Soulful Voices Choirs in Concert May 13th 2023

June 28, 2023 / Johanna Gard

Soulful Voices Choirs in Concert May 13th 2023

Hope everyone is having a wonderful summer!

After my computer crashed the first time I tried to put this blog together, here’s finally the Soulful Voices concert recap! (And if anyone needs to know how to fix a computer.. call me (actually, don’t :)

However, if you wanna sing with us this fall, don’t forget to register!

Click here if you wanna be a part of Soulful Voices Choirs.

Press play on the red button below to listen to a mix from Soulful Voices, the adult choir.

Soulful Kids

Press play on the red button below to listen to Soulful Kids.

Soulful Teens

Press play to listen to a mix of Soulful Teens performing.

Listen to all Soulful Voices Choirs sing Hero together.

The fantastic musicians: Manfred Hulebo, Filip Tegerstrand, Jonatan Lundin and Simon Liljeblad.

Press play on the red button below to listen to all choirs sing Pinks Never Gonna Not Dance Again.

I had so much fun, and I’m so proud of all the wonderful singers in all the different choirs in Soulful Voices Choirs. Thank you all! A special thank you to Hammarbykyrkan who let us sing in your beautiful church, and to Joel who always does an excellent job as a sound engineer.

Have a beautiful summer!

Love,

Johanna

Photographer: Sebastian Ekman

MORE ABOUT SOULFUL VOICES

Comment 0 Likes

tags / Kör, Konsert, Choir, Barnkör, Soulful Teens, Körsång, Soulful Voices, Soulful Kids

Soulful Voices Choirs November Concert 2022

January 25, 2023 / Johanna Gard

Soulful Voices Choirs IN Concert NOVEMBER 2022

We had another super fun fall together in Soulful Voices Choirs, and we ended it with a soled out concert on November 19th. Here’s the highlights from our concert. Enjoy!

Soundcheck before the concert, and the temperature was freezing, but as soon as the audience filled up the place, we weren’t cold anymore.

Opening the doors to the audience and then it’s showtime.

Press play on the video below to listen to bits from Soulful Voices.

Press play on the video below to listen to “Step By Step”.

Listen to Soulful Voices sing our Ed Sheeran Medley on the video below.

Soulful Kids

Press play on the video below to listen to Soulful Kids!

Soulful Teens and Soulful Kids singing together.

Soulful Teens

Press play on the video below to listen to Soulful Voices and Soulful Teens when they sing Alicia Keys song “Underdog”.

Press play on the video below to listen to Soulful Teens.

Filip sounding as great as usual.

Anton, another one of our great singers.

Amy singing Kiss From A Rose so beautifully.

The band: Benjamin Koverman on guitar, Axel Karlsson on keys, Per “Perlan” Hansson on bass and Simon Liljeblad on drums.

Press play on the video below to listen to “Om du bar mina skor/ Walk A Mile In My Shoes” with Soulful Kids and Soulful Voices.

No concert without confetti! Press play on the video below to listen to our grand finale songs: “We’re All In This Together” and “Celebration”.

Thank you everyone in Soulful Voices Choirs for being a part of this, and thank you everyone who came out to listen to our concert. If you’re interested in joining on of our groups, read more about the adult choir click here and to read more about our kids choir and teen choir, click here

See you all next time!

Love,

Johanna

Photographer: Sebastian Ekman

Comment 0 Likes

categories / Concert, Choir, Music
tags / Soulful Voices, Stockholm Kör, Soulful Teens, Soulful Kids, Tonårskör, Barnkör, Kör

Soulful Voices Spring Concert May 14th 2022

June 20, 2022 / Johanna Gard

Here’s finally the highlights from Soulful Voices spring concert on May 14th. After every concert I say: “that was our best concert “, and this time was no different. We’ve captured bits from almost every song, and I’ve posted the songs in the order of the concert, so if you missed our concert you could almost pretend you were there. Here’s a lot of material, so pop the popcorn and get comfortable and ready to watch “Soulful Voices in Concert May 14th 2022”.

The choirs were accompanied by the fantastic musicians: Manfred Hulebo on piano, Filip Ericsson on guitar, Per “Perlan” Hansson on bass and Simon Liljeblad on drums.

Click on the video below to listen to “My Love Is Your Love”.

Click on the video below to listen to “That’s What I believe”

Soulful Kids

Click to listen to Soulful Kids version of “the Family Madrigal” song.

Click below to listen to “Vi har aldrig haft något annat val”.

Soulful Teens joined Soulful Kids to sing the song “Ja må du leva idag”. Click on the video below to listen.

SOULFUL TEENS

Click on the videos below to listen Soulful Teens sing “Come Along” and “Pay Attention”.

