Accessorizing My Mind

I love music! Ok, that's no bombshell, but I seriously do. I love the way it moves me. The way it shapes my thoughts and emotions and transports my mind to somewhere it wasn't before I pressed "play".

Artists own picture

For instance - if I'm getting ready to go our with my girls one of the best songs I can accessorize my mind with is "I'd Rather Die" by maltese artist Carrie Haber (that is, until she releases her song "If Time Won't Wait" - at which point I'll be a superhappy bunny, skipping between the two at rapid pace). If you don't yet know about the talent that is Carrie Haber, I suggest you get a move on. She's fab!

Other times, songs can mirror your inner fears, desires or worries. And more than once have I felt my own floodgates open (yeah I am a softie, I know) when the lyrics of a certain song seems like it was written about me and my life story.

The song "Fools" by Lauren Aquilina is one of those songs - dealing with the uncertainties of opening yourself up to someone special. We all have our stories, baggage and scars in life, and for me it's insanely good to have the songs to deal with it as well. --->

Another song that has meant a lot to me, speaks about our irritating inability to see the good in ourselves. It annoys me greatly that society teaches us to focus more on our flaws than on our strengths, and as I'm typing now I feel myself getting so worked up that I'm gonna put a cork in it and save the long rant for another blogpost.

<--- This is a bloke named Gary Go. And this song "Wonderful" should be an integral part of any  prescription-pad! It's a miracle-cure, I tell 'ya. I know that if I managed to tell myself this every morning, my outlook on life would be radically different to what it is on a regular basis. 

Hmm... Maybe that's what I should do... Mount an IPad (donations are more than welcome...) to the bathroom mirror and have it play this song to me when I brush my teeth every day at 8am?

And let's take this one step further. After you've started your day confirming that you are wonderful, why not continue with telling yourself to follow your dreams?

How can it hurt to tell yourself that you can be anything you want? For my own part, life is a lot more fulfilling now that I've started dedicating it to making my dreams come true. I know these guys who are in a band called The Dunwells. ---> They're incredibly talented and unbelievably hard-working. The first time I saw them play I thought they were sooo good - and little did I know that it was possible for them to get even better. They are one of those rare bands that just get more breathtaking with each gig they do. 

They're currently touring their asses off adding fuel to the sparks that have earned them a record-deal in USA. They also recently appeared on Jay Leno (Tonight Show), and I can tell you one thing: There were a lot of us who have been following them from the start, who shed a tear with pride for how far they've come on their journey. And just imagine what lies ahead of them! I think they must be the kind of people who has an "I Am Wonderful"-stamp on their mirror, and who keeps telling themselves that they're worth the effort of pursuing their dreams! The song "I Could Be A King"certainly inspires me to do it.

And so for tonight I'm signing off.

Love you all.

King Liselotte ;)

Scrapped

After a long while of sitting quietly in on scrapbooking-nights with my mum, sister and other friends, I slowly got tricked into trying the art of creating greeting-cards for myself. I say "for myself" with double meaning actually, because I've realized that once I've put my heart and soul into creating a card exactly like I see it in my minds eye - I feel the overwhelming need to keep it for myself and not give it to anyone.... lol 

Anyways, I thought I'd share with you some pictures of a couple of cards I've made.

First up is a fairy-tale card. It was one of the first ones I made, and the big gem in the front technically belongs to my mum... But the compromise was that I was going to attempt making a card if I got to use that gem as a theme ;) And here's the result: 

Front of the card

Open once...

Open twice ;)

Another card I've made quite recently is a wedding card. For this I accepted the challenge of using pink and making it very romantic (something I don't usually do when scrapbooking). Here is how it turned out:

Front of the card

The inside of the card. The card says: "Magi finner du i de små øyeblikkene som lyser opp dagen. Kunsten er å oppdage dem". Translated: "Magic is found in the small moments that light up the day. The art is to discover them".

Another view of the inside

The back of the card

Cartoonie

Howdy peeps. I just found a cool new tool that made me into a cartoon-character!! :D I'm geekily overexcited about this and can't wait to find out if I've got any superpowers!

