We´re back on track and summer is officially over. We came home from 25 degrees in Paris to 5 in Oslo and I needed to dig out my sweaters. 😉 The time in France was so amazing I wanted to share a couple of pictures from my Instagram account, too. Hope you enjoy them!
summer
An autumn Saturday in Oslo
Oslo on a sunny day is like a dream come true! Although it´s mid September, the weather Gods still had some summer in store for us! It was such a glorious day to go for a walk and of course we brought Sam along. First, we walked to Grunnerløkka for coffee and breakfast and had a break in the sun to enjoy the view- colorful people on their Saturday stroll, fashionistas as well as young parents with strollers, dogs and their owners, you name it. Sam behaved himself for once, happy to have both his parents with him, he sat by our feet, squinting and drooling, getting the occasional petting and “Awww, that´s such a pretty dog!” I couldn´t have been more proud!
August
Even though the calendar says otherwise, I feel we´re coming towards the end of summer. Although the air is still warm, most festivals are over (not that I ever attend) and the rain seems to settle in. I started work for real last week and each day is busier than the last one. I don´t mind it, though. A sort of holiday atmosphere is still lingering in the air and people are in a better mood than they were in June, before they left for Italy, Spain, France or Greece. Or stayed at home and couldn´t believe their luck when summer came to Norway, too.
Weekend trip to Tønsberg
As I mentioned in an earlier post, I´ve been really jealous of all the people with boats, summer houses or cabins this summer. Not because we haven´t had a holiday or been out drinking wine most evenings, but because the weather has been so perfect and no matter how close we live to the harbor, it´s not the same as being somewhere else entirely, a place you get to take a break from daily routine and chores.
So I remembered I had a lot of hotel points from that time I worked in Bergen for three months in a row and ordered a weekend in Tønsberg for the two of us. Tønsberg is a cute little summer town 1,5 hours away from Oslo, not much to do there, but very picture perfect for a short trip. Thus we took the train, even upgraded to first class (called “Komfort” so it sounds less class-oriented- haha!) so we´d avoid sitting with chatty teen-agers and there we were by mid-day Saturday, ready for check-in and lunch. We ate at Kolonihagen, a nice spruced up place with emphasis on local and organic food. They were terribly busy that day, so the service wasn´t great, but the meals were as lovely as always. We had Jerusalem artichoke soup and pie with salad and for desert we shared a pannacotta.
After a round in the “city center”, a couple of pictures of quaint wooden houses and wondering if we should or we shouldn´t have some ice-cream, we headed for the hotel for a nap (we´re known as the nappers in our circle of friends!). Besides, the 4th season of the Killing was just posted on Netflix, so we were dying to see what was happening. After a couple of episodes we freshened up for dinner at Champagneria, a classy place they have in Oslo, too. We ordered lots of tapas, skipped the bread and the “patatas bravas” for once and gorged ourselves on “jamon iberico”, baked chèvre, chorizo and so on. 😉 Unfortunately Peppes Pizza, their neighbor, were having an open-air private party of some sort and they were so loud, we couldn´t even hear our waiter speaking, let alone converse. After a heavy dinner with lots of bubbles, a walk was in order, so we strolled around white washed houses and said hello to many cute cats on our way up to Slottsfjellet, the Castle Rock, to put it in a Games of Thrones way. The view from there was sublime! The sunset, the wilderness of it all, who would have figured they´ve just had a festival a couple of weeks ago? Everything seems so untouched and for an asphalt girl, as I called myself many years ago, to experience that in the middle of the city is just surreal!
On Sunday everything was closed, even some eateries, so walking about with no purpose proved little fun. And it wasn´t warm enough to swim, so we mainly hanged in our hotel room and watched the Killing, except for eating mussel soup for lunch and burgers for dinner. The burger place is worth a trip, it´s called Kverneriet and it´s a hipp place with pretty good burgers and nice atmosphere. Vuong´s conclusion was that Munchies in Oslo is still the real deal! That was our weekend! How was yours?
