happy halloween...?

photo taken two seconds after oliver "jumped" (he doesn't know how to get his feet off the ground yet ;) into my face resulting in a split lip and splitting headache (see what i did there?). it's ok, it's funny now, especially the part where we never really got a good picture in his costume this year, oops. if you can't tell, he was a happy lil cloud with ribbon rain and i made it with the intention of turning it into a pillow for his room afterwards. yay instant costume re-use!

hope everyone had a fun halloween eating all the sweet treats your heart desires! (i don't mind that halloween isn't celebrated in denmark but man, i really miss those mini candy bars)

royal copenhagen painting school

denmark is home to so many amazing home brands and royal copenhagen is one of their oldest. founded in 1775, they are most recognized for their iconic blue and white porcelain (though their colorful fluted mugs are very popular as well).

every summer they open up their beautiful upstairs studio to host a painting school, where you can recreate your very own hand-painted royal copenhagen piece. it was SO much fun! i love anything hands-on and it was just liberating to have space to make a mess. (though of course the goal is to make no mess, since it's so fancy...) their pieces are still hand-painted to this day, and takes months before you can be certified as meeting their standards. oh wait, you DON'T want your beautiful perfectly curved lines to have kinks in them...?

ærø

this year we took a summer holiday to the southern danish island of ærø and it was lovely!

the houses were colorful and cozy, lining cobblestone roads. the countryside and coastlines were beautiful and we saw farms and loppedmarkets (flea markets) selling antiques and fresh produce--often with honor system pricing! (everyone is very trusting)

we only went to the beach once and it was sooo windy and cold...but oliver is so acclimated to danish climate and loved going in the water, teeth chattering away. we ate amazing sea food (smoked oysters NOT from a can) and fresh baked goods, took bike rides and long walks, cooked food and baked cookies in the most charming tiny house, knit while watching movies, played board games while it rained...it might not have been the tropical island holiday i imagined it would be (no, i don't know why i thought an island in denmark would be tropical) but it was a REALLY nice holiday and i can't wait to go back someday!

big eyed baby

we are sooo lucky to have friends who spoil our little baby bebo even from afar. my bestie melissa (who keep in mind, JUST had her own little nugget a month ago) knit oliver the sweetest teddy bear (with monogrammed sweater!) and hedgehog and he immediately hugged them both, CUTE!!! he has been attached to that bear and toting it around everywhere, i might have to commission her for a back-up one soon! *wink* thanks for such sweet gifts, friend!

winter in minnesota

we recently got back from our first trip back home in over a year. it was SO GREAT to see family and friends!!! and amazing to visit one stop shops like target again, what a timesaver!!! (or timeWASTER as i tried on a ton of things, then bought nothing. dangit denmark! you took the fun out of unnecessary shopping!)

it's funny, i had completely forgotten what winter in minnesota was like...and we visited during insanely cold days (-7F or -21.6C!) and freezing rain storms (inhibiting 77% of our party guests from driving anywhere). i feel so un-minnesotan complaining about cold weather! (what happened to me?!) but on the plus side, the snow made the woods behind my parents' house just beautiful, and on warmer days i was able to take ollie out in the carrier which was really nice... combining what i love about both a danish AND a minnesota winter :)

hello 2013

i love this quote i found on pinterest last year, and since moving to denmark we have really made time for more experiences and tried to de-clutter our lives of the usual things that we (ok...I) used to squirrel away. for christmas we traveled to switzerland and france and it was just great. not only to see family and for them to meet oliver, but for stealing a few peaceful moments...and what a view.

wishing you a fantastic new year filled with many wonderful moments!

advent calendar

i wanted to make an advent calendar this year after pinning inspiration on pinterest all year long. so on the morning of december 1st i got up early and just started cutting. to make this project you will need:

cardstock (in two colors, three if you want a contrast star)
an x-acto knife
a cutting mat (or in my case--the back of my sketchbook)
fun patterned washi tape

freehand cut both the squares (approximately 2" x 2") and numbers. tape them up to the wall into any shape you like. i did a tree, but it could be fun all in a row or as a square too. as the days go by, tape a contrast color to the back of the numbers until you reach the 24th.

i love that against our white wall it looks very much scandinavian! :)

craftenhagen + blog royalty

last week i had my first evening sans baby! i went to craftenhagen and made ornaments and gift boxes in a workshop led by the lovely tina of traveling mama. there was hands on crafting, i met nice people, and ate delicious homemade snacks in a cozy little studio...perfection.

and the BEST part was...i met brittany of the house that lars built!!! blogging legend!!! she is as cute as can be and so sweet. i wanted to be her copenhagen bff but sadly she is moving back to the us in two weeks...darn it. i am so glad i got to meet her and see her fun studio, and can't wait to hear about her new adventures back stateside!

thankful.

there are so many things in my life i am thankful for, but this amazing and wonderful little person tops every list.

wishing all of you across the sea a very happy thanksgiving!

