& so it begins!

Another summer tradition I hold close to my heart is our family’s biennial pilgrimage to Sweden to visit my mother’s side. This time we were warmly welcomed by a duckie family that swam around our Airbnb every morning.

And while they were snacking on minnows, I would savor some Swedish strawberries and stories from Anthony Bourdain’s Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly to fuel myself for the day ahead.

They don’t make ’em like this anymore (in the States).

We also had our fair share of ice cream,

cinnamon buns and cappuccinos,

and Swedish meatballs (this goes out to you, LJ).

Vacation, especially when going somewhere that shakes up your normal routine, is a great opportunity to experiment with how you show up in your day-to-day life. I love doing this with my style, and the switch-up that defined this particular trip was having my momma French braid my hair on most days, a hairstyle I haven’t sported since middle school.

It was so nice to have the whole family together again – two years is too long!!!

And to have the whole gang back together again. Apart from holidays and family trips, we don’t get to see each other as much as we used to now that we all live in different cities outside of Atlanta.

We typically spend a few days in the countryside and then migrate to Stockholm for a couple nights before going back stateside. Although there weren’t any run-ins with Post Malone this time, we did enjoy a beautiful sunset while walking along Strandvägen similar to the one we experienced the night we met him in 2022.

SKÅL to a great trip!!!!! Until next time Sweden – and hopefully we’ll be fluent by then ;).

💘 Hanna