New Dork and the Today Show

What is happening to me? I thought NY would mean the final launch of this blog world wide. Invitations to events, discounts in shops and tables in all the fashionable clubs. And free stuff.

That is what bloggers get everywhere right?

But no, that is not the case. Things get so busy in this city, even if all you do is simply walk about, look for inspiration and watch Netflix all the time, your life seems to go at a faster pace, and blogging is not in your list of priorities.

But again, that is not what I wanted to tell you about today. Today is time for the Today Show.

The Today Show is a morning talk show that is broadcasted all over the US live every day from the Rockefeller Center. Have I said it is nationwide? Yeah that too.

Among the guests that visit the show daily Sir Ian McKellen and Orlando Bloom were a couple of days ago (just when I was home in Spain...) to talk about the upcoming Hobbit sequel.

The set is in 49th street between 6th and 5th Aves and it is all made of glass so people can take a look at what's going on in the show on their way to work. I do too.

And so I was on my way to work on a average day right behind the glass windows of the Today Show when... a sparrow bumped directly into my forehead.

Thank God it was just with a wing and not the beak or I might not be typing this today.

I froze. My first thought was "this did not just happen"... come on Mr. Sparrow, how can you bump into a human?

Then I thought the bird might be on some drug, and then...

OMG.

The f****** Today Show.

You see, we all have our 5 seconds of glory sometime in life, or so they say. I thought I had already had mine, but I was wrong.

That day in July 2007 people stopped me on the way from Wall St. home saying they had seen me on TV (for real). Fortunately that did not happen after that day's Today Show. phew.

Bird shock over and 5 seconds later... came the utter disgust. Birds are like rats with wings!!! It may have transferred all of its fleas and viruses directly to me. Ugh.

I arrived at work and rubbed my forehead with Hand Sanitizer. Twice.

My skin did not come off so I may declare now I am out of danger. But still disgusted.

After that a humongous bug bumped into the window of my (superawesome) 35th floor office (yeah I am that cool) and left a huge dirt mark on it.

I may have been a little scared that Hitchcock's story might be real.

And that's it for today.

Such is Life

New Dork

 

dork

dôrk/

noun

noun: dork; plural noun: dorks

1. informal

   a dull, slow-witted, or socially inept person.

 

 

I was waiting for the right story to happen, for the right super cool amazing moment to write my first post from the Big Apple, but three weeks have passed and that moment did not seem to hit me right in the middle of my chest and leave me completely NY-baffled - instead I got a sparrow hit me in the forehead. Literally.

 

I truly thought I might be able to actually post cool stuff about places to eat and things to do in NYC but that will have to wait. The city is still coming to terms with me being here as I am coming to terms with being in the city, so before we embrace each other - really hoping that happens - I am back to my daily life catastrophes and other stories.

 

Three weeks in New York and I have finally come to terms with my current alien status: New Dork. This is just like being back in high school, only these time the rest of my classmates are 1.6 super cool and hip manhattanites and me I am just the dork that doesn't know how to queue in Whole Foods. True story.

Just picture yourself as an over-dramatic, self-conscious yet not so self-conscious as to hide her geek side, 28 year-old female and you may understand my feelings that first day...

After 7 and a half hours of flight where people looked at me in a very odd way - the fact that I watched 'Star Trek into the Darkness' while crying my eyes out may have helped - I landed in JFK with my three suitcases and not a freaking 5 dollar bill in my handbag to pay for the (I-hope-it-is-made-of-gold-to-cost-that) trolley and my credit card didn't work either. I could have walked to the customs queue three times with each suit case, and then just push one of them with my forehead while pulling the other two suitcases, but the mere thought of it made me cry, so I decided to trust in mankind's goodness to get my way out of the airport and into a cab to Manhattan.

It took me begging to four different people to get a ten dollar bill in exchange for 10 euros that I might trade for two 5 dollar bills with some other heaven-sent saint until, in my desperation, I asked to the guy that was putting more trolleys in the machine if he could help me get change. He simply took my 10 dollar bill, put it in the machine, gave me my trolley, gave me 5 dollar coins as change and sincerely told me not to feel bad when my eyes filled with tears as I murmured, thank you, I feel like a total idiot (I so wasn't exaggerating with the over-dramatic part).

