It’s already afternoon here in Sweden as I write this, and I was out an about with the kids today. We went to our favorite flea market, and then went to walk around Gamla Stan, the old city part of Linköping. I carried my camera with me, then everything we bought, and a water bottle and.. you get the picture, my bag was overflowing with stuff, and I was kicking myself for not bringing a larger haul-it-all bag. I love large bags and totes for summer, and usually get a few each summer. For summer it’s fun to get less expensive fabric and canvas totes that you can take anywhere, from beach and pool to shopping and sightseeing. So I did some shopping… and found all these bags for under $100.

Big bags under $100

1. kate spade new york ‘charm – travel’ coated canvas bon shopper
is regularly $178.00 and now on sale for $88.90. Love the print, perfect for summer travels!

2. Tommy Hilfiger Handbag in Rugby Stripes Tote is also on sale, normally $108.00 and now on sale for $80.99 and it comes in different colors. It’s just a fun careless basic go anywhere summer bag.

3. Tommy Hilfiger Handbag, Signature Jacquard Easy Tote is my third sale find – regularly $88.00, now on sale for $65.99. It works for work and evenings too if needed.

4. Nine West Handbag, If The Tote Fits Tall Sequined Large Tote is regularly $75.00 now on sale $55.99 and it’s probably my favorite, I like the little bling with the sequins, and it’s something I typically wouldn’t buy, but the price is right and it looks fun.

5. Olympic City Shopper is only $25 and while it’s not in the same league as the other bags, it would be an awesome Olympic year bag, plus I like that it features Stockholm too.

6. Big Buddha Handbag, Ozzy Tote for $90.00 is inexpensive but makes you look dressed up even if you are just out and about.

7. Jessica Simpson Handbag, Getaway Tote is $88 and it’s perfect from work to vacation.

Fashion Friday

I’m linking up to Fashion Friday posts at Blonde Episodes and Girlymama, check out their sites for more fun Friday fashion.

Every Friday we feature great women who all live life to the fullest and inspire others as well. I’m excited to feature a woman who isn’t just working hard to making her own and her loved ones life better, but she is set to save the earth as well. Meet Shane Shirley-Smith, the owner of Environmental Booty, a company that offers consumer information, products and creative Eco-partnerships for a greener life and world. Read more how Shane lives life to the fullest and how she gives you three easy steps how to start living a greener lifestyle right now.

Interview with Shane Shirley-Smith

Katja: Your passion isn’t just to live sustainable lifestyle but also inspire others to do so. Tell us how you got started with your company Environmental Booty?

Shane: During the summer of 2008, I got very sick and was told that I had Multiple Sclerosis. After weeks of illness and worry, it turned out to be a very bad reaction to an artificial sweetener. I got pretty angry that there weren’t any warnings on the label for people like me and it made me to start to think about all of the consumer goods that might be harmful without us knowing.

I decided that I needed to get informed on my own about what was and wasn’t healthy for me and my family since it looked like the government wasn’t sufficiently protecting consumers. I started my blog to share with other consumers all of the information I was learning about toxic products, organics and how to live a greener healthier life.

Katja: Many people find it difficult to live greener lifestyle, what are your top three tips anyone can do?

Shane: I love this question because I can seriously tell anyone how to go green in three easy steps.
First, you need to have a desire to live greener.
Second, you need to get informed and speak green with your wallet.
And third, you need to get out there and share what you learn with anyone who will listen.

You can check out my post on the Environmental Booty Blog on How to Be Green In 3 Easy Steps to get the 411 on the easiest way to go green. It really is an individual path that we all walk to living green and how far you are on that path is something you should never feel guilty about.

Katja: What do you think are the biggest environmental problems right now that you’d like to change? How can we change it together?

Shane: We are all concerned with sorting out Global Warming, removing toxic chemicals from our environment as well as our consumer goods but one of the biggest concerns I have is the small amount we are recycling and the huge amount that we send to the landfill. Americans are producing more waste than ever before and per capita, we produce far more trash than other countries. I have become quite a fan of reducing the amount my family purchases, reusing what we can and recycling as much as possible. Once you start to ask yourself “Can this be reused or recycled?” for every item and its packaging you need to get rid of, you will see your recycling bin begin to overflow. You might even have to get another bin like we have!

