Say Le Corbusier and all I can think of are his classic armchairs which I have been wanting for years (no decades!). I am specifically talking about the LC2 Petit Leather Armchair.

Talk about a classic of the classics. The Petit Armchair was designed by Le Corbusier (his real name is actually Charles-Edouard Jeanneret) in 1928 as a modernist response to the traditional club chair. It is part of the permanent design collection of the Museum of Modern Art.

I have a hard time justifying the price of $4000+/each at the moment (and I do not want a reproduction). But one day. One day these beauties will move in with us. They are not only wickedly handsome, they are also very comfortable.

I have always liked the classic dark brown and cognac colors.

But am I the only one who did not know that they also come in vibrant colors? All news to me.

I saw this living room in the July issue of Homes & Gardens and almost flipped. LC2 chairs in orange with black steel frames!!!

I love this entire room. Fresh, comfortable and interesting. I also love rust/orange as an accent color. I use it quite a bit at my own house. I am  just missing one (max two) antiques for added warmth.

My beloved antique chess table (ca 1830) which I bought at a small castle in the southern parts of Sweden would fit right in. It fits in any kind of room (and nope, I am not selling it!) — traditional or modern.

True design classics never go out of style.

Hope you are enjoying the summer! We have more or less moved outside. My vitamin D-levels sometimes tend to be alarmingly low — I am really making up for it now!

Happy week!

Images: No. 1 via World Stop Brands, no. 2 via Dannmihalake, no. 3 via Nordiska Galleriet, no. 4 via Casa Sugar, no. 5 via Splendid Willow.

In Stockholm (on Djurgården) there is a most beautiful place called Rosendal’s Trädgårdar (Gardens) which I used to visit regularly. It is heavenly. An oasis in the middle of the city.

Originally dedicated as an open garden with the main purpose of presenting organic garden cultivation to the general public, it has has over the years, grown to  include plant shops and a fabulous cafe and bread shop.

In 1878, the garden had 23,000 pot-plants of 1,000 varieties, 235,000 saplings in the tree nursery stock, plus 400 fruit-trees of many different kinds (some hundred of which still remain today in Rosendal’s orchard).

It is a wonderful and peaceful setting and you will find quite a few well known actors from the Swedish Royal Theater walking underneath the old apple trees, practicing their lines.If I was to take a bit (even the tiniest slice) of Rosendal’s Trädgårdar from my memories and compact that into something I could bring to my own home, it would look like this.

A simple, small, quiet greenhouse filled with easy-to-care-for plants (which in my case would mean cactuses but a girl can learn, right?) and a huge cozy factor. A couple of apple trees outside and that would be my own, private Rosendal’s Gardens in my backyard. One day, one day…

Can you tell that I am spending a lot of time outside lately? Summer is in full swing and we are enjoying every bit of it!

I would like to say hello and welcome to all my new blog subscribers! You have grown to quite a large group. What an honor to be popping up on your screens. I am hugging you all.

Happy weekend!

Images: 1, 4 & 5 via Rosendal’s Gardens, 2 via  Marriie, 3 via Maddelicious, 6 via Scorpiousbeat, 7 via Skona Hem.

This weekend I was shopping for some extra chairs for our outdoor patio at Pier 1 and I ended up staring at some glass rings at the counter. I admit I like good quality jewelry and I would rather wear nothing at all than some cheap and mass produced, but some of these rings were really beautiful, chunky and fun.  Glass is such a  lovely material. I think over-sized, bohemian rings are perfect for all those summer parties. And they were on sale for, hold on to your hats, under $4!

I got one with a Emilo Pucci (The Lord of bright colors) inspired pattern and I love it! Who knew that a $4 dollar ring could make me so happy! I will be wearing it a lot this summer.

And if I was as super model, I would have been wearing these sexy lace-up boots to a party, without any hesitation along with the dress too. (Too bad I am a short, petite thing with soccer calves…) The designs are also by Emilo Pucci (the business is now run by Emilio Puccis’s daughter — and I absolutely love so many of their collections).

I have also been eyeing the fabulous Hunter’s Dominica Flats. (Thank you Jenny for the inspiration!). And yesterday bought myself two pairs — white and black. They normally retail for $180/pair but several stores like Nordstrom and Pipelime now have great summer sales were they are 50% off. These flats are so comfortable and city chic. (Nappa leather upper/leather lining/rubber sole).

(But as far as rainboots go the best maker of high quality rainboot is still Ilse Jacobsen — hands down. I am so proud to be representing that fabulous brand in my store Splendid Willow Avenue, which right now is undergoing some changes. You will see very soon!).

