Happily ever after

shall we be, my baby and me :)
Mr S gave the the bling bling phone and a new fierce bag that I have been craving. Actually he started out by giving me a scented candle and flavoured tea... not really my cup of tea so to speak...

Christmas with the family went surprisingly well. Mr S loved it. He hasn't had a "family christmas" since he was a kid and I've always had them. I gues you don't miss the water...
I'd still love to spend one christmas in Italy.

I only had 3 days off, so now I'm back at work. It's safe to say that nothing has changed: still a complete chaos. I haven't decided yet wheather I'm staying or not but since I'm not yet financially independent I have to have a job.
Our nem Maitre d' has brought in some of her old staff. They are nice and all that but she used to work in a rock club where they mostly sold beer and a shot on the side. I know for a fact that NH tries to be a bit more high end than that.

Had an interesting conversation with Mr S last night. Recently I've been feeling very happy lately in a surreal way. I guess I'm not used to it. Anyway, I felt like I use to feel when I'm on vacation, like I'm happy now but it'll soon end and then I realize that this won't end...at least I hope so.
The funny thing is that he has been feeling the same way.

Maybe we are a perfect match after all :)

Take care
Love /E

Song of the day: We could be heroes - BWO

Happy Holidays

From all fo me to all of you:
A Very Merry Xmas

Love /E

Song of the day - God rest ye merry gentlemen (trad)

Asking my Baby

Found this on the blog site of one of my fab friends

Instructions:
1. Put your music player on shuffle.
2. Press forward for each question.
3. Use the song title as the answer to the question even if it doesn't make sense.

Will it be ok?
Kiss - Prince (hm, kisses are good thing so I guess the answer is yes)

How are you feeling today?
Separated - Usher (will be working late tonight so won't be able to hang out with friends)

How do your friends see you?
Sunshine in the Rain - Bodies Without Organs :)

Will you get married?
Same Script, Different Cast - Whitney Houston feat Deborah Cox (hm, Mr S has one divorce in the baggage)

What is your best friend's theme song?
Summer Wine - Peter Joback (Hannah, this is for you, girl :))

What is the story of your life?
T. T. P. - Usher (ok, I guess)

What was high school like?
As - George Michael feat MJB

How can you get ahead in life?
I Have Nothing - Whitney Houston

What is the best thing about your friends?
If your girl only knew - Aaliyah

What is tonight going to be like?
I can't let you go - Usher (might be excepting one of those "could you come in a bit earlier"- calls from work then...)

What is in store for the remainder of this weekend?
Larger than Life - Backstreet Boys (it's Xmas and all...)

What song describes you?
Sex Bomb - Tom Jones (why Thanks ;))

Dilemma

Imagine the following scenario:
You have this woman friend, who after a rough divorce with infidelity and the works, is finally dating again. She goes online and finds a man on an on line dating service. They chat on line and talk on the phone and after a while they meet IRL. They really hit it off, no sex on the first date though.
Then he breaks the news: he is married and hopes she doesn't have a problem with that. Your friend is obviously devastated and wants to call the wife and tell her the whole story.

What would you do?
1. Encourage her to call and hold her hand while she did it?

2. Talk her out of calling the wife. She has wasted enough time on this two timing dog and she should get on with her life and leave him in his misery.

3. Call the wife yourself?

I'd go with option no 2. It's not my place to reveal someone infidelity. I do think however that had the wife been a friend of mine I would have reacted differently. I probably would have told her but I would have given her some hints.
On some level I think you'd sense it if your partner is cheating on you. I think that is what they call going through life with your eyes wide shut...


Apartment update:
Almost done!

Wedding plans update:
None

Take care
Love/E

Song of the day: Not ready to make nice - Dixie Chicks

Got to love it

Leonard Katzman - does the name ring a bell?? It's the man who wrote, directed and produced Dallas, the ultimate soap opera. A new TV channel TV4 Gold is all about old series so today I've watched Kojak, Miami Vice, at the moment Dallas and I'm looking forward to Baywatch and Baretta later tonight. Am at home today trying to cure my stomach flu.

