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How exciting with Ace starting nursery – what do you have to pay and how much time will he spend there? / Anna

Yes, it’s super exciting and kind of scary too. The thought that he will be somewhere separate from Garth and I is really strange, but I have a feeling I will get used to it. We have chosen to have Ace at nursery 07.30-13-00 Monday – Wednesday, so it’s not a lot of time. For this time we pay about £650/month.

I like that they are very flexible at this nursery too, I can always add a full day if I would need one. Like if I have a photoshoot or similar. It will come in handy now and then. 

I love your Monday list and I’m thinking I will also do a weekly mantra and affirmation in my Bullet Journal. Do you come up with yours yourself or do you have a good resource online to recommend?/ Gunvor

I’m so glad to hear you like this post! I find that I use it a bit as therapy and it really lifts my week.  I have to stop, think and take stock to get a feel for where I’m at. I try to think of whats relevant to me at this particular time and work from there, sometimes they come to me on their own and other times I browse Pinterest for inspiration. 

Why is it hard to speak only Swedish with Ace when it’s your first language? / Hanna

I have lived in London for such a long time that I these days end up speaking about 80% English and 20% Swedish in general. My go-to language is without a doubt English, so I have to remind myself to speak Swedish with Ace. And even though I’m getting better at it, sometimes it’s still a bit tricky. Like when we hang out with English friends and I feel rude to be speaking another language that they don’t understand. Also, even though I love the idea of Garth learning more Swedish, it’s not practical for me to speak English to Ace when he is around. It breaks a bit of our communication and creates silly misunderstandings. So I mix it up to make sure it works for everyone. I chat with Ace all day long, so that he will get used to a conversation and I’m happy if it’s 50% in Swedish and 50% in English. 

However, when we are in Sweden I and my family only speak Swedish to him. 

Oh, I know exactly how you are feeling. Especially the dream of going to Tokyo and Japan. It’s my dream place to go because of the culture, the history, the architecture, foor…etc. I also recognize the feeling of longing to ride. I’m thinking to try to find a place to go for a ride before the end of the summer. It has been too hot to ride and it’s not fun for the horse or the rider, but now when it’s a bit cooler I’m going to have a look and see if I can find somewhere. Do you know any good stables in Stockholm?
/Lisa

I have ridden on a few different places in Stockholm, but this is years ago now. We had our horse Wicklow at Rastaborgs ponnystall on Ekerö, I also used to ride at Sjövillan on Färingsö, a stable on Adelsö and Östermalsm ridskola. There are loads of good places in Stockholm, I find it a lot harder to locate a decent stable here in London I would either have to travel far or go for something expensive but with a pretty low standard. I will try to find something later when I have the time and energy to ride again. I love the feeling of freedom you get on horseback. 

I know exactly what you are talking about here. I had my first baby 3 weeks after you had Ace and I have been following you with great interest. Now I too want to get going with my ”normal” life, work, training, routines… but at the same time, I want to be a Mom to my son. Something that stresses me out is that time is running so fast and there is a lot I want to do in the next couple of years (before I turn 40). I want to switch jobs, move to a bigger home, and most of all have more kids. Just like with you guys, it took a while for us to get pregnant with my son, so I’m a bit unsure if I should start trying soon again. But at the same time, I’m really enjoying to not be pregnant or getting hormone treatment and just being able to enjoy life and our bubba. Thank you for an amazing blog, I love following your updates. 

I really sympathize with what you are saying. To have a baby is such an eye-opener to our own mortality, what’s important in life and how short the time we have really are. We have the same dilemma when it comes to siblings as you do. But after having de a bit of research on ”postnatal depletion” and after I spoke to a few friends with a couple of kids I think we have landed in trying to give it 3 years before we have the next one. I want my body to recover and get back all those lost nutrients so that the next baby can have the same great start as Ace got. And if worst comes to worst and we can’t have more children, then we still have a gorgeous little boy that we love with all our hearts (and to be honest we are not at all against adopting. It has been discussed many times over the years).  I just know that mentally I wouldn’t be able to go straight back into pregnancy and infant -world again. 

Hi Tess!

