Happy Easter

Coming from Spain, my Easter was a lot different that the one I am used to now in Norway.
Spain is a catholic country and it was always about the parade of the Christ in the cross and the Virgin Mary. Food was not very important a part of eating caramelise apples as kids. It was a special time but not particularly happy. It was always a bit serious time.

Now in my new country, I really celebrate the start of the good weather after a long cold winter. I really enjoy it with my kids painting eggs, hiding chocolate, spending family time at home and the garden, watching crime series on tv with my husband at night together seeting in the sofa and eating long wonderful meals.

In the fireplace you can see a collection of Easter work my kids have done throw the years at home, kindergarten and school. I always display it there at this time, and it made my kids really happy and makes Easter a very special time for them.

How do you spend Easter? Do you have any special recipes just for this days?

Eating healthier gradually

Try to imagine a life that includes healthy food that you’d really enjoy — but allows for other indulgences too. For some, that might mean you want a bagel and fruit for breakfast, then some healthier stuff for lunch and dinner (protein, veggies, quinoa or brown rice), maybe carrots and hummus for a snack, some green tea later in the afternoon, and finally a martini after dinner. That’s not 100 percent healthy, but it’s pretty great, and it’s a picture you’d enjoy perhaps.

For others, you might want a sweet in the afternoon, or your tall latte in the morning, or French fries at dinner with friends a few times a week. Those are all allowable in a healthy lifestyle, if most of the other things you eat are healthy. You want a picture of a healthy life that seems enjoyable to you.

Next, pick one small healthy change and stick with it for a week. Get some accountability, put a reminder on your fridge, plan ahead of time, do whatever it takes to make that small healthy change happen. If you are successful, pick another small change the next week, and repeat that every week you were successful.

What kind of small healthy changes can you pick each week? The list can be endless, but here are some examples:

• Eat a vegetable at dinner every day.
• Eat a vegetable at lunch every day.
• Eat a fruit for an afternoon snack.
• Have a fruit with breakfast.
• Cut back one alcoholic drink at night.
• Don’t eat after 8 p.m.
• Cut back on the sugar you add to your coffee to a minimal amount.
• Have a whole grain (quinoa, brown rice, etc.) with dinner instead of a white starch.
• Have hummus or raw nuts instead of those chips you eat for a snack.
• Have berries instead of the sweets you eat for a snack.
• Learn three new recipes this week (cook one night, then eat the leftovers the next, repeat).
• Eat at home most nights this week.
• Have yogurt with fruit or a scramble with veggies for breakfast.

You get the picture. If you don’t like these changes, come up with some of your own. If these seem too hard, make them easier.

One small change at a time means a dozen over a few months. That adds up to some amazing change over time, and it’s change that’s likely to last much longer.
This way is super easy and you will soon feel so much better.

Things that make me happy: Flowers

Flowers make me really happy.


It doesn´t mater if is rain, snow or cold outside, if I have flowers in my living room I have a bit of spring and sunshine at home.
Every time I look at them I smile. I really love them.
I try to have flowers to decorate all year round.
Sometime it can became expensive, so I alternate with flower pots that last longer. But it is a luxury that it´s  worth all the money for me, as they make me truly happy.
Do you buy fresh flowers often? Is there a small think that you buy that makes you really happy?



In spring and summer I pick them from my garden or from the countryside. In autumn and in winter I buy them at my local florist shop.
I have wonderful friends and family that they know how much I like them and they give them to me for special occasions or as a nice surprise.

It is like been able to buy a little bit of happiness.

A day in my life

I work at different times every day so this is an example. This was my day yesterday.


07:00- Up. I wake the children, prepare breakfast and things for school. I drink coffee.
08:00- My oldest go to school.
When she leave I get ready and get my boy ready for kindergarten.
09:30- I walk my boy to kindergarten. It is a 20 walk in total down and up a step hill.
10:00- Breakfast for me. I make my self a smoothie.
10:30- 1:30pm- I run errands. Check my emails. Go to the supermarket.
01:30pm- I make lunch. Mushroom soup and toast with butter. Um, lovely. My husband have some time free too, so he can join me.
02:45pm- I drive to work. Today I am working at the studio house.
03:30- 10:30pm- I work. Today I am doing the news and a talk show. That means I put make up on and do the hair styling on the presenters and the guess for the show.
They all come at different times. In between, I watch TV, run to the studios for a make up touch up, eat dinner ( fish and salad from the cantina), talk to my coworkers, drink green tea and read.
10:30pm- Drive back.
11:00pm- I get home. I find my husband reading in the sofa and enjoying a beer and a little bowl of crips, so I prepare my self the same, sit next to him and we have a nice chat.
12:00am- Bed...Good night!

