My Precious..

I finally got it! My CK moonstone ring! It is just as fabulous as I had imagined!

I bought it at Klockmaster Hansson, Frölunda Torg. They were very helpful and nice, they ordered one with the right size and transparency (they are way cooler when you can see through them). This morning they called me and told me that I could come get it. I sure have a weak spot for personal service.
Note: I do NOT mean the kind of personal service when the staff attack you at the door to ask if you need any help, or open the fitting rooms to "see how you're doing", but the plain niceness that you sometimes encounter that will brighten your shopping experience.

The "Emerald" of eyeliners

Ok. So I made loads of people aware of eyeshadow "Emerald" from The Body Shop (see post). The time has come for me to share this eyeliner as well. I got the tip from a friend at work, who is very dark-featured with brown eyes. It was lovely on her. I am more of a blonde (even though I am technically not, nowadays), but to my great joy it looked great on me too. Conclusion: this tip applies to everyone.

Isa Dora "Perfect Contour Kajal" The shade: "71 Atlantic".
Write that down. It's the perfect way to frame your "Emerald" eyes (I either use it on the inside of the lashes or as an eyeliner or even shadow!). A little blueish, a little greenish. Lots of sparkle. Minimum hole in the wallet. You'll love it.

Get it anywhere in Sweden or here from the www.

This is what last made me cry

Digging to China, a film about the friendship of a ten year old girl and a retarded man (who happens to be Kevin Bacon).

I have a hard time deciding whether this film is adorable or depressing. A little bit of both, may be the most accurate desription. What I do know is that it was really touching and everyone should see it if they're in the mood for a small town movie that makes you all soft inside. It's a little like the dog tickling the baby.

Maybe I was too soft and taste-impaired yesterday night, I read that people go on about bad acting and such. Pfft. Ok, so the movie feels a bit like a TV production (maybe it is?). What's wrong with that?
Nah, you go ahead and see it.

Wish list item #4

In The Republica yesterday, I saw a post that really tickled my tastebuds. There is a new restaurant in Chicago called Alinea, where a 30-course "tour" is available for anyone who is willing to spend $175. I totally would be, had I actually GOT the money to go to Chicago and pay for dinner.

Grant Achatz, some famous prize-winning chef of whom I have never heard, is the brain behind Alinea, he sure seems to be an innovative fella. Just take a look at what foodandwine.com has to say about him:

"Any ingredient that strays into his kitchen is examined, poked, prodded, stretched, reshaped, transubstantiated. Herbs are turned into gas, fruit is turned into paper, pizza is stripped of crunch and chew until it's nothing but pure flavor. By tomato season in 2003, Achatz had figured out how to blow bubbles out of mozzarella and trap tomato foam inside them. The search for tools that enable such culinary makeovers has led Achatz and his cooks to laboratory-equipment manufacturers, snack-food conventions and the corner hardware store."

The Republica linked to eGullet forums (a place where I will set foot more often for sure) where a full walkthrough of the meal with pictures (oh, the pictures!) is available (six pages, be sure to see them all!). It kinda made me hungry. But THIRTY courses? I am kind of a petite girl. This would probably be even worse than my Lejonet & Björnen-experience. But still..

Ok, so I blog about food all the time... it seems to be what interests me the most at the moment..

Har BBB en panic button?

Uppkopplingen har varit knackig alltför länge, jag slog en signal (många om man räknar med telefonkön) till BBB Support. Trevlig tjej svarade, nej, det var inget reparationsarbete på stationerna, allt skulle vara i sin ordning. Var jag SÄKER på att lådan satt i förstajacket? Jahaja, men vi gör en felanmälan då. Har du ett mobilnummer?

En kvart senare piper det till i mobilen och BBB meddelar att de har åtgärdat problemet. Hur GÖR de?
Jag tror på en panic button. Ringer någon och klagar så trycker de på en röd knapp som krämar på ordentligt med bandbredd till den klagande, som tystas tillfälligt. Eller permanent, vad vet jag. Man kan ju hoppas.

Guanabanana?

Bought a Festis today with an eerie colour. The flavour was Guanabana/Pineapple. Turns out, this magical combination (and perhaps the colour, too) made it taste like liquid Piggelin. I can only imagine what happens if you put it in the freezer... but then again.. why should you when you can buy the ice cream?

I really liked it, the Festis, maybe it's Pavlovian, it brings back lots of childhood memories. It tastes kinda artificial (the opposition says) but is well worth trying.

Whatever the heck is guanabana anyway?

An odyssey in bad taste...

We went crazy this afternoon and went to Ullared!
A well known Swedish phenomenon it is, the huge shopping mall Gekås in the middle of nowhere that sells just about everything. According to my mother, you could find great clothes there thirty years ago. Today, I am sad to say, the clothes there serve as a perfect indication of what to avoid at all costs, fashion-wise. Yet, the lingerie and swimwear department is allright, so is the Home & Kitchen and the cosmetics! Today I left with only a couple of facial creams and a necklace. Unfortunately, the H&M shop there was closed today. It's always packed with crazy offers.

Another well-known Swedish phenomenon is Kärringrallyt. That's when a couple of old ladies go crazy and take the entire tour, including Ullared, all the fabric factories in Borås and Lager 157 in Gällstad. Nowadays, probably Freeport, Kungsbacka as well.

I once did the full Kärringrally, and stopped for lunch at Klevs Gästgiveri (phone no here), Mårdaklev. Highly recommended, great staff and lovely Swedish food.

Lager 157 (an outlet near Borås) is actually well worth a visit! I recommend it. They've got all kinds of brands, loads of jeans. It's a bit like SOLO but much cheaper. Try it out!

Sounds that make you feel good..

