Musselmalet Mega - DIY

My best friend in Copenhagen has some items from this porcelain from Royal Copenhagen, which is called "Musselmalet Mega". She loves it, but it is very expensive :

royaldesign

I also think that it looks very nice and I like the design of the sauce boat :

royaldesign

As she will turn 30 this year I would like to give her a present that she likes, but that is also personal in a way. While going for a walk in the snowy Munich city center today, I've found a shop where you can decorate ceramics. They have different ceramic forms and you can decorate them with colours and a glaze. Then they burn it for you and you can pick it up one week later. I'll use the Musselmalet Mega pattern and I guess I'll have to exercise a little bit ;), but that would be something she definitely likes.

golocal

I'll show you my result as soon as it is ready!

Kram,

Isabell

Modern Dalahäst - modern Dalahorse

Do you remember my post about the Dalahorse? Today after breakfast, I've finally managed to paint my Dalahorse in grey. The first thing you need to do is to use a ginder to take away the old colour. After that you can choose the colour you like and paint it. It's very easy and I like the result :

I did the same thing with an old bookshelf, which was made of beechwood. I had it in my room when I was a child and I like the shape of it, but I don't like the colour of beechwood. So my Dad helped me to grind it and to paint it. Instead of a paint-brush, which I used for the Dalahorse, I used a paint roller to apply the colour. Like that you can change your furnishing and reuse old things. If you go on a flee market you can get nice things that might look ugly at first sight, because it's a wood you don't like, but if you change the colour of it it gets a complete different look. And you save money and it's fun to have something unique.

Kram,

Isabell

Weißwurst Frühstück - Breakfast with German Weißwurst

In my company, we have a new boss who started to work on the 2nd of January. As he is a typical Bavarian he invited all of us to a "Weißwurst Frühstück" a breakfast with Bavarian "Weißwurst" (that's a veal sausage) today. Bavarians are very proud of that and there is a rule that you should eat it before noon. Together with the Weißwurst you eat sweet mustard and Pretzels and most Bavarians  drink a wheat beer.

Photo: bookrix

It tasts very good but I can't eat more than 1 sausage. Maybe 1 1/2, but that's it. If you come to Munich, you should try it - But don't eat the sausage casing, it's almost like chewing gum :)

Have a good day!

Kram,

Isabell

Home Spa

In Munich it's been raining since 2 weeks and that's a weather you rather stay at home. For me that's a time to turn our bathroom into a home spa. I buy some facial masks, some bath salts and light some tea lights and listen either to an audio book or I read a good book. It's so important to relax after a long day and I've got the impression that during winter it's even more important to calm down and get some time for yourself. Don't you think so, too?

I've received a lot of body lotions and spa products for Christmas so that's an ideal way to test these :). There is a rosewater shower gel and body lotion I'd like to test which scents very nice when you open the bottle, they are from Evelyn and Crabtree:

Photo: crabtree-evelyn

Photo: crabtree-evelyn

I'll go and test it now and have a home spa evening.

Hope you will find some time to relax too!

Kram,

Isabell

Thoughts about my wedding - Invitations

I'm going to marry Tim this year. It's a great feeling after having been together for almost 8 years now and having lived together 5 years in our apartment. It's about time to start being our own family. We've decided to have the civil marriage here in Germany and to celebrate it with our relatives and to have the ecclesiastical marriage in Sweden one year later and to celebrate it together with our friends and my Swedish relatives. I'm currently looking for nice invitation cards, but that's really a challenge. German cards tend to be very very kitschy with a lot of symbols and colours.

I really want these cards to be simple and not overloaded with colors and graphics. But that's really not easy. I've found some cards that are ok, but I'm still not satisfied...

Photo: dawanda

or

Photo: dawanda

Photo: dawanda

I guess I'll have to look at many other different pages, I'll keep you updated ;)

Kram,

Isabell

Strawberry smoothie

This is a smoothie which I always drink when going to Dean and David. That's a franchise restaurant with healthy fast-food, they offer a lot of smoothies, thai curries, salads etc. and it's a good choice if you need something while shopping or for lunch and without bad conscience. :)

Photo: meier-online

I really like this smoothie so I watched while they made it for me and made it several times now and it's really healthy and tastes very good. All you need is some fruits and a mixer.

You will need: (for approx. 2 glases)

• 1 banana
• approx. a handful or 2 of frozen strawberries 
• Orange juice ( the best result is with fresh juice)
• (Fresh peppermint) you can also leave it away, if you don't like it.
• I also add some mango juice 

Put everything in the mixer and enjoy!

Kram,

Isabell

Let the Spring come...

All of the Christmas decorations are packed in boxes and stowed on the attic, waiting for next Christmas. On the one hand it was strange to put all the things away, all the warm lights, the traditional decorations from my grandma, because it's very cosy to have it. On the other hand it also feels good to have everything cleaned and the Christmas tree looked really sad with its hanging branches. So this is what my window looks like without the Christmas decoration:

And I also bought a lot of flowers to compensate for the cosiness of the Christmas decoration. For me it would be fine if Spring would come soon. If I could choose how the seasons would be I would choose:  October and November as Autumn season, December and January as Winter season and the rest of the year just Summer and Spring. Wouldn't that be great ? 

Have a good start of the week!

Kram,

Isabell

Swedish Dillkött

Tim and I just came back home from my parents' home, as they had invited my sister, my brother and his girlfriend and us. My parents haven't met Tim on Christmas Eve so they had a present for him and they made "Dillkött" for us. We all love it and it's perfect for this part of the year. You could translate "Dillkött" as "dill meat", it's either veal, beef or lamb you can choose.

