Monday, November 30, 2009

Thanksgiving Mania

This year was actually surprisingly calm compared to the craziness that we are used to. Yummy food and fun family reunion in Rockville Center. Thanks Marcy and Jim for hosting us all.

Here are some of the mandatory photos from the family album.


My sister-in-law Debbie, brother-in-law John, Matt, Sam and little John


Rich and Sam


Yours truly


My mother-in-law Alice, my nieces Sarah and Sam


Bro and Sis—Matt and Sam


Rich's cousins Maureen and Jimmy (most photogenic people I have ever seen!)


Sam and I

Cousins—Sam and Sarah

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Home Alone


Can't believe this will be my 700th blog entry—amazing how it tallies up. Just another 2 hours to go until we kick-off a long holiday weekend. Home alone tonight, since Rich will be at the Islanders hockey game. Lucky dog.

I'll be doing laundry and start baking tonight, since I promised to bring my homemade apple/cinnamon muffins for Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow. This will probably be the last year at Rich's aunt and uncle's house in Rockville Center—I think we are getting to be too many people. There are no more seats! I guess we'll see what happens next year.

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

Designer Handbag Sale





Bloomingdale's just kicked off their Thanksgiving Designer Handbag Sale. Tons of cute bags for up to 40% off.

Go crazy ladies.

Wonderful Tonight




Had such a great night last night. Went down to Giggle in Soho and looked at baby stuff (I know it's a little premature, but who can resist anything pint sized), and then dinner at Cafe Gitane in Nolita—not Soho as I had previously stated.

I highly recommend this place. Nothing on the menu is over $15 and everything is super tasty. We both had the Moroccan Couscous with Sausage and split some Avocado toast, both were great. One regret, I wish I would have known that the sausage was made with Lamb—I hate lamb! The most amazing thing was the Warm Bread pudding with Chocolate. We ordered one to share, but I think we both wished we had gotten one each instead. We were literally spoon wrestling over the last piece.

242 Mott Street (by Prince)
Nolita, Manhattan
(Cash only)

Giving Thanks

Since it's Thanksgiving tomorrow, I thought this would be the perfect time to pitch a few of my favorite charities.

Just a small donation can help some in need.

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

The Dress I want for New Years


Stopped by Club Monaco on my lunch hour. A little pricey, but oh such pretty stuff. I just love everything in that place. I can't believe my self-discipline today when I actually left without getting a single thing.

I tried on the dress that I would love to wear on New Years Eve (see photo above)...but 5 weeks from now, I will probably not be able to fit in it. Kind of a pointless investment at this time.

Purple Satin Strapless Cocktail Dress, Club Monaco, $189

Almost 15 weeks pregnant =)


Monday, November 23, 2009

Love, Love me do

Such a relaxing weekend, but still (like every Monday) I'm exhausted. I think it must be psychological, because there is absolutely no lack of sleep.

We are slowly trying to make room for the baby. Repainting. Moving furniture. Reorganizing. Measure for new windows. When you are just two in a house you can spread out as much as you want, so now with one less room for us, I think some things need to go. Should be a perfect opportunity to throw out stuff for a pack rat like me.

Date night in the city tomorrow. I'm spoiled—it was just a week since the last one. Moroccan food in Soho. Fab!

Happy Monday everyone. Two more work days to go before Thanksgiving.

To the rescue: Fold up Ballet Flats


These must have been invented for Manhattan girls!

I don't know anything that would be better than a pair of these super cute ballet flats from Yosi Samra folded up in my purse after a whole night out in 4 inch heels. I love the black suede and the purple suede versions, but I can easily see myself getting tons of these in all colors.

Available online, $50.

What's wrong with this picture?


Sorry, but I have to do some more Olsen twin fashion bashing. The two can apparently dress other people extremely well, but not themselves.

This is how they showed up at the Tim Burton Tribute at the MOMA. I looked like this when I was seven playing dress up in my grandma's closet.

It's amazing to me how they can design such cute stuff for all their brands, but can't seem to pull together an outfit for themselves.

Ouch!

Best and Worst of the 2009 American Music Awards





Sparkles, lamé and sequin was dominating the dresses at the American Music Awards last night. Some good, others not so good. Top three were Carrie Underwood, Kristen Bell and Fergie. All radiant, sexy and classy.


The evening's most most disappointing—Kate Hudson. Wow!! That was truly horrible. Ill fitting dress (it looked like one of those helium party balloons), boring shoes and a hot mess for a hair-do. Come on Kate, you can do better than that!

