No, I am not talking about Swedish crispbread “knaeckebroed” (by the way the ones Swedes prefer to eat nowadays are made the old fashioned way and come in cool  packaging. I have not even seem those versions in the US).

Another thing that a Swede will start missing as soon as she/he leaves motherland is the Wettex sponge cloths. Yep, the ones for the kitchen.

A Swede, Curt Lindquist, developed the iconic Wettex back in 1949 and leave it to the loyal Swedes to still hang on to the brand (now owned by a large German company).

You use them to wipe off your counters, and tables and spills. They are perfect for removing dust, oil, grease and dirt. You use them to clean sinks and dirty boots and everything in between — leaving surfaces dry and streak free. They are the best. I throw mine into either the washing machine or dish washer when they need to be cleaned. (But I avoid using them with raw meat etc.).

And of course they come in all kinds of fun designs. The Wettex cloth needs to look good in that lovely Swedish kitchen!

Happy Easter!

You can even subscribe to these cleaning cloths in Sweden! A set of new, designer ones will appear in the mail box every month.

The Swedes are so attached to their Wettex cloths that they even send them as postcards. Or Holiday cards! (Happy face on the receiving end!).

Ok, this is funny. I just now realize that I know the designer behind so many of these lovely Wettex designs – Anna Agger! She was together with my older brother Erik for years and was part of the family! Hello/hi Anna – I found your images and then I found YOU! What a small world! (Let us know if anyone carries them in the US!) “Bamsekram!”

For the environmentally concious Swedes, using rolls and of rolls of bleached paper towels (and they don’t event do the job) is mind boggling. The Wettex sponge cloths are 100% biogradable.

I found a couple of sources where they sell them in the US. But I aways make sure to bring a few back with me in my suitcase when I come back from Stockholm.

Happy new week friends! (I must have some serious Spring cleaning on my mind).

LAST day to enter the Perfect & Splendid Giveaway! Someone will walk away with a pair of chic Ilse Jacobsen boots from my store. Hop over to my dear friend Donna’s blog, A Perfect Gray, to enter here. Good luck!

Images: No. 1 via Olof Viktors, no. 2 via Ikea, no. 3 via Koolinar no. 4 via Proforma, no. 5 and 7 via Kitch, no. 6 via Pia F Design , no. 8-10 + 12 via Ornahusen, no. 11 via Disktrasa.

Soon it is time to start picking branches in my backyard and bringing a little bit of loveliness inside my home. I love when I feel Spring in the air!

Speaking of branches, last week I was invited to a fun little blog party in Seattle with a few local bloggers.  It was held at the lovely boutique Meadow Boutique on Queen Anne. Lots of fun chatter and good laughs were combined with shopping, drinks and yummy treats.

All the girls were adorbale and so friendly and fun – even though I could be everyone’s Mom. Ha!

I love meeting people in person and my biggest struggle in blog land has always been that I can’t see faces & hear voices! Perhaps meeting these lovely blog ladies on a regular bais will fill that void. A big thank you to Michaela and Maggie for hosting! (Note to Marianne: You are joining me next time!)

Wishing you all a fun & happy weekend.

Monday is the last chance! Don’t forget to enter “A Perfect & Splendid Giveaway” over at the lovely A Perfect Gray. You can win a pair of high-end Ilse Jacobsen boots from my store! Go here!

Images: no. 1 via Eva Lindh, no. 2, 4 and 5 via Perpetually Engaged, no. 3 via The Ravenna Girls.

Something sad happened over at my house. See that antique, Swedish plaque on the wall (ca 1840) which I bought at an auction in Sweden a few years ago? Well, I love it and treasure it. (And you don’t find too many of them anymore – or they will be snapped up quickly).

Right when we are about to leave for our Vancouver trip (a couple of weekends ago), and the kids are all buckled up in the car, my husband hears this BOOM, CRASH and rushes to see what happened just in time to see the cat (Charlie!) jumping off a table where the plaque was temporary leaning against a wall (how stupid can I get?!).

