According to the discription on the seed bag they're going to be no taller than 50 cm. Puh, lucky! Supporting a taller plant would be a bit problematic. As mentioned above, pretty, white flowers are starting to show!

Basil in a pot (basilikum): This one is starting to fill out nicely. Looking like the one's you buy at the grocery's, but much better! I'm hoping it won't wither & die like all the one's I've bought in the shop, becaue you either water it to much, to little, or it's already half dead on the inside. Just look how much it's grown (P.S. Check out the difference in the snow peas since end of May)!

Leaves a delicous smell on when I run my finger tips over the leaves. According to wikipedia basil is very beneficial to your health as it's oil has antioxidant, anti-cancer, antiviral and anti-microbial properties. Fun fact, according to F's dad it's wiebacterialHealth-wise it's full of beneficial Fun tip: apparently basil is widely used in Crete as a method to fend of mosquitos, and most balconies have a planted hedge of basil.

The garden nasturtium (blomkarse): Last time it was bearly a stalk with leaves on and now it's crawling up the window. I love just love the large windows in our flat - and as you can see the plants do too! They're really thriving on all the sun light coming in (hurray for the greenhouse effect). Now the nasturtium really needs to be re-potted soon, well actually, several weeks ago. It's getting a bit big to handle and soon it will engulf it's neighbours in the seeding box. The problem is that I haven't been able to get hold of the pots I want. They're sold out at the hobby shop, so PLEASE let me know if you've come across terracotta pots anywhere in Oslo - I beg you!

Chilli: There's only one thing to say about this photo: HOT! I can't wait to these babies grow up and we can use home-grown chilli for cooking. I'm a big fan of chili, and I basically use it in everything I make. Hot & spicy, just how I like it!

The baby-strawberries (markjordbær): Coming along nicely, and looking a bit more substantial now compared to the small flecks of green on black back in May. The leaves are actually looking like real strawberry leaves now. I don't know how many put into each compartment, but there's still seedlings coming up regularily. But still no chance of strawberries this year...

! SURPRISE REVEAL !

Sweet pepper (paprika): RememberI told you I planted a few seeds from a red sweet pepper bought in the shop? It was sort of a experiment and I didn't have high hopes that it would work. Though amazingly enough out of the four seeds I planted, two have sprouted. Just look how big this one is! Now I'm just wondering how big a pepper plant is, 'cause this guy is already taller than the chilli...

21 days is a terribly long time to wait

2010-06-23T10:00:00.001+02:00

...but then I'm off to sun, blue skies and beautiful beaches! Yours truely with my better half are off on our one week vacation in Rethymnon on Crete on the 13th of July. In fact, we're leaving on my beau's birthday. Now that's what I call the right way to celebrate!

Ooh, I can hardly wait! Hope we'll be seing some nice weather here in Oslo before that so I can work on my tan. Don't want to get burnt on the first day out in that southern sun! And I really have to do some shopping because summer wear is really lacking in presence in my closet. I've got like 2 pairs of short, a few T's and singlets, a bikini, and a few light summer dresses. Besides, it really doesn't help that the airline lost most of my summer clothes back in December (the family emergency in South Africa)... ah, I hate practical shopping!

Friday Fling!

2010-06-18T23:59:00.001+02:00

Happy Friday! 7 days gone and here is my update:

I've been working, working and working a bit more. Working this weekend too, so there's my plans for you! I'm hoping the weather gods are on my side so there's less to do at work (full restaurant + rain = a stressed-out Sheki).

Other than that I've still got a cold. I'm fed up with the sniffles, coughing and sneezing, blocked nose, runny nose ... you name it! Can't believe I've managed to get a cold in the summer - again. Enough I say, enough!

F & I took a trip to Ikea earlier this week to get hold of some stuff for the flat. Survived the ordeal (a full stomach helps as we both get a bit short-tempered when we're hungry), happily we scored most of the stuff on our list. A beautiful, big, new bookcase in the living-room, a butchers block in the kitchen (good for extra working space), a lamp for our bedroom (yet to be installed), plates & noodle-soup bowls, bedding, a lavender plant and much more. Now there's no excuse for living among boxes & bags anymore!!! The extra shelving is a winner as quite a few of my possessions will be store there. We're talking cocktail "collectables", coffee-table books & glass-ware worth exhibiting.

Had an appointment with the hairdressers earlier today. Got rid of quite a lot of hair - it was really worn & tired looking - and now I'm sporting a fresh & shorter do for the summer!

Hey - and I'm finally going to get round to taking photos of my little green friends. No, we're not talking Marsian her, just my window-sill garden. All my plants are really thriving in the new flat and I can hardly believe how much they've grown. Photos coming up one day this weekend!

The past week in my life

2010-06-12T15:33:00.009+02:00

I completely forgot to write up my "Friday fling"-post, or truth to be told, I just couldn't bother. So instead of boring you with the completely uninteresting happenings this weekend (no plans, just work), I'll bore you with the just as uninteresting happenings of the past week instead. Lucky you!

The days are sort of flying by, and it's already summer. As you know, the BIG move was last Sunday, and most of my stuff has been successfully moved from Grünerløkka to Grønland. 3/4 loads - yes, I do have a lot of shit - which isn't bad considering that both licence plates on the car where stolen Saturday night/early Sunday morning, which resulted in us taking the safe option and only moving 2 loads illegally. Monday evening we moved the third load, and by the time it was Tuesday and we were supposed to take the last, we were to knacked to carry any more boxes & bags up 3 flights of stairs... I knew we should've had big, strong, hired men! It might cost money, but it sort of would have been cheaper anywas as we had a minor accident with the car. Not good...

Now, we really ned to get sorted. We're literally living with boxes and bags in almost every room (except the bathroom, naturally and our new bedroom). That means I need to dig deep, find an ounce of self-discipline and start unpacking. I haven't got that much spare-time in between all the work, so I need to make it work. .Besides it's sometimes quite fun unpacking boxes I haven't seen for 2 - 4 years, loads of surprises inside when I open them up. Books I didn't even now I had, that once highly favoured piece of clothing, or funky kitchen-ware.

At work it's been really busy latelyIt's been really busy and I've been tied up on the phone infront of that computer ( <-- ). Time just flies by when there's so much to do and before I know it, it's time to go home. Plus all the working ultimately means more money, which is a great thing as we need quite a few things for the apartment. Storage is a major issue that need soritng out quickly, and then there's the hunt for a table and chairs for the kitchen. The one standing here now belongs to F's former room-mate, and we've got our minds set on a 50's/60's teak dining-room table with 6 chairs. We've seen quite a few, but just not the right style yet. In any case, a trip to Ikea is a must in the nearby future.

Anything else worth mentioning? Yes, I met up for coffee with Marte Tuesday afternoon. Haven't seen her in like forever. Great to catch up + she generously let me inherit a barely used pair of champers which she didn't fit properly. Lucky me - thank you very much Marte, I love them!!! My childhood friend, Kristian, came to stay this weekend even though I'd warned him that the flat was mess. He just wanted a taste of big city living, and I think he had a nice time. The crazy guy's driving al the way from the south, so I've forced him to help us move the last load this weekend - need to take advantage of the weels! I also want to post some photos of my window-sill garden soon, the plants are looking wonderful, and there's a few surprises!

Finally, a complaint. I've had a cold since Tuesday and it's progressively been getting worse. I've spent the first few hours of work trying to make my nose stop running and stop coughing, and I'm quite sick of being ill. Really bad timing and I don't need this right now! ...or ever!

Friday Fling!

2010-06-04T13:12:00.005+02:00

Happy Friday! Knee deep in boxes and stuff - almost! The Move is approaching faster than lightning and today is basically the only day I have to pack. Have been trying to do some packing all week long, but it's been sort of difficult. Arg, there's just too much stuff happening at the moment! And the weekend is no different. Working tomorrow, and then going to a birthday party. Yeah! And, Sunday's the day - so better get back to those boxes and stuff. The count stands at 2 1/2 ready-to-go-boxes at the moment...

ARG, I've promised my self a number of times that the next time I'm moving, I'm hiring big, strong men to do the job. Have I done it this time - NO...

Have a happy weekend! ...and have some fun & enjoy the sun for me too!

This is how my garden grows

2010-05-28T18:00:00.002+02:00

About two weeks back I planted the first seed, and so much has happened since! I'm so increadibly proud of my gardening efforts, so here's a photo update on how my little green friends are doing:

Wednesday 19th of May:

Still in the growing box. As mentioned here, only the basil are showing signs of succes at this moment though I know for sure that the snow peas have sprouted but not pushed through the soil yet.

Monday 24th of May:

Five days later, man, how they have grown! The basil is turning into something edible for sure, and the snow peas have shot through the roof (so to speak). At this point they're almost taller than the clear platic lid, and their roots are shooting through the draining holes in the bottom. No action from the nasturtium yet, though. But amazingly the baby-strawberries are sprouting! Can you see the tine green sprouts on the bottom row? The only reason I know it's them, is that there aren't any weeds like that in the other compartments - I never knew strawberries started out that small...

Friday 28th of May:

Planted the seedlings into proper pots two days ago (Wednesday). Only the snow peas and two of the compartments of basil - no room for the last one unfortunately - and it was about high time! I wish I'd taken a photo of the snow peas roots - tightly packed in the shape of the container and a few rogue ones (really, really long ones) growing out of the draining holes. Also bought a tomato plant on Wednesday which I'm hoping will give us lots and lots of cherry-tomatoes all summer long!

As you can see the basil is coming along nicely. The leaves seem to be a bit bigger (at least I hope it's noticeable ), so I'm taking this as a sign that it's thriving. Really happy about that 'cause it was H.E.L.L. to re-pot the basil. The roots hadn't developed enough, just long, thin roots going straight down, and as I tried to lift the eart & plants out of the container with a spoon, they started to fall apart! Crisis! Stressed quite a lot trying to get them into the pot, often having to plant one and one at a time, but it will definitively be worth the effort as soon as we get to use home-grown for cooking!

The baby-strawberries are still alive. Looking a bit bigger aren't they? Highly unlikely we'll have home-grown strawberries for dessert this summer, I think...

I've been waiting a long time for this and I'm proud to show of the evidence that shows the garden nasturtium sprouting. Look how big this one is! Ready to be potted soon! In the background you can see two more coming up, so I think I'll wait until these are big enough and then repot the whole bunch:

And I've got good news! The chili seeds I had in water for, like, for ever are ALIVE!!! Two of the seeds have a tiny tail, so I planted them the other day. I'm crossing my fingers that the last three will follow soon, but 2 out of 5 isn't bad! I also put a few bell pepper seeds (paprika) in water the other day in hope that this technique will work with them too. But the seeds are from a pepper bought in the shop so I might be hoping for too much.

Finally a note on pots. I've been searching all over Oslo for terracotta pots, but they are amazingly difficult to find. I've only come across plastic ones, and only the larger sizes too. After searching high & low, I finally found some at a hobby shop the other day (can you believe this is the only place they seem to have them?!?). It's a bit too big, but I bought it anyway and I need an extra one for the tomato. But sweet, dear friend E came across the pots I wanted in Sweden and she brought some back for me! Thank you, E! I'm really lucky to have such great & caring friends!

Friday Fling!

2010-05-28T11:57:00.006+02:00

Happy Friday!

More or less mid-morning now and I haven't done anything usefull so far. You know what that means - I've got the day off. In fact, I've got the whole weekend off! Hurray! Now, what do I do with all this spare time? For one thing I'm planning on doing a bit of housework, cleaning & tidying-up . But that's on the general part of my to-do-list, that sort of thing I always have good intentions about but sort of never get round to doing. Though there are a few things happing this weekend. Here we go:

Some R&R today + tomorrow, 2 parties to attend tomorrow evening - both Eurosong-related. Sunday is likely to become av very busy day- First Mr. F & I are hitting the second-hand markets & shops. We've found at least three close by that we're planning on checking out. After that I think we are obliged (and happy to do so!) have dinner with his parents as they're soon off to Southern Europe for a long vacation, and later that evening Mommy Dearest is coming for a sleep-over (yeah!). She's going to the AC/DC-concert at Valle Hovin - rock on, mama! Ahh... a lot to look forward to in other words!

