Confessions of a newbie mother: The travel bug bit my son

The little one's first encounter with the overseas travel bug. He took it quite well, extremely well.

Needless to say that I was a bit nervous about a few things; 4,5 hours flight, the heat, a house full of kids, but the bugbite didn't give him any huge discomfort. Yes his normal sleeping pattern and eating routine were a bit juggled by the new enviroment, but nothing too major to take away his good mood. As a result I think both the little one and his parents will be doing some more traveling in the future.

It is worth mentioning though, that traveling with a baby is of course a lot more work than traveling by yourself. Time management is the key. I've done both scenarios: Stressing and running to the gate (thinking we had loads of time, but managing to forget that checking in extra equipments such as a pram takes a bit longer) and having a little more time on your hand to even manage to pop by the duty free section. I must say that I really prefer the latter one.  And the latter situation happened to be our choice for this trip which work out splendidly.

Once we arrived at our destination, Cyprus, we didn't make any definite plans, cause it's just not possible. You are not really your own boss anymore. The little one pulls all the strings. So didn't get to do my normal sightseeing and sink in all the culture. Instead there were lots of lazy days by the pool, which isn't so bad actually. I got the hang of it, so much that we are probably going back next year.

Our view

The villa

The pack minus hubby

The little family

The lounging area

Paris delights

My brother brought me home a souvenir from Paris and they are my favorite kind.

Material girl

Being more conscious about ones economy is easier when you have a kid, hence banning myself from spur of the moment shopping. I therefore vowed myself that once I got to Stockholm I wouldn't go crazy in the shops. However, being the person that I am, I did end up with a few things. I must say though to my defence that I only bought some key essential pieces and most of them were on sale. So instead of usually causing myself backpains by carrying several shopping bags, I ended up walking the streets of Stockholm painfree.

Here are my faves:

Ray-bans

Printed shirt from By Second female

Skull candle holder from Kosta boda (which by the way is kind of ugly, but pretty if you know what I mean. The hubby was not too please with this purchase. Well, can't please them all.)

The streets of Stockholm...

The travel bug bit me again last weekend. This time around I didn't have to go that far for a cure. The flight led me to Stockholm. The last time I was in the city I only managed to pop by Zara before I left. I was 18 and my main focus was party and shopping, not really interested in the facades, nor trying to explore the off the beaten track of the city.

Stockholm is a lot like Oslo, but so much more. However I haven't quite decided if it's a positive or a negative thing. Sure the city is much more advanced than it's little brother Oslo. It has a vibrant fashion- and art scene. It also has the grand facade of the Old City, something I really wish Oslo had. It gives it a bit of charm. But as day 3 and the last day kept creeping in, I felt like I still hadn't scratch the surface of what Stockholm is. And I can't help but thinking, that maybe this time around, little brother Oslo may just score a bit higher in my book. Believe me, that's quite a rare thing in my book. I don't know, perhaps I just needed to give it a couple of days more and maybe I would share my travel companion's love for the city.....

London love ❤

My annual trip to London came and went a lot quicker than expected. My expectations were high, but I knew that the city would never disappoint me. As always it was exhausting, but wonderful.

I did my best to boost the British economy with my Christmas shopping. Ended with a fair bit of presents  and a whole lot of beauty products for myself. Didn't get to renew my wardrobe this time around, but bought a couple of essentials like a pair of jeans from Topshop.

As always I didn't manage to take that many pictures, although I vowed to myself that this would be the trip where I would kodak every moment.But somehow, I just got preoccupied with something else, like checking the balance of my debit card....

Here are some really random (and the only) pics I took:

A squirrel

Hotel Russell

Laduree

Henrik and I at a pub

Christmas party

Last weekend we were invited to Stavanger by my hubby's company to attend their two-day Christmas event. I was a bit hesitant as I knew logistics would be difficult with a kid. However my worries was a waste of time as it all went pretty smoothly. We stayed at a hotel the whole weekend and our very own babysitters (hubby's sister and boyfriend) stayed in a room next to us. I'm so proud of the little one for being an angel (or so I was told). And the flight back and forth was a piece of cake. Maybe he too has caught the travel bug...

Trine with the little one

Kim with the little one

Family pic

Family pic gone mad

Our lovely babysitters

Unwind

By the sea. The best part, babysitters nearby thanks to beautiful in-laws.

