Hej!
Sometimes time just goes and I realize I've been doing things and my blog hasn't felt it. I'm not even talking about you guys reading this because I know you won't care. But I don't want to hurt my blog's feelings, you know? Okay, maybe you don't know, but anywhoooo.
I was looking through my photos and thought 67 pics are probably like... 37... pics too many? So I tried to find a theme and when I couldn't do that I decided to make up a completely dumb theme and just roll with it.
So here it is: three things or places or stuff that happened maybe a month ago. I know, I know: I'm SO up to date here. But humor me, okay?

You remember when David and I were in San Francisco, right? The long drive there featured a bunch of truck stops in the middle of nowhere, and on one of them I decided to look around a little and maybe snap some photos.

I struck gold with this car cemetery in the desert!

AND it was also the home of a whole bunch of feral kittens!

I mean. That is Truck Stop Gold right there.

I also convinced David that we needed to take some jumping photos, so you could say I was happy already- not even close to San Francisco!
I actually really like driving places with David. Well, I don't drive because I don't have a driver's license (I KNOW!) but so often when we're going somewhere by car and we're in the middle of nowhere and there's music and just roads and we are in frickin' USA and life is so wonderful and I'm just STRUCK by this magical feeling of happiness and I don't even KNOW because it's not like it was any different the morning before but it's like the open road gives me perspective or something and yeah, this was one long ass sentence so I'll put a period on this now.

And our hotel in SF was old and decorated in a wonderfully freaky way. I mean, this photo is proof enough, right?

We had a wonderful couple of days in SF and it felt awesome to be able to stroll around in a city where it's more people than just me and the homeless out walking. (Seriously LA! The sidewalks are meant to walk on! Try it for once!)

Pretty view and loveydovey us.

Around easter my sister, her kids and their friend Rebecka came to visit us. I was so excited! Here I'm sitting and waiting and listening for sounds of a jet lagged bunch of Swedish people tumbling up the stairs.

It was so great to have them all here! I took them to all the great spots.

My niece Hilda- Already a star in Hollywood.

We went to LA Zoo of course!

And I took a selfie with a giraffe.

And we went to Santa Monica pier where it was windy as all hell.

Alfred running on the beach!

I took my sister, Sara, to UCB for a musical improv show that I love- and she of course loved it too!

When they had went back to Sweden again I felt a little like this. So tired. And the apartment was so quiet. And strange. And happy that it went so well- now we know they can come back many times!

The last thing/place/whatever is a Sunday hike to where they shot the tv series M*A*S*H. It was quite the long walk there and when we reached the spot it turned out to be the least exciting part of the entire hike.
But that doesn't mean it was boring because OMG this was a beautiful place!
I found an abundance of spooky trees, for one thing!

I climbed a few of them. And balanced high up and hoped that I wouldn't fall before the self timer had gone off so I at least would get a nice photo before I'd break all the bones in my body.
I didn't fall though. Surprising everybody (well, David), but mostly myself.

The mountains and green fuzzy hills give me so many creative ideas, you have NO idea.

Just like road trips with this guy makes me indescribably happy, seeing wondrous nature like this together makes me smile from ear to ear. It just smacks me in the head: the beautiful surroundings, the adventure, the love. And that's how you know it's kissing selfie time!

That was all from me today.
And, can we just pretend the theme was solid and perfect and you bought it completely? Okay? Thanks.

/Lotta

Hej!
On Friday David and I packed our bags and went to Morongo Valley for a weekend of writing. Sometimes a change of location is just what you need to get your brain working.
The only things we had planned for (except writing writing writing) was to stop and take photos if the desert looked beautiful and interesting.
So this is mostly a post with photos from those little breaks.
But first: Look at me in my new smashing vintage dress!

From the late 60s if I should guess. And EXTREMELY colorful. I have not enhanced the colors at all in this photo. It is vibrant as all hell.

Very much ready for a day of writing in the desert.

After lunch in Palm Springs we found a dirt road that looked interesting.
Commence the photo bonanza!

I'm quite fond of this one.
I had it clear in my mind, but when you're working with fickle things as wind it's difficult to get things the way you want them. I'm very happy mother nature cooperated with me.

