theinbetweenismine

just a girl living the expat life

Archives for April 2016

April Favorites

filed under: monthly favorites

Check out this image I made using Diptic!
Rae Dunn Coffee Mug //Ikea Råskog cart // Mossimo Lace trim tank top //
Converse AllStar Chuck Taylor // Chocolate Chip Ice-Cream from Safeway //
Mini Bobby pins // L’Occitane Milk Concentrate Body Lotion // TJ’s Italian Style Salame Sticks //

 

I’ve seen the Rae Dunn.Clay coffee mugs around the Internet a few times and when I found one (or two) at Home Goods a few weeks ago, I couldn’t resist. As you know, I kind of have a mug addiction. I guess, things could be worse.

I already told you that I bought the Råskog cart for my craftroom and it makes me so happy.

I am kinda tired of buying the same old basic tank tops for the summer (which I tend to do. I have them in multiple colors, but they’re all the same basic tank tops) and when I came across this lace tank top at Target, I had to have it. I think you can pair it with jeans and shorts and it will always look a little more ‘put together’.

I had Converse Chucks as long as I can remember (they keep coming back in style!) and I’ve been wearing my blue ones lately (which I bought in the 90’s, I think, and I am amazed how well they held up.) I think it might soon be time to invest in a new pair though!

Chocolate Chip ice-cream FTW. I don’t stray far from the basic ice-cream flavors, because honestly? They’re the best.

Thank goodness for mini bobby pins (that match my hair color!). I wouldn’t know what to do without them. Ladies with fine hair will understand.

When we moved, I did a lot of decluttering, but I also found a lot of things that I forgot I had. Like this Milk Concentrate Body Lotion from L’Occitane. Love it.

If you haven’t tried these Italian Salame sticks from Trader Joe’s, you’re missing out! They’re delicious and a great snack!

What’s one of your favorite things this month?

Travel recap: Selva (Wolkenstein), Val Gardena, Italy

filed under: family, nostalgia, travel

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The second week of my trip home was spent in Italy. South Tyrol, to be exact. As previously mentioned, my parents took my sister and me skiing in Val Gardena every year ever since we were little and being able to finally go back there (with everybody) was such a special treat. I am giving you a fair warning – this post is photo-heavy!

We stayed at this super-nice vacation rental (Apartments Granit) within walking distance to the slopes and kids’ ski school. We had a three-bedroom apartment with full kitchen, huge living room and wrap-around balcony with the view of the impressive Sella Group.

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Awful view, am I right?

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The weather was perfect all week. It was cold (so the snow held up really well despite no more snow fall), but mostly sunny and they were just the perfect conditions to ski. (You need to know that I am a “fair-weather-skier”. I don’t like being caught in snowstorms.

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Tyrolean bacon dumpling soup

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Our apartment was within walking distance to the ski school (where we had to drop off the kids in the morning) and then we could hop on the next gondola and start our skiing day in the huge Val Gardena Skiing area.

In the evenings, we were able to ski down all the way into the town –Wolkenstein’s elevation is 1500 m (5,100 feet) – and walk back to our apartment. It doesn’t get better than that.

We prepared yummy Brotzeit dinners at home, but also went out to eat a few times.

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We had delicious authentic Italian pizza at Pizzeria and Restaurant Pranives. 

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Pizza with arugula, fresh tomatoes and parmesan cheese

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One evening, we drove to St. Ulrich/Ortisei, another small town in Val Gardena, where my family used to stay during our vacations in the past. It’s famous for it’s ornate woodcarvings (they export to all around the world) and we visited “our friend” (who has been guarding this store front since we were little girls). 

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We also visited the old steam engine that has been around as long as I can remember.

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We had dinner at Restaurant Pizzeria Mar Dolomit. This restaurant is attached to the public indoor swimming pool which also has been around since my sister and I were little. Of course, we had to eat there while we were there. 

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 sisters

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Before we went on our trip, I said that I wanted to go to our favorite aprés-ski café, Bar La Stua, every single day and enjoy their hot chocolate, because they serve the best hot chocolate in the world, hands-down. That didn’t quite work out, but I had it twice and it was as delicious as I remembered.

On Thursday, the kids were in ski school all day (the other days were half days) and we had the opportunity to ski around the Sella Group. This all-day tour is called the Sella Ronda, which is a series of ski-lifts and downhill runs, all linked to one another around the whole plateau (possible both clockwise and counterclockwise). It means you won’t use any lift or run twice and it was so much fun.

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Well deserved! Egg nog at the ski lodge after skiing around the sella group. 

