New Year, Good bye 2016

Once again it is New Year’s Eve!
I hope you all have a very Happy New Year and I wish you all the best!

Last year I summarised the year that had passed in a blog post, and I thought I’d do the same thing this year. But before that let me just mention my outfit of tonight!

I am wearing this skirt that is ridiculously beautiful and I feel fantastic in, from Tatyana. I saw this skirt on Instagram and knew I had to have it. It reminded me of something... I couldn't quite place my finger on what, but I was serious about owning it.

I was lucky enough to get it on sale, and I was even luckier to have it arrive in time for NYE. As I was getting ready I put on this V-neck top and bam! It hit me! It reminds me of the beautiful outfit that Grace Kelly wore in Rear Window (which happens to be one of my favourite Hitchcock's). Google it! It's uncanny!

I decided to keep the rest of the look completely 50's, so I wore my perfect Besame Red lipstick from Besame Cosmetics and finished it off with a loose powder (Vanilla Brightening Powder, also Besame). You'd think I was sponsored by Besame Cosmetics but unfortunately I'm not. Their products just feel very authentically vintage.

To top it all off I actually googled retro hairstyles for natural hair and got a brilliant hit. I found this blog post on the blog Bobby Pin, and I adore the hairstyle. It is really hard finding vintage and retro hairstyles for naturally curly hair. Most hair tutorials start with much looser curls than I have. So if you have any ideas for retro hairstyles for natural hair please leave me a comment!

On to the 2016 round-up...

While 2015 was one of the hardest years of my life, 2016 has been one of the best years! I have not recovered from my illnesses, and probably never will as they are all chronic, but I have gotten to a point where I manage my mental illness in a way that enables me to live my life.

I’ll be honest - I’ve had crap times in 2016 (as those of you who have followed me might remember). Days where it’s been impossible to get out of bed. Weeks where my anxiety has been so high and my OCD has made it so hard to get out of my apartment. I’ve even had months during this last year where I’ve felt so very low and uninspired in life. But it has all been isolated times surrounded by, in large, better times.

Top: Topshop (old)

Skirt: Tatyana (here)

Heels: B.A.I.T. Footwear (here)

Pearls: Borrowed from Mum

I started this year feeling better than I had for a decade. Last year ended with me being on a high. I was on good medication and I was continually working with a psychologist fighting against my OCD, anxiety and depression. In 2016 I have been entirely free from suicidal thoughts, and that, my friends is a major step in the right direction. I am back to work, full time! Which makes me so happy I could cry. I have bad weeks, and days, but all in all I am back to my previous self. I recognise the person that I am.

I still have OCD. I still have my obsessions and perform my compulsions, but as I mentioned - it is manageable now. I can lead a life at the side of being sick. It’s not all about my illness anymore. All of this, getting back to being happier and healthier has made me realise how important health is. And I’ve decided I want to end this year with a message of hope.

If you are doing unwell, whether physically or mentally, believe me it can get better! It’s not impossible! Get as much help as you can, and be as open as you can be - a healthier life is possible. I went into 2016 feeling hope and joy, and it has treated me well. I will continue to fight in 2017 for a happier, healthier life. And I wish all of you find your joy and happiness the same way I have.

Thank you so much to everyone that I’ve interacted with! You are all incredible! It still means everything to me that you are here and are willing to listen to my story. I also want to say that I am here and willing to listen to your story too! If anyone suffering from any mental illness feels the need to talk, I’m here! Talk to me! Because talking about it really eases something.

Here’s to 2017! May it be all you hope for and more!
And for the last time this year - Much love to all of you,

Happy Christmas!

Hello all you lovely and beautiful people,

I just wanted to wish you all a very Happy Christmas and to let you all know that I recorded a wee cover of the song The Christmas Waltz sung by among others She & Him.

The song was a real challenge for me as it is quite low, but I adore this beautiful song, so I decided to cover it anyway!

Merry Christmas and Much love,
Mona

Saffron wreath

Hello all,
In the week leading up to Christmas I get in an incredibly "bakey" mood. All I want to do is bake, eat and sing christmas songs. I thought I'd share some photos and the how-to of a baked wreath that I made, that was a major success at work and in the family. I'm personally very pleased with it, if I may say so myself.

