A little bit of Sweden for Christmas

"Sweden is the home of my ancestors, and I have reserved a special place [for it] in my heart."

-Carl D. Anderson

I have never been to Sweden, but I will someday. I am quite determined. I am only three generations removed from my Swedish immigrant ancestors. As I'm sure many people out there do, we have saved some amazing documentation of their transition to America: their name change from Soderbach to Soderbeck to Beck, their move from Sweden to Norway and then back again, their entrepreneurial endeavors in the small Michigan town they immigrated to. Ever since I was little and started hearing about this part of my heritage I have been fascinated by Swedish culture (don't even get me started on Ikea). 

Christmastime especially brings out my love of all things Swedish.  From the little woolen Tomtes that I collect, to the heirloom Swedish tablecloths that I pull out for special holiday dinners. There's a bit of seasonal comfort in pulling out things I've collected for myself that have a place in my family's history. 

Here are some of my favorite Swedish-y things that I've come across lately. This awesome tray is designed by Asta Barrington, and is available at gretelhome.com. The mug below is also available at gretelhome.com, and I want one real bad. And one last thing for Christmas, is this awesome Nordic inspired Santa stamp, found at Dwell Magazine's online shop. I can only imagine the hours of fun me and my kids would have with that.

For your cuppa joe...

"I like cappuccino, actually. But even a bad cup of coffee is better than no coffee at all."

-David Lynch  

I've been finding it hard to wake up these past few weeks. Winter is one of my favorite times of year, but when the day goes from morning to night without it hardly ever looking brighter than a grey twilight outside, all I want to do is curl up in bed and watch my HBO shows all day. Unfortunately, I don't have some sort of Upper East Side trust fund that allows me to do that...so I've become quite dependent on coffee. 

 

There is a ritual to the morning cup, whether it's at home in my french press after dropping the kids off at school, or down the street at the coffee shop on the way to work. I wish it wasn't so bad for me, because it's one of my favorite ways to start the day. 

I came across this French Press by Freud  in the December Elle Decor. Someday I'd love to splurge on this. That is a damn sexy press, if I do say so myself. 

When something is such a big part of your everyday life, I feel like it's okay to indulge every now and then in the little things that make it more enjoyable, i.e. pretty mugs and creamers and things.  

The handmade cream and sugar set to the left is by Neutrino Designs. And here is another one to the right by Whitney Smith, both found on Etsy. 

 Ok. That's enough about coffee for now. It's too late to have anymore tonight.

Thanksgiving

Well, we've already celebrated Thanksgiving. A day early in our family means we actually all get to sit and relax together, instead of jetting off to ten different places. I don't usually get maudlin on here, but today I'm actually feeling really thankful (predictable right) for my family and for all my good friends in my life. Being a single mom is sometimes really exhausting and overwhelming, and I know I couldn't do it without all of their help, even if it's just a piece of chocolate and a thirty minute gab-fest every now and then. It's those little things that get us all through the hard days. So to all my friends and family out there, thank you for being a part of my life. I mucho appreciato.

Also, I just came across this beautiful Leonard Cohen song this morning, and it seems like a good day to share it. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

  Show Me The Place by leonardcohen

Books

Ok. So back to the routine...a bit. Tuesdays are for talking about books, reading, writing...etc. So. What's been rattlin' around in this head of mine these days...I'm ridiculously excited that I'm going to take my son to get his first comic book this week. I will definitely post pictures of our trip to Great Escape afterwards. I can't wait to see what he picks out. I have this feeling that a boys first comic says a lot about his character.

Also, I'm starting to get my December reading list together for myself. Now that I'm back in school, I've started to really look forward to my breaks, as far as being able to read whatever the hell I want to for a few weeks. I've been curious to see what all the hype is about the Hunger Games books, so I may start there. Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver is also on my list. There will probably be some Neil Gaiman thrown in there too, but if any body has any suggestions, I am definitely up for something great!

Also...work on my graphic novel is coming along slowly but surely. I really hope I have some pages to post soon!

Ok. That's all for now about books, etc. I'll leave you with a quote I found last week from none other than Mr. Gaiman himself,

“Tomorrow may be hell, but today was a good writing day, & on the good writing days nothing else matters.”-Neil Gaiman

Bridget turns 8!

black leotard rebels' photostream on Flickr.

Leftovers!

I made a super delicious, super quick and easy casserole tonight for me and my kids. Here's what I did:

I had half of a Rotisserie Chicken leftover from a few nights ago. I pulled the remainder of the meat off and mixed it together well with 1 can of Cream of Mushroom soup, and half a bag of frozen peas. I put the mixture into a glass baking dish, and then placed frozen biscuits on the top. The casserole baked for 30 minutes at 350 degrees.

It, obviously, wasn't anything complicated. More vegetables could be added easily, I was just using what I still had in the freezer. Also, fresh biscuit or cornbread dough could be substituted for the frozen biscuits that I used. But, on a tired Thursday evening, something about a quick casserole just makes me feel extra cozy. It's perfect for a night in.

Happy fall!

Some new photos!

black leotard rebels' photostream on Flickr.

I just recently got back from a trip to North Carolina to go hiking. Here are some of my pics!