I'm an ALIEN!

Dear diary,

The more it goes, the more it is clear to me....

I, Linda Andersson, am an ALIEN!

(at least in this country)!

Before moving here, I thought to myself "We can't be THAT different?!"...well I was wrong!

OK, first of all - I am in most ways to blame for this, after all, I am the one who chose to move here and in all honesty, I haven't tried so hard to learn the language...or change my ways to fit it. Also, I just figured I'll get by on the little German I already knew and on top of this, I've taken another 10-15 lessons.

I have plenty of proof of my Alien-hood (Alien-ness?), but here are 3 clear examples:

1. A few weeks ago, I was at Coop buying groceries... Since I am lactose-intolerant - I wanted to ask the sales clerk if they had any lactose-free ice cream.

Well.....I made the most terrible mistake ever! I started asking in English.

"Excuse me, do you have any lactose-free icecream?"

(please note that lactose-free is laktosefrei in German, quite similar in my opinion?).

The response?

"All ice cream is gluten-frei".

I can assure you, that even after switching to German - I didn't get any ice cream that day...

2. Last summer, I was hiking in the alps. At that time, I thought I was more or less fit....maybe not at my all time high or anything, but OK'ish.....again - I was wrong!

To hike up that mountain, it took about 2-3 hours. During these hours, I had to stop 12 times and the higher we got - the more I felt like I was getting an astma-attack! OK....so I've heard this is quite normal if you've never hiked at this altitude, but this is what really surprised me:

After 30 minutes climbing up this very steap mountain, 4 guys on bikes pass me by!

They were biking uphill almost the same speed as me on a normal road......... What the?!

15 minutes later - a couple overtakes us - SMOKING (...and talking...and laughing!)!! How is that even physically possible?! I could barely breathe with pure air in my lungs (oh, and let's just say I didn't feel entirely thankful for the passive fumes...).

I was in shock, but when we finally reached our destination - we had been overtaken by another 5 groups of people, all smoking. I am clearly the abnormal one!!!

3. Going to the hairdresser for me used to be a time to relax and be pampered. Now it's a time of confusion and fear (Yes, fear.... I am barely exaggerating!).

I want my hair classic, no fuss, just natural..... In Sweden, I could go to my hairdresser and say "Do what is needed" or "Do what you think will suit me" and I'd get out of there looking more or less the way I'd expect... I'd feel tired - but relaxed because I would have probably fallen asleep in the chair.

In Switzerland, going to the hairdresser, I wave to be on the alert!

We can only communicate with body or sign-language and a few words of english or german..... ...and seriously, even if I had studied German like an A-student this year, hair-dressing terms would probably not have been a part of the basics course anyway ;))

Also, let's just say our styles are veeeery diffrent... Not saying mine is good and their is not, it's just very diffrent.....and one thing is for sure:

Falling asleep is NOT an option!

I now have three choices.....

1. Accept that I am an alien and stop complaining!

2. Do something about it!!

3. Combine the above.....

I'm aiming at number 3, but it's going to be a loooong and tricky road!

I'll keep you posted ;)

xox

Linda - An alien lost in Switzerland

I ♥ Sequins!!

...in the mood for shopping? Sequins have a way of making you look and feel dressed up a'la City-chique in no time ;) Here are my top-3 favourites at the moment...

SEQUINS by anderssonlinda (click the link for item details)

xox

Linda - Lost in Switzerland

Movie recommendation - Up

Up (2009)

4.5/5

Don't miss this masterpiece by Disney/Pixar!

A young Carl Fredrickson meets a young adventure spirited girl named Ellie. They both dream of going to a Lost Land in South America. 70 years later, Ellie has died. Carl remembers the promise he made to her. Then, when he inadvertently hits a construction worker, he is forced to go to a retirement home. But before they can take him, he and his house fly away. However he has a stowaway aboard. An 8 year old boy named Russell, whose trying to get an assisting the elderly badge. Together, they embark in an adventure, where they encounter talking dogs, an evil villain and a rare bird named Kevin.

I'm telling you.... This movie was absolutely fantastic!

It is such an adorable, surprisingly moving, rich and heartfelt story......

Loved the graphics aswell!!! It's actually quite scary how "real" animations can feel these days. It already won two awards and something tells me that's far from the end ;))

Watch the trailer:

....or read more about it here:

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/up/

Hope you enjoy(ed) it just as much as I did! Do let me know?

xox

Linda - Lost in Switzerland with a new-found love for balloons ;)

Just around the corner....

