Up among the clouds where we live....

The holidays are now over and life goes back to normal up here, among the clouds, where we live... 2012 was the best year yet......by far! Probably impossible to beat, (felt more happy and more fit that I've done in YEARS, getting pregnant, had an amazing road trip in Florida, got proposed to, had so many lovely people visiting us, spent a fab holiday in Sweden, gave birth to our beautiful daughter, got a new job offer, took decision to move back home etc.), but even so, I am looking forward to 2013 with great excitement! 

It's been absolutely fantastic spending our first Christmas and new years together as a family of three, getting some down-time in preparation of what's to come. Moving back to Sweden in 3 months time!

Christmas eve was spent in all silence at home in Essertines, just the three of us, snuggling, opening gifts and also shopping some of the last gifts at "Tristan Chocolaterie" - an absolutely fantastic chocolate shop, very close to where we live with, dare I say, probably the most delicious chocolate I've ever tasted.... A bit pricy, but sooooo worth it! Guys, I mean it! If you're in the region, stop by at this little cute place and don't miss the milk chocolate chunks with whole hazelnuts inside. OMG! TO.DIE.FOR. 

The rest of Christmas was spent in Schaffhausen with Chris's family. A lovely few days which among many other things contained an amazing evening with Fondue Chinoise, lots of happiness, laughter, good food, really beautiful gifts and seeing some great friends....

New years eve was spent at home, in silence, as Allison got a fever from her vaccination shots.... We did however manage to have a three course dinner with a Chevre Chaud salad as a starter, Moules Frites (one of my absolute favorite dishes) for main course and then having dessert (white chocolate covered mango, strawberries and pineapple in the oven served with ice cream) and Champagne in bed as we wanted to stay close to our little girl. For the first time since before teenage years (at least as far as I can remember?!), I fell asleep before midnight but don't feel even a teeny-tiny little bit bad about it! I was just so happy that Allison could manage to fall asleep and rest the fever away.

On new years day, we headed out on a little 2-stop-road-trip to the mountains, passing by at Chris's uncle in Frenieres and then on to Chris's auntie in Crans Montana, where we spent the night. We loved it and the weather was amazing so we went for a walk enjoying the amazing views they have up there, finally surrounded by the snow we were unfortunately missing during Christmas!!

Some photos to enhance the flavor of what I just wrote:

Yes....we literally do live among the clouds.... It's magical!

A view of Mont Blanc and the French Alps from where we live...

I love the forest! So much beauty.....

....and the sun was peaking through the trees, making a magical light.

I have a thing for leafs =)

The perfect ingredients for a perfect walk: Allison sleeping in the buggy, Chris, sunshine and a thermos of hot tea....

...the view coming back from a walk in a nearby forest.

Superb Chocolate quality at Tristan!!

Me on new years eve

Chevre Chaud Salad with Avocado, Pomegranate and Roasted Pine Kernels....
Photo unfortunately taken with the iPhone, hence the crappy quality =o/

Moules Frites! =p

Pink Champagne.....my only requirement for new years eve!

Out for a walk in the snow....

The beautiful little fairy-tale-like village of Lens

Our walking views....

.....leaf....again =o/

Again, poor iPhone photo quality.....but loved the light!

This photo was taken from the car window on the way back from Crans Montana....completely unfiltered or unedited, just the gorgeous, natural light over Lac Leman (Lake of Geneva)....to bad I only had the iPhone in the car.

.....oh and I also really feel that I want to brag about receiving the most amazing christmas gift this year from Chris!! A new portrait lens for the camera AND private photo lessons that will be given to me by my favorite wedding photographer, Erika Gerdemark! I can barely believe it!! I'm sooooo thrilled!! She will also be the photographer at our wedding in July, booked since a few months back ;)

Wishing all you lovelies a healthy and happy 2013!

xox

The waiting....the endless waiting...

