Like magic

Me and Helle went to the mall today to buy a birthday present for my dad, and do a little shopping for ourselves too.
We were gonna go swimming in the harbor too, but we were done with the shopping way too late for that.
Not that the air was cold (it's still not cold outside) but my hair needed to dry before going to my parents' for birthday dinner and there was no time for that.
But we still made time for a latte and a toe-dipping.

My legs in the fairytale water

Helles very athletic toes got in there too

The ugly ass mall, and the harbor bath

The toy cam app is crazy sometimes, right?

Tomorrow morning we're going to Roskilde to meet up with the nice band who decided to give us free passes and hopefully see some great shows.
I doubt i'll be home in time to blog, so maybe i won't be back here until monday.
If that should happen, i hope you'll all have a great weekend with weather just as nice as the weather we've been having here.

I'd write "summer in the city" but the pictures kinda speak for themselves

Summer is here and, unlike last year, it doesn't seem to be in a hurry to get out of here.
As if that wasn't enough, it looks like we'll be going to Roskilde this weekend.
I haven't been in, like, five years and even though it has been a major part of my life, i wasn't planning on going back, ever again.
In fact, i decided a long time ago that i had gotten too old for a whole week of booze, camping in small, hot tents, not showering for days, and standing in line for half an hour to use a filthy portable toilet.

But free passes, possibly including backstage passes (backstage is where they keep the good toilets), for three days?
Driving back home in my parents car every night to sleep in my own bed?
Finally seeing M. Ward play?
Nah, i don't think i'm too old for that yet.

Allans keys, including the one for his bike, are in Germany so we walked to and from work together today

Later i took a walk around one of the other lakes, it was around six and still scalding hot

Look to the left...

... and to the right before crossing, gull traffic is crazy this time of day!

Guest portfolio work outside the shop, it's been a busy but good day (the water is mine, the cigarette is not)

Best

Happy dog, thirsty dog, good dog

Down by the water

It's hot in Copenhagen today.
Damn hot.
A little humid too.
I'm not complaining (although that is the way of the Danes), just thought i'd mention it.
Damn hot.
Especially inside our tiny non-air conditioned shop.

So i was happy that i'd made plans to finally go see Helle's new place and hang out with her and Fie for some coffee and cake.
I didn't get much work done before heading out to see the girls (ouch, guilt) cause one of our clients, Franny, who we haven't seen in a long time, dropped by and we started chatting.
Anyway, around three i jumped on my more-crappy-than-ever green bike and headed for Christianshavn.

Cph in the summer

I sometimes wish i was a tourist here

When i got there Fie was already working her way through several bags of baby clothes (boy or girl, what do you think?)

Calvin was chillin' and eating cherries

Baby feet, it's normal to wanna put them in your mouth, or so i've heard

Mom magazines, not all Fies cup of tea, but some did offer good advice on... all that stuff i know nothing about

Lucifer was exhausted from protecting all his new people

And the heat was a bit too much for him too

Damn straight
Calvin is just the happiest kid

A picture of me and the nose licker from Helles secret blog

And one more of me and Calvin having a staring contest, it got a little too intense for Lucifer as you can tell

I may already have told you this, but Helle is someone i used to be really tight with years ago, and then we didn't talk for years, before recently reconnecting.
The same thing kinda happened with Fie, a childhood friend, who i've seen occationally over the years but haven't hung out with much.

And now they're two of the people i talk to the most, but since it's mostly via blogs and networking sites, it was pretty great hanging out with both girls in real life, drinking coffee and eating cherries.
And watermelon.
And cake.
Oh, and Helles new apartment was huge and amazing.
Little jealous.

One the way home, crossing the bridge

Clouds and the people who hug them

Ever wanted to be a model?
Yeah, me neither.
And i'm sure Allan and Lucifer feels the same.
Nevertheless, modeling is exactly what we all did today.

See, there's this guy who's doing a book on tattooing in Denmark, past and present.
He's been doing portraits of danish tattooers for the book for a while now and Allans portrait was the last one he needed.
He also needed a portrait of a client for each tattooer, and because i'm always around, Allan picked me.
I know, nothing makes a girl feel more special than convenience!
So today we went to Nørrebro to have our picture taken.

