The Dentist..

http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/aboutus/vintagephotos/19501954archive/

I really don't like going to the Dentist. And it's SO expensive! I can't believe I was sitting here yesterday promising myself to save money from now on and today I have to go to the Dentist! I hope it's not a big deal, I just tend to get a bit hypocondric when it comes to my teeth...

Still at home with a cold...

http://blogs.venturacountystar.com/vcs/dennert/archives/2007/04/

Yesterday I went home from my parents. I was feeling a little better but today I'm home being sick again. By now it's pretty boring!

I'm still fighting the urge to go out and shop on SALE. The urge to shop rises as the size of the SALE letters get bigger. But I'm saving my money for going away in May so I've decided NO SHOPPING. I have everything I need. I mean, I could always use a new pair of jeans but do I really need them? Will I be naked in the middle of winter without? I think not. But it's so HARD!

Home with a cold...

http://g1.globo.com/Noticias/PopArte/0,,MUL78358-7084-10115,00.html

http://www.starpulse.com/forum/index.php?topic=13600.msg229090;topicseen


Sitting at my parent's house with a bad cold, sneezing and coughing could definetly be worse since I now can watch The Muppet Show on their new satelite dish TV. The Animal is my favorite Muppet! Since this is a total Couch Potato Day I'm going on to watch Monsters Inc later on. Ah!

http://thecia.com.au/reviews/m/monsters-inc.shtml

The Christmas Tree

http://brocantehome.typepad.com/brocante_home/2006/11/index.html

The Christmas Tree hasn't been common in Norwegian Households for that long. My Grandfather who's 91 told us yesterday that he and his older brother were determined to have a Christmas Tree when they were children. They had heard of Christmas Trees but their family had never had one. He was maybe ten years old. Getting the tree was easy enough as they lived on a farm. They didn't have anything to decorate the tree with, so his brother decided to go pick some fir cones in the mountain. The snow was so deep my Grandfather had to turn back, young as he was, but his brother was so determined having decorations for their tree he didn't go back until he had enough cones.

It's strange isn't it that this was only 80 years ago? 80 years isn't that long...

Christmas Preparations

I guess it's not very fair
to file one of my parent's dogs as "Home Decor" but since I don't have a "Dog Decor" category I will. Both dogs have now been brushed and equipeed with red bows, all ready for Christmas. It's hard to get a dog to sit still long enough for a flash-free photo, so I'll just call it art.

Later today we'll cut down a Christmas Tree and this evening we'll decorate it.

White Christmas

http://www.clown-ministry.com/index_1.php/site/articles/white_christmas_1954_starring_bing_crosby_danny_kaye/

Check out the new videos on the right hand side of the blog. It might snow here at my parent's on Christmas Eve. I hope so! There is no Christmas without White Christmas!

Skiing with the parents

http://www.omniphilprints.co.uk/index.php?f=data_prints&a=2

A Vintage Skiing Cartoon from Punch, or The London Charivari Dated 1929

with Recent Hand Colouring.

Skiing with my parents and their dogs was a very nice way of spending the day. We made a fire and brewed coffee under a pine tree and had a great time. Much better than running around in the shops!

Rock Legend Roky Erickson

FOTO: ARASH A. NEJAD

http://oslopuls.no/musikk/article1931842.ece

Roky Erickson visited Oslo again Thursday December 20th. No wonder, considering the reception he got at the Øya Festival this summer. It was my first Roky experience and I had to see him again when I heard Rockefeller had him booked now. I wasn't disappointed. He did 3 extras and the crowd still cried for more! You could see he was very touched and happy by the audience's cheers. He seems almost shy. The backing band looked like they were having the time of their life. I fantasized they've been locked up as studio musicians their whole careers, and now they're finally on the stage! Rock Stars at last! And they did rock, especially the guitarist, both him and the bass player wearing suits. The drummer looked like a computer geek. And it was perfect! If you ever get the chance to go see him, take it!

Bouldering

Oslo Climbing Club had their Christmas Bouldering Contest today. It's all very informal, you keep your own scorecard and there are different classes for each difficulty level. A lot of people and a lot of chalk. That's my excuse for not getting a very good score. I guess the truth would be that I wouldn't have scored much better if I was alone. It was fun being social and I hope the boulders will still be there after Christmas when I'm back in town.

Here's the picture of the ruined baking...

Housewife Fiasco!