Baglady

Still forever searching for the perfect brown bag and as I'm heading over the pond in November, my main goal is to come home with the exact one. I've actually found three perfect candidates:

Medium Leather Totebag from Michael Michael Kors

Daria Satchel in Oak Soft Spongy from Mulberry

Travel Muse Two Leather Shoulder Bag from YSL

The Mulberry one is my favorite at the moment as it's the only one I've seen live. Plus I like the fact that the straps are adjustable. Not to mention the luxury feel of the leather. It would be great though that I actually would prefer the one from Michael Kors because it's a lot cheaper, but I guess I'll just have to wait and see. Who knows I might end up with something totally different when I come home from London!

Travel bug

It's that time of year when my notebooks are usually full of to-do list, to-buy list and etc, when my bedroom has been turned upside down due to packing or repacking, when traveling books are spread around the floor, open pages of some exciting destination, and where my hubby is reassuring me that we have all the necessary documents such as passport, hotel confirmation and etc. Instead, my hubby is cleaning the bathroom, setting up extra shelves for baby products and I'm am playing the "perfect" housewife and preparing him lunch.

Around this time last year, we had already drawn our credit cards in three different countries. This year the closest thing I've ever come to crossing the Norwegian border is doing some baby shopping in our neighboring country Sweden, which is about an hour away with car.

For someone who religiously loves traveling, it's a bit of an understatement to say how difficult it is for me to stay at home this summer. The itch is definitely present. Unfortunately I can't do anything about it at the moment, but wait until it passes.

I am however venturing out on a different adventure this year which makes it all worth it. Priorities eventually change and right now I need to focus on something much more important that my monthly visit from the travel bug.

But I will certainly be welcoming this type of bug every month and I'm hoping the baby will catch it too. No need for medical treatments here.

Last year's summer destination: Roadtrip in California

Roadtrip getaway

Probably our last trip as a "family" of two. I would have wished for a more exciting destination, but as my bump kind of prevents me to fly, our final goal was Stavanger. Of course we plotted several stops on the way as I need a break from well sitting I guess (not a joke). We also had an overnight stay to and from Stavanger. Although I'm extremely exhausted, the trip turned out to be wonderful and much needed. Although I'm an overseas hopper, I'm really surprised of how beautiful this country can be, especially in nice weather.

Tvedestrand

Tvedestrand

Lindesnes

Lindesnes (didn't have to take the stairs, there was actually a road up, but didn't figure that out til later)

Lindesnes

Visiting hubby's sister, Trine, in Stavanger

17th of May, celebrating Norway Day

Kristiansand

Easter in the sun

The weather last week was truly amazing. Healthwise I'm in dire need of a lie-in every hour or so, but I didn't want that to stop me from being out in the sun. Luckily my husband has been by my side taking me on mini road trips and making sure that I get my much needed breaks. A wonderful and relaxing Easter break.

Balcony has been in good use. I know I've been living in my maxi dress lately, but so comfy.

Mini road trip to Drøbak

My needed break

Mini road trip to Huk

Huk

Family bonding

And visiting the cutest baby: CJ

31.01.11 - Weekend getaway

I see I've messed up the date on my last post. Looks like I'm still back in 2010. Oh well it's difficult to get everything right these days.

Ok that was quite random, but my head works that way nowadays so excuse me for my messy post. There is unfortunately no change in my health. I'm still feeling really poor, but I guess I'm used to it now. It's kind of my everyday life. I know it's only temporarily and that's how I cope with it (well at least, that's how I'm coping with it today).

My friend Ingrid convinced me to go away with her and her boyfriend for for the weekend. They wanted to rent a lodge in the mountains and asked Vidar and I to come along. I was a bit hesitant, but I'm so glad that we went. Although I mostly stayed in and didn't join them for cross country skiing, it was still great to get away from the bed/sofa at home. The sofa in the lodging was quite comfortable as well and with a much better view. I'm totally exhausted today, but it was definitely well worth it.

From one of their outings

The view

The lodge

Ingrid, Vidar and Synnøve

The comfortable sofa

29.12.10 - 2010

In 2010:

I traveled!

Coffee break in between shopping in Liverpool

Roadtripping in Germany

I partyed in Las Vegas

Walked the streets of San Francisco

and a quick trip over the pond to my fave city in the world, London, but was too busy shopping that I didn't have time to take any pics.

I was into the glam and glittery scene:

Formed new friendships:

And ate a whole lotta of amazing food: