Friday 18 December 2015

MAKE YOUR OWN #GRAVADLAX FOR #CHRISTMAS EASY PEASY

Make your own Gravad Lax this Christmas. In Sweden most people do. And that is were this dish has it´s origin, and me. Gravad means "buried", in the old days the fish was marinated in salt and sugar and buried (well wrapped in cloth) in the ground (it is cold in Sweden in the winter) and left for a couple of days. These days the fridge does the job. This is what you need. This is my slightly updated and modern version. Play around with the seasoning, the important bit are the salt the the sugar! Per kilo of fish fillet (Salmon) you need 4 tablespoons of salt (I use Maldon flaky sea salt but any basic salt will do) 4 tablespoons of sugar and 2-3 teaspoons of course ground pepper. One bunch of dill, the zest of one lemon and one lime. A drizzle of honey on each fillet and if you fancy, 1 g of saffron. Mix a little bit of the salt with the saffron and grind it in a mortal and pestle and mix with the rest of the salt, sugar and pepper. Add the zest. Chop the dill. Rub the fillets with the spice mixture and put the rest on top. Then spread the dill generously and drizzle the honey on top. Put two "rubbed" fillets on top, flesh to flesh, of each other and wrap in a plastic bag. Keep in the fridge for two days. Turning them occasionally. After the two days, scrape of the excess of the salt&sugar mix and re wrap in plastic bags. Will keep in the fridge for about 4-5 days. Suitable for home freezing. Serve with gravlaxsauce or sour creme mixed with a bit of honey. Enjoy!

The GravLax in the making. In Sweden the fish has a given place on the Christmas Smörgåsbord.

Thursday 17 December 2015

#WHITECHRISTMAS WITH #IKEA AND #FOSSEWAYNURSERIES

White Christmas at Ikea with silver baubles and those dressed with fabric! Why not lay your Christmas table this way. Use your own white china etc and decorate with silver and branches of pine or spruce, real or fake. The real ones smell very seasonal! This year I chose to dress my Christmas tree in mainly white, glass and silver with an accent of read. More about that soon. In my family we do Swedish and English Christmas so if you follow me here I will sample you bits of both. Tomorrow gravad lax!

My local garden centre show off an impressive Christmas "Market" with all kinds of decorations from silvery white to Disney inspired themes. www.fossewaynurseries.com.


Ikea again, with grey china and classic glasses. I think that they could easily put up more and far more spectacular seasonal displays...

Since I was in Chicago just recently I want to show you this display that I found at Bloomindale Home. Mix greys and blacks with gold and silver, add some birch logs and spice with a bit of red. More tomorrow with gravlax...

Monday 14 December 2015

#MINIMALISTIC #CHRISTMAS AND WHAT IS HAPPENING ON MY BLOG!

This is to inspire for a more minimalistic Christmas with natural decorations. I will be back with more Christmas pictures etc in the next week. I am currently working on a new look blog that will be more of a small magazine aimed at women and men that are interested in fashion, food, interiors and modern lifestyle. Everything that can make everyday a bit more glamourous in an easy approachable way! Let your friends know and follow me!

Friday 4 December 2015

#MEMORYLANE IN #CHICAGO AND #ARCHITECTUAL #BOATTRIP ON #CHICAGORIVER

Yesterday morning we went on a boat trip under the bridges of Chicago. Fascinating history about how it all started...A mix of postmodernism, functionalism, brutalism etc

Chinatown with a typical Pagoda by the river...
The Aqua building, the only skyscraper designed by a female run group of architects! A sexy and "warm" design.
One of the reasons to be here in Chicago is that my grandmother lived and worked here for seventeen years during the 1940s and 1950s. This is the house on the South Shore where she and the family she worked for lived. The house is still there and are situated just by a park and with a beautiful sea view. It was very emotional to be there...

The entrance of the house, she lived in flat 6858. There where not many flats in the complex so they must be big apartments!

The apartment block where she lived!



Tuesday 1 December 2015

#CHRISTMAS #CRATEANDBARREL #CHICAGO

Rusty metal with dears and spruces, cones and red boxes etc. At www.crateandbarrel.com in Chicago we found this lovely Christmas display.

And why not decorate your chairs with red ribbons and mistletoe!

...or dress your table in white, gold and silver for your Christmas lunch or dinner. All from www.crateandbarrel.com. All photos by www.ankanberggren.com.

Monday 30 November 2015

#NEWWAVECAFE IN #CHICAGO #USA

Today we went to a new upcoming residential area in Chicago, Logan Square, and found this quirky Internet cafe "New Wave Cafe". Funky flooring, nice coffee and some cool graphic art for sale.

My dear husband even wore matching socks!

Since the area is still very rundown (Chicago is experiencing some difficult times financially) we saw a lot of decorative and uplifting graffiti. Home sweet home! More tomorrow!

Sunday 29 November 2015

#CHICAGO IN #NOVEMBER

I am in Chicago to see if I can find some traces of my grandmother who lived here for seventeen years fifty years ago. This was definitely not there then. This place was a dump then, now the famous Millenium Park with the even more famous sculptor by Anish Kapoor!

I am staying at the Langham Hotel, the skyscraper designed by Mies van der Rohe and finished in 1973, four years after his death! To the right Langhams big competitor Trump.

