10 Things About Me

1. I am a crazy cat lady. I have one kitty (called kitty, named Elfie) whom my older brother Zack is watching while I am in Sweden. 

2. I love to take long, hot, bubble baths while reading a book.

3. I was lucky enough to marry the love of my life a few weeks ago. The past 20 months have been wonderful, and I am so excited to see the rest of our lives!

4. Since moving to Sweden, I have learned that I actually enjoy running.

5. I would much rather read a book than watch TV.

6. I was in a sorority in college, and it was one of the best decisions of my life. Many of my closest friends stem from that experience.

7. I love classic rock, and have been to quite a few concerts with my Mom. Kiss, Aerosmith, Bon Jovi, Motley Crüe, the list goes on…

8. I love restaurants, and the customer service industry. Customer service is practically nonexistent in Europe, so I miss this tremendously. 

9. I had LASIK surgery in July, and it is AMAZING!

10. One of my favorite past-times with my (now!) husband is playing hockey together. I had an open hockey skate in MN that he started attending with me— so much fun!

11. I have the most supportive and loving family, friends, and husband. I am so lucky to have each of them in my life. 

So there you are! For today’s blog post, I decided to focus on me a little bit more— hope you enjoy!

Quiet Nights

Well, KHK Dam had our first game today! Unfortunately, we lost 6-5…. Only after putting up a good show! Time to get back to work and be ready for the next game.

Until then, I am enjoying a quiet night at home with a fire and some American football. Nights like these are the ones I love!

Oktoberfest in Munich

Wow. Oktoberfest exceeded any expectations I had- which were relatively few. Both Friday night and Saturday we were able to get into a tent with no trouble- less than ten minutes of a wait!! We met a ton of wonderful people, drank twice as much beer as we should have, and had the best time.

As you can see from the photos, I was a little surprised when someone stacked the 7th beer onto my hands! That could be classified as my “oh my gosh I can’t carry this much!!” face.

I already can’t wait to return to Oktoberfest next year- what a great time! Now, off to enjoy the day in Prague!!

Off to Oktoberfest

Well, here I am- set to head off to Munich tomorrow to celebrate my first REAL Oktoberfest! Of course, I have “celebrated” it before in Minnesota, every year at a wonderful little bar called Gasthof’s. This year, it is time to celebrate the real thing- in Munich, wearing a dirndl, with some great friends! 

In honor, a throwback to my first time in Germany with Zack, and celebrating Oktoberfest in Minnesota with Nick last year. 

My Favorite Hockey Player

Yes, of course, I have a favorite player. Yes, of course, it is my husband. However- I think this is for good reason! First off, check out that smile. How could you not love it? On the ice, he is such a controlled player- helping to set the pace of the game. As a back, he is always involved in the defensive zone and protecting the net. At the same time, he is free to jump into the rush- 6 points in 4 games thus far. So, a pretty exciting player to watch in my opinion!

Now, to be fair. Nick makes mistakes— he has this year already, and I’m sure there are more coming. But that’s part of the game!

So, overall, I have a bias. I cheer just a little bit louder for Nick than the other players. And keep an eye on him just a little bit more. To me, he is a player I notice- and I think I would even if he was not my husband. But at the end of the day, it is a team game- and KHK has been a very exciting team to watch thus far! I am greatly looking forward to the game tomorrow against Oskarshamn- I will see you there!

Wedding Blog Post

Hello! 

Earlier this week Nick and I talked with a reporter from a local TV station, Marie Hallman. She asked about our wedding, and we sent her several photos from the wedding. Check out her blog post about it— displays a lot of great pictures! Thanks Marie for the excellent post :) Even better for those here in Sweden— her blog post is in Swedish! 

Wedding Blog Post

How Does It Feel to Be Married?

Over the past four days, both Nick and I have been asked this question numerous times. I think just about every one of our friends has asked this in some form or another. Before I take too long of a post to talk about the wedding, the planning, the ceremony, etc— I figured I would share just a few pictures and answer this question.

The easiest answer: it feels right. Nick is my best friend, and has been for quite some time now. The biggest change in being married is that now I call him my husband, instead of my fiancé or boyfriend. Otherwise, not much has changed. We had the wonderful opportunity to celebrate with our family and friends before continuing on with our lives. Being married to Nick just feels right. The best example of why? We are still 100% ourselves, and get to continue on with our every day lives like nothing has changed. More about our wedding later, but, because nothing has changed— its game day and that means afternoon naps!

Karlskrona Hockey Klubb Fans

I attended my first regular season KHK game last night, and I was quite impressed with the fans! Firstly, most of the fans attended the warm ups. In the US, every time I have gone to a sporting event— if I happen to be on time— I am showing up just as the game starts.

