Archives for November 2011

Goodbye, November.

November 30, 2011 filed under: good times, NaBloPoMo

Wow, did this month fly by in the blink of an eye, or what?

The end of NaBloPoMo literally snuck up on me this year. I have more post ideas sitting in my draft folder than I needed for this month, which, in a way, is a good thing, I guess. For once, I didn’t scramble for content, which maybe partly due to the fact that I had some catch up posts from my summer vacation left to publish and was also able to get some inspiration from some fellow bloggers.

I love NaBloPoMo. I would never ever try to blog every day for the rest of the year, because that would be overkill, if we are all honest. I don’t have that much interesting stuff to say and you would quickly get tired keeping up with me, but challenging myself to write more regularly for one full month is always something I look forward to and which I plan for ahead of time. November is a month to reflect, to dream and share stories.

Tomorrow is the first day of the last month of 2011. I can’t even begin to wrap my head around this. Where did this year go? I just started getting used to writing 2011 and, BAM, another year gone.

For obvious reasons, I am not quite finished with this year yet and I have some more exciting things ahead of me this holiday season, but for now I want to say thank you.

Thank you for reading and commenting, thank you for your friendship and support, thank you for the awesome community I’ve found online and have a great holiday season!

Things I do NOT do

November 29, 2011 filed under: about me, NaBloPoMo

Ashley wrote an interesting blog post a couple of weeks ago about how your blog and what you put out there can make you and your life look a hell lot more perfect than it probably is, and that is definitely true for me. While I don’t think that my blog makes my life seem all fairy-tale like and perfect, I can still pick and chose what I want you to see and I can leave my shortcomings, failures as a homemaker or wife and other ugly tales hidden in my ~~draft folder~~ closet.

But in an effort, to be more transparent and to show you “hey, nobody’s perfect, not even me!”, I was going to share my own list of things I do not do.

• I am not always on time. I know I am German and all, but I am really only ever on time when it really matters. Otherwise, I usually work more with the “academic quarter“.

• I don’t shower every day.

• I like to pretend I am a book nerd (because I’ve been all my life), but I haven’t really been reading any substantial amount of books in the last couple of years.

• I don’t have a weekly cleaning schedule. I clean when I feel something needs cleaning.

• I don’t clean (apartment) windows. Period.

• I don’t always cook as healthy as I would like to believe.

• I have not been to the gym in 6 months.

• I don’t follow the (German) news as much as I wish I did.

• I ignore people on the street if I don’t want to talk to them.

• I never go to bed early enough.

• I don’t always say “no” when I probably should.

• I don’t file my papers as regularly as I should.

• I sometimes don’t work as hard as I could, because I can fake a huge amount of work with minimum effort.

Have you written your own list of things you do not do? Share your link!

On a holiday weekend

November 28, 2011 filed under: food, fun!, holidays, home, my so-called life, NaBloPoMo, photography

J and I had a lovely, long Thanksgiving weekend. It was nice, cozy, quiet – just the two of us – and almost a bit too long. (Did I really just say that?) Well, you know the kind, where it gets really hard to go back to work on Monday. Yeah, that one. I had a teeny-tiny bit of a problem getting out of bed this morning.

But what can I say? We were granted a 2-hour early dismissal from work on Wednesday, so my long weekend started even earlier than anticipated. And, you guys? 4- day weekends are even better than 3-day weekends. Just sayin’.

We made a lovely Thanksgiving dinner on Thursday. A roasted ~~turkey~~ chicken, walnut-stuffing, baby potatoes and green beans.

For dessert, I got those tiny “berry blossom” individual cakes and they were absolutely delicious. Not too sweet themselves, but perfectly sweet with some vanilla bean ice-cream. Yum!

But the best part was: we stayed home all day in our sweat pants, watched movies, drank tea and just had the loveliest, mellowest Thanksgiving anyone could wish for.

Friday and Saturday were mostly mellow, too. I had contemplated to brave the crowds and do some actual Black Friday shopping in-store, but ended up changing my mind about that. Instead, I worked on my Christmas cards and craft projects, did some chores around the house and enjoyed the time at home.

On Sunday, we met up with Susi and her family and drove out to San Francisco to visit the Charles Dickens Christmas Fair. Now that the Thanksgiving holiday was behind us and Sunday marked the first of Advent, it was totally legit to start getting into the Christmas spirit.

The fair was A-M-A-Z-I-N-G! Magical, really! I was absolutely thrilled! There were so many people dressed up in beautiful Victorian costumes and I quite frankly just didn’t have enough eyes to take in everybody and everything at the same time. We must have rounded the halls at least 4 or 5 times and I still couldn’t get enough of it. Just take a look for yourself. I was told that 750 volunteers participate in the Charles Dickens Fair each year to make it as authentic and wonderful as it is.

This tree was amazing – I wanted to take it home.

They had beautiful little shops and stands.

This woman was amazing – she didn’t move for like 30 minutes.

There were many different stages with performances,

authentic little tea houses and bars,

and cool bicycles!

My favorite part were the Christmas carolers. They were so much fun to watch (and listen to!)

