Want: Bag

November 30, 2011

My bag is due for replacement, and Sandra Bullock’s from Two Week’s Notice looks pretty nifty.

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Lists

November 28, 2011

We’re entering into the month of December soon, and I’ve got lists of what to bake, what to make, and what events to attend. Decorations: I’ve already started on the Christmas decorating with the indoor lights. I’ll be putting up the outdoor lights in the coming week, and Christmas tree later. Food: There are some [...]

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Media: Kronprinsesse Mette-Marit, pt. 2

November 27, 2011

It is time for part II of the documentary about Mette-Marit. A NRK television crew followed her for a year. Part I is here - and was about her personal side. Part II is about her professional side. It starts with Mette-Marit writing in her office at Skaugum while the kids play outside. As always, as [...]

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First Sunday of Advent

November 27, 2011

It is the first Sunday of Advent, and therefore the start of the Christmas period. I’ve lit the first candle on my advent wreath, and have a Christmas light star in the window.

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Video: Ring meg

November 27, 2011

Norwegian music today – Ring meg, or Call me, by Gabrielle was one of the big songs on the radio earlier this year. Apparently one of the finalists in a talent competition on Norwegian television… (Yes, you can tell how much I watch Norwegian reality television, yes?) I didn’t care for the song the first [...]

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Soft pretzel buns

November 26, 2011

Sometimes you just need something small to snack on. Or maybe dip in something. Or put jam on – so that the mix of sweet/salty comes through. These pretzel bites (though mine ended up more like small buns) had an incredibly spongy quality that reminded me of bagels. (Not so strange, considering that they went [...]

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Music review: Vi tenner våre lykter, CD from Haakon & Mette-Marit’s foundation

November 25, 2011

When I played in the brass band, we had a conductor from the North of Norway. He relished in us playing a northern Norwegian Christmas psalm, in the south of Norway. I can’t recall ever hearing it played – and, quite honestly, the fact that it was on this CD was one of the reasons [...]

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Want: Computer dressing room programme

November 23, 2011

Some days it feels like I am just blindly grabbing into my closet, and dragging out the closest thing I find. Those are the days I envy Cher from Clueless and her amazing wardrobe solution.

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Rewatching Bones season four

November 21, 2011

After the disaster that was season 3′s overall storyline, and Zach Addy ended in a mental hospital. Dr. Brennan was in need of a replacement lab assistant. Bones – Season 4 is all about testing out her best grad students, in addition to resolving the cases that crop up. Favourite quote “Well that’s like me [...]

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Media: Kronprinsesse Mette-Marit, pt 1.

November 20, 2011

This is a documentary by NRK, who have followed Crown Princess Mette-Marit for the past year. They’ve created a nifty opening with graphics, which I absolutely would love to see again. They will probably repeat it again next Sunday when the next part airs. The quotations in the text below… I have tried to cite [...]

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Video: John Williams is the man

November 20, 2011

Granted, he is just miming along to a song by Moosebutter (best name ever?), but it is quite good – and John Williams has indeed some of the best soundtracks ever.

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Incredibly tasty Chocolate Chip Cookies

November 19, 2011

These Chocolate chip cookies come from Cook’s Illustrated, who call them perfect. I have to concur. These are delicious, slightly chewy, and flat-out yummy. I didn’t have chocolate chips on hand, so I went with M&Ms. The result was a bit multicolored but that only added to the fun. I had to take two aside [...]

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Book review: Vanished Kingdoms

November 18, 2011

Vanished Kingdoms: The History of Half-Forgotten Europe by Norman Davies is a collection of historic accounts of several of the former kingdoms of Europe. It is based on the theory that it is the winner of a conflict who get to write the history, so Davies has decided to write the history of the losing part. [...]

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Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows II

November 16, 2011

I am a huge Harry Potter fan. And yet, I haven’t seen Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows II. I was going to, I had a ticket, was in London… and then came a stomach bug. No Harry Potter. And since then, I was going to catch it after I returned to Norway, but the [...]

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National Novel Writing Month

November 14, 2011

Have you heard of National Novel Writing Month, or nanowrimo for short? It is an approach to writing a novel in 30 days. From November 1 to November 30, the goal is to have written a 50,000 words novel. (You can, of course just write a single word and copy it up 50,000 times in [...]

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Video: IOS epidemic

November 13, 2011

This video was shown at a conference I was at a couple of weeks ago, and I thought it was a pretty amusing watch. Anyone else bring their phone with them all the time?

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British succession – what if…

November 13, 2011

An interesting question came up by Jane on The British Royal Message Board (I love “what ifs” scenarios, or counterfactual history,  when it comes to historic events, and let my geek come out often) Jane writes: “All this talk of changing succession rules in the UK leads me to ask: just who exactly would be [...]

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Chicken Paprikash

November 12, 2011

This is a delicious, filling – autumn recipe. Going into darker times (or, if you’re where I am, the darker times have been inching in since September) you need some comfort food. My reason for making it is a fairly simple one. It all started with a book. I can’t recall the book right now, [...]

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Book review: Historic Atlas of dynasties and royal houses

November 11, 2011

Can someone tell me why the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are gracing the cover of The Historical Atlas of Dynasties and Royal Houses? Apart from the publisher believing that it might sell a few extra copies, that is? Despite my initial misgivings of seeing someone who’re a year older than me featured on a [...]

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Märtha Louise and history

November 9, 2011

Look, I’m fine with Princess Märtha Louise doing her own little thing. Talking to angels, horses or audiences that pay her to perform. She’s no longer receiving money from the state for being a royal, so she is earning her own way. However strange others may find it. Most recently in Denmark, where she allegedly [...]

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Want: Nancy Drew’s lunch

November 9, 2011

I’m not one of those very particular types – I’d be hopeless at cutting vegetables the same size, and neatly. Never mind the sandwich squares. However, I find the notion of that particular attention of detail appealing. As is the case with the lunch Nancy Drew brings to school on her first day Nancy Drew

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Recommend recipe?

November 7, 2011

When I was in London two weeks ago, I had a fantastic chocolate fondant at Côte Brasserie in Westbourne Grove. (Their steak & frites were also amazing, but I’m not quite ready to try my hand at frying things, yet.) I want to try my hands at making chocolate fondants. Can anyone recommend a recipe, or [...]

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Video: Uh, what did I do last night?

November 6, 2011

I love the set-up in this Norwegian commercial.

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Banana Bran Muffins

November 5, 2011

These muffins were a lot less sweet than I thought they would be, if that makes any sense. The scent of cinnamon and bananas might have tricked me into thinking it would be sweeter. It definitely feels healthier than some of the other banana bran muffins recipes I’ve seen. There was actually a point where [...]

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Book review: Elizabeth by Sarah Bradford

November 4, 2011

I am rather late to the party on this one - Elizabeth : A Biography Of Her Majesty The Queen by Sarah Bradford was published the first time in the 90s, with an updated version in 2002. Given that I loved Bradford’s easy style of writing in the biography on George VI, I felt the need to [...]

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Want: Mary Poppins’ bag (not literally)

November 2, 2011

I don’t think the appearance of the bag itself is anything to write home about. However, I am still trying to fit everything into one of my bags and failing, so clearly Mary Poppins’ bag company should get to it and mass produce. I am sure some of you would want to bring everything and [...]

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