Halloween

My sister loves Halloween. Seriously. Loves. She loves carving pumpkins.

And decorating her house.

And throwing parties for the kids complete with crazy food, grab bags, and games.

Me? I like a good carved pumpkin.

(Wow! Just look at how focused I am on that pumpkin! Seriously, I have got to learn to chillax. My over attention to detail did yield one awesome pumpkin, though.)

I enjoy cupcakes more than a girl should. 

I'm not so into playing games, but I like watching the kids have fun.

And then, of course, there is the dressing up. Now that is something I do enjoy.

Last year we went as The Griffins. 

The Babe KILLED it as Stewie. Just look at how adorable he is with his laser gun! The Boy looked as much like Peter as anyone who doesn't weight anywhere near 270 lbs can, and I rocked that $5 day glow orange WalMart wig. Such a good look for me. 

Happy Halloween, everyone! 

I hope you have a fun, safe, spooky night!

Sick Day

The Babe woke up this morning with a runny nose, a horrible cough, and a touch of fever so we will be spending the day doing this...

Yup. Cuddling on the couch, drinking lots of juice, napping and pretty much taking it easy is what we'll be doing today. We have to get this baby better because Monday we're headed here...

via flickr

The Eternal City! 

Rome!

And then here...

found on Pinterest
Ah, Napoli!

Oh, Italy, land of gelato and pizza, here we come!

                                                                     

On Sleep and Apple Cider

Fall is definitely in full swing here in Denmark. The days are shorter, the nights longer and there is a chill in the air that reminds me of late November at home. After living most of my life at a certain latitude I'm finding living so far north something of a challenge. My body is in tune with the sun and seasons of Mississippi. At home, I can tell time to within a few minutes just by looking at the sun. Here, though, 7am could just as easily be 2am, since the sun doesn't start shining until around 8am these days. 

Last night The Babe had a bad dream. It was nothing major, I don't think, just a whimper in the night but it woke me. Out of habit, I tried without success to determine from the light the time before clicking on my phone to check its clock. If it was anywhere near 6 - the time we normally try and get up (heavy emphasis on the try) - then I was going to let him wander into our room for a few minutes of cuddle time. If it was much earlier than that I would have to be preemptive and go comfort him if he couldn't settle himself. 

It was 2 am and so I waited. 

There was a second little whimper a few minutes later followed quickly by another much louder cry and so I threw off my covers and stumbled to his room. He was still asleep so I gently moved him over a little to make a little space for myself and then curled around him. He never opened his eyes. He just melted into me and fell back into a sound sleep. I watched him in the pale, dim light that filters through his bedroom window. I stroked his hair and admired his long eyelashes. I thought about how funny it is that I can sleep straight through an alarm clock or thunderstorm, but if my child so much as coughs in the night I am awake and alert and ready to spring into action. I thought about how cold it is here already. And I thought about how yummy a big mug of hot apple cider would be. If only they had apple cider here! Oh, well. I can always make my own.

Funny how the mind wanders at 2 am.

Hot Apple Cider for Two*

3 cups apple juice

1 cinnamon sticks broken 

5 cloves

2 strips lemon zest, pared using a veggie peeler

2 strips orange zest, pared using a veggie peeler

2 tablespoons brown sugar

Optional

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1/4 cup orange juice 

whipped cream

caramel syrup

Pour apple juice into a saucepan and add cinnamon sticks, cloves, lemon and orange zest, and lemon and orange juice, if using. 

Heat gently over low heat for 15 minutes, but don't allow to boil. Remove from heat and leave to infuse for about 30 minutes then add sugar to taste. Gently reheat, strain, and serve very hot in heatproof mugs. Top with whipped cream and caramel syrup, if using. 

*Adapted from Waitrose's Mulled White Wine recipe. 

Happy Birthday, Little Sis!

This time last year we were at home visiting my family in Mississippi which meant that we all got to celebrate my sister's birthday together. It was low key. We had an ice cream birthday cake from Cold Stone Creamery. (There is a store in Arhus. You can imagine my surprise when I stumbled across it. No Starbucks, but there is a Cold Stone. Crazy. ) A few days later The Babe and I tagged along on a school field trip with my oldest nephew and his class when they went to a corn maze. 

 the corn maze

 my youngest nephew playing in cotton

 The Babe on his first hayride

The Babe chases his cousin in the corn maze.

my beautiful little sister holding her nephew

It was a fun day. 

gaga for ginkgo

I can still remember the very first ginkgo tree I ever saw. I know, right? It's a tree. But in the land of oak trees and pine forests, the ginkgo that towered over my grandmother's house was exotic. Its delicate fan leaves were elegant. We would spend summers playing under its branches and in the fall, when the leaves turned their glorious shade of warm yellow and fell, I would gather as many as I could hold between three fingers. They made lovely little bouquets. 

I still love that tree.

via angeloangelo on flickr

I love this ginkgo garland from 

etsy shop fellow fellow found on Ohdeeoh

via Martha Stewart

ginkgo cuff from Alkemie Jewelry

post it notes from Nonesuch Things

beautiful fall arrangement via hgtv.com

I am in love with this wall paper from twenty2 

found on Apartment Therapy.

from National Geographic Store

gorgeous and delicate earrings 

from etsy shop Ginkgo

via mrhyata on flickr

a week in pictures

Happy Monday, everyone! I feel like it's been ages since we've chatted. I know. I know. I've been falling down on the blog a bit lately. There is so much going on at the moment, lots of projects, lots of learning, lots of thinking, lots of ... life, I guess. I'll get around to telling you all about it once I've hammered out the details. It's all exciting, I promise, but a little overwhelming, too, at times. Sometimes I feel the need to unplug from the Twitter/Facebook/Skype/email/and, yes, blog part of my life to focus on my family. Last week the weather here was {mostly} amazing and so I took the opportunity of sunny skies and fleeting daylight to go outside and play with my kiddo. Don't worry. I took lots of pictures. 

 a glorious pink and blue dawn from my kitchen window

 the sky after a sudden storm had passed

 a rainbow at the park

the view from Platform C 

where The Babe and I spent an afternoon watching 

trains and buses go by

 The Babe discovered the Maneki Neko at the local Thai restaurant.

 Vejle's singing night watchmen

Yes, those really are spiked maces that they're carrying.

Sunday morning story time was followed by Sunday morning brunch. The big excitment in town was watching the construction of a penthouse apartment that will overlook the town square. Three sections covered in copper sheets were lifted to the top of an old building. It's probably going to be a pretty awesome apartment. It certainly will be shiny.

 Sunset to the east...

... and to the west from the same spot.

How about you, my friends? How have you been?

a little something for your weekend

{photo from flickr via Pinterest}

I want to make this dry shampoo.

These portraits are made with an iTouch!

You have to check out "Rolling in the beats" a spectacular 24 song mash up.

This hair bow bun is too cute!

This dessert is just wrong on so many levels. Or maybe I should say, in so many layers?

Baked AVOCADO fries!?! I'm intrigued.

This sky scarf knitting project is amazing!

If you live in London and fancy a trip to Greenwich this weekend, please try this brand new secret restaurant in the new wing of the National Maritime Museum and report back to me. I hear very very good things.

This balloon race looks like a lot of fun.

Pinterest: An Observation

{my YUM board on Pinterest}

And on a completely separate note: This morning when I walked The Babe to school it was GORGEOUS. Seriously. There was not a cloud in the sky. So when I discovered I'd forgotten to pack his rain jacket, I was all like, "No big deal. It's a beautiful day." And now as I sit down to write this there is a HUGE black cloud rolling in and it's starting to rain. Crap. I should know better by now. Mommie FAIL! Sometimes I feel like the worst parent EVER. 

There is too much to say.

I have so much to say today that I am finding myself a little verklempt. So instead I offer pictures of fall leaves on a beautiful autumn day.

How to live before you die.

* via Bobbi + Mike

Hopballe Mill

I've read a lot about Hopballe Mølle since moving to Vejle. It seemed like something that would be right up out ally. 

Adorable family run organic farm in the picturesque Danish countryside? Check. 

Ancient 600 year old mill? Check. 

Chicks and ducks and geese? Check check and check.

Yummy restaurant? Check. 

Boutique selling the farm's wares? Check.

AND A FALL FESTIVAL THIS WEEKEND??? Ok, everyone get in the car. We're going.

It was a gorgeously warm weekend, perfect for a jaunt into the country. 

 The farm was decorated with hay bales and pumpkins. 

They offered horse rides for the littles...

... and a Danish favorite - bread wrapped around a stick 

and cooked over a campfire. 

A view of the Grejsdal Valley from above the mill. 

This horse seems to be rolling his eyes at us as I try to persuade The Babe to just touch its velvety nose. The Babe wasn't buying it. This was as close as he got. 

It was a beautiful farm and a lovely day, but we didn't stay for very long. The Babe was getting grumpy and clingy which was making picture difficult and so after a half hour or so of exploring and a quick buzz of the boutique we just packed it up and headed home. That's the thing about traveling with kids. You just never know what their mood is gonna be. If they're up for it, it can be amazing. If not, then they can make an outing a painful experience. And the worst part? It can change in an instant. It's amazing to watch them take in the world, though, to be so fascinated by all many things that we take for granted that it's hard to pull them away.