Studying the written word

I want to be a librarian. At least I think I do. So now I have taken my first steps towards actually becoming one. I have started studies in Library and Information Technology. It is an online course, and this semester I am taking a class in Perspectives on Literature in History. The next 1-2 years I will be taking classes, and do an internship at a library as well. I am very excited to learn new things, but a little nervous about all the papers I have to write.

People who know me will probably not be surprised hearing these news. Since I was a little girl I have always loved reading, and brought home stacks of books from the library from a very young age. My interest for literature is also evident here on the blog. I have a page for the books I read, and I write about books sometimes. Right now I am trying to focus on my required reading, but get distracted by other books a lot, so I don´t see the harm in asking if anyone has a good read to recommend right now?

In case you are interested in some librarian accessories: Get your own library scarf here. Plus, the magnet version of the book above can be found on etsy.

What I Wore: Wedding Edition

Finally I can share details of the dress that I worked on for so long! My wedding dress was a cap sleeve, ivory lace, round neck, sheath gown with a sash - to use all the wedding terminology... The store didn´t have my size, so it had to be taken in a little, which I decided to do myself. This was a lot harder than I had thought, mainly because I wanted it to be impeccable. In the end I settled for about 99% satisfaction, and with only a week left before the wedding there wasn´t really anything else to do about it. I loved wearing the dress, it was light and airy and comfortable, not heavy and itchy like many of the other wedding gowns I tried on.

Another challenge was that the fabric was very thin, so I had to add extra lining. I found the perfect silk slip to go underneath, and when everything else was done, I basted it to the dress and plan to remove it so I can reuse it for something else later. I also changed the back of the dress to make a V-neck instead of a round collar, added lace to make tiny cap sleeves, and a ribbon sash around the waist. More on the dress process here. 

I loved my vintage accessories. Early on I knew I wanted to wear the bracelet my grandma gave me. I also wanted to have something borrowed, and was lucky I got to choose between several vintage pairs of earrings from Mike's family. I settled for a pair of white rhinestone clip-ons from the 1950s, but there were some other really pretty ones too.

I was very happy I had a cardigan. Despite the sunny weather, Ålesund was quite windy on June 28th, and because of the sun we had to resort to pictures in the shade. I had first scoured Etsy for hours to find the perfect, fun and vintage cardigan. I found it, ordered it... but it never arrived! So a week before the wedding I went to the closest mall, found a very plain peach cardigan and settled with that decision. In addition, for parts of the photo shoot I was actually wearing long-johns! You can't see it, but it's there.

Matching shoes and nail polish with my maid of honor was the closest I got to a cohesive bridal party look. (Though I did make sure the best man had a neutral colored tie.) But since we were all wearing flowers I think that settled the matter if anyone was in doubt. 

I wore the veil for the ceremony and some pictures, but decided to leave it off for the rest of the day. To be honest, a veil is kind of in the way, especially if there is any wind or lots of hugging involved. The cap and lace matched my ivory gown, but the tulle itself was a very different shade of white. It is more noticeable in the pictures than I thought it would be, but that´s not a big deal.

My wedding garb was really a DIY and budget effort. In total, the outfit cost me around 4000 kr, and a little more than half of that was for the dress and everything I needed for alterations. An added bonus is that with some minor updates, everything but the veil can be used again. Or is there any other occasion than your own wedding that calls for a juliet cap veil?? It would be sweet to use it again.

Dress: A Dolce & Gabbana knock-off from a small dress shop in Tallinn, Estonia
Slip: Else Maries Undertøyssalong, Skien
Veil: Vintage, via Adorned in Grace
Cardigan: Cubus
Red sandals: Esprit
White pumps: Vintage (already owned)
Bracelet: Inherited from my grandma
Earrings: Something borrowed - they were Mike's great-grandmothers
Handkerchief: Inherited. Also Mike's great-grandmothers
Hair and makeup: Anniken at Fri Frisør
Flowers: Blomsterstua Ålesund

Photos: Irene Lovund

Kraft wedding programs

Yesterday I somehow ended up on Google+, and while I was there, I changed some picture settings. Today I had a comment on an old blog post saying the pictures were missing. At first I thought I might have reached my storage limit (is there such a thing on blogger?), but quickly realized what had happened. Reversing that was harder than I would have thought, but about an hour of googling and trial and error, all my pictures are back where they were. Lesson of the day: Keep your Google+/Blogger photo albums public, and DO NOT delete any of the pictures. 