I checked out Hedonistica the other day, and saw this video of a dog tickling a baby. It was impossible not to feel warm and happy inside when I heard the crazy noises the baby makes. It's kinda like when I hear the laughing version of "Are You Lonesome Tonight?" by Elvis Presley. It never fails to make me happy (and his laughter is so contagious that I always end up laughing too), no matter how I feel before hearing it.

Why is Elvis laughing? Read here.

Creativity will not take me far...

...when I have the annoying habit of "saving" my favourite pieces of clothing for special occasions. And when those special occasions come, I get so tired of picking out what to wear, that I just grab something random. Meaning that my wardrobe is full(and steadily growing, I am sorry to say) of lovely clothes that I never wear.

And what about The Dress? Why does it always feel too dressed up when it's the most practical thing in the world? (Killer Biscotti Friend, remember our Campaign for Klänningens Avdramatiserande? Time for a revival.)

I have to end this ridiculous behaviour. Now. More dresses. No more saving stuff.

Am I alone?

Out with the old, in with the..OLD?

Yesterday I did some deep digging in the boxes and the bags in my "hidden chamber" (skrubb in Swedish).
The thought was to find some old clothes that I can re-use and some that I can get rid of.
I scored jackpot. Two old skirts (thin offwhite and white cotton), one from Mango and one from Zara, revealed their true identities to me.
One turned out to be a great dress with the mere help of a belt or ribbon. The other one, set with a brooch, became a really cute top. Maybe I'll post a pic or two in the near (or far) future, so that you can watch the magic happen. I will take a look at my other skirts to see if they hold this potential too. Sometimes I feel so creative.

Cantuccini

This is what's looking down on me every time I open the kitchen cabinet.
My father returned from a trip to Italy with the mandatory giant chunk of parmigiano reggiano and a bag of cantuccini. For my mother! And as she always saves stuff until it crawls out of the bag by itself, these cookies will probably never see daylight in their prime. Unless I come up with some devious plan...

Cantuccini (or, as I've always said, "biscotti".. which is wrong, because thats just "cookie" or "biscuit" in general) are Italian cookies with whole almonds and a bit of lemon juice (I think). Will have to ask my classmate for the recipe, she makes KILLER cantuccini.

It says here (and everywhere) that these darlings are best enjoyed with sweet wine (Vino Santo) which I have to try, but the "killer-cantuccini-friend" served them with mascarpone. And that was molto bene too.


Edit: Tried them out and I must say that the ones you can buy in Sweden (small pic) are better. The brand is called Colussi.

This is hard evidence...

...that I spend way too much time surfing the web (like a friend told me today).

See the resemblance?


The left one is Mosh Girl, which I found somewhat hilarious (at least the breakdance one!) at the time of discovery. Today while checking out Onemansafari, I came across this lovely scuba gallery and was amazed at the beauty of the deep blue. And then, all of a sudden, among frogfish and corals, I found the Mosh Girl of the ocean (right). Whaddayathink?

larger pics here and here

A sweet threesome

I LOVE dark chocolate! It's so addictive, once you get started you go darker and darker and darker. I used to love After Eight, too. But I've outgrown it, everything seems too sugary compared to the seductive tastes of 75% cocoa or more. I've solved this problem by simply taking a square of dark chocolate and a piece of After Eight, align them (a perfect size match, you might notice) and enjoy them together! What makes this even more refined, is a chocholate with cocoa kernel splinters, my favourite is Sarotti No. 1 Sao Thomé.

Now you have the perfect combo of dark chocolate, mint AND crispy splinters. M-m-m.

My buddy Chuck.

'"No matter what your size, these are big shoes to fill"

At least that's what they say on the homepage. I would change that to "no matter what your size, these babies are the ultimate spring shoes".
White Chuck Taylors will go with pretty much any outfit. Well, that's my theory at least, which is why I bought them myself a couple of days ago. Had a pair of red ones (or two) before but felt somewhat limited color-wise. I hope my theory will be proven correct, I love these shoes.

yea yea, I know. This is old news and I am totally un-original...
Read more about the Chucks here.

Now that spring is finally here..

...what could possibly be better than a romantic ice-cream in a romantic city?
Here are my personal favourites:

Lejonet & Björnen - Gothenburg

The other day I went with a friend to Lejonet och Björnen to get rid of some cravings since the Paris trip (see below). They had a "Taste menu" with ten (!) flavours of choice in a waffle boat. I can never decide, so I thought that was the thing for me. Let me just say, when I walked out of there, I had no more cravings.
This is about as good as ice cream gets in Gothenburg. They have loads of weird flavours. During my 10-flavor-orgy, I fell for Limoncello (LOVELY!!), Marcipan and Cinnamon. Oh, and the Italian Chocolate. The joy. The pleasure.

Amorino - Paris

When I was in Paris, I paid (4 Euros) a visit to Amorino almost every day. Italian gelato at it's finest (outside of Italy, that is, see below). The best one was at Rue de Buci, right next to the Taschen bookstore (which I totally loved too, the interior was really cool). The good thing about Amorino is, apart from the ice cream being so extremely great, that you buy a cup or cone and you can fill it with AS MANY FLAVOURS AS YOU LIKE!! Mmm. And the ice cream is extraordinary. The best ones at Amorino were: passion fruit, mascarpone, pistachio.
Read more: Another blogger who discovered the great world of Amorino.

Blue Ice - Rome

Yet another school excursion that took place June last year. We found a crazy neon ice cream chain that was amazing! (there is one right near Fontana di Trevi) I have no words. Well, allright. I have three.. FRUTTI. DI. BOSCO.
Read even more: Someone who loves both Blue Ice and Amorino.