theinbetweenismine

just a girl living the expat life

Archives for August 2015

August Favorites

filed under: monthly favorites

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1.) I mentioned this necklace before which was handmade in SoCal from upcycled surfboard resin. It’s so pretty!

2.) I’ve mentioned this one before, too, but it definitely deserves a spot in my monthly favorites’ list. I recently started listening to the “Money For The Rest Of Us“- podcast and it’s been very informative! If you want need to learn a little bit more how the economy and finances work (and when we’re honest, we all need to know at least the basics!), this podcast is a good place to start!

3.) Can’t say no to some Trader Joe’s Organic Midnight Moo, when the late night craving hits.

4.) It’s been still pretty hot here in Sacramento and nothing’s better than cooling off with a popsicle. Outshine Lemon fruit bars are currently my favorite. They’re so refreshing!

5.) I’ve been back to crafting and have fallen in love with those little ink pads. The Versa Magic dew drops come in such pretty colors and can be used for so many different purposes!

6.) Loved this month’s book that I received through the Postal Bookclub. I read Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell within 3 days! I haven’t been captured by a story like that in quite a while. I wish the ending would have been a bit different, but oh well.

Summer tales II – Carmel and Monterey

filed under: family, summer tales, travel, USA

I am recapping my family’s visit and  our travel adventures from earlier this summer under the category “summer tales”.

On Monday (6/29), we set out on our adventure road trip. First stop: Monterey. We made it there in 3,5 hours which is not bad at all.

We checked into our motel, Comfort Inn Monterey by the Sea, had a snack and then drove to Carmel. We really only had this one afternoon set aside (what with our tight travel schedule), so we explored the town center for a little bit and admired the beautiful houses and art galleries.

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Then we took the scenic drive to Carmel River State Beach. We had the opportunity to put our feet in the sand and enjoy the ocean. And then we got extra-lucky as a school of dolphins swam by. Greta and Tom were thrilled with excitement!

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On we went on the 17-Mile Drive with an obligatory stop at Pebble Beach Golf Course, a visit to Pebble Beach Lodge and the coastal part of the golf course.

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It was already 6 p.m. when we finally embarked on the 17-Mile drive up the coast. Of course we stopped here and there to enjoy the view and take pictures. Highlights included the Lone Cypress and Bird Rock.

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Don’t think it’s easy to get a decent picture with one or both kids being goofy!

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The art of the selfie :)

After we left the 170-Mile Drive, we continued along the coast to Cannery Row, where we had dinner at Bubba Gump’s.

Yeah, call it a tourist trap, but food is good and IF you have to go to Bubba Gump’s, you should do it in Monterey, the birthplace of this chain restaurant. Well, and you really have to go there at least once.
We were super-lucky as it was unusually empty on Cannery Row and we actually found a parking spot literally across from the restaurant and also got a table right away. That’s practically unheard of (but maybe that was because we were there on a weekday, who knows?).

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My Dad and Dirk enjoyed “Surf’n’Turf”, the rest of us had shrimp in different variations and Tom had a kids’ hamburger. Food was delicious and we had a great night.
Jetlag, however, made itself known when Greta fell asleep on my lap around 8:30 p.m. and pretty soon after we headed back to the hotel.

You can find the previous post here.

Currently | August

filed under: currently

via @frametastic

eating boiled potatoes with greek yogurt and chives and salads, mostly.

appreciating long catch-up phone calls with my sister and a dear friend over the weekend.

reading Respected by my friend Akirah. 

looking forward to my first paycheck under my new contract!

working on getting my creative juices flowing again. I haven’t had the time or peace of mind in a while to be creative, but it has started to itch in my fingers.

shopping for a few items at Michaels.

watching the news and wondering if there aren’t any more important things to talk about than this clown running for president. They even call him a ‘politician’ now on his Wikipedia page. Come on, give me a break!

listening to Money For The Rest Of Us, ‘a personal finance podcast on money, how it works, how to invest it and how to live without worrying about it’. If you are one of the people who wants to learn more about finances, this is a good start. David Stein is easy to listen to and he puts complicated matters into digestible terms. Highly recommend.

feeling like the less I try to cram into my weekends, the more productive I actually am. Who knew?

splitting my time between the park and the gym right now. I can’t wait for cooler temperatures to arrive, so that I can run outdoors more again.

obsessing over the magnets that I ordered from getpicpack.com. They’re so awesome!

keeping in mind that everything will work out eventually.

Friday Facts

filed under: Friday Facts, Germany

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Today is the last day of my first pay period at my new old job. In case you missed my (protected) post from last week, I finally left my contractor position and got my direct appointment with the government. It’s been a long time coming.  I am still working in the same office with the same people on the same projects, only my “official” employer has changed. Working for the state had some perks I wasn’t previously aware of, but overall I am thankful that this job limbo is finally over.

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My “balcony garden” is pathetic this year. The only plant I’ve managed to keep alive is my (third) basil plant. My tomato plants didn’t even make it to bearing any fruits (which is probably because our balcony inconveniently underwent some construction) and it basically ‘killed’ my gardening efforts. Oh well. Thank goodness for the Farmers Market!

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One year ago today, I was in Germany celebrating my niece’s first day of school. I never blogged much about my time in Germany last year (I guess, I didn’t get around to it), but it was a much needed time to unplug and spend time with family. I can’t believe it’s been a year. Greta’s going to be 7 in October. Stop growing up so fast!

Happy Friday!

 

Summer tales II – Sacramento

filed under: family, summer tales, travel, USA

I am recapping my family’s visit and  our travel adventures from earlier this summer under the category “summer tales”.

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We spent Sunday (8/27) hanging out in Sacramento and keeping it low key.

Despite the fact that my parents had to vacate our bedroom and move into a hotel when my sister arrived (as I mentioned, we didn’t have enough space to put everybody up), we managed to host our family at our small apartment quite well. Everybody came over for breakfast on Sunday morning and if it hadn’t been for the warm temperatures in our dining room (there’s no AC), we could have quite cozily and comfortably enjoyed breakfast around our tiny dining room table.

We spent the morning watching some baseball (J was explaining the rules to my Dad and BIL) and hanging out in our air-conditioned living room before heading out to explore Oldtown in the early afternoon. It was a beautiful, but hot day here in the Central Valley.

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We got to do some tourist-y stuff (like riding the carriage around Oldtown with the kids), we visited the old school house and enjoyed the views along the Sacramento River.

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Aww, look! She wrote my name! With hearts around it!

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In the afternoon, we headed back to my parents’ hotel and spent a couple of hours at the pool to cool down (and honestly we needed a place to let the kids run wild while everybody else was still trying to get over their jetlags).

For dinner, we took everybody out for pizza and wings at Chicago Fire and I think it’s safe to say that my BIL is hooked on hot wings now. Who could blame him?

You can find the previous post here.