Evening winter walk

If you have been on my blog for more than 5 minutes, you will have figured out that I am not a big fan of winter. I will let you in on a little secret... I almost like the holiday period where Christmas lights give a certain coziness to the dark evenings. After about mid January, the darkness definitely loses it's charm but, while the holiday lights are still appropriate, I almost enjoy it ;) Don't tell anyone ;)

So, while the holiday lights are still up and it still looks festive, I like to take evening walks. Soon, I will start to complain about winter again but, for the moment, I won't complain as much as usual ;)

Happy weekend xox

Winter storm

Today, most of us woke up to the "storm that we have been warned about for the past week". Usually, when we have snow, the temperatures are warmer. Not today. Today, we are sitting at -18C and, with the wind, it feels much colder. Our airport is closed... we are receiving warnings to stay off the roads... the radio is broadcasting activity and church service cancellations. Good thing we don't have to go anywhere ;)

Happy Sunday! Stay warm... and cosy ;) xox

When I woke up this morning....

Andreas heading to karate class... luckily just down the street from us!

Even the snowman doesn't look happy ;)

Snow day!

Merry Christmas!

I am now sitting down with a glass of wine in hand and new cosy pajamas (courtesy of Andreas) to relax after everyone has gone home. As usual, it was chaotic but if it wasn't, that is when I would be worried ;) The boys must have been good this year because they scored in the Santa front. Oliver, despite catching me in the present wrapping process, seemed to be more impressed with his gift from Santa than trying to disprove him ;) I have to appreciate every last year of believing in Santa. I also have to hand it to Nicka and Alexander; they really go along with it for Oliver's (my) sake.
Tomorrow, we go to my sister's for Christmas brunch and I will appreciate being at someone else's house ;)

Just wanted to stop in and wish you all a very Merry Christmas xox

Happy 2nd Advent!

Today, after a cosy morning, Andreas and I started the Christmas shopping process. Doing it all at one time is not really fun at all but getting it done gradually is much more reasonable ;) I won't say what we bought because I don't want some people who may be reading this to know what they are getting ;) After we got home, he even put up the tree. For someone who is not big on Christmas, I am proud of him!
The boys are now finishing up their last minute homework and dinner is on its way. I am looking forward to a quiet remainder of the weekend.

Happy 2nd Advent! xox

Advent presents for the boys...

Our holly bush

Our tree <3

Happy Friday evening!

I remember (actually, I think I remember... it seems so long ago) a time when Fridays meant going out in downtown Copenhagen, dressing up, drinking way too much Carlsberg, smoking a ton of cigarettes, buying kebab and pommes frites (or visiting the pølsevogne) on the way home, swallowing that preventative aspirin before going to bed and- if that aspirin didn't work- spending most of Saturday morning avoiding life in general. Now, a good Friday night equals nothing to do/nowhere to go, a good glass of wine, pajamas, slippers and cozy time with the boys. It was fun while it lasted but I wouldn't go back for a minute!

Wishing you all a good Friday night xox

Sunday food preps

I love doing a big Sunday cooking day. Given that some weekends are filled with total chaos, I appreciate the weeks when I can do groceries, find interesting ingredients and have the time to actutally put it all together. There is something totally satisfying about cooking multiple meals for the week ahead. It goes beyond feeling organized, I feel relaxed and happy to be putting good food together for our family. Today was about making a beef stew in the slow cooker, roast chicken, curry eggplant and flatbread pizzas for Monday lunches. I also cut up a bunch of vegetables and will be making a fruit salad. If I still have time later, I might attempt some more bread. We also picked up some fresh Zeppoles at the bakery (and Oliver's favourite mini cupcakes... that is OK... more Zepole for me ;) ) to have with afternoon coffee (for Swedish people: yes, for fika). With sun shining through our living room windows and a vacuumed floor- another miracle!- it has been a good Sunday so far.

Hope you are all having a good Sunday too xox!

Happy First of Advent!

Happy First of Advent!

I know that I complain about winter a lot but- don't tell anyone- I find the Advents really cosy ;) We are spending the day not doing a heck of a lot, eating some cinnamon rolls and homemade banana bread, drinking coffee (not the boys, they have enough energy!) and putting a few Christmas decorations up.


Wishing you all a relaxing day! xox

The obligatory "before you open your Advent presents" picture ;)

Books... ok... at least we got chocolate to make up for it ;)

Happy Advent!

<3

Why I blog...

People sometimes ask me why I blog (yes, because I actually know some of the real live people that read my blog... why they read it is another story ;) ) so I had to give it some thought. I think mostly because my friends on Facebook were sick of my long winded posts ;) I also thought that it could be fun for the boys to read when they got older... sort of like a family diary.... or a way to keep up with my friends in Denmark.... or family in Sweden.... or my mother group friends in the US who I met online when I was pregnant with Alexander... or my own family who lives nearby and that I don't see often enough.... or the lovely women who I know through my boys' schools...  or an odd way to entertain my friend Kerri.... ;)  I was also inspired by two bloggers named Brinja and Sandra, who I ended up connecting with, even though we live an ocean apart. I also met people like Catarina and Ageeth, who I met online and now consider my friends...  More recently, I feel that I visit with people like Karin, Maude  and my own beautiful Gabrielle. It is a little bit like going out for coffee...without really going out for coffee. I also enjoy that I don't have to write in any sort of coherent and scientific way... It makes the world a little smaller... and a whole lot cosier....

Thanks for coming along for the ride ;) Happy Friday evening xox

Doing nothing

Today is a doing-nothing sort of day. The stores are crazy with Boxing Day and the weather is not very pleasant (ice rain). Downstairs, the boys are making lots of noise with visiting friends. For the moment, it is still happy noise, so I am OK with it ;) Andreas and I are upstairs,  enjoying some coffee, chocolates, lakrids, Julmust ... and doing nothing.

Wishing you all a good doing-nothing sort of day xox

Merry Christmas!

It is now almost 3:00pm our time. The turkey is done. The potatoes and stuffing are on. The appetizers are planned. The sugar has been consumed. The guests will arrive shortly.

We wish you all a very Merry Christmas... Thanks for following our family's day to day xox

PS: all picture credits go to Andreas. He thinks that my camera takes blurry photos ;)

Evening out

Yesterday was my last exam day... for my class, not for me... Hey- there has to be SOME bonus for all the years of study ;) So, until we go back in January, I am on my own time! Yes- I do have to correct, put together grades and organize my courses for next semester but I can be wearing my pajamas and slippers when I am doing it... and that makes a big difference ;) Anyway, to conclude this semester, the lab that I work with had a dinner party last night. So, between the time I left my office and the time the dinner started, I had the chance to walk around downtown Montreal and enjoy the holiday vibe :) It was festive- with all the lights- and, thankfully, not so cold out so walking around was very pleasant! Here is a bit of a photo spam from my walk... sorry for the blurriness... my phone does not like the foggy/drizzly air....

Happy Wednesday to you all xox