Dreaming of // Wanderlusting

On our new TV we have Chromecast, and after a show is done casting, a slideshow with all these really pretty nature photographs starts running. Naturally, it makes me want to travel. It's a good thing I have a few trips to look forward to the next months!

Bergen, Norway
This pretty city is always on our travel list, since my parents and two of my siblings live there. Especially now that I am an aunt I wish the distance was a lot shorter so we could have Sunday dinners and play with the kids!

Ljungskile, Sweden
A good friend and former roommate is getting married this spring, and the festivities will happen in a small town in Sweden where she currently lives. I don't get invited to a ton of weddings, and especially not cross-cultural ones, so this will be exciting.

Ebeltoft, Denmark
This summer we are renting a house with my side of the family in Denmark. Look at this, it is practically on the ocean! I can't wait for all that fresh air, eating good food and hanging out with the family. A daytrip to Aalborg to visit the new library there is defnitely on my to-do list for this vacation.

The USA
It will also be time to visit the in-laws this summer, so we are heading to Augusta, Georgia. We have talked about a possible weekend trip to Charleston, South Carolina while we are there, and I hope it works out, cause I would love to see more of the South this time. Hopefully I will manage to squeeze in a trip to Colorado as well. It is always such a treat to see my friends there, and Denver is a fun city.

Mike and I have also talked about how much we would love a super chill beach vacation at some all-inclusive place. Just for a week or so to really relax and soak up some sun while reading a stack of books. It isn't on our schedule yet, but it is a nice thing to dream about.

Whew, what a list! But that's not all. Having friends coming to visit almost feels like a vacation as well, dont you think? So we look forward to having people come here to Skien too, and interrupt our daily life and force us out of routines. Are you planning any fun trips soon?

American Wedding Reception

Because Norway and Augusta are very far apart, not many of Mike's relatives and friends could make it to our wedding in Ålesund last summer. So we decided to celebrate when we were in Georgia for Christmas. 65 people came to the party - more than at the actual wedding! We had good food, and a great time chatting with all our guests. We also got a real wedding cake this time. The vintage cake topper was Mike's grandparents!

Pretty decorations with magnolia leaves and holly, and wedding pictures scattered everywhere. With a slightly Christmassy vibe, it was perfect for the season. We also had pictures from the wedding day on a big screen showing throughout the evening, so everyone could get a feeling of what the day was like, and get a glimpse of my pretty country. 

"Help! How do you cut a two-tiered cake?" We look genuinely worried in this picture... Good thing we had a professional wedding planner on board. With her help, we managed to cut the cake well, and it tasted delicious. 

The happy Mr. and Mrs. Beaudreau, thankful for a wonderful celebration.

Visiting Augusta: The Canal and more

2nd & Charles is a large store with mainly used books and other media. You can spend hours in here, looking for treasures. Or pretend you are a chipmunk.

I only made it to Goodwill once, but I got just what I wanted! A small leather purse, and a vintage Nina Ricci at that. My first designer bag has been well loved and worn already, but that's alright with me, and I consider 5$ a very good price.

Here are some more pictures from our holiday in Augusta. On New Years Day we went on a walk by The Savannah River and the Augusta Canal. There is a really long trail between these two waterways, and it seemed like half of the city was out there walking with us. The trail is basically flat, and perfect for biking or walking. 

Swampy waters and tall trees. It was fascinating to see lots of new species, and I really enjoyed a break from the neighborhoods and city streets. 

Summer flashback

I dont know how many times I have mentioned my missing camera cord, so when it finally arrived in the mail this week I was overjoyed, until the moment I realized it was not the right size battery charger... The good news is that the card reader works, so here are some pictures from my summer holiday in the States.

1. Pretty Denver skies

2. A cool door downtown Denver

3. Saint Mary´s Glacier and some ominous skies

4. The view from the glacier, on the same trip...

5. Old American Beauty, Denver

6. Hiking in Tennessee

7. Smoky Mountains

The Stop Shop Crisis

Keds, worn once, MIA.

New Minetonka moccasins.

My luggage has been missing for 11 days now, and I have to confess - I have been shopping. On my way back from Denver to Atlanta, AirTran (Yeah, I had never heard of them either. Not a good sign I guess...) failed to bring me my luggage. Fortunately, I had a hunch that it might happen, so I packed some extra clothes and my make-up in my carry-on. I guess I could have managed, doing laundry every other day, but I just wasn´t up for that, and I gave in. At least now I am thoroughly sick of shopping.