The ride to my soon to be home was not so pitiful. In fact I couldn't help but playing the first cords of the world wide known classic and topic... chan, chan, chan chan chan, chan, chan, chan chan chan...

[at this point I will, as soon as I can, post a video clip of Mr. Sinatra's eternal hit, but alas I have no access to YouTube from this computer]

After that, things went quite smooth on my first few hours in town, doorman, concierge, suitcases taken upstairs by the same doorman, unpacking, teary phone call to family and boyfriend, and then the inevitable trip to the supermarket...

 

The Boss took me up 7th Ave. from there to Central Park South and then to Columbus Circle [yes, here you will be able to play Wrecking Ball].

Whole Foods photograph by Kate Appleton.

There it was... salvation in the form of organic madness. Whole Foods is known for a very posh supermarket, but I have to confess, when you are new in town you go to the places you know, and that was the only place I knew around that could serve my purpose. I have actually stuck to it for the last three weeks despite the Hufftinton Post, I think it is addictive once you make it through the first day.

 

Still highly emotional, I walked up and down several aisles several times trying to find the usual brands I buy home. None of them exist here, all are substituted by organic-little-farm-very-very-local-we-assure-you stuff. I'm still trying to figure out how they know which type of the gazillion types of apples they sell you are purchasing, but maybe in time I will solve that mystery.

I finished my shopping in that same hazy state and proceeded to queue at the eternal queue that seems to be Whole Foods checkout. Once I was first in my line I saw a number being called and walked to the cashier, only to be stopped by a very angry man telling me that the number was green and not yellow. What?

And then he went back to the lines, pointed at my queue, pointed at the huge yellow arrow at the beginning of the line, then to the three-color screen were a number appeared over one of the three color bands (blue-yellow-green), and then to the light on top of each cashier... I would have rather he just called me dork, because after that embarrassing moment I had to suffer the humiliation of going back in line, and then, when my number was finally called, at least three different hands tapped my shoulder and nicely indicated now it's your turn (I swear in my head that still sounds like a hysterical scream).

 

And then it was over. pwew. There is a lot more to come where this came from. Unfortunatelly.

 

Such is life.

 

 

 

The city that never sleeps...

Make your mark in New York and you are a made man.  Mark Twain

The day is here, and I am leaving for New York. Hope to see you around, I'll keep you updated.

Such is Life

Instaweek, made with Over

I am a super fan of Instagram, but the lack of a decent smartphone makes it quite difficult for me to keep up with this hipsterish app.

I may be able to check all the boxes of the "oh so you think you are cool" quiz but why deny it? I love iPhones and apps that make you feel hipster. I also love empty framed glasses... yeah that's me.

And I so need an iPhone. 

Not having an iPhone is so time consuming that a person with my job cannot afford.

I so need an iPhone!

In the meantime, I spend my time trying to use my iPad 2 wifi as an iPhone, with a little help from my blackberry... which is totally nerve wrecking.

 It works like is:

1.- M sees nice scene which she wants to share.

2.- Click!

3.- email to iPad. M waits until she has a wifi network available. Sometimes it costs her €3.50 - the price of a tall capuccino with skimmed milk at Starbucks (oh so hipster too).

4.- Edit with A Beautiful Mess or Over (super awesome).

5.- Re-edit with Instagram.

6.- Finally share!

Exhausting.

So while my iPhone comes, in a couple of months, I hope... I'll share my week with you, edited by Over.

Are you a blogger? Would you share your next 7 days with us? If you would, post your link in our comments!!

Such is Life!

The dark visitor - murder at 155

I took a life the other day.

Man, I hate to confess my crimes, but my heroism protecting my property deserves it.

I killed a cockroach...



...but I so much wish it was a very large beetle. When you see a roach at home it means that you are no longer allowed to sleep well, when you see a beetle it means it got in from the garden below and that's the end of the story.

