Christmas - Marked in Seillans

In the end of November I made a spontaneous desition to visit my Aunt in our house in Seillans, a beautiful mountain village in South of France. With spontaneous I mean I rang my Aunt on Monday night (from Norway) who lives in Boston, MA, but was at our house in Seillans for a couple of weeks and asked her what she was doing the next weekend and I wondered if I could fly down for a long weekend. She laught and told me that I was crazy, but of course I could come. The next day I arranged to get two days off work, rescheduled a Doctors appointment and booked my tickets. Four days later I was on my way to my beloved Aunt in lovely Seillans for four days.

We were lucky that on my first day there was two different Christmas markeds, one i the next village and one in our village. I wanted to show you all some photos from the marked i Seillans.

 

 



 

 

The local farmes sold some of their produce, hams, sausages, chevre, jams, marmelade and other goodies.

 

 

This chevre is made just up the hill from our village and the nice lady who I have met many times, have 42 goats and are expecting a lot of baby goats soon. She also have a B&B and a restaurant at the farm.

 

 



 

 

We also got warmed red wine with some fruit in it that tasted just delicouse!

 

Merry Christmas!

A first and most likely a last!

In the begining of September I went to my friend Rossie's Wedding in the Berkshires and the ride to the Wedding was a school bus.

This is the first time I have been in an American Yellow school bus and it is most likely to be my last.

These yellow buses are kind of a ikon in American movies, so this was a cultural adventure in line with many other events this Wedding Weekend.

 

 

Fun !



Weird in NY

 

After staying in an apartment on the 16th floor on Fifth Avenue every Summer in my teens  I have always had a facination with roof tops and water tanks in NY. So while visiting NY this month I went around taking photo's of water tanks.

a little weird, but in NY everything goes.

 

Sweet Corn - my favorite

 

 

I think I might live in the wrong Country (climat),  the reason for this statement is that I just love fresh corn on the cob, sweet corn is just SO good. In the last three years I have only spottet fresh corn at the grocery store here in Norway two times and the quality is not good at all. I guess I have been spoiled on my trips to the States.

My home town should definitely be on the East coast, like Boston or more preferably New York City. Brooklyn might work too, my visit to my friend Rossie a couple of weeks ago gave me a whole new look at Brooklyn. I just love the place !!!

 

 

Over to the dish of the Summer. I prefere to boil the corn for a couple of minutes (4 - 10 minutes, it depends on how cooked you like you corn) and serve it with butter, salt and pepper. 

How ever it is nice with a little variation, so my Aunt made me this great Sweet corn and tomato salad with fresh basil, it tasted just divine.

 

What you need is:

 

sweet corn

red and yellow tomatoes

fresh basil

salt and pepper

 

Boil the corn to your liking, drain, cool, and cut kernels off the cob with a sharp knife. Cut the tomatoes in cubes. Toss the corn, tomatoes with shredded basil and serve it with nice fresh bread.

A nice glas of chilled white wine goes perfect with this salad on a nice hot Summer day (on any other nice day to).

 

If you don't have a fat issue, like most of us with a FOD does, you can also serve it with a nice olive oil and balsamic vinegar dressing.



Enjoy!

My day in Cambridge

 

After a long breakfast and some American tv, I made a sandwich for lunch and headed down to Harvard Square. After some shopping  a scarf and three books, I am such a nerd. I even got hit on in the book store!!!

 

 

 

 

I found a nice bench in this park outside of Peet's Coffee house where  I enjoyed my lunch, watched the people and listen to a street musician.

 

Peet's has a lovely Jamin tea.

 

 

 



 

 

 

On my way home I stopped in Cambridge Common and read for an houre in one of my new books and just enjoyed the nice weather and people watching before heading home for a snack and then heading out again for  my very first pedicure and my second manicure. So now my hands and feet are ready for the Wedding this weekend in the Berkshires.

 

 

Breakfast in Boston - St Thomas English Muffins.

Since I was 10 years old I have come to The States to visit my Aunt and one of the first of my American breakfast was St Thomas Englihs muffins. So as I like traditions , St Thomas English muffins are a must.
I used to have cream cheese and grape jam, but after I got diagnosed I have to settle for jam, this time apricot jam.
To make it a perfect breakfast I have to have OJ, tea and some fruit (this is more of an adult thing, not so much when I was 10.)

Christmas & The City

One of the things I like about Christmas is the music, my favorite Christmas music are song like "White Christmas" with Bing Crosby, "It's begginning to look like Christmas" with Perry Como and "Driving home for Christmas" with Chris Rea. I get in a cozy and warm Christmas mood when listening to these songs.
As my friends know I have an on going love affair with the City of all Cities, New York City! My Aunt lived in NY when I was younger, when I was 22 and had just started to appreciate NY for everything it has to offer she moved to Boston. Don't get me wrong, I love Boston, but there is no city like NY.
So when I went to the music store the other day to buy a Christmas present I was not able to go out of the store without this Chrismas album calle "Christmas & The City"

I love every view you can get from Central Park.

No Christmas Three can be compared to the one on Rockefeller Plaza. I have a week spot for Christmas threes lights.

These large threes that have been in Central Park for a great many years are just amazing. I love to walk in the park in Winter time when there are no leaves on the threes and I can look at all the funny figures the branches makes. It looks so magical with the snow on the branches.

