Midnight

Here comes another midnight post. I'm usually in bed by 22:30! I seem to have entered some creative flow this week. I have been solely focusing my attention toward another creative medium, which I am excited to share with you on the next vlog. I will spend this weekend working on it.

Today I have been glued to my computer screen, again!!! I have been learning a new skill that has required me to be at the screen but it feels so good now that I have learned so much this week. I love to learn and think having a growth mindset is so important to reframe negative self talk. I've learned often when we don't feel enough, it can be helpful to reframe that to "I might not have all the answers right now, but I'm learning and I'm okay with where I'm at. I'm growing and learning every day. It's a beautiful messy journey. Messy is okay." Something like that 🙂 I personally find it really helps me.

Besides my friend visiting me from Japan for two weeks, I have spent a lot of alone time since moving to Sweden. I feel this has really helped me become self aware of the way I think and talk to myself. I have felt my heart open up to myself. It's been a new level of empathy and curiosity towards myself. It's a love I haven't felt for myself before. It's a special time right now in my inner world. I just feel so emotionally happy right now and glad I get to share this time with you. I'm excited what Autumn will bring. Today it really felt like Autumn. The wind was howling, the pine trees in the forest were swaying, and at one point I thought the flag pole was going to break off and crash right into my window!

It's been a very cozy day with Leiana sleeping all day.There is something therapeutic about having pets in the home. She and I have known each other for two months now and really bonded. She is such a sweet soul. She is extremely gentle and knows her boundaries haha I learn a lot about myself just from having her in my presence. It's interesting how healing animals are.

Now this whole blog post, I've been listening to this beautiful cinematic music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q_8FXTPDj-A

This music takes me back to days where I would work hard in the library at school and fantasize about living in the world of Harry Potter. When I was a young teen I went to boarding school in England. I used to always pretend I was Hermoine Granger. She got me through school. I hope you enjoy a dose of nostalgia that made my heart sing after a long day in front of the computer. Can't wait to catch you up on what I've been up to this week. I plan to make a little short vlog. Sometimes I'm in the mood to talk and other times I hate talking on camera haha Do you also feel this way?

I've been smiling the whole way through writing this blog and listening to Harry Potter. I'm feeling everything so deeply. I love it! Feeling is human and I finally feel more human again. For so many years I have been told to stuff everything down and get things done. It's wonderful to feel I'm undoing all the unhelpful things I learned. Unfortunately, as I'm sure many can related, we aren't always exposed to the most nurturing environments. Looking back, I don't think I had the right support and environment to help nurture my authentic self and natural creative talents. But now I'm learning to give that to myself. It's a beautiful feeling of trust.

I feel like I'm coming alive again. Being reborn. In many ways I believe each Season holds a special significance to everyone on a deep personal level. When Seasons shift, it welcomes a time for reflection. I believe something special is coming this way this Autumn. Next week we will already be in September!

I will say goodnight now. As my English Grandmother would say, "it's passed witching hour."

Warm hugs to you,

Annika ♥︎

Sun Is Getting Real Low

Today was the first time I could really feel the season shifting. The air feels different, the sun is lower, some of the cows and sheep are missing from the fields, and the roads are free from holiday traffic. Everything feels more still here. There is both beauty and sadness in this experience. For the first time in my life I felt an ache in my gut today when I thought about the Summer ending. Perhaps I'm waking up to the fragility of life and the blessings of seasons. Something Sweden's seasonal nature is teaching me.

I love the liveliness of Summer but I miss taking pictures that reflect the natural raw and vast landscape. I feel it's challenging for me personally as an artist to do that when there are so many tourists out hiking. I have no issue interacting with people. It's more that when I'm alone creating, I feel like I enter a different dimension. It's a creative bubble where I feel incredibly present. When there are other people around it's hard to be in my own dream world.

Also, as I have mentioned before, I don't like to edit out people from photos. I like to represent the truth of the landscape through self portrait photography rather than documenting the island. I hope that makes sense. I'm a very sleepy creature writing this. Another midnight post here. It's not like me to be up so late. And today I ate pizza! That's also very unusual for me. I do love pizza and sometimes crave it, like today haha I know when Autumn comes that I will start cooking all my warm soups and salads. I can't wait for ginger carrot soup, and my special butternut squash and bean soup.

It will be my first Autumn in Sweden this year! I'm curious what the nature will be like here during this time of year. Right now the heather is in full bloom. It always blooms in August and that's usually when I go home to England. Now that I have a home here, I'm curious how long the heather will last. It's one of my favourite wild flowers. I would love to photograph myself in the heather.