So there I am, happy, getting home on Friday after a bad day and a bad week at work. I turn around to turn the lights on and then, just as Doctor Who says, i see it back in the corner of my eye. A dark and ugly shadow, crossing the living room on its way to... please please please don't get in the bedroom or I'll never be able to sleep again... the bathroom.

Good, bathroom is safe, I have to clean it tomorrow anyway so bathroom is the least bad place were the monster could hide.

I followed it with my eyes, disgusted, terrified and... rebellious. How dare you get in to my sanctuary? all the living forms that enter here enter by invitation, you have not been invited in! oh how I hope you were a vampire roach, that way you would have stayed out waiting patiently for me to invite you in. Vampire roaches are totally acceptable, common ones are a curse.

Me being the tiny thingy on the ground and the roach the big white one.

If you ask me, it was as large as my fist. So, how should I get rid of it?

I need a murder weapon.

Why don't we have a 2nd amendment (for roaches only, please do not misunderstand me)??? hummm. All the stuff I keep at home is so pretty I cannot risk to squeeze the freaking gigantic bug with any of them. So sandals are sacrificed. I take one off. I feel empowered with my sandal in my hand, and then, then I realise I have to walk in the bathroom sandal in hand and one bare foot, and I chicken.

Deep breath, deep breath, and there I go, I walk in, look around and find the intruder under the door, moving its antennae. I want to think the bug felt its end was near... and hell it was. Hope it suffered for tresspassing private property.

First strike with the sandal, the bug escapes, I scream. I keep screaming. Strike two, bug lying helpless on its back, tiny legs moving. I scream again, close my eyes and... strike three. The bug is out. A huge mass of legs and white soft stuff all over the floor.

Yes, I am still screaming by then.

I got rid of the corpse as discreetly as I could manage given the huge amounts of organic juices oozing from the dead bug.

Dirty work done, I call mom.

I have not been able to look under my bed yet for fear of finding another uninvited guest.

Such is Life.

Fastart! My weekend in ten doodles

How I needed a little sun and relax, you can not imagine... Trust me you cannot.

Materials: Faber Castle wood pencils and moleskine.

This will be enough to survive the week. Btw, if you have not checked the new video feature in Instagram, go now and so it. Totally addictive! I may share some of my new found film director skills with you if you behave.

Such is Life

and another idea...

as I said, 28 bring it on!

Such is Life

Fastart! Moleskine (R) inspired art and other ramblings

I love complaining, I hope I have learnt over the years to complain in such a refined and elaborated way that makes the complaining less of an annoying defect but more of a character defining feature.

I simply complain, all the time, about the most stupid things. I complain about life's little daily complainable stuff, like getting up early, having a way too demanding job, being unable to lose weight (actually not even trying to), procrastinating, online shopaholism, bad quality washi-tape, people that steal staplers, the wheather (oh what a source of happy complaining), but above all else, I use this blog to complain about my lack of blogging habilities and my muse's long absences.

Over the past year I have discovered a great deal of blogs which, far from inspiring me to blog more, have deviated my attention from this blog and taken me to a far more comfortable reader-status.

And that is the point. Instead of posting more, I am posting less and less, why? oh why?

There was a time when writing a post took more than ten minutes of picture-theft on Pinterest or Tumblr, there was even a time when people wrote on Moleskine notebooks instead of blogging. And there was a time when not everyone declared themselves bloggers and shared with other non-bloggers the interesting stuff that happened to them (it was called coffee over the holiday pictures, for example).

As much as I fight to find interesting/funny/geeky stuff to post about, the more "inspirational blogs" I follow, the less inspired to blog I feel.
Well, just the other day, the tables finally turned. AT LAST.

The guys at Mr. Wonderful  discovered us this guy: Guillaume Kurkdjian, and it all came back (not the hey I'll repin a couple of pictures and come up with a blog post), the good inspiration came back, even if it was not blog-oriented.


Well, Guillaume Kurkdjian helped me go back to basics, and Moleskine my daily life. Yay!

