White floorboards

I'm obsessed!

Roseland Greene

Living etc.

roomenvy

Living etc.

Harvesting

I love autumn for so many great things. Autumn/winter collections. Cozy nights in. And harvesting. I've made two variations of rhubarb jam with the rhubarbs from my garden, and I have a kilo (2.2 lbs) of rhubarbs in my freezer I'm going to make rhubarb chutney out of.
I've gone berry picking twice, for some blueberries and crowberries. I think I'll just make plain blueberry jam from the blueberries, or maybe just use them in smoothies. With the crowberries I'll make crowberry jam, crowberry chutney and crowberry schnapps.

Regular rhubarb jam

1k g chopped rhubarbs (2.2 lbs) 

0.8 kg sugar (1.75 lbs)

Simmer until brown (about an hour)

Rhubarb jam deluxe

1 kg chopped rhubarbs (2.2 lbs)

2 apples

0.8 kg sugar (1.75 lbs)

4 tsp ground cinnamon

2 tsp ground ginger

Simmer until brown (about an hour), put in clean jars, close.

I'm proud to say that me and mum came up with this recipe last year!

Blueberry jam

1 kg blueberries (2.2 lbs)

0.7 kg sugar (1.65 lbs)

Simmer for 15-20 minutes, put in clean jars and close.

Crowberry jam

same as blueberry jam

Crowberry chutney

600 gr crowberries (1.3 lbs)

1 red onion, chopped

1-2 apples, finely chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

2.5 cm ginger, chopped (1 inch)

1 dl raisins (1.4 fl oz)

2.5 dl brown sugar (8.45 fl oz)

1 dl wine vinegar (1.4 fl oz)

.5 tsp salt

1 tsp mustard seeds

Simmer for 30 minutes, blend lightly with a hand blender, put in jars, close

This is heavenly with cheese!

Crowberry schnapps

Rinse the crowberries carefully.
Leave them to dry in the shadow - on paper towel.
If your berries are frozen - defrost them in the vodka.
Use a clean glass jar with tight-fitting lid.
Fill the jar with berries.
Fill up with clear, unflavoured vodka - 40% alcohol content (80 proof).
Steep for 1-3 months or longer - in a dark place at room temperature, 18-20°C (64-68°F).
Shake lightly and taste it from time to time.
Strain and filter your infusion into a clean glass bottle or jar with tight-fitting lid.

This will be perfect for Christmas!

When I was berry picking I found a lot of this wonderful herb, Mother-of-thyme. I grabbed a whole bunch and dried it and have been using it for tea. It's supposed to calm the stomach, cure colds and coughs and even hangovers... again, perfect for the holidays!

Picture credits: Rhubarb, Blueberry, Crowberry, Mother-of-thyme.

Inspiring architecture

I was fortunate to have Chris Thurlbourne as my teacher when I studied architecture. Here is some of his amazing work:

His incredibly inspiring models (above)

His own house in Højbjerg, Denmark (above)

More here.

frou-frou

I was browsing through some danish magazines the other day, and came across an article mentioning frou-frou.dk. I went home and checked it out, and basically, not exaggerating, you can get all the vintage items for your home you could dream of in this web-shop. Like for instance:

Vintage school maps...

sign letters...

'black'boards (are they still called black boards when they're green?)...

wooden crates...

bakers' scales...

and even this messenger bike!

They offer shipping to customers abroad both within and outside of the EU. Head on over here to browse through their website. All the information is in Danish, but you can also e-mail them at info(at)frou-frou(dot)dk with any questions.

Watch time go by...

... with the Ink Calendar by Oscar Diaz. From his website: 

Ink Calendar” make use the timed pace of the ink spreading on the paper to indicate time.
The ink is absorbed slowly, and the numbers in the calendar are “printed” daily. One a day, they are filled with ink until the end of the month.

Isn't that cool?!

An unpleasant encounter

I started yesterday off by being chased down the street by a mad man swinging a huge chain lock. Seriously! I almost feel like I'm telling a lie when I say this because it seems so unreal. On my way to work I noticed this man going after a young boy and stopped and as I was afraid he was going to attack him I started fumbling for my phone. That's when he saw me and came after me, swinging the chain. I was walking down Reykjavík's main shopping street but it was early and none of the shops were open yet. I ran and I ran, trying to get cars to stop and help me, but no one would. Finally I saw a guy opening up an optical shop, pushed myself past him into the shop and finally found my phone and called the police. They came and got him, but get this: they then let him go, 'because they didn't have anything on him'! I got the police to drop me home since I wasn't about to go back out on the street where this maniac was still on the loose. Today I found out that the same guy just continued up the road an proceeded to throw rocks into the windows of a bank and damaged 6 cars before a security guard overpowered him! Needless to say, I was a bit shaky yesterday, but I'm fine now. Not walking to work anymore though!

(art by Banksy)

Bad day

Had a bad experience this morning... will write tomorrow...

in the meantime, this picture from 'Just call me S'

Dumper

I think I love everything about the Dumper, by Sam Johnson. The blonde wood, the brightly coloured plastic (which by the way is an off-the-shelf stacking box you can get in any hardware store!), and most of all, the simple shapes that allow kids' imaginations to blossom.

