Ich glaube ich bin einfach glücklich, dass der Monat rum ist. Bringt mir den Juni! (Mit hoffentlich besserem Wetter).
1.) Deine Geschichte der Woche?
Die Geschichte der Woche war der Regen. Jeden. Tag. Und wie meine weißen Chucks dann letztendlich den Kampf aufgaben. Jetzt sind sie grau/weiß/mit Flecken...und Charakter ;)
2.) Wo, mit was oder wem bist du glücklich gewesen?
Mit meinen kleinen (hust) Brüdern am Montag. Denn die sind jetzt auch offiziell nicht mehr klein ;)
3.) Worauf freust du dich diesen Sonntag?
Ein bisschen Zeit einfach nur zum rumhängen.
4.) Laut gelacht?
Ganz viel mit einer der besten Freundinnen.
5.) Dein Ziel für nächste Woche?
Ganz viel qualitative Zeit hier verbringen und alle Bewerbungen fertig schreiben und abschicken! Chaka!! (Gemeint mit hier ist meine endlose Lesezeichen Liste an potenziellen Unis ;) )
I'm in the midst of applying for universities right now (uhoh exciting!) and my full time job is about to start any time soon as well (I'm so happy to get an organised schedule back. This whole every-week-is-different does have some pros but is also really exhausting).
So with this, sounding all nice and organised here comes another rant (sorrysorrysorry....though maybe you're familiar with the problem?!). You might have noticed that my kit is/was/seems-to-be-forever sick. And it didn't turn out as one of those '10-days and everything is fine again '. Nope. There were complications. Operations. More complications. By now, she's feeling much better. Except for the part, that she feels so much better now, she notices, she doesn't like her current situation. And that's where my problem starts.
She wants to be on my lap/legs/belly/arms 24/7. Non. Stop.
If she doesn't get her way, she complains.
She constantly keeps trying to remover her suit aka: get to her stitches and remove them (not that we already did that. Twice. She keeps trying).
She is still rather....uhm...clumsy with her toilet. Which stands in my room. Enough of that.
The list goes on. And on. And on.
I am so sorry! I know this is 'just' a cat. But seriously?! Sometimes she feels like a tantrum throwing toddler right now (ok it's not that bad, but close).
Anyway. This is where I wish the part of me being a super woman with no ending strength, nerves and endurance would start. Sorry to disappoint you. Not happening here.
I tried everything. It didn't help. So this afternoon (uhm more like half an hour ago) the cat hat to move into my mums studio again. Without me.
Don't get me wrong. I love my cat. I just felt that at this point of our relationship, distance would be a good option for both of us.
End of the story. I'm defeated.
By the way. This whole thing makes me think of meditation...do you do that? My family is rather...actively interested in this kind of stuff so I get a lot of times that I should be starting doing it since I'm such an overactive and definitely-not-grounded person. Though every time I try it ends like this (sorry dad, the grounding part will have to wait for later...years...uhm):
Ignore the weird subtitles...
Anyway. This post actually got written because I wanted to share another recipe with you. And this time my mum baked it. She normally never really gets around to it because either she doesn't feel like it or I already baked something. This time she was lucky (I was cat-occupied).
Simple but oh-so-delicious rhubarb cake
The original recipe is from here, though my mum tweaked a few things (I think I just got from where I got my tweaking-recipes part). This one includes the tweaks, for the original one, just follow the link above (though that one is German).
You'll need:
400gr rhubarb
1 Tablespoon brown sugar
100gr butter
180gr brown sugar
1 package vanilla sugar
1 egg
130ml egg liqueur
180gr whole grain flour + 100gr normal flour
2 Tablespoons baking powder
Preheat your oven to 170°C/338°F.
Cut your rhubarb into 1cm pieces and let them soak with your tablespoon sugar. (About 10 min. will work).
Beat until fluffy: Butter and sugar.
Add egg and beat until fluffy again.
Add all the liquid ingredients and mix. After that, add all the dry ingredients.
Fill into your pan and add your rhubarb pieces on top.
Put it into the oven for 50 minutes or until a inserted toothpick comes out clean.
Tip: Don't butter the sides of your pan! The butter makes the sides get hot faster. Therefore the cake will be done earlier. That means your sides won't rise as much as the middle part of the cake will. If you don't butter them, thinks will be pretty even ;)
We also found, that the egg liqueur taste wasn't really strong what might have been due to the fact that we used whole grain flour. However it kept it really moist. In the original recipe, they only use normal flour and people kept saying how wonderful the liqueur taste would add to the the whole cake experience. So you might want to try it out.