On our last day, we had the opportunity to ski the Saslong, a World cup downhill race course and annual venue for the Men’s Super G (super giant slalom). 

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The kids participated in a farewell skiing race that is organized by the ski school on the last day of the course and they both did really great.

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In the evening, we had dinner at Restaurant Sal Fëur and then went ice-skating at Pranives Ice Rink.

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The pork shank was so good! 

I don’t really have the words to describe what this trip meant to me. We had a truly amazing family vacation and I wish we could have done this for another week (or two). Time always flies when you’re having fun. But honestly, I am just so very thankful that I was able to go home and spend this precious time with my family.

For the love of Ikea

filed under: home, lists!, making things better, shopping

I finally made a trip to Ikea a couple of weekends ago. It’s one of the places people love or hate (or so I heard), but I definitely fall in the former camp. I think Ikea has a lot of beautiful, affordable designs and while everybody can rather easily spot Ikea furniture in other people’s’ home, I think you can totally make the home decor your own by mixing it with other pieces (although I have to admit, come to think of it, most of our furniture is from Ikea. I should mix it up a bit.)

I love when the new IKEA catalogue comes in the mail and I could peruse it for hours on end.

I also don’t mind enjoy putting the furniture together. I know a lot of people hate it and get frustrated by it, but for me it has a really soothing effect. It feels like you’re actually building your own furniture, without actually having to measure, cut and drill holes into wood planks. Haha.

I wanted to go to Ikea ever since we moved into our house (3,5 months ago), but I was afraid that I really would have liked to buy everything and decided that I needed to hold off for a bit and make (at least a mental) plan. A list of our needs vs. wants, so to speak. Now that we’re a little bit more settled, there are still quite a few things I want to get for our new home (some I deem necessary, others maybe not necessary, but well… much desired.)

A few things I bought on my last trip…

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Råskog cart (in teal!) for my craft room. I’ve wanted one of those carts for forever.

Solvinden paper lanters + Solarvet solar string of lights (for our backyard).

Hejsan Pen cup set (this was just too cute to resist + on clearance and really, who wouldn’t have put that in their cart?).

Two Vörda knives (I already cut myself with one of them. Holy moly, they have sharp blades when they’re new. Be careful!).

Ikea 365+ food storage box for the pantry.

 

I saw a few (a gazillion! Who am I kidding?) other things that I would have liked to buy, but didn’t (yet), because a) money and b) because I haven’t decided if this is really what I want, as I constantly change my mind about styles/colors, but here are a few things I am contemplating (and yes, you guessed correctly, I am slightly obessed with Ikea’s HEMNES series. I just love the design. No shame.):

 

via @frametastic

Kallax 16-cube shelf (in white) for my craft room

Hemnes bedframe. We haven’t had a real bedframe (I don’t call the metal thing under the mattress riser a bedframe) in forever. Do we need one? No. Do I want one to make the bedroom look more put together? YES.

Hemnes dresser – see above.

Hemnes shoe cabinet . Since we don’t have a real entry way, I’d at least like to create the illusion of an entry way area by putting up a shoe cabinet and coat rack or something.

Seglarö Parasol (for our backyard deck!). We have a place to sit outside now (hooray!), but we also have afternoon/evening sun in our backyard and I really need some sun shade to be able to enjoy the evenings outside.

Luns Chalk/Magnet board for our kitchen. An organization station, if you will. I have just the right spot for it.

Hemnes nightstand. Everybody needs a nightstand.

Hemnes TV stand. We have a little shelf that holds our TV right now. This would look so much nicer though (with more storage).

Hemnes coffee table. We haven’t had a coffee table, ever. I just think it’s time.

 

And here are even more miscellaneous things I could easily see myself add to our house. Maybe some of these things will replace some of the things that we have already. Maybe some will just magically come home with me sometime. Who knows.

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Byholma/Marieberg rattan chair // Maryd tray table // Hjälmaren leaning shelf // Gregor swivel chair //
Rundlig Serving bowl // Hjälmaren shelf // Knagglig storage box // Kvarnvik boxes //
Alex drawer unit // Stenstorp Plate shelf // Finnby bookcase // Solvinden led-solar powered outdoor light //
Äpplarö /Klasen charcoal grill // Äpplarö Hållö chair // Gåro Fredön hammock // Äpplarö Hållö chair with footstool //

As you can see, my love for Ikea (which is pronounced [ɪˈkeːˈa], in case you want to pronounce it the (correct) Swedish way. I’m a bit on a mission here, ha) is strong.