After this warning, back to some wedding chatter. There really isn't any plan of order for the wedding posts, they just happen, in case you were a little confused by my blogging lately.

Making the wedding programs myself was a given: I have experience with layout and design from work, and it was a great way to save money. Since we and our guests speak two different languages, I thought it would be helpful with pretty detailed programs, which is actually very common in Norway anyways.

First: Ceremony programs

These were pretty straightforward once we had decided on what to include in the ceremony. The order of the service and text for the hymns were all on the inside. On the front we used the illustration from our invitation, and the names of the all people involved in the ceremony were on the back. This was printed on medium heavy kraft paper in black and white. I made separate English and Norwegian copies, and since it was a small wedding, our lovely greeters knew who needed which one.

Secondly: Programs for the party

This project was a little more complicated. The contents of this booklet included the program and menu for the evening, some local barn history (!), a short presentation of each guest, fun facts about American and Norwegian wedding traditions, and our guest book. Writing these pages took a while, but I enjoyed it! I didn't get to ask our guests if they liked it/found it helpful/entertaining, but I know my dad couldn't stop reading it the day we were setting tables...

The cover is printed on heavy kraft paper and the contents is normal white printer paper, to save some money and increase readability. Everything was stapled together, and each folder got a piece of washi tape on the front where the guest name was written. Which meant no need for place cards! One of the deciding factors for assigned seating was in fact these programs, as I couldn't figure out another way to get each guest a program in their own language.

I just love mail, and even before we were engaged I pinned a postcard guestbook. I started collecting vintage postcards, but for the longest time had no idea how to actually use them. The solution I ended up with was to tape a postcard in each wedding program, hoping guests would write a greeting during/after dinner. It was never explained except in written form in the program, which might be why only about a quarter of the guests used it. So now I have a stash of amazing postcards waiting to be used, and that is no bad thing either.

Did you/would you have programs for your wedding?

RESOURCES
Kraft paper: Green Earth Supplies
Tape: WeXStore
Vintage postcards: Memory Saver and Hens Feathers on Etsy, and second hand stores here in Norway and the States
Fonts: Animatic and Channel

Photography: The nice action shots are by Michaela Nichole Photography, the others are taken with my phone in my kitchen.

A cabinet of treasures

We are home from our honeymoon and it is wonderful to be back. (I will post some pictures from our trip to Greece soon.) Here in Skien parts of the apartment are still a little chaotic, with Mike moving in, extra furniture everywhere and lots of new things, but things are starting to shape up.

The past days we have unpacked so many beautiful gifts! My parents stopped by with many of our wedding gifts last week, and they also brought a corner cabinet I inherited after my grandma. It was handmade by her second husband, and is now the perfect home for our fancy china and pretty stemware.

The light inside gives it such a warm and lovely glow that Mike wants to keep it on all the time. The rest of our kitchen supplies is also getting a sweet upgrade, so I will be getting rid of quite a few flea market and IKEA finds to make room for our gifts. Married life is very good so far! 

How to use vintage stamps

One of the blogs I have been reading for a while is Oh So Beautiful Paper. You can probably guess what they write about: anything paper, cards and stationary. And it really is beautiful. That is also where I got the idea of using vintage stamps for our wedding invitations. At first I didn´t think it would be possible, since I had only seen American vintage stamps, but after some research I realized that was not the case, and I was very happy. Mike had to tell me to stop buying stamps after a while. Perhaps he was worried I would get addicted....

I have had a couple of these butterfly stamps in my wallet for years, not wanting to use them, just looking at them once in a while. Now I bought a few more, and a couple of people got them on their envelope. 

I bought whole sheets (50 stamps) of the white flower and the church stamps. Most envelopes got two church stamps, one flower and one other random stamp to make it add up to the 10 kr value it needed.

I was a little worried that the mail would get there, but to my knowledge, all the letters arrived, so this is great way to add some extra personality to your correspondence! 