What I love(d) about that cake is, that it's so simple. You mix your stuff. And after it comes out of the oven it's done. No fancy-schmanzy things but old and simple basics. And still: It's soft, it's moist, it's fluffy, the balance between sweet and sour is perfect. It is one of those cakes that just simply stand for themselves and are awesome that way. Enjoy!
Oh and it's not like I wait for days to take my pictures (Since:only a quarter of the original cake is in the picture). That was within the 24 hours range after that cake made it out of the oven...ups ;) And you can eat it right after it comes out of the oven! With a serving on vanilla ice cream. omgsogood,wehadtwoservings...uhm yes. I did anyway.
I'll be back on trying to get this meditation thing working. I'm at least sporting yoga clothes right now. I always feel more grounded just by wearing them (is that weird. I guess no). The meditation will just have to wait a bit longer ;)
I wanted to share this with you because I can't stop gushing over it.
Seriously.
This is good!
This is awesome!!
So you have to take a look over here. (Just click the "here" it's that easy!)
Ok. I think we all got the fact that I'm kinda excited about this. This, by the way, is a blog by Adam Roberts called 'The Amateur Gourmet'. Adam started blogging in 2004 and since then, he moved to New York (sight, I wish I could do that), sold a book, was hired for a show by the 'Food Network' and after that: More shows, more moving, more books, more writing. (Oh yeah I did my reading. But you can get the full story here).
To make it a bit shorter (and to give a bot of a background story): My aunt and her husband (They sometimes read my blog so if you two read this: Hey there!) introduced me to this blog when they made Braised Duck Legs for Idiots at my grandpa's (I can't remember the 'leg' part, but I couldn't find another recipe either. So it must have been this one). And it turned out...uhm...we didn't buy a duck but a goose. Did I just say that?
I think, I was supposed to keep this a secret. Ah, I trust you all to just forget it right now! Forgot it? Perfect! ;) (Not that anyone would have to think we couldn't even master the recipe for...aehm...the i word. Nah we are smart people. Trust me!).
So after that, I kept skimming through his posts and..was hooked. They way everything is kept simple (but oh so delicious). The humor. The writing. This makes cooking look like fun. It shows the messes, the laughing, the thoughts (and they don't have to be deep!) behind some recipes and it simply shares this warm feeling of 'togetherness' that I always find, when I'm cooking.
So I'm highly recommending you to spent some quality time over there, and maybe maybe get your friends over for some cooking, messes, fun and cozy 'togetherness' :)
And I'm happy to share some of his pictures (I do have a permission, yes!) and make it even easier for you, to just take a look and head over ;)
Just recently, Adam listed some kind reasons to make granola on the weekend. I think this picture is already reason enough...though I do have to admit, so far the was no Granola over here. But it's going to happen eventually...soon!!
You get the kitchen messes now, don't you? I like it. And this just sounded to good to nor try it!
This was the Vegas-recovery-salad. Chances are pretty low I'll have to recover from a weekend in Vegas any time soon, but we'll just cross out the Vegas and leave a space for any other optional city. Dubai? Vancouver? Paris?...Langen?!
This is kind of embarrassing, but that cookie made it on my bucket list. Haha, and it's not like I do mind the part, of having to travel to New York to full fill this point, at all. (sneaky me)
This restaurant (or was it a bar? I can't remember) totally got me. Well his post did anyway. The only way to enter it, is through a telephone booth! And than you have to make a call!! (Sorry for the geeking, but isn't this just totally like the entrance to the ministry of magic in harry potter!? Aka: Absolutely awesome!!)
So I hope I could make my excitement over this blog understandable. What do you think? (Oh and I totally have to start cooking, now!!) Talk to you soon.
Ok this is going to be a kind of mopey post so I can totally understand if you skip right a head to the smoothie recipe below and leave. Though....you might find yourself a bit in a mopey mood? Or maybe life just sometimes isn't as perfect as it seems...maybe we share something? Uh well, it's still up to you ;)
I decided that moping never made anyone feel better or solved any problems so I'm not going to do it (Oh and my last post just happened to have a bit moping in it as well, so I thought we might need a change haha). And if you start thinking about it...there are always some solutions. You just might have to take a risk. But what would life be, without some risks! No fun, right?!
On my way home, early in the morning. Beautiful rainy skyline.
Oh, well. Just one really short "mopey-ness" (the longer I stare at this word, the funnier it looks...uhm. Anyway) I thought it needed to be mentioned that we have M-a-i (well, nearly June!! Seriously!!...oh and I did mention that before. Ups)) and it's about a cozy 7°C outside plus: Rain. As in rain. And more rain. And more rain. And more. (Which makes me still wonder, while people got so upset that I was going to Vancouver last year. Because the weather must be horrible there, right!?) Nope. This totally tops it. The good thing. We sort of getting a bit closer to their green-ness level...that is sort of nice. (See! There is always something positive).