He is a genius at designing animated gifs and other really fun digital stuff, but what I liked most about his website was his Travel Notebook.

Isn't it cool? so happy and colorful and fun. And simple.

And I wanted that on my Moleskine (R), really bad. So this weekend, I made myself a promise, to try and draw the daily stuff and the happy weekend plans and anything that comes to my attention for the next couple of months.

This exercise also reminded me me that I have a design block waiting to be filled, and a great color pencil case... and HUGE plans.

I also think the result of my first attempt at decorating my Molskine (R) was quite good. Of course it is bad that I say so myself, so I will let you praise me if you like. That is, after all the purpose of bloggin'. Telling a story and hoping people like it, and then they tell you they like it and you feel reassured and motivated to keep doing so. And maybe one they you will tell a story that is actually interesting. Who knows!

So now, ladies and gentlemen... your call:

 
 Such is Life.

P.S. Congrats to the newlyweds, loved my giftbolaget, syster, and loved the family time this weekend.

Friday's quote XI

Beware of fainting-fits, (...) beware of swoons, (...) a frenzy-fit is not one quarter so pernicious. It is a good exercise for the Body, and if not too violent is, I dare say, conductive to Health in its consequences -

                                                                                                                  - Miss Jane Austen -

Happy Friday! 

Such is Life

My life's three greatests achievements. Age 27.

As my birthday approaches (yes, go check you FB calendars because it IS closer than I would even like to admit) I have taken some time to analyze my life at age 27.

27 is a pretty good number, and by 27 I should (or should not) have a long list of achievements, right? Well, I have to admit my list of real achievements is not too long.

But you know what? Despite the fact that some people may think that I share too  much information on this blog, I feel compelled to share them with you so here are...

MY LIFE'S GREATEST ACHIEVEMENTS, AGE 27:

ACHIEVEMENT #1 Dancing the Hula-Hop (age 5).

Those were long days, for my poor parents specially, who had to help me with the huge round piece of plastic. I am stubborn. Hula-Hop is now my wii specialty.

ACHIEVEMENT #2 Diving (age 9)

And it all started with a lie. I may or may not, who knows, have told a friend at school that I could dive (liar liar my pants on fire). That was before the summer, and I was supposed to go to swimming classes with that girl in September... so, I could not, of course, be caught in my lie, so again, my parents' enormous patience, a long summer of red tummy and ear infection and... yes! I could dive! That was also the summer I had to go to the hospital because an ear plug got stuck in my ear... Good times.

Stuborness again did the deal.

ACHIEVEMENT #3 Solving the Rubik cube (ages 13 to 27)

Unknowingly to myself, every four years of my life I endevoured to achive something (say my real first achievement was learning how to speak at age 1 more or less, followed by Hula Hop age 5 etc.) So at 13 I discovered the magnificent, nerve wrecking, time wasting RUBIK cube (R). And there my consistent achievement career stopped for... 15 long years.

There was one time when a girl at school solved it in 5 minutes before my own eyes just because she could see it. There was another when my uncle tried to explain there was an infalible formula to solve the cube... that was some time between ages 15 and 17...

And then, after long years in denial, a Rubik cube turned up at the office. No one wanted the poor ugly stupid cube... but me. Of course.

At first the cube was just impossible to solve. I will not explain this again for fear many may stop reading, but I swear on my one ring that it was impossible.

I could not live knowing that there was a cube around and that it could not be solved so... as you may have heard me say some times... when in doubt: WASHI TAPE.

And so I washitaped the cube, and appart from being the cutest Rubik cube in the history of mankind, it was also solvable again!!

So mom messed it up, and I started searching the web for a solution which I could understand and interpret and use. You know what? solving the cube, even with the instructions was a nightmare.

This started one week ago, and last night, some time between 1 and 1.23 am, it happened. MIRACLE of mathematics.

SUCCESS, I solved (with help yes) a Rubik cube before 28!

Now I can move on with my life.

