Ruched leggings, beware for beyond bootilicious!

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Impromptu shots of me on the phone. I’m wearing a Karen Millen Indian inspired tunic over a pair of grey ruched leggings. The shoes are by Marc Jacobs and the Gobelin backpack in the second picture is from the Epi line, Louis Vuitton.
Photo for CMC by: Jan-Erik Nilsson © 2009.

I have had more than a few fashion faux pas now and then, but I have never had someone literally keel over in laughter because of something I’m wearing – until I had put on these grey ruched leggings.

If there’s any person whose opinion matters to me on what I’m wearing, it would be my husband’s. I’d come home from a bout of shopping in the city, put these on, walked over to him and asked, “So, what do you think?”

My beloved husband’s face was briefly a surprised *blank* and I hardly made a full turnaround when that dude absolutely fell over in laughter! After composing himself some, he explained that there was something in the design of the leggings that visually took off inches from my legs, so that I – lacking better words – ended up looking like a wrinkly sausage!
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De Fyra Kungliga Klubbarnas Fest 2009, a Swedish Royal event at the Grand Hôtel, Stockholm

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In a sea of tailcoats, in the Hall of Mirrors, Spegelsalen. I am wearing a red silk dress with pearl appliqués, designed by Francis Cheong in Singapore. The purse; a Louis Vuitton Monogram Vernis Sunset Boulevard in Amarante, from the LV shop in Stockholm. Kungliga Klubbarnas Fest, Grand Hôtel, Stockholm 2009.
Photo for CMC © J-E Nilsson and Cheryl Marie Cordeiro, 2009.

On Friday the 13th, March 2009, the bi-annual event of the Fyra Kungliga Klubbarnas Fest was held at the Grand Hôtel in Stockholm. Grand Hôtel is situated in the very heart of Stockholm beautifully overlooking the River Strömmen, which is such a defining feature of the city. Just opposite, on the other side of Strömmen, is the Royal Palace and Gamla stan (the Old Town) of Stockholm.

The event was hosted by the Royal Swedish Motorboat Club and co-hosted by the Nation of Italy, and was most notably graced by the presence of H.M. King Carl XVI Gustaf and H.M. Queen Silvia of Sweden.

Cheryl Marie Cordeiro and Jan-Erik Nilsson at the Fyra Kungliga Klubbarnas Fest at the Grand Hôtel, Stockholm 2009.

Champagne reception in the Hall of Mirrors

The evening began most pleasantly with a Champagne reception in the Hall of Mirrors (Spegelsalen), a magnificent ballroom decorated in gold, white and red. Ever since its opening in 1899 it has been the scene of countless conferences and brilliant parties. This evening was no exception as it held all the splendour of a White Tie event, a modern ball filled with a touch of magic! Ladies arrived dressed in their best fur coats only to reveal even more beautiful ballgowns in jewel toned fabrics. The men came dressed in full evening dress, some even with a top hat, and some in their mess dress. Continue reading “De Fyra Kungliga Klubbarnas Fest 2009, a Swedish Royal event at the Grand Hôtel, Stockholm” →

Rediscovering oatmeal or havregrynsgröt in Sweden

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Oatmeal, havregröt or havregrynsgröt, with almonds, walnuts, flax seeds and milk.
Photo for CMC by: Cheryl Marie Cordeiro © 2009.

As a child, I was never a fan of oatmeal because I was fed oatmeal served with sweetened condensed milk only when I was ill. Tasteless and watery, the consistency of the oatmeal served meant that it could be swallowed and digested more easily. Back then, because of my lacklustre association to oatmeal, I remember staring at a friend in horror when he told that his father ate plain cooked oatmeal everyday for breakfast, without added sugar. I asked him in all earnestness, “Why does your father do that?”

After more than fifteen years of not touching oatmeal and after a shift in continents, I began rediscovering this simple grain that in no matter what form you have it, takes less than ten minutes to cook.

A popular breakfast in Sweden, oatmeal in its most basic form is often cooked with a pinch of salt and served with apple sauce, milk and a dash of cinnamon powder on top. From this, I began experimenting with fruit, slicing bananas into the mixture or adding dried raisins to the mixture, taking away the apple sauce but keeping the dash of cinnamon. I’ve also tried frozen fruit such as frozen strawberries, raspberries, blueberries and mangoes. Fruit in general seems to go splendidly with oatmeal!

Beyond fruits, I began eating oatmeal with all kinds of nuts – hazelnuts, almonds, walnuts and brazil nuts. Or seeds such as flax seeds, sesame seeds, sunflower seeds. These also seem to complement oatmeal to a large extent and I began to enjoy having oatmeal at breakfast.

Today, with a repertoire of oatmeal recipes at hand, I find oatmeal to be one of the most cost efficient, healthy and interesting meals one could whip together in no time. Everyone from atheletes to those with high blood pressure and diabetes would benefit from eating at least one serving of oatmeal a day.

As for my association of oatmeal and illlnesses, it’s pretty much gone now. In fact, I’m just as happy settling for oatmeal with sweetened condensed milk as I am with oatmeal with fruits and nuts. The latter, preferably without added sugar.

Visiting the Polkagris town of Gränna, Sweden 2009

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Isn’t visiting a candy factory something we have always dreamt about? Well, yesterday that dream came true for me!
All photos for CMC by: Jan-Erik Nilsson © 2009.

Although I need to admit that chocolate would have been my preferred choice of candy, the chance to visit a polkagris or striped candy cane factory in the small-town of Gränna is a dream come true!

