Midsummer celebrations…you have to love it!

Posted on June 22, 2013 by Malin

There was no workout yesterday as it was one of the most celebrated holidays by the swedes as well as one of the oldest traditions, Midsummer!!! So we started the day not as early as we had intended as me and my sister had a late night the evening before, a very good one 😉 We skipped the traditional herring lunch and the “snaps” as we focused on the strawberry cake and coffee at the venue where the local Maypole was decorated and later raised as we sang and danced.

When we got back home the sun finally made it through the clouds and we played some garden Yatzy before the kids stared digging for worms so they could go fishing…

With no luck we had to stick to our original dinner plans and we finished the evening very quietly for being midsummer. The kids in the neighborhood ran around playing hide and seek and plenty of other games as the sun slowly sat on the longest day of the year so what is there not to love about Swedish Midsummer…

This is Sweden showing off it’s best side…

Posted on June 17, 2013 by Malin

We have not slept for an eternity especially not Knut who fell a sleep 5 minutes before we arrived in Norrköping and I had to wake him up. So this day has been very, very long and I am so glad that we arrived to a lovely summer day and to my sister and nephew who had longed for his cousins. My sister lives next to a beautiful lake and fortune was made when they threw themselves into the water just to let all that sitting still energy get loose…

Now we have enjoyed a lovely dinner with grilled chicken with roasted vegetables…unbeatable!!!

Good Night!

I’m a concrete kinda gal…

Posted on March 29, 2013 by Malin

Being born and raised with the nature around the corner and with a family that loved the forest and fishing, something went terrible wrong with me. I love my home town and the “High Coast” and think it is one of the most beautiful places. It is great to have a ski slope in the middle of town, you can hike and cross-country ski pretty much straight from the centre of town. The view over the bay with its amazing archipelago gives you the opportunity to travel into town in your sailboat or motorboat, yet I have to admit I am a concrete girl and I love Chicago!

Me and Freddie lived in London for five and some years and we are coming up to 5 years here in Chicago and every time I drive to downtown and see the skyline I just love it and it was no different today when we made it to Lincoln Park Zoo. We had a great time this first spring like day, the kids were getting their faces painted and it was just so nice seeing all the people who had come out of their hibernation and some even in skirts and flip-flops!(Not sure what they were thinking cos the breeze from the lake is far from warm)

This was a great way to get the spring started, let’s hope there will be more days like today!

Finding the time…

Posted on March 3, 2013 by Malin

Moving across the Atlantic from Sweden to Chicago has really been an adventure and I remember very well the first time I walked into the grocery store to buy groceries, it took forever. I was like a blank sheet of paper not recognizing the brands of toothpaste, detergent or what milk to pick, I was totally clueless. This was four and a half years ago and since then both kids have started school, we bought a house made a lot of great new friends, settled in very well and we simply love it here.

Having a very hectic schedule I have started to get ready for bed at the same time as the kids because I am exhausted at the end of the day. When life is going on routine and not necessarily challenge you everyday in life like it maybe once did, I do think that it is easy to forget other important things in life.

Then maybe it is time to stop for a minute and start finding the time together. So yesterday Freddie and me went to this very cozy but yet lively and crowded restaurant named Abigail’s in Highland Park and it was just perfect. Great food, great atmosphere but best of all… my company 😉

I have great friends…

Posted on January 18, 2013 by Malin

We are a few Swedes that lives here on the North Shore and non of us have family nearby and for some reason the US calendar don’t recognize all our Swedish holidays and traditions!! so we try to do our best to show our kids how it is done in Sweden. Anyhow it’s been a long time since we all got together so Annika invited us all over for lunch this afternoon. I was a bit nervous and when I met her outside school yesterday I told her I might eat at home (just so she would not have to make extra food) because I’m so strict with my diet at the moment. Then my great and awesome friend tells me that she already thought of me and that she was making warm-smoked salmon with a roasted cauliflower salad!!! I have to say thank you to all my patient friends that always has and still putting up with me and my “crazy” ideas 🙂