I have read your blog for about 100 years (we met at Scandi kitchen, about 4 years ago and I got starstruck and mumbled something about proposing to my boyfriend the way Garth proposed to you haha. I don’ät know if you remember?)

Maybe five, six years ago you planned to go into acting and focus more on that side of your career. I remember you showing a few of your commercials and short films and I think you did really well. Do you still think this might be something you want to do in the future? Hugs / Calle

Hi Calle, of course, I remember you, you are lovely, how could I forget! I’m so happy to hear you are still reading the blog and I have to ask, was there ever a proposal? 

You know, acting is still my little secret dream that is hiding away in the back of my head. I love to act and think it’s super fun. If I won the lottery I would probably go and do a full-time course at either RADA or LAMBDA here in London. If nothing else for the happiness it would bring me. I have only done commercials and short films so far and I know that it takes a lot to get into the acting industry. After both modeling and blogging, I’m hesitant to dive into yet another business that is really hard to succeed in. 

We’ll see, I still want to do it, but I’m also quite hesitant. 

I think you look great in these photos, lovely hair and outfit. What do you have on your lips? It looks like a perfect nude and I would like to try it! 

Thank you lovely, I really appreciate your kind words. I really like a soft pale pink lip and use a couple of shades of lip pens from Isadora and this one from Bobbi Brown, it’s in the color ”ballet pink” and you can find it here. (adlink)

I have noticed something weird, my skin is always the best after a long and wet night out (??) I have oily skin with a few spots, but when I wake up after a night having had a few drinks it’s like the alcohol has made my skin better and my spots seem less. Coutd thisbe correct? I only drink G&T, so sugery drinks and I’m very careful to wash away any makeup before I hit the hay at 5 in the morning. Isn’t this strange? Of course, I’m not telling anyone to drink alcohol to get better skin. /Lis

This is so weird, you are cetrtanly not the first person I hear this exact same thing from. I have no idea why this is, but I thoight maybe someone else here on the blog does and could explain to us why? Ther emust be a very good reasy why alcohol affects you skin this way. Anyone who has a clue?

Hi Tess, I always love visiting your blog. I’m wondering if you still have that secret pregnancy group on Facebook? I can’t seem to find the post when I’m searching in the blog. /Linda

”The art of conception” still very much exists, if you email me on Tess@TessM.se, then I can add you to it if you like?

You look so lovely!
Even lovelier than before pregnancy /Embla

Thank you, hun. It makes me so happy to get such a nice comment and believe me, you never need them more than right after you have had a baby. I know that it’s easy to give the negative comments all the energy, but it is really important to do exactly the opposite. By nature, humans put a greater weight to a negative comment than a positive one, so it’s up to us to make sure to really appreciate and take in all the nice things we hear about ourselves.  

You can help with a $25 microloan at http://www.kiva.org to different environmental projects. (solar power, insulation for houses, water filters etc) mainly for people in underdeveloped countries. They will pay back the loan to you and you can keep on investing the same money. This is one of the most efficient ways to make a difference. Kiva is one of Opera’s favorites too. / Alexia 

Wow, this website is super clever. I will do this straight away. I can’t believe I didn’t know about this already, what an exciting idea.

Hi.

It’s great and interesting that you are highlighting this. I myself, have been clearing out who I follow. I’m interested in knowing how you look at your own Instagram? I get the feeling that your photos are very staged with nice clothes and a background that’s not always so ”real”. I do think you wear most of these things, but some photos feel only like they are for the moment. IE do you really wear a party dress and stilettos when you are just out on town? I understand the idea of creating attractive content to get more followers, but it feels a bit glorified.

I love reading your blog because you are a down to earth, and positive as a person, not because of your photos that feel too staged. I would love to see more from your everyday life than just photo shoots. I hope that you understand what I mean and apart from this, I like that you feel like a big sister to us online. <3 Hugs!

At the same time as I wrote this post, I took a good hard look at my own content. Instagram has never really felt natural to me. I love photos and the creation around it, but it does feel quite same-same and a bit, dare I say shallow? Since I’m not an every-day realism kind of blogger but prefer to have a more glossy finish (with flowers and pastels that makes me happy) I instead decided to make better use of my captions. Who says it can only be a few words formed into a clever sassy caption? Maybe it could just get to be a bit more?