If you are wondering, pics have been made pretty with the ABeautifulMess app. Great blog. Great App. These two sisters are rising my SYSTERBOLAGET spirits to soaring heights.

Explanation on SYSTERBOLAGET goes to the list of upcoming posts. Promise.

Such is Life.

28 - bring it on!

See you soon!

Such is Life

Friday's quote X

 

PANTA RHEI

 

 

Heraclitus

A day in... Barcelona

I am not a person to improvise, I don't have a life that lets much space to improvising either, so I have an excuse not to improvise, so planning 30 hours in Barcelona on a Monday and booking flights for just five days later almost made me threw up.

But I didn't, and those 30 hours in Barcelona were awesome (except for the part where I couldn't have dinner because I had eaten too much and felt sick for a couple hours).

The Plan:

What to do in 30 hours in Barcelona?  This time there was no shopping involved (surprisingly!). This is a map of what we did:

You must know that (i) we were in no hurry to see anything, and (ii) we had already been to Barcelona, and therefore, there was no need to see/do all the tourinty stuff, even if I we did.

The Execution:

First you get up at 7:15 and try to get to the airport in time to take the 9:30 flight to Barcelona, not so easy when you have to convince someone else that getting up even before than weekdays is an excellent idea.

Second, the plane takes off and an hour later... you're there and your weekend finally starts.

And our tour of Barcelona, Such is Life edition starts here:

A. D. and H. - Quick stop at the hotel and off to a place that has the power to impress anyone who visits it, even if it does not have the name Gaudi written on it.

If you want a hotel a walking distance from almost everything, with wifi, laptops and even an exercise bike (yeah) in each room I'll have to recommend our hotel: http://www.hthoteles.com/es/hotel-petit-palace-museum-barcelona/, I cannot say much about the service however, they couldn't make me a chamomile tea during my food comma crisis, but...  

B.- Not 20 minutes from our hotel is el Palau de la Musica Catalana. Subject to political scandal and controversy in recent years, that does not mean it is a place that can  be overlooked. Totally worth to see its magnificent interior for 17€ per ticket, and you get a guided tour, which includes a little bit of Mendelson. Yes, music was surprisingly present everywhere we went so I will mention Mendelson and his organ concert played by a computer.

For more information on the Palau, here's their website: http://www.palaumusica.cat/ca/

I have to say that before our guided tour we had already stopped to grab a bite and a beer sitting in the sun at the cafe of el Palau, enjoying the first days of spring weather at last! It was gooooooooood.

We even took a couple of minutes to walk about the Barrio Gótico, with its narrow and dark streets, and felt odd to walk past this building in Via Laietana which seemed to spy on us with its hundreds of eyes pinned to its facade.

 But we were focusing on B, and its glass interior. That is for me the most impressive thing of the building.

 C.- 30 minute visit ofel Palau and that left us enogh time to walk up the Paseo de Gracia, enjoying two of Gaudi's landmarks (which any tourist would know). I may or may not have accidentally kicked a metal hurdle on the way while posing in front of Casa Batlló for a picture (taken with my BB because someone forgot to charge the camera, and I swear it was not me).

Lunch at Roca Moo, the restaurant at Hotel Omm was just a massive spectacle of food, champagne and good company :) We were even lucky enough that it rained while having lunch, but not after!

Short nap and opportunity to change the battery of the camera, and off again for an afternoon walk.

E. and F.- Around Plaza Real, and the Barrio Gótico, I posed for endless pictures which I may never get back (at least not until I have insisted a million times, let this count for one). We then heard the music, and then saw the enormous crowd, and then we just stared for a while.









During those minutes I stared I realised that Sardana is not so different from Sevillanas, first easy, then more intricate and difficult.

Then comic book stores, and Star Wars galore, and we were quite exhausted for the day. So we made our way back to Paseo de Gracia and Carrer de la Diputació.

G.- This place deserved to have been in our route for dinner, but I was sooooooooooooo full I couldn't even sit straight without feeling sick.

Still, Tapas 24 was in my plan for a light early dinner so I will post it anyway, cause the choice for dinner was just not too good to blog about it.