Sweet girl

Attacking with blind fury!! (lol)

What IS that over there?

Cool kid in town!

Teary eyed

I long to be with you

SURPRIIIISED!!

Girl Next Door

Lara Croft (apparently)

Romantic mood 

Saaaaaad :'(

It's fairylight season again!

It's Tuesday night, the (fake) fireplace is warming my living-room, I've lit some candles and find myself being calm and relaxed - and getting more and more excited about something that's going to happen in a few days... Friday, to be exact.

After what seems like an eternity, another season of Dreamcatcher-gigs are finally going to start up. I can't believe it's already been 2,5 years since me and my sister Therese got into full Dreamcatcher-mode, and that the upcoming Friday night gig will mark our second birthday as promoters.

This particular gig will be even more special for us though, and to explain why - please indulge me as I try to explain :) Earlier this year we were approached by a local charity called JuVel, who asked if we could consider getting involved in their work. They are dedicated to shedding light on the difficult financial situation for the local crisis house where women and children in violent homes can escape to and hide out when they are being abused and fear for their lives.

Unfortunately, we know all too well that these kind of crisis-houses are necessary; something that both me and my sister Therese have experienced in our childhood. Although we were fortunate enough to have family and friends around to protect us, and thus never had to move into a crisis house, we know a bit about the terrors that these innocent people go through. And we know that without the right help, it can ruin lives. That's why, when JuVel approached us, we were eager to do what we can to help create better conditions for the children and women who need a safe place to hide from abusive "loved-ones".

This first Dreamcatcher-show of the season will therefore be dedicated to raising money for a therapeutic play-room for children in the local crisis house. Three wonderful artists are ready to put on an amazing show and ensure that it WILL be a night to remember! Just check them out for yourself:

June Egerton

Tall Dark Friend (uk)

The Northern Lies

Now THAT's what I call a lineup!! Of course, if you can't make it to Tromsø on Friday night for the gig, you can watch it online at www.justin.tv/DreamcatcherMusic. Feel free to join the chat with all the superfriendly people in there, and I'll drop by the chat myself from time to time and say hi to you guys ;)

Needless to say, I love the whole Dreamcatchering business! All the work... The frustrations over bookings gone wrong...  The swearing when some people are being utter and impossible divas... The ecstasies of bookings gone right and shows being successful... The memories created on tour...  The feedback from our audience... And all the wonderful people we get to come into contact with - from all over the world!! Our childhood was rough, but we turned it around and dedicated our lives to catching dreams. Now I'm proud and privileged to be a part of doing the same for other children in need.

See you all at Driv this Friday xx

The Endangered Storyteller

People who blog are often divided into categories. Music-blogger, fashion-blogger, political-blogger, design-blogger etc..., and I've sometimes given some thought to what type of blogging creature I should be. Those chains of thought have always lead me into utter confusion, and I've decided to skip the categories all together and just blog about whatever I feel like - when I feel like it.

Today, I venture into the part of my world that is music, and I wanna blog about an artist that is very special to me, and should be to you too :)

From a 2012 video shoot for "Light Love". Photo by Amy Maidment.

As a music promoter, I come across insane amounts of talented up&coming artists, and every now and then one of them vibrates in a frequency that makes you gasp and want to hear more and more and more. That was the case with the artist I'm gonna tell you about today; Jamie Abbott.

I first came across him when he started out as a solo artist a few years ago (I can't even remember how long ago!), and something about his gravelly voice, style of music and diary-like lyrics made him stand out from the crowd. The first ever song of his that I fell in love with is called "Yellow Pages", and describes how he's seen a girl on the train, has become smitten with her and hopes that she has noticed him too and that they'll meet again ("I keep staring out the window pane hoping that she'll come by. Hoping that she's guessed my name and looked me up in the yellow pages."). That was it for me! I had to figure out who this guy was that had not yet been corrupted by the cynicism of the modern dating world. It seemed almost to good to be real. A good guy?! I thought they died out decades ago. At least it seemed so to me at the time - a time that also happened to coincide with the time I was going through a very tough breakup.  

