The Answers, Part 1: Height, Houses and Pretty, Pretty Cats.

Oh wow - there sure are a few things you guys want to know! Thank you so much for taking an interest in me and the blog, it's incredibly flattering and I'll do my best to answer your questions over the following week. Let's start right away!

Part 1
Where I am and where I've been (and a little bit about those cats I'm so crazy about).


How old are you?
(Asked by Sewang)

If you multiply 396 with 4, then subtract the square root of... sorry, just kidding. I'll be 28 in October. You think that's old? Well, you'll get there one day, too. If you're lucky. And just so you know, being (almost) 28 is about a trillion times better than being 13, 15, 18, 22 or any other age I've tried. And rumour has it that it actually keeps getting better!

How tall are you?
(Asked by Bordeaux, Chippie, Laurente, Wiz and an anonymous reader)

I'm 176 cm/5'9. Someone asked how that works with my litas and other high heels, and the answer is that it works absolutely fabulously! :) When I was younger, I always wished to be taller - probably because I was considered "short" compared to other models - and though I'm perfectly happy with my height today, I still don't mind one bit that wearing heels makes me quite easy to spot in a crowd.

Where are you from?
(Asked by Stine A)

I was born way up in the north of Sweden, but grew up in Stockholm. I've also lived in London, Shanghai and Berlin, and studied for three years in Norrköping.

Where do you live?
(Asked by Rebecka Pettersson)

Since a year and a half back, I live a little more than hour by car south-west of Stockholm, in the outskirts of a tiny countryside village in Södermanland. Somewhere between Gnesta and Flen.

I live in the countryside outside of Stockholm and have done so for about a year. I find myself not missing the city (except sometimes I get lonely and I just want to dance in a crowded place all night). Here's the question: do you get lonely out there?
(Asked by naomii)

I do get lonely out here. But I know I'd get even more lonely in the city. For me, loneliness is more of a state of mind and has less to do with the number of people I'm surrounded with, and - gosh, I know how this sounds - hanging out with my cats every day is the one thing keeping me (somewhat) sane. Crazy cat lady, who, me?

Plus, when I'm living out here, I can always pretend that if I only lived in Stockholm, I wouldn't be lonely at all - when in reality I feel a lot more isolated when I have the possibility of seeing friends. Because 1) I very rarely have the energy to do things, which means that I have to say no to my friends' suggestions, and 2) being around people makes it only too obvious that I don't have anyone that I'm truly close with. Noone who really knows me. Except maybe for Ronnie, and I have the luxury of spending basically every day and every night with him, wherever I live!

Though sometimes I, too, want to dance the night away on a crowded dance floor. Then we go into Stockholm and do just that! We can still do everything we want to do, it just takes a little more time to get there.

Do you think you would like to stay in the countryside for the rest of your life, or do you want to move to a city at some point? What, in your opinion, are the pros and cons with countryside vs. city?
(Asked by somlig)

I think there's a definite possibility that I'll live in cities, bigger or smaller, for periods of time - but I think that in the long run, I belong out here where it's quiet and peaceful and at night you can see every star in the sky. If I'm fortunate enough to have kids one day, I would love to raise them here. Because even though I know they'll spend their teenage years just longing to get away, they will always have a place to call "home". I can feel a little bit sad about not having somewhere to come home to. Sure, I grew up in Stockholm, but it's not like I go to Kungsholmen (the part of town where I lived) and recognize people on the streets. I don't have friends or family left there, it's just a part of the city where I know my way around better than in other areas. I always wished to live out in the countryside in a big house and have horses - well, our house isn't big and we have cats instead of horses, and still it's pretty close to perfection in my eyes.

Pros and cons, countryside v/s city: Living in a big city, there's so much more room for spontaneity. You can say "hey, I think I want to go see a movie/eat at this new restaurant I heard about/go have a cup of coffee with a friend", and twenty minutes later, you can do just that. I do miss the movie theaters, I do miss the restaurants and cafés and bars and how easy it is to meet up with a friend. But it just doesn't make up for the fact that I'm always stressed out by the crowded streets, buses and subway trains, by all the people rushing passed me, by the fast pace of city life.