Long Beautiful Gloves



Cute stuff for cold fingers this winter.

Long knitted convertible gloves from Marc by Marc Jacobs. Lambswool/cashmere blend. Can be worn three different ways—totally lovable. Saks.com, $98.

Friday, November 20, 2009

Boqueria


Dying to try out Boqueria tapas bar. I think this will be the place for date night next week. Talking about dates, they serve one of my fave dishes of all time, dates with almonds and bacon—heavenly. Locations in both Soho and Flatiron.

Best Stuff on Earth: Rosebud Salve


I'm addicted to this stuff. Smith's Rosebud Salve, Sephora, $6. Works as well on dry hands and cuticles as dry lips. Multi-purpose. Love it!

Calling All NY Swedes


Swedish Seamen's Church on E 48th Street in Manhattan (right off 5th Ave)

Couldn't help taking a bite of the lussekatt before the camera came out. Obviously no discipline!


Swedish Christmas bazaar at the Swedish Church in mid-town today. Stop by. I scored both a lussekatt (Swedish Saffron Bun) and Turkish pepper (Hot and salty swedish hard candy...an acquired taste). Now I just need to stop by IKEA to get some Julmust and Pepparkakor (Gingersnaps) and then I would be ready for Santa

Also managed to get tickets for the traditional Lucia celebration in Manhattan on December 12 when I was over at the church. Should be so nice to get to celebrate Christmas with friends before we take of for Sweden on the 23rd. Now we just have to plan a pre-Christmas celebration with Rich's family too, maybe we'll have a little cocktail party with everyone before we leave.

Empire State of Mind


New York. Concrete jungle where dreams are made of,
there's nothing you can’t do,
Now you're in New York
These streets will make you feel brand new,
the lights will inspire you,
Let's hear it for New York, New York, New York

Thursday, November 19, 2009

Heidi's looking fab!



My favorite model of all times, Heidi Klum, revealed her post baby figure—5 and a half weeks after giving birth to her 4th kid. She says that she still needs to loose 20 lbs, but I don't know about that. I think she looks beautiful just the way she is.

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Fashion Backwards


Otherwise very fashion forward Leighton Meester is trying to pull off a somewhat questionable outfit for her musical performance at Times Square. Those pants are crazy (in a bad way)! I would recommend her to not try this again.

Fjällräven's Swedish Invasion


Retro is back.

On a little bit of a nostalgia trip today. Got an e-mail from Urban Daddy announcing that Swedish brand Fjällräven is opening a store in Nolita, down on Mott Street. This is the backpack brand every single kid had when I was in grammar school in Sweden in the early 80s. And now, of course they are back in fashion together with tons of other cool "vintage looking" sports clothing. Store is opening tomorrow, Thursday.

Fjällräven
262 Mott Street
New York, NY 10012
212-226-7846

I'll for sure stop by this place to nurture my Swedish heritage.

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Dresses that Makes me Happy






French Connections has the best selection of cute dresses lately—both for a night out and going to work.

Keeping it Classy

Apparently I showed my panties to everyone on 7th avenue last night, when I unknowingly walked to the station with my dress riding up. Thank god for black stockings. Ignorance is bliss =)

Monday, November 16, 2009

I will not give up on Fashion

Despite the little baby bump on my belly, I refuse to give up on stylish fashion for pregnancy. So far I still wear my regular clothes without any issue, but just the past two weeks the jeans have gotten a little tighter. It's just a matter of time until I can't button them! Thank god we started to tell people now. I didn't want people to start thinking that I was binge eating in the closet and packing on the pounds. My friend Laurie call them my happy pounds (but I'm not so sure how I feel about extra pounds!)

Anyway, fashion staples for the next few months: leggings and skinny jeans, longer tops, jackets and cute booties and boots. I will not give up on high heels! (then again, check with me again in 4 months).

I will still continue to blog about stuff I would wear if I didn't have this extra passenger with me =)


Baby it's cold outside!



Don't know about you, but I think it's getting to be a little nippy out there. I found these two really cozy sweaters from GAP. Perfect for cold fall weather! Now we just need to get the hot coco going.

Tiered Mini from Diane von Furstenburg


Fun and cute. Asymmetrical ruffles in greens and purple from Diane Von Furstenburg. $475 at Bergdorf Goodman

Friday, November 13, 2009

Handmade Prettyness


I'm so happy with the result of my latest craft project—multi-strand silver wire with freshwater pearls and white quartz beads—a one of a kind bracelet.