The garage where we did the shoot had the cutest pin up toilet
Instant coffee in a pretty cup

Yeah, so Allan had to take his shirt off (no, we weren't tricked, there really is a tattoo book!)

The studio/garage

We walked by this on the way out, seeing a place like this in Copenhagen gave me hope

I was photographed from the waist up (carrying Lucifer, fun!) so the skirt and shoes where just for my leg loving husband

We stopped at a café on the way home for some lunch

And we also stopped at a pet store where we bought a whole bag of Lucifers favorite snack, the Beefstick

When we got home Nick came over.
He had a late birthday present for the both of us, and although i wasn't surprised to get a pretty painting, after all it is what he does, i was totally surprised to find that we were getting this particular painting.
It was the Cloudhugger, one of my all time favorites.
And he even customized and gotten it framed for us... so pretty.
It's hanging in a temporary spot right now, just until i've had a chance to move a screw or two, but it stays in the living room.

Looking at this every day is gonna make me very happy, thanks Nick!

Count to ten

Something happened this evening (nothing serious or bad, so don't worry) that completely stressed me out.
I don't know if you're the same way, but some days i'm just a rock and some days it takes nothing to throw me off balance.
And no, it's not a hormonal thing.
Today is one of those type two days, and i'm a mess.

When something stresses me out i either go into problem solving mode or fetal position mode and today i decided to try and solve my problem right away.
And to further speed up the process of calming the fuck down, i also downloaded four (!) free zen apps for the iPhone, and made myself a zen salad!*
I think it's starting to work, actually.

Salad and flowers, a treehuggers guide to relaxation

*Zen salad:

Baby lettuce leaves
Apples
Feta cheese
Tomatoes
Red snack pepper
Celery
Hard boiled eggs
Something made from mushrooms that pretends to be chicken
And honey mustard dressing
All organic, except for the dressing.

Sightseeing and southern German cuisine

Last day in Hamburg.
Sascha and Anki left for their honeymoon pretty early, and we spent our day with some of our other German friends, Chriss and Silvie.
We basically just hung out and ate our way though the city, just the way we like our saturdays.

Convention banner planning and food ordering

A cake and a half (not for me though, i had lunch instead)

This is where we went for dinner, the weather was still warm so we sat outside

We had flammkuchen, a German pizzalike specialty i'd never even heard of before

Delicious (Betty, try this the next time you're in Germany, it might change your mind about German food!)

Why yes, i do take requests

By popular demand (= one reader asked for it), more pictures from the apartment of our Hamburg homies:

This room has the most amazing ceiling

This one has a deer

Antlers in here too (and y'all know i love antlers)

Another deer, this one not quite as real, but cute nonetheless

Mouse & Mole

Fancy egg

A little krishna lookin' fella

Pretty kitchen tiles

The streets are yours

Don't forget to decorate them!

Happy endings

Herr und frau Kampmeyer got married at the Museum of Ethnology in Hamburg on friday.
I have no pictures of the actual ceremony cause the room they got married in was too damn dark for pictures.
It would have been great though, since they did get married in an authentic maori hut.
No, really.

Sascha was a little nervous, but in a good way

His best man was a little tired and his hair was still wet

I felt a little weird about being all dressed up this early in the morning, but i got over that fast (i do like dressing up you know)

My nails weren't perfect, but they matched the flowers and shoes

The car the bride arrived in

Seeing his future bride seemed to make all Saschas worries disappear

I'm sure you can see why, she looked lovely

The ceremony was long and in German, but i think it went well (my German isn't that great), this is taken right after we came out for some champagne in the lobby

Me and Allan gettting ready for our close-up at Ankis parents house where the party was at, after picking up Lucifer at the apartment of course

Trying to strike an appropriate pose, failing

Lucifer was a good boy and chilled in his bag most of the time

Mmmm, dessert...

I can haz Panna cotta?

Ah, L'Amour!

We stayed at the house overnight, and had some yummy breakfast before heading back to the apartment

How cute is German porcelain?

Some of the neighbors kids came by to congratulate, and show us this awesome frog they'd caught

I don't go to many weddings, so i haven't got much to compare this one too, but i had a great time, and i think it was exactly the kind of wedding our friends had dreamed of; romantic and intimate, but with lots of friends and family there too.

