Bali

I can't believe it, we have just booked our flight to Bali! I'm so happy, I can't tell you how happy I am. We're going there in the beginning of April for almost 3 weeks. We will fly to Singapore first and have a stopover there. I've already been in Singapore, but Tim hasn't been there yet, so I'm looking forward to showing him everything and then afterwards we will go to Bali.

Picture: http://us.123rf.com

They said in the news today that this winter was the darkest (95 hours sun) since people have started to calculate the sun hours per day. No wonder that I look forward to going to the sun, the beach and the sea:

Picture: http://ilove-indonesia.com

Kram,

Isabell

Fasting

I like sweets very much and I eat a lot of cakes, cookies and chocolate, especially in the evening. But once a year during the fasting period, I abstain from all these things. The first 2 weeks are the worst, because you see all these nice things in the supermarket and your body is used to get sweets. It's strange  but it's the same symptoms like as if you are depending on smoking and you quit smoking. I can even be in a bad mood these 2 weeks and then after these 2 weeks it's just getting better, I start to eat fruits instead and when the fasting period is over on Easter Day, I don't need sweets anymore. Quite the contrary, the first time I eat chocolate after 40 days I find it too sweet. Of course I start eating it again, but I feel somehow healthier after the fasting and I'm happy that I made it, which gives you a good feeling. A lot of my friends have started to use the fasting period to abstain from Facebook or TV and they told me that it is a good feeling too, because all of a sudden you have much more time for yourself. I think it's good to abstain from something that you like or spend a lot of time on, just to see that you have the self-control and can make it and that you appreciate things again in a different way.

Inviting friends

I've invited friends for dinner today and I've made beef roulades. I've invited 10 guests and I don't have big bowls, so I used the small bowls I have and placed them all over the table. At first I was a little bit unsure if it was a good idea, but it was very good because I didn't had to stand up all the time and everybody was able to take as much as they want.

I served "Knödel"(dumplings) made of potatoes together with the roulades: 

It was a very nice evening and I'm happy that everybody liked the food and seemed to have had a good time. I'll wash the dishes now and then just go to bed, I'm very tired.

Kram,

Isabell

Painting from Luis de Dios

You might have seen parts of this painting on my photos, as it's hanging above our fireplace. It's from the Spanish artists Luis de Dios:

I like his art and it's a splash of colour in our grey-brown-white furniture world. Luis has created many different other paintings, here are some more examples:

Photo: minispace

Photo: ION

He has a style that is different to anything I've seen before and he's really a great artist. I hope to be able to buy a new picture soon. :)

Have a good evening!

Isabell

Snowboarding in Austria (Hochfuegen) - Marendalm

It was so freezing cold today and it snowed a lot in the mountains in Hochfügen and the worst thing was that there was a lot of fog and you didn't see the piste. So I had to go very slowly which is quite tiring for the thighs, but good for training and shaping the body :). As our friends and Tim wanted to go for another round, I decided to go inside in the "Marendalm"which is an alpine hut and looks typically for the Alpine region:

And here in Austria they have a drink that is called "Almdudler", which is a herb lemonade and tastes very special, you should definitely try it, when you are here for holidays.

Sorry for the bad pictures, but it's too dangerous to take the camera with me when I'm snowboarding, because I still fall much too often. :)

Have a good sunday!

Isabell

Snowboarding in Hochfügen

I'm currently in Hochfügen for Snowboarding, which is a really great ski and Snowboard region. As it has snowed the entire last week it's a lot of fresh snow, which helps a lot of you fall :). I didn't take my camera with me here on the mountain, but it looks like this picture :

Picture: mtb-news

Will get back to you with more pictures!

Kram,

Isabell

Die Häschenschule

One of my favourite books when I was a child was "die Häschenschule" from Albert Sixtus which is a very cute book, that has been written in rhymes and has these beautiful pictures from illustrator Fritz Koch-Gotha . The book cover shows a rabbit named Fritz, who is in trouble with the school master, because he was pulling a classmate's ears during music class.

