Hello my dears and sorry for the lack of frequency here at the moment.. Isabella's asthma has played up again and the past week has been ridden by intense worry as well as night wakes making sure she is ok. A 'silent virus' hit her respiratory system out of nowhere and we ended up in hospital on Friday, and were kept under close watch until her little lungs started responding to the medication again. Since we were released on Saturday I am giving her Ventolin every three hours around the clock. Though it will be a few more days till I breathe a sigh of relief (no pun intended..), Isabella is looking a little better this morning and the wheezing starting to fade a little. Needless to say we are all exhausted and emotional after this ordeal but Isabella has (as always) been an absolute champion through out and I am so proud of my little princess! xxx
My beautiful Isabella in character.. :)
Speaking of princesses.. There is is this other wonderful lady that I love (I know you do too!) and that is Marsha of '
Splendarosa'! She is not only a witty, smart, talented, creative and inspirational woman but also a warm, kind, and caring friend who I value so much. For those of you who read her blog, you will know that Marsha has a way with words that leaves us all spellbound and her flirty, girly, fabulously yummy blog is always such a delight to visit!
Click HERE to jump across to Marsha's lovely blog. You won't regret it!
This multi-talented lady is also a skilled designer and fashion stylist. Her razor sharp eye for style and amazing fashion brings us couture & jewelery treats from all over the world.
I am taking notes.. !!
I have gotten to know Marsha through our blogs and I love that we chit-chat over email across the globe. I often read her posts in the morning (first up). I leave a comment and then scoot off to have a shower. By the time I come back there's an email from her - full of warm energy and genuine friendliness. It's such a nice way to start the day for me.
Thank you for always being there Marsha! xx
The other day when I opened my mail, there was a message from her letting me know that she had nominated me for an award - the '
Super Comments Award' to be precise. And this award comes from
the queen of lovely comments!! What an honour Marsha! I was truly delighted by this! Thank you!! x
As you know, I love awards! I think they are a brilliant way for us 'blog chicas' (and chicos too..!) to share more about ourselves and thus getting to know each other better. What it's really all about, don't you agree!?! This particular blog award asks the receiver to post the 'award icon' on the blog, to thank the person who gave it to you and of course link back to their site.. All of this done, I will dive straight into the core of the award. Namely these 10 questions;
1. Why do you blog?
2. What are your 3 best memories?
3. Name 4 of the best fiction books you've read.
4. What are the 5 best movies ever made?
5. Name 5 things you can't live without.
6. If you could change your name what would it be?
7. Tell us a unique and interesting fact about yourself.
8. What do you love best about yourself?
9. If you had a 'Freaky Friday' experience, who would you change places with?
10. What is the best thing about being a woman?
Marsha's answers were wonderful and I so enjoyed getting to know her better. Please do click
HERE to read her award post and take your time looking through her blog whilst you are there.
Here are my answers..
1. Why do you blog?
The addiction aside..
(oh yes, I know you know what I mean.. :) It all started on a whim after I had been reading a few blogs and thought it would be fun to try. Initially I started a private little blog for my family back in Sweden, then I added a 'work blog' (
HERE) which is more of an 'online gallery' of my artworks after I started getting a lot of orders & requests from overseas Clients. Then came Space for Inspiration.. that came about at a similarly worrying time with Isabella about a year ago. Again she was very very sick and having spent a week in hospital we got back home with strict instructions for how to care for her throughout the night. I couldn't sleep and began blogging as a way to keep myself sane and distracted whilst sitting next to her in bed. It became my lifeline and the friendships I formed along the way quickly become very important to me. Little did I know that there was such a vast community of gorgeous people in this virtual world, and that I some of them would become some of my best friends. I love the connections, the hearing back, the comments, emails and messages. Every day I chat to my special friends and without you guys blogging would be no fun and the purpouse would be lost.. So thank you! xox
2. What are your 3 best memories?
Ok so not counting the births of my children, the first time they told me they loved me (
OMG!), the two times I told my parents they were going to be grand parents, the day I knew I had met the man I wanted to marry, our wedding day, the endless moments of closeness with my family and close friends... It's hard and there is an abundance of amazing and 'best memories' to choose from...
