When You Least Expect It...

not the best picture taken with my IPhone... but at least some natural light!

I have for a long time been looking for a sideboard to go with our dining room furniture, but never found the right size. I wanted one with only two doors, a couple of drawers, not too big and not expensive.

I had more or less given up, but when I went to browse at Homesense on the weekend, there it was! Good sturdy, solid oak. Homsense (or TKMax is another one of these stores) is a great place to browse for unusual items. I believe they buy up leftovers from other stores and sell at heavily reduced prices. Some times I find a lot I could like and some times nothing. But, as it is here today and gone tomorrow and often just a few items of each, you have to buy it when you see it most likely won't be there next time you go.

 

There was a minuscule scratch on the top, so I took courage and haggled and got 10% off! Of course, that scratch is not visible now that I have buffed it up. I am very pleased with all the 'stuff' that now finds it's home inside it!

I have also bought some material with the plan to reupholster the dining room chairs. Think that will wait till it gets a bit warmer and I can work outside in the garden.

 

 Another of my finds, is the metal tray on top of the sideboard, now filled with cones, some cinnamon bark and a candlestick. I bought the tray at a car boot sale once for a 'song', not knowing what metal it was and hoping it would become more silvery when cleaned. It didn't and I still don't know what metal it is, but it works well with the little display on the sideboard.



A Little Gem of a Secret...

picture borrowed from the web

A while ago a friend of mine told me about Fattoria la Vialla.

 

As it is explained on their website "The La Vialla Farm is a family-run agricultural enterprise, one of the oldest and largest organic-biodynamic farms in this little piece of Chianti".

 

picture borrowed from the web

My friend had purchased their products for years and was so thrilled with them, so on her recommendation I ordered a bottle of wine, some pecorino cheese and some olive oil.

  ☺

The products were all amazing - particularly the wine - the Casa Conforto Chianti Superiore D.O.C.G. 2010.

picture borrowed from the web - I see the label says 2008, I have only tried the 2010

To be honest, I am not a big wine drinker. Most of the time I would rather have water, but this wine is really something else. At £6.50 a bottle - including free delivery - you can't argue with that! (You have to order for minimum £75 to get free delivery, but I teamed up with my friend, so no problem reaching £75 between us.) A new case is now in our house and no other wine will do!

♥

To top it all - A few days later I also received in the post a small sample of their new wine as well as a few pieces of biscotti and a mini-bottle of olive oil. I like service like that.

picture borrowed from the web

I don't know if they ship to other countries (other than the UK) and what the customs implications might be, but they are easy to contact via the email found on their website to find out.

 

Apparently, they also have holiday houses for rent on their property.

Perhaps we do another Italian holiday this summer...?

♥

 

PS: I am (unfortunately) not sponsored by Fattoria La Vialla

☺

Slow Start to the New Year... (or perhaps not)

Happy New Year!

I went a bit quiet over the holidays, but I am back again!
Here is a quick summary:

 

We enjoyed lovely, peaceful days over Christmas with loads of seasonal food... and it continued when we went to Norway to celebrate the New Year!
The weather was not the best although we were greeted with a lovely white wintry landscape. Well, that soon turned into pure ice and rain... But never mind, the company was great! A couple of days before New Year's Eve we were invited for pinnekjøtt and on New Year's Eve we were 15 around the table enjoying a gourmet meal cooked by the host's nephew who is a professional chef at a great restaurant in Oslo.

We have been so spoiled!

♥

Marius pattern bedsheets!

I didn't manage much shopping whilst 'home', but I managed to run and get new bedsheets for Our Boy. He was lucky enough to be given a super long down duvet (2.20m) and bedsheets when kind and considerate friends came from Norway earlier in December. At 16 he is 1.85m, so the regular duvets (2.00m) are short for him and you can't get any longer ones here (yes, I have asked!). Talk about happy boy!  'Now I don't have to choose whether to have cold feet or cold shoulders', he says. Oh, the little details that make life comfortable

☺

After we came back to England The Professor and I we went straight to Durham to suss out the town and to start looking for accommodation for him. Early days yet, but we plan to rent something for a while whilst waiting to sell the place in Edinburgh and then buy something new in Durham. I am pleased to say I liked the town very much! Reminds me in many ways of where we live now, but still different. For one thing, Durham has hills.... On a positive note - great for exercise!