Through a series of coincidences and sensible decisions I have been fortunate enough to work with this amazingly talented artist on several occasions, including when he has been to Norway to tour frequently since 2010. It is so much fun to see him develop as an artist and to watch his fan base grow with every gig he does. It is a great feeling to be able to promote the kind of artists that people keep emailing you to bring back to Norway even months after their last tour.

Here's a little video from his mini tour of Northern Norway in 2011 :D

As time goes by, more and more people have become aware of his talent, and he's recently released a smashing EP (though with the bonus tracks it's more like an album) produced by the grammy winning legend Kipper (Gary Numan, Sting). On it, a few tracks stand out to me, including the (perfectly produced (!!!) ) Postcard Perfect, and the title track "Light Love", who's (beautiful) video you can watch here:

If you're in the UK at the moment, you might be lucky enough to go and check out Jamie Abbott live in your home town. As one of very few artists, he's been selected to go on a tour of Caffe Nero's' this summer, and he's traveling up and down the country as we speak. I really wish I could be there to support him (and to have awesome coffee and brownies several times a day ;D ), but what can you do...? I'm sure we'll be able to convince him to come back to Norway for a new tour soon. Hmm... Now that I think of it... If you want Jamie to come to your town, village or house to play a gig - get in touch with me (or him), and I'll see what I can do ;) (Here I go again with my spontaneous ideas :p )

Now, I'm not gonna rave on much more about Abbott, other than to leave you with a little secret that I've concluded with over the years of knowing him: Jupp, he truly is a good guy! One of the best. Breaking news: Good guys might be an endangered species, but they've not yet died out ;) And when they create music like this, they're worth your time to follow and listen to.

www.jamieabbott.co.uk

www.facebook.com/jamieabbottmusic 

xxx

Write It On Your Skin

Did you all see it? My newest tattoo?! :D I now have the most beautiful (in my opinion at least) hot air balloon decorating my left upper arm - complete with a few meaningful details...

1. There four people in the hamper. These represent the presences in my life who's support, input and love I could not live without: "Family", "Friends", "Myself" and "My son". I need all four to complete my life, and I constantly find myself being thankful for having them there <3

2. The world. If it's one thing I've learned it's that the world is a very small place, and that you will find pieces of the puzzle that is yourself scattered all over ;) My world is now literally with me at all times - a  reminder that no adventure is too big to undertake, and no dream too big to realize!

3. Stormy skies. As all you "hamper"-people know, my life has not had the smoothest sailing... Nor has that of those closest to me. That's why my balloon is surrounded by orange, stormy, whirly clouds - to represent the curve-balls that life throws at you, and the turmoils that we all have to face in our lives. But as long as we stay in the hamper, we'll be good ;)

4. The hot air balloon itself. This is how it all started. And it represents the moment my biggest childhood dream came true! Or, rather... The moment I made my biggest childhood dream come true. Because dreams are funny that way... You alone how the power to make them come true, and to be able to look at that little girl that was yourself all those years ago and flash her a big grin saying: "See; I did it! You dreamed it, and I didn't let you down. I didn't let me down!" We're all worth the effort of not letting ourselves down - and the moment I saw a certain hot air balloon rise towards the skies I could proudly say that to myself.

So for all of you who've been asking about the significance of the tattoo: There you have it ;) A huge woop wooop and three buckets of kudos to Tomasz at Eclipse Tattoostudio in Camden, London for immortalizing this on my skin.


And speaking of skin: One of my favourite artists, Newton Faulkner has JUST released his latest album entitled "Write It On Your Skin". After listening to it a few times, I can honestly say that I haven't been this excited and impressed by an album-release since Ed Sheeran a little while back!!

Here's a video of one of his catchy songs. DO buy the album - It truly is worth it!! I'm humming his tunes 24/7 now :D

xxx

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