Vanquish

So I kind of had a heavy weekend booze-wise, it being Dave’s birthday and all. I was massively hungover yesterday (no surprise), but thought by Monday morning, the fog would have cleared. Uh, no. Still felt like turd this morning. So a shopping lunch was clearly in order. Because in my world, there’s nothing quite like spending money to make yourself feel better. *Gulp*

After perusing the new COS store on Biblioteksgatan and making a pit-stop in Zara (where I NEVER find anything), I remembered that I needed a new fancy candle for the apartment. Hopping over to Byredo, I sniffed all the candles and settled on one of their newest offerings, Vanquish. With top notes of Rose and Green Rose Bud, mid notes of Ginger and Incense and base notes of Cedarwood, Guaiac Wood (?) and Ciste Labdanum (??), it’s a fresh scent for the spring/summer yet still slightly on the musky side. And you know what? It proved to be just the perfect thing to  – ahem – vanquish my lingering hangover. Hardy har har. Plus the packaging is way purrrrrrrrdy.

Moral of the story? If you’re hungover, pretty and possibly overpriced scented candles can work wonders. Ha.

The green light

Somewhat out of the blue yesterday, I got the green light from Dave to purchase the awesome, the beloved, the on-my-wishlist-forever Eames DSW chairs (the ones with the wooden base). We have some lovely Arne Jacobsen Series 7 chairs, but they were pilfered from Dave’s old university cafeteria (hey, we were young and poor back then and they were just stacked up ready to be thrown out… uh, we think) and literally falling apart.

At just over 3000 SEK (about 300 GBP) each new, however, we are not buying them all at once. More like once a month maybe. Or thereabouts. I’m also trawling auction sites for vintage ones, which aren’t necessarily cheaper, but there are some colours they don’t make any more (like a cherry red, which is top of my list). Plus, my understanding is that the materials of vintage ones are different than the brand new chairs and have a nicer patina. Whatever, I’m just giddy at the thought of having the chairs of my dream.

We’ve also agreed to get different colours of chairs because we can’t settle on just one colour and half the fun seems like being able to have different colours in the house anyways. Witness the gorgeous picture above. Woooooooo! What a nice way to end the weekend!

Mag Hag

I love magazines. I’m a Mag Hag, if you will. Hardy-har-har.

To me, print will never die. There is just something heavenly about touching paper, seeing live colours and yes, looking at the ads. I read all the obvious fashion and interior decoration mags (Vogue UK, Vogue US, Elle UK, Elle US, Harper’s Bazaar UK, Elle Decoration UK, Living Etc. are bought pretty much monthly), what I call “current affairs +” (Monocle, Vanity Fair) and sometimes sports (World Soccer mainly). It’s an expensive habit, for sure.

But then there are the more “indie” mags. The papers are nicer, the content less BUY IT NOW OR ELSE! and conceptually much stronger. My favourites at the moment:

Issue 02 out soon! Yay!

This is Issue 10. Number 11 out this week. Perhaps I’ll camp out by my postbox.

“An everyday life interiors magazine.” Issue 06 out ???

There are two problems with all this magazine-buying (besides the expense, of course). 1. Storing them. I’m already running out of creative spaces to stack pile them, at home and at work. 2. Having to recycle years’ worth whenever I’ve had to move country. After living in the UK for six years, I had an impressive stash, but couldn’t bring any of it when we moved to Stockholm. *SOB* And don’t get me started on the 12 YEARS of Vogue US I had at my parents’ house (1989-2001) that was promptly thrown out when I moved out for good. *HYSTERICS*

Alas, I will never stop buying magazines. They are the perfect read when I want to relax, I love the pictures/photographs, I learn umpteen useful and useless things from them and they are a constant source of inspiration. To continue supporting the habit, all I need is continuous income, a bigger apartment with mega-bookshelves (I also have an unhealthy book-buying obsession) and a shipping container on-call if we ever move countries again. Sorted!

Wonderwalls

As the SHOPPING BAN™ successfully enters Day Two, I’ve been avoiding all calls to final sales and instead conjuring up images of our new bathroom. Without really yet knowing what our limits are decorating-wise given we essentially have exposed water pipes snaking down the walls (it’s a Swedish thing and not as bad as it sounds), a girl can dream…

I love wearing prints and patterns, so it’s not a stretch that I also have them in my home. And so it’s really no surprise that I want printed wallpaper in the bathroom. At this point, I should probably specify that it is not a full-on bathroom, but a small room with the toilet and washbasin. We have a separate shower room. Therefore, I wouldn’t have to worry about the moisture and paper combination. Score.

Here are the current frontrunners, in no particular order:

Vivienne Westwood “Squiggle” by Cole & Son

Orla Kiely “Multi-Stem”

Eley Kishimoto “Flash”

I know. They are all pretty… intense. And originally “fashion” prints. I’m sure as I do more research, I’ll come across even more awesome prints, maybe even more intense than these. But the point is that I love the idea of a crazy print in a small place. This was the inspiration picture that started it all:

I dig this Cole & Son “Malabar” wallpaper, too, but we already have it in the living room! (Sorry, I don’t have a credit for the above image, but I think it either came from Domino magazine or The Selby. If anyone knows, wing a message my way.)

Though the SHOPPING BAN™ obviously means no more shoes (*sob*), I like having a new, focused project to tackle (because building the best shoe collection is for life!). And though it will be hard not to buy anything for awhile, we did it saving for our wedding and survived. Hardy har har. Wish me luck.

P.S. The new issue of Lonny is out. Swoon!

This week…

… I’m back in the office. But now that I’ve tasted “working from home”, me and my tracksuit bottoms will be seeing a lot more of each other. Or perhaps I should don a furry suit, like the Chanel one Kristin McMenamy sports above (from Dazed & Confused, August 2010). It looks comfy.

… I will ponder upcoming birthday.

… I had to cancel my hair appointment. Which is kind of a relief because I’m still torn between chopping it off and leaving it long with a fringe. But this now leaves me even more time to obsess. Oops.

… I will continue recovering from the past two wedding weekends. This involves lying down and watching mindless telly.

… I will start a shopping ban. Seriously. We need to renovate the bathroom and all money from this day forward will be going into that. Good thing I’ve bought most of my autumn must-haves. Teehee. Shopping ban does not include travel, tiny things I still need for the house (mainly frames) or beauty products (essentials?). Deep breath. I can do this. Deep breath.

Shit, I’m scared.

Kitsch

Though I studied Italian Renaissance Art all the way up to a half-PhD (long story), when it comes to art for my own home I’m into weird and kitschy. If it includes a incongruous renderings of political tyrants or religious icons, even better. For example, we have a badly painted portrait of Winston Churchill. The painter tried so many times to get the nose right, the layers of all that paint are now cracking. Hilarious in my books.

So imagine my delight when I happened on these re-purposed plates by BeatUpCreations on Etsy. LOVE. Once I can actually whittle the choice down to just one, it will definitely have a place of pride on our walls.

Chair Envy

Egads. I’m speechless. This isn’t a magazine editorial, but someone’s home.

Found here.

A little bird followed me home the other day…

… his name is Paradise Chick and he is part of the Birds by Penttinen collection from Iittala. His chubby body makes me smile every time I walk past.

Sweet Paul

New online magazine alert: Sweet Paul. Based on the popular blog, there are recipes, interiors, entertaining ideas and crafts galore. I am especially enamoured, however, with the styling and photographs. So, so lovely.

You can view Sweet Paul magazine here. Happy reading!

Perfection.

Everything about this picture makes me happy: shoes, organisation, cat and unpretentious drapes that are seemingly tacked into a wooden frame.