So how was your day?

Finding happiness

I was reading this article from Leo Babauta about how we try to find happiness in the wrong place, and that talked about three sources of happiness that are very unreliable.

They’re based on different ways to answer the fundamental question, “Who am I?”:

1. What I do: If we are what we do, then when we do good things, and are a success, we’re very happy! But what if we fail, or stop doing good things for awhile? What if things don’t go our way and we can’t do good things? Then we lose our source of happiness.
2. What other people think of me: If people praise what I do, if people love my book, if people think I’m good looking … I can be proud and happy. But what if they say something mean about me? What if they don’t like my book, if no one cares very much about me? Then I’m unhappy, even with a small remark.
3. What I have: If I have a nice house and car, or lots of friends, or family that loves me … I’m very happy. But what if I lose those possessions, or my friends move away, or my family members die? Then I’m not happy.

As you can see, these three sources of happiness and contentment … they cover the vast majority of ways we see ourselves. We want to be a success, we want people to think well of us, we want to have friends and nice things. Everything we do online, from Facebook and Instagram to doing work … these are usually based on one of those things, because we’re worried about what people think of us, or we want to do good work, or have friends.

Now, there’s nothing wrong with wanting to do good work or having friends … but if these things are the source of who you are, they are fickle sources. You’ll be great one day, and not so great the next.

If someone is doing better than you, you’ll be down. If someone is living a better life than you, travelling and partying and living glamorously, you’ll be down. If people don’t think well of you, or say something a bit spiteful, you’ll be down. This happens to us all the time, if we’re honest.

Nouwen’s answer is to redefine yourself as God’s beloved, which is definitely a more stable source of contentment. But what if you’re not religious?

I think the idea of finding a more constant source of contentment by redefining who you are is a very useful one. I’ve been experimenting with it for a little while, and it makes a huge difference.

How do you redefine who you are? This can take a lot of soul-searching, but here’s my answer for myself: I’m love and compassion. That’s who I am. That doesn’t mean I always respond with love to others — I’m human and certainly not perfect. I don’t always live up to this, but I feel that it’s true.

Here’s a secret, though: even if you don’t know who you are, try pretending. It still works, as weird as that may seem.

A few examples:

• You notice someone else online doing something cool, and you feel some insecurity because you’re not doing anything as cool as that. Then you realize that you’re defining yourself in terms of what you do, what others think of you, and what you have … and instead you think of yourself as “love” (for example). Suddenly, the need to prove yourself and do something as cool as that evaporates, and instead you can just be content with who you already are.
• You notice yourself running to distractions instead of working on your awesome project. Then you realize that this is because you are afraid of failure, afraid of not succeeding. You’re defining yourself by what you do. Then you consciously think of yourself as “love”, and realize that it doesn’t matter if you succeed or fail, because you’ll be “love” either way. You can just act, with the confidence that you are already amazing.
• You walk into a room of strangers, and start to feel insecure about what they think of you. Then you redefine who you are as “love”, and realize that you will be that no matter what they think of you. You can smile and exude love, and be confident about who you are.

These examples work even if you aren’t really sure who you are. You can just pretend to be “love and compassion”, and you’ll still feel the insecurity and fears and distractions melt away.

What do you think? 

Sugar & how I enjoy it

I was making my self an espresso coffee, when I realised that I always put sugar in it. Filter coffee I can drink without it after training myself, reducing gradually every day until one day I didn´t need to. But espresso is just a bit too intense and strong tasting for me not to put sugar in. Luckily I very seldom drink espresso, so it is not a big problem for me.

And that made me think my view on sugar.

I believe sugar is not good for us and I try to eat as little as possible of it.  Since cutting it, I have lost weight, my blood sugar is better and I feel healthier. On the other hand sugar makes lots of things taste so good and I am not willing to cut it completely out.

For me a birthday party wouldn´t be a birthday party without a cake. A proper  old fashion sweet, rich and fatty cake. And if it has chocolate much, much better.