That leaves me to say: I hope you had a nice weekend?! (Ignoring the rain-part) and if you need a little booster: Here you go!
This one happened last week (after work). I never feel hungry after work although I know I should (since
my breakfast is about 7-8 hours history by then) but somehow the stress
and a constant growling stomach during the last three hours lead
to...not being hungry when it's time to eat. So this just tweaks it
perfectly.
Two ways, as in you can keep it healthy with non fat
Greek yogurt or you can substitute the Greek yogurt with ice cream to
make it a bit more guilty/ sweet treat like. I opted for the healthy
version that particularly day.
1 serving, peanut butter chocolate smoothie
1 small frozen banana
1 tablespoon peanut butter
1 teaspoon cocoa powder
3 ice cubes
about 3 tablespoons Greek yogurt
milk (according to texture preferences)
Put all of the above into a blender and mix until smooth. Enjoy ;) (This one is not particularly sweet (my banana wasn't so sweet) so you might want to add a bit of maple syrup...though that's optional).
Ok. I do like the green. And the smell of rain. And the way the air feels.
Each Friday I feel like the week just flew by within a blink (though I'd definitely answer the question different each Monday). Anyway, I'm really looking forward to getting my camera back this weekend. As much as I love my phone, I'm getting a bit sick of the ongoing blurriness and the not so vibrant colors.
Otherwise this week has been tough. My cat kept being rather unsupportive considering her whole being-sick-situation. It got so bad that she finally had to undergo surgery yesterday. And I honestly feel like I've spent every day at the vet (though I know for a fact that this did not really happen...it does feels like it though). Add to that a cold that's determined to stay with me (including all the benefits such as runny noses, coughs, headaches, dizzy heads...ugh) and extended work hours and you've got me. (Oh and I also acted rather disorganised a couple of times...which obviously did not help the whole situation as well)....oh and we have like 7°C!!!...in Mai/June...just sayin'. Ok I'll stop whining now.
Instead I'll just concentrate on all the wonderful and nice things that happened.
So. This week I'm overly thankfull for all the peanut butter and jelly that kept me company. We're sort of getting to the serious relationship part.
I am thankful for coffee dates with old friends and hours of talking (haha and I'm thankful for our friendly coffee guy, who was, well too friendly to kick us out...and we were unfriendly enough to ignore his silent shouts. Sorry coffee guy!)
And I am more than thankful for my friends, who cheer me up, support me, let me cry, laugh with me and never fail to make me feel special and beloved.
So thumbs up for an any-time-soon arriving camera and three, actually free(!), days of weekend-relaxing-things (including a serious 'Despicable Me' DVD date with my bed, my cat and some chocolate).
Oh and on a side note, this post just proved that I'm owning tons of money to a certain fun-fund...or do we still excuse all my side stepping with being sick?! ;P
I'm a person who's totally in for constant changes. And since I can't repaint my room every month (I wish I could!) I'm opting for easier changes, such as...changing my pillow cover. Ha! Sneaky I know. (Just ignore this...).
Anyway. If you too, love some changes from time to time and you do happen to have a sewing machine at home (though doing this by hand would also work...it just sorts of kills the time factor), this is an easy tutorial you might want to try out. (Though a certain messy factor is still in, as it is in all my projects. Figure).
And what I nearly forgot to mention, this is a pillow case you can easily remove, wash and put on again! Yay for that!
Easy peasy pillow covers
You'll need:
fabric(s) of your choice
something to sew
scissors or a fabric cutter
For the front: Cut one square (or any other form) piece of fabric, matching the shape of your cushion.
If you're using several fabrics just, make sure your 'final piece' matches the cushion as well. I used two types, plus some lace ribbon I had left (and yes my one fabric is cut into two pieces, that's because the original piece wasn't big enough. And I don't mind messy as you know ;) ).
For the back: Cut out two pieces. They have to overlap each other (picture 3 and 4) and match your cushion again.
All the pieces are laid right side on each other (so: The side that's going to be on the outside). For your two overlapping pieces:
For the one that lays under the other (picture 3) seam the one side that's not on the outside (I think you can see it already seamed in the picture), by folding the border double (2nd picture of the seam pictures above). This one is going to be on the 'outside'.
For the pieces that goes above in the layers: A simple seam with one folding (1st picture of the one above) is enough, as this on will hide behind the other one.
You're still with me? It may sound a bit complicated but it really is easy. Trust me! And you're nearly done!!
Having all your pieces, laying on top of each other, right side together, sew once all around the square.
Cut the 'left over' fabric and turn inside out, using the hole made by the two layers.
