Magical

The first real snow came the other day. I realized that I wrote my last post in october and now suddenly it's snowing... This years has been magical but why does time have to move so quickly? I'm actually living my dream and my loved ones are all well. I feel truly blessed! I hope that you all are fine & that this fall has been as magical for you as it has for me!

Another magical time is of course Christmas. Here's some of my tips if you're looking for some online-inspiration:
Laura Ashley's Christmas booklet
Pottery Barn's Holiday Trim
Shabby chic's vintage holiday

Romantic & recipe

I bought Romantic Homes yesterday and I've enjoyed reading it & just looking at all the beautiful pictures. The theme of this issue was "Get the Cottage Look", which I just couldn't resist. There where also lots of links to several amazing websites. And now I've realized that there are so many things I really need in my home... Like a tea cart, a wicker corner unit, a teapot, a blue rose tray, a teapot charm, an engraved soap in raspberry mint tea, a beach sign (or two perhaps, one for me and one for Julie) & a tea cozy. Well, maybe I don't need them all ;-)

I'm not sure that I should share this recipe with you because it will show what an amateur I am when it comes to baking. But I believe in honesty, so here goes ;-)

Vanilla cupcakes
Servings: 20 according to the recipe but I made 10 really big ones instead (my first mistake was that I forgot that the size of the cupcake in a swedish recipe isn't the same size as my huge cupcake tins).

2 egg
2 dl caster sugar
100 g butter
3 dl wheat flour
1 and ½ tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla sugar
1 dl boiling water (I didn't use the water. Looked through the entire recipe but still missed where it was supposed to go. But the good news is that I found it now, so I'll use it the next time I'm baking these cupcakes).

Preheat the oven to 175 °C (I totally forgot that & I'm sure you'll all remember it but just in case you don't, I wanted to remind you because waiting for the oven to heat up isn't any fun at all)
Beat the eggs and the caster sugar until it's light.
Melt the butter and leave it a while to cool off.
Mix the wheat flour, baking powder and vanilla sugar.
Now pour the melted butter into the egg mixture.
Then add the wheat flour mixture and the boiling water to the egg mixture (remember the water).
Fill the cupcake tins and put them in the oven for 10 - 15 minutes (if you've got those big tins, you might need a few extra minutes).

Lime frosting
100 g cream cheese
1 and ½ tbsp butter
2 dl powdered sugar
Grated zest from 1 lime

The cream cheese and butter should be at room temperature.
Mix the cream cheese, butter and powdered sugar.
Add the lime zest.
Spread the frosting over the cupcakes.

Lots of colour

I've got a thing for porches and outdoor furniture right now. But I guess it comes with the season :-) Even though I prefer white furnitures I still want other colours to go with all the white. And I think the porch or the garden is the perfect place for some bright colours. Some of my favourite colours right now are lime, turquoise, pink & blue.

Here's one of my old photos from Rosendal's garden. Even they like some colour in the garden :-)

Goodbye winter, hello spring

I really like all the different seasons and I do appreciate how they're changing. But honestly, I could easily say goodbye to winter (as well as that nasty cold I got) right now!
Just look at these pretty pictures. Doesn't it look nice?
Pottery Barn's Summer preview
sia's Fresh spring & Happy Summertime
I'm longing for warmer and brighter days.

I'm trying to find a recipe for cupcakes again. I tried a few last year but they were all to sweet for my taste... I would love to get some new ideas if anyone of you have any recipes to share!

I've used this picture with permission from Life's Sweet.

Cottagestyle

Cottage living has a lovely & inspiring photoalbum with lots of photos. I would like to live in a small but comfortable space & I would prefer a cottage instead of a big mansion.

If I would live in a cottage of my own, I would like to live in a pretty little cottage. Imagine a nice hallway to walk in to. A place to sit when you take off your shoes or if you just want to relax a bit after a long walk.
The kitchen is the heart of the home, therefore it would have to be something special. A place to make tea for friends, cook dinner & bake muffins. A breakfast nook where I could enjoy a breakfast in the sunlight on a summers morning or with some candles on the table during the darker months of the year. Of course, a platerack, shelves & some kitchen storage would be needed as well.
If the kitchen is small, a dining area would be a good idea.
After a long day we all need some relaxing. I would like my livingroom to be a comfortable place where I can cuddle up under a blanket and where there's room for my books, my crafting & lots of magazines. Perhaps some extra storage would be needed in the livingroom as well.
A good nights sleep is very important and the bedroom have to be a pretty one.
Other features that would be nice to have is for example a sun porch.

Someday I want to have my own cottage!

Sleepy

I`ve been dreaming about a nice, big bed to snuggle up in with a good book and of course, I had all the time in the world to just relax and enjoy the reading... In my dream that is!
I don`t know why I`ve been so focused on beds, but I guess that happens when you`re so busy that the question "When will I have the time to sleep?" pops into your head more than once during a day...
Wouldn`t it be nice to have a bed with some nice linens like Chocolate and Aqua Bella Notte Linens Bedding or Country cottage Bella Notte Linens?

I really need to slow down now & perhaps then I`ll stop dreaming about sleeping ;-)