Cutest Cat with Eyebrows! =^..^=

I was going to write something about gluten-free eating today, but I was quickly mesmerized into a hypnotic state by these big black eyebrows atop the cutest cat in Japan today. He always seems to look at you with "question" eyes or brows of confusion. I almost want to paste on makeshift construction paper eyebrows on my cat Tobias, just to get the aw factor for an hour or two.

Enjoy this little one below :)

Mew mew!

Elle♥

Gluten-Free: McDonald's? I'm Lovin' it!

I swear, a bunch of pigs grew wings and took flying lessons this weekend, 'cause stuff I never thought would happen - did.

Yesterday, we traveled north to Haugesund, Norway, to a wonderful housewarming party for a beautiful home :)

We wanted to go get something to eat when we got there, but didn't know of any places to go. We decided to settle for McDonald's so I could rock the large fries and sweet'n sour sauce.

Well, I thought; why not ask if they have gluten-free buns - it doesn't hurt and maybe word would get out one day, so this could be and I could enjoy a Big Mac once again. Well, judgement day came when she responded; "Of course, no problem!". I said; "What?! Seriously?". It was such a touching experience that I could have shed a tear of sheer grease.

They served me my "Big Mac" wrapped in "gluten free" stamped paper. I opened and discovered they made it look exactly like their regular burgers with the sesame seeds, grease and the whole bit! (I found a fellow blogger lady from Stockholm, Sweden, who took a picture of the buns since I forgot the camera for the whole trip).

I never thought I could enjoy a greasy McDonald's burger again. I mean, just thinking of McDonald's gives me gut rot, but it was nice to try to savour the moment. :)

Now, if only I could bring Heath Ledger back to life to serve me my next burger ... I miss him to the Big Max!

Elle♥

Freia: The Best Tasting Norwegian Chocolate, Ever!

Some of you already know what I am talking about. This is the crack of all chocolates. Even though I have a rough stomach, sometimes you just have to make an exception ...

My close friends and family have tried this decadent treat and have acquired quite the addiction for them as well. Don't worry family, I've got your back and I'll bring the stash home ;)

Also, I highly suggest not taking a huge load of these on your carry-on. Last Christmas I had tinfoil-wrapped Santas to give away and I was pulled aside by the US airport security because they thought I was carrying weapons ... Yes, they waste all their energy and time on me. I think they just wanted to know why I was carrying vast amounts of chocolate gold. They probably wanted to bust my ass and take them for their lunch break, but it was Christmas and they let me off easy.

This chocolate is dangerously good. They even have little Norwegian fairytale chocolates with stories written inside of the wrapping. While opening the package, you may discover that a carved out magical castle awaits you! Eating it makes you feel like a prince or princess ... unless you eat serious amounts of them, then you might just get sick.

Kraft owns the Freia franchise so I hope one day they come to Canadaland!

Elle♥

Little Boots : A Candlelit Remedy!

Little Boots (Victoria Christina Hesketh) is a beautiful and brilliant electropop singer/songwriter from Blackpool, Lancashire, UK. I would LOVE to get my hands on one of those Yamaha TENORI-ON and also rock everyones socks off, like she does, one day!

She makes such ferosh beats and if you don't already know "Little Boots", you better, now!

I've been listening to her for quite some time now, but it is always nice to see artists showcase their talent with actual singing and doing what they do best! :)

Here is a awesome unplugged version of her latest single, "Remedy" from her debut album "Hands" - check it out!




The actual single is SO good, I also added it for your viewing pleasure! This video is the shizah!
I just love the perfect almost robotic harmonies ... I love Little Boots!



Elle♥

Russell Brand is Back!

I'm sure a lot of you already knew Russell Brand was hosting the MTV VMAs as well as I did, but he and Britney Spears finally came out with a cute commerical for the upcoming event on September 13th.

Apparently she is hearing things ... provocative things! Britney looks wicked here. Keep up the great work, Brit Brit! xoxo

As for you Mr. Brand; your sex appeal went up a couple of notches, owning that beautiful blue dog for pure coffee table viewing pleasure.