But now I'm off to the shop to get some grub and stock up on boxes. Sort of haven't gotten round to announcing this before, but here we go... Next weekend I'm moving in with Mr. F! About high time T would say, I'm sure about that! The girls have been teasing me for weeks saying that I'm "nesting" - the plants, furniture, lighting, kitchenware etc. Can I help it if I like to be surrounded by nice things? In any case, I'm really excited about this - it's going to be great living with my beau - not to mention, having all my stuff in one place (I know he's looking forward to that part too)!!!!

--> Norsk <--

Gressenke slår rot

2010-05-19T12:56:00.007+02:00

My love is on a two week vacation in the states - Salt Lake City to San Francisco. In the mean time I'm working & waiting, and my dearest friends are keeping me happy and entertained. Though suddenly finding spare-time that would normally have been spent with the beau, I've started on a few projects. One of them is trying my hand at gardening. Not necessarily a natural thing when living in a city appartment with no balcony, so I'm sticking to herbs, flowers and small fruit & vegetables (the beau gave orders to stay below 50 cm in height, else it would take up the entire window sill). And, here's a photo to show you how it's coming along.

The snow peas (sukkererter) have started sprouting, but they haven't come through the soil yet. Nothing happening with the baby-strawberries (markjordbær) yet, and the same goes for the garden nasturtium/indian cress (blomkarse). My pride & joy is of course the basil (basilikum) - it's growing!!! Mmm, looking forward to home-grown basil with mozerella & tomatoes!!!

--> Norsk <--

Min elskede er på en to ukers ferie i statene - Salt Lake City til San Francisco. I mellomtiden får jeg tiden til å gå med å jobbe, vente og så har jeg snille venner som passer godt på meg. Helt plutselig har jeg fritid som jeg ellers under normale omstendigheter ville brukt sammen med mannen. Det betyr at jeg har satt igang et par prosjekter i det siste, og et av dem er å prøve meg på hagearbeid. Nå skal det sies at hagearbeid er langt ifra naturlig når man bor i en leilighet uten veranda i byen, så jeg holder mine "grønne fingrer" til urter, blomster og små frukt & grønnsaker (mannen gav order om å holde plantene under 50 cm for ellers kom de til å ta hele vinduskarmen). På bildet over ser du hvordan det går. Sukkerertene har begynt å spire, men har ikke greid å dytte seg frem fra jorden ennå. Skjer nada med markjordbærene, og det samme gjelder for blomkarsen. Basilikumen er min store stolthet - den spirer!!! Gleder meg til å spise hjemmedyrket basilikum med mozarella og tomat. Yummy!!!

Hipp, hipp, hurra!

2010-05-17T14:03:00.005+02:00

Gratulere med dagen!

[Congratulation - Norway's national day!]

Alt mange timer ut i dagens feiring, og her på jobb er det travelt!!! En tidlig start på dagen for meg, opp kl 7:30 for å gjøre seg klar til jobb, trang-trang-trang & varm busstur som tok mildt sagt en evighet fra Sannergata til brygga, og siden har det gått i ett. Ser frem til å bli ferdig her kl 16 - da er det endelig min tur til å nyte pølse, brus og is - så mye is jeg bare vil!! Men må spare plass til litt mat for idag spiser vi godt. En tur med gode vennter på Brasserie 45 venter meg, og jeg gleder meg skikkelig!

Ha en fantastisk 17.mai-feiring!

Friday Fling!

2010-05-14T23:31:00.000+02:00

HAPPY FRIDAY!

The day is almost through so just time to squeeze in a quick report. Been a busy week at the restaurant as a lot of things need to be sorted out for the 17th of May, the Norwegian national day. Really busy today on the phones & e-mail and I was alone in the office, but it's mostly sorted now so I'm hopefully looking forward to a calmer day tomorrow.

Other than work this weekend, I haven't got any plans. I've got almost the entire week off next week, so plenty of time for some R&R. The boyfriend is gone on a two week vacation (lucky bugger!) and I'm sort of lonely and lost at the moment. Luckily I have the bestest friends in the world - they're keeping me happy & entertained! Any ideas what I can do with all this sudden free time? I feel like travelling, though I doubt I have the money to be honest. Only plan so far is to continue watching Heroes. I'm on the first season and I'm officially hooked!

Have a fabulous weekend!

-->Norsk<--

God fredag! Er ikke mange timer igjen av dagen nå, så jeg for holde det kort. Er travelt på restauranten om dagen. Vi nærmer oss 17.mai - den store festdagen - og det er ganske mye som skal ordnes før mandag. Var alene på kontoret idag, og det var travelt med mange telefoner og mail, men det ser forhåpentlig ut som det blir litt roligere i morgen siden det meste er på plass nå.

Annet enn jobb denne helgen er jeg planløs. Har nesten hele den kommende uken fri, så da er det nok av muligheter til å slappe av og ta livet med ro. Kjæresten er bortreist i 2 uker (heldiggrisen!) og jeg føler meg litt ensom om dagen. Heldigvis har jeg verdens aller beste venninner - de holder meg glad og underholdt! Noen tips til hva jeg kan bruke fridagene minte til? Har kjempe lyst til å reise bort, men tviler sterkt på at jeg har råd. Eneste planen så langt er å fortsette på Heroes-maratonen min. Jeg holder på med første sesong og jeg er offisielt hekta!

Ønsker deg en en fantastisk helg!

On Technology

2010-04-28T23:22:00.001+02:00

...is not my friend at the moment. Not that often that I'm in the proximity of a functioning computer, and when I am, I don't seem to have the time to blog. I will come back stronger in the near future ... WITH A VENGEANCE!

--> Norsk <--

Teknologi... er ikke vennen min for øyeblikk. For tiden er det ikke ofte at jeg er i nærheten av en fungerende datamaskin, og når jeg er, er det sjeldent jeg har tid til å blogge. Men jeg kommer sterkere tilbake i nærmeste fremtid ... WITH A VENGEANCE!

Friday Fling!

2010-04-02T09:00:00.004+02:00

Happy Friday & happy Easter holiday too!

So what yah up to? I'm spending the holiday in the city, working & relaxing, that's my thing. All my friends are either at home visiting their families or somewhere cold, wet & snowy. Heading up into the mountains to get a taste of the last of this year's snow is a typical Norwegian thing to do. I'm pretty sure I prefer my hot cocoa served by the couch in the comfort of my own home. Besides I can't miss out on the chance to make some extra cash (bank holidays are paid double - yeah!). Especially since I've found myself caught of guard by the Inland Revenue Service. "Baksmell" is what they call it in Norwegian, and all I'm saying is that it's a very substantial amount of money for little ol' me....well.

It's Easter & the weekend, and I'm working. Not a lot of spare-time left when you work from 12:00, but I'm hoping on squeezing in some fun. In any case I've finish at 5 pm on Saturday, and I've got the whole of Sunday off. I think F & I are perhaps invited to dinner at one of his friend's place tomorrow, and we're perhaps going on a little excursion to Folkemuseet at Bygdøy on Sunday if the weather holds (It's been raining on & off the last couple of days - today being no exception). They usually have a special exhibiton & special activities for the kids during the Easter holiday. I've always wanted to experience it, so I guess now's the time!

Have a fabulous Easter, (you) chicken!

--> Norsk <--

Glad fredag & god påske! Hva skjer'a? Selv feirer jeg påsken i byen, jobber & slapper av, det er min greie. Samtligeav mine venner har enten reist hjem for å besøke familie, eller så har de reist på fjellet for å få en siste smake bit av vinteren, snøen & kulda. Det er liksom det nordmenn gjør. Sikkert kjempe kos, men selv foretrekker jeg å nyte kakaoen hjemme i sofaen. Vel, kunne uansett ikke gått glipp av muligheten til å tjene litt ekstra penger ved å jobbe på helligdagene, noe som passer helt supert siden jeg ble fullstendig overrumplet av Skatteetaten. Jepp, jeg har fått baksmell på skatten og det er snakk om et betydelig beløp. Stakkars lille meg...

Men det er påskeferie & helg, så hva skjer fremover? Som allerede nevnt jobber jeg masse, men det er heldigvis litt fritid inni der også. Det ryktes at vi, som i F & jeg, er invitert på middag til et vennepar av ham imorgen, og på søndag blir det kanskje en liten utflukt til Folkemuseet på Bygdøy hvis været holder (umulig vær de siste dagene med regn & opphold om hverandre). På museumet pleier de å ha egen påskeutstilling samt masse aktiviteter for barna. I alle årene jeg har bodd i Oslo så har planen vært å dra dit i påska, og det er det visst på tide å få gjort!

Ha en fantastisk påske, (din) kylling!

50 years with the Doc!

2010-04-01T23:39:00.003+02:00

Hurrah for the Doc! Doc Martens boots that is - 50 years in fashion! April 1st was the first day of productions of this ever populare footware and thus the first boot type was suitably named 1460.

I've been contemplating adding a pair of Docs to my wardrobe for some time now. And I was actually planning on buying a pair while in London back in January. I just didn't get that far.

You can hardly go wrong with a pair of these boots, I think. Suitable for both everyday glamour & party-time, though I can't actually see myself doing the last one - I'm just too fond of my heels for that. And let's not forget, they're just so practical! Perhaps a pair in every colour? ;)

Happy Birthday!

2010-03-27T18:22:00.007+01:00

To the greatest aunt in the world...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Today my all time favorite aunt, Madame Berni, turns a year older. What a looker! And my I add she still drives the guys crazy!

I wish you a fabulous birtday celebration! Hope you and Mommy Dearest are have a grand old time in London! Lots of love & kisses!!!

-->Norsk<--

I dag fyller favoritt tanten min, den fantastiske Madam Berni, år! Wow, en nydelig kvinne - og hun driver fremdeles gutta til vanvidd!

Ønsker deg en fantastisk bursdagsfeiring! Håper du og mamma storkoser dere i London! Kyss, klapp og klem fra Oslo!

Friday Fling!

2010-03-27T17:55:00.004+01:00

I'm a day late on the weekend report, so HAPPY WEEKEND!

I'm hope you're enjoying a few days off! Hey, you might even have started your Easterbreak already? You lucky devil, you!! Though I have no reason to complain, I've have had free from work since Wednesday evening. Celebrating my birthday on Thursday, lazy Friday with a small visit to my beau's parents + uncle & aunt, and today we've had another lazy day. Sleeping in, brunch omelet, loads of coffee and TV & internet surfing. Nice day.

I'm home alone! The world's greatest room-mates have gone on vacation, and this evening E & AC are coming over. We're going to cook up something delicious and then watch loads of movies, chat and just hang out. Most of the people I know are going on holiday, so I'll have to get a dose of socialising while I can. Just me & my beau in town. I'm going to be working in the restaurant quite a lot the next week, but there will still be plenty of time for some fun. Got any tips for us?

In anycase, have a fantastic weekend & a wonderful, relaxing holiday!

-->Norsk<--

Birthday girl!

2010-03-25T23:46:00.001+01:00

A year older and none the wiser! Today is my 29th year on this planet, and the last year in my 20's. I'm planning on making it a fabulous year!! I've had a fantastisk day - my beau took me out for birthday brunch at Jan Vardøen's new diner here in Grüneløkka, The Nighthawks Diner - yummy! Oh, and yes, the pink plastic flamingo is a present - isn't he fab?

Thanks for all the birthday greetings, gifts and attention!

-->Norsk<--

Ett år eldre og ikke det granne mer vis. Idag fyller jeg 29 år, som betyr at jeg er inne på mitt siste år i 20-årene. Jeg satser på å gjøre det til et supert år!! Jeg har hatt en fantastisk dag - min kjære tok meg med på bursdagslunsj på Jan Vardøens nyeste restaurant her på løkka, The Nighthawks Diner - nam nam! Og, den rosa, plastikk flamingoen er en gave - er han ikke super?

Tusen, tusen takk for alle bursdagshilsene, gaver og ikke minst oppmerksomhet!

Thank you, darling!

2010-03-23T00:54:00.003+01:00

I must have the nicest boyfriend in the world. This evening he made us an omelette for supper. Served it to me with my name written in ketchup on a slice of bread. And it was absolutely delicious! Darling, thank you for being such a fabulous guy! :0x

-->Norsk<--

Jeg er ganske sikker på at jeg har verdens snilleste kjærste. Han lagde omelett til oss til kvelds, og jeg fikk den ferdig servert med navnet mitt skrevet i ketsjup på en skive brød. Og selvsagt smakte omeletten helt fantastisk! Takk for at du er så fantastisk, min kjære! :0x

Friday Fling - special report!