What I bought:
1 pair of moccasins
1 pair of flip flops
2 t-shirts
1 tank top
1 long sleeved shirt
1 cardigan
1 pajama shorts
socks
underwear
a set of earrings
bobby pins
hair ties

I also got a few things second hand at Goodwill here in Augusta:
1 dress
1 shirt
1 skirt

Outlet malls in Gatlinburg gave me good deals at least, and my insurance company has been very helpful, but I still would really like to get my stuff back. If I only could a few tiny little things back, I wouldn´t care about the rest. I know that´s not how it works, and I have learned my lesson of never checking something I would hate to part with, including my cell phone charger. And my camera charger/chords, which is the reason for only instagram photos on here.

The Denver coffee tourist

Cortado at Two Rivers

Denver is a really fun city, and I can highly recommend it as a travel destination. My wonderful host, Lyndee, planned for us to try a new coffee place every day, and I did not mind sticking to that plan. There are several small roasting companies in the area, and the coffee shops/bars also experiment with new brewing techniques. Since Lyndee knows the owner of one coffee shop, she also gets some inside information on the newest and latest in the rest of the Denver coffee world.

It has been a joy both to experience the work, presentation, and craftmanship that goes into making the coffee, and of course, enjoy the variety of flavors. I can´t say I am an expert in coffee tasting, but I really enjoyed all these places, and would recommend them if you are a coffee lover too.

Places we went to (in chronological order):
- Happy Coffee. Great place in the coolest neigborhood. The Mayan theater is great, and there are lots of fun little shops and Sweet Action, an awesome ice cream place.
- Black Eye coffee shop. In addition to good coffee, they have a cool interior, and they even sell fresh produce in the summer!
- Boxcar Coffee. This place has developed its own brewing method especially for the high altitude in the Denver area, and they did it well. For some reason, they even gave us free coffee, perhaps because not many travel out of their way to get there on Saturdays. If you dont know where it is, I guarantee you won´t find it!
- Corvus Coffee Roasters. As the name tells, these guys roast their own coffee, and the caramels on the counter were divine.
- Purple Door Coffee. The only place I didnt have coffee, but their chai is good. Also, this place is so much more than your normal coffee shop. They employ homeless youth, which is a good enough reason to go there, dont you think?
- Two Rivers Craft Coffee Company. Amazing coffee, the best people! Lyndee knows a lot of the baristas there, and consequently, so do I as well. A wonderful place to end our coffee adventures.

The ones we didn't make it too, but wanted to:
- Novo Coffee
- Crema Coffee House

Stars, stripes, and peaches

I am definitely enjoying the South: the heat, the food, the people, it is great! Today we went to a small town nearby for the yearly one-day peach festival. When the sign that welcomes you read "Trenton - home of the peach festival", you know there is not much else to offer than this event.

Except a couple of cute little churches. 

This army band was pretty good, and the people in fancy cars in the parade gave us lots of candy.

We never plan to match, I promise.

There were a few peaches too, but I honestly thought there would be a little more focus on this sweet fruit this day. And how cute are those baskets? 

A great temptation ahead

  


In a couple of days I am off to America for the summer. And though I am very excited, I believe this will be the greatest test for my stop shop/live simply goals for the year.

I still haven´t bought any new clothes, shoes or accessories for myself in 2013, but it is hard to keep the "one item in, one out" rule for other things... I went to a thrift shop last week, and couldn´t resist some summery yellow glasses. I justified it by thinking I will need more glasses when my new roommate moves in this fall, and consequently didnt get rid of any of the ones I have. During the year I have got rid of various other items, books I have read and other things, so all in all, I am pretty sure I am in balance.

But being in a travel mode, surrounded by cheap shoes, pretty summer dresses and fun stores we dont have in Norway, I dont know how I will manage.

So, when evaluating my closet, I have given myself a couple of exceptions from my regime:
- A new bikini. 
The one I have is several years old, and since I will be in hot weather for 5 weeks, I dont even know if I can manage with just one swimsuit!
- New underwear
I stocked up on socks in December, but not on underwear. I should have.
- A pair of summer shoes (maybe)
I have two pair of canvas shoes, and both have holes in them. In addition, I have a couple of ballerina flats, but with paper thin soles, those are not good for walking. Can I get a new pair then? What do you think?

In addition, I can shop 2nd hand clothes, and other things like books, paper goods and more!

PS. The second picture is self-grown spinach! I am already enjoying the fruit of my gardening labor :)

My U.S summer tour dates

Estes Park, CO with Helina in 2010.

This summer I will leave Telemark be go to America again. But this time I will go to the South! I will meet Mike´s family for the first time, and we will travel in the area close to his home town Augusta, Georgia. 

Here is our busy schedule. Let me know if you are anywhere near, perhaps we can meet up!

• June 11-21: Augusta, Georgia
• June 22-24: Greenville, South Carolina
• June 24-25: Charlotte, North Carolina
• June 25-July 3: Denver, Colorado
• July 3-7: Gatlinburg, Tennessee
• July 7-16: Augusta, Georgia

PS. My latest newsletter is right here.