Enjoy!

Elle♥

Scary Surprise!

Next weekend we are traveling to Berlin, Germany! I am über excited to check out all those scary German old folk trinkets, nutcrackers and toys. BUT, I am most excited to see "Kinder Surprise" everything! I hope to find this chocolate in every form.

If I find something cool, I want to bring it home for my brothers and their gals because it means so much to us! My parents have been giving us Kinder Surprises since the beginning of time, for Christmas and Easter. If we didn't get them each and every year, it would indeed be the end of the world.

While looking for kinder merch online, I came across this insane commercial! It was so crazy that it was BANNED! Thank goodness because this Humpty Dumpty would have ruled my nightmares ... I'll let you know tomorrow ...

Watch this scary tale below!

Elle♥

OPI Autumn/Winter 2009 Collection : España!

Fashion is very inspired by the Spaniards this season, reintroducing bolero jackets and tango styled cuts in dresses and skirts. There ain't no bull about it! ;) Just super pretty accenting frills and layers throughout a lot of the designs. Burnt blood reds and deep warm tones come to mind ...

OPI has introduced the Autumn/Winter 2009 collection with some yummy, sexy Señorita shades!

I must say I liked the colours this season a lot! I had a hard time picking, but I always seem to be drawn into deep, Merlot wine tones.

I ended up purchasing "Manicurist of Seville" which is a very deep red colour, as I used 3 coats to deepen the shade a little.

I also splurged on "Suzi Skis in the Pyrenees", which is a deep gray with a shade of blue, that is quite soft and takes on different tones, depending on what you wear.

I tried to do a professional (fail) style of what the other nail-istas do on the interweb. Here are a couple of pictures to show you what these two looked like in daylight.

Check out the colour line-up below, and give one a go! There is not one colour I didn't like.

Elle♥

Röyksopp: What Else Is There?

I know this song is older, but I love it so much! If you don't already know the brilliance of Röyksopp, they are a Norwegian-based band out of Bergen that you have to check out - seriously. It's for your own good - I promise! ;)

The video is so brilliant, and the freaky thing is; it mimic's A LOT of my dreams (except the spilled milk part). I am a ghost most of the time, floating in my old houses and places I have been and have never seen ... yet :)

It features Swedish singer Karin Andersson from the most amazing electro duo "The Knife", and also her recent side project "Fever Ray".

You MUST watch this video! The song is beautiful and I haven't seen such a masterpiece of a video since.

Enjoy!

Elle♥

Wolford : The Fatal Dress!

I have been working here at Wolford in Stavanger, Norway, from time to time and I must say; I have become a product of my environment ;) I cannot tell you how lux this clothing line is. I have never seen such intricate patterns within one pair of tights in all my existence.

I have recently become a huge fan of the "Fatal" dress. Yes - guilty as charged! As I own it in 3 colours and would love more (that is disgusting, I know) but you can do SO many things with this tube body (check out how to wear it in 3 ways below).

I also am a huge fan of their tights and lingerie. I first heard about them about 3 years ago, trying to find wool stockings. I came across a beautiful pair of merino wool that I never purchased, but now - if I could go back in time - I would have bought 5, knowing what I know now.

Once you go Wolford, you can't go back. Yes, it is a little on the expensive side but one pair of tights will last you a decade. I am a huge clutz and I am still rocking out my first purchase - hole-free.

In these series of pictures, I am wearing the Fatal dress in "Seal" colour and "Grit" tights in "Desert". Yes I love the graveyard. The stones set off cool grey tones and we are all friends. ;)

Wolford is an Austrian-based fashion house and you can read up on their history here.

If you are in the Stavanger area I HIGHLY suggest coming in and trying on a dress or perhaps add a wicked pair of tights to your collection. If you are in Canada they do have a location in Toronto.

Try a perfect shade of mazarine blue which is a sexy shade for this fall season!

A perfect example is the "Luisa" dress pictured to the right.