Christmas is really just around the corner! I can't really feel it as there is no snow here yet, but it's a fact.........and I LOVE CHRISTMAS!!

Not for its religious origins, or the presents....nor for the parties and many dinners - but for the way it makes me feel! Young! Alive! It's a mix of tremendous happiness, sadness, beauty and anticipation!

Happiness because I know I will be seeing the ones I love again.....

Sadness lies in memories of the people who are no longer with me. People who meant the world to me that I think of in a nostalgic way and whom I miss so much that no words in the world could ever be descriptive enough!!

Beauty because of all the happy faces around during the holidays of people re-united, of children opening gifts and all the decorations and lights all aound...

Anticipation of wondering if we will have snow on christmas-eve, of giving and receiving gifts, of wondering if the food will taste as good as previous years.

.....all of this brings me back to the age of 5 again in a heart-beat

- and I LOVE it!!

This Christmas I'll be going HOME for 2 weeks and I can't describe in words how much I am looking forward to it! Last year (due to past circumstances) I decided to stay in Switzerland, so this year I am happier than ever to again celebrate christmas with my family!

I wanna make snow-angels, bake gingerbread cookies, decorate the tree, wrap gifts and try to make a rhyme to go with it! I want to go ice-skating on a moon-lit frozen lake under the stars and then defrost in front of a fireplace with hot-chocolate in my hands.... I want to hear christmas music, eat plenty of food and sweets and watch cartoons!

Oh how I wish time could go by a little faster... Well! Can't do magic, so I will just have to wait!

What are your favourite things about christmas?

xox

Linda - Lost in Switzerland for 17 more days.....

Material-wish-list

All I want for x-mas....

by anderssonlinda

xox

Linda - Lost in Switzerland

Visual inspiration

“Imagination is the beginning of creation. You imagine what you desire, you will what you imagine and at last you create what you will.”

George Bernard Shaw

“Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes.
Art is knowing which ones to keep.”
Scott Adams quotes

"Photograph: A picture painted by the sun without instruction in art."
Ambrose Bierce

"You don't take a photograph. You ask, quietly, to borrow it."

Author Unknown

“If you only do what you know you can do- you never do very much.”

Tom Krause

“The camera can photograph thought”

Dirk Bogarde

Enjoy ;)

xox

Linda - Lost in Switzerland

Lace dresses for various wallet-sizes

Toodleeedooo!
I am loving lace dresses right now.....especially in pink and powder colours!

Made a little selection to suit most of our wallets. My personal favourite is the middle one from Top Shop - but wouldn't mind having any of these in my wardrobe♥

Lace dresses for all wallets by anderssonlinda

Items in this set:
Giambattista Valli dress, 1,835 GBP
Shopruche.com dress, $46
TopShop dress, 55 GBP
Piperlime.gap.com shoes, $90
Franco Sarto shoes, $79

xox

Linda - Lost in "updating-her-wardrobe-fantasies" in Switzerland (...tomorrow in Brussels hopefully also updating her chocolate storage with Belgian pralines and truffles..)

Music.....

Dear sweet, wonderful readers of my blog,

I hope you are having a great Sunday so far!

Personally, I'm just lazing in my sofa with a cup of tea, surfing and listening to some amazing music..... Lazy has been the theme throughout the entire day in fact ;) Thought I'd drop you a quick post to share these beautiful songs that have recently touched my heart.......

I found the first song "Feels like home" in the soundtrack of a movie I watched the other day called "My sisters keeper" (I highly recommend it, regardless of what the critics say!) with Cameron Diaz, Abigail Breslin and Alec Baldwin... It was absolutely amazing (I rated it 4/5) - but beware, it is guaranteed to make you cry a river (or maybe even an ocean)!

Not entirely sure where I first heard song number two but knowing me, probably from Greys Anatomy (one of my TV obsessions) ;)) It is hauntingly beautiful!

I really hope you enjoy!

"A painter paints pictures on canvas. Musicians paint their pictures on silence."

Leopold Stokowski

Wish you all a great Sunday and even greater start of the new week!

xox

Linda - Lost in Switzerland

A Shopping-spree, great sushi, one major disappointment and one major moment of bliss!

These were the main ingredients of my Saturday so far.....

Spent most of this day in Konstanz in Germany, a little city very closo tp the Swiss border where many Swiss (and fake Swiss, such as myself) go to enjoy an affordable shopping-spree! (oh yes - it's way cheaper than Switzerland! Especially after claiming back the paid German tax).

