Chez Larsson

Pretending This is List No.16

Faking it this Friday. Waaaaaaaay to busy to make a list.

 

HAPPY EASTER, SWEETIES!

 

Thank you so much for all your comments and support. It means the world to me and my little family!

~Benita

Ps. Wille says hi. Mini and Bonus say meow.

List No.15: Stuff to Do on the Train

So last week on Friday I was sitting on the train to my mom’s which is a five and a half our train ride and then back again on Sunday. I both enjoy the ride because it’s time that can be spent doing nothing but after doing nothing for ten minutes I get bored and try to amuse myself. This week’s list is about how I kill time on a train.

I…

* … read. Preferably crime novels but home design magazines have also been known to appear in the seat pocket in front of me.

* … check out blogs. I always bring my laptop and go online using my mobile internet thingy.

* … do cross word puzzles. There’s always one in the free magazine on the train and it’s just the right level of difficulty.

* … snack.

* … sleep, trying not to drool.

* … watch the landscape pass by. Those are the ten minutes of doing nothing.

* … make lists or add to them. On this trip my bathroom list got filled up.

* … watch movies. I didn’t on this trip because I was so busy list making but when I do I use a service called headweb on my laptop.

* … read junk mail. I brought some catalogs with me and ripped out ads and articles I wanted to check out further. Mostly related to stuff for the new house.

* … update cell phone contacts, sort messages and check out iPhone apps.

* … clear out and organize my tote bag. Martha even cleans her purses and bags with baby wipes when traveling, I just toss empty receipts and sort straying stuff into the different pockets. Oh, Martha!

That’s about it! Please feel free to add your time killers in the comments for next time I and the rest of you travel.

Happy weekend!

Ps. Please excuse the photo, I took it on a very shaky train with my iPhone...

List No. 14: Pre-Move To-Do List

 

Oh boy, I have a list as long as my arm of things I need to do prior to moving in to the new house.

Here goes:

* Cancel phone and internet connections
* Cancel cable services
* Sign up for internet, phone and cable
* Arrange for TV/cable outlet to be installed on 1st floor
* Cancel garbage pick up
* Arrange for weekly garbage pick up
* Get estimates from contractors for bathroom reno + flooring etc
* Go to IKEA to order kitchen and other pieces
* Order Smeg fridge and washer & dryer from tretti.se
* Book house cleaning at current house for day after move
* Book movers
* Arrange for tree pruning
* List some items on blocket.se
* Cancel electricity & heating
* Sign up for household electricity
* Notify authorities of our move
* Have mail forwarded to new address
* Measure and order new awning
* Buy crow bar
* Buy kitty door
* Buy jig saw and drill
* Choose bathroom tiles and fittings
* Attempt to draw bathroom in Google Sketchup
* Buy paint sprayer
* Buy enormous amounts of paint
* Choose flooring for upstairs & kitchen
* Pack everything.
* Buy feline ferromone diffuser refill

This is just the rough list. Most items on there have sub lists such as a zillion of fittings to choose for the bathroom and I dread the IKEA trip because that sub list seems endless... And just about every hour or so I remember more things I need to do. Yikes!
The most stressful part right now is evaluating the contractor's estimates. I connected with all four that came and will have a hard time choosing.

Ps. Sorry I'm late but the internet connection on the train has been super patchy.
Pps. Happy weekend

 

List No.13: Favorite Colors and Why

 

Please excuse this week’s mini list. I’ve had a crazy busy week at work (we’re launching some big new projects soon which I’m deeply involved in) and in my personal life (selling a house is both stressful and time consuming!).

It’s actually a reader request list again: Favorite colors and why.

Don’t hold your breaths, I’m not going to spring any secret color crush on you like cobalt blue or deep burgundy.

 

ALL TIME FAVORITES:

WHITE

* It’s clean.

* It makes me happy.

* It’s a blank canvas to which other colors can be added.

 

GREEN

* To me it’s not a color, it’s a neutral, the color of nature.

* It works with all other colors and in all seasons.

* Again it makes me happy, in particular Kelly, apple and spring greens.

 

LONG TIME CRUSHES:

YELLOW & ORANGE

* Sunny, fun and go so well with white and green.

 

The End.

 

Ps. Happy weekend!

Pps. Were you fooled today?

List No.12: Favorite Places in the World

Here’s another reader request list: Favorite places in the world and why. In the order I went the first time.

Southern parts of Germany. My grandma lived in Lörrach on the Swiss border and I spent all my childhood summers there and at my aunt and uncle’s nearby in Schwartzwald. Beautiful countryside and good food.

 

Aix-en-Provence, France where I spent a few months studying French when I was nineteen. Fell in love with the town with it’s many fountains, cafés and a French hairdresser called Jean Marc. Best time of my life looking back and not counting having Wille of course.

 

Rural England. I spent a couple of months in Warrington which is situated between Liverpool and Manchester when the first IKEA was launched in the UK. On our days off we’d explore the surrounding countryside and further away. So lush, so green, so much to see.

 

Poland and Krakow in particular. Again a visit having to do with work (Peak Performance at that time). Amazingly beautiful including the surrounding areas such as Zakopane. Such lovely people. Such good food. Reminded me of the southern German fare I was used to from when I spent time at my grandma’s.

 

Rome. Because I went there with Wille who’s got a keen interest in all things Roman. We had the best time seeing the sites, staying at a boutique hotel smack in the center of the city and eating pasta alle vongole. I’ll have the pasta, you can have the clams, Wille.

 

New York. I’ve visited quite a few times and have loved it but my favorite times have been with Wille because then it’s not been about shopping but exploring the city and doing the must-do’s from a teenager’s point of view. Longboarding in Central Park, having Starbuck breaks, buying stuff from street vendors, riding yellow cabs and chilling out in the hotel room with take out while watching TV. The best.

So, what are your favorite places and why?

Happy weekend!

Oh, if you’re wondering, the photos are of the world map on Wille’s wall. The pins represent the places we’ve been, Wille’s are red, mine green and Martin’s blue.