The next thing that impressed me was the energy in the arena. As you can see in the video, as soon as the team entered the arena after warm-ups the fans went crazy! Standing, clapping, banging on drums, flag waving, singing KHK songs— and this continued throughout the entirety of the game. After a few minutes of this, I was really looking forward to when the team scored a goal— I couldn’t imagine how the fans would react then!

Of course, I didn’t have to wait long— about 8 minutes into the game, my hubby had a nice little helper and set his teammate up for the first goal of the game. The post-goal video will be posted in just a moment here, but it was an experience to be at! I truly look forward to the remainder of the season. Thanks hockey fans for being the best over here!!

KHK Fans

Quick video of the team skating past the bench after the first goal of the game…

Here We Go

It's wedding time! A mere six hours before the ceremony-- I can't wait!!!

Engagement Pictures

This is one of my favorite pictures. I love how you can see the sailboats in the background!

Playing by the ocean!

With just over 72 hours to the wedding, I will post the last of the engagement pictures now!

Home in Minnesota

Hello!

After a few long days of traveling, I finally made it home to Minnesota! Wow, is it ever great to be home. The worst part of being home? Definitely the jet lag. Hoping that will subside over the next few days— other than that everything has been fabulous so far! Of course, getting crazy with the wedding planning. Meetings all over town, calling people to confirm responses, buying last minute items— wow does the list ever go on!

With that being said, I apologize in advance for the lack of posting! I’ll get more engagement pictures up at some point, and then in just 10 days Nicholas and I will be back home in Karlskrona! 

It’s strange how much the definition of home changes. Right now, I truly feel I have several homes. Karlskrona is now home as well- thats where I live, Nicholas is there, we are building a life together there. At the same time though, this trip back to Minnesota has made me realize that in my heart of hearts Minnesota will always be home. I can’t wait until Nicholas joins me here at home for the wedding!

Color Engagement Pictures

Thought I’d take the time for a quick post to show off some of our colored engagement pictures! We got to play around in the water a little bit- was a lot of fun! Micke Månsson really did a great job with the pictures. Its hard to choose just a few to release at a time because they are all so great!

If you are interested in seeing all of our engagement pictures, check out the links below!

Engagement Picture Preview

Favorite Engagement Picture

Black and White Engagement Pictures

Color Engagement Pictures

Something You Don't See in Sweden

Here is a little example of something I haven’t seen happen in Sweden yet- people not returning their shopping carts. And let me tell you Americans how amazing this idea is! In order to get a shopping cart, you have to put in 5-10 krona (so about $1), and then return the cart to get your krona back. Not a lot of money, but I have never seen a shopping cart in the middle of the parking lot in Sweden! Makes it much easier to park- never worrying about swinging into a parking spot and having a cart be there. 

This lovely photo was taken yesterday when I was running errands. Yes, Americans actually are THAT lazy where they won’t walk the maybe 15 steps to the cart return- instead, carts are just left anywhere.

KHK Fans

HUGE thanks to the KHK fans! Nicholas told me today he mentioned my blog in an interview on Sunday (glad I had the heads-up on that one!) and I am loving the support I see so far! The most interesting post to KHK fans so far may be from a week or so again— I posted about the differences in Swedish hockey versus American hockey.

With that, I have a question to all of the KHK fans and Swedes in general- what do you think is most important for me to know? About Sweden, Karlskrona, Karlskrona Hockey Klub, anything you think I might be missing out on! I would love to hear your opinions, or if there is something that interests you. I can’t wait to hear your responses!

KHK, you are the best!

Homesick

Wow, what a day! I woke up early to catch the train from Karlskrona to Copenhagen airport for my flight back to Minnesota. At the airport, my first true wave of homesickness hit me upon receiving a text from my Mom: “when we pick you up, are you wanting to go home or stop for dinner somewhere- any American foods you are craving?” ….the worst part, I could only receive texts and not respond. Of course I’m craving some American food- STEAK, Olive Garden breadsticks, Pizza Hut…. The list goes on.

But, alas, my flight in Copenhagen was delayed so I missed my connection in Amsterdam to Minneapolis. Another day of the Euro life for me, and one day further from Minnesota. Nonetheless, beer me please in Amsterdam. I’ll take an extra-large!

Black and White Engagement Pictures

OK, it’s been almost a week— time for a few more engagement pictures! For today’s post, I decided to go with the black and white pictures that we liked the best. They are wonderful shots- exactly what I have been thinking of when I think of engagement pictures! They capture Nick and I as a couple, and the beautiful backgrounds in Sweden as well. Is there much more we could ask for? 

Again, these pictures are a great thanks to Micke Månssons Foto. His website is: 

http://www.mickemansson.se/