Talk about one of my favorite places to go to, every chance I get. 😍 Karl Johans Gate (pronounced karl-yoo-hans-ga-ta) is a long road full of dreams. 😊 It’s an avenue full of fashion shops, cafes, restaurants and everything else. Located at the center of Oslo, it’s definitely a place not to miss. Whether you’re a foodie, or a shopaholic, you will come to enjoy it. It has well-known clothing stores like Zara, Mango, H&M, and also clothing stores known only in Scandinavian countries. It has Bikbok, Cubus, Kappahl and a whole lot more. Many people who prefer designer and luxury goods will enjoy Karl Johans Gate, as well. It has Louis Vuitton, Balenciaga, Burberry, Mulberry, Gucci and many other designer boutiques. The restaurants there are a mix of everything. If you’re into Asian cuisine, there are many Thai, Japanese and Asian-fusion restos. When you like European and American food, there are many cafes and restaurants offering those, too. I personally enjoy sweets, and there are pastry shops and chocolate shops to visit to fill my cravings. 😊 I cannot say enough good things about this place. I would recommend it to everyone, especially during the summer. 👌🏻

Hotpot or shabu shabu is an asian traditional soup dish where most of the ingredients are cooked as one eats. Where I used to eat, it usually involves individual sauce mixing, so as to achieve personal preferences. This is much better than the usual soup style, in my opinion, because it can be personalized as to each person’s taste. Some people like their soup salty, some a bit sweet, others prefer spicy, while others like it sour. With hotpot soup, the possibilities are endless. At least, with the hotpot restaurants I’ve tried, that is the case.

A few weeks back, I’ve been nagging my husband to prepare hotpot for me. I already tracked down the ingredients, no surprise there, as they were mostly found in the asian grocery stores. I was excited to finally try it and check if they’re as good as I remember. Oh, how I miss the hotpot restos in Cebu, Philippines. They were ❤️. Anyway, as my husband chopped up the vegetables and spices, prepped and poured the sauces, boiled the beef bones for the broth, and readied the balls, my mouth was already watering. I can hardly wait! So when he called and said that the balls were ready to be dropped into the boiling broth, I hurriedly and excitedly volunteered to do the chore. I dropped the big and small fish balls, the beef balls, the shrimp balls, the fish tofu, the squash slices, all the green leafy vegetables (bokchoi, morning glory, cabbage among others) and everything else, and silently waited for them to cook. After a few minutes, they were ready. My husband and I made our own sauces (he likes salty and spicy, i prefer salty and sour), and finally poured some soup and balls into our bowls. I mixed a bit of my pre-mixed sauce with my soup, checked the taste (approved) and attacked the balls. Hea-ven! They tasted wonderful 🤤. My favorite was the fish tofu, which really surprised me. I was expecting to love the beef balls, but they were “meh”. Oh well, maybe we can prepare it better next time. I am soooo planning for our next hotpot sesh ❤️😍.

Magnus is turning one! 👶🏻🎂🍰 I love it when Dominic gets invited to children’s parties. It’s a great way for him to learn social skills outside of home. It’s also a realistic way to prepare him for the barnehage or in english, daycare.

The party was held at Lekeland. It’s a huge playroom where kids can run around and play. Full of toys, obstacles and everything play-related, it’s a little kid’s dream!

Aside from the Vatican City, we went to many other tourist spots in Rome. With the perfect, sunny weather during our honeymoon, I wore both form fitting and flowy, skater form dresses, as well as denim on denim pairing (for the airport).

I’ve always thought that the hair is the crowning glory of a woman. So, I believe that it’s very important to take good care of it. Long, short, thick or not so thick, curly, wavy or straight, there are many ways to develop and care for the hair. My hair is a cross between straight and wavy. At least, that’s what I think. 😉

I had my hair rebonded last 2011, and before that, my hair was already straight, except for some portions, which were wavy. As many know, straight was “cool and in” way, way back. So, I decided to have it rebonded. I just knew, after that process, that I didn’t want to go through it again. I vowed to maintain the effect of the rebonding, so I wouldn’t have to go back. Fast forward to last year, I discovered a wonderful product that made my hair so much better than it was. Enter Aussie conditioner and deep conditioner. Since it’s often cold here in Norway, it would dry my mane out if I wash it every single day. As opposed to my ritual in the Philippines, where I wash my hair everyday, I only wash it twice a week here. Here is how I do it: After shampooing my hair with an antidandruff shampoo, I use the two Aussie products simultaneously. I condition my hair quickly after the shampoo, rinse it off, flick off the excess water and lay on the deep conditioner. I wait for three minutes, at this time I wash my face and body clean, then I wash my hair. I dry my hair via cold blowdryer, put on argan oil for protection, then I turn the dryer to warm or hot. Right after, my hair feels healthier and has more volume. 👌🏻💁🏻‍♀️

When one has a kid, be it a boy or a girl, one usually gets invited to kiddie birthday parties. I have rarely gone to such parties, only when I was a kid myself, and I was excited to be invited to one. Well, not me exactly, but Dominic. Anyway, it’s taboo to go to a child’s party without bringing a nice gift..and what gift is nicer to a child, than a toy? So, off to Toys R’ Us we went and hunted for an age appropriate gift (very important since one doesn’t want to gift a sharp or violent toy to a toddler, nor a boring and safe toy to a school child). We decided on a bath toy that was both fun, and encourages a child to enjoy bath times more. 😊 It might seem weird to give a bath toy to a child, but the birthday celebrant was only 1, so we didn’t have a lot of “fun” choices. 😁 The outfit for the day was a pink pea coat, high neck striped blouse with mom jeans and slip on sneakers. Perfect with a pink sling bag.

When I was still quite new in Norway, my husband often wanted to go around driving to different cities in the country. One of my favorite drives was to Molde. It’s a city that’s not unlike Ålesund..only a little bigger. There were nice spots, probably. However, we didn’t stay for long since it was about 2 hours drive away, and we wanted to drive to more cities. This was what I decided to wear for the drive. I was trying to give off some bad girl vibes with my all black ensemble, except for the white sneakers. 😂

We rarely waste a beautiful, sunny day. It’s such a wonderful time to go walking around, and enjoy the scenery nearby. We even go walking when it’s cloudy and cold, how much more if it’s bright and sunny out? Notice I didn’t say warm..it’s because it is infrequently warm in here. 😂 So, as good old residents here in Norway, we went out for a stroll, admired our surroundings, and of course, took pictures. 📸

Last year’s boat festival here in Norway was a good one! My hubby and I, with Ze Boss, strolled around the city. It was sunny and hot! The day was perfect for a light sleeveless top, with a short A-line skirt, ballet shoes and matching pink sling bag.

Time does go by too fast. Pretty soon it would be summer again here, and I can’t wait. As of now, it’s still snowy, and the roads are full of the white powder. It’s beautiful, but I miss summertime. I can’t wait to bring out my summer dresses and shoes 😊 This is a throwback to summer 2018, when it was a clear, sunny day. When it was warm enough to wear a short, blue, floral dress with just a light, long cardigan. Since my cardigan was long enough, I decided a wedge espadrille would be the best pair to this sunny look. That, and a neutral, boxy sling bag. 😊