This year has brought me so much happiness. And made me worry about the future more than ever before. The most beautiful moment that I ever experienced happened on July 3rd. The midwife placed a 4.2 kilo baby in my arms and time stopped for me. He was not a stranger, it felt like I knew him in the exact same way I know myself. The first thing I noticed was his feet which are a mix in between mine and André’s. Everything that happened after they put him in my arms is just a blur. It was like it was just him and me in the room and no one else. Every day that goes by I feel guilty that I did not love him as much yesterday as I do today, you know? Because every minute that I spend with him makes me love him even more.

Having this responsibility to another person is so overwhelming. When I think of everything that could happen to him and around him my stomach flips in a way it never done before. The world we live in has so many challenges ahead and having a vulnerable baby makes this feel much more real. This year was the year of war, angry lying men and hate. I truly hope that this new year is a time when people, like a wise person once said, base their decisions on their hopes, not their fears. I pray that we start to respect and treasure the environment, women, diversity and give the earth the balance it needs. I hope that 2017 is the year when we open our eyes to what is happening but also take action and stand up for what is right. What started as a post about the love of my life has turned into a bit of a manifesto for myself and to make the world a better place for him. My mantra for this year is to hope and not to fear. What is keeping you sane and looking forward to 2017?

I love this fabric radio from VIFA. I already have a super old one that I found at a flea market but if that one breaks I get one of these. I love that it’s covered in fabric rather than all plastic.

Vas, Iittala.
After eight days of the flue I am finally feeling like myself again. We have spent the past few days at André parents house lying infront of the fireplace all day and spending our evenings playing boardgames. In other words, it’s been four days of bliss. The next couple of days we are going to spent most of our time fixing things on the house. I hope to finish painting our bedroom! Other than painting I am going take a long walk tomorrow to find something new to decorate our new vas with.

Baby jeans, Levi’s/Stadsmissionen.
Hope you have had a beautiful Holiday! We are still riding on the Christmas Eve wave still spending all our time eating, playing board games and drinking hot drinks. I only got Dylan one thing this Christmas. Something that I find myself doing when I dress Dylan is that I dress him like a little mini me. Don’t have a clue why? But his wardrobe sort of looks like a smaller version of mine… I was beyond happy since when I found theses miniature Levi’s jeans is a charity thrift shop the other week! Now i just need to find a pair of off white mini Vans for him and we’ll look identical.

Coat, Dagmar. Jeans, Acne studio. Shoes, Vans. Sunglasses, Ray-ban.

Since I am still sick and stuck in my pyjamas I thought I would have a look back at what I was wearing a year ago. A sun-soaked winter day, it feels a million miles away from my sick bed. How I wish the whole family could be hanging out at the beach today in Encinitas! Warm sun on back and the roar of the ocean is the best cure for me.

Sorry for my absence lately, last week was quite intense to say the least. I had a feeling that something was not quite right with Stella and so we went to the doctor and it turned out she needed immediate surgery. That was Wednesday, she is still healing but seems to be getting better slowly. On Friday we will go back to make sure everything is in order and I just cannot wait to get the OK from the vet. Two days after her operation I got a mean flu that is stubbornly hanging on – in other words the last few days have been shit.

Now I am just looking forward to Christmas, lying in front of the fireplace with a cup of tea. On thing I managed to get done this weekend was to ransack our house for possible Christmas tree decorations since I am in not mood to buy any new ones. These prisms I just added a string to and they are ready to go up as soon as we have our tree. Other than that I am thinking Christmas crackers and apples as simple decorations. If you have any tips on easy DIYs for the tree I would be so happy to read them!

All the furniture pieces in the picture are secondhand finds.
If I had to pick one piece of furniture in our home that was my favourite, I would choose this side cabinet any day of the week. I found it in ages ago in a charity shop for only 40 euros. The color was horrible a pinkish/beige/yellow, but for the moment I saw it it was love at first sight. Bringing this elephant-heavy thing home was maybe even more horrible than the color. I painted the sideboard black and instantly all horrors melted away. The only thing I would like to do is something with the little glass “windows” or do you think I should keep them as they are?