I'm sorry it's been a while since I made a photography video. I can't wait to make a new one. There have been a lot of things going on this Summer. I appreciate your patience and understanding. I will also get to your beautiful comments. Thank you for sharing and being a part of my world.

Love you all!

A cozy rainy day today

Cozy

I hope you are having a wonderful week so far. Today, I spent most of my day indoors working on some admin. It feels so good to get a chunk of work done that I've been wanting to do for months. I can go to bed lighter.

My TV arrived last week and I finally set it up tonight. I have a wall mount but for tonight I had a cinema experience sitting so close to the screen haha I was completely emersed in the world of film. For those of you who don't know, I LOVE film. I studied film in high school and would always play make believe as a child. I was a very creative child with a wild imagination. I'm embracing this mindset of play and experimentation when it comes to my work as an artist. It helps me let go and just be in the moment.

Anyway, just some words to share with you before I go to bed. It's 11:21pm here. Leiana is energised from a full day of sleeping on the sofa. We had a cozy evening together. I was craving Swedish pancakes so I had that for dinner haha. It's very unlike me. I'm usually a lean protein and salad or a fresh homemade soup kind of girl. But today my inner child was REALLY craving pancakes.

Leiana is waiting patiently for me to let her outside. I will let her out now. I can't wait to finally get a good night sleep. She was scratching at my bedroom door all last night crying. I don't usually let her in the bedroom to sleep because she likes to climb on top of my face at 3am.

I'm looking forward to a good night sleep. I'll be ready for a fresh new start tomorrow. Thank you today for all you brought me: creativity, new lessons, and never ending dreams.

God natt dear friends!

Annika

A Beautiful Unfolding

Good Evening!

It's midnight here and I'm writing this from my cozy bed. I have my new salt rock lamp on and it gives off such a warm soothing glow. It reminds me of the stone in Indiana Jones Temple of Doom haha Yes I'm a HUGE Indiana Jones fan. I can imagine areas of my house being very inspired by Indiana Jones with lots of artifacts and ancient drawings. Only in my case I'll have lots of nature art, stones, shells and Norse jewelry lying around. Right now I have a nice collection of shells and crystals on every windowsill downstairs. I love it!

When I was in Stockholm last month, I went to The Viking Museum and bought a bracelet and a ring that is a replica of a real artifact found at an archeological dig. I love wearing my Viking bracelet and ring! It gives me such strength for some reason. Perhaps it's the power of heritage. This is something that I personally find grounds me. There is something healing about this. In a world that is fast paced and fragmented in many ways, sometimes it's grounding to connect to our ancestors through the jewelry they wore, or to walk the lands where they walked. To feel connected to them. To embrace nature the way they did. To allow nature to remind us of something forgotten. Something magical and mysterious. Still today the indigenous people who live in Sweden still live in harmony with nature.

I can feel this magic here. I will do my best to put it into words in future posts. Sometimes there are things that can't be explained because it hasn't been scientifically proven. But that doesn't mean it doesn't exist. I think that's why these unexplained experiences and sensory experiences can be so hard to put into words or logical terms. And often we think we'll sound crazy. But perhaps there are some readers out there who know what I'm talking about. Perhaps then we can together dive into the mysteries of the Universe and share these goosebump feelings.

Since coming to Sweden in January this year, I have experienced a beautiful unfolding inside of myself. It's this place. It's my medicine. It's wonderful pure energy. I feel like I'm coming alive and wanted to capture this time in my life with a little YouTube video that I filmed yesterday. I felt really inspired to share my joy and positivity with you.

I really want to create more, share more, and improve my filming. I'm sure it will get better with time.

I'm so grateful for all of your support and your beautiful comments. Thank you for being here.

Dream Sweet! ♥︎

Old Norway

Did you know that Bohuslän, where I live, was originally Norway. We call this part of Sweden, Old Norway. Heritage goes back to our ancestors. And my ancestors who lived here were Norwegian. Then you can go even further back and say it's Scandinavia because before we didn't have the Nordic countries that we have today. Then it was simply Scandinavia with lots of different kingdoms. I find it so fascinating how for a very long time this part of the world wasn't even Sweden. It become Sweden in 1658, approx 200 years before my house was built. Is it weird that I find this fascinating?!

