Changes For A New Year

Hello!  Did you survive Christmas?  We had a sick little boy with influenza so our holiday was very low key.  He still isn't completely 100% and his Christmas gifts still lay in a pile as he hasn't had the energy to play yet.  It makes my heart hurt to see my kids sick but especially during the holiday. 

With a New Year right around the corner, I thought it was time to make some blog changes so please be patient with me as I try to upgrade our look a little.  I'm not technical and these things take me forever.

But I wanted to make the design a little more us, simple.  :)

New Year's Resolutions......

Mine is to try not to stress and worry so much.  Easier said than done, right?

Oh, and I'm going to TRY to eliminate sugar from my diet.  I'm pretty sure I will break that one on January 2.  :) Any tips?

And to just have more fun and celebrate life. 

My hubby's birthday is tomorrow, so I'm planning a party.  :) I love making him feel special.

What about you?  What are your New Year's resolutions?  I'd love to hear them!


Have a great day and a wonderful New Year~  
Diana

Merry Christmas

Advent calendar 24

Click on the image to see the whole of it.

We have come to the end of the Swenglish Home Advent Calendar this year, and I hope you might have found some inspiration along the way. Thank you for your kind words and for stopping by!

In Swedish tradition, we celebrate Christmas today, so...

... from all of me,

to all of you,

a

VERY

 MERRY 

CHRISTMAS!

 May it be filled with peace and joy, 

sugar and spice 

and all things nice...!

Helena

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Red apples... they just ooze Christmas vibes, don't you think? 

Well, at least where I come from (Sweden), they are synonymous with this season. 

Pile them high, pile them low... a simple addition of colour that speaks volumes.

And then you can eat your decorations too!

Apple greetings to you all,

Helena

Advent calendar 22

 The tree is now in place and the scent of pine fills the room. 

Its branches host a modest selection of decorations: gingerbread hearts, cinnamon sticks, 

vintage-looking baubles and one or two musical instruments...

The wreath I had hung in the window has been exchanged for the only new 

Christmas decoration purchase this year, the patchwork paper star below.

So, with the exception of the star, not much has changed from the photo below, 

which I took a few years ago at Christmas...

In the kitchen, my favourite Christmas flowers stand proud and tall, and seem to 

enjoy being embraced by the sneezing/coughing man on the old cough drop tin.

I'll see you again tomorrow, when the red theme continues...

Love,

Helena

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As I rush around to get ready for Christmas, I feel myself losing sight of what Christmas is all about. It may mean different things for different people, of course, but last night, I felt that PEACE is indeed a message I would like to add to my calendar here. 

So, slumped in the sofa after a long day yesterday, my therapeutic activity for the evening was shaping a piece of metal wire into a peace sign and then cover it in twine. A nice decoration perhaps for a bottle to give away, for the Christmas tree as alternative baubles, or even as a necklace for yourself...!  

This morning I "dressed" a candle with the same message, by warming a teaspoon over the cooker and then pressing the warm spoon gently onto a cut out paper peace sign held in place by my other hand on the candle. As the was melts a little under the warm spoon, the peace sign is "glued" onto the candle. 

So, dear readers, with only a few days to go to Christmas, 

may peace be with you on your path, wherever you are!

Helena

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Last week I went to Sweden to work in the city of Uppsala for a few days, and as I walked past this "Christmas-ified" shop window, I could not help but brave the cold and fish out my camera for a quick snap. As I uploaded the photos to my computer, I realised I had no idea what the shop was called, but after some internet detective work, I think it is the lovely little shop called Kajsa Johanna. Full of wonderful plants and a mix of industrial/vintage/rusty beauties, it is a very tempting place!

I came to think of a little display I made a couple of years ago, one which does indeed contain a lot of what I like, but which felt too much like a flower shop display, and was therefore soon "dismantled" and rearranged.

Wreaths of all sorts are a "sign of the - seasonal -times", 

and a very easy one to make is this one with peanuts. 

Again, an edible display which brings double joy!

Uppsala was truly stunning last week, with lots of snow and Christmas lights galore.

The former town hall, now hosting shops, offices and a restaurant, was the queen of lights. In every window a lit star, and just look at the garlands around the ground floor windows and doors - stunning!

"Brrr", you say? 

Yes, Sweden was very "brrrrr-y", and where my parents live, 

this stunning scenery was accompanied by minus 19 degrees (C). 

A little chilly, indeed!

Hope your Thursday is filled with warmth and beauty,

Helena

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Door number nineteen holds another couple of recycled images from last year. I am very fond of this colour combination of rust and olive green (and moss green), and somehow the rusty -what I believe are- old cannon balls seem rather beautiful in their new, more peaceful environment, cuddled by the softer moss balls...

I hope you also find yourselves in peaceful surroundings, 

with PEACE and JOY lining your path to Christmas...

Helena

Advent calendar 18

 Dear readers,

Do you, like I, have a weakness for certain unhealthy things... 

like perhaps Pringles potato crisps?

Well, here is an excuse as good as any to go a  little wild and crazy in the crisps department... Cut and paste one of your favourite photos several times into a long line. Measure the crisps jar first, so you can ensure you shrink the photos to the right size. Print, cut out and glue, and voilà, a small stocking filler present, or a small party favour, alternative party "bag" for the children, or simply a few cute storage jars for all those "bits" that seem to always clutter your desk (read: my desk), like mini ink pads, hair clips, sticky tape etc.