The weekend was nice. Friday Mr S came back from Munich with a new job offer and a lovely bottle of champagne for me :) I was totally beat from the last weeks of too much work so I had some wine and take out thaifood and fell asleep around midnight.

Saturday we did some quick shopping for the apartment. I bought another lovely black vase and then we met up with sis and Jocke for an all French dinner. The food was OK - no more no less. I did expect more since the restaurant got some really great reviews lately.

I have deleted Dr C from my cell phone. I can't really see any reason why I should keep his number, it's not like I'm going to call him again.
When I am in "his" part of town I keep looking over my shoulder in case I would run into him. One part of me hopes to met him and "show off" Mr S just to make him see that I am worth so much more and so much better that what he gave me but on the other hand it's no point because I really don't think he cares.

I have also given some of my friendships a lot of thought lately. I need to surround myself with people who wishes me well. I can't stand the negativity and jealousy some people around me seems to live with.

Later today I'm going to make a CD for sis. She seemed quite down on Saturday so I think some good music will cheer her up a bit.

Seems like this summers holiday will be a road trip to Munich, could be great fun :)

Take care/E

Song of the day: Black Velvet - Alannah Myles

With a little bit of luck...

and some work we'll be done with the apartment this week end :)
Mr S is in Munich on a job interview. I really hope he gets that job since that company has an office in Paris and I would love to live there :)

At work it's the usual chaos. But I believe it hit rock bottom two night ago when a large group came in, ordered the most expensive champagne we have and unpacked 3 bags of take out hamburgers... people never stop amazing me. And just to make matters worse the left without paying the bill. Fortunately they were staying at the hotel so we could find them.
The new Maitre D' seems to be an odd figure, I can't really figure her out yet.

Bought three amazing lamps last week end, probably the most expensive lamps I've ever bought but they were totally worth the money. Ran into Stepbro with wife and 2 kids at the furniture store. The kids are cute and all that but I'm so glad that they are not mine and it's not my life. I'm happy living in an apartment with white walls with Mr S.

At the moment I'm working on finding a kitchen we both like, and a bathroom.

Have the weekend off so tomorrow I'm going shoe shopping ;) Haven't bought new shoes in a while. Actually I think I'm going to buy some shoes and then pick up a glossy magazine and have a late lunch and a cosmopolitan or a glass of champagne. Oh yes, sounds like a lovely plan for Friday!

Now back to the laundry.

Take care
/E

Song of the day: Heaven - John Legend

Ups and Downs

On the upside:
- new winter coat from Zara
- got a nice offer from the hotel manager at work: will get a dinner for two all expenses payed by work. Guess I must be doing something right :)
- Sunday brunch with sis and a bit of shopping
- Walk in closet almost done
- New bed delivered

On the downside:
- Didn't know that renovating would take so long
- Dust everywhere
- Too much work leaves no time to play
- Creepy guests at the restaurant (Finnish guy got drunk and fell asleep at his table...)

Mr S promised me that the renovating will be done by next week but I have my doubts. As I think about it the apartment wasn't that bad...

Take care/E

Song of the day: The Max - Prince

Me from A to Z

A is for age: 33
B is for booze of choice: champagne
C is for career: Uuhhmm, still working on that
D is for your dad's name: Roland
E for essential items to bring to a party: bottle of champagne, fierce shoes and a smile
F is for favourite song at the moment: Rise - Gabrielle
G is for favourite game: Tabu and Jeopardy
H is for home town: Stockholm
I is for instruments you play: None
J is for jam or jelly you like: strawberry
K is for kids: None
L is for living arrangements: 3 room apartment with Mr S
M is for mother's name: Margaretha
N is for name of your crush: Mostly known as Mr S
O is for overnight hospital stays: Had a surgery when I was 12 but nothing since then (knock on wood)
P is for phobias: Used o be spiders but not anymore :)
Q is for quotes you like: The world is a stage and you're the star!
R is for relationship that lasted the longest: 1 year and 9 months with Creepy Jealous Guy
S is for sartorial style: Trendy and quite stylish
T is for time you wake up: around 11.30, depends on how late I've worked the night before.
U is for underwear: Mostly thongs or boxers
V is for vegetables you love: fresh spinach
W is for weekend plans: working, sleeping, shopping
X is for x-rays you've had: knee and left foot
Y is for yummy food you make: Green curry chicken and meatballs stuffed with feta cheese, mushrooms and onion
Z is for zodiac sign: Gemini