Diving into air filled submarinal caves in the remote island of Linosa, every time I arrive home in Sweden since living abroad, watching the volcano of Stromboli shoot sparks into the air on a clear & perfect night whilst listening to Mozart on a sailing boat, learning to bike ride, perfect powder whilst skiing off-piste for the very first time in Chamonix, delivering a speech to 1500 people at the London Hilton, moving into my very first flat, flying first class to LA from London on my very first photo shoot, climbing a stunning ridge ca 1700meters above seal level in Norway, the smell of freshly baked Swedish cinnemon scrolls, my mother's cooking, swimming with tropical fish & dolphins in Australia, visiting Capri for the first time, graduation night, & receiving a scholarship , para-skiing off a mountain at 1800m, watching the first snow fall of the season, climbing Sydney Harbour bridge, drinking a rare bottle of Fragolino wine in Rome, watching the sunrise from the steps of Sacre Coeur in Paris, my sister's wedding, wrapping a boa around my neck, growing up in Sweden, my first time at the opera, living in London, every Christmas morning, numerous skinny dips in the lake by our former summer house, clearing a grade 5 rapid whilst rafting in the remote North of Sweden, being in love in Paris, staying at a private castle in Switzerland, watching my grand father perform on stage, my first bra, waking up to a perfect morning whilst camping at 1200m in Norway, my first kiss, arrival of Spring after a long Swedish Winter, my first job offer, eating wild strawberries straight from the bush, my first blog comment.. The list goes on and on, but here are three little snippets drawn at random..
The very first time I saw fireflies.. At the time I was in Tuscany, a guest of a fabulous Italian host at a private estate in the divine
Sinalunga, near Siena. It was early evening and we were walking cross the vineyard to have dinner at the restaurant owned by my host. The night was filled with the scent of lavender, lemon trees, rosemary, vines and fireflies.. The whole plantation in front of us was full of swerving fireflies and I had never seen anything so beautiful.. It was like out of a fairytale and all I wanted to do was to dance with them.. Which of course I did! :)
The second memory would be when I passed my driving test.. God knows I had tried several times before I finally succeeded..and when I did I ran home and jumped into my car and drove all the way to Stockholm just to buy an ice cream with my friend Karin.. The roof was down, the wind in our hair, Peter Tosh playing loud on the stereo and I felt so free and independent.. :)
The third would be when I accidentally ran into the arms of Piers Brosnan down on Kings Road in London.. I was coming out of a shop and didn't watch where I was going (
lucky me!) and ended up with my face on his chest.. Though the man is a tad too smooth for my liking, I didn't mind falling into his embrace.. Short of anything clever to say, I asked if I could do it again..
(can you blame me?!?) We both laughed.. :)
3. Name 4 of the best fiction books you've read.
I love love love books (!) and always have a few going at once, but here are four some that I enjoyed very much:
One: The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, by Jean-Dominique Babuy
I know I am cheating here because this is no fiction book at all. In fact it is the French memoir
(Le scaphandre et le papillon) of the late journalist and editor-in-chief for Elle, Jean-Dominique Babuy written by himself after he woke from coma having suffered a severe stroke. Though physically paralyzed with the exception some ability to move his head and eyes (of which the right was sewn up) he was mentally aware and sound (
can you imagine..). He wrote the book using a transcriber that repeated the French alphabet (letters arranged by frequency of use) and that changed letter each time he blinked his left eye lid..! With over 200,000 blinks over 4 hours a day for 10 months the book was completed and became a best seller world wide. Needless to say, this is a story everyone should read and it will give you insights to the life on the other side of 'locked in syndrome'.. Life is precious!
Two: The Artist's Way, by Julia Cameron
A must for all artists and writers, who most likely at one or another time will experience a blockage of the creative mind. This book is an absolute bookshelf staple!
Three: Let me sing you gentle songs (also called 'Astrid and Veronika') by Linda Ohlsson
Linda Ohlsson is Swedish but lives in New Zealand. Interestingly she wrote this book in English first and translated it to Swedish later. It is a beautiful story about friendship and life. I can highly recommend you read this one.
