Home Again

I'm a delinquent blogger, I'll admit it!

I'd like to give closure to my Swedish adventure and fill any of my followers in on the past couple of years. 

After trying my hand at helping launch a start-up company, and taking Swedish language courses, I decided it was time for a change.

SFI Language Class in Kungalv, Sweden

After months of frustrating attempts to find an English speaking position that actually utilized my background and skill set, an opportunity arose.  Finally in July of 2011, I landed an interview with one of the world's top advertising agencies for an opportunity to work in-house at Volvo Car Corporation. This opportunity came about as a direct result of networking with the American Women's Club in Gothenburg. In the early Fall of 2011, I began my position as an Account Support Manager with Volvo Car Corporation. I was elated. I received the opportunity to work for a reputable ad agency with great people. Better still, my hope to have a true "Swedish" work experience came true since Volvo is arguably one of the most "Swedish" companies around. 

Volvo Office Gothenburg, Sweden

Unfortunately we lost our lease on our incredible Gothenburg apartment in Spring 2012. At this point, we felt it was too late to start over, and for a variety of reasons, we decided to "come back home" - to the States.  In August of 2012, I moved back to St. Louis, MO with my oldest daughter so that she could start 1st grade on time with the rest of her class.  Meanwhile, back in Sweden, my husband and our youngest daughter waited for their Visas to be approved.  Five long weeks later, my entire family was back together again. We returned to our same St. Louis home. Looking back, it feels like nothing really changed.

I'm thankful for the opportunity:

To Work in an international environment 

To Learn Swedish

To Live on the countryside (cows and meadows anyone?) 

To Live in a high rise city apartment with a view 

To Learn what Non-Americans think of America

To Meet interesting people from all over the world

That my children were able to experience living in another country

That my children learned Swedish

Time with my husband's family including two grandmothers who passed away during our time in Sweden

To Challenge myself to navigate an unfamiliar city

To Travel  - A Northern Italy roadtrip, family time in Denmark, Romantic weekends in Barcelona and Paris and catching up with a friend in London.

To Enjoy Swedish film, TV & Music

If I had to do it over again, I would have tried to learn the language before moving, joined the American Women's Club of Gothenburg sooner, committed to create a social circle early on, bought a condo or something of our own, and get a driver's license.   It was a challenging and rewarding experience and all in all, I'm glad I made the move with my family.

Thank you for following along on this journey with me.  Please feel free to share your own personal stories about your life in Sweden or other similar situation.

Until the next big chapter....

Brandi 

Home Sweet Home- Back to St. Louis for Thanksgiving

Just got back from my 9 day trip back home to St. Louis, MO.  I brought my 4 year old with me, leaving behind (sadly) my husband and 2 year old.

Sophie with cousin Ashley at the St. Louis Zoo

We left our home in Sweden around 4:45 in the morning and headed out to the airport on November 19th.  Snow was falling as we drove to the airport and unfortunately, our flight to Stockholm was delayed 20 minutes, leaving my daughter and I only about 40 minutes to catch our flight to Chicago.  We ran like hell just so we could make it on the flight....but we made it!  Of course my daughter was dragging her feet so it made things a bit challenging.  Luckily, a couple of different woman helped my daughter and I get to our gate just in time.

Finally, after around 20 hours of total travel time (starting when we left for the airport), we were welcomed by my mom and dad at the airport.  It was good to be home again. That first night, we drove to Whole Foods to grab a quick bite, and my poor little girl Sophie ended up falling asleep in the car, and didn't wake up again until 2AM.  We were both awake for an hour or so and finally, we fell back asleep.



Sunday morning I met with my bosses at my favorite meeting place - Bread Co. on Ballas.

I came home around 1pm and headed straight out to the Zoo (a must when visiting St. Louis).  We had a great time checking out all the animals with my parents, sister, bro in law and my 1 year old niece. We shut down the zoo, and decided to grab a bite at Llewellyn's in the Central West End.  I got the Llewellyn's Chicken Sandwich (amazing).  As if the day wasn't complete enough, we headed out to Eureka to check out some light displays and meet Santa.  We were all exhausted and were happy to have a good night's sleep.  This was just my first day back.

The Girls..at Kobe

Monday, after some conference calls relating to my job, I went to my old place of work at ReachLocal to catch up with friends.  I was a bit surprised to see so many new faces, but luckily I was able to catch up with a few of my previous co-workers.  That night, my girlfriends and I went to Kobe's for some good Hibachi food and wonderful conversation....(unfortunately, that place is pretty noisy so we caught up in the bar instead), while my daughter slept on the chair.

Throughout the week, we did a ton of shopping, kid friendly activities, and catching up with friends and family.


My daughter had her hitlist of things to do:
The Zoo
Incredible Pizza Company

Planet Fun for a playdate with her BFF Sam

Magic House

Jumping with Bungee Cord and Trampoline at the Mall

Butterfly House, Carousel, Faust Park



Fun at the Magic House





Me and Sophie at the Butterfly House in Chesterfield



We did all these things AND MORE in about a week - this is more activity than we've had in the last 6 months combined!

