Sweet weekend

Precious time spent with good friendsis heart warming. The saturday evening was spent with my childhood friend Jörgen and his sweet wife Malin and their children. It's interesting that because I moved away from the south part of the country (lived there and loved my life from I was eight 'til I was thirteen) and for ever after missed my class mates and friends I tried so much harder to reconnect when oportunities rose.

Hence I'm the only one from our old class that actively socialize with Jörgen, for example. Everyone in the class liked Jörgen but life moves on and so does people, on and away from old times.
I think I moved back to the "good old days" when I moved back to the south and so I want to spend time with the people I loved back then and never forgot. I enjoy spending time with this family and I'm very happy and cheerful whenever I do! Childhood friends are special.

Even better: our kids get along great! They played games and Nintendo and had their saturday candy together. The adult part of the company could practically go on about our business, talking, having wine and laughing. Updating. They announced they are in the middle of a house buying process - that's big news, exciting news!

The evening went on 'til 1 AM and the taxi ride home was so quick the boy managed to stay awake. That boy, he played Nintendo Wii over an hour passed midnight!

***

The visit to IKEAresulted in a bookshelf for Johannes and in curtains for him. He has a room that is, more or less, always messy. Not that I think that a nice looking shelf will change that! The boy loves spreading lego parts all over and dislikes tidying... Yesterday the happy event occured that his best friend called him to ask if he wanted to play. The boy went into a happy mode and started cleaning the lego from the living room. I went in there with him and started putting the new covers on the living room/dining room chairs. Together we kept busy in the living room, side by side.

Nice cleaning up, fixing, side by side with the boy! I promised him he'd have a top notch bedroom by the time his friend got here. So right now, writing this post, we're in the middle of this: I carry DVDs and Johannes plays Nintendo Wii. Go figure. I might just as well have a cop of coffee.

The glamorous side of life

There I go, I just ground the coffee beans and now the sweet scent of coffee in the making, is spreading in this saturday-morning-house.

I and my friends often feel we need more glamour. Life is often hectic, the weeks are flying. I commute, work hard and in between I try to keep the house OK by doing some laundry and filling the dishwasher...
Cosiness there is but glamour?
I confess that I enjoy some glamour in my commuting from time to time. How's that?, you might wonder - and it is actually a little funny and makes me feel like a royalty or a president - I have  a private chauffeur!
I kid you not, I have come to get one.
Here's the thing: when I work unusually long days or unusually late, especially when it's horribly cold, I call the local taxi company to order a cab to pick me up outside the train (the walk home is 25-30 minutes). Since it's a small town we live in it is always the same guy who shows up, greets me with a smile and opens the door for me! I almost wait for him to start calling me Maa'm and he sure doesn't have to ask "where to?", because he knows by heart.... *hihi*...

***
Back to glamour and the Friday! Hubby was promised a day for him, since I was ill and in bed at his birthday. We decided to have a full day together and started out with breakfast at a nearby coffee place...

At the coffee place, that is our conutry's answer to "Starbucks", we simply opted for tasty stuff and ordered exactly what we had a taste for. No concerns taken to any health ideas or anything like that. We even shared a mini cupcake, just because it was cute! We got to be adults, talk about anything and everything and we sure did get to enjoy each other's company, alone.
 A very rare thing. A very good thing, it seems Marcus is a very nice guy!!

What a treat! What glamour to have time, spend time with the man of my dreams. The environment of this place even reminds you a little bit of NY and that can never go wrong.

My love, relaxing.



To me it was a perfect way to end a hectic week.The day before meant getting up 5:00 AM and coming home at 10:30 PM so I was in need of chilling. Big time.

This small cutie was cuter than it was tasty but it served well as a last bite before moving on with the free day.

We stopped by one of the cutest shops in town, where colours are as celebrated as they are in our home. Happy colours! I really think you feel even happier around colours like these.

"I'd love to test drive the new Citroën C4" hubby said.

Say no more!

He approved. It even had "paddles"!!

Yes, I was this happy. It felt like a date, all day. How fortunate I am to have such a nice husband!

Test driving was a whole lot of fun and the car was everything hubby had expected and more. The paddles, the gears, the interior well you name it, it had it, kind of... We swooshed by the beautiful beach road and had a blast.

Marcus never really wants to go to IKEA. This must be stated. Having said that: we had good fun there, yesterday. We went totally in to dream mode and almost got so spontaneous that we ordered a brand new kitchen, then and there! We calmed down a bit and then went on with the list I had created. Somehow walking out and paying, we realized it cost twice the sum I had calculated. Go figure! It might have something to with my getting that rattan chest I always wanted but never got. And those curtains that cost three times more than the ones we were going to get.... Hmm. We felt like happy hunters, walking to the car though since we found quite a few things we're really happy with.

Glam Time, Big Time!
I visited my hairstylist's new place for the first time and that was joyful. I sat down and was immediately offered "coffee or wine?". "Wine?". "Wine!".

-Wine, please.

You get the picture: after an intense week with long days, hard decisions and demanding tasks I get a day with hubby, I get to shop saught after things at IKEA (yes, I love IKEA) and then I top it off with wine, massage chair, spa-looking totally dark room with candles and a profoundly wonderful and genuine person that make me look good and is interesting, and inspiring, to talk to. Hard to top this day.