This one is from last week. I made it feeling pretty beaten up from working while being sick. It's not super healthy, as I went for the ice cream instead of Greek yogurt option, but I also needed some sugar to boost me up. And hey, sometimes ice cream is just as good!
I also did sort of mis-calculate my smoothie size while making it. So this totally could serve two. I, however, drank it all by myself ;)
2 servings, Berry Banana Booster
1 small frozen banana
about 1 cup frozen berries
2 scoops vanilla ice cream (go for Greek yogurt to make it healthier)
1 1/2 tablespoon flax seeds
1 tablespoon maple syrup
5 ice cubes
milk (according to your preferred consistency)
Put all of the above into a blender and mix it all up. Enjoy ;)
Somehow blogging comes a bit short right now, with everything that has been going on recently (uh I know. Lame excuses). Anyway, so before heading into a hopefully more productive week (we'll just cross out the last week entirely considering productivity) I wanted to give my instagram addiction a thumbs up a tiny round-up of the last couple of days.
(Oh, and my camera is still on its way somewhere else so more grainy, blurry phone pictures ;) )
Say "hello" to my new key protector: Pascal, walking with my brothers, walking by myself
More sunset walks, nervous water color doodles, an over-joyful brother who is happy to keep on having to pose for his sisters phone picture addiction...now worries, it took all his strength to not burst into a huge grin ;)
New greens, greens for me, sweets for others
Flowers at my friends place part 1
Sick kitten care
Coffee plans, new sunglasses, more planning...theoretically
Flowers at my friends place part 2
My mums studio (aka the current cat-place), greens and train schedules
Is it just me or is it normal that sometimes, those days turn into a week...anyway. I hope we're getting better around here.
I don't feel much like philisophical writing today. Life is as quiet as it can get right now (which is not really quiet but quieter than the last couple of weeks) and I enjoy every minute of it, knowing it won't last long (haha is it just me or does this sound just like a really bad weather forecast?!).
My cat is feeling better. We had about three vet visits during the last...guess it! three days. And another coming up this friday but it's just control. She's super clingy up to a point where it gets annoying but that's probably just understandable at this point. Having an injured/sick kit is such a great prep for kids (sight).
And overall, it's just the normal things-are-going-on-not-too-awesome-not-too-bad-state in life.
So to brighten up everyone's mood (and stop posting about food for at least once...though don't worry: There are heaps of recipes waiting in line) I finally decided to share this project. It was one I had planned for years (literally) and never had gotten around to do it. And than I had never really gotten around to post about it. Sometimes life's just like that.
Anyway, here you go with a not-so-perfect-but-it-has-character memory quilt
This thing happened, because I used to be (ha! I changed dramatically) one of those persons who would keep everything. There would be an occasion at one point where I would get around to use this old and shabby, but beloved flower vase, right? And this T-shirt might be a bit tight but maybe I'd loose some pounds soon! And this old box!...you get it I guess. So everything in my room was just bursting at the seams including my wardrobe. So I (and my room) were in for a change!
I pulled everything out I didn't feel like wearing anymore (and hadn't been wearing for years in fact) and was left with a huge pile of clothings I just couldn't really get the courage to just throw away. So, as I mentioned above, I had this idea/inspiration/whatever lurking in my head and this is when it actually happened (btw...all those tiny flower vases, boxes etc.ended in a gray...waste basket. Ups):
You'll need:
Lots and lots of old jumpers, dresses, T-shirts, tops, hoodies etc.
fabric cutter or scissors
cutting mat
a plain (one color) blanket
Cut out a square piece of all your T-shirts/jumpers/hoodies (I know this is scary first but you get used to it. Even so far that it starts being a fun!). I made myself a cardboard template so that they would be all about the same size. I also used the front and back of every thing I cut into.
Assemble on the floor in a pattern you feel fine with. Make sure that your quilt is as big as your plain blanket in size. Mine fit by accident. Though, as any normal person would, you can go ahead, measure and plan this properly.
Sew lines of squares lengthways first, than put the lines together to a proper quilt.
Right sides together, sew your "quilt-side" to the "blanket-side". Leave a hole to turn right sides out. Close the hole.
Finish by sewing once all around the border. This is not necessary, however it helps the whole thing to stay in form and makes it also more durable.
Wash and enjoy!!
As you may have noticed, my quilt squares don't fit 100% perfectly. I am also not, in any way, a professional quilter. I made this up while I did it. This is perfect for everyone who's fine with this tiny personal/messy touch.
I'm also already planning a second one. This time though, I might be adding jeans and bikins I think...as well as all the other fun things you might could add. I'm just going to have to create a way I can sew them on to eachother...we'll figure it out!
I'm using it every.single.day. btw!! And it is really nice to keep all those memories ;)