A life offline

is no life. If you're not on the Internet you don't exist! I have been offline for almost a week now due to moving into the new place. The actual move went quite well but at the moment I live in a total chaos of dust and paper covered floors.
A friends of Mr S (I call him The Kid since he is only 23) is helping us repaint the apartment.
I got to choose the colours so wed will have one gold coloured wall in the outer hall, the living room will be grey and pearl white with a red stripe right behind the TV. Once it's all done I'll try to post some pictures...

Work is the usual chaos, we are under staffed and fully booked. Lately there has been a lot of events: Future Design Days and the Filmfestival. What is it about "arty" people, can't they just relax and have fun?!?! Their parties seems to be more about checking who else is there and who you should avoid...

Sis has met a new man. We had dinner together a while ago and went to the movies, watched Borat (4,5/5). I haven't laughed that much in ages! It is truly a must.
Anyway, I don't really like the guy, he just gave me a bad vibe.... but I have to give him a chance since it was the first time we met and he was probably nervous.

At the moment I am eagerly waiting for the new beds we bought to arrive. They were supposed to deliver them yesterday along with the rest of the stuff we bought but the beds didn't fit in the van. I called the transport company yesterday and told them they must be here before 2 since I'm working today... we'll see...

Last night I met up with some of the girls fr dinner and drinks at Diplomat, The food was a huge disappointment but the the champagne was great :)

Wedding updates: None - focus has been on moving and getting everything in order. But once that is done I suppose we should try to find a nice place for the party. I do tend to spend more time planning the party than the actual ceremony. Wonder what that says about me?!?! ;)

I got my first real paycheck the other day so I intend to spend some money on myself... simply because I'm worth it :)
Winter hit with a vengeance on November 1st. I couldn't get home for all the snow so some of us got to stay at Nordic Sea hotel :) It's amazing how this happens every year once the snow comes. All the roads get blocked and public transports completely break down. It took my father 2,5 hrs to get home, it's usually a 20 mns buss ride...
I can't believe it since we do live in the northern part pf the world where it does snow!

Better get on with something now

Take care/E

Song of the day: My Love - Justin Timberlake

The Latest Fashion

Saw "The Devil wears Prada" (4/5) last night. Really liked it up until the cheesy ending. I don't really believe a girl would give up a career like she did and don't even get me started on the boyfriend! A more unsupportive person than him I couldn't imagine....
But the clothes... and the shoes... Loved them.

Picked up a pair of shoes and a couch at Livingstore for the new apartment. God, we are moving on Sunday and I haven't packed a single thing yet... Today I intended to get started on packing my clothes but I don't know where to start. Maybe I'll just start with my sheets instead. And then I have to make sure that I get my internet and phone connection in the new apartment too.

Apparently the latest fashion in the wedding industry is the Morning Gift To Him (Morning Gift used to be land or a house so that the newly married woman would have something in case the husband would die). These days the morning gift is erotic or exotic photos of the bride in lingerie. Mr S loves it, I don't. I hate having my picture taken as it is and doing it crawling around on a big bed in my underwear... it won't happen!!
I got all this information from a wedding magazine I picked up yesterday after the movie. In the magazine I also found the most depressing articles and ugly dresses. Told Mr S that I'm not the woman who will wear a meringue dress and smile on a pile of rose petals, which is in my opinion a terrible waste of flowers...

Now I should get on with my packing...

Take care
/E
Song of the day: Slow Dance - John Legend

Remember the 80ies

Saw George Michael yesterday and it was really nice. He truly has an amazing voice and the whole concert was very slick, the stage setup was great and the musicians too.