I have to say that I have been living in this recycled cashmere sweater all fall and all winter now. I am so grateful that people are staring to recycle fabric as well as anything else that can be recycled. Most stores nowadays even let you leave your old garments for recycling there! So if you have stuff lying around, try to recycle it, it could turn in to a beautiful sweater like this one.

Recycled cashmere sweater from Filippa K.

Last weekend we recorded something I can’t wait to share with you all. We had the camera crews in to shoot a little piece on something that might sound trivial, but is actually pretty important. Hair. Do you ever notice how you feel invincible when you’re fresh from the salon? It might only be follicular, but it’s pretty powerful stuff. Just this morning I was talking to one of my friends about how she cut off all her hair and how amazing it felt, a new start! I would to do the same one day.

When it comes to making a wishlist, this time of year I feel like I have everything I need and more. Many of us are lucky enough to have nearly everything we need, that’s why I think the perfect gift to friends and family is to donate to the UNHCR. The nights are cold for the families in the refugee camps and they need us all to help them, thankfully help is just a click away. Buy the best gift you could ever give here.

Everything is finally staring to find it’s place here in the house. One of the first things we did was to paint the yellowish wooden stairs light grey to create the illusion of a lighter hallway. I am very happy with the result, it looks new again.

The colour is Alfred from Beckers.

We spent last weekend at André’s parents’ house and having a little rummage we found this painting of his home town in the attic. I think it would look perfect in Dylan’s room. Even though I want him to sleep next to me forever, another part of me really can’t wait to get started to decorate.

Today Dylan is five months old! It’s a big milestone, but other than that not much else going on in my life at the moment. Eat, change diapers, feed and then repeat and I have to say I quite like the routine and calm. Sure some days I feel like I am about to climb the walls and go nuts from changing one more diaper. But seeing this little guy discovering the world everyday and trying to understand it is really fascinating. It’s truly beautiful. He might only be five months old but sometimes he gives me a look and it’s a meeting of minds. Sometimes I think he might be an old soul that shakes head at my somewhat clumsy nature. When I look into his eyes I think, I can’t wait to talk with him about why there are any more dinosaurs or where thoughts come from.

I am trying a new thing on for size at the moment. Every day I’m trying to think of something I am grateful for. Today it’s that I found these pictures on my camera, I am so happy that Andre’s parents have a dog one can dance with. Dog-love abounds, our dog Stella makes me so happy and it’s another thing I am grateful for. When Stella and him walk next to each other they are quite a sight. They look like more like a pig and a wolf than two dogs. And what more could a girl ask for?

Thinking twice before buying new is a lot kinder to the environment and it’s a rule that I try to stick to at home. All furniture gets the same treatment, how can I give it a new lease of life? Moving house is stressful enough without having to hunt – and pay for! – a new bed, table or sofa.

Promising to make your sofa look like something from an interiors magazine, Bemz offer over 250 different fabrics to revamp even the most tired of old Ikea chairs and sofas.

Their Respect collection is made from recycled cotton which makes it all even more eco-friendly. I ummed and ahhed over the 17 colourways in this sustainable fabric but in the end I went for a super tasteful Melange Silver Grey. All the covers are machine washable – hello and goodbye baby puke – so even if you pick the colour of your dreams you can guarantee it’ll stay looking fresh.

The sofa before changing cover.

This is the Lunda Melange Silver Grey from Bemz Respect collection.

I for one am loving the new look, so does Stella the dog – even though she doesn’t look it!

You can buy the sofa in the pictures here!

This hemp star called out to me and I couldn’t help myself, I’m obsessed with anything made of linen or hemp. You know how I said I was not much for Christmas decorations these days? Scratch that! Right now I am sort of living through Dylan and so I want his first Christmas to be special, I want the house to live and breathe the festive spirit! Tomorrow I am going on a vintage hunt to try and find some more decorations – praying to find more hemp – and if that fails we’ll just try and make our own.