We’re off to Amsterdam tomorrow morning. Yeay! Unfortunately it seems like there will be some rain over the weekend but hopefully it won’t be too bad. At least the forecast predicts the temperatures to be around 18 degrees Celsius which would be a nice change.

The Netherlands are famous for its tulips and I’ve found that Keukenhof Gardens is a very good place to go if you want a look up close, especially during this time of the year. More than 7 million tulips, daffodils and hyacinths are supposedly in full bloom in the garden right now. If you, like us, stay in Amsterdam apparently the fastest and easiest way to go there is by booking a half day tour with either Lindbergh or Keytours. That’s definitely something I would like to do, we’ll see if I’ll get someone to join me.

En god vän i stan på utbildning så passar på att ses, skvallra lite och äta gott på Sydamerikanska Tranquilo. Vardagslyx!

In 2015 and 2016 Swedish banknotes and coins will get an updated look. Eight artists and graphic designers have been competing for the honourable assignment to design the new banknotes and today the winner was presented.  Kulturresan – the winning design by Göran Österlund has Astrid Lindgren, Evert Taube, Greta Garbo, Ingmar Bergman, Birgit Nilsson and Dag Hammarskjöld pictured on the new notes.

Kulturresan (or Culture trip in English)  is a proposal for a new series of banknotes that brings our money into the 21st century through the 20th century’s cultural profiles. The idea is to let the banknotes take us on a journey from the Öresund Bridge in the south to Treriksröset in the north. – Göran Österlund

What the coins will look like will not be revealed until later this spring.

Astrid Lindgren, Evert Taube, Greta Garbo, Ingmar Bergman, Birgit Nilsson and Dag Hammarskjöld.

Not familiar with these Swedish cultural icons? Here follows a short introduction.

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Who says you can’t barbecue in the rain. Since it was already decided that we we’re going to have a barbecue tonight at A & L’s so we did even if the rain was pouring down. It’s a really nice little (or actually pretty big) Weber bbq they got themselves there, fitting right into the suburban dream.

Enough meat for 5 people you think?

Bought this year’s Mayflower today, the flower pin supporting the Mayflower Charity Foundation for Children. You can read more about the Mayflower and what it stands for in this old post  HERE.

One of my largest interests in life is interior design and I especially like Scandinavian design (go figure). Scandinavia and especially Denmark has been the birthplace of so many talented designers. Kay Bojesen (1886-1958) was one of them and even though he was a silversmith he’s famous for something totally different – wooden toys!

Kay was born in Copenhagen and he graduated as a silversmith in 1910 after completing his apprenticeship at Georg Jensen (another famous Dane). He worked as a silversmith for many years but in the 1930’s he explored his passion for wood.

A product should be round and soft and feel good in your hand and the lines in a design should smile.

That was Kay’s belief and he also wanted his beloved wooden characters to appeal to the child within us all. The animals were never meant to be an exact replica of nature and the most famous and sought after character, the monkey made out of teak is a perfect example of that. With his long arms, slightly bulging stomach and hooks for hands and feet, few fail to be charmed by the little wooden animal.

It was over 50 years ago that this design classic first came to life but it’s still manufactured today by the Danish company Rosendahl. Good for me since I find it adorable and really, really want one.