expat

Old Posts + Life These Days

I recently have been receiving the kindest emails from you. First, I’m so sorry. I know how frustrating broken links are and I’m so touched that so many of you have emailed me asking where the old posts can be found. So here’s what happened.

I switched website platforms so instead of using Squarespace, I’m now using WordPress. I really loved Squarespace, their interface was awesome and clean, the templates were nice. But, in the end, I needed a little bit more customization to create things like my personal website + portfolio. Plus, I totally fell in love with Station Seven and all their beautiful templates. This is Coastal.

So, when I made this big switch, I was able to upload all my blog text, BUT all the images were hosted by Squarespace so they all are now tiny icons instead. I went back and re-uploaded images to this site for my most recent or most favorite posts. However, the really old posts are silently waiting until someone emails me and asks after them.

If you loved an old post, maybe you saw it on Pinterest or BHG and the link is broken, write me or post a comment here. I promise to search it out, dust it off and make that post live for all the world to see.

And as for what is going on with me? Well, I hope you’ve been following along on Instagram and Snapchat, but if not here’s the update:

I finished up language school last winter and I got a job! I am working as an Interior Architect for a navel engineering firm in Copenhagen, which means I get to design the inside of ferry, cruise and offshore platforms. I hadn’t even ever considered designing for marine but its basically a designer’s dream job because it’s essentially a hotel, just in the water. So we design ever type of space, from the lobby to the restaurants (usually multiple, all with different concepts) and the cabins to the lounges, plus all kinds of specialty spaces like movie theaters and game rooms. It is a pretty darn fun gig.

On top of all the fun professional stuff, we’ve been traveling like crazies. Seriously, we’re averaging one trip a month this year. Mostly we’ve been exploring all Sweden has to offer with trips up to Gothenberg or way way up to Abisko. During our summer holiday (because this is Europe and we all take a month off in the summer) we headed up the Stockholm and just wandered around all their neighborhoods for four days. It feels like there is so much to see right here in our own backyard!

Anyway, I just wanted to pop in and say send me a message if you want and old post and I hope you are having lots of adventures, too.

Bold and Bright Baby + The Nursery

It’s so hard to believe little P (aka Hazelnut, aka The Nut, aka our good friends’ Jon + Audrey Camp‘s lovely daughter) is nearly one year old (this shot is from back when she was a little squish of just two months old). If you’re curious about how her life is unfolding, Audrey has written some beautiful essays on motherhood and life with P here, here and here and you know what, here, too. Actually better just take a look at all these posts on parenthood. They are all amazing.

As for P’s first room, I think it turned out quite well! Audrey sent over these shots from back when we had just finished and she was still pregnant all those days ago. Since then, well, P’s shown up, but the Camps have also bought an apartment in the super cool Grünerløkka borough of Oslo. So now we have first hand proof that Ferm Living’s wall stickers really do re-stick!

Check out the Mood Board and Product Board for this room. And don’t miss the post on P’s Camp Baby Shower also in the same theme of Bold, Bright and Adventurous!

Have an adventure loving week, everyone!

Taking A Break + Refocusing

Hey guys. You’ve probably noticed I’ve taken a bit of a break from posting here. After careful consideration, I’ve decided to take some time and focus more on my Swedish language studies full time. It is really important to me that I use our time here in Sweden to my full potential. That means that I need to speak the language fluently and work here in Sweden as an interior architect.

For this blog that means I’m pausing posts here until early next year. Please check back in January for more posts focused on Scandinavian design, interiors inspiration and a few crafty DIYs. Until then check out my work on Minted or follow along with me on Instagram or Pinterest.

I can’t wait to talk with you all again soon! xoxo

Happy Weekend + Language

I was totally taken by Maschmanns Matmarked in Oslo, Norway last week. Their display of groceries is so simply and yet so beautiful. We stopped in for lunch on a Sunday (yep, they are open on Sundays) and had amazingly yummy pizza. They also had scrumptious looking pastries that I will definitely be taking part in next time.

Next week I start intensive Swedish language classes with the state run SFI. I have been waiting four months to be placed in a school and I am so excited to finally get down to business! I’ve got some basic knowledge from our time at Folkuniversitetet but I’m not conversational or anything. The class will meet every day for five hours a day and, when I feel ready, I can test up to the next level until I complete the school. The whole process should take 6-8 months for me to complete.

One of our New Year’s resolutions this year was to really dig into Swedish life here in Malmö. For me that means becoming full fluent in Swedish is a huge priority. I’ll be dropping my posts here on the blog down to three per week so I will have enough time to focus on my fluency goal. Please check in on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays for new posts and wish me lycka till (good luck)!

// what to do this weekend

read the news in very basic Swedish

freshen up your desktop backgrounds

whip up some yummy desserts

elevate your instagram feed

craft up some woven wall hangings

Crafted + Camp Baby Shower

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This past Saturday was The Hazelnut‘s baby shower in Oslo. I was so lucky to work with two lovely, talented co-hosts, Audrey‘s good friends Zoë and Chelsea. Together we coordinated decorations, games and refreshments across international boarders (well, one boarder, Sweden to Norway) and to great success. Our theme started with The Hazelnut nursery mood board and shifted to be an even more camp-y feel. Thus Camp Baby was created.

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I modified a few crafts from around the web to fit our theme, including these great animal face pins as our guest’s favors. Chelsea pulled together a full yogurt bar, complete with hand lettered spoon labels and Camp Yogurt Bar sign (No Boys Allowed!).

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photos by Chelsea Ranger

I crafted up a little mountain + forest table-scape with orange tent (inspired by Pink Stripey Stocks) cut from cardboard and painted. And Zoë had the amazing idea to add a tiny campfire and mini marshmallows for roasting using toothpicks. So cute!

We also played a few literary themed quiz style games using Kahoot (which worked great). Zoë crafted up 20 paper birthday cards with simple, graphic fabric numbers and each guest wrote a a note to The Hazelnut for her to read on her first through 18th birthdays. I’m not sure how I missed getting a pic of these. They were really great and I know The Hazelnut and Audrey will look forward to opening them every year.

Chelsea did capture a shot of us reading Audrey’s “Telegrams” from friends and family in the States. There is always a few key people missing from parties like these because we are expats. To make everyone feel a bit more connected, I hosted a virtual baby shower (with Audrey’s mom and our best friend Amy) on Facebook for a couple weeks leading up to the party in Oslo. Everyone wrote in with welcome telegrams for the new baby and advice for the new mom. I printed all the messages onto 4×6 cards with a cute little fox logo. We passed them out at the party and had the guests (mostly literary folk) read them aloud. The idea worked beautifully and there were more than a few chuckles to go along with a couple tears.

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