Industrial vibes

I got a new job last fall, but the news never made it to this page. After a little more than a year at a primary school, I am back to "cubicle life", working in an office. This time around I do administrative work for a small construction company in Skien. I really like the colors and shapes in these pictures taken at work this fall.

DIY: Heather Wreath for Fall

I love to bring a little piece of nature inside, so while out on a hike the other day I picked some whortleberry heather (tyttebærlyng) to make a small wreath.

Materials: Heather, moss and dirt from the woods.

Trim the heather, discard the moss and dirt and bugs that came with it.

Use wire to make a circle the size you want your wreath. 

Attach small bunches with wire. I used three little twigs in each bunch.

Continue wrapping and adding more heather all around the circle. 

Decorate with pine cones if you´d like, and hang it on the wall.

Langelandskollen

Good things on a Sunday: 

- a surprising visit from an Estonian friend

- perfect hiking temperature

- new hiking boots (birthday gift from some friends)

- a great view (Kammerherrens utsikt)

- a cabin providing shelter from the wind

- coffee from a thermos + chocolate

- picking heather for a small project

- no rain (it has rained a lot here lately)

Red Leaves

My sister gave me a Norwegian fall poem for my birthday, 

and I think it is too lovely not to share.

RAUDE LAUV

Lik raude lauv
som atter vert grøne
like brune lauv
som vinkar i vinden
og kviler på jorda
kviler i jorda
før dei atter er der
grøne
og byrge
i sin uskjønelege byrgskap
som heng så trygt
i vind
i sol
i regn.

Jon Fosse

Fall Wish List

It is almost October, and definitely fall in my neck of the woods. Since my birthday is coming up in a few weeks I have already been asked if there is anything I want. You would think there is nothing left on my wish list after getting married, but rearranging the house and getting a new job has revealed a few little needs/wants for both me and the home. Here are a few pretty things I love right now.

- This amazing nightstand by Augustav would be perfect. But since it is sold out...

- A more realistic wish: 4 Enudden shelves from IKEA to fit our small bedroom

- Yoga Blocks and a Yoga strap would be very helpful

- A pair of shoes that are comfortable for walking

- A classic chambray/denim shirt

- Table settings in our fine china Anmut Platinum

- Sturdier dining room chairs. But I have no idea which ones...

- And pretty flowers. Always. Picture by Jose Villa.

Fall treat: Apple chips

Last night I had some girls over for a belated birthday celebration, and the day was spent in the kitchen, baking up a storm. As I was eating a wonderful late breakfast with my roommate, I noticed there were a lot of apples sitting in a bowl. We were discussing the menu for the night, which surprised me, as I would usually have thought everything through and gone shopping days in advance. That was not the fact this time, which gave room for some improvisation.

We already had banana bread, and my heart was set on a specific pie, so apple muffins didn´t get a vote. I was thinking it would be nice with a snack, and remembered trying apple chips just a week earlier. Recipes for it were all over the internet, it seemed easy enough, and suddenly we were making this sweet treat! My guests liked it too, and since it is super healthy, how can you not make this?

APPLE CHIPS

Ingredients
3 Apples
1 TBS Cinnamon
1 TBS Sugar
1/4 tsp Nutmeg
A pinch Salt

Heat your oven to 80-90 C.
You need to slice the apples super thin. This is difficult if you dont own a mandolin, but with a steady hand and sharp knife you will do alright.
Spread the apple slices on baking trays (this will fill two trays).
Mix the spices.
Sprinkle spice mix on apples and rub it in a little.
Cook the apples for half an hour, flip the slices and cook for another hour or so till they are crispy. Well, they might not get very crispy at all, depending on how thickly you sliced them, but they will still taste very good!

PS. I found the recipe here.

PPS. Recipe for pie and cookies will come later.

Fall on the balcony

Cabbage and heather greets me every time I come home, and I love the sight of these cheerful plants as my balcony is transitioning from summer to fall. Some of the summer blooms are still alive, but have seen better days. 

Also, my new camera charger and card reader is on the way. It has been over 3 months since Airtran lost my suitcase and therefore 3 months since I have used my camera. I guess you can say I am ready for the package to arrive! These Ipod pictures are good enough for instagram most of the time, but not very useful otherwise...

Cold feet??

Then you better try making these cute and warm felted slippers! 

Some friends of mine made several pairs two winters ago, and Ive been wanting my own ever since. They are fairly easy to make, but I had to refresh my crocheting skills along the way, which made it a little more challenging. I found the instructions here (both in Norwegian and English) if you feel like making your own. Now that I know my feet will be warm, I guess I can welcome winter...

Birthday cake

Birthday cake picture by Erine Solberg

I celebrated my birthday a little while ago and I couldnt resist making this amazing-looking chocolate cake from Kimberly Taylor.

To make sure I had a big enough cake, I doubled the recipe by 1,5 - since the recipe didnt tell me how many servings it would be. Well, rest assured, this was more than plenty for 13 girls. As a matter of fact, we didnt even eat half of it. Good thing I have a boyfriend to help me with leftovers like that... 

Since it made so much, I decided to leave the original measurements here.

Warning: this is a lot of work, but totally worth it! 