Even the road and traffic looks cool in the desert!

Today on our way back to LA we again wanted to stop somewhere fun for photos. The fog lay thick on the mountain on the other side of the highway and we thought we'd never find a tunnel or bridge to get over there. The rain picked up, the clouds rolled in and the wind was everywhere around us. But there! A bridge!
We crossed railway tracks and then we were in the middle of a storm. And it was amazing!

Come on, Wind!

Give me the best you've got!

On my list of things I wanted to see and photograph: Strange desert flora.

Scarf or cape? Who cares when it looks this dramatic!?

Cactus in the foreground, mountain and fog in the back. Also on my list of things I've been wanting to photograph.

When the wind does your hair artfully.

On the list of favorite things to do: Adventures with this guy.

David on his way to capture the view. I think it might have been this photo he was about to take.

Then all of a sudden the storm just went away. It stayed a little while longer over the mountains but...

...if you turned around it looked like this.
And we were ready to get back on the road to LA.

A weekend is far too little time for everything I want to see in the desert! So, we might have to come back soon.

Talk to you soon!

/Lotta

Hej!
On sunday David and I went on a little adventure. We had been writing all weekend and needed a little energy boost so we drove to the old Paramount ranch that I had read about here .

They used to film a lot of things here, the largest production being Dr Quinn Medicine Woman, but now it's just an abandoned western town in the middle of nowhere. So cool.
We arrived in the afternoon just when the sun was turning golden. There was quite a lot of people there. Some were having a picnic, a few were newly engaged couples taking their engagement photos, and some were just like us; walking around and looking at everything for the first time.

I brought my Nikon with me for the first time in ages. I've been feeling a bit rusty with my real camera lately, so I thought it would be nice to get back in the habit of bringing it with me more.
Most of these photos are taken with my Nikon but the self portraits are my iPhone as usual.

I really liked that the buildings looked old and weathered. Since they were made for being in movies they've probably always looked like this. Maybe a little less dusty and broken. It must be so fun building a place like this, making it exactly how you want it. A little town that looks like it's been standing forever.

Some parts were obviously fairly newly added. Like the barn door to the right. It looked very nice and polished compared to the rest.

Ooops! We're in jail!

Loved the light in here. That's how you notice these building were made with movie making in mind. A tiny room with windows at the best spots for as much light as possible.

When we had seen all the houses we went on a hike up in the hills surrounding the little town. It was such a beautiful afternoon.

We took our own cutesy love photos. Because spooky trees are the most romantic things I know.

And David climbed a little.

We walked further up the hills. David is always ahead of me because I have to stop to take pictures all the time.

I caught up with David when he had stopped to photograph his long shadow legs.

The view was fairly spectacular.

"Can I have my sunglasses on? I look cooler with my sunglasses"
Okay, Mr Hollywood Director.

So Many Spooky Trees! *insert approximately a thousand heart eyes emojis*

And I found a new favorite.

It was love at first sight.

The sun was getting low in the sky so we headed back to car.

Stopped by the river first though. Such a moody spot. Spooky trees and moody rivers (what a great book title!) are on my "all time favorite things" list. Oh, and uprooted trees too!

Our spooky love.

Almost all the people were gone by now. The place looked just like a ghost town.

I made plans in my head to return soon. With a picnic basket. And maybe bring my sister and her kids. I think that would be wonderful!

Really loved the colors here!

And let's end this post with a jumping photo, because YAY for abandoned Western towns!

Hope you enjoyed tagging along on our little afternoon adventure.

See you soon!

/Lotta

Hej!
Since I've been a very bad blogger lately I thought I'd give you a quick rundown of what's been going on in my life these last few weeks- in selfies and self portraits only! Ready?

I missed my fall hats in Sweden and decided I just couldn't live without one.
So I went to a hat shop and the first hat I saw made me stop in my tracks. The. Perfect. Hat in The. Perfect. Color.
At around this time Los Angeles also decided it was fall so me and my hat went everywhere together.

(This is two different days by the way. I look exactly the same.)