Through a gift (or rather a giveway) is how I met Marianne with Style For Living. She won my giveaway back in December. She e-mailed me her address and would you believe that the girl lives literally around the corner from me - like 15 minutes away! Scramble, scramble, a coffee get-together was quickly set up and we hit it off right away! I am so incredibly happy to have met her. Blogging can get lonely at times and it is sometimes hard for me who is a social type. What keeps me going are virtual connections like this which blossom into good friendships also in the real world. How wonderful it is to be able to call Marianne and just say “up for a drink tomorrow evening”? We have the best time when we get together! We like similar things, are very supportive of each others ideas and we laugh a lot together! How lucky am I!

Today you will find me over at her lovely blog taking part of her ABCs of her blog friends. If you are interested, you will learn a little bit more about me (yep, all the way from A to Z!). But more importantly you will meet Marianne. Hop over and visit here. And say hi from me!

Warm hugs to everyone!

Images: no. 1 via Portero, no. 2 via Splendid Willow, no. 3 via The November Girl and last image via Style For Living.

Last weekend I went to spend some quality time with my dear sister-friend Kendra. Kendra and got to know each other when we both lived in LA and became part of the best little Moms’ group together with the “The Beautiful” – Krissy, Christy, Tracy, Holly and Katie. That was 9 years ago and after that several of us re-located (but the bond is still strong). Kendra moved to Portland with her family and every year our families try to spend New Year’s together. This past December however, out of the blue, Kendra was diagnosed with stage 3 colon cancer. What, wait, Kendra!!!?? The most happy, healthy and fit lady I know. How could that even be????

Kendra knew something was wrong. But the doctors did not believe her. She is young and very healthy and doesn’t fit the picture. After talking with several doctors Kendra put her foot down and demanded a colonoscopy. And sure enough. There it was. An ugly disease. We were all in total chock.

Kendra has since undergone tough chemo treatments and on June 24 (on my visit) she graduated. My beautiful friend took that disease and mushed it at its core. And now it is all gone. Kendra is cancer free! With the best attitude and tons of great determination and some serious focus on herself and her body, she is now moving forward with a big smile on her face. Words can’t even describe how proud of her I am. This girl has my absolute fullest admiration. I love her to pieces.

We had the best weekend together. We laughed a lot and talked about everything under the sun. Of course a lot of conversations had to do with big life questions and about what really matters. It was a weekend of celebration, inspiration, and a big dose of reality.

“You have to be really kind to your body”, Kendra told me. As an accomplished physical therapist Kendra forced me to be more respectful of my body. One thing she noticed was my slouched back. I call it my “blog posture”. It is bad. I walk like a hunched over old lady nowadays. Kendra shared all kinds of tricks from the book on how to strengthen my back muscles and get the posture back but nothing really grabbed me until she showed me the airplane trick. And now, every morning, I put my arms straight out, tighten the muscles in the back (really tight) and make slow arm circles (1oo back and 100 forward like back strokes). I have already noticed a difference. I stand up straighter!  I call it “Flying high with Kendra” and I think of her every morning and hear her telling me to take better care of myself and to count my blessings.

On my last day in Portland, Kendra and her family drove me to the train station. I don’t know if we had miscalculated the time or if it was all because of that Starbuck’s coffee I had to have before I got to the station but when we got there the train (My train!) was getting ready to leave. Not one single person was left on the platform, not a train staff member in sight, the whistle was blowing and the cars were starting to move. “What do I do!!?”, I scream. “Push the button!, Kendra’s husband Rick hollers, which I do and one door opens. While the train is moving, I reach for a long handle along the wall and swing myself up on the train. Rick gallops alongside the train and throws, with a might heave, my duffel bag in through the door opening where I am standing while Kendra runs even faster alongside the moving train. It was like a scene from a movie. 

“You are brave!”, Kendra shouts. No, you are my dear friend. And this image will be forever etched in my memory of Kendra running fast in the sunshine on an empty train station platform with the wind blowing her hair and laughing hard all the way.

A few weeks ago my dear blog friend Michele with Hello Lovely Inc. asked me if she could interview me for her fabulous series An Inspired Life. At first I hesitated, I told her I am not not sure I have much to contribute. But she convinced me and today you can read our little conversation on her blog. I feel very honored.

Michele is another wonderful person in blog land who I feel so blessed to have met (and would love to meet in real life one day). Not only is she very talented, creative and inspirational (and an excellent writer). But she is also a very wise and calm person (and she is quite witty!). Her blog is nothing frou-frou. It is just genuine and lovely and I so enjoy visiting because of its great vibe. Her images are very inspirational (she has a great design eye) and I love how I feel very time I leave her blog — calm, inspired and very content.

I encourage you to visit her blog Hello Lovely Inc. If you want to read her interview with me – go here.

The sun is shining and I am ready to celebrate a long and lovely weekend with family and friends. Happy 4th to all my American friends! Don’t forget to count all your many blessings.

Images; No. 1 via Melissa Loves, no. 2 via Splendid Willow, no. 3 via Popular Mechanics, no. 4 via Kulpreeth, no 5 + 6 via Hello Lovely Inc.