Ecco, Lego, B&O, Eva Trio, Royal Copenhagen – I guess you have heard the names before. Danish design has a great reputation in large parts of the world. It started in the 1950ies with pioneer designers such as Hans Wegner, Børge Mogensen, Georg Jensen and Arne Jacobsen, taking Danish design outside of Denmark’s borders. Their […]
Marathon of memories
07/09/2014 by Leave a Comment
When you’re an expat, you need to come back to places of good memories: Walk the streets of the city love of your life, slightly puzzled that people keep smiling at you then realising you have this constant, possibly goofy, smile on your face yourself that you somehow can’t wipe off. The same streets you trotted […]
Am I going to have a heart attack doctor??
14/08/2014 by 1 Comment
It is funny, but nobody ever asks me that question. Doctors love to talk about cardiovascular risk (i.e. your risk of having a heart attack or a stroke). Patients often get very upset if their cholesterol is a little bit out of range, or their blood pressure is too high, but patients and doctors are […]
DIY: Zesty summer
06/08/2014 by Leave a Comment
Like many others, I like to spend summer somewhere warm, and most of my summers are spent in Spain, which often means long hot days with sand, salty water and insects. So to make sure I always have my drink clean and cold, I went to the local shop and bought some jars with nice lids. I […]
DIY: Bedroom facelift
11/07/2014 by Leave a Comment
Is your bedroom bland and simple and in need of a face lift? Here are two quick and easy DIY’s: 1) Buy a piece of fabric (I bought one at Ikea that looks like old, weathered plank) and simply nail it to the wall with small, black nails. 2) Another easy way to zest up for example the guestroom is to […]
Expat and the City (let’s leave out the S)
03/07/2014 by 2 Comments
When the partially homesick desperate expat wife goes to certain big cities, she might suddenly and surprisingly find herself longing for a new expat experience. In New York for example, she gets all confused, wanting to be Carrie Bradshaw (or at least have her job) instead of Susan, or – God forbid – Charlotte instead […]
Silk and its substitutes: Luxurious practicality or practically luxurious?
30/06/2014 by Leave a Comment
2014 is the year us ladies can actually come up for air. Literally. Tight-tighter-tightest has now left for the outlets and glorious, elegant, body-skimming silk is back by popular demand. Regardless of what price level you shop at, racks everywhere are filled with fluid silhouettes, but very rarely made of actual silk. Manufacturers are promoting […]
Scandinavian breeze
26/06/2014 by Leave a Comment
How about a light Scandinavian breeze in the summer heat? In general, Scandinavian design is characterised by… … a light and pale palette … use of light coloured wood such as pine, spruce and birch … natural materials such as wool, stone and leather … simple design with clean lines … functional furniture There’s a breeze […]
Stroke – act FAST
18/05/2014 by Leave a Comment
We’ve all heard of “heart attacks” but have you heard of a “brain attack”? The National Health Service of the UK had a publicity campaign a few years ago about stroke, where they “rebranded” strokes to try and teach the public that they need to act fast if they suspect somebody is having one.
Expat friendship – or instant family
14/05/2014 by 4 Comments
Recently, a few tricky situations forced me to actually ask for help from someone I had only met about one year ago. And I was immediately offered a helping hand, right then and there, at the moment I needed it the most. After that, I started to ask myself questions about the meaning of the new bonds expatriates create. […]
CLEW 