i hope everything one is having a wonderful, cozy holiday!
i miss you all in boston and in the west coast!

i am on my parents computer, so i can not upload photos, however, bottles and i have been busy in the kitchen making goodies for the season. we have made cinnamon mousse, chicken cordon bleu, parmesan puffed tilapia, swedish cinnamon rolls and mulled cider! so delicious! i will post the cider recipe because it is the perfect drink to snuggle up with!

i am on the three day countdown in vermont. i can not believe it is so soon! i leave from boston friday the 02. i have a red eye flight, so i believe my parents and bottles will bring me to boston that night.

my beloved ice skates have dissapeared from boston to vermont somewhere, and i have been on the BIGGEST GOOSE CHASE in trying to find another pair. . .such a long story. i just won a pair off ebay, and i am still in the middle of overnight shipping to vermont. .. as that will be the FIRST THING i pack in my suitcase!

[incase you were wondring, i love ice skating. xoxo.]

my birthday is coming up and i hope you forget it. i cant believe i am OLDER. and i hope there are no presents. :)

my mother is having a little "swedish send off party" for me on thursday. come by! get in touch! i would love to see you before i hop across the pond!



bottles says i need to tell everyone what she got me for christmas:
[photos to follow:]
a swedish flag. a real, large, nylon 5'x3' flag!
i was so excited and a bit confused as to where i should put it until she chimed in,
"you can hang that in your room in sweden so when you wake up every morning you know where you are!"

precious.

gott nytt år!
och grattis på födelsedagen till mej!


hot mulled cider. from lisa petersons norweigan cookbook!

1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tsp allspice
1 tsp whole cloves
1/4 tsp salt
dash of ground nutmeg
1 3" cinnamon stick
2 qt cider
orange slices

combine sugar, allspice, cloves, salt, nutmeg, cinnamon and cider in a large sauce pan. slowly bring to boil, cover and let simmer 20 minutes. remove spices. serve in warmed mugs with a slice of orange.

for all you tealuxers out there....the chiader aint got NOTHING on this concoction!


xoxo.

Happy Holidays from New York!

alright.
so now that it's getting closer i have heard word that my VISA has been APPROVED!
phew! we were all getting a bit nervous! but all is golden.

i am currently in new york. less then a week for holidays with the family in vermont! i can not wait!
nate and i made christmas cookies all day yesterday and this morning there is snow on the ground! how exciting!

i have my phone back and running! i left the charger in boston = eeeek! so my "vacation" was a bit extended but i am back and open to take your important phone calls!

the califorina film has been sent in to get developed so that project is on standby as of now.

i sent the swedish children fun christmas chocolate and some of my favorite books; Green Eggs and Ham, The Very Hungry Caterpiller, Matilda, A Light in The Attic. . .[i hope they dont read this before they get it in the mail!]

miss you all in boston! vermont you have 6 days until my arrival!
and sweden you now have: 17!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO ALL!
maybe they be safe, warm + bright!

MERRY CHRISTMAS I SVENSKA= *GOD JUL*

xoxo.
colette.

Tacksägelse i Kalifornia!

jetsetter for a week now. . my apologies for not making an entry sooner.

to everyone in the tea shop,my family at lindt, my friends in boston. .
last week was amazing! i was not expecting as much as i got! the gifts, cards, warm words and sad goodbyes were too much!
you are all beautiful people that i truely keep close to me.

san francisco was awesome! the golden gate bridge was breath taking and it was complete with a pinic in the park across from the Full House house!

i have been shooting film, so it will be a little to get photos developed and edited on here. that will be my next project when i arrive in albany next week :)


as far as burritos go, felipes in harvard sq knows whats up on the east coast. . . ! ! !

photos to come of the west side, stay tuned,

happy thanksgiving to all! hope you are keeping warm in boston + vermont, as i am in a sun dress with the windows open :)

xoxo.

pack up, lets fly away!

its done!