Picture: amazon

The book tells the story of two young rabbits as they go to their Rabbit School. Here they learn everything a good rabbit must know: which vegetables and plants are best, how to paint Easter eggs  and to run fast to escape from the dangerous red fox.

Picture: amazon

The book also shows a lot of silhouette pictures, like the one shown above, I copied them on coloured paper and used them last year to decorate white Easter eggs. Looks really nice!

Kram,

Isabell

Lent lilies - Osterglocken

One of the signs for Spring and Easter for me are lent lilies. This flower is one of the first to come when the snow starts to thaw a little. You know that I try to have flowers all year-round and bought these, but I must admit this flower is only beautiful but doesn't smell very good. I think that's why it's not a typical flower you find in bouquets, because after some days it's really an awful and intense smell. These flowers are nice to look at- outside!

Kram,

Isabell

Easter Bunny - DIY

Today when I came home I had a good mind to do crafts and I need some decoration, as I'm planning to invite my family to an Easter brunch. So better start early... I found these nice Easter Bunnies on the internet :

Picture: fotolia

and used them as a model for my own template:

I use a thicker white drawing paper and copy the Easter bunnies, but you can of course also print them and use these as a template.

Then I choose a wrapping paper which I like and fold it

so that I can cut out 2 mirror inverted bunnies at once:

After that I use a glue to glue the 2 pieces together and put a toothpick in the center:

Now I can use them to decorate the food for the buffet, or of course you can also tie a bow under it and write the names of the guests on it. Or use different animals, egg-shaped patterns with one colour or multi-coloured... 

Hope you like it!

Isabell

Leilas guldkant på vardagen - Leila Lindholm cookbook

It has been years that I've been in a library, I think the last time was when I was 15 years old... at that time it was the only source were you could get information because internet didn't exist at that time. It's so strange to think about it, now that we all are used to internet and how easy it is to get everything we need within minutes. So it was a kind of a childhood feeling that came up when I entered the library.

It's a special smell in libraries, don't you think so? 

We have a library which is close-by and I finally managed to go there and register. I was surprised, they really have everything: magazines, movies, audio books, video games, games and of course books. I like to listen to audio books when I sit in the train on my way to work, so I borrowed different audio books. Very close to the audio books they had cookbooks and I was very happy to see Leila Lindholms book : "Leilas guldkant på vardagen" or "Kochen mit Leila" in German:

Photo: amazon

She has great recipes and I will of course try some of the recipes and show you :). 

Have a good day!

Isabell

Spaghetti with king prawns

I try to eat fish or shellfish at least twice a week and this is a very good recipe, which is heathy (except for the crème fraîche) and tastes very good (because of the crème fraîche :)) . My friend Tina cooked it for me, when I visited her for the first time 10 years ago and I have since then cooked it very often myself.

This is what you will need for approx. 3 persons:

· 250 gr spaghetti
· Ca. 150 gr king prawns
· 1 shallot or little onion
· (1 garlic clove)
· 1 little zucchini
· ½ – 1 container of crème fraîche
· beef or vegetable stock
· salt and pepper

Boil water and put in a little salt for more flavor, add the spaghettis and let them cook until al dente.
Chop the shallot or onion into cubes and fry until they become lucent, if you like garlic chop into tiny cubes and add the the onions. Add the king prawns and fry until they get a rose colour. Chop the zucchini into small cubes and put it into the pan as well, deglaze with the stock and add the crème fraîche. Let it boil up a little and add salt and pepper to taste. Serve with spaghettis.


Enjoy!


