Mjölkbar

You can build a perfect little Swedish provincial town with these wooden building blocks. You still find smaller Swedish towns that look exactly like this. Even the typography is just right. Yes, I would like to move into one of these wood blocks - look how pretty they are.

We found them at this flea market last summer - ohh, I am looking forward to the season for flea finds.

And to see this movie.

Finstickat by Amimono

"Finstickat" [fine-knit in Swedish] is a new, beautiful book by Amimono designer Helga Isager. You might remember that I love her knit designs - here, here and here. She has a subtle sense for structures and colours, and the layout and styling in all her publications are no exception. "Finstickat" follows the seasons with beautiful photos in Nordic landscapes by Lizette Kabré. The book is published by the Swedish publisher Natur och Kultur.

All photos are from Amimono.

joy

With Molly today.

Karoly Reich

I wasn't aware of the Hungarian artist Karoly Reich's wonderful illustrations until recently - or that is, in a way I was, because without knowing about him I already had two of his children's books in our collection. "Let's see the animals", that you see above, is one of them, and this is the other. A reader of the blog pointed out to me that the illustrations were made by Karoly Reich and that he actually illustrated more than 500 children's books. A little google research revealed a treasure trove of beautiful illustrations. "Let's see the animals" is from 1974, it's written in verse and tells a little sweet story about all the animals in the forrest.

finally mine

Remember this book? A's parents bought it for me for my birthday in December, and it's such a beautiful book. I haven't had time to read much in it yet, but browsing through it is very promising in itself.

my home today

Avocado for iPhones, to share everything with your better half in a busy everyday life where you do not have much time to talk and coordinate - lists, calendars, schedules, little messages, photos... It works for us. How do you do?

And did you know that avocados always grow in couples?

dots

1. Dots porcelain by Lars Rank. So nice to look at and to touch.
2. Yellow dots.

yuimade

I have been wanting to make this post for so long. Just before Christmas I received these beautiful letterpress cards from Yu-i Chan. I have been following Yu-i's blog yuimade for a couple of years and her simple and understated aesthetic always impresses and inspires me. The cards are of course no exception.

I guess most of you are already familiar with Yu-i's blog but if not do take a look and see her fantastic photos and works. Below some of my favourites.

Yui-i Chan is originally from Taiwan. She lives and works in Los Angeles. Yu-i makes prints with letterpress and wood blocks, she weaves, she bakes bread, she works as an architectural designer and a textile designer.

Land of Plenty

Frida Viola and I took some time out together just the two of us this weekend, not something we do too often. We went to Agnes for cupcakes and coffee. I don't really like cupcakes but Frida Viola loved it, and I must admit that these cupcakes really are something to behold and admire.

It feels so good to be alone with her once in a while, something I easily forget to prioritize. She's so big now.

my home today

Days are passing so quickly at the moment. I am still on maternity leave with Molly but I am giving a lot of thoughts to what's going to happen afterwards. You know that I really enjoy blogging and I would like to find a way to put more time and effort into it. So good that we finally have the light coming back, especially in the afternoons. It's actually possible now to do things with Frida Viola when she has been picked up from kindergarten. We baked crispbread the other day - so good.

And ohh yes, Molly has started walking for real now. 5-6 tiny little steps at a time. She is so pleased with it.

winter reading

What better reading during winter than Tove Jansson's Moomin novels... Did you know that she wrote 15 books about the Moomins? A's parents gave Frida Viola the 6 first novels for Christmas, and I am reading them with her now. She might be a little young for the books, but she is totally absorbed in the stories, and I really enjoy this evening ritual. The language is so good and I love the beautiful and more thoughtful passages.

And look at these fantastic original Moomin illustrations from an exhibition some years ago.