My Arctic New York

I know, I know... I'm terrible at keeping up my blog-frequency!! I could promise you I'll improve, but then I may or may not keep my promise....

A lot has been going on in my life lately... A LOT! Basically, I'm trying to shape my life up one area at the time. And in some areas it seems I'm on to a good recipe ;) Currently I'm sitting in a Sportsbar at Gardermoen Airport on my way to London again. I'm waiting for my Baby Back Ribs to be served, a yummy meal that I haven't had since Therese and I were in New York in March! My mouth is watering just at the thought of the food!!

As I'm not currently working a proper job (an area that's not yet fully shaped up), you'd think I had time to get everything packed and sorted (and the apartment tidied) before I had to dash this morning, but for various reasons I ended up without a minute of sleep last night. And now I'm sat at the airport enjoying a five hour stopover before my connecting flight to Gatwick and my beloved second home town, London. Thank God I have you people to keep my company and keep me from falling asleep!! ;)

But! To the topic I was planning on writing about today: I have recently (and for the first time in my life) watched the entire series of Sex And The City (Thank you June for lending it to me), and I can't believe I haven't watched it earlier! I was surprised at all the useful life lessons I could take from the series and how well I felt it relates to me and my own life. I kinda feel like I've saved a small fortune on psychology-bills by diving into the world of New York for the single and fabulous. It's strange where life lessons can come from. Usually they come from the most unexpected places/people.

And then: As I'm sitting here at the airport, eating my fancy meal (yes, my baby back ribs have arrived, and they are FAB!!) chatting about hot guys with my girlfriends (ok, just on fb, but still!) - it occurs to me: My life is has become a lot like the Sex And The City-series. I'm living the good single-life - chatting waaay to intimately with my girls, and going out with them every now and then - for drinks and whatever trouble we can get ourselves into ;) It is a better life than I ever imagined for myself - and a very different one to what I thought I'd live only half a decade ago. So for me, Tromsø is my New York. And being a single girl in it, is quite fabulous! (Just saying ;) )

xx

My (actual) New York - moment ;)

The Sowing Insanity

Haha - so much for my promise of blogging more frequently... :p

Tomorrow I'm going into town to get some elastic band, thread and needles. I'm gonna attempt to sow a dress for my 30th birthday-party in less than a month! (Heeeey, stop laughing!) Sure, I haven't exactly got a good track record when it comes to skills like sowing, knitting and needle-work in general, but I have great faith in this project, and will continue to have so until proven otherwise! ;)

I suppose it helps that the party will be a costume-party, so creative and loony design will fit right in! I've told the guests to show up in outfits that would make Tim Burton proud, and I hope they take my word for it! If I'm lucky, the room will be filled with creatures resembling this (all photos by Google):

I'm sooooooo looking forward to it!! Can you believe I'm turning 30, btw?? It's insane! :D

Presenting: Results

Hei everyone! I'm sorry I've been awfully quiet on here lately. I promise to do something about it, starting right now with telling you some exciting news!

I don't know if you remember the project I enthusiastically undertook a couple of months back? The one called "Project Makeover"? Yeees, now it's coming back to you. ;) Anyways - if you don't remember the details of the project, I'll recap for you:

I decided to completely change the interior design style of my living-room. And I decided that I wasn't gonna spend any money doing it, other than money I could raise by selling off my existing furniture and nicknacks. And VERY importantly: When acquiring something for the new design - it all had to be second hand or gifts!!

I've written a few blogs about the project as it has progressed, and I'm now happy to report that I DID IT!!! Wooop WOpppp! My living-room is now completely transformed, adhering strictly to the rules of the project. I'm very happy about the result, and feel very much at home in my new living space <3

So here are a few pictures of what it USED TO look like before the makeover:

The sofa-corner. Grey, brown and cold metallic colours are softened up by the use of materials like the white sheep-skin. Note the small table under the crystal-lamp. It houses the DVD-player, router, cable-tv-tuner +++.

The DVD/CD-cabinet and our beloved baby-piano. It is a kid's toy, but a cool one, so it has its place under the baroque -inspired mirror. Metallic candlesticks complete the look. 

The dining area is dominated by modern, white furniture that contrasts the baroque-inspired decor around the rest of the room. Behind the dining-room furniture, there's a long surface (originally a nightstand on wheels - intended to roll up and down across the bed for those yummy breakfasts in bed that I never have...) and under it, three smaller nightstands on wheels where black boxes hide all sorts of clutter ;). The pictures on the wall are made by me, depicting my favourite band.

Taken from the comfy sofa, this picture effectively shows the size of the living-room, by tying toghether the dining-room section with the sofa-section. Also, the white curtains with the black trees are deliberate - again contrasting the metal and baroque, and bringing a bit of nature into the flat. 

The guitar-corner! My beloved Ginger Dove, Gabriels smaller guitar (and a dented little drum) form a decorative corner in the living-room. 

As you can see, the old style I had was very feminine and metallic with it's base in the colours white, black, grey, brown, gold and silver. After the makeover, you will notice that some things are still present, like the two brown swiveling chairs that I got from my grandma, the silver lamp with the hanging crystals and the black mirror that hangs over the baby-piano.

