She Might Have it ALL

Bossypants (i finally read it) --Tina Fey's book seems so effortlessly written, like Hey, anyone can write a funny book! Liz Lemon can't seem to "have it all," but Tina Fey has it all plus some... Makes me kinda want to live in nyc.  Living there is like being in the running, even if you're not winning--or you can pretend anyway.  Tina Fey also reminds me of Emi.  I think I "entered her blog" (two summers in a row, shelled out to go to Stockholm) because I wanted her life so bad.  Check it out, it's not just me!  Her blog is blissful fantasy, beautiful escape... but it's actually her REAL LIFE.  

omg, I just went to her site (haven't been in a long while) and saw that she was featured in Swedish Elle...what the WHAT?? her life just gets better and better! ok, i wanna be Emi more than Tina Fey, it's decided.  But all that running... sheez.

AAAAGHH!!  see what happens? the irresistible inspirational/depressive combo-tug of emi's blog.  An hour just passed in like 2 seconds. You know,  "lftec" is not reflective of her writing here...Maybe it should be: "Real Notes on Happiness".  I really feel like taking notes when I read it. ok, must resist escapist fantasist non-reality reality and return to...reality.

swedish daycare

went with emi and vanja to pick up her two little kids, niki and joel from daycare! cute-attack!

look at her little cubby!

i am ... a STAR!!!!!!!

http://lftec.blogspot.com/
make it on LETTERS FROM THE END CONSUMER = make it anywhere

dinner at lydmar

that's emi's left arm

 

they had a band on a crane outside

anders' icelandic beer!

lunch at moderna

with emi

really good food

and excellent views

then off to east asian museum

the shoes to the left are child's; the ones to the right are women's

copying from the end consumer

lftec, years ago, promoted this item.

of course now i want, since i saw them at modcloth.

and i don't even wear swimsuits.

or swim. for that matter!

esther williams swimsuits!

i think the end consumer got the cutest polka dot...

i will resist copying her!

(see, we are way behind the swedes, in every way...)

clothes swap update: SARAH

SUCCESS!!  certain magical forces allow miracles to happen once again...
Sarah, bassist and beautiful supermodel (she's like ~6'11 or something)... has raised my ill-fitting (on moi) PETITE ann taylor loft dress to heights (haha, i did that by accident!) of cool never reached before for a petite-sized garment.  thank you sarah!  i knew this dress had capacity for greatness. (i think also i can safely say this is the only petite-sized article she has ever owned) HA! the magique of clothes swap!!

knee-length unflattering dress on me = so cute tunic on sarah!!! YAY

thanks also to EMI (my blog idol as you know) for encouraging clothes-swap, which i never did before.  much more gratifying (sorry) than giving to goodwill. 
props also go to EMILY for giving me beautiful CNC shoes and guh-guh-guh-gorgeous silk top (too nice to wear for orchestra)...clothes-swap RULZ!!
btw, sarah is modeling my petite dress (now adult-size tunic) in the SLSO bass room, which is no doubt a glamorous setting, non?  when do u get to see the SLSO bass room, right? recently it's been beautified, GILDED, be-dazzled to grandness by another bassist, associate principal and seamstress (and world-beautifier) carolyn w., who you can see faintly behind sarah)

HEJ!! that's emi, vanja, and joel!!!

but that definitely ain't anders... i found this on the agentbauer site, under stylists, jenny steggo.joel is PERSONALITY + !! this anders impostor is so sub-standard compared to the original.

hey LFTEC peeps! wanna see emi's office?

götgatan: yes the coolest street in södermalm--this is where our heroine works. (yes, i took this the night before i was supposed to meet her there--i had a dry run, ok? i'm not stalkerific!)

to give the full virtual tour, this is the ceiling when you first walk into her bldg. americans i think are allowed to be in awe. yes, europe IS where the history comes from. (eddie izzard)

ok, who doesn't want to be emi?

risa ate rudolph (neil, amy--skip this post!)

i forgot to mention that yesterday on the steamship back from drottningholm (so beautiful i thought it was the afterlife, well if u've been like reallyreally good) i sat in the fancy dining room away from the riffraff (truth: no more seats in the hold cuz it was the last boat i think) and had a reindeer appetizer. it was served like a hunk of pate on a big wasa cracker. then there was a little neat pile of bright yellow fish roe, a lemon wedge, diced red onion, and chives. i squeezed lots of lemon but it was like really salty salami and not very pretty to look at.
emi says this is not traditional- actually really weird, to have the roe and the chives. i think traditional is more like reindeer filet... merry xmas.
i had the whole dining room to myself with beautiful views. i spread out all my tourist paraphernalia and had a great time. i think i forgot to take a photo! (well, like i said, not too pretty--reindeer on plate, not the views)

convenience-blogging, swedish-style !

i am at a 7-11-(but better)type place called pressbyrån, using this truly 'blazing fast' internets on a huge mac monitor. what luxury. i am down below in the subway. it rained pretty hard on my journey back from skansen to "home," so i got on the t-bana for one stop! (it is magical swedish rain, however--cuz even tho' i was completely + utterly soaked a tiny while ago, now i am totally dry like my clothes have amnesia. they're probably cleaner now too, ha.