You won't believe what happend to my home made buns!?! They were a little raw in the middle so I decided to pop them in the oven for a few more minutes after having taken the picture below. And I forgot about them... So I ended up with 7 nice, golden wheat buns with raisins and 8 black lumps... They were so hard we could bang them together like coconuts and it didn't even show! My pride of being the perfect housewife, just for that day, turned to a fiasco... Well, well, I thougt, I still have 7 good ones! Have I eaten any yet? Actually no, for some strange reason. Mabye I just lost my appetite for them all together. So now they're too old and I have to throw them away. Oh well. I'll upload a picture of the burned ones later!

Spirit of Christmas

It's time to start the Spirit of Christmas so that we're in the right mood when the Weekend begins. This year Christmas starts a little early. Christmas Eve is a Monday so the holidays starts on Friday, a few days earlier than usually. The apartment is now clean, tidy and ready for Christmas. I've even baked, so the True Spirit of Christmas is starting to sink in. I'm glad, since earlier the fact that it's actually Christmas has come as a shock on December 23rd - and then it's over so quickly! There are still a few more things to do in the week to come - don't get me wrong, I'm not THAT ready yet! :)

Stress

http://mistymorningranch.spaces.live.com/Blog/cns!5FB8EDD2245813AA!1368.entry

This picture illustrates how I feel rght now. It's so nice curling up on the sofa with Prince Charming massaging my neck after a long and very stressful day...

Winter is definetly here!

http://livingindryden.org/2004/02/more_frost_photos.html

This evening it was cold outside! Winter is finally here for real. I'm not a very big fan of autumn so winter's arrival is great news. Now we can ski, hopefully make snow angels soon and go out and have fun in the cold!

Another Party Look

This one is a very expensive outfit though. The ring alone is over $5.000,00! It is a Diorette Yellow Gold Ring from eLuxury.com, but still. And I just love it! All the accessories are from eLuxury.com, actually. I like the contrast from the classy Michael Kors Sutton Clutch and the Giuseppe Zanotti Mirror Pumps to the fun, intricate ring and the Roberto Cavalli Scarab Earrings. Why not throw in a little bit of summer this cold time of year? The 3.1 Phillip Lim Strapless Waterfall Gown is from Net-a-Porter.com. The shade of blue is fabulous!

Christmas Decorations

It's the middle of December and time to decorate for Christmas.

I've hung snow crystals in the windows instead of curtains. And I'm really happy with the decoration with the baubles. Now I just have a few presents left to get and a few Christmas Cards to write. Soon I'm ready for Christmas!

A Great View

http://www.giroguies.com/islandpeakes.htm

Amy Winehouse?

http://www.henne.no/php/art.php?id=499616&bid=

This photo is from Paris-Londres by Chanel. Amy Winehouse must be inspirational for this look!

I really like the idea of pinning on all your brooches in the hair, though!

The season's first day of skiing!

20th February 1952 - 20 Feb 1952
Stein Eriksen

(Photo by Keystone/Getty Images)

Several ski resorts have opened and today was the first day of skiing for Prince Charming and myself. The first run of the first day of the season always feels a bit like Bambi on Ice. But after a few runs the skills came back and we had a very enjoyable day in the pists. I didn't go off piste at all this time since the conditions weren't very good. There was enough snow to ski comfortably in the pists but it hadn't snowed much in the past week so the off piste conditions weren't all that. We had a lot of fun and enjoyed the day together, remembering how we used to ski together when we had just started dating.

The picture is of Stein Eriksen when he wins the Gold Medal in Norefjell at the Oslo Winter Olymics in 1952. Since that's where we were skiing today it was a very fitting image.

Climbing and a Steak

matprat.no

This Saturday was all about doing just what we wanted to and not stressing at all. Sleeping until waking up form ourselves and having a long breakfast with lots of coffe is the perfect start of a weekend. Prince Charming had egg and bacon and I had oatmeal porridge. A relaxed session of climbing at the gym followed by a visit in the sauna and a long shower is good for both body and mind. To finish a great day off, we had steak and red wine for dinner. Aaah! I love weekends!

Sex And The City

The Sex And The City film is premiering sometime next year and photos from the set is all over the net. I especially adore this outfit; the nude shoes, the dress and the slip showing. Very elegant! I know it's very main stream to say so but to me Sarah Jessica Parker as Carrie is a major fashion icon. Imagine having the style sense, (the money) and the guts! Wow! The photo above is from Side2.

Southern Comfort or New Year's Eve?

