Wednesday, December 23, 2009

the gift chalet - scandinavian food and gifts

since childhood i have made many trips to this quaint, family run scandinavian imports store. it is filled with hand crafted gifts, linens and my personal favorite, foods. there are so many things to see in the gift chalet - i love the wonderfully textured linens and table runners below -

there is a wonderful variety of hand painted and carved dala horses, a symbol of sweden, as well as other whimsical animals -



and the food selections are spectacular!! there is everything from scandinavian candies and sweets to bread, cakes, jams etc. there is even a deli counter where you can order traditional potato sausage and other meats, cheeses, even a variety of pickled fishes.


i loved this simple glass chandelier - wouldnt it be perfect on a summer porch!!
our swedish family traditionally celebrates with a large feast on christmas eve, a smorgasbord, so after our trip to the chalet we are all ready to prepare this holiday meal - more about this in another post.

Tuesday, December 1, 2009

inspired by white

I first saw this space in the pages of housebeautiful - i find everything about this light, airy and bright space to be inspiring! love the way all of the white plays off the honey colored floors!