signed by tina

Sep 10, 2011

Project Day....

This is such a clever and stylish DIY for your precious shoes!

All you need is a lovely moulding and maybe some paint. Hang it on your wall and start embellish it with fabulous shoes.

Super stylish!

Sep 9, 2011

Happy Hour!

Lynchburg

3 cl Jack Daniels

3 cl Triple sec (apelsinlikör)

3 cl citronjuice

20 cl fruktsoda

Fyll ett highballglas till hälften med iskuber.

Skaka whisky, triple sec i en shaker med is. Sila upp i higballglas.

Fyll upp med fruktsoda.

Garnera med citronskiva och stick ner cocktailpinne och sugrör.

Mini Pizza

2 dl riven parmesan2 paket färdig pizzadeg

190 gram pesto

3 msk rostade pinjenötter

basilikablad

Tillagning

20 st:

1. Sätt ugnen på 200 grader. Rulla ut pizzadegarna och tag ut 20 rundlar med hjälp av ett litet glas.

2. Bred pesto på och strö över osten. Lägg pizzorna på en plåt och grädda i ca 10 minuter. Strö på pinjekärnor och garnera gärna med basilika.

I watched Oprah today from her farewell season and Tom Shadyac was on with his documentary I am. It was weird because I have been standing at this crossroad for a while now and today I was blown away. It felt as it was meant to be that I saw this show today and it felt as they were talking directly to me. I get goosebumps just thinking about it.

The documentary is about that we are all connected and that in nature, you never take more than what you need....have you ever seen an obese wild animal? Just enough to sustain you and you will find peace and happiness. Money and all the wealth in the world does not bring happiness. I saw this swedish show where a couple of economics help people to get back on track after putting themselves into debt. The person once had money but made a comment that it was too much pressure on him having wealth....the helper was raged and told him he was an idiot for saying that money is evil. I felt sick to my stomach because that is just I have felt for years now about money. For someone with a normal income and no excess wealth, it might be difficult to grasp the concept because one automatically think that money solves a lot of problems, therefore brings you happiness and life will progress with a rosy glow to it. It couldn't be more wrong. Yes, money brings you some comfort knowing that you can afford going to the dentist or have money if a situation comes up....I don't argue with that. But having more than you actually need brings on more trouble than you can imagine. Well, at least for me it has.

The pressure of investing them correctly, the troubles when the market takes a nosedive, finding the right people that helps you with your choices etc. It may sound trivial but it is pressure that is difficult to explain. It definitely makes you stay up all night worrying. Now, I have enough to make me feel secure....not more, not less, and I feel so much better or at ease if you will. It feels like a huge weight just dropped from my shoulders and I feel a bit happier. The documentary talks about how success is defined in our world....the bigger house the more success and happiness you have, the better car, the better clothes, the more friends on Facebook :) and so on. Who the hell cares, really? But it is so imbedded in us it's difficult to see anything else or when you do realize, you hardly dare to make a change because of what people will say and think about you.

My background....I felt the need to have a career that translated into good money and that people would find impressive. I decided to apply for veterinary medicine. It would take me 6 years to finish, it would give me great income and people would be impressed...and it would make my mom proud. So, I started the journey of becoming a veterinarian. (Have you noticed that me, what I want, was never considered in the equation? Just how other people would perceive me when I was finished) It is considered to be in the top of most difficult educations....not that the concepts are too hard to grasp or learn but the shear speed of the course and the amount of things you need to know and in the end you actually need to know the stuff because lives are at stake. Huge HUGE pressure! I had moments along the course where I felt that this may not be for me but there was really no time for deeper reflection until the end of the six years and a shitload of money spent. The only thing in my mind along the way....I will not disappoint my mother and the people around me....they WILL be proud. The only problem is that along the way I lost almost all my confidence as a human being, spent most of my money on something I really didn't want and it took me back to square one, literally!

I decided not to finish the degree with one month to go! I thought I would feel free but instead I am daily struggling with the fact that I did not complete the course, I still have no career to speak of and I feel I let people down.....

Tom Shadyac says that if you don't do what you love you die a little everyday! This is my life...

So, I decided to make a list of things I really like to do, not thinking about if it is possible or if you can make money from it...

I eat, breath and live interior design

I would like to make cheap designer furniture for the average crowd

I would like to sculpt in clay

I would like to inspire people

I would like to be involved somehow with animals rights and welfare

All I need is to let go of what other people might think and say and just go with my heart and hopefully I will find true happiness. Last night I opened up and told my boyfriend that I feel that I always have to defend where we live (we now live in a smaller town and I was brought up in the capital). How sick is that?? It is so screwed up! -Well, you see, I was born and raised in Stockholm, went to the best schools with the wealthiest people but we have decided to give this city a go but we can always come back to Stockholm if we want to......blah, blah, blah. If you ever meet me in person and here me say that speech....please slap me back to earth! ;) I hate the fact that the general notion is that if you live in the country you are less talented, earn little money, are nobody etc.....We never stop to think that these people might have chosen to live there and they love what they do and how they live? Why? Because success is measured where you live and it you have stack of cash - you automatically live in the city.