Click on the video below to listen to Soulful Voices version of Adele’s “Easy On Me” and Pink’s “What About Us”.

Click on the videos to listen to Soulful Kids singing “Låt kärleken slå rot”, “Chiquitita” and “Lyckligt slut”.

Below you can listen to Soulful Voices singing Mary J. Blige’s “Be Without You”.

Listen to Soulful Teens singing Million To One and King of Anything.

I Love this song “Stand Up” from the movie “Harriet”. Soulful Voices and Soulful Teens sang it so beautifully together.

We had our concert on the same day as the Eurovision Song Contest, so of course we did a medley in that theme with a little bit of singalong too.

On the video below, Soulful Voices sings Imagine Dragons “Believer”.

“Never Lost”, a song written Chris Brown, Steven Furtick and Tiffany Hammer in 2020.

Getting ready for the grand finale with their heart shaped balloons.

Listen to all our choirs singing a medley from the musical West Side Story.

Listen to our encore, a mash-up with “Where Is the Love” and “You’re the Voice”

A big thank you to every choir member, the fantastic musicians and everyone who came out to listen to our concert. What an amazing audience, thank you so much for cheering us on. If you wanna join any of our groups when we start up again in the fall of 2022, just click right here to read more and enroll.

All photos by Benjamin Samsundin

Comment 0 Likes

categories / Choir, Music, Concert
tags / Soulful Voices, Soulful Teens, Soulful Kids, Stockholm Kör

Concert with Soulful Voices 2021

January 02, 2022 / Johanna Gard

On November 20th, for the first time in two years, we could finally perform our Soulful Voices concert. We had so much fun, and here’s some highlights from our concert.

Rehearsal.

SHOWTIME

Press play to listen to “Because You Loved Me”.

The fabulous musicians, Magnus Ahlgren, Tobias Tagesson, Petter Alin and Axel Karlsson.

SOULFUL KIDS

Listen to Soulful Kids on the video below.

SOULFUL TEENS

Listen to Soulful Teens on the video below.

So many talented singers, and so many beautiful solos! Press play to listen to the videos below.

There’s something about music that brings people together, no matter how old or young you are. Listen to “Just Sing” below, one of my favorite moments from this concert.

Every concert needs a little confetti.

Listen to “Into the Unknown” below.

A big thank you to all of the wonderful singers in Soulful Voices, the musicians and all of you who came out to listen to us! We hope to see you all again next time.

To join one of our choirs, click here!

Photos by Tim Aro.

Comment 0 Likes

categories / Choir, Music
tags / Soulful Voices, Konsert, Kör, Barnkör, Tonårskör, Soulful Kids, Soulful Teens, Johanna Gard

My Bachelorette Party

November 29, 2020 / Johanna Gard

Hello friends,

I finally got all the lovely photos and a movie from my Bachelorette Party, and they’re so great so I really wanted to share this with you. Hands down the best Bachelorette Party ever. My face was hurting for two days from laughing so hard.

So in short, me and my bridesmaids were suppose to try our dresses together that day at 1pm. I was preparing and was feeling kind of nervous, I guess I had a feeling something was up. At exactly 1 pm someone rang the doorbell. I looked out through the peep-hole and just saw sheet music.
I supposed it was my sister who had brought music for the wedding and was just being silly, but when I opened the door, there was Helena who takes singing lessons from me. I was so confused. My mind was raising. How could I have missed that we had booked a class in the middle of summer. First she played along, pretending that we actually had booked a class, then she said: “Well alright then, we’re gonna do this instead”, and gave me a card, a beautiful rose and chocolate hearts (which Erik already ate a bunch from before I even had a chance to take a picture!!!). So the girls had arranged with Helena to come over to my place and hand over the card with the instructions. It said that we had a change of plans, and that I was gonna go to Östermalm by subway (and that I had no choice but to go by subway) and that I was suppose to dress up and be there sharp 2.17pm. I got sooo excited and nervous all at once time, and I actually ended up arriving early to Östermalm.

At 2.17 sharp I took the escalator up one floor, and there I see the Spiderman, leaning towards the wall, wearing high heels. I just new it was Becka even though her face was covered. I couldn’t stop laughing.

This was such a hot and sunny day, like 30 degrees celsius. We were so sweaty. Imagine walking around with this mask on, LOL.

So, Becka handed me a sign that basically said that my Chanel shoes exceeded the wedding budget and that I needed support to finance my wedding. She turned the music on with a karaoke track with “What I Feeling” and then I started singing.