That sums my philosophy on life, really. Enjoy it, but try to do it as healthy as possible without obsessing about it.

With sugar will be, trying  not to add it to anything in my cooking and in my daily life, and not buying processed food that contain it. But if I feel like having it in an espresso or in a special blend of tea that will make it taste so much better, and make the experience special, why not? Life is too short not to enjoy what you can. And as long as is not a daily ritual, it will be ok.

I have to say too, that I don´t eat any fake sugar. I think a diet coke is much, much worst that a real coke. I don´t want any unnecessary chemicals in my body. I believe the answer in not to sweep it for fake sugar but to cut the sugar out of your food as much as possible.

My child can have a soda one in a blue moon, but it will be a real soda not one full of aspartame. Sugar is bad, but it has been around for many years and our body´s recognise it.
Natural is always best. If in doubt chose natural.

The biggest problem is that sugar is in everything this days, and that is really bad for us.

Cook your food naturally with real ingredients and you will be able to have your cake occasionally without any health risks.

Like they say... Everything in moderation.

What about you? Do you eat sugar? What are your views about it? Please let me know. I love reading about other people opinions.

Inside my make up bag

Chanel blush  63 revelation 

Mac moisturecover nw20

Chanel lipstick 25 vendome 

Chanel bronzing powder makeup forever eye pencil number 2

Glow minerals eyeshadow twig & kona

Many years ago when I studied in London for my make up diplomas for film, TV, fashion, photography and cosmetic, I remember one of the teachers saying that:

The secret of a good make up it´s when you look your best but no one can see that you are wearing any.

That is something that I truly believe and that I have practised.

I was lucky to make a career of it as a make up artist and had the privilege of working with many famous people, actors, models, singers and even royalty.

So, I can say that this is what I do best. Making people looks beautiful.

Personally, I have a very simple routine, for every day, a little more for evening and I use a bit extra for special occasion.

Normally, after putting on moisturiser I apply concealer, cream blush, mascara, a bit of bronzing powder if I think I need it and then a gloss. If I use the lipstick from the picture, I make it very see throw so it is not to much for day, and it looks like a tint, unless I am totally make up free that I will applied stronger to get some colour like the french do.

If I want to use eyeshadow I use mostly the two colours from the picture so it give some definition but in a very natural way. I will use the pencil as an eyeliner or inside for a stronger look.

I will put in a future post what I use for an evening look.

What about you? What make up products you can´t live without?

P.S. This is not a sponsored post.

Cocktail party

The cocktail party was a success!

We had a brilliant time.
Everything was perfect. The drinks, the canapés, the guest, the music, the conversation.

It made me realise how important  it is to meet your friends and spend some quality time together.

It is so easy to get on with our everyday life and the days just seam to roll together  and we just don´t see our friends as often as we will like.

I don´t know about you, but for me since I had children I don´t have so much time to be with friends.
We may see each other on the way to school, or at football training, but parties are few and far apart.

Every time we meet we always say that we have to do it more often. 

I think from now on I am going to make a conscious effort to see them more.

How do you do it? Do you meet with your children or alone? Do you like to entertain at home?

You can see some of the pictures from the party. What do you think? I was impress. I think our friends made a brilliant job to make sure everything felt special.

Cocktail dress code etiquette.

I have been invited to a cocktail party that I am really looking forward to. I know it is going to be lots of fun.

This days I am more used to been invited to dinner parties, so it is a lovely surprise that a couple, friends of my husband and me,  feel adventurous enough to make it a cocktail one.

For me half the fun of going to any party or event, is choosing what to wear. I love dressing up!
As it is not a too formal affair, I could choose to wear a nice top with some pretty details and a skirt or tailored trousers, but I think I am choosing a cocktail dress.

I love wearing dresses, but in Norway where I live, right now it is far to cold to wear a dress normally if you go out, so I feel like I can´t past the opportunity to wear it when I go to friends parties where I know it is going to be warm and I can wear heels and enjoy the evening without freezing.

A thing that they do in this country that I always find funny since I moved here, it is that you always carry your nice shoes with you to a dinner or party, so when you enter the house you will take off your heavy boots good for snow and change into your pretty party shoes or you can be with out shoes and it´s not rude.

