keep calm and drink tea

The Mamma isn't all hopeless eh. No, not only did I manage to source frames & print the pictures, I actually hung them too. Woot-de-woot. And yes Husband, I used NAILS not screws, so there. It is a bit of a running joke that only the man in the house does the picture hanging and I have to nag nag nag to get it done when I want it done. Fool that I am, I rather enjoyed it for the first little while, but now being stuck as the incapable wife is annoying. OK, tad dramatic lol, but still, I think you get what I mean ;)

Life still feels a bit in limbo regarding work, which really isnt much fun. The prospect of the next 3-6months with little to no wage on my part feels extremely daunting, but in the long run its something that will be worth it. This time next year I hope to be wondering why I was so very anxious, when I just needed to be a little bit so. But its always easier to be efterklok, hindsight is a wonderful tool, but foresight is where the money is (pardon the unintentional pun). If you could bottle and sell that, boy would you be carefree!

 Enough ramblings, Lily is down for a snooze already so I best take advantage and tidy up the toys and do the morning dishes my dear husband forgot, and then have myself a cuppa and start preparing lunch. An average day all round it would seem <3

monday

Finally, that bulb went <ping> and I knew what I wanted to put up on that boring wall. Some blubblerblies! (M's word for butterflies) I thought it quite fitting really, what with having two woodland pictures already hanging. Plus I have a hankering for a much larger old school wall poster of various butterflies (and one of flowers) but until there are more pennies in my purse to spend on frivilous things (so says the husband) I will have to sort myself out. Which, really is the more fun thing to do -  I can be rather mean with money even if its something I really really want!

There are a couple of more things I need to print off and hang, until I feel ''done'' - but I need to find a printer first. I only managed to do the ones above as I got them onto a memory card and plugged that into the printer and used the touchscreen quick print. For some reason, my parents sh!t hot printer and our laptop dont go. Strange really. I need to print some A4 stuffs not just normal sized photos. Ho hum, I'll be asking around anyways, and maybe by the weekend I will have it all done I hope. I have a little under two weeks until mother in law arrives and it will all be done by then!

Mark decided to build a massive tower yesterday out of M&L's newest toy. Very hard trying to keep them both from succumbing to their urge of kicking the crap out of the tower and cause mass destruction, but we managed it ;) You should have seen the pure joy on Lily's face when she delivered the devastating tap that sent the tower toppling and then the proudest grin ever that followed. Funny little thing =)

Speaking of Lily, I can hear here in her cot which means nap time is over...t'was lovely to get the chance to sit and watch trueblood in peace and drink a cup of tea all alone. Now for some playing and doing the dishes and collecting Maia in an hour....toodles!

friday chillout

Ta da!! the finished frame =) I thought I would like the black in there to add a bit of depth, but infact I think it looks rather naff so I am going to paint those tomorrow haha. Win some, lose some right?! I am loving this mood I am in of doing stuff and getting creative. Feels like another piece of the me puzzle has slipped into place. Bursting with ideas but with too little time and not enough resources. Shame my birthday wasnt that long ago and christmas feels too far away...

Anyhoo, today has been a good day. Chilled out start and ending with a frantic scramble to get dinner on the table and kids into bed as we have been too busy having fun. Paddling in the pool, crawling through tunnels, driving cars and crashing into one another and running like looneys are just a few of the things the kids have been up to. Spending time with the SA's is so easy - the fact our kids are so close in age is just perfect. Makes for easy socialising! Oh, and the fact that they are fun to be with too ;)

Tonight is chilled, Im jumping on the exercise bike in a min and leaving the ironing 'til the morrow. Something I have done for several days now...why cant more house related tasks be fun?? Oh, and I hads me hair done yesterday ( incase you were wondering) and I went dark & I LOVE it. 

                                          

wish list

I have a little wish list of things I would like for the house. Who'd have thought it!?

First off, I would like some morrocan style lamps for the hallways, the one when you first enter la maison a la Wilson and the mini one between the girls bedrooms and the bathrooms. Bit of fun with lighting is always good. Speaking of the mini hall, that's where those wiggly mirrors from Ikea come in. I actually want three, but they come in packs of two, so Ima have to chew that one over for a while as to how many I will actually get. Mirrors + funky lighting = fun little hall for the girls. Also mulling over whether or not to get some wall stickers, like owls and trees, or if I should paint them myself. But I will decide that in due course - cant have too many balls in the air...