If you have visited my Instagram lately, I hope you would have noticed that I am updating a bit less frequent, but when I do I have something to say, from the heart. This has made Instagram loads more fun for me and I hope that you like it better too. It’s just a bit more real, even if the photos still are ”pretty”. (you can find my everyday realism in my stories instead).

And you are so right when it comes to heels. I’m damaged by modeling, they always told me I needed heels in photos since I’m smaller than the other girls. But this is of course my blog and my Instagram, so screw heels! I don’t walk around like that all day long, especially not now when I’m pushing a buggy. To veebts and parties, yes. So I will make sure to keep this in mind from now on and I’m really glad you pointed it out to me. Dresses, however, is something I wear a lot of, it just happens to be my thing. Big hugs and thank you for an insightful comment. 

Top, coat & similar heels (adlinks). Photo – Ida Zander

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Hello friends, how are you?

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3 days of settling into the nursery are done and today we got a 4-hour session. So far we have only done 2 hours at the most, but it will be good. When he starts properly he will be there for 5 hours a day 3 days a week. So not a lot if you compare to full-time. But enough for me to get stuff done.

And you know what? Ace took his first steps yesterday! He was holding on to this empty box and probably thought he was leaning on it and off he went. He was surprisingly stable, so I have a feeling that he actually can walk, he just doesn’t dare to let go. It’s all very exciting!

I have gotten a bit cooler here in London now and we also had some long overdue rain. The parks are all brown and it has been way to hot and sticky. I’m a lot happier now, not to mention how happy Olive and Ace are. We all sleep so much better at night and I can take OLive out for walks whenever.

I also have to admit that I was kind of looking forward to getting to wear my fall-wardrobe. This time in-between is lovely. I can still wear light clothing, but throw a jacket or a coat on top. No more sweating! This is the perfect temperature, I wish it was like this always.

I wish you a wonderful Friday!

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My skin is quite easygoing, I think after all my years modeling with all kinds of products and god knows what, my face is pretty tough.

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But there are a few things I have to keep in mind, to make sure my skin stays healthy. I try to;

1. Wash my makeup brushes regularly – It’s really easy to forget to wash our brushes 8or to be like me and just be a bit too lazy to bother since it’s pretty boring). But it is more than worth it for the sake of our skin. So many nasty germs, old products, and dust get stuck in those brushes and then go all over our faces.

We might end up with acne, styes and even scary skin infections and rashes by unwashed brushes. So I always make sure to put a recurring alarm on my phone to remind me. How often to do it depends on how much you use your brushes, so it’s hard for me to say. Since I’m a bit crap at doing it, I make sure to have three sets of brushes and I alternate them so I can wash all of them a bit less often.

I use a brush soap by beauty blender and in-between washes I spray them with a cleaner now and then.

…and of course we never ever share brushes with each other. Then we get double the germ party and that’s just nasty. So please don’t!

2. Drink lots of water – I know we all go on about it. But it works. If we don’t keep our skin hydrated then it will get wrinkly, saggy and grey. We need it for our whole body to feel good, and it plumps up skin and help clear out dirt and give us that glow. AND we feel great, so it’s a win-win. Get your H2O on girl!

I start every day with a massive glass of water. You should too.

3. Eat my good fats – The people I knw with the best skins all know their nutrition. Good fats do wonders for our skins, so I make sure to top up on my nuts, avo, coconut and olive oil and loads of fatty fish for the omegas. This is where I get my glow.

4. Change pillowcases and towels every week –  Even if your skin is clean and makeup-free, don’t count on your pillowcase to be. If you don’t want a cocktail of dust mites, old skin cells, sweat and skin- and hair products in your face every night – change your pillowcase regularly. The same goes for the towel, heat and moisture is a great combination if you want to bread germs, so don’t take the risk.

5. Have a good skincare routine – Most importantly, know whats good for YOUR skin and remember to change your routine with age. I know I need loads of moisture so I focus on re-hydrating serums, oils, and heavy creams. If you are a bit younger, you would probably go for something lighter. You can either experiment until you find the right products, like me or you can go and see a dermatologist and get some help.