Resources: 

For American stamps, check Etsy shops like Verde Studio or Love the Postage. There are plenty of others, just search for "unused postage". You can also buy unused stamps on eBay.

For Norwegian "postfriske frimerker", I used QXL.no. It is an auction site, so you can get lucky and get a really good deal, spending less on postage than if you bought brand new ones from the post office! It is a lot harder to find cute ones here than on Etsy, so plan to spend some time searching.

Wedding decor: Something old and very personal

The china "Grønn Marie", inherited from Mormor Inga Marie.

In November I went to Ålesund for some wedding planning. When visiting the venue I was happy with most of it, but hated their coffee cups. As you probably know, I love thrift stores and vintage things, so the thought of using old china for the wedding had already struck me. However, since this is a destination wedding of sorts I am trying to avoid buying lots of stuff we will have to bring along.

My Farmor (grandma) Ingrid has always had lots of pretty china, so when I visited her later that weekend I asked if she would be willing to lend us some of it for our wedding reception. She was very excited and told me I could borrow as much as I needed.

In January Farmor unexpectedly passed away. We were all shocked and very sad. One major reason for choosing Ålesund as our wedding destination was to make sure she could make it, as she was my last grandparent. At the gathering after the funeral service, our wedding was mentioned in speeches several times, and my grandma´s neighbor even mentioned the part about the china. Now that she won't be there with us, I am so grateful she was part of the planning, and will play a part in the celebration as well. In a way, it will be my "something borrowed".

Adorned in Grace: About wedding veils

My roommate can testify to the fact that I love to research. I have spent countless hours on Etsy searching for shoes, paper goods, decor, dresses and on and on, including veils. At first I looked into tutorials on how to make veils from scratch. A lot of veil styles are very simple to make, you basically only need tulle cut to the length you want, and a comb to sew it on. As a matter of fact, I made a veil for a friend of a friend once. It was very easy, and took less than an hour to make. If you are slightly crafty, there is a lot of money to be saved if you chose to make your veil yourself.

Here are a couple of veil tutorials if you are interested: 

- Simple veil DIY

- Long lace trimmed veil DIY 

- 1920s style Juliet cap veil DIY

- Birdcage veil DIY 

With this in mind I started looking at tulle and lace, and even ordered samples of a polka-dotted tulle. See the result below. (By the way, what do you think of that idea? )

But then I found some really pretty vintage wedding veils and I was sold. Adorned in Grace is a charity that sells bridal and formal wear, and all the proceeds go to the fight against human trafficking. I ordered one that is probably from the 70s, and it is in perfect condition. I am quite excited to be able to wear something vintage and used (within my stopshop criteria), and supporting a small business and a good cause at the same time!

Would you wear a vintage veil?

Nourishment

"When we stop everything else to gather around the table 

and eat a meal made by someone's hands, 

we honor our bodies and the God who created them. 

We honor the world he made and the beauty of creation. 

And in that moment we acknowledge that even though life is fast and frantic, 

we're not machines and we do require nourishment, physically and otherwise."

Shauna Niequist, Bittersweet

For sale: from my closet

My project of living simply combined with the January Cure (that looks like it will extend into March...) gave me the kick to do something I have been thinking of for a while: selling vintage clothes online. I have bought stuff in second hand shops and flea markets and vintage boutiques, and some items are loved and well-worn, while others fail to make it out of the closet. Some times it is because a restyle never happens, other times the pattern just a little too crazy, even for me. 

Now I have a shop on the Norwegian site bloppis.no. The items above, and more are listed, and I will  continue to update it. 

PS. I can also ship abroad, just contact me for prices. 

A revolution of love

I have been writing about our summer project of sending lots of Norwegians to the olympics in England, including some going with a viking ship. This documentary shows YWAMs first olympic outreach in Munich 1972. A 1000 young people shared Jesus during the games, and their testimonies are great! Some of our methods and style of music might have changed, but the message is still the same. If you are going to join us this summer or are just curious, watch this as an inspiration. Whats not to love about 70s style footage anyways?

Oh, and if you want to join, read more and sign up here: gofest.no

More vintage YWAM videos here.

