Friday, December 16

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.



Thursday, December 15

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.