Home Sweet Home ♥ (So why do I still feel homesick?)

Posted in Family Life by A Spoonful of Style

After all the yummy but not necessarily healthy food I've been indulging in over the last two weeks it was nice to start the day with a healthy breakfast of low carb muesli (recipe here), yoghurt and fresh strawberries

After all the yummy but not necessarily healthy food I’ve been indulging in over the last two weeks it was nice to start the day with a breakfast of low carb muesli (recipe here), yoghurt and fresh strawberries

We’re back from our holiday and while it’s nice to be home (despite the mountain of washing and sorry state of our cloakroom – see here), as always I feel like I’ve left a part of me behind. There is a saying in Sweden which roughly translates to ‘Away is good but home is best’, meaning that it’s good to go on holiday but the nicest part is often returning to your home and familiar routine. But what if the place you go away to is also your home or at least used to be?

I was ten years old when my dad was transferred from Stockholm to London and apart from a couple of years in the US and Ireland I have lived in the UK ever since. We were only meant to stay here for 2-3 years but once they were settled my parents didn’t want to leave and despite my father now being retired they still have no plans to move back.

When I was a teenager I had no desire whatsoever to return to Sweden as I thought (rightly or wrongly) that London’s fashion and music scenes where infinitely cooler than anything my home country had to offer. Now that I am older and have children of my own I find myself appreciating my childhood more and more – the fresh air and open spaces, being able to go ice skating and cross country skiing in the winter and swimming in the lakes in the summer.

In an ideal world I would like us to live in Sweden for a year or two so that the children learn to read and write in Swedish and, perhaps most importantly, really embrace the country and culture as part of their own identity. At the moment they definitely think of themselves as more English than Swedish which is hardly surprising as they were born here and have never lived anywhere else. And while they all understand Swedish it is a struggle to get the boys to speak it unless they’re with their cousins who haven’t learned English yet. One of the hardest things is that my sister and I have lived in different countries for the past 18 years as she moved back to attend university and ended up staying. We keep in touch via Skype and email but often talk about how nice it would be if we lived closer, especially now that we both have children.

For now, however, such a big move is not possible as my husband’s work necessitates him being near London. While that may change at some point in the future, I imagine that as the kids get older it will be more difficult to uproot them from their friends, not to mention disrupting their schooling at a crucial stage. I don’t want to relocate permanently though as I love our life here – our friends, our house and our lovely village with its great sense of community.

And it’s not that I want to impose my own nationality on my children but I would like them to feel that they could choose to study or work in Sweden when they get older (there are some benefits over the UK: further education is free and property prices are generally lower). At the same time I like the idea of putting down roots and creating a family home to encompass all their childhood memories from toddlers to teenagers. We have been in our current house for just over six years now and it’s the longest time I’ve lived in one property since I left Sweden.

There are no easy answers but for now I’ve resolved to carry on speaking Swedish to the children, even if they insist on answering back in English, and upholding traditions such as St Lucia and Midsummer. It would be great to visit more often but for a family of five plane tickets are not exactly cheap so at the moment two or three trips a year is probably all we can manage.

Maybe one day we can get our own holiday home somewhere on the coast of Sweden. Something like this would be amazing (a girl can dream can’t she?):

21Aug2013

Fun at Legoland

Posted in Family Life by A Spoonful of Style

We rounded off our holiday with a trip to the original Legoland theme park in Billund, Denmark. We had booked a two-night package staying at the Legoland Hotel, which I was slightly nervous about, having read mixed reviews about it. But I needn’t have worried – the hotel was great, with big spacious rooms, friendly service, decent food and of course Lego everywhere, including Lego gifts for the children and two big tubs of bricks in our room.

All three children in one picture, looking at the camera and smiling. Hardly EVER happens!

Because the ferry back to England doesn’t leave until 7 in the evening, we had two full days at the park meaning that, between us, we went on every single ride. The boys and their dad were keen to go on the bigger roller coasters while Clemmie and I stuck to the trains, boats and gentle carousels although we did meet up at regular intervals so we could all do some activities together. My parents were also with us and the kids even managed to convince them to come on some of the rides, including the pirate ship one where the objective was to shoot everyone with water canons. Needless to say, we all got soaked but luckily it was a sunny day so we dried off pretty quickly.

A great end to a great holiday!

Clemmie’s favourite ride, the horse carousel.

