Melody Gardot

America born Melody Gardot, (photo by Leslie Stiles) is really my favorite artist lately. She has such a strong energy, writing, singing and playing herself . l feel her songs are a nice mix of jazz, blues and kind of Latin at times. She is wonderful. If you do not know her, go in and listen to her songs and i am sure you will enjoy them. 

I keep her singing in my office practically every day,

Gunn 

Thinking positively !

Oh....my Buddha ! I woke up to lots of snow. It felt like I had slept for a decade. Thinking....hell, my day is ruined. 

The best, with having dogs is the positivity they always transmit. Always Happy !We played in the snow for a few hours and this negative thought about receiving snow disappeared.

Thinking positively is easy to say and sometimes more difficult to do. I would like to call myself a realist rather than a pessimist. Positive thinking is a mental attitude, that project happiness, joy and energy. If you use this technique , most likely a successful outcome will be a consequence. Just stop for a moment and think of the friends you have that fit this category. I can think of a few and I admire them tremendously . 

Well , what I mean is being positive in all the doings, not the big grin

 ( that drives me crazy  ) you sometimes meet. It makes me think, what the he.. is so funny ?!

Positive thinking is power and a fantastic tool every day. It brings inner peace, success , improved relationships, a good health and should make life easier.

Should we all start tomorrow morning ?

My first thought is , I will make an incredible vegetable garden next year,

Gunn

SPUR.JP

Lucky You, who can read it and understand... 

It does say, that we are in 2 stores ( I told you about the Jiyugaoka) we are now opening in the Galerie Vie store at Marunuchi, Tokyo. 

SPUR is a great fashion magazine in Japan. I often buy it for cruising the photos.

Just thought it would be good to know,

Gunn

A natural remedy for headache.

It can happen. Even in the best of families....

To wake up in the morning, feeling like this. I do have the best remedy for returning to normal.  Boil a cup of water with a tablespoon of stick tea, also called 3 year tea , from Japan.  Add a pickled umeboshi and brake it into pieces. Drink it warm. You can easily find both in a well assorted health food store. Drink and enjoy ! The feeling of a squeezed head will soon disappear .

Umeboshi is a Japanese pickled plum, but actually rather an apricot. It is wonderfully salty and sour. Even if you are not used to the taste, go for it ! It balance the PH in the blood.


Kukicha, or twig tea, is so loved that it has many names. Go organic. It is a green tea and a blend of stems, stalks and twigs. It has also been dried for 3 years and after toasted. Kukicha tea has a lovely nutty flavor. The tea itself, can be used 3 times. Boil it in water on a low flame for the first time about 3 minutes, second time 6 minutes and the third and last time for about 10 minutes. Our family live on this warm drink during the winter season and in the summer it is nice to enjoy freshly chilled with some seasonal fruit. 


I am a Kukicha freak,
Gunn

Oh,my............

I think most of us, at least once a week...  misuse our holy Father's name. 

Oh...my God !     Oh..mon Dieu !     Oh...herre Gud !    Oh...Dio mio !    Oh....my Lord and so on. 

Every language has there own. The other day I heard one of my Japanese friends say; 

Oh...my Buddha !   Love it.    From now on my expression of surprise will be 

Oh..my Buddha !!!

Gunn

More on London

If....you know London well, this might not be of interest to you. Just click on to another subject. 

I really enjoyed London this time although it was only a 2 day visit and I wish to share it with You. My favorite stops where;

Louis Vuitton opened there large boutique at New Bond street recently and I must say it is breath taking. Designed by Peter Marino and is just the perfect dose of opulence, that if you buy something you probably think...Wow, I am rich and happy. At least for that very moment. I do not do my shopping at LV. The shop windows are amazing with giant lanterns in banana paper, illustrated into vintage luggage. It is done by Indian artist Rajeev Sethi. 

Dover Street Market is a must if you love fashion. They store "the best" of the moment.

Nicole's at New Bond street is always my stop for either breakfast or lunch. Easy, relaxed and good food. I also always pick something useful at the shop of Nicole Farhi.

The freshest menswear store was Albam at 23 Beak Street. Very modern utility clothing.

The newly renovated The SavoyHotel was a relaxed stop for drinks at the American bar.

Few and Far at 242 Brompton Road is nice stop for a great selection of ethnic chic.

This is ending my diary on London for this time,

Gunn

Our new Social life...

I think my situation is familiar to most of my friends and acquaintance.
It is raining "cats and dogs" outside and who wants to go out. It is warm and cosy at home. I am writing my daily post on the blog. 
Click !    here is a message on the skype...need to answer and it leads to chatting. 
Pling !     received a mail on that a friend just sent me a message on the face book. Opened and answered...Plong!!   a message, that I received some unanswered calls on the IPhone this afternoon during napping for an hour. Such guilt .....all at the same time, listening to music...having a glass of red wine.  
The snacks are left out. 
How crazy is this social life ? Why are we doing this. I miss my friends. Touching , talking , real laughter not an written "hahaha" in some text message. I tell myself that it is the mistake of living in a remote place in the country. But talking to friends in Paris, London or Stockholm I realize that they live the same situation.
How can we change ?
Gunn

Thinking seriously....

