The sweet, seducing scent of saffron is lingering this weekend. If we were having coffee I would ask you if you would like to try a saffron pastry. Would you like one? Are you familiar with saffron? It was challenging to find saffron to make these pastries for Lucia when I lived in the US. Here in Sweden every store carry saffron in December. It’s an expensive spice, with a very characteristic taste and smell, you either hate, or love it. Most Swedes love it. I made these pastries early this morning.
If you were here in my living room, we would sit in the red couch from Ikea that I assembled last night. I would ask you if you think I should add another sitting area with a couple armchairs, or maybe one of those hand carved wooden couches famous for this region, on the opposite side of the room? It would have to be after Christmas, with the Christmas tree in the room it would be too crowded for my liking.
The couch was the last piece of furniture I assembled for our new apartment. It now feels like home. Sure there are a few finishing touches to be made, like more lamps, and I am still waiting for the curtain-rods that I’ve ordered. I have beautiful curtains for all the rooms (seven big windows,) but no way to hang them yet. The curtain-rods were supposed to be here last week, but are slightly delayed, hopefully they’ll get here within the next couple days. I put Christmas glitter around my daughter’s windows, but all the other windows are bare, except for the blinds. I also need plants, lots of them 🙂 Fun details to be added over time, overall I am extremely happy with how everything turned out.
There are two bedrooms, and my son and daughter have those. The living room and kitchen are in one big, open, L-shaped space, and I’ve created an area for myself in the corner between the kitchen and the living room. “My room” have big windows covering all the walls, and the balcony is right outside. I’ve made “my room” with two sections of shelves. I imagine the section towards the living room filled with beautiful books, and the other section towards the kitchen like a wall of green (unscented) plants. I also imagine one bigger plant, standing on the floor, next to the section of books.
The balcony have glass all around it, in panels, like a greenhouse. You can open the panels, and they do have blinds that you can pull out for shade, if needed. The balcony is 120 sf, and I am going to turn the area into a balcony garden this spring. I am super excited about that! Right now I have two fig trees, a big sage plant, and a container with strawberries resting there, while waiting for warmer weather. I already have all the big containers I invested in this year to plant in, come spring time. The balcony roof is rather high and I can grow a lot of produce if I use the vertical space as well. Ooops, this is already a lengthy post, and I haven’t started to tell you anything about this week..I was planning on making this a short post, only sharing some photos from our new place. LOL.
It’s been an intense week, and I was looking forward to sleeping in Saturday morning, instead my daughter woke me up at 3AM, wanting to make a gingerbread house! I told her to go back to sleep. She did. I did not. Then she came to me at 4.30, just as my eye lids started to get a little heavy again..I told her to go back to sleep. She did, and I did. Then she woke at 6AM, and she made a gingerbread house. I did not get to help, but she wanted my company. I choose to see that as a blessing.
On Thursday we celebrated Alfred Nobel. We encouraged the children to dress up in their best clothes, and we (teachers) did as well. We discussed what Nobel has done for the world, performed some experiments, talked about the five different Nobel Prizes, and enjoyed an elegant three course meal. It was a memorable day. I filmed some of the experiments, and took many photos for the parents to be able to be a part of the day as well.
Would you like a refill on your coffee? Did you like the saffron pastry? The name of the pastry is Lussekatt. Feel free to have another one if you like. Lucia, the celebration associated with saffron, is today. It is a countdown to Christmas for most kids. We are having our lucia celebration at school on Tuesday, and we’ve been practicing our luciatåg every day. A luciatåg is a type of parade with Christmas songs, performed to brighten the spirit of the audience. It is common, in normal times without Covid, to sing at retirement housings and schools, combined with handing out gingerbread cookies and lussekatter.
Speaking of Christmas, our principal arranged a surprise Christmas party for us on Monday this week. Everyone was surprised! Once a month we have an evening meeting at work, dedicated to either discuss things about our school, or implementing new ways of teaching/learning etc. This meeting started out as one of those, and was transformed into a party, with an exquisite meal served at the end. It was a total surprise! If we were having coffee I would have asked you first about your week, before telling you all this, but please, go ahead, tell me about your life. Are you ready for Christmas? How are you doing?
