Scandinavian Design + Brands

I feel so lucky to not only be living in such a beautiful country, but to also be constantly surround by amazing design. Street signs, packaging, train stations, houses and buildings all have an immense amount of detail that I've noticed and can admire. I think I overlook a lot of these lesser appreciated things back home because they are so familiar to me and perhaps lack a certain aesthetic that the Swedes carry through with. The landscape and smaller details of Sweden have really influenced me, but I've also drawn a lot of 'creative juice' from these clothing and interior/home brands listed below. A minimal and seemingly effortless approach connects these brands and reiterates the clean and tasteful style the Nordic countries encompasses. Scandinavia has been good to the eyes.

C L O T H I N G
Sandqvist / & Other Stories / H&M / Monki / COS / Weekday / Bik Bok / Acne / Flippa K / Fjallraven

H O M E + I N T E R I O R 

Bolia / Hay / IKEA / Marimekko / Stilleben / Svenskttenn

Fredagsmys, Sugar Toast + Stockholm

There is something about the transition into the winter months that gets me very excited. I think the cozy layers, crunchy leafs and cooler weather may have something to do with it! Fall has always been my favorite season and I may have a greater appreciation for it after experiencing it in Sweden. A couple weeks ago was my swedish buddy's birthday and to celebrate we gathered at her friends apartment and ate waffles. We got to talking about how Swedes love to be cozy or mysig. I absolutely love this aspect of their culture, especially now that it is getting chilly outside, all the little warm touches just makes my soul feel good! Big plushy pillows in the windows at restaurants, candlelit tables at every cafe and the lights are always dimmed to amplify the coziness. Swedes know mysig. I definitely want to take this home with me. They actually have an assigned day for coziness, Fredagsmys or cozy Fridays. I was told that every swedish person knows this phrase and a lot of people enjoy Fredagsmys simply to unwind after a long week and transition into the weekend. My friend-family informed me that a lot of Swedes eat tacos on Friday nights and watch TV with friends or family-- super mysig! Iv'e found tacos to be very popular amongst the Swedes, and just this weekend I ate my fair share. Taco bout' a party... (see what I did there?) Anyway, that's my cue to transition into my weekend in Stockholm.

 Chloe, Elin and I took the 4 hour train to Stockholm Friday morning, I was in a very content mood and just gazed out the window most of the ride, although I probably should have been studying. Elin is from Stockholm, so it was nice having a local show us around and the whole commuting thing was so much faster because of her. It was my first time taking the underground subway... and without Elin I think I would have been totally confused haha! We stayed at her grandmother apartment who's name is also the same as my grandma- Barbra. She cooked for us and made us feel right at home... grandmas just know how to do that kind of stuff! Even though the weather was gloomy, I still had a great time seeing Stockholm, it really is a beautiful city. I couldn't help but to think of how different my experience abroad would be if I chose to go to a bigger city like Stockholm. I think there would be a lot more opportunities, but I also think I wouldn't get such a feel for a community as I do here. I really love the coziness of Växjö, and no matter where you go your guaranteed to see at least one friendly face! I think my upbringing has kind of grounded me in the sense of cherishing the connections and community that small towns offer.

The next morning, I woke up with a craving for cinnamon toast and after I explained to the girls that my grandma always use to make it for me when I was little they wanted to try it. They were a bit skeptical of the butter, sugar and cinnamon combination, but they loved it and we had it again the next morning- they named it Hanna's sugar toast. We went to the Vasa museum on Saturday and that was so cool, especially since I just learned about it in class. We were all pretty tired from the night before so naturally we had to fika! We met Elin's sister who is my age and another friend; we all made tacos before going out. My weekend in Stockholm was so so so good. The three of us shared so many laughs and made some unforgettable memories. I was looking back at my phone and camera and realized I didn't even take that many pictures, but sometimes the best trips are spent with people who make you forget about your phone and picture taking.

