Swedish affair with Affari..

Hello lovely people! One of my favourite Swedish decor brands is 'Affari AB'.

Located in the South of Sweden this small, privately owned company was founded in 1998 by a group of four people who at the time sold only candles and candle related products. However their vision and passion for finding unique and stylish decor items from around the world made them grow, and today they sell a wide range of stunning hand selected pieces for indoor as well as outdoor use.

I am mad about their products and have several pieces in my home. My latest purchase is a large (and very heavy) ice tub in cast aluminium. I can see it used all year around in an array of scenarios (e.g. drinks, fruit, twigs, candles etc) but for now I intend to fill it with Hyacinths (like in the picture below) for my Christmas buffet table. It will be surrounded by candles, Pine or Juniper tree branches, and of course a parade of Swedish seasonal delicacies. I think this will look nice.. What do you think darlings?

I have also placed an order for a wonderful (and big!) three tiered tray, also in solid cast aluminium (below). 
It too will make its debut in December when I intend to fill it with nuts, home made truffles and perhaps a load of ginger biscuits. I can't wait for it to arrive!

There are so many things I want from this company and I know I'll be adding some of their rustic pots (in their perfectly distressed (mossy) drained terracotta / white clay execution..). 

And oh perhaps a trio of hammered silver plated pots too... I have seen them with baby Myrtle trees and also with chunky charcoal coloured candles, and both look great!

I also adore their royal chandeliers. There are several in their collection but I like the simplicity of the one below... 

And what about some selected galvanized sheet metal urns & tubs (yum), and/or a duet of concrete candle sticks (the big ones!)..

I can so see this one filled with ruby red apples.. or filled with Spring twigs..

And don't get me started on their carved panels (below).. I never knew MDF could look so sexy people..! I can see this one being used as a wall decoration, window panel, and/or as a table top (with glass on top). 

**Sigh.. so many things to drool over here don't you think!?!. I especially love the way the catalogue has been styled this year - timelessly Swedish with a nice edge. Let's dream together through some final pictures from their most recent catalogue..

Cute bins to fill with stylishly wrapped Christmas presents don't you think..!?!

Isn't this candle buffet just heaven.. Especially with the simple window treatment. 

These reindeer are super cute and come in two sizes. I can see a couple in the kids' room for Christmas..!

And true to their roots, Affari still makes the most wonderful candles and candle products.. Loving their lantern (the tall ones with those fabulous big rings at the top..!).

With that I leave you with warm hugs and wishes of a fun Halloween weekend!

xx Charlotta

All images are via the Affari website and their '2011 Autumn/Winter Catalogue'. Jump across - you won't regret it!

P.S.
I am personally not a big fan of 'Shabby Chic' style. It's nice but just not 'me'.
If you feel the same, do make sure you practice restraint when decorating with your Affari pieces. They need a backdrop of 'preppiness' and uncluttered/clean settings to work (in my humble mind). Less is definitely more if you want to avoid Shabby Chic..

If on the other hand you DO embrace 'Shabby Chic' style (below), there are plenty of 'French romantic' pieces in the Affari collection. Just layer them with lots of white and vintage, et voila!

Silhouette snacks..

Loving these silhouette ideas, some of which I spotted over at the sweet 'Luxe and Lillies' blog. Like my dear friend Mon who framed wallpaper silhouettes of her children, I too would love to embark on some cutting edge projects after the holidays ('xuse the pun.. though it was entirely intended..).

This picture made me think that having family table linens printed with silhouettes could be a really cute idea. Don't you think!?!

xx Charlotta

Image credits: 1 & 2 Luxe & Lillies, 3 Domino and 4 Life with Lia

Christmas already?!?

I nearly had to breathe deeply into paper bag this morning when it  hit me that it is only 43 days left till Christmas!! 43, people!!.. Breeeeathe iiiiiin! And here I am in Sydney where the sun is hot, and Summer is on approach.. That sort of combination is sure to send a Swedish girl into ANYTHING BUT the mood for Christmas!

via White Trash

Usually my inspiration comes from the looming darkness of November, lighting candles, watching the first flakes of snow... Sigh! I am seriously contemplating moving into our freezer for a week in order to get into the spirit! And no I don't mean the frozen Vodka on the top shelf.... Though that would totally help for sure..!! :)

In there I my brain would cool down and kick into an efficient factory of fun & festive ideas, however only for an hour or so before Marshall would check me right into a clinic of some sort.. So, instead I am turning to you my friends, and I am so grateful for your wonderful Xmas posts that are already popping up around the blogosphere..!

 Cox and Cox

For example... I felt flutters of Christmas merriness when I saw this divine picture over at 'Le Creuset South Africa' (HERE). Who wouldn't feel that way at the sight of this stack of goodness..!?!