Starting with the disappointment..... I have been building up an anticipation for months and months and months after an earlier trip to Konstanz where I walked by a shop, closed at the time, called "My Vintage", where the writing on the window proudly state that they sell branded vintage wear! Imagine my excitement?!

Today I finally made it before they close just to find that what they call vintage turned out to be regular second hand branded clothing.....no 1930's Hollywood glamour gowns, no flowered hats or fabulous Chanel pieces.....just boring, plain, used clothes. I have to admit I still haven't managed to shake off the disappointment and so I ask of you, dear readers: If you know any of these shops, of which I'm dreaming, in the area not too far from Zurich - please can you let me know where to find it?!

OK....enough complaining! Now over to the good stuff!!

It is FALL and the weather is gloomy to say the least....hence the need for an umbrella!

I have been dreaming of a rainbow coloured one for quite some time now and today - I FINALLY FOUND IT and it's perfect!! BLISS BLISS BLISS!!!
You may think I must be easily entertained to feel such joy over something as simple as an umbrella - but I'll tell ya.......this one will be absolutely magical for photos and it's big enough to fit to ppl without any hassle ;))

Some other really good stuff was the fantastic SUSHI! Had my favourite California insideout rolls with tuna, spinach and mayo in the Lago shopping-mall! This sushi alone is worth the 30-40 minute trip!

I also managed to find a perfect pair of black Seven jeans, an adorable pair of mushroom earrings, and a new favourite wardrobe piece;

A long knitted cardigan from ZARA with a fake-fur collar! I think I will spend enough time in this one this winter to give it a postal code.........and here some picture evidence ;)

As christmas is getting nearer - decorations and lights have been put up everywhere now (FINALLY!!) and in this Lago mall, they had the cutest little miniture models of places around Bodensee. It's actually postcard images brought to life and the postcards could be bought and profits go to charity. Soooooo adorable!!

Now at home again enjoying a cosy Saturday evening in the sofa.... Hoping for some nice weather tomorrow allthough I have to say, some rain at this stage wouldn't feel so bad either considering my new umbrella ;)) Hihi!

Hope you are all enjoying your weekends!!

xox

Linda - Lost in Switzerland, blissfully happy about todays shopping achievements!

Movie recommendation - (500) Days of Summer

(500) Days of Summer (2009)

4/5

This is a story of boy meets girl.

The boy, Tom Hansen of Margate, New Jersey, grew up believing that he'd never truly be happy until the day he met the one.

This belief stemmed from early exposure to sad British pop music and a total mis-reading of the movie 'The Graduate'. The girl, Summer Finn of Shinnecock, Michigan, did not share this belief.
Since the disintegration of her parent's marriage she'd only love two things. The first was her long dark hair. The second was how easily she could cut it off and not feel a thing.

Tom meets Summer on January 8th. He knows almost immediately she is who he has been searching for. This is a story of boy meets girl, but you should know upfront, this is not a love story...

"It's official. I'm in love with Summer. I love her smile. I love her hair. I love her knees. I love how she licks her lips before she talks. I love the heart-shaped birthmark on her neck. I love the way she looks when she sleeps."

Well - it's indeeeed official! I am in love with 500 Days of Summer!!!

What a great feeling it is to watch a movie which concept feels so believable and which manages to capture the misery and sweetness of life and love at the same time! It gives such an insight in how there are always two sides of every story.......

Tragic and heartfelt but still so very funny at times, this movie sucked me in completely!

Oooh! ...and let me add - the soundtrack is FANTABULOUS!!!!! (if you are a frequent visitor to this blog, you may recognize quite a few songs ;))

Watch the trailer:

....or read more about it here:

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/500_days_of_summer/

Enjoy and DO tell what you thought ;))

xox

Linda - Lost in Switzerland

Sometimes you just need a good cry...

There is no shame in crying....... Crying is like a minor re-birth!

If you ever feel that need some times.....here is my most effective recipe for tears to fill a minor river and one of my all time favourite songs!!! May not suit all of you, but maybe at least a few can find the same feeling in this little masterpiece.

The lyrics are so beautiful!!! ♥ ♥ ♥

It's like a little piece of my heart just dies every time I hear these words.......but then I'm instantly feeling better ;))

"Like a freeze-dried rose, you will never be,

what you were, what you were to me in memory.