Casper took a break from the white knuckle rides to sift dor gold in the 'Western' area of the park

Casper took a break from the white knuckle rides to sift for gold in the ‘Western’ area of the park

Smiling on the Legoland train

16Aug2013

A Taste of Sweden

Posted in Family Life, Food & Recipes by A Spoonful of Style

Many people probably think that Sweden’s culinary delights only consist of meatballs and pickled herring but it’s a well kept secret that the country also boasts some of the best ice cream and pizzas. Good enough to rival the Italians in my humble opinion. Not to mention the melt-in-your-mouth Marabou chocolate bars and the bakeries with their yummy cinnamon buns and flaky buttery Danish pastries.
I’m firmly of the belief that holidays are for indulging and this trip has been no exception. Maybe it’s a good thing that we’re leaving in three days’ time, otherwise I’d end up the size of a house!

13Aug2013

Sun, Sea and … Shopping!

Posted in Family Life, Interior by A Spoonful of Style

Holidaying in Sweden in August is always slightly risky weather-wise. It was with some trepidation that we decided to return to the same place in Southern Sweden where we spent our summer vacation two years ago. While the scenery is stunning and the house is a stone’s throw from the beach, the summer of 2011 was truly awful and (I kid you not) we had only one day of sunshine. The rest of the time howling winds, rain and temperatures of 15c meant that we were forced to make excursions to museums, indoor play centres and the cinema which, although enjoyable, is not exactly what you want to be doing in the middle of August.
Last year we were desperate for sunshine so we booked a holiday to Mallorca where we would be guaranteed some decent weather. But I do love the Swedish summer (when it doesn’t rain) and it’s important to us that our children feel at home in the country that is a big part of their heritage so we decided to bite the bullet and give it another go this year.

So far we’ve been lucky, with sunny mornings enabling us to swim in the sea and play on the beach until lunchtime. The afternoons have been more mixed but at least we have been able to do outdoor activities like mini golf and I’ve also ticked off a few of the shopping trips on my list. Updating the autumn wardrobe will have to wait until we’re back in the UK, but the interior shops here are amazing and any spare room in the car is filling up fast. At the moment all new purchases are wrapped securely to withstand the return journey so pictures will follow when I’m back home.

Hope you’re all having a great summer! X

11Aug2013

Our holiday so far

Posted in Family Life by A Spoonful of Style

It’s hard to believe that we’re already coming to the end of day five of our two week holiday – time really does pass too quickly sometimes.

We had a fairly calm crossing on the ferry to Denmark on Thursday (luckily for me as I get seasick very easily). Apart from some squabbling in the backseat, the drive over to Sweden also went very smoothly and we stopped in the southern town of Lund for the first night before continuing our journey to Astrid Lindgren’s World.

The park is a tribute to the much-loved children’s author and the many wonderful characters she created. The most famous of these (internationally at least) is Pippi Longstocking and at the moment she’s also three year old Clemmie’s favourite.

I love that throughout the day there are performances where a cast of brilliant actors bring the stories to life. Astrid Lindgren’s books are a huge part of my childhood and it’s heartwarming to see my children enjoy them too.

The miniature traditional Swedish houses dotted around the park are stunning. I wouldn’t mind living in this one myself:

A road trip with three kids can be trying at times but one of the best bits is finding little gems along the way like this golf club with an amazing view where we had lunch on Friday.

Or this lovely interior shop which was located next to an old mill that we visited today on our way back to the south of Sweden.

This afternoon we arrived in Åhus where we will spend a week with my parents and my sister’s family. After dinner at a beachside restaurant the kids played on the beach with their cousins as the sun was setting, wading out into the shallow water and hunting for jellyfish. A perfect summer’s evening!

8Aug2013

Let there be light

Posted in Interior by A Spoonful of Style

When we get back from our holiday it will only be a matter of weeks before autumn is upon us. Hopefully there are still plenty of warm days ahead but as the evenings get darker, these lanterns from Nordic House will add a soft, romantic glow inside or outside.

In the picture: Big stainless steel lanterns from £135; Nautical hurricane lamps from £26.95; Numbered glass hurricanes from £19.95,; White willow hurricane £29.95.

6Aug2013

Off to Sweden we go!

Posted in Family Life by A Spoonful of Style

The bags are packed, the house is clean, the fridge is empty and the milk has been cancelled. All that remains is to load everything and everyone into the car and we’ll be on our way tomorrow morning. Catching the ferry to Denmark and then driving over to Sweden to stay in a cottage by the beach. I can’t wait!

I will try to update the blog while I’m away but you can also follow me on Instagram where I’m called aspoonfulofstyle (link)

5Aug2013

Pink is for girls and blue is for boys?

Posted in Family Life by A Spoonful of Style

As someone whose dissertation was entitled ‘The Social Construction of Masculinity and Femininity through Fashion and Clothing’ (or something along those lines, it WAS almost 20 years ago) I was intrigued to come across this article in Smithsonian magazine.