Extra seating is always handy, especially around a dining table. Hence the longing for a kitchen sofa. This item may seem a bit odd to you non Swedes out there, but here back in the day, the maid of the house would actually sleep in the sofa. The seat as it were, was really just a lid that flipped up and she could cosy down late at night and not disturb the household, and likewise, get up at sunrise without traipsing up and down stairs making noise. Nifty. Back in the 21st century though (and the latter of the 20th) they are far more streamlined - you may be able to plonk a toddler or two in there for sleepy time if needs must, but otherwise it is just extra storage. Another thing always to come in handy!

That big old standing clock and Karlskrona lounger from Ikea are the more indulgent wishes. Not really needed, but good for my soul. To be perfectly honest, the lounger has to be saved for either a summer house or a house house, when & where there will be space. Likewise the clock, though I have actually got a wall space marked out for it already by  the desk in this apartment. Let's put it this way, should the opportunity arise, I will not be one to walk away.

Now its time to get the sewing machine out and finish the cushion covers. This time, I actually have a NEW machine to work on! Thanks mum. Pictures to come once all is done ;)

one man's rubbish is another's treasure

A sneaky peeky at some of my favourite pre loved items in our house. Of course, the desk and the chest are very highly placed on this prestigious list,  but they have had their own posts and revelled in the glory here and here haha. Cant be favouritising the favourites - talk about opening a can of worms  ;) The most expensive gem is the kitchen light above the table, a whole 300kr, or £27.66 to be precise. Sweet! The rest range from mere 5kr for the mix-matched white flower pots ( 7p maybe??)  to 200kr and come from Returbutiken or random loppis around where live. Things like the big white mirror were free, as was the glass cake stand and the cooker and sink in Maia's room. I rescued those from the end of the drive of a house on the way to my parents as the kids there had out grown playing kitchen. I, or rather mother who was walking with me and had her purse, donated 100kr as it felt wrong to just grab and run.

I am off now to have a cuppa and chill before we head over to the parentals and celebrate daddy dearest's birthday and eat lots of scrummy cake. After two days of rest and cake I am going to have to work that bike hard tonight =D Hope you're all having a good a weekend as we are!

busybodies

Saturday =  weekend = chill out day? No, not at the Wilson's. Ha! Today was a day of  getting some things done.

First up, painting the black chairs white. Normally, they have lovely cream covers on them, but realistically, and practically, they are a sodding nightmare with babies and toddlers and therefore they had to go. By ''go'' I mean neatly folded away in a cupboard ready to be flashed when the mamma and the daddy decide to throw a dinner party. Here's to being posh haha.

 Also, we refurbed  a chest I bought for the girls about 3months ago for 200kr (under £20). The bottom was a bit blah and the wallpaper inside, though lovely, was tatty and old. Good thing Mr. Wilson is handy in a way that would shame Manny! Quick replace of the bottom, padding out the inside and then putting cool new material on the inside. Viola! A true Creation a la Wilson. There's a little teeny thing we need to purchase before this beauty will be allowed in the vicinity of children and be considered safe - such as a safety catch. Guess a trip to town in on the agenda for tomorrow then eh.

something new

A spontaneous trip to Expo, resulted in some pre-planned shopping in the form of new window plants, and  as befits a spontaneous trip, a spontaneous purchase of cushions for le boudoir. Lovely. Now if I didnt have a broken chest of drawers (it has one of those fold down bits on the front that fell off its hinges and hit Maia's ankle, typical!) then the bedroom would be looking rather spiffing I say. If you then look past the ironing that is waiting for me until the evening and the exercise bike. Plus a sewing machine - all temporaries. 

Sometimes I wish I had a fourth bedroom to make into a hobby room/junk room. Where it doesnt matter what it really looks like. Where the exercise bike and sewing machine can gossip idly under layers of fabric, lace and randoms not honored with a proper place, without the organised chaos infringing on the rest of the house. A proper laundry room too, where I have space for washing and drying and keeping clean washing until it is ironed is also on the wish list. Preferably, as we are now speaking in wishes, the room would be divided up. On one side, the laundry bit, and the others a dressing bit, filled with everyone's wardrobes. So that bedrooms stay clothes-clutter free and there isn't too much effort to put the fresh ironed stuff away. Keep on dreaming eh! Well perhaps this is something to keep an eye out for when looking for a house in a few years, or start designing our own dream abode...