Patience.....probably one of the personal characteristics that would be the most useful right now and probably one of the ones I possess the least.... I am an absolutely USELESS "waiter" and yet, this is all I can do right now. So that's what I do......I wait.....and while I wait I try to use these last few days/weeks to fix our home, watch movies and episodes of TV series that I love, get plenty of sleep, having coffee's in the sofa while catching up on the latest blog posts, going for, (these days quite short), walks, doing some web shopping and listen to lots of music. That's all.....not much more and not much less. I try to be grateful that for probably the first time in my life, I am able to just rest and not do much, but it's so much harder than it sounds. I am desperately missing the running and training and can't wait to get started again.... So as you can imagine, no major news to share here, but will try to share some things ;))

This weekend, we went to one of our favorite interior shops and bought ourself enough stuff to make our living room look practically brand new! 2 new small coffee tables to replace the one we have, a new carpet, new pillows and a new blanket + some rearranging of our current decorations! Am really happy with the outcome, lots of additional space freed up and the sepia toned photo canvas print, hanging over the sofa, now fits in better.....but as one of the two small tables were out of stock, I will share photos once we pick it up later this week, but further down you'll see a "sneak-peek" ;))! 

Also placed an order for some basic nursing wear at Boobdesign.com and now waiting eagerly for my delivery!

I am obsessing over eating plenty of vitamins and make at least 2 fresh fruit and berry smoothies per day....

Got these beautiful roses from Chris on Friday.....

My morning routine....

My view right now....... Here you'll also see one of the new tables and the new carpet.

In my Spotify right now, you'll probably find these songs as my most frequently played (click on the song titles below to listen on YouTube):

• Jewels and Gold by Angus and Julia Stone
• Small bump by Ed Sheeran  (thanks to Chris's sister Steffi for sending this one to me! Love it! ....and I must admit I'm so hormonal right now that it makes me cry happy tears ;))
• Human by Ellie Goulding
• Trembling Hands by The Temper Trap
• We Don't Eat by James Vincent McMorrow
• Down by Mat Kearney
• Forever My Friend by Ray LaMontagne

What are you up to??
xox

As dry as the desert......

....in terms of topics I mean! Am slowly but surely realizing that blogging about every day life, when what you do most of the time is just staying at home resting, waiting for the baby to arrive, makes it quite difficult to find interesting topics to write about ;))
Even so, here is an attempt at updating you guys on past, current and planned stuff.

Currently, I am.....
Planning: Our wedding and it's so much fun! Am so happy that most of the important details are already fixed.... We have a date, the location, the menu more or less set already, we have a best man, bridesmaids, a toastmaster and a toastmadame, a priest, a guest list, a "sort of" theme has come to life, we have an invitation prepared that just needs to be finalized, an amazing photographer is booked and we have many many fun ideas to still explore. As you can imagine, the dress will have to wait until I know at least roughly what kind of shape I'll be in ;))
Looking forward to: 2 planned trips before our baby arrives (if I will be able to cope that is ;)). The first one is a weekend in Schaffhausen, meeting up with friends and Chris's family and going to the baptism of our friend's baby girl. Then in mid September, we have an Italian wedding to go to in Milan and I am soooooo excited!! Just need to decide what to wear.....not that many options these days though which might be a good thing ;))
Am also looking forward to meet a fellow blogger tomorrow morning for breakfast. She runs the blog "Cashmere inside". Check it out ;))
Listening to: Ellie Goulding's old album, "Bright lights" while looking forward to her new album to be released in October. 

Am also loving the new Eric Turner vs. Avicii song "Dancing in my head"! .....not my usual music pick, I know, but I just love the sound! So uplifting!

Happy about: Being on maternity leave..... In some ways, time goes slower but on the other hand, it gives me lots of time for mental preparation of what's to come. I can't believe it's only 7 weeks left! I am happy, nervous, a bit scared and ooohhh soooo excited - all at once!!
Missing: Sports so much that it hurts.... I am now only hoping I can have a normal, and more or less complication free, delivery so that I can recover quite fast and start getting back into shape. This need is mainly driven by the poor shape of my back at the moment as it makes me feel a bit like a prisoner in my own body.
Thankful for: Having so much support from Chris..... I am really, truly, unbelievably fortunate! He grocery shops, cooks, bakes, gives massages, pep-talks, takes me out for walks and for fun, cleans, organizes and on top of this, he even brings me gifts..... On Saturday, after he went to Lausanne to see a friend, he brought me back two of the things I have been craving over the past few months: My favorite Almond dragees and Chocolate for making hot chocolate from Blondel.