friday, january 02. 2009. 8.35pm depart boston.
lördag, januari 03. 2009. 15.55em ankomma i stockholm.



xoxo.

a long forgotten fairytale.

for over a year i have been communicating with people in sweden through social internet networks, ie facebook, myspace, msn messenger, etc. 

since before the whole au pair plan was ever laid out, or thought of, i have built internet friendships with kids my age in sweden to get to who what where when and WHYS about what they do; school, work, housing, transportation, language, music, clothes, etc.

they have only enticed and sealed the deal to come over and play!

they have taken a role of story book characters; celebrities from a magazine; my new cast list of the next chapter in life. its going to be so exciting when we finally meet!

which has brought me to the final chapter in boston. and knowing the end is near, things are getting a bit sad as goodbyes are never on my TO DO LIST.  

boston and i will part ways after november 19.

[i will more then likely fly from boston to albany nov 28 when i come back, but that will be just for an overnight. and possibly when i fly to sweden in january i will fly from logan.] 

it is bittersweet. photo school is over and done, and boston only frusturates me with lack of inspiration. [time out! credit to passion pit!<-- & congrads on the record label!]

so as the next few chapters are laying out before me, it is time to write the best happily ever after with my peers, co-workers, friends, and acquaintances here in boston. you have ALL played a role in my life; big and small. i am both happy and honored to walk away with a piece of EVERYONE knowing that i am a better person.

much love.

[p.s. why do i feel like the little mermaid giving up her under the sea life for a chance at another she's unfamilair with? oh walt disney. . . your themes will never die!]

sweden is great, but time out. . . SAN FRANCISCO?!

you know, its all very easy to get lost in my sweden day dreams. . .

but i had to stop and think today.

IM GOING TO SAN FRANCISCO! i have never been.

and this is very monumental. because for those who know me, know i am OBSESSED with Full House. 

[brief background time line:

i am the same age as the olsen twins. so when i was 4, seeing another 4 year old on tv was CRAZY! full house was the first tv show that i first understood the concept of a tv show, a fake family, a camera crew. heck, i thouht they were a real family, and there just HAPPENED to be a camera taping some days. full house was back on the air in about 2002 and i remember writing about it in my diary. i use to make sure i watched it on TBS before ballet class in high school. its so nostalgic! today, i own 7 of the 8 seasons on dvd. i refuse to buy season 8, because after that there is no more. . . ]

what the Tanner's dont know is they had a long lost daughter. . . .

perhaps i should bring HUSET FULLT for the swedish children?!

I am going to San Francisco to see my beloved; my best gal I met in Boston a few years ago. We are going to TEAR up SAN FRAN LIKE WE DID BOSTON! yes!

Brieanne HATES Full House, but has agreed to show me the house and the park and of course the golden gate bridge! I only wish we could rent a red corvette and drive across it blasting the theme song! [older sister and i have spoken of this. it WILL happen. someday. . .]

then i will go to san diego where my older sister has been for the past 4 years. the rest of the family [parental units and baby sister] will meet us out in san diego for BIRTHDAYS! and thanksgiving!  

AHhh,

so a date has been set for sweden. week of january 3rd. 

i need to buy a jacket. . .

 

post från sverige idag!

post från sverige idag!

i have been getting requests to WRITE MORE and POST PICTURES.

well, i am not in sweden yet, so i dont know how interesting things could get, but i will give you an update!

my favorite part about today was that the savory scone at tealuxe was pear + gorgonzola..[haha! i am kidding! Eli will appreciate that!]

my real favorite part of today was the mailman brought me mail from sweden! it was my paper work for my insurance and work visa! things are getting formal and i am getting giddy!

bad news for my cooking class. . . CLASS IS FULL! ugh.

so, when life hands you lemons you make LEMON CHIFFON! i have been spreading the word to friends that i, colette will come into your kitchen and prepare dinner for your family/roommates/large groups of people! i need practice, tips, advice, and what a reason for a social gathering! my first get together is with liz and her boyfriend who is a CHEF! perfect!

i am not completely hopeless in the kitchen, but just a little intimidated by cooking meat and i feel there could be room for improvement. i want to impress the family!

i know i sent an email blast about collecting recipes. i have been adding them to my "favorite dinner dishes of my loved ones" so i can cook and eat your top dinner choices in stockholm! dont be shy! i can never have too many!!

i have signed up for a CPR/First Aid class! cooking, saving lives, learning swedish. . .