Oh, and we managed to see "Life of Pi" at the movies! I had not read the book, but I enjoyed the film!

 

 

So, now back to normal routine!

Work wise, that is...

☺

I end today's post with a picture of my friend's new Jack Russel puppy...

Too cute for words!
 

Hope you are having a good start to the new year!

 

 

 



Country Living Fair 2012

Yesterday I went with my two Welsh friends to the Country Living Magazine's Christmas Fair 2012, in Islington, London. I didn't bring my main camera, so you will have to do with the IPhone pictures.

 

The fair is an annual event, although this was my very first time.

 

It was almost a bit overwhelming, to be frank, but well worth going!

 

So much creativity and inspiration!

 

I didn't buy very much (ok, a few things...), but  I enjoyed even walking around making notes on creative suggestions. Got to love the "Notes" function on the IPhone...

☺

 

I simply loved the fair and I think it will become an annual event for me!

♥

Grumpy Country Bumpkin...?

Just loooove this area of London...

Our Boy and I went to the Norwegian embassy in London yesterday to renew his passport which is due to run out in January. The consulate services and passport office got new locations (still same building) three weeks ago and it is all very smart! Must also say the people there are lovely and very helpful. It was quick and efficient and the new passport will be mailed us when it is ready. Good news is also that the new passport will now be valid for 10 years. No more going to the embassy with him every 3 years...!

 

We also found some time for shopping for the young man.

☺

 But I feel a need to vent:

I am rather annoyed with certain shops. Particularly those where you are met at the door by a bunch of scantily clad overly-excited-super-informal-and-way-too-familiar-for-my-liking young male shop attendants (and some young ladies) dancing away to deafening music (it is IMPOSSIBLE to talk inside the shop), dressed in OPEN SHIRTS and flip flops (hello! it is NOVEMBER!!! - OK, I KNOW it is part of the 'uniform') in premises so dark that you have to feel your way around the room...coming up to within an inch of your personal space and asking whether they can
 

"Help you guys with anything?".

 

It didn't help my mood as we were leaving we were surrounded by chorus of
 

"So nice seeing you guys"

"Thank you guys for shopping with us."

"Hope you guys have a nice day".

"Hope to see you guys again real soon"
 

coming from 10-15 attendants whose job clearly is just to smooch (and annoy) the customers!

 

Nah, it made me really grumpy!

 

This is not the way NORMAL people behave on this island.

I know the brand is not British, but this kind of behaviour really doesn't work here!

It just seems sooooo fake!

 

I grant that the quality of the clothes are good (the jeans Our Boy bought last year still look brand new!), but

 

I do not want more-than-half-my-age-over-the-top-eager-shop-attendants try to make me feel hip and young...

I do not want to be called 'you guys'.

I do not want people to pretend they care about me when I perfectly well know they couldn't care less, except for what is in my wallet!

And I HATE loud music in shops!

I just leave then - I can't think!

 

Don't worry.

I swallowed my annoyance and didn't embarrass my teenage son who did get what he came for.

☺

And on Sunday I am off to London again!

But that will be a different trip!

♥

SWEDISH Shop - I am ALMOST in Heaven!

 

I have mentioned before how the world is getting smaller

- you can ALMOST get anything anywhere!

 

This was again proved when I discovered that my grocery delivery company Ocado now have a Swedish Shop!

♥

So, no need to go to Ikea to indulge my cravings for kaviar, sild, Wasa knekkebrød, leverpostei, falukorv, fiskeboller(!), various cheeses AND grønnsåpe! They even have various forms of old familiar sweets and crips... - even Twist (although I am pretty sure that is originally Norwegian ...!). Actually, I am not too fond of Swedish chocolates and sweets - sweeter than Norwegian treats, I think, but beggars can't be choosers!

☺

No sign of a Norwegian shop, but as I grew up 10 minutes from the Swedish border,

I am almost in heaven!