Wishing you all a great week!!

xox

The end of the visitors "era" ;)

Yep......so since yesterday and for the first time in ages, we have no visitors planned! It feels strange, quiet, great, relaxing and sad, all in one go!! I have greatly enjoyed all the company and the fantastic visitors, especially since Chris has been away a lot in the military service, but being pregnant especially, I also must say I enjoy some quiet times, knowing that after mid October, this might be quite a rare thing ;))


Currently, I'm........

Inspired by: Chris who just found out he passed his qualifying exam to become European Patent Attorney (his first try!!!)!! He worked soooooo hard and was so disciplined and it all payed off =)))) I am so so proud of him!!!! This calls for major celebration and we already started yesterday when he came home from the military.....I had made a little surprise welcome for him ;)) 

Such a happy camper ;)))) 

Lots of Champagne for Chris.....two sips for me, just to get a taste ;))

....all though the color is not revealing it, these are vanilla cupcakes with Caramel & Sea Salt flavored topping.

Happy about: The above (obviously)!! Also having had friends and family here lately to make memories with and to cheer me/us up! They were also all taking very good care of me. Am also happy to now have some quiet times ahead to fully get my head around the fact that we are becoming parents.... Exciiiiiting times!

Disappointed about: My physical health as I am struggling to breathe properly due to the pregnancy. This is very frustrating and tiring. I am functioning normally most of the time, but when the difficulty to breathe starts, it's impossible to feel comfortable and to avoid panicking at least a bit. Knowing that it's not dangerous for me or the baby helps though ;)

Looking forward to: Going home to Sweden for a couple of weeks!! We are going together with Chris's youngest sister and her boyfriend and I hope to have many lazy days there, just enjoying being "home" for a while.

Planning: Hmmm.....not sure if I ever told you, but Chris proposed to me back in March so now we are planning our wedding next year.....better to start all the planning early as soon, there will be other things occupying our minds. Hehe!
Listening to: Right now I'm listening a lot to "Drumming song" by Florence and the Machine.

Eating: Cupcakes that are left from yesterday..... 

My goal, post-pregnancy

Wanting: To go back to this shape (see photo on the right) after the pregnancy and remembering how incredibly good it feels to be in good shape will be my motivator! I know some people think I'm obsessing over this thing, but for me this is the hardest thing by far about being pregnant.... Really....the feeling of your physical condition deteriorating is not pleasant. I speak only the truth, so this is what you'll get from me ;)) Ayway, I don't want to be skinny or supermodel sized, I just want to go back to a fit me.

Wondering: If we will be lucky with the weather in Sweden.... It will make all the difference and I want to be sure we get the most out of these precious days.

Thankful for: All the wonderful people (friends and family) in our lives!!! We love them all so very much.....and it's amazing to think about what a great circle of people our child will get to be around! Lucky child =)
Remembering: This one part I'll do in photos ;))))

This gorgeous view at sunset in Annecy in France.....stunning, no?

My friend Madde (in the picture) and I walked up to the Dent de Vaulion. Probably the last uphill hiking for me during this pregnancy...in just a couple of weeks, it had gotten sooooo hard! I had to stop several times to catch my breath and get my pulse back down. Oh well.....

My week 27 pregnancy bump! Last week of the second trimester......hard times ahead they say ;)))

A much needed cool down swim in the Lac Leman

One of the best ice creams I've ever had. Mine is the one to the right containing Coconut, Macaroon and Caramel/sea salt flavors =p

Sunshine sunshine sunshine!!!!