Gränna with its adjacent island of Visingsö in Vättern, the second largest lake in Sweden, is a tourist paradise and located only a few hours of driving from either of the cities of Gothenburg or Stockholm. Its narrow cobbled streets and old fashioned houses reminds me of Arrow Town in New Zealand.

A street in Gränna, lined with polkagris factory shop fronts displaying their trade. This street was the R1 national highway until the 1970s. Today the new highway runs outside of the city, not too far off.

Through Gränna runs the former “R1” which was once the main road between the Swedish West and East coast, connecting the two major cities of Gothenburg and Stockholm. By the 1970s the new E4 highway was built outside of Gränna. Today, during the summer, this old main road becomes completely blocked with tourists. Continue reading “Visiting the Polkagris town of Gränna, Sweden 2009” →

Beauty Pageants, a peek behind the scene in Oslo, Norway, 2009

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Cheryl Marie Cordeiro visiting the Norwegian Miss Model of the World and Miss Tourism Queen International pageant in Oslo, Norway, 2009. Red coat by Patrizia Pepe.
Photo for CMC by: Jan-Erik Nilsson © 2009.

A while back I got a call from pageant organizer Peter Hadward in Stockholm, Sweden. He is the national director and franchise owner of most of the beauty pageants there are in Scandinavia. After successfully having “done it all” in the entertainment industry in the 1980s and 90s, he has now settled for the challenging task of coaching young women towards fame and glory in the fashion industry.

During the talk Peter mentioned the upcoming international pageants of Miss Model of the World (MMW) and Miss Tourism Queen International (TQI) that were to be held in Oslo, Norway in early March 2009. He also mentioned the possibility that I could come along and coach a small group of Swedish girls through a real pageant.

The girls would participate outside the real Norwegian competition, but would be allowed to appear on stage and would be modelling sponsored designer dresses
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Beauty Pageants, a peek behind the scene
1 – Dressing and outfit

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Natasha showing the dress that later actually is worn by the winner

Natasha, the head stylist, shows the dress that later actually was worn by one of the the winners
Photo for CMC by: Jan-Erik Nilsson © 2009.

The trip up to Oslo from Gothenburg was some four hours of relaxed travelling. The roads were good and were being improved along the way as we travelled towards a more and more wintry landscape in southern Norway. We arrived at about 2 pm and after checking in at the Clarion Hotel Royal Christiania, the first thing was to meet up with Peter and his styling team, and to send the girls off to their various appointments.

Clarion Hotel Royal Christiania is one of Oslo’s most modern and comfortable first-class hotels, and is located at the very heart of Oslo. It was a very good choice and was a very pleasant stay. Though we were early, the atmosphere at the meeting place was electric, with the styling team on location and already at work! Continue reading “Beauty Pageants, a peek behind the scene
1 – Dressing and outfit” →

Beauty Pageants, a peek behind the scene
2 – Hair and Make-up

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Natasha at work, in the hair and make-up room for the girls.
Photo for CMC by: Jan-Erik Nilsson © 2009.

After selecting the gowns and being properly fitted, the girls were off to do their hair and make-up. The styling team on location had superb energy and focus, working several hours to get all the girls ready for the event.

The waiting time for hair and make-up gave a pleasant opportunity for the girls to socialize, network and do some girl-talk!
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2 – Hair and Make-up” →

Beauty Pageants, a peek behind the scene
3 – Stage Rehersal

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CMC coaching and giving pageant tips to Katarina (left) and Minna (center) just before the event at Sirkus, Oslo, Norway, 2009.
Photo for CMC by: Jan-Erik Nilsson © 2009.

1. Rehearsal begins

When the dresses were all set, the make-up and hair stylists were done, we proceeded to the event arena, which in this case was Sirkus, the largest club in Oslo which could seat 1,100 guests. Appearing in front of that many people would be scary for anyone. However it now turned out that the seats were distributed over several floors, so the show would be less intimidating for the girls than we initially had feared.
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3 – Stage Rehersal” →

Beauty Pageants, a peek behind the scene
4 – Crowning and After-Party!

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The bartenders were not about to be upstaged by the girls; they offered a brilliant show of their own bartender tricks, juggling bottles, glasses and blenders.
Photo JE Nilsson CM Cordeiro-Nilsson © 2009.

Around 10 pm the crowd started to pour in. The photography crews settled in and representatives from print newspapers as well as on-line journals started to appear and introduced themselves. The lights flashed and the sound checks punched holes in the ambience once in awhile. Girl friends, boyfriends, talent scouts and the hot and successful of the clubbing crowd milled around, settling in the VIP areas and the bought tables.

It wasn’t before long that the music was pumping to a vigorous dance beat and the DJ created new sound waves that got the crowd on their feat before the event began. Everything with the show was rehearsed and planned by now. The second stylist crew was on site and they were busy re-tangling any hair that the rehearsal could have untangled. Continue reading “Beauty Pageants, a peek behind the scene
4 – Crowning and After-Party!” →

Snowfall in march, on the west coast of Sweden 2009

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By a Juniper tree with a cerise cashmere scarf and wonderful vintage mink fur coat.
Photo for CMC by: Jan-Erik Nilsson © 2009.

In march in Sweden the weather is temperamental and just when you think that spring is on its way and that the snow has all but melted and gone, comes a sudden gush of snow so thick that you think you are in mid-December again, waiting for a white Christmas.
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