I.- Sunday morning, late morning, ideal for brunch, not that I found that many places to pick, not at least online, but I went for the most "alternative" choice and made a reservation at Dostrece, in the heart of el Raval. 

I have to admit we were a bit unsure at first, but benedict eggs and pancakes convinced us we were totally right, and we even got to see a Sikh procession through the window of the bar which was quite cool. I have no pics, but I found this link to a blog with some good pics http://lamevabarcelona.com/la-comunitat-sikh-de-barcelona/.

J. and K.- Down the Rambla (packed on a sunny Sunday), to the sea, around the Maremagnum and past the Museum of History, we met this groovy guys who brought the best of Cuba to our ears.

There was even a guy that produced Mojitos from a back pack, which was the most unhigenic thing I saw in all the weekend, and maybe in a long while, but it was three in the afternoon, we had had a massive brunch and we were in need of refreshment, so I remembered a very cool and hipster place I saw at Plaza Real, and we walked our way back there to lay back in the sun and drenched our thirst with a nice gin & tonic.

My pair of empty frames just made me blend in enough to enjoy Barcelona and take all this Instagramy pics,

And with that... our weekend was over.

I am counting the days to repeat it, somewhere else or anywhere else, otherwise what would become of this section, right?

Such is Life.

M

Friday's quote IX

Today's quote is a poem, please don't blame me, it's been a tough week.

IF

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you
But make allowance for their doubting too.
If you can wait and not be tires by waiting
Or being lied to, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated, don't give way into hating,
And yet, not look too good, nor talk too wise.

If you can dream and not make dreams your master,
If you can think and not make thoughts your aim,
If you can meet with triumph and disaster,
And treat those two imposters just the same.
If you can bear to hear the words you've spoken,
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or see the things you gave your live to broken,
And stoop, and build'em up with worn out tools.

Of you can make a heap of all your winnings,
And risk them all in one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings,
And never breathe a word about your loss.
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew,
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on, when there is nothing in you,
Except the will which says to them "hold on".

If you can walk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings nor lose the common touch,
If neither foe, nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all of men count on you but none too much.
If you can fill the unforgiving minute,
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And, which is more, you'll be a man, my son!

Rudyard Kipling


I am holding on to a small piece of yellow paper. Hope to tell you about it, some day.

Such is Life

A day in... Stockholm - Part II

Last time I walked around Stockholm I stopped to catch my breath and I lost track of time in a lovely little shop right around the corner... o where were we?

Ah yes! Ostermalm:

E.- Next Stop in our route is a shop you can find anywhere in Stockholm, but, since you have to walk by on your way to F, you might as well stop in E, and get me ANYTHING. Lagerhaus is an IKEA for little home stuff, very affordable, and colourful, and cute.

www.lagerhaus.se

F.- Last stop before lunch is THE most lovely store for home design, pottery in particular. The colours, shapes, the fabrics, the details... everything about Bruka has Scandinavian written all over, and that means IWANTITALL, over and over again. Prices do not help my now damaged economy (five shops later I have not won the lottery damn it!

If I wasn't so scared of the flight back home, one of my three empty suitcases (yes, I am bringing three suitcases full of goodies for my sis and I am bringing three suitcases full of goodies for myself), with all that mint pottery.

Check the website here: http://www.brukadesign.se/

G.- And finally... Lunch. But why not shop while you choose what to eat? Of course! cause we have not done enough shopping yet, and my visa is not soft piece of plastic by now...

Lunch at Ostermalms Saluhall is the only natural alternative in our shopping day:

http://www.ostermalmshallen.se/

So much stuff done during the morning, we may have to take things slow in the afternoon, so only two more shops to come before dinner, but for now I think it is time to rest, and walk around Saluhall checking all the stands.

Truth is, if we are going to spend the afternoon in super hipster Sodermann maybe just two stops around there won't do the trick... 

I start to wonder if 6 shops before lunch (between 9 and 13:30 hours) is not too much... 

Maybe it is too little. Two weeks to find out. Stockholm. 

