This week could not have come soon enough. It’s my favorite time of the year when we get to head back home to Sweden for the summer. I work from there for a big part of it, and get to spend quality time with my family on our farm in the middle of nowhere. And Luke gets a chance to experience being “Swedish”.
On our way there we stopped over for a whirlwind visit to our former home town, DC. It’s been ten months since we moved to LA, boy does time fly! The intense and fun welcome and catching up with some of our beloved DC friends made me realize we’ve been gone far longer than I thought.
And seeing the size of Luke’s friends….well then you know time has passed.
Luke with his old buddy Diego. Hard to believe these tall dudes have only just turned 13!!
Is it only me or are kids HUGE these days?
While the visit was a lot of fun, it was also very difficult. This was the first visit back since we moved to LA, and DC is a reminder of Luke’s dad who passed away two years ago from brain cancer.
The two dogs (Butterball and Midnight) Luke had at his dad’s house are still living with the caretaker there. We made the difficult decision that they would stay with her, since she took care of them every day when his dad was sick. And we already have two rescue dogs and a cat. They have a great life staying there in the country side with her (who loves them dearly), where they can run around on several acres of land. And Luke can visit them whenever he wants to.
But it was bittersweet.
I got to spend time with my good buddies ( also design clients). We hiked and toured some land one of them recently purchased and will build a new home on.
We stayed at my dear friend Patty’s house. Her home was the very first house outside of my own I ever designed. A classic English/American look. This is her dining room. I design mostly modern homes these days, but classic interiors are timeless. We’ll do chair upholstery updates, but this room is still hanging in there many years later!
After DC we flew in to NY to of course stay with Dan.
New York from Dan’s apartment on the 22nd floor.
Seriously is there really a place cooler than Manhattan?
I’m not so sure.
Central Park is a magical oasis right among the high rises.
But the best for last.
I live for this view below.
I love waking up after an overnight flight and look out the plane window as we land in Stockholm. And now Luke shares that same joy with me. Down below is a little green fairly tale country filled with lakes and rivers….
After we land, I have the best latte at the airport Seven 11. Yes people Seven 11. You would be shocked to know how fancy that chain is over here, so is Mc Donalds!
After the 8 hour plane ride from NYC, we take a 5 hour bus ride.
But it’s so worth it when we arrive here…
Sooo peaceful, and the best place ever to SLEEP!
The rain has not stopped for three days.
But we absolutely love the 55 degree weather, rain, and family dinners by a crackling fire.
Think we’ll stay a while.
(P.S. To our DC friends we didn’t get to see. We missed seeing you and we’ll be back very soon!)
