Hej!
Since I've been a very bad blogger lately I thought I'd give you a quick rundown of what's been going on in my life these last few weeks- in selfies and self portraits only! Ready?

I missed my fall hats in Sweden and decided I just couldn't live without one.
So I went to a hat shop and the first hat I saw made me stop in my tracks. The. Perfect. Hat in The. Perfect. Color.
At around this time Los Angeles also decided it was fall so me and my hat went everywhere together.

(This is two different days by the way. I look exactly the same.)

Hanna came to visit us! (Hanna is the creepy girl in the photo in Pictured, if you recognize her, he he.)
It was absolutely wonderful to have her here! We took selfies at interesting places such as Paramount, Venice Canals and Santa Monica Pier.

I also made her participate in jumping- and Outfit photos.
We jumped at Paramount Studios, and we dressed up for Thanksgiving dinner.

The sun was as golden as my hat, and love was all around.

I sat at cafés with my laptop almost every day. I was working on my photo book Alone in LA (I'll talk more about that next week probably!) and took self portraits in café restrooms.

Large mirrors in the wild beckoned me.

I took outfit photos outdoors...

...and indoors.

The morning sun fell in slivers on my face.

David and I went to Sweden! We arrived a few days before christmas and it was lovely to meet family and friends again after almost 9 months in LA.
The photo in the bottom right was taken three hours before David and I realized we had caught the Winter Vomiting Disease. We realized this because we both threw up in the parking garage the moment we arrived in Gothenburg after celebrating christmas in our home town.
That was fun. No it wasn't. It was fucking awful.
All then things we had planned to do for the next three days had to be cancelled.
And then it was time for David to go back to LA to do the last work on the movie (it's completely done now!!!) and I cried at the airport because two weeks without each other is a long time!

Our tiny old elevator got some selfie action too, of course!

I stayed two extra weeks in Sweden to sort out our apartment. Since we're staying in LA we can't really pay rent for two places at the same time. It was so much work to do but I took breaks to meet up with friends for coffee and baked goods. I ate So Many baked goods those two weeks.

Black and white selfies for a more Noir feeling.
I took the train to visit my parents and my hair looked all Rita Hayworth-y Good lighting at my parents kitchen table.

Self portrait at my parent's place to show off my favorite outfit in a long time. The skirt is vintage and has buttons from floor to waist. The crocheted sweater thingy is also vintage and I bought it in LA and immediately thought of this skirt that was left in Sweden. I thought they'd go together nicely, and they did not disappoint!

The cold (and the snow) came to Sweden and I didn't have anything to wear on my head (except for like a zillion hats but that won't do in those temperatures), so I bought myself a turban that must be my most unexpected purchase ever. I had no clue turbans were so flattering! Its something about that V shape that just does it for me. Love it so much! And that emerald green color! *insert heart eye emoji*

David and I talked on FaceTime every day. Here he is driving: something you do more often than not when in LA.
Technology really is amazing for this kind of thing. The distance doesn't feel half as bad when you can see each other like this every day. Thank you, technology.

One thing I really wanted to do before I went back to LA was to take photos with my cape on the cemetery. My vintage nurse cape just works so well in that environment, so I took a break from packing to make a little photo series.

This cemetery is one of those things I really miss when I'm in LA. It's so moody and beautiful and I haven't find anything close to it over here.

Yes, packing. There was so much packing going on.
Here you see me in our old work room. Yes, I'm there in the middle of all rubbish.
The last night in the apartment was so strange. Empty and dusty. It felt like the end of a chapter, sort of. This apartment is where everything started for this Hollywood adventure we're on. That's where we made Lights Out without any clues of how it would change our lives.
The Lights Out hallway will always have a fond place in my heart.

On the last day I had help from a wonderful friend. She drove me to the recycling station with all the trash that had accumulated over the week, and together we moved furniture and boxes all night long. I wouldn't have made it without her and I'm beyond thankful that I have her in my life. Friendship is a magical thing.
She even waited for me when I said I needed to take a self portrait with the discarded refrigerators at the recycling station... That is true friendship.

