Feeling the love. xx

I started blogging back in June 2007 via 'the Ward World' as an attempt to keep my Swedish family up-to-date with our life here in Sydney. This is a personal and private blog full of pictures and tales of our daily life and adventures.

 NYE 2008-09 Sydney

  Isabella making traditional Swedish cinnamon scrolls - oh yum!

Oscar's Pirate party - including handsome husband as Captain!

Isabella's birthday 2008

The morning of Oscar's very first school day, and generally how they are with each other. I feel so blessed!

It is fun and rewarding to write for my family as I know it shortens the distance between Sweden and Sydney.

Then I started a blog for my work as a means to get some online presence for my overseas art clients. A virtual gallery that over time has grown to contain a fair few pieces of art.

Though this is not a 'chatty' blog, it has attracted a modest group of followers and I get spontaneous feedback and sweet comments now and then. Something I love and appreciate! xx

Last came 'Space for Inspiration' - this little corner here where I allow myself to skip around the fantastic and abundant meadows of the World Wide Web. A weblog so free and open that it has taken me places I never knew existed, taught me so much and allowed me to speak to people of amazing creative minds - you!

I created this with some of your banners - not everyone I love can fit here!

In contrast to many of you, I had no master-plan behind this blog.  Instead it started as a recreational thing at the same time as my daughter Isabella fell seriously ill. Her asthma was so bad that I was unable to sleep, either out of worry or out of the need to distribute medication every three to four hours around the clock.

The blog gave me a much needed distraction. It kept me awake when I needed to be, and preoccupied when I was so tense and worried I couldn't sleep at all. That all begun back in August of last year, and that is when this little blog was born. I would like you all to know that without your amazing blogs and this space I would not have been able to get through the past 8 months!

In the few months that I have been here I have met some truly amazing people that have and continue to inspire me so much! The blog has gone from being 'a distraction' to becoming a real part of my life. Seriously, it adds so much and that is thanks to the wonderful people that I have met and gotten to know here. Your support, comments and friendships mean the world to me!

In the last couple of weeks two of the fantastic girls I have met here gave me awards. They are both wonderful and I would like to introduce them and their lovely blogs.

1. The beautiful and wonderful Catherine Hopkins of

 Click on the link to go to The Shiny Pebble.

 Catherine's blog is such a refreshing wind of honesty, warmth and enthusiasm. The more I learn about this girl the more I love her - she is funny, intelligent, alert and always genuine.

Catherine and I found each other despite the vast distance and time difference between Australia and Texas. Needless to say this is the beauty of blogging - it has no limits, but we started chatting via email in 'real time'!! Crazy I know, because we'd both be sitting at our computers in odd hours of the day/night having long and meaningful conversations about many things. Together we came up with a concept of 'virtual makeovers'. A really fun series of guest blogs that have just kicked off over at 'The Shiny Pebble' - if you haven't had a chance to look, please do so soon. This one will be great and also give you a chance to see many talented bloggers share their take on style  through the quest of redesigning Catherine's diningroom.

Catherine's 'French Quarter' inspired house needs nothing, but as the generous and fun spirited person she is, she has put her beautiful home on display for everyone to see & work with. I love that about her - she is a rare & wonderful catch people!

So a couple of weeks ago, Catherine gave me this award.

"This award means you're really going places, Baby.  

You'll still be blogging about your great adventures 10 years from now, 

and I'll still be reading them."

Like Catherine I love awards, I see them as part reassurance and part honour in what I do here. I love how they are designed to connect bloggers and to encourage sharing on a personal level. THANK YOU lovely Catherine for this!!

Contrary to other awards this one does not have a call-to-action, other than to pass it onto three others that you particularly like.

