Pastels for spring

It's all about pastels for the 2012 spring. I personally think this hot color trend is lovely. So fresh and fun.

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Swedish fika

They have this Swedish bakery in Glendale, Berolina on Ocean View Blvd. I've been wanting to try it forever and finally and friend and I went there today. Definitely quite a drive from my house but then I got the reward in the shape of this.... I also bought with me a couple of kanellbullar and a dammsugare. Mmm, maybe it's a good thing this place is not around the corner from me..

American style

If you can't make up your mind about eating a hamburger or a cake, here you go! :-)

DVF for Gap Kids

Diane Von Furstenberg has just released a baby/kids collection for Gap and I went over there yesterday before the movie to check it out. Lots of her signature wrap dresses for toddlers and other cute stuff. I picked out these two items for a very special little one.

Kate + Johnny

I love this tender image of Kate Moss and Johnny Depp from back in the day when they were an item. I thought they made such a gorgeous couple.

Movie Night

I went to the Grove to see "Friends with kids" tonight. Having read good review about it I was excited to see it. I thought it would be better though, and funnier. But it was still worth seeing for sure. And at the movies you get to eat the yummiest popcorn - yay :) A fun fact: John Slattery from Mad Men was sitting right in front of us. I'm guessing he wanted to check out his Mad Men colleague John Hamm, who played one of the characters in the movie.

Little Denmark

To my delight, fellow Scandinavians Sweden and Norway were quite represented too.

They even had a replica of the famous Danish mermaid in Copenhagen.

Mmm, all these Danish goodies...

Yesterday's visit to Solvang was lovely. A little chilly but so much fun being in "Denmark" again. Actually the weather was perhaps another part of the feeling that I was almost home for a while....
I'm from the South of Sweden originally so I was brought up with going on trips to Copenhagen or Helsingor since I was very little. Their ice cream and pastries were always something the kid in me looked forward to. And still does I would say. The "wienerbrod" was a highlight of the day!

And some more...

Fresh fruit along the road. We bought a bag of 8 pounds of oranges and continued our trip.

Morning view from the room in Pismo Beach.

A good start of the day at "Penny's American Cafe'"

This is one of the biggest antique stores in America  - located in the old railway station in Los Alamos. It was so huge it felt like a museum and I got pretty tired after walking around, looking at everything.

The classic "Union Hotel" on the same street, where we visited the bar after a pizza dinner at "Fullof Life Flatbread".

Photo bomb from the trip

I'm back in LA again since early last night. It feels good to be back and sleep in my own bed but I'll miss the feeling of vacation and freedom of course. Until next time - I'll have the sweet memories from this one.

A room with a sky view

Not only the motel itself offers a sky view but apparently you also get your very own one in the room :-) I noticed that before falling asleep last night.

Los Alamos

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Skyview motel lies up on a hill and will keep us warm tonight.

"Full of Life" Flatbread served one of the best pizzas ever tasted.

An original way of giving out the check - in an old novel.

This place is amazing and actually it got discovered by accident. The destination for tonight would have been the Danish village Solvang but because of a bicycle race in town all the hotels were booked so Los Alamos it was. And thank you for that. Solvang will still be there tomorrow and I'm naming Los Alamos a must see when driving this way. Much of the wild west atmosphere from the late19th century is still very much here.

Roadside treasures

An orange glass bowl, an Avon 70's swan perfume bottle, a porcelain ring holder and a jewelry box from Japan.

I love surprises along the road like this one - a charming little antique store in the middle of nowhere in Santa Ynez valley. Of course we had to stop. And walked out of there some items richer.

Cookies from back in the day

A cozy hotel right by the beach in Pismo Beach is my home for tonight. Such a charming little beach community. I'm looking forward to a stroll alongside the shore tomorrow morning. And in an Italian pizzeria/delicatessen store I even found my favorite cookies I used to buy in Milan all the time when living there. Happy!

Beautiful

Eagle Castle vineyard.

Cherry trees blossom - I don't know many things I find more beautiful.

Paso Robles with surroundings.

Far from meatballs

They really have some innovative, interesting cuisine here in Paso Robles.... something tonight's dinner choice was an example of. What about nettle risotto with clams or grouper with mini octopus, lentils, mandarins, olives, potatoes... Hmm, I definitely do like to try new things but sometimes less can be more too.