The things that make you feel warm and fuzzy

Torgerstuen is just such a place. It means Torgers' sitting room and that is exactly how it feels. You walk off Åkerbergveien near Tøyen and into a warm, mellow and quirky, but unusually beautiful room with friendly faces and a deliciously relaxing, inspiring and heartwarming feel. The atmosphere and the cafe is created by sisters Mette and Trine Torgerstuen and it feels that everything is done with absolute love, care and an attention to detail, with freshly prepared food and beautiful flowers in every part of the cafe. You could not wish to meet two more lovely people and i do feel that there are some days where there is no where else i would rather be. It lifts my soul and makes me feel in some way like i am coming home. I know this may sound over the top but it was a place in the early days of living in Oslo, when the snow fell daily and the city had that wonderful bubble like winter wonderland feel, where i felt i could just go whenever i needed to feel seen. Even though i knew people in Oslo they were out at work all day while i was at home with my 5 month old son. I had a golden opportunity to explore the city which i did almost every day and loved, but it was often lonely and for this reason Torgerstuen became a haven.
Funnily enough being alone so much gave me the chance to start taking on board just how huge the recent changes to my life had been and to acknowledge how much i had been reeling from them. I became a mum just a week after my father in law died, an incredible man, and not long after that we started to pack up our house in order to move to Norway when our son was just 4 months old. This time meant that i could really begin to fully enjoy being a mum and spending time with Theodore without the huge stress of the impending move and the thought of the loss of support of my family and friends. I could just relax into it all, drinking him in and living more in rhythm with him which is really a nescessity if you are to keep sane and alive when you are a new mum. When Theodore allowed i could sit and read, drink chai lattes, gosh what decadence it felt like (heaven to discover now living in Oslo that the city had caught up since my holiday visits and now served soya milk)and let the world take care of itself.
A huge huge heartfelt thank you goes out to Mette, Trine and Bruno who made me feel so welcome and still do, they gave me a place.
If you are in the neighbourhood or even if you have to trek a fair distance to have that home baked bread or just to sit and drink in the atmosphere, do go and visit Torgerstuen, there really is no need for an introduction, it simply speaks for itself.
Update: Torgerstuen is now Det Grønne Kjokken, see my blog post about that here.