More love and happy thoughts..

I am completely overwhelmed with the love and appreciation

that my dear blog friends around the world keep on giving me!

 via Pink Sherbert

Not only have I made great friends who I chat to daily via the 

blog, email or 'Facebook', but I also receive these flattering and

heart warming awards. Just recently sweet Carole over at the

'Dear Designer' gave me and a few others a 'Happy 101' award.

Carol's blog is full of enthusiasm, colour and great design finds

and I applaud her vast variety of posts and generous image parades.

With a confident hand and great eye she takes her readers from a

killer location, to a brilliant designer, to an interesting artist, to a

fantastic hotel, a celebrity home and many other inspiring sources.

 All above images are from the 'Dear Designer' blog, where you will find the original source & credits.

So when this lovely girl included me amongst her list of 10, I was

very moved, happy & honoured. Thank you again Carole!

 

As you may know, this award calls for the me to introduce

the giver of the 'Happy 101' and link back to their site.

Then I need to share 10 things that make me happy, and 

finally pass on the badge to 10 other blogers of my choice.

My regular readers will remember that I have received this

award before (HERE and HERE) and that with each of these

lovely recognitions I shared 10 things that make me happy.

Though you already know a fair few things about me and

what makes me tick, I will share yet another list with you

as I believe blogging would not be blogging if we didn't

respond to each of these generous gestures of appreciation

by honouring the award & giver in the way it was intended.

So here mes chéries, is an additional 10 of my happy things:

1. Hotel living..

via Hotel Diplomat, Stockholm

I feel very happy and liberated when staying at a (good) hotel,
and you have seen me post several of great ones here on the blog.
Fabulous places that you'll find under the 'heavenly hotels' label.

From the carefree luxury of surrendering to excellent service,

the buzz of a reception area, to the little extra touches of TLC -

it is all great and I feel very relaxed and at home at a fab hotel.

2. Snow..

This picture was shot by my husband whilst we were visiting my hometown over Christmas.
It was very very cold (-22C) and these poor ducks down in the pond didn't have much water
left to stay warm. We went down every day to feed them and also put down branches in the
water to prevent it from freezing. I am glad to hear that most of them survived and are still there.

The anticipation of Winter arriving for real and the first good
snowfall makes me very happy and excited! There is something
magical about the silence that comes with the snow and the
light that it brings to the otherwise dark months of Winter.

3. My husband..

With the risk of making him impossibly cocky now... :)

Marshall, ('The Huz') makes me very very happy! Sure he is
an absolute pain in the ... at times (ha ha!) but this man makes me

laugh like nobody else, loves me like nobody else, and is a good

and kind human being (with the most beautiful eyes in the world)..

I love him deeply, sincerely, honestly and truly. He is my rock!

4. Love

..and whilst on the subject..
In what ever shape or form it comes in, LOVE always makes
me incredibly happy, deeply moved and embarrassingly teary.
Yup, I am 'all velour' and thrive on this the greatest feeling of all!

5. Animals in the wild..

If there is something I really love doing it is spending time in
and around nature. I grew up outside the city, in between a
beautiful lake and a large forest, and feel such a deep affinity
with nature and all the creatures in it. To see animals in their
natural habitat, to watch them interact with each other and to
know they are safe and protected from harm makes me happy!

 via Nick Brandt

There are many talented nature & wildlife photographers out
there, however if you are not familiar with Nick Brandt (UK)
I urge you to jump across to his website via this link. Wow!

6. Trees

 via Interaction Point

Since for ever I have been completely drawn to trees. I find them
incredible in every sense and think there is great wisdom to draw
from them. I'm happy sitting underneath, climbing or hugging trees!

7. Sweden..

How could I not love my beloved birth country!? It is one of the
most beautiful places on Earth and I feel very proud to be Swedish!

From the baron & magestic North to the soft rolling hills & white
ocean beaches in the South this country incredibly diverse and very
very beautiful. I love that we have a reputation for honesty, great
design, genuine traditions, fabulous food, stunning girls and oh so
handsome men! From Abba to Alfred Nobel, to Ingrid Bergman to
Anita Ekberg & Greta Garbo, Pippi Longstocking, the Swedish Chef,
to Carl von Linné, Stieg Larsson, Göran Kropp and many many more,
I am so proud of my birth country and to be Swedish by body and soul!

8. Australia..

A nomadic soul with a huge appetite for life, I left Sweden at the
age of 18. Since then I have lived in England, France, Scotland,
Norway and finally here in Australia. I have travelled all over the
world however can safely say that you will find no country more
magestic, welcoming, and relaxed than Australia. Hippies live in
total harmony with Yuppies, and diverse cultures mix in a healthy
and natural manner making me feel right at home from the start.

