Zero gravity

OK Go - Upside Down & Inside Out
Hello, Dear Ones. Please enjoy our new video for "Upside Down & Inside Out". A million thanks to S7 Airlines. #GravitysJustAHabit
Posted by OK Go on 11. februar 2016

You just have to watch this!

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

A Lighthouse Rehearsal Dinner

One of the American wedding traditions we decided to bring to Norway was the rehearsal dinner. An extra party sounded nice, and by spreading out the festivities we thought it might help us in our ambition to have a short (as in less than 8 hours) wedding reception. We invited only immediate family, the bridal party of two, and some friends that came from the States.

After agreeing on a location, my mom took complete charge of all the planning. It was so amazing to not have to think about anything but showing up for this event! I had no worries about it anything, but what my parents planned went way above and beyond what I thought it would be like.

The menu consisted of a smoked salmon and avocado dish, and a delicious fish soup, and for dessert a yummy pavlova and Sunnmørsk svele (pancake). The food fit the old building perfectly. After dinner we got to enjoy the art inside, and the view from the top of the old lighthouse. The wind was not being modest, and after a quick look we went back inside.

In addition to some sweet and funny speeches there was a surprise visit from my cousin Sondre Ferstad and his guitar teacher. They played some amazing jazz music for us, on guitar and harmonica. Here is a sample of his music, and you can hear more here.
 

I am so glad we had a rehearsal dinner. The extra time for family and friends to meet, and time to hang out without all the planning made the wedding week a lot better!

All pictures by my lovely sister Andrea.

My lighthouse

Lyrics with deep truth, pictures that makes me think of summer, and smiling faces. A great video!

Songs for Colorado

Yesterday I had a moment of missing my friends in Colorado. But I also discovered these Songs for Colorado by Gungor, and the sounds and pictures filled my heart with joy.

Download the EP for free, or give a tip to the relief fund for flood victims in Colorado.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Music for your weekend: Eine Blume

I am lucky to know some amazing musicians. The husband and wife duo "Eine Blume" has recorded two albums that are both close to my heart. Right now, they are featured on Noisetrade, and you can get your very own copy of the amazing "Ennå er det håp Fru Ahlgren" for free! 

Here is a sample for you: "Song for Walt". 

Follow this link to listen more and download: Noisetrade/eineblume. 

This is only for a limited time, so make sure you check it out soon.

Local treasures

This past week has been a lovely staycation in Skien. I´ve had time to do some work at home. Ever since I moved in, the unpainted trim has annoyed me, and I finally got around to it. Since everything was in the middle of the room anyways, I decided to rearrange a little, but pictures of that will have to wait till the process is completed. I can tell you this though: change was very welcome!

I have also had time to explore the area. In December I participated in a competition and became the lucky winner of a trip with the Canal Queen M/S Victoria. I crossed all my fingers and toes for good weather, and got tickets for Saturday. Since it has been raining both before and after, we had all the luck we could get this day. The weather was beautiful, the company was perfect and the canal system and locks were pretty fascinating too. Here is a peak at what it all looked like:

Soundtrack: Kopecky Family band. Download there latest EPs for free here! 

A postcard from Colorado

I am in sunny and hot Colorado and thought I'd send you all a postcard. Yesterday we went to Estes Park for a Scandinavian Midsummer festival. Swedish born Elin Palmer's short concert was the highlight of the event with her folk inspired music and nickle harp.

Greetings from Denver,
Ragnhild

PS. I try to send some real postcards too.

Simon Says

This winter video has nothing to do with the amazing summer weather we have had the last week. Lazy days on the beach and in the sun are so great! But sometimes I need a break inside to recover from the heat, and Laleh´s voice is good company after all that crazy Eurovision music last night. Since she is Swedish, this is the perfect, though unintentional, tribute to the winners: Congratulations Sweden!

PS. This one is great too, and a little more suitable for the season: Vårens första dag

The Paper Kites

Discovering some new music tonight. Thank you youtube! 

Key words for this one: nice music, beautiful light, the forest, indians

and a happy surprise at the end! 

St Morritz

Yesterday I went to Langesund with some friends to hear St Morritz play.

