I like road signs. In a way they symbolize life. Sometimes I feel that my life is in a roundabout. I keep on ending up where I started. Other times when I think I know the direction, I find myself in a dead end road and need to make a U-turn. But the best part is when I feel like I am on the trail I am meant to be.
According to Joseph Goldstein, the author; If we are facing in the right direction, all we have to do is keep on walking.
Photo: Kristin Bae Mysen
Whenever I recall the odor in the wood shop (sløydsalen) at school. How fun it was using the soldering pen engraving “To my mom” with a heart next to it. I came across this pen on the net the other day and I simply had to buy one for myself. So now I am busy playing with my new toy. Great fun !!!
I ordered mine from here
Photo: Kristin Bae Mysen
I am a fan of collecting recipes and I have done it since I was 14, meaning when I go through my binder, it is like passing through history. Here are my favorite nut cake my aunt always served at family parties when I was a child, the crab mold salad from my year in California when I was a teenager and Dolma (stuffed bell pepper) from the time I was teaching Bosnian students in the 90s.
A young friend told me that before she moved out from her parents’ house last year, she made her mother, grandmother, boyfriend and other friends write down the recipes of the dishes they make which she loves in a notebook. She also asked them to add a personal statement and a greeting next to it like: “I have made this lemonade every summer since I was ten. Hope you will enjoy it as well, best regards”.
What a good idea !
My new chili binder is ordered from this webite. Here you will find all kinds of fruits and vegetable covers.
Photo: Kristin Bae Mysen
I found this great, happy-looking bird on a book cover the other day. A famous quote from Dalai Lama says; “Happiness is not something ready made. It comes from your own actions”. True enough and according to an article in Time magazine the happiest among us simply make time for this:
1. They choose to exercise.
2. They choose to spend time outside.
3. They choose to focus on their families.
4. They choose to make time for friends.
5. They choose to find meaning in their work.
6. They choose to contribute to their communities.
7. They choose to get enough sleep.
Photo: Kristin Bae Mysen
“Home is where the heart is” as the Roman philosopher Pliny the Elder said wisely already around 50 AD. This is one of my favorite sayings because my home does actually represent the center or the heart in my life. For me it is a shelter where I can be my true self, surrounded by the people and the things that I love. Therefore I simply had to have this little tag made for my new Philippi keyring.
Photo: Kristin Bae Mysen
Being a detail freak I had fun picking out these keys which symbolise certain things. The one with the heart is for my front door in my home. The little house, for my outside office and the butterfly for my parents’ s house. As a child I always enjoyed watching the butterflies in my mom’s roses.
The keyring Loop from Philippi can be ordered from this site . The tag is bought and engraved in a pet store whilst the Norwegian keys can be purchased in Jernia stores in Norway.
Being in love with contemporary art I always pay museums of modern art a visit when I am abroad. And what always is a hit for me is to stop by their design stores to be inspired or to look for something special to give away. It could be a colorful card or a design product. However staying at home behind my computer I can easily do the same thing although it feels a little bit like cheating. Yesterday I went world wide and visited the museums’s webshops and these are some of the treasures I found.
London, Tate Modern – webshop Stockholm, Moderna Museet – webshop
New York, MoMA – Museum of Modern Art – webshop
Oslo, Astrup Fearnley Museet – webshop
Sydney, Museum of Contemporary Art – webshop
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art – webshop
Photo: Kristin Bae Mysen
The fun part about travelling is to get hold of all those handy products that cannot be found in your own country. Therefore on a local market on our favorite island Sicily, I simply had to buy these colorful and solid pegs. And when I discovered that almost every household had these genius baskets of pegs where the rain could drain right through, I had to purchase one as well.
So while my husband fills his suitcase with jam, olive oil, Limoncello and Marsala, I pack mine with this junky stuff.
Photo: Kristin Bae Mysen
I love this beautiful, organic and fragrant little tableau by the sink in our kitchen.
Photo: Kristin Bae Mysen
A trip up in the attic today, and all of a sudden I was back in time; I heard the noise of two children , their laughter, remembered the joy and the constant chaos.
It was yesterday, wasn’t it?
Photo: Kristin Bae Mysen
This is my homemade, woolen rug. I have been knitting and crocheting on it for years. Lately I made it bigger due to a complain from my tall son. He wanted a rug that could cover his legs. Now it’s done. I love the fact that there are faults here and there. Luckily nothing is perfect in life, neither is my rug. It is also quite funny that I finished it today which I think must have been the warmest day in Norway this year.
The colors look great in the corner of our sofa, but the best part is that the whole family tend to crawl into it during the winter.
It is made by Vamsegarn on circular knitting needle number 5, 45 masks on each needle. I have used a ball of yarn on each square, and the squares are crocheted together. The rug measures 1,45×1,95 m
Vamsegarn from Norway can be ordered from here.