2010-03-19T13:49:00.001+01:00

Tick-tock, tick-tock, the count-down to tiki-time has begun!

Happy Friday! Here at the fabulous flat shared with my dear friend T, we're gearing up for a party. And that's not just any old type of party - it's tiki themed and fabulous! That's right, tomorrow it's again time for our annual TIKI PARTY! I'm soo looking forward to this...

Right now you find my busy in the kitchen (well, right now I'm on the net, but then again I've got to find something to do inbetween the cooking), with yellow flowers in my hair ...and a dress cut down to there (just kidding about the last part)! The welcome punch is sorted out, and while Beachboys is blasting out of the speakers, I'm busy with a tasty tiki-related surprise! Oh, and last Sunday my honey & I went on a small expedition to the giftshop at the Kon-Tiki museum at Bygdøy to buy tiki mugs. Unfortunately we sort of over slept and didn't have time to see the museum itself. Too bad, but there will be another chance soon.

By now I guess you've already realised that I've gone tiki-crazy (again), and that all this post is going to be about. Nothing much planned for today except preparations. A few last items to get our hands on: alcohol, decorations and food. And then there's the decorating this evening. Dearest E will be coming over to help us with that part - yeah, the girls getting ready for another party!

On another note, Mommy Dearest is coming to stay the night on Sunday. She's heading off to London to visit the world's cooles aunt! I'm glad she's popping buy, 'cause I don't think I've seen her since x-mas.

Have a fabulous weekend! Tiki-style! :D

I've got an itch - I've got bitten by the travelbug

2010-03-13T14:53:00.014+01:00

My feet are itching! Itching to see & explore the world! Oh, how I wish I was bound for new adventures! Must travel, must travel soon! Wanderlust!

-->Norsk<--

Jeg klør! Klør etter å se og oppleve verden. Å, skulle ønske at jeg var på vei ut i den store verden på nye eventyr. Må reise, må reise snart! Wanderlust!

Friday Fling!

2010-03-12T14:31:00.003+01:00

Fabelaktig fredag! Lat morgen her i heimen med sen frokost og sofasløving. Venter spent på en leveranse fra Fedex. Har bestilt kjole fra USA til årets Tiki-party. Litt utålmodig.... Kan de ikke bare komme snart!!!!

Planer for helgen er litt butikkjobbing i kveld, dagvakt på restauranten i morgen og en aldri så liten bursdagsfeiring på kveldstid. Jobber også med et aldri så lite spiselig tiki-prosjekt, for ja, det er det er jo knapt en uke til Tiki-partyet går av stabelen og av erfaring er det viktig å være ute i god tid når man får fikse ideer og prosjekter. Ikke minst, det er nok til det beste for alle rundt meg for jeg blir jo som kjent litt vel entusiastisk når det kommer til alt som er tiki.

Men, nå var det på tide å presse snuten tett inntil vinduet og vente på Fedex-bilen igjen.

Ha en fantastisk helg!

To all the wonderful women out there...

2010-03-08T22:59:00.001+01:00

...happy International Womens Day to you!

Cookie-monster weekend greeting!

2010-03-06T21:14:00.006+01:00

The past month I've been a bad blogger. Naturally I've got a bunch of excuses & explanations as to why I've been missing in action, but I really can't be bothered trying to explaing why. The important thing is that I'm announcing my comeback!

One thing's for sure, you haven't been missing out on happenings in my life. A quick summery: eat, work, sleep, work, work, eat, sleep, etc... Luckily there's been some time left over for socialising too. Coffee @ Bocata, dinner & catching up with friends, a night out with the girls, and lots of time for cuddling with Mr. F. Good times!

This evening I'm at the restaurant. Quite a few guests keeping us busy, but elsewise little action in the office [baby heared screaming its lungs out in the distance...]. So I'm keeping myself entertained surfing the net for guides to vintage hair & make-up, screen-shopping for clothes and eating cookies. As it's Saturday I decided to treat myself to... well, a treat, and so I tried this new cookie called Dots. Very similar to the famous Oreo - especially the biscuit is very similar in taste, but the filling is sooo much better! It seems to be more "sour" (for lack of a better word). Still creamy, but not as sweet as the O. I think that's a good thing as I quickly get nauseous after just a couple of Oreos. Though perhaps not - I ate the whole box... :S

...back to the entertainment-part. I'm really considering going totally pin-up. In fact, I've been rather fascinated by glamour gilrs of the 1950's for quite some time now. Often finding inspiration in illustrations for hair, make-up and clothing (haha, oxymoron) for the nights out with the girls. Haven't gone the full mile yet, but I'm really considering turning 100% 50's style.

What do you thing - to be or not to be?

Have a fabulous week-end!

-->Norsk<--

Jeg har vært dårlig til å blogge den siste måneden. Selvfølgelig har jeg et helt arsenal med forklaringen og unnskyldninger, men jeg gidder virkelig ikke å prøve å bortforklare det en gang. Det viktigste er at jeg nå gjør et comeback!
En ting er sikkert og visst, du har ikke gått glipp av mye. En rask oppsummering følger: spise, jobbe, sove, jobbe, jobbe, spise, sove, osv... Heldigvis har det også vært rom for å boltre seg litt sosialt. Kaffe @ Bocata, middag med gode venner man ikke har sett på en stund, byturer med jentene, og selvfølgelig masse tid for kos med Mr. F. Good times!

I kveld finner du meg på jobb i restauranten. En del gjester og da er det jo alltids litt å gjøre, men ellers lite å finne på [en baby hyler for fulle lunger i bakgrunnen...]. Underholder meg selv med surfing på nettet: på jakt etter "how-to's" på vintage hår & sminke, skjerm-shopping, i tillegg til å nyte cookies. Siden det tross alt er lørdag må man ha noe godt å kose seg med, og dagens valg falt på "Dots", en ny type kjeks. Ligner veldig på verdenskjente Oreos - sjokoladekjeksen er særlig lik i smak, men fyllet er mye, mye bedre! I mangle på bedre ord for å beskrive den, vil jeg si at den smaker litt surere". Fremdeles veldig kremete, men ikke like søt som Oen. synes det er helt supert siden jeg fort blir kvalm av å spise Oreos, men samtidig, kanskje ikke. Jeg har spist rubbel og bit... :S

...tilbake til det med underholdning. Jeg vurderer å bli total pin-up. Faktisk har jeg i lang tid nå vært ganske så fasinert av 1950-tallets glamorøse damer, og lar meg ofte inspirere av bilder når det kommer til hår, sminke og klær (haha, litt av et paradoks) når bytur med damene står for tur. Har ikke tatt skrittet helt ut ennå, men som sagt, jeg vurderer å bli 100% 50-talls. Så, hva tror du - å være eller ikke være?

Ha en fabelaktig helg!

L-O-V-E

2010-02-14T13:12:00.006+01:00

Supersøndag i dag! En dag i kjærlighetens tegn: morsdag, fastelavens og Valentinerdagen!

Min plan er å tilbringe dagen med min store kjærlighet, min kjære F. I morgen tar vi feiringa på forskudd, og skåler for at han har holdt ut med meg i hele 10 måneder! ;)

Min kjære mamma har en hilsen på telefon i vente, og så skal jeg bake sjokolademuffins med rosaglasur og hjertepynt på. Håpløst dårlig tl å bake boller, så da blir det muffins istedenfor de tradisjonelle bollene med gul krem.

Gratulere med kjærlighetsdagen - koser dere med god mat & drikke, mor og deres kjære!

-->English<--

This is one special Sunday - a super-Sunday! A day in the sign of love: Mother's day, Fastelaven (Carnival) and St. Valentine's day, all in one! Personally I'm going to spend the day with my great love, my dear F. We're celebrating our 10 months together - amazing that I haven't scared him off!he's bother! Mommy Dearest can also be expecting a greeting & a telephone call from her kid in exile. And because I'm terrible at baking, I'm making chocolate muffins decorated with pink icing and heart instead of the traditional buns with creme.

Have fun celebrating the day of L-O-V-E - and make sure to enjoy yourself with great food & drink, spend time with Mommy Dearest, and your beloved!

Friday Fling!

2010-02-12T13:52:00.005+01:00

Happy, happy Friday! The sun is shining and life is good. I've just enjoyed a long and lazy morning on the couch, checking-up on the happenings on the world wide web. Sort of got an important telephone to make, and I've been delaying it way too long, so let's get to it!

What's up with you this weekend?

I've got a few errands to run the next couple of hours and later on I'm going to NRK with AC & E. We're to be part of the audience during the shooting of the last episodes of "Desken". Looking forward to that! Afterwards there'll hopefull still be time to catch up over a few beers.

Oh BTW, AC passed her driver's test the other day - CONGRATS, girlfriend!

Tomorrow I'm hoping to get a haircut. Still haven't got an appointment, so crossing my fingers it will happen for me! Working in the restaurant later that evening. It's the day before Valentine's, so there might just be hoards hammering on the door! I'm hoping it won't be too busy, because last year it was hell.

And finally we're got sunday, my favorite day of the week! So far the plan is to sleep in and then spend the rest of the morning lazying in bed drinking champagne & my beau. Not because it's Valentine's day, but because my beau & me are celebrating our 10 months together a day early (I'm working again on Monday). And the champagne is already in the fridge!

HAVE A FABULOUS WEEKEND! ♥

-->Norsk<--

Glad-fredag! Solen skinner og livet er godt! Jeg har så langt tilbrakt en lang og slapp morgen på sofaen og de siste timene er brukt på å sjekke siste nytt på nettet. Har egentlig en viktig telefonsamtale som jeg burde ta. Har snart utsatt den alt for lenge, så nå er det på høy tid at jeg kommer til poenget!

Så har du noen artige planer for helgen?

Jeg har et par ting jeg skal fikse de neste timene, og senere i ettermiddag vender jeg, sammen med AC & E, nesen mot NRK. Der skal vi være publikummere på innspilling av sesongens siste episoder av "DESKEN". Gleder meg! Etterpå er det forhåpentlig vis litt tid igjen til å "catch-up" over et par halvlitere.

Forresten, AC bestod oppkjøringen her om dagen - GRATULERE med lappen, søta!

Håper på å få klippet håret i morgen, men ettersom jeg ennå ikke har bestilt time så er det en viss sjanse for at det ikke skjer. Krysser fingrene for at det ordner seg. Ellers jobber jeg kveldsvakt i restauranten, og det er ganske sannsynlig at det er masse folk som skal spise der siden det er kvelden før valentinerdagen. Jeg håper det ikke blir for mye stress, for i fjor var et helvete!

Så til slutt, søndag - min favoritt dag! Foreløpig er planen å sove lenge for så å ligge og dra seg i sengen med F mens vi nyter en flaske champagne. Ingen av oss er tilhengere av V-dagen, så det er ikke derfor vi gjør det. Årsaken er enkel - på mandag har vi vært sammen i 10 måneder og siden jeg jobber den kvelden, feirer vi jubileumet en dag tidligere.

HA EN FANTASTISK HELG! ♥

2010-02-03T22:16:00.001+01:00

A bit bored at the moment, so I decided to make a list of the contents of my bag. It's not my everyday necessities, but what's in it at this very moment.

Kjeder meg litt akkurat nå så jeg bestemte meg for å lage en liste over alt som er i bagen min. Det er ikke en liste over tingene jeg bare "må ha", men en oversikt over hva som er oppi den akkurat nå.

