Welcome to August and an almost regular edition of Stockholm Notes – since we’ll at least be staying in Sweden this time. In the past two editions were devoted more to recapping our trips to Bodrum and Istanbul.
The past three weeks have been spent at our summer house in Österlen, with a quick 24-hour escape in Copenhagen.
Next week, it’s back to reality and the rat race, at least for us adults. We’ll be returning to the office, while my eldest twiddles his thumbs at home until swim team starts again. My middle will be back at Fritids, the subsidised kids after-school program at school, and my toddler will be return to preschool and all her tiny little friends. I won’t lie - I am ready to not be a full time camp counselor anymore.
Today, I thought I’d share a recap of what we’ve been up to for the past few weeks, and if you need a refresher of what a Swedish vacation looks like around the country, you’ll find it here.
While many Swedes spend their summers traveling, either exploring the country or heading abroad, plenty simply take the opportunity to slow all the way down. So I wouldn’t describe our schedule as riveting. Our days have consisted of hanging out on cliffs by the sea, cooking, running errands and hours spent outdoors.
Buckle up, because this post is a long one.
We’ll begin with a recap of the past few weeks, before moving on to four outfits for August, my CPHFW takeaways, a few favorites from the upcoming collections, news from the Scandi bubble and, finally, a wishlist.
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Below was our view in the weeks leading up to the harvest.
As mentioned above, a lot of time was spent in the garden over the past few weeks. My David Austin rose has been thriving, and I’ve planted a few more perennials that I hope will survive my less-than-green-thumb for years to come.
Just as much time, if not more, was spent in the kitchen. If you have kids or have ever had a pre-teen in the house, you’ll know that they eat like wild beasts. My husband and I are lucky if there’s even enough for a second helping.
All joking aside, it’s genuinely so fun now that they are more willing to try new flavors and recipes together with us. But I will not lie that my daughter ate pasta most nights.
The produce down here is bar none better than anything we can find in Stockholm. We have visited Orelund and Gamla Bagariet a couple of times a week. You can find all of our Österlen favorites in my guide here.
Some of the meals on repeat these past weeks (remember, my husband cooks 90% of the meals at home so this is his doing): Swedish pancakes, deb perelman’s strawberry summer cake, this cabbage salad, s’mores Swedish style (we don’t have graham crackers) and this salad. My favorite lunch this month was Max Baroni’s tuna sandwich. I cannot wait to try Max Baroni’s spaghetti pomodoro.
And the best dessert of these past few weeks, as well as a personal triumph? My first pavlova.
Below is what food shopping looks like in Österlen. Oh, how I’ll miss this.
So, what have I been wearing these past few weeks? Mostly the same color palette of navy, stripes, grey, denim and white, and an extremely repetitive rotation of pieces. So repetitive, in fact, that I almost don’t dare show you what I’ve been wearing.
It’s a bit of a yawn, no doubt. There has been no real sense of fashion (plus no makeup) and certainly no outfit planning. I’ve just been dressing according to whatever the day called for: the weather first, followed by mood and comfort, with a side some rain boots and clogs.
To be honest, I wasn’t even going to share the below images, but then Kelly Williams posted her brilliant essay on “BORE”, or Big Outfit Repeating Energy, and suddenly wearing the same five things on repeat felt less like laziness and more like a fashion philosophy. Thank goodness for Kelly.
My most used pieces were:
With Nothing Underneath set – incredibly easy
Knits: J.Crew Rollneck – I wore it several times a week + my v-neck cashmere sweater
Jeans: Levi’s 90s + vintage Levi’s 501s
My husband has the best luck at auctions and recently found this sideboard for us in Denmark. Slowly but surely, the house is beginning to come together. Maybe next time around, we’ll finally hang these pieces of art (also auction finds).
Our trip to Turkey also reignited our love of backgammon, so we’ve spent many evenings playing on the board we bought at the Grand Bazaar during a previous visit, usually while eating the best pita chips from our new bowls.
One of the highlights of the summer has been watching my daughter’s personality truly blossom. After having two boys, we were convinced we’d end up with a calm little girl. Instead, she’s far more like this than anything else, preferably while wearing a princess dress. She’s wild. She’s fearless. And she gives lots of hugs and kisses.
And next week is her 4th birthday! Absolutely. Insane.
I won’t bore you with any more countryside imagery, but I will end this section with one of the rainbows that blew us away this summer.
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Whether you’re returning to the office this week, spending the last of the light evenings out on the town or simply enjoying everything Stockholm has to offer, August has so much going for it. My friend Martina Bode shared some of her favorite Stockholm spots to return to here.
This section is for reader Amanda, who kindly requested collages. Twist my arm. I love putting them together, but I don’t always feel I have a reason to.
So, below are four outfits I’d like to wear in the coming weeks.
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