The dough is the traditional Swedish saffron bun dough, that I shared last Christmas on the blog (here). This saffron wreath is made super luxurious though, by adding not only the gold of the world of spices, but also almond paste, orange zest, raisins, pistachios and cranberries. I garnish the whole thing with chopped pistachios and cranberries giving it a look of true christmas jewels bedazzling the wreath.

Without further ado...

Saffron wreath

INGREDIENTS

• 5 dl milk
• 50 grams fresh yeast
• 1,5 dl sugar
• 2 grams saffron
• ~14 dl flour
• 100+50 grams butter
• 200 grams almond paste
• 60 grams pre-shelled raw (unsalted) pistachios
• 60 grams raisins
• 40 grams cranberries
• Zest of 1 orange
• Cinnamon
• 1 egg

DIRECTIONS

Melt 100 grams of the butter in a pan together with the milk. Let it reach 37°C. Solve the yeast in the milk and butter mixture, then add the sugar. Solve the saffron in 1 tablespoon warm water, and the add it to the rest. Add the flour, you might not need all of the flour so add it in additions. When the dough isn't super sticky anymore and releases from the bowl it is saturated for flour. Cover and let prove for 1 hour, until the dough is twice as big.

Whilst waiting for the dough you can grate the almond paste, chop the pistachios, raisins and cranberries, and zest the orange. Save a bit of the pistachios and cranberries for garnish.

Divide the dough into two equal balls. Roll out the ball to a rectangle with a rolling pin to about 1 cm thickness. Spread half of the rest of the butter (25 grams) onto the rectangle and then add half of the almond paste, pistachios, raisins, cranberries and zest of the orange on top of the butter. Press the fillings into the dough a bit. Sprinkle cinnamon on top of the rest of the fillings.

Roll the rectangle up on its long side and bring the two ends together, forming a circle. Press the ends to each other so they stick. Then cut slices in the circle with scissors, you're just cutting about halfway through the roll. Do this at an angle and then turn the cut in the opposite direction. I've added photos (and a gif) of these steps as I'm terrible at describing it.

Do this all along the circle creating a beautiful wreath. Put the wreath on parchment paper and cover and let prove for another hour. Before baking give the wreaths an egg wash and garnish with the left over pistachios and cranberries. Bake at 200°C for 15-20 minutes at the lowest part of your oven.

I really think this is the most decadent you can go while steering clear from chocolate. Pistachios, cranberries and the gold - saffron! Oh this is such a heavenly bit of baking!

I just baked this for the second time this year (so my fourth wreath of the year) and I am still head-over-heels for it!

I hope you all enjoy the recipe and if I don't blog again before Christmas I want to take the opportunity and wish all of you a very Happy Christmas!

Take care and spread joy!
Much love,

Idols

Hello all you wonderful people!
Christmas is only two weeks away, and we've just had the most celebratory day in the science world - the Nobel day.

When I was a kid I remember we were asked once who our "idols" were. This way in the late 90's/early 00's, and most girls my age answered Britney Spears. I don't think that there's anything wrong with that. But I distinctly remember thinking "What's so idol-worthy about being a pop singer?", what can I say I was naive, and didn't quite understand that people have different goals in life. My goal was not to be a pop singer. No, I wanted to be a scientist. So when the question came upon me of who my idol was I answered "Albert Einstein". He was one of the most famous scientists of all time, and to the nine year old me - he was a true idol. I wanted to be just like him, become a person known for their great intelligence, make immense contributions to the world of science and, of course, win the Nobel prize!

Needless to say, I love the Nobel day! So all in all December is a great month, with advent calendars, Christmas music, presents, a bunch of cosyness and the biggest science party of the year!

On to my outfit, this is an entirely Book of Deer outfit, and actually it is also entirely AW14, but I got both of these lovely pieces that I had been pining for in the Black Friday sale of Book of Deer.

The lovely, warm, nice, soft, velvet jumper is available in some sizes, so make haste if you want it! The jumper is amazing, as you might have noticed by my description of it. I love everything velvet, and this jumper has a bow, which we all know elevates things to perfection! And the skirt is such a lovely ice-cold grey colour, and it has wee bears on it! How awesome is that?