Isabell

Change your home

When Tim and I were in Berlin we went to a furniture shop and bought a new lamp which was delivered yesterday. I'm so happy with the result, such a change only because we changed the lamp! The black colour of the lamp fits perfectly to our chairs and makes it look very stylish:

The old lamp was nice too but nearly invisible and looked somehow too filigree compared to the massive wood table:

After we moved in 5 years ago, we spent a lot of time to furniture the apartment and then we stopped after some time and some rooms were left the way they were at that time. I'm happy that we have started again... I'll show you the results :)

Kram,

Isabell

Attacked in church

I attract strange situations like a magnet sometimes, like yesterday: I went to church after work because I wanted to light a candle for my grandma. They have a little quiet place in one corner where you can buy tea lights and light them. So I came in and went straight towards this part of the church and took out a 50 cent coin and put the money into the box for the tea light and lighted it and thought about my grandma when a man that was hidden behind a pillar came towards me and said in broken German with a pushy voice "You, 1 Euro now!"I was very bewildered because this is a place where people go to think about those who have passed away and it really felt strange to be asked for money in this situation. So I said "Sorry, I don't have money". At the same time I felt guilty because I was in church and didn't give that man something. He didn't go away, he just kept on standing there close to me and waited for me to give him something, watching me. I already started to feel uneasy, when a second man came and said "you need to put all the tea lights together, put them all together, only like that they can work and do wonders.." Looking into his eyes and his face, I saw that he was crazy... so there I was alone in an empty church together with a man that was obviously crazy and another one that wanted money. Fortunately a pastor came out of the confessional box and that attracted the crazy man and he went to him to tell him he was a Saint. The other guy also disappeared when he saw the pastor, so I just escaped without being able to pray or think about my grandma for 1 second. If he would have been outside the church or at the entrance and would have let me do what I was there for, I would certainly have given him money, that's what I do for homeless people too. But to go to people when they are very vulnerable and to ask them with this pushy voice and to use the church to make people feel guilty is really something I dislike and therefore I didn't give him anything, otherwise he will maybe do the same thing to others. And he didn't look poor at all... you are not safe anywhere, even not in church :)

Recycled glas

I like flowers, I have different flowers in our apartment all year round. Lilies, roses, syringa, tulips... For me flowers bring life to an apartment and makes it look better. So therefore I have a lot of vases for all kinds of flowers. And some of my favorite vases are actually drinking glass bottles that I kept like the Sanbitter bottle or the Savanna Cider bottle:

They have a nice shape and instead of throwing them away you can keep them and use them as vases which is good for your apartment and the environment. :)

Kram,

Isabell

Icing sugar

Today in the morning when I looked through our window down on the street, the world outside had turned into a white winter landscape, as if someone had dusted it with icing sugar. And it's finally not dark anymore and with the white snow it's even brighter. I have some days during winter that I feel I need Spring now, immediately. And then there are days like today, when I think about the fact that we are lucky here in Germany to have all the seasons and that it's really cozy to have snow and winter.

I'm sending you some snow and winter greetings from Munich and have a good day!

Isabell

Happy Valentine's Day 2013

Happy Valentine's Day 2013!

Photo: justcallmechris

Beethoven has written this love letter to an anonymous woman and it's a very nice love letter, which I would like to share with you.

Good morning, on July 7

Though still in bed, my thoughts go out to you, my Immortal Beloved, now and then joyfully, then sadly, waiting to learn whether or not fate will hear us - I can live only wholly with you or not at all - Yes, I am resolved to wander so long away from you until I can fly to your arms and say that I am really at home with you, and can send my soul enwrapped in you into the land of spirits - Yes, unhappily it must be so - You will be the more contained since you know my fidelity to you. No one else can ever possess my heart - never - never - Oh God, why must one be parted from one whom one so loves. And yet my life in V is now a wretched life - Your love makes me at once the happiest and the unhappiest of men - At my age I need a steady, quiet life - can that be so in our connection? My angel, I have just been told that the mailcoach goes every day - therefore I must close at once so that you may receive the letter at once - Be calm, only by a calm consideration of our existence can we achieve our purpose to live together - Be calm - love me - today - yesterday - what tearful longings for you - you - you - my life - my all - farewell. Oh continue to love me - never misjudge the most faithful heart of your beloved.

ever thine
ever mine
ever ours

♥

Home from work

Today we didn't have internet at work, so we all were allowed to go home earlier. It feels so good to go home when it's still daylight, it somehow feels like when you were a child and it was the last day at school and you had summer holidays in a way. I took the train and I went off one station earlier just to have a short walk and enjoy the sun that has shown up today. Then I went to the supermarket to buy food for dinner and it was nearly empty! Normally when I get back from work there is a queue, but today there was nobody but me and the cashier. What is normal for other people, was really a strange feeling for me...