It was so much fun, and now I cant stop listening to the song above. 

PS. You might have to go to youtube to see it.

Good Friday

Beautiful words!

Picture found on e´s blog, one I stumbled upon via Modern Hepburn, a lovely tumblr. If you have time I will recommend checking them both out!

Also, I am listening to Drew Hill. He is a part of the Norwegian The Voice, and as a friend of a friend (in addition to being a great musician), he has my vote!

Green Screens

we're all on the edge of our seats
until the end.

February: Sleeping at last

Sleeping At Last "Land or Sea" from their February EP

Working for Mot Målet, YWAM Norway´s magazine, can be stressful because of deadlines and the struggle to find the right words, especially when translating. I seem to be chronically late, does anyone know a cure??

But there are mostly advantages to this job. I get to read great articles, learn graphic design, listen to and transcribe good teaching, and search for recommendable music and movies with other like-minded. Today I started listening to Sleeping At Last and their "Yearbook", and decided to share a sample with you all. The song above is from their February EP, so it should fit perfectly on this first and cold February day.

Welcome to all new followers, and thanks for entering my giveaway! All you need to do to qualify is to tell me a dream for the year ahead. I really like hearing about your goals, and hope they all become reality! I hope I get to know myself better. If you need a daily reminder of the same, there is a free downloadable desktop calendar at Our Paper Shops blog. They make adorable paper goods, so you should definitely check them out.

Put the lights on the tree

We got a couple of days of winter wonderland and I made sure I took in the sight. I wish it would stay like this, but that would take a miracle.

It is time to decorate the tree. In this house we wait till the 23rd with the Christmas decoration, and I will not let it happen before! And with that I can finally say: 

Merry Christmas my friends!!

On a slightly different note; 

here is an obscure Christmas cartoon by mr. Stevens.

Soundtrack: Sufjan Stevens "Put the lights on the tree"

For auld lang syne, my dear

Paper scrap ribbon and bows - genius!

Im still working on the Christmas cards. 

Ive got one more day, right, so why be done before I have to?

At least I made it to the post office today with the ones who need to travel far, and if I am very lucky, it will reach my dear friends far away before the new year is upon us. 

I wonder if I will ever throw scrap paper away again... 

Soundtrack: Beta Radio "Auld lang syne"

Let there be light

The other day I got some more of these in the house, and I am quite excited about it!  It is great to know electricians - thank you so much Christer!!

More outlets means many new options for decorating with light and rearranging, and I look forward to trying new things around the house. Im very happy to cross this off my to-do list, now if only I knew a plumber... 

Music: Gungor "Let there be"

ReStyle Sunday: Sister Winter Chair

I hope this lives up to the expectations I have built up, haha.

Before: This chair was ugly, and I dont understand how I let it stay in my living room for so long... I had good intentions, but all I did was to hang a blanket over it for some of the time, and that sure didnt hide the small (big) imperfections.

After covering a stool with some thrifted wool fabric I looked over at this chair and wondered if I could manage to give that one a makeover too. I thought about it for a couple of days, measured the fabric and thought I would have just about enough of it, and one day I jumped into it, head first.

I think I was a little surprised by how complicated it was, and I had to dig in drawers for various tools to tackle screws and nails.

Armed with staples, nails and a needle and thread it started to come together - piece for piece, corner by corner. And many hours and some blisters later, this was the result.

After: Wintery, white and pretty, she looks a whole lot prettier, dont you think?

Soundtrack: Sufjan Stevens "Sister Winter"

Man about town

I didnt think I would post a skateboard video on my blog, but I couldnt resist this one: 

The music, the style, the colors of his socks and of course, his skills. 

Well, what do I know? All I can say is that this is beautiful, indeed, I think I will call it dance-like...

Found here.

Music for the weekend

My friend Danny Klaver makes music and finally his work is available online.

This is one of many songs written for short films, and I think they are all delightful!

Check out more of his music here or on facebook.

I flew in to Bergen this morning, and will enjoy a long weekend with my family. 

Its great to have a little fall break and (literally) put my feet on the table.

I hope you have a beautiful weekend!