Victim of Gender Stereotyping...

borrowed from the Internet

A letter arrived yesterday inviting my husband to come and see the new Honda CR-V coming out shortly. Ok, they used the wrong title calling him 'Mr.' while the correct title should be 'Professor' (VERY important these things around here...) and also misspelling our surname, but we are very used to that so I don't get upset about that anymore.

☺

We are not looking for a new car, but the invitation came from the local Honda dealer/garage I had recently taken the car for its annual service to. We used to take the car for service to the garage were we bought it, but this garage is about 45 minutes away from our house. I therefore thought it was much more efficient use of time to use the local Honda dealer's garage instead. The service was efficient and good, so we are good for another year.

 

However, the key fact relating to the letter is that I had booked and taken the car to the service. My husband was not involved in this arrangement at all...

 

But HE is the one that gets the invitation to come and view the new car (in the hope that they can tempt him to buy a new car, obviously)...

 

Now, that is assuming that the decision for a new car lies with a person they have not met nor do they know if he exists... And completely ignoring ME - their actual customer! And I watch Top Gear and everything (Ok, generally forced to when The Professor and Our Boy takes control over the remote...)

 

I would say I am a victim of gender stereotyping here!

 

And besides, how would they know whether he could choose the right colour or not...

?

☺

 

I Am No Expert...

I will say it right away - by no means do I claim to be a coffee expert...

I was over 30 before I started drinking this dark liquid and still today I only drink the milkiest cappucino/latte. Therefore, I never thought it mattered much what type of coffee I drank as half of the drink would be milk...

 

Let me tell you - it matters.

 

While in Venice The Professor and I got hooked on an Italian brand with the very German name Hausbrandt (apparently from Trieste in Italy). It was simply divine... even to my very limited coffee palate. Unfortunately, I don't seem to be able to get Hausbrandt here in the UK (without paying a small fortune in shipping fees). But I have a cunning plan - I am shortly off to Zurich and I hope they might have Hausbrandt in the supermarkets!

 

Oh, and we have got a new coffee machine.

☺

Again, not claiming to know much about these gadgets, we were sold this Delonghi when we were in our favourite department store. As I had a wallet full of gift vouchers, this machine cost me only £10! A bargain, if ever I saw one! I didn't want a machine that only takes one type of pods so we would be bound to buy from only one company. This one takes any brand and you can grind your own beans. I don't have a bean grinder, so I buy ready ground coffee (might be a gadget on the Christmas wish list...?). So, we are busy testing out the types of coffee available here. We have liked "Black & Beyond", and also "Illy". We didn't care much for Costa's ground coffee (too bland). I don't drink more coffee than before (max 1 or 2 cups a day and still with loads of milk), but I do like a good cup of quality coffee...

 

So, I am hoping to serve my dearest a lovely cup of Hausbrandt next week...

 

Any other suggestions out there for good coffee brands?

3 for 1...!

The weekend didnt really start out as planned.

Friday evening I disovered that the toilet in our cloak room/laundry room was leaking water from the water tank into the bowl. I got the lid off the water tank, but couldn't make out what the problem was. This is the most modern toilet in the house and therefore the most 'complicated' one. The old ones on the other floors are easy to figure out what is what and how they work.

My fiddling around made matters worse and soon water was gushing down into the toilet bowl. Here in England the water usage is metered and we pay for the amount we use, so this was NOT good... I ended up having to turn off the watersupply to the house and started to worry about finding a plumber during the weekend.

I could see a hefty bill coming...

Suddenly I started thinking - didn't we have some kind of special insurance policy for the water supply...? I also recalled that the papers for renewing this had come through recently and I had glanced at them thinking this was a waste of money and perhaps I should cancel it. But I never got around to looking at it again and the policy had therefore automatically been renewed.

The papers had not been filed away yet and were still on my desk. I delighted to read that we are covered for such incidences and immediately called the company. They have 24/7/365 cover, and they arranged for a man to be coming out in the morning between 9 am and 1 pm since this was not an emergency. Annoying, but we were not exactly swimming through the house.

