A heavenly weekend

We are having a super relaxed weekend at the cabin. It's been hot and sunny for the past 7 days and even though we have only been here 2 days I feel like we have been on holiday for 2 weeks. A good sign I think. Tomorrow is a day off work and we have more fjord swims planned, more bbq's and more napping with a bit of reading thrown in. Summer in Norway is the best and winter seems a long way behind us.....

Nordkoster

Yesterday we went to Sweden for the 2nd time this week to visit Kosterhavet National Park.
We had wanted to go on Thursday but with a car full of milk/cheese/fish and meat it just wasn't possible so we got up early, jumped on a boat and spent the day exploring the north Island of Koster.
It was car free,peaceful and beautiful. The people living there have such a simple lifestyle (one that I'm envious of but I know I could never live!) I love Sweden.

Nest

Wandering around Majorstua a few weeks ago I discovered this little gem of a shop called Nest.
If I had a shop it would be this one! The lovely owner Kristine studied in London and I can really feel a British influence inside Nest (esp because she stocks lots of lovely Clipper tea and their delicious hot chocolate) Kristine has great taste and is super friendly and chatty so next time you are in Oslo I suggest you pop in and treat yourself to a little something (and a yummy cupcake whilst your at it)
Oslo was so in need of a shop like this (and this place came in very useful for Henrik when buying my birthday presents!)

Hej Sverige!

Yesterday was Norway's national day (and a day off!)
I'd already waved the flag,hip hip hurrah-ed, eaten hot dogs, ice cream and paraded round the local area on Wednesday at work so I really didn't feel the need to do it again yesterday, so we jumped in the car and drove the 80 minutes it takes to get to the Swedish border instead. We relaxed on lovely deserted beaches and took tiny bridges from island to island and it was a perfect little getaway.
I'm free from work today and shall cut my hair in Norway for the first time -I've been having haircuts in England but my barnet is in such a state right now that I'm going to have to bite the bullet(and empty my bank account!)  and visit a norwegian hairdresser!

Birthday weekend

I was 39 on Friday (thirty-friggin nine!) Next stop 40. Good god, how did I get here?
We spent the weekend mini road tripping, visiting fleamarkets and eating lots of sushi and ice-cream.

fleamarket finds

My absolute favourite thing about living in Norway are the fleamarkets. I'm on fire at the moment with my finds.
I've found some amazing stuff lately (and developed an obsession with enamel kettles, esp of the Finnish variety!)
On Sunday not only did I find an  Iittala Aalto vase for 20kr but I also found another Finel kettle for 10kr and the Ikea rug that I ruined last year for 20kr. It was in perfect condition and I'm so happy to have those triangles back on my floor!
We also found some wooden outdoor chairs to keep at the cottage (will show you once we have tarted them up- they need a lick of paint) for 30kr each. Add to that some Figgjo Flint plates, 7 plant pots and a west german jug and you have a very satisfied customer!

This week

1. Sweets on Wednesday. A bit controversial here in Norway to eat sweets on Wednesdays as people here eat sweets on a Saturday (Lordags godteri)
2. An early dip in some very cold water. Glorious weather this week here but now it's back to drizzling rain in time for the weekend...
3. Cheese puffs on Monday. Again a bit controversial as norwegians tend to have crisps on Friday nights as we are encouraged to "Kose oss" (enjoy ourselves) but I'm British so I ignore these "rules"
4. A coffee which I drank this afternoon. Coffee is allowed all day,every day. Did you know that norwegians are the 2nd biggest coffee drinkers in the world after Sweden? Although I'm also breaking rules here as I drink Lavazza and not Evergood (the coffee of choice here)
5. Evan Dando of The Lemonheads. My teenage crush who left me crushed when we saw them in Oslo last night as he was totally off his tits on god knows what. In my 20's I followed The Lemonheads everywhere and thought Evan Dando was the most beautiful man on the planet. So sad to see him this way, churning out their set as fast as possible to get it over with and almost falling asleep on stage. Oh Evan.....
Have a great weekend folks!

Hello May

It's been the perfect first day of May. A relaxing time at the cottage,ice cream dipped in chocolate powder,a little road trip to the beach, magazines and a fried breakfast. Even better was the blue,cloud free skies and 18c. Much needed.