Had a really nice weekend, finally and entire weekend off work!
Friday I went out and picked up a pair of very cool boots from Bianco. Met up with Mr S for a quick coffee. He was in quite a bad mood due to a job offer he got. He wants the job but feels like the terms weren't as good as he wanted them to be.
Negociations continues...
Saturday it was the Home Design/Digital Home fair. It was well worth a visit since we found a couch we actually both liked :)
The Digital Home part of the fair wasn't really my scene. I'm quite happy with my "old" stereo - I've had it for 3 years now and it is apparently out dated.... The thing to have these days is a small box that you connect to your computer and hidden speakers in every room. Hmm, Mr S is getting one of those for the new apartment...whatever makes him happy...

Sunday it was the Travel fair. Not as big as I expected but it was fun. They had arranged a semi blind winetasting (when you know which wines you're tasting but not the exact order) and I am proud to say that I nailed the result :)

Today it's raining and I'm working until 1.30 am....

Take care
/E

Song of the day: Freedom 90 - George Michael

The painting

I'm currently stuck in this game - you're supposed to find 50 horror movies in this painting.

This and working is all I seem to do these days....

Sunday however girlfriend T, Henri - the fashion police and myself are going to watch 80ies icon George Michael :) Should be fun.

Take care!

Love/E

Song of the day: Trouble - Pink

Just say No

I have what one might call a "saying-no" -issue. I find it hard to say no to things. Mostly to fun things like going out for dinner when I've planned to stay in. I never say no to that last drink. You know the one drink you shouldn't have, the one drink that makes you swear that you are never drinking again the next morning.
Unfortunately I also have a hard time saying no to phonesales people, extra working hours and any other kind of charities.
BUT yesterday I said no to extra hours at Huvudsta and this morning I said no to a fundraiser who called and wanted me to donate 200 sek to the deaf. Now I feel bad about that but I rather choose my own charities (usually MSF).

I'm selling my apartment. It feels kind of sad, since I really love it. I have been very happy here but I guess it's time to move on with Mr S. On November 1st we get the keys to our new place. We discussed the wedding last night but we didn't make any decisions more than that we are going to take an evening and try to make some definitive plans. At least we must find a place to have the party. It's weird whenever we talk about or I think about the wedding it's always the party. We haven't discussed the actual ceremony or the major thing: being married. But I suppose every day life won't be that different.

I found a cool movie sale so I picked up some movies:
Crash
Must Love Dogs - saw the other day 2,5/5
Pusher
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
The Cave - saw it last night and it was a total waste of time. I'd give it 0,5/5 and now I'm being nice!

Tomorrow I'm taking a course in "Responsible alcoholmanagement"...

Take care

/love E

Song of the day: Oh Father - Linda Sundblad

Job v/s Life

I used to have a life but now I have a job.... or to be correct 2 jobs. I can't say no to Huvudsta because I like working there and at Nordic I'm still the "new girl" so I need to make an impression. If it was up to me I wouldn't work at all just hang around and do nothing.

So we have put down the 10% down payment on the new apartment and it will be officially ours on November 1st. That'll be nice. A friend of Mr S is going to help us with some redecoration and painting. I hope it won't take too long.... I want to move in as soon as possible.

Our party was great and since then it seems like all I've done is working. The job at Nordic is fine, not that many guests which is too bad since the place has great potential. I have a 6 months trial period and after that I'll evaluate it and see how it feels if I want to stay or not. The upside is obviously the money, that I get to do something I enjoy and that I'm having fun. The downside are the working hours - I hardly ever get to sit down and have dinner at home anymore since I work almost all evenings and weekends, I miss out on a lot of stuff with Mr S and my friends and I'm sleeping most of the day and come home late at night.

Sometimes Mr S annoys me. He has so many plans and says that he is going to fix stuff but nothing ever happens. I left a light build for him to change and it was just lying on the kitchen table for 2 weeks until I changed it myself... MEN!

Wedding updates: none I did however look at dresses again but white is really my thing. I don't really know how I want the wedding to be. Mr S says "all I care about is that we do it" But I intend to get married once and then I want every thing to be great. When the time is right I'll bring it up with him. Right now everything has been so crazy with my job and us moving...

Now of to work!

Song of the day: Not ready to make nice - Dixie Chicks

The writer in me

Had this amazing idea for a book this morning. I had the whole first chapter, or at least parts of it in my head and now it's unfortunately gone... It was a really good story though, about a timetraveller called Lucious, a very beautiful man, who helped people get their lives back in order.