But if I listen to the dark,

you'll embrace me like a star,

envelop me, envelop me...

If things get real for me down here,

promise to take me to before you went away -

if only for a day...

If things get real for me down here,

promise to take me back to the tune

we played before you went away.

And if I listen to, the sound of white,

sometimes I hear your smile, and breathe your light.

Yeah if I listen to, the sound of white ..

You're my mystery. One mystery. My mystery. One mystery.

My silence solidifies,

until that hollow void erases you,

erases you so I can't feel at all.

But if I never feel again, at least that nothingness

will end the painful dream, of you and me...

If things get real for me down here, promise to take me to

before you went away, if only for a day.

If things get real for me down here, promise to take me back to

the tune we played before you went away.

And if I listen to, the sound of white

sometimes I hear your smile, and breathe your light.

Yeah if I listen to, the sound of white

sometimes I hear your smile, and breathe your light.

And if I listen to, the sound of white.

I knelt before some strangers face,

I'd never have the courage or belief to trust this place,

But I dropped my head, 'cos it felt like lead,

And I'm sure I felt your fingers through my hair...

And if I listen to, the sound of white sometimes

I hear your smile, and breathe your light.

Yeah if I listen to, the sound of white.

The sound of white,

The sound of white,

The sound of white"

Aaaaahhhhhhh........ ♥ ♥ ♥

xox

Linda - Lost in Switzerland, enjoying another glorious Friday evening and a glass of Bin 28 Kalimna Shiraz.....looking forward to a shopping-spree in Konstanz, Germany, tomorrow ;))

Online photo-fun

Coucouuuuuu everyone!!

Just wanted to drop a note to share this fabulous online photo application with you ;))
This is a blast that can last for a whole evening at LEAST!

All you need is internet access, TIME, photos of yourself, your friends or anyone else you want to transform - and off you go!

Create your own FaceInHole



I hope you enjoy!
xox
Linda - or Marilyn (?!) Lost in Switzerland

Movie recommendation - Pan's Labyrinth

Pan's Labyrinth (2006)
5/5

I believe it is fare to say that this may be my all time favourite movie!!

In 1944 fascist Spain, a girl, fascinated with fairy-tales, is sent along with her pregnant mother to live with her new stepfather, a ruthless captain of the Spanish army. During the night, she meets a fairy who takes her to an old faun in the center of the labyrinth. He tells her she's a princess, but must prove her royalty by surviving three gruesome tasks. If she fails, she will never prove herself to be the the true princess and will never see her real father, the king, again.

Pan's labyrinth is absolutely unique and incrediby well done in so many ways. It is a visually stunning and emotionally intense history-lesson with great acting performances!!

Watching this movie for the first time was a completely fantastic experience.....but trust me when I say this is veeeery far away from the feel-good segment!! Allthough this is a kind of fairytale - make no mistake, this is a DARK and CRUEL fairytale with quite intense brutality at display and won't go well with the most sensitive ones.

This movie moved me and kept me completely and utterly spellbound through every minute and left a print in my heart that will never go away.

Watch the trailer:



....or read more about it here:
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/pans_labyrinth/

Enjoy and please let me know your toughts.

xox
Linda - Heading out for a walk in Rainy Switzerland

I have a dream!

....a dream filled with visions of the turqoise ocean and the silent sounds of palm-trees swaying in the breeze!

I want to feel the rythms of Merengue and let my heart dance to it while my body is free to join in at any moment!

I miss the divine smell and taste of fresh coconut!

I wanna feel the heat on my skin! That special feeling of waking up, dizzy and overheated after falling asleep for an hour in what was the shade - but then turned into complete sunlight while you were unknowingly napping!

I wanna swim out to a nearby coral-reef and snorkel among colourful fishes and occasionally make an attempt at diving down to pick up an empty seashell from the bottom of the ocean.

I want to sip on drinks in pastel colours, with umbrellas hanging over the edge of my glass, while laughing from the very core of my heart!

I miss the feeling of crunching white sand between my red, painted toe-nails and watching it wear off little by little day by day by the grainy sand....

I think about the feeling of sliding down, level after level, in natural waterslides in the mountain, body and mind filled with fear, joy and adventure, and finally ending up in a blue lagoon with a big splash and a waterfall shower!

I want to have breakfast on the beach-terrace while enjoying the sportive challenge of capturing a tropical humming bird with my camera!