Right now they are at a bed and breakfast somewhere in Germany , finally getting some much deserved alone time.
Have fun you guys, i think you're gonna like married life a lot!

Last night on the couch (for now)

I'd much rather be posting some of the pictures i took today (or pictures from the wedding) but it's late, we just got back home from a day out in Hamburg and we're leaving at nine tomorrow morning.
From the station, not the apartment.
So i should just get some sleep now, is what i should do.
So here are some already edited pictures from Allans birthday.

Outside an interesting little shop

You never know when you're gonna need one of these, for displaying your shoes maybe?

At a nice little café on that same street

Allan had some birthday cake

And i had a cappuccino

Saschas sick ass wolf patch

It rained a lot during the day, the light drizzle kind that somehow gets you more wet than real rain

This was at night outside the venue where we saw Valient Thorr play (they were awesome by the way)

More, much more, tomorrow when we're back home in DK.

Love love

Lots of Hamburg blogging tomorrow, today is all about Sascha and Anki's wedding (the future Mrs. is in the work room getting her hair done, the Mr. just groomed his mustache and put on some Kiss).

Hamburg Love

At another home

The soon to be newlyweds

Their apartment is full of weird and wonderful things

And purty paintings

Cop Rody?

At midnight Allan got a birthday muffin

And this morning the boys bought flowers for me and Anki

Today is Allans birthday, so send him some love from where ever you are.
Tillykke baby, jeg elsker dig!

Hamburg by train and boat

You'll be happy (i hope) to know that we, including Lucifer, made it to Germany without getting busted.
Yay!
There wasn't even any border police on the train, so we had nothing to worry about.

Our nice, but slightly annoying, swedish neighbors on the train (when you're doing crossword puzzles, do them solo, and when you're doing stitching, count inside your head!)

I hate, hate, hate sailing, but at least it was quick and the weather was nice

Ferry food however is not nice, it's disgusting

And of course Allan bought the most gross thing on the menu

Lucifer had to wait on the floor while we ate, and he was not too happy about that

But on the train he could just lounge in the sun, so even though it was a long trip, i think he had an ok time

Off we go

Almost ready.
Allan is finishing the wedding gift and i'm packing.
It's gonna be nice to travel by train, i'm so sick of airports, airport security and airport staff.
Anything airport related really.

One problem though.
Lucifer's vaccine is not completely up to date, so if we get busted at the border, they might send us back.
I was ready to send him home to Mai for a small vacation, but the birthday boy (Allan's birthday is tomorrow) decided that we should risk it and bring him along.
So keep your fingers crossed y'all, i really don't wanna take this trip three times.

I decided on the floral dress by the way, but i still packed the casual one, in case the weather is crazy hot like yesterday.
And i even managed, although i was feeling sick and stressed last night, to make a matching headband to go with my outfit before going to bed.
Last minute hat making is becoming a thing.
So is last minute blogging i guess.

Next post will be from beautiful (is it? i haven't been there in like 10 years) Hamburg.
Later!

Das garderobe dilemma

Today i actually had some time to go shopping for a dress, but i decided against it.
I have so many dressed that i never wear cause i don't go out and get hammered with the rest of Copenhagen every weekend, and i really should wear one of them.

So earlier today i tried on some stuff, and i think i've narrowed it down to three candidates.
I'm gonna think about it some more, still haven't decided on accessories either, but in the end i'm probably just gonna go with whatever matches Allan's outfit best.

Pictures are from this morning, so please excuse the wet hair and no makeup look.

Dress with puffy sleeves and japanese flowers from Tokyo, advantage: goes well with most comfortable shoes (and maybe matching nails?)

I think it's cute with these shoes as well, and it has pockets, which i love

Dress from h&m in Malmö, i don't really feel like wearing something sleeveless, but it looks cute with this vintage cardigan

Pro: it does a cute little shimmy thing, con: it will get caught on everything even slightly hook-shaped

Casual dress in a raw silky fabric from Lowry's Farm in Japan, green AA top and chunky green shoes

Again, pockets are great cause i get all nervous and awkward at parties, and since i quit smoking i never know what to do with my hands

In a surprising turn of events, Allan just came in and somehow managed to dump a large latte (mine, sadly) all over the table, floor, wall, chair and my computer.
But we've cleaned up the mess now, and my computer seems fine, phew.
I'm usually the champion of clumsy around here, but i guess Allan decided to challenge me for the title.
Well played Allan, but you're still no match for me and my sublime klutz skills.

