By request: Current Beauty Favorites

Dear Someone who requested this post via Formspring,
Thanks for the idea! I hope this is what you were looking for ;))

Current beauty favorites by anderssonlinda

Benefit Some Kind of Gorgeous Lite, $29
(Nominee) Bare Escentuals bareMinerals Original Foundation SPF 15..., $26
Benefit Bad Gal Lash Mascara, $30
Bare Escentuals® bareMinerals® Blush, $19
Amazon.com: FantaSea Makeup Blending Sponge Cosmetic Blender: Beauty, $11
philosophy 'sweet on you' candy hearts shampoo, shower gel & bubble..., $16
Smith'S Rosebud Lip Balm, $7
Decléor Aromessence™ Angélique, £43
Dermalogica Ultracalming Cleanser From Beauty Flash, £12
Dermalogica Age Smart Super Rich Repair From Beauty Flash, £14

xox

In my iPod, beginning of February 2012

• The Weepies - Antarctica
• Lucy Rose - Red Face
• Feist - The bad in each other
• The naked and Famous - Young Blood
• Death cab for cutie - You're a tourist
• Sia - Don't bring me down (live)
• The Weepies - Old coyote
• Bombay Bicycle Club - Rinse me down
• College feat. Electric Youth - A real hero
• The Perishers - Nothing like you and I
• Joshua Radin - Road to ride on
• Coldplay - Paradise
• Paramore - Decode
• Maria Taylor - Matador
• The Weepies - Not dead yet

Love them all ♥
xox

In my corner of the world....

Left to right: Sweat pants and Hoodie from Abercrombie.
Black ankle boots from ASOS.com
French manicure.
Fluffy, fury home boots from H&M.
Jeans "Stella" from True Religion.
Beige boots from Diesel.

Currently, I'm:

Happy about: Having weekend and especially happy that this very Saturday is without plans! Am also very happy that I went for a 10km run on Tuesday =)) It was certainly not a fast run (1:04:51), but it was pitch black and there are also a lot of hills here..... On top of this it was really spontaneous. I just wanted to go for a run that was a little longer than my standard 5km's and it just felt so great that I just wanted to continue and once I had reached 7km, there seemed like no point in stopping until I had managed 10km.
I also recently did quite some shopping (see top right picture).... I bought a pair of jeans, two pairs of boots and some new cosy clothes recently that I just LOVE....and did a new French manicure. Yep, this makes me happy! 

Disappointed about: You know....I love living here in Switzerland, but must say, I get easily fed up of all the paper work it requires. Nothing ever seems easy or straight forward and everything is managed by paper with signatures. I wish they would move forward and adjust to other means of managing this (such as e-mails, SMS approvals etc.). It's like it's never really possible to just relax, because there is always a letter to write and post to someone, somewhere. I guess if you never had it differently, you don't think about it, but it has made me realize how lucky I was in this sense, living in Sweden.

Looking forward to: Hopefully having visits of some of my amazing friends in both March and April! Am also looking forward to go home to Sweden for a long weekend at the end of February (my dad is getting married AND turns 60!). I will finally see my little niece again and I can't wait =)))))

Listening to: Red Face by Lucy Rose, over and over again..... She is so talented!! This live session could just as well be the actual recording, it's so well performed.

Also have the new single from Owlmother, You can not be touched, playing in my head (and on my Spotify).

Hoping: To confront my fear of the chair lift again tomorrow when we go skiing....well, of course as I'm scared, parts of me simply doesn't want to try it again ;))

Wondering: If I should sign up to run the 10km in the upcoming race in Lausanne and if yes, what a realistic goal would be in terms of time. It is a lot more uphill than the 10km's I did during the Lausanne Marathon....hmm....
Thinking about: What questions to ask my next Interview "victim" ;p 

Planning: A lot of things actually....the details about our trip to Sweden in August and also checking out some details of another trip idea that is soooo exciting. Will share more if the idea turns into something concrete....

Smiling about: The same idea as I'm mentioning above...again.....more to come...maybe! 

Wishing: That companies would give up on dress codes. Honestly, I have no idea what to wear anymore now that I'm not allowed to wear jeans. Jeans look fab! ...and besides, half of my wardrobe consists of jeans, just sayin' ;) Yes yes, I know......a modern world problem.

Sad about: Chris has a VERY important exam on the exact date of my birthday, so I will be spending it alone....and yes, I know I know, it's just a birthday, but I've never ever been alone on my birthday before and I STILL LOVE BIRTHDAYS =))

Wanting: Can't decide on the color, but I am head over heels in love with these watches above on the right from Marc Jacobs!

Feeling: Great and happy, but really really tired in my body from all the sports I've done this week.... Am even wondering if my legs will be able to properly carry me on skis tomorrow =) Anyway! It's all worth it! I feel as if I'm in great shape again after all those years of just sporadic training and a back that was constantly giving me troubles....like another life. Grateful! Yes, that's it! I feel grateful!

xox

Photo blog: The long weekend in review

There are pros and cons of living far away from home......an obvious con is living so far away from your near and dear ones, but the pro, or the "glass half full perspective" to that is the amazing feeling of having one of your very best friends visiting you when you haven't seen each other for more than 6 months!! Simply amazing.... It was as if time had stood still. Here, some snapshots:

We went shopping and tried on some glasses....and yes, we are meant to look ridiculous ;))

...and I actually bought these =)))

On Sunday, we went to Les Rousses in France for an afternoon of skiing =)

We had soooo much fun!! It was the first time Madde skied in 15 years or so.....

Not the best weather, but the best company!

For dinner, we had Crepes....

...they tasted divine!!!

Such a fabulous weekend!!! The only bad thing is that it went by so fast.....

xox

My latest hang-up ;))

I can not stop watching and laughing at these!!!! ....and the guy is so good at it too! Can unfortunately not say I don't recognize some of these phrases either ;)
Enjoy!


xox

Learing to ski: Learn to love your enemy?

Dear Chair lift,



Sorry for being so blunt, but I hate you. This year, I shall learn to, maybe not love you, but to appreciate you..... The fact is, I don't trust you. Actually, your age and experience even works against you. No offense, but I find it hard to believe that you are really strong enough.......you know, fit for purpose?

Let's work on this together, shall we?
xox

PS. I am still a bit shaken by you not letting me off so gently on Sunday...you probably didn't notice as you were in such a hurry, but I actually had to jump off you from almost one meter's height! Anyway.....I will try my best to think that "what's done is done" and disregard this little misshap until next time.

Learning to ski.....pleasure or pain?

Linda, lost in a dream of learning to ski....fearlessly...

Well.....I would be lying through my teeth if I told you it is an entirely pleasant experience, learning how to ski downhill at this age.... It is however certainly not a lie to tell you that all though at times, I am terrified, with knees as shaky as a minor earthquake and muscles so exhausted from all the breaking that they can barely carry me any longer, the good moments, the crisp, fresh air, warm rays of sunshine on my face and the minor beginners triumphs make up for it all.


We are so fortunate as we have skiing slopes all around us here and the one we go to has a perfect beginners slope, color blue, and another one so Chris won't get too bored, color black, and in the morning, there are almost no people around! On top of this, the ski pass is less than half price versus the fancy, hip and massive skiing resorts that most people go to around here ;))


Truth be told....I probably look so silly when I ski that if this was 10 years ago, I would have cared too much about the risk of having people laughing at me to ever take on this challenge, but now, frankly speaking, I just don't give a toss. Everyone was once a beginner and for sure it is also easier to learn when you are a child. My problem is that patience is not my strength....not at all actually and all though it is entirely unrealistic, a part of me hoped I would already be flying down red slopes by now, looking fierce, feeling fearless, the beginner label completely washed off, but in reality, it's more of a "2 steps forward, 1 step back development" I am going through. The step back representing moments, like today, where the confidence is really building up and I feel as if I'm ready to master the steepest part of that blue slope where I am always breaking all the way down to flatter grounds in sheer terror, just to in the next second, loose my balance for the fragment of a second because of some tiny distraction and down I tumble. Oh well.....one day, with lots of practice and equal portions of patience ;))

Here, some photo evidence of our past two weekends of skiing/snowboarding....

My teacher and me, last weekend! My 3rd time on skis... Feels so great to have someone monitoring and helping!

She taught me a trick to avoid using my shoulders too much when turning

A freezing -16 degrees upon our arrival today....

.....but the sun came out and very quickly warmed us up!

Lovely Greta and I, enjoying the sun

Chris, as happy as a clam!

♥

Paolo and Chris, taking a break after taking on the black pist for...I guess the 5th time or so?

Chris on his board....looking just like it should (and looking like I wish I could look in my wildest and most unrealistic imagination;))

xox

Photos from a train window

I spent the last few days in Milan for work. When I go there, which you will know I do quite frequently if you read this blog, I always travel by train..... The train is just more convenient than flying as it only takes 3 hours from Lausanne with the direct train. 3 hours can however get quite boring sometimes. Especially if your internet connection breaks down while traveling through and around the mountains.... What I sometimes do to make the time fly by faster is challenging myself to take a good shot with the iPhone through the train window. Not as easy as pie, trust me.... The fast movement, the unexpected tree branches and whatnots and the, let's call them, not exactly well polished windows turn this into quite a challenging task ;)) This time, I'm however quite pleased with some of the results..... Pleased enough to share them with you and at the same time, give you an idea of why taking the train is sometimes a good option to flying.

Taken close to Stresa in Italy....an absolutely gorgeous place!

Stresa, Italy

Milano Grand Centrale

Not entirely sure, but I think this is close to Brig in Switzerland

Could be either Italy or Switzerland.....must be close to the border somewhere.

In Switzerland for sure, probably close to Montreaux. Also a stunningly beautiful area!!

 xox

The deception of "perfection"

Don't worry, stop trying so hard and let go of this unrealistic pressure.....you are beautiful just the way you are! ...and trust me, if there are people who think you should look like the images of people in the photoshopped posters and photos we see everywhere, these are NOT the people you really want to be with. Somebody out there thinks you are perfect already. Maybe not photoshop picture perfect, but perfect for them. Don't settle for less.

xox

Kreativ Blogger Award

Oh yaaaay! I just got the Kreativ Blogger Award from one of my fellow Bloggers! Such a lovely surprise!! It's been quite a while since I last received one, so this really made my day..... 

Thank you Cherry ❤❤  

These awards normally come with some sort of request to answer questions or to write something with a specific theme and this award is no different in that sense ;)

AWARD RULES:

 1. Link back to the person who gave you this award

 2. Complete the form below

3. Award 10 other blogs and let them know in a comment or email

4. Share 7 random thoughts about yourself

Here it goes....

1. NAME YOUR FAVORITE SONG:  Eeehhhh as in ONE song? Nooo c'mon....eeeek! OK, if I was really forced to choose, I'd probably go with The sound of white by Missy Higgins.... I think this is the song with my biggest emotional attachment.....it's actually massive....just a few notes and my eyes start to overflow. 

Listen with Spotify: http://open.spotify.com/track/5GYUhN5RtTAMpcMwk90oye

Watch on Youtube: http://youtu.be/n3f8kafNkjE

2. NAME YOUR FAVORITE DESSERT:  Cupcakes 

3. WHAT TICKS ME OFF: Injustice, general ignorance, racism, cruelty to animals and abuse of power and/or religion.

4. WHEN I'M UPSET I: ....feel as if I could replace a large-sized power plant with the energy within me. Luckily, it happens very rarely.... To calm myself down, I blog about it if the reason is not too private or do some sports to release the energy and turn it into something good, always accompanied by music that fits my mood. If my mood is sad, I listen to someone who is sadder than me to put things in perspective. If I'm angry, well then the same principle applies and I listen to very angry music.

5. WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE PET: I have had numerous pets while growing up, so I am sort of taking a break from that.....also because I don't feel we are home enough for the pet to be happy with us at the moment. I do dream of one day having a dog though....perhaps a Beagle ;)

6. BLACK OR WHITE: Black

7. BIGGEST FEAR: Snakes

8. EVERYDAY ATTITUDE: When I put my heart into my efforts, I believe I can do and achieve anything ♥ I also believe that happiness is a choice.

9. WHAT IS PERFECTION? Something only applicable for things, that many people constantly strive for in themselves or in others, not realizing that in the end, what is perfection for them is not necessarily perfection for everyone else. Something that creates an unrealistic pressure and makes people unhappy beyond logic, reason and in some cases, also beyond ethics.

10. GUILTY PLEASURE: Movie or TV-series marathons, Cupcakes, almond dragees, popcorn, cheese and, luckily, also all kinds of sports ;)

SEVEN RANDOM THINGS ABOUT ME:

1. I don't like to talk on the phone and I am really bad at keeping in touch with people via the phone in general.....meaning this also applies to SMS messages etc...

2. I have started to love running, but if it wasn't for the "Runkeeper"app, I probably wouldn't run a meter.... I need to track and measure my running performance to keep it interesting so I always run with my iPhone.

3. Wearing high heels is the most uncomfortable thing ever! I only wear them if I have to.... This doesn't mean that I don't love to watch or window-shop them though ;))

4. I am probably the worst person in the world at ironing.

5. One dream that has never quite faded away all though I never truly gave it a go, is the dream of writing my own songs.....

6. I haven't quite learned to take in compliments and I feel the most uncomfortable if/when receiving them in public. I get the shivers just thinking about it.

7. I don't have TV by choice. I don't like the way it "makes me" watch things I don't even really like, just because it's there....

WHO I GIVE THIS AWARD TO:

Elisa of Globetrotting in Heels

Maddie of {Sprinkle Diary} Teenage Shenanigans

Patricia of Pattern Patisserie

Andrea of Book of Faces

Carola of Loving and Living

Dee of Liner and Glitter and Gloss, Oh my!

