What's on Your Wish List?

(Bag from Orla Kiely's new Autumn/Winter 2013 collection)

It seems like my wish list is always growing. It's not that I want that much or that I'm super materialistic, I just like nice things. It just so happens that nice things happen to cross my path quite often and my eye is naturally drawn to beautiful design, like this Orla Kiely bag, or pretty much anything orange. And did I mention that the interior of this beauty is orange? Well, it is. Absolutely gorgeous. I had to control myself to not buy it immediately when I saw it. Though I will admit that I hung around the store longer than normal and I "tried it on" in the mirror, admiring it and picturing us together, me and the bag, out in the city. Sigh.

You see, it's the time of year when my husband and I agree to not buy things for ourselves. We make this pact every year around this time. With birthdays and Christmas coming up, we start making wish lists instead so we have gift ideas when the time comes to buy presents for one another. 

This bag is at the TOP of my wish list. Or even a gift certificate to go towards it. Hint, hint.

And if the season comes and goes and any items are still on our wish lists, it is then declared open shopping once again. I will run right out and buy this bag. Who knows, maybe it will be on sale by then!

Have a Happy Weekend!

I am planning to...

... clean out my closet some more. Always fun to make room for the new ;-)

... go for a run with my running club on Saturday.

... ride in the Sthlm Bike ride at the crack of dawn on Sunday (42 kilometers before coffee??!! I must be insane).

What are you planning to do?

Wrapping Paper Upgrade

Something simple that you can do to dress up plain wrapping paper is to take a paint brush and an acrylic, craft paint, and then paint a simple phrase, a poem, or even a repeating word onto your wrapping paper. It's and fun and easy way to create a special gift for someone you love. I found that it helps to pre-measure and cut the wrapping paper to fit the gift you plan to wrap. I placed a vaxduk, oilcloth in English, over my work surface, but you can also use just plain old newspaper. I also recommend that you find four small items ahead of time to weigh down the corners of your wrapping paper, as the ends want to curl up if you've cut the paper from a roll. I started out without weights and I ended up grabbing whatever was nearby to hold the corners down: a large coin, a candleholder, a pair of scissors, you get the idea. After I began to paint however I realized I needed better weights so I ran off to get four of the many stones I've collected to place on the corners instead. I just "happened" to pick four "heart-shaped" stones. (Me and my heart fetish).

The phrase I selected is one that is special to my husband's family. The original phrase, " Du är go," is Gothenburg slang for, "Du är god," which means, "You are awesome." I personally like the new version, "Du är gov," which was the phrase I chose to paint onto my wrapping paper. But you can chose any word or phrase you'd like. "I love you," "Happy Birthday," "Awesome," "Hip, Hip, Hurray," the possibilities are endless. I love the idea of writing a favorite poem, or if two people you know are getting married you could write, "C + G = Love," using just their first initials.

Once you are done, the paint dries very quickly. I painted mine and used it the same day, merely a few hours later. It is a really fun and creative project that you can do to customize and upgrade your wrapping paper and make something special for your friends or family. It could also be a fun art project to do with your kids. My kitty even liked it. She was so excited when I got started that she hopped up onto the dining table, where she knows she's not allowed. That's ok, she was just excited. Later when I relocated to my work desk, she was more than welcomed to hop up and give her approval, which as you can see, she did.