The cleanser is, I would dare to say, the most important step of the skincare routine. It’s super important to remove makeup and dirt in an efficient but still gentle way.

6. Sleep– Ha, easy to say if you don’t have kids. I know exactly what it’s like not sleeping enough and that’s why I can say that I know the difference. Our skins re-generate when we sleep, so it’s worth trying to get as many hours of shut-eye as we can. Just add a great night creme and snooze. (There is no shame in the nap-game).

7. Hormones – We can’t do much about these. Unless you are choosing between different contraception pills of course. But our hormones really affect our skin. I get little bumps the week before my period and there is really nothing I can do about it. Pregnancy made my skin epic and when I had the biggest hormone drop after pregnancy my skin was terrible. All we can do about it is to keep an eye on our cycle and try to have an understanding and be kind to ourselves.

8. Alcohol – Unfortunately even wine and champagne will dehydrate our bodies. So a big night will make the skin dryer with darker circles and possibly a spot or two. If you add things like cigarettes, bad sleep, and sugary cocktails and you have a recipe for a bad skin day. Of course, we should still enjoy a drink or two if we fancy it, it’s all about balance.

9. Sun – The biggest baddie in the whole wide world for skin is by far the sun. It dries out, changes the color, breaks down and ruins the skin. There is, however, a really simple solution to this nightmare – wear SPF every day. It doesn’t matter if it’s in your skincare, makeup or a separate product, just get it on your skin before you head out. It’s the number one best trick to have a nice and glowing skin as possible.

Do you have any other great skin tips?

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It’s crazy how much changes in only a couple of weeks in the life of a baby. Ace is yet again a completely different little person. It’s amazing to get to follow such crazy progress.  

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Age – 10 months and 3 weeks.

Size – He has been eating like a champ and since I make 90% of his food now I make sure he gets loads of good fats, vitamins, and nutrients. He must be over 10 kgs by now, he feels a lot heavier. And he is really tall. I have to buy trousers that are for 1-1.5-year-olds. He has long legs and a shorter upper body just like his dad.

Eats– Almost everything. His favorite is chicken livers with sweet potato, slow roast lamb with veg, fish, chicken…you name it. His favorite snacks are little cubes of organic cheddar cheese, avocado, and raspberries.

Favorite thing to do – He likes trying to pull the photos down from the wall above the sofa. He uses everything that moves as a walker, plays like crazy with Olive and love to cuddle his Mom. He is very Momsy at the moment and wants to sit in my lap and be close as much as possible. I love it.

Best for Mom – We started the settling in at his nursery this week. I’m looking forward to him getting to play lots and finding new little friends. I’m also looking forward to getting to do some work, run errands and have some time for me. Today he was there for 2 hours and I sat in the parent room outside. I managed to answer all my flagged emails in my inbox and it felt amazing.

Worst for Mom – Him starting nursery. When he cried when I left today made my heart break into a million little pieces. I even went back once before I decided I had to give in and I just handed him over to a lovely lady and went and had a little cry in the parent room. It’s horrible to see them sad, but when I came to pick him up he was fast asleep on a little mattress and I had to wait another 15 minutes.

I’m hoping tomorrow will be easier. I’m going to the hospital to empty our my breast abscess when Ace is at the nursery. They have ordered a bigger syringe, hopefully, it will work this time.

Progress – Now he stands up all on his own and is really stable too. He points at anything he wants and wants to know what things are called. He says Mamma/Dadda/oon and also ”bye bye” and ”bomma” (blomma) it means flower in Swedish. I mix Swedish and English when I speak to him and try to give him the easiest word to learn. I figure that eventually, he will learn to separate the two. If I set up too many rules for how I should be talking to him, then I might find it to heard to teach him both languages. So, for now, I will do my best.

Favorite toy– A loud firetruck he got from Garth’s parents. It’s quite noisy, but I don’t mind when I see the smile on his face. He knows the sound cars make and go ”brrrrrrrrmmm” all over the house with his little firetruck.