This entrepreneurial country is full of opportunities and exciting
developments. A place you absolutely must visit once in your life!

9. Happy feet..

Is there anything better than walking barefoot!? I love the look
and feel of tanned 'Summery' feet with pretty nail varnish.

10. Mail..

via the Storque

Be that in the form of a handwritten letter or card, an email,

a blog post or FB message, I love and appreciate all mail from

my friends and family spread across the lovely world we live in!

*****

I love sharing your links and this time I would like to highlight 

some of the newcomers in my little 'blog family' (see left column).

I have picked the highlighted ones by random by available links.

Their/your loyalty and friendship is the ultimate honour and reward

of blogging to me, and every day I think about how fantastic it is to

meet so many talented, inspired and gorgeous people in 'Blogland'!

I know it sounds corny when expressing my sincere gratefulness in

this manner, but I do mean every word and hope that you can feel it!

Without further ado, here are the wonderful blogs
(in no order what so ever..) I wish to pass the 'Happy 101' to.
Some of you may have received this award before, howver
I hope you share another list of 10 things with us. I for one
can't wait to find out more about your beautiful selves!

VARNISH by Amy

URBAN FARMGIRL by Mary

HAUTE WHIMSY by Jen

ISLAND HOME by Julia

IF THE LAMPSHADE FITS by Raina

BEADBOARD UPCOUNTRY by Maryanne

CAFE CARTOLINA by Fiona

LA BOHEME by Anna

DECOR NATUREL by Anne

TEA WITH MARY by Cath

I saved 'Tea with Mary' to last because she deserves an extra hug
and thank you for posting such a sweet introduction to me on her
lovely blog. Cath, I was really touched by this - thank you again!
To read the post, please click HERE.


Also it is Cath's birthday today, so please stop by to say hi
and wish her a splendid day full of celebrations and fun!

Happy Birthday Cath!


Again, thank you Carole and congratulations to all award nominees!
I look forward to reading your 'Happy 101' lists very soon.

Love to all.

xx Charlotta

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

The gift of self..

I have a couple of special 'THANK YOUs' to two of

the awesome girls I have met through the world of blogs. 

Firstly, dear & gorgeous Lotta Helleberg of 'Inleaf Design'.

Swedish born Lotta is an amazing talent and a lovely friend.

Inspired by her passion for gardening, nature and her seamstress

mother, she works as a textile artist and designer. Her works are

hand-crafted and hand-printed onto natural & organic fabric using

a technique called 'Leaf Printing'. All inks & dyes are water based

and non toxic, and most often Lotta also uses organic and locally

made supplies - all to ensure minimum environmental impact.

Her designs are as beautiful as Lotta herself, and her big heart

shines through in her work that includes a range of items such

as bags, pillows, quilts, purses, textile collages and much more.

I am in awe of this beautiful woman's talent and enjoy following

her life and creative journeys via her blog, and my heart leapt

when the other day I was tagged by Lotta in this posts.

The tag ritual is so much fun, and calls for the selected people to;

1. open their first photo folder on your HD
2. scroll to the tenth picture in this folder
3. post the photo and the story behind it
4. tag 5 more people

So here we go, here is my 'no 10' in my most recent picture folder..

Meet my son Oscar. It is not the best picture of him but it is

indeed the 10th one in the first picture file on our hard drive.

The photo was taken whilst enjoying the second lap of the 

Ferris Wheel at the famous 'Luna Park' amusement park here

in Sydney. Having recently been to Sweden where we had an

early celebration of his birthday and similarly were showered

in presents over Christmas, we felt that a 'fun-filled weekend'

was an appropriate gift for his recent 7th birthday. Oscar quickly

invited his best mate Felix for a seep-over weekend that included
an early evening swim followed by pizza on the beach, breakfast
at his favourite cafe the next morning, followed by a trip
to Luna Park. The latter was an intense but fun 5 hour ordeal that
made us so exhausted that we nearly overslept on the Monday..

See the dimples in his upper lip.. He gets them when he is
particularly pleased or happy with something.. I love them!!

I also love those amazingly blue eyes of his - they are not an

ordinary blue but rather a rare shade of deep blueberry blue.

My husband and I both have green eyes, and nobody in our

immediate family have this particular shade of blue eyes... so

I put it down to having had some serious (!) & consistent

cravings for fresh blueberries whilst pregnant with Oscar!  :)

I love my little man and am so grateful & proud to be his mother! 

 ..and now before I start crying tears only a proud mother can shed

I'd like to ask Monika, Leigh, Maria, Rachel and Donna to share.

