It’s almost Christmas, a time full of joy, happiness, love, food…

…stress, social pressure, anxiety, loneliness, and uncomfortable situations.

I have 10 don’ts for a happier Christmas. They make me re-focus and calm down when I need it the most.

DON’T

1. Try to make everything perfect. Because nothing is ever perfect and by striving for perfection we are setting ourselves up for failure.

2.  Overdo it on the food and drink. It will only make us feel crap after.

3.  Forget to move. Make time for the gym or just some fresh air. It will counteract all the stress the holidays can put upon us.

4.  Get caught up in “competitive Christmas”. It’s meant to be a great experience the way we like it. Not for our mom group, the in-laws or those following us for social media.

5.  Forget to live in the moment. A lot happens very quickly in December and all of a sudden it has all gone and we barely had time to process any of it.

6.  Sacrifice our me-time. If anything, give yourself more time to read books in front of a fireplace or take a long bath. Pajama-days are good days.

7.  Pack our social calendars too full. It’s great to meet up with friends and colleagues, but if it’s too much in one go, it will feel like a burden instead of something fun.

8. Be a people pleaser. It’s easy to take on too much and forget ourselves.

9. Feel like Christmas “should” be a certain way. Christmas means different things to different people. We each have to find our own traditions and decide what matters to us.

10.  Forget to prioritize. How many handwritten Christmas cards do we really have to send out? Do we have to make that dish from scratch? And who really cares about if there is a bit of dust in the corners?

Are we ready? …set….go!!

And if it all feels a bit much, keep my 10 don’ts for a happier Christmas in mind and never ever feel bad for using them.

Photo – Ida Zander. Dress by Ida Sjöstedt (gift) and boots by Mark Ellis. (affiliate link)

Many people, blogs and accounts involved in sustainability are calling for an end to Black Friday. 

And as someone who is passionate about the subject, I can completely see why.

But I can also see the benefits of Black Friday, at least for now until more people take an interest in a more sustainable way of living.

So what might these possible benefits be?

The way I see it, if we follow a few guidelines, Black Friday can actually help the sustainability cause. 

Sustainable brands can be a bit more expensive than their high-street counterparts. For all the right reasons, of course. But one of the biggest problems today is that we often outprice those who cannot afford to shop sustainably. We can argue that they have to shop less and better, but it’s still a pretty privileged standpoint.

Black Friday can help those who are yet to try out a sustainable brand to get their first taste of fair consumption at a discounted price. …and hopefully, they will like it enough to do their best to continue. It does feel better to know you are doing the right thing after all.

And if a shopper allocates the same amount of money they were going to spend on a Christmas gift from the high street and instead put it either into a discounted more sustainable option or even second-hand. Then they will get more for their money, the receiver will get a higher quality gift that will last longer and it could possibly spark an interest in a more sustainable way of living.

Even though it’s not perfect, there are ways to try to shop sustainably on Black Friday

I think a big key to more responsible consumption is to normalize sustainable brands. At the moment it’s still something certain groups of society see as activism. If we call for an end to Black Friday before it’s time, then there will be a us-and-them situation. And we end up alienating people that might just have needed a bit more time to get on-board.

What we need to do is to help shoppers outsmart the system. To show the best ways to buy responsibly at Black Friday instead of shaming those who do.

There are a few simple guidelines I recommend to shop sustainably on Black Friday;

→ Buy from sustainable and ethical brands. They need your business and you will end up with better.

→ Get one discounted gift of high quality instead of several high-street ones.

→ Buy the items you were going to get anyway.

→ Plan your purchases far in advance. This is the time to buy those quality over quantity items you have been looking at (or already have, love and need to stock up on). 

→ Get great quality basics that you will use for years to come. 

→ DO NOT SHOP ON IMPULSE! This is where it gets you if you do Black Friday wrong. You are not saving money when you buy a discounted mediocre item, you are wasting it.  

→ Certain second-hand shops have Black Friday deals too. 

→ Only buy timeless items you really love. Maybe something that would have been just out of reach at their ordinary price point?

→ Think investment, not bargain.

The whole core of Black Friday is consumption and to stir up a shopping frenzy. But we don’t have to get swept up in it. It’s ok to buy things we need (and even at times want). We just have to put down some groundwork first and shop for the right reasons.