Back home I brewed some black tea with milk and sugar and now I can write my blog and do all the things I didn't have time for the last weeks...

It's such a small thing, but I'm happy!

Kram,

Isabell

Semmlor or Fastlagsbullar recipe - Swedish Cardamom buns recipe

My Dad and I made so-called “Fastlagsbullar” or "Semmlor" ( Swedish Cardamom buns) this weekend. And of course I would like to show you the result and give you the recipe, because it's a  traditional pastry that people bake in Sweden during this time of the year and it’s really delicious! It was also great fun to have my Dad here, helping me with it.

This is our Fastlagsbulle Recipe (for approx. 20 buns)

• 75 g butter
• 3 dl whole milk
• 25 gram yeast
• 0.75 dl sugar
• 1 pinch of salt
• 2 teaspoons ground cardamom (I even take more of it because I like the taste of cardamom)
• 1 egg
• 9 dl wheat flour
• 1.5 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 egg for glazing

Filling
Almond paste
Whipped cream

Icing sugar

How to prepare the buns:

Melt the butter and add the milk. Pour mixture into mixing bowl and allow to cool until “finger-warm” (still quite warm, but just cool enough to touch). Stir in yeast and let sit for 10 minutes. Add sugar, salt and cardamom.

Mix 7-8 dl flour into liquid and then the egg. Add enough of the remaining flour to form a soft dough (just until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl. Don't add too much flour as the dough gets dry). Put the dough to a large bowl and cover it with a clean towel and allow to rise until doubled, approx. 1 hour.

Put the oven on 225 degrees celsius. Mix the baking powder with 1 dl of flour and add it to the dough. Knead the dough well and make 12 round buns on a floured table. Let them rise again
for approx. 20- 30 minutes. Beat the egg and glaze the buns just before you put them into the oven for approx. 10 minutes.

Let the buns cool down and cut off the top. Make a hole in the other part and fill it almond paste and whipped cream, add the top and dust it with icing sugar.

Hope you will like it!

Kram,

Isabell

Elsa Beskow

Today would have been Elsa Beskows 139th birthday. Elsa Beskow is a Swedish children's book author and illustrator. Like me, many Swedish and half Swedish :) children have grown up with Elsa Beskow's books for over 100 years.

Picture:elsabeskow

Elsa Beskow's most popular Swedish children's books include "Peter in Blueberry Land", "Children of the Forest" and "Pelle's New Suit". Elsa Beskow was born February 11, 1874 in Maria Parish on the south side of Stockholm.  

Picture: flickr

Picture: elsabeskow

I love these illustrations and if you are looking for a good book for a child, I can definitely recommend these, and if you understand Swedish, the Swedish radio has also a program where they tell the story about Ollie's Ski Trip. 

Have a good evening!

Kram,

Isabell

Carnival 2013 - Fasching

In Germany it's what we call "Fasching"(carnival) today and tomorrow. People masquerade as different  animals, famous stars, people from different époques... It's really funny and great to see the imaginativeness and the way they are dressed. In Munich there is a big party at the moment with a lot of confetti and music and people are dancing on Marienplatz with their costumes. But you can't compare it to the carnival in Rhineland-Palatinate, situated in western Germany, people are celebrating it even more there. If you should be in Germany during this part of the year and you like to masquerade, then it's definitely the place to be.

Photo: br

Some online shops sell a lot of funny costumes, which I've also seen live here in Munich:

Photo: maskworld

or this

Photo: maskworld

Unfortunately I won't be able to be at Marienplatz today, as I have to work, but I will for sure eat some jam doughnuts. :)

Happy Carnival 2013!!