Now, let's have a look at what the same room looks like TODAY:

As you can see, the curtains are in a very different colour to earlier. They were bought at a charity shop, and adds drama and contrast to the space. Under the window, the heater (shaped like a proper oven) was an early birthdaygift from my grandma, after my old heater stopped working properly. 

Can you recognize the chairs? And the pictures of my favourite band? The picture group over the chairs are only pictures that were hanging somewhere in the flat earlier, but they become a statement piece in the decor when I group them together like this. And now, I even have a clock!

The sofa is new, and I'll get back to talking about it in a later comment. The crystal lamp is not perfect for this style, but it has such sentimental value to me that I just can't sell it....! I've decided to go for three small sofa-tables in stead of one bigger one, and the one in the middle used to be the lamp stand that contained the DVD-player ++. The other two tables I found at a charity-shop for a total of 80,- NOK! They have drawers in them, so now I ALWAYS know where I've put the remote and the charger for my phone! :D

Behind the sofa, I've created a (long desired) workspace for me and Gabriel. It consists of the rolling nightstand that used to be up against the wall earlier and is completed by a fabulous dresser that I bought used from a lady in the neighborhood. 

The new dining table is smaller than the old one, but just what I was picturing for this new look! It is norwegian (acclaimed) design, and I got it used from an interior design company here in town. It had been used as lunchroom-furniture at their office. The green on the chairs are one of the splashes of colour that I really wanted in the new design, and ties the retro in nicely with the modern.

Also, the green flower pot is a charity shop buy, and the plastic green stuff inside it is just about perfect for me to be able to keep alive. Any living flowers would probably have to be replaced every couple of months... :p

Where the guitar-corner used to be, I've now positioned my beloved (and very out of tune) piano. Given to me for my birthday a few years ago, it has a lot of history and is a very special member of this household. 

The lamp is a retro thing of beauty! It used to belong to a friend of mine, and it had just been in storage for years. She originally got it from a family member, and I was overwhelmed when she suggested that I get it from her as a gift!! I love it so much, and am so grateful! The shelf behind it consists of the three nightstands that used to live under the rolling one. I removed the wheels on the upper two, and stacked them on top of each other, creating a focal point with plenty of storage for books and DVDs. 

Amongst the pictures we find a few inspirational things. The Dreamcatcher guitar, a Sudanese Pound and the diploma that accompanied the "Talent of the Year"-award that Dreamcatcher won. I like surronding myself with things that have meaning to me, and that reminds me of the good things in my life.

It might not be a real fire-place, but it looks very pretty when all lit up! 

This sofa is just the coolest thing I've ever seen! I had to drive for a few hours in snowy weather to get to the people who sere selling it, but it was so worth it! It's comfy and original, and a good example of the kind of durable furniture that was made decades of years ago. All the pillowcases come from charity-shops and have some of my old cushions inside them, and the sheep skin (that I've had for years) helps soften op what could easily have turned into a masculine look. 

For his 8th birthday, I got my son an african chess-board, and we've decided that it should live on top of the piano in the living-room. It is a beautiful wooden board with metal pieces, and looks lovely in our home!

As I said earlier, I like to surround myself with things that remind me of the important things in life. This sign (from my hallway) tells me one of the MOST important things to remember, and it is in the company of a few guitars and my darling cajon.

For the sake of the mood (and a bit more colour), these light-holders in green, orange and purple just screamed YESS at me when I saw them in a charity shop. They really wanted to come home with me!! 

And finally, two light-holders from the old decor have survived the makeover. A girl can't get by without a little bit of golden bling, right? ;)

So there you have it. My own personal take on retro modernism! (Did I just create a new term there?). My main objective was to bring in a bit of colour and warmth to the place, to go more retro, but to not make it look exactly like a carbon copy flat from the 60's or 70's. I'm very happy with the result. What do you think? xxx

A Glorious Night (Part 1)

I'm gonna tell you all a story about a Friday night. One that was gonna turn out to be a glorious one!! But before I get so eager to tell you everything that I go ruining the excitement of the storyline by telling you that that the story has a happy ending and that I fell asleep with a huge smile all over my face, I'm gonna be organized and start the story where it is supposed to be started. Earlier in the day, before it turned into a glorious night.

...Ehm; Now that I think about it, a good story should have some villains, unexpected plot-twists and a high speed car-chase - none of which occurs in my Friday night... Hmmm... Maybe I should add a fire breathing dragon to the story? Nah - I like my story just the way it is. Because it all actually happened. To me. Last night.

It all started with an email from the SXSW-people. "Congratulations! You've won a ticket to see Bruce Springsteen tonight at the Moody Theatre in Austin, Tx" (The email said a lot of other stuff too, but in the interest of keeping things relevant, I'll edit those boring parts out). With a huge grin on my lips and literally two minutes to spare before the ticket office closed, I managed to get my hands on the golden (aka green) entry-pass to this very, very special event: Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band (yepp, the whole lot of them) + very special guests Tom Morello (from Rage Against The Machine), Jimmy Cliff, Garland Jeffreys and Eric Burdon!!

