Tuesday, February 9, 2010

Utterly spoiled!

The last two months have really been full of lovely
and heart warming gestures from my beloved blog
friends overseas. First my favourite blog sister Monika
over at Splendid Willow gave me an Honest Scrap Award,
(you can read all about it HERE)
then the incredibly sweet Katrina over at 'Kats Cradle'
awarded me not one but two very flattering awards.
(HERE and HERE)

The first is the 'Kreative Blogger Award'


This award calls for me to share 7 truths, however
before I do so I'd like to say THANK YOU Katrina
for your kind nominations and urge everyone to pop
over to her beautiful blog. Katrina has a wonderful
take on life and shares her thoughts in a lovely way.
I am often brought to tears reading her stories and am
very glad that I stumbled across her site a while back.

This is my list of truths..

1. I am scared of worms!

(I was going to post a picture here,
but couldn't bring myself to do it..)

I have always said that I hate things with less that
two or more than four legs, but since living in
Australia for 10 years I have learned to catch fist
sized spiders without batting an eyelid...
Worms though.. iiiih. 
They so totally freak me out!!


2. I am a hoarder

I totally blame the fact that I am an 'expat' and
the fact that I have no continuous home base.. :)
I have my childhood boxed up in a storage room
in one of my father's properties, and my adult
life here in Sydney. Because I have moved around
so much some of my beloved possessions have
become my only constant factor. So my books,
CDs, linen, photographs, old hand written letters etc
are what makes any place in the world 'home' to me...


3.  Water

I am scared of water unless I am completely under
with my whole body and head. Then I feel safe!


4. I can yoddle..

..but try to refrain from this most days! :)


5. I was sick.. 
..very very sick for a few years.
 I eventually got well, but the road to a normal life
was long and hard. After that I never take life for
granted, and I am incredibly happy to be alive and well.



6. I always get lost..

I start off feeling all confident and knowing where I am going,
but then inevitably I loose my sense of direction and ooops...
I have great pictorial memory, but am hopeless with direction..


7. I am drawn to the mountains..


I love the mountains, mountain life and the whole idea
of living in higher altitudes. I love hiking and have skied
since the age of 3, and have a real thing for tall, really tall (!)
mountains like Mount Everest & K2. If I had no children and was
a few years younger I would love to climb one of the 7 highest
summits of the world. It has always appealed to me and I read
all biographies I can on the subject. The latest one 'Dead Lucky',
a book I can highly recommend to you all (xuse the pun..).
It is really quite strange I live in Sydney at sea level..


******************************


This award is lovely and calls the receiver to
list 10 things in life that makes them happy.
I consider myself a happy person and find happiness
in so many aspects of life, but here are a few of them..


1. The laughter of my children..
I am incredibly happy and proud to be a mother
and spend time every day thinking of how very
fortunate I am to have Oscar & Isabella in my life.

 

It is such an honour to be a parent and something
I do not take for granted. Children, all children touch
my heart and their happiness is important to me so
when I hear my own little ones laugh and I know they
are happy and content, my life feels complete & I smile!


2. A freshly made bed..


To sink into a bed that has been done with fresh,
crisp and clean linen. Add a pile of magazines
and a few hours of undisturbed time out...
Heaven!


3. My girl friends..


What and where would I be without my
friends. I love them to death!


4. Fresh flowers & good coffee..


The smell of either/both make me very happy!


5. Paris


I can walk around planlessly for hours in Paris
and feel completely content. In fact the best
thing about this fabulous city is that even when
you get lost you end up somewhere magic.
J'aime Paris!! Truly!


6. The smell of Cinnamon, Lilacs and
freshly baked bread


Cinnamon is one of those nurturing smells. It makes me
think of apple crumble, oat porridge and Christmas...


Lilacs remind me of early summer in Sweden. We had
a few great big bushes of Lilacs in our garden when I
grew up, and I always picked a big bunch of them for my
teacher every end of term before our summer holiday.


I love the smell of fresh bread and I love eating it!!
In fact, give me fresh Pane di Casa, some good
olive oil and salt flakes and I need nothing else..
(oh well, perhaps a bottle of red wine..)


7. Being loved


A typical Taurean I love being told how much I
am loved. With words, with gestures, with little
gifts and with genuine thoughtfulness. I love it,
I need it and it makes me very very happy!


8. Making someone happy



I love making other people happy, be that spoiling a
loved one, surprising my children with a special treat,
buying someone the perfect gift, helping a stranger, being
decent to others and/or being a good & true friend.
This is the ultimate indulgence for me! Giving back!


9. White rooms


Must be the Swedish genes, because white rooms draw
me in every time. Throw in large windows, wooden floors,
tall ceilings and a fire place or two and my life is complete!


10. Dachshunds


These quirky little dogs are just fantastic and I
would love to have one when life allows..
They crack me up every time!

***********************

So there we are - my grateful contribution to Katrina's
super sweet nominations. Thanks once again!

And now I am passing these lovely awards on...
Here is a list of talented, interesting and very deserving
blogger girls from all corners of the world. These ladies
run wonderful blogs and are extremely creative.
I hope they accept and that you my dear readers hop
across to their weblogs and read what they have to say.