The other really simple thing we can all do to help reduce waste is to remember to close the loop and buy recycled. Although we should all try to reduce the amount we buy, there are still things we must purchase. From consumer goods you need to the way an item is packaged, there are so many recycled consumer choices out there. Once you become a more informed, green consumer and put “recycled” at the top of your shopping criteria, you will be amazed at what you will find. The number of companies that are working toward a more sustainable future by taking recycled materials into consideration for their products and their packaging will astonish you.

And as a side note, please remember to dispose of e-waste, batteries, paint, medications and other items that are hazardous to our environment properly. We need to protect our environment and ground water from the hazardous chemicals that could leach into them. It doesn’t take much effort or time to contact your local waste management and recycling departments to find out the specifics for your area.

Katja: Is there a specific issue you are focusing this year and what’s going on for you in 2012?

Shane: Recently the Executive Director of Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families (SCHF), Lindsay Dahl, asked me to join in their efforts to reform the outdated and ineffective chemical laws in the United States. To be working as a Florida State Ambassador for SCHF alongside other business owners, bloggers, parents, doctors, nurses and concerned citizens to make our country a safer place for all, is truly an honor for me.

I think American consumers would be shocked to learn that they are not being protected by the outdated and ineffective Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) of 1976. In fact currently under the TSCA, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is required to prove harm before it can regulate a chemical. Isn’t that kind of backward? Shouldn’t Industry bear the legal burden of proving their chemicals are safe before they are used in consumer products like your food, your baby’s mattress or your shampoo?

My best friend got cancer at 19. My girlfriend’s daughter went into puberty when she was just nine years old. I heated BPA laden cups in the microwave filled with my perchlorate filled breast milk for my daughters and now wonder what the extent of the damage to their health will be because of it. And oh yes, don’t forget about the frogs in the Potomac River that have six legs and the male frogs that have ovaries.

Our environment is sick and so are we but chemicals are not our enemy, ignorance is. We need an updated Toxic Substance Control Act and you can help. If you live in the U.S., please join me in contacting your Senators and asking them to co-sponsor the Safe Chemicals Act. It literally took me less than 5 minutes to contact both my Senators and it felt empowering to let my voice be heard in that way.

Okay so I am down off of my soap box now.

Katja: What does skimbaco lifestyle mean to you? How do you live life to the fullest in your everyday life?

Shane: To me, living a Skimbaco lifestyle means living life to the fullest by being grateful for every single day, not wasting a minute and relishing in the fact that we have no idea what is coming next.

The joy in this life is not about what “things” you have acquired and it’s not about being the perfect man or woman. Things are overrated and perfection is a myth.

Living this life to the fullest is really about finding the joy in simple pleasures – like the way it feels to be surprised, hearing the voice of the one you love or knowing that you will never settle for second best.

Connect with Shane

Learn more what you can do for our environment from Shane and read her blog at shaneshirleysmith.com, and continue the discussion with Shane on these social media sites.

Twitter: @EnviroBooty
Facebook Fan Page: facebook.com/EnvironmentalBooty
Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/envirobooty/”>pinterest.com/envirobooty
LinkedIn

If you already aren’t signed up for Coach Factory sales, now is the time to do it. They have amazing 75% off sales, and currently they have outlet prices minus 20% off sale ending on May 18th. Even if you miss this sale, sign up for their newsletter to catch the next one, you will not regret it. Now they are also turning it more like invitation only shopping sites like Gilt and Rue La La, and you will even get credit when your friends sign up.

Sign up for Coach Factory emails here.

I have a feeling it’ll be a while before we have this new house decorated. Like with any house, it is better to live in first and then see what you really want to do with your space. Already now some of the things that I thought I like are not working too well, and we have already moved some furniture.

We are also semi-addicted to going to flea markets on the weekends, and have made some great furniture finds for kids’ rooms. I also try to keep myself away from IKEA for a while, because this place started looking like from an IKEA catalog. The good about IKEA is the instant gratification – you haul it home, assemble and done. And the bad about second hand finds and more expensive design furniture is that it takes longer to find something or special order, so we are still waiting to find and have delivered – or found. In addition it’s the unfortunate limitation of the budget that keeps me from getting everything right on this moment.

But a quick update where our living room stands now..

We are really trying to go on the Scandinavian minimalism. The first pictures from our home looked like above – like the moving boxes threw up all of our memories on the top of the furniture and on the living room floor.