Do you have any favorite Ikea items? Where else do you buy furniture/home decor? (Do tell!)

 

Currently | April

filed under: currently

Uhm, I feel like I just did my last “currently”-post. How is it another month later already?

via @frametastic

looking forward to my trip down to SoCal this weekend. Friends, delicious food, beach, toes-in-ocean-dipping and all.

hoping to start working on my craft room in the next couple of weeks. It’s the only room in our house that is (still) a total mess.

watching Parenthood! Yeah, I know, how have I not finished the series yet, you might ask? I took a break a little while ago and “forgot” to get back to watching it. (Also, I tend to “save” shows/episodes when I know that they’re over to make them “last longer” and savor every last minute). But, I (binge-)watched a few episodes Saturday night and now I am hooked again. Also: one, I really do not want this show to end, and two, can I be part of the Braverman family?

loving my Friday morning routine.

wishing for moderate temperatures for the next couple of months. It hit 90℉ already once this week and I can really do without the hot temperatures for a few more weeks. It’s not officially summer yet, California! Didn’t you get the memo?

obsessing over things that I want to buy for our backyard (hammock, anyone?). Gah. Why does everything cost so much money?

sticking to my new Runtastic training plan.

thinking about my bff who is undergoing (yet another) round of cancer treatment. Man, I really hope this time she’ll beat it for good. She’s really been through enough.

listening to The Shepod (on my longer runs). Light entertainment and entertaining enlightenment (ha!)  by Rachael and Sara.

making a gazillion plans in my head (as one does).

reading “Man’s search for meaning” by Viktor E. Frankl for the Postal Bookclub.

eating all the strawberries. I love strawberries. So glad they’re finally back in season! I can’t wait until I can harvest the first homegrown ones in my backyard.

Travel recap: Grevenbroich (my hometown)

filed under: birthday, family, friends, Germany, travel

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I owe you a fun recap of my trip home in March, but I’ve decided to break it up in travel chunks, rather than trying to do one big blog post about all of it. ‘Cause honestly? It’s too overwhelming and I wouldn’t even know where to start. So a little structure seems like the way to go. You’re good with that? Great.
The first 5 days of my trip (not including travel days), I spent in my hometown at my parents’ house. I love going back home and staying with my parents. They’ve lived in this house since I was 10 and it’s my childhood home that I love coming home to.

My first travel day was Friday (March, 11). I took a quick flight down to LAX and then boarded my international flight to FRA, Germany. You guys, I flew on an Airbus 380. You know, one of these massively large (the world’s largest!) double-decker passenger airliners which seats 525 people. As I said, massive. When I looked at it from the terminal window before boarding, all I could think was how huge it was. How does something this huge stay in the air?
I let myself not be concerned about the physics of this (because I honestly wouldn’t get it anyway), but all I can say is: this was the smoothest airplane ride I’ve ever been on, including start and landing. I hardly felt the acceleration before we took off and we were in the air before I even realized it. Super-stable, smooth ride.

I got into Frankfurt the next morning and then hopped on an ICE-train which took me to Cologne in an hour and where my uncle (who happens to live in Cologne) awaited me on the train platform. What a nice welcome! We had time for a quick coffee before I caught the regional train to my hometown where my whole family awaited me. It was so, so good to hug everybody again.

Sunday was our big birthday party at my sister’s house. She (and my Mom) did a great job planning and organizing everything. I helped a little bit with the invitation we sent out, but that was about all I could do from afar. I practically just “flew in” to attend my own party. And pssst, just between us: that’s totally the way to do it. (Ha, no. Honestly, I wish I could have done more to help.)

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My family was there, three of my very dearest friends made their way to Grevenbroich to attend (none of them lives close by) and it just made me incredibly happy to be able to have them around me for my birthday (which is usually never the case anymore). And you can count on my bff to show up with huge birthday balloons and ridiculous, sparkly “40”-glasses to appropriately celebrate the occasion. Ha.

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Of course, the hours just disappeared way to quickly and I wish I could have had more one-on-one time with everyone (I also wish we had taken more pictures), but we were definitely making the best of it.

During the remaining four days in my hometown, I attended my nephew’s birthday kaffeeklatsch,  took a trip to Cologne, ran some errands around town (like passport renewal and courthouse visit), had a family dinner, visited my niece Greta at her elementary school, and was excited about a reunion with an old family friend. I tried to keep the days as lightly planned as possible, but you guessed it: it’s never easy.