Thrifted - gifted

You might say it is a little late for Christmas, but last year we exchanged gifts on Valentines Day, so we were actually a little early this year. My roommate of two years, Lyndee, moved back to the States last fall, but is gracing us with a winter visit for the month of February. She brought back gifts, and technically, this was a Christmas gift.

These little bells brought some Christmas feelings, 

but I think I will save them for next winter´s projects...

A vintage 1940s table runner, and a pretty green clutch.

I love it when people know what I like, thank you so much Lyndee!!

Global chic: Wanderlust

I wish I was an author when the world was still an undiscovered place.

I love reading travel literature and dream of places far away.

Vintage suitcases from my grandma (on the tiny little picture) and flea markets. Coffee maker from Israel, clay jar from Ethiopia, poster from Spain.

Anywhere warm would be great right now.

Passport, notebooks and sunglasses. Im ready to go.

An entry in the "Global chic" challenge at NIB.

Joy

Chocolate creates joy. 

Freia - you got it right.

ReStyle: A plaid shirt

This shirt has lovely fabric, but was not quite my size...

Before: What?? No, Im never awkward, especially in oversized mens shirts!

After a lot of tweaking, taking the arms off, recutting them and putting them back (on the wrong side, but I discovered that too late, and no one will ever notice. I think...), taking in the sides and shortening it, its all good. I did iron it, but wearing it for a whole day put new wrinkles in - sorry about that.

PS. I have had some feedback from people struggling to read my blog and to comment. I had a friend test it, so it should all work, but Im wondering if this dynamic view doesnt work well in all browser. Anyone else have these problems/solutions?? Im thankful for all feedback, and not sure if I will continue with this layout or not, especially if it makes my blog hard to access.

The loot

Last weekend we went thrifting, 

and the result combined with the price qualifies this as booty (the pirate kind)

A shirt, hat, amazing alarm clock, table cloth, basket  - everything in a pretty suitcase :)

Dutch (!) Boggle and Rummy. Im excited to play

Lots of fabric and yarn = many projects

A couple of these things have already played the main part of some restyle projects, but I will have to share those another day, as well as my advent decorations. Christmas is getting closer, and I think I will enjoy the waiting time a lot!

Smile?

A priceless photography depicting my mom, two of her older siblings and her dad on a camping holiday.
Oh the fun of family pictures!

So far it has been a nice and relaxing weekend, a walk in the woods in the rain to Krokatjørn (we are in Bergen, so a little rain wont stop us of course), jazz on the radio and looking through old family photos.

Friends around the world

Excited for 2012 and this wonderful calendar from Lyndee

Fun vintage buttons from Erika 

Pretty tea bags, pretty earrings and the cutest card from Irene

I dont have an uncle in America, but I have some dear friends, and these are some wonderful gifts that came in the mail this week. I love mail!

Resting place

Look what I found!

1. Pretty flowers

2. The perfect place to rest my feet,

or a place to sit when I put my shoes on,

 or an extra chair? 

I will take all of the above! 

ReStyle: House edition no. 2 - The Loft

The loft before: Beware or you will fall into the closet downstairs! 

There was certainly room for improvement in the attic room when I moved in.

After: Well, you dont really see all the work thats been done by my wonderful dad, 

but I assure you, there are no more holes, no loose wires and... 

 ...lots of new storage behind vintage curtains. 

And it is messy back there, so I wont let you see it either.

I found some old curtains that I hemmed 

(my little part in this restyle project) 

and hung with curtain wire. 

This is a very easy solution for some extra closet space if you have a free corner in your home. 

The only thing this my bedroom is missing is light, 

so the picture quality isn´t the best, 

but I hope you will bear with me. 

The lovely lamp was found at a flea market here in Skien, 

and though it isn´t connected to any power source quite yet, 

I think it deserves to be hung for its decorative value. 

The blanket is also from a flea market, 

and the dress from a vintage store in Oklahoma.

Vintage angel picture and pretty wooden structures. 

This dresser came with me from a previous apartment, a hand me down from a friend.

Pillows from Kremmerhuset and Ane Havnegjerde Design.

The entrance has proved to be a little scary for some visitors, 

but I like it, and the bird perspective on the apartment.

I also have a new roommate! Welcome Kristin!! 

On her blog you can see pictures from our trip to Ål a couple of weeks ago :)