August 12, 2015

the sweden farm

sometimes you are really lucky to have an amazing friend
who has a family farm in sweden and you are there at the same time
and somehow get invited to the most amazing place. we had no idea
what a treat we were in for when chase’s cute coworker invited us to
THE SWEDEN FARM.
yes, this place is real. no, you are not dreaming.
(that’s what i had to keep saying as i pinched myself!)this farm and home has been around since 1776, and it used to be
a bed and breakfast (we can see why). now, it’s invite only… and
we felt like the luckiest people on earth to get an invite here!
welcome to the swedish version of downtown abbey,
secluded in the middle of sweden and with the absolute
sweetest people who own it. i was walking around in AWE.
we became fast friends with alf, who bought the place after years of
living and working in oslo. he still works there part of the week, and
then enjoys life on the farm with his horses the rest of the time!
we also loved yennie’s mom eva who is the cutest person who reminded
me so much of my mom! she takes care of her horses, rides them every
day, welcomes so many friends to the house, feeds everyone, makes
homemade bread, and even drives a volvo like my mom ;) they
would be best friends. she is amazing because she’s so smart and
successful, but so outdoorsy and appreciative of nature. we can
see where yennie gets all of her great qualities!
after hellos and settling in, we headed to the stables.
this family takes their horses seriously. they have nordic fjord
horses & icelandic horses which are both so unique and beautiful.
there is something so calming about being around horses!
welcome to the ritz-carlton of horse stables.
i told you they take their horses seriously around here! the closest stables i’ve seen as amazing as these are those we saw while in australia from a Sheds supplier called true blue sheds. it was completely breath-taking and so were these horses!
you could not pull us away from these horses!
especially this one – she was our favorite.
^^ the brand new indoor arena – it would be
a good life to be a horse at the sweden farm.
^^ oh hi, guys! ready for their photo! :)
we got to take one of the nordic horses out on the trails,
which was an obvious highlight. look at that magical path!
and look at that crazy mane! ^^
another highlight = raspberry picking and eating them
right off the stem. these are the things my dreams are made of!
i used to have a horse as a little girl growing up in park city,
so this made me nostalgic for my millie! she was a lot older &
less fancy than these horses, but it reminded me of those days!
we ? the farm!
a quick brush & grooming before heading to dinner.
for some reason brushing a horse is SO soothing too.
people who have horses are so legit. it’s a lot of work!
back to the house we go for dinner …
which of course was incredible norwegian salmon.
i think chase had 3 whole pieces! nothing like a homemade meal..
especially in this setting. i can’t get over it ^^
sunsets on the lake went a little bit like this ^^
again, heaven. so cozy and peaceful here ^^
in the mornings we came back in to the smell of fresh bread
baking — AKA, my heaven! eva makes her whole grain bread
from scratch just like my mom, so it felt like a little taste of home as
we are on the road going on 7 weeks and have had nothing homemade.

breakfast at the farm with all of the houseguests!
(mostly yennie’s relatives & some friends)
exploring the grounds ^^

and earning our keep on the farm by shoveling manuer!
you’ll see in the vlog that we actually loved doing some farm work :)
chase vlogging with his horse friends … i love this picture because
his hair is flowing in the wind and looks like the horses manes! haha
i wish i could ride a horse every day!
we got to see the pro herself ride. yennie has a horse at a stable in SF
and wakes up at 5 AM most days to ride before work! amazing.
chase couldn’t find me & then caught me back visiting our favorite horse.
she legit would give kisses and nuzzle! so sweet.

haha horse selfie!
more lovely meals in the dining room ^^
and a picture with our generous hosts who we quickly came to love!
(yennie is taking the picture but should be in it)
thank you yennie for being an amazing friend / coworker / and hostess
at the loveliest place we’ve ever been. we adore you!
*you can see her amazing career blog here. she’s one smart cookie!
before we knew it we were off again, on the train to stockholm to
continue our adventures after a very memorable few days on the
farm. we feel so lucky to have had this experience, be in a place with
no other tourists, do our laundry, have homemade meals, be with
friends, meet new friends, and slow down + enjoy. it was magic.