Though there are many that I love, I want to express my love, appreciation and admiration of these three:

Manvi at 'Mochatini' because she is really going places! She is a dear friend, one of those I hold very close to my heart, and she is extremely talented! Her styling, photography and general take on style and design continue to inspire me. Her talents will for sure take her very far - she is a super star! (I really didn't mean to rhyme there.. )

Monika at 'Splendid Willow' because I love her! This woman who I have never met, I felt an instant affinity with. She is Swedish like me, but that is not why I think she is so magnificent. Not only is she incredibly warm & genuine, but she has one of the best design eyes I have ever met. Her style never fails and she teaches me things about design every time I read her posts. Her blog is a means to a goal and one that I am absolutely certain she will reach - and exceed! Monika shines!

Donna at 'A Perfect Gray' because she too holds all the qualities that makes me certain that she is going places that I can only ever dream of. Her fantastic blog is tinted grey, with bursts of colour from time to time. She, like these other girls has an amazing eye for stunning and inspiring design and decor. This woman rocks!

Manvi, Mon and Donna - you are definitely going places babies!! Thank you for being such great friends!

2. Then, and as if Catherine's nomination was not enough I also received a 'Happy 101' award by Sheila over at 'A Punch of Color'.

Her reason for giving it to me was because I 'make her smile'. How great a compliment isn't that - I love that I can make you smile Sheila and thank you for letting me know! It means a lot!

As the blog title suggests, her blog bursts with colour and energy, as well as fantastic images of yummy places and design. She also has a way of writing that makes me happy and at ease. It is so easy to like Sheila and I hope you will enjoy her blog as much as I do.

So, this award calls for me to share 10 things that make me happy. I have already done this once (HERE) however as I do think that these awards are all about continuing to share I will add another ten things that make me very happy in life.. In no particular order;

1. As a mother I am happy (read ecstatic!) 'when things work'. You know, a tear free daycare drop-off, all eaten meals, matching socks, brushed teeth and generally all those little things that can make or break a day for a parent. Happy kids. Thrilled mother!

2. Thin, crispy Swedish waffles served straight off the iron with whipped cream and home made Cloudberry jam! Swedes love their waffles!! In fact we have even invented an annual 'Waffle Day' on the 25th March. Fabulous right!?

3. Maintaining rituals and traditions from childhood make me very happy, and I love that these can evoke that exact same feeling I had when I was a little girl in Sweden.

4. Despite cursing the sun many times during the Aussie summer, sunshine makes me happy & bright! Perhaps (read 'of course') it is my Swedish genes that make me worship the sun. The light and energy are heaven!

5. Pretty much all types of babies make me happy. Human or animal ones alike. All are fantastic!

6. We all know how addictive and rewarding blogging is. It makes me happy to have this space, and more importantly to have you all in it. You all make me very happy!

7. Mountains! I have skied down them, para glided off them, hiked up them and generally enjoyed all kinds of mountains since I was very young. They make me inexplicably  and genuinely happy!

8. I am a huge äChristmas personä and am unstoppably happy at that time of the year. Spiritual or commercial; I love all aspects of this holiday!

9. I am a great believer in being a good person. You know, someone who genuinely cares and thrives on feeling responsible for the world and all living creatures in it - including the self. Stefan Einhorn, a great  Swedish author writes so well about this. It makes me happy to be good and to help others, and to see others do the same without calculated selfishness. Every year there is a wonderful event in Sweden called 'Hjälte Galan' - it is a live show built around the concept of finding and highlighting 'everyday heroes' who in one or another way make a tangible difference in the world of another person or group of people. They do this either as a way of life or as a spontaneous act. Not one eye is dry when this show is aired and the world feels full of hope and light. This extraordinary spirit makes me so happy!

10. Last but not least. I am the happiest when I am close to nature. Walking in the woods, hiking a mountain, watching the sun rise or set over the ocean, living the change of the seasons, walking barefoot - all of this makes me very happy and peaceful.

Sorry for the lack of pictures in my list, but this post is already so long that I didn't want to add more bulk.

Ok before I publish this, I would like to nominate this award to everyone who reads this post & leaves a comment. By doing so you automatically receive the award. Happy 101 lovelies!!

Thank you again Sheila and Catherine!

xx Charlotta