I have a love for this place that is hard to put into words. It's a strong feeling in my gut, a lightness in my heart, and an ache knowing I can't live here forever. I want to lift every stone and explore every crack in the rock. It hurts to know time is so finite on this earth.

As soon as the weather changes and Autumn winds cover the coastline, I will nest myself in my new art studio and start creating art inspired by this magical and calm place. This has been a dream of mine for so many years, and something I now talk often about on my YouTube channel. It's something I know in my heart I need to do before I die. It's THAT meaningful of a project to me.

Film by Annika Alexandra Jacobsson

My plan is to soak up the rest of the Summer before I cocoon myself in my little art studio with the fireplace on warming this old house. I will be working on creating my Summer Solstice collection ready to sell next year. Hopefully on the boardwalk on the island. I hope I get to meet you all in person in Summer 2025. This is a pretty ambitious dream, but I know I will get there with focus and hard work.

Thanks to you, I feel all your love, encouragement and support. You believe in me and we haven't even met, yet! I think that is beautiful. It shows the power of human beings. It's wonderful how we can life each other up.

I can't wait to speak to you soon again! Now I will get to some boring admin work. I've put it off for way to long. Tomorrow I will go on a little adventure with my Dad. Can't wait to share more with you.

Love love and more love to you,

Annika ♥︎♥︎♥︎

Sleepy

Good morning sunshine!

I am very tired today. I went to bed close to 2am because I was is a Zoom call with a host who is on the other side of the world. I'm really excited to share more about what this is, but I want to keep the decision to myself for a little bit. It will help me ground myself in my new passion before I share it with the world.

I just wanted to pop in to say hi. My Dad is coming in about 10 minutes to have breakfast. The sun is still shining and all the windows are open. I love starting my day by opening all the windows and letting the wise winds dance through the house. As I typed that, I felt such comfort when the wind came and stroked my right cheek.

Have a beautiful day! ♥︎

Annika

Soul Sisters

Good afternoon friends!

I've put together another short little video of my August with my best friend, Kana who came to visit me all the way from Japan. She is currently in Barcelona now. She is in the classic car business so she hopes to extend her travel plans to visit a show in the UK! I hope I can join her and then venture up North to visit my Mum and Grandmother in Newcastle. My Grandmother is getting old and I have a knot in my stomach wondering when I will get that call. I keep reminding myself that I'm blessed she is alive, lived a long and happy life so far, and not in pain.

Today I finished putting together another short little video of my days with Kana. She is amazing and talented. She is very creative, has a kind and gentle soul, and very fun to spend time with. We laughed all the time. I must have gained years of life by spending these two weeks with her. She is very special, and I feel deeply that we are soul sisters. Do you have that special someone in your life?

We haven't seen each other in over 10 years but it felt like no time had passed. I hope you enjoy this video and some of my favourite moments and places here where I live on the West Coast of Sweden.

Enjoy ♥︎

This video captures our friendship and special time spent together this August

Torn Between Inspiration and Structure

As a human being, I have enjoyed the rewards of some structure in my day. For example blocking my morning, afternoon and evening for certain activities. This has helped me regulate my nervous system where I just feel overall calmer. I remember during the covid lockdown, I was the most structured I have ever been in my life. I suppose that was my way of surviving the uncertainty the world was facing at the time. And strangely that was a time where I have never slept so well.

Lately, I have been given into a flow state of being and living; acting on inspiration. But I think that has also led me to feel scattered. When I'm in that inspired state, so many more ideas pop up out of nowhere. I don't yet have a routine or system in my new home yet, so I have random bits of post-its and A4 papers lying all over the place scribbled with my thoughts and ideas. This morning I sat down and said, "Enough. I need balance."

So I got out my A4 notebook. Another thing that helps me use my notebook is making sure it's not pretty. If the notebook is too beautiful, I never use it. I'm scared of ruining it with my ugly handwriting and random scattered thoughts. So a simple boring grey notebook from the supermarket does the trick!

I sat down with a morning cup of macha from Japan, and started to just write everything that was in my head. I have had a headache for about 24 hours now and thought perhaps it's flooded with too many thoughts. I need to get it out of my head and onto paper. That's just how I am. I feel so much more relaxed getting it out of me. Otherwise, I start to feel like a bottle overflowing.

I then came across a book called "The 12 Week Year" that instantly shifted my mindset. After watching a YouTube video of someone giving a synopsis of the book, I was immediately filled with motivation. This was the kind of structure I needed. Something that felt more immediate, more urgent, closer to actualizing compared to an entire year project. The book's message is that we can achieve what we set out to do in 12 months, in 12 weeks! And that we can achieve in one year what we would otherwise achieve in 4 years. It's all about shifting our mindset and being realistic with the time we have. Personally it sounds a lot like Parkinson's Law, so to me it makes sense.