My classes are in full swing with a test a couple weeks away and a group project that just started. The history and religion module I am in right now is a lot more dense than my last class. By the way did I tell you I passed the swedish landscape exam?! yay! The beginner swedish course starts next week and I am excited to expand on the handful of words and phrases I can say. I was a little bummed out before coming to LNU because I really wanted to take the design and sustainability course, but unfortunately I didn't have the prerequisites needed. I am happy with the culture course I'm in and learning so much about Sweden. Don't worry... I'm still getting my creative fix by attending photography workshops and various design lectures. I'm very inspired by the traveling I've done and try to document my observations as much as I can in my journal. My heart is as ease lately feeling that this is exactly where I'm suppose to be. I'm so thankful for my support system back at home and I can't wait to see my sweet friends and family in a short 7 weeks! I miss you!!!

hanna

Doors + Details of Tallinn

Last week Chloe and I took a trip to Helsinki, Finland. It was AMAZING. I feel like Finland isn't a place people really think of visiting, but everyone should get it on their lists! We spent Friday exploring the city and all the great markets and shops. The street layouts were kind of confusing, but we easily made it around most of the city on foot in a day. The design district was probably my favorite part... although we never really got to the heart of it. Still loved all the cafes and shops filled with Hay products. Of course we had to stop in Marimekko (a Finnish design company) I bought myself a little coin purse as a souvenir. Saturday we decided to take a ferry to Tallinn, Estonia. We were kind of bummed because we only had the afternoon there, but I think we made the most of our time! From what I saw, Tallinn was absolutely beautiful. This post is dedicated to some of my favorite doors I spotted in old town. The color combinations were out of this world and all the detail put into the architecture was so so so good! Enjoy!

Life as of Late

Whoa! Can you believe its already October? In a few more weeks it will be November and then I'll be saying I'm going home next month. Time sure does fly by. I wish I would post on here more often for all of you back home curious about whats going on, but I find it difficult to maintain a good balance of living in the present, communicating with friends and family at home, journaling about more personal things and then blogging on here. The blog definitely has been getting the short end of the stick. I promise to continue to post more frequently because I think blogging is a good tool to let loved ones at home know whats going on and also a good way to reflect on my experiences and personal growth. I think blogs and social media in general only show one angle of someone and this is something I've been questioning and reflecting on. The pages in my journal are probably a lot more interesting and raw than what I post on here, but also a lot more personal and something I would never want the world wide web reading! Any who... for the rest of my time abroad I'm going to strive for interesting and raw posts about my adventures and everyday boring stuff.

Last week I went to Zadar, Croatia as a last minute trip with some people on my floor. And when I say last minute I mean I booked my flight Saturday night and we flew out Monday. Thank God for cheap Ryanair flights. I was a little bit worried about spending 5 days with people I only met a few weeks ago, but I made a bold decision and booked it knowing there were going to be valued experiences learned no matter what. Something I've quickly learned over here is not to overthink everything... you need to act on opportunities because who knows when you'll get another shot. Croatia was a place I never even really considered visiting, but I'm so glad I did and would love explore more parts of the country. Dubrovnik and Split for sure. During my short stay I noticed a lot of differences between Croatia and Sweden. First off everything is so much cheaper in Croatia... we joked that we were probably saving money while in Zadar. Every morning we would walk to the supermarket and buy breakfast and lunch and some snacks for under $10 USD. Beer was also very cheap, they sold it in liter plastic bottles...kinda weird...kinda good. There was a much older population in Zadar, meaning no youthful blond haired, blue eye scandinavians roaming around. The boys on the trip missed all the good looking ladies! For the most part, everyone in Sweden is so nice and happy, I've had no troubles really with language barriers, until we arrived in Croatia. People in general were a lot less happy than in Sweden, but non the less friendly. Here in Sweden I've noticed that most people aren't religious and don't attend church often. I started my history and religion class yesterday and this validated my observations. Croatia however was a very religious country... even the bus driver had a rosary on his rear view mirror. My teacher suggested that  Swedish people are taken care of by the government throughout their entire life and therefore don't need a higher power to rely on because they are already set (education, health care). I find this very interesting and am eager to learn more about Swedish religion in my class. Overall my trip to Croatia was great... Im so thankful to have a flexible schedule here at school to be able to travel. Check out my Facebook photos to see what we did during the trip!

We got home Friday night and I was very happy to come back to my little swedish apartment on Vallgatan. Saturday afternoon I had my first exam over the Swedish landscape. It felt very strange taking a test on a Saturday in a room full of more than a hundred other students taking different exams. The test was twenty short answer questions and I felt like I did pretty good.(fingers crossed!) I think the history and religion module I'm in right now will be a lot more interesting to me and I'm excited... I already feel like I'm opening my mind to new perspectives specifically on religion just after one class.

In other news, I'm leaving for Helsinki, Finland on Thursday! Chloe and I booked this trip spontaneously and Im very excited to have her as my travel buddy, as we have such similar interests. We plan to take a ferry to Tallinn, Estonia on one of the days to explore that neck of the woods. I love that I'm traveling to kind of random places in Europe- places I would never expect to go. I think its fascinating and thrilling... there is so many things to be learned wherever you go.
Cheers!

hanna