When I came back to LA it was to a new apartment. We found a place the same week we left for Sweden and it felt so exciting to know we had that to return to.
We don't have a lot of furniture yet but this place already feels like home. It's strange how that works. Some places just fits.
The light is wonderful and we even have a long narrow hallway perfect for horror movie making! This one is even longer and more narrow than the Lights Out hallway. Let's see what waits for us in this home.

Soon I'm off to meet up with David for a Friday afternoon Dining Table hunt. Cross your fingers (or Hold your thumbs, as we say in Sweden!) we find the One today!

Talk to you soon! (Yes. I'm trying this blogging thing for real again. Hold your thumbs for me that I can stick with it this time)

/Lotta

Hej!
On saturday it was my birthday and we celebrated by going to Catalina Island.
I didn't bring my Nikon but I took a lot of photos with my iPhone that I wanted to show you, because this was one lovely weekend!
We had planned to go to a breakfast place close to the ferry terminal on Long Island, but LA traffic decided otherwise. We came as far as one kilometer before we realized every freeway entrance was closed for some reason, and there were A LOT of cars circling around not knowing what the hell was going on. After 30 minutes of not going anywhere we decided to have our breakfast at a place close to where we live instead. I was craving coffee and just wanted fooood.

We ended up at The Oak Gourmet that I love. I was happy and looked forward to the day!

And then, traffic just started to move again. We had begun to feel a little nervous that we might miss the ferry, but in true Lotta style we got there in good time to get on the ferry that left one hour before the one we had planned to take. That's how I roll.

This photo makes me think of my favorite Swedish animated movie Resan till Melonia.

When we got to Catalina Island I was super stoked as you can see, partly because there was a pelican sitting behind me and I've never been that close to a pelican before.

It was time for lunch so we walked to the restaurant Blue Water Grill and got a table outside right by the water. This was our view.

I got a Cucumber Mojito.

And a Lobster Roll. Ahhh, heaven!

We checked into our hotel after that. The view from the street looked very much like we were in Nice, France and not one hour from Los Angeles.

And then we went to Olaf's and got ice-cream. Look at this Instagram-hipster-worthy photo! I took two scoops, one Espresso Chip and one Black Cherry. SO TASTY!

David took Cookie Dough, and Bubblegum. Yes, that poisonous blue is bubblegum ice-cream.
And as usual I go for the "grown up flavors". David not so much.
We had planned to go for dinner later in the evening, but we got so full on ice-cream that we decided that got to be our dinner instead. Ice-cream for dinner, yay!

And then the sun started to set for the evening.

We found a spot in the harbor where we sat for a while. It was getting a bit chilly but we didn't want to leave just yet.

I was so happy with the day. I think I'll remember it forever.
When it got too cold we walked back to our room where I had gotten a bottle of champagne from the hotel staff. The rest of the evening we enjoyed having a tv for the first time in 7 months by flipping between the channels, drinking champagne and planning our adventures for the next day.

And then it was Sunday!
There's almost no cars on Catalina. People drive Golf Carts instead. The houses actually have parking spots in the size of golf carts, it's the cutest!
We rented one for a couple of hours and drove the scenic route around the city of Avalon.
It was so beautiful, and also quite silly with all the tiny golf carts putting around on the steep and winding roads.

Stopping to take in the view.

Avalon is the cutest place!

And here's me and the view at one of the other stops we made. The hat was new for the day because the sun was stronger there than in LA and I needed something to protect my face. Also: I love hats. You could never have too many hats.

Same view, minus Lotta.

Dream Home!!!

And then we found deer! And I got to pet one of the babies!

Before it was time to go to the ferry we walked on the beach because I wanted to look for treasures. I found white, smooth stones, shells and beach glass. They are now in the small compartment in my bag. A little bit of Catalina in LA.

And then we said Goodbye to Catalina Island for this time.
It was such a lovely place and we definitely want to come back again some time.
When we got home it felt like we had been away for at least five days. It's strange how that can be, but when we turned onto our street it felt like it's been ages since we left.
It's the magic of a great mini weekend.