You'll be a changed woman (or man) once you try on a Wolford piece. Trust me. ;)

Elle♥

Happy Birthday, Tori Amos!

This woman has been a great muse to me for pretty much my entire life! Her music is so inspiring and soothing to the ear. She has got me across the the world and back for many years - stress free.:) Tori has got me through tough times with music and I guess I could call her my musical mother or soul sister :)

She turns 46 years young today, but with the oldest of souls ...

No one can carry so much emotion on the ivory keys as Amos. She is such a musical genius and her music has much deeper meaning to me.

Keep making the wicked music, and I hope to see you live one day! We love you!

Enjoy one of my favorite Tori Amos songs called "Winter" below, live.

Elle♥

Inglourious Basterds!

Norway actually brought in a movie on time for once, so I checked out the world premiere of "Inglourious Basterds" this evening! What the Shizah! I still need to process my thoughts on this particular film (sorry for the über late post).

It was quite good, but I highly suggest you watch it in your mother tongue as it was hard following the German and French parts with only Norwegian subtitles. My brain was working overdrive but I thought - all and all - this Tarantino film was epic.

It was a little on the gory side, as most of Quentin's movies are, but I highly suggest watching Brad Pitt's performance in this flick. He brought on the LOLs!

I give this movie 5 salutes! Go watch it!

Elle♥

Donkeyboy? I'm Melodically Hooked!

I've tried everything, but I seriously cannot get this insanely catchy song out of my head! Donkeyboy hailing alllll the way from Drammen, Norway is the next best thing since A-Ha, in my opinion. This group consists of 5 guys, 2 of whom are the prettiest of boys in Nordicland.

They have one song out right now called "Ambitions", as they are working in the studio to make more stick-in-your-head-forever-tunes. This single features vocals from Linnea Dale, who surprisingly has a lower pitch than the male voices in this particular tune.

I can't wait to hear more from these pretty boys!

They have an official video, which isn't so bad, but I didn't think it was cool enough for the song, so I just posted a Youtube picture/video for higher quality listening purposes :)

Get it stuck in your head now!

Elle♥

Champion?! It's Time For A Cat Massage!

Apparently, I have been rubbing my cats the wrong way the whole time! Watching this How-To tutorial makes me speechless ...

I'm pretty sure my brain melted from all of her ingenius quotes and sayings. She has to be an A-list song writer, as she writes the best lyrics known to man, serenading her cat Champion with hit tunes like; "Who's the best cat in the United States ... it's you Champer Damper ... it's you!"

Caution: A Major Whisker Watch Alert is in effect!

I forgot to mention : "If you're right handed, use your right hand left handers- use left." ... ;)

Elle♥

Hello From Earth!

Have you sent a message to the next Earth-like planet out of our solar system? Well, I have and I think it is mighty important to let them know what we are up to and get them "in-the-know" - and if we are worth visiting.

Who knows if they are even there, or whether they even have the equipment necessary to receive the messages. Perhaps they don't even need radio receivers - maybe they're so advanced, they pick the message up right in their huge, disc-shaped heads!

But, imagine if we were to get a message back? Well, I hope they will read mine and respond. I did a search, as my message was finally approved to send to them ... I didn't want to go through all 18,000 messages. If I do get a message back, it should provide some interesting reading for me once I've retired, as the messages will take approximately 20.3 years to travel each direction.

Y'all should hurry and share a few words as you only have 6 days left!

What will you say to our fellow neighbours? You can send your own message here : http://www.hellofromearth.net.

Click the picture below to see what I wrote... 8)

Elle♥

Major Parkinson : Greatest Unknown Band from Bergen

And I say "Unknown" - for now...

Major Parkinson is band of creative geniuses, if you ask me! I was shown this band about half a year ago when a friend of mine showed me a couple of songs - many a get-together later, my birthday comes along, for which he's bought me a copy and says; "Listen to it!!!". Thanks, Einar Moen, again - I always love our "listen to this" sessions ^_^!