I’m happy to inform my junk has found their way inside the minimal amount of furniture we have. But even with as much stuff we threw away, donated and sold when we left New York, I still feel we have too much for the minimalistic lifestyle we are going after. And that’s why I already have a box in the basement with things that I will try to go and sell in a flea market later this summer.

But here is an update how we are doing.

The IKEA couch we ordered came, and while I LOVE the Barcelona chairs, I actually like it better now when we separated the two Barcelona chairs and added the couch in the living room. It’s not as dominant. It still needs new legs though, the wooden ones are not working for me.

So here it is for now. Maybe even too minimalistic, and the rug isn’t working that well, and we still need light fixture and a lamp. And the ottoman that works now as a coffee table/desk is going to be replaced with a coffee table soon.

Remember I cut the pear tree in the yard and got hurt? I saved all of the cut branches and painted some of them and they are now in our living room.

We also moved the office table, and the side table we had. The side table was great for the space (on the before picture above) but we are really trying to go towards more minimalistic look, so we moved the other Barcelona chair to that spot, and I love it there. While this space is getting almost bare, I am living it more and more each day. Now I really want to focus on NOT bringing anything else in here, unless I truly love it.

And yes, even these branches are from the tree in the yard. Just painted and tied with yarn.

I have so many ideas, but I’ve already noticed that super minimalistic decorating is actually more difficult than when you have more. For example we have already tried too different floor lamps for the living room but neither worked. Hoping we can make more chances to this space soon, and I can share more pictures. What do you think? Is this too bare, almost boring? Or do you like the minimalistic look?

Rovio, the Finnish company who created Angry Birds has a new surprise for us. And this is far more exciting than the Angry Birds Land news they are opening in Tampere, Finland.

Rovio announced they are developing a new game called Amazing Alex, which is expected to launch sometime during summer 2012. The game is developed from Rovio’s older game that never took the same following as Angry Birds and is based on a curious little boy, Alex, who enjoys building Rube Goldberg-esque contraptions. In the game, players can use soccer balls, toy cars, tilting shelves, scissors, magnets, pails and boxing gloves to accomplish a task – sounds like the perfect game for the 8-year old boy living inside us, the same who likes to throw birds on pigs. According to Rovio the game also has an educational element, which this mom loves and can’t wait to learn more about!

“The gameplay is a perfect fit in our arsenal with its approachable, fun and highly addictive take on the physics puzzler genre,” Rovio’s vice president of franchise development Ville Heijari told the website Gamasutra.

We shall see if Amazing Alex will beat Angry Birds in the popularity, and addictivity, but I’m looking forward to see this game launch. Stay tuned.

Satu tuolla Destination Unknown blogissa kyseli ja vastaili niinkin moneen kuin 33:n kysymykseen, ja kehoitti vastaavasti valitsemaan parhaat 11 päältä ja lähtemään leikkiin mukaan. Ohessa 11 kysymystä ja vastausta ja vastaathan sinäkin! Laita linkki blogiisi kommenteissa niin päästään lukemaan sinunkin vastaukset.

1. Liittyi se sitten matkustamiseen, ystäviin, sydänsuruihin, unelmiin tai hyviin kotikekkereihin, mikä on muistorikkain kappaleesi?
Ehkä ei muistorikkain – mutta kaikista eniten potkua peppuun antanut kappale on Ulta Naten “Free”, jossa lauletaan että olet vapaa tekemään mitä itse haluat. Oli vuosi 1997, ja tätä biisiä kuunnellessa sain vihdoin tarpeeksi uskallusta irroittautua normaalista, ja lähteä toteuttamaan unelmia maailmalle. Tätä biisiä tuli kuunneltua monta vuotta putkeen, ja samalla reissulla yhä ollaan nyt monta maata kiertäneenä.

2. Suurin osa teistä varmasti unelmoi kirjan kirjoittamisesta – mitä sinun teoksesi ehkä käsittelisi?
Kirjani varmasti käsittelisi miten elämän sitruunoista voi tehdä simaa – eli miten elää onnellisesti elämän loppuun asti, vaikkei kaikki olekaan aina täydellistä, tai miten siitä arjesta voi tehdä oman “täydellisen”.

