june afternoon

on the first june weekend, my favourite person and i went on a walk to explore the neighbourhood. there are lots of lovely old buildings, with ornaments and greenery on the facade. since oslo consists of more than just a few mountains, quite a number of those houses are built into steep hillsides, with staircases in between. when walking up one of those flights of stairs, we found this hidden side-entrance:







we also came across a couple of really old lilac trees, and i couldn't resist climbing one of them.





skirt and socks: h&m
t-shirt: monki
bag: vintage
shoes: dinsko

opera

now i'm finally on vacation! when you are reading this, i'll be at my favourite person's family's summerhouse on a small island in sweden, without internet, tv or telephone, but with a huge amount of books, a sauna and hopefully lots of sunshine.

on my last workday at the opera, we took some pictures there in the evening. i wore a new dress (from indiska) and my favourite summer shoes, the swedish hasbeens. later, we went to eat fantastic palestinian food at a really run-down, shabby looking restaurant called habibi.

oslo to my heart

i usually don't take part in these give-aways where you're supposed to write a post on your blog about it and link to the original post. however, this one is so lovely and pretty and just plain desirable that i make an exception.

















jenna from i say shotgun hosts a give-away courtesy by musmus with two necklaces made out of old maps from scandinavian cities, one with kopenhagen and one with oslo. having recently moved to oslo of course i would be extremely glad and happy to win the correspondent necklace - especially since it shows the place where i work, namely björvika bay where the new opera house was built! now, me winning this necklace would only be appropriate, don't you think?

glitter and dance

a week ago, a. and i celebrated. not only had i just finished off my first week at work, we also thought we'd take the opportunity and have something of a belated valentine's day. i was taken out to a lovely and very delicious early dinner, before we went to see a fantastic ballet show at the opera. which i thought was just the right occasion to finally wear the most glittery sequined dress i own:

























(the picture was taken by my favourite person in the world after we came home.)

"Shoot the Moon" consists of four different modern choreographies by some great choreographers, and they are accompanied by enchanting music. the dance was quite abstract, but somehow came around to transfer an extreme amount of feeling and meaning at the same time. the first choreography felt clean, and maybe most abstract. the dancers seemed to build up relations with each other in different constellations which were not fixed but in constant flux, changing abruptly and coming back slightly differently.

















the second one threw you right into the deep mysteries of the world. death. grief. blood. the production felt archaic, and deep with texture. i'm still quite shaken when thinking about it. costumes made of paper. just think. to add sound to your dancing in that way. amazing.



















the third dance was a pas de deux which didn't impress me quite as much, even though technically seen it must have been great (i hope to gain more knowledge about these things during the upcoming months.. i feel kind of stupid, working for the opera and knowing so little about opera and ballet). however, the last choreography (called "Shoot the Moon", thus naming the whole show) made it all up to us. it dealt with couples, relationsships, emotions, everyday life, fights that you have, curiosity for other people's lives, how people express themselves. it felt important. it was different to anything i have ever seen before. i wish everyone could see it. i wish i could see it again.

(pictures from here)

about small apartments and space

well. something must have gone terribly wrong with the physics in my boyfriend's apartment when i moved in. suddenly all my stuff seems to double both in weight and in space. and the apartment seems to have shrunk to about half its size. i don't know. and the boxes just won't disappear.

first day

... at work.

yes, i found a job quite quickly here in oslo, and this is where it is:

























the norwegian opera. a beautiful building, isn't it? i feel quite enchanted by it and very privileged to be working in it.



















oh, and no. i have not suddenly become an opera singer. i just became a simple ticket seller. but, better than nothing and the job will serve me perfectly for the time being. it's not only a first step into the norwegian culture field, it is also well paid - and oslo is quite expensive. and then of course i'll get to see loads and loads of opera, concerts and ballet!

fröken lila's oslo: Birkelunden

part three of my little oslo series! this time i thought i'd present you the best fleamarket in town, at birkelunden which is very close to that vintage-paradise street markveien in grünerløkka (actually, it lies at its parallel street, thorvald meyers gate, in a little park).

















