Outfit details:
Lipstick: Chanel, "Monte Carlo"
Vintage japanese soft pink 70's pussy bow blouse: Standard vintage
Powder pink angora cardigan: Sale find
Heavy blue/green and golden ring: Birthday present from Anna
Parrot print skirt: H&M
Bright green stockings: Oroblu
Light brown brouges: Vagabond

I was so tired of the cold one day that I thought I would try to dress the winter away. And I was actually going to shoot these photos at the tropical garden (wich is very close to where I live) but it was closed so that will have to wait for another time! 

Instead I chose to show you a little part of the botanical gardens that are so typical for Uppsala. It was founded by Carl von Linné (1707-1778) who was a swedish botanist and who was one of the greatest in his time. He was pioneering in categorizing plants and animals and has left a big mark on Uppsala where he worked as a professor and also founded gardens for study and collecting. 

Well, now you can see his name on basically everything from candy to cafées and furniture here in Uppsala. A couple of years ago we had a jubilée of some sort and you could run into local actors portraying Linné and his gang all over town. 

So, I may not be so fascinated with him or with some of his work but I do love to visit the gardens during every season of the year. When you live in the city there is not many places to relax and this is one of mine. In summer time I go here with some picnic-food to sunbathe and read a book, in autumn I visit the small fairs they have where farmers sell their locally and ecologically produced commodities, In spring you can see the snow melt away and the first little flowers appearing and in winter, well, in winter most of it is covered in snow.

 The cold and white snow gives the gardens a harder and more rough edge where the big stones covered in moss, the red metallic sculpture and the high and dense winter trees takes center stage. In some sense it's quite saddening but the feeling of everything resting under the covering snow and how all that energy will start to evolve when the sun returns with spring still gives it a sense of hope. 

With that in mind I thought I would wear my beloved parrotskirt and one of my more colourful outfits, just to remind myself that spring is coming, soon.

Ps! If you want to see how the gardens look in summertime, check out this post that I did this summer!

I will have me some pastels, pretty please (with sugar on top)!

When I buy things I usually end up realizing that I'm in to a certain colour scheme. The past months it has been all pastels, dusty pink, minty blue and all summery! I guess I am missing spring even more then I give myself credit for (If that's even possible!). Any who, I thought I would share some of my more recent purchases!  

Cute little pins from Modern Girl Blitz, I bought a bunch and gave some away as small christmas presents, but these two I kept for myself.

Freshly cut flowers is my one weakness, I live right next to a flower shop and it's hard not to brighten up the day with some lovely flowers. I thought these pretty ladies suited my kitchen very well!

A toothbrush with cupcakes! I don't know if it's plain crazy since sugary cupcakes isn't the best thing for your teeth or if it is meant as precaution images. Either way it was so weird that I had to buy it! 

This lovely calendar with it's amazing print I found at a book shop in december. Since then it has been waiting on my desk until now. It has a solid place in my handbag and the little pink pen was an absolute must! It's the perfect size to carry with you.

This gorgeous hat from Poppycock Vintage is just waiting for the sun to come out and I think it will suit so many dresses! Right now it's resting on a bureau in my bedroom and now and then I put it on for a twirl or two around my small apartment!
 (You should definitely check out Poppycock if you are looking for some fantastic headpieces, this woman has an amazing selection of vintage hats! I almost think that I have to do a post about her wonderful etsy shop soon.)

I found this little sugarcup at an antique store. It is just on the border of being too much but I could not pass it up, even though a sugarbowl isn't exactly what I'm in desperate need of. Instead I think I will keep my brooches in it or maybe some candy as a secret candy stash! 

And finally, an fabulous angora cardigan that I found for half price of the sale price! It is a little bigger then I like my cardigans to be but it's ever so soft and warm! Another con is that it looks amazing paired with my vintage 50's cigarette pants (which you can see here) but the fabric of the pants really sucks up all loose hairs from the cardigan. After a while it looked like I have a very friendly and hairy pink cat at home that likes to roll around in my wardrobe.

Well these are the colours I'm in to now but I'm almost sure this will change, in a while I will probably be looking for electric hues and spring shouting fabrics! But in the mean time I can't wait for a certain minty parcel that is waiting for me at the post office! 

