Scandinivian Wedding: Enchanted Castle

The Stockholm wedding photos are here!  We all got our hair done for the wedding off the main square in Landskrona.  They typically don't have large wedding parties at Swedish weddings, so I think it was quite a departure to have so many bridesmaids getting their hair done.  Here is the beautiful bride-to-be getting ready--she totally fits in as a Swede (although it was her groom that is from the area):

The wedding took place at the beautiful Orenas Castle (Orenas Slott).  We all got ready with the bride in her suite and prayed for no rain as the cloudy skies loomed out the window.

Part of the bridesmaids crew

The ceremony took place outdoors and lo and behold the skies cleared.  It took place on a grassy area with stunning backdrops on all sides, overlooking the sea on one end and the castle on the other:

The reception took place upstairs in the ballroom:

It is customary to play wedding games during the reception.

The beautiful couple

And the celebration raged on in to the early morning.

We were up bright and early for the post wedding brunch at Landskrona harbor, overlooking this beautiful view, before heading up to Stockholm and saying farewell to an unforgettable wedding weekend.

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween!  My daughter is dressed as Pippi Longstocking this year inspired by my recent trip to Sweden and nostalgia from my childhood.  I watched every Pippi movie including the Swedish ones that were dubbed in English as a kid.  In Stockholm, I visited Junibacken, which is really a sight for very young children just because I wanted to see Villa Villa Kula (a re-creation of Pippi's house) in person.  I was almost the only one without small children riding the Astrid Lundgren ride except for one other lady who I happened to run in to who was there for the same reason.  I brought home a Pippi book and doll and my daughter is now a fan too!

I decorated our front porch with Pinterest inspired pumpkins.  I have no carving skills  and had some leftover gold spray paint and chalkboard paint from other projects so this worked out perfectly.  Hope everyone is enjoying the holiday!

Pumpkin Patch

Those Swedish wedding photos are coming soon...but first I wanted to document our trip to the pumpkin patch.  It was so fun to take Riley this year, because she really enjoyed it and the precious moments she shared with her friends were so fun to capture:

We are off tomorrow to San Diego, and we hope to squeeze in a day trip to Disneyland as well.  When I come back, wedding and Stocckholm photos are up next!

Scandiniavian Wedding: Landskrona & Ven

After a short train from Copenhagen passing through Malmo we arrived in Landskrona, the hometown of the groom.  By day, it was an idyllic place dotted with colorful cottages, immaculate and colorful landscaping;  cobblestone streets and a small central square that was filled with a market on weekends.  At night, it's a sleepy town: on our walk to the hotel at 9:30 pm all the buildings were empty and dark, and not a soul was on the street. 

Upon arrival at the hotel, we were greeted with this adorable welcome bag filled with things like Swedish candy and also enjoyed a people filled reunion in the lobby.

The beautiful town of Landskrona and a view from outside the restaurant on the harbor:

The next morning we took a ferry ride to Ven, where the bride and groom had gotten engaged, to take a bike ride for the day around the island.

This was the view upon sailing in:

A cafe greeted us when we left the dock:

We hopped on a bike and were off:

Cycling through the countryside, there was farmland on one side and sea views on the other:

Other stops included, lunch by the water, a quaint church upon a hill with this view:

A pouring rain break where I put on a poncho and almost lost everyone, and a whiskey distillery.

We walked around the town of Landskrona upon our return.  Case in point, adorable cottages and perfect landscaping:

There was an open air museum that displayed traditional Swedish homes that were decorated with traditional embroidery and vignettes across from the Landskrona fort:

The Landskrona Fort

A walk around town

That evening was the rehearsal dinner that took place at the groom's home.  Check out the tent and water view from their second story balcony:

We took a small walk over to a neighbor's house to hold the actual wedding rehearsal.  I love what a small knit community they enjoy here: 

Some of the bridesmaids at rehearsal dinner

I know I said I was going to split this up in three parts, but I have to dedicate a whole post to this wedding (and there is still Stockholm to see).  Come back and check it out, because it was a fantasy wedding that included lush scenery and a Swedish castle!

