| ZARA mini collection editorial AW2015 |

Yes, my life is ruled by baby stuff now...sigh...
At least it's cute stuff!

styling: April and May

photography: Beeldsteil
via: ZARA

| to sleep like a baby |

This post is a small but very needed rant of a sleep deprived new (5 months) mother...

Some weeks back (I don't know when, time is a blur) I returned to blogging after having had my baby boy. I told you he was sleeping 7 straight hours a night and that allowed me proper rest and some surplus of energy to work on my blog. Well....Jinxed! Just a few days after that he went into a sleep regression and started waking up every 45 minutes...

And so my husband and I are back to feeling like zombies...dragging ourselves through the days... happy with the little one, obviously (he is actually a little angel in all other aspects), but so damned exhausted! We have some better nights, and some really horrific ones. Like when there's so much tossing and turning that we stay awake anxiously just waiting for that moment when he loses his pacifier and starts screaming.

So seriously, who was the genius that thought that "to sleep like a baby"should be synonym of sleeping well?!?! The expression should be "to sleep without a baby"!

photo by April and May

photo via EEF lillemor

photo via ByNord

photo by Kjerstislykke

Why I've Been Away + Baby Wall

Exactly 3 months ago, I went through the most horrible and traumatizing experience with the best and most wonderful result - I became a mother for the first time (and probably last, at least while I remember the process). My brain has been mushy, most of the days are just a blurry memory, I've been in a huge amount of pain, sleep deprived and my house is chaotic (at any given time we have about 10 cloth diapers spread strategically place around the house).

I couldn't trust myself to have a coherent thought let alone write a coherent post.

But a few days ago things started to get better. My son, has been sleeping seven straight hours a night, which contributed immensely to mine and my husband's sanity. And I recovered from most of the crap - apologies for the language - that afflicted me after the birth (if I believed in such things I would swear I'd been cursed).

 So I wanted to make this post, to let all my readers now that I intend to come back and hopefully restart sharing regularly some inspiring images, beautiful interiors and delicious recipes. At least as much as my little Viking allows me to.

And since I'm here, I leave you some photos of the gallery wall I'm building for him. He sleeps facing the wall so I try to put up some images to catch his attention, including the lyrics of his favourite lullaby - the baby likes words, and it helps me and my husband because we're too old to memorize it!

photography by | life as a moodboard |

Boy's Room Inspiration | graphic + black and white

If you read my last post, you know I'm expecting my first child - a boy - and that I've been looking for inspiration for his future nursery/room.

One of the styles I'm more fond of is the graphic + black and white room.

I found this example from SISSY+MARLEY (you can see more of their portfolio on Pinterest here) and I'll tell you what I like more and less about it. 

project by SISSY+MARLEY

all images via: Project Nursery

I like the black and white. There!... I can't help it. I'm not a big fan of a lot of colour. I absolutely hate those rooms that are all pink or all blue and everything matches. They give me nightmares and I simply can't have it. I love neutral colours as a canvas, and then yes, then I can introduce some colourful details: with the books, the toys, some clothes...

I don't really like the starts on the wall... to me it's too much. A white wall there, maybe with a frame or a poster, would have been much more to my style. 

I'm also not crazy about some of the pop design elements that we've been seeing spread and repeated till exhaustion in many interior design blogs: like the batman poster or the big Lego head. But once again this is due to my personal taste. I much rather prefer the vintage vibe from the leather trunk dresser.

Now the best part for me, and something that tends to be a theme in black and white children's rooms, is the chalkboard wallpaper. There's just so many things we can do with it, so many inventive and fun ways to use it that I'm 100% sure that that will be part of my little Matheus' room.

It's a Boy! | Looking for Inspiration

Three weeks ago we found out the gender of the baby we are expecting. And just in case the tittle of this post didn't give it away...It's a boy!

I can honestly say I had no preference. I wasn't rooting for one or the other and was sure to be very happy either way. And all that was true but I hadn't realised one thing - the last two babies in my family were girls, I'm a girl, I know what girls like, what they dress what they play with and... somehow when I imagined the baby's room I always pictured a girls room! 

So my first thought, as I was lying on the ultrasound table, was that my nephew will be hysterical that I'm having a boy (he really, REALLY, wanted it to be a boy). My second thought was...oh oh, a boy's room...need to figure out a boy's room!

