Wednesday 25 January 2012

birthday & brighter days


Today you get another sneak peek into my home. Today is also hubby's birthday. He's now a happy owner of a new Sherlock Holmes collection. Well, he's read all these stories before, many times, but we gave away most of our books when we moved abroad so I thought it was time for my man to have Holmes and Watson back in his life. Today he'll also get his two favourites: apple cake with whipped cream and home-made pizza for dinner, with red wine from Corsica. There will be coffee and chocolate too. And yes, we'll be listening to Stan Getz and Astrud Gilberto, replaying Corcovado (see bottom of post) and The Girl From Ipanema.

When you grow up in Iceland you get used to very dark winters (winters in Belgium are not nearly as dark). Hubby's birthday was always an indicator that the days were indeed getting a little brighter. Yesterday I was thinking about that and decided to add more brightness to our sitting area. So, I switched the chaise lounges. I moved our neutral coloured one to the sitting area and the dark grey one to the TV area. It's amazing how a small change like that transforms a space (here is the old look).

Actually, I've had this look before but it feels different because now I only keep blue glass accessories in the windowsill. I have a light blue blanket on the chaise lounge and its neutral colour brings forth these blue hues in a delightful way. Everything somehow looks crisp.

I like crisp.

Have a wonderful Wednesday!


photo credit: Lisa Hjalt

  
YouTube: Stan Getz & Astrud Gilberto / Corcovado

20 comments:

  1. Happy Bday to hubby!
    I have seen your photography before but this is so beautifully!! I really like the new changes too!
    Have a wonderful night!
    Top secret: will be a giveaway on my blog next Friday!

    Happy Wednesday!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Sounds like you're making a lovely birthday for your husband...lucky him!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hello, I have just discovered your blog and Tumblr recently and may I just say you have a lovely eye for design. I just get so inspired by your posts! I look forward to exploring more of your blog. Heidi

    ReplyDelete
  4. Say congrats to hubby from me ;o) Hope he will have a nice birthday - its sound so cosy with pizza and chocolate (especially the chocolate and cake sounds great ;o)
    Have a nice evening Lisa ;o)

    ReplyDelete
  5. thank you for the complement Heidi ;-)

    ReplyDelete
  6. Have a wonderful birthday!

    And thanx for the lovely sneak peek!

    ♥ Franka

    ReplyDelete
  7. Happy birthday to your hubby! Lovely having a peek into your house too :)

    ReplyDelete
  8. Happy birthday to your hubby, Lisa! Lucky man!

    I love these sneak peeks into your home, especially that you have an incredible eye for interior decorating. I also made a little change to our living room and moved the coffee table from the center of the room, by the window, next to my favourite armchair (yes, I had a purpose, wink). The room feels so spacious now and I like the fact that I can put more coffee table books on it now, without giving the impression of it being too cluttered.

    Have a wonderful evening, Lisa! Th meal you're preparing sounds divine. xo

    ReplyDelete
  9. Innilega til hamingju með húsbóndann elsti sonur minn á líka afmæli í dag;) Það er alveg ótrúlegt hvað svona lítilræði getur breytt miklu en maður sér strax munin
    kveðja Adda Akureyri

    ReplyDelete
  10. Happy birthday to your hubby! Sounds like you're making sure his day is special. Crisp is good :)

    ReplyDelete
  11. That light blue is truly crisp, just as you described.....a beautiful color! And I love the mustard pillow, too.

    Happy birthday to your hubs!! Hope you have a great day/night celebrating, and wishing him many more!!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Innilega til hamingju með bóndann.

    Yndislega fallegt blog hjá þér og alltaf gaman að fylgjast með póstunum frá þér sem og uppskriftunum sem ég notast reglulega við :)

    ReplyDelete
  13. Lighter and brighter. That's exactly what I need! Your living room would be heavenly to me. Enjoy celebrating your hubby's birthday! Happy bday to him :) xoxo

    ReplyDelete
  14. beautiful photos. I do miss having a home to re-decorate all the time, even though I don't miss all the 'stuff'.

    say happy birthday to the mister :)

    ReplyDelete
  15. Happy Birthday to Hubs! We both have January husbands, my Hubs' b-day is on Monday. Have a great evening and enjoy the supper!

    ReplyDelete
  16. Happy birthday to him - I love the photos too! :-)

    ReplyDelete
  17. thank you for all the birthday wishes for hubby ;-)

    ReplyDelete
  18. Happy Belated birthday to your Mr! Sounds like you had a wonderful day and I really like the idea for his present. You are such a wonderful wife. xxx

    ReplyDelete
  19. Happy birthday to your husband! Your present for him sounds brilliant, given he is such a Sherlock Holmes fan and I'm sure he will love the food you are making!
    Love what you have done to your living area - it looks very light and bright and very refreshing xx

    ReplyDelete

Your comment appears on the blog after approval. Comments with commercial links are reported as spam.