Saturday morning a lovely, polite and very charming young man turned up. He fixed the toilet and got in my good books by complementing me on managing to get the lid of the water tank off. It is a little complicated and takes a special technique, but I had actually made a point of seeing how to do this when the toilet was installed.

We got chatting and he noticed that the tap to turn off the main water supply was dripping if it was left fully open, so he proposed to repaire this while he was here.

I then mentioned that I was not happy with the kitchen tap which was 'moving' and I was worried water would get into the counter and destroy it. The lovely young man had a look and decided this also needed repairing and got a new tap from the car (he actually gave me the choice of two) and installed this for me.

And none of this cost me a penny (well, except for the insurance policy I am paying for)!

He said we had the highest coverage possible, so I might as well get my monies worth!

I have to admit my brain was racing - did I not have any other things he could repair while he was in the house...? Alas, no. All my plumbing issues are now resolved and I am a very happy customer who will not hesitate to call them next time I notice some other little niggling issues with the water or taps in the house. And I realised how useful this insurance cover is. All the three jobs today would have cost me a lot more than my insurance premium.

Now all I need is to get a handy man who can do some carpentry and electrical work...!

But the point of all this rambling is -

do YOU know what your insurance policies include and what you are covered for???

No Boundaries...!

As always when I am home in Norway I love roaming the yarn and craft shops. Back in April I bought some yarn for a special crochet project and I was convinced I had bought enough....

Almost needless to say, I hadn't.

I had bought about half of what I need...

I had planned to ask a friend to go and get more yarn and send it to me, but a quick browse on the web led me to this UK shop called Scandinavian Knitting Design.

Lo and behold, they stock the Sandnes Mandarin Petit yarn I needed!

For this project (which I will show you later - it is a surprise for a friend who sometimes reads the blog, so I can't say any more!) I am using completely white yarn, so it shouldn't matter much with the dye number.

Even the price was pretty much the same as what I paid back home.

Delivery was super swift so no delay in the work

This made me happy today!

What has brightened up your day...?

☺

Retro Delight

Many memories are connected to 'things' or brought up by looking at 'things. Like this plate from Stavangerflint in the series Master Chef. My mother used to have this in her cupboard and it just makes me think of my childhood when I see it. After mamma passed away my sister got this plate.

But internet and Ebay is a saviour in many instances.

My delight knew no bounds when I saw this for sale on Ebay and I was quick to snap it up!

Talk about retro delight!

♥

Regular Visitors

picture borrowed from National Trust

The blog fell silent for a few days as we have enjoyed visitors from Norway.

My Faithful Friend who comes over at least once a year (she is far better than me to visit!), arrived on Thursday with Her Lovely Fiancee and Her Delightful Son.

picture or a perfect Napoleon's Cake borrowed from matoppskrift.no

Her Delightful Son turned 11 earlier in the month, so we grabbed the chance for another little birthday celebration for him! He had requested Napoleon's Cake (I will post the recipe some other time) and auntie was happy to oblige and try out a new recipe! :-)

I have no idea what Napoleon had to do with the cake, but despite being a new recipe for me it tasted very nice even if it didn't look as perfect as on the picture above!

Practise makes perfect (maybe)!

As they are regular visitors there are certain things and places they HAVE to see when they are here, but I managed to squeeze in a few new places for them to discover, too.

We watched the Christmas episode of Downton Abbey one evening and then a visit to Wimpole Hall became a must!Despite it being bitterly cold (the humid cold here goes through to your bones!) we enjoyed a good walk and lunch in the cafe.

In the gift shop I found the throw pictured above. It is a super warm woollen grey and white throw which simply 'begged' to come home with us. A snip of a price at £20, I think!

It goes so well with the cushion I knitted and the lovely cushion my friend and her son had jointly made for me!

I will take a picture of it in daylight to do it justice!

Healthy Surprises in a Box

I have previously told you about my shopping secret.

In short - as I hate going grocery shopping, I shop online and have it delivered to our house instead. Ok, it might not happen every week as admittedly sometimes you can get some inspiration when you go to the shops, but most weeks I would rather do something else with my time!

It is a perfect arrangement for me.