Rocky road nails

Because of the cold I have been finding myself small projects to do inside. The latest thing I've been dabbling with is nail art! At work I'm not allowed to wear anything that sticks out so instead I try to use my nails and my hair to still show some personality! I have posted some pictures on Instagram (where my name is simonastreet) but I thought I write down the "recipe" here so you can try it at home if you want to.

First, I bought these amazing nailstickers from ebay. I found them trough The Dainty Squid who always has the most beautiful nailart. (If you want some wonderful inspiration you should check out her "Weekly nail" posts.) And you can read more about the stickers in her blogpost.

So here are the nail polishes that I used. From right: China Glaze "Life preserver", O.P.I. "Malaga wine", O.P.I "Servin' up sparkle".

I started by painting my nails with the China glaze polish and then waited until it had dried. I would recommend that you do your nails in steps because it's very important that every layer is really dry before you put on the stickers. So for example I can do the first coat of colour on the evening and next morning I will do the second one. 

When the first layer was dry I used the stickers and placed them on the middle of my nails. Depending on wich way you place them the triangel either has it's base at your cuticles or at your nailtips. They are quite sticky so I usually try and rub off some of the glue so that the sticker dosen't chip the first layer. Then I used O.P.I. "Malaga wine" for the second layer (wich turned almost marron because of the orange colour underneath. It's just like painting, the colours react to each other.)

To top it of I used the O.P.I. "Servin' up sparkle" laquer just to give it an extra sparkle and to even it out. You could also just use a clear top coat for a more refined result. Here are some of the pictures I've posted on Instagram, I'm usually to restless to do more then two colours! Haha!

And, that's it!
If you don't have the stickers and want to try this straight away, you can also use scotch tape. Hope you got some inspiration to decorate your nails!

Ordinary winters day

So, for the past week I have been sick. And let me tell ya, it's quite boring! At first I tried to do some small stuff around the apartment, like cleaning it up a bit. But no, my energy reserve has been down to zero so the only thing I've had the energy to do is lying in my bed and watch things on my new computer. At the moment I'm starting to get a little bit better but I will stay home a little while longer just to make sure that I'm healthy. The worst thing I know is being a little bit sick for weeks. And that tends to happen to me when I don't listen to my body and start working to early. Guess I have to be bored for a while longer. 

Any who, thought I would share these photos with you guys. These were taken on one of the coldest winter days a couple of weeks ago and I'm actually wearing double (!) cardigans underneath. And it was still a bit too cold..This is how I tend to look on an average day right now. Due to the cold I always wear my doc's (which have the perfect sole for cold weather! I think the sole is very important since much of the cold comes from what you are standing on, speaking as a swede with family ties in the far north, hrm hrm.), my beret, and on top of that my handmade scarf that I love and got as a birthday gift when I turned 24, it's super warm!

As you might guess it is quite hard to be creative with what you wear since the weather isn't really cooperating with me. I even have to wear super warm pieces underneath or I would freeze to ice. 

I'm really missing spring and I really want it to arrive soon!

7 quickies!

Loved this little post that I saw at Karins Konstgrepp. Thought I would steal the idea!

Mood: restless 

Cardigan: cozy

Ring: birthday present from Anna

Have: to much on my mind

Will: try to get out of bed

Want to: go back to Paris

Thinks: that I should practice my french 

Peacocks stays inside when it's winter

Outfit details:

Vintage 50's snowflake shaped earclips: Mae Jean Vintage

Red lipstick: "Stunning matte", Face

Vintage 70's blouse with peacock print: Standard Vintage

Vintage black 50's cigarette pants: thrifted

So, over here it's freezing cold! That's why I haven't posted any outfit posts in a while. It's so cold that even if I think its boring I tend to go for my warmest winter jacket from Filippa K and early in the morning I even wear my super warm pants that actually are made for skiing. Off course I try to wear some more interesting stuff underneath but it's so cold that I can't wear stockings and if I'm honest my pants collection isn't very big. It was years since I wore a par of jeans! 

On top of it all it's also pitch black. Right now it's six o'clock and it looks like the middle of the night outside. You would think that I should be use to this (being born and raised in Sweden and with family ties to the far north) but every year I long for summer.