Home is where all my crap is

My apartment can look nice, just not when i try to take pictures of it.
But see what happens when someone who actually knows what they're doing gives it a go.
Good stuff.

Ambush

When me and Lucifer came back home, from a long ass day at the shop, the black cat was waiting for us in the back yard.
It attacked Lucifer several times, without actually hurting him, and he immediately went into his grazing cow routine.
It just doesn't get old.
But they kind of said hi to each other this time, so they might still become friends.

This morning i waited for about an hour in a doctors waiting room, before finally coming in for my seven minute consultation.
I'm not even sure if she was paying attention to what i was saying, or if she was just playing solitaire on her freakishly small laptop.
Hey, at least it's free, right?

Rådhuspladsen, on my way to the doctor

After that wonderful and uplifting experience, i went to Illum, a department store, to get me a dress for Sascha and Anki's wedding.
Did i mention that we're going to a wedding in Germany this week?
Maybe not...
Anyway, there was a sale going on, but i still came prepared to throw some serious cash at whatever store that had a cute dress for me, but did i find anything?
No, no i did not.
There's still tomorrow i guess, but if i can't find anything i'm just gonna have to find something in the closet (the horror!) and i may need your help with that.

But first, pictures from a lovely sunday afternoon.

We went for a walk

With good coffee (and my new dress)

And tested if the camera was good for this classic shot (and i think it is)

Later i went for a quick visit at my grandfathers with my mom, and before going to see him, me and Lucifer went for a walk in the park

Score

Presents!
I wasn't really expecting any, but i certainly always appreciate them.

Pretty blue dress, purple panties, nail polish, vintage bracelet, holy hand grenades and bath stuff You can never go wrong with a box of organic goodies

Vintage scarf, hair combs and a bow

Pretty lace and the cutest earrings ever

Café latte cups

An innocent little bunny?

Or a terrifying rabbit with big... pointy... teeth...

LOVE Neil Gaiman

So much good stuff.
And my mom and dad brought me their old kitchen machine which i'm sure will come in very handy if i should ever attempt to bake again.

Baby boy

Yesterday, signature pose

Today, enjoying the sun

Birthday bonanza

I can never really decide what i want to do for my birthday.
Last years birthday started out great, but ended out being kind of a downer with Lucifer being sick so we couldn't do any of the things we'd planned.

But this year i think i got it right: invite the people you actually want to hang out with (regardless of whether they know each other or not), eat lots of cake and watch Tom Cruise movies from the 80's.
Yeah, that works for me.

My sneaky husband bought me a new mini camera in California (i can finally stop whining about breaking my Ixy) and some Joss Whedon goodness

The first picture i took with the new camera was not a very good one (that's Jacob on the right, he'd crashed on the couch the night before, but unfortunately couldn't stick around for cake)
Helle tested my new camera (from a very unflattering angle)

Allan made me a real birthday cake, Fie and Henrik offered moral support and good advice

Bananas, strawberries, pineapple and lots of cake- and whipped cream

The icing got a little runny, but look at it, it's beautiful!

Young brought old fashioned apple cake, yum!
She does cake well, even with a hangover

I baked too, white chocolate and cranberry cookies (no, really, i did)

Mai and Masumi dropped by after work

Helle, Christel, Martin and Fie's very pregnant belly!

Apple cake

... three seconds later

After the cake it was time for chips and a movie

Top Gun, even more awesome than i remembered!

Lucifer tried to steal my spot on the fatboy

My parents came around 8 or 9, just in time to watch Cocktail.
I made some pretty sweet pizzas too, but i forgot to take any pictures of them.
And also of Nick and Wookie, who was there too!

My mom in her pretty new dress

After the second movie Allan, me, Nick, Young and Wookie where the only ones left.
We went to 7-11 and bough ice cream (who would have though our stomachs had room for more? not me...) and watched Hot Rod.
I fell asleep towards the end but i did wake up for the epic riot scene.

One last picture before i went to bed

Thanks to everyone who came over, you guys made it a great birthday.
I almost forgot how friggin old i am!

