It is always an emotional time when my departure from Sweden is coming closer. Especially now in a pandemic, there is nothing to do in NYC and I just been through a very tough time. I have also (pretty much) decided that I will leave Cash in Sweden for a few months. We are planning to travel some and it is difficult for me to find dog sitters. So all this combined gives me a heavy heart. I am absorbing every minute here at home with my parents and trying to enjoy all the things I will miss.

But at the same token I am also looking forward to see my husband again! We have never been apart this long before and I am excited to have some fun with him. I am tired of wearing the same clothes here and can't wait to dive in to my closet!

Before I leave a have a meeting I am super excited about, could be a new project for me to work on and I will tell you as soon as it is a done deal!

SCROLL DOWN AND READ PART 1 FIRST!

I am very grateful to have a big park only 5 min away from our house and the beach 5 min the other way. I have never really been a gym person, I always prefer outdoors activity!

Celebrity chef David Burke invited me to his house for a cooking session, we had such a great time! I set the menu and we cooked Swedish!

We invested in a new Weber grill and BBQ'd the summer away!

Our backyard became our new oasis!

Violent black lives matter protests, looting and riots became an every day reality. People were scared to go out, Manhattan really turned in to a war zone and I stayed home baking, cooking and making cocktails as much as possible. Tyrone was in the streets 12 hours/day 7 days/week fighting these criminals who were out for blood.

I invited a group of Swedish people for Midsummer ( I had only met 1 of them before) and my man thought I was a bit crazy to invite 10 strangers to our house but it turned out great and we had such a fun time in our backyard!

I spent a big chunk of the summer in The Hamptons. One of the best things living in NYC according to me is that we have access to the summers out there. This year one of my best friends bought a house in The Hamptons and they renovated the entire house in just a month. I helped out by cooking for the staff and as you know that is one of the things I really love to do!

Cash also enjoys country living a lot. We swim and spend a lot of time outdoors-no leash in sight!

Rosie and Tessa came out east to spend some time with us!

Back to Manhattan again. In the city we spent a lot of time at Elsies rooftop!

In August we both went back to Sweden. I haven't had a summer back home in 4 years and I am very homesick. The day after i landed we invited friends and family to a pool party!

"Marre Maräng & Palle K-Pist" came dressed up in costume representing me as a Swede and T as an American:-)

My childhood friend Jenny is now a baker and she was kind enough to serve us a buffet of treats!

My uncle and one of my brothers

My uncle has a crush on Emelie ( a lot of guys do) :-)

My cousin Sussi came from Stockholm to visit us

When I am home I try to keep my parents and uncle active and bring them on some local adventures. I also like to support our local businesses so staying here in Söderköping is usually what we do!

We spent 1 night in Stockholm visiting friends!

I bought a drone and I bring it everywhere. Am still a rookie and need more practice for sure!

When I came back from Stockholm I decided to take my mom for a make-over!

Home sweet home. My feet in the Swedish soil and breathing fresh air in my mothers garden.

Methe came to visit me from Germany. This is a very important person in my life. She has loved me and been there for me since I was 2 years old. Back then she was my nanny but today she is my sister.

I returned to America end of August. Back to bouncing between The Hamptons and NYC.

The fall finally arrived! This year I have "summered' so much so I was really longing for colder weather. It is also my fav time of the year!

August is my busiest month of the year at work so coming back at the end meant LOTS of work piling up. I could seriously work 24/7 and still have tons to do. It is never ending but I really enjoy our industry and company.

I can not wait for all restaurants in NYC to open back up as normal again. When they do I will make another list of restaurants to visit for you guys!

This gold tournament at Donald Trump country Club in New Jersey was the last event I worked before....well continue to scroll and I will tell you....

Mama to be Rosie threw a fabulous baby shower!!!! She is such a beautiful mother. Due any day now so I am anxiously awaiting the call from her that baby has arrived! I have bet it is a boy!