A Perfect Fall day in The Bean Town

On my first Sunday in my vacation I went for a walk in Boston Common and through Bostons Public Garden to get to Newbury street to do some shopping. The sun was shining and it was in nice and warm in the 60'.  I walked passed this couple enjoying the nice weather and each other, this much be the most perfect way to spend a nice Fall Sunday while living in a big city with the one you love.

I love the Fall colours and I am so happy that they were still in New England when I arrived.

LBD - A little black dress

This week I finally became one of the many women around the world that has a LBD in their wardrobe, my search for this little piece of resistance has been long. I don't wear skirts or dresses to often but I like to dress up once in a while. For years the mantra that "every woman should own a simple, elegant black dress that can be dressed up or down depending on the occasion" has been luring on  my mind, but I have never stumbeld over one that I like and that was affordable until last week. I am not partically fond of shopping clothes, so if I find something  it just by good luck.
The origin to the little black dress dates back to the 1920s design of Coco Chanel who wanted to create a dress that would be long-lasting,versatile, affordable, accessible to the widest market possible and in a neutral color. The little black dress has for years been referred to as the "LBD". It is also said that if the dress is clearly part of a trend it is not counted as a "LBD", it has to be a dress that is classic and can survive for many years of fashion trends.
What I love about my "LBD" it that it is made of a fabric that dont wrinkel, so it is easy to put in a bag for a trip  or a long weekend and I can just pulled it out of the bag and give it a shake and it is ready to wear.

One of the most famous "LBD" was worn by actress Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany's.

I would like to dedicate this article to my good friend Anne, who has been my inspiration to become a mini fashionista . Love you Girl!

A Magical weekend on the Mountains




  The view

This weekend I borrowed a cabin on the
Mountains of Sjusjøen, my friend and I drove up in Friday afternoon after work, stopped for some groceries were we totally fell in love in the local dialect, I am sure I could marry a farmerboy from that part of the country only because of the dialect. After a few wrong turnes we found our way to the cabin. It has been 9 years since I last visited the cabin, but I still remembered the great view. I had been bragging about this breathtaking view to my friend, so I was so pleased that the weather was good and that we could see for miles. When we woke up the next morning the fog was so thick and low that we barely saw the three tops 20 meter from the cabin. So when the weather was not treating us good we drove 30 minutes down to Lillehammer to do some shopping and when we got back home we made up a fire in the fireplace and popped a botle of sparkling wine and made a lot of great food.

On Sunday before driving back home we went for a little walk around the cabin and I would love to show you the magical and fairylike  feeling we got with the fogg and the low threes on the mountain.





Our cabin

 





Can you see the alves dancing...

 






A beautiful fairy?





A Lady on a road trip who don't mind getting her hands dirty!

As a result of that my car is getting older and I don't feel like paying more to get a reparation that cost more than my car is worth I have to check the motor oil regulary.

Here is me out side of Hamlets Castle checking the level of motor oil on my beloved Toyota who brought us safe and sound around in Denmark and back home to Norway this Summer.

Have a look at Kronborg Castle in the back ground.

A treasure for the Autum and Winter season found at Hamlet's Castle!

On my roadtrip to Denmark this Summer we stopped by Kronborg Slot (Castle) in Helsingør, the town and castle is best know for its legendary hero Hamlet, Shakespear's not-quite-fictious Prince of Denmark.

In the gift store I found this wonderful  Crown shaped candle stick and it was cheap to. If I would have bought this in an interior store home i Norway it would have cost me more than three times the price I gave for it in Denmark. I have also bought a couple of Christmas presents here.....

I am so happy about this royal buy.

This is the modern B, but I am dreaming about walking around in this courtyard with a large

renaissance dress and a hot night or a charming prince courting me. 

Where is the toilet brush????

I spent my last week of vacation this Summer in Stocholm with three friends. After getting up at dawn to catch a early flight to get in to Stockholm early for some seriouse exploring I had to use the bathroom at our hotel just after we checked in at Sheraton Stockholm. After doing number 2 I was in a serious need for a toilet brush to clean up after me, so my roomie on the trip could get out of there with a bill of clean health.
I thorougly search our bathroom and our friends bathroom, but there was no toilet brush to be found. As long as my knowlegde of Sheratons largest group of guests, The Americans. They do use the toilet, doing both number one and number two, so why are'nt the bathrooms equipt with toilet brushes?. Even the Youth hostels in Denmark equip their bath rooms with this necessery tool.

So my request of the Sheraton Hotels around the world is, please equip your bath rooms with toilet brushes!!!

Thank you!

Summer time and fun memories with Bertil The Goat.

This week I have been commuting between work and my friend Lindas house were I have been cat sitting for the beaiutiful Thomas the Cat. On my way home from work on Tuesday I met some of my friends Karianne, her son Lavrans and Anne. Lavrans is 5 years old and wanted to meet Anne's goat Bertil so we drove further out in the country side (Søndre Høland) to visit Bertil the Goat. Here we had a fun little photo shoot with Karianne's IPhone and and Bertil the Goat.
Here are some of the photos;

Bertil the Goat is getting to know me and to see if I am trust worthy.

I guess I passed his tests.

Bertil the Goat is nipping and liking me in my neck. It kind of tickled. This is not something I am used  to every day.

 Me, Anne and Bertil the Goat

If you want to see Bertil the Goat in action check out this You tube clip.