From a distance I spot my sister Evelina, standing all by herself in the middle of Stureplan, dressed up as the Iprenmannen, IN HIGH HEELS. (For those of you who’s not from Sweden: Iprenmannen was an iconic painkiller commercial in the 90’s). I almost died cause I laughed so hard when I saw her. It takes a special kind of confidence to stand all by yourself for 20 minutes dressed like this with a guitar, at Stureplan Stockholm. I got a new sign from my sister that said that I couldn’t afford to hire my favorite artist Lotta Engberg for my wedding, and that I needed support to finance it.

I’m sorry to each and everyone who could not drink their coffee in peace do to our loud singing!

Look at that lil’ blue hand pushing me towards the “audience”.

The heals though…

Three darn sweaty entertainers in need of a darn soda!

We walk on and find Darth Vader, of course she was also wearing high heels! Dart Vader handed me a sign that said that only the hairdresser who works for the Royal Family is good enough for my wedding, so that I needed money to afford it. Haha!

Below is a video Becka (Spiderman) put together for me!

I just love how they dressed up and made fun of themselves, instead of the traditional way to make fun of the bride to be. That’s my friends y’all! When I asked my sister who came up with this funny idea, she said: “Out of the blue, mid Bachelorette party planning, Becka just blurted out: How about I show up as Spiderman!?!” Ha ha ha!

During the day, the girls showed up, one after another.

When Eve finally gave up on the heels.

When we were done performing we went for a limo ride. The driver asked what kind of music we would like to listen to, and of course we wanted to hear some Whitney Houston.

The ladies!

This picture says it all!!!

Video below from this AWESOME ride!

A drink at the Hallwylska Museum.

What a perfect day! Just look at us strolling through Stockholm!

In deep conversation with Ida!

Anna, thank you for listening to all my details about the wedding! Love you!

We walked down to the harbor, and there were lovely Moh and Klas waiting for us with their boats! I mean, hello! Dream day!!!

Snacks and a boat ride on the most beautiful summer day!

Here’s Anna with Becka (Spiderman) and Johanna (Darth Vader). Gorgeous girls!

Me and Lina loving the boat ride (and the driver of course).

My wonderful cousin Jenny!

The most perfect summer night. Stockholm archipelago is the best.

My sister Alexandra in the green dress.

Dinner with the sweetest speeches and gifts!

Wherever you go; always bring a hook with you!

One happy bride to be!

Masterminds behind this party was my wonderful bridemaids…

… and my sister Evelina.

My sweet Erik picked me up at the end of the night and loved hearing ALL the details about my day. A big thank you to all the girls who made this day UNFORGETTABLE! Love you all!!

Photo och Video Credit: Video by Elin Garcia. Photos by Elin, Rebecka and the rest of the girls at the party. Editing by Rebecka Claesson.

2 Comments 1 Likes

categories / Bachelorette Party
tags / Bachelorette Party, Fjäderholmarna, Iprenmannen, Spriderman, Darth Vader

Dinner With the Girls

October 18, 2020 / Johanna Gard

Hello there!

Another weekend has come and gone. I feel like the weeks just flies by! I went out for a little dinner with the girls yesterday. I really needed this!!!

Thank you Johanna Denebi for taking these photos, because I failed miserably at the mirror selfies :) Also, check out her blog at jdenebi.com

We choose the tasting menu with 7 courses (!!!). It was delicious, but a little more food than I could handle. The funny part was that we all thought we were waiting for desert when the main dish arrived. I looked at the meat and for a second I thought the meat was chocolate. Haha! Took me a moment to adjust and eat. The actual dessert is pictured below.

Me and beautiful Ida!

Thank you girls for such a fun evening!

I’ve been considering getting a dog for a while, but yesterday I met Klas and Ida’s cat. I usually keep a little bit of distance to cats, (would say I’m almost a little scared to get scratched and for them to arrive with a mouse in their mouth). Then I met Morris. Now I feel like I need a cat, this cat specifically! I signed up as their cat sitter for starters. Such a social, cosy and beautiful guy!!!

This morning one of my singing groups, Soulful Kids in Bromma, sang in church. They did such a good job! I’m so proud!

Okay, tomorrow is Monday and a new week! I hope you’ll have a great one!

Love,

Johanna

Comment 0 Likes

categories / Lifestyle Blogger, Choir
tags / Lifestyle Blog, Soulful Kids, Bromma, Barnkör, Dinner

Sunday Stroll

October 11, 2020 / Johanna Gard

“Winter is an etching, spring a watercolor, summer an oil painting and autumn a mosaic of them all.”

― Stanley Horowitz

Happy Sunday!

I love the fall season. Always have! It’s the feeling of beginnings, the crisp air and the colors. It’s been such a wonderful day in Stockholm today.

