Chez Larsson

Freedom

 

As of tomorrow I shall be a free woman!

Don't worry, Martin and I still together. It's my (soon former) literary agent and I who are parting ways.

To make a long story short you may remember that I was contacted by a literary agent in New York a while back. They wanted me to work on a book proposal for the US publishing market. Unfortunately the book they want to pitch to publishers isn't the same as the book I want(ed) to write so we have decided to cancel our agreement as of tomorrow.

Phew! I'm really relieved. Honestly, I've had it with this publishing business. I'm done. It's over with. From now on I'll stick to what I'm enjoying the most which is blogging. I probably shouldn't say I will never publish a book ever, but for now I'm perfectly satisfied to file my proposals (in the recycling bin).

A weight has been lifted from my shoulders (have felt quite stressed out) and I can't wait to get going with all the projects that have been put aside these past months.

Wohoooo! Have a great weekend. I will!

My Look

These past few days I've had some comments and questions about my personal appearance such as my new "do" and my style of clothing. The do will have to wait until I get a chance to take a decent photo but I can tell you it's not a revolution in terms of hairstyles it's just a tad shorter than before.

Be warned, I'm not a fashionista. I spend way more time (a lot) and money (not much to begin with) on my home than on my wardrobe and I'm what could be be described as a uniform wearer and bulk shopper. What you see above is what you get. It doesn't get more exciting than that. Ever. Multiply the items several times and you get the picture. Don't get scared when you click the image and end up seeing the prices of some of these particular items, they are just examples of the style I tend to go for, not the actual garments themselves. I do not pay $800 for a cardigan but buy a similar looking one for $25...

There are some exciting color variations as you can see. They range from white all the way to black with exciting grey in the middle. On extra colorful days you might get lucky and see a navy in there too.

This actually looks quite put together when I look at it now but don't be fooled, my appearance is more crumpled, the sneakers are not as white and the polo shirt isn't ironed.

I guess my style would best be described as kind of preppy and boring. The thing is that when I get up at 5 in the morning what to wear is so not a priority. I just want to get to work as early as possible and then get off work as soon as possible.

My favorite item, besides from the grey t-shirt is the silver heart pendant. Wille gave me that for my birthday when he was three. He chose what he wanted to give me and called it "a love heart". I haven't taken it off since.

Jay or Nay?

Ok, here it is. The new cushion for the hallway bench.

 

The cushion has been the same green polka dot for years ever since we built the bench (using the old laundry room door for the frame) and besides from having gotten quite bleached it was time for a change. Just because.

 

I've always loved Lena Proudlock and her use of denim (white and blue) as upholstery fabric and I've been wanting to use some blue somewhere to get to see how it wears. I'm hoping it will look like a fave pair of jeans after a while. 

I used the old cover as a pattern but the odd thing is that that one was a complete mistake to begin with. I made it way to big, made a huge measuring mistake which led to the flanges which I ended up loving.

 

So what's the verdict? Jay or Nay?

 

Today

When I wrote my Today post a little over a month ago I said I'd try to remember to do one again soon. So here it is.

Today...

Outside my window... grey skies and fall weather feeling. And it's still only July!

I am thinking... about starting up my Etsy shop again.

I am thankful for... finding a new hairdresser who cut my hair shorter than in a long time.

From the kitchen... not much. I'm home alone.

I am wearing... black polo shirt, jeans and black mary-janes.

I am creating... some prints (for my Etsy shop?).

I am going... to paint some frames white. Bought a can of white spray paint yesterday during my lunch hour only to discover on arriving home that I'd accidentally grabbed a silver one instead. Yes, I started spraying. No, my frames will not be silver. Yes, I'm going back to the store today at lunch. Yes, I will look closely at the lid this time. Yes, this has happened before. Yes, I wish it would SAY White on the front of the can and not just lid color = paint color in minuscule print on the back.

I'm reading... Home Comforts by Cheryl Mendelson and a German crime novel (in Swedish).

I am hoping... I'll have the energy to ride my bike to work tomorrow. As I woke up this morning I couldn't face pedaling the 8 km so I took the bus...

I am hearing... Master Chef Goes Large on BBC in the background. Don't know why I like that show so much. It's about food and cooking and I'm into none of that!

Around the house... it's kind of in an in between stage. I removed some pillows which led to removing some art which led to removing some other things so it's a little bit bare at the mo.

One of my favorite things... the smell of the roses from my garden.

A few plans for the rest of the week... try the new cushion on the bench in the hallway after having washed it multiple times so it won't look so new, ship some Ebay items I've sold , paint some more windows, figure out what to do with our gooseberries (ideas are welcome!) and unfortunately I have to go to work too.

A picture to share...

 

Pillow Talk

Martin and Wille left to go to Torekov in Skåne (southern tip of Sweden and where my MIL lives) yesterday morning which meant some time again for me, home alone, to get stuff done.

 

I'm back at work since last week but took the opportunity to sew a lot this weekend. I've been wanting to make some new pillows and a new cover for the bench cushion in the hallway and I did all that.

The pillows turned out the way I wanted but I'm not sure about the bench cushion. I've gotten so used the the green polka dot there so now that I tried on the new one it looked really odd. Will see about that one.

I have a thing for heather grey sweat materials. Martin can tell you all about it... I love the color of grey sweats and I always have a pile of grey melange t-shirts and sweaters which I wear all the time (way too often if you ask the husband). For fall (it kind of feels like fall here already) I decided I wanted to try some grey at home too. Will see what the rest of the family thinks when they get home.

The cable knit top pillow is made from a v-neck sweater which I didn't like (love the grey but not the v), the one underneath is made from a New York Sweater from Old Navy that I felt too kid-like in to wear and which Wille wouldn't wear (it's from the mens dept) beause it had long sleeves. That one's going in Wille's room. I couldn't resist the doggy print although the background color is kind of weird. The two bottom ones are of plain grey melange /heather grey sweat material.