Other good things this weekend:

Peet’s Holiday Blend coffee ♥ Christmas shopping (mostly online) ♥ staying up late ♥ staying in my pj’s ♥ candied almonds ♥ phone call with my great-aunt ♥ shopping at Target with my sister (Well, I wish! She was only on the phone with me – meh!) ♥ getting some Christmas planning figured out ♥ putting up our teeny-tiny Christmas tree ♥ candles ♥ our first #twookclub book discussion

How were your holiday weekends, peeps?

Recipe: Winter Vegetable Soup

November 27, 2011 filed under: food, NaBloPoMo, recipe

{source: my flickr}

As I mentioned last week, winter time is all about yummy soups and stews. Since I am practically making a vegetable soup once a week, I thought I would share this delicious recipe with you as well. According to my Mom, this can be turned into a summer or winter soup – it just depends on the ingredients that are in season. Since in California practically everything is ~~in season~~ available all year round, I try to go by what I remember to be the summer and winter vegetables. You can use whatever vegetables you like, really, but for the soup this weekend, I used the following (fresh) ingredients (you can also substitute with frozen vegetables).

As you can see, I like to cook big pots of soup. They freeze well, but also keep well in the fridge for several days (I usually cook it for dinner and then we have it for lunch for the next couple of days).

Ingredients:

1/2 head of cabbage (cut)

1 cauliflower

2 sticks of celery (sliced)

3 carrots (sliced)

6 mushrooms (quartered)

1 tomato (in wedges)

salt, pepper

vegetable stock

(Last week, I didn’t have cabbage and celery, but zucchini and cut green beans instead.)

Cut up the vegetables and bring vegetable stock, tomato, and longer-cooking vegetables (carrots, celery, cabbage) to boil. Turn down heat and let simmer for about 10 minutes, then add cauliflower, simmer for another 10 minutes and add mushrooms last.

Salt and pepper to taste.

DONE.

Easy, fast and healthy.

Summer Tales – San Francisco and the Bay

November 26, 2011 filed under: family, fun!, good times, NaBloPoMo, photography, travel, USA

Today (7/8) we spent another beautiful day in San Francisco. We took BART into San Francisco again after breakfast and got off at Embarcardero station. We walked over to the water and walked out onto Pier 5, which offered a beautiful view of Treasure Island, the Bay Bridge and the “San Francisco Belle”, a big steam boat on the next pier over.

We walked along the Piers until we reached Pier 39, where we paid a visit to the seals.

Then we got in line to purchase tickets for a Bay Cruise. I actually had gotten two tickets off Groupon (for a great price!) months ago and wanted to surprise my parents with them. I had thought about things to do in San Francisco that we hadn’t done during previous visits and seeing the city and Golden Gate Bridge from the water was one of those things. It turned out to be a GREAT idea.

As you can tell from the photos, the weather was kind of overcast and I was a little bummed at first, but that was supposed to change pretty soon!

It was about 2 p.m. when we got on the boat and we expected it to be cold and windy on the upper deck (which it was!), but of course, we wanted to be up there for the view.

We actually managed to grab a few seats up there and the view of the city was absolutely beautiful. The amazing thing was: the closer we got to the Golden Gate Bridge, the more the sun came out and we had clear view of the bridge when we passed below it.

On our way back, we were able to take a closer look at Alcatraz as we circumnavigated the island.

We spent the rest of the afternoon exploring the various shops on Pier 39, had some coffee to warm our cold fingers and then had dinner at the Hard Rock Café.

Another beautiful day came to its close when we hopped back on the BART to the East Bay.

… stay tuned.

Friday Link Love

November 25, 2011 filed under: link love, NaBloPoMo

Planning my Holiday Budget by Kyla (Kyla Roma).

How to have a social life and still save money by Sarah (yes and yes).

Holiday Decor Tips: Use old decor in new ways by Ashley (Indie Pretty Projects).

Make your search bar look pretty by Arvee (Flutterhappy).

Are there any blog posts that you’d like to recommend to me this week?
Happy Friday, peeps!

On being thankful

November 24, 2011 filed under: good things, holidays, NaBloPoMo

Source: 3.bp.blogspot.com via San on Pinterest

Today, I am thankful for…

… early morning coffee, a snuggly blanket and one of my favorite movies (“The Proposal”) on TV.

… the important people in my life – my husband, family and friends.

… our lovely apartment.

… a great job.

… being healthy.

… a wonderful niece and nephew that I can’t wait to hug again.

… the means to put a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner on the table.

… a long holiday weekend.

… personal strength and perseverance.

… technology (iPhone, Skype).

… books.

… time to unplug.

… each and every single one of you.; for taking the time to come here, to read and comment, to offer friendship, advice and understanding.

What are you thankful for?

Happy Thanksgiving , peeps!

So much to do…

November 23, 2011 filed under: holidays, lists!, NaBloPoMo

{source via weheartit}

It just dawned on me today – there are only 4,5 weeks left until Christmas. Cue the panic.

