flowers

Spring

Spring is coming at last and it feels so good! I brought a couple of peach blossom branches home today and the white cuties bloomed, so the apartment looks festive and warm. Sammy boy is enjoying his walks, mostly with his pops, since I´ve had a major flu for some days now. He keeps finding gloves and stuff and is ever so happy to carry them around in his mouth.

Work is steadier now and I guess I´m relieved, although I´ve been enjoying my lazy couple of months, too. But now it´s a good time to be busy, the weather makes is easier to get out of the house and just savor a cup of coffee in the sun. Finding an outfit to wear is also more pleasing when you don´t have to think about being warm all the time. 😉 I´ll be sure to post a couple of pictures about that later on this week.

I hope you have a great week! I´m slowly recovering and looking forward to salmon sashimi with white rice and cucumber salad, although I have absolutely no taste or smell whatsoever. 😉

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Decorate with plants

How are you today? Monday and Tuesday went by like a dream and I thought I should pop by for a couple of words. 😉 I´ve just come home from a walk with Sam and had dinner with V and a friend, my man´s famous homemade pizza- delicious. I need to post the recipe soon! 😉

I´m drinking some tea and have just started on a book in Norwegian- The Hopeful by Nicolai Houm, so funny! Otherwise life is pretty good, aside from the fact that my energy level is on an all time low, so I need to nap like babies. :-/ Thinking of waiting for spring for a couple more weeks and if it doesn´t improve, change my medication. 😉

Meanwhile, thought I should introduce you to some healing plant trends from Pinterest. Anytime I need a small change, I buy a plant. It works for me!  Continue reading →

A Quiet Weekend

My plans this weekend boiled down to a date with my couch. I´ve been watching Bosch on Netflix and it was good enough pass time for me. We´ve been so busy lately, either entertaining, visiting friends or partying, that I needed a complete break from any social activities. So I spent my morning online, then baked cheese and ham horns for brunch. Afterwards I got a new haircut at the corner hairdresser for a ridiculous amount of money (v cheap) and promised I´d step in as her model on Monday. I´ve been told I have Wella-hair ever since I can remember, I guess I was just waiting to be discovered for commercials. Bahahaha! Kidding! 😉

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Time for a change

I´ve been so good at decluttering lately, I don´t know what hit me! Moving things around doesn´t feel strange anymore and it makes me appreciate all the pretty things we´ve been collecting even more. Besides, they feel like different things entirely. And since the apartment feels airy and nice, I´ll let you take a peep! 😉

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Heat wave

These days have been so hot it´s crazy! Luckily, I spent them either at the beach, in the shade of the garden or sipping an ice coffee at the terrace. I can never tell you enough times: There´s no place like Oslo in the summer!<3

If in Oslo, you need to check out Delikatessen, they now have 3 locations, but the best one is still in Grunnerløkka, if you ask me. Generous salads, yummy tapas and cool cats serving them to you.

I´m still on low-carb, 8 days to go, on Monday I´m starting yoga and pilates again, after a couple of years´laziness.

I hope your July is FAB and feel free to leave a message if you care!:-)

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Easter 2014

Thursday was all about baking and hiding inside from the rain. I made all this food and we cuddled up with blankets and Netflix.  A lovely way to start a mini holiday, but would have proved boring in the long run. Yesterday however, the sun was shining and it was time for new adventures. I waited for my husband to finish a wallet he´s had an order on and when it seemed it was never going to happen, I took Sam for a walk to hip Grunnerløkka. We took some pictures on our way crossing Grønland and Tøyen, strolled through the lovely Botanical Garden and smelled the flowers. Luckily, my friend Elif agreed to meet us there, so we had coffee and pizza at Villa Paradiso. My man joined us in the end and we walked happily into the sunset the three of us. Haha!

Today we´re going to the Østensjø lake into the woods. Pictures soon! Enjoy the ride with us!

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Easter break

What are you doing this Easter? We have no plans, other than a day trip to Gothenburg that might or might not go through. So I figured I should use this Easter as an excuse to decorate with flowers, bake some cakes and catch up on some reading. The weather seems to be on our side (for once!), so I welcome lazy breakfasts, walkies with Sammy and some British crime. Meanwhile, I´ll be working a couple of more hours here and there and on Thursday it´s officially on!;-) Enjoy the ride through my house!

xxx, Alina
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It´s weekend again

Hi! How are you all doing? In Oslo we´ve been having some nice weather, but today is grey and it´s been raining a little, too. March is bipolar, they say, and I have to agree with that. The problem is that I´m both lazy and capricious.  And the weather doesn´t help, either. I´ve been struggling with what looks like a spring asthenia- low energy and an exaggerated need for sleep- so I´ve done my best to take some extra walks and go hiking in the woods with my Sammy. I don´t know if it helps, yet, but at least when I´m not home, I can´t sleep. hahha! 😉

Today however, I felt like doing everything at once and decided in the end to take Sammy for a city walk to Grunnerløkka, where they “happened” to sell a Ted Baker purse at Fretex, the Salvation Army store. Needless to say it was gorgeous and a bargain, so the walk and the coffee were just a bonus.

This evening me, Vuong and some friends are going to see the Romanian movie “I´m a Communist Biddy” and then have a bite or two. I´ll let you know what I think of it. 🙂

Meanwhile, enjoy some pictures of Sam and his girlfriend, Emi, while I take my long-awaited nap.

Kisses, Alina

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Tired of winter

If you ask me, I think winter should only last one month- December. It´s heavy on my feet, it ruins my shoes, I don´t get to wear my dresses and my hands are always freezing! Besides, there´s a limit to a girl´s guilty conscience! I constantly feel I should be more outdoors, learn to ski, walk in the woods more often or go sledging. But I never feel like doing anything else than sit by the fireplace. Now that´s what I call a challenge since Norwegian winter lasts for ages.

I should probably start traveling to a warmer destination, like many Scandinavians do, but I kind of try to stick to our European seasons. I sometimes imagine myself being happy in a place where it´s never cold, but then I think I´d miss winter. Or maybe all my wool scarves. You see, I´m not as shallow as I like to give the impression of, but I´m positive I was some sort of diva in another lifetime. 😉 haha!

Right now I´m tucked in a blanket and have just finished watching the 3rd season of Mad Men. I´ll make myself a cocoa and hope for milder weather next week. Have a good one!

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Grunnerløkka, Oslo

If you haven´t been to Oslo yet, Grunnerløkka is the hipsters´arena. It´s a former working class area where most of the old buildings have survived and make for a pretty quaint atmosphere.The constant flux of young people, Sunday open shops and the Sunday market in Birkelunden keep the area bustling even when the rest of the town is dormant. The borough has lots of nice eateries, coffee shops and shops and it´s always ready for a new wave of people. Long way to go to achieve any Berlin status, but cool is in order. Although a bit too fussy for me to live in, I enjoy taking a day trip to its stores and have lunch nearby.

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