13 weeks on Friday the 13th


So we are finally going public—little baby A is today 13 weeks! 13 weeks on Friday the thirteen, I hope it's not an omen! We have been trying our best to keep our little secret for several weeks now, and we decided that today is the day when we have been telling everyone.

Had my 13 week appointment this morning and everything is progressing perfectly. We wanted to wait for the result of the testing for Trisomy and Down Syndrom, and this morning we got confirmed that all results seem fine. The doctor even told me that Scandinavians have really good genes! I almost cracked up—it sounded like I was in some kind of breeding experiment.

So far I have felt great, no real morning sickness thank god! Weeks 4-12 were plagued by exhaustion (I literally fall asleep sitting up in the sofa at 8:30 every night—no exceptions!) and constant hunger. I felt like I was starving all the time. As soon as I finished one meal, I started to think about the next time I could eat. Really bad.

The biggest point of anxiety has been the weight gain. The doctor told me that if I didn't gain sufficient weight, the baby could have serious problems and that it was expected for me to gain 25-30 lbs. Gaining weight, even if you know it's essential and healthy for your baby, is tough for the self-esteem. So far I have gained about 6 lbs, and I think I look like I have been eating a little too many doughnuts. It's scary to know that I have another 19-24 lbs to go.

Thursday, November 12, 2009

Great looks for less


Lulus.com makes tons of knock-offs of designer of shoes and booties. I found these Balmain replica zipper booties for only $53.00.

Chasing Pavements


I hate going to the gym, but I do love walking. So to make sure I'm staying active and burning the calories I need to, I'm getting myself one of these nifty little things—a pedometer. I know they have existed for years, but I'm finally getting around to buying one. I'm aiming for 10,000 steps a day, but hopefully I can get it up to 12,000-14,000 per day.

You burn about 4 calories per minute of walking, so you would have to walk about 70 minutes to burn off that snickers bar you munched on.

Balmain Boots with attitude


Balmain Buckle ankle boot in black leather from Barney's, $1,195.

Case number 2 and 3 confirmed


Argh! Another co-worker has been diagnosed with H1N1 and now his wife also has it. And I spent an hour with him yesterday. I cannot get the swineflu! I just disinfected my whole desk with Clorox wipes and half my body with antibacterial gel, door is closed, A/C vent closed. I'm hibernating in my office until this whole this has blown over.

I have also stocked up on Tazo Honeybush tea. My friend George introduced me to it, and I swear it really helps a soar throat. Highly recommended (together with a chock full of pills of course). And it's really tasty—and I usually hate herbal tea (I rather die than drink chamomile or echinacia tea. Urk!)

Perfection from Alexander Wang


Gorgeous, asymmetrical crepe dress in black and purple from Alexander Wang, $790. To die for.

Passport hassle

I can't believe that they are going to close down the Swedish Consulate in New York in January—the only place I can renew my passport without a huge hassle.

My passport is technically not expiring until 2011, but I am going to run over and have it renewed now anyway. Since I'm no longer a resident of Sweden I can't renew it when I'm back home. Who made up these stupid rules? Someone that is trying to make it as difficult and costly as possible. After January, the only way will be to go down to Washington DC to have it take care of—and you will have to go twice! Once to apply and a second time to pick it up. It's so inconsiderate! I would have to take two vacation days and pay for travel down there—thank god my husband's sister lives down there so at least we would be able to stay for free.

To top it off, the renewal fee is $170! In Sweden it's $50! Double whammy.

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Petite Particulars Henley


Anthropologie has such great vintage indy style clothes. I really like this striped henley with pockets and roll up sleeves. Great with jeans for the weekend or a skirt going to work.

White with black stripes and red stitching is my favorite, but it also comes in red/white and grey/blue combos. Anthropologie.com, $68.00

Tuxedo Leggings from Free People



I'm so stoked over my latest purchase, a pair of black tuxedo leggings.

I had been looking forever for a pair that I really really liked. And then today, there they were—Free People Fancy Black Tuxedo Leggings with adorable zipper details on the bottom. I was like a kid in a candy store. No thoughts of the price tag at all, I just knew I wanted them (Luckily they were just $68.00, so no major damage).

Bloomingdales.com and Zappos.com both has these in stock

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