Rays of sunshine!

What a wonderful treat to be given this award!

It was given to me by lovely Nona over at
'The Spirit of Abundance' and what made
my day was the reason she gave it to me;
(..and 4 other bloggers: Made In Heaven, Aratorp,
Dream House and The Essence of A Good Life..)

"I'm forwarding the Award to these wonderful blogs(ters) as a

THANK YOU & recognition for being a

true source of INSPIRATION to me and to so many others:"

Isn't that lovely!
I can think of no better compliment than to be
told I am a true source of inspiration so someone.
THANK YOU Nona - you made my day!

May I also haste to add that this multi-lingual girl,
runs an lovely & inspiring blog herself.
It has a real Scandinavian feel mixed with New England
influences, with lots of pics that make me miss home
so much it hurts! x :)

Here are some images from her blog..

 Sorry, but had to include this.. The 'outdoor loo' is a real
staple in most Swedish summer cottages..  :)

I hope you will visit her often, and when you do,
feel free to leave comments in Finnish, Swedish,
Dutch or English.. (have I left any languages out ?)

So, with the lovely 'Sunshine Award' in my hand I
would like to take the opportunity to highlight
some blogs that truly inspire me, and that I
hope will bring you the same amount of joy!
(please click on the banners to jump across)


ONE

Not only does this fantastic interior designer/stylist
from sunny California share my deep love for 'greige',
(gray) but she also manages to hit that exact spot of style
that inspires me pretty much every time she posts something.
In the below post (her 100th) about a 1763 sugar factory she said;

"I am just in awe! It is the perfect expression of what
I think Greige is. It is rough, raw, masculine and feminine at
the same time, warm and cool, grey but brown, soft yet industrial.. "

If you like this, you'll LOVE her blog!
 

TWO

Julia's elegant blog always introduces me to the most
inspiring designers, brands and style sources.  She is
truly gifted and I feel like a bright-eyed student in
her company, and find myself leaning in extra close
when reading her posts. I would like her to know what
a great inspiration she is to me and how much I love
reading what she brings to my attention. Truly!

Here are some visual extracts from Julia's blog:

THREE

Jenny's posts are fresh, clean and always stunning!
I love her take on design and style, and continue to
find amazing sources of inspiration and eye candy
over at her brilliant blog. I think you'll love it here!

Here are some of Jenny's brilliant finds:

Need I show you any more..? It is simply fabulous!
I love all of it!

FOUR

'xuse the Swedish pun but this fabulous blog is like a
'smörgåsbord' of treats for the eye and creative self!
Written by Amanda, here in Australia, it spills over with
fresh, yummy and delightful inspiration for ultimate
weekend entertainment - actually entertainment in general.
I have only recently discovered this fresh & enchanting
blog and hope that you will love it as well!

Here are a few very apparent reasons to love 'Weekend Host'..

FIVE

Another delightful blog is 'Brabourne Farm' - I am one of
her 700 devoted followers (!) and nearly fell over when I
noticed she is following my art blog. (thank you Leigh! x)

Leigh's blog is one of my addictions and though I only recently
began commenting I have been reading it for a while and love
her varied and interesting posts. Always inspiring & great!
(..don't forget to pop in to her kitchen blog as well..)

Here is a taste of what this talented style-spotter serves up..

SIX, SEVEN, EIGHT ...
There are SO many talented bloggers out there but
since this award only allows me to nominate five
I will end this award post here.. That said, I will
start to regularly introduce more of my favourite
blogs to you, so that you can share the inspiration.

***********

Thanks again to Nona!

Congratulations to my five nominees!
I hope you will accept the award and that it
highlights how brilliant and inspiring you truly are!

 ***********

Happy new week to all!

xx Charlotta

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