Yep, here she is: The Mom/The Librarian in Chief/The Wife/The Friend...

Feeling more than good about herself and about life.

Cantuccini and italian wine, my my!

Let me tell you: I think women are fantastic!
We're strong, loving, warm, multi tasking, thoughtful and caring and so much more. I think that women for many years have not been able to develop their full potential in all different areas of their lives. Or in some cases have not been rewarded enough for what they do or even been considered not to count on. I count on myself and on women and I think there is nothing that a woman can't do. I "made it through" and I know of many women who "made it through" and we need to support each other and each other's chioces - what's good for me might not be what's right for you.

My hair stylist is a remarkable woman! She's a few years younger than I am and her parents died when she was young, leaving her and her younger sisters. She took care of them all, worked her way up to a top position at a large hair dressing company and now jumped out into the unknown and started her own business, together with her best friend. They started a brand new concept of hair, fashion and interior decoration and they went for quality and looking to the whole woman, helping women find their unique style. Seeing my hair stylist always make me feel more like a woman and human being. I only see her four times a year so I cherish these visits.

I took the commute train home and when the darkness had sunk in the house I tried to capture the "glamorous me". It was a little too dark but I look kind of nice, I think?!!

Happy. It was a happy and carefree day.

What a friday! Loved this friday.

The saturday started with icy jogging with my sweet jogging companion Funkie. Tonight we're invited to good friends for dinner and before that we'll put the IKEA stuff together. Not a bad saturday either!

In my headphones now: "Miami" with my favourite Will Smith and together with that I got a little spring from Miami via "Enjoying the small things", since I love Miami I'd say I'm pretty high on life also, this weekend. have a great weekend all of you!

Love

Isn't the love of a child just grand?

I see his little hair curlying a little when he gets out of bed.
I see his little tiny nose and his profile with the little mouth.
His little tiny bottom that is so cute in those underwear.
I hear his small playing sounds where he tries to sound like Darth Vader or Luke Skywalker and when he exclaims "roger roger".
I see him sitting with the legs pulled upp underneath him and it is all so very cute that my heart actually aches. Aches of love.

How you love your child, it is amazing and grand and totally wonderful.

***

Today hubby and I are off into the bigger city nearby!
Hubby will get his late birthday gift and we'll also get a few necessities from IKEA. We'll enjoy lunch together and I will end the outing with a visit to my hairdresser/stylist who has recently left her employer to start her own business with a brand new and fresh concept of fashion, furniture and hair. Exciting to see!
This means a day off from work and a day alone with my precious husband. I can't wait!

The little curly "fresh-out-of-bed-hair".

Pulling the legs up and sitting ever so cutly!

Playing on end...

Taking the breakfast toast on the couch, while playing. A good thing the couch cover is washable!

I know for sure that the boy will feel this fabulous love when he becomes a father one day. The pleasure of being parent is that you're the one who loves the absolute most.
Our youngest son is very loving, however, and has been telling us since he was four years old that "I'm filled with love" and that "my kisses are filled with love". He's so cute talking seriously about love. One funny thing he said when he, yet again, was declaring his love for me was this:
-Mommy, you're so beautiful that I almost throw up!
Isn't that just too cute?!!

Beaches a little north of Miami... (part 2)

Looks like spring definately is hesitating...
Stubborn me had to dig those winter boots out again. I had put them away in enthusiasm of spring arriving a few weeks ago.
The temperature we're experiencing is unforgiving and ruthless. It's a good thing that our house is forever hot and inside we're never cold.
As you may have noticed our son is always dressed in boxer shorts/briefs and a t-shirt! He immediately rips all other clothes off as he gets home because of the heat of the house. I usually take my leggings off also or even better: get into my pj's that are both comfy and cool...

When we left the first beach, on saturday, to have coffee in town, the sun showed. I decided to visit one more beach in order to get some nice shots of our beautiful neighbourhood.

Pine tree.

Looks like it could be july, just aswell!

If it wasn't for the snow...

Tiny thin layers of ice on parts of the water.

Nature's art for sure.

Looks like summer!!

The boy finds it both cold and beautiful.

-Brrrr

He actually feels the cold weather with his hand.

This day the cold wind left a burning sensation in the hands.

An icy ocean in the background and a grill in the foreground.

This summer I'll present you with photos from here again.

Always nice going to town during weekends. We've found that folks around these

parts really like visiting town for shopping and coffee on saturdays.

Need I tell you that this country gets more and more english speaking for each and every year?

The cutie pie poses!

Our town is very old and looks as if it was made for romance.

No wonder people from all around the world like to visit during summer.

This spring and summer hubby Marcus and I will enjoy our beautiful town, just like the tourists enjoy it!
I philosophize about how quickly the years pass by and how short life is. I want to stop it sometimes and save the moment. Don't you agree? All these days come and go...
I hope your week is going very well and that most of you have a little warmer temperatures than we have.
The evening paper promised a warmer weekend for us, so please keep your fingers crossed!