Once in a Blue Moon

Hello all you lovely souls!
The weather is warming up nicely. It is quite hot here, and all the trees are finally green and lush.

These photos were taken in the beginning of May when it was just starting to get warmer and the trees were still bare.

I wore this when I was holding a speech for a group of biomedicine students (I studied biomedicine myself), talking about what they can expect of life as a PhD-student and giving some advice. I prepared, and was pumped up, but was met by a small group of uninterested students. Some international students that sat way back in the lecture hall even pointed at me and laughed for themselves, thinking I won't notice.

The whole experience made me realise what a hard job teachers have, that have to stand in front of students every single day!

Funny thing, this outfit was actually unintentionally inspired by a fictional teacher. As soon as I put on the blue cardi over the dress I felt like I recognised the outfit, but it wasn't until afterwards that it struck me! Jess Day from New Girl, wore a lovely green dress with a blue cardigan in the episode Fancyman Part 1 (1x17). Like I told you previously, Zooey Deschanel is a big style inspiration for me.

Dress: Swinging Chicks Shop (here)

Cardigan: La Redoute (old)

Flats: ModCloth (old)

Anyway, my experience with holding an inspirational speech for the students didn't quite go as I had hoped or planned. The whole thing was a bit disappointing, but there was one super interested student that came and talked to me after, so even if I only reached the one person, at least I did that!

Any teachers out there? How on earth do you amazing people do it day after day?

Hope you are having a wonderful weekend. I had a very rough week at work, so I am doing some major relaxing.

Also a quick reminder, there are still some days left on the giveaway that I am hosting together with Book of Deer. For more info check this post here.

Much love,

You're gonna miss me when I'm gone

Since I've discovered Book of Deer I have been a fan.
The brand gets inspiration from nature and fairytales resulting in the most beautiful hand drawn prints that are bound to stand out as something special compared to today's trends. From unique prints to feminine pieces Book of Deer is everything I love with clothes.

The latest collection from Book of Deer "An Ode to Iceland", is inspired by the mystical Iceland. With amazing silhouettes and unique prints, I think this might be my favourite collection from Book of Deer so far. I instantly fell for the Sakna dress in Sky with its alluring print of the northern lights. The northern lights have always fascinated me, the sky wakes up into a whirl of colour and magic. I have been lucky enough to see the northern lights countless of times, as I live in the north of Sweden. When I was younger I didn't really understand how unusual it is, but as I've grown older I've cherished the appearances of the aurora more than before.

The name of the dress strikes a chord in me. Sakna in Swedish means to miss, as in "I miss you". It is a delicate name for a dress that made me reminisce about old times that I miss, when I would walk home from school and see the northern lights. Usually you see the lights on very cold days, and I can remember those days when the cold air brought tears to my eyes and would freeze my eyelashes together. I would tear open my eyes to look at the painted sky above that was alive with magnificent light. It really is a graceful moment of mythical beauty, that has now been captured in cloth by Book of Deer.

Dress: Book of Deer (here)

Socks: H&M (old)

Shoes: La Redoute (old)

Do you have any item of clothing that reminds you of days long past? Anything that brings back memories or feelings of yesteryear?

Much love!

I solemnly swear that I am up to no good

Today is the birthday of my one and only queen Joanne Rowling, and my all-time favourite guy, the boy who lived, aka Harry Potter. The aim of this post is to express with words how much Harry Potter means to me, and I found that extremely difficult to do, but I'll give it a try.

I first read Harry Potter when it was translated to Swedish, in 1999. I was eight, and over night my world changed. The books, the incredible Rowling and Harry himself all mean the utmost to me. The magical world that Rowling created was an escape for me. I was bullied as a child, and the wonderful wizarding world of Harry Potter became my safe haven. My biggest wish was (possibly still is) that one day a letter would arrive for me by owl, and I would be invited into this magnificent place of magic and adventure.

As I grew older into my teenage years, I felt like my peers didn't understand me, the bullying continued (and got worse actually), but I had my sanctuary. Harry Potter became the one place where I could be me without a worry. Like so many other kids I became obsessed with everything to do with Harry Potter. I read and reread the books, watched the films over and over, and depleted the internet of HP-stuff. It went so far that I learned the spells, and I was convinced that I had to improve my English in order to get my letter to Hogwarts. When Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire was published in 2000 I read it in English. It was the first "real" book I read in English.

Top: Mademoiselle R by La Redoute

Skirt: Miss Patina

Scarf: 9 3/4 in London

Wand: 9 3/4 in London

Necklace: Asos

Tattoo: Tattify

Harry Potter has been such a massive part of my life for the majority of my life (two thirds to be exact). As the films came to an end part of my childhood died. I remember watching the live stream of the premier of Deathly Hallows part 2 with tears streaming down my face, because it was "the end". Pottermore has filled that void that I feared so much. And I still reckon that the owl must have gotten lost on it's way to Sweden, it got confused by all the snow. Obviously.

In 2013 I had the opportunity to do something I had been dying to do for years. I finally went to The Making of Harry Potter at the WB Studios in London, and as the doors to the Great Hall opened I cried my eyes out. I couldn't even photograph because I was crying so much, but a woman working there assured me that they do have "cryers".  I've added a photo of me standing in front of the Ravenclaw (GO RAVENCLAW!) table once my crying seized.

And that, my friends, was the one time I have felt most at home. In the Great Hall I felt like I was finally where I should be. I felt like it clicked, suddenly everything made sense. And on that note I'll end. Harry Potter makes sense to me. Without Harry Potter I'm not who I am.

I wish Joanne Rowling a very Happy Birthday. Thank you for everything you've created, thank you for giving me refuge in a world that is purely magical. And to Harry Potter, my first love (even though he's 11 years older than me), you will always live.

Standing out

Red is one of my favourite colours to wear. I think it flatters me and looks good with my dark hair, however up until a year ago I had no red dresses in my wardrobe. Red is an eye-catching colour, it draws attention and makes you stand out. Which were all things that I did not want for myself until a year or so ago.

I think many people can relate in that I wanted nothing more than to blend in, not stick out and go by as unnoticeable as possible. Some life events had made me not want to catch the attention of other people, especially men. But as time went by I noticed that the dark-clad version of me, that would blend into the background, was in fact not really me. I love to wear bright colours. I love to wear dresses with bows and cute prints. So I am glad to say that I have once again found myself style-wise and this dress from La Redoute is a testament of that. It is a bright orangey red colour and it has big bows. It's got a bit of a 60's feel to it, so I paired it with a polka dotted head scarf. And I felt magnificent in it!

Can you relate to not wanting to stand out? Or do you want to stand out with your style? Have you always wanted to stand out, or did it take time/effort to get to that point? I would love to hear what you lovely people think about this matter.

Dress: Mademoiselle R by La Redoute (here)

Headscarf: Old, can't remember where I got it

Much love to all of you!