Dearest girls, consider yourselves tagged! x

Tusen tack igen Lotta! xx

*****

Now to the amazing Donna, who since 2007 has run a

brilliant blog called 'A Perfect Gray'. Our paths crossed only

recently and I am so glad they did. I read her blog every day

and love her take on design, style and life in general. She not
only writes well, she is warm, funny and has wonderful taste!

A lover of antiques and vintage quirkiness since college, she went

from being a professional antique dealer to collecting for herself.
There are snippets of her home on her blog, and from what I have

seen it is an amazing place full of her creative talent and traces

of the loving family she is part of. So many great things Donna!!

You will LOVE this post about her amazing antique panels with mirrors..

..and this post about the knobs in her kitchen!

..and how clever isn't this!!? Another of her great achievements!

When she is not searching the corners of the world & web for the

one perfect shade of grey wall colour, she cycles, raises money for

 hospice care (care for the terminally ill), creates stunning growth

charts with her son, manages to always stay personal and in touch,

whilst continuing to create post after post of fabulousness on her blog!

Apart from personally not finding David Letterman sexy :), I
pretty much agree with everything else this woman says & does!

Donna knows I love candles and casually mentioned that she'd
be posting a 'candle post' this week.. Little did I know that this
post also included a nomination for a 'Beautiful Blogger' award.

Before I go on to the award I just also want to say thanks to the
woman who inspired Donna to start her blog, Mrs Blandings.
Without her we would not be able to enjoy A Perfect Gray. That
thought scares me so thank you Mrs B - I am so grateful!!
(P.S. Though I am not obsessed, I too love chairs! :) )


So to the award.

As with most of these blog awards this too is designed to bring
bloggers closer and to get to know each other better. And as
Donna so rightly said in her award post "The gift-of-self is the
best gift we can give". So here are some snippets about me..


1. I love candles...

via From The Bottom Of My Ironing Basket

..but you already knew that.
I light them morning and night at our dining table and
can't fully relax without them around the house.


2. I have a thing for sheepskin...
 

Particularly the curly grey ones like these. Photo by Stellan Herner

..and in our house we have a wonderfully thick sheepskin mattress
cover that makes the bed so fantastically cozy and soft. Actually,
even our cat has a sheep skin bed.. Truly! Both kids and I have
Swedish made sheepskin slippers (this despite living in the
country of Ugg boots..). I have a stunning grey sheepskin pillow
from divine Gotland on our sofa, a lovely sheepskin rug
that I use for a number of things pending the season..
I could go on.. you get the picture..  :)


2. I collect Dala Horses..

..since I was little, but the collection slowed down
for a few years until my husband and I decided to buy a
horse each time we visit Sweden. Though this only happens
once a year, at least the herd (or is it harras?) is growing again.


3. I love trees.

 Myong Ho Lee photograph. This is amazing!! 

I find them incredible in every sense and have since forever
loved photographing, painting, drawing, hugging & sitting under
trees every where in the world. I also love my big Birch Tree wall
hanging by Marimekko that I bought on the spot out of a shop
window in Sweden a few years ago. It adorns our stairway.


4. I adore Rodney Smith and find his work brilliant!

 Photo by Rodney Smith

This man is a genius in my book! Not only does he take amazing
pictures (with a conventional SLR!! I.e. not digital!) he also has
a fantastic take on life and expresses this so well in both writing
and in visuals. I have done a couple of posts on him before (1 & 2)
and highly recommend you to visit his site and to follow his blog!


5. I love books...

 'Reading Nest' book holder by David Design


...and bookstores but feel uncomfortable in public libraries.
Have no idea why because any other silent room full
of books and comfy chairs feel like heaven to me..



6. I love to paint.

Most of you will have seen the link to my other blog, and know
that I do art and styling for children. It is something that I started
for real after I had my first child and when I had made the decision
to leave a hectic career in brand-creation and marketing behind to
be a stay-at-home-mother. I have always painted, drawn and created.
It started at childhood and will continue until I die - it is part of me.

Now I would like to pass this award onto the below list of
amazing blogs. They are indeed lovely reads with even
lovelier girls behind their gorgeous blog banners.

I hope they all accept the award and that that we
will be able to enjoy their little 'gifts of self'.

 Belgian Pearls
Compulsively Compiled

Balsamo Antiques

Cafe Cartolina

Moss Eclectic

Blomsterverkstad 

Slumber Designs

The Botton Of My Ironing Basket

Beauty Comma

Linen and Lavender
Rajee Sood 
Malvini Belgium

Big hugs to all of you and thank you for

your amazing blogs and friendships!

*****
Thanks again to Lotta and Donna!

xxCharlotta