/Lotta

Hello!
Here is the much overhyped blog post about my walk over the hills!
There was a point when I thought I would just give up on ever showing you this, but NO I'm not a quitter! That's not who I am!
So, even if these photos might be more interesting for me, I really love them and I want them to be on this blog as a part of this whole LA adventure I'm on right now.
OKAY! Stop talking!
PHOTOS!

I had heard about a cute outdoor café in Griffith Park that was a 40 min walk away from where we live right now. There was a boring route and a swirly twirly one over the hills so I obviously chose the last one. GOOD CHOICE, LOTTA!
These flowers grow on a huge tree on our street. Its like a massive pink cloud greeting me every day. So pretty!

I really like to use google maps when I'm out walking because it makes me more brave, and I get to see places I wouldn't find otherwise. And this day google took me past houses with cactuses standing in line...

...and the perfect house hiding up on a hill behind a plank.

Cactus and Agave. I love desert plants in gardens soon much!

So cute! I found like a million streets and houses that made me exclaim I WANT TO LIVE HERE! out loud.

Google brought me to a dead end street where I just stood and stared for the longest time. Where do I go from here?! Then, I found a secret staircase hiding behind two houses. It felt like I was walking straight into someones garden.

Cactus cluster.

Walked the wrong way for a little while but that was okay because all of a sudden the Hollywood sign peeked out behind the houses.

Hiiii!

So green and lush! (Probably due to a loooot of watering despite the drought).
I was the only person out walking in these neighborhoods and it was so quiet. Made me feel like I was snooping around.

Pretty details everywhere!

It was super warm (around 35 celsius degrees) and the hills are really steep so I was so sweaty and tired when I finally saw the sign for the café.

Cute ladies infront of me in line.

When I saw they had granola with fruit and yoghurt it felt like that was The Exact Thing that I craved in that moment. I love when that happens. When you don't yet know what you want but then you see it and it feels like an angel choir is singing in your head.
It was perfect! Shade under the trees, great lemonade. I sat there for quite a while.

Then I took the easier route back. It started off really fairytale pretty.

Fluffy, fluffy flower that I still kinda think is an animal.

Old man stretching.

And then I got out of Griffith Park and walked home.
When I got home I was shaking from exhaustion. I'm not used to walking this long in such heat and in steep hills, so I don't know how my body will react. I can walk quite fast and long but when I stop it's like I realize then and there how hard I've pushed my body.

Since this day I've walked here three more times, I just love it so much.

Hope you liked to tag along on my walk over the hills.
Have a lovely weekend dear friends and readers!

/Lotta

Hey!
This past week I've been trying to blog every day but something has gone wrong Every Single Day. Sometimes it was the internet connection messing with me, but mostly it's been all about the photos, and getting them to a smaller size without making them blurry.
On friday I walked to a cafe with my mind set on finally getting the blog post done, since I thought I had the photo size problem under control.
Well. No, of course not.
I've tried the program built into the computer and an app but nooo, the pictures got all blurry. I was so angry I could cry.
Because I hate being angry with technology. I hate being a person that gets frustrated when I don't understand how to fix things.
I ended up writing a long text about wanting to cry because of a computer. Just to have done something on my trip to the cafe.
Well, I have now solved the problem and have a program that makes the photos smaller without screwing them up and making me want to scream. So YAY!
The post I was going to blog is about when I walked over the hills and brought my camera along with me. I am still a little bit angry with the whole damn thing so I thought I'd post something else entirely just to get blogging again.
Looong story about me being bad at technology (and programs being bad at the ONE thing they're supposed to do), so lets talk about these photos instead, shall we?

It was at dusk a while ago and the light was so lovely I went to get my camera to capture the colors.
This huge Agave is so fascinating to me. We don't have anything remotely similar in Sweden, and I think it looks almost like an alien. The blue green color, the thorns, the texture. Beautiful.

And together with this sneaky, vibrant, green and wispy plant it looks dreamy.

Yes! Alien tentacles!

Lovely, isn't it?

Soooo, hopefully I will stop being mad at the photos from the walk over the hills so you'll get to see them.
But anyways: talk to you soon!

/Lotta