My dear plaque fell down on the hardwood floor — and look at it now!!! Bohoooo! I cried for a second or two until my husband yells “It is just stuff for God’s sake! Let’s go! The kids are waiting in the car!!!” (And off we went, even though I was quiet for the first 30 minutes).

I have no idea if it can be repaired and if it is even worth repairing. But my good friend Katrine knows a really good quality antiques restorer here in Seattle, so we shall see. Though I think I will have to sell quite a few boots in order to afford it…

On a much happier note, I am honored to have been invited over to my lovely blog friend, Jill’s blog , Live Like You, to showcase 10 things that I like about my bedroom. Far from being a fancy and designed room, at least it has a personal stamp on it.

In that post I am showing an art piece created by myself. You might find it completely hideous — doesn’t bother me one bit! Art is (and should be) very personal and this piece is meaningful to me.

Hop over and read the story here. And say hi to the talented Jill who is a fellow Swede on the US west coast. I met her last summer in blog and I so appreciate her friendship and her great style (and blog!). 

And don’t forget to enter “A Perfect & Splendid Giveaway” over at the lovely A Perfect Gray. You can win a pair of high-end Ilse Jacobsen boots from my store! Go here!

Warm hugs to you all.

I am delighted to tell you that today I am announcing the first giveaway from my store, Splendid Willow Avenue. I have teamed up with none other but Donna, with A Perfect Gray. I love that gal and consider her a close friend. (And her blog is so inspirational (and her home too)! A must follow blog, folks!). This will be Donna’s very first blog giveaway and I’m so happy to celebrate with her!

The giveaway is for one (1) pair of high-end Ilse Jacobsen boots (any color, size or model you want) from my store. The tall boots retail for $179 + tax. The giveaway is open for US and Canadian residents only.

Visit my store here.  

I now also carry Gray boots. They are not up on my site yet. Just ask if you are interested.

If you like the giveaway, it would be fun to hear from you. To ENTER the giveaway you must hop on over to the lovely A Perfect Gray. Or enter the Perfect & Splendid Giveaway - here!

The giveaway ends on Monday (midnight), March 14th. The winner will be announced via A Perfect Gray’s Blog and via personal e-mail. I will ship the boots from Seattle.

Good luck to all of you! You might just be the lucky winner!

And congratulations Dear Donna! Your first giveaway! I am so excited for you!

P.S Splendid Willow is now on Facebook. If you want to join the group or just “like” click here or on the Facebook button in the column to the very right.

The room is almost done! I will show you next week. It might not be high design nor super creative but I think it is very fresh and charming for a 3 year old little boy. And hopefully you will like it too.

Just wanted to share that I went with warm white walls and as a contrast I had the ceiling painted in a very soft, pretty light blue/gray. One of my readers actually planted the seed with the support of some of my closest blog friends.

A few weeks ago, I learned from my dear blog friend Laura that there actually is a term for blue ceilings (specifically porch ceilings). I had no idea! I dived into Laura’s educational blog post and this is what she wrote:

The name for the blue of a porch ceiling is “ Haint Blue“. According to Louisiana legend, a “haint” is a spirit or a ghost. The blue paint represents water through which evil spirits cannot pass. Some say a blue porch ceiling helps extend daylight as dusk begins to fall, and others still believe that it helps keep bugs away. When the tradition began, bugs were deterred by the lye in paint – today many theorize that insects do not nest on blue ceilings because they think the blue paint is the sky.

Interesting, right? In many homes of the south the tradition lives on.

And many designers have taken the blue ceiling idea indoors for an extra and unexpected pop of color.

Dear Charlotta sent me this  image. The room wouldn’t even be the same without the blue ceiling.

Admit that it is growing on you!

I don’t mind bringing some of that myth/tradition into William’s bedroom — more for pushing evil spirits away than the bug effect! William’s room already feels like a happy room with real good Karma!

Hope your week is going well.

Warm hugs to you all.

Images via: No. 1 + 2 via Laura Casey Interiors, No. 4 via Willow Decor,  No. 5 + 6 via House Of Turquoise