"This just in..."

In other news today...

Sweden's Scandal-hit King denies all allegations (that he frequently visits strip-clubs and mingles with organized crime figures). He also denounces his life-long friend, Anders Lettström, for his involvement in a shady deal that was supposedly intended to buy back photos of His Royal Highness in "compromising situations". As an old scholar in Constitutional Economics and the Constitution of Sweden, Kim would like to point out that, under the Swedish Order of Succession (the oldest of Sweden's four charters in the constitution, established in 1810), the monarch can not be prosecuted for any crime or misdemeanor whatsoever. This is real, people! If you are into fairy-tales - read Rapunzel! Today's version of "kings and castles" is more like a sleazy Penthouse version of a Brothers Grimm story... and - if we are to believe even just a tiny bit of the news reportings about the affairs going on in the Royal Estate - apparently there are no fair maidens left.

Also in the news today: The US Ambassador to Sweden, Matthew Barzun, is called home to the US after two years on his post in Stockholm. He is now supposed to be heading Obama's fundraising for the re-election campaign in 2012. Barzun has become a very popular figure in Sweden during his short tenure, probably due to his way of reaching out to the Swedish public. And he has even picked up a little Swedish. Whether he is going to make use of the Swedish glossary - in particular the word "Lagom" (which has no literal translation in English) - once he gets back to the US is a still unanswered question.

In order for our friends and family overseas to better keep up with daily news from over here, we are hereby including a link to the online newspaper, The Local, on the right side of our blog. Swedish daily news - in English.

The Swedish Chefs

HAPPY SWEDISH MOTHER'S DAY!

WarrenC and Daddy decided to make mommy happy by mixing up waffle batter in the kitchen and serving them, freshly baked on mom's new waffle iron (which also happened to be her gift for mother's day).

Here are the two Swedish Chefs in full action in our kitchen:



And here we are again, whipping the cream for the topping...Warren Christopher made sure to taste the whipped cream several times before we chilled it.



And here is a good friend of ours - the famous Swedish Chef, making Swedish "Chocolate Moose".

Late reply to Matt...

The hazard of not updating your blog on a daily basis is that you sometimes can not always respond on time. Well, now at least Kim has responded to Matt's comment on our previous entry about the wonderful world of Oliver Peoples glasses.
Our best advice for anyone interested in great vintage frames is to shop around. Plenty of great brands now challenge OP with similar collections and wonderful-looking classic eyewear: Cutler & Gross (especially # 1026!), Garrett Leight, Barton Perreira and Ray-Ban Iconic Opticals.

And be sure to check out OP's spring models for 2011, like Gregory Peck!

Oliver Peoples

Ever since Oakley moved in and acquired Oliver Peoples in 2006 it seems like the cool ideas behind their retro frames, that once made Paul Smith decide to let OP design his entire collection and inspired Armani to copy anything from frame designs and ideas, have now gone elsewhere. When the head of Oliver Peoples, Bill Barton, and the leading designer of 18 years, Patty Perreira, launched their own brand - Barton Perreira - you could argue that the spirit of Oliver Peoples moved with them.
Some of the more sturdy frames from Barton Perreira, like Banks (pictured above) bring back memories of movies with Gregory Peck or Spencer Tracy, or the FBI staffers in Oliver Stone's JFK. Not to forget the entire cast of yuppies in the film American Psycho, based on Bret Easton Ellis' book by the same name. More or less the entire collection (mainly Oliver Peoples' Riley frames) can be viewed in plenty of close-ups in the famous Business Card Scene from American Psycho. (Click for video link.) And the script says it all! ;)

(Luis) - Patrick, thanks so much for looking after Courtney. Dorsia, how impressive! How on Earth did you get a reservation there?

(Bateman) - Lucky, I guess.

(Luis) - That's a wonderful suit. Don't tell me. Don't tell me. Let me guess. Mmm, Valentino Couture?

(Bateman) - Uh-huh. Hmm.

(Luis) - It looks so soft.

(Bateman) - Your compliment was sufficient, Luis!

(Paul) - Hello, Halberstram. Nice tie. How the hell are you?

(Bateman) - Allen has mistaken me for this dickhead, Marcus Halberstram. It seems logical because Marcus also works at P&P and in fact does the exact same thing I do. He also has a penchant for Valentino suits and Oliver Peoples glasses. We even go to the same barber, although I have a slightly better haircut.

Springtime flowers for mommy

Today, our son handed over fresh flowers (swe: vitsippor; eng: windflowers or thimbleweed) for mommy when he and daddy came back home after having been sliding down the tunnel slide in the playground for over two hours.
Springtime (or early summer if you will) has really hit Stockholm now. Today we enjoyed 75 degrees F with clear skies and lots of sunshine!

Spring dress rehearsal

Well, I can finally fit into those clothes that have been waiting to see the light of day for about two years now.  (Actually, the pants I am wearing here haven´t been worn since my honeymoon trip.) I exercised quite frequently on the Nordic rowing machine as soon as it was set up, but summer vacation started and then Warren Christopher and I began a new routine in August, so a workout schedule was hard to maintain.  No worries, though, if one has a young child to take care of - complement that with no snacking, no desserts or alcohol on weekdays, and no sugar in one´s coffee. That last one seems trivial, but it really isn´t!  Pregnancy takes a toll on one´s body, and post-pregnancy neglect makes it even worse.  I may feel proud about the fact that I can get back into my pre-pregnancy clothes again, but what I have realized in the process of losing this weight is that I´m physically AND emotionally better than I was a year ago...Oh, and I´m supposed to mention that that striped belt that I´m wearing belongs to my fashion savvy husband.