Ted Baker black leather bag, bought at Harrods in London // Svart skinnveske fra Ted Baker, kjøpt på Harrods, London
Mini-hairspray from H&M // Mini-hårspray fra H&M
Handcream // Håndkrem
Earrings from Barcelona (flamenco shop) // Øredobber fra Barcelona (kjøpt i flamenco butikk)
Assortment of receipts // Diverse kvitteringer
...?
Sushi recipe for Cod maki & chilimayonnaise // Sushioppskrift på torske maki med chilimajones
Moleskin weekly planner with Viagra pen & mini-pencil // Ukeskalender fra Moleskin med Viagra pen & en liten blyant
Paper from the Millennium Mayfair Hotel + bording-pass for Norwegian // Papirbit fra Millennium Mayfair Hotel + et boarding pass fra Norwegian
Painkillers // Hodepinetabletter
Nailpolish from H&M, clear & red // Neglelakk fra H&M, klarlakk og knallrødt
Travelsized make-up kit from Clinique + Q-tips // Clinique sminkesett i reisestørrelse + Q-tips
Assortment of hair-clips // Diverse hårspenner
Liquid eyeliner from H&M // Flytende kajal fra H&M
Lost buttons which have fallen off my knitted jacket from Primark // Knapper som har falt av strikkejakken min fra Primark ... better sew them on before I loose them!
Purse for small change from Marimekko, gift from Jeni // Marimekko-pung til småpenger, en gave fra Jeni
Credit card holder from Friis & Co // Kortholder fra Frii & Co
Monthly busspass for Oslo // Månedskort for Oslo
Marimekko purse bought in Helsinki last summer // Marimekko-pung kjøpt i Helsinki i sommer

Photo of the Week: #18

2010-02-02T20:32:00.002+01:00

Week 5: "Patterns in the Sand"

Another wave of cold & frosty weather has hit Oslo. And with the sudden drop in temperature, the slippery sidewalks and roads and light snow in the air, came an acutely desire for warmer weather, long and sunny days, and a longing to feel sand between my toes... Thus it's only the beginning of February and summer's still quite a few months away. Let's hope it's going to be a good one!

-> Oversettelse<-

Enda en bølge av kulde har kommet over Oslo. Og med det plutselige fallet i temperatur, isete veier og fortau, og lett snø i luften, kom ett akutt behov etter varmere vær, lange, solfylte dager, og en lengsel etter å kjenne sand mellom tærne... Men vi er fremdeles i begynnelsen av februar og det er enda mange måneder til sommeren. La oss krysse fingrene for at den blir god!

Friday Fling!

2010-01-29T23:02:00.005+01:00

Fantastisk fredag! Helg igjen - og takk for det! Har jobbet hver eneste dag denne uken, så nå skal det bli deilig å ta helg! Nå ler dere sikkert av meg - alle dere som jobber hver eneste dag - men jeg er ikke vandt til å sånn og da blir man sliten. Får bare tenke på alle de deilige pengene som kommer inn på kontoen.

I kveld er jeg nok en gang å finne på jobb. I restauranten. Det har vært en del folk og bittelitt kaos oppe. Utrolig nok, rolig og ordnet her nede hos meg. Best av alt er at nesten alle gjestene har gått, så jeg er kanskje ferdig snart! Deilig det for det har vært en travel dag. Jobbing på bokhandelen først (nødvakt - med E = supert!) og nå her. Jaja.

Denne helgen er det fest! Et forsinket julebord med bokhandlerne i morgen kveld. Vorspiel hos E for å få opp stemningen, og så skal vi ut å spise på Yaya's. Yummy, gleder meg! Yaya's må være en av de kuleste restaurantene i byen, og definitivt en av mine favoritter! God mat i en deilig atmosfære som umiddelbart tar deg bort fra kjente & kjære Oslo til en eksotisk beachbar i Thailand! Instant-holiday! Og nevnte jeg at maten selvsagt er himmelsk?

Det var min helg. Har du noen spennende planer?
Uansett, ha en super-duper helg!

-> Translation<-
Happy Friday! The weekend's here again - thank god for that! I've been working everyday this week, and it's going to be good to have a few days off. You're probably laughing at me now - all you people who're working every single day - but I'm not used to this and that's why it's wearing me out. I've just got to concentrate on all the wonderful money coming into my account soon.

This evening you find me once again at work. In the restaurant. There's been quite a few guest and thus a bit chaotic upstairs. Amazingly it's been calm & collected down here by me. The best part is that there's hardly any guests left, so I might just be finished soon! That's nice, because it's been a busy day. First working in the book shop (emergency shift - with E =superb!) and now here. Well...

This weekend I'm gonna party! A late x-mas party with the book-nerds tomorrow evening. We're starting off with a vorspiel at E's to bring on the mood, and then we're going out to Yaya's for dinner. Yummy, I can hardly wait! Yaya's must be one of the coolest restaurants in the city, and it's definately a favorite of mine! Delicious food in an amazing atmosphere that instantly carries you away from the familiarity of Oslo to an exotic beachbar in Thailand. An instant- holiday! And did I mention that the food is heavenly?

That's my weekend. How about yours?
In any case, have a superb weekend!

Hipp, hipp, hurra!

2010-01-28T23:55:00.001+01:00

I dag har mammaen min bursdag, og utrolig nok blir hun 53 år! Det skulle en ikke tro så full av liv og fargerik som hun er!

Gratulere med dagen, kjære mor!

Today is my mother's birthday, and amazingly she's 53 years old! It's hard to believe she's 53 as she's so full of life & colourful!
Happy birthday, Mommy dearest!

Friday Fling!

2010-01-22T22:26:00.005+01:00

Hei og hopp! Det er endelig fredag - og gjett om det skal bli deilig med helg! Rart å tenke på at det alt er en uke siden jeg dro til London med jentene. Vi kom hjem natt til tirsdag og tiden har gått knall fort siden. Jobbet i restauranten hver kveld - i kveld også - og jeg kjenner det tar på. Følt meg skikkelig sliten de siste dagene og jeg tror det går på reservebatteriene løs. Men nok om det for nå er det helg & det er ingen grunn til å surmule!

Så hva skjer? I kveld jobber jeg som sagt og i morgen kveld har jeg antagelig en avtale med jentene. På returen fra London ble det foreslo noen at vi kanskje skulle lage sushi, teste ut noen nye cocktailoppskrifter, og ja, så vil T på byen for å danse. Helt greit spør du meg, men bortsett det så skal livet tas med ro. Første prioritet er å henge med min kjære, samt kanskje å gjøre et forsøk på å få orden på livet mitt. Rydde opp i koffert-helvete, og kanskje til og med rote-rommet mitt... eller en tur på museum, eller i Oslo-by - nok av gode ideer! Vi får se.

Ha en fantastisk helg!

->Translation<-

Hi there! Finally Friday - and wow is it going to be great with a few days off! It's strange to think that it's already been a week since the girls & I headed to London. We got backStrange to think that it's already a week since me & girls went to London. And since we got back in the wee hours of Tuesday time has been speeding by. I've been working in the restaurant every evening -tonight too - and it's taking its toll. Been feeling worn-out & tired the last few days and I'm now running on my reserves. Enough about that - the weekend's here and there's no reason to frown!

So, what's up this weekend? As mentioned, I'm at work at the moment, and tomorrow I've maybe got plans with the girls. On the return trip from London it was suggested that we should make sushi, try out a few new cocktails, and T wants to go out dancing. Fine by me, though other than that I'm planning on a relaxing weekend. My first priority is to hang out with my beau, and perhaps attempt to sort out my life. Suitcase-hell needs sorting out, and so does the mess called my room... or maybe a visit to a museum or a walk around Oslo. We'll see.

Have a fabulouse weekend!

Photo of the Week: #17

2010-01-20T21:35:00.000+01:00

Week 3: "Sun setting over Aker Brygge"

Årets første fotopost! Shabby kvalitet på bildet siden det er tatt med mobilkamera, men jeg viser det frem likevel. Er jo over en måned siden sola snudde og man merker allerede at det blir bittelitt lysere for hver dag som går. Hurra! Og hurra for fine, fargerike solnedganger i januar! ...og det er definitivt et pluss når man ennå sliter med snø & kalde dager i Oslo.

->Translation<-

First photo entry of the year! The quality's quite shabby as it's taken with my cellphone camera, but I'm showing it off anyway. It's over a months since the winter solstice and you can already notice the days getting lighter & brigheter. Hurrah! And hurrah for nice, colourful sunsets in January! ... and that's defintately a good thing when there's still snow & ice-cold days to get through in Oslo.

Welcome Twenty-Ten!

2010-01-04T20:44:00.005+01:00

2009 is history and from now on every day is a mystery.
The year of the tiger I welcome you & every little challenge that follows you.

2010 will be the year I achieve great things!

Festive Tunes

2009-12-25T02:38:00.000+01:00

I'm a sucker for tradition, and there's no x-mas without a few good tunes. I've been singing All I want for X-mas to myself all day long, so I figured it's about time I share it with you. Happy X-mas!

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-25T02:32:00.000+01:00

Ho, ho, ho! Season greetins to you, my friend! I trust you've had a very merry holiday so far? Christmas eve has come and past here in Mandal. I'm at my father's house; just him, my brother and I for christmas this year. Mommy Dearest is still in South Africa with the family, and the latest update says they are all fine.

It's been a rather quiet holiday so far for us. Been a bit behind on the holiday preparations. Only decorated the tree & the house earlier "today"! He, he, guess we're a bit helpless without Mommy Dearest ;) ! Other than that everything has proceeded according to family tradition.

Woke up early this morning to watch NRK's annual screening of Tre nøtter til Askepott (Three nuts for Cinderella). Like many other people I know, it has been a x-mas tradition since I was a young girl to watch this Czech movie from the 1970s. Though this year I made a compromise with Chaz, half of my movie and half of Home Alone. Then followed a long day in my PJs; we decorated the tree, had julegrøt (rice porridge) for lunch, and watched way too many stupid movies on the telly. Even had time for a nice long nap followed some reading in Pratchett's Hogfather.

Dad & Chaz at the table ready for dinner

Dinner was delayed this year. We usually eat at 6pm, though we only had dinner around quarter to 8. The Lemley/Nilsen christmas tradition food-wise dictates that there's boiled cod, served with potatoes, veggies and buttersauce. Quite common option in this part of Norway. Afterwards there was a short break before dad did the dishes, while we readied the platters of cookies & chocolates to be enjoyed while we opened the presents.

Our tree in all its glory ready for the fun part of the evening ;)

Perfect catch this year with quite a few surprises! Wollen socks & a cocktail-book from Chaz; first season of The Tudors from my dear roomie; money from both mum & dad - very, very handy as I'm off to London in less than 3 weeks!; things for the kitchen and some more. The biggest surprise of all came from my beau. He's been torturing me for weeks - well, that's completely my own fault since I've been trying to get his giftplans out of him for a while - and after much anticipation and pondering of the oddly shaped gift (shape and weight of a bottle + something that rattled like a puzzle), I'm happy to report it's one of the all time bests! A trip for us to Copenhagen in the spring!!! Thank you, darling!!!

Thank you for all the wonderful presents!

...and a merry Christmas day to all!

X-mas F-U-N!

2009-12-19T14:41:00.000+01:00

Happy Weekend! Hope you're having a fabulous Saturday - the last one before X-mas. I've been working, working & working all week long, and it's been really hectic! Doing my last shift before the holiday now, and later tonight it's time for some much needed fun.

My beau & his roomie have invited friends & family over their annual, pre-x-mas celebration. According to tradition they're serving Julegrøt (traditional norwegian rice porridge) & screening Nightmare before Christmas! Beer & akevitt in bucket loads and a few good laughs is just what I need.

It's going to be a blast!

Grim Prospects for the Future

2009-12-18T11:17:00.001+01:00

Dear World Leaders,

Get your ass into gear and save our planet!!!

Best regards,

Shekira

Friday Fling!

2009-12-12T01:16:00.000+01:00

Back in Black! Wishing all a happy Friday even though it's now 1:09 Saturday morning. So, what have I been up to today?

Pretty much nothing at all. Spent the morning and early afternoon at home catching up on some sleep. Really needed that 'cause I'm still jetlagged from all the criss-crossing to & from the south! More on that subject later - I need to process the whole experience & situation first. While this evening has been spent at the restaurant working my little a** off with the other girls! Hoards upon hoards of people out celebrating an early x-mas, yes it's julebord-chaos indeed. Anyways, all went fine & we didn't run into any big problems with the service. In fact, all the jackets have been fetched which means I'm out of here!

Have a great night!

Friday Fling!

2009-11-27T13:05:00.003+01:00

Friday, welcome to another one. A different one as it's not quite turning out like I thought it was when I first started formulating this entry in my head yesterday. I was going to tell you about my plans for the weekend: that I was working tonight and tomorrow morning, that I was going to a friends birthday party with a 90s theme, and that E is celebrating turning 25 tomorrow too. However, there's been a change. Yes, I'm still working tonight and early tomorrow, and I might meet up with E & the girls for a celebratory drink. The diffierence lies in my plans for the next 10 days.