So, here we go; 
Salted Caramel frosted Chocolate Cake 
in four steps. 

Step #1: Bake a Chocolate Cake

Ingredients:
(everything should be at room temperature)
160 grams unsalted butter
2/3 cup white sugar
2/3 cup light brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 vanilla bean
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup sour cream
2 Tbs brewed coffee
1 3/4 cups flour
1 cup cocoa powder
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

Turn your oven to 180 C. 
Grease your cake pans. (I used two 28cm round ones)

How to: 
Cream butter and sugars until light and fluffy.
Add eggs, one at the time. 
Add vanilla bean.
Whisk buttermilk, sour cream and coffee in a separate bowl.
In a third bowl, sift flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt. 
Add the wet and dry ingredients to the sugar/butter, a little at the time. 
Make sure it is well mixed, but dont overdo it either!

Bake on 180 C for 20-30 minutes, depending on pan size and your oven.

Step #2: Make Salted Caramel

Making caramel sounds a little scary, but if you follow the recipe closely and dont look away for too long, you will be fine - dont worry. Remember that melted sugar gets very very hot.

Hey pumpkin!

My little "garden" has new guests for the fall: mini-gourds and squashes in pretty colors and shapes.

Pumpkin adventures: 4 in 1

It has been one of those pumpkin weekends. You  know, where you spend hours on pumpkin projects?

I went to Asia mat and was tempted by a large and pretty pumpkin at the entrance, but I was looking for some smaller ones and managed to exercise my will muscles and leave it there.

1. BAKE
Once home I made pumpkin puree. This was easy:
Just cut your pumpkin (I used butternut squash, its good enough for me) and cover with foil.
Bake till tender. Mine baked for about 1,5-2 hours in the oven at 180C (the recipe said 1 hour, but that was not enough).
Puree it all in a blender.
Voila, all natural, from scratch pumpkin puree!
Freeze in portions or use it immediately.

Of course I had to make something with all that pumpkin puree...

2. COOK
So, pumpkin spice syrup  it was.

Check the link for the recipe. May only modifications were to let it simmer for quite a while longer than 10 minutes to make it thicken, also, i used cardemom, since i didnt have any allspice. I cant even buy allspice at my regular grocery store... 

3. STEAM
The reason I made the syrup was of course so I could make a pumpkin spice latte. 
I used:
- a shot of espresso
- a shot of syrup
- some steamed milk
Im not always an accurate cooker, as this recipe clearly shows.
No matter what, this made a great lunch treat on a cold Saturday.

Three recipes to get to the final result may seem like a lot, but there is more...

4. ROLL
Sunday morning I made pumpkin cinnamon rolls! I found this recipe on Smitten Kitchen. Gorgeous photos, funny stories, and of course, mouth-watering recipes. Worth following, and if you like pumpkin, these cinnamon rolls would probably suit your taste buds. Mine wanted a little less sugar in the filling, so I cut some of it.

Thank you internet, for providing me with endless items on my cooking list! And thank you weekend, for all that time to cook.

Fall wishlist

Fall is such a beautiful time! October is also my birthday, and even though I have just about everything a girl could need, it is still fun to put together a little wish list. This is the first time I use polyvore, and I dont know why I havent tried this before! Easy as pie to put together a collage of stuff you like. 

Back to my wish list: warm cozy sweaters, comfortable t-shirts, a rug, blankets and rain boots to keep me warm and dry, a new perfume, and a coffee table for all that indoor time!

Links: Sweater, t-shirt, rain boots, belt, perfume, blanket, coffee table, rug

Happy October!!

I love fall here in Skien. The maple trees are so pretty, the sky is clear and the air fresh and chilly. Time to wear sweaters, be crafty and drink a lot of tea.

My family came to visit for a few days last week. This time it was a hard work visit, and we got a lot of great projects done in my apartment. If you follow me on instagram you might know that some of the projects include cork and balcony stairs. I still have some minor paint jobs to finish, but I promise to document everything and show it off soon.

PS. More fall pictures on Pinterest.

Source: modernhepburn.tumblr.com via Ragnhild on Pinterest

From the mountain tops

The view from Blåfjell just after a massive downpour. 

Where I come from, we would call them hills... I still like them, and especially the forest that leads to them!

Titoppern in Grenland is an initiative to explore more of the nature in our local area. To complete the challenge, you must hike at least 10 trips in the season, starting in May and ending in October. Britt Solveig and I didnt decide to do this until July, and with her very busy schedule, we realize we are in a tight spot. Nonetheless, we hope to reach our goal, and have really enjoyed the forest, hills, views, lakes and blueberries so far.

Happy weekend!

What are you up to this weekend? 

I have plans to relax, hike, be creative and perhaps bake.

Sounds like a perfect little break to me! 

Picture by Theo Schwartz, found on Pinterest.

I need to get my bike out

Samuji Fall Winter 2012 from Samu-Jussi Koski on Vimeo.

Pretty, huh?

Blogging has not been on my agenda lately. Im not sure why, but summer has been busy and I have prioritized other things. Perhaps now, that fall is right around the corner, I´ll be back? Instagram has kept my attention lately, you can find me as rferstad if you´d like.

PS. Here is another bike related post.

Video found via Cherry Blossom Blog