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?

Hi February!

It is already a new month! January seemed to fly by with all the home cure assignments, and now the calendar shows February. This month I look forward to visiting friends, seeing a couple of plays, one of them starring my sister, and celebrating with my Valentine. So much love (and so much cheesiness). I also look forward to spending a lot less time cleaning the house.

Christmas break in Bergen

We had so much fun in Bergen for Christmas! Family, friends, food, the forest, games, a fireplace, lots of candy and cakes, baking lefse, reading books, seeing Fana stave church, and hanging out with this cute blue-eyed girl!

16 things to be thankful for in 2016

Happy new year!!
I hope there will be 2000 more things to be thankful for in the year ahead, but here is a start: 

1. A wonderful, loving, funny husband to live my life with every day.
2. A home of our own.
3. Having a job I like.
4. Studies that I find really interesting.
5. Our dear families that keep on growing.
6. Being an aunt to the sweetest kids.
7. Many great friends in Skien and beyond.
8. Unlimited access to books at the library.
9. Having everything I need.
10. Living in a peaceful country.
11. Plans to travel in the coming year.
12. Grace for every new day.
13. Starting the year with a clean home.
14. My smallgroup.
15. Being healthy.
16. The joy of changing seasons.

52 Postcards for 2015

One of my goals for 2015 is to send a letter or postcard every week. Last year I sent lots of mail, most of it wedding related, and I miss putting stamps on envelopes and writing to my friends and family, so this little project will make sure I get it done. 

So far I have sent a few birthday cards, but there doesnt really have to be an occasion to send mail, right? I also hope to practice writing some actual letters. And now that I know how to make an envelope liner, I should do that more often as well. 

Would you like to receive mail from me? Just comment on this post with your address (unless you know I already have it) and you will get something pretty in your mailbox some time this year! Writing back is no requirement, but it would make me happy.

PS. If you prefer vintage letters (in Spanish) you can get yours from Etsy seller Blue Grizzle Paper.

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.

Southern Christmas

It has been a while since Christmas, and even longer since I wrote anything on here, but I hope it isn't entirely too late to post some moments from our American holiday. 

From the neighborhood: An abundance of wreaths, both inside and out! 

American tree, and very surprisingly - Norwegian choir song on tv.

After the Christmas Eve service.

First Presbyterian Church Augusta dressed up for Christmas. 

And one of my favorite Christmas presents: a new high-tech porcelain tooth! It kind of makes me feel like an old lady, but I prefer a whole fake tooth over half a real one, for sure.

Thanksgiving Dinner

Thanksgiving is not a holiday here in Norway, but I have celebrated it almost every year since I joined Youth With A Mission in 2006. Now that I am married to an American it would only be fitting to host Thanksgiving dinner at our house. With a manageable sized turkey of 6,2 kg (not a giant 13 kg one like last year!), and guests bringing sides, it was a joy to host the party for six other Americans here in Skien. We picked a Sunday for our celebration and enjoyed plenty of food and pie. I only knew half of our guests, but it was really fun to be in an American crowd and enjoy laughs and good stories together.

The Menu:

- Starter: Deviled eggs

- Turkey (of course)

- Mashed potatoes

- Scalloped potatoes (this was supposed to be a green bean casserole, but the expats could not find cream of mushroom here...)

- Sweet potato casserole with pecans and marshmallows

- Raw broccoli and carrot salad

- Gravy

Desserts:

- Pecan Pie (we made it from a family recipe from Mikes grandma!)

- Pumpkin pie

- Peach and pineapple cobbler

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

Our traditional and personal wedding ceremony

I could never picture getting married anywhere but in a church. I had only been in Skodje church once, for one of my cousins confirmations. But when we decided to have our reception at Nedreskodje Gard, the choice was easy. The church is a 10 minute stroll away from the barn, it is quite small, and it looks really pretty too.

Here is a peak into our wedding ceremony, complete with soundtrack:

This sounds cheesy, but the moment the church doors opened and I started walking towards Mike must be the most emotional I have ever experienced. Seeing him for a couple of hours for photos earlier in the day didn´t take anything away from making it special. I was smiling and crying, and just so incredibly happy! I was not very nervous, but unusually emotional during the whole service - and grateful to have a handkerchief at hand.

Our processional was "Bruremarsj" by Jan Magne Førde. I have always loved this song, and the fact that the composer is from my hometown makes it even better. My dear friend Erika joined the organ player for this song, as well as for the hymns we sang.

We had readings by a couple of our sisters from Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 and Colossians 3:12-19, and a paragraph on marriage and being in love from "Mere Christianity" by C.S Lewis. All our parents were also involved in a prayer of blessing.

We had been wearing our rings during the whole engagement and had planned to take them off before the ceremony and give them to my dad who was our officiant. As I sit there in church I see Mike carefully take his ring off and hand it to his best man, and I realize I am still wearing mine too! Just a few minutes later it was time to say our "Yes", and the next thing up was the ring ceremony, so we remembered just in time. It all happened very fast, and suddenly we were married!

During the speech we held hands and smiled. It was slightly surreal to think that we were married for real,  that this was not another rehearsal. I must admit I can not remember much of what was said, though I thought it was great in the moment. Luckily it is all recorded on video (a last minute decision), and if we are lucky I might be able to get a hold of the manuscript too. 

The big surprise of the day came at the end of our ceremony. My dad walked out from behind the altar, my cousin Sondre started to play the guitar, and suddenly my dad burst into song! He had seen an untraditional blessing on youtube and decided he wanted to sing it for us. Everyone was so surprised, and there was a LOT of laughter.

Finally, we walked down the aisle as man and wife, while "Wedding Day at Troldhaugen" by Edvard Grieg was played. We hugged everyone, kissed on the stairs and since the skies were bright blue we walked to our reception and into marriage serenaded by a pretty violinist.

All pictures by the talented Irene Lovund Photography

Our American-Norwegian wedding reception

   

Welcome to our wedding! 

We can offer Norwegian farmers food and Southern Sweet tea.

Touching speeches from our dear ones. 

Quality coffee by Precious Beans Roasters.

(We are serious about cakes around here.)

Impersonations. Funny ones.

Drama by my childhood´s fantasy friends Hoggen, Birken and Agnes Kyrkjen.

So much laughter (and maybe a few happy tears) with the most amazing people.

In other words: The perfect wedding!

Photos: Sigve Ferstad