They have now introduced a box filled with various seasonal fruit and vegetables. I was initially sceptical to this as I prefer to choose my own combination of fruit and vegetables, but then I was getting bored with my own choices. You get an indication of what they may be including when you place the order, but there might be some changes due to the season.

To be honest, I love this.

This way I am introduced to new vegetables on a regular basis and it 'forces' me to think of new dishes to make to utilise these sometimes to me new vegetables:

Last week in this mix was fresh beetroot which I have only ever eaten pickled and bought in a jar. I made a lovely pan of mixed roasted vegetables with the beetroots (cut in large pieces and sprinkle some olive oil/salt/pepper over beetroots, parsnips, potatoes, garlic, onions, carrots, swedes and roast in the oven for 30-40 minutes till done).

This week the box included fennel which was also a new ingredient to me. I made a lovely fennel soup with cod and shrimp - I found the recipe on Trine's Matblogg. It was lovely and I will definetely make this soup again AND buy more fennel.

Sometimes it is good to be forced to think

'outside the box'...

:-)

Oooooh! So Tempting...

You know how you see on TV all these auctions for antique furniture?

I love those shows!

Despite having lived here for maaaany years I was not aware of any local auction houses.

Well, my colleague changed all that when she introduced me to a local auction house. The great thing is that they have their catalogue online and you can go an browse the items live for a week before the auction. For some items you can bid online, for others you can leave a bid if you can't be there in person on the day.

The auction takes place today and last night we went over to have a look at things as she was looking for a particular item. The item she had seen online didn't turn out so nice 'in real life', but she found some other nice items she put in a bid on.

So exciting! 

I decided not to put in any bids, but rather take some time looking and learning.

According to The (minimalist) Professor, I would need a larger house as well to accommodate any more furniture...

Imagine if this top hat (and leather box) could talk...

I would love to attend an auction, but WORK gets in the way... At least I can see online what the various items went for and learn from that!

... or the tales these three friends could tell!

:-)

Christmas Preparation Success!

I am so happy 

- our Christmas dinner has been secured!

And it isn't even December yet....!

:-) 

I normally go to Norway at some point before Christmas, but this year I won't be going and this would mean that we wold be in 'trouble' regarding our Christmas dinner as I normally bring over the distinctly Norwegian dish of 'pinnekjøtt' (steamed, dried, cured and sometimes smoked ribs of mutton or lamb).

So, we were consoling ourselves to perhaps having (for us) the second best - 'ribbe' (pork belly with the bones) instead...

But in London you find 'everything' under the sun!

I came across the Scandinavian kitchen and they have pinnekjøtt!

And all sorts of Scandinavian foodstuff!

And they sell online and deliver for free (!) which is a blessing since I was planning a trip to London either!

So, we are 'safe'!

Ok, it is even more expensive than in Norway, but as a one off it is acceptable.

I suddenly feel I am so on top of the preparations for Christmas even though little else is in place...!

Better get on with it!

:-)

Night Time Comfort...

picture borrowed from www

I love my bed.

What I love most about it is that it is 1.8 m wide

- plenty of space for two

(or even three when Our Boy was little).

Amazingly enough, it never seems large enough when I sleep alone in it with The Cat. It is incredible how much space such a small animal seems to 'need'...

Anyway, this isn't about The Cat.

I have for many years been honkering after a Tempur mattress. Admittedly, I have never tried a Tempur mattress, but somehow I believe it MUST be great. My plan was to get one if/when we move house. That is still some years away, so when I came across the offer for a mattress topper from Cloud's Memory Foam on a GroupOn offer (73% off!) I took the chance. The topper arrived yesterday and I put on new clean bedsheets.

Don't you just love the feeling of clean bedsheets?!

One of life's little luxeries

:-)

I wouldn't say I slept 'on a cloud', but it was veeery comfortable. Being rather generously endowed from nature's side (sounds better than saying I need to loose some pounds, doesn't it?), I often have aches and pains in my hips and back when I wake up in the morning. I was pleased to note that I had none of that this morning. This is just a mattress topper, so I believe that a real Tempur mattress MUST be even better.

The Professor did not share my enthusiasm.

I had snored.

To my defense - I have a cold.