So anyway, what is a cocktail dress?

This days it means a short dress around knee length and it should be dressy and elegant but not too formal.

The classic one will be the little black dress. You can´t never go wrong with that , don´t you think?

But today I feel like wearing something a bit more fun and some colour. So I am going with this one.

I had stop buying new dresses as I have a few, and I want to use the ones I have more, before buying new ones like I mentioned in this post.

This is an old dress I bought for a premier of a film I did, so it bring me really nice memories.

And of course I need a cocktail ring and I happen to have a CK purple one that it goes perfectly with it.

I am ready.

Do you like to dress up? Do you have a favourite dress?

New habits for a stress-free, tidy and clean house

It is so wonderful when the house is all clean and everything is in the right place.

It feels like I can´t relax completely if things are out of tidy ,but in a house with children like mine  and a messy husband, nothing last like that for very long.

I don´t enjoy cleaning and I feel like it is a never ending must do.

I am hoping that some new habits will help me with it.

Here are some new ones that I will try to maintain to keep a stress-free house:

1. Never leave dishes in the sink. Or counter. Clean up any messes in the kitchen after I’m done. Wipe the counters, keep the sink clean.
This is something that I am not good at, but it looks and feels so much better if I make an effort.

2. Tidy the bathroom as I go. After I use the bathroom, clean the sink, the toilet, spray down the shower, real quick. It only takes a couple of minutes, and the joy of a clean bathroom is unmatched.
This one I find very easy to do, so the bath is always clean. I bit of spray and a wipe and is done.

3. Pick up as I go. There are little things the kids leave around the house. I’ll just pick them up throughout the day, or keep a basket for their stuff and just dump them in there, for them to put away later.
I do this very often already.

4. Never leave clothes out. I have a tendency not to hang my once-used but still clean clothes in my bedroom, leaving them out to clutter the place up. No more. They either go in the dirty clothes, or they get hung in the closet.
This one I find very difficult when the clothes are not dirty enough for washing but not clean for the closet. I need an other closet for it!

5. Take the trash out every day. It’s cleaner, and even if the trash isn’t quite full, this is a good habit.
I like this idea.
It is something the kids can help with and if is everyday it is easier to become a habit, plus it won´t be so heavy to carry for them.

6. Tidy up before I leave the house. It’s wonderful to come home to a clean house. Just pick up a little before I leave.
The same if you go on holiday. Nothing more depressing that coming back from a nice time to a mesy house.

7. Make my bed in the morning. I’ll do this either before or after I shower. I love a made bed.

8. Tidy up before I go to bed. Waking up to a dirty house is stressful. Waking up to a clean house is an incredible way to start the day.
I am a morning person, so this is something challenging for me. But I will give it a try.

9. Don’t let clutter pile up. There’s a place in the kitchen where we pile books and papers. That needs to go. Piles are stressful. I will clear this counter daily as it easy thing to get out of control if is not done often.

10. Get rid of the papers on the fridge. I can pretty much put all of that info on our calendar. They leave a very cluttered appearance. Even my 9 years old commented how nice it was after i took all the paper away.

11. Teach the kids to put their stuff away. By far the greatest source of stress and messiness. This will also be the most difficult task, and I don’t know if it can ever be accomplished. But it’s worth a try.

What do you think? Do you have any nice tricks to keep the house clean and tidy? I will love to know. Really, I need all the help I can get.

Things that make me happy: Tea cups.

Like I mentioned in my first post, I love tea cups.

I lived in England for many years and one of the things that stayed with me, is the love of tea and everything related to it.

For many years the very first thing in the morning will be having a cup of tea with milk and sugar ( just a 1/4 ts for me ), like they drink it in England.

With tea cups, I am always looking for the perfect one. Luckily cups are one of the things that you need more that one, so I can enjoy looking for it and indulging.

The one in the picture is from Porsgrund and is called Nathalie. That happens to be my middle name in french, so it seams it was made for me.

I love the simple style and the shape of it. It is a bit small as a breakfast teacup, ( I like to drink more tea in the morning and for that I need a bigger one), but it is perfect for afternoon tea.

For me taking the time to seat down for a few minutes, brewing the tea , using a lovely cup, and relaxing with it, makes my day a much better day.

After all, they say, happiness comes when you enjoy the present moment.