To survive the cold I tend to find small projects for myself to do inside. I recently finished off this lamp by buying three different coloured lampshades. I've been framing some pictures, playing my ukulele (ironically), making videoclips, painting my nails, drawing, drinking huge amounts of tea, contemplating making my own three day truffles, playing with my hair and so on and so on. 

But finally I had to dress up and venture out to a party since my dear friend Sara is back from Chili (wrote a post about it here) and I thought I'd share my outfit with you! This blouse is one of my favorite pieces since it's so light, comfortable, classic and a still bit different with the peacock print and collar. But I still had to wear my warmest jacket, a big hand stitched scarf and warm leather gloves on my way to the party, just so I wouldn't freeze into an ice sculpture on my way there! 

Ah, costume dramas!

One of my more timeconsuming interests is watching movies and tv. I can't tell you how much I love to find new series that I haven't seen and then just "binge watch" and se all the episodes in a short amount of time! Also, I tend to go for different types of genres depending on mood but I am always a big lover of costume dramas (a term that I use loosely for movies and tv-series that depicts older time periods and who's stories usually consists of love, war and betrayal). Both old and new ones and also good and bad ones! Now that it is january wich in Sweden is one of the most boring months I thought I'd make you guys a little list with tips of some of the tv series I've seen recently. Remember though that I comment these series according their genre.

 Maybe you have already seen them? Tell me what you think! And if you haven't, please do and get back to me!

(Links to the pictures is embedded in the photos.)     

The Forsyte saga:

Costume excess! Can't tell you how many gorgeous pieces the caracters are wearing! One of my favorites is an amazing dress with coloured fur that Irene Forsyte wears in Paris. Also, it has all the things a classic drama should have. Love, deception, family feuds, sorrow, guilt, antagonists..you know, the whole shebang! The Forsyte saga spreads over a number of years (1870-1920) and you get to follow the upper-middle-class british family Forsyte as they grow up and then have kids of their own. I must say that the story sometimes feels a little bit too predicdable but in some ways that is part of the genre. Best performance is definitly by Damien Lewis who plays Soames Forsyte. I just love the way he uses his bodylanguage and how it gradually changes as he get's older and .

Lost in Austen:

Perfect to watch a sunday afternoon when there isn't much to do. This cozy mini-series is about Amanda who loves Jane Austen and in particular her book "Pride and Prejudice". She has read it numerous of times and knows the story by heart when she suddenly has the (un)welcome oppurtunity to visit and live in the world of Austen. You wont find amazing costumes in this one, the clothes are quite low key and I couldn't help getting annoyed with Amanda who trough the whole series has her hair down in a "modern" haircut when that would be the easiest part for her to change. Well, small potatoes. This isn't breathtaking but definitly reliable and warm, the story putters along through the episodes and sometimes that's just what you need.

Land Girls:

Not at all as glamorous as The Forsyte saga but instead heartwarming and nice. This is a story about four women who for different reasons joins the Women's Land Army during world war II. They come to work at the Pasture farm that is a part of the Hoxley estate where you also find Lord and Lady Hoxley. And even if the story is set at the English countryside the war is very present and defines the characters life's. The most glamorous of the four is Nancy Morell who wears big victory rolls and comes in to question due to her italian heritage. But my favorite is the goodhearted Joyce Fisher who works hard at the farm when her husband is off fighting for the country. If you want to see something that isn't too dramatic but still to depicts historic events in a different way, this is perfect!

Upstairs Downstairs:

Hair (and clothes) envy! This beautiful little series is about Sir Hallam Holland and his wife lady Agnes who in the 1930's moves in to 165 Eaton place in London. Wich is where the Bellamy family lived in the older "Upstairs, Downstairs" from the 70's. The series starts with them settling in and finding the staff that is needed to keep such an household a float. Then we follow both the "downstairs" family, the cook, butler, servants and so on and of course the "upstairs" family who gets thrown into the political prelude of the second world war due to Sir Hollands diplomatic work. The series covers both the smaller matters of living together under these conditions to bigger problems as how to cope with war and choosing sides. The best dressers are definitely lady Agnes and also her restless sister lady Persie who later joins them at the house. In it's genre the story is good and I love that nobody is portraid as perfect, in that sense, the characters are human.

Hope you found something new to watch!