it is an open air market taking place every sunday from around noon till late in the afternoon, all year round. you can find records, old norwegian books, cool kitchenware, vintage and other used clothing, shoes and loads of nice and expensive vintage porcelain.



































i've been there once until now and am sad that i didn't find out about it any sooner, for even though it is not the cheapest fleamarket in the world it is really cool and absolutely worth visiting. most people selling there know what their stuff is worth, so you really won't make a huge amount of bargains, but you can always haggle a little and find the one or other steal...

apart from this fleamarket, there is one at the other end of town, at vestkanttorvet, but i've never been there. most fleamarkets in oslo are usually organized by schools and you have to check on the internet when there is one to be. i've been to one and was rather disappointed as it was a lot of chaos and not really nicely organized. so if you love fleamarkets, birkelunden is your place to be in oslo!

fröken lila's oslo: Skaperverket

here comes part two of my little oslo-series. "Skaperverket" is a very special small store at the lower end of markveien.

























maybe it could be best described as a combination of giftshop and gallery, as most of what you can find in there would be perfect as a gift, both for mothers, best friends, collegues or people you don't know so well. you can be sure to find something nice for everyone!




















"Skaperverket" is a collective of different artists, designers and crafters from norway, who together sell their own works, but also imported things they feel fit into the concept. thus, the store features pretty white pottery, handmade clothing for grown-ups and children, japanese paperwork, handcrafted jewellery, cool toys and enchanting accessoires.
















































one of my favourite picks would have been this really cool elizabethan collar:

























for contact, more information and opening hours, check out skaperverkets homepage!

fröken lila's oslo: Frøken Dianas Salonger

i have had thoughts about doing the one or other series for my blog, related posts which i'd try to do fairly regularly. one idea for those came up during my latest stay in oslo. as some of you know, my favourite person in the world lives there so i visit the city quite often, and i thought that a series about my favourite boutiques and places would be cool, especially if any of you are planning a trip there in the future..

so, here is the first part of the series!

























Frøken Dianas Salonger is, in my opinion, one of the neatest and loveliest little second hand stores in all of oslo. it is situated on markveien, which is norway's mekka for vintage boutiques, and is run by two wonderful ladies who obviously love their store and who sell nothing they wouldn't like to keep for themselves.

























the "parlour's" main focus lies not on clothes, even though there is a nice range of dresses and blouses, but on accessoires for you and your apartment: lampshades in perfect condition, handbags, cooking utensils, chests of drawers, postcards, some kitschy new things such as matchboxes with marilyn on them and everything else nice in the world.
















































the store is only just a year old but the ladies running it have managed both to offer a great range of wonderful selected items and to give it an amazing atmosphere. you feel like you can look about you for hours and see new things all the time, and you almost feel at home. definitely one of the best shopping experiences one can have!

























opening hours (they are open on sundays!! perfect!) and contact information can be found on the shop's website.

a monday in oslo

tomorrow two weeks ago in oslo. a holiday monday. summer. warm. afternoon in the park. thanks to my favourite person in the world for taking pictures on the way home.































































































skirt: h&m
shirt: cubus
bag and belt: thrifted
shoes: strauss

on an island in the fjord

last sunday, my boyfriend and i took my parents to one of the oslo fjord islands, huvudöya. it is uninhabited and has lots and lots of pretty places to picnic and barbecue and of course, to swim. we found a place in the shade close to an old ammunition house (the island was used as a fort, i think) where we spent the whole sunday afternoon reading, eating, swimming and exploring the island. my boyfriend (thank you, a.!!) had fun taking some pictures for me and the blog, and i had fun posing... so here you are:
















































skirt, shirt and hat: h&m
shoes: converse

oslo in the sun

back from oslo, again. this time my parents were there, too. actually, they are still there as it is their summer holidays. we went by ferry, which was a fantastic experience of arriving, the fjord is just amazing in the morning sun. i was very happy to spend some quality time with my parents, and also with my boyfriend, and we had a good time together. the weather was nice and sunny most of the time, and i even catched a little sunburn on my shoulders which has now turned into a pretty tan...

