Christmas

Christmas mood

Today was a good day. After a busy weekend of waking up early every day, today I could finally take it easy. I had a couple of work assignments, but other than that I mainly slept and enjoyed myself. It´s mid November already and I feel Christmas is right around the corner. This year I´m not going to overdo anything, I promised myself I´ll have realistic expectations of both myself and the others. My plans are to ease into the Christmas mood by mid December and have lots of energy for Christmas parties and the likes. With that in mind, I started reading a magazine and listen to Nat King Cole singing about the Yuletide season. 😉

I feel lighter these days, I managed to give away pretty much clothing I wasn´t wearing anymore and the bedroom is finally up for an update, hopefully in January. We need reading lamps but being both very particular, it takes ages to decide upon anything, really. Today I was browsing through some web shops and felt so happy when I saw  this one from Restart Milano! It´s just perfect! The slim lines, the golden touch, I was sold! And the fact that it´s simply called Wall Lamp Long makes it even more alluring. Anything that beautiful was made to last, I figure.;-) In Norway you can purchase it at Bolina, but I´m sure you can find it in an cool designer store near your home, too.

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Christmas gifts suggestions

Christmas is around the corner and this year I´m in the mood for treating my loved ones with fancy things. I´m generally a bad gifter, since I tend to offer what I myself would be glad for receiving, but if you by any chance have a luxurious taste, you´re in luck!;-) I love anything that´s natural, the simpler, the better. I get high on silk, wool, leather and marble. This is what I´d love to get this year!

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Santa baby

It´s already November, so winter is practically knocking at our door. And since I love Christmas, boy am I looking forward to it?! I´ll be done with the 6 weeks´ trial in just 2 weeks, leaving me lots of time to put my accountancy in order, do some Christmas shopping and make my traditional biscotti and lemon curd. And because I´m a slave of all things pretty, this is my wish list for Santa:  😉

1. Max Mara dress

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Our Christmas

A quick glimpse of our Christmas. We opened presents on the 25th, the French way. Forgot to take pictures on the 24th. Oops! Here are some Christmas moments. I hope you had a wonderful celebration! Happy boxing day!;-)

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Christmas at the Tran residence

This year we´re celebrating Christmas in Norway with our friends and my husband´s family. Although it´s nice to go back to my mother country, Romania, which we do every other year for the holidays, it´s kind of comfortable to be at home and go about things my way. So my man brought a Christmas tree and we decorated it with Sam and Beo prowling around it and sniffing the forrest smell, I baked and cleaned and bought some pretty light chains and the imperative hyacinths, the only thing missing is a Christmas wreath, which I´ll make after taking Sam for a walk in the woods. We´re done with finding and wrapping the gifts, what´s left is buying the food and the drinks and finding the pajamas and Home alone 1 and 2. Meanwhile, I´ll be spending time baking some more and making some Christmas chutney while listening to Christmas carols. How are you spending the holidays? Merry Christmas to you all!

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Christmas presents

This year I´m making most Christmas gifts myself. I am usually a workaholic, but this time of the year business is slow and I learned to enjoy it. Therefore I´m baking and personalizing presents I bought, knitting and writing Christmas cards. Nice time to be with friends, too, if you still have any left when you decide work is not everything in life. 😉 Enjoy your advent time!

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Tallinn in Christmas clothes

We started this tradition last year, we got away from the city for a weekend to get some Christmas spirit. Our destination was Røros, a fairy tale-like small town in Middle Norway, 5 hours away by train, but miles and miles away from the city stress and everyday routine. To make it a tradition, we had to do the same this year, so we chose Tallinn, Estonia. And my God were we lucky to visit such a pretty town in winter! We were totally swept away by the colorful houses, the  Christmas market in the middle  of the old town, the churches and thick city walls and, last but not least- the cold! I´ve never been so cold in my life as I was for those three days, and I live in Norway! Good thing there´s such thing as mulled wine, caramelized almonds, elk soup à la middle ages (meaning without a spoon), sauerkraut, sausages and pork steak! In addition to that, we had a sauna and a jacuzzi at the hotel, as well as the possibility to book various treatments- I chose a facial, a massage, manicure and pedicure! 😉 There are a couple of stores with nice Estonian design, arts and crafts and delicatessen, so gifts were not difficult to find, either. And even though either of us is particularly fond of winter, we both love Christmas! So it was delightful to just walk around, check out the antique shops, pop in for a cocoa, update our instagram, walk a little more, take some pictures, have some lunch, take a nap, take a sauna, dinner, drinks and then more sleep. It´s so rejuvenating, we´ve already chosen next year´s destination-Viena! I hope you enjoy this ride with us!

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Welcome Christmas in your apartment the Danish way

You just have to love this apartment! I often read Danish magazines, I find their style more enticing than the Norwegian and the Swedish one, it´s less clean, more ethnic and more playful. And the apartments and houses over there are huge in comparison! I like the way the owner has carefully selected all the pieces of the apartment, indeed it seems a curated home. Let the Christmas begin!

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Christmas is around the corner

Today I´m home with a cold and feeling sorry for myself. Don´t really feel like doing anything, think I´ll just drag myself on the couch for the rest of the day. Meanwhile, Nina Simone, a pot of green tea and some books keep me company. The cat is purring beside me and I threw a couple of wooden twigs in the fire. Dreaming of Røros, where we spent a weekend last year, it´s such a beautiful winter destination! Lots of snow, good food, jolly people and friendly Norwegian forrest cats. A mine community in the 16th century established this town with colorful wooden houses and today it´s on Unesco´s World Heritage List. It´s like going back in time to when we still believed in Santa Claus. Take a look!

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