Let the right one in

Last night I went to see the Swedish vampire film ‘Let the right one in’. It is based on a book by John Ajvide Lindqvist and it is directed by Thomas Alfredson.
It is the first Scandinavian vampire movie I have ever seen and I must admit that it scared the shit out of me.

Take all our cold, dark winters, add a bit of the classical social realism in the form of a young boy being bullied at school and then stir in a vampire tale. It is actually sort of comic in places and also kind of sweet in other parts but for some reason also really alarming. – I guess it’s the mix of all those things so familiar and then such a twist of horror.

I won’t write anything about what happens as it would spoil the plot. But the two main characters a young girl and boy really shine through making you sympathise with all the killing and bloodshed.
The film is so original with its quite realism and a story that is totally unpredictable and well written.

Nerd Girl dresses up for the family

My cool aunt Sally is celebrating her 50th birthday this month and she’s throwing a great party, which I’m sure will be great. But what to wear? Seriously, this Nerd Girl usually doesn't have a problem with picking out her outfits, but when it comes to the family-things I'm always sort of lost.

And for some reason what I seem to dig out of the closet is always too formal, too casual or too sexy – in short: not really good for the family occasions.
So instead of going through the usual fashion magazines, I went on Polyvore to get inspired and create my own outfits and family birthday kind of style. And here you are: my three examples of what to wear for the next big family thing:

In my family at the moment it’s not 4 weddings and a funeral, but something like three 60th birthdays, one 50th birthday, one wedding, one 25th year wedding anniversary and a funeral– all in about one year.

Not that I don't enjoy hanging with the oldies - Nerd Girl loves old people - but on the fashion front you get tirde of the same type of dress for all those gatherings.

I think my next project on Polyvore will be the perfect 'meet-the-parents'-outfit.

Beautiful knitwear for a cold January

Nerd Girl is back after a long x-mas holiday. And since the real x-mas weather with snow and heavy minus degrees usually sets in around January I thought I’d introduce a cool Danish knitwear designer that I just discovered recently.
Iben Høj makes the most exquisite knitwear that will keep both you and your fashion sense warm and bright throughout the winter.

The garments are extremely delicate and in an interview made for Danish television she explains how her designs are exclusive, as she will not compromise the quality of the material or the knitting technique, making the pieces rare and more expensive than the usual knitwear. Iben Høj’s designs are definitely within a class of their own. It is so artistic and almost avant garde in its structure. The lovely Helena is apparently also a fan of Iben Høj's dresses as you see below.

Christmas traditions: cookies and candles

One of the very best ways of spreading the Christmas spirit is by baking. These are old traditional Danish Christmas cookies and it is my first try. They have pepper in them, but no very munch and I’m not sure you could actually taste it.

They were very popular and even though I made around 50 small pieces last sunday, they are all gone now.

Next to the cookies is my calender candle, which is another Christmas tradition I really love .

Victorian Christmas in Copenhagen

I’m crazy about Christmas. It is I guess my rebound after hating the dark Danish winters so much. I especially love Copenhagen around Christmas – the old part of town can completely set me back in time and I forget all my depressing thoughts and feel like I part of a H.C. Andersen-fairytale. I always seek the traditional Danish Christmas decorations and the moods in Copenhagen, which are not difficult to find. Especially if you walk around Strædet in the evening, just past Gamel Torv - here you can easily disappear and pretend that you're back in the 1800s Copenhagen and might just run into H.C.A. himself.

Place of the month in December is The Victorian Home. I went there today for the first time and I think every one in this city should pay it a visit. It is a complete apartment as it looked in 1890 with the original interior. It is part of The National Museum and they only have limited guided tours making it a very unique experience. As you walk around the halls of this amazing place, you hear the story of the family, who lived there from the 1890s up until the 1960s until the apartment was given to The National Museum.
And this time of year it is especially charming as the apartment is decorated with an old traditional Danish Christmas tree.

Surviving November and the Danish winter

November is not really my kind of month. It’s the time here in Copenhagen when it’s starts to get dark when you leave work and the darkness is just clearing when you wake up in the morning. Your energy level just drops to a point where you feel like sleeping all the time. In no other month (no, maybe January as well) does my pillow and my bed have such a strong hold on me. I’ve always loved sleeping and I love my bed, no doubt about it. But when this time of year comes I often wonder if I should have been born a bear and go underground sleep until the sun comes back.
So what do you do to survive this darkness for the next 5 months? Here is my survival kit:

Good books
A long and exciting book can pull you out of this dark winter world. Nerd Girl recommends these books for winter reading:

The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay

Cloud Atlas
Harry Potter (can always do with a second reading, especially after the film versions have screwed up your memory of the real plot.)

The Shadow of the Wind

Movies:
Winter movies should also offer an escape into happier, prettier and shinier lifestyles with totally superficial problems and always (!) happy endings. So forget Scandinavian social realism with handheld cameras and only depressing shades of grey.
Nerd Girl tends to go for old Danish films – set in the 1950s with lots of romance and cute dresses. But here are some good international films I turn to:

Amelie of Montmartre :

Les Demoisellers de Rocheforte

My Fair Lady Chocolat

And then the food...

When its dark outside and the rain or snow pouring down you need something really sweet. Something like appelcake - Danish appelcake. The world's easiest and best winter dessert: Appel mash, almond macaroons crushed and whiped creme - in layers.

Nicloe Kidman will play Lili Elbe

This is pretty big news. I just read that Nicole Kidman is to star as Einer Mogens Wegener, in a movie about the Danish painter who was the first man to have a sex change operation. Charlize Theron will be playing his wife the very talented painter and illustrator Gerda Wegener.
It is according to the hollywoodreporter.com that the story of this fascinating couple will be turned into a film with such heavy leading ladies as Nicole and Charlize. Based on a fictional bestseller by David Eberstorff about the couple, I wonder how much of the actual story we’re gonna get from the film. But any how it will be interesting to se.

Einer was married to Gerda Wegener and they were quite a famous couple in living in Copenhagen in the 1920s. Apparently Einar’s female alias Lili Elbe was created when Gerda, lacking a female model, asked him to pose for her as a woman – and he from then on developed as the transsexual Lili Elbe with the support of his wife.This is Lili Elbe after the sex change operation:
Gerda worked as a painter and illustrator creating beautiful painting and drawings for among others French Vougue.