Le Creuset South Africa

And of course there is always Martha Stewart.. What would we do without her endless supply of resolve, support and great ideas..!?! When the sleigh bells sound more like alarm bells in one's sorry little head, one pulls oneself together and heads over to her website and types in 'Christmas' in the search field for an impressive 400-something hits that instantly makes for a Silent Night.. (Sorry. I can't really help myself when I am in this mood..) Not that dear Martha's spread exactly made me stop in my tracks, but at least she gave me lots to look at.. And many ideas would actually translate well to a 'Tropical Christmas'..

 My sweet friend Will over at 'Bright Bazaar' also made me feel better when he posted some gorgeous images of timeless white Christmas inspiration from 'The White Company' that whispered sweet words to my Swedish ear (HERE). Thanks Will! xx

And the lovely Cecilia of Desde mi Ventana gave me some great ideas for 'Advent Calendars' for the kids (HERE).  Actually, who am I kidding. I'd love one of these for ME!!  ..You reading this Marshall..?! :)  The ideas shown in her post were all lovely, but I am thinking the 'glass vase option' will work best for us. I also absolutely adore the hand stitched bags as a 'wrapping idea'! Gorgeous!

Tine K usually puts on a good Christmas spread of ideas & inspiration, and although this year is no exception, I must say that I am surprised at how muffled and dark the theme is (HERE)...

 via Tine K

And whilst sipping a (very strong) cup of Italian coffee, I read words of promise and hope over at my dear friend Minna's blog ('Blomsterverkstad'); "This year I'm going to Christmas inspire you to the max. Daily. From 1st of December I'll be sharing ideas for wreaths and decorations, my best Christmas recipies, personal and easy-to-realize table settings and plenty of giwe aways!". Honey for my ears Minna!! xx And for everyone else, click HERE to jump across to Blomsterverkstad to enter a give-away for her gorgeous book 'Blomstrande Idéer'.

http://blomsterverkstad.blogspot.com/

Over at Sköna Hem there wasn't much Christmas inspiration to find. Well at least not anything that would work here in Sydney, but I did browse a cute (and very traditional!) Christmas house tour (HERE), and saw some stylist interpretations of the holiday season (HERE).

via Sköna Hem

Then suddenly I felt as if dear Melissa over at 'The Inspired Room' had read my mind when she issued a fantastic list of '10 Ways to get inspired for Christmas' (HERE).

That got me thinking of a personal list of things I could do to get myself into a jolly Christmas mood... Here it is, my ten steps to making myself Merry and Bright!

1. Browse around for Christmas cards.

I had a lot of fun browsing Etsy for Christmas cards the other night and
there were plenty of inspiration. Usually I try to make my own, only the
last two years that has ended up in a frenzy that resulted in us not sending
any at all.. Have I learned? Not sure yet.. hmm..

2. Buy cute trinkets for the table.

 I bought 3 sets of these cute felt acorns from 'Green Baboon Designs' (HERE).



And am going to pick up at least one set of these gorgeous napkins from
Piper's brilliant shop 'One Sydney Road' (HERE). Aren't they fabulous!!?!

3. Listen to Christmas music & watch holiday movies.

I love old time classics for Christmas, and we often let ourselves drift away to the soothing
& comforting sound of Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra, Bing Crossby, Louis Armstrong etc.

4. Do some easy and fun Christmas crafts with the kids.

We are a 'crafty house' really hence this shouldn't be too hard..

5. Start buying and/or making presents.

This is my favourite part. Because really, is there anything more fun than to buy
gifts for those you love and care for? I think not! And call me commercial, but
I love spoiling my little trio with carefully selected gifts. It's better than receiving!!

6. Go through Christmas decorations and come up with a 'look' for the tree.

OMG are we even doing a tree? I  might opt for a 'regular tree' this year,
rather than a 'pine tree'. I could spray it a glossy red, silver or just white..
It will look a lot more stylish here at the height of Summer that's for sure! 

7. Make 'Glögg' and bake ginger biscuits with the kids!

 There is nothing like the smell of brewing *Glögg* to make us Swedes
go all Christmassy and cheery..! Glögg is a bit like 'mulled wine' only not so tangy, 
and it is always served hot, with a side of peeled (skinned) almonds and sultanas. 
I have a recipe that goes 4 generations back in our family. I'll share it later.

8. Confirm numbers and design menu for Christmas Eve (Swedish Christmas).

It will really be too hot for a proper 'roast buffet' of traditional foods.
Instead I am thinking seafood, BBQ meats served with sallads and cold
sauces. Plenty of nice cold drinks, and yummy deserts & sweets.
What are you serving for Xmas my darlings?

9. Buy wrapping paper, pretty ribbons and labels.

And there is always so much to choose from that I have to sit myself down
and really decide on a 'theme' before I head out, or I'll go over board...