These pictures are from my very last days in New York.

I have been feeling for a while that I am very homesick. I miss my family, i miss the lifestyle, the culture, the food, my friends, the nature, holidays and traditions.

At this point of my life priorities has changed and values might be different than they were 10 years ago. Time is very precious and currently I have 3 vacation weeks per year. Working for an American corporation that is definitely fair and square. So please don't get me wrong. My company has only done right by me but my point is that this set up is challenging for me with my life puzzle.

Since I have my family an ocean away it means that for me to attend birthdays, Christmas or even funerals I need to travel and use vacation days. Unlike any other (or many) Americans who can see their families on weekends or possibly even more often. So by the time I have seen my family for Christmas (the most important day of my year) and once more I am out of any time off until next year.

That means that vacation somewhere warm with my husband, ski trips with my brothers, long weekends with friends is just impossible for me. In this chapter of my life that is not an option anymore. I tell myself that I am in my best years still, no children yet and I have my health (knock on wood).

This is the time I should enjoy life, travel and create the memories I can look back on when I am old and grey. Life is not always and only about work, career and money.

The wheels are just spinning faster and faster. Time is running like sand through my fingers and at the same time we are suffering from a pandemic. My family and friends can't visit me and I have to travel long ways to see them.

In general I just feel like life isn't that much fun anymore. Nothing is fun anymore. Well, looking back at my chronicle here I do see fun moments but in the bigger picture I need to change something.

The day when i learned that my father has cancer gave me the push that I think I needed. I had no choice but to tell my bosses that I need to leave. I just had to go home. I need to be with my family. Everybody has been great with understanding, there are no hard feelings and I am possibly going back when things settle and I can return to NYC.

Since I have to fly direct with Cash the only option now is Copenhagen. Thank God I have Marie who is kind enough to pick me up and drive me all the way home! Not only that, she also cut my moms hair and fills our entire house with an amazing energy!

Every Christmas we do a family bake day! This year was just in a smaller scale since we want to respect the guidelines.

Nicoline invited me, Emelie and Gabriella for dinner out one night in Norrköping, we were the only guest there - perfect!

These pictures are taken in the little town Valdemarsvik where we currently live. It is such a cute little village especially in the summer!

Meet my current roommates!

This is my brother Magnus. We share the same father, my other siblings share the same mother with me.

We have a very special bond. Believe it or not but we have never had a fight.

He lives with his family on a big farm and we have so much fun there!

One of the highlights this winter has been Tyrones promotion. He works very hard and is such a go-getter! He has been promoted to Sergeant and I am VERY proud of him! Not only is he a provider and protector he is also the most understanding and caring man I could possibly wish for in times like these. I am away from him for quite some time and he supports me 100% and insists I am doing the right thing. Thank you for always being there for me!!!

Do you recognize the guy to the right?

Christmas 2020. We were not all together because of Covid but we made it work!

My brother Tomas ( "Totte")

My 3rd brother Anders ("Manne") and his family joined via zoom!

Cash and Flow turned 11 years old December 30th! We celebrated with their fav meatball-cake!

For Christmas I got a new camera that I am trying to learn. We took a family walk new years eve and I took some pictures in my hometown Söderkoping last week. This is my fav place in the entire world!

New years eve was just spent at home with my mom and uncle playing "Bingolotto" ( my new hobby) and solving crosswords. We ate a nice dinner but drank no champagne. We are going to celebrate NYE when my dad is back home. Then we have something to celebrate!

Just a warning LOL, this will be a very long blog update! Probably the longest one ever so I have divided it in 2 parts!

Usually I am very excited to write my summary of the past year but 2020 was not great. Not for anyone I am guessing. I feel like a lot of time has been wasted, too many people lost their lives, many were suffering, riots, failing businesses and tons of loneliness. But let's start from the beginning!