My granny's very, very sick. She's had a brain hemorage and they think she will pass away within a few days time. So on Sunday me & Mommy Dearest fly out to South Africa via London & Dubai. Berni, my dear aunt, is meeting up with us in London. Good meeting up with the S.A.-branch of the family, though I dearly, dearly wish it was under happier circumstances.

I'm hoping for dear life that granny will pull through, though like I said, the prospect is grim. In any case it will be good to see her again as I haven't seen her since March 2007. Even if it is just to say good-bye.

Good thing I'm working tonight. At the moment I'm feeling empty on the inside and utterly useless.

Hope you have a nice weekend.

Empty

2009-11-27T03:17:00.002+01:00

Games upon games of mindless playing of Mahjong sort of took the edge of the pain away & lulled me into a stated of emptyness. Tired, worn-out and completely empty. No more thoughts in my head nor any more tears to cry. It feels somewhat comforting...

Photo of the Week: #16

2009-11-16T13:37:00.004+01:00

Week 47: "The Delicious Smell of Streetfood"

Time for a Photo of the Week update, and this week's photo is from my trip to Hong Kong in August 2007. What an experience, 4 days in this hustling & bustling metropolitan. I spent most of my time exploring the main island: visiting the museums, window-shopping + real shopping, exploring the many criss-crossing streets, and the delicious smell & tantalising sight of food being prepared in the street. Wow!

Here's my fondest memories from the trip:

It was raining for 3 out of 4 days, so basically I was either wet from the rain or damp from the high level of moisture in the air. Hello mowldy shoes!
Getting lost on my first venture out of the Hotel Cosmopolitan (located near the horsetrack) while looking for an ATM. Very interesting experience
My fascination with all the tall, tall buildings literally tripped me up once in a while. I don't recommend looking up while walking down a street.

No Choo

2009-11-14T11:05:00.000+01:00

Rather than getting up at the crack of dawn to head downtown to queue for Choo's, I went for the comfortable solution and set up the computer to try to get the Choo Zeebra-print bag online. Pandemonium!

Because of the lines popularity, it was impossible to even get on the site until a good 15 minutes after the launch. Probably not helped by the fact that half of Norway was pressing the refresh buttion every 2 seconds. When I at last go onto the shopping site & found the bag, it was impossible to buy it - no button to press, and no where to find on the rest of the site. A deep suspicion that something was wrong started to surface. Pushing this button and that, about 10.35 I finally found the right spot - it turned out that you shopped via the ad-campaign, by viewing the whole collection...

Luckily the bag wasn't sold out, so into the shopping cart it went & off to pay. Just after pressing the button to complete the sale, a box saying "order cancelled" pops up. It turned out it was sold out by the time I'd put all the details in. Arg, the frustration! Not because I didn't get a bag, I always knew the chance was slim either I queued in the cold or went only, but because the site just didn't make sense. For one thing the "Jimmy Choo"-photo/button took me to the wrong page, but mostly because nowhere - including the instructions on how to buy Choo - did it say that you needed to go to the ad-campaign to shop. Arg!

Friday Fling!

2009-11-13T12:41:00.004+01:00

Happy Friday! Hope you're having a fabulous Friday so far. It got pretty late by the time I crawled in to bed last night, so I've been enjoying a lazy morning so far. I've decided it's well deserved as it been pretty hectic at work (x-mas season has started, you know).

So, what's up this Friday? When I'm finished writing this, I've sort of planned a rapid (or should I perhaps say rabid?) spot of cleaning. T's folks are coming to visit this weekend so the flat needs to look great. And afterwards I'm meeting up with Elisabeth for some shopping. We're going to a party with work tomorrow (the books store), and apparently I'm not the only one in need of some new threads. I've decided to allow myself a clothing budget of about 600 kr this month, even though I should be saving for London in January, simply because there are certain things one needs. So far half the budget's spent on a jacket from H&M. It's the one I wrote about back in September. Found it in my size and it was on sale - it was meant to be!

No plans for later this evening. Probably meeting up with the beau - haven't really seen him all week even though I hung out with him yesterday when he was working from home. It's going to be nice.

Tomorrow, the parents arrive! No problemo 'cause I've planned an early start. There's this Jimmy Choo for H&M clutch I have my eyes on, and the launch of the line starts tomorrow! Oh shit, there goes the budget! And as mentioned, later in the evening there's the work party, this year located just around the corner from where I live - nice! I wonder when that starts?

No plans for Sunday. Ah, my favorite kind of Sunday, the one's where I'm free to do whatever I want! Perhaps a nice & long walk around town (I'm not really a forest girl) or a trip to a museum. I still haven't been to Astrup Fearnley to see the Nate Lowman exhibition, though that might have to wait 'cause I promised AC that we'd go together. Anyways, there's loads of stuff to do in Oslo and I'm pretty sure it'll be a fab day!

Have a ridiculously fun weekend!

Does an Apple a Day Keep the Doctor Away?

2009-11-12T23:39:00.001+01:00

I went to the doctor earlier this week and the news is dire.

I'm the lucky "winner" of a high blood pressure (think I mentioned this earlier this autumn). In fact it's so high that a lifestyle change is desperately needed: more excercise & a drastic dietary change. No salty foods/products; no sweets, treats & snacks (bye-bye licorice!); no rice, pasta and potatoes (what on earth do you eat with your dinner); less fatty dairy products (not a problem except for my love of cheese), and no red meats. Most likely more stuff on that list... Basically the change is designed to make be lose a pound or more. It's no secret that I'm a bit overweight and it seems my petit full-figure might just be the death of me - ha ha, as if! I'm sure it's all for the better!

As I'm way too young to have a hight blood pressure, so they're running a whole load of tests (the doctor was literally crossing out test at random), and there's probably more appointments & tests to come in the near future. That's not a good thing 'cause it's notoriously difficult to get a blood sample from me (can't be more than twice, at the most, that they've drawn blood on the first prick). This is where the photo comes in. The latest attempt left me with 3 pricks and only 2/3 of the blood sample needed. Well, at least it's better than the last score with the same technician: 6 pricks, major bruising and no blood sample at all.

The point being (note to self): Never, never ever let them draw blood from the back of my hand again! I was told it would sting a bit, but I'd have full use of my hand afterwards. Man, was she ever wrong! Typing on a keyboard for a couple of hours combined with coat-check duty (evening shift at the restaurant) left me feeling like I'd really damaged something inside my hand - Ouch!

Luckily the pain's gone now, and I'm just left with purplish marks on the right arm and a bluish skintone on my hand. Nice!

Pardon

2009-11-10T19:59:00.000+01:00

It's been quiet here for a few weeks now. I apologise for that. Let's just say my life isn't very interesting at the moment. Sleep, eat, read and work ... that's about it. Sort of feel bad for not even having posted my so-called mandatory updates (FF & photo), but there's been a lack of inspiration & motivation. Will strive to do better - if anything for my own sake (so that I can pretend to be interesting ;P).

On a good note: had a nice & quiet weekend. Worked both Friday & Saturday, but it was easy-peasy. Very social weekend despite my roomie cruising Skagerak. AC was in town and we hung out. Dinner on Friday evening (thanks for the dinner!) and milkshakes @ Ryes on Sunday. Even managed to squeeze in 20 minutes of quality time with E before work Saturday afternoon - a walk to Aker brygge and a quick look at H&M.

Best of all: WE'VE BOOKED OUR TICKETS FOR LONDON IN MID-JANUARY!!!

I'm SO excited I'm just about to burst with anticipation!

Friday Fling!

2009-10-30T23:57:00.001+01:00

Happy Friday! This is going to be a short post 'cause I've got too much stuff to fix and too little time. So right to the point! This weekend is all about Halloween! Yes, the dynamic duo (aka T & me) are hosting an All Hallows Party tomorrow night and the preparations are well under way. Decorations are up, costumes (soon) ready (typical me to not having the costume finished yet), and the treats are all planned. Yeah, it's going to be a blast, though the hours until the gouls & gals arrive feel too short.

Oh, and Mommy Dearest is in town with her friend Eva this weekend. Went out to dinner at Rice Bowl yesterday, and as always the Thai curry was delicious! Yum! Now, back to work!

Have a fantastic weekend!

Friday Fling!

2009-10-24T16:17:00.003+02:00

...even though it's now SATURDAY! The weekend is on and this one's going to be a quiet one. Was working until 18:00 yesterday, home for some relaxation before F & I went looking for some comfort food. We ended up at a fully packed Cafe Sara. Lit for romance, though too noisy. At least the food was yummy. Topped the evening off with TV & ice cream from Ben & Jerry's! Superb!

So far it's been a lazy Saturday. We slept in and had a late breakfast. Home-made omelette, orange juice & freshly made coffee. Couldn't ask for a better start. Especially since I've been incredibly tired lately and just feel like sleeping. I think I'm gradually going into hibernation mode. Typical for me during the late autumn/winter months when the days are short. To make it even worse it's time to reset the clock to wintertime tomorrow (3 am), so there goes another hour of light. How depressing. I think I'll stop writing now.

Have a fabulous weekend, y'all!

A Shoe from Choo

2009-10-18T19:23:00.000+02:00

This hardly comes as news to anybody. Fashionistas & bloggers have been raving about this collaboration for months already. I'm a late arrival having just jumped on the bandwagon, but better late than never I say. Well, almost.

Everybody knows Mr.Choo makes dreamy footware for the ladies, and so naturally the collaboration with H&M is pure genius, bringing high level fashion to the "man on the street", but even though I'm a lover of shoes (it's in my blood) I had a hard time understanding all the raving. The first thing that came to mind was the massive queues of fanatic women battling to get hold of the goods; pushing, shoving, elbow in the ribs, and shoes there the one moment and gone the next. "No way, José", I was thinking.
Well, that was until just now when I fell in love with a bag - not my first time mind. In fact, I fell head over heels (lol) for the amazing zebra-print clutch you see in the picture above. I. MUST. HAVE. IT...or else I just might die!

Get in my closet ... Now I say!

2009-10-17T15:45:00.002+02:00

(Click the picture to go straight to the webshop)

There's nothing better than some funky accesories to bring one's outfit up a notch. Boring outfit perhaps, but with the right bag, shoes or jewellery you'll be chic'er than America's next top model. And the good news is that you don't even have to spend a fortune! Like these perfect pieces. I came across them on Mango's website when I went looking for a ring with a bird on it.

Me likey. Me likey alot!

Friday Fling!

2009-10-16T15:32:00.005+02:00

Happy Friday! Back with the weekend report after two weeks pause. Not because I was major busy or anything, just because I haven't been able to get my hand on a computer the past week. Last weekend was a good one: home-made lasagne last Friday (courtesy of F) and a housewarming for Hanne & Morten on Saturday, and a dinner with F's parents on Sunday. Nice weekend indeed!

But, lets talk about this weekend. I actually shouldn't be bloggin write now as I'm supposed to be at my beau's house very soon for fårikål. That's a traditional Norwegian dish made of lamb & cabbage (typically eaten in the autumn) for non-natives. It's doesn't look very appetising, but if you love meat & cabbage it's heavenly. Second fårikål-lag in a week - lucky me!

Tomorrow, you'll find my in my working-girl guise from 9 to 4, and then it's time to find my alter-ego, Party-girl! In other words, the girls are off this wekend and yours truely cannot miss out on the fun. Lol. Too much time has passed since our last night on the dancefloor, so it's definately about time to rock it up! Shake that booty! ...and perhaps break a leg ;)

Alternatively there's a free concert at Blå tomorrow evening with the American band Handsome Family. Concert start 21:30. Okey, I'm off.

Have a superduper weekend!

♥ 15.10.2009 ♥

2009-10-15T13:00:00.001+02:00

Today is a day of celebration. Frode & I have been in a relationship for 6 months!

Lucky-lucky me to have the greatest guy ever as my boyfriend. In the last year he's become a very important part of my life, and I frequently find myself thinking I am the luckiest girl on the planet earth to have found him. He's kind, intelligent, caring, handy, funny, handsome & cuddly. And let's not forget extremely patient - especially for having lasted this long with yours truly! As my brother answered this summer when daddy dearest asked him what he thought about F: "He's still alive, isn't he". I really hope I'm not that terrible, though there is some truth to it.