I came across this today. This is what is told about it on Wikipedia
"Monument with Standing Beast is a sculpture by Jean Dubuffet in front of the Helmut Jahn designed James R. Thompson Center in the Loop community area of Chicago, Illinois. Its location is across the street from Chicago City Hall to the South and diagonal across the street from the Daley Center to the southeast. It is a 29-foot (8.8 m) white fiberglass work of art. The piece is a 10 ton or 20,000 pounds (9,100 kg) work. It was unveiled on November 28, 1984." More tomorrow!

Thursday 26 November 2015

#STARRY #CHRISTMASDISPLAYS #DEBENHAMS #OXFORDSTREET #LONDON

Debenshams (famous department store chain in the UK) was/is one of my favourites this year when it comes to window displays for Christmas. Stars in paper, glued to the window, shining, glowing and blinking at you. From pink to red, blue and green...

Mannequins flying in the starry night and lying and resting on the stars!

Or just quietly sitting och watching the world go by in tranquil green.

The corner of their Oxford Street flagship store with the stars in a rainbow colour scheme. Like a grown up dolls house!

Wednesday 25 November 2015

#SWEDISH #CHRISTMAS #PREVIEW FROM #NORDISKA KOMPANIET AND #DESIGNHOUSESTOCKHOLM

Today a single preview of Swedish Christmas today. Scandinavian Modern with Design House Stockholm at Nordiska Kompaniet in Stockholm. White and with small spruces (Christmas Trees) in vases filled with stones and classic napkins with drawings by famous late artist. More tomorrow!

Tuesday 24 November 2015

#CHRISTMASLIGHTS IN #STOCKHOLM AND #LONDON #KUNGSGATAN AND #OXFORDSTREET

Oxford Street in November with "Christmas baulbs" in gold and silver etc...

Kungsgatan in central Stockholm. A far more traditional decoration, and more cosy! More tomorrow! 

Friday 20 November 2015

#CHRISTMAS IN #LONDON #THECONRANSHOP #TOPSHOP #HM AND #SELFRIDGES

Silver somehow is space, outer space. That is part of The Conran Shop Theme in their Christmas window display 2015. Mixed with a bit of "The Wizard of Oz", Starwars and Conran Shops love for red and orange, you will get the picture. My favourite display this season! (The Conrans Shop, Fulham, London).

Metal, from silver to copper and gold, is all over the place this winter. If you do not have a gold or silver pineapple yet both HM and John Lewis are full of them! www.hm.com and www.johnlewis.co.uk

From silver shoes to your hair and the Christmas Decorations. Topshop have it all. www.topshop.com

Another of my favourite display this season are Selfridges. The star signs with all its trimmings...Here Taurus with a trail of china...impressing. All photos by www.ankanberggren.com. See you all next week!

Tuesday 17 November 2015

#CHRISTMAS #WINDOWS #DISPLAYS IN #LONDON #SELFRIDGES #STARSIGNS #SAGITTARIUS

Selfridges has chosen to use the star signs in their Christmas window displays this year. In a such a multicultural and with so many diverse religions around it is fully understandable there is no religion involved! Since I am a Sagittarius myself the choice of picture today is obvious! I will be back tomorrow with more Christmas in London 2015! Photo by Ann-Katrin Berggren/AKB Design. www.ankanberggen.com

Friday 13 November 2015

#CHRISTMAS IS HERE! #CHRISTMASWINDOWS IN #LONDON

CHRISTMAS is here!Oxford Street, Regent Street and the rest of central London are all decorated and full of stars, baubles, trees and lights, I am off doing a bit of photo shooting and black Friday shopping this afternoon and evening. Have a nice weekend and there will be more from London next week! Watch this space!
    

Thursday 12 November 2015

#NADÈGE CHIC #PATISSERIE IN #TORONTO

CCame across this esthetically presented patisserie and café during my research of Queen Street West two weeks ago. It did not only look good, the patisserie was fantastic! Minimalistic design with great colours! And divine taste! Nadège, 780 Queen Street West, Toronto, Canada.

Chocolate bars in alphabetical order and with as many different varieties of flavour!

Macaroons in new shapes and colours!

Petites Fours, elegant and trendy and colourful!

Macaroons in all flavours and colours! Impressing variety.

Minimalistic cakes with macaroon decorations etc...

Decorative entrance to the rest rooms...

Modern and clean interior with a strong Scandinavian feel. I had a croissant filled with Camembert and gorgeous prosciutto followed by a salty caramel macaroon and exquisite cappuchino!

The patisserie counter!

Tuesday 10 November 2015

COOL #INTERIOR #SHOPPING @ #QUEENSTREETWEST #TORONTO #CANADA

Walking round Queen Street West looking for cool interior- and fashion shopping I found some very nice interior shops. Above, CB2, an American chain where the famous singer and guitarist Lenny Kravitz got involved in a collection. Cool 70ies inspired interiors i white gold and black. www.cb2.ca

If you are into stationery, beautiful paper and graphic design (like me), do not miss this lovely and cosy shop, www.thepaperplace.ca

Wrapping paper, from stamps to flowers. www.thepaperplace.ca, Queen Street West, Toronto.

All along Queen Street West there were retro, from interiors to fashion.

Between King Street West and Queen Street West I found Urban Mode! A mix of contemporary, Scandinavian and retro interior design.

Think Bolia or BoConcept. Urban Barn! Geometric patterned cushions and vases and strict and basic upholstery. More from Queen Street West etc soon!