It has kind of become a tradition now. If I am in NYC December 31st I am usually alone since my man works all holidays. So I ring in the new year at Kyma with my friends who work there. Sitting at the bar having dinner for 1 is something that might sound lonely for some of you but for me it is a comfort zone.

After Kyma I made it to Elsies rooftop to celebrate with Kanvar and Maggie!

Kanvars sweet parents

The week after I went on a trip I was looking forward to A LOT! Company trip to Mexico!!

First stop was Jalisco (town of tequila) and our distillery.

After a full day at the distillery we rode through the agave fields and this was def my highlight of this entire trip!

That night we had dinner under a big tree in the middle of the agave field. Such a memorable experience that i wish I could do again!

We then flew to Cabo San Lucas for another few days together. Conferences and a lot of fun in this warm paradise!

One of my fav co-workers Haley who runs Washington DC.

This is George Strait. We share the love and passion for Còdigo 1530 Tequila. He is one of our founding investors.

One night we played baseball, I don't remember who won but I can not imagine myself having anything to do with a winning sportsteam LOL

We played beer+tequila pong:-)

This is Fede, also one of our founders. One of the days they rented a big yacht for all of us. After the horseback riding through the agave fields this was the most fun activation!

What a trip, I will never forget! Very blessed and thankful to be included in this very talented family who makes our tequila the fastest growing in the world!

It is still January when I come back to NYC and life continued as normal. One of the firsts events I had 2020 was held at Guggenheims house on Long Island.

My grandma-in-law turned 80!!

One of the best dates we had in 2020 was axe-throwing in Brooklyn! I can def recommend that!

I spent a lot of time with Rosie and her husband Nick. Friends are the family you chose!

It was not long before I had to return to Sweden....

....for a very sad reason. We had a death in my family. My aunt passed away in January 2020.

We spent quality time outdoors with our dogs and I introduced my father to airbrush tanning! He is now hooked:-)

I was back in New York in February and the pandemic was just about to hit us. We were forced to accept a new lifestyle and wearing a mask is now the new normal. We spent months in quarantine and that was a new experience!

I have never before spent this much time watching movies and series. Here is a list of what I enjoyed the most on TV while quarantined:

• Mindhunter (Netflix)
• Ozark (Netflix)
• Evil Genius (Netflix)
• The Greenbook (Netflix)
• The Surgeons Cut (Netflix)
• Hereditary

We both tested positive for COVID 19 in March. Luckily we were able to power through it, a lot of people did not. For a few days I had difficulties breathing but other than that the loss of taste and smell was the most annoying!

Spring slowly arrived to New York and I spent a lot of time gardening. It was a new hobby I never enjoyed before! I planted flowers, strawberries, peppers, dill, thyme and tomatoes. I learned a few things along the way so I feel more confident about my garden bed for this spring!

This was the year when working from home is what most of us got used to and "Zoom calls" were used instead of meetings face to face.

I took an online class and earned my tequila certification!

Eventually we were allowed to move around outside and restaurants started to partially open up outdoors. Many were offering to-go solutions and it became evident how restless and socially thirsty us New Yorkers were!

Our fav restaurant "Lou Lou" opened and we drank the famous "bird cocktail (Mexican Stiletto) like fish! :-)

Tyrone's birthday is in April and this year I rented a fighter jet for him. The pilot took him for a wild spin in Mach 3. They flew upside down and made a lot of loops- I would NEVER want to experience a flight like that! I he was very excited though and I know he loved it:-)

After the flight I had planned a pic nic in Central Park and after that we had dinner at a secret location who opened up just for us that night (it was still not allowed with indoor dining). Nick and Rosie join us and we enjoyed a "night out"!

Being the market manager for 2 states means a lot of windshield-time in my car! I would say that I drive 3-9 hours every single day!

My birthday was May 22nd and this year we didn't really do much. I am obsessed with goats and got a goat-cake for breakfast! Ended up at our second "living room" Lou Lou:-)