Hats and Bonnets

Those pesky autumn winds are kind of tricky. One minute they are warm and soft, turn the corner, and they are kind of nippy. Especially for little MacOlsson ears. So guess what was on the hook this week? Oh yes, little hats for cute little heads.




Funny thing about hats. No matter what the style,colour or pattern, little heads suit them all. Now adults....well let's just say that an awful lot of people wear hats that just don't suit them at all. Bearing that in mind, I hardly ever wear a hat, and as far as I know, there are very few pictures around of me wearing one. In fact, this past winter, the teachers at my daughters' nursery said that they knew it was really really cold if I had a hat on! The only picture I like of me in a hat is this one, taken of course by Mr MrsMacOlsson.

He took it in Finland, just after we were married, on one of our many honeymoon weekends. We had been out walking for an hour on a gloriously sunny winter day. Minus 28 degrees celsius! Believe me, it was cold.

Does anyone read this? Please leave a comment. Scroll down to the comments section at the end of the post.





http://www.etsy.com/shop/mrsmacolsson?ref=top_trail

Dresses.....and a purse!

Dresses......with two little Miss MacOlssons in this household, we do like dresses. Even little Master MacOlsson tells his big sisters that they look pretty. Need to start training the boy young, if he is going to be a hit with the ladies!!
Anyhow, in my "occasional" surfing in my "free" time, I came across this shop on etsy. LittleLizardKing. She sells the most adorable patterns for cute girlie dresses, tunics and more. So, in a moment of creative madness, I bought two, and during the winter, I made a couple of tops for my girls. They got so many admiring comments, and my friend Brenda thought I should try to sell them.

At long last, I am mastering the art of uploading photos without relying on Mr MrsMacOlsson, so here are my three creations now up for sale on etsy. The knot dresses are really cool, as they are very adjustable, simply by retying the knot. I thought the red checks were typically Swedish, and looked really funky teamed with the polka dots.
The strawberry fabric....well, its just cute! The oldest Miss MacOlsson has long been nicknamed "Strawberry Girl" after a cute outfit bought for her as a newborn from my dearest dearest friend Rebecca. So sshhhh, but guess who is getting a Strawberry Girl dress for her birthday present in December?

And please, dear reader, leave a comment to make my day!

PS Finished this cute heart shaped purse, so here's a peek at it too. I love the button I found in my mother in law's button box......which makes it vintage Finnish!

mrsmacolsson: Etsy

mrsmacolsson: Etsy

Etsy

One of the tips on etsy to increase your sales, is to increase your shop! So that in mind, I made this sweet daisy chain. Little MissMacOlsson thought it was cute around her neck, but we also tried it hanging round the window. She suggested I make lots and use it as a curtain...but for now, there is one long chain with 20 flowers on.

Please please leave a comment so I know that it isn't just my little sis looking in!

Plums and Apples!

In our garden we have a mini orchard, with 5 different apple trees and one victoria plum tree. This means that we have HUGE amounts of apples and plums to take care of, which promises for long hours of pots bubbling and releasing delicous aromas through the house. And then the beautiful bottles and jars with their "Homemade" labels on.....oh, the shelves in the food cellar are filling up!

I started yesterday with the plums and spent a very pleasant coffee break browsing through myriad cookbooks. Plums in cognac, plum compotte, plum pie, plum and apple chutney.....and, as so often before, I return to my faithful battered Swedish cookbook.

"Husmanskost" - in other words, everyday recipes which are delicious, straightforward and traditional. You know, the good oldfashioned kind of food like Nana and Mum make. Filled with recipes for stew, soups, pies, baking and JAM! Except in Swedish its often called "marmelad"! I just haven't quite figured out the difference, as jam is "sylt" but according to Mr MrsMacOlsson, its to do with the consistency. Anyhow, plum jam was the final decision, and I now have six dark purplybrown jars filled with Victoria Plum jam. Yummy in my tummy, as my kiddiewinks say.

Apples, well, there are no doubt going to be quite a few posts on apples. We have Ingrid Marie, Cinnamon Apple, Transparent Blanche, Gravensteiner and Cox Orange. Every one of those trees is laden with apples, so much so, that I can't keep up with the windfalls. They will be taken to the wood and left for the deer to munch on.....

The rest, well, I have my trusty cordial maker on the gas stove as we speak.
My "Saft Maja" is definitely my best bargain buy ever! One large batch of apple cordial coming up, with every apple piece carefully placed in the double boiler by my littlest MacOlsson........and yes, a few sneaked in his little chatty mouth too.

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