One thing I love here is how easy gift-wrapping is. In America, it was either not an option, or you had to pay a fee if you wanted a purchase wrapped at the store.

Not in Norway! Continue reading Wrap it up →

Tucked in a corner behind a door in our entry way hangs an item I didn’t even known existed before moving to Europe. And yet, in these months of snow and slush (and in the rainy months as well, in fact), it’s come to be a favorite.

Meet our shoe dryer.

Yes, it is a beautiful thing. Not aesthetically, of course. But when it comes to all those wet gloves and snow shoes that show up in our house this time of year, this little gadget is a lifesaver.

I mean, have you smelled a pair of gloves that your kid used while playing in the snow and then left in their backpack? Nasty.

And have you ever wondered how long it takes for a pair of snow boots to completely dry out on the inside after a busy day of throwing snow balls, building snowmen, and digging snow tunnels? Somewhere in the neighborhood of an eternity.

But this handy tool dries things out without warping or shrinking them like can happen in the dryer. Or without the noise of shoes in the dryer. Or the damage that can cause.

We just slip the gloves or boots over the ends of the hoses, and rotate the timer, and cool air blows for the selected amount of time.

And with two boys, we opted for the model that dries two pairs (shoes or gloves) at once.

A shoe dryer. Just another of the things we’ve learned to love while living here!