Now, when we visit Stockholm, all I see are robots....grey looking beings not looking at each other, just standing waiting for the bus, never looks happy or smiles....just stress, stress, stress. I do not envy them! Where I live we ride the bike to the city center or to work, we have the forest on our doorstep, just the fact that you can go out having dinner and drinks and be able to walk home at night...that is sheer bliss to me :)

I don't know anymore where I am going with this....all I want is to be free!

Like an old friend of mine once said....- I can never give you the material things you want. All I can give you is LOVE!

Remember; You are beautiful!

.....and on the next highschool reunion when someone ask me what I do for a living, I would like to be able to say that I am happy! because that is something to live for....

In the Mix...

Sep 8, 2011

Twins!

Yellows & Blues....

Sep 7, 2011

Introducing...Harlex!

Love these leather beauties from Harlex!

This one is on me :)

I know this is a blog mainly about interior decoration, which is a huge part of my life,

but I also do other things :)

This post is about food, exercise and the willpower to make a change

(in more ways than one)!

It all started 6 months ago when I found myself overweight,

nicotine free (hence the extra pounds) and rather miserable....

I hadn't really let myself go, just quitting smoking and the fact that I am 37 years old made me look like something taken from a horror movie.

I have always been a bit slack when it comes to exercise and I have always enjoyed my foods but it was time to make a radical change.

I started to follow the diet LCHF (low carb, high fat) to my boyfriends delight (lost a lot of weight) but to my horror. I gained even more weight. Probably due to the fact that I'm used to large portions and subsequently ate too much. Panic is an understatement! I then decided to eat more in the lines of GI (less and more healthier carbs). I need my carbs....I even lose weight when I eat them!

Note! My body is always acting against the norm! It's weird but true - I can eat a whole meringue cake (yes, by myself!) + exercise one week and lose more weight compared to another week with hardly any sugary or bad food + exercise?? Ok, this is not something I do every week but the body needs a break every now and then.....a week with no exercise (you WILL come back to the gym stronger, more focused and more determined than before), a few days of almost binge eating (for me, I know when this is what I need because I am hungry 24/7 - so eat!) and last but not least, change your exercise routine!! We are a bit extreme since we change things almost every second week but you should change it up at least every couple of months.

We have gone through a few different exercise regimens on this journey.

It all started with the classical 3 sets with 12 reps.

Not lifting heavy enough - not seeing much results!

We then changed things up my doing less reps with heavier weights.

Still not lifting heavy enough but made a little bit more sense.

I then hit a plateau and lost no weight at all! We then used the Max Workouts and that really helped. I started to lose weight again and the exercise was all new to me. Lots of compound exercises and a lot of cardio. This exercise is tough! I didn't shed any tears but not too far from it...sometimes you just want to scream in agony ;)

I think Max Workouts are great and we both saw some real results but it is tough and we started to miss lifting weights old style....

so we have now switched back to normal weight lifting.

We now follow MAX OT and we love it! We do between 1-3 sets with 4-6 reps and we lift as heavy as we can. It's not very lady-like grunting like a pig in the gym but it really delivers so we will keep doing it for a while. I plan to throw in Max Workouts for a couple of months here and there but right now we are in a good place.

So, my starting weight was 65 kg and my current weight is 59.5. I still want to lose 1.5 kg if we just talk numbers but I can't since the goal is to also gain muscle so the exact number is impossible to guess. Let's just say that one smaller size in my jeans would be great and to tone up a bit more!

So for exercise, I really recommend Max Workouts and MAX OT!

They both worked really well for me.

OMG! I can't believe I'm letting you all see this :( This is 6 months ago.

Now, let's talk food!

I have no character when it comes to food so I need a regimen that fulfills me....or I will be the first one with the hand in the cookie jar. I could have lost a lot more weight if I had followed a more strict program but the chances are that I would have failed or got bored. The goal is to find something that works for you for the rest of your life...basically :)

Example of last weeks dinner menu:

Chicken, roasted vegetables (broccoli, beets, parsnip, carrot, beans, sweet potato) and bearnaise sauce (or any other high fat sauce).

Oven baked chicken with wine, garlic, chili, olive oil and parsley with mashed cauliflower, cucumber.

Panfried white fish covered in polenta, potato, cucumber and sauce made from low fat yoghurt, mayo and pickled greens.

BBQ chicken (no skin), small serving rice, cucumber and sauce made with low fat yoghurt, mayo, curry powder and shredded green apple.

Sushi

Beef with lots and lots of panfried onions and bearnaise sauce and a mix of cucumber, red onion and cherry tomatoes with vinegar and spices.

Panfried mix of sausage, broccoli, mushrooms and onion.

What about breakfast and lunch? We exercise first thing in the morning when the gym opens with no food in our stomachs. All we consume is a drink of amino acids before leaving home. If the tummy rumbles, I eat a handful of nuts. It works really well to exercise with no food! As soon as we get home we drink another drink with amino acids. I then try to fast until lunchtime. Usually I get too hungry so I eat lunch early, like 11 am. Then in the afternoon around 2-3 I eat more nuts. Then we have dinner between 5 and 6 pm.

We also take supplements....mainly basic ones. Unfortunately, half of the time we forget to take them so it's not an everyday thing :)

beta-AMIN-X from NutriVision (this is my favorite! Taste great and works really well)

Vitamin B

Zink

Omega 3

Vitamin C

ALA

Calcium

Casein before bedtime in the form of mousse

Well, this is how we live, breath, eat and exercise...

I would love to know what works for you!