Such is Life

Postcards to Stockholm: DNA for dummies

Dear Sis,

I was curious to read in the press today that Christie's had auctioned the letter Francis Crick sent his son upon the discovery of the double helix. I did not know that, like our dad, DNA turns 60 this year!

As a way to celebrate I am going to tell you a little more about my encounter with that long chain with flat bits sticking out.

I began to mull over the news of the auction and my first thoughts went to you immediately, and I imagined myself receiving a letter with your (much cuter and cleaner that Mr. Crick's) hand writing explaining to me all about DNA.

I went in the search of the letter to read it myself and was absolutely moved and thrilled by the content, even if I am no scientist and I do not live in 1953, that letter has something, maybe the clarity of the explanation, maybe Mr. Crick's excitement, I really don't know, but I love it!

You may want to start sending letters to me from Stockholm, letters that I can keep and maybe sell for the amount of $5.3 million in time, please, take the hint. Send. Letters. Sister. Millions.

In truth, after reading it I wished I had those $5.3 million so that I could have gotten that letter for you.

I'll see you in less than a month! In the mean time, carry on. Nobel Prize.

Lots of love and kisses from the person whose DNA is closest to yours in the whole world.

M.

Friday's quote VIII

Monday afternoon, and I keep going over an idea that makes it hard to concentrate. I do not travel as much as I would like to. Indeed I do not.

Easter holidays spent at home with the family and suddenly I had the rush idea to get away for the weekend, so tickets and hotel were booked and paid for and I may be continuing my "A day in..." series after I complete Stockholm, who knows!

The problem is, of course, work. The excitement of the first few hours after booking everything has lead to the anxiety of spending a weekend away from emails, desks, bosses and work. So when it all came down to picking a quote for today, this (somewhat cheesy) quote from another eminent politician of the early 20th century seemed just right:

"It is only through labor and painful effort, by grim energy and resolute courage, that we move on to better things."

Theodore Roosevelt

Happy weekend.

Such is Life

A day in... Stockholm - Part I

Easter holidays are going by fast!

And I am already thinking on the next few days off work that I will (hopefully) enjoy in May.

Where to go... where to go?

Of course Stockholm, Stockholm is the official European capital of 2013.

So here I am planning a day out in Stockholm and getting all excited about it.

From breakfast to dinner including a lot of shopping, this is the first part of a post series that will take you to my choices to spend a day of shoppinng in Stockholm:

 So it's Thursday morning, you get up early and fuss about your sister's place for a while and finally get out to the cool of Stockholm's May morning.

Where to go first?

A.- Let's start the day in Kungsholmen, a nice and quiet neighbourhood close to almost everything, and hiding a little super cool (super dickhead, I mean hipster) shop, where you can either buy a skull or have a nice cup of coffe.

Not the cheapest place to buy stuff, but a good idea to get inspired for the rest of the day.

Grandpa has an unlikely name but a cozy interior, and an online store which may be interesting to visit:

http://www.grandpa.se/

B.- Very, very close by, around the corner actually there's the best shop ever to buy all kinds of boxes, organizers, baskets, bottles... and tables that you can carry on the plane back home and totally affordable. Granit.

http://www.granit.com/

 But we are still in Kungsholmen, and the good stuff, the really good stuff is somewhere else! 

Let's take the train to Ostermalm, just 11 minutes away from Granit (Kungsholmen).

C.- Not everything will be home design in this shopping day, but before we move on to the usual and still unusual letter D, we have to stop in another super expensive yet cool place in Ostermalm:

 

 http://www.designhousestockholm.com/

D.- One more stop before we stop for a Diet Coke to recharge. Although it is vastly known in the East Coast it is not so in Spain, so everytime I travel abroad there is a search I always do online: is there an  Urban Outfitters store?

In case of Stockholm... Yes!!

An in case you have not done so yet, go check their online store, it is the best...

 http://www.urbanoutfitters.co.uk/page/home/ 

And...

I need a break.

More Stockholm is coming soon, and next time, lunch is on me.

Such is Life.