After a very busy September with our wedding and everything that comes with it, we’ve been tired (to say the very least). Yesterday I just couldn’t get myself out of the house, partly because of the rain but mostly because I was so tired. Today I woke up all energized. After a weekend with lots of rain the sun was shining through my curtains and the sky was blue. I stepped out on my balcony this morning and shouted out: what a beautiful day! By the way, as I’m writing this I’m watching UEFA Nationas League, and the weather is anything but great. Poor guys! Go Sweden!

I couldn’t wait to get out today and just enjoy the day. Church, and lunching with my parents and then me and my hubby (!!!) took a stroll

Have a great week friends!

Love,

Johanna

Comment 0 Likes

categories / Life Blog
tags / Lifestyle Blog, Autumn, Fall Colors

Up North!

September 13, 2020 / Johanna Gard

A lot of things haven’t gone as planned in 2020, like celebrating my moms BIG birthday in March. However, we had planned to go to her hometown Dikanäs, all of us in the family. And we were able to do that, and it was such an amazing trip. I’ve been thinking for a while that I need to share this trip in a blog, and here we go!

Driving up to Dikanäs, or Saxnäs where we stayed, was a good 10 hour drive. Dikanäs is located about 800 km north of Stockholm. Me and Erik actually really enjoyed the drive with all the beautiful views.

On day one we went on mountain hiking. There’s a lot of mosquitoes in the north of Sweden so I geared up before leaving Stockholm. I got the net, I got the boots, we got mosquitoes repulsers, we got it all now, haha! I did however forget a second backpack so I ended up walking with my extra shoes in a little bag. Not so experienced in the wild after all… at least it’s been a while since I did this kind of thing!

We used to do those hikes as a family each time we went up here to visit grandma. So when we got up to the rest area I immediately recognized myself! All the childhood memories from these places, like in the winter time when we went sliding down the hill on our sledges.

Hello gorgeous views!

Drinking water from the stream is a must.

Reaching the top!

When we came back to Dikanäs we went to eat a very classic Swedish Northern food called Palt. A friend of mom runs this Palt-restaurant in the summer. She also makes clothes, and I couldn’t resist buying this knitted sweater. The place is called Sagabodens mat och MC-museum. The cook is called Birgitta.

Erik loves fishing, and of course this was like a dream destination for him! Here together with Torbjörn (or TeeBee as we like to call him).

The rest of us were just enjoying the night…

My dad coulda been a model for all I care! It’s not too late dad!

Fishing line getting stuck, too funny not to post.

Destination Dikanäs! Here’s on the way over there with my mom and my sisters.

Fika at a local spot at Dikanäs.

Visiting my grandparents, and three of moms siblings grave. Very emotional.

Tour led by mom in Dikanäs.

Here’s her school. (In Lappland you naturally write Palt on the wall when you do graffiti).

My grandfather was a pastor, but he also built houses. Here’s two of my moms homes that grandpa built. Grandpa helped tear down a house in the village, and built the house to the right from the remains from the house he tore down. Isn’t that amazing!

So many beautiful memories from visiting grandma at the this house. It used to be red back in the days. In the winter times we jumped from the roof down in the snow, and that little brown house in the background was our play house.

Kittelfjäll

This is where mom and dad had their wedding party and wedding portrait.

48 years later.

The nowadays closed Hamreby, aka Sport Albins, opened up especially for us so that we could do some nostalgia shopping. I LOVED this shop as a kid. They had EVERYTHING.

Me and my baby!

Last night in Lappland!

The nights up north is something else! This is around 10 in the evening.

On our way home we did some last fishing. My lil’ fisherman had such a hard time leaving this place, and I don’t blame him.

Stoping for dinner at Höga Kusten.

Somewhere in Norrland.

A little short video below, for those of you who can’t get enough :)

Thank you mom for initiating this wonderful trip! We will never forget it, and we wanna go back soon!

Comment 1 Likes

categories / Travel Blog
tags / Travel Blog, Travel Inspiration, Sweden, Lappland, Road Trip

Fall Flower Decor

September 12, 2020 / Johanna Gard

Hi all,

Last weekend when Erik was away on his bachelor party (we´re getting closer and closer to our date!!!) I went to the flower shop to get a little something, and ended up filling the whole balcony. I just love September, and I love the colors of fall. I just couldn’t stop myself. Happy weekend!

Comment 1 Likes

categories / Home Decor
tags / Flowers, Balcony, Decor, Fall Colors, Pumpkins

Top Twenty From Twenty Nineteen

December 30, 2019 / Johanna Gard

Hi there!

Tomorrow is new years eve, and before I’m all set for 2020 I wanna say goodbye properly to 2019 with a top twenty from the year. I’m actually not ranking the moments, but my number one is my number one!