All this amaaazing talent in an exclusive, intimate show of only 2500 capacity!!! (pause for effect).

My "golden" ticket and wristband

Needless to say - the gig was EPIC!!! I must commend whoever was in charge of sound that night, because it is the best sound I've ever heard! All instruments and vocals worked together in harmony, and still you could pick out each and every instrument if you just listened for it. And to top it all off: There was plenty of volume, but the decibel levels didn't skyrocket - which meant my hearing was intact after the show :D It is the first time in my life that I've heard such perfect sound! It truly was an eargasm!! <3

I'm not gonna comment on each and every song as I was too busy jumping, dancing and singing along to actually pay attention to the setlist, but I can confirm that The Boss still is in charge, and that he's still mighty fit for his age, running around on stage, climbing up on the grand piano, and even stage diving on several occations!

Everyone I talked to was in full and total agreement that this had been a VERY (emphasis, underline, exclamationpoint) special concert, and that it would go down as one of those rare ones that get's talked about for years to come. As I walked out of the theatre, speechless (and ask any journalist in Tromsø - that doesn't happen a lot... ;) ) all I could think was: I have just been a part of something huge....!

Here are some photos of the finest quality (that my iphone 3gs can provide). ENJOOOOY!!!

Getting to know Austin and SXSW

A new day is shaping up here in Austin. Last night I was so exhausted when I got in that I just went straight to bed without updating you all, so I thought I'd dwell a little on yesterdays events before I start this new day :)

As always when Dreamcatcher does anything, we started with a bang ;) Our breakfast was spent at a closed-for-the-public mingling-party for artists and industry-people, and from there we attended a seminar on how to use modern mobile technology to involve fans even more in an artists career. The lecturers included people who work for artists like Rihanna, Linkin Park, Bon Jovi etc, and we came from it with a few new ideas ;)

Interactive seminar :)

We spent lunch with a great bulgarian artist named Ilona (I've blogged about her previously), and the acclaimed industry veteran Tony Moore. Moore runs his own stage here at SXSW, and at lunch we got to talk extensively about the festival as a whole, what it means to artists to play here, how the whole schabang is run and a lot more...! I'm very grateful that I get to learn so much from the people who are in the know. The music business really is a big community, and the insight that I've acquired so far sends my mind churning to come up with ideas on how to best promote the awesome talent that we have in my home town.

Ilona, Liselotte and Tony waiting for the legendary burritos ;)

Tonight, I'm gonna see Ilona perform on Tony's stage btw. I'm looking forward to it a LOT - and if you're a night owl, you can watch it too online at www.justin.tv/TheBedfordLive. The show starts at 8pm local time which would be around.... hmm... 3am in Norway. (gosh that IS late!). The music is hiiighly recommended though, so if there ever was a night you were supposed to stay up late - this would be the one ;)
  
After lunch, we hit the SXSW Trade Show - a humongous indoor "messe" where different companies present their creative and innovative ideas/products that can ease, revolutionize or simply add fun to the life of a creative business.

Liselotte has been given a complimentary rythm-egg on a stick, and is a veeery happy bunny!!

After a long day of working, our heads felt the need for a break, so we hopped on a couple of bicycles and hit the wonderfully beautiful area of Austin that is the riverside bike and hike trails. Three hours were spent on the bikes, and it was recreation both for the body and soul <3

Sundown at Bat Bridge <3

Talking to the locals about the city

Idyllic

Liselotte has a new best friend :)

Cliffhanging!

A beautiful day in Austin :)

After the sun went down and the bats came out of their hiding place under Bat Bridge (The bridge might have another name... :p ), we hit the main streets for an overdose of music and happy people. Here's a report from the evening:

But now - I'm gonna hit the town again! See you all later lovelies!! <3

Lego City

It's been a loooong day. Got out of bed 26 hours ago and had to dig the car out of the snow to get to the airport in Tromsø. Everything since has been lovely, and now I'm sitting here - halfway across the planet - and am about to embark on an amazing musical adventure.

I'm gonna keep my blog brief this time. Mainly because I'm insanely tired! :p But I have a couple of things I want to share with you :)

I WENT TO NEW YORK TODAY!!!! We had a 6 hour stopover in Newark before our connecting flight to Austin, and since passport and customs were running smoothly today, we decided to take a little detour into Manhattan. My first ever visit to New York - and I can tell you it made an impression.

The thing that struck me about the architecture at Manhattan is that it looks like the buildings were made of lego-blocks that didn't quite fit together, so they are angled and terraced and have all sorts of weird shapes to them. I absolutely love it! It is so beautiful! I could just walk up and down the streets looking at buildings and weird features all day and be very happy. I must say I've fallen in love with the city. On the plane from Newark to Austin I ended up having all the impressions of today churning in my head and I wrote a new song. It's been a while since the last song I wrote, but I'll try to arrange so that you guys can hear it at some point. That point is not going to be today though, but instead - I'll leave you with a few snapshots to look at whilst I crawl into bed and fall asleep ;) <3