Winter Moods

Winter moods at the mansion.. Frost clouds gathering at the bottom of the valley, over the big lake. Reaching snakelike arms, through the trees and the old forest, surrounding it. The ususal happy bird trills, that can be heard has now vanished. Just an occational magpie piercing the air, with a hoarse cry.. It's something very beautiful and peaceful, about a white, crispy, winter landscape. So quiet and serene. A time for everything to hybernate, rest and sleep this cold time of the year away...

From a morning I was out with Bessy.. Over the night a crispy, white frost layer, had been created and covered the landscape...

White winter berries, with a thin layer of frost crystals..

The sun fighting through the thick winter fog.. Since we live close to a big lake, we get a bit of fog here in the cold part of the year.

One of my autumn plants, sleeping the winter away..

Leftovers from Halloween.. The wooden crosses from our tiny church yard, resting in peace.

Christmas Coming Up

What to say? Time flies.. It's exactly 3 weeks till Christmas. Last weekend, as 1. December was closing in. I eagerly carried up the boxes, filled with Christmas decoration, from the basement. I'm a bit like a kid when it comes to this and it's just as exciting every year! It's like rediscovering a forgotten treasure, as I pull my old friends out of the boxes. I always start out with a few things, then gradually add on as Christmas is closing in. Wrapped in several warm layers of clothes, I totally ignored my flu and stumbled out into the cold, to get our lightchains up. All in the traditional norwegian warm white color, that I prefer. I try to go for a vintage Christmas style. So no ding dong, crazy colors going on at the mansion..

It's insane what a difference a few lightchains, in trees and bushes can make! Suddenly the outdoors space seems so much warmer and inviting. Something that is much needed! By this time of the year, it feels like we are surrounded by darkness 24/7. It's dark when we leave for work and dark by the time we get home..

We also had a light snowfall, over the last couple of days. Coming down like a light drizzle, of powdered sugar. Covering the garden and landscape, in a thin, white coat of beautiful snow crystals..

It definitely starts to look a bit like Christmas..

Beautiful snow capture, found online..

Friday Bliss

Finally Friday, people.. Best day of the week, has finally arrived. We woke up to light snowfall this morning. Cold and dark. And it's dark by the time we get home too.. Doesn't exactly invite to any outdoors activity. Can't wait to get home to the mansion, wiggle my butt way down in the corner of the sofa, with a big glass of red. With no other plan, than finding something nice to watch on my computer. An excellent plan, if you ask me.

Yesterday I managed to rescue some last summer flowers, for winter storage in the basement. Kind of last moment, with the cold that has been lingering in the air the last, few days. Saturday I will be digging up the very last plants, that won't survive our norwegian winter. That will also be the end of any garden work for this year. Winter has indeed arrived..



Would love to have an old bench like this, in our garden..

A glass of red, in front of the fire place.. No better winter activity!

Happy Holidays to Everyone!!

Wish you all the best for the holidays and the New Year!! Hope you all are having a wonderful time with friends and family! We're on the third day of Christmas and closing in to the big night, New Years Eve. I'm lucky enough to have some days off from work. Some time for myself and my projects, fixing photos and finishing up an order on a fascinator. And last but not least; cleaning up the house, which looks like a small pig stie, after neglecting the growing piles of dishes and laundry for several days now.. I should be able to get it nice and shiny again, just in time for our New Years party!

We're having lovely Miss Lindy Lee and her man over, for New Years eve. Hopefully Miss E and her man, Kim will be joining us too! And maybe my sister. Not the biggest New Years party, but sometimes the smallest parties can also be the nicest and most memorable ones. The most important is the people that you are with I think, being with good friends is what counts on a night like this;)

What is your plans?

Our first Christmas tree (!!) and a peek at the Christmas decoration around my work space;)

Dreamcoat

Winter is soon over, but after searching all winter I finally found the perfect winter coat! There it was, on Etsy of course. I love the full skirt, the vintage look and the cute bowtie detail in front.. *Sigh* Must have! It's a bit on the expensive side, but I think it's all worth it as it's tailored and seems to be good quality, which will last for many winters more.

