our city living space

Finally settling in here in our new apartment.  It is hard to believe we have been here a month and a half already!  I wanted to share some before and after shots with you!

Living room before and afters:

The heart picture collage was all my talented hubby.  We had the collage up at the old house and it kind of almost looked like a heart we decided once.  So I went to work one day and came home to Christian's masterpiece. Love it. Love him.  All furniture seen here was stuff we had at the old place.  I would like to eventually replace the dining table with something that expands so we can fit more guests.  For now it works, though!  We have this indent thing in the living room and the bedroom which makes centering things really weird if not impossible.  We could have put the TV stand in there but then our couch chaiselong would be on the wrong side so we just decided to forget it and work with it the best we can.

Because we didn't move our old bookcases with us, we needed some storage system desperately.  We had the TV stand already and decided to spring for the shelving unit here in the same series.  Christian is worried it makes the room feel smaller, and it could be true but it works for now and we can always move pieces around.  Now I just need to work on the organization within the shelves and of course the mess on top. :)  However our ceilings are high so this piece and the one you'll see in the bedroom create instant storage which is good.

PS we get Jon Steward every day at 6:15 pm. :D

Bedroom before and afters:

 

Closets are not standard in Copenhagen apartments.  So it is really no surprise that IKEAs most expensive furniture are their closet systems.  Luckily we got this piece as a wedding present from Christian's dad and Ann.  It fills out our bedroom divet quite nicely.  To the right is the desk and to the left is my giant princess mirror.  On the wall to the left is a pile of boxes and a work in progress.  I hope to replace our tiny dresser there with this piece.  I really want to do the bedroom in a chocolate brown and whites.  The walls of the closet unit are a chocolate brown but you can't really see it.  Slowly on the way.

Here we have the bed with a very wrinkly duvet thanks to our psycho dryer (more on that some other time).  I am not in love with the piece in the corner but it it works for now.  The bedroom window faces the courtyard and even the lowest of conversations echoes straight back into the room.  Christian struggles with it more than I do during the night.  I think I am just used to noises... or just sleep like a bear no matter what.  Maybe I should get him some ear plugs... sexy... haha.

Kitchen before and after:

Just one small pic of the kitchen because it is not that exciting.  We have zero counter space so we are trying to get creative about how to store things in the kitchen.  The curtains cost $8 so it doesn't matter if I can't pull off the polka dots in there after all.  I want to do rich blues in the kitchen but really at the moment there is nothing to decorate, haha.  Hopefully more to come on that.

Where we live:

Thought it was important to give you a view of our street.  The building across from us is really cool looking.  It's not what the outside of our building looks like but its our view that matters more, right? 

The street is relatively quiet.  We are in a very young and diverse neighborhood but in a nicer part of it. It is a 15 minute bike ride into work each day and there are loads of shops within a 2-3 minute walk. We also live really close to friends which is great.

So, now all you need to do is come visit to experience it first hand!  I know it took me forever to post this, or post in general.  Life has a funny way of getting in the way of itself here and there.  :)

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king christian the fourth...

...did a lot of things in Denmark, apparently... if you ask my husband.  Of course, this is his easy cop out as half the Kings in Denmark have been named Christian.  So, he can never really be that far off.

Introducing the master tour guide... aka my grandfather's "Senior Advisor" for their trip.

We did some sight seeing with my grandparents while they were here and I can't tell you how many times  my grandmother asked me what something was or the more popular questions about who built it and when.  I felt like channeling Rachel in Friends when she tells Phoebe all the Pottery Barn furniture is from the days of Yore or Yesteryear.  But because my grandparents are brighter than Phoebe I was grateful for my husband to to answer correctly, or at least with a more believable answer... blah blah blah Christian the 4th.

The visitors may have been fooled but this sequence reveals it all!

Question was probably something like, what is that building over there and who built it?

He clearly has no idea... but yet here comes the explanation of blah blah blah, Christian the 4th.

Note his eyes... they say it all.  Yet, see the listeners... engaged and seemingly satisfied with his answer.

No, I think they all enjoyed raking as much knowledge and sarcasm out of him as possible. Appreciation for sarcasm is key element of this country and especially with the Als.  I think that should be a tip for "before you go..." in Danish tourism books: Be ready for sarcasm and therefore know that you probably missed at least 1/3 of it and therefore you received false and probably ridiculous information.