Isabell

Relaxing in Bad Gögging

One of my Christmas presents from my parents was one night at the Marc Aurel Hotel with hot springs and a spa in Bad Gögging, which is approx. an one hours drive from Munich. It was so relaxing, nice hot water and they even had a pool with underwater music and salt water and many different saunas and steam bath... I love the feeling that you have after a day like that. You feel light and tired, but in a good way. These are some pictures from their spa:

Photo: marcaurel.de

Photo: marcaurel.de

And we even had a wonderful dinner with a fillet of beef with Cafe de Paris sauce and fried grated potatoes, so delicious!

Now I'm back home and enjoying the rest of this sunday, a little bit sad that I couldn't stay longer but calm and relaxed. 

Have a good sunday!

Isabell

Surprise, surprise

I was invited to breakfast to a friend today and when I came home this wonderful bouquet was there as a surprise for me. Tim has bought it for me, I think all my posts about the flowers made an impact :).

Have a lovely day!

Isabell

Semolina pudding

When I come home from work, I'm often too tired to cook something special, even if I like cooking. But I don't want to have what Bavarians call "Brotzeit" (a meal or snack consisting of bread, cold cuts, cheese etc.), I need a warm meal. Especially if it's cold outside, the way it's right now with a lot of snow and sub-zero temperatures. A good thing is semolina pudding: You only need a few minutes and it's ready, it's a warm meal and tastes delicious.

Here is what you need:

• ½ litre milk
• 5 tablespoons semolina (maybe a little bit more if you like it thicker but be careful, as it slowly comes to boil and thickens)
• 3 table spoons sugar
• cinnamon 

The best ting to use is a non-stick sauce pan, because the pudding gets burned easily, I have experience with that :). Put the milk in it and heat until lukewarm. Add the semolina and cook slowly, stirring all the time until it boils and gets thicker.

Some people like to add a little piece of butter, I prefer to serve it with cinnamon and sugar and some fresh milk so that it cools down and I can eat it immediately. 

You can of corse also eat it with hot cherries, strawberries or raspberries.

Have a good Friday!

Kram,

Isabell

Paper designs from Jurianne Matter

For me it's always cozy with some candles during winter. The first thing I do when coming home after work is: brewing some tea and lighting some candles. I think it's my way to calm down after work, some sort of a daily ritual.

As I want to add more colour to our apartment, I was looking for some lanterns on the internet, where I can put a tea light inside. I found very nice paper designs from Jurianne Matter, a graphic designer from the Netherlands:

Photo: juriannematter

Photo: juriannematter

But not only the lanterns are very nice, I also like the other paper designs very much:

Photo: juriannematter

I can also imagine it as part of the decoration for our wedding....

Kram,

Isabell

Dreams

Everybody has a dream. One of my dreams is to live in Sweden one day. I grew up in Germany, went to school in Germany but spent most of my vacations in Sweden. Maybe I'm idealizing Sweden, I'm well aware of that, but if you never live there how can you know how it's really like? Sweden for me is a combination of wonderful memories, like drinking pear juice and eating homemade pastries from my grandma, picking wild sweet strawberries and living at the sea:

Photo: lillfemman

I love this picture, I would like to move in immediately!

Kram,

Isabell

Winter is back in Munich

It's so freezing cold right now and snow has returned to Munich after we got a glimpse of Spring a few day ago. It has it's beautiful sides too, like when the sun is shining through the trees and you can feel the warmth on your face. Usually I stay at the office during lunch break, mostly because I have too much work to do so that I sit in front of my PC and have my lunch there or together with my colleagues. But today I decided to go out and get some fresh air. It was cold indeed but the sun turned the snow into a glittering world and you could hear the first birds singing again.

Photo: winter-muenchen

And I felt better and fitter and not tired anymore, I think I will that more often from now on.

Have lovely Tuesday!

Isabel