{mushrooms love}

Hurray, finally, my dream of hunting mushrooms in the Swedish countryside came true. My host families took me out into the forests and here came my first 'autumn gold' experience: I was picking chantarelles! And right after our mushroom hunting my hostmom gathered the chantarelles, sauted them in oil and garlic and served them on Swedish hardbread (knäckebröd)...yummmmmyyyy....!

But wait, not only the chantarelles I was up for, but all kind of mushrooms that could be found in the forests that time - for the delights of my camera! :D I was particularly fond of what I called 'the storybook mushrooms' - you know, the fantastic red mushroom with white dots on it...very beautiful but alas, poisonous, too... but my camera loves them of course, and also other kinds of mushrooms and the autumn forests. Captured in my camera's memory card, they are so very nice souvenirs from the Swedish countryside.

Voilà some pictures for your inspiration...


















Further to the forest we go...


really liked it walking here


drops of water trapped in cobweb


these mushrooms look like microphones :-)

{back in Jakarta}

Stockholm old town

Hello hello!

I'm back in Jakarta after spending 3 weeks of a very inspiring trip (work + play combined) in Sweden. Somehow I realised why I loved it so much what I saw there. Red, yellow (and the color in between: orange), and a dash of green and blue are my favorite colours, so you can imagine how spoilt my sights were during that 3-weeks trip: red and yellow cottages, lush greens turning into yellow, orange and red, lovely blue sky and water.











Next post: and it was the very season of mushrooms picking...

{inspiration 911 for the creative souls}

(c) Jill Badonsky

Creative souls aren’t immune to bad-hair-days… you know, those days when so many things occupy your mind and it feels like you’re driven away, far far away, from being inspired. That kind of day really tortures me when it happens.

But not so long ago I found a way to counter-attack those bad-hair-days: thankfully I subscribed to Creativity Portal’s Discover Your Muse E-zine. And there’s a special section on the website where Molly Anderson-Childers conducted interviews with Muses, Authors, Artists, Writers, Teachers, Coaches & Creative Professionals, in a series called “Creative Careers in the Arts Interviews.” It’s about creating fabulous careers in the arts. Eeew.



And so, I printed out all those interviews, put them in one (creative) folder. And I would pick one or several interviews when I feel like uninspired. Then I’ll go outside and walk or dance or laugh. At least, move your body and get some sunshine if possible. And count the leaves you see on the street… just kidding, it’s impossible, but it’s fun. It’s all about being playful. Sometimes I read the interviews outloud. It feels good, too! If fact, it feels reaaaally good. It feels like having candid conversations with these creative souls.



Especially the interviews with Jill Badonsky's Nine Modern-Day Muses (and a Bodyguard).

And still better, the author of the interviews Molly J. Anderson-Childers, has a list of 101 Ways to Delight and Inspire Yourself. Which is awesome.



Oups, no, I will not spill too much information, follow the links, go get the fun yourself :-D