With the rain pounding on the windows and the days being so short and the nights so cold and dark I dream of warmer climates. This outfit would be perfect for dining elegantly somewhere far south but would also work for New Years Eve or a Winter Wedding. The Paisley Print on this Roberto Cavalli gown is summery and fit for exotic places. The purple hue also makes it a "go" for winter parties, I think. A bit different from all the Little Black Dresses and Satin Minis out there. Up the glamour with Jimmy Choo Lance Metallic Sandals and Zoe & Morgan Triple Blossom Earrings. Make it individual with this luxurious Bottega Veneta Intrecciato Leather Clutch. All from Net-a-Porter.com. Moët & Chandon Champagne in a Villeroy & Boch Allegorie Champagne Flute sets the mood for a glamorous evening. Don't forget the Hostess Gift - Santa Maria Novella Relax Candles from eLuxury.com.

This would cost more than a vacation but one can always dream!

Glamour!

Carole Lombard 1935

www.henne.no

It's about time we have some glamour again! After spending the night at the Motörhead concert I feel the urge for somthing stylish. It was a lot of fun but now the pendulum needs to swing in the other direction.

The composition of this photograph is sharp and the mixture of femininity and masculinity is striking. Very fashionable these days too, with the men's suit and the Mary Janes. Having my own plane would also be nice...

Motörhead

www.markmusic.s5.com/images/lemmy.jpg

Motörhead is coming to town and Prince Charming is taking me to see them. I can't really claim to be a hard core fan but I'm sure it'll be a lot of fun anyway! Lemmy is so infamous and is one of the things worth seeing before they're gone.
Rock and Roll!

Seriousness

John Jones

Photography: Timothy Greenfield-Sanders

Since we're in the Serious Corner I'd like to bring your attention to the current exhibition at The Wetterling Gallery. Timothy Greenfield-Sanders exhibition «Alive Day Memories: Home From Iraq» shows photographs of former US Soldiers after they have returned home from Iraq, showing us what we don't want to see. His goal is to awaken politicians and the rest of us to see what war really is. You can see more of the photographs at Nettavisen. I hope they'll inspire you to think twice about these issues we see in the newspapers daily.

Christmas Present

These days most people have started shopping for Christmas Presents. When giving away things to people you love and care about why not help someone else at the same time? There are lots of Organic (Økologiske), Ethical and / or Fair (Rettferdig Handel) products out there. An example of how you can help someone by choosing your gifts wisely is the book pictured above - Det hvite hotellet ("The White Hotel") by Jo Nesbø. The money from the sale of this book goes to Redd Barna ("Save The Children"). You can buy the book at http://www.reddbarna.no/ or one of the following shops: Akademika, Ark, Bokklubbene, Haugen bok, Libris, Norli, Notabene, Tanum and Tronsmo bokhandel.

Climbing and Bouldering

www.robinssport.com

Last night I was climbing at the Gym again with Prince Charming. Not in World Champion Shape but did fairly ok I think. Tonight it's bouldering with the girls. That's going to be fun! If you haven't tried climbing before I definetely recommend trying it. It's such a good work out both for body and mind. And you can hang out with your friends at the same time. I have a couple of projects that I hope I'll manage to complete today.

Shakespeare

Claire Danes in Romeo + Juliet (1996)

O Romeo, Romeo!

wherefore art thou Romeo?

Deny thy father and refuse thy name;

Or, if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love,

And I'll no longer be a Capulet.

William Shakespeare

(http://www.william-shakespeare.info/script-text-romeo-and-juliet.htm)

Kopps

"Kopps" by Josef Fares is a Swedish Comedy portraying what happens in a small Swedish town when the Police Station is being closed down. The Police invents their own crime as to get the criminal statistics up and keep their Police Station. Josef Fares previous film "Jalla Jalla" is even higher recommended. Another recommended Swedish Comedy is "Smala Sussie".

Rull film!

The First Sunday In Advent

I've made this decoration myself. It's based on a ready made ring of branches, decorated with small stars, beads, fall leaves, Queen Anne's Lace, big bows and fake snow.

Lazy days like today you woudn't normally have if it wasn't late autumn. Curling up in the sofa with tea, Fazer Mint (a favorite of both Prince Charming's and mine) and Trivial Pursuit without feeling the least unproductive since it's grey and wet outside is special to me. Today I'm leading so I might get revenge for the last time we played TP when Prince Charming beat me. We'll see!

Winter Rain

It's raining outside. Since today is December 1st I guess it's safe to call it winter. I only wish I felt as glamorous as Audrey Hepburn looks in the picture above. It's from the film "The Nun Story" and was taken by Leo Fuchs in 1956.

