Playlist / No. 1

I always find it a bit difficult to make playlists. Don't get me wrong, I make them all the time - it's just that more often than not my playlists tend not to have a theme. The songs aren't always what you would put in the same playlist as they change in mood and style. However, that's how I listen to music - the same songs can sometimes fit my sad and my happy moods - all at the same time. For this journal I've tried to narrow it down though - attempting to select the songs from those different playlists that would actually fit the same mood. For this first playlist I guess I wanted to put together music I would listen to while taking a bath, while cooking alone and maybe feeling a bit blue.

1. Gentle Threat / Chilly Gonzales
2. Counting / Autre Ne Veut
3. Smother / Daughter
4. Laura / Bat For Lashes
5. One Of Us Cannot Be Wrong / Gregory Alan Isakov
6. A Case Of You / Joni Mitchell
7. I Don't Care / Twin Shadow
8. Untitled 1 / Hype Willams

Listen to the playlist here.

Photo via here.

Photography / John Ciamillo

These photographs by John Ciamillo are sad, silent, simple and complex. They drift between pain and joy, almost erasing the lines between the two. I want to live beautifully and cry at the same time when I look at them. I want to sit in silence and scream. They give me the feeling of sinking.

Essentials / winter

Dressing simply and elegantly during winter can be a bit tricky due to the low, low temperature that infiltrates Oslo during that time. For this reason I've steadily built up a small assortiment of outerwear essentials.

Boss coat / I bought this coat with my mother in Paris some years ago. Back then I was really too young to have such a "grown-up" and classy coat, that I didn't really wear it for a long, long time. I'm glad I still have it and that I've taken care of it. Now I wear it all the time - it's my go-to coat when I need something to make me feel chic and elegant. I also love that it's not black, as almost all the other coats I own are black.

Vagabond boots / These ankle boots aren't exactly winter boots per se, but they have a sturdy, thick heal and platform which help my feet not be so close to the ground (helpful when there's a lot of snow). They're also extremely comfortable, and for those extra cold days I wear thick woolen socks with them.

Acne scarf / This scarf has almost become a cliché on the streets of Oslo. Everyone has it now - especially in burgundy. I bought it some months ago, because I lost my favorite black scarf last winter and needed a new one. I happened to be in an Acne store at the beginning of fall, and they had just gotten this scarf in. Even though I'm pretty sure every other Norwegian women owns it now, I still love it because of its simplicity and great quality. After all, one can't go wrong with a simple black scarf.

Black leather gloves / I think that black leather gloves are the most elegant kind of gloves one can wear. I don't remember where these are from, but they keep me warm all winter long.

These photographs of me were taken in Dublin a couple of weeks ago. My family and I were there on a weekend trip.

Vision / process / realization

For some time now I've been wanting to make my own rings and bracelets, all kinds of jewelry in genreal really. The pieces you see in the photograph are some of the first ones I've made. You can never go wrong with the minimal.

There is something strange and wonderful about wearing something you've made yourself. After all, the item becomes not just a mere item, but a piece you have created, thus you can see and feel the intent behind it.

There's also something really satisfying about being able to make things exactly as you would like them to be - your vision, your process, your realization.

My oh my, all that pie

This afternoon I went to the new (and first) food hall in Oslo (Mathallen) with my mother. I've been wanting to go for some time now. The hall was much smaller than I expected, and the set up was more based on stores than stands. The food one could buy was nevertheless simply wonderful. We went home with for pastrami, stirred cranberries, bread with fruit and nuts and quail eggs in hand.

Of course, as the photograph reveals, we also went to this one little pie shop (Norway's first, I think) called Hello Good Pie. Such a good name for a pie shop. This shop is one of the main reasons I've been wanting to visit the food hall. We bought three flavors; lemon meringue, chocolate peanut and pecan. Mmm. I can't wait to have all this for dessert in a bit.

A new beginning at the end of the year

Welcome to the first post on Maison Alexandra, just a simple introduction, really.

Maison Alexandra is a journal written and curated by no other than me, Alexandra Djupesland.

I'm a journalism student living in Oslo, my hometown.

I wanted to create this online journal in order to keep track of all the people, music, photography, objects, homes and such that I find interesting and inspiring. It's true that this can be done just as easily privately, without really using the internet and making everything public. However, I see having an online journal as a true challenge - if done right, that is. Not that there's any particular way of keeping a journal that's better than others. With "done right" I mean following the whole thing through, being consistent in content and intent. I will most certainly try.

I won't try to sum up everything that I'm interested in, because the list is endless. All in all I enjoy everything that makes life more beautiful, both physically and psychologically speaking. I guess you can say that I'm an aesthetician at heart.

Photo by Athena Mavroyiannis