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!:-)
Healthy inspiration
Oh, it´s so inspirational to eat good food and to see the results so fast!;-) Oysters, shrimps, mayo, salmon tartar, mussels, asparagus, salads, you name it! I´ve been eating so healthy and so diverse, made some delicious quinoa yesterday, getting my oatmeal cottage cheese and raspberry dose every morning and I´m starting to get in shape again, in 10 days´time I´ll be weighing as much as I did as a 18 years old! 😉 Can you believe it?! And all this time I´ve been letting myself get depressed over a little weight instead of actually doing something about it.
Anyway. These couple of days have been wonderful. Lots of walks with the doggies, reading Jonathan Franzen´s “The Corrections” in the garden, my orchids have blossomed and lots of white wine. Enjoy a couple of my pictures! xxx, Alina
Living is easy
Although this is not always true and we stumble and fall more often than we can pick ourselves up, it should be summer´s general rule. Less clothes, less work, more spare time to do whatever we enjoy most, eat lighter, drink more, you name it!;-)
These days have been strange for my part, without needing to go into details. Today however I feel better than in a very long time. My thoughts feel clearer and I can breathe without restraints. I´m listening to the feel-good `Smart is the New Sexy´playlist on Spotify, drinking green tea, the cat purring beside me and life is simply good.
I´ve been dieting on low-carb for 9 days now and I´ve lost 3 kg, my skin hasn´t been this radiant in ages and I feel fit. 3-4 more kg to go and I can start eating what I want again, as long as I work out and stay away from buns and tarts on a regular basis.
We´ve been having amazing weather, although a bit too hot if one works or is too lazy to go to the beach. 😉 We went to the beach twice, though and it was so much fun for the dogs! I realized I´ve become a bit of a chicken, couldn´t bring myself to swim although the water must have been 19-21 degrees. Brr! Otherwise I can’t wait for Santorini, 5 weeks to go! Three more weeks of general staff holiday, better hurry and enjoy it! Prosecco is still on my list of groceries, even though I´m on low-carb!;-) haha! Have a lovely week!
Summer wear
These are my favorite pieces this summer! I can´t wait to wear them on chilly evenings at the Oslo marina, on hot afternoon strolls to the nearest taverna in Santorini and on pleasant Parisian nights from a French brasserie to a jazzy bar. Come along!
I just bought these beauties from mytheresa.com, they´re from Ancient Greek Sandals and I simply adore them!
Lazy days
Oh, how I missed these lazy days of July, thought they´d never come! I´m working a couple of hours every day, a little more in between, leaving me plenty of time to nap, read, walk my Sammy and make all those fresh summer dishes that´ll turn my body into a 20 year old´s all over again. 😉 Haha! Not to mention how nice it is to have my husband around, have a walk in the warm summer evening and rediscover the neighborhood we moved to almost 3 years ago.
I usually stay in Norway in July since I adore the summer pace, the possibility to go straight to the beach from work or whatever errands you need to run before Norway shuts down in the general staff holiday. There are sales everywhere and the city is warm with beer and joy, people strip down and wiggle their toes, oh it´s an entirely different town! The weather seems to be getting better and better, so tomorrow we´re going to watch the World Cup in the park, beer and burgers parked in front of us. Saturday we´re off to the beach, if the weather allows and the beach makes both me and Sam besides ourselves with joy.
Today we´re having shrimps mayo and later we´ll probably have a walk to Sørenga and sip some Prosecco on the new marina. Hope your July is just as awesome! xxx, Alina
Summer wardrobe
Holiday is just two weeks away and I´m dreaming of perfect outfits to wear in the mild summer evenings. I love fashion, but summer is my absolute favorite season for dressing up and pimping my wardrobe. This is what I´d wear if money were no issue!
Sophia Webster sandals
life in a bubble 