Hope you're all having a lovely weekend!!!! 

xox

Days like these are precious treasures.....

I spotted these little lovely, delicate heart-shaped petals while walking... 

We woke up a bit late this morning, probably around 10:30-11'ish, using the fact that it's weekend and that we had no plans and while having breakfast, it was already 24 degrees and full sunshine with clouds so few and tiny that they didn't give any shade whatsoever. 


The afternoon was spent outdoors, walking around in our stunningly beautiful area and it was so hot that we decided to take a dip in the little mountain water brook, just close to our house (It was freeeeezing cold, probably not more than 15 degrees (MAX) but made us feel as good as new!). This was followed by  a, much warmer, bubble bath with facial and hair mask (just for me in case you were wondering ;)) and then a great Vegetarian Fried Rice dinner, cooked by Chris, on our balcony. An absolutely amazing way to spend the day!!


Here, a little update of what's happening currently and as of lately ;))

Currently, I'm........

Our view of Lac Leman (Lake of Geneva) this afternoon

Happy about: That summer is finally here!!! Every day is simply amazing!! 
Disappointed about: It would be impossible not to mention football here! I'm disappointed (not angry) that Sweden lost against Ukraine and England in the Euro 2012. It's true that we didn't play great in these games, but neither did our opponents frankly speaking, so in my opinion, it could have gone either way......a little bit of luck wouldn't have hurt and it never seems to be on our side in these kinds of tournaments.

The Raspberry cake from our landlords that we enjoyed, with some vanilla
ice cream for dessert! In the background, our own Raspberry bush, doing
quite well I must say =))

Thinking about: Right now, how to be able to get what we really need for the baby and not getting caught up in all of these absolute must-have-shopping-frenzies that all these baby magazines are inspiring you to go on. Have.To.Stay.Strong ;))
Listening to: Since we're sitting on the balcony, right now it's the sound of distant crickets, birds and cowbells (and Chris making the occasional comment about some airplane news he's reading in his favorite magazine ;)) ..... So lovely!!

Looking forward to: Everything!! =))

Eating: This amazing Raspberry pie/cake that our landlord baked and brought for us (while it was still warm I might add ;)). Sooooo yummy!! I'm pretty sure we have the best landlords in the history of mankind.

....surely not the warmest bath I've ever had, but nevertheless, amazing!

Watching: Alternating between this screen, the view from our balcony (great, green fields with a blue sky background) and  trailers for a few movies that we might watch later (right now, it's between "Safe house", "Jeff, who lives at home" and "21 Jump Street").

Wondering: How to celebrate Swedish Midsummer this year! It will be especially strange without the traditional Swedish Snaps! Not that I ever really enjoyed it, but it's just one of those traditions ;))

Planning: Things to do with my dad and his wife when they come to visit us! They arrive tomorrow evening and are staying here for 2 weeks. Will be fun!!

Feeling: The warm summer evening breeze in my face and our baby kick, frequently and LOTS! ....and I love it (besides the occasional kick on my bladder!! Ouch!) ;)

Inspired by: .....as you may have noticed, the weather!! Summer makes me feel like anything and everything is possible!

Thankful for: Being able to work less now so I can properly take care of myself and the little life growing inside of me. Strange feeling though for someone who always prioritized work and have worked at least 100% since 1998 (OMG!!!!!).

Remembering: The gorgeous afternoon I spent by the Lake of Geneva yesterday on a picnic blanket. It was especially lovely since I had the whole area more or less to myself and was then joined in the afternoon by my dear friend Greta who also joined us for BBQ, Mojito's and football in the evening. More of this pleeeeeeaaaaase =p 
Here, some snapshots from yesterday afternoon:

Summer in a bowl

Summer on a fork

Pure enjoyment caught on cam ;) 

My spot. Not too shabby I must say ;))

Wanting: Many MANY more summer days, just like these ones!! 

I hope you're all having a wonderful Saturday!! Enjoy the rest of your weekend!! .....and if your team is lucky enough to still have a chance in the Euro 2012: May the best team win =))

xox