Finally, we are parents!

I am incredibly happy to finally announce the birth of our baby girl, Allison.

She was born at Nyon hospital on Saturday, October 20th. That makes her 6 days old today.... Everything went incredibly well and we are all doing great. She is the most amazing little person and she is filling our lives and hearts with so much love and joy already! 

I am completely overwhelmed with love! I literally can not stop staring at her....listening to her breathing.....smelling her.....holding her...... She is the most beautiful thing I have ever laid eyes on and when she looks right at me, everything else fades away in a heartbeat. 

I am now going to completely focus on spending this precious time with our family, so I won't be updating this blog as frequently as before.....at least not until we have established some routines. Please bare with me and I hope to see you here again when I'm back ;))

Oh and btw.....all the parents out there were absolutely right: There is no feeling in the world more powerful and genuine as the love you feel for your child. We are so blessed.....

xox

Ps. I will still be uploading to/updating my Instagram: http://web.stagram.com/n/anderssonlinda/

Home, sweet (but far from finished) home.... Part 5

There are still some spaces left of the apartment that I haven't showed you yet and it will have to stay like this a while longer as these rooms are "under construction" (read: in baby preparation ;)).

In the meantime, we made some changes to the living room. We wanted to somehow make the canvas print fit in better and free up some much needed space. Here's before and after. What do you think (apologies for using iPhone shots)?

Before.....

After...
So what changed? We bought 2 new, small coffee tables (one oval and one round, both from Interio), a new light green carpet, new pillows, a new blanket and the magazine basket on the floor for easy accessible reading ;))

xox

Recipe - Berry Topped "Sun buns"

With all this waiting on my hands, I decided to bake.....again....now this baby has to arrive soon or I will continue to look this pregnant for a long time, even with the baby out ;)) These large yeast buns are an absolute killer on the scale of deliciousness, so I thought I'd share the recipe with you. Try them.....that's my advise!

Recipe - Berry Topped Sun buns (2 large buns)

Ingredients
Buns
50g yeast
2 teaspoons of Bicarbonate
150g Butter
5 dl Milk 
1 ½ cups of Sugar
1 teaspoon of Salt
2 teaspoons of Vanilla Sugar
2 teaspoons of Cardamom 
13-14 cups of White Flour

Vanilla Cream
1 egg
2 tablespoons of Sugar
2 tablespoons of of Maizena (corn starch)
2 cups of Milk
1 cup of Cream 
3 teaspoons of Vanilla Powder
2 tablespoons of Butter

Icing/Decoration
The icing is made from mixing water and powder sugar (be careful and test with a very small amount of water. I didn't write down the proportions I used), 3 cups of fresh Blueberries and Raspberries + 1 whisked egg.

Before baking in the oven

Directions
Crumble the yeast into a bowl. Melt the butter in a saucepan and then add milk and heat to max 37°C. Pour into the bowl with the yeast and stir until it has completely dissolved. 
Add sugar, salt, cardamom, vanilla sugar, bicarbonate and the flour. Knead the dough until smooth. Let rise under a towel for roughly 40 minutes. 

Mix all ingredients for the Vanilla Cream, except the butter, in a saucepan with a thick bottom. Heat while constantly whisking on medium heat. Take the pan away from the heat as soon as the first bubble appears, then take it off the stove and add the butter and whisk until it has melted. Let the cream cool down. 

Preheat oven to 200°C. 
Now split the dough in half and then form and flatten into two round buns,  about 1-2 cm's thick, on baking trays with baking paper. Whisk an egg and lightly brush onto the edges of the buns. Spread the Vanilla Cream on the roundels, but leave a border around the edges which is about 2 cm's wide (basically where you brushed the egg). Let rise for another 30 minutes then sprinkle the berries on top.
Bake in middle of oven for 15-20 minutes. Let cool on a rack. 
Stir together powder sugar and water and drizzle over the buns......and Voilaaaaa, your buns are ready to serve!

Enjoy ;p

xox

Home, sweet (but far from finished) home.... Part 4

OK, so now going through the upstairs area, starting with the bedroom and my small, but convenient, wardrobe/"dressing room".

Probably my favorite place in the whole apartment - The bed!! 

.....and from the bed, we can watch movies. The plasma is on top of a piece of old Mexican furniture (a gift from my dad), that we had re-painted white and changed the knobs on. It's very rustic and I love it!!
Another important detail, of course, is a full size mirror as I have the dressing room in the bedroom as well.

It's dangerous but undeniably convenient to have chairs close to the bed....they are mainly used for offloading
(which is what I mean with dangerous... In other words, it's not common to JUST find my
pajamas on this chair....... He he!)

A favorite detail here is this little alarm clock, bought in a little shop in Sweden. Unfortunately, the alarm itself is too loud, (it almost had me fall out of the bed once), so it's mainly for decoration ;)

Opening these doors, you will find this small, but very convenient room!

Lots of space for shoes....

....and accessories.

Some handbags also have a place on these shelves. 