I AM READY!

i am getting together little mail packs for the children! which will include photos, a letter (in swedish so i can practice!), sweets and other good things! i hope to be pen pals before we meet in january! i can not wait to meet the children! 

a little change of plans on the december whereabouts. . .

i will be in ALBANY, NEW YORK selling Lindt chocolate at Nate's shop! He has graciously invited me into his store for holiday help and the paperwork is already being transfered! 

Perhaps Bill will come back for the fun and it will be like the good old days like it was in Vermont! [oh lord. . .]

boston! one month + 18 days to go! >>

I dreamed I was off to California to see Brieanne! It is her birthday tomorrow, and just in time, I remembered how to say Happy Birthday in swedish!:

GRATTIS PÅ FÖDELSEDAGEN! 

[hopfully she gets this at the library in san francisco tomorrow! xoxo]

i have been taking photos with my Holga camera lately, so i have photos of my new neighborhood and journey to work. [see top. . .i am new at this uploading photo thing, so forgive me for the random placement!]

Happy October!

xoxo.

Hejsan! Första. . .

hejsan to all!

i finally set a blog spot for my upcoming Sweden adventures!

i hope with my photographs and entries you can experience the country and culture with me!

i have been taking swedish lessons since this past february. it started at the boston language institute and now i meet with a tutor, [stig!] once a week på svenska lektion!

why sweden colette?

my very first favorite song in life dates back to 1989 when roxette's "joyride" was on the radio, and i was still in a car seat.

for almost 20 years, whatever ends up in my path from sweden i have become fascinated with on a whole new level. i have decided it is time to finally feed the curiousity, see a fresh perspective and experience a new culture [-something exciting for someone who has never been out of the country!]

thus brainstorming the idea of AU PAIRING. i want to LIVE with a swedish family. i want to HEAR swedish, interact with swedish children, be a part of the culture and live it first hand.

traveling to a hostile and having danish beer just wont cut it. . . 

i have found a beautiful family outside of Stockholm (about 30 mins north) in a community called Danderyd. Familjen Runsten ha två barn, en pojke och en flicka.  Pojken som heter Alexander och är tio år och flickan som heter Louise och är åtta år.  

[The Runsten Family has two children, a boy and a girl. The boy's name is Alexander and is 10 years old and the girl who's name is Louise is 8 years old.]

I am in the process of getting au pair visas situated and paper work settled. 

I found the family on aupair.com, a site that is new to both parties! We first has contact the end of May of this year.  We were fortunate to meet a few weekends ago in NYC, where Eola and her husband Mika were on business trip.

They are very pleasant, welcoming, and encouraging people! I wanted to go back to sweden with them then!

Eola seemed proud of my "vänster" and "höger" written on my hands! [left and right.]

they even laughed when i got excited at the end of our drinks when i raised my empty coffee cup with delight, "WOW! THIS IS THE FIRST TIME I CAN SAY IT: 'tack for kaffet!'" Which is a heavily used phrase in sweden after someone offers you coffee, "thanks for the coffee!"

The time line of boston has its days numbered.

almost 3 years, at the best school, the best people along the way, and it only gets better!

i have moved out of my allston neighborhood, and now reside in the breathtaking north end. [phots to come!]

i have given my beloved tea shop and chocolate shop my notice, november 16.

then off to california to see my best girl in san fran, and then san diego for family adventures.

back to vermont for the month of december.

then! off to sweden for 2009. . . 

thanks for reading! 

+ stay tuned! 

ha det så bra!

[have it so good!/have a good one!]

xoxo.

colette.