here is me on saturday evening - i didn't bring any heels as i knew we'd be walking a lot. this dress is wonderful, though the length doesn't work too well for me without heels...

























hat, dress and blouse: h&m
bag and belt: vintage, thrifted
shoes: strauss (my favourite summer flats!)

perfect sunday

today was such a perfect day. we stayed long in bed, then had a nice breakfast before - after a short fotosession for the blog =) - we headed out to the munch museum here in oslo. it has free admission at the moment and i have always wanted to see it. the sun was shining nicely and the exhibition was so interesting. i had seen both "scream" and the "madonna" a few years back at the national gallery, before they were stolen, so it didn't matter much that they weren't on display today. munch's work shows an interesting consistency in themes and also in form and colour, though he used a lot of different techniques such as drawing, woodcarving, etching and oil. murder, death, melancholy, the rotten souls of the scandinavian boheme, it was all there.

if you ever go to oslo, i can highly recommend this museum. this is one of my favourite artists, and his body of work is amazing. go see it if you can!

















we had coffee and cake at the museums café after walking through the exhibition and had a walk in the sun through the fascinating grönland-area afterwards.

right now, my favourite person in the world (who also took the picture above) is making pancakes and later we'll go and see "slumdog millionaire" at the cinema...

headless

these businessmen appeared sometime during my second working pass as a volunteer for by:larm at hotel royal christiania where we had our check-in desks. i don't know what they wanted there, but they sure lifted my spirits!

















































pictures from -across my universe

danceable danceable

saturday was my second night out on by:larm. the festival was spread out over at least 20 different locations mostly in central oslo and each show lasted for maybe 30minutes, some a little longer, some a little shorter. most of the venues are quite close to each other, so i got the possibility to experience some of oslo's most famous clubs and stages: rockefeller, sentrum scene, john dee and blå. i would have liked to go to stratos and mono as well, but couldn't find the time on either friday or saturday, but as there are free shows each sunday night at mono i hope i can induce a. to go there with me some sunday soon.

anyways, i enjoyed saturday night as much as friday. after a nice dinner at home i went to see a norwegian band called "bergtatt". their music is best described as "medieval folklore rock" which is something i like a lot and they were great to listen to.
afterwards i went to the congress center and saw two danish bands which were quite alright but i already forgot their names and am too lazy to look them up. then a young all-women band from norway, "norma sass" entered the stage and they were such a treat!

















they had those lovely pretty bouquets of artificial flowers on their instruments which was the dot on the i, and they displayed such an energy! you'd believe they had played together much longer than they actually have, and i guess things will go well for them...

after their show i went to catch a few minutes with titiyo, which was a bit disappointing. she seemed rather bored and there weren't too many people at the show... anyways, the evening closed as best as it could, as i met up with a friend to go and see "whitest boy alive", erlend øyes project after "kings of convenience". they were amazing and danceable and the club was packed with people to an extend that it was almost too much for me (i can get light panick-attacks in places with too many people), but luckily the room features some stairs and i was standing on top of them and had a great view.

















erlend øye was really sweet, he never seems to know what to do with his long arms and legs, and the music was enchanting.

looking back, even though the working was a bit exhausting at times, volunteering for by:larm was probably the best idea i've had in quite some time. free shows for two evenings and new friends, what more could one wish for?

detectives from karlstad

on tuesday, thursday and friday i worked with the check-in of delegates for the by:larm music festival here in oslo. i got to know some really nice people that way, which i am really thankful for. even though i was pretty tired after my 9 hour shift yesterday i met up with one of the other girls from the check-in team to go to a few of the concerts, and i am so happy i went and didn't give in for my tiredness.
i guess a lot of you like the music from the amélie movie, right? the first show i saw yesterday was "detektivbyrån" from karlstad in sweden, and they play the most amazing, amélie-inspired music:



i didn't actually see much of the show as there were a lot of really large people directly in front of me, but the little i saw was fantastic. i've never seen anybody play like the guy at the accordion!

afterwards we continued to another place to see swedish singer frida hyvönen, who impressed me just as much as detektivbyrån:



her music seems almost twisted to me, the words especially, and i love her attitude.