The other side

Here’s what the bedspread looks like on the other side. I don’t really know which side I like better. Kind of like them both.

Glad midsommar!

This weekend we’ve celebrated midsommar (=midsummer), which is a big holiday here in Sweden. You it herring and strawberries, drink snaps, and, if you’re under the age of five at least, you dance silly dances around one of these (no I don’t mean Ester, but the big pole-thingie in the background):

Ester had a very cool clover-dress, that I got for Eowyn when she was little, made of vintage fabric. Eowyn was matching in her favorite hat from florin, also made out of vintage clover-fabric, and a brand new dress from Brita Sweden, made of organic cotton. I got it at the sale at Juniform (thanks for the tip, Ylva!). It was actually meant for Ester but it was too big, so it fitted Eowyn.

Both matched their outfits with a pair of cool jeans. :)

Cabinet from Ellos

Instead of the Tolix-drawer we found this nice (and cheap!) cabinet from Ellos.

I instantly filled it with fabrics and other sewing stuff. I just hope that Ester won’t find it right away… She’s quite a little menace right now. :-)

Bungalow bedspread

Having looked for a second hand bedspread for a while, without finding anything we liked, I gave up and ordered a beautiful block printed bedspread from Danish company Bungalow the other day (via Swedish web shop Broarne). They’re hand printed and sewn in India. Block printing is supposed to be environmental friendly as well, although I must say I sort of fell in love with it so I didn’t really investigate that aspect.

Bungalow has lots of beautiful things, such as towels, boxes and wrapping paper, all made with the same technique. For those of you who like that kind of stuff I suggest you check it out. :-)

(image Bungalow)

Enzo Mari’s Formosa

We’ve been looking for a wall calendar, but without finding a nice one, probably since it’s the wrong season, everything is sold out except the most hideous ones.

One calendar that I really like is Formosa from Enzo Mari:

They’re available at the store Aschebergsgatan 24 here in Gothenburg, which I pass by every time I leave Eowyn at daycare, but never have time to go in to (mostly because they’re not open when I pass by). Therefore I don’t know how much it is - I’m guessing it’s expensive, but then again, it would last forever. :)

(image via aschebergsgatan 24)

Like a gigantic garage sale

Today our whole neighbourhood turned into a gigantic garage sale/flea market. Everyone was encouraged to set up their own stands right about anywhere, on sidewalks, in parks etc.

This was the view from our window earlier today:

We didn’t sell anything this time, since we moved quite recently and got rid of a lot of stuff then. Instead we walked around and spent the 300 SEK I had in cash. For that we got a bunch of stuff; a shelf, two plates, toys, clothes, a chair and two old Pippi-albums, that now hangs on Eowyn’s wall: 

She’s a huge Pippi-fan right now, and she got the old movies for her birthday, so these fitted perfectly.

Behind it all was Ekologisk stadsdel Majorna (ecological neighbourhood Majorna), a project with the goal to to make the whole neighbourhood more sustainable, initialized by the citizens. The project is really great, since it involves both organizations, companies and individuals. This was the second year the flea market occured and it will return every year.

Pretty comfortable dress - by Pop

About a year ago Pop boutique opened up a shop here in Gothenburg. They sell vintage furniture, ceramics and vintage clothing as well as their own clothing label Pop, which, according to their web site, is made with ethics in mind and, in some cases, from recycled fabrics.

The other day I went in and found a dress for the wedding we’re going to in a couple of weeks. I like wearing dresses, but it should be casual dresses preferably combined with something even more casual, like sneakers. But I’m not so bold as to wear sneakers to a wedding (hence the Swedish hasbeens). :) Therefore I was quite happy to find a dress that I feel pretty yet comfortable in that still works for weddings (which is the only semi-formal events I go to these days). And it was a bargain as well!

Second hand hat for Ester

I wish I could say that I had sewn this pretty hat myself.. But I haven’t :) Found it during my Stockholm trip at a second hand store with children clothes. It fits her perfectly though and the colors and pattern are really cool.

And today we did some more second hand shopping. Johan found a really nice suit, a shirt and a pair of jeans in one of the city’s better second hand stores. All for a third of the cost of a a similar, but new, suit. Good for me, or should I say the household economy, since I just bought a second pair of new (but sustainable!) shoes… :-)

Vintage stroller?

Now that Ester is getting a bit bigger and Eowyn is so big that she can walk almost everwhere we feel it’s perhaps time to get rid of the sibling-pram and getting ourselves a cool vintage stroller. I’m searching the online second hand market for one, perhaps something like this? Unfortunately that was’t anywhere near here… Seems they’re pretty hard to find. :-/ I wish my parents had saved the stroller we had when we were kids.

At the same time I’m eating ice cream and browsing through the latest Dos visit. I especially like the kitchen:

(images Jenny Brandt for Dos Family)