3. Asutko nyt paikassa tai maassa missä voisit kuvitella asuvasi lopun elämääsi? Jos et, mikä olisi se unelmapaikka?
Asumme tällä hetkellä Ruotsissa Linköpingissä, ja kyllä paikka on niin ihana että sen puolesta voisin kyllä asua täällä, mutta luonto ei antaisi periksi asua samassa paikassa loppua elämää, vaan pitää päästä näkemään maailmaa. Unelmapaikkaa ei ole, muuta kuin niin monta paikkaa kuin mahdollista. Toivottavasti saadaan asua Euroopassa seuraavat 10 vuotta, sitten vaikka Aasiaan.

4. “Taivaanrannanmaalari” vai “haaveista totta”? Oletko toteuttanut elämäsi suuria haaveita ja mikä on niistä ollut sinulle se tärkein?
No kyllä mun mielestä voi olla vähän niin kuin molempia… Eli kyllä, moni hurjakin urahaave on jo toteutunut, unelmien prinssi löytyi jo 15 vuotta sitten, ja perheen perustaminen hänen kanssaan on ollut se tärkein juttu. Silti on vielä iso kasa haaveita jotka haluaisin toteuttaa…

5. Kerro jotain (tai kaikki) sinun ja puolisosi ensitapaamisesta?
Tapasimme Saksassa Frankfurtissa irkku-pubissa – katselimme toisiamme silmiin kolme tuntia ennen kuin kumpikaan uskalsi tehdä aloitetta. Kun kello löi keskiyön meinasin jo lähteä seuraavaan paikkaan, ja kun olimme kavereiden kanssa lähdössä, tämä ihana mies tuli vihdoin juttelemaan ja sanoi lähtevänsä mukaan. Tuossa se on mukana pyörinyt nyt 15 vuotta, ja uskon kyllä rakkauteen ensi-silmäyksellä.

6. Missä olet vuonna 2013?
Toivottavasti asun yhä Ruotsissa ja matkustelen paljon ympäri Eurooppaa.

7. Oletko muuten mukana sosiaalisissa medioissa (FB, Twitter…)?
Totta kai! Twittaan @katjapresnal nimellä ja Facebookissa on montakin eri sivua, jopa Skimbaco Lifestyle Finnish Editionilla on oma sivu. Ja olen ihan koukussa Pinterestiin.

8. Laukku vai kengät?
Kengät ja mielellään koroilla.

9. Lempivaatteesi?
Farkut!

10. Minne matkustaisit uudestaan?
No niitä paikkoja johon en matkustaisi uudestaan on aika vähän, ja muualle sitten kyllä! Mutta päälimmäisenä tulee mieleen että Singaporessa olisin mielelläni ollut kauemmin, ja toivottavasti pääsen sinne joku päivä uudestaan.

11. Paras elämänohje mitä olet saanut?
Carpe the shit out of diem.

Sinun vuoro! Vastaa blogissasi ja laita linkki kommentteihin!

Celebrate what you have right now

Part of being Scandinavian is celebrating the sunlight and warm summer weather when we have it. I think it’s the growing up in the north that taught me to enjoy basic things like light when you have it, and not take anything, not even sunlight, for granted. Winter months can be depressing with so little natural light, but during summers we Nordic people take back the lost light and party all summer long. There is a lot to learn about the Scandinavian lifestyle of enjoying what you have in the moment to the fullest, and it’s a big part of Skimbaco lifestyle as well.

We are entering the short but sweet summertime here in Sweden, read more about the midnight sun and what it really means.

Next sunset: in 72 days

This morning my daughter woke up at 5AM, brushed her teeth, got dressed, and went to kitchen to get breakfast and was ready to leave for school two hours before we had to leave. She couldn’t believe how early it was since the sun had been up way before she got up. Swedish summers are going to be a new experience for my family, we’ll see how they will adjust living with the nightless nights. Welcome midnight sun and Scandinavian summers!

The midnight sun is a natural phenomenon occurring in summer months in north. More specifically sun literally never sets during summer in latitudes north and nearby to the north of the Arctic Circle, and sun is visible at midnight local time.

Do this fun experiment.. Google “sunset today Utsjoki Finland” – that’s the Northern Tip of Finland – and you will get this result: “These days, the sun never sets in Utsjoki, Finland. The next sunset is in 72 days.” Crazy, huh?

While we live almost 800 miles south of Arctic Circle, and we will not be able to fully experience the midnight sun like in Lapland, summer nights here are still completely different than in the US (well, you can experience the same in Alaska). Now the sun sets around 9:30PM but you can still see light in the north in the horizon an hour later.