I was seriously considering writing a book a while ago. Comparing to some of the really crappy books I've read it can't be that hard.

My life is for once quite under control: I have a new job starting Monday. I'll be at Nordic Light hotel working in the restaurant and eventually they'll be opening a winebar where I'll be. I think it's a good plan for the future.
And the good news is that Mr S and me are going to sign a contract for a new apartment today. We got it for a very good price 18.000 euros, believe me for Stockholm this is good :) It's a 3-room apartment so I will get my walk in closet. A friend of Mr S who is a carpenter is going to help out renovating.

On Saturday we are throwing a party to empty our booze cupboard before we move out. It should be fun. There'll be about 20 people, mostly my friends. Mr S's friends are quite weird in that way. They all live in Skane and never leave it. For instance: when we all traveled to Vilnius for Gosta's wedding he was surprised since he and his friends would never do anything like that. Hardly any of them will be coming to our wedding since we are doing it here in Stockholm.
Too bad!

Now I must get on with something a bit more productive than surfing the web.

Take care
/E

Song of the day: Save Room - Craig David

Switch

The election results are in and the right wing alliance won. So Sweden is up for a system shift. I do think it's for the better. The socialdemocrats have ruled for 10 years and a change is necessary. I'm looking forward to the next 4 years :)

Last week was all about work. Did my trial day at Nordic Light and it went quite well. You know how sometimes there are people you don't like, just like that and for no real reason. Well, this one girl at Nordic is exactly like that. She didn't like me and I didn't like her... but we worked together all night. I will however be the bigger person and be disgustingly nice and pleasant towards her.
I also worked at Huvudsta which was nice as always.
Friday Mr S and me stayed at home watching the final pre-election debate. Saturday we didn't do much until it was about time to go to Jessica's party. Just as I was about to start getting ready I got a call from Nordic Light and I got the job :) YESSS!!!
We decided to go out for dinner - my treat, before the party.
Jessica's party was nice as always. Got to met some friends I haven't seen in a while and also made some new friends. Met one of my blogger buddies IRL.
Sunday I wish I could have slept in but I had for some reason (I'll never know why) booked laundry at 9 in the morning and then we went apartment hunting all day. Some apartments are really horrible, total style disasters.

Sunday night Henrik had his birthdayparty/ electionevening. Was nice but some people had just a little too much to drink :) (nb it was not me ;))
Last night I took my rings off as I was washing my face. I tend to take it off when I shower and stuff. Anyway, this morning it's gone. I think Mr S has taken it - don't know why though. He was odd when he left this morning, seemed kind of upset but I was half asleep so I didn't really ask him about it. I guess we'll talk when he comes home tonight.
To him the rings are important symbols but to me they are not. I guess we need to come to some sort of understanding about this. I love him regardless any piece of jewelry....

Now I have to clean the apartment...again as a realestate person is coming tomorrow. We have found an apartment we like and are probably buying it.

Take care/E

Song of the day: A Change is gonna come - Sam Cooke

Choices we make

Soon it's election time in Sweden. This means that all the different parties are trying to get votes in any way they can. I have not yet decided how I am going to vote but I'll probably go for the right wing alliance as I usually do. I strongly believe that Sweden needs a change in the political system. The socialdemocrats have been in charge too long and nothing has changed.

Yesterday it was 5 years since the World Trade centers were attacked. Still no sign of Usama and still no end to the so called War on Terror. I wonder how long it'll be until someone can admit that they were wrong.

I personally am trying to choose a nice dress for my wedding, an fierce apartment and a cool job. I think I have seen too many apartments - I wonder if I am getting an overdose on seeing how other people live...
Mr S and me went into this one place last Sunday and they had carpets everywhere and the walls where covered in paintings and silly little decorations. Who can live like that??!?! I have 6 paintings on my walls - that's it!
Last weekend was all about parties :) Friday was Hannah's dissertation thing. We made the silliest presentation about our holidays. Some actually thought we were serious... Everyone seemed to have a good time and I got a lot of compliments about my wine choices. Mr S got seriously drunk and shook his little booty on the dancefloor to everyones enjoyment. I guess his Saturday morning was less enjoyable since he had to get up and help some friends move... I stayed in bed until 11 and then I dragged myself over to the couch and watched a American Next Top Model - marathon.
Saturday night we went over to PLF's birthday celebration. We stayed until 2 but then I was so tired I could have fallen asleep on the spot. Sunday we saw some apartments and then dinner with my parents to celebrate the engagement. We exchanged the rings in bed at 3 in the morning :)
Tomorrow I am working my "test day" at Nordic Light hotel. I hope it'll go well...