These days, when you visit the home of someone with a newborn you can generally deduce whether the baby is a boy or a girl just by looking at the colour of the greeting cards displayed around the house. Similarly, children’s clothing stores are divided along gender lines with rails filled with pink on the girls’ side and blue for the boys. According to the article, however, it was only in the early 20th century that certain colours acquired gender connotations and until the 1940s blue was generally associated with girls while pink was mainly worn by boys.

Some argue that gender specific colours help to perpetuate traditional masculine and feminine stereotypes from the moment a baby is born. In Sweden for instance there is a big and very vocal gender movement, and some daycare nurseries operate a gender neutral policy where children are encouraged to dress against stereotype and are never referred to as ‘he’ or ‘she’. Maybe I’m not looking in the right places, but I have not seen the argument taken to that extent in this country.

I do remember that some people thought it was strange that, as babies, I put both my boys in (navy blue or white, never pink!) tights as they were born in the winter and socks never stayed on for long. Until he was three and a half, my eldest son’s favourite colour was pink but then he started preschool and suddenly decided that it was ‘for girls’.

I have to admit to sitting on the fence of this debate. While I think gender stereotyping can be very damaging, especially in the education system and workplace, I’m not wholly convinced that adopting a gender neutral dress code is the answer. When, after two boys, I had a girl I promptly bought a pink cover for the buggy and I was so excited about finally being able to cross over to the ‘girlie’ side in stores that I didn’t even contemplate dressing her in boys’ clothes (although I probably had enough hand-me-downs to last several years). She often wears jeans or leggings but I’m not sure I would ever pair them with a dinosaur or monster truck T-shirt. Whether this is because I’m a slave to social convention or simply because I myself tend to dress in feminine clothing is open to debate (and I suppose one could argue that the latter is a direct result of the former).

That’s not to say that I expect her to behave like a ‘dainty little girl’. She’s as likely to play with the cars and trains as with the dolls and tea set and I’m hopefully bringing all my children up to believe that, as long as they work hard, they can choose any profession they want. Maybe I’m an idealist, but I don’t think we should have to dress the same in order to be equal.

What do you think? Does it matter whether we dress our children in pink or blue or are we enforcing gender stereotypes by doing this?

4Aug2013

Sunny Sunday and Outfit of the Day

Posted in Family Life, Fashion by A Spoonful of Style

One of my favourite outfits this summer is this white shirt from River Island teamed with a pair of ‘Sexy Boyfriend’ (their words, not mine) denim shorts from Gap. Loose and comfortable enough for daytime but add a pair of metallic wedges and the whole ensemble is suitable for casual dinners out too.

Still lots of packing to do, but we took some time out to play in the garden and I took some snaps of the boys having fun in the sunshine. I’ve realised that I don’t have enough pictures of them in the blog, as they’re usually at school all day, but I’m hoping to rectify that over the summer holidays.

My handsome first born. Can’t believe he will be ten this autumn!

Staying in PJs until lunch time is one of the perks of being on summer holiday

A very English game of cricket

My husband took this shot of one of the many bumblebees currently residing on the lavender in our back garden

3Aug2013

Just like Honey

Posted in Beauty, Family Life by A Spoonful of Style

Celebrating the arrival of the weekend with a glass of wine and a bowl of black cherries last night

The last weekend before we go on holiday and it’s been busy, busy so far. I haven’t even started doing any packing, just loads of washing and organising all the travel documents and maps that we need for the journey. If anyone has any tips on how to pack for a family of five going on a two week holiday (with quite a lot of travelling around by car) to a country where sunny weather cannot be guaranteed, they would be much appreciated!

Luckily, we have borrowed a large roof box from my parents as I need to leave room in the car for all the things I want to buy and transport back home. There are some really lovely quirky interior and fashion shops both in Denmark and southern Sweden that are on my list of places to visit, in between the beach (weather permitting), Legoland and other children’s attractions. Many of them don’t ship outside Scandinavia and some of the items I have my eye on (like a bookshelf – I only mentioned that to the husband last night but he seems to think we can fit it in, even if one of the children has to travel in the roof box on the way back (only joking!!) are too big to send by post.

But for now we’re enjoying another sunny weekend and having spent much of the week at home overseeing the enforced bathroom renovations, I felt the need to escape for a couple of hours this morning. A brisk walk along the river followed by a latte in Costa Coffee and a leisurely stroll around the shops did the trick. I even managed to have my first sniff of Marc Jacob’s new perfume, Honey and, as I had expected, it smelled divine. Quite unlike me, I didn’t buy it right then and there as hopefully they will sell it in the duty free shop on the ferry.

Hope you all have a fabulous weekend!