I want to shop for tacky souvenieres and figure out which one to give to who! I wanna hit the postcard stand, close my eyes while spinning it around and get the one my finger is pointing on, no matter who it's for.... I wanna buy the stamps and then feel the last minute stress of realising you have written them all but forgotten to post them (just before the bus leaves for the airport)!

I want to take a dip in the hotel pool, after a full day of swimming in the ocean, building sand-castles and sunbathing, to wash the traces of sea-salt away and cool down my skin to the level where clothes can again accompany my body...

I want to watch the sun set far away on the horizon and then laugh and dance around in a tropical rainstorm knowing that the sun is only hiding out for a few hours....

I want to walk home on the beach under the stars, with the reflection of those same stars in the water beeing the only guiding light. I want to do this after a long evening of dinner, wine and conversations about life, love and what-not and then fall asleep, exhausted, in a comfy hotel bed.

Oh I need to see you again, tropical paradise island!!! I have missed you...

xox
Linda - lost in the land of Dominican Republic dreams while in reality, enjoying my Friday evening in Switzerland ;))

S.T.R.E.S.S.

Note to self:

Stress is an ugly UGLY thing.....
It sneaks up on you when your defenses are at an all time low! It takes over your thoughts, increases your heart-rate, reduces your productivity, smashes your creativity, destroys your health, ruins relationships, sometimes families and even friendships! Your ability to feel joy significantly decreases, it makes you gain unwanted weight, you can't relax when you need it the most, it makes you a bad listener, it takes the fun out of work and parts of your private life. Your short-term memory is basically non-existing because of it AND it can make you either blow up or cry at the most inapropriate times.... STOP IT!

Self to note:

Aaaahhh! Now I remember ;) I do NOT want to be this person. Thanks for the reminder!

“Stress is basically a disconnection from the earth, a forgetting of the breath. Stress is an ignorant state. It believes that everything is an emergency. Nothing is THAT important. Just lie down.”

Natalie Goldberg

......and down I'm laying!

xox

Linda - Lost in Switzerland....hereby officially committing to an urgent behaviour change ;)

A much needed online shopping-spree and some Paulo Coelho quotes!!

Good evening all you lovely readers of my blog!

Hope you've had a fantastic weekend and don't feel too bad about going back to work or school tomorrow..... I know I unfortunately do - but luckily have some amazing deliveries to look forward to!! I spent this Sunday evening doing some much needed online shopping and wanted to share my little treasures with you ;)

If you have been a reader of my blog for a while, you will for sure recognise the necklace...

by anderssonlinda on Polyvore.com

Last but not least... I'd like to share two Paulo Coelho quotes that I recently stumbled upon that I found inspiring! They are like little reminders........

Enjoy!

"If you haven't made any mistakes recently, you must be doing something wrong!"

"If it is still in your mind, it is worth taking the risk"

I wish you all a wonderful week!

xox
Linda - Lost in Switzerland......eagerly awaiting my deliveries!

Weekend....at last!!

Fall is a fact, winter is lurking juuuuust behind the corner and Christmas is so near it is inevitable to walk into a store here without feeling at least a little tempted to buy some new decorations or at least start thinking about christmas gifts! Isn't it incredible how time really flies?!

My week has been quite awful to be honest and all I can think about is sleep! I feel so drained....

I really need some fresh-air, daylight and a weekend that is completely pressure-free!

Bad news is that I've heard that the weather this weekend is supposed to be rainy and dull..... Good news is that there are umbrellas ;)

A weekend of bad weather during fall for me often mean drinking hot-chocolate under a blanket in the sofa watching movies! I love those weekends......completely pressure free! Without firm plans - just wishes! ...and since I know there will be quite a few of these, I have already prepared my "Top 5 Most Wanted Movies list" that I thought I'd share with you!

Here goes ;)

1. (500) Days of Summer

2. Where the wild things are

3. A Christmas Carol

4. Coco avant Chanel

5. Adventureland

Exciting movies coming up I must say!

If you have already watched these - let me know what you thought please? =))

Hope you will all have a GREAT weekend, regardless of plans or weather!

xox

Linda - Lost in Switzerland

Oh what a night....

I can really feel that yesterday eve was a great eve ;))

Woke up this morning at 11! With a pounding head-ache and an apartment FROM HELL! Hahaha! Had to spend my first 3 hours cleaning - but it was all worth it!

Just wanted to share some photos from yesterdays Halloween-spooktacular!

It was a blast!!!

Hope you all had a wonderful Halloween!

xox

Snow White - Lost in Switzerland