our couch: : before & after

before. in progress & after photos

: : Iz and I spent thanksgiving weekend re-upholstering our couch that we bought for $50 on craigslist. It was custom made in the 70's for the family that we bought it from. we thought it had nice modern, clean lines and decided to re-upholster it ourselves. With no previous experience I thought it would take us weeks. We did it in pretty much 3 days, there were a few final touch ups that had to be made the weekend after, but we are both VERY happy with the result. a little proud even..... we think it came out really nice. *smile*. it used to be in a green/gold tweed fabric, it is now in a natural/off white canvas fabric. it used to be smelly, it now feels clean and fresh!

: : hello : : work has taken over my life at the moment as everything has to get done before the holidays. I apologize for not spending much time here on the blog with all of you . I promise I will be back, we're almost done.... : :
see you in a bit!

pattern inspiration

: : when I'm looking for graphic inspiration I always browse through .print & pattern. This week I'm feeling particularly inspired by these patterns. all can be found on.print & pattern. they've all got elements of traditional folkart, and lots of great details. I am particularly fond of the plate with the curvy, bold pattern.

thanksgiving recap

: : the weekend is almost here again, and I never got a chance to post some photos from our thanksgiving weekend. it was absolutely glorious to have a few days off, with no commitments, no times to keep, just taking the day as it came (maybe that is only a Swedish expression).

we had a delicious dinner on thanksgiving. master chef .iz. cooked up delicious chicken breasts, served over Israeli couscous on a bacon, date puree complimented by a red wine reduction. heavenly. way better than turkey dinner!

A butternut squash, pomegranate, walnut salad was served on the side, together with delicious pumpkin cranberry bread [lena corwin's recipe].

H&M home

: : Swedish fashion giant H&M is releasing a line of home accessories, H&M Home!! I was so excited to hear the news! Apparently it's been in the works for a while, I must have been out of the loop because I didn't know anything about it until my friend .erica. emailed me this weekend and told me that .frida. at .husmusen. had posted the news. Read more about it on .husmusen's blog.

I have no idea what to expect from an H&M home line. Will it be similar to IKEA? and will they sell in the US too?

happy thanksgiving

: : Thanksgiving weekend has officially started. For .Iz. and I it means 4 days off together, nothing big planned, no big family gatherings, just time together at home. We'll attempt to re-upholster our couch [I'll share before and after pics], relax, hike, watch movies....but what we're most excited about is doing a lot of cooking. Thanksgiving is the holiday for enjoying food, but that doesn't mean turkey to us. We've got a lot of recipes on our list, I'd like to make Lena Corwin's delicious pumpkin cranberry bread again, and maybe some new recipes from the Jamie Oliver cookbook I got for my birthday. And the pumpkin gnocchi by .delicious days. sounds original and still appropriate for the season. We will also be testing some new drinks with our meals; caipirinha's are a family favorite, and the christmas caipirinha version in one of Bon Appetite's. latest issues sounds like an delicious variation. Happy eating!!

apoteket's mustard

: : every time I step into the Swedish pharmacy [apoteket] when I'm home, I'm impressed by their organization, layout and packaging graphics. No clutter, everything is simple, clean, easy to understand which creates a sense of calm.

I was not aware that in addition to selling ibuprofen and deodorant they also sell Christmas mustard presented in a package that is in line with the rest of their product offerings. The .apotek. experience is so much the very opposite of the CVS experience in America.

[via .below the clouds.]

{+} my sister got me the mustard for Christmas! Tack söta syster! It tasted delicious with the Christmas ham.