Wrap it in!

As long as I can remember I have had huge pleasure of wrapping in gifts.

 Each year I change the theme, everything from glitzy paper to pure white, this year I go for rustic, natural nostalgia. For me, reuse of materials are important, so when I came cross some old notebooks in bad condition I decided to use them as gift wrapping and ornaments. I went back to my childhood days  and brought the memories of the «snowflakes» into this years theme. I think these little ornaments give the extra touch on a neutral wrapped present, don’t you think? If you have forgotten how to make them I'll show you step by step:

 

fold

tie

draw

cut

fold out and paste

Nice, relaxing activity to do on a evening with a cup of tea, music and relaxation …….. or with children!

Where did the summer go?

We only had the chance to stay 10 days at our Norwegian summerhouse this year. A short stay with a lot of nice memories that seems to fade ....

Miss you Norway, but looking forward to next years visit!

We ♥︎ waffles

Sometimes the smallest things can give the biggest joy.

As for example the smile of my boy when he smells the scents of

newly made "Norwegian" waffles spread around the house on a Sunday.

After 10 years in Luxembourg the Norwegian waffle iron we brought with us is still regularly in use.

If you wonder about the difference of these 

waffles compared to others, I'll give you the recipe:

2 eggs

2 ts of sugar

4 dl of kefir (or milk)

4 dl of flour

1/4 ts natron

easy as that!

Hiking - a Sunday activity

It's been a few weeks since I posted something on this blog.

My priority has been elsewhere I admit.

However, on this beautiful, sunny but cold Sunday in January we decided to do a bit of hiking. We ended up in Larochette where you'll find starting points for several trails in the area. Some longer than others.

If you are interested check out this page. 

I also brought my camera for once........

At 1911m

The reason for being in Provence for the weekend was my husbands crazy idea to cycle the challenging "Mont Ventoux race".

The day before the race we decided to take the car and drive the route they should cycle the next day. From 25 degree by the pool till 4 degree at 1911!

First I fell poor for the guys for the steep 22km to the top, but when we drove down on the other side of the mountain I panicked a bit.

Narrow roads and no secure fence!!

Luckily it ended well and all 4 lads cycled safely over the finish line.

But are they ready for the next years challenge?

I'm definitely ready for a new trip to Provence

 so count me in for the support team :-)

Provence

photo from web

For God-knows-how-many-years I've had a 

crush on France and especially Provence. 

And now I'm gonna enjoy the area once again......

aaaaahhhhhh looking forward to it.

Au revoir!

Sierra Nevada

There are not many places in the world where you can ski during the day and have a dip in the sea in the early evening, but the proximity of Sierra Nevada and the Med allows this! We decided to try this out during our winter holiday in Spain and for a beginner like myself 2 nights were booked. There are 20 lifts and 100km of piste in Sierra Nevada and weekends could be rather busy so we headed up on a Monday. Not the best weather when arriving but got the chance to find out where to buy day passes and where to hire skies and equipment.

Skied on Tuesday and Wednesday and had a great time! Especially on Wednesday with amazing weather and my confident on skies went better.......

Went back home to our house and the beach later that day. With only 2 h drive from the house to the slopes we will definitely try this again, perhaps only for a day trip. My opinion is that the hotels, bars and restaurants in the area do not have the standard you are paying for, so I prefer to go just for the skiing!!

London here I come!

I am taking a short trip to London to see my girl. 

The combination of short flights and cheap tickets suits me well:-)

Have a few plans for the next days, and hopefully I will make a nice 

post on my blog when I'm back.

A weekend in Paris

One of many advantages of living in Luxembourg is the short distances to many nice cities. So when our Norwegian friends announced that they would have a few days in Paris, we could not say no to meet them on Saturday evening.

We started early on Saturday and parked our car before breakfast time. After strolling in the Marais we headed to Louvre where we had the most expensive rosé ever, but it was worth it. Met our friends there and headed to Le Grand Cafe close to the Opera. Fantastic service and food and the interior.....OMG.
Time for some shopping before going back to the hotel, change clothes, walked to Pompidou where we had pre-drinks at the bar, amazing view and and amazing interior just to mention that. Dinner at Buddha and party further on a jazz club.......had a fantastic Saturday in Paris!
Woke up early on Sunday and went out for bunch in the Marais, did some walking in the streets before headed back home to Luxembourg. 

1 1/2 day in Paris felt like 3!

Here are some snapshots ......

Me and my hubby doing a "selfie"...

Morning view from our bedroom at Grand Hotel Malher

Amazing interior and roof at Le Grand Café....

..... and the rest of the pictures speaks for itself.

A few moments from Spain (and from instagram)

The big summer party!

My grandfather and I having the last dance for the evening.

4 generations

One of the things I had on my "to-do" list this summer was to hold a summer party for my Swedish family. We were 23 adults and 10 kids gathered at our summer cottage. Was a lot of work organizing it, but when I saw how everybody enjoyed it it was totally worth it!

Gothenburg in my heart

Sweden has a special place in my heart. It's my birthplace and the country where I lived when I was a baby. My family is from Gothenburg and our country house is still in Stenungsund. 

Last week I had the chance to take my daughter on trip to this beautiful country and to show here the real city of Gothenburg and not only the parts that we usually see like Liseberg (which is a must by the way) and the shoppingcenter Nordstan. We had a great stay in the city before we took the train further north to my aunts place in Trollhättan. The journey ended in our summer cottage where the boys came for couple of days and to celebrate "midsummer". Stay tuned, more to come..........

Liseberg is a must either with young or older children.......

Haga church in the old town.

The wonderful "palm house". A friend of my aunt got married here, what a wonderful place...

In Haga it feels like time's stood still......

Heidelberg, Germany

We took advantages of the extended weekend and drove to Heidelberg in Germany for a couple of days. An old, lovely city with an impressing castle and a vibrant old town. 

The weather on Saturday was perfect so we took a boat trip on the river Necker which gave us a fair view of the city on both sides of the river.

A recomended destination if you want a weekend trip from Luxembourg, approx 2,5 h by car.