I guess I did when i purchased these funny items. When we have all the things we really need it is fun with some odd items. This should make you laugh when slicing the cheese at breakfast. 

Another cow in a form of a bottle opener. 

The antlers where collected in the Finish highlands  and "recycled " into these objects. The Scandinavian reindeer bread shed antlers ones a year. Mostly in the summer season and are collected by artisans for different craft items. 

If you like to read more on reindeer, go into www.wikipedia.org.

Gunn

More news and good news...

nara heltnaturligt is part of a Scandinavian Week event at Mitsukoshi Department store at Nihonbashi, Tokyo. We had a fantastic success for 3 days and 3 more to go....

Thank you all for the best energy,

Gunn

We are in Tokyo !

We are now open for Christmas gifts at Galerie Vie at Jiyugaoka, Tokyo. 

We have our natural skincare line nara heltnaturligt, which we love. Mixed in with special handcrafted items flown in from Sweden for this event. Birch bark baskets , ceramic from Gotland, hand carved and painted birds from the very north of Lapland and many more special things.

You are welcome in for a good cup of tea from Clipper with some typical swedish organic cookies.

Very best,Gunn

So Simple....

....and such a delight. 

This is really one of my favorite after dinner drinks. Just a few Sage leaves boiled for a couple of minutes in water. My trick is to add a few grains of salt in the water.  A pinch would be too much and too salty. Finalize with a squeeze of fresh Lemon. 

I would recommend honey rather than sugar if you like it sweet.The cup is from Astier de Villatte at Un Momento Nordico

Un Momento Nordico in Tokyo

Latest news: We are guests at the Galerie Vie shops in Tokyo this month, 

with Christmas gifts from  Un Momento Nordico and nara heltnaturligt  

It will open on the 19th.

More on Shoreditch, London

I am still in Shoreditch here, and of course there is more on eating. The most important hobby, isn't it....  In this ex boy school, two top caters installed themselves in an old bicycle shed and made a great lunch canteen. Read more on www.arnoldandhenderson.com

Rochelle School, Arnold Circus, London E2

The rest of the school is housing a few designers and is often used for 

art exhibitions and shows.

Leila's shop,  at 17 Calvert Avenue, London E2 is a neighbourhood store I wish was around "my corner " every day. Stunning display of organic veggies and larger than life, glass jars for grains. Just see the giant chunks of chocolate in the snapshot below.

Cheese, spice cold cuts, fresh bread and many other mouthwatering items , you can not buy as a tourist.

As we are still in Shoreditch i might as well also add a good place for facials.

The COWSHED new spa in the Shoreditch house. Next time we are in the area I think we will try the Shoreditch rooms. It looks stylish and the rooms come with a fantastic view of London. On the rooftop there is a good pool and a restaurant I recommend for lunch.

As you can see it is worth going to Shoreditch and explore...

Gunn

Heavenly Healthy Eating

My favorite meal, 

since a long time was in London last week at POLPO.

A Venetian style Osteria with all the small dishes, traditionally served at home, with delicious vegetables. For a vegetarian it is heavenly to find such an assortment of special "antipasti". In total our table was covered with 18 - 20 plates. Click on the menu and get inspired.

 A perfect red wine " vino da tavola " from a small producer in the Northern Italy.

I wish I could be there right now....

Don't  miss this address next time you are in London.

Gunn

Shoreditch East London

London is really very special in the Autumn. The Parks are amazing in shades of rust, yellow and wet browns....   Would London be London without an umbrella ? No, I do not think so... of course, we had some lovely rain.  My first beautiful day was spent in a new area ( for me ) called Shoreditch. I probably would never have thought of going to such a remote area away from the center, if it wasn't for some appointments nearby.

The Boundary Hotel -  A lovely, modern place I would recommend. By Terence Conran. Large loft like rooms in a personal comfortable style.

The ALBION cafe and food market is connected to the Boundary Hotel and has a good atmosphere for lazy breakfast mornings or perhaps the perfect Brunch. I had too many cups of tea and scones ( with clotted cream ). What a he..... it's not every day.

Aesop - the Australian natural skincare line. A shop I recommend to visit. Just test all the wonderful essential oil blends. It will set you in a good mood. Unfortunately, it was too embarrassing to spend all day testing, chatting, asking all the questions possibly . I had a good time and did some shopping. Wish nara heltnaturligt had a free standing shop.......

 

Sunspel- A cute shop for all the right basic products in the perfect hues...blue, white, sand and grey.

Hostem - Avantgarde menswear. Great wooden interior.

Labour and wait - A small, just perfect hardware, clothing and home store.

Caravan - A Vintage style of new products. It was really sweet.

Denham - A good denim collection. Kind of looking Japanese by a Dutch company. I understand there is some connection with 45RPM. The store design is really nice.

And there is many more places to see and visit for coffee and good food. 

The area hosts many Art galleries, Graphic designers, Marketing companies and other creative minds.

I will come back with more on London.  Sorry for being slow about it this last week.  Traveling up-set's your daily habits,

Gunn

London Calling

Not London Calling by The Clash.....but London is calling me !

I noticed that the travel post is a low category in my blog, so decided to leave for London tomorrow morning. This image is form the 60's and you can find it, plus many more nice vintage images, at Old UK Photos.

Will keep you informed,

Gunn