Kajsa of Plock och pix ur min vardag

Vertika of Vivacious Blog

Amy of The Nifty Foodie

Carissa and Andrew of andrew+carissa

I thank you for the inspiration.

xox

The Whistleblower and the shame to be human

It has been roughly 45 minutes since I gazed upon the end credits of "The Whistleblower".....I could not read them (the end credits), but on the screen through the blur of my tears, allthough I could barely breathe from the violent emotional flooding, I could see that there were some letters and of course, could easily figure out that these were names of the people behind this movie..... The tears are dry now, but the sadness will remain as a dark print in my heart and the visuals will haunt me for a long time. 


The tears were soon, probably only within three minutes from switching off the screen, accompanied by a massive rage, a sense of powerlessness and shame. Rage and powerlessness about the fact that these horrifying things, these crimes against humanity, happen RIGHT NOW all over the world and shame over the fact that the people committing these cruel, unspeakable acts, are not from some unknown, unfamiliar species whose brains we don't yet know enough about, but they are in fact humans. Humans, just like you and me. The shame also comes from understanding that so many people are aware, but choose to close their eyes... 


How do they sleep at night? How do they breathe? How do they even begin to justify the sheer torture these women/girls/fellow human beings are put through for the sick and sadistic needs of pleasure or desire for money that seem to drive these heartless crimes? So many questions in my little aching head.....I can not even imagine what questions are in the heads and hearts of the victims.....


Watch the trailer:
Yes, I do urge you to see this film. It is, indeed, a great film and the acting performance of Rachel Weisz is nothing less than outstanding!! ....but this is not just another fiction flick, this is reality in most places of the world, all though not known or visible to most of us, but it is there.... So what I'm trying to say is that this is not just another movie recommendation....this is a call for action. How the hell can we stop this and what can I, as an individual, do to help????


"I don't want a scandal, I'm just doing my job!"
Kathryn Bolkovac


Isn't it all of our jobs to do the right thing?


xox

That post-holiday feeling.....

The first work week after the holidays is done and I must say, I never found it harder to ramp back up again. During this holiday, I managed to get completely relaxed and I didn't have to work even for a minute!! I can't even remember the last holidays I had where I didn't have to join at least one meeting from home, or at least receive a call from someone.... Probably I had forgotten what it is like to really have a break and now, once I've tasted it again, must say, it's the best thing ever!! Hence, the difficulties this week ;)) 

Some snapshots from the holidays:

Our little village, captured from a walk during Christmas

I went to Morgues for some shopping.... It's such a cute town!

We went to St Cergue for night skiing....only Chris skied. They only had red slopes opened and I was too scared ;))

For a while, the snow nearly melted away completely....

I went running many times and this is my usual view. Gorgeous!

Cheese fondue on New Year's eve

Mom and Kalle, enjoying their first fondue!

....hmmm....maybe more our 100th fondue?? ;)

My mom and I built a snowman....and I namned him Frosty, just like my sweater!

Like mother, like daughter ;))

We visited Lausanne

Where we had some Starbucks.... Gingerbread Latte, of course =p

We also had Raclette

.....and I found this little guy in my cheese =)

We went to Montreaux and had a nice walk by the lake

...and I played some more with my new curling tool from Amika!

With this post-holiday feeling in mind, I left work early on Friday and did the grocery shopping (to have that over with). When I came home, there was a plate of freshly baked cookies at the entrance from our amazing landlords (how great is that?! ...and they tasted divine btw ;))!! I then went for a 6km run while it was snowing (which feels amazing!), came home, did some strengthening exercises, stretched, took a looooong hot bath and then, while waiting for Chris to come home, I cooked pizza for us while sipping on a glass of red wine.....and just when I didn't think the day couldn't possibly get any better, Chris stepped through the door with a bouquet of flowers for me! I am truly blessed.

The cookie plate =p Do you see the two cats?

The before: Heading out for a run in the snow

The after: As soaked as if I had a shower and there is obviously also some steam in this photo =))

The flowers!! Aren't they beautiful? <3

The veggie pizza! This one with tomatoes, fresh garlic, mushrooms, fresh basil and mozzarella..

Now it's Saturday morning and I am trying to mentally prepare myself for what's coming up in a couple of hours..... I am nervous, but excited. My legs feel like jello thinking about it. I am curious to find out if I can really do it. This afternoon, I have a 2 hour downhill skiing lesson!!!! I hope I come back without broken bones =o/ Wish me luck!


I wish you all a lovely weekend!


xox