Today I woke up early in order to finish up some work and address some issues with my architectural diploma. Fun rules and laws make every step of the way so hard but at least there is light in the tunnel.

After several hours of endless emails and phone calls I can finally sit down and relax with my favorite coffee and read my feed full with news from my favorite bloggers!

( For coffee lovers..scroll down for my favorite recipe for coffee! )

I love how bright the day is today even for a winter day in the middle of January here in Norway.

There is something about this white light that covers the mountains and the valley that I find magical.

I am still searching for a tripod however. Now that I have my remote control back I miss a tripod even more. Natural lovely light can only get you so far when it comes to taking great photos in the morning, there are some dark shady corners that will always elude you.

In other house news in a few weeks we are finally incorporating the final touches to our living room and our walk in closet. I call it a walk in closet but it is really a tiny spare bedroom that will serve as our new closet space. I am so excited about this because ever since I moved in this house I barely have space to fully unload my luggage.

I promised a great coffee recipe though!

Well what makes it great is my homemade vanilla essence.

So easy to make. Just get an empty jar , fill it with vodka and drop in all those used vanilla beans that you always feel bad for throwing away. Best part of this? Everytime you find yourself with a new carved up vanilla bean, just open the jar and add that one in as well. You can keep doing that forever. The essence is ready to use after just a few days!

For a great coffee just brew your favorite coffee, add a tablespoon of your homemade vanilla essence, a dollop of cream and top with some cinnamon.