I, for one, really need a new electric toothbrush since mine died last week, so that’s on my Black Friday shopping list this year. I also have a piece of clothing in mind that I have been looking at all year. It’s a short list, but it will save me some money without making me buy anything unnecessary.

What do you think? Can we shop sustainably on Black Friday or do you think it should be banned altogether? 

Hi guys, how are you this week?

We had an awesome weekend in Sweden. My step-mom turned 60 and had rented a small castle to throw a dinner for 45 people. And what a party it was! The oldest person there was my step grandad Lelle, he is 90 next year and the youngest person was my little nephew Lukas 7 weeks. Lukas was sleeping in the sling on my sister’s belly all night and Lelle stood up and sang twice.

You can imagine the dance floor after dinner. 60-somethings got some pretty snazzy moves.

With all that fresh Swedish air in my lungs I’m ready to kick this week off with a Mindful Monday.

This is my inspiration, dream, luxury, and mantra this week;

My mantra this week  – “Little by little, day by day, what’s meant for me will come my way”. I try to have faith in that what is meant to be will be and that anything in my way is there for a reason.

My affirmation this week – “If I’m the smartest person in a room, then I’m in the wrong room”.To learn in life we have to be curious and constantly ask questions and listen to answers. And the best answers come from those smarter or just different than ourselves. So I have to step out of my comfort zone if I want to grow.

My goal this week –  We have an event at xInfluence, so my goal is to get everything sorted tomorrow.

My dream of the week  – I’m dreaming of a white Christmas..haha! but really, I’m hoping to spend Christmas in Sweden with my family. And if it would happen to snow, then that would be dreamy!

My focus this week  –  This week I’m focusing on my wardrobe. I need to do a new clear out. I had a massive one in January last year, and I have to make sure I keep on top of it and don’t allow clothes to build up again.

The event of the week – I’m going to a really interesting event and sustainability talk tomorrow with Reve en Vert and Togetherband. Don’t forget to check out my stories tomorrow night.

My lesson from last week – Life goes in phases of hitting the gas and slowing down. Times of preparation and times of execution. I have to learn to accept when I’m having a slow week.

My little luxury this week – I bought luxurious Swedish licorice chocolate with me from home and I will have a few pieces after dinner every night.

My inspiration this week  – You know I’m all about positive thinking and try to have a positive outlook in life. I found this TED talk really helpful to deal with negativity.

What is your inspiration, dream, luxury, and mantra this week?

Photo – Ida Zander

Jacket – Avie, jumper – Micha Lounge, trousers – Zara, sneakers – Jimmy Choo, ring – Winsor Bishop.

Ok, it’s time for us to talk jewellery and how to curate a timeless and sustainable jewellery collection. 

For this, I have paired up with the amazing jewellers Winsor Bishop for a series of posts here on the blog and on Instagram.

As I’m hoping you have noticed, I don’t do a lot of collaborations. Mainly because it’s hard to find brands that fit both my style and my ethos. It’s not that I don’t get asked, I just turn a lot down. (More than I can afford, but integrity is priceless).

The reason Winsor Bishop is such a great fit for me is not only because they make the kind of jewellery I actually want to wear. They also source their diamonds sustainably and ethically.

On top of this, they are a family-owned business, founded in 1834, with a female managing director. If you have been in business for that long, you must be pretty great at what you are doing. So to have the opportunity to do a collaboration together is really empowering.

Over the next couple of months, I will show you a few of my favorites from their collections and of course look at how we best put together a jewellery wardrobe that is wearable, timeless, has great Price Per Wear* and above all is sustainable.

If you have followed me for a while, you know my husband Garth is from Zimbabwe and still has family and friends in the country. So we have spent quite a bit of time down there. We even got married at a lion sanctuary in the middle of the bush close to Gweru on New Year’s Eve 2014. (What a night!)

Zimbabwe is a big diamond exporter and having had a glimpse into the diamond industry, I truly care where my own are from. So the first step when I look for jewellery is to make sure the company is ethical and sustainable. There is too much money involved in this industry and you have no idea what you might inadvertently support when you purchase something.

Winsor Bishop only works with diamond suppliers who are a part of the “Kimberly Process”, whose purpose is to reduce the flow of conflict diamonds.