This Bergen-based Norwegian band reminds me of a creepy carnival, that sucks you into the centre of the ring, with a rattle-me-bones kind of music. They have a dark and aged, but child-like sound, tangled through the salsa-styled beats. I love the muted guitars and everything! It is extremely Rocky Horror Picture Show but with even catchier songs!

The production on this album is so good, I had to see who produced it - and of course it is produced by renowned Sylvia Massy, who also has worked with artists such as Tool, Johnny Cash and System Of A Down.

On August 25, 2008, Major Parkinson (MySpace) released the self-titled debut "Major Parkinson", to pretty sweet reviews in the Norwegian media, but they need more exposure and recognition in North America! Get your butts over there, you guys!

Jon Ivar Kollbotn has a wicked voice and has a way of telling stories of love, sex, murder, soda pop and toys ;) How is this band not signed on a major label yet? I can't wait to see them live! Come to Stavanger too!

You can buy the album on iTunes, CDON.com and Platekompaniet and they are awesome enough to give you an album preview here.

Here is a video from their song "197"

Enjoy it!

Elle♥

Deep South Tropical Storms = Super "True Blood" Fans!

As CNN showed today on the news, and from other sources; Florida and Louisiana will be getting two tropical storms possibly turning into hurricanes. They are calling the two "Ana" and "Bill".

Now is it just me or are you thinking; because it's hitting the south, they named them after the "True Blood" characters? I mean, they couldn't name one "Sookie", so instead they went with Anna Paquin as her real name (Ana) and Steven Moyer as vampire "Bill" to follow.

I wouldn't mind if a hot Hurricane Alexander Skarsgård as Eric Northman came ripping through my moon once in a blue moon ... What a Swedie! Ha! ;)

As a side note - he's the son of reknown Swedish actor Stellan Skarsgård and has 4 younger brothers, several of whom are actors.

True Blood is in the air, people!

I'm just sayin'!

Elle♥


P.S Mary Ann Forrester (Michelle Forbes) is my hero! I love her all sassy and sinister like ;) Go on with your bad ass self, girl! I seriously hope to look half as good as she does when I am rocking the age of 44.

Dr Stuart's: Extraordinarily Good Teas!

After a long day of running in and out of places , through the long, cold downpour outside, I needed a pick-me-up when I got home today. Well, as a tea connoisseur, I am always looking for exciting, new teas to try.

"Dr Stuart promises that every asterisked herb is of the highest quality medicinal grade"

Wow!" I said to myself. I must admit the packaging got to me and I loved every bit of the humour wrapped around the very boxes this extraordinary tea lives in. The art is quite dark, with Tim Burton-esque characters that are quirky enough to blow up to display on my wall!

I usually like the taste of loose teas better, but I got these, because I just want something quick and easy - and it turns out that they're just as good. The two that I have tried so far are both surprisingly awesome and delish!

I loved the lady on the "Detox" box opening her perfect 50's style washing machine for a gut to "Spruce up your insides". The love and berry fruity passion between "Cranberry & Raspberry" I couldn't deny and had to try! ;)

I love these flavours! I hope these will be available over the pond sometime if they aren't already. It seems to be only available in the UK where these herbal remedies are packaged, but they're now available here in Norway as well :)

Dr Stuart also has Extraordinarily Good Herb Candies! I'm on the hunt to find those! If you are on the go and have no time to brew, you can get your hands on Dr Stuart's New Ready-To-Drink Teas as well :D

I think you'll fancy a cup of this tea-riffic drink!

Elle♥

Guidette Makeup The Hell!

This fierce bitch did a Youtube video response to Ginny's Makeover Minute. According to this lady, Ginny Boombah's makeover "for the greater good of humanity" did it allllll wrong! If you don't live in the "General Tri-State Area" these tutorials don't apply. But for your viewing pleasure, I present to you: "Guidette Makeup the Hell"

Elle♥

Global News BC: Adopt a Pet!

