stanley cup playoffs & hiking

due to a busy work & social schedule we haven't had time to update our blog as often as we would have like to. we continue our wonderful weekend walk on laguna beach, having coffee at zink's cafe, and spending sunny afternoons on trevor & lea's deck in newport beach.

last weekend was a little different. we spent all saturday at kristen's thesis show @ OTIS in los angeles. kristen is graduating with her masters in fine arts so this show was an exhibit of her current work.  we enjoyed viewing her installation and the different installations that other artists offered; such as the yellow latex tree made by spraying an actual tree with several layers of the product then pealing it off and sewing it together inside out.  the texture was rubbery and resembled jello when touched.  

lots of people, free wine and catered food made it a very nice day. saturday night we spent watching uber-hyped slumdog millionaire which unfortunately turned out to be a disappointment. 11 oscars? are they kidding?

on sunday we drove down to trev & lea's in newport beach to have champagne breakfast at their deck, play some bocceball and watch the lakers in the playoffs. overall a great day!

the nhl playoffs are in full swing and nicole and i decided to go watch the ducks take on the san jose sharks at the honda center on wednesday. we didn' have tickets but scalped them for half the price outside the arena, and also got two beers included in the price! nicole thought it was the best deal ever! (has elin rubbed off on her?!). the game turned out to be awesome, with fights, body checks so hard that they broke the plexi glass (!), and the ducks winning 4-0. the hostesses gave out orange towels (remember toots?) that we swung around like cheerleaders and had a great time. the ducks were the last team to make the playoffs in the western conference, and the sharks are the best team in the whole nhl this year, so the ducks' win was a big upset.

nicole wanted to try a different hike, since our laguna beach walk is beautiful but not very challenging, so we opted for the aliso viejo canyon wilderness trail.  we drove 2 minutes from our house and parked at one of aliso viejo's many parks where the trail begins; it turned out to be a beautiful hike in the forest with a little stream flowing next to us. it was so green, serene and pretty that we have decided to bring a picnic basket next time. on the way back we took a different, much more challenging trail and that really kicked our butts!  i was also thrilled to see a huge, 8 foot rattle snake slowly cross the path only about 15 feet in front of me. thrilled describes what i felt when i first saw it cross the trail. astounded probably best describes what i felt when i realized how long it was, and terrified was how i felt when i saw figured out that it was a rattle snake. nicole and i waited a while to make sure it wasn't going to turn around and bite our ancles as we walked passed it, and also got a much needed rest in the process.

i spent the rest of the saturday showing million dollar+ homes, which is always fun, to an older woman who is moving here from palos verdes. nicole had a lot of energy and started on 15 different projects around the house. among other things, she re-arranged the furniture in the guest room and made it look much better and more "loungey"! she also went to lowe's and bought wood, a hand saw, 2 different wood stains, and god knows what else to build a few outdoor tables for our patio and a 9-foot console table to go behind our couch.  she is determined!

since i had showings early today, we stayed at home yesterday, ordered some excellent persian take-out, and watched the wrestler. we both agreed that sean penn stole the oscar for best male performance from mickey rourke. good movie (not great), and worth seeing thanks to the performance of rourke, and of the body of marissa tomei.

right now i am sitting by our dining room table, having a beer, getting ready to go play some golf with stefan and terry. nicole has spent the morning with her friend corrie, having brekfast in costa mesa and is on her way home to finish up the new furniture she is assembling. i promise to upload a photo of the finished results! in the mean time you'll have to do with a photo of my beautiful wife, excited about a flower arrangement she bought at a heavily discounted price that was made for someone's wedding, that apparently didn't happen. nicole - the bargain shopper! 

we are heading into the month of may, but unfortunately people don't celebrate it here like we do in sweden. actually, we don't really have spring here in socal. rather, it goes from unpredictable weather (90 degrees one day and 60 the next) to only clear skies and warm days. we are, however, enjoying the longer days and it's nice to leave the office around 8:00 PM while it is still light outside. we hope you get to enjoy your valborg in sweden with a big open fire, singing, and of course, for mom & dad - celebrate their 34th (?) wedding anniversary! nicole and i are almost at 3, so we're getting there!

all our love.

calle, nicole and ingo.