Living out here, I adore the peace and quiet, the stunning beauty of nature, and actually, the fact that I can't just go have a cup of coffee with a friend at any given moment. It's good for me to know that when I have a day all to myself, it won't get disrupted by impromptu get-togethers - when I lived in Stockholm, I never got anything done, because I jumped at every chance not to work.

I love the open spaces, I love living in a house that's huge compared to the apartments I've lived in these past ten years, I love having a real kitchen and a washing machine and a garden. But most of all, I love having two cats who can play outside all day long, and then fall asleep in my lap in front of the tv. I love sleeping all curled up because they refuse to spend their nights anywhere but by my feet.

How come you live in this house? Did you buy it or inherit?

(Asked by Agnès)

We bought our house exactly two years ago, and moved in five months later (it needed a bit of a facelift, and some internal surgery as well), on March 1st 2010. Ronnie and I were tired of living in tiny sublet apartments and knew there was no way we could ever afford a bigger place in Stockholm - and since none of us needed to work from a specific location, we figured we should just move to a smaller town where apartments are a lot cheaper.

See more photos of the piano room here!

We had no intentions whatsoever of buying a house, especially not in the middle of nowhere, but what can I say... My mom kept sending me links to houses for sale, and when I clicked on one that showed photos of an old yellow house with a view of horses eating grass by a lake, I realized this was where we were supposed to live. We didn't have a car - or driver's licenses for that matter - so we took the train and then the bus, walked along the narrow, winding road leading up to the house, and it just felt right. Well, we hated to look of the house on the inside, but we realized how much potential it had, and we knew we had to give it a shot.

See more photos of our hallway here!

We bought the house for less money than Ronnie got when he sold his one room apartment in Stockholm, and I can't speak for him, but I have never, ever regretted or doubted our decision!

How old are your cats? Are they biological siblings?
(Asked by burbuja677) 

Yes, Biianka and Baryshnik are biological siblings from the same litter. They were born on May 8th 2010, so they're one year and four months old. Bii looks just like their mom, and Baz is a splitting image of their dad!

I've been dying to know what type of cats your two are - they are adorable and I love cats, at the moment we're looking for another one.
(Asked by rach)

Thank you! I couldn't agree more, my cats are adorable. :) They're Siberian cats (the reason for their Russian names), who are by some considered more suited for people with cat allergy than other breeds. In our experience, it's true - my boyfriend Ronnie is a bit allergic to cats, and he's never had a single problem with Bii and Baz (and they sleep in our bed every night). My mom, on the other hand, is extremely allergic - and she can't be around them for too long, though much longer than with other cats.

Snow-Bii!

Snow-Baz!

Are you going to play outside with your cats in the winter and snow? 

Hahaha, yes, of course I am! They get the funniest winter coats, they look more like fuzzy balls than actual cats.

What are the little things that make you smile on a daily basis?
(Asked by rehane)

This might not be a cat question, but the answer is a cat answer. Being around Bii and Baz is such a gift, seriously, it's a true blessing. I've always wanted a cat and was afraid my expectations would be set too high, impossible to live up to, but boy, was I wrong! The truth is that I could never, ever have imagined how much pleasure these two would give me, how much joy they would bring to my life. They're as much a part of this family as Ronnie or myself, and no matter how dark or unbearable things might seem at times, these two have never yet failed to comfort me and cheer me up. Their loveliness and cuteness and fuzzy paws might not be enough to keep me off anti-depressants in the future, but they put a smile on my face a thousand times a day, and I'm more grateful for this than they'll ever know. I mean, of course they'll never know. They're cats. As adorable as they may be, they are in possession of a very limited understanding of human psychology.

(Just kidding. They're super smart and they know everything. Actually.)

Oh, and speaking of cats and things that make me smile (or, in this case, laugh out loud), this is by far the best blog in the entire world: