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)

happy new year!

once we announced our baby news, a friend asked me if I could add more life-changing events to this year. we've had amazing fireworks shows outside our window all evening and will be skyping with our families early in the morning to re-celebrate midnight in the US...as there is only thirty minutes left of 2011, i'm keeping my fingers crossed we have a peaceful, non-eventful remainder to the year ;)

i have a lot of really fun plans for 2012 (a contest or two???) and i'm looking forward to what the new year will bring. thank you all for your support and love, wishing you a fabulous new year! cheers!!!

SURPRISE!!!

goodbye november, hello new apartment!

today we moved into our new apartment and we are SO excited! it's a simple, modern and open layout with huge floor to ceiling windows and a beautiful deck. the view is fantastic (around the corner you can see downtown copenhagen in the distance), we are near lots of open space for milo and only 3 miles from the beach.

it feels really settling to have our things out of storage and i can't wait to decorate and organize. chris' work friends have already given us tips for finding vintage scandinavian furniture...YES!

happy turkey day!

it has been an eventful year. i had ups and downs and boring normalcy for sure. you always learn from hardships and they only make you stronger. on the flip side, when life gives you something to smile about then be happy and treat yourself (i do--often with sweets). i have so much to be thankful for this year, and feel REALLY lucky to be me.

i miss you US family and friends but skype and facebook (and email, blogs and twitter) keep us as close as you can be while across an ocean...happy thanksgiving to those on the other side of the atlantic!!!

baking for one

yesterday i made this recipe of chocolate chip cookies (with chris' help--stirring cookies by hand is a workout!) which was perfect since it only made 16 cookies. as the only dairy/egg eater in this household, it is dangerous to make regular amounts of baked goods since i would have no problem eating 100% of the entire batch...seriously.

when i was on pinterest, what did i find but a cake recipe for one! it's small and adorable and baked in a tin can! PLUS, it's chocolate and peanut butter...YUM. i cannot wait to try this out, how cute would it be to throw a party with a variety of mini cakes on the table???

thanks picky palate and happy 4th birthday to you! :)

and we're back

when we got back to denmark, it felt strangely like home...it's interesting that although life here is sooo different than what we've been used to our entire lives, we are starting to finally feel like we are a part of this new life now.

milo has settled into city living pretty easily and like a cat, loves people watching from our window. i'm so glad to have him here since i am home a lot during the day and it's nice to have snuggly company :)

design*sponge craft + book party

i was lucky to craft with the lovely grace (and amy!) of design*sponge at anthropologie for her book tour, and it was SO MUCH FUN!!! we created custom wooden wax seals using wooden dowels and woodburning tools. I had never used a woodburning pen before and let me just say, it is NOT like drawing with a pen. AT ALL. as a project that used materials i wasn't familiar with, it ended up being pretty easy and i was super excited with how my little milo turned out!

i also sat at the same table as erin, laura, kara and jen from red stamp--the cutest bunch! they have the best app for sending really fun and well-designed cards through your iphone or ipad! check it out here.

the even MORE exciting part of my evening was hanging out with bff dana all night!!! and dinner with mike tv at convention grill too, YUM.

(doesn't my chevron attempt look like charlie brown's shirt???)

poor milo...

i am back stateside and i don't know who missed me more, my family and friends...or MILO. he jumped all over me at insane heights and was SOOO excited it was like he won the bacon lottery! once he got over the excitement i was just another person to play with. good thing he wears himself out or i'd never get anything done.

we're bringing him back with us to copenhagen next week, so think good thoughts for him while he's on his long journey overseas!!!

present&correct

have you heard of present&correct before? they stock the most wonderful things--it makes you wish it was always back to school time! their shop contains items they've designed themselves, things they love from other designers and vintage items from all over europe. make sure to peruse the whole site because their photography styling is really fun. (their blog is a visual treat too! check it out here.)

bon anniversaire!

it's my wonderful mother's birthday today and i wish i could be there in person to celebrate with her! though we're far apart she makes time in her busy schedule to email and skype regularly which i'm so grateful for. i am heading home soon and can't wait to spend time with her and treat her to loads of birthday treats :) HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

[image via pinterest with no original source linked]

home sweet [temporary furnished] home

we're living in a temporary apt, and it's been...different. you've seen how great our neighborhood is and the apartment itself is nice with hardwood floors, lots of windows and natural light. the downside is it's less than 650 square feet and filled with 95% NOT our things. the apartment has a kitchen, bathroom, 2 bedrooms, and a dining/living room. it's mostly furnished by ikea (which is fine) but on skype my cousin pointed out "it's so...WHITE." we are getting milo soon, so we'll see how long that lasts! (just kidding, management)

fun fact: in reality there are only 13 plastic plants, not a million

paper bicycle daily pattern: triangle

i drew "fashion flags" (as they called it at paper bicycle) for the triangle theme and amped up my love of color for this happy banner pattern!

iva jean rain cape

after living here for over a month now, my biggest tip would be "carry an umbrella AT ALL TIMES." the weather is incredibly unpredictable with showers hitting you out of the blue (literally) on and off throughout the day. i once went into a grocery store for less than 15 minutes and upon exiting had to run home through pouring rain.

we are planning on getting bikes this week (YAY) and how great would it be to have a rain cape like this one to protect you from the elements??? it has so many practical features (TONS of cinching) and looks super cute on too! perfect to wear riding your bike and walking around in this cool fall weather.

good luck to iva jean (and sweet amelia presents :) on daily candy's start small go big--i put in loads of votes for you...fingers crossed!

beaches

i was going through photos (do you notice they multiply the longer you take to organize them?) and found these fun beach ones i took during our west coast trip this summer. since my old roomie and i went on a fantastic trip to santa cruz during college and she currently lives in california (one of my favorite states!) this post is dedicated to her...
happy birthday michie, love ya!