On the bright side, it probably means he will use another bedroom tonight and I get ALL of this lovely comfort to myself

... unless The Cat decides to stay in and occupy it, too!

HE doesn't mind if I snore!

:-)

Something a Bit Different...?

I came across these purple sheep skin rugs.

Never seen anything like it!

In addition to the normal colors you would expect sheep to have, they come in bright pink, lavender, purple and red!

I have ALWAYS loved purple, but not sure about these...

A New Fad...?

For the first time ever,

I see to my interest that Lakeland is promoting Kransekake Pans ,

appealing to those looking to make something 

"a little bit different to the norm"...

Apparently Kransekake is very

"easy"

to make...

Good luck, I say.

I have in the past had a hard time making them with similar non-stick forms.

I think it is like with sandkake pans - you need well used ones for it to be "easy"!

So, maybe this Christmas I will get it right since my Kransekake pans have had some (rather unsuccessful) use...?

Perhaps Lakeland is hoping Kransekake baking will be the new fad after macarons...?

I have borrowed the picture from Lakeland's website.

And another thing:

Excuse me - where are the bonbons and the flags????

It is not right, just not right...

:-)

Getting Ready

A new school year starts this coming Monday and I spent a good part of today with Our Boy running from shop to shop to kit him out for school. This year is the last year he has to wear the compulsory school uniform and in my naivety I thought perhaps his old school uniform would last another year. However, somehow the blazer and trousers from just 8 weeks ago have mysteriously 'shrunk' in the closet. It was really comical watching him put them on this morning as it looked like they belonged to somebody else! 

There was just no way he could use them any more. 

Amazing how much teenage boys can grow in a summer...

So, like hundreds of other parents (read: mothers) we actually got a new blazer, school trousers and sweaters plus new pens despite finding out that the shop that always carries the uniform has stopped doing it and referred us to their website. Hello! Buying clothes for growing kids involves trying on various sizes! Shopping online only works when you have tried and KNOW for sure which size you need. 

I was not amused and will let the school know as they never informed us about this change! At least not as far as I remember (hmmm... could there be an email I have missed...?).

Pens are always a challenge for Our Boy as he is left handed and most pens will smear as he writes. He has found one type that doesn't and fortunately they were in stock. 

Another tick off the list!

Talking of being left handed: I once read that it is NOT hereditary. 

I wonder about that since we have three generations of left handed men: 

my father-in-law, 

The Professor and 

Our Boy. 

And it is not hereditary...?

The day was a battle, 

hence the illustration (yep, from Monaco) above.

;-)

PS: Just to clarify - nobody got hurt in the 'battle' today and I am still on speaking terms with all the shop assistants...


:-)

Bank Holiday Project: Revamping Garden Furniture and Ikea trip

We are in the midst of yet another Bank Holiday Weekend. 

I am not complaining but I would have liked some more sunshine and less wind! But 21 degrees isn't too bad.

My project for this weekend has been revamping the garden furniture. We have a wooden bench, a chair and a footstool which have all seen better days. But they are all sturdy although weather beaten. I have therefore given them a new lease of life and got some pale jasmin garden furniture paint and I am pleased with the results. The pictures of the bench above were taken a few days apart. 

That lovely afternoon sun is sorely missed today.

But I have not just been painting. I managed to slip in a trip to Ikea today. We are in the middle of two outlets, each about 1 hour away. I went to the one in Milton Keynes. It is a strange place... The town was purpose built in 1967 and reminds me of new estates in the USA. The roads are all wide and it is very green, but to me the place has no soul. On the other hand it has 'thousands' of roundabouts. The challenge is that it looks the same all over and it is so easy to get lost. My SatNav is a necessity in these cases, although I think we need to update it as there are a lot of new road layouts on the way. Most of the time it looked like I was driving in the middle of a field and I could almost hear the lady in the machine getting anxious over this 'reckless' driving...

But I have to say I was sooo good at Ikea and did not go overboard as it is all too easy to do when going to Ikea... The supplies of candles and napkins are now replenished as well as Swedish caviar, crisps, blueberry jam and chocolate plus the odd things I never knew I needed

;-)