CAROLINE LARUSSA

Every year SWEA (Swedish Women's Educational Association) hosts the Swedish Christmas fair in several American cities. I only went there one time as an au pair. It's not easy getting into San Francisco so we don't go there often. But it was totally worth it this weekend! Nick got to see a Lucia performance for the very first time. And I got to go nuts buying Swedish Christmas treats and decorations. Down below are some pictures and also a fun vlog where I explain everything better and you get to see what we did that rainy but wonderful day :)

As Thanksgiving is here - a tradition and celebration that I was always against because of how it begun - I realize more than ever how Americanized I am. I obviously don't celebrate Thanksgiving because the Native Americans were treated poorly. Just like I don't celebrate Christmas because I believe in God and Jesus. I just love any good reason to get together with friends and family to eat good food and do traditional things. Because we need that pause in life sometimes to actually enjoy what we work so hard for. The economy in California is useless at this point so most of us will have to move somewhere else. Therefore me and Nick love to go all out these days and take any opportunity that we can get to spend time with our loved ones.

It's funny how us Swedes tend to look down upon days like Halloween because we think that the Americans are too bold and big with it. "How silly to spend that much money on outdoor decorations, lights, costumes and parties for one day that does not even...

This is a weird week for us. A weird time in our lives generally.We were finally on a roll with me working and us being able to start saving for our future. We had piles of money that were kept for different goals such as pension, moving to our own place, vacations, friends weddings, having children, buying furniture etc. Then I was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis and have been laying at home recovering ever since. The unknown of this disease is very frustrating and not something that I want to focus too much on anymore, because whatever happens we'll just deal with it. Hopefully this was my worst flare and hopefully I can go back to work within the next month. But for now we just need to be patient and learn how to adapt to it. The reason why this week is weird is because Nick is in Seattle visiting his uncle's family right now. We are literally NEVER apart so this was a scary thought at first but it turned out great. He has been working so hard and taking care of me so this was a w...

For those of you who read my Lake Tahoe blogs, you know that me and Nick are hoping to move there in about 2 years. You never know if a place is truly going to fit you unless you go for it, so that is what we'll do! All we know right now is that Tahoe seems to be perfect for us. There is the risk of feeling quite lonely up there but we are hoping to make friends of course. My family is already really far away so that won't change. And Nick's family won't be more than four hours away so we can see each other every summer and sometimes on Christmas. Doesn't a Christmas by the lake, green forest and snowy mountains sound amazing? Not to mention the gorgeous houses that look like cabins. We do realize that this place isn't perfect, but there are pros and cons wherever you live. It's just about the positive things outweighing the negative. And for now, they do :) So I thought it would be fun to share those with you guys!

Cons

1. Wood fired stoves. Apparently a lot of stoves in Tahoe are...

I didn't write much about our trip to Los Angeles a few months ago. But we managed to squeeze in one day at Disneyland, so I would love to at least show my favorite pictures from there :)

This really great show just aired in Sweden and I was lucky to be able to watch it. Sometimes I can't watch certain things since I am in another country. It's called "Bye Bye Sverige (Sweden)" and it tells the story of the great immigration to America that happened between 1840 and 1914. I love how the actors tell the stories in a very amusing and yet sympathetic way. Because immigrating is not easy no matter when you do it, but 150 years ago it was basically hell. In total 50 million Europeans moved here. Of course the government had decided to forcefully remove the Native Americans to make room for white people who were considered "better". Because we couldn't just all live peacefully next to one another... no, that would be a crazy idea apparently. At the time Swedes was going through a rough patch. There was a drought, people were very poor and only had one religion to choose from. Their families and friends who had already moved were bragging about how amazing this new country was...

Hello again,

Today is my 1 year anniversary of moving back to America, which is insane!! This year has been full of interesting times for us. Lots has changed, but most of it has been for the better! It's strange thinking back to when I said good bye to everyone in Sweden, because it feels like it really did happen recently. But remembering Nick picking me up from the airport is odd, because it feels like longer ago. He was terribly skinny because he didn't eat much while I was away. We were both so sad about it. I'm the opposite, I eat more when I am upset haha! Neither one of us really knew how to act. Just like when he came to visit me in Sweden. Being apart for so long was healthy for us though. It taught us how valuable our time together is. Now when Nick is on disability, it's rare to see us apart. I like that we have gotten this time together where no one works. Our money situation is terrible, but this quality time together is the best. So here's to 1 year in America! A year whe...

One week after my birthday we had booked a SeaGoddess cruise in Monterey Bay. It was supposed to be my birthday celebration with friends, but unfortunately very few could make it. We ended up with just one person being 100% sure they could make it. So instead me and Nick cancelled it and went by ourselves which worked great too :) This was a whale watching cruise which has been on our bucket list for the longest time. It was perfect to do this in October when the weather was just right.

These cuties were enjoying the sunshine in the harbor...

While waiting for everyone to board the boat, we compared thumbs. Lol, we love doing that once in a while. Especially when I have long nails it becomes extra obvious just how tiny my fingers are compared to Nick's!

One of the absolute highlights was this beach where HUNDREDS of sea lions, otters and birds hung out. We could hardly believe our eyes (or ears! ...boy they were loud). It was beautiful to see such a big part of the wildlife living there i...

Downtown was lovely but we had more places to see! We spontaneously drove to Baldwin Beach which was a cute little sand beach, perfect for summer time. It was a bit ridiculous trying to get in there though! First of all it cost 8 dollars!!! What? Coming from Sweden where you can access everything that is not owned by somebody, that is just nuts. We were allowed to use that same ticket to visit other beaches on the same day, but who goes from one beach to another? Don't you just want to chill by one? The guard also asked us several questions which felt a bit overprotective. She asked if we were bringing any surf gear, if we were going to make a fire and if we planned on swimming... I get the fire thing, because they want to know who is responsible if something happens but who cares if I am going to sit on a paddle board or not?? It was still beautiful and a calm place to take a break from life at.

 One happy Nick!

 Nick made some friends who he shared his food with :)

On our way back we si...

What a surreal feeling it was to turn 27 years old. Birthdays were so easy up until my early 20's. After 25 it got a little harder not to be anxious about it. I know it's a very common feeling. The older we get, life flies by faster which sucks. I wish a summer could last forever like it did when I was little. But I do NOT want to get stuck in that anxiety like too many people do. They get so upset about turning a year older that they refuse to even celebrate their birthdays. I won't allow myself to forget what a blessing it is. There are people around us who lose their lives too soon. They get sick or get into accidents. It's uncomfortable to even think about, because it can happen anytime and anywhere. So the fact that I got to celebrate another exciting year on Earth is beautiful. 

The first thing we did that morning was to check out from the hotel. We had decided to stay another night at a different hotel. The whole point of this trip was to check out different places and...