Photo: lantmannen

This is my grandma's recipe, which I've translated:

Here is what you will need for 6-8 portions:

· 1 kg beef, veal or lamb with bones
· enough water so that it has the same level as the meet in the pan
· 2 tsk salt per liter of water
· 6 white peppercorns
· 1 bay leave
· 1 carott
· 1 parsnip
· 1 leek
· 1-2 dill branch

For the sauce:

· 4 dl bouillon ( you will get it by cooking the meat)
· 2 msk wheat flour
· 1 msk butter
· 1 bunch of fresh dill
· salt and peppar
· 1 yolk


Preparation:

1. Rinse the meat and put into a big pan and fill with water until it has the same hight level as the meat, boil upp, skim the foam from the surface ( I use a spoon ) and after all of the foam has been put away add the spices, the salt and the dill branches.


2. Simmer the meat and leave the lock on the pan until it's tender (approx. 1- 1 1/2 hours). Add the vegetables when 30-40 minutes of cooking time is left.

3. Strain the bouillon for the sauce. Chop the fresh dill. Melt the butter over medium heat, slowly add the flour to the butter, whisking constantly. Put the pan away from the oven and add the bullion keep on whisking constantly add the yolk and the chopped dill and stir. Within 2 to 3 minutes the roux will have a consistency of a sauce.

4. Cut the meat into small cubes and the vegetables into slices.

5. Eat Dillkött together with cooked potatoes


Have a lovely sunday!

Kram,

Isabell

Aroma bar in Munich

One of my favourite places in Munich for breakfast is Aroma Bar in Pestalozzistr. 24 in a quarter that is called "Glockenbachviertel" (the alternative & creative part of the city). It's a café and a grocery store, very cosy and delicious food, but can be very crowded! 

Photo: speisekarte.de

They offer an extensive breakfast menu: from muesli to omelette, yoghurt, pretzels and a huge choice of hot drinks, and everything is homemade. You might find some of the tables and chairs strange because some of them very tiny, but it's the mix that makes this place special compared to other places. In the shelves that surround the tables you will find a big choice of unusual gift ides, delicatessen and postcards.

This place is well known by Munich's inhabitants and the terrace seats outside are the most popular ones. So once you have found a seat don't leave it ;).

The opening hours are :

Mon – Fri 07:00 – 20:00, Sat – Sun 09:00 – 20:00

Kram,

Isabell

Amaryllis starts to blossom - time to stow Christmas into boxes

My Amaryllis have begun to blossom, even if it's a flower that you have during Christmas, for me it's another step towards spring. As we will be Snowboarding this weekend and I will visit my parents, I'll start to put away the ornaments from our Christmas tree already today.

Even if I love Christmas, I also look forward to have the clean lines and forms of our apartment back, to have everything cleaned and all the Christmas decoration stowed in boxes until next year. It's funny because I'm one of these persons that start to think about Christmas already in August... But enough is enough.

Kram,

Isabell

H & M Biker jacket for 2013

H&M have some nice new items on their website, I especially like this Biker jacket:

Photo: H & M

Photo: H & M

It still looks very feminine and at the same time very cool and stylish. One of the things to keep in mind for 2013 :). 

Kram,

Isabell

Recycling

2 month ago I bought a very nice vintage wrapping paper in a shop in Munich, that is a little bit thicker. I saw it and I couldn't resist. :) I like these old patterns and I thought that I could use it for the Christmas gifts.

Photo: bindewerk

But I had a better idea:

I used old paper packings (this one was a mix for American pancakes :)), cleaned them and used the paper to make them look nicer. I use it for all my pens, but of course you can also use it for gifts or as a storage for candles, tee bags etc.

Kram,

Isabell

Oberstdorf on New Year's Day

Hope you had a nice New Year's Eve! We've celebrated it together with some friends in Oberstdorf in the mountains. It was very cosy, we had some fondue and different salads and at 12:00 everybody was outside to watch the fireworks and to light the sky rockets. Then we had some sparkling wine and our hosts put on some old records with House music. It was great fun to hear all these songs again!

After breakfast today we had a little tour trough the little city, it's a nice place with narrow streets and the traditional houses you can only find in the mountains:

And while there is no snow left in Munich, in Oberstdorf we had a lot of snow. It's such a great panorama with all the mountains surrounding you and to see it when you open the windows in the morning. 

Have a good first day of 2013!

Kram,

Isabell

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!

favim.com

With this poem I'd like to wish you a Happy 2013!


I Wish You Time

I do not wish you a diverse selection of gifts
I only wish you what most people lack:
I wish you time to enjoy and to laugh
I wish you time for your actions and thoughts,
not only for yourself, but also for others.


I wish you time - not to hasten and run,
but the time to be able to feel content
I wish you time - not just to spend.
I wish it may be left over for you
as time for wondering, and time to trust
instead of checking the time on the watch.

I wish you time to reach for the stars
and time to grow, that is, time to mature.
I wish you time to hope anew, to love.
It does not make sense to put time off.
I wish you had time to find yourself,
regard every day, every hour as happiness.

I wish you: To have time to live.

Elli Michler

From: Elli Michler: Dir zugedacht, Wunschgedichte, © Don Bosco Verlag, München, 19.Aufl. 2004  www.ellimichler.de

Kram,

Isabell