Take care
/E

Song of the day: SOS - Rihanna

The Ring

I'm wearing it right now and it is looking very fierce. Gives me quite an adult look :) We are not yet officially engaged but I'm a bride in training one might say. The big day is planned for Sunday since we are partying both Friday and Saturday.

I think I have decided on what job to choose: I'll go for Nordic Light. It seems like the wiser choice after all. Unless I'll change my mind again...

Right now I'm sitting opposite of Mr S in the kitchen. He is working and I am just surfing the web checking up on my blogger buddies :)
Yesterday I was supposed to go training but I misread the schedule and got to the gym about one hour late... Well, I went running instead and it was ok. Might be running with a friend next week. It'll be good for me - I need a bit of a kick in the ass when it comes to training.

Today I made Mr S drive me around town to pick up the booze for Hannah's dissertation party on Friday. First of to Solna to pick up the wine I ordered. The woman clerk could find my order in the computer since the idiot who answered the phone when I called spelled my name wrong. Had he forgotten the h in the end - fine it happens but he wrote Elisadeth instead of Elisabeth...Eventually she found the order and we could get going. Today I've spent 700 euros on alcohol :) Seems like it'll be a great party. Made a very exclusive playlist for her. I think she'll like it.

I have no idea what to wear for Hannah's party. Her mother is coming and she is apparently quite traditional and stiff. I wonder if white shoes and red dress will be ok. I have a tendency to look a bit like a Park Avenue call girl in red but this dress is kind of low key.

God, I'm tired and tomorrow I'm putting in a 12-hour shift at Huvudsta. Sometime I lead a charmed life and sometimes I'm only one step away from hard labor....

Better get into bed now

Take care/E

Song of the day: I don't feel like dancin' - Scissor Sisters

New beginnings

I have currently 3 cool joboffers and need to decide soon. One might say that I am quite indecisive. Sometimes it takes me 10 mns to decide what cheese to get at the supermarket...So how can I decide about work?!?!

The first one is at a restaurant called Paus where I would be an actual sommelier. Their menu is really ambitious but it's still a very nice and not at all posh.
The second one is Nordic Light Hotel. The interview was today and I seriously rocked. If I'm thinking career Nordic Light is the way to go.
The third is Huvudsta where I use to work.

God, how can I decide this?!?!


Wedding update: we are picking up the rings today - they are fierce.
Went into a creepy dress store today and Oh My God! White princess dresses isn't really me...

Take care
/E

Song of the day: Dangerously in Love - Beyoncé

The book-worm in me

Got this list from Swedish blogger Pojkfroken:

1. A book that changed my life: Malcolm X by Alex Haley. Made me aware of "my" history and heritage as a black person. Since I'm adopted I never had a grand mother or grand father telling me stories about slavery, ancestors and Africa.

2. A book I read more than once: The Adrian Mole-series by Sue Townsend

3. A book I'd bring to a deserted island: The Class - Erich Segal

4. A book that makes me laugh: The Adrian Mole series by Sue Townsend. I laugh until I cry

5. A book that makes me cry: The Moccasin trail - can't remember the author but it's lovely. It's about a boy, Jim who was separated from his family as a child and grew up with Indians.

6. A book I wish was written: I suppose I have to say a book with all the answers to all the questions about everything

7. A book I wish hadn't been written: So many but most books by Lisa Jewell - they truly suck!

8. A book I'm reading right now: Adrian Mole and the Weapons of mass Destruction - Sue Townsend

9. A book I intend to read: A classic like Anna Karenina or Crime and Punishment.... any day now :)

Take care

/E

Song of the day: Hips don't lie - Shakira feat Wyclef