The designer offers some slight changes on the coat, if desired. Like a different color on the lining of the coat, with a hood, without the bowtie, or a single row of buttons instead of double buttoned etc.. I love it the way it is, though I'm thinking a hood might be nice for those cold winter days.

The designer behind this wonderful coat is Tatyana Merenyuk, a talented designer originally from Kiev in Ukraine, now living in New York.. It seems that a lot of her inspiration comes from her childhood in Ukraine.. "From an early age she had a taste for dress up and fairytales that gave her quite the imagination", "Her mother would always dress her up in dresses that she made and pass them down from her sister, but no matter what she was wearing she always looked like a little doll".. Which you can tell on her designs today. She has some amazing fairytale like dresses, that I can only dream about wearing one day...



Sunday Stroll in The Snow

Sunday me and my man went for a long walk in the snow covered royal park.. I was snapping photos till my nails popped and my finger allmost froze in position on the button;) But it was all worth it!! Such a beautiful landscape *sigh*, it's truely magical out there...

Ps: if the images is too dark to view, try turning up the brightness on your computer..;)

Red, Red Wine...

Relaxing home with a well deserved bottle of red wine tonight. The realization of being back to work hit me like a block of bricks! But it's seriously hard to be back after my two weeks of Christmas holiday and relaxation. Should think it would get easier, not harder. Obviously not.. Topped it with getting up in the middle of the night to go to work today, at least that's what it felt like.. 5:30 am has never been morning to me! I woke up at least 4 times during the night, wondering if the alarm had already went off. Some veird dreams and little sleep later I dragged myself out of bed and into the shower. Before I headed out in the snowy morning...

It's been snowing constantly for several days now, leaving a fluffy cover of white snow over the city. Getting to work starts to feel more like an expedition on the north pole. Part from fighting through the snow, it's the most beautiful scenery.. Especially in the evening. The lights is casting stunning shades in pink, violet and blue. With the black outlines of the trees against a dark blue sky.. While the street lights creating yellow islands in the snow. Grey, puffy clouds and a white moon is floating around far up there. I have wanted to get out there and shoot it all week, but been to lazy to do so.. But you know, there's always a day tomorrow;)

Cold & Cozy Saturday

Last Saturday eve was spent all cuddled and cozed up at home, sipping red wine.. Me puffing on a cigar, my husband his pipe, while listening to old country music, rock and blues. Outside the temperature had dropped to a freezing -12c/10F, the kind of weather you don't want to venture out in unless it's absolutely necessary.. Half way down bottle no. two how ever, the idea of going somewhere seemed some what much more tempting;) Haha We pulled on our warm jackets, me on my  new, astonishing 13cm/5inch heels on the ice!With the red wine under the arm, we jumped in a taxi and went to join Miss T and her guy for a cozy evening at her place. More cigars, wine and beer later, some late night pizza after a beer out, we rolled sleepy and satisfied back to the nest...

Evening moods

Love'em!!

A bottle of lovely red wine

The more candles, the better.. Fire hazard? Tsk!

Red wine & cigar

Cozed up in the "queens chair" at Miss T's

Miss T & Andy

Mr Andy in his basket.. The cutest dog in town!

L <3 vebirds

Snow Creature

I spotted the cutest, little snow creature on the way home yesterday! Left all by itself in the cold, harsh, winter night on someones light post.. A strange motherly feeling towards the little pile of snow balls came upon me, with a sudden urge to grab it and slip it into my pocket to take it home.. Mmm allmost like that cute, little, abanded puppy we found on Crete this summer, which I didn't want to leave, but my better half had to pull me away from. Hah! I had allmost forgot that.. *muttermutter*

Take me home...