10. Get a pretty dress to wear on Christmas Day.

We are usually roasting away in near 40C (ca 104F) and any attempt to do
a formal look will melt away. A new bikini for a Christmas morning swim,
and a strappy Summer dress for after will be perfect. Only mandatory is that
they are 'RED', and today the gorgeous Carolina of 'Absolutely Unique' shared
some splendid festive frocks (I would pick no. 2 or 3 in her post!). Thanks love! xx

What is YOUR lists my lovelies?

I'd love to see them, so please share via your posts!
I beg you..please ! :)

xx Charlotta


STOP PRESS STOP PRESS STOP PRESS 

This morning I woke up to the most lovely surprise any blog girl can get - a loving feature!
It was the truly kind Leigha Oaks of 'Elle Oh' who did a beyond flattering showcase
of me and Space for Inspiration! You can read the article HERE..!

Leigha.. Once more, thank you from the bottom of my heart to you for your
genuine kindness and for finding me worthy of your beautiful writings over at
Eco Salon. What an honour it is to have met someone as generous as you! xxx

Happy Halloween..!!

Halloween is not an obvious holiday for us Swedes.. Though it has made its way into our culture it doesn't come naturally to us to carve pumpkins, slip into a catsuit and throw a party. Really most of my country men would probably rather slip on their bathers at some tropical destination in total denial of the seemingly everlasting darkness and forthcoming Winter.. :)

I am saying all this with a pinch of sarcasm, because of course the Swedes (like everyone else) know Halloween very well and some actually do celebrate. But it isn't all that common to make a fuss about it and I must admit it has taken me several years (22..!) to actually pull myself together and make a ghostly effort..! Having said that, I am not the kind to decline an opportunity for some fun and what a brilliant idea it really is to spice up the 'home run' of the year with a party!

1/4/5. Martha Stewart, 2. unknown, 3. Country Living

Unlike the Northern half of the world, Australia is all but dark and gloomy this time of the year (!!) and it is actually quite hard for me to work up a real feeling of Halloween. It absolutely works so much better at the height of Autumn as opposed to smack in the middle of Spring-time Sydney...!

These three via Twigs & Thistle

I am a little ashamed to say that this year was the very first I actually decorated the house since the kids were born.. Though it was not the stylish design statement that some of my dear friends achieved, we had fun doing it and the kids were so excited! And as I sit here at the end of this years celebrations  (three days in a row!!) feeling relieved that the immense 'sugar shock' my children inflicted upon themselves has now worn off, (OMG..!) I am glad I made the effort..

I attempted and succeeded in carving a pumpkin for the very first time ever this year.. As a total beginner I am very proud that a) I still have all fingers and b) my pumpkin isn't a total slaughter...! Though it may look very elementary to you, I am mighty proud to have done this without any kind of guidance or instructions.. :)

P.S. That is Oscar's PJs.. he actually doesn't leave the house with pants like that.. :)

For the inside I opted for black/white and spiders. I was very happy with the idea until our dinner guests arrived on Saturday night and it turned out that the husband of my friend suffered arachnophobia..! It took a swift and stiff (!) Gin & Tonic to get him to relax, and as they left many hours later they happily accepted a little favour bag full of spiders (and lollies..) for their kids..! Phew!!

I bought little plastic spider rings from the local $2-shop and used them as wine glass charms.  Other spiders were fastened to the wall with blue-tac making them look scaringly like the real thing... And let me just say that they are not a rare sight here in Sydney.. Eeek! 

The tomb stone was a favourite with the kids and they really can't understand why I don't want to keep it in the dining room permanently... Hmmm...

Sadly I will disappoint them and head over to my florist and pick up a nice big bunch of brightly coloured flowers tomorrow. It is high Spring here in Sydney after all..! :)

*********** * ***********

Before I bid farewell to all the ghostly fun for this year.. Here are a few Halloween ideas from around the cyber world that I enjoyed..

Martha Stewart and Country Living

Aren't the stemmed 'claw bowls' fantastic..!?!

I love the black bottles that Purple Area shared with her readers.  So easy to make! And the smokey glasses are so yummy don't you think?! As are the black pumpkins with golden spiders.

And how easy and fun wouldn't it be to print some wine labels to spice up the drinks table..!?!

I can hear the late Diana Vreeland whisper from her grave: 'Why don't you park the car for the weekend and make it around town on a plumed black stallion like the Spanish...." Wouldn't it be fabulous..!?! :)

Gorgeous earthy colours via Twig & Thistle

via Martha Stewart

Did you dress up for this Halloween weekend? I actually didn't, but next year I am planning to scare the life out of my Swedish neighbours and make a real effort..! I am joking of course..! :)

Hope you all had a fun weekend!

xx Charlotta

 P.S. The state my kids were at the end of this candy-clad weekend... !