Today, I celebrated a Swedish Christmas with my family, in New York.

We woke up at the crack of dawn and my mom made porridge, like she always does on Christmas morning. Nobody really likes it, but it is tradition, and it went over surprisingly well with the American side of the family.

It was a gorgeous sunny day, so we took a walk and then started preparing the Christmas feast. I was very proud that we had lots of greens at the table.

There was, of course, potatoes. Swedes love their potatoes.

And their gravlax.

My mom and sister made Jansson’s Frestelse, which the youngest member of our crew referred to as fish pie. It’s really more like a creamy anchovies and potato gratin.

Instead of meatballs, I made veggie dog bites.

We had organic snaps.

Hard and soft bread.

And, no meal is complete without some cheese.

We put everything away, I broke a glass and cut my finger, then we had some champagne mimosas.

Then, finally, it was time to open prezzies. We had decided to not buy anything for each other, but my mom and dad surprised me with two Marimekko mugs that I had been ogling the other day at a Scandinavian design shop here in Williamsburg.

My sweetheart gave me a bendable tripod, I’ve been wanting one of those forever! (Clearly I am very happy about it.)

When all the presents under the tree had been opened, I also had a remote control for my camera, a juicer, and a new coffee maker by my side. All very useful stuff!

Instead of buying gifts for everyone in the family, we all get something for $10, wrap it up with no labels, then play a game. The rules are simple: put the prezzies on the table, set a timer for 15 minutes, roll the dice — two of the same means you get to take a present, you are allowed to steal other people’s presents. I ended up with nothing, sometimes you win sometimes not.

To end the night off, we watched a movie while having some more drinks, chocolate, apples and delicious knäck that my aunt made for us. God Jul! (That’s Merry Christmas! to you non-Swedes)

I woke up, got dressed and walked outside, headed toward my grandparents’ house. The ground was just dusted with snow, grass showing through.

I was treated to a nice fika, with some almond cake and a saffron bread.

It started snowing, just before I headed off to a nice pampering at the spa. Outside, they had pretty lights in the bushes.

Then I met up with my sister to go see my dad at work. Outside the door to his office was these cool old school weights.

We finished with a lovely dinner, and that was about it.

Tiny snowflakes were falling off the trees, dancing in the breeze, glistening in the sunlight. The temperature one degree below freezing — a perfect winter day.

/// hat, 10 years old from H&M / coat, H&M / jeans, Habitual / boots, Doc Martens / bag, Lindex ///

I wish there could be two of me so one could be in Sweden and one in NYC. Possible? (Can you spot the heart in this photo?)

I love sitting in my parents dining room, looking at the snowy yard through the big windows. The tiny tree outside is a pine my grandmother brought from the village where she grew up in the very north of Sweden. One day it will be mighty and big. It reminds me to have patience, that everything needs to take the time it needs to take.

/// D.I.Y sweater, will show this in more detail soon / thermals, Target / down slippers, dad’s / necklace, vintage / bracelets, Marc Jacobs, Indiska, H&M, grandmother’s ///

On Tuesday in Gävle, Sweden, it was -1ºC (30ºF) and sunny. Little snow crystals formed glittering rain as they fell from the tree tops.

The skies were blue and the air was fresh — perfect winter weather.

It was my mom’s birthday and we had lunch at an Italian café.

Afterward, we took a walk down to the stream to enjoy the last bit of the day’s sun rays.

Then a bit of shopping before we went home and made mushroom pasta for the whole family who were coming over for the birthday party.

Oh, such a perfect day.

I bought this faux fur hat right before I left Stockholm. I like that it’s funky and elegant at the same time, and kind of woodland creaturesque. The price was right too, 199 SEK (about $28).

Right after these photos were taken it started snowing. It didn’t stop until 20 or so hours later. It looks magical right now — a true winter wonderland.

/// cashmere poncho, gift / belt (worn as scarf), Beacon’s Closet / cashmere sweater, Uniqlo / pants, Urban Outfitters / socks, H&M / faux fur hat, åhléns / shoes, Swedish Hasbeens ///

P.S. Happy Birthday, Mamma! I Love You.

There’s two people who are very in love.

They’ve assigned all their favorite people a spot around fancy dinner tables.

There’s champagne.

Friends from all walks of life are gathered in one room.

You get to wear pretty shoes.

Did I mention friends? Really great friends.

A hat that is passed around for guests to make song requests.

A bell that rings every time something fun is about to happen.

Maybe speeches, or embarrassing games involving blindfolds.

The bride’s bouquet.

And someone who is very excited to catch it.

Cake.

Cute boys — all dressed up in their finest.

Dancing. Even better, Zorba dancing.

The intelligent conversations that take place after all the wine bottles in the room have been emptied.

Friends who fly halfway across the world to be with you.

Remote location and blurry vision equals no guilty feelings for taking a cab home.

And… LOVE.

The only thing worse than deciding what to wear for your own wedding is to figure out what to wear to your best friend’s.

I didn’t want to buy something new so I made this old Grecian silver dress feel new by pinning it up in the front and adding some cute stockings. (These photos were taken after we got home, hence the slight disheveledness.)

Then there was the hair. I wanted to put it up but since I don’t have very much hair I needed some help. After searching all of Stockholm for a hair donut without any luck, I decided to buy a bath sponge, cut it to the appropriate size and wrap my hair around it (thanks for the help, Anna!). Some very quirky D.I.Y inventiveness that worked great.

/// dress bought at a sample sale about three years ago / stockings, åhléns / heels, Chanel / earrings, Very Wang / bracelet, vintage ///

TRANSLATION:
On the train from Stockholm my favorite Swedish magazine, Camino, kept me company. If you’re not familiar with it, run to the store and check it out (or if you are not in Sweden, browse around the website). Nicely packaged sustainable thinking. (Hey Camino, if you are ever in the market for a fashion editor I am ready, willing and able!) I am almost finished packing my bags, tomorrow I am leaving on a plane back to New York. Good night!