Photo of the Week: #15

2009-10-05T17:48:00.005+02:00

Week 41: "Placa Reial, Barcelona"

Memento of a good time spent in the beautiful city of Barcelona.

Placa Reial, an open and lively space just of busy & tourist-packed La Rambla, has been one of my favorite places in BCN since my first visit there in the summer of 2002. That time AC & I stayed at the Kabul Hostel, which is located just to the left in the photo. It's still there; a lively hostel, exceptionally popular (we were lucky to get rooms there that time), and oh so worth it as it's basically at the heart of Barcelona (short walk to the beach, harbour, old town and much more).

Placa Reial; Palmtrees, pidgeons, fountain, Lamp posts with a touch of Gaudi, pleanty of restaurants & tourists. Ah, Barcelona...

LOL

2009-10-03T20:13:00.006+02:00

In need of some entertainment or a laugh? Here are a few hillarious sites that are bound to make your day. Check them out for some easy entertainment!

(1) There's few things I like to read more than so-called "broken" English, and if you, like me, find great enjoyment in reading signs with horrible spelling, then you're going to think this is a blast: Engrish.com

(2) On this page there are some deep & dark secrets shared. People send their secrets via snailmail to a guy named Frank. Check out Postsecret for a new perspective.

(3) My third tip is bound to make you laugh out loud! Featuring loads upon loads of really awkwad family photos, which is also where the page gets its name (surprise, surprise!). Check it out to learn "what not to do" when there's a camera about!

Friday Fling!

2009-10-02T13:17:00.004+02:00

Happy Friday! ...and a lazy Friday it is! I'm still stuck at home still trying to get organised. Got some studying to do today, and I need to pop by the post office to pick up a book I ordered - study related and desperately needed. Need to do some cleaning & tidying up, and I've been craving oatmeal cookies so I might have to do some baking too.

Later this evening one of my best friends, Aase Marthe (I met her during a family vacation to Turkey, and we've known eachother since we both were in our mid-teens), is coming to town. Yeah! Looks like we're heading off to town to catch up over a beer or two. Good stuff!

Working at the restaurant tomorrow evening, but first AM & I are heading to Gamlebyen for a flea market. Bound to be fun 'cause you never know what you'll find at the market. Finally, I've got Sunday off (the restaurant's closed every Sunday until March) - jippi! I'm hoping the weather will be nice so I can drag my beau off for a walk, coffee in the sun or perhaps even to a museum. In my world Sundays are best spent relaxing & having fun with people you love.

Have a fabulous weekend!

Sunday Afternoon Challenge

2009-09-27T17:51:00.003+02:00

My "blind" kittykat:

Sunday afternoon in the office and it's very quiet. Not much to do, so I went lookin for some fun on the internet and came over this amusing challenge. Now, I'm challenging Marte, Mari & Erle to a draw-off. Whdoes YOUR cat look like?

A Breakthrough

2009-09-25T23:39:00.002+02:00

Turned out to be a late night up at uni. Though can't complain 'cause I haven't been as efficient as I should be. Not least to say as efficient as I need to be! Time seems to be running out for this tired, old student - again...! But - I've had a breakthrough!

For the first time in like almost a year I've actually written something. It's not very long, just a page, but it feel very, very important to me. Like a new begining (which it literally was too). In fact, even though it wasn't much lengthwise, it seems as a giant contribution to the end result. To be cliche, a begining to the end my status as a student. Gambatte!

Friday Fling!

2009-09-25T10:43:00.005+02:00

Happy Friday! It's just past 10 am. I'm on the couch, computer on lap, enjoying a cup of steaming hot Colombia Supremo coffee (from Kaffebrenneriet) and home-made oatmeal cookies. Yummy! Nothing like fresh coffee & cookies in the morning - the perfect start to the day!

I'm actually liking the fact that it's Friday again, even though I have to admitt that the days are going by way too fast. It's hard to believe that September will be over in just a few days time!

What's up this weekend? For once, I know I constantly say this, I haven't got any fun or wild activities planned - at all. There's work tomorrow morning + Sunday evening, but otherwise there's nada on my calender. So I'm thiking perhaps I should make time to sew the curtains for my room, a thing I've been plaing on doing like forever. Testing out the tempura-mix I bought a few weeks back at an Asian supermarket also seems like a fab idea ... just need to translate the instructions from Japanese to something understandable (lol).

However, there are quite a few cultural options to take advantage of in Oslo this weekend. Here's my top tips for some weekend fun. Keep on clicking to get the down & low on Oslo:

Høstutstillingen 2009: This annual exhibition, arranged by Statens kunstustilling, is the main arena for contemporary art in Norway. This year exhibition is the 122nd since it's start in 1882. The works showcased here are picked by a national jury and usually centre around a common theme (though so far I haven't been able to find out what that is, so maybe I'm wrong), and genreally speaking høstutstillingen exhibits a vast range of art forms, such as sculpture, paint, photography, performance, video installations, machinery and more. I know this years exhibition hasn't received glowing reviews, but there's only one way to know and that's by checking it out yourself. I know I'm going to. Check out the pictures from the event here.
Oslo Open: This biennial artfestival, from Wednesday 23 - Sunday 27th of September, is the fourth festival in a row, where artists living in Oslo open their ateliers to the public. The festival aims to be a meeting place for contemporary art in Oslo, the artist living & working here, and the genreal public. Well worth checking out!
Costume sale: The Minken Fosheim Childrens Theater is having a costume sale on Saturday at 16:00, so if you're looking for halloween costume, a gown for a ball or just a unique dress for yourself, head on down to Josefinesgate 7 for a bargain (P.S. Cash is king)!
Nate Lowman's "The Natriot Act" & Rotations #2 (showcasing the museums own collection) also opened at the Astrup Fearley Museum of Modern art on Wednesday. This is one of my favorite museums, so I'm definately heading there sooner than later.
Movies galore: There's soooo many good movies on the silverscreen these days: Inglorious Bastards (I'm a big Tarantino fan), Jenta som lekte med ilden, Up, District 9, Hangover, Coco avant Chanel, Upperdog... all movies with great reviews, all movies I want to see, but nowhere near having the time to check them all yet. On my to-do-list as of now!

Perhaps I'll run into you somewhere in Oslo this weekend!

Happy Birthday to You!

2009-09-24T10:00:00.002+02:00

It's my father's birtday today, and this year he turns 49 and is still fit as a fiddle! ...I should perhaps say fiddler, 'cause boy is this man active! Publishing books, fixing up motorbikes & doing karate, all of it next to working a whole lot (how does he find the time?)!

Happy birthday, daddy!

Hope you have a fabulous day!

Photo of the Week: #14

2009-09-21T12:07:00.002+02:00

Week 39: "Lady in Red"

This week's pick was a tough one. Lately I haven't been feeling neither inspired nor motivated , and when you feel that neither colourful, adventurous nor beautiful shots do anything for you, it's really hard. Especially since most my photos are either full of colour or depicting some element of travel and adventure.

Therefore, this week's photo is of a person that inspires me. Top of my list of my favorite & most loveable people: my dearest granny!
This funny, happy, well travelled, kind & lovely sweetheart rounded the ripe age of 82 on the 24th of August (Happy Birthday, Granny!) - and she's still going strong. I don't think I know anybody who is as strong & independent as her, and I can think of no better role model when aspiring for greatness.

Granny & I on the bus heading off to Seapoint, Cape Town in 2006

Granny @ Pascal's in Drammensveien back in 2004

Friday Fling!

2009-09-18T12:28:00.001+02:00

Happy Friday! I've got the whole weekend off and o'boy is this gal planning to have a lot of F-U-N!!!

For one thing, this evening it's kick-off for a major cultural happening in Oslo, Oslo Kulturnatt 2009! Unfortunately I missed out last year 'cause I was working, but this year I'll be there for sure! There's so many fun, spectacular & exciting things going on all over Oslo, and it's all free - yeah, you heard me - it's FREE!!

------------------------------------------ { UPDATE } ----------------------------------------

Writing this bit Monday evening as I was nowhere near a computer during the weekend. Quite a few of my posts lately have been pre-planned & ready to hit cyberspace on a given time & date. At the momtent I'm finding it hard to remember what I did on Friday. Lets see ... I had the day off, and as I was feeling completely knackered and quite out of my element, I opted for the easy "route" and slept in. Late afternoon, after some "quality time" on the couch with Mr. TV, I headed downtown for a luncheon with a certain miss Elisabeth. Post-lunch window-shopping resulted in a mini-"presskanne" (no idea what that's in English, it's a coffe pot with a filter you press down) & a few pens from Muji @ Åhlens. Ah, also found this stunning autumn jacket in a two coloured tartan pattern (dark-blue with red) at H&M. It fitted perfect and it was a very flattering shape for me - gave me a tiny waiste. The style was reminescent of a vintage flight attendant uniform, so I felt very glamorous in it.

My beau came downtown to meet me after work. Nice to have company on the walk back to Løkka. For dinner we made pesto-marinated salmon fillets baked in the oven. Deliciously yummy! As we both were feeling low on energy, we turned into couch-potatoes for a few hours, while we worked on a plan for the evening. Amazing enough we actually did end up going to one of the Oslokulturnatt events: Greetings from Chaincity + 9 at DogA (The Design & Architecture Center), an exhibition exploring the authenticity of a city. The departure point of the discussion is Venezia and the many copies found around the globe; which is more authentic: the real, material city or the idea of Venezia? The discussion is relevant for Oslo, and thus the discussion is carried on in a video installation on public spaces in Oslo. It was a nice evening, so the walk down to the DogA was worthwhile itself. Sort of mandatory to enjoy what's left of beautiful days & evenings this year!

Finally the evening ended with a couple of episodes of Mad Men, thus making the day simply perfect!!

Quick summary of the rest of the weekend:

Saturday: Late afternoon coffee with T & AC; sashimi @ Namkang (I was too chicken, so T eat the oyster that came with my sashimi appetizer - major kudos is in order!) & some booty-shaking @ Mono + Internasjonalen (the latter was slow early on and thus replaced by a trip to our favorite club, but horrible music rendered the evening short, until T & I heard the funky music coming from Internasjonalen's 2nd floor. Quick stand in queue and we were set for our last hour of boogie that evening)!
Sunday: Slept in until late, late afternoon; lazy day infront of couch; a very energetic burst of housework by me & T even later; opted for easy solution for dinner: eat out. Delicious curry & nan-bread @ Cafe Stolen with Frode before evening ended yet again on the couch.

A Public Announcement: Oslo Kulturnatt 2009

2009-09-17T09:58:00.002+02:00

Just an update on what's going on in Oslo. This Friday yet time again for OSLO KULTURNATT 2009, an evening fully packed with cultural events of all kinds all over Oslo. Museums, the library, cinemas, dance studios and more going on all evening long - and it's FREE!!!

I only got my hands on the program yesterday afternoon so I haven't looked through it yet, but I'm definately planning on heading downtown to check it out! ...and I recommend that you do the same! Check out the program here!

Don't miss out on Oslo Kulturnatt 2009!

Hot Tip for Dry Lips

2009-09-16T11:32:00.000+02:00

If you, like my, are plagued with dry and chapped lips during the cold winter months, I've got a hot tip for you.

Reputably a highly treasured product among models & stylists, Smith's Lip Balm is the best lip balm I've ever come across. I'm so addicted to it that I can't go anywhere without it, and I always have at least 2 at any given time - my way of ensuring that I've got a tin handy in case of a lip crisis. Smith's lip balm comes in several varieties/flavours, the ones pictured here (minted rose & rosebud salve) are my favorites, can be found in most VITA shops & farmacies in Norway and cost around 100 NOK.

I also find that it's superb for softening up cuticles, and I frequently rub it on my elbows to soften the skin there too. "Løp & kjøp" - that's my recommendation!

"Sita Sings the Blues"

2009-09-13T19:08:00.006+02:00

Surfing the net earlier today, I came across this amazing animation movie based on the Ramayana (meaning 'Rama's journey'), an ancient Sanskrit epic dating back to around 400-200 B.C. and recognised as a fundamental part of Indian cultural consciousness. The epic is also well-known throughout Southeast Asia.