Oh this brought on the LOL's! Probably the funniest, messiest 4 minute news segment in Canadian history! The German Shepard looks like my old dog Sheba (I miss you girl!) - but Sheba was very well behaved, unlike this cute 11-month old boy ;)

I'm sure these dogs got adopted solely on this clip below.

I personally enjoy what the middle anchor lady says at 3:36 ;)

Elle♥

Megan Fox Makes a Public Service Announcement

It's great to know that Megan and I think so much alike about school and boys! ;)




I am actually pretty excited for "Jennifer's Body", hitting theaters September 18th 2009! If Norway doesn't get it right away, I can always go see it when I am home in Canada next month. You can check the trailer here.

It seems to be a pretty dark comedy. I am liking the soundtrack a lot. Extremely summer teen sounding if you can hear that? If the movie sucks, at least it will accompany some o.k. tunes like a remixed Little Boots! (cheerleader cheers galore!)

Are you excited about the movie?

"I go both ways..." ;)

Elle♥

Best Gluten-Free Liquorice Toffee In The World!

Walkers Nonsuch Liquorice has just the right amount of toffee in the mix of this mouth-exploding treat! This toffee is made right in the heart of England and I am in love! *starts to sing a horrible rendition of Elton John's "Made in England" Woooh oh ohhh ohh!

Hands down the best snack after I lost my beloved Karamellpojkarna ("Caramel Kids" in Swedish) as they ceased to exist at the Stavanger movie theatre here in town. If anyone reads this - please bring them back or at least tell me where they could be hiding!

They are (were) available in liquorice caramel and straight up caramel, shown to the right.

I found it so hard finding a rich and tasty replacement for them, until I was at the local food shop and came across this God of a treat. Just like the package says; "Just Whack and Enjoy" - seriously.

Even though it's an old-fashioned treat, it's ahead of its time with gluten-free ingredients! Has anyone seen this product in North America? I believe you can purchase these goodies online. If liquorice isn't your fancy, try Walkers in their other old-fashioned toffee flavours! It's also great if you have a pesky tooth that you can't wait to get rid off as this will help speed the process ;)

If you can find either of these, I highly suggest eating them in heaps! :D

I will also bring some back with me so everyone at home can try it!

Mmmmm!

Elle♥

Making Some Saturday Night Sounds!

So when the creative juices are flowing, I am lucky enough to be able to catch a ferry boat over to little town of Tou and work with Einar Moen - a good friend of mine who also works on music for Tristania - making him über talented to work with!

We are currently working on an old track of mine called "Let You In" and a new track inspired by old Victorian love stories. I promise to post something once it's finished and proper good ;)

Here are a couple of pictures from the night in the studio booth! Any studio has always been a place of comfort to me, making me feel like home :)


In other news - my Moods of Norway birthday dress finally came in! (Yay!) And it actually has long sleeves unlike the last one I returned. This one is even better! (Me in my Moods, paired with 100% Australian Ugg Cardy's straight from Victoria's Secret as there are a million fake ones out there!)

I will talk about how to spot fakes of those sometime soon! The copies are becoming too good!

Elle♥

Utstein Kloster : The Abbey of Utstein

As I said I would tell you where I hung out yesterday! Well, it's been firmly established that I have an obsession for graveyards and old Gothic architectural buildings.

So, since I am not much of a churchgoer but it was indeed a Sunday, I checked into the Abbey of Utstein - mentioned historically going all the way back to the 9th century!

It was cited as King Harold Fairhair's garrison after the Battle of Hafrsfjord.


The construction started around the year of 1260, although some parts are actually older and from the royal farm that used to be on the same site.

The Abbey housed about 12 monks, they think, but had a huge number of servants managing the farmland around them. I took a picture of this little sitting area, (right) as I could imagine a monk to monk conversation, swapping secrets on how to get their robes the cleanest and fade-resistant.

Now they use the Abbey as a great concert venue and for other special events out of museum hours.

Can I live here after museum hours?

I want this organ in my room! I'll be Bach! ;)

Elle♥