bunnies

i sewed these little guys for finch's holiday time boutique and i am really happy with how they turned out. i have been wanting to design my own plush that i can easily reproduce so i took the time and made a pattern too. (though i'm still perfecting the limb placement, as you can see each one is doing their own little dance ;)

my photos have gotten a lot of likes and comments on instagram so i am really excited to make more. i always wanted to make a keepsake baby gift for friends and have already received a request for one, YAY!

happy halloween!

i am so proud, i sewed this costume all by myself! and even hand stitched the contrast pieces and hems when a certain crabby little someone didn't want to nap and i had to be extra quiet in our small apartment. my mom always sewed our halloween costumes growing up, so it makes me happy to carry on the tradition!

life with a baby

so sorry i've been gone for so long. i am very fortunate that i've been able to take a longer break than originally planned to spend lots of time with little oliver. we had guests all summer which was SO wonderful, but when they all went home we had to get ourselves back to real life. it took awhile before we could get into a routine that worked for us (he likes being awake...all the time!) and for me personally, it's been hard not only being a new mom, but a new mom in such a different land and so far away from family and friends.

luckily the past few weeks have been much better, with oliver sleeping through almost the whole night, and two naps during the day. he and i go on walks with the pram or sometimes out to meet expat friends or mothers' groups. we have become this mini-team, and we charge forth with our daily tasks that we accomplish together.

i can already see him growing up so much already, i try and memorize every moment of joy he brings into my life. even though he can't stay little forever, i know every day brings brand new memories and the happiest of smiles, and i wouldn't trade it for the world.

presenting...

he came exactly on his due date...an amazing feat as both his parents are infamous for being late.

we had names picked out and were planning on knowing instantly once we met him what he should be called. but we were too enamored by the amazingness that is a new baby and we delayed making a final decision. luckily for us in denmark they give you up to six months to name your child. every danish neighbor he met completely understood why he was nameless. so we took advantage of this cultural difference and spent the first few weeks just spending time with our little one, getting to know his personality and practiced saying names until one sounded just right.

so...with my favorite picture of him to accompany the news, we officially present OLIVER! the name fits both his looks and personality perfectly. his middle name is vietnamese and means happiness, optimism and positivity. a perfect name for our happy little baby bebo!

50 days

time is just flying by dear bebo, and we cannot wait to meet you!!!
50 days left to go...you must be excited too because you were kicking and punching up a storm today. (it doesn't bother milo in the least, ha)

32 on 3/2 and time marches on

i turned 32 this year and went to lunch and dessert at paludan bogcafe and la glace with my favorite expat friends, chris got me a waterproof bookbag from the freitag flagship store in zurich (as a solution to my frequent annoyance with denmark's unpredictable weather), had dinner at the delicious quattro fontane, and got lots of overseas birthday love via facebook, email, and even regular post which just makes me so thankful for all of the wonderful friends and family in my life.

margaret (a friend since 4th grade) came to visit in march as well, and it was really nice. we often say our friendship always starts up where we left off, no matter the amount of time or distance since our last time together...and that's neat to have.

my "golden" year is great so far, wanted to just say a big THANKS!!!

god morgen solskin!

it has been exceptionally sunny lately and i am loving it! no longer does it get dark at 3pm, and though winter FINALLY came a few weeks ago with some snow and cold temperatures, i will gladly bundle up for a beautiful sunshine-filled day.

yesterday i also passed my danish module 2 final exam, jeg havde en god dag! before i went home, i started at one end of the strøget and just walked around...window shopping and stopping to treat myself to lunch at one of my favorite places, paludan bogcafe. it is so cozy in there--like sitting in an old library, and the food is always delicious.

revealed!

we nicknamed the baby "bebo" and kept referring to them as "he" by accident, and lo and behold we were right the whole time! the other crazy part is i had a dream when we were still living in our temporary apartment and in the dream i turned to my mom and SUPER casually said "fyi, it's a boy, so think aqua and white stripes" and then walked away just as casually. AHHH!!!

145 days left to go...we can't wait to meet you, sweet little boy!!!

a swiss FOOD christmas

part II of our wonderful weekend in switzerland. there are SOOO many food pictures, i might need to do a part III...! are you drooling yet???

1: clementines, christmas cookies and warm apple tart
2: fresh baked warm, cheesy, gooey, flaky ramequin from the outdoor market
3: homemade fois gras with fleur de sel
4: christmas dinner course styled by my cute aunt
5: the main christmas dinner course(s) by more cute aunts and my grandma
6: chocolate lava cake with raspberry sauce by my cousin khuê (i helped ;) 

a swiss christmas

i can hardly believe it's already the middle of january, i feel like christmas was just last week. since our weekend with my european family was so fantastic, i've split my favorite iphone photos into two groups...stay tuned for part II!

1: la grande-duchesse de gérolstein operetta at the opéra de lausanne

2: the [VERY hilly] rolex learning center at école polytechnique fédérale de lausanne

3: mandatory jumping picture

4: a beautiful sunny day in downtown lausanne
5: my cousin khuê helped us knit wool and the gang trophy headbands

6: my adorable grandma when we surprised her with the baby news! (she later told me she thought i gave her a framed picture of a landscape, HA)