So for the last three weeks I've been immersing myself in baby boy's stuff. I've got some really adorable clothes (one word - overalls!), and have been looking at tons of images on Pinterest  (I have a [ Kids ] board with images both for boys and girls) searching for inspiration for his bedroom.

I narrowed it all down to three styles that I really like: 1. black and white graphic, 2. soft tones nature inspired, and 3. vintage/retro details; all with a Scandinavian feeling. Knowing myself I'll probably end up trying to manage a mix of these three. But I'm planning a series of posts with different examples to explore each type a bit more deeply, and maybe inspire some of my readers. 

image source:

1 | 2 | 3 

Children Room Inspiration | Welcome Madalena!

I'm so happy!

Yesterday, just a bit after midnight, I got two text messages on my phone saying that my new baby niece had "arrived". We weren't expecting her until next week, but the doctor thought it was safer to make the delivery earlier because she hadn't turn into the right position yet. Now I'm all excited and jittery, just waiting for the wonderful technology of smart phones and the internet to allow me to see this beautiful baby even though we have half a continent and part of an ocean between us.

So, for today's post, a girl's bedroom inspiration (Evie's bedroom) from the blog &SUUS (you can see the original posts here and here). I love the freshness of the white and soft pastels mixed with some beautiful vintage details (how adorable is that little mint green chair?). 

Super cute!

all photos by &SUUS

Kids Rooms Inspiration | Kid&Coe

This house isn't in Scandinavia, but it could have been. The light, bright and whimsical style is very similar to many Scandinavian interiors that I have shared here before. 

But this one is in Amsterdam, and it's a house for rent through Kid&Coe. 

Never heard of it? I hadn't either...

I have seen some of these photos on several interior design blogs  and on Pinterest, but only today I actually went and properly checked out where they came from. 

Kid&Coe is a vacation rental website for families...Yes! because people with kids also like to travel. On their website you can find kid friendly homes for rent, all over the world, accompanied by guides and suggestions that intend to make your life simpler and more relaxed when travelling with children.

How great is that?! I for one, think it's wonderful. 

My extended family loves travelling together (yes, we move as a pack), and the kids are always a big concern when it comes to choosing a place to stay. 

all images via: Kid&Coe

spotted on: My Scandinavian Home

Kids Bedroom | creativity in vintage and blue

Who said that a little girl's room must be pink?! 

This girl wanted a blue room and she got it... and it's not less feminine because of it. 

With a sweet romantic and vintage atmosphere, this room is full of great ideas to anyone looking for inspiration on how to decorate a girl's bedroom.

All the furniture is painted white, creating a neutral base that will hardly need any changing as the child grows up.

Blue tape on the white painted floor makes for a fun and imaginative area rug.

Pillows are always a great idea. They can transform a bed into a cosy and inviting sofa during playtime. And just by changing their covers you can have a completely different styled room.

The walls come as a perfect canvas to reflect one's imagination.

The wall board next to the work desk is made of a patchwork of various fabrics and patterns. And a collection of different frames, painted in different shades of blue are perfect to keep the little one's works of art and all sorts of personal mementos.

images source: BoligLiv

photography: Lene Nissen

a child's bedroom with vintage details

Grey and vintage really seem to be making their way into kid's rooms.

And how cute is the little reading nook? ... and easy to make.

all images via

SCANDINAVIAN LIVING | Lilja Löwenhielm

Let's start the weekend with this apartment in tones of grey and soft pinks from the Swedish real estate agency Fantastic Frank 

Designer Lilja Löwenhielm (who designs, amongst others, for IKEA and Asplund) was invited to style it. As a result you can find many of her creations all over the house contributing for a consistent modern and soft atmosphere.

I really love the details in the nursery... especially because I was told today that (it seems like) my brother's baby is going to be a girl! 

image source: Fantastic Frank

Vintage Inspiration | Kids Bedroom

I really like this tendency of decorating kids spaces with a vintage inspiration.

How cute is this bedroom?

A soft neutral background in a warm grey, with cheerful pops of  colour.

Full of personality without going over the top...

images via Bolaget

a moodboard for my brother

I recently got the most wonderful news... my brother will be a daddy for the first time!

Of course I'm over the moon with the idea of having a new baby in the family. And of course I already made my brother promise me that, even though I'm so far away,  he'll let me help with the decoration of the nursery. (that's what web cams are for, right?)

And here's a bit of inspiration for the future parents.

Congratulations you two!

image source: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6