Hanna came to visit us! (Hanna is the creepy girl in the photo in Pictured, if you recognize her, he he.)
It was absolutely wonderful to have her here! We took selfies at interesting places such as Paramount, Venice Canals and Santa Monica Pier.

I also made her participate in jumping- and Outfit photos.
We jumped at Paramount Studios, and we dressed up for Thanksgiving dinner.

The sun was as golden as my hat, and love was all around.

I sat at cafés with my laptop almost every day. I was working on my photo book Alone in LA (I'll talk more about that next week probably!) and took self portraits in café restrooms.

Large mirrors in the wild beckoned me.

I took outfit photos outdoors...

...and indoors.

The morning sun fell in slivers on my face.

David and I went to Sweden! We arrived a few days before christmas and it was lovely to meet family and friends again after almost 9 months in LA.
The photo in the bottom right was taken three hours before David and I realized we had caught the Winter Vomiting Disease. We realized this because we both threw up in the parking garage the moment we arrived in Gothenburg after celebrating christmas in our home town.
That was fun. No it wasn't. It was fucking awful.
All then things we had planned to do for the next three days had to be cancelled.
And then it was time for David to go back to LA to do the last work on the movie (it's completely done now!!!) and I cried at the airport because two weeks without each other is a long time!

Our tiny old elevator got some selfie action too, of course!

I stayed two extra weeks in Sweden to sort out our apartment. Since we're staying in LA we can't really pay rent for two places at the same time. It was so much work to do but I took breaks to meet up with friends for coffee and baked goods. I ate So Many baked goods those two weeks.

Black and white selfies for a more Noir feeling.
I took the train to visit my parents and my hair looked all Rita Hayworth-y Good lighting at my parents kitchen table.

Self portrait at my parent's place to show off my favorite outfit in a long time. The skirt is vintage and has buttons from floor to waist. The crocheted sweater thingy is also vintage and I bought it in LA and immediately thought of this skirt that was left in Sweden. I thought they'd go together nicely, and they did not disappoint!

The cold (and the snow) came to Sweden and I didn't have anything to wear on my head (except for like a zillion hats but that won't do in those temperatures), so I bought myself a turban that must be my most unexpected purchase ever. I had no clue turbans were so flattering! Its something about that V shape that just does it for me. Love it so much! And that emerald green color! *insert heart eye emoji*

David and I talked on FaceTime every day. Here he is driving: something you do more often than not when in LA.
Technology really is amazing for this kind of thing. The distance doesn't feel half as bad when you can see each other like this every day. Thank you, technology.

One thing I really wanted to do before I went back to LA was to take photos with my cape on the cemetery. My vintage nurse cape just works so well in that environment, so I took a break from packing to make a little photo series.

This cemetery is one of those things I really miss when I'm in LA. It's so moody and beautiful and I haven't find anything close to it over here.

Yes, packing. There was so much packing going on.
Here you see me in our old work room. Yes, I'm there in the middle of all rubbish.
The last night in the apartment was so strange. Empty and dusty. It felt like the end of a chapter, sort of. This apartment is where everything started for this Hollywood adventure we're on. That's where we made Lights Out without any clues of how it would change our lives.
The Lights Out hallway will always have a fond place in my heart.

On the last day I had help from a wonderful friend. She drove me to the recycling station with all the trash that had accumulated over the week, and together we moved furniture and boxes all night long. I wouldn't have made it without her and I'm beyond thankful that I have her in my life. Friendship is a magical thing.
She even waited for me when I said I needed to take a self portrait with the discarded refrigerators at the recycling station... That is true friendship.

When I came back to LA it was to a new apartment. We found a place the same week we left for Sweden and it felt so exciting to know we had that to return to.
We don't have a lot of furniture yet but this place already feels like home. It's strange how that works. Some places just fits.
The light is wonderful and we even have a long narrow hallway perfect for horror movie making! This one is even longer and more narrow than the Lights Out hallway. Let's see what waits for us in this home.

Soon I'm off to meet up with David for a Friday afternoon Dining Table hunt. Cross your fingers (or Hold your thumbs, as we say in Sweden!) we find the One today!

Talk to you soon! (Yes. I'm trying this blogging thing for real again. Hold your thumbs for me that I can stick with it this time)

/Lotta