I have actually been spending a rather large amount of time day dreaming about having our own house. Something that seems like the ideal in the throes of summer, when patio doors can be left open and the fresh air consume the house. I have an itch to bring in more natural materials here at home, a more rustic charm than the shabby chic that is becoming somewhat tiring and too flouncy. It would be so much more fun and rewarding designing and decorating our own space, being able to bring in what we want and have our own little oasis in the hectic-ness of life as a young family

a new week

So here comes yet another monday, another new week and another countdown until the daddio is off for a couple of days. Yet this time it is different. The daddio is actually off for 3weeks! *jumpsupanddowninexcitement*

Me being the tyrant that I occasionally am (or so my husband would have you believe), have worked my poor man hard this weekend. He's had to put up candle shelves, wall lamps and bunting in the girls room and some mirrors in ours. I made him help me with the sewing machine.Those things and I do not get on! I thought if we borrowed one from the Wattses, that is from the 90's rather than the 50's, the machine and I would get on better. Alas, no, and I fear this sewing machine lark is more about the connection the thing has with its owner, Or anyone else but me. The things conspire and plot my downfall as we speak, and as proof I have a mangled yet still presentable cushion cover nestled in my sofa. The shame. I'm a planner, not a maker. I do things, not make them it seems...

I wasnt all horrid this weekend. Yesterday we went out to a little cafe by the Nydala Lake and had a lovely hour chilling out with the girls who were in good spirits (about the only time yesterday). Unfortunately, miss Maia is just like her mamma, and now has two huge, red, hard lumps on her thighs from mozzybites. We must be very tasty. Like their own personal brand of heroine haha. All joking aside, its a pain in the butt.

50 shades of PINK

When the heck did my house get so pink?!

my house, my home

This little beauty followed me home last week. I found it abandoned, sad and surrounded by ugly commercial desks circa mid 90's. My heart was bleeding- I had to save it! Thanks Returnbutiken for another fabulous find!

After much deliberation, I have decided against painting it white. First off, we already have white walls. The warmth from the wood is a welcomed break in the paleness and I think it may even lose a little of its charm taking it from its original state. Though saying that, with it being white it would give it another charm altogether, but until I am completely 110% sure, I aint doin' nuffin. Plus, we have a drinks cabinet that matches rather lovely with it and makes a mix-matched set. Genius huh.

Today's project is to sand and hopefully start painting our new pre loved dining chairs. Currently black legged and backed, with an oak seat, the plan is to paint what is black white to tie it it with our white dining table. I love pre loved!  I'm all for abit of individuality and character to your furniture and not leaving it to chance that you get a house with some. For me, my  house needs to be cosy, relaxed and an easy place to be with my nearest and dearest. Somewhere that fills me with inspiration and love. Thats what makes this house  my home.

During the renovations

mamma time

I fear my friends, that I have stepped into an alternate reality. You see, I have not one, but two sleeping daughters, at the same time. This hasnt happened this year (I'm 99.9% sure atleast). The fact that Maia has slept 6/7days at lunch is as perplexing to me as the Universe being unending. So used to not gettin that hour...

I realised something this morning too. A sudden, but peaceful and kinda fun thought (fun in the sense of you have to laugh at yourself as you never thought you'd find yourself in such a situation) but I quite like the just before 5am wake up calls with Maia. I mean, its bright outside. We get lots of snuggles just us, I can drink tea in peace, plan the day, and feel like I am being a lazy cow and not just rush rush rushing around to start the day at a sensible time. Only taken 6months! But it makes for easier living I guess when you go with the flow rather than fight the inevitable.

So what then, am I doing? Well, I am taking the time to browse the web, getting inspiration for fixing up things at home, drinking tea and eating a small slice of cake. Perfect. Having spotted some fabulous armchairs for the dining table, I am trying to hunt a pair down second hand online first, as I dont like to just fork out 700kr/each plus 495kr delivery from Ikea. I would rather then wait, until Ikea gets built here in Umeå (give me time to save, rather than just splurge), or I find preloved ones. I must admit, I have a penchant for pre-loved things <3

here chairy chairy chair, come to Mamma! inspiration IKEA

thoughtful thursday

It is all too easy to get lost in thing, big things like woods or little things like thoughts. Though how big a thought really is, is debatable in its own right I think. Well do that one another day.

Right now, I am sat in a typical living room for a family with small children. Its a little messy, this mornings tea cup is still on the coffetable, pillows are strewn around the floor ( Lily seems to deem her toys boring now and cushions are the the thing du jour). Said Lily is napping in her cot, Maia is at nursery and Mark still hasnt come home for his lunch. Prime time to get cracking, make the house sparkle and shine and earn a gold star or two in the Housewife league.  But whatever.

I am sat instead, getting lost in thoughts and daydreams (I havent even made myself a cuppa!?). I'm planning and scheming for what I want to do when we move upstairs to the flat above us now,how to decorate. Dreaming of the sumptious, feminine and undeniably pretty new pillows I want to buy for the sofa (alt sew my own if I can find the fabric). The new candle sticks, fancy bowls for lördags godis, new shelving and wall decorations for the kitchen diner. Rugs, photoframes, wooden letters, plants...the list goes on. Its quite boring really. Unless your me. I want to create a cosy, inviting and fun feeling in our home. Somewhere where our friends like to come because they can chill out too, eat some nice cake and enjoy some tea or coffee.

To sum me up at the moment, I want rustic, romantik and scandinavian vintage chic. Got these images from google, just to kinda give u the feel of what I mean. Though not the most rustic of kinds, but I couldnt find a pic that felt right. Sometimes, I think a picture is about the feeling you get when you see it, not just how its composed and what its showing off. Not just pleasing to the eye, but also the soul. Deep, huh!?
Anyways, best be getting on with things. A quick spruce up before I go and get Maia is a must. Else it will all feel terribly, terribly like a lot of hardwork later ;)

out with the old, in with the new

Here's the latest edition to the Wilson household - an XL sofa! hehe. As you can see, the old one was rather scabby looking come the end. The covers were ill fitting and split at the seams, and we tried patching up, and covering with throws to make it better. But throws arent exactly childfriendly, it looks scruffy the second u sit down and the springs/slats at the bottom were gone.

Now I am just awaiting a new coffee table, same colour but smaller square size to fit in better. Actually wanted  round one, but I cant have it all. It wont mak a difference to life really but it would have been nice...;) Numbero Uno on list of things to do- sew new cushion covers suitable for spring/summer. Flowery, feminine, cosy and inviting colours/patterns I have in mind - to go with the new decor when we get round to moving upstairs to the flat above; hopefully by mid April so we can get organised before sister in law and brood arrive =) I CANNOT WAIT!!

things to do with an old sofa

1. Make a home-sized soft play area, and invite friends over to play. CHECK

2. Build a fort. CHECK

3. Get rid of cushions - .......NOT YET. I will, soon. When I am absolutely sure I cant use them, for lets say new balcony furniture. Y'know, build a frame, get some weatherproof material, cover cushions, paint wood.. et voila! Funky home made outdoor seating.

Or am I being daft? Any other ideas guys? Hate to get rid of perfectly good cushions ;)

itchy fingers

*cough, splutter & wheeze* Welcome to sjukstugan! Where today, nothing much is happening apart from drinking lemsips,taking alvedon and having lots & lots of mys Lilsan and Maisan on the sofa. Thankfully, Maia is at nursery now unil this afternoon so that may give me a chance to perk up a bit. Maia was mucho excited that Grandad turned up today to take her there this morning!

Speaking of Maia, I am chompin at the bitt to get started on doin up her room. There's a bookcase to sand and re paint white, some pictures to be ordered/made/hung up, bunting to be sewn and storage to be re-organised. By which, I mean putting her clothes back into the empty cupboards that are built in, and getting rid of the lovely chest of drawers. Fear not, it is only going into temporary retirement in the basement, until we have need for it else-where. We are blessed for storage in this wonderful  apartment, I just need to learn how to use it better?!

A bit of inspiration for the look I am going for. Girly, but not in your face pinkfluffyprincess, which isnt particulary mine or Maia's style. And think about it, how blimmin brilliant isnt white interiors? You can change the mood of the room simply by changing your accessorising colour, and ANY colour is a go. Because really, beige/cream/magnolia and yellow is a bit blah, but white and yellow is fresh, invigorating and happy. Ifyougetwaddaimean.

Our bedroom is also somewhere in need of some attention. Everything was freshly painted and done up literally weeks before we moved in, and its really only me nit-picking at stuff. Like that I am wantinga bit more depth to the house rather than classic cream/beige. I think neutral is sooooo much more than beige/cream/magnolia.  There's hues of white, grey, blue, lilacs & greens that can all lend themselves to being neutral, fine example from http://www.creativecolorschemes.com/resources/free-color-schemes/images/neutral-color-scheme.png

So for our bedroom I am wanting something along the grey-scale, a touch of shabby chic, hint ikea, and an element of nature. I will be taking two large black and white pictures from the hall and putting them in our bedroom as I have a mini-project for the hall too....In the new year, when I am aiming for this to be done, I shall try and show you guys some before and after pics =)

I think  will also quie like to do a feature of photograph, candles and flowers above the bed, using the picture rails from Ikea, a bit like this :

But on a smaller scale, obviously. Am even toying with the idea of gettin M and K big wooden letters to have on there too. naaaw, how cheesy! <3 I love the picture rails, infact, we are using one for our cookbooks in the kitchen and it looks rather fab, even if  I do say so myself=)

So I think thats about all for now, Lilypops is getting bored in her babygym so I best go get her and have cuddles,and not try and give her my lurgy.

<3 Kim