Vampir

We're four episodes into True Blood, and so far i like it a lot.
But i am a sucker (no pun intended) for the supernatural.

And we've been watching too much Medium lately, so it's good to have a new potential addiction.
I like Medium, but most episodes are the same, you know.
Like Matlock.
Same, but different.

Oh, and i completely forgot to mention this cause i was so pissed at United Airlines: We saw another celeb at LAX.
Or at least i'm fairly sure it was him.
It's like once you get started they just keep on coming.
So, this dude, who was one Beverly Hills 90210 (the original series) stood in front of us at the security check.
It wasn't the kind of situation where you stop someone and ask for pictures and stuff (although he looked nice and might have done it too) but it was still pretty sweet seeing someone who was one Bev.

Oh crap, it's late, gotta sleep now.

For those about to...

Ok, enough with the busy-ness and the non-blogging!
I want things back to normal.*

I've been cleaning up the dusty, messy apres-travel apartment all day.
Like, really, all day.
I've only taken a lunch break and now, finally, a break for dinner.
I had no idea it was gonna take this long, i'd planned to go to work sometime in the afternoon, but that obviously didn't happen.
And i didn't even get to wash the floors, so it must have been bad.

This morning on his way to work Allan bought movies so now, with that done and the apartment looking halfway decent, i'm actually feeling good about tomorrow.
I may even attempt... wait for it... to bake!
Yes.
But remember, i ruined soup, so it may not happen at all.

Oh, and the headline?
No, it's not just about me and my birthday.
AC/DC played Copenhagen this evening, and it was pretty much impossible to get tickets.
But i hope the lucky ones out there had a great show (and that it didn't rain on their side of town, cause it sure did on my side).

A very light non-tv dinner

If the baking thing happens, it will involve white chocolate

Lucifer has been in a weird mood all day, but i still love spending the whole day with him at home

My new shoes, bought them at Whole Foods, they're so damn comfy

*And i want my old camera back too.
Today i missed an amazing snail photo op, cause i don't carry around the G9 brick on walks.
Dang it.

Phew, we're back alright

Worked till 10 pm.
Cleaned tubes, shopped for and ordered supplies, cleaned the kitchen (home of the new and fancy coffee machine), answered about a gazillion emails, booked appointments, talked to a bunch of walk ins and went though about 5 out of 11 pages of friend requests on the shop myspace.
I am beat.
My jetlag is still alive and well by the way, and it has a new friend to keep it company, my sore throat.
Yeah, i'm just tons of fun today.

But besides being tired (so tired i managed to ruin soup, instant soup from a jar that is) i'm alright with being back.
Although i do miss the days when this was all i had planned:

Drinking ice blended coffee and reading magazines outside The Coffee Bean on Seventeenth St.

The sky looked all crazy on the way home, i do love that summer nights here never get really dark

Ps. Remember when birthdays were something you'd look forward to for weeks, even months?
My birthday is in two days and i'm feeling... not much.

She misses California

Back home, after a long and kinda hellish trip.
I'm not even gonna bitch about it, but i will say this: i am never flying United again.

The sun was shining in Copenhagen, and my dad picked us up at the airport.
After we'd unloaded all of our crap in the apartment, we went over to my parents place to get reunited with our little boy.
He seemed as happy to see us as we were to see him, if that's even possible.
I love that little guy.
My mom had prepared some food and we ate and did some catching up before going back home for a four hour nap on the couch.

I am so jetlagged right now, more than usual.
And my head hurts.
Ugh.
Oh well, here are a few shots from our last day in California.
We had planned to go to LA that day, but Allan caught a cold and wasn't feeling good, so we ended up staying in the OC instead.

We went to The Lab, ate at Gypsy Den and hung out in the sun

I look retarded, but Allan looks cute

My nails were still a little wet

Candy apple red

We went to the art supply store for paper... and sodas

And to Target for more nail polish (two kinds of coral, i can't seem to get enough of that color these days)

At Borders, where the so so famous Allan can be found (in the men's interest section?)

At dinner with the whole gang, and then some

Holding your girlfriends leftover salad is the new holding your girlfriends purse, or something like that

I'm gonna go try and sleep off this headache, that i most likely got from sleeping too much.
Sound like a good plan?