week twenty two | asheville vibes, pubs, and friends

happy monday, friends! i hope your last week of may was a good one. if i am honest with you, mine was very mixed. there were a few things that were super tough and challenging, and then there were some moments that were just completely beautiful and life-fullfing.

but, i suppose that that’s exactly how life is, isn’t it?

i mean, we all have our own struggles and battles and issues. we all have those things that keep us awake at night or stress us out or frighten us tremendously.

but, that’s why i want to do these monday wrap-up posts on mondays: i want to remind myself that not ever moment is a tough moment. it is so important to live with gratitude, to live in the present moment, and to  tap into the power that we have within us. for, if we simply dwell in the uncertainty + pain, then our lives will be eaten up by our worries and fears. life will flash by us and before we know it, we will realize that we have missed out.

so, in an effort to live a mindful, authentic life, i choose to let myself feel the joy and happiness and peace that pops up unexpectedly every single day. i truly believe that in in the midst of those bad days, there are moments that bring a smile to our face or give us a sense of calm. i choose to live in the present moment so that i don’t miss those moments, and so that i don’t get caught up only in the struggles of the past or the worries of the future.

life is here + now. and those tough times feel so much more bearable when we slow down enough to simply breathe + observe + be aware.

last week, my love + i had the joy of having some visitors come to stay with us. and we loooove hosting people in our home.

our first guest was a “friend”… from asheville! i put the word friend in ” ” because we had never actually met her before, but had mutual acquaintances. and, since we are americans, we think it’s totally normal to meet up + stay with each other, even if we’ve never met before.

cynbone arrived on wednesday with the train – she is visiting sweden for 3 months (and maybe longer, who knows?!)) and wanted to stop by to visit for a few days on her way up north to explore more of the country. she stayed with us until saturday and we had the best time! we did a tiny bit of touring uppsala, visited pubs, drank beer, explored the grocery store (she loves to cook!), made dinners together, had long + deep conversations, watched netflix, sang abba songs… and became real friends.

plus she spilled all of her asheville vibes all over our apartment, so that feels amazing. it really did feel so cool to have an american, a fellow north carolina girl, here with us.

and then, on saturday when cybone left, another friend came! this friend, from the city where we used to live in sweden, is someone who has become very important in my life + even more so in my love’s life. she’s just got an amazing energy and vibe, and we always laugh constantly.

she was only in town for 24 hours, and it rained pretty much the whole time, so we had lots of cozy moments at home. though, we did brave the wind and rain and cold by hailing a cab to take us to dinner at what lina and i have now decided is our favorite pub, churchill arms.

it was a quick little visit together, but oh so powerful.

so, today, we begin a new week + a new month! this week is going to be super exciting in our world. we are continuing our hospitality on wednesday when our dear, dear friend from ireland (who’s swiss) arrives to stay with us through the weekend! we haven’t seen each other in a little over 2 years, which is way too long. it is going to be amazing to catch up with each other, and have some quality time together. unfortunately her husband couldn’t make it, so i guess that means that lina and i need to plan a trip to ireland pretty soon. wink wink.

she’s here not only to visit with us, but the main reason is because lina’s brother is getting married on saturday!!

so, we’ve got tons of wedding stuff happening this week in preparation for the big day on saturday. lina and i have the wonderful honor of being the toast madams for the reception/dinner/party, which means that we are basically the program leaders/emcees/hosts… we organize the program, entertain a little, and are the general knowers of all that’s going on, so jonas and magda can just sit back and enjoy their day.

it’s gonna be epic!

here’s to wishing you a beautiful first week of june, lovelies! and whenever you feel overwhelmed + confused, just remember to breathe deep. ground yourself, and seek out the beauty of the present moment.

onwards + upwards! xoxo