I'm a Shoe-o-Holic After All!

Or a shoe-maniac, whichever word you prefer! So thought I'd show you the shoes I bought on this year's US trip (coming home shoe-empty-handed would feel so wrong)!

My first purchase is a kind of boot I never thought I would buy. But this isn't really a regular Ugg. These are just so stylish and cosy and I've been secretely admiring them for a long time. So with the dollar being reasonably low and prices much better in the US than in Sweden anyway, I decided to take the leap! However, I will NOT wear mine in the middle of summer which people in Hollywood and London (and perhaps Australia, the birth country of Uggs, where I guess it is hot most of the time??) seem to do. Instead they will be perfect for Swedish winter! Inside they are full of wool and so soft and nice (which makes it even harder to understand how people can wear them in hot weather...).

The Uggs I got are called "Classic Cardy".

They will look great folded down with jeans tucked in (I guess I should have worn my jeans when demonstrating this...oh well!), or...

...up when wearing a skirt for example.

I also got some dress shoes:

A pair of blue standard dress shoes. I only had black ones before so figured it woud be good to extend the collection with a few more colours. These kinds of shoes never really go out of fashion so I can see myself wearing them in 20 years too.

A pair of brown, a bit more trendy shoes I guess. Brown is a good colour that is always needed too.

And finally this cute ballerina type shoes without a heel. I just love these!

Wanted! Menthe Recipes

Image from fotolia

I bought tons of menthe for last night's girls' night but we ended up drinking lots of wine instead instead of mojitos. So what to do with two pots of menthe?? I could do virgin mojitos of course and drink during my last day off* tomorrow but I figure there are lots of fun, interesting recipes out there! Perhaps some sort of menthe muffins or meat à la menthe or... you tell me!

* bank holiday

Back-to-School - Show & Tell!

Finally! Friday Show & Tell is back after a long summer recess! Maisoui is in charge of September.

4 September: Compassion
11 September: Four Things You Must See in "My" Town
18 September: My Relationship to…. (partner, holiday, the scale… well, you choose)
25 September: To Surprise Me You Must...

Staycation

I'm back in Sweden as of two days ago and will post photos from our trips as soon as I've weeded through a thousand or so pictures! In the meantime I'm enjoying a final week of holiday, this one at home. As I write this I'm soaking some sun on the balcony while sipping an iced coffee. I'm fighting a feeling of "I should really finish the ironing and tidy up", telling myself that I'm entitled to a few lazy days after having run around and ticked off sights in the previous three weeks! Right?!! :-P

Friendly Footie & Blog Break

Went to see a very boring football game last night. Sweden beat Finland but not in an impressive way at all. But it's always fun to go anyway and most importantly, spend time with friends (one of whom is moving to Oslo in a few weeks). As I write this I'm sitting in a taxi to the airport - up way too early for my liking - as we're embarking on our second trip of the summer; to the US(Pacific Coast Highway, San Francisco and New Work)! I won't be able to blog on this one - not bringing a computer and mobile blogging would cost too much - so this will be my last post for ten days or so. One of the most exciting things with the trip is that we will meet up with fellow bloggers Petchie and Saltis! I have met both of them before but not together! Over and out for now!

Madonna!!

Difficult to get good pictures with a mobile phone sitting half a mile from the stage but wanted to give you something!

Cookies with a History

Before we visited Kullen's lighthouse and was attacked by thousands of ladybugs we had "fika" (Swedish for coffee/tea and cookies or other goodies; a break) at the popular Flickorna Lundgren, also called Systrarna på Skäret near Mölle, Arild and Höganäs. The sisters started their bakery and cafe many years ago and now their grandchildren or even great grandchildren run it, yet maintaining the original concept, recipes and beautiful gardens. A bit pricey but the scenery and the tasty goodies means it's still worth a visit!

Beach All the Time

A lazy day at the beach with a good book and an occasional swim - heaven!

Sunset in Skanör

Beach Time

On a day with such fantastic weather we're having today, the beach is a much! But before that we ticked the cultural box too with a visit at Glimmingehus medieval castle. And we had some delicious smoked mackerel for lunch!

Ale stones

Evening sight-seeing at Ale stenar (stones), a rock ship formation from viking times, followed by dinner at Vendel by the water just below. Sill as first course (pictured) and fish and lamb for second.

Kivik

Cute houses and gardens in Kivik, the town of apple orchards.

Holiday!!

Finally! I have four weeks holiday as of today. Peter and I will spend the first week exploring the south and west coast of Sweden. First stop is Simrishamn in Österlen in eastern Skåne (Scania). On the way there we stopped in Gränna, home of the sweet "polkagris", originally in peppermint only but which now comes in hundreds of flavours. The pictures shows two polkagris makers in action.

US Road Trip Part 6: Boston

Since it's almost time for us to embark on a new US trip I thought I'd show you some photos from the sixth and last leg of our US road trip 2008, namely Boston.

One of many Harvard buildings

John Harvard, the Founder of Harvard

Harvard scholar?

Oxford scholar

Trinity Church


Boston Public Library, the first in America

The Library's big reading room

Library court yard

Lions in the library staircase

Newbury street for some shopping

You cannot escape Ikea anywhere!!

Dinner at a Persian restaurant on Beacon Hill

Massachusett's House of Representatives by night

New day and time to walk the Freedom Trail!

Park Street Church on the site of the Old Granary Burying Ground

Old South Meeting House, which housed the meeting that led to the Boston Tea Party

Quincy Market interior, part of the Faneuil Hall Marketplace

Peter down by the Boston waterfront

Public transportation by boat, just like in Stockholm!

Boston's Holocaust Memorial - a must-see!

The numbers of the perished cover all of the glass. There are also some stories from survivors: Ilse, a childhood friend of mine, once found a raspberry in the camp and carried it in her pocket all day to present to me that night on a leaf. Imagine a world in which your entire possession is one raspberry and you give it to your friend.

Mix of old and new

Paul Revere House (Revere played an imoprtant part in the American Revolution)

Old North Church, oldest standing church in Boston (1723). "The enduring fame of the Old North began on the evening of April 18, 1775, when the church sexton, Robert Newman, climbed the steeple and held high two lanterns as a signal from Paul Revere that the British were marching to Lexington and Concord by sea and not by land. This fateful event ignited the American Revolution."

Not much taller than the cubicles

Narrow houses by Copp's Hill Burying Ground.

Copp's Hill Burying Ground. "Founded by the town of Boston in 1659, Copp's Hill Burying Ground is the second oldest burying ground in the city. The cemetery's boundaries were extended several times, and the grounds contain the remains of many notable Bostonians in the thousands of graves and 272 tombs."

View of Boston from Charlestown Navy Yard

USS Constitution. "USS Constitution is a wooden-hulled, three-masted heavy frigate of the US Navy. Named after the Constitution of the United States of America by President George Washington, she is the oldest commissioned naval vessel afloat in the world (1797)."

More Boston Waterfront

Peter posing in his right element

Mirrors opposite Trinity Church

Roof bar in Prudential Tower

Views of Boston from Prudential Tower

More views from Prudential Tower