everything closes early on sunday and all the museums (i think there are about 50 at least) are closed mondays so i think my plan for tomorrow is to go forth in pursuit of the royals. i will take a boat out to drottningholm, where the royal fam hides out, apparently. some dump, i'm sure. har.
i also want to go out in search of luxemburgli, which i think are just french macarons. i'll taste-test them against the amazing ones i had in s.f. with JV.
it's sad that i cannot post any pics because i took an extra pair of shoes instead of my notebook. turns out i didnt need 2/3 pairs that i brought, since i am only wearing my 'running' shoes. there is free wireless in the hotel, even in the rooms! and also emi told me you can even bring your laptop to djurgården and type on the grass! stockholm is all wired-up and tech-savvy (not to mention eco-advanced and socially conscientious like u wouldn't believe)--but i am not.
boo. i will now take some winding route back to the hotel, which i must tell you is a favorite with italians. at least this week..
so...arrivederci! sayonara. i mean, hej hej!

conditions are perfect!

yesterday went to rosendal, part of the huge beautiful expanse of djurgården with emi and fam, had the most delicious cookies --made-on-premises from their own grown-there ingredients!--lemon and almond cookies that are so pure lemon-tasting and outta this world.. there's a playground for the kiddies, beautiful flowers everywhere, greenhouse, even a wedding in progress later in the day--magical, magical, beautiful.
the day before i went with emi to pick up her kids and visit her on lidingö, i think that's how you spell...i had an amazing fresh delicious home-cooked meal (my first night! am i lucky or what) prepared by the Incredible Anders, and met emi's photographer friend from childhood in from london with her two adorable (yay, bilingual) kids.
today i must rush now to skansen, the swedish wonderland (fantastic outdoor museum, complete with real "SCANDINAVIAN ANIMALS." i am meeting emi and clan, and i hear the swedish are very punctual!
quick observations from previous 2 days (wait, is that all?) in stockholm:
--the swedes seem to all speak excellent english, very comfortable switching quickly to accomodate silly americans (moi)
--all cafes and even the hotel lobby here seem to have a selection of water, one pitcher with fresh cucumber, one with orange slices..it's like a spa everywhere
--tap water is delicious
more later, im going to be late..there is SO MUCH MORE

i äm in stockholm! where the typewriter is different!

i am meeting emi today--yesyes, kids! i have entered the magical blog world of letters to marc jacobs and http://www.lftec.blogspot.com/. can u believe in a mere 8 hrs you can suddenly be cool like the scandos? weather is dreamy spring sunshine and i had coffee already at the very swedish sounding "wayne's coffee" near the konserthuset. very very good. coffee shops every where you turn--i must live here. i also had a banana choc. muffin at "muffin bakery" and strolled a graveyard. see, i've been waiting since about 8:30am for my hotel room to be ready...

the story hotel *gasp*

this was recommended to me by EMI! ☺
story hotel is so cool. this guy with the black-eye (the owner) guarantees it. (the feedback survey is on the back of his stunning shiner-picture)

i read informative reviews on their neat-o website (☺grëgg, for alerting me to the man w/black eye).

here is an example of how truly helpful they are:

"Very nice room, enjoyed it very much. A bit slow internet connection. The staff is service-oriented and good-looking."

v. helpful. and concise, too.

[mini-scene written by me for entertainment:]

Liisa: "Hjälp! Jag kan inte hitta Folkdanserna!"

Rolf: "Fölg mig. Jag är snyggare naken."

L: "Tack så hemskt mycket!"

R: "Min svävare är full med ålar!"*

L: "är du tokig? JAG ÄLskar DIG!"

*"My hovercraft is full of eels!"

(phrase learned/taken from the great blog, "How to learn Swedish in 1000 difficult lessons")

Södermalm

i think this is where emi lives (yes! as in LFTEC). the "greenwich village" of stockholm.
(stolen from ChrisGoldNY--found searching for most recent pics of stockholm on flickr.com)

s-w-e-d-e-n

land of abba, ikea, volvo...and nighttime that's like daytime. look, that's 9:30pm!

i've been reading LFTEC and LTMJ for years and i've always wanted to complete the emulation/admiration by going there.

but i'm scared; i know no swedish.

(these pictures stolen from LFTEC--sorry emi)

look, also, they have a library in the subway! how cool is that, huh?

i LOVED ltmj

dear hugh,
i believe i am trying to steal the format/style of my fave blog in the world (Letters From the End Consumer, previously Letters to Marc Jacobs)--by the most endearing writer (emi)!! her eye for style! cuteypie kids! astute quirky BRILLIANT observations!! well, my attempt (futile?)is tribute really. reading her blog transforms my depressed brain into a brain that explodes with hearts, flowers, hope, possibility; it is not hyperbole to say that she saved my life many times. yes a blogger who SAVES LIVES and inspires people AROUND THE GLOBE! and all in this charming, unassuming prose--simple, sincere, sharply intelligent and whimsically observant. how does it work? how is it so seemingly effortless? it is magical maybe. i even considered moving to sweden. i thought maybe if i lived in sweden it'd be easier to emulate/imitate (impersonate?) "e"--soon i too would be able to note everyday beauty w/o cheezy sentiment, be a new person, a running person, a Positive Force in the Universe... bleh! i feel i've already failed, since this is rambling and dull. she would never be rambly and dull, i am sure. i want spare elegant sentences, but i have tragic propensity for run-on sentences and too many commas and semi-colons and disorganized thoughts (see?)...but i do care and i do think writing is important. thinking, also, very important. (except not thinking too much, which is trouble-making)