Jumper: Book of Deer (here)

Skirt: Book of Deer (here)

Tights: Primark

Are any of the rest of you interested in the Nobel prize? I'm both Swedish and a scientist so it's close to home, but what do you guys think of the prize? And what did you think about Bob Dylan getting the literature prize?

Have a beautiful wintery Sunday!
Much love,

Kitties

Hello all,
Hope you are doing well!
So... It's December! Happy December everyone!
I blogged a total of zero times last month. I apologise for being absent, and I hope you can forgive me. I have no real explanation other than that I didn't feel like blogging, my mental health has been up and down, and I've been very busy at work.

Before I disappeared I promised to blog about my London adventures, and I'm still hoping to do that. Anyway... This outfit is from the beginning of September, right before I went to London with my darling family. I remember that it was very warm in London, but in northern Sweden it was autumn for sure. And now in December there is not a leaf in sight - just a whole lot of ice and occasionally (I'm sad to say it is occasional, damn global warming) some snow.

Anyway, you can never go wrong with black and white. And while it is minimalistic and classic, I decided to quirk things up a bit with a fun print.

I fell in love with this blouse when it first arrived to ModCloth. It has a super cute collar, and the print is darling! There's one cat with flat ears, one ear is black (in the very middle in the photo above) that I've decided is my very favourite. It would for sure be my cat, it looks so sweet. I'm a cat lady without a cat!

Blouse: ModCloth (here)

Skirt: H&M (old)

Cardigan: Zara (old)

Tights: Primark (old)

Meow!

I'm sorry the blogging has been so sparse during the autumn, but I update my Instagram (@curlsncakes) regularly - so follow me there if you want updates. As for the blog - I'm hoping to get back into it.
Hope you're all having a nice December day!

Much love,

Goodness me, I'm singing

Hello all,

Hope you are doing great!
I just uploaded a video... A cover (!!!!) to my youtube channel.

I was soooo nervous filming this, but you've got to start somewhere, right?



It's a song called Burn from the musical Hamilton - which I LOVE! And believe you me, it is some serious love!

Anyway, have a look at the video if you like!
Thank you!

Much love,

Three layers of yum

Hello all,
Wow! I'm still here... I'm so sorry I've been silent for so long and without notice. I was super busy and then I just felt like I needed a little break from the blog. But to hopefully make it up to you, I have a recipe for you today.

This recipe is from The Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook by Tarek Malouf. I was actually lucky enough to be able to go to a Hummingbird Bakery Shop in London. I had a chocolate and caramel cake and it was soooo good *drools*.

Today's recipe is a glorified brownie, with three layers of goodness. The bottom is a regular brownie layer, but it isn't quite like my other brownie, it's a bit cakier and not as dense (although still very rich). The middle layer is a classic cheesecake layer with cream cheese, eggs, sugar and vanilla. And to top it off there's a  layer of raspberry cream!

It really is a delicious combination. I adapted the original recipe quite a bit, with different amounts of several ingredients, and I substituted all the icing sugar in the original recipe to regular caster sugar, because I like caster sugar more. The original recipe is out there on the web, just search for it. I will share the recipe with my adaptions.

Cheesecake brownie with raspberry cream

Adapted from The Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook from Tarek Malouf.

Brownie layer

INGREDIENTS

• 200 grams dark chocolate, chopped
• 200 grams butter
• 200 grams sugar
• 3 eggs
• 110 grams flour

DIRECTIONS

Preheat the oven to 175°C. Melt the chocolate in a bowl over hot water. Whisk the butter and sugar thick and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time. Add the flour, little by little, until it is all incorporated. Lastly pour the melted chocolate into the batter. Mix well. Pour the batter into a pan that is about 30x20 cm. Even the batter in the pan, and DO NOT bake! Prepare the cheesecake layer.