Simplifying my life

About 3 years ago, I was at a dinner party when a friend of mine told me that she had stop buying staff for a year.

My initial reaction was shock!

Was it possible not to shop for that long? How could anyone have so much will power? What about checking the January sales?

I really thought I could never do that.

I blamed it on my line of work. After all,  as a stylist I enjoy fashion and is part of my job to keep up with the trends and all that staff.

But I was curious.

So the morning after, and maybe was the hangover talking,  I started to think about everything I buy and all the things I have and how wonderful it will be to simplify my life.

And then I decided that I was going to give it a try.

I was going to start small.

For 6 months I was going to stop buying clothes and things for my self and the house. The only things I could shop was food for me and my family. For the kids I was going to reduce it and buy something like a pair of shoes only if they have outgrow the old ones, and not just because they were on sale, or because they were so cute that I just had to have it.

I was not perfect, and 6 months is not long, but it changed so much the way I leave my life now.

It made me really think every time I wanted something and to question my self. Do I really needed it?Why do I want this? Do I have something similar? Would I love it in a five years time?

I then realise, that I had so much more that I needed and that I was ready to simplify my life. Since then I started to make little changes. And everyday I am a bit closer to my goal of having a simple but fabulous life.

Lately I have notice that there is more and more web pages and blogs that help you simplify and organise your home, and it made me think that maybe is the "IT" thing, and after all I can be cool and simple. Well... I will like to think that! I can dream, don't you think?

I don´t consider myself frugal, even if it has something about it that I like.

I don´t want to overspend, but I want quality in my life and I am willing to pay more for it. I want well made things that will last long.

With that goal in mind I have started to dream of the thing I want and save for it. Not just buy a cheaper version of it that I will have to throw away in a short time. And I want to feel special too when I use it. That is important. I want to love and enjoy the small little things around me every day.

So instead of more, I want less. But the very best for my budget. 

I am getting ride of lot of staff and I have started to use all my best, and not leaving it for a special day. Today is special enough!

That made me realise, that I can be happy with a more simple life and learn to enjoy what I have.

What about you? Do you dream about a more simple life?

Looking for a new perfume and Si eau de toilette review

I have been looking for a new perfume for a few months now.

When I was young I used to have a very difficult time finding a perfume I liked, but lately it is so much easier, sometime confusing because I like more than one and I can´t make my mind up.

I love the idea of having a signature perfume that you are known for.

When I was a teenager my best friend used a perfume for years and years that smelled of green tea and citrus and summer all at the same time. I used to love it on her, and used to dream about founding the one for me.

The older I get the more I enjoy perfume. Every time I buy one I am so happy with it and I use it for a long time. But at the same time I find that I need to change with the seasons or for a special night, so I   normally have more than one.

One for summer, one for winter, one for every day and one for evening and special occasions.

After looking and looking and smelling and smelling for a new one, I just found one I really love.

Si, by Giorgio Armani, eau de toilette.

Is the perfect scent for every day.

Fresh and energetic with green pear, mandarin, Italian bergamot, black currant and neroli oil notes. Romantic because the floral freesia and May rose as middle notes, but comforting and warming with the base notes of musk, amber wood, patchouli and vanilla.

I am in heaven.

Do you have a signature perfume you use? Or do you like to change your scent with your mood?

P.S. This is not a sponsored post.

A new day

I have so many things to tell you!

I want to share with you

• My experience as a mom. 
• My work as a international make up artist. 
• My classic, simple, chic - doing my best- style.
• How I try to make everyday special with simple little things. Living in the moment and enjoying what I have.
• My diet and how I eat healthy, natural, rich tasty foods.
• All the things I love.
• How I enjoy life and do my best.

And many, many other simple fabulous little things.

I am always thinking and studying how to be happier.
I am a romantic at hart, a wannabe philosopher, and I am a big believer that we should make everyday feel special with a positive look in life and enjoying little moments.

Life is full of surprises. Some can be bad and some can be  I can not believe my luck surprises.
Life can be demanding and stressful and it is then that we need to try to enjoy the little moments whenever we can so we don't crush.

I am so looking forward to share it with you.

What is the little thing that you must enjoy every day and that you are looking forward to doing? For me will be reading in bed at the end of the day, or having a cup of tea in a beautiful tea cup, or... well I will let you know in a future post.

But please share with me...