once upon a pepparkakor night.

pepparkakor;
gingerbread cookies;
sugar and spice and everything nice;
ahh, the warm spices of sweden in the winter.

with the millions of pepparkakor recipes and different variations, hanna picks the one that has me completely head over heels.





tant harriets pepparkakor. "aunt harriets gingerbread cookies."
oven temp. 390 F.

1 1/3 cup butter, room temperature
2 1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup or molasses
1 tbsp. ground ginger
2 tbsp. ground cinnamon
1 tbsp. ground cloves
2 tsp. ground cardamom
1 tbsp. baking powder
1 cup water
6 1/2 cups flour

blend the butter, sugar and syrup, with hand or electric mixer until smooth.
add first the spices and baking powder. then the water and last the flour.
blend until well mixed, add more flour if needed; dough shouldnt be "wet."
cover with plastic wrap and let stand in refrigerator atleast overnight.

roll out on floured surface into desired shapes. place on greased baking sheets or with just baking paper.
bake in the center of the oven for 4-5 mins.

icing!
2 cups powdered sugar
1 egg white
few drops of vinegar

blend all ingredients together. add food coloring if desired.

xoxo.

Bonjour de Paris! La vie est belle!

my little swedish babies take me in to show me their beautiful paris.


























xoxo.

11 months down, 1 left to go.

so the swedish story stops here.
i will return back to the states, next month in boston.
though i was very excited to stay for my swedish christmas, the temptation of family and friends from far and wide couldnt compete.

11 months down, and 1 left to go.

i will plan to be in boston for a few days visiting all my beloved and missed ones, then up to vermont for a while.

the plan in the works has been san francisco by february!

if anyone wants anything special from sweden just let me know!

coffee talk.

for the number 1 coffee consuming country;
they like their coffee. often. and strong.
i bet you couldnt handle it.
im sure my coffee refusals have been frowned upon.





"its a scandal- a house without coffee." Christoffer Molin

xoxo.

ute mitt svenskt fönster.

out my swedish window.

forget going to Skansen, (Stockholm's zoo) when you can see swedish animals in the neighborhood! playful deer, ticky foxes and huge elks have been spotted. i was lucky enough to be so sneaky with my camera this morning.






xoxo.

better late then never! sofia + PP in sthlm.

one of the biggest highlights in stockholm happened thursday, september 03, when PASSION PIT played at debaser!

my good friend, sofia got me addicted to her boyfriends band, passion pit in boston 2 years ago. going to their shows was my favorite activity next to burrito eating! from the first time i heard their ever so popular, "sleepyhead" i KNEW they were going places... and places they went!

they have been a huge success story in the states, and i almost fell over backwards when i saw their debut album in ÅHLENS!-a personal favorite place to shop here in sweden :)

they toured europe, and came through scandinavia, like i told them they would last year when we said goodbye.

nothing short of magical this night was with lady sofia and good ol' sing along boston songs in stockholm.


check them out,
passionpitmusic.com

and try to get this song out of your head,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5bfseWNmlds

xoxo.

mexican magic.

modeling portraits for viveka.
shes done this before, cant you tell?

the day was perfect chemistry with shakira, tequila and juliana to help behind the camera. [!]
MUY BIEN!








xoxo.