Yesterday I could not believe my eyes when the visitor counter showed 3358 visitors,
many of whom I believe were from the Czech Republic.
So, hello new readers (and old !) worldwide - lovely to see you here!

Happy Tuesday, everyone!

Helena

Advent calendar 17

Dear readers,

Here is a mini quiz for you...

What is the one thing you do not want to lose on the plane back from your work trip, with lots of things you need to do on the computer piled up for you to attack first thing Monday morning?

Yes, that's right, your computer glasses are exactly what you do not want to lose...

New ones should be ready tomorrow afternoon, and until then, I think I may as well devote my time to really important things... like making mini wreaths to dress some glass jars that may soon host some more "refined" Christmas flowers!

Thank you for all your lovely comments!

Computer-"blind" greetings,

Helena

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No Christmas calendar from The Swenglish Home would be complete without some Brussels sprouts, and those of you who have followed my blog for some time, might remember that I went a little sprout crazy last year... 

I do confess having been rather amused by the variety of comments our guests at a party 

offered on the topic of the rather strange "baubles" hanging from the mossy wreath...

Not to everybody's taste, perhaps, but they do it for me! 

That is, if I get to decorate with them. 

Eating them? I shiver at the thought!

So, happy sprouting everyone!

Helena

Advent calendar 15

Short of space for a real Christmas tree? 

Perhaps this alternative 'tree' could do the job? 

Just pile various wreaths on top of each other and top it off with a ball 

made of hazelnuts glued onto a polystyrene ball. Done! 

OK, perhaps not quite the same thing, but rather sweet in its own way...

We are getting closer now... what may tomorrow's door hide?

Sending you warm thoughts and anti-stress vibes!

Helena

Advent calendar 14

Dear readers, as I am working abroad this week, quite a few of the calendar flaps will hold photos and ideas that some of you may have seen here before, but not to worry, I have a few new ideas and photos for you still to come...

Today my top frugal tip is to grab some leftover strips of wood (these I got for free from a neighbour who was building a shed and had some scrap pieces left) and paint a little message on it. (I used letter stamps from Clas Ohlson.) Perhaps you need to remind yourself to DREAM more? 

Or perhaps you would like to give a friend a little HAPPINESS? 

Happy wording!

Helena

Advent calendar 13

This a photo from two years ago that I am still very fond of, probably because, at the time, I was so happy to see some snow here to help me find the Christmas feeling, and also because it is very much "me", or at least the me right now: Moss, nuts and other decorative things from Mother Nature's own craft cupboard, mixed with a rustic candle and a rusty star. Who knows, in five years time I might be decorating with neon-coloured plastic baubles for Christmas (although, somehow I doubt it), but right now this is what I like!

Wishing you a lovely Thursday!

Helena

Advent calendar 12

My dear friend Mia, with the beautiful blog Lilla Blanka, the other day showed some very sweet gingerbread Christmas trees she had made (click here to see her post). I have seen these lovely trees here and there, but had forgotten about them until I saw Mia's post. So, as my boys went wild during our baking session on Sunday, making everything from gingerbread sharks to giraffes and aeroplanes, I made a pile of stars (four each of four different sizes). 

However, I confess, the "glueing" part, where melted sugar etc should have been involved, I skipped. I cheated and just stacked the biscuits, sprinkled some icing sugar over it (although, I see here it looks more as if I have dropped a sack of flour from a great height...) and ta-daa! A-hem... nothing wrong with an obscenely oversized top star, is there?

Flour-y, ginger-scented greetings to you all and thank you for all your kind words!

Helena

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OK, so she might not win any beauty contests if you look closely... 

... but for now, she is doing a perfectly adequate job...

... at offering a little bit of mood light, my willow wreath wrapped in Christmas lights...!

Love and light to you all,

Helena

2012 Christmas Decor Ideas

Hey there!  I finished up our Christmas decor this past weekend.  Actually, it's been finished since Thanksgiving but it took me this long to photograph and blog about it.  Oh how I wish the Holidays could be less busy and more relaxing.....  :)

This year for the living room I seemed to be drawn to a campy, rustic cabin decor.  Mostly because of that wonderful buffalo check throw I came across.  It was my inspiration for the entire room.  And of course, I had to throw some industrial vintage decor in there too.

For the Christmas Tree, I always like to decorate it with ornaments that have a story or memory behind them.  Ours is filled with ornaments that we, as well as my parents bought for our kids every year since they were born.  Baby's First Christmas....

And funny little elves that are so old they are falling apart, that always make my kids laugh....

This year I also wanted to add vintage Bingo cards because they remind me of one of the first dates that hubby I went on 23 years ago.  We went to a local summer festival and played Bingo under a row of twinkly lights and stars until late into the evening and by the time the evening was over, I was head over heels. :)

We don't have any vintage Bingo cards so I did the next best thing.....I printed off images of them on cardstock, cut them out and threaded red and white bakers twine through a hole I punched in the top.

I fell in love with these aqua colored cards.

As well as these....

Just looking at the tree makes me smile because it is filled with so many wonderful memories.

This year I was drawn to red and white stripes so I continued that theme into the dining room.

I found these adorable little red stripe bowls at Crate and Barrel and fell in love. 

And the linen napkins came from this sweet little Etsy shop.  I loved the design and I love handmade even more. 

And that's it!  Don't you love decorating for the Holidays?  Are you like me and ready to take it all down the day after Christmas?  ;-)

Happy Holidays!

Diana