My hitlist was a little different;

Target (why is there no Target in Sweden?)
The Mall- any mall will do just fine thank you....
Whole Foods
Oishi for Sushi
Hibachi at Kobe Steakhouse Westport
Dierdorf & Hart's for King Crab Legs
Pei Wei for Mandarin Kung Pao Chicken
Llewellyn's - Llewellyn's Chicken Sandwich

I took in as much of my favorite dishes as possible and it was awesome!  Although my mother in law is a great cook, nothing compares to some of my faves in St. Louis. Although I could have shopped MUCH MUCH more I contained myself (slightly) anyway.  I could have done some SERIOUS damage in the Macy's shoe department, however, I held back.  Generally, things cost more in Sweden, so I was happy to stock up on some clothes for my two girls at Children's Place and Target.

We had great time with friends and family as well! We stayed part time with my parents so we got in a lot of time there, and later in the week, we stayed with my sister.  It was wonderful catching up with my sister and bro in law, and of course, my little niece Ashley.  Thanksgiving allowed us time to spend time with my Aunt, Uncle and cousins.  We ate, played, and surfed the web together!

Thankful for the iPhone at Thanksgiving 2010

 My older brother Doug and his fiance' Heather also came in last weekend allowing (nearly) our whole family to be together..or course we missed Mikael and Maja.  I spent two nights out with my girlfriends, one night out with "the boys" and had a dessert date with Kels.

Dinner at Jessi's

Besides for missing my hubbie and youngest daughter like crazy, we had a fabulous trip.  We definitely could have used another week or so there so we could have spent more time with everyone.  That old saying..."Time flies when you're having fun" definitely applies to my recent trip home to St. Louis.

Until next time...

Brandi











Maja Turns 2!

The week leading up to my youngest little girls birthday I had off of school because of a Swedish holiday called Alla Helgons Dag (All Saints).  I was able to spend time with both my girls; hanging out, watching TV, reading books and playing games.  This was probably the first time I wasn't at work for one of my girl's birthdays (assuming it didn't fall on a weekend).  It was a good feeling to spend time with my birthday girl, even if we didn't do anything too exciting.

Maja turned 2 on Tuesday the 9th of November, although we waited to celebrate until this past Sunday.  Of course, this just means she received nearly a week of tight squeezes and kisses and happy birthday messages from me all week. On Maja's actual birthday, we woke up to an incredible view.  Everything was covered in snow...it was beautiful.  We spent a good portion of time playing out in the snow!

This past Sunday we had family over to celebrate Maja turning 2 years old.  Unlike a celebration we would have likely had at home, I feel like the whole preparation part is much more relaxed here. No worrying about invitations or who to invite....because here, it's simple.  You have a simple smörgåstorta (literally translates to a sandwich cake), and tårta (cake), and your family and maybe a couple of close friends come over.

We had family over (all of whom live in the 2 houses next to our ours), and we had a smörgastårta made of bread, ham, tomatoes, eggs, mayo, shrimp and much more I'm sure.  I can't tell you if it's good or not, because I don't eat it....(but that's another blog).  My four year old and I made chocolate cupcakes with chocolate icing (a recipe from a Swedish friend), and my mother-in-law made an amazing rice crispy and merengue cake with a sort of vanilla custard filling, and kiwi and whipped cream topping. YUM!!

The guests arrived, Maja opened a few gifts (an adorable top and cool rose printed pair of jeans, Hello Kitty (lego type) set. Maja also got some clay and one of those funny squeezable balloons - great for relieving the stress of having a two year old (I mean great for a 2 year old). Of course, this broke by the end of the night because my 4 year old stretched it too much.  Oh well!  Maja also received a fun keyboard, a doctors kit, a winter coat from grandma, some cash from her Gamla Farmor (Great Father's Mother) and Gamla Mormor (Great mother's mother).  Her favorite toy of the event- a toy baby stroller.  Two year old girls have this obsession with taking care of "babies".  It's adorable.

We ate dinner - the children and I had pizza instead of the sandwich cake.  Next we sang the Swedish version of happy birthday.  We chatted with my sister Lisa and my niece Ashley on Skype...my sister was a little embarasses since she was in her PJ's when she called us (not knowing a party was going on).   We had a lot of fun singing "happy birthday" with my sister and niece on Skype.
Later we talked to Maja's grandma and grandpa. 

I owe my mother-in-law a ton of credit for helping out with everything. From cleaning and making the table just perfect for my little girl's birthday, she takes care of virtually everything! Many Thanks!

Thanks to ALL who helped make this a special day for Maja.

Brandi

Booked My Trip To St. Louis

Great news!!  My 4 year old and I are going home to St. Louis for Thanksgiving!  The flight has been booked and paid for, so it's official.  This will be our first trip home since moving to Sweden early this Summer.  I know it's a bit early to already be making the trip back, but why not? I'm very excited to see my friends and family.  I plan on hitting up all my favorite eateries too: Pei Wei- Kung Pao please...,OISHI- for Sushi,  KOBE - for that amazing mustard sauce, and maybe even some Chik-Fil-A (dare I say it!?) for some waffle fries, chicken nuggets and Polynesian sauce...yummm!

Alright, that's all I got for now.
What are your plans for Thanksgiving? Leave em' in the comments field below.

Peace!
Brandi