Love,
Maria
3 Am. lol, only a kid. The apartment looks great. i like “your room”, despite the lack of privacy in it. Summer light might be tough, though. I hope your weekend is going well and that you have a wonderful week ahead!
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Yes…only a kid would choose that time for a gingerbread house.
Our house is build in a way that the angles allow most possible light at wintertime, but break the light at the hottest time during summer. I hope that works not only in theory, we’ll have to wait and see 🙂 it is a great weekend here, I hope yours is as well.
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Maria, Well done with your move and furniture assembly. I know how much work that is. Your apartment looks beautiful with all the windows bringing natural light in. Your daughter did a good job with her ginger bread house. Before covid-19, I usually go to a Swedish Christmas festival in December where Swedes in Toronto perform dances, children and youths dress up and sing songs to celebrate St Lucia, plus sale of Swedish goodies and Christmas-related items. Thank you for your coffee share and the yummy Lussekatt. Have a great week!
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Thank you Natalie! I am very happy about our new home. I can see us living here for many years.
How fun that you enjoy a Swedish festival 🙂 Have a fabulous new week!
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Welcome home. HAve a great week.
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Thank you so much! You as well!
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Beautiful apartment Maria! Looks great and I love how you are decorating it!
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Thank you! That makes me so happy to hear. I want to take my time only adding details that have a meaning to us, now when we covered the essentials.
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You have made your apartment a lovely home! And the Lussekatt was delicious!
And the gingerbread house was decorated perfectly by your lovely daughter!
Merry Sunday!
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Thank you so much Nancy! I hope you are having a lovely Sunday!
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The saffron pastry looks very tasty and your daughter did a great job on her gingerbread house. The boys have been asking to make one but I don’t know if we will this year, I find that it usually doesn’t get eaten. Anyway, the apartment looks great! Have nice week, thanks for the virtual cup of coffee.
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Thank you! I’ve already said NO to eating the gingerbread house a thousand times…we do not have the same problem as you have. LOL. When my daughter was younger we used to make one house every weekend between Halloween and Christmas. We never had any left on Christmas Day… Have a fabulous new week 🙂
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Your new home is bright and cheery, Maria, congratulations! Your little girl’s creation is so cute, looks delicious too. I just finished my coffee, thank you! It will be a lonely Christmas for me, no flights until this virus stops, family all in Michigan. I hope you three have a lovely Christmas, Maria. The weather in Vegas today will be partly sunny and 53 degrees. 32 degrees tonight so the summer heat is gone. Be well safe. ❤️
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That sounds like awesome Christmas weather! In my humble opinion 😉 I know you will miss your family dearly. Can you at least FaceTime them? We had a more than one hour long FaceTime conversation with all my daughter’s relatives in the US at Thanksgiving. If it wasn’t for Covid I would have bought her tickets so that she could spend Thanksgiving with them. Be safe my friend ❤
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Oh, I’m so joyous for you about the surprise party! That must’ve been wonderful.
The celebration of Lucia sounds wonderful too. Too bad you can’t go around singing at retirement homes etc.
Oh and I think I’d love saffron, although I’m not 100% sure I’ve ever had it.
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Thank you ☺️💗
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Oh, Maria, what a joy it is to see/hear you so happy these days. What a beautiful place.What awesome views, and the natural lighting… I am in serious envy here. Loved seeing your girl making a house, too. I can never get one completed whole… half of it gets eaten before it’s made. LOL! Happy Hanukah, And Merry Christmas!
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Thank you so much!
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Saffron pastry & 3am gingerbread house ideas(your little treasure is just adorable) “oh my crickey” I love your home. Your home looks great I have had many a room using furniture as walls, its such a creative fun way to make it your own. Here in Aus if your renting you are not permitted to hang pictures, I love that you have your photos hanging. What a wonderful boss to do that for you all, it must be so nice to be appreciated as you all should be.
