New hobby or momentary lapse of sanity?

If you've been following along, you know that our family moved from Chicago to Sweden about one and a half years ago and will soon be moving to Norway.  So in my quest to make this move as fun and exciting as possible for our two daughters, I thought I would let them select new comforters, pillows, etc. for their bedrooms in our new house.  A simple (and relatively inexpensive) trip to Ikea probably could have sufficed.  Fortunately (or unfortunately) I mentioned this idea to my dear friend Hanne, who is a very talented painter, who also knits, sews and excels at pretty much everything creative (http://hannerimmensuniversconebane.blogspot.se/).  She suggested that I (with her help, of course) MAKE duvet covers, pillows, etc. for the girls rather than simply buying them.  Are you serious??  Perhaps she caught me at a weak moment because I actually thought that this sounded like a fun project.  Those of you who know me well probably are wondering if I have been abducted by aliens!

To the fabric store...and beyond!

For whatever reason, I got totally on board with this idea and started by letting the girls pick out a favorite pattern from the fabric store's catalog.  Then Hanne took me shopping and helped me pick out coordinating patterns and a whole cart full of stuff.  I just had to trust her because I was completely overwhelmed by this place and had no idea what to buy.  She did warn me in advance that making these things yourself would NOT be less expensive, but that they would be quite special.  She was certainly right about the first part!

What have I done??

Just a quick side note...AFTER I bought yards and yards of adorable fabric, my dear friend informed me that I had to wash, hang dry and IRON all of it before we got started (to say I'm not a big fan of ironing is an understatement, so it's a good thing she did not tell me about that beforehand).  Anyway, after all the materials were prepared, the two of us spent a few days making duvet covers and pillows for the girls' rooms.

LOVE the owls!

Clearly I had some help with the details!

For the youngest daughter's room

After phase one was completed, I put all of the new stuff on the girls' beds....and they were thrilled!  I have to admit that I was pretty excited about it, too.  It had been many MANY years since I had gotten anywhere near a sewing machine (and I don't think replacing an occasional button counts as "sewing").    Today was the day we finished up by making a few more pillows and adding some special touches (of course, none of these were my ideas...I just followed the instructions given to me).

Look what I can do!

So now I wonder...is this the beginning of a new hobby?  Will I start sewing curtains and table clothes and random things for our new house in Norway?  Only time will tell.  I will say that I am really happy that I took on this project...and I hope my girls are prepared to use all these beautiful things for a VERY long time (wouldn't they look great in a dorm room??).  Many thanks to Hanne....I could not (and would not) have done this without her!

Our Swedish Adventure takes a detour...

I guess I've been waiting about a month to make this news "official"...maybe because part of me has been in denial that this change in our lives is actually happening or maybe I've just been lazy.   So here it is...our family, after living in Sweden for just over one and a half years, will soon be moving to Norway.  Yes, the girl who had never moved more than a couple of hours away from where she was born, is now moving to country #2 in Scandinavia.

At least the red, white and blue are familiar

So how do I feel about this move?  Honestly, it depends on when you ask me.  Some days I am excited and grateful for the opportunities ahead.   Other days I find myself a little nervous and frustrated.  It took some time to get settled here in Sweden, to make friends, find a job, learn my way around the grocery store, etc. so I can't say I am thrilled to start those processes all over again.  

Does this phrase exist in Swedish?  or Norwegian?

At least moving to Norway from Sweden will not be quite as much of a culture shock as moving from the States to Sweden!  So, let's summarize the good and the possibly not-so-good stuff surrounding our move to Norway (I understand I may be making a few assumptions or generalizations here...just humor me).

GOOD STUFF-

• The Norwegians seem to be very active and outdoors-y
• I have heard that it may be a bit easier to make friends in Norway (I'm excited about this possibility, but don't want to get my hopes up).  Don't get me wrong, the Swedes are nice people...but it can take a bit of time for them to "open up"
• Our house will be quite close to the sea 
• Our girls already speak Swedish fluently, so learning Norwegian shouldn't be horribly difficult for them.  They are also excited about moving to Norway- which is good.
• My husband (who has Norwegian ancestors) is really excited to be moving to the "homeland"

Our cute house in Norway

NOT SO GOOD OR UNKNOWN STUFF 

• That cute house?  I have not yet seen it in person (only some pictures)...a little scary!
• Pretty much everything in Norway is crazy expensive (I have heard people actually leave the country to buy booze and food....WOW!)
• I will need to start the job and friend seeking process all over again
• The thought of leaving my friends in Sweden is starting to make me feel sad (and of course I still miss my friends and family in the U.S.)
• My Swedish is not very good and now I will be trying to learn Norwegian (at least a little)
• I have been told that "everyone" skis in Norway...and I have never skied before in my life (I guess learning to ski could be on the "good" list, but I'm a bit afraid of breaking a leg)

I think I'm seeing my future!

I'm sure there are things on both lists that I am forgetting...hopefully I can add more to the "GOOD" list as our moving date quickly approaches.  For now, I have a few more weeks to sort through our belongings and determine which of our things will not be needed (or will not fit) in our new home.  Wish me luck!

"Chicago Style" pizza in Sweden

I think this sets some sort of record for the shortest time between posts.   When I finished up the last post, reminiscing about some of my favorite foods from back in Chicago, I developed a huge craving for pizza!  And, to be honest, the pizza joints here are pretty ho-hum, so I generally make my own anyway.  But this time I searched for an authentic Chicago style recipe with a think, flaky crust (think Lou Malnati's) and found a recipe from America's Test Kitchen.  I have used many of their recipes since moving here, so decided to give theirs a try.

You can (and should) Google the recipe....but here are the highlights.   They have a cool trick for the buttery, flaky crust....after the first rise, roll out the dough and spread it with butter (no, I'm not kidding).  Then roll it up.

Seems strange, but who am I to argue?

Then you flatten out the rolled up dough, cut it in half and allow each half to rise again.   While you're waiting, it's time to make the sauce...super thick, with garlic, basil and big chunks of tomato.

Quick and easy!

Now it's time to put it all together.  I didn't have a large pizza pan, so I used two round cake pans instead.  First, I put down the crust, then the cheese (yes...cheese first!), then the sauce.  I forgot to add the pepperoni with the cheese, so I had to throw it on top...better late than never.  Bake for about 30 minutes...while praying that these pizzas will taste as good as they look...and voila!

Please, PLEASE taste good....

So how was it?   I will let the next few photos speak for themselves...

One smiling face!

Two smiling faces!

Two empty pans (the hubby also gave it a thumbs up!)

So my craving for thick Chicago pizza has been satisfied.  It took a bit of time, but was completely worth it.  Thanks again, America's Test Kitchen!  Now back to my regularly scheduled food coma...