The plot centres on the characters of Rama (an incarnation of the hindu god Vishnu), his wife Sita (an incarnation of the goddess Lakshmi), and the evil demon king, Ravana. Sita is kidnapped by the demon king and Rama has to undertake a journey, helped along the way by his faithful companions Hanuman and Lakshmana, in order to get her back. The story finally culminates in a battle between Rama and Ravana on the island of Lanka, which ends in victory for the good guys.

Sita Sings the Blues (HD 720p)
Uploaded by Drakar2007 - Full seasons and entire episodes online.

Now I'm no movie expert, nor do I own the techniques to critique, so please do not read too much into this. Here's my thoughts on Sita Sings the Blues:

The story of the movie centres on the theme of lost love & heart ache. The main story is set in ancient times in India and plays out the story of the Ramanyana, parallelled by a second story set in modern day San Francisco-come India-come New York, and is based upon the real-life experience of the director herself , Nina Paley.

The artwork in the movie is really stunning. Highly detailed & colourful, and I think it has a true surrealistic quality to it. The director displays a great repetoire of animation techniques - did I mention that she's a self-taught animator! - mixing elements of photography, print illustrations, cartoonish animation and computerised scribble drawings. There's even sections where traditional-style shaddow puppets narrate the story of the Ramayana in a funny and highly informative way, and end up in discussions on what really happened (according to the FAQ on the film's website it's due to the fact that the people voicing the characters are from different parts of India and grew up with different versions of the story)(BTW, these sections are completely un-scripted!).

Finally, the story is accompanied by beautiful, heartfelt music. Especially worth mentioning here are the songs by jazz/blues singer Annette Hanshaw, who gives the voice to Sita.

Sita Sings the Blues is a stunning/beautiful/amazing movie - it's hard to describe in words what I think about it. All I've got to say is that I loved it! L-O-V-E-D it! ...and I wish I could force all of you to see it too! The movie's just over 80 minutes long, and as far as I'm concerned you wouldn't be wasting 80 minutes of your life (as you do with some movies). Though, don't start watching it unless you've got the time to see all of it.

Now, watch it, watch it I say!!!

A Saturday in this girl's life

2009-09-12T23:54:00.005+02:00

Late Saturday evening (past 11pm), and I'm still stuck in the office, just waiting & hoping that it's soon my time to head home. I'm actually feeling quite fatigued today. Probably got something to due with me staying up very late last night watching movies... I'm more than ready to head home to laze in front of the telly, or climb underneath the covers and head of to dreamland. Basically, the only reason I'm even blogging right now is because I'm bored out of my mind! It's another quiet evening in the office (at least for me), but unlike yesterday it feel like time is standing still.

We need some pictures to spice things up! I'm not really into posting outfits &x stuff, but here's a shot of my outfit today. Can't be said to be representative of my usual office look - it's sort for strange, but I feel sort of hippie-chic. In any case it's by far the most unpractical outfit I've worn to work - long skirts really don't work in a restaurant, and I nearly had a fatal incident tripping on my skirt in the staircase - but it's such a COOL skirt, and really comfy too! I thrifted it when the fabulouse Jeni D was packing up her belongings to leave Norway back in May this year, but it's the first time I've been brave enough to wear it out. Note to self: wear it more!

On a fun note; Managed to squeeze in (I literally mean that!) a tiny bit of shopping today. Basically I opted for sleeping in rather than jumping up brighter & earlier to hit the street & burn a hole in my creditcard. It was actually quite hard trying to plan a route that would take me through a majority of the stuff I wanted to buy. Looking for tiki-mugs in a museum shop, buying a pair of ultra-cool earrings, stashing up on seaweed-snacks from an Asian groceries, and more, was on the top of my list. In the end my a choice was made when the #11 tram arrived and I sort of only had 40 min (incl. travel) before I started work. Besides, I just couldn't wait to buy these beautiful earrings until Monday. Also, I stopped by Kremmerhuset @ Aker Brygge to buy that glass & ceramic 'banana leaf' plate I've been ogling. Decorative & great for snacks/candy - okey, I'll admitt I had our next Tiki-party in mind when I bought it ... sorry, still hung up on the tiki...

*Ha ha ha* Just remembered something very funny. When I bought the earrings there was a long queue at the tills, and when it was finally my turn and the lady asked me if I wasn't going to buy anything else... after she'd scanned the goods and was waiting for me to pay. The answer was naturally "No" as I'm working on becoming new, better & more ecomic Shekira, which again is partly spurred on by the fact that I was broke all last month and still recovering from the massive load of bills, though mostly due to a magazine article I read: if you purchase a caffe latte (à 30kr) 5 times a week, you end up using 8100 kr on caffe a year! Now that's at least(!) one shopping trip abroad - tickets, hotel & shopping money included (crazy)! Besides, I don't see any reason to buy stuff that's not needed when I already a few select things that make me happy!

Friday Fling!

2009-09-11T22:31:00.002+02:00

Happy Friday!

The week has gone by so fast it's almost difficult to believe it's Friday again. Unlike some lucky people I know, today's not a day off for me. At the moment I'm at work, and man I must say the day has gone by fast even though I startet at 3 o'clock - and it's been practically dead quiet all evening! The past few hours have been spent working on a table-map for a large group coming in December. I'm a perfectionist so I've hardly noticed the time while fiddling with the map details in Paint to get them just right.

Well, what's on this weekend? Pretty much nothing since my beau's off having fun with the boys in Prague (lucky, lucky guy), and my trusted buddies are all busy. AC's working nights in the hospital, it's T's wekend with her son, and who know's what E's up to (probably working). I guess it's just as well, because I'm working all weekend long, though luckily I've got the dayshift on Sunday since Frode is coming home in the afternoon. In any case, no worries, I'm likely to get up to some mischief on my own - for one thing, I can finally go shopping!!!

On another note; As mentioned, the week has gone by pretty fast. In fact I've hardly noticed that it's already September. Started off the week with a cold, which pretty much left me glued to the couch. Figured there wasn't any point heading up to uni to study as there's few things more irritating that a student with a cold (contagious & frequent sniffling and coughing). Not good!.

Last week's entry I said I was hoping for better weather, and we've been lucky. Oslo's had quite a few days this week where the sun has been shining from a clear blue sky and the thermometer has crept over 20 degrees! Nice! Also, payday finally came so I'm no longer broke ... yet! Got quite a few bills to pay, but there's also a few thing I have to invest in, like savings (on the path to a better, richer me) and a pair (or two) of jeans.

Finally, Monday 14th is election day in Norway; for Parliament. I haven't got the time to head down south to vote since I'm registred in that muncipality, but luckily one can cast a vote before the main date in Norway. So called "forhåndsstemming". I did my in duty as a citizen on Wednesday, so now I can just sit back and anxiously await the result on Monday. It's really exciting since the race is quite close between the left & the right. It should come as a surprise, but I'm crossing my fingers that the red/green government stays in power!

Have a fabulous weekend!

Photo of the Week: #13

2009-09-10T22:04:00.001+02:00

WEEK 37: " Rural Backyard in Aceh"

Well into my 1st month of again working on my thesis, I find I'm in need of some "academic" related inspiration. This time in the form of a Photo of the Week from Aceh.

I shot this photo during my fieldstudies in Banda Aceh back in the summer for 2007, and it pictures the view from the DEMOS-office, then located in the Ulee Kareng area. As you can see a makeshift building has been constructed while major reconstruction after the 2004 tsunami is still ongoing - and the reconstruction is probably still going on.

To me this photo is a memento of exciting times in my life; a great travel experience and accumulation of academic knowledge. It makes me feel very grateful to have had the possibility go and visit and experience the area & the people I've studied.
It's a constant a source of inspiration in more ways than I can explain, a reminder of how interesting I actually find that it is to study & read about Aceh - the latest anthology I'm reading through, Aceh: The Role of Democracy for Peace and Reconstruction (2009), is a well written & very interesting - and finally it sets me in a peaceful state of mind, which always is a good thing as I gradually get more stressed the quicker D-day (as in deadline) approaches.

Friday Fling!

2009-09-04T17:31:00.003+02:00

Happy Friday! Got home from the "office" just over 30 minutes ago and since then I've been "sandwiched" between the couch & the computer. Actually, I'm trying to save up the energy & find the courage to transform myself into little, miss housewife. A role long due, so today I've made an oath to spend som time tidying up & getting organised. Yes, it's indeed needed. But first, here's the usual update on what mischief my weekend holds:

Tonight's a good one! Dinner & a movie with my beau, and this evening we're watching Zack & Miri make a porno. Sort of had a sneakpeak of it while we were in Mandal (my brother was watching it with friends and it was difficult walking past the TV without stopping up to watch), and I know it's going to be very entertaining! Saturday is also promising. For one thing I'm planning on heading up to Blindern to do some work - got a date there with Erle at 1 o'clock. Schoolwork during a the weekend garanties a good conscience! Later that evening there's dinner at our place with the girls (Tonje bought a new wok the other day. Perhaps we should try it out?), perhaps a few drinks and maybe a trip downtown to check out the party (T's got the weekend off, and I'm pretty sure she's up for some dancing). We'll just see what happens... Finally, on Sunday it's the last day of the Indian Highway-exhibition at the Astrup Fearnley gallery. I went to see the exhibition early in June, but this Sunday I'm hoping to get a place on the guided tour. It's really good and I highly recommend it, there's some really great & interesting pieces! Also, I'm suspecting there might be some tidying up planned on Sunday too. Something about "someone's" boxes & junk stashed in someone else's storage facility...

Now, it's time to get my hands dirty.

Have a good weekend!

And she weeps...

2009-08-31T22:26:00.000+02:00

Yesterday, against better judgement, I clicked myself all the way right into a material-clad heaven - also know as Anthropologie.com. I shouldn't have 'cause there I came across pages upon pages of pictures featuring colourful & beatifully fashioned clothing; dresses, shirts & skirts, shoes, jackets, bags, jewelry & on-and-on. It's been a while since I've seen so many pieces I'd love to own - all on the same webpage!

Here's some of my favorites:

Oh, and they have the most fashionable sleepwear I've seen in like ... forever! Dressed in a robe or a pair of sleep pants, you'll look more like you're clad for a chic coffee date thans as if you're ready for bed. And they even have two of my all time favorite beauty products: Smith's Rosebud Salve & the original Anna Sui perfume. Holy shit! I just discovered they also have stuff for your home...!

Defeat! My great sorrow at the moment is that they don't ship to Norway... Why meee?!?

Good times!

2009-08-30T20:16:00.008+02:00

The working girl is back! As before mentioned, I was planning on posting a youtube-video-packed entry full of groovy music - totally party-worthy & bound to make anyone happy. Alas, I totally forgot about this 'cause I spent most of the evening roaming through old pictures on my memory sticks. And man how time flew by - there were so many memorable captures from the past 1 1/2-years. Like this one snapped during the new years celebration/shopping trip to London back in 2007-come-2008; here featuring K, Mari & AC having breakfast at a Starbucks not far from our hostel in Picadilly. Good times... :D

Mirror, mirror on the wall, who's the farest of them all?

2009-08-28T21:05:00.004+02:00

Being a sucker for anything shiny or cool - most often both - I'm sort of dying to get my hands on this highly decorative 50's style mirror.

Now, this particular starburst mirror is from the Ashton Sutton Company; very reasonably priced but unfortunately they don't ship outside of the US & Canada. What a shame...

However, luckily (and thanks to the fabulous online crafting source, Craftzine) I found an instructions video on how to make my very own ATOMIC STARBURST MIRROR! Oh, the J-O-Y! So, come next payday I'm off to the craft store to get my hands on some supplies. And just in case you're looking for a decorate piece for your living-room/bathroom/bedroom/any-room or if you, just like me are feeling a desperate need to possess a mirror like this, here's the tutorial!

Knock yourself out!

Friday Fling!

2009-08-28T20:09:00.006+02:00

It's 8pm & it's Friday, which basically means: It's time for the weekly Friday post - this week LIVE from the cellar @ DS Louise!

You got it right, as usual I'm at work. Been in the office quite a few times the past week, but hey, that just means more money fo me! ... and that's a good thing 'cause I've got a long list of things I want to buy. Notice the word "want", as in desired but not needed, meaning one thing, I'll have to curb my enthusiam and aim for the stuff that's necessary. But enough money-talk, here's what's on this weekend: Work, work, work.

I'm not kidding. I'm scheduled to be in the office Saturday &Sunday evening too. A prospect that doesn't make me neither sad nor miserable - I'm doing all-right down here (sometimes it's even highly lucrative!), and besides, I've already had a bit of fun today. Meeting up with E for coffee & cake (!) at Bocata before my shift started. However, I am hoping for some more fun before work over the next two days. Coffee or a spot of window-shopping perhaps? Pretending to be a couch-potato? Just let me know if you want to join in on the fun - I'm definately up for it.

Have a super-duper weekend, my lovelies!

P.S. I've been working on a groove-come-funk-meet-disco-playlist-sort of post, and I think tomorrow's the night for it's grand premier. Stay tuned!

P.P.S. Hurrah! Monday evening AM will be in town. Oh, boy how I'm looking forward to seeing her again!

Photo of the Week: #12

2009-08-28T19:41:00.005+02:00

Week 35: "Half-bald"

Late entry. Just sort of remembered that I haven't had the time (or more like bothered to take the time - sorry) to post this week's inspirational photo. Now this photo, titled "Half-bald", is from way back in the time. From 2007 in fact.

I know the quality is highly questionable - the focus was naturally supposed to be on the dandelion, but it ended up being way off - but yet, it has a reminder of something I've sorely been missing: A touch of summer.

While I truely believe that there are few places on earth that are as nice as Norway during the summer, this year the weather gods completely failed us. Yes, so June saw Oslo bathed in sun & warmth, but then came July which I remember to far from awesome. August been pretty much the same, and as today (Friday) it's raining cats & dogs, I'm really, really longing for just one more summer day. Just. One. More. Sunny. Day!

Here's hoping September will bring an Indian Summer!

Mama wants a new dress...

2009-08-26T22:38:00.006+02:00

Found at Fashion Mixology

A little bit school girl, a little Alice in Wonderland, a little bit office chic. The point is, a dress this cool deserves to be in my closet - and worn by someone as deserving & loving & kind as me! ...need I say more?

Friday Fling!

2009-08-21T22:48:00.006+02:00

Happy Friday! Sorry for the delay on the update, but sort of been busy today. Not that anything special, nor interesting, has happend, but still sometimes, where does one find the time...

At the moment I'm at work. It's almost 11pm and now I'm just waiting for the last guests to pick up their jackets so I can head home. It beeing far from busy this evening and feeling crafty, I've kept myself busy making a collage for my "idea book". Nothing fancy, just decorating a picture of a blue sky with other cut-outs & letters from old magazines. Fun, fun.

No plans for the weekend as I'm scheduled to work both Saturday & Sunday too. Just hoping to hang-out with my beau - I'll be working all next week so I'm in need of a bit of love & care ;0)

Signing out with a happy tune from Kings of Convenience!
Hope you have a fabulous weekend!

Friday Fling!

2009-08-14T13:28:00.003+02:00

Happy Friday! Another week is coming to an end, and what a week it's been! Not my most productive week to date, but with good reason: as previously mentioned, my back was killing me.

Anywho... So far today I've spent most of my time on the couch. I'm sort of trying to find the will & energy to tidy up a bit, but that might just have to wait another hour or so. We're expecting guests this evening, though they're really more like family to us. Elisabeth & AC are coming over, and we're having a girls night! E's offered to make us dinner (what a sweetheart!), Tonje's going to make a lemon meringue pie (!), and there will be drinks. In my world it's mandatory to go out when the girls meet (T's orders ;D), though I'm planing on taking it easy while the others storm the dancefloor.

Other than that the weekend holds no plans, and that's a good thing. I wouldn't mind a easy & quiet weekend for once. But then again, I'm not one to say no if someting fun comes up, so we'll just wait and see. I know AC's in town all weekend - yeah!

Have a wonderful weekend!

Ouch!

2009-08-13T23:51:00.000+02:00

My back locked again last Saturday, which it typically does once in a while, so I've spent most of my time this week relaxing on the couch. Though, I've also spent quite some time hobbling around town, and even been working 2 days. In retrospect, neither was probably a smart thing to do... But then again, so it hurt, but I won't let that stop me from enjoying life! Stupid, hey?

The good thing though, was that I took a trip to the doctor. My back was much better that morning, typically, so he gave me a prescription for painkillers. However, it did get worse, though much later on, and that worries me. My future most likely holds a career shifting papers, and how am I supposed to survive a week with killer back-pain every second (or so) month? I guess it will have to be fixed; exercise, medicine, acupuncture, chiropractor, you name it!

I also found out I have high blood pressure, which resulted in me leaving th doctor's office with some ugly bruises after 4-5 attempts to get a blood-test and me not yielding a drop (not voluntarily)! There doesn't seem to be an apparent reason for my elavated blood pressure, though it's not hte first time I've had a high reading. Last time was about 1 1/2 years ago, and I stressing over my thesis and had problems sleeping. Good thing I've started a new & healthier life.

Now, my only complain is the bruises on both arms. I think they're quite large, though I've seen much worse. Ugly for sure, and pretty sore. And, I actually feel nauseous when I look at them. Enough complaining already!

Photo of the Week: #11

2009-08-10T17:35:00.003+02:00

Week 33: "Flying High"

This is truely one of my all-time favorite photos, and I think it captures the definition of wanderlust perfectly; the exitement & adventure of taking a journey.
Now, if I remember correctly this photo is taken around September-October 2004, somewhere over (or close to) the Netherlands & Amsterdam. I had to change planes at Schiphol on my was on my way to Canada on a karate-related trip (I was there to chaperone the 3 lucky teenagers).

Friday Fling!

2009-08-07T19:00:00.012+02:00

Happy Friday! My oh my, don't the days just seem to fly by? It feels like it just was Friday, and now here's another one!

At the moment I'm at work and it's surprisingly quiet on the telephones, especially since the weather is so nice today. It's still sunny & warm, and basically everything you hope a summerday is going to be - gotta love it! What's perhaps an even great surprise is the fact that my first few hours at work went by amazingly fast. That's always a good thing and in no time I'll be on my way home to spend some time relaxing on the couch infront of the TV. Ahhh...
Anyway, so far I've had a really good day. Slept in and then a couple of hours just lazing around in bed, nodding off once in a while. But a day like today should never be wasted on indoor-activity, so it was off to the closest coffee shop (the amazing Vespa café is literally located just round the corner fromt he flat) for a ice latte & a few hours in the sun. And being such a good girl, I spent the time there reading up on the history of Aceh.

Darn, tomorrow's forecast isn't looking good (even though they've been prediciting nice weather tomorrow too all week long), so I'll have to scrap my original plan of sunbathing in the park. Luckily E's still up for coffee tomorrow before I start work, and perhaps I can even trick her into joining in on a (window) shopping-trip. There's a sale on at Coast, and I've got my eye on a pretty cocktail dress there (it's dark pink, though there's so many beautiful dresses on sale that I might just change my mind).

Finally, I've got the day off on Sunday and they've predicted it's going to be a nice day. If I'm lucky it will be much nicer than just "partly cloudy", which means a trip to either the park or an island is mandatory. Simply have to (I really mean "have to") catch some rays, it might be the last chance this summer!

And now since the phone is basically dead and I've got nothing to do but look at the phone (I'm probably the only one in the restaurant with nothing to do but wait), I think I'll try to read a bit more about Acehnese history while I wait for the telephone to ring.

Have a nice weekend! A

Blanke ark

2009-08-06T20:40:00.012+02:00

Ahh! Første uke tilbake fra ferien snart overstått. Vel, det vil si "ferie". Har jo jobbet i bookingen som normalt, bare hatt sommerferie fra universitetet. En måned med null pensumbøker, lesesal, master-oppgave, dårlig samvittighet og angst. Kan mildt sagt beskrives som deilig. Faktisk veldig deilig. Men, så kom den første mandagen i august og det var på tide å vende tilbake til hverdagen. Det ble riktig nok ingen tur til Blindern den dagen siden jeg jobbet dagtid, men likevel godt å komme igang med uken og etablere rutiner. Det var nemlig ikke bare planen å gi studiene en ny start, men også kick-off for et nytt og bedre liv generelt. Et sunt ett - mat, drikke, leggetid og det hele.

Nå er det torsdag, og så langt anser jeg det nye regimet til å være en suksess. Fikk en god start på uka takket være jobbing fra kl 9 både mandag og tirsdag, og siden jeg kun jobbet 4 timer på tirsdag kom jeg også i gang med lesinga på Blindern. Bra, bra. Men nå skal jeg vel ikke skryte for meget for det er jo fremdeles en dag igjen av arbeidsuka, selv om planen er å tilbringe noen timer med lesing før jobb institusjonen imorgen også. Dermed basta!

Det beste av alt er at det for første gang på (veldig) lenge er spennende, ja til og med gøy, å lese om Aceh. Det føles godt, og optimistisk som jeg er aner jeg tegn til lys i enden av tunnelen. Krysser fingrene for at det nå går slag i slag for det er virkelig på tide å bli ferdig nå!

Friday Fling!

2009-07-31T17:36:00.003+02:00

Happy Friday! The weekend is upon us once again, and as far as I'm concerned it's my last week of holiday too. As of Monday it's back to the good, old rutine. But before that there's this last weekend ready to fill with fun & action. Ah...

So far today has been a lazy Friday. I've slept in, had a delicious omelett for brunch, and just been hanging out in the lounge watching really, bad daytime-TV. Gotta get some ideas for dinner, before it's time to head off to the cinema to catch "Public Enemies" at nine. Seen the trailer and the cast is full of talent, so really looking forward to this one.

Tomorrow I'm meeting Erle & the gang for drinks and then, perhaps, some dancing. Gotta shake that booty, you know! ;)

Now, what are YOU doing this weekend?

Well, no matter what it is, I hope you have a great one!

Photo of the Week: #10

2009-07-27T22:15:00.000+02:00

Week 31: "A Feast for the Eyes"

Nothing like a beautiful display of fruit and vegetables to build up an appetite. This beautiful display was found at the fruitmarked just of La Ramblas in Barcelona during the mother/daughter-trip in May.

Bold is Beautiful

2009-07-25T19:06:00.003+02:00

I felt the need for a change, so the last two days I've been gradually changing the layout & look of my blog. About time if you ask me, though truth be told it's first now I've had the time to sit down & figure out how to change the layout. No drastic or too bold changes, just small adjustments that make it work better for me. I hope you like it!

Friday Fling!

2009-07-24T12:29:00.000+02:00

Happy Friday! Another week's over and I must say I digg the feeling! Friday's always a good day, in fact so is Saturday & Sunday too. And this weekend I've got some good things planned.

At the moment I'm at work, but things are still quite quite here. I guess most of the residents in Oslo are still on holiday (yet another week left of "fellesferien"), so not a rush for reservations, and mostly tourists visiting the restaurant. Still, no rest for the wicked, and I'll be here ready to take your booking the rest of the weekend. Now back to my plans...

After work I'm most likely meeting up with F for a bite to eat, and later on this evening I'm off to see the long-awaited Harry Potter-movie at Saga kino with Tonje & AC. Yes, I'm a fan of the books, and I'm quite exited to see the adaptation to the silverscreen. If anything the movie will be quite entertaining. Elisabeth had, unfortunately, other plans, so we'll be meeting up with her for a drink afterwards. Fun, fun, fun!

Saturday evening we'll be hitting the town. First time in over a month that all the girls are in town & free, so we'll do our best to make Oslo a dangerous place! Lol... A few cocktails at home (I've got some new recipes to try out) and then we're going out dancing. Ah,It's going to be great!

Only thing though, what am I going to wear?!? Perhaps a bit of shopping is in order after work today ... the sales are still on so there's definately a bargain or two to be found out there. I know 'cause I've already hit the jackpot (sale-wise) several times the last two weeks. And on that note, rumour has it that TOPSHOP has now started shipping to NORWAY! Woho, time to check out their website!

Now, let the Friday Fun commence!A

Preview of what's to come...

2009-07-23T23:16:00.001+02:00

Just posting a few scenic photos from my trip to Mandal. Sort of a preview of what's coming as soon as I get organised and have the time to post some photos. I'm way behind 'cause I still haven't posted photos from neither Barcelona nor Helsinki. Well, soon. I promise...

Living close to the sea on Skjernøya

A fishing boat ankered downtown

Summerflowers thriving by the side of the road