Snowy Thanksgiving Sunday

The snow is falling heavy outside, the wind wips it around the corners, making the world white again.. We had really cold weather over the last couple of weeks, so at least it should stay this time. It makes everything brighter and protects a bit against the cold. Part from that, I really love a white Christmas:) Hopefully it will be layers of white crystals everywhere by then!

We'll be heading over to my parents in a couple of hours. My husband is working on the deviled eggs as we speak. Apparently mom has allready made the pecan pie and the stuffing, and the turkey is ready for the oven. So not sure what's left to make, part from the mashed potatoes which I'm supposed to be doing.. We should be all set and ready for a serious dig in and food frenzy;)

First Snow Fall...

Thursday night; white powder snow falling from a pitch black November sky.. Leaving a cold crystal veil over the world...

©Photos by Scary Mary

Then The Snow Came...

Having the day off here today, can't even start to explain how wonderful it feels! It was needed, even after a long sleep I still felt tiered, and now after an extremely lazy morning and a long warm shower I start to feel like the good ol' me... I've been spending more time on work than at home over the last couple of weeks, guess that explains why I feel like all energy has left me. Also the change of weather and daylight wears me out and makes me feel tiered.. It's getting so cold, it seems like it's allways hard to get used to. With it snowing most of the day here yesterday, we had the first day with a steady snowfall down town this autumn, or should I say winter? Without really staying or making it white though.. I was forced to put my bicycle away for the winter. Very unwillingly and sad had to accept the fact that it's getting too cold to ride it, after I nearly had to be broken out of position after an ice cold ride to work on Tuesday! Road was icy, tears was floating and nails popping.. Hahha I swear I had an disfunctional brain for half an hour after the ride... It's such a great way to get to work though, fast and easy. Except the fact that you allways have a bunch of crazy car drivers gone wild out there, so you really need to watch out not to end up as next years Halloween prop..! But it doesn't change a thing, I'll still miss my bicycle and riding around town...

Electra by Rory Kurtz

By Amirali Gorgan

Living In a Swiss Cheese...

The last couple of weeks has been unbelievable cold! We've had temperatures down to -20 C/-4 F, and believe me that is COLD! Especially combined with an ice wind that seems to be blowing from north of Siberia..:/ I've been adding doubble and tripple layers of clothes so I won't freeze on my way to work, in other words not so happy for walking to work right now. Looking like wrinched up lemon, cuz I'm so concentrated on surviving.. ahha Mmmmm maybe I should get myself a little foldable bed under my desk?;) Guess I should feel "lucky" though.. Just outside town we've had temperatures much lower than this, like -30 C/- 22 F as a normal. I surrender, I give up, where's my summer?

Early Monday morning, I woke up to a very chillled, little loft appartment. I reached out to feel the radiator.. Ice cold! It usually happends every winter, but it couldn't have happend on a worse time than this!! Oslo feeling more like living in an ice box right now! Kitchen oven on full throttle, hoping I didn't have to get up to frosted windows.. Brrrrr!! So happy we live in one room, a few candles and the oven on keeps it warm:) haha

Turns out the burner in the basement had stopped working. Also one of the water pipes had bursed during the night, and of course they thought it might be at my place! Some where.. With no technical drawings, they didn't know where to look for the leakage and that some where proved hard to find:S Later on the same day, I got a phone call from my love, they had to make a hole in the wall.. One hole, two holes, three holes, four holes later, in walls, ceiling, even inside our closet and they still hadn't found the pipe!! And allmost ripped the floor up! Mighty chaotic in 17 square meters! I just had this ugly feeling it probably wasn't even in our place.. Grrrrr Turns out I was right.. They finally turned to the neighbores, which has been complaining about their kitchen cabinet being damp for a long time allready... Yeahiii for lazy care takers, ceap land ladies and plumbers with no technical drawings! Maybe they can make us a nice little balcony and a roof window while their at it, a few holes more..;)

Me wanna move..