20. Cali

Sunny Cali never lets me let down. I always love to go back to the city of angels, to go to concerts, see my friends and get musically inspired.

19. So many fun moments with this one, I could pick any!

18. Singing for George Clooney

I know this is not George in this picture, cause it’s actually the fantastic Andre De Lange that I got to sing together with a couple of times this year, backed up by Putte Nelssons lovely choir “Team Putte”. Here’s at the City Hall where George Clooney was the keynote speaker.

17. Changing up my kitchen

To the left is the before picture, (I hope you figured that one out without the explanation). Since it was brand new when I moved in I didn’t want to change it completely (I wanted to but I felt too bad about it for several reasons). It really lacked charm and personality. What I did was to just change it up a bit and now I really like my kitchen. I got the fridge out pretty fast and sold it online to somebody who was happy to get a brand new fridge for a cheap price. Instead I put a Smeg in. (It’s the second time I buy a Smeg fridge and I love it.) Then I just changed the door handles to leather ones, the sink and tap to brass colored ones, and the countertop to one in granite color. That’s it!

16. Pretty winter days

15. Celebrating sweet Anna’s big 40

14 … and here just a summer lunch together!

13. One of the fun nights out with the fabulous four!

12. Singing at the “Show the Way” Gala

11. Singing with Petter

10. Girl talk with my lil’ niece Scarlett.

9. Boating with Eriks brother and wife!

8. Fishing with the boys

7. When all of our families got together so celebrate our engagement!

6. Our weekend up in Sälen celebrating Christian’s big 40.

F0B0AA7B-E944-4737-8AD4-EF66610D5DBA 2.JPG

5. Soulful Voices

So proud of my choir Soulful Voices! It’s been an incredible year, and I can’t wait to get started again in a month!

4. Here’s when we performed at the Stockholm City Hall.

3. Christmas!

This year we celebrated with my whole family, and our last year as an engaged couple!

2. Greece with my baby!

1. Getting engaged!

Of course my number one is the night Erik proposed to me. We were celebrating my birthday, and Erik had prepared a trip for me and kept it all a secret until we got there. I had a feeling something was going on because during dinner he was obviously nervous. He’s not the clumsy kind of guy, but he kept on spilling his food, and all of a sudden he started singing “going to the chapel, gonna get married”. Not a song he usually hums on, and that made me really suspicious. After dinner he took me out to the veranda and got down on one knee and proposed. Of course I said yes, and 2020 we’re getting married, and I can’t wait.

Goodbye 2019, and hello 2020 - the year I’ll be getting married. More about that on the blog in a couple of weeks! Happy New Year folks!

Comment 1 Likes

categories / Home Decor, Lifestyle Blogger, Music, Fashion, Travel
tags / Lifestyle Blog, Home Decor, Smeg, Music, Petter, Soulful Voices, Home Renovation, Los Angeles, Greece

Soulful Voices in Concert, November 23, 2019

December 05, 2019 / Johanna Gard

Soulful Voices Choirs has done yet another super fun concert! I feel so lucky that I get to lead all these wonderful people as a choir director. Here’s some highlights from our concert. (Click on pictures to make them bigger).

All photos taken by Sebastian Ekman.

Last preparations before showtime.

SOULFUL VOICES

Press play on the video below to hear some highlights from Soulful Voices.

Soulful Kids

Press play on the video below to hear some highlights from Soulful Kids!

Press play on the video below to hear some highlights from Soulful Voices Alicia Keys Medleys.

SOULFUL TEENS

Press play on the video below to hear some highlights from Soulful Teens.

I’m so impressed with all of the great soloists in Soulful Voices!

Press play below to hear all the choirs in Soulful Voices sing “Higher Love.”

The amazing musicians! On keys: Manfred Hulebo, on base: Per Perlan Hansson, on guitar: Filip Ericsson, and on the drums: Emil Söderteg.

A big thank you to every singer, to the musicians, and also to everyone who came out to see our concert! Hope to see you all in 2020.

To join Soulful Voices, click here!

Comment 0 Likes

categories / Music
tags / Soulful Voices, Stockholm Kör, Konsert, Concert, Johanna Gard, Barnkör, Ungdomskör, Soulful Kids

Greece Recap

August 19, 2019 / Johanna Gard

Hi!

I went to Zakynthos in Greece a couple of weeks ago, and I’d love to share some thoughts and pictures with you. In case you’re thinking about going to Greece, or to Zakynthos specifically, I hope this will be helpful for you!

On our way to Zakynthos we made a quick visit to Athens. First of all, I was so surprised by all the marble in Athens, so gorgeous!

If you’re into history you’ll appreciate Athens. On picture number 1 you have Acropolis of Athens. On picture number 2 you have the prison of Socrates. On picture number 3 you have the location for where the Olympic Games started, and on picture number 4 you have the armor you can buy to prove that you’ve been to a tourist shop in Athens!

My only regret was that we didn’t stay over for a night. As we were walking around, I only had a little backpack with me, but it was way too hot to carry anything. I never felt more in need of a shower than when we finally got to the hotel at Zakynthos, haha!

Thank you babe for carrying my backpack as well!l

As you all probably know, Greece is a super popular tourist destination. I actually didn’t mind, it was kind of a fun game to guess where people were from. When I first booked our hotel, I booked one in Zakynthos city, but then changed to another hotel outside of the city. I’m super happy about that because although Zakynthos city was a nice place, it’s very touristy and busy with, yes, tourists.

When I travel, I really don’t want to waste my time accidentally going to the “wrong” places or in this case, “wrong” beaches. I think we found some really awesome destinations. Here’s my review of some beaches we visited.

1. Kalamaki Beach

This is where we stayed at Zakynthos, and I really liked it. It’s a peaceful resort 7 km from the town of Zakynthos. It has plenty of restaurants but the night life is pretty quiet, (which is what I prefer) The beach is also a production place for the famous Caretta sea turtles. There’s turtle nests on the beach, and if you’re lucky you might see some turtles.

2. Laganas

I liked Laganas until I didn’t like it. It’s cute to walk over the bridge to the little island . (You pay an entrance fee about 5 euros). It’s a cool beach etc , but it was super crowded. We hung out there for about an hour, and then we walked over to Agrilia beach. It was very peaceful for a few hours.

It all of a sudden it turned into a CRAZY beach party. Seriously not my cup of tea. That’s when we went back to the hotel and hung out at the wonderful pool.

3. Vasilikos

AMZING beach! Love love loved it! If you want action, this is not for you. But if you’re like me and love a beautiful peaceful beach with a stunning view, this is definitely for you!

4. Porto Limnionas

Maybe we got there on a extra busy day, we weren’t even able to get sun chairs because it was so crowded, but what a gorgeous beach. If you get there around 10am you should be fine. Awesome for snorkeling. Would not recommend this place if you have very young kids, or if you’re having trouble walking. It’s pretty steep, and it’s kind of tricky to get in the water.

5. Porto Azzuro Vassilikos

Another really awesome beach that I highly recommend. It’s also the only beach we went to, that had a little bit of waves, which was nice when I was on my little mattress.

Okay guys, that’s it for this time! Hope you enjoyed it. Thank you so much for reading!

Love,

Johanna

Comment 0 Likes

categories / Lifestyle Blogger
tags / Travel Blog, Greece, Zakythos

Down South Baby…

July 17, 2019 / Johanna Gard

Hello friends!

How is the summer treating you? I’m currently in the south part of Sweden, Blekinge, where my fiancé is from. Before I met my Erik I rarely spent time here. I feel like I’ve missed out. Seriously… So happy that Erik is from such a gorgeous place so I get to spend so much time here.

We took a little day trip today to Skåne, which is right by the border from where we are, to Bäckaskog Castle. I realize that I’ve been taking little day trips this summer, where it’s and a bunch of 80 year olds, but I love it.

Just look at this beautiful castle!

Erik always walks up to all the signs to get all the facts… Apparently a Danish prince proposed to a Swedish princess under this tree!

Skåne and Blekinge has the most gorgeous nature. I keep on telling Erik to stop the car so I can get out and pick flowers. (I sometimes keep scissors in the car).

Back in Hällevik we took the dog for a walk.

That’s it for this time!

Love,

Johanna

1 Likes

tags / Travel Blog, Travel Inspiration, Sweden, Skåne, Blekinge, Travel

Soulful Voices Spring Concert 2019

May 22, 2019 / Johanna Gard

On May 18th 2019, my choir Soulful Voices had our spring concert! Here’s some highlights from a wonderful night!

Last prep before the show…

Show time!

Soulful Kids!

Soulful Teens and the adult choir.

So grateful for these amazing musicians who played all 18(!!!) songs without any complaints… well, they actually did comment on all my medleys, and I understand them :) Jonathan Alfredsson, Petter Alin, Douglas Hedström and Tobias Tagesson.

Thank you Soulful Voices for letting me lead you musically! I love working with you!

All photos by the talented Abraham Engelmark.

Love,

Johanna

Comment 0 Likes

categories / Choir, Music, Life Blog
tags / Soulful Voices, Johanna Gard, Stockholm Kör

Soulful Voices - Stockholm City Hall

April 28, 2019 / Johanna Gard

On the 25th of April, Soulful Voices Choir was invited to sing at SEMrush Awards at Stockholm City Hall, in the Blue Hall. Here’s some highlights from the evening!