Alysia at 'Blue Hour Designs'

Sassa at 'Strömgatan4Inredning'

Ingrid at 'Vita Lente Nel Bel Paese

Josefine at 'Josefine at Home'

Lene at 'The Essense of the Good Life'

Greet at 'Belgian Pearls'

Lise at 'Urban Style Vibes'

Erin at 'Apartment #34'

 Sima at 'SimaGJewelry'

Nameless at 'Lintu Sininen'

Big hugs to all.
xCharlotta

15 comments:

s a n s k u :) said...

i feel so honored to receive an award from you. since i discovered your blog a few days ago, i've been wishing you were my neighbor. :) you just seem like a my kind of a person. so i'm thrilled that you've taken the time to visit my blog too and that you think it's great enough for these awards. tack so mycket!

i was giggling when i read about your fear of worms (sorry). i used to dig for them when i was little and then use them for fishing at our summer cottage. but spiders... eek! i'd die if i had to deal with fist sized spiders. you're very brave in my books to be able to do that.

i love lilacs too. we have them here in canada as well but it's not the same than scandinavian lilacs. weird. :)

love the paris picture! never been there. would love to go one day.

we have gorgeous mountains here in alberta, canada! if you go to my previous blog (www.siennasmommy.blogspot.com) you can see pictures of them. i think they're under labels "vacation/traveling" or "canada". jasper and the surrounding area is so gorgeous!!

anyway, fun to read your lists. i'll try to have time do mine tonight.

ps. lintu sininen = blue bird. it was one of my nicknames as a child. i'm also known as sansku in the blogging world. :)

... said...

Hi Charlotta! Thanks for the award. I'm flattered! I think your blog is just amazing and a great source of inspiration! Let's keep in touch!

Thanks!

Lise M.
Urban Style Vibes

Sassa said...

Hallo Charlotta,
I really thank you for your award. You are one of the people that made me continue with my blog.You inspire me a lot!!!!!
Hope seeing you next year.
With love from Sassa

Apt. #34 said...

Thank you so much for the nom my dear! Greatly appreciate it - and loving your blog.

Cheers,
Erin

LENE said...

Hi Charlotta
Thank you for the wonderful award, I am honored that you choose to give it to me! I have written about it at this link:
http://theessenceofthegoodlife.blogspot.com/2010/01/thanks-for-awards.html
Have a great week!
xx
Lene

Charlotta Ward said...

Hi dearies!
So glad you all accept the noms - I can't wait to read your lists and get to know you better.

Sassa - so happy you continued. Your blog is great. Stick to it girl!!

Lise - yes, absolutely. I'm going nowhere. Loving Urban Style Vibes Read it people!!

Sansku - the spider bravery didn't come quick I tell you. Had spider dreams for the first few years after having moved here from spider-free London..! Then came the kids and my primal 'super mom' instincts took over and I can do just anything to protect my wee ones from the icky creepy crawlies of Australia!
Worms though.. shit (xuse me!) I can barely say the word.. My kids have to rescue me there!

Have a fab week all!

xCharlotta

Splendid Willow said...

Yeah! And of of all the things you listed - I love the pictures of your children the best! How can I not! They are adorable!!!! So sweet and so beautiful and I know they have a great Mama too! Cyber hug, xx Mon

http://www.splendidwillow.com

Charlotta Ward said...

Thank you / tusen tack!
Yes there is nothing more beautiful to me than my little ones! Looking at them makes life complete.

Hoping you are well my dear and that the rain has stopped falling in Seattle!
I can relate to the constant pouring as we have experienced extremely wet weather here in Sydney. The air holds so much humidity now that everything (!) inside out is damp and blah.. Missing Sweden!
xCharlotta

Mochatini said...

really enjoyed reading more about you charlotta. loved the pics. we are all snowed-in here in dc. cant wait for the sun! hope your visit to sweden was great.
ps: i cant post comments unless i use a profile that i dont use. i usually need the name/url option.

Charlotta Ward said...

Manvi - thank you for your sweet words. I enjoyed your 'honest scrap' list too. x

I have read about the storms and hope it is not too bad for you.
Had the same problems in Sweden - though I was one of the few that enjoyed the Winter chaos.. :)

Sydney is hot, heavy and humid - my hair is testament to this.. sigh. It is nice to see the tan return, but otherwise I am a fan of true Winter..

I have changed my setting for comment postings and hope it makes it easier for you. Perhaps use 'open ID' which allows you to post name and url.

Have a beautiful end to the week.

xx Charlotta

manvi@mochatini said...

oh i know what you mean about the hair!! i hate frizz and dc is so humid in the summer. its dreadful outside right now, but at least we didnt lose power like a lot of ppl in dc. thanks for changing the settings for comments. i face this issue with most blogs on blogger or blogspot.

katrina lauren said...

oh charlotta i had so much fun reading this. you are such a beautiful, inpsiring women...and i'm glad to have found you! you have the most beautiful children...they are so so precious! i couldn't agree more with white rooms, fresh bread, getting lost, and the feeling of being loved!
you are loved!
happy weekend....enjoy!
xo.
k

Charlotta Ward said...

Katrina - you are the sweetest thing! Thank you for your truly heart warming comments and once again for the generous awards.

Hope your Valentine's Day is very special and full of love.

xxCharlotta

rob said...

What a fantastically intuitive and inspiration filled blog you write! Thank you for sharing it.

Charlotta Ward said...

Hi Rob and welcome to my blog.
Thanks for your comment and sweet compliment. I hope you continue to stop by and leave feedback.

Have a great week!

xCharlotta

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