Still life for the frustrated houswife

Need a little outlet for your artistic talent? Why not turn your fruit bowl into a masterpiece?! Still life fruit bowl by Barnaby Barford & André Klauser. Who needs a Vermeer anyway?

Looks I love: from the runways

All right, it's August, and in Iceland that means we can start wearing our autumn outfits. I love autumn, the textures, the layers, the deep colours, everything! Here are my favorite looks from Vogue.com.

Classic autumn look by Ralph Lauren

Love everything about this look from Tommy Hilfiger

What an incredibly classy take on the cape, by Giambattista Valli

Just gotta love Prada... How does she always know, way before me, exactly what I want?!

Surprisingly, for me, I really like this look from Gucci. I guess it's because I just wish I could pull it off. My style tends to be a bit more... er... messier

I'm a sucker for the eclectic kooky sort of thing. Marni.

Gotta have a go-to sunday morning look (although mine tends to be more porridge coated t-shirt and comfy pj-bottoms... but if I was braving cold weather to go hang out with my friends at a cafe, I'd go for this. Reed Krakoff.

Finally, secretly, I'm just waiting for an occasion to wear something like this. Oscar de la Renta

Corners of my home

I always have a million projects going but very seldom finish them. Once I showed you my bedroom before, but never got to the after. We have since switched rooms with the boys and have a completely new before situation... too horrid to share right now! I don't know when we'll get to the after. The living room is also under constant change and so is the TV room where the gallery wall is. So, since I cannot show you a finished room, I will show you a few corners of my home instead.

My grandmother's clock that my father inherited. My mum didn't feel it fitted in their new place after they moved, so I'm keeping it until they want it back. A little sneak peak from our living room into the TV room and the gallery wall in progress.

The 'new' sofa on loan from my friend. I still haven't changed the curtains and the vintage suitcase coffee table is a temporary solution... although I quite like it. It's all going to be white when I'm finished; the pillows, the table and curtains.

I'm sure our moss green seventies fridge is an environmental disaster and as soon as I can I'm getting a new one. In the meantime though, how classic is that colour combo: green, orange and a bit of faux wood?!

(P.S. I desperately want a new camera so I can snap some better photos... got any recommendations for me?)

Rucksacks

I've been seeing rucksacks everywhere lately and it kind of reminds me of circa 1992 when they were a big hit (remember those teeny tiny ones girls used to wear, especially in black nylon? eheheheeeww!). It's a funny feeling to see something that was once an essential part of your outfit (mine was a nice big brown leather one though!) come back into fashion. I'm not sure I'm on board with it this time - and, of course, as I'm not in school anymore, the need for such a thing is minimal. But since this is the biggest travel weekend in Iceland, I thought I'd share a few I've seen around the web and quite like.

Vintage leather rucksack on ebay

Swedish army rucksacks on etsy.

Vintage 80's leather rucksack with map print (my favorite) on ebay.

What do you think, are you getting a rucksack for winter? If yes, then what kind?

More living room inspiration

So I sold my sofas and I'm borrowing/storing a friends sofa that looks a bit like the grey one in this picture. I'm still getting my living room to work and found this image on Rum magazine's website.

While I was browsing, I came across these two images (totally random, nothing to do with my living room). Don't you think the views are to die for?

Get a glimpse of the August issue here.

Una play kitchen

Here is a play kitchen I wouldn't mind having in grown up size (and it's blind friendly!)

By job_buenazedacruz.

Stylish bloganistas

Have you always wanted to know what your favorite bloggers dress like? Well, on Flickr there's a group dedicated to stylish bloganistas, where they can share with us their outfits and lovely sense of style. My two favorites have to be Viv, of Ish and Chi, and Ivy (not sure if that's her real name) of Busy Bee's Blog. Aren't they adorable?

Viv

Viv

Ivy

Ivy

I'm wondering wheather I should join the group... it would certainly encourage me to make more of an effort. It's high time as well, you sort of tend to forget yourself in the whole baby/family frenzy! 

Sexy leather furniture by Tortie Hoare

Check out these sexy designs from Tortie Hoare, who was awarded the New Designer of the Year prize at the UK graduate exhibition New Designers Part 2, for her boiled leather furniture. The process was used in the middle ages to create armour.

Seen on Dezeen, head over there for many more pictures. The table reminds me of the sixties' telephone tables, I'd use it as a coffee table with my favorite magazines tucked into the leather pouch (or dare I dream, an iPad... oh gosh, I had to look up the spelling!)

Emami

Another design team I can't believe I haven't told you about before is Emami, a "fresh Scandinavian design team cooperating with young, innovative designers in making unique, quality clothing. The design is very avant-guard and is based on the theme of limitlessness and multifunction. Emami wants to encourage young women to give way to their creativity and create their own individual style", as they say on their website. It was started by two young Icelandic women a few years ago when they launched their "limitless dress" and the collection has been growing bigger and bigger ever since. All their pieces are multifunctional, a dress becomes a skirt, becomes trousers, become a top! Check out these pictures and have a look on their website, you will be amazed!

Here's a video that shows the many ways to wear the "limitless dress". I have it in black and I wear it all the time!