Birthday cakes – The great Nordic bakeoff ? How to make a themed birthday cake for boys and girls

Lets face it, when you have three kids, with three birthdays each year, you're having a birthday party on a pretty regular basis and your kitchen looks like zone at the great bakeoff... I'm more than happy to give my kids a great party and I especially love baking a...

Snow blizzard day

Today has been very snow rich and windy. The weather forecast had warned last week that the weekend was going to be rough in our area us so we made preparations by doing some grocery shopping and cancelled events we had planned. This weekend was going to be a cozy...

Finnsdottir Ceramic Tales,

Have you heard of Finnsdottir Ceramic Tales? Don't worry, I'm not trying to sell you anything (apart from pastel being 'in') since I have no involvement with them. Basically, I'm trying to gear into a lifestyle of only buying stuff that I really want. By that I mean I...

The Year 2015

I know say this every year but I just can't believe how quickly time flies and this year is almost over! 2015 has been particularly nice to us. It started out cold and dark like every January in our region. That's why we hold on to the Christmas lights almost...

Kids clothing

I'm like all moms probably, I love shopping clothes for my kids and looking at baby's and kids clothes styles. What I look for in kids clothing is that they are first and foremost comfortable, made of soft fabrics preferably organic which don't stretch with use, that...

A little nest

Spring always arrives later in Iceland than in other parts of Europe, some say about two months later than central Europe and even later here up north. This impacts both the flora and fauna when the frost doesn't leave the ground till April/May. It's not uncommon for...

Minecraft costumes

A few days ago we celebrated Ash Wednesday. I don't know how or if you celebrate it in your country but in my town here in Akureyri, Iceland it's a grown custom for kids to dress up early in the morning, visit the companies in town and sing a song or two and get candy...

A few tips for successful baking.

If you bake a lot then you probably know this, I wish I had known when I first started, it would have saved me a lot of time and trouble (and some disappointing results too). This goes for most cakes and cookies but ofcourse you should always follow a recipe if its...
Make room

Make room

I've been fairly busy the last weeks, preparing the baptising of our youngest. We had around 80 guests so I was doing some of the baking and organizing till the very last minute. It didn't stop me from turning the apartment upside down at the same time tho.. decided...

Decorations for christmas

Decorations for christmas

When November starts I feel its time to start preparing for the holidays. I'd like to start earlier because the days leading up to Christmas I feel are the most enjoyable, the holidays in itself are enjoyable but there's not nearly as much creativity going. I do love...

Volcano effect

Volcano effect

As you may or may not know, a volcanic eruption started in late August in the Icelandic highlands. Actually it was on my son's 6th birthday August 31st. It's been ongoing ever since and you can actually see it live on webcam here. It hasn't interrupted our lives at...

Best of summer

Best of summer

I did some instagramming this summer. One of my fave pics is this one, my hubby playing around with his bottle of water at our short picnic in east Iceland. The mountains in the back are called "Dyrfjoll" (door mountains) and are the most beautiful in Iceland - in my...

“Home again”

“Home again”

Elton John's new song "Home again" is so beautiful, loaded with longings, full of emotions. The video is very beautiful, the landscape here in Iceland plays a big part in the story as it evolves, somehow primitive like the little boys emotions, the memories. Love it....

‘Tis the season…

‘Tis the season…

Berries! Yes, it is the berries season! In the northern part of Iceland, where I live, the mountains are practically filled with these delicious special type of blueberries called Bilberries. They have a strong flavour, are full of anti-oxidants and vitamins and are...

The latest in Design and crafts in Iceland

The latest in Design and crafts in Iceland

The annual "Arctic handcraft and design" trade show / exhibition was held this weekend in the countryside of my town Akureyri, today being the last day. At the show designers and handicrafters from all over Iceland show and sell their work and the farmers sell their...

That sweet smell of routine.

That sweet smell of routine.

What do I see in front of us? Routine! YES! As much as we desire to have a holiday and go on vacation, staying up late and sleeping in, nothing beats the feeling of the Routine, that silent, stable feeling of knowing what lies ahead of us and PLANNING is actually...

Camping in Iceland

Camping in Iceland

Each summer we go camping somewhere in Iceland. We live on the north coast so our route is either east or west. Most of the time we head east because there's more variety and the landscape is more appealing. Still, we have a lot of places left to visit on the west...

Iceland’s current #1

Iceland’s current #1

This is the #1 song this summer. It's actually a makeover from this song, from 1966. The name "Vor í Vaglaskógi" means "Spring in Vaglaskogur forrest". Vaglaskogur is fairly close to Akureyri on the north side of the country, where we go camping atleast once each...

Sounds like it’s summer

Sounds like it’s summer

Summer is here and everything changes. The white cover that has been dominating our surroundings gradually diminishes and the spring starts to flourish everywhere. The sounds change aswell, birds chirping, motorbikes and lawnmowers make their mark on the summer sounds...

It's always interesting to find people who blog about my town. Simon Turner is an Englishman who lives in Reykjavik and during his visit up north he took some wonderful photographs of my little town that you should take a look at. His blog post is at:...

North Iceland – Local gourmet

North Iceland – Local gourmet

This video was published today. It shows an interesting view of the local food that we usually just call home food but is seen from a foreigners perspective. I'm really proud of it, especially my uncle the bacalao expert who makes the best salted fish in the world....