Round Here Lately

Before I continue with my Scandinavian adventure, I thought I would share some house updates, as I like to do from time to time.

We decided to get Riley a play table and chairs since she has shown some interest in coloring.  I had been obsessed with these baby bertoia chairs, which I added to my pinterest board before she was even born.  I decided to save on the table by finding one at Ikea.  I painted the top with chalkboard paint, which serves two purposes.  For one, it is a built in fun activity, and it also hides all the crayon marks that would be all over otherwise.  Once it gets too beat up I can add another coat:

My DIY tabletop

Chairs before I received the cushions

The finished look

I finally added some outdoor furniture to our backyard.  The table and chairs are from World Market, I found my pillows (Trina Turk indoor/outdoor fabric) at this shop on Etsy, and the outdoor drapes are from Serena & Lily.  I also purchased this pendant light, which we haven't gotten around to hanging yet:

While I love the look, I'm not going to lie, nothing in our house has given me a bigger headache than figuring out how to secure the drapes (except for the pesky armadillo that keeps digging up our front yard) #texasproblems.  

For some reason, it never crossed my mind that there may be wind blowing these drapes around when I bought them.  I first had metal rods purchased from a hardware store sewn in to the bottom (the lightweight drape weights would be like putting a feather in the bottom and expecting the drapes not to move.)  It worked as far as not causing the drapes to blow every which way but it kept banging against the side of the brick causing a lot of racket and jolting us awake at night.  Next, we got heavy duty garden stakes and attached sturdy rope to a elastic loop.  This has worked best, but we need a sturdier elastic loop since we've had problems with those breaking as well.  I'm determined to make it work somehow (suggestions welcome!).  

On a much smaller scale, I added these corners to our coffee table after seeing how they could spice up an otherwise boring table after seeing Alex of Things That Sparkle's use them, as pictured on her instagram.  She kindly revealed the resource.

Lastly, we switched out all of our downstairs recessed lighs for LED lights.  It makes a huge difference in terms of how it lights the space as well as being energy effecient.

That's all for our mini projects for now!

Scandinavian Wedding: Copenhagen

There are only so many cobblestone streets, picturesque waterways, colorful old world architecture, and all around beautiful scenery that can fit in one post, so I am splitting up my Scandinavian adventure in to a few parts.  Starting with my first stop: Copenhagen.

Upon dropping off my bags at the central train station, I made it a mission to find a square.  Well not just any square, only one with cobblestone streets and an outdoor cafe would do.  I just wanted to bask in being in Europe again and sip a cafe americano while taking in the view in complete quiet.  Relaxing while drinking a cup of coffee with a toddler is few and far between to begin with, so I couldn't imagine anything better at the moment.  I turned out of the train station and walked down the street to fully realize I was definitely back in Europe when I saw this building (only in Europe is building after building such architectural eye candy):

After a walk down the main shopping street of Strøget, I ended up here:

I couldn't have dreamed up a more perfect location.

(My little spot looking out, aaaaahhh heaven!)

I walked around some more taking in the views and admiring all the bikes--they were everywhere parked on the streets, whizzing by, and leaning up against buildings:

I met up with my friend who had just flown in, and we hopped on a canal tour, taking in the famous sights by boat:

Famous Little Mermaid Statue

We strolled through Nyehaven probably the most recognizable street in Copenhagen:

We sampled Danish hot dogs, pastries, and soft serve, all three an absolute must!  

And then took off to visit the famed hippie part of town: Christiana.  It was a totally different view of Copenhagen, gone were the pristine streets and immaculate Danes pedaling on their bikes switched out for graffitti and stoners. Quite an interesting juxtaposition:

On the way there and back we passed by many furniture and lighting stores, and I got to see the Wegner chairs in a real Danish shop, which was a fun sight:

On the way out, we passed by Tivoli Gardens: 

And off we went to take the train to Sweden...