Cheesecake layer

INGREDIENTS

• 400 grams cream cheese
• 150 grams sugar
• Vanilla powder (to taste)
• 2 eggs

DIRECTIONS

Whisk the cream cheese, sugar and vanilla until a thick batter. Add the eggs, one at a time. Whisk at a  bit higher speed at the end, but be careful not to over beat it. Pour the cheesecake batter over the unbaked brownie batter. Now bake the brownie/cheesecake for 30-40 minutes. Bake until the cheesecake layer is firm, the edges of the cheesecake layer should be golden, but the middle should be pale. Let the brownie/cheesecake cool and then cover and put in the fridge for at least 2 hours (preferably over night).

Raspberry cream layer

INGREDIENTS

• 3 dl whipping cream
• 3 tablespoons vanilla sugar
• 250 grams raspberry

DIRECTIONS

Mix and sieve the the raspberry to get a smooth purée. Whisk the whipping cream with the vanilla sugar until it is firm then add the raspberry purée and mix well but carefully not to lose the air in the whipped cream.

Spread the raspberry cream over the cheesecake layer, and even it with a spatula. Decorate with more raspberries or sprinkles.

The sprinkles are as always from Sweetapolita's Etsy shop.

Hope you are all doing super well and that autumn is treating you good.

I'll be back soon!

Much love,

Zebrawood & Champagne

Hello all,
Hope you are having a nice day!

I wore this outfit during my week+ in London, which I will blog about very soon. You might remember the pinafore and blouse, as I've worn them together before, but that time it was cold. I was in Sweden and winter was coming on fast, so I photographed the outfit indoors.

This time around, it is my favourite time of the year - Autumn. And since I was in London, which is way further south than where I live in Sweden, it was surprisingly warm. So I switched things up by wearing this outfit without tights and with open(-ish) shoes! I also added a unique wooden watch from Jord, that was sent to me. If you like the look of the watch, continue reading -- because I have an exciting giveaway in collaboration with Jord!

I used to love wearing watches when I was a child. It made me feel like an adult, like I was more important if having to check up on the time. I basically continued wearing wrist watches all the way until uni. In university I had a lot of lab work, and I wouldn't wear my watch because I was afraid I might ruin it during the lab, get it dirty or contaminated. So I stopped wearing watches, and since I still work in a lab setting, I never really picked it up again. That was until this was sent my way.

I had previously seen Jord's wood watches after I read a blog post by Emma of Emma's Looking Glass (here), and I remember thinking it was really neat that they make their watches from wood. So when Jord contacted me for a collaboration, I knew instantly which watch I wanted, since I had already considered buying it for myself. Jord very graciously sent me the watch I wanted, which is a watch in their Frankie series. The wood it is made of is Zebrawood which is native of West Africa, and has a very unique appearance with its contrasting dark and light grains. The face is a Champagne colour, which makes the watch minimalistic but very striking in all its natural glory. I think this is the perfect Jord watch. "Jord" means "Earth" in Swedish, and this lovely watch has an earthy feeling to it.

Blouse: Miss Patina (old)

Pinafore: Miss Patina (here)

Watch: c/o Jord (here)

Shoes: Asos (old)

While I was sent this watch, I will of course be completely honest in how I feel about it.
Wearing it is easy, and while I feel like it's the perfect watch for this season, I don't think I'll have any trouble styling it for any season as it is so neutral. It's comfortable on the wrist and sits well, but it is larger than any watch I've ever had, so it does take a bit getting used to it's size. If you wear big watches a lot I don't think you'll even consider its size because it's not exactly big, it's just bigger than my old watches. Personally I love it. I think it's very unique and sharp. I just love that it elevates an outfit. I've never had a watch that adds to the outfit, they've all been pretty non-descriptive so far, but this one from Jord is far from!

If you want to look more at the watch I have click here.
And if you want to look at all of their women's watches click here.

If you want a Luxury Wood Watch from Jord, then here is your chance!
Jord has very kindly offered to host a giveaway with me, where you can win a $75 e-voucher!

To enter click HERE

The competition will end on the 25th of September of this year.
And anyone who enters will also get a $20 e-gift card!

This is your chance to get your very own wood watch, so make haste, don't waste it!

I will be back with more of my London adventures on the blog soon!

I hope you have a very nice day!
Much love,