I’m the first to admit I don’t own a lot of jewellery, but the things I do have are exquisite.

I basically wear one necklace, my engagement and my wedding rings, little diamond studs in my ears and my watch. Not much, but all of these things are truly special. They might have cost a little more than your general high-street dingle dangle, but the Price Per Wear* is outstanding. It’s quality over quantity all the way!

I’m really conscious when I choose what to get. I try to stay away from the big famous jewellery brands since I don’t want to wear something that lots of other people will have. I see my jewellery as my signature and I want it to be personal and special to me.

So I rather go to a jeweller and either get something made or find a truly unique piece. This way I end up paying for what I’m getting and not just a name and the image attached to it.

Jewellery is meant to be personal and timeless. If you spend lots of money on something that you will either get bored with quickly or that might go out of style, then you are losing out. It’s not about getting 10 trendy things, it’s about finding that one special piece that really speaks to you.

Like this diamond and enamel ring.

Winsor Bishop sent over a few pieces of jewellery for me to pick my favourites from and this ring just stood out straight away. I’m completely head over heels for it. I have been looking for a ring for my right hand for a couple of years now and this is the first one I have found that I truly love.

…and even though I have just borrowed it for a while, it feels like it’s already mine. So I’m not sure I will be able to part with it, to be honest.

It suits me incredibly well. It’s unique, a little bit of a statement and a conversation piece. It also aligns perfectly with my light pastel-heavy wardrobe.

If I would buy this ring, it would be a great addition to my small timeless and sustainable jewellery collection. Yes, it is a little bit of an investment. But since I don’t buy any jewellery from the high street, I probably actually end up spending less all in all than what most people do. I just put it all into one purchase instead of several.

And I would feel happy knowing that I’m supporting a great sustainable company with lots of heritage and heart when I bought it. 

You can find this stunning enamel ring on Winsor Bishop’s website here. Their beautiful shop is Norfolk based, but you can find all their stock online too.

No matter if you are rewarding yourself, hoping to receive a gift from someone special or want to give them something really nice, Winsor Bishop has lots of beautiful, unique and sustainable jewellery to choose from.  

Photos – Rosalind Alcazar. Location – Minnow. 

*Price Per Wear or PPW is the idea of judging an item’s expense not just based on the purchase price, but divided into how often it will be worn. So an expensive item can be really cheap if you wear it a lot and a cheap item can be very expensive if you only wear it a few times. 

This post is presented in collaboration with Winsor Bishop. 

Have you ever looked yourself in the mirror, liked your outfit, but then changed anyway because you didn’t think other people would get it?

If not, good for you!

But if you have, don’t worry, it’s really common. Most of us are sensitive to judgment from other people. And people do judge, so it’s not strange to have their ideas in mind when getting dressed.

However, it’s all originating from a massive misconception. For some reason society has decided that there are certain rules we should stick to when we get dressed. And if you ask anyone who made this rule, they would probably say it’s “common knowledge” or refer to a fashion magazine. No one can really pinpoint who this all-knowing fashion god is.

I’m going to share something truly wardrobe-changing with you now – THERE ARE NO RULES IN FASHION!

There is no higher power that is deciding what we should or shouldn’t wear. It’s is all up to us. Fashion magazines are there as inspiration, not for judgment. There are stupid ideas that stuck in our heads that is hindering us from experimenting more.

FASHION IS ART! And there is no right or wrong in art, so why should there be in fashion? It’s your expression to dress the way you like. It tells the story on the outside of who you are on the inside. It’s your right to wear whatever you think expresses your creativity and inner and outer life the best. There are no rules in fashion.

Of course, there are suggestions like dress codes, that we can choose to follow, or not. And I would stick to decency laws to not end up in legal trouble. But what shapes or colors that go together, what certain body types or ages “should” wear and all other kinds of personal preferences are just that, personal preferences. Nothing more or less.

It’s often insecure people trying to exercise power by being judgemental. They are sad, you are amazing. That is the truth. 

It’s once we break down those walls of insecurity when the real magic happens. How will anyone ever come up with something new if we all are forced into the same lane?