This is something I want to try now, because I have so many projects and I'm already "behind." One big dream I have is to open a store on the boardwalk in Smögen next Summer where I can sell my art. As life tends to do this, unexpected illness has gotten in the way but it's just about taking a deep breath and starting with what I have now.

The house has also demanded a lot of my energy and focus with getting it fully functioning with basic needs, such as cooking, working space and sleeping. I haven't had a proper bed in months.

Now that things are coming together nice and slow, I feel a lot more focused today than yesterday. Sometimes getting things out on paper helps reduce overwhelm, and makes planning more fun! At least, I think so 🙂

I hope you are having a calm and productive day.

LOTS OF LOVE,

Annika

P.S. Here is some music I'm currently listening to. Let me know if the link works. I love having playlists by month. It's a nice diary of sounds that have the power to transport me back in time.

Scattered

Hello!

I felt scattered all day today. I think it's because I slept through my alarm. That never happens. I slept until 10am! The whole day I've been a state of weird anxiety and working on lots of different things at the same time. I haven't felt very productive or at ease today. I prefer to wake up at 6am. Let's see if I can get back to that. I've been wanting to get back into my daily yoga and meditation practice for a long time now.

My late rising must have thrown Leiana off because she didn't come home until the evening. She is usually out all night and comes home for breakfast and sleep. But there was no sign of her. All day I kept thinking that a fox had come and eaten her. So glad she's safe at home.

Now it's 8:30pm and it feels too late to start something, yet I'm not tired. I just finished dinner and still feel very scattered and headachy. Since it's late, I don't think it's worth getting deep into any projects. I will just try and relax now and wind my body down for an early sleep. I have some books that arrived in the post today. I'm not big on fiction but I do like to buy non-fiction books that I can highlight and scribble all over.

Today, my Instagram followers got a sneak peak of my finished living room. So I thought it's only fair to post a picture of my living room here. I've been promising a house video for a while and want to at least share something now ♥︎

Cozy & Crickets

It's 11:35pm now. I was dozing off when I suddenly felt inspired to write. Perhaps it's just the coziness that I feel right now that I wanted to share with you. I am sitting on my new cozy bed with a brand new mattress and fresh bedding. I can hear the crickets outside my bedroom window. It's one of my favourite sounds. I feel the seasonal changes in Sweden is really helping me stay present. I know the crickets will disappear when it gets colder. When I lived in California, I would hear the crickets every night. Overtime, I took the sound for granted because I was hearing it every day. Funny how that works.

I have a very sleepy cat at the foot of my bed. My cat, Leiana has her tummy bared, a paw covering her eye, and her back legs spread out haha She sleeps in the funniest positions. Soon I will wake her so she can enjoy mouse hunting tonight. Her previous owners says she loves to hunt at night during the Summers. It's the Winters where she enjoys cozing by the fire. So she too deserves her Summer nights with the crickets.

I had a lovely calm day at home today; studying and reflecting. It's been cloudy here but still warm in the air. We have forecast for rain soon. I checked on the berries growing in the garden. They are supposed to be ready to pick and freeze for the Winter. I'm no berry expert as this lifestyle is very new to me, but many of my berries haven't come through yet. I suspect an animal is eating them or the weather this Summer has affected them in some way. I have noticed some tracks in the garden, so perhaps it's more likely an animal having a berry feast.

I follow Dani Connor Wild on Instagram, and she recently posted about a camera she uses to capture Red Squirrels in the North of Sweden. I was curious about the camera. It's not as expensive as I thought. I'm tempted to get one and set it up at night to see what wildlife my garden brings at night. Apparently this area attracts wild boar, elk, moose, and even wolves! I was surprised considering how close I live to the sea. It does make this place extra magical and mysterious. I imagine sea wolves greeting the mermaids at night haha I have a wild imagination, especially at night.

Anyway, I'm just letting my fingers flow on the keyboard. Nothing planned. Just sharing different parts of myself, like a letter to a friend.

I will say goodnight now and finish my peppermint tea. A new soothing evening ritual I have adopted.

Will post some pictures soon.

God natt, sov gott!

Annika

Oh no! Now I hear and see a huge mosquito next to my salt rock lamp. Not at all my favourite sound.