I bought the green woolen boots yesterday. They're very warm! I don't think they're going to do very well in the rain though so I'll have to wait wearing them. Not very practical, you're thinking? Well, they ARE very warm. Hopefully perfect for snow and real winter.

Pizza Margherita

Pizza Margherita is a very good dinner solution for days when you have to head out the door again in 30 minutes or you just don't feel like cooking. It's so much better than frozen pizza and this fast'n'light version only takes a few minutes to prepare. While it bakes you can run around the house changing, packing or plainly act all couch potato.

This is what you need:

1 ready made pizza base with no topping. There are both fresh dough and ready baked bases in many shops.
1/2 jar of tomato purè or ready made pizza sauce
1 mozzarella cheese
fresh basil - dried basil or oregano will also do the trick
sea salt and freshly ground pepper

Bake according to the instructions on the base.

The most important thing for me is the chili olive oil you dribble over when it's done. This oil lifts a simple Margherita to unexpected heights.

The first time I had it was when I visited Milan with my Mum. We visited this little pizzeria just next to our hotel. The line went out of the restaurant and into the street! It looked hopeless but it didn't take long before we were inside, seated. Very effective, I have to say. The place was packed with normal Italian families, the tables were respatex and the chairs of the kind I had in school. The only ornaments on the wall were posters advertising beer. At this stage our curiosity of the place had us and we had to see what would happen.

A very stressed out waiter shouted something to us in Italian from the neighbouring table but quickly gathered from our blank stares that we were tourists. He then asked us in friendly yet bad English whether we wanted "Big" or "Small". Our blank stares continued followed by a somewhat confused shrug by me. The waiter with the heavy accent now tried a different angle. "One or two?" We quickly ordered "two", hoping that he was talking of pizza slices. The other thing the waiter wanted to know was if we'd like beer or Coke. And that was it. He disappeared and we sat there feeling a little lost in the Italian crowd digging into their pizzas. We however gathered our courage and started looking curiously around us. There was obviously only one type of pizza on the menu, and that was Margherita. The slices were huge and the crust was thick.

After only a few minutes our waiter returned with our drinks and a couple of minutes later he entered the room with four or five plates of pizza on each arm. Very effective! The pizza was baked on coals in a stone oven by the entrance, with an army of cooks making up the perfect assembly line for the largest pizzas I've ever seen. The coals made the base perfect. It was so tasty in itself that it being 5 cm high didn't matter. It was the perfect blend of lucious with a crust. By far the best pizza we've ever had.

As soon as we had finished our meal we we're politely given the bill and told to pay at the cashier by the entrance. This is the trick for getting a move on the line wich was still spilling out of the restaurant and into the street.

The next nigt we ended up in the same place after having talked of the special restaurant and the marvelous pizza the whole day. The staff recognised us immediately, telling us that his brother in law was working at our hotel. This time we ordered our two slices with confidence. What we hadn't noticed much the night before was the steel bowl being passed between the tables. It was full of olive oil with pieces of chili floating around. Neither of us dared risk ruining the great pizza so we passed it on. This didn't go unnoticed by the waiter. He came over with the bowl, spooned up olive oil and dribbled it on one of my slices with a smile, saying in thick accent "Try? Yes? Very good!" I did try and I have never regretted it. Chili olive oil on italian pizza is still a must!

Go a head and try it! If you can't get a hold of it, here are two ways of making it yourself.

New shoes part 2

After thinking about it I changed my mind. I'll return the shoes mentioned below for a full refund (luckily enough I made sure this was possible). I'll put the money toward casual shoes in stead. The ones from last winter are worn out I discovered. They're leaking in the heal! The shoes above are Patagonia Arnoux made from wool filt and 20% recycled rubber. I've been looking at them for quite some time. I hope they'll have my size.

New Shoes?

The party season is coming up and I've started looking for new shoes. Classic, black ones are going to do the trick, I think. That way they're just as wearable next year or for other occasions. These are by B&Co at Skoringen.
I'm going to wear a LBD (little black dress) I've already got, i think. I'm also really looking for a second hand purse - maybe a clutch. Any good ideas for where I should go look?

Climbing at the gym

This evening I've been bouldering at the gym with a friend. It was a little bit demoralizing at first, but toward the end I managed to do a good boulder after all. Feels good when you manage to do things you're struggling with, right!?!

The photo is by the way from the National Geographic Vintage Photos Photo Gallery. This is the description of it:

"No Boys Allowed

Photograph by Mrs. Dean Peabody, 1929

To get to the top of this spire in the Chamonix Aiguilles, France, climbing pioneer Miriam O’Brien Underhill scaled up its center ridge with her camera held between her teeth in 1929. Famous for “manless Alpine climbing,” Underhill was the first woman to conquer several challenging peaks, including the Matterhorn. On these treks she climbed only with other women."

Cool lady, huh?

Trivial Pursuit Night

Last night Prince Charming and I stayed at home playing Trivial Pursuit, having tea and biscuits. It was fun doing something like that together and not just watch TV when we're home together one night.
I can't believe he beat me! I was leading! Next time he'll see! :)

Christmas Party Collage

This collage is inspired by the Glamorous Librerian and is what I'd like to wear to a Christmas Party. The dress and coat are from TopShop (I wish they had a shop here in Oslo!), the shoes are Din Sko, stockings from Ellos, clip ear rings from Erickson Beamon, Kanebo T'Estimo Gradually Eyes eye shade, Prada Tendre perfume and clutch by Roberto Cavalli.

Dream Dress of the Day

This creation is from the D&G Fall 2007 Ready to Wear Collection. I spotted it in the magazine Costume yesterday. I don't really like animal prints, so this is the closest I'll get to it. The pattern and colours work very well with the fabric. I'd love to wear something like this to Christmas Parties but considering the price it'll stay in my Dreams...

It snows, it snows!

Sonia Henie Photo Gallery

http://www.mnc.net/norway/henie-pix.htm

I'm spending the weekend at my parents and its snowing! The ground is covered in snow and it feels very much like Christmas. I'm however inside with a bad cold. Scarf around my neck, tea cup in my hand I'm spending the day with my Mum and my parent's three dogs. I've lost my voice so I'm unusually quiet. Prince Charming and my family should enjoy it while it lasts! ;)

Warm sweater for going abroad

Yesterday I got a new sweater for the occasion of going abroad with work. Not the best excuse for shopping again but since I actually needed an every-day-sweater it'll do. I'll be back on Friday but I'm taking the laptop with me so I think I'll get the opportunity to write a couple of posts while away.

Handmade Earrings

These earrings I got at the "Blå" market today. They're handmade from pieces of old jewellry and each pair is uniqe. It was very difficult to make up my mind on wich pair to buy as they're all so beautiful.

Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong

"Summertime"

You have to hear it!

French Breakfast

Croissants and Amaryllis

Saturday morning with Espresso and Croissants. Can a day start in any better way? You can also see the Amaryllis I got for my 10 000nd day. I placed it in the window sill but it was a little bit warm there, I think. It has already come so far!

I celebrated my 10 000nd day last week. It was a coincidence I even thought of it. We had a really nice dinner with some good friends and it was a lot of fun. Thank you, all of you!

I bought this at the Birkelunden market last sunday. It was exactly what I was looking for although it was a bit more than I planned to spend. It's very practical. Now it's full of beanies , scarves, gloves and mitts.

Nina Simone

"I put a spell on you"
Nina sings the Screamin' Jay Hawkins hit, her way, in London, 1968.

Liv Ullmann

http://www.bergmanorama.com/

Liv Ullmann is so true to herself.

New spinning shoes

Henri Pelissier, Winner of the Tour de France 1923
http://www.topfoto.co.uk/

I got new spinning shoes on sale yesterday!

I happened to see them in a sports shop - reduced 50 %! They were cheap to start with but at half price they only cost me NOK 300,- (AUS $60) so I'm sure they're worth the money!

I've borrowed Prince Charming's cycle shoes so far and they've been a bit large so I've really wanted spinning shoes of my own. The only thing is that I have to mount the thing underneath that makes them click into the pedals myself - and the manual is missing. But Prince Charming promised to help me, so I'm very optimistic I'll get to try them very soon. Another reason to train cardio more often. I could use that!

Copyright

Oh, I nearly forgot. The runway photo is from http://www.elle.com/ and the two other images are from http://www.net-a-porter.com/.

Maybe I could make something like this myself?

Chloé Fall 2007 Strapless Mini Dress

This dress is very special - the construction looks quite simple but the result is astonishing! The fabric and the bright use of block colour really makes it stand out.

I wonder if I could make something like this myself... Probably possible if you have the patience and experience necessary. I have a sowing machine... in the basement somewhere, I have to admit. But maybe one day?