Four: The Millenium triology, by Stieg Larsson
I know I am not alone in loving these books. If you haven't had a chance to read them yet, do! They are brilliant! Also let's hope the Larsson family can resolve their issues and release the fourth book sitting on the late Stieg's hard drive..
4. What are the 5 best movies ever made?
This is SO hard.. I love movies and get so into each and everyone I watch. My husband will testify that every time I watch something I love, I declare that it was the best one I have ever seen.. But here are five (ish) that stand the test of time for me..
One: Il Postino, by Michael Radford
Two: As it is in heaven, by Kay Pollak
Three: As good as it gets, by James L. Brooks
Four: The Godfather triology, by Francis Ford Coppola
Five: Chocolat, by Lasse Hallström
5. Name 5 things you can't live without.
Apart from my family, friends - they are an absolute given.. I'd find it hard to carry on without an abundance of lip balm, hand cream, filtered tap water, fresh air, blueberries, changing seasons, and a readily available modem (
ahem)...
I bless my soul that I live in a time where my modem means I can chat, Skype and generally access my family at any time from anywhere whenever I want. It sure does living in Australia a whole lot easier when my family lives in Sweden.. And blogging of course.. xx What else..? I could not live without genuine kindness, thoughtfulness, love, morale and respect for others as well as the beautiful world we live in. I would also find it hard to exist without paper & pens, colour, good chocolate, the ability to travel, flowers, laughter & humour (mine is very dry..), freedom of choice, education & access to information, and generally just being able to connect and interact with people boundlessly.
6. If you could change your name what would it be?
..I have always wondered what it would be like to be Mrs B. Pitt.. :) No really, I am quite happy with my name as it is now.. Though I remember how I as a young girl once I booked a hotel room (in London) under the name of 'Contessa von Rosen' and felt so fabulous doing it.. and what was even better was that the hotel went along with it.. It was so much fun to be a Contessa for a day..! :)
7. Tell us a unique and interesting fact about yourself.
I hold two university degrees & graduated with straight As and honours only to abandon all that to pursue my dream, did my internship with one of the key organisers of London Fashion Week, have climbed a tall mountain, have para-glided off another very tall mountain, once ran away with the cast of American 'Up With People' in pursuit of becoming an actress, grew up in Sweden but have since lived in six countries, suffer post traumatic shock since nearly 15 years, must read a few pages in a book to be able to sleep, drink at least 2 liters of water a day, get hiccups when I eat lemon muffins, have no sense of direction, am terrified of worms but have kissed a snake, am very intuitive, have skied from France to Italy but forgot to bring my passport (..), can tap dance & yodel, (if allowed to drink enough wine first..), am still best friends with a guy I met at daycare at the age of 3, will always consider Sweden home, have lived at more than 40 addresses around the world.. To mention a few..
8. What do you love best about yourself?
That I am kind and genuine.
9. If you had a 'Freaky Friday' experience, who would you change places with?
Having read this somewhere in the blog world, I would love to swap places with my kids for one day to see the kind of parent I am. What an eye opening and amazing learning experience that would be.
I know I am incredibly fortunate to have been able to carry and give birth to two beautiful children. The ultimate gift of life to me!
10. What is the best thing about being a woman?
Being able to have babies, eat pink cup cakes, paint our nails in pretty colours, being allowed to cry over almost anything, change our hair colour every month of the year without anyone raising an eyebrow, being able to kiss all our friends regardless of their gender without social judgement, have a wardrobe of shoes & handbags, wearing tights, short skirts and sexy lingerie, be allowed to be indecisive, not have to shave our faces every morning, living longer, enjoying 'female intuition', our incredible strength and courage through history, our continuous strive to improve and grow.. and so much more. I wouldn't change it for the world, and thank my lucky star that I am fortunate enough to be born & live in a part of the world where I can take freedom, equality and respect for granted...
Just couldn't resist this one.. Cracks me up.. Found somewhere on Tumblr..
Before I go, I'd like to pass this award onto the following gorgeous girls
who always leave such lovely comments for me:
You girls rock and I can't wait to read your award posts. xx
Last but not least. Marsha, once again, I am so sorry about your friend Lisa. My heart is saddened by your loss and my thoughts & prayers go out to you and her family. Sending you all my love & hugs! xx
xx Charlotta
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