This week’s headscratcher – Now when he is so ”momsy”, is it better for me to give him all the love and cuddles I can or should I try to give him over to Garth as often as I can to make it more even? My heart tells me to keep holding on to him, but Garth thinks I should even it out as much as I can. What do you think?

This week’s motto – ”If I hold her hair really tight, then she can’t put me down.”

This week’s baby WTF – When I turn around and my little rascal is sitting on top of the black table next to the door. He somehow managed to get on there via the sofa and it gave me a tiny heart attack. I put pillows and blankets all over the floor around the sofa, because I can’t sit next to him all the time. So I can only limit the exposure to danger by padding everything if he falls down.

This week’s Mom moment – When we went to a casting and Ace spat out a half-eaten bit of cheese on the client. Luckily she also has kinds…

This week’s event – By far starting nursery. It’s a really big step and I hope he will find it more fun when he gets used to me not being around all the time.

Tip of the week  – Cold medium boiled eggs are a great snack on the go. They are too crumbly if I boil them too hard, but if I make them gooey then he can hold them in his hand.

The question of the week – Please write a bit more about how you lost your belly? I’m in the same situation, I had a baby 3 months ago and I still have my belly. I have always been tall and skinny and I’m suffering from this. It feels like ”everyone else”loses their belly straight away and I’m worried mine won’t go at all. Although I know that it will go down slowly. I have used an app to work out and I’m signed up to mum-training this fall. I also walk quite a lot / Angie. 

It took some time but finally, my belly is almost back to normal again. I would say I’m about 90% there.

The best exercise I have been doing is a pelvic floor squeeze whilst also pulling in my belly button towards my spine and tensing all the lower abs, 10 seconds on, 10 seconds off 10 times over.  You can also do it on your back and alternate lifting and lowering your legs at the same time. (just make sure you don’t dome). I find it easier if I do something else at the same time, like a squat. The pelvic floor has really been the key for my abs to come together again.

I got these exercises from a woman’s physio. I know it’s hard to find the time when you have a little one, but I try to do them when I’m walking, sitting in the car, blogging on the sofa or even with him as a weight when I squat.

Tomorrow we are back at the nursery again, I really hope the dropping off will be easier this time.

Bed – Ellos, light – Ellos, blue pillow – Lexington, yellow pillow – Lexingtceilingling lamp – Daniel Becker Shop , chair – LeFlair , book – Taschen , pot – Ellos, candle – Diptyque. (adlinks)

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Now when the flat above is almost all done (there are a few pieces of furniture on back order) I sadly don’t really have a reason to browse for interiors anymore. 

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I really enjoyed decorating within a specific budget and I’m really happy with the end result if I may say so myself.

Bex and Luke moved in before a lot of the furniture arrived, so I haven’t really had an opportunity to take photos to share with you guys yet. But as soon as the last few things arrive, then I will take a shoot day upstairs and you can see how it all turned out.

My next interior project will most likely be when we move to a bigger house here in Clapham or possibly our French country house that I’m dreaming of. Both of them are still a few years away, so until then I will just have to dream and get inspired.

I could change it up a bit at home, but with a 10-month old that climbing on everything, it’s not really great timing. Maybe in a year or so… At the moment most of our nice things are up on high shelves so our little adventurer can’t get to them. Functionality over style, but that’s just the way it is during the baby years. There will be a time for a perfect home in the future again.

I will however never give up on my Baies from Diptyque. If you wonder what my home smells like, it’s all Baies. It has been my favorite candle since I first picked it up in Liberties here in London years ago and I always have one at home.

Do you have something that always moves with you from home to home that you never grow tired of?

My dress is by Flynn Skye and you can find it here. My bag is by Oasis(here) and my sandals are old from Mango (but you can find similar ones here)  (adlinks)

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I have such a spark for life at the moment.

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I do find living pretty exciting most days, but this last year has really given me an understanding of how short the time is that we have on this earth. It scares me a bit that I’m 35 years old and I still haven’t done more than half of the things I want to do in life.

Places I want to see, people I want to meet, conversations I want to have, more children, work opportunities, maybe another career, who knows?