We sang Shallow from “A Stars is Born 2018” and “We Are the Champions” by Queen.

Here’s some photos from the day. First we did a soundcheck and thorough practice on how fast we could get get down the stairs.

Stockholm City Hall, with it’s spire featuring the golden Three Crowns, is one of the most famous silhouettes in Stockholm. It is one of the country’s leading examples of national romanticism in architecture.

The great Nobel banquet is held at City Hall. After dinner in the Blue Hall, Nobel Prize laureates, royalty and guests dance in Gyllene Salen, the Golden Hall, with its 18 million gold mosaic tiles. Doesn’t it look AMAZING!

Here’s my lovely choir Soulful Voices and some additions :) Since some of my singers couldn’t attend, I borrowed some talented people from the choir Drivved.

It was soooo hard to find a place to take a group photo where we could all fit in one shot, but we kind of did it :)

Getting ready to enter the stage…

Thank you to all my wonderful singers for an amazing performance! Now I can’t wait for May 18th when we’ll have our Soulful Voices concert!

Love,

Johanna

1 Comment 0 Likes

categories / Music, Choir
tags / Soulful Voices, Johanna Gard, Stockholm City Hall, Blue Hall, Blå hallen, Shallow, We Are the Champions, Choir

It's The Most Wonderful Time of The Year

December 27, 2018 / Johanna Gard

Happy Holidays!

Hope you all have had a wonderful Christmas! Right now I’m sitting by the fire in a comfy couch writing to you. Like every year, the time leading up to Christmas can be very stressful. I keep on feeling exhausted about it, but in a way I guess I’m lucky… There’s probably people who wish they had someone to buy a gift for and to get to worry if they are gonna like it or not, and who wish they had a job to stress about. Actually, what I’m extra grateful for this year, is that I felt present in the moment. I’m pretty sure there’s a few more of you who can relate to being there but not actually being there. This year felt really special for several reasons, so I’d like to share some photos from my Christmas.

First off, we spent Christmas eve at my parents house. They live out on the countryside and it looked lovely out, while the sun was setting.

Mom always does such a great job with all the food. I don’t know how I could ever make that happen!!! I also really like the way she decorated the table! (Photobombed by dad).

I didn’t get to celebrate Christmas with my niece and nephew last year, so I felt lucky to get to do that this year!

For as long as I can remember, dad has always played Heinzelmännchens Wachtparade. A Christmas without it wouldn’t be the same!

The days before Christmas was amazingly beautiful. Couldn’t stop snapping pictures instead of working. It looks like a bit like a skiing resort. Love it. Snow makes everything so pretty… during winter time I shall add :)

Okay, Christmas was really lovely this year… Now onto New Years eve! I gotta finish the plans for the menu, how to decorate and the choice of dress.

Happy New Year!

Love,

Johanna

Comment 1 Likes

categories / Lifestyle Blogger
tags / Christmas, Family, Christmas Decor, Country side

Soulful Voices in Concert 2018

December 03, 2018 / Johanna Gard

On November 24th, my choir Soulful Voices did our concert! I think this might have been our best concert so far! I would like to share some highlights.

We did tributes to both Aretha Franklin and Michael Jackson, a medley with songs from The Greatest Showman, sang gospel songs, pop hits etc, and I can never resist making an choir arrangement of a Keith Urban song :)

Enjoy the videos and pictures below!

Lot’s of love to all the singers in my song groups! See you all in 2019!

Comment 1 Likes

Don't Let September Slip

September 16, 2018 / Johanna Gard

Hi all!

How’s the weekend been? Mine has been really great, thanks for asking!

September is really such an amazing month. Years ago I even made a playlist called September with songs to listen to during September because I was so pumped (starting with Earth Wind and Fires “September” of course). September is to great to just slip away. I made a list with things that I think you should do before September is over.

1. Make that first move towards the new project you want to set into motion.

For me September, and the start of fall, means new beginnings. New ideas and inspirations sets in during summer, and I start making plans in August. Then, as soon I get back into work, my mind gets too busy and those ideas tend to fade. It’s easy to find excuses and find the time to get started with new projects. I find it so hard to make that first step sometimes. I’m guessing I’m not alone. But I think this fall could be different. Let’s dig up those ideas and set them in motion. Maybe it’s getting that renovation or home decorating project started, or getting a work-out rutin started. Maybe you want to start up a new business and need to take that first brave step towards getting started. Experts tells us to write down those plans and set dates and have time frames for when things should get accomplished. Instead of finding excuses for not getting started, let’s do just that.