I put a little video clip of this outfit on Instagram and straight away someone asked why I would tuck my trousers into my boots. And the answer is – because I feel like it! I love the silhouette and it’s an unexpected touch. It amuses my creativity to experiment and not wear everything “the right way” all the time.

…and I will most likely do it again and again. It doesn’t mean that you have to do it. THERE lies the charm in fashion. It’s not just about what we wear, it’s also about how we wear it. It’s meant to be fun!

Now when we have determined that just like all art, there are no rules in fashion. Will you change the way you dress? 

Photo – Ida Zander.

You can find my outfit and similar styles below (affiliate links). My necklace and ring are a part of a future collaboration with Winsor Bishop.

Hello my lovelies, how are you?

I’m loving my work-life balance right now. I have just enough time at the office, at home on my own with my own influencer work and with Ace. He goes to nursery 2.5 days a week and has a nanny for 4 more hours. And in that time I have an almost full work life. Also, our house is finally tidy and clean again

…except for the hole in the wall… Ace pulled down one of our glass shelves last week. Luckily it didn’t hurt him, but it was glass everywhere and we now have 2 matching cute little holes in the wall.

When I closed my Swedish blog it felt like I was giving up on something I worked really hard for. I thought I would regret that decision, but if anything I have only felt like I should have done it sooner.

Now when I have time to do what I need to do and my balance finally is there, I’m enjoying blogging and creating a lot more. It was a hard thing to do, but the right thing for me.

I miss my Swedish followers of course, but I still talk to a lot of them/you on DMs on my Instagram ( I ALWAYS answer!)

This is my inspiration, dream, focus, and mantra this week;

My mantra this week  – “I’m no longer available for things that make me feel bad”. I don’t know why I ever was, to be honest. These days as soon as something takes more than give, I’m out. There is no need to suffer, life is too short. It took me way to long to not only realize this but also put it into practice.

My affirmation this week – “I’m happy, relaxed and excited for the future”. I’m feeling really great at the moment and I want to keep riding on that wave. So I will remind myself as often as I remember.

My goal this week – Is to make it to Sweden on Thursday in one piece. I’m going on my own with Ace and Garth will come on Friday. It’s the first time Ace will have his own seat on the plane!

My dream of the week  – I dream of spending more time with my family back in Sweden. I never feel like I get enough time when I’m there to check in even with my closest family. I have 4 younger sisters that all live away from home, divorced parents with separate lives, stepparents, former stepparents, a great-grandma, you name it. There is never enough time to really spend time with all of them.

My focus this week  – Is to only take on 75% and do it all really well.

The event of the week – Going to Sweden on Thursday and my stepmom’s 60th Birthday Party on Saturday. They have hired a small castle for the event!

My lesson from last week – Don’t leave laptops on the table when toddlers are eating. My poor Mac book got a milk-infusion and my screen went black. Luckily the lovely people at the Apple store sorted it out in 20 minutes and charged my absolutely nothing. You can’t beat Apple!

My little luxury this week – I’m going to meet up with my lovely friend Masha on Wednesday for a coffee. He is an influencer too and I just love her Instagram account. We are going to my favorite no-waste café her in Clapham called “Common”.

My inspiration this week  – The phrase “What if it’s not a problem?” stuck with me this week. I don’t know where I read it, but it changed something in my way of thinking. Is what I see as a problem actually even a problem? A lot of times it’s not! Life-changing!

What is your inspiration, dream, focus, and mantra this week?

My shirt is by Ralph Lauren,  Organicjeans from Theo and George (gift + adlink) and my beloved pre-loved Chanel shoes.
Photo – Ida Zander

…yes you read that right – preloved Chanel pumps for £100!!

How on earth??

The answer is Vestiaire Collective + vintage + a trip to the cobblers.

These little guys needed a tiny tad bit of love in the shape of a new sole..that’s it! I always find it crazy that people shy away from buying something with such an easy fix as a new sole. But I really don’t mind because it means more bargains for me.

These beauties are vintage from the 80s/90s and barely worn. The heel needed to be re-done and for some reason, the old owner didn’t invest the £15 before they put them up for sale. Most designer shoes need a re-heel pretty quickly, I have even had to bring a pair of boots in that I had only worn for half a day before the little rubber bit on the heel came off.