Short, but sweet summers

We celebrate midsummer each summer around June 22nd around the solctice, when the sun is in the highest position in the sky, and the longest (or shortest six months later) day happens. Midsummer fest is almost more important than Christmas in Nordic countries, and celebrating the summer light is a big part of the culture. While sun may set before midnight, the twilight and the northern sky will keep the summer nights lighted until the very early sunrise each morning. In reality it means that it’s common to party all night long beyond the sunrise, and that you have to either get used to sleeping in light or get good blinders in your home.

Summer’s lighted nights make BBQ parties more fun, but summer fireworks impossible (I’m still mesmerized by summer fireworks at DisneyWorld and during baseball games and 4th of July!). And when it feels like 8AM already at 5AM it makes you more energized and wanting to get up early and get stuff done.

The sunshine also has a big impact on our nature – and food.

Plants need water and sunshine, right? Imagine what happens when the plants get a double dose of natural sunshine during Nordic summers. Ok, I tell you – the fruits and vegetables actually TASTE better because of the extra sun they get. It took me a long time to figure out why fresh fruits and especially berries didn’t taste the same in the US. It’s the natural sunshine that makes Scandinavian fresh produce so good (and it could be the less pesticides and growth hormones too)!

Now, the seasons are short for fresh produce, and for most plants you only get one crop a year, so there is that. I didn’t say it was perfect all the time, but Scandinavian summers…. yes, we party all night long with nightless nights, and eat amazing fresh food picked from the forests and rolling hills.

With open arms, I welcome summer.

Stay tuned for a cool toy line launching at Targets later this year. The Beatles Yellow Submarine toys by K’NEX® are bound to be in the Christmas wishlists of the hipster parents, I mean, of the kids of the hipster parents. Music lovers, young and old, will be able to build and play with characters from the iconic rock band, The Beatles.

The Beatles redefined music for their own generation and generations to come; they also redefined art, fashion and entertainment. The Beatles were responsible for several films that were well ahead of their time, including their only animated and possibly most recognizable film, the animated classic – Yellow Submarine. K’NEX captured the essence of Yellow Submarine in all of its whimsical charm in a new collectible line that launches with a four-piece buildable figure set.

The Beatles Yellow Submarine toys are designed for kids, but I have a hunch they will have an older audience as well. The Beatles Yellow Submarine buildable figure packs will be available exclusively at Target, target.com and knex.com in Fall 2012.

Kate Spade 75% off Sale

Too good to be true. Right on time for summer, and right on time after Mother’s Day, so you can get the gift for yourself that you didn’t get but you deserve – Kate Spade has an amazing ONE day only online sale with deals as good as -75% off normal prices. Goodies start from $15. Yes, that’s happening right now.

Above some examples from the Kate Spade sale, but check it out yourself!

Monte Carlo, Monaco is the playground of the rich, and I loved visiting Monte Carlo for two short days this spring. I felt like I was transported to another world, that is not attainable for normal humankind, only for the Richie Rich-kind. But like my friend Zippy says, “you can live rich life without being rich” and boy did this come to my mind in Monte Carlo in so many ways.

We quite literally were homeless when we visited Monte Carlo – it was a week before we got our new home in Sweden, and our belongings from New York were still in transit and we left our luggage with friends in Sweden, and had no address anywhere in the world.

And right there between taking a photo of a 60 foot yacht and peeking through the window of a McLaren store I got it.

I got what the Monte Carlo experience for me was all about.

It wasn’t about the most luxurious experience of my lifetime (because we couldn’t afford it done right in Monte Carlo).
It wasn’t about feeling for one day you played in the same playground as the richest of the world (because walking on the same street doesn’t really qualify).

It was this huge realization how happy I was to be right there right on that moment with my family, and having no regrets in life, or wishes we had more money to do Monte Carlo “the right way.”

With so much of the best what money can buy surrounding us I felt prouder than ever that I knew how to be happy with less.

I had been semi-obsessed about visiting Monte Carlo, but once I got there I realized how silly I had been, and I knew immediately that the highlight of my life, year or even that week wasn’t seeing the richest country in the world. The real highlight of my visit to Monte Carlo was getting reminded how truly rich I was for having my family and for the amazing life we have together traveling around the world.

I was “homeless” in Monte Carlo, but felt the richest in the world.

Read more about our trip to Monte Carlo, in case you missed.