2. Enjoy nature.

Number one was demanding, that’s why I think we should also just enjoy life and nature. Let’s take those long walks, sit outdoors with a coffee in our hand and just be in the moment. On Sundays I go to church and I deceied that I will, either before or after, take walks. It’s a must to enjoy before it get’s to crazy cold to be outside without layers and layers of clothes to prevent from dying from cold.

3. Don’t dress like it’s winter quite yet.

Okay, I love black, but can we wait just a little while before we wear all black, grey and beige? I was people watching a little bit yesterday, and I saw people in black outfits, and even in scarfs and mittens… Depending on where you live, if it’s not at freezing point, don’t go there just yet. I even think you could still use some of your colourful cute summer outfits and mix them with some fallish stuff. Like a dress over a pair of jeans. It still rocks.

4. Get yourself flowers and plants!

One of my favourite things about this season is the colours of all flowers, plants and trees. I struggle to find space for all the beautiful plants I buy, but I can’t stop myself. I have to have them. I’ll find them a place eventually.

5. Turn the TV off and get yourself a great book.

Why? Because I told you so! Seriously, there’s nothing like a great book, a nice cup of tea with some candles burning. That’s why we love the fall, right! It makes you sleep better too, to read before you got to bed. It’s an awesome way to relax when the demands of work and fall makes you stressed out.

Before I go, here’s some highlights from the weekend. Dressing up because I suddenly felt the need to, all in black although I just said I think we shouldn’t. Oh well..

…and dinner with this beautiful friend!

Love,

Johanna

Comment 2 Likes

categories / Fashion, Home Decor, Lifestyle Blogger
tags / Johanna Gard, Blog, Fall Fashion, Fall Decor, Flowers

Soulful Kids

May 01, 2018 / Johanna Gard

On The 7th of April some of the children from my choir Soulful Kids performed at a concert in remembrance of the 11 year old Ebba who tragically lost her life on the terror attack in Stockholm in April 2017. The choir sang Hero, and it was really special to be a part of such a special concert alongside Swedish artists such as Lisa Ajax, Janne Schaffer, Cotton Club, Nano, Anders Ekborg, Gladys Del Pilar and many more. Here's some pictures of the choirtaken by Jimi Guldstrand from that day.

On May 16th the Soulful Voices choirs will be doing a full concert at Kyrkan vid Brommaplan at 19.00. Buy your tickets here

Comment 1 Likes

My Prague Recap

March 04, 2018 / Johanna Gard

Hello!

I decided a couple of years ago that I need to prioritise traveling to places I hadn't been before. So far, so good! I just had the opportunity to spend a few days in the beautiful capital of the Czech Republic, Prague, and I'm mesmerised! What a stunning city! If you live in Sweden there's really no reason why you shouldn't go there. It's not far away, the flight is cheap and the hotels are inexpensive. I was a little hesitant about going to Prague at the end of February since I thought it would be too chilly. Well, I was right about that! However the entire Europe was FREEZING! I haven't experienced cold like that in years. So, with that being said: I would recommend you going there later in the spring.

Here's seven reasons why I think you need to visit Prague at some point in your life!

1. The beautiful architecture and surroundings

I feel like these pictures says it all and needs no introduction!

These front doors had me dreaming...

2. The historic landmarks

Here I am staring at the Charles Bridge. It was built 1357 (I just knew off the top of my head) (okay, no I didn't but I could see it was old :) It's suppose to be one of the most beautiful bridge in the world, and I agree!

3. The concerts and the ballets

There's a huge amount of different concerts and ballets that you can go to when in Prague. I loved listening to Parnas Ensemble play. Who wouldn't want to hear a mix of Tchaikovsky, Vivaldi and Smetana etc on a Wednesday night? If I stayed longer I would have visited several concerts.

4. It's priceworthy

The food is lovely, and the hotels are nice, and you pay SO LITTLE it almost feels weird when you get the check!

5. To buy crystal and perhaps jewellery

Prague is known for their crystal and jewellery. I didn't buy any diamond rings (!!!) but I thought they were mighty pretty. A beautiful crystal carafe seems like a big enough investment to me.

As you can see on these pics my poor hands were FROZEN!!!

6. The design and decor

If you visit Deelive Design store you can buy art from new and very talented designers from the art school in Prague.

7. For views like this:

I could stare at this view forever! So romantic and beautiful that I'm ready to write a new song after this trip!

Before I let you go I have to share one last picture that just had me giggle. I'm never missing an opportunity to be in a picture. Look at me peeking out there in the crowd, ha ha!

Love,

Johanna

Comment 0 Likes

categories / Travel, Trips
tags / Praha, Prague, Travel Inspiration, Travel Blog