A sunny day in Pireus

It's a beautiful day in Athens today. The cruiseship is here for a few hours before we leave for Crete. I wish you all a wonderful Holiday season and a Happy New Year!


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The lucky winners of my 100th post Giveaway are....

A little late, but just in time for Christmas. The three lucky winners of a year's magazine subscription are:

Kristen at All in a Mom's life.

Stepahanie Gina at All that Glitters

Tracy at Tattoos and Diapers

Please send me your address and desired magazine by email so that I can order your subscription.

A big thanks to all the rest of you who entered my Giveaway! I will be back with more fun Giveaways in 2010. Better luck next time:-)

Merry Christmas!

I'm sorry...

It has been a busy month and I have been very very tired. My inspiration and desire to blog completely disappeared. This is the first time I have even looked at my blog in almost 3 weeks. I'm sorry for not responding to all your sweet comments and for not visiting my wonderful blogfriends. All I can say is that I hope I'll do better in 2010. And that I truly hope that you all are enjoying a wonderful Christmas season.

I will do a drawing for my Great Giveaway later this afternoon and post the results tomorrow!

To give a short recap of the last few weeks:

Of course I have done plenty of shopping! I love interior design stores and all the wonderful Christmas decorations you can buy. I just wish my house was twice as large and my pocketbook twice as thick... This is a picture from one of my favorite shops in Drøbak.

I decorated very simple this year. We are all leaving for a Mediterranean cruise this Sunday and will be gone for 2 weeks. No need to put up the tree this year. I only used lots of white lights, a few silver ornaments and green sprigs.

One of the highlights of December is my all girls weekend. Every year I bring my best friends to our summerhouse where we eat, drink, talk, watch girly movies and maybe do a little shopping. It's always a blast and this year was no exception.

Of course I brought them to all my favorite little shops in Drøbak and my good friend Nanni had to take lots of pictures for her blog Nannis Verden.

Drøbak is always charming, but around Christmas time it is absolutely quaint.

My daughter was a cutie the 13th of December for St. Lucia's day. In Scandinavia we celebrate this day with the kids dressing up in white, holding candles and serving the grownups "lussekatter" (a special roll that has saffron).

Every year we go to the national museum here in Oslo called "Folkemuseet". It has a wonderful display of old buildings and traditions. The whole area is just absolutely beautifully decorated for Christmas. Their Christmas market is quite unique and has become a tradition for us. We spend the day eating gingerbread cookies and candied apples, riding horse drawn carriages and looking at wonderful things we can buy for Christmas.

After a very busy month at school we had a fun day this week making a gingerbread village. I have blisters all over my hands from assembling 28 houses with burning sugar. I do not want to do this again next year... but the result looks good.

Finally I want to wish you all a very Merry Christmas!

Gingerbread Saturday

We are getting closer to Christmas and every weekend is filled with fun activities. Today we have been making gingerbread cookies. Here is the result:

Grace's gingerbread cookies are much more colorful and imaginative than mom's!

The pink NonStops (Norwegian M&M's) were the only pink things I could come up with today. Now we are going to a Christmas fair to see if we can find some fun Christmas presents. I wish you all a fabulous Pink Saturday!

For many more pink Saturday posts please visit Beverly over at How Sweet The Sound.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Picture from the church at Vestby. I thought the light was quite unusual. It reminds me that there is always hope even when your day seems dark and hopeless.

I'm grateful for so many things. God has truly been good to me and my family.

I wish you all a very Happy Thanksgiving!

A Very Pink Christmas

Pink is not a traditional color for Christmas. But maybe it is time to break with tradition and bring pink into your home this year. Feast your eyes on these great ideas for a very pink Christmas.

For more pink posts visit Beverly over at How Sweet the Sound.

Happy Pink Saturday to you all!

Saying goodbye

Today I'm saying goodbye to a good friend. He died last week only 53 years old. I still cannot believe that he is gone. I'm attending his funeral today and I'm praying for his wife and his two sons. It is so sad... I know he touched many lives and that many will be gathered today to pay their respect. I will always be grateful for the part he played in some of the lifechanging decisions my husband and I made 11 years ago. Thank you Jan!

Today I'm reminded how important it is to live joyfully, love wholeheartedly and follow my dreams.

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Thank you for taking the time visit my blog. Please feel free to comment or to leave a trace.

Christmas gift ideas for vintage lovers

I love to buy gifts. It is so fun to find that "perfect" gift for someone you love. The whole month of November is my "Giftshopping Month". I LOVE TO SHOP, and that is one of the reasons I really enjoy November.

Here are a few unique gifts for your shabby chic friends that love anything vintage.

You can find these gifts and so many more at Notonthehighstreet.com .

Good luck with your Christmas shopping. Remember... it should be fun, not a chore!

Thank you for taking the time visit my blog. Please feel free to comment or to leave a trace.

My 100th post Giveaway!

Finally! The day has come and this is my 100th post since I started blogging in May of 2009. I have been wondering how to celebrate this milestone and cannot think of a better way than to announce a GIVEAWAY! This one is FABULOUS and it's open to all bloggers from all countries.

This is what you can win:

12 issues of Marie Claire Magazine

12 issues of Harper's Bazaar Magazine

12 issues of Good Housekeeping Magazine

10 issues of House Beautiful Magazinegoo

or 10 issues of Country Living Magazine

I will draw three winners on the 15th of December 2009.

1. You'll get one ticket if you leave a comment.
2. Two tickets if you become a follower.
3. Three tickets if you advertise the contest on your blog with picture and a link.
4. Four tickets if you place my blog on your blog list.

Please write in your comment what you have done, so that I can write down the number of tickets you get.

Ideas for your Thanksgiving Table

It's soon time to invite family and friends for Thanksgiving dinner. Even though we now live in Norway we still try to celebrate Thanksgiving every year. It is one of the many beautiful traditions that we brought back with us after having lived in the US. We focus on all the things we are grateful for and enjoy time together with the people we love.

This is also a chance to create a festive autumn table. Here are some ideas to help you decorate your special Thanksgiving table this year.

Make an elegant menu card

Placecards can be so much more than just a piece of cardboard. Use your imagination.

Use family photos to remind everyone that Thanksgiving is all about family.

Stamp or write a message

on a linen tablecloth

on your glasses

on your candles

on your simple white napkins or on your napkinrings.

Make a striking centerpiece using flowers in rich colors

or use simple white flowers with rich fabrics.

You can also bring nature inside by creating a centerpiece with vegetable, fruits, pinecones, twigs, branches of spruce or leafs

How about a glass vase filled with kumquats and topped with a pinecone-shape candle?

Candles always creates a festive atmosphere. Find new ways of decorating with them.

The most beautiful candle displays are often the simples. Use everyday items like corn or multicolor popcorn kernels.

You can even use snacks as a decorative element on your table.

However you choose to decorate your table, let it reflect your personal style. Look around your home for things that you can use to make your table special and unique. Enjoy!