Truly Felicia

Escape With Me

I’m ready for the long weekend! We have Thursday and Friday off and I couldn’t be happier. I really need to escape the office and spend some time in the sun with an ice cream and good company. My close friend Cecilia is visiting from London and I’m excited to see her and share some gossip.

Also, Andreas and I are probably taking the boat out on this year’s maiden voyage. Hopefully it will be warm enough for a swim in the ocean, but Swedish weather is unpredictable and we might just as well end up below deck with blankets, books and hot cocoa. Either way I’m looking forward to it. Have a good one!

What I’d take on my escape – Carrera Forever Mine Sunglasses/Charlie by Matthew Zink Adriana Bikini/Maslin Zebra Hide Towel/A.L.C. Paige Wool Sweater/Isabel Marant Roxi Shorts/Baggu Zipper Bag L/Spring Court Glove High Tops/Jane Carr Square Garden Scarf/J Brand Aiden Boyfriend Jeans

-collage by me

Magic Monday

Hello blog followers! No, I haven’t abandoned you. I’ve just had so much on my plate it’s simply been all too much. But I’m back, Stockholm is spring beautiful and I’ve got so many exciting things to share with you. Soon. Some wedding pics and film for starters. We're also busy planning my sister's baby shower. I just finished designing the invite and really enjoyed creating something sweet with a dash of adventure.

Have a magic Monday!

- image here

Spring Fling: Ballerina Love

Spring has sprung in Stockholm. Finally! Ballerina love, clockwise from bottom left Tory Burch, Jimmy Choo, Carven, Belle by Sigerson Morrison and Lanvin.

- all images from Net-a-Porter, collage by me

The Pulitzer Prize in Fiction: My Winner

No winner? What?

Yesterday the Pulitzer Prize board announced there would be no winner of the 2011 fiction category. I must say I am disappointed, out of the three finalists – Denis Johnson for Train Dreams, David Foster Wallace for The Pale King and Karen Russell for Swamplandia! – I think Ms. Russell was the obvious choice. Train Dreams was first published in the Paris Review in 2002, to me that is not a work from 2011 even though it was re-written, and The Pale King was finished after Mr. Foster Wallace’s death in 2008 by his editor. Also, I loved Swamplandia!. I think it is truly a rare and original work of fiction. Ms. Russell manages to capture the waves of tumultuous and unrestrained thoughts and feelings cursing through the book’s unlikely heroin, 12-year old Ava Bigtree, as she navigates life trying to save herself and her family in the wake of her mother’s untimely death with such insight that I found myself remembering things I had long forgot from that same period of almost childhood. To me, conveying such feelings is a rare gift in a writer. There are so many fantastic writers and so many books stay with me after I have read that last page but only once or twice every other year does a book touch my spirit the way Swamplandia! did.

I think it is very unfair to all finalists not to pick a winner. A Pulitzer is what many writers hope for their entire career. One thing is to be a finalist and for the board to pick one of the other finalists but to be a finalist and for the winner’s stand to be left empty is just deflating to future creativity. This would never happen in a sporting event. A tie would have been preferable. All three books are amazing in their own right - give them all a Pulitzer each.

And yes, I do realize that a Pulitzer is not all writers’ dream and that most writers do not write with a Pulitzer in mind, but most would be very honored to receive one.

- book cover from Amazon

Maddict: Palm Springs Dreaming

On a Mad Men note (yes I'm obsessing!) do you remember when Don goes to Palm Springs in The Jet Set in Season 2 and has a grand time with his new friends leaving Pete (without a driver's license) to meet all the clients they were both sent to California to handle? Of course you do. The house Don stays in is actually the Fox Residence, which formerly belonged to Frank Sinatra, in Chatstown and not in Palm Springs. But it has clearly got that Kaufmann/Neutra vibe going, right?

The house below is situated in Palm Springs and belongs to interior designer Emily Summers. I love how she lets the house's 60's architecture guide her interior decorating but still manages to give it a modern feel.

- all pictures from Architectural Digest

Maddict: Season 5 Premiere

I'm so excited, in my opinion the fifth season couldn't have started in a better way. I love the dynamic between Don (Jon Hamm) and the new Mrs. Draper, Megan (Jessica Paré). In many ways she is so much better suited to Don than Betty ever was and seems unafraid to challenge him. Add to that her fearless performance of Sophia Loren’s Zou Bisou Bisou at the unwanted surprise birthday party she throws for Don. This girl has some spunk. Later, when the excessively private Don sulks about her turning their intimacy into a show she doesn’t let him get away with it and makes it clear she feels her love for him and efforts are unappreciated, which in time forces Don to explain to her why he reacted the way he did and she seems to understand him.

I think the first two episodes clearly show this main difference between Don’s relationship with Megan compared to the one he had with Betty. In explaining he strengthens their bond instead of pushing Megan away the way he did Betty. Maybe Don is becoming better at relationships or maybe he simply met his match in Megan. Either way, I can’t wait for this week’s episode.

- photo from AMC

Have a Good One

It's been a long time since I looked forward to the weekend this much. Wow, this was one rough week. But I feel much better now after some good advise from Andreas and from my parents (via email from Ischgl, they're the best!) and also a big ragù alla bolognese dinner, my one true comfort food. I made it last weekend from my father's recipe and will post it soon, I promise.

Happy weekend!

- kissing couple, beautiful flowers

On Staying Brave and Staying True

Tomorrow will be a battle. I know it and I can feel my body gearing up but I also know what I need to do. I know I won't give in, I will keep my strength and remember where this started and what I was promised and I will hold that promise like a light in front of me. 

A good friend and I discussed our now grown-up life. We spoke about many things but one thing puzzles us both. In high-school we both believed that those typical high-school shenanigans - the petty arguing, the silly groups, the outright deception, the mean scheming, the foolish slander, the all-consuming gossip, the insecurity - would end the same glorious day we got our diplomas. As all grown-ups know but don't tell, it doesn't. It keeps going with some people more often than not acting not even like teenagers but like small children.

I feel the only thing I can do now is what I did in high-school when things got rough and I felt some part of me straying in that dangerous direction of destructive behavior, I'll force myself to see what I know to be true and not let myself be side-tracked or bullied.

See you in school kids.

- poster here

Here There: Lou Mora and Alexander McQueen

Bursts of color caught my eye today. Lou Mora, a photographer I really like, and Sarah Burton for the Alexander McQueen Fall Winter 2012 colletion.

Perfect!

- image to the left (cropped) Lou Mora, image to the right (cropped) Vogue

Happy Weekend: Let's Eat Cake

Have a fantastic weekend! Tomorrow is Andreas' birthday and I'm planning the best start to it with a great breakfast, then for some surprises and hopefully more of the lovely spring weather we've been enjoying lately.

Also, I got the BEST email from my extremely talented friend Andreas Palm who shot our wedding - he's got over 3700 pictures. I'll definitely share some with you!

- image here