April personal faves | Barnfotograf Stockholm

So Easter’s over and I didn’t die of a chocolate overdose. That was unexpected because God knows I hit the Cadbury’s Mini Eggs hard.

How was your Easter? Did you travel/spend time with family/do an Easter egg hunt/eat aforementioned eggs? The Jolly gang took a road trip with our freshly groomed dog. He is such a looker and he doesn’t even know it :). We had our first BBQ of the year with friends - always be wary of friends who top up your wine glass the minute you look away/leave the table ;). We hosted a Greek style Easter lunch (my husband wanted to do a different spin on Easter food) for the extended family. I really wanted to smash some plates as part of our Greek experience, but I wasn’t allowed (boooooooooo). For dessert, I made my first ever carrot cake and guess what? It was a resounding success. Trust me when I say no one was more surprised than I was ;).

I’ll leave you with some of my favourite personal photographs from this month.

Until the next time, folks ;)

Happy Eater. I mean Happy Easter | Familjefotograf Stockholm

Anyone else planning a chocolate overdose this weekend? No? Just me?

You know those movies where there’s a man and a woman on a date and the woman is so nervous/starry-eyed she just half-heartedly pushes her pasta arrabiata around her plate? God that makes me angry, people. One can always find another man, but good pasta does not come along every day. The same goes for days dedicated to eating your body weight in chocolate, a.k.a Easter Sunday. Yes, I will be a very happy eater this Easter. Just between you and I, I’ve found a local shop, here north of Stockholm, that sells Cadbury’s Chocolate - oh yeah. God, I’m watering at the mouth already just thinking of all the Cadbury’s Mini Eggs I’m going to consume, and some Curly Wurlys thrown in for good measure. Ah, bliss. FYI I don’t think about food all the time, just 90% of the time.

And just to keep you up to speed (and by you, I mean my mother - I’m not sure anyone else reads my blog - do please leave a comment if you are not my mother), I have a few busy weeks coming up with shoots and a trip. I do hope to pop back in here though at some point in May, so don’t be shy and say hi. I’m quite friendly (so long as I’m not hungry).

Wishing you all a very happy Easter xoxox

Life is better with Cadbury’s Mini Eggs ;)

How do you eat yours?

Need a hug? Who doesn't | Familjefotografering Stockholm

I love a good hug. Give me all the hugs. Nevermind your brief body contact and pat on the back, if you’re going to hug then HUG dammit :)

I had two lovely hugs from a friend lately - a hello hug and a goodbye hug. I hadn’t seen this friend in a while and was really happy to see him when we met unexpectedly. The hugs said it all - I’m happy to see you and I wish you the best until the next time we meet. I felt the mutual happiness in those hugs.

Hugs just spread joy (see below photographs for evidence). In this disconnected world, it’s good to reach out to a friend/family member/pet and hug them. You will both walk away happier.

“There's something in a simple hug
That always warms the heart,
It welcomes us back home
And makes it easier to part....”
- Johnny Ray Ryder, Jr., "A Simple Hug"

Getting drunk in the bath and other guilty pleasures...

I don’t have many vices. I don’t peel off other people’s sunburnt skin, I don’t smoke, do drugs, buy designer handbags, order dessert or watch any of the Real Housewives or the Kardashians (am I missing out?). I do, however, love getting tipsy in the bath. Usually (but not always) alone…

Getting drunk in the bath: There’s just something so comforting about running a hot bubble bath and sinking into the inviting, effervescent water with a cool glass of wine. I can’t hold my liquor at the best of times, but drinking a glass or two of wine in the bath, combined with the heady heat of the water, makes that alcohol take immediate effect. Add in some good tunes playing in the background, usually Scottish crooner Paolo Nutini (I love taking a bath with Paolo) and before long I’m in that lovely tipsy place, where you think you are utterly charming, fabulous and hilarious (I wish I could be that version of myself all the time - just without the red face).

I highly recommend this relaxing activity if you find yourself at a loose end of an evening ;)

This is how red my face is when I finally emerge from my alcohol-infused soak in the tub.

Bribing my children to brush my hair: If slavery hadn’t been abolised in Sweden, there’s a good chance I would have a slave to brush my hair. Don’t get me wrong, they would be treated with utter kindness (I’m not the whipping type), and they would not have to sleep in the slave quarters. They would just be at my beck and call to brush my hair whenever I so wished. If I was tired, stressed, hangry or anxious, I could just call on my lovely hair slave and they would happily brush my hair and voilà, I would instantly feel relaxed and happy.

In the absence of a hair slave, I have from time to time, bribed my children with ice-cream or money, or letting them stay up later if they brushed my hair. Surely I’m not the only mother who does this? Right? RIGHT? Luck was on my side once when a friend from Ireland came to visit for a weekend, and I couldn’t believe the words that came out of her mouth: “Sandra, do you want me to brush your hair?”. “Do I ever,” I said and ran to get her a brush. 15 minutes later (I’d hoped she’d last longer, but arm cramp set in), she put down the brush, I said goodnight and fell into the kind of sleep that can only come after a session of expert hair brushing. ‘Nuff said.

Crying to Jeff Buckley’s Hallelujah: Every so often, I’ll bottle up all my emotions and they will quietly bubble away beneath the surface. Usually the best release for me is to cry and let it all out, but sometimes the tears will refuse to flow and I’ll feel like I’m going to explode with unexpressed emotions. Cue Jeff Buckley. RIP Jeff. I’ll lie down and listen to his haunting version of Hallelujah and almost immediately the floodgates will open and I’ll be sobbing, choking and spluttering on my on own salty tears. I paint a lovely picture, don’t I? So although the Jeff/Hallelujah/crying experience isn’t enjoyable at the time, the release that comes after is worth it (the puffy eyes not so much). So if you’re feeling emotionally blocked, have a good old cry to Hallelujah, You’ll Never Walk Alone, or I Will Always Love You, or whatever gets you feeling all the feels. And just let it all out ;)

I realise none of the above is photography related, but so what. Hopefully you don’t mind me sharing my random thoughts and musings. Better out than in, right? ;)