At the moment not a lot going on in our backyard other than rain rain rain which is great, so nature has I guess a lot going on in our backyard really. Giving us the opportunity to go crazy with Christmas decor inside. Have a wonderful rest of the week with a little more sleep in.haha
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Thank you so much 💗 I do love our new place, and work is great. I am Looking forward to the holidays and some relaxing times now, it is needed. 💗
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I would love to have a saffron pastry. Thank you! It is very expensive here too. I think you have done a great job with your new apartment. It looks so good and I always like hardwood floors! Your daughter had made a very good gingerbread house. I see the house is in a place that has lots of snow! Have a good week Maria!
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Coming right up Anne ☺️ I brought some to work and I bemy colleaugues approved.
I’ve always liked hardwood floors too ☺️ Thank you for joining me for Coffee.
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I love your new apartment, Maria, esp. the gorgeous floors. Nice to see you’re settled in and your plans for plants, balcony, etc. sound nice.
H must be excited for Christmas, and building her gingerbread house, lol! 😉 It turned out great. It’s fun to have little ways to anticipate the holiday. Your saffron buns look delicious, I’ll have mine with tea please!
We put up our tree this week. We live next to a former tree farm and all the trees are 50′ tall now. I noticed one had broken in the big wind we had a few weeks ago and as it was blocking the access road, it was cut into pieces and pushed aside. The top looked very forlorn and Charlie Brownish, so I carried it home and put it in a bucket of water in the garage. Though it is sparse and not what most folks would consider, it suits us perfectly as there are lots of open spaces for ornaments. I like wild trees better than sheared ones that look like stuffed turkeys! I also made candied orange peel for the first time and it turned out deliciously– I dipped some in dark chocolate, yum! It’ll be a quiet Christmas due to Covid, no gatherings of family and friends, which I will miss. But given the risk, I am content to play it safe and stay home. Hopefully, next year will be one of big celebration! Take care, be well.
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Thank you so much Eliza! I do love the floors. The floors are the same trhoughout the whole apartment, except bathrooms, and a small area next to the front door.
I think your simple, but personal Christmas sounds lovely.
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We can get saffron through Penzey’s…I order most of my spices from there. But it’s so expensive, I’d need a compelling reason to order it. Your Lussekatt looks like a good reason 🙂
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That is awesome ☺️ Thank you!
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I just Love, Love, Love your apartment! Looks roomy yet cozy and those wood floors are beautiful. The red couch is stunning and yes maybe another chair when Christmas is over when you are done with the Christmas tree. My daughter has those same Ikea book shelves full of books. You are such a beautiful Mom giving up a room for your children, I would do the same and I think will be perfect. 💞
I do the same thing sometimes thinking I’ll write a short post but then find I have so much to say and share!! Keep sharing, love to see and hear how your beautiful apartment is coming together!! This is the second weekend I’m late in reading and writing comments and my coffee share. This is a busy time, but I’m here, eventually!!
I thank you for the saffron pastry and your daughters gingerbread house is adorable! I’ve been reminiscing about my Christmas’s growing up and we always had a swedish dinner with swedish meatballs, Limpa bread, pickled herring and glogg. There may have been more items, I don’t remember them all but I told my daughter this year I’d like to make some of these things. She said she wanted to make a swedish dessert. I told my daughter we should make vegan swedish meatballs, not traditional but she’s trying so hard to eat vegan I want to prepare in this way, to start a new tradition! Sorry for the long response, just feeling sentimental missing my parents I guess. And feeling a connection with you and Sweden!! ❤️
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Åh 💗 Thank you! Best of luck with Christmas dinner. I am sure it will be fabulous!
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Your place is looking very homely now.
Christmas wise, last night I tuned in to watch Sofia Talvik’s Christmas concert live via FB. I am thankful that my Swedish friend (then) in America introduced me to this Swedish singer who tours America.
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Thank you! That is awesome ☺️
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I love your new home. I hope you enjoy many great memories there
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Thank you Nora!
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The new place looks so awesome! Ah it is so nice to see you settling in. Thank you for the coffee, I always love our weekend shares!
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Thank you so much!
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Loving the saffron buns.
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