It’s really is high time to get on my to-do list, which is (as always) pretty long around this time of year:

★ Get my Christmas Cards crafted. As I announced yesterday, I’ll be doing my annual Christmas Card Exchange again and as if my list of people, to whom I send Christmas cards, isn’t long enough already, I invited my readers to share their addresses again so that I can put something in the mail for them. I am trying to make all the cards by hand again and I have a feeling that I need quite a few more than I have right now. (Go and sign up if you want to join the fun!)

★ Write a Christmas list. I really need to start getting organized on the Christmas gift front. I love to pick out gifts for people and I have to get a list going to plan everything out.

★ Do the actual Christmas shopping. Or some of it. I am actually contemplating right now to brave the crowds on (Black) Friday to score some good deals. Do you think I should?

★ Finish some Christmas projects. As if I am not insane enough to think that I have to make all my Christmas cards by hand, I am also working on some handmade gifts that I need to finish and I have a slight feeling that it’ll be a tight squeeze. Cross your fingers for me, would you?

★ Get out the Christmas tree and decorate. J and I never had our own Christmas tree before, because we’re usually traveling around the holidays and we honestly never had the space for a tree either. This year though, I decided to get a tree… a teeny-tiny tree, but it’s a tree nonetheless. Can’t wait to put it up next weekend!

★ Try to finish up projects at work. Of course, work before the holidays is busy as well and I have a couple of projects that I need to/would like to wrap up the end of the year. I’ll have a lot to do in the next three weeks, but at least I have the long Thanksgiving weekend as a little buffer this week.

★ Go to the Charles Dickens Christmas Fair in San Francisco. I’ve never been and it’s supposedly magical and I want to see it first hand.

★ Pack a Christmas stocking and donate it to Loaves and Fishes to help the homeless.

★ Take a deep breath and enjoy the holiday season. I want to pause, take a sip of hot chocolate, walk around the neighborhood and admire the Christmas lights and just marvel at the magic of the season!

What’s on your to-do list for the next few weeks?

It’s time for the Christmas Card Exchange

November 22, 2011 filed under: good things, holidays, NaBloPoMo

{source: my flickr}

With Christmas only a month away (WHAT?), it’s time for my annual Christmas cards roll call.

Do you want a Christmas card from me in your mailbox this year?

It’s basically just a little way to give back to each and every one of you lovely people that I’ve met through this blog. I think there is nothing nicer than a handwritten Christmas card in the mailbox to show that you care about people.

In case you are a relatively new reader around these parts, I quickly want to give you the run down on what this Christmas Card Exchange is all about. Every year, I’ve been asking my readers for their addresses (and their trust that I am not a stalker!), so I can send them a little note in the mail for Christmas.

It’s really pretty simple; all you have to do is fill out the form below and, with a bit of luck, you’ll find a Christmas card from me in the mail in the next few weeks. There is no obligation to return the favor (although I love to get Christmas cards as well! Hint, hint!).

If you have received Christmas cards from me in previous years and your address hasn’t changed, please strongly consider filling out the form anyway, because Google will put all your addresses in a neat spreadsheet for me which will make it way easier to make sure I don’t forget anyone.

Thank you!

I can’t wait to get started!

On the Causeway Classic and the weekend

November 21, 2011 filed under: California, NaBloPoMo, sports, weekend

On Saturday, J and I went to a football game. It has become somewhat of a tradition for us to attend the Causeway Classic Football Game and I therefore consider it our “must-go-to”-event of the year.
The Causeway Classic is the annual Football Game between the UC Davis Aggies and the Sacramento State Hornets. It’s called “Causeway Classic”, because it refers to the Yolo Causeway, which is a 3.2-mile long elevated highway viaduct on Interstate 80 over the Yolo Bypass floodplain that connects Davis and Sacramento.

As you might now from previous posts, J and I met at UC Davis when I was an exchange student there and the Football Game always is a little bit of a nostalgic event for me, because J took me to the Causeway Classic the fall when we met.

The game is cool and all, but to tell you the truth, I am really just going for the marching bands! I think they are absolutely awesome and I probably love them so much, because we have nothing like it in Germany.

Luckily, the weather was holding up, we didn’t have a torrential rain storm like last year (Thank God!), but it was pretty darn cold. Good thing I had brought a blanket to sit on. Still, during half-time, we had to go get some hot chocolate and a French Crêpe to warm up. Not that I minded! It was a nice afternoon treat.

We ended up leaving a little prematurely after the 3rd quarter, because my feet felt like they were pretty much not part of my body anymore, but we listened to the rest of the game on the way home (thanks live-streaming on my iPhone!) and UC Davis won 23:19. Hooray!

Other good things this weekend:

early morning coffee ♥ clothes shopping (for J) ♥ staying up late ♥ movie night (we watched “Due Date”) ♥ trip to Michaels ♥ phone calls with family ♥ a 3-hour nap (oops!) ♥ a table full of crafts ♥ oven-fries ♥ candles ♥ “Sister Wives” live-tweet up with some lovely ladies ♥ dark chocolate mint thins (holy addiction – it’s also the marker for the beginning of the holiday season for me!)

How was your weekend?