This is all fine and well, but we all know the end result of whisper down the lane, right?

Now when stories get stretched further via retelling and adding my Grandfather's special twist of humor... it's really no wonder that most people think that Denmark is the capital of Amsterdam.  Too many gullible tourists and sarcastic Danes! Pfft!

But we had a great time, hope my grandparents did too and have read up on some of their books to debunk any lingering questionable explanations!

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and just like that

In just three weeks my life has changed dramatically here in Denmark.  Some milestones, important visitors, a new home, a new life style.  Things change quickly!

My grandparents were here to visit and we had a great time showing them some sights as well as introducing them to the Als family.  It was great to spend some time with them and show them why I find this country a little quirky but how I am also able to call it home!

Speaking of calling Denmark home...  I have done just that for exactly one year as of last Wednesday, June 1st.  Wow a whole year... really?! Oh but how to celebrate???

How about a new apartment in the city?  YAY.  City girl lives again!  This time on a bicycle and not on the Green Line.  Watch out Copenhagen!

Living Room / Dining Room

Many more pictures and anecdotes to come!

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new address book

I never blogged about the present I gave Farmor for her birthday.  I had a ton of fun paper left from making her invitations and an urge to make something homemade.

We discussed getting her an iPad as a group and thought it was such a cool idea for a little while.  We could put her recipes in there, her pictures, phone numbers, etc.  We could even keep her on top of gossip on FB.  However, being honest about it, I think she could learn how to use it but not really learn how to put things in so it would end up sitting amongst several loose papers with phone numbers and recipes, haha.

So! Instead I tried to tackle her falling apart phone book (literally) and make her a new one.  I took pictures of each page of her old one and tried my best to read her hand writing and update addresses from the net.  Sorry, only iPhone pics :)

 

Lots of fun but a time consuming project!  She loves it, though.  However, she's not convinced I copied everything over and still has not completely given up old one that is hanging by a string, haha.

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bit of stress :)

So the past week has been a little stressful.  Sometimes living in a foreign country isn't all sunshine and lollypops.  However, there are pretty flowers here!

But no, basically we found out we have a mold problem in our little old house and that it's really not safe to be living here.  Christian is out flying so bahhh... just a bit of stress.  We have been talking about moving this summer for awhile now anyway but now there is just a sense of urgency.

Apartment hunting in Copenhagen is really not anything like I would expect.  Here is just one of those culture shock things.  To rent an apartment is very competitive and tricky.  Most people buy or buy into co-ops but now that there are many people unable to loan money it makes the renters market even more competitive.  

Firstly, there is no such thing as a realtor for rentals here.  God I hated paying realtor fees back in Boston but at least they did the leg work for you and well with a bit of money you could find a place fairly easily.  So it's a lot of website cruising on our end.  Then you usually have to pay to get the contact information on these apartment listings.  Which is fine, I guess.  Apartments usually go within 1-2 days of being listed... so with Christian gone I can't act fast enough.

The other biggie that we're facing is my stupid residency Visa extension.  I have to be on lease with 3 years minimum from when we apply for my extension (Nov/Dec this year).  These leases are VERY hard to come by.  So yeah bum bum bum what to do what to do.

So just feeling like I'm facing a bit of adversity plus a bit of culture shock at the same time.  Just not able to grab the reins and take control (we know I like control...).

I've calmed down a lot but would still like to get this sorted asap.  Keep you all posted.  I can't wait to be a city girl again!

Last Sunday I made brunch for the family as a Mother's day gift to Christian's mom and grandmother, great success.  At least it received good reviews :)

Menu:

Fruit Salad: blueberries, strawberries, kiwi, bananas, and pears in vanilla yogurt

Scrammbled Egg Bake: 8 large eggs, 6 slices white bread, a bunch of bacon, chopped peppers and onions, bunch of cheddar cheese > sit over night> into the oven at 325F for 45 min

French Toast Bake: 3/4 loaf white bread, 8 large eggs, apple slices, 2 cups milk, cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla, sugar > sit over night> make topping with brown sugar, 2 sticks butter, 2 tbsp corn syrup, cinnamon, nutmeg> into the oven at 325 for 45 min

Breads & Cheese spread

Champagne and strawberries

Delicious food, good company, great weather!

Just really hoping this weather holds out for when my grandparents get here.  It got a little chillier this weekend so fingers crossed!

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