I used to feel like I had oceans of time, but since I had Ace, I have really realized that time doesn’t just go, it sprints.

It’s almost a year ago since my special little soul came to this earth, how can that be? He has gone from being a 4 kg little lump that could only eat, sleep, poo, wee and burp to a 10 kg actual person who says ”mamma”, ”dadda”, ”bye” and ”spoon”. He can point at what he wants and stands up all on his own without any support. Soon he will be running into the kitchen asking me whats for dinner.

Few things come with such a reality check when it comes to time as having children.

In one year Ace has achieved so much. What have I done in 35? It’s scary to think that you cannot buy time when it’s out, it’s out. We are never as young as we are today and still we seldom appreciate it until much later.

I’m terrified of having run out of time, look back and regret all the things I didn’t do. Most I’m worried that I will blink and miss Ace growing up. But I also know that I have to let go a little bit so I can do all those other things.

”someday” really is now. Nothing is going to get any easier with time. What are we actually waiting for, to get old and maybe even lose our ability to actually do those exact things?

… and then I get anxiety. Because how am I meant to choose? there are so many different paths to take in life. The opportunities are endless. I end up feeling almost paralyzed by all the options and having to make such big choices.

This is basically what’s going on in my brain at the moment, anyone who feels the same?

1 – Mango, 2- Asos, 3 – Current air, 4 – Asos, 5 – Vero Moda, 6 – Mango, 7 – Bershka 8 – Stine Goya, 9 – Y.A.S  (adlinks)

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One of my favorite items in my wardrobe that always makes me smile getting out every fall is my bright blue suede biker jacket. 

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It’s timeless and really stylish. I love that I picked a strong color and it works with almost everything else in my closet. I like it so much that I’m contemplating getting another one in a different color to alternate with.

Suede can be a bit tricky, especially in London. But with a good suede spray and an umbrella in my bag, I seem to be able to keep my jacket in a pretty good condition.

I would go as far as to say that there is a place for a great suede biker in everyone’s closet. It’s such a good investment that will last year after year and usually end up with a pretty decent PPW (Price Per Wear).

I got my eye on the pink one from Current Air. The suede makes it a bit softer than a regular leather biker and this particular one is on sale for just about £100. What do you think, does it have my name on it?

I’m actually going to sell off quite a few items on Vestiaire Collective this fall. I want to downsize and have less but better items in my wardrobe.

What item in your wardrobe do you get out every fall without fail?

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The eternal question…shellac or regular nail polish?

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In the past, I always had to use regular polish in a neutral color for castings and modeling jobs. But at the moment I’m still on maternity leave, so maybe it would be easier to do shellac?

It will last a bit longer, especially since I’m washing my hands, the dishes and everything else all day long.

It would get a bit more spendy, but it would be nice to always have nice nails. One less thing to think about. I hate when I have bad nails and honestly feel ashamed to show my hands. I truly believe in tidy and well looked after nails.

You who do shellac, is it worth it? How long does it take to do fingernails, how often do I have to do them and are there any negatives I should know about?

I tend to keep my nails fairly short, in a squoval shape. Both because I like them that way, but also so I won’t scratch Ace. It’s enough with all the cuts both of us already have from his sharp little fingers that seem to produce tiny razorblades instead of nails. When I see moms on Instagram with long pointy nails, I always wonder how they change a nappy? I can barely keep my fingers out of the poop as it is!

At the moment, these are my 4 nail favorites (adlinks)

Essie – Allure (a sheer neutral white)
Essie – Wrap me up (from the limited edition cashmere collection. Light pink-grey)
IsaDora – 589 Golden glow (metallic pink)
IsaDora – 559 Sparkling sand (glittery pink)

I prefer light nail colors, especially when my hands are tanned. Also, it’s kind of practice that you can’t see as well if they are chipped. My nails at the moment are probably missing about 20% of the polish, but you can barely see it on the photo. So a tip from me to you is to wear a light color if you know you won’t be able to keep the maintenance up as well as you would like.

I should probably be experimenting a bit more with my nails now when I’m not going to lots of castings…

What do you like nail wise? Long, short, round, pointy, shellac or regular polish?