They are very similar to the Chanel pumps you can see in shops now, only the heel is thinner and they have a tiny little platform (great for slightly vertically challenged people like me). They are timeless, very comfortable and make me feel like a chic Parisienne.

Coming in at £100, November’s shopping is a fairly frugal one. I guess it will leave me more budget for my December item…or Christmas gifts.

It is my birthday in December, so I haven’t really decided if maybe I should treat myself to something really special? I will also have gone a full year only buying one single item each month.

I’m trying to think of something a little bit more indulgent that I might need. But to be honest, my wardrobe is pretty well-rounded by now. So it would be more of a want than a need… but that’s ok now and then too.

Ha, it really hits me how far I have come when I read the above sentence back to myself. If you would have asked me a little over a year ago, I would have been able to give you a list of at least 10 things I was dying to purchase. And now, I’m just content. It’s like I finally found my way around my own wardrobe and fashion. All the pressure is off, it’s only fun, creativity and expression left.

I don’t shop to feel good anymore. 

I have other ways of making myself feel great instead. My self-care routine is way better and these days I enjoy the process of deciding what I will buy each month more than the actual purchase itself.

…except for maybe this one. Since it was a bit more of an impulse buy. (And I did do a really ugly happy dance in my kitchen once my offer at Versitiare Collective was approved).  I mean a pair of preloved Chanel pumps for £100… It is a find of a lifetime.

It’s all about making a small wish list of truly tieless pieces that you don’t mind waiting possibly even years to own. But keep on checking in on pages like Vestiaire Collective (Europe + US), The RealReal (US) and similar, where they authenticate products for you. And when you find that special item, be quick and celebrate accordingly.

What is the ultimate super bargain to you ? A Max Mara coat? A Saint Laurent bag? Maybe a piece of fine jewellery? Preloved Chanel pumps for £100? Please share in the comments!

I’m wearing a timeless Blazer from Avie , organic cotton jeans by Theo+George (gift + affiliate link), pre-loved Saint Laurent belt and Chanel pumps from Vestiaire Collective and jewellery by ethical jeweller Winsor Bishop. 

Photo – Ida Zander.

It’s good to be really busy right? To show that you are having and doing it all? If we aren’t overwhelmed with the number of things on our to-do list are we even worthy?

Well, I don’t agree. At all.

There is this misconception in society that the “best” people do the most. You win in life if you can juggle it all. That there is some kind of a reward at the end of the tunnel.

I can tell you what the reward is. It’s stress, anxiety, feelings of not being and having enough and general unhappiness.

Is that what we want in life? To stress and work and run around like headless chickens until we die? To live to work instead of work to live?

The truth is, the happiest people are those who know how to prioritize and say no. Those who switch off their phones and put away the to-do list and play with their children. The ones who take a second to smell the freshly cut grass and that knows what it feels like to be truly carefree.

This is why I only take on 75% of what I can handle.

Because nothing is ever as smooth or easy as we imagine it to be. The 25% left will be filled no matter what. We always overestimate what we have time and energy to do. So, in the end, I’m actually busy 100% of the time.

The difference is that I actually get everything done.

If I took on 100% I would end up having to do 125%, ie I wouldn’t be able to finish. And this would make me feel unaccomplished and never good enough. I would always feel behind and stressed.

So when I only take on 75% of what I can handle, it is how I win in life. It’s the only way to actually get everything done and feel good about it. So I can truly enjoy the time we have for ourselves and the good things in life.

Do you always feel stressed and like you have too much on your plate? Give my 75% method a try and see how much better you will feel. I promise you won’t feel lazy or left behind. If anything the absolute opposite!

Photo – Roz Alcazar

My dress is unfortunately sold out, but I have linked a few similar ones. You can still find my amazing boots for sale, I can’t recommend them enough; (affiliate links)

It’s a bit daunting taking a photo with a supermodel, I have to admit. I’m wearing a suit by Dea Kudibal. 

“I have a date with a Victoria’s Secret angel” – a sentence many men and probably a few women wish they get to say at one point in their life. Myself included.

…a big fat check on that one ✔️

You see I got invited to Selfridges the other day to meet our favorite angel – Candice Swanepoel to have a chat about sustainability and her new swimwear brand Tropic of C. Maybe not a date date, but enough for me to get seriously excited.