Those who know me, know that jeans is a bit of an addiction, but right now (while pregnant), I'm only keeping out the ones I can actually use as it makes me a bit sad otherwise to see them every day ;))

....same principle here - mainly pregnancy wear hanging here at the moment.
It also saves me time in choosing what to wear.

xox

Photo blog: Walking through Arboretum

From our gorgeous walk this afternoon through multicolored forests, by ponds and flowing waters...... I love this season more than words could possibly describe.

Aubonne, Vaud, Switzerland 

Arboretum, Vaud, Switzerland 

Chris

....there were gorgeous reflections on the pond

....more reflections

Multitude of colors!

The little creek that runs through the forest....

Absolutely magical.....

Me and my gigantic baby bump....only a few days to go.

Wishing you all a fabulous weekend!

xox

Entertain me - ask me anything.....

OK....so as you probably know, I'm bored at home, waiting for our baby to finally join us...and so, I'm throwing this out there again - my Formspring.
Ask me anything...anonymously or not.....either way, I'll do my best to answer you.

http://www.formspring.me/anderssonlinda/questions

xox

The future....the unknown.

We all have these moments in our lives, when we really have to question what is truly important for us.....we have to think things over......ensure we are either on the right course or figure out the new coordinates....and then...then comes the hardest part - To make choices. Which way should we go? Should we go with our guts? Should we choose the easy way? The one with least expected obstacles? Should we do nothing? Will our hearts be the best guides? Or maybe our minds? ....and then another hard, but critically important part, can we avoid being influenced by others in making choices to ensure we are doing what is right for us and only us? 
Crossroads....that's what they are.....and I have the feeling, they are appearing in front of me more than what's normal....or maybe people just don't talk about theirs? "Where is that crystal ball?!" I can't even begin to count the number of times I've asked myself that question.....

Right now, as you might be able to imagine, or as you probably know if you already are a parent, I am asking myself many questions.....like, how will things feel after the baby arrives? Will I still have the drive and ambitions that I've had as long as I can remember? Will I want a more quiet life? Can I handle a more quiet life? Does this/that make sense also in the future? What is best for me? ...and is that what's best for us?

I think I have too much time on my hands right now. Too much time to think and  to contemplate...and too few friends around......so today I'm trying new things. Small things......I'm eating a new breakfast. Listening to new music. Hoping this will give me a new perspective....shed a different light on things.

Compared to a few years ago, I feel a major change inside. I am happy now! I mean really happy!! I have a sense of peace inside....the same kind of peace I felt as I child and had just started to explore the world. When I look upon the world now, I am aware of the risks of my decisions, that's probably the difference compared to what I was like as a child, but what I see, what's in focus if you will, are the opportunities and adventures! ...just like back then. The choices I am making these days do not impact my happiness.....it is safe, it is in the right place, it's within me! Independent of the world, the consequences of our choices and the opinion of others. I know not many choices are irreversible. Not really! Not many things have to be permanent unless we want them to be (parenthood aside ;)).....and by every mistake, comes new learnings and new experiences, so can they really be called "mistakes"?

So what are choices? .....curses or blessings? How do you make your choices and decisions? What changed for you after becoming parents? What is the scariest decision you ever made? Do you have many regrets?

xox

For post-pregnancy, I am looking ridiculously forward to....

.....doing sports again! Especially jogging while breathing in crisp fall, or chilly winter, air down my lungs.
.....fitting into my old clothes! Especially my jeans.
.....drinking a glass of fine, red, powerful wine on a Friday eve ( Oh, what the heck! Let's add Saturday to the list as well ;)).
.....sleeping on my back!
.....eating Sushi and unpastuerized cheeses!
.....dipping half of my bread chunk in Kirsch before soaking it in the Cheese Fondue and the putting it in my mouth (dreeeewl!!!).
.....having a pain-free back again.
.....going on little excursions, hikes and adventures without having to rest for a week after!
.....wearing shoes for the sake of fitting an outfit instead of just being comfy and practical.
.....painting my own toe nails.
.....hugging and snuggling and actually being close to that person ;))
.....just having my old body back.

I'm sure there are plenty of other stuff too, but these are things (besides actually having a baby and all that entails!!) that I'm currently dreaming of....for after the pregnancy.

Moms, what were you missing the most?

xo
Linda @ the Hairdresser (who knows when I'll be able to go here again, right? ;))

Updated with iPhone

Photo blog: When the beauty of life makes your heart skip a beat...

Going back up the hill to our village from my pregnancy check-up this morning, the most amazing views caught my eye....and so, I rushed home to get the camera and went down the hill again, making stops along the way to capture this spectacular beauty, offered to me completely free.

I wouldn't have forgiven myself for missing these photo op's and stayed around long enough for the sky to change colors over and over as stormier weather blew in.
Ladies and gentlemen.... I give you: Morning view of Lac Leman (Lake of Geneva), Swiss vineyards and the French Alps. 

"Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take but by the moments that take our breaths away....."
Unknown author

xox