Are Victoria’s Secret angels as beautiful in real life as they are on tv? Will she be nice? Does she actually care about sustainability and will I get to talk to her about it?

YES to all the questions above.

She is drop-dead gorgeous and even though she just had two kids in quick succession you would never know. Me being me (ie quite forward and with a sustainability agenda) I took my chance to ask her a few questions about the brand. And to my delight, she is not only truly lovely, but she is also knowledgable in the space.

She explained that it was hard to find a sustainable fabric that would behave well both in water and on dry land. But once she found it, she was surprised that it actually held it’s shape better than more common swimwear fabrics. Econyl is like most popular sustainable fabrics, recycled plastic. Candice explained that the long-term goal for Tropic of C is to do a send-back and recycle program.

Until then she focuses on working with artesian women from around the world and she works closely with organizations like mothers2mothers.

I love it when a brand doesn’t just think about the product, but the packaging too. The labels are all woven, packaging recyclable, tags by bamboo and even the hygiene liner is compostable. You can read more about the sustainability of Tropic of C here.

I had the pleasure of meeting the lovely actress Georgia Hirst and her model brother Horatio. You might recognize her from the show “Vikings”. 

The style of the Tropic of C swimwear is inspired by Candice’s home country South Africa and is a homage to nature.

As a woman with boobs, and not a perfectly flat stomach, there is definitely some bikinis I wouldn’t be able to pull off. But I fell in love with the high-waisted bikini briefs with a slightly more supportive underwired bra. Especially the one in leopard will be on my wish list for future holidays.

Here in the UK, you can find Tropic of C at Selfridges both online or in-store if you fancy a little try-on session.

You can find my personal favorites from Tropic of C below (affiliate links);

Photo – Daniel Bruno Grandl

I’m having a bit of a crappy day. Nothing big, just one of those days when all the small things go wrong. 

The tube was delayed this morning, people are not answering important emails in time, I can’t get the information I need before a certain time, my sushi at lunch was off and I make a complaint, I got a little cold brewing, I’m behind on the blog email and it’s really dark when I pick Ace up in the evening and it makes me feel like a crappy mom.

But I really enjoy writing my Mindful Monday post, so I’m hoping it will make me feel a bit better.

This is my goal, dream, focus, and mantra this week;

My mantra this week  –  “We need the lows to appreciate the highs”. Life can’t be all peachy all the time. If it was, we wouldn’t care about anything. It’s the contrasts that make life interesting to live.

My affirmation this week – “I can never be better than my authentic self”. We are at our best when we are 100% us. Not trying to be someone else or to change ourselves to please others. The trick is to figure out exactly who that authentic self is and it’s a process that can take a lifetime.

My goal this week – To make a super cute Halloween costume for Ace. I have a couple of more things to buy and I’m toying with the idea of matching him and Olive. You will see the results on my Instagram stories. 

My dream of the week  – I dream of being able to go to the gym properly again. I have bad diastasis recti and it affects my life every day. But all I keep on being told by doctors is that I need to have surgery …once I’m done having kids. And I’m not done yet. So until then, I have to live with it. I wonder if they would have said tha same if I was a man…?

My focus this week  – This week I’m focusing on planning my calendar up to Christmas. I much rather start now and space out all the things I have to do than do it all in a rush in the end.

The event of the week – Halloween on Thursday of course! We won’t let Ace go trick or treating yet (He is not allowed sweets), but he will get to hand out sweets to other kids. I want to make it fun and a tiny bit spooky, but not scary for him. He is only 2 after all.

My lesson from last week – Other people aren’t perfect either and that’s ok. Some things are not personal, but more of a reflection of how their day is going. If I’m going to allow myself to have bad days, then I have to allow everyone around me to have them too.

My little luxury this week – It might not sound too luxurious, but I want to take an hour to go through my wardrobe and pull out all the clothes I wear most at the moment and hang them on a rail in the bedroom. It makes it really easy for me to dress in the morning.

My inspiration this week  – This week I’m inspired by Quigley. She runs a proper feel-good account on Instagram and if you aren’t already following her I think you should.

What is your goal, dream, focus, and mantra this week?

Photo – Rosalind Alcazar

Shop the post (affiliate links);