Luckily, the second part of my trip was really going to be a ‘vacation’ for me, not just a visit home (which usually is always packed with tons of plans and appointments). Stay tuned for a couple more recaps.

April Link Love

filed under: link love

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A lovely (and free!) knitting pattern for my knitting buddies.You’re welcome!

Remember that I’ve kept talking about our grocery budget? Well, I loved this take on the difference between frugality vs. budgeting, because it explains exactly why I (am learning to) accept a higher grocery bill over just trying to spend as little as possible every month.

I might have to give this a go. Foods that regrow in your kitchen.

Couldn’t agree more with my friend Kate: Pay Me What You Owe Me: On Asking Bloggers to Shill for Your Brand for Free

I am always looking to simplify items I buy for cleaning my house, so this is a good list to start: 10 must-have ingredients for homemade cleaners.

I found a very tasty, no-added sugar granola at our local Co-op, but it’s kind of expensive, so I am thinking of trying to make my own, maybe trying this or this this recipe .

Stop telling me to have kids. I love me some Joy Bryant, not because I necessarily share her sentiment (I can’t answer the question if I want to be a mom with 100% certainty), but because I love the way she talks about the issue of ‘choice’.

We all know it, some people have talked about it. Social media leads to playing the comparison game and often, that’s not good. Here are a few things you can do to combat online jealousy.

I loved Caiti’s post about Wanderlusting for the list of travel ideas, but even more for the message she prefaced her post with. Go read.

Neuroscientist explains while crafting is great for your mental health. I knew it!

A fellow expat blogger wrote this. Truth! The world is bigger than you

How to embrace aging. Yup.

Recipe: Thai Red Curry

filed under: food, recipe

I finally get around to posting my Thai red curry recipe (I know some of you have been waiting for this!) I love this dish because it’s so versatile (you can really use any vegetables that you want) and so filling. I always thought Thai curry was very hard to cook at home, but it turns out, it’s actually very simple. I hope you enjoy this recipe, too.

Thai

 

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I got nominated for the Liebster Award

filed under: awards, blog stuff

  

In February, my blog friend Nancy nominated me for the Liebster Award. I’ve been particularly thrilled, because did you notice that this award contains a German word? “Liebster” means “loveliest” or “most favorite” and it makes me happy to know that Nancy would consider my blog for this award, so thank you for the nomination!

The rules are pretty simple. You’ve probably seen blog awards go around on the internet – in one form or another. Since I am always intrigued to learn more (especially random things) about other bloggers, I happily participate.

  1. Answer the questions that the blogger picked out for you, then come up with 11 questions that you like to have answered.
  2. Choose 2-11 people for the award and link to their blogs in your post.
  3. Go to their blog and tell them about the award nomination!
  4. No tag backs!

Without further ado, here are Nancy’s questions for me. Sit back and learn some more about me!

1. What is the craziest thing you’ve ever done?

I think the craziest thing (for me) in my life has been the decision to stay in the US after my exchange semester. I never ever in a million years expected to end up living here. I always wanted to live here for a fixed period of time, but I never thought I’d completely uproot my life and emigrate. Whoops. Life happened.

2. Describe your blog in three words.

Life, crafts and travel.

3. What does your perfect Saturday night look like?

I’m definitely a homebody. I love a cozy evening on the couch. A nice dinner, maybe a movie or some good conversations and I am pretty happy :)

4. What’s your best advice for new bloggers?

Don’t compare yourself to others. Do your own thing. It’s allowed to get inspiration elsewhere, but try to write from your own heart about things that are important to you. If you try to just write for your audience, you might find it to be impossible to keep up.

5. Which travel destination has left a lasting impression and why?

Horseshoe Bend, AZ. Of all the beautiful sights I have seen in the southwest of the United States, I am fascinated by this meander of the Colorado River. Maybe it’s the fact that it’s just wildly impressive and one of the few sites that you can get to without paying a fee. There are no barriers, no tourist signs, no nothing. Just wide, untouched nature (and if one is lucky, not too many other people around).

6. Is there a blog post that is particularly close to your heart and if so, why?

This one. I tried to be completely transparent and honest, which is sometimes a hard thing to do on the Internet, but I feel like it’s important to talk about these things. Usually you’re not alone with your thoughts and the only way to break taboos is to take openly about them.

7. What did you want to be when you grow up and what do you do for work now?

When I was little, I wanted to be a veterinarian until I worked for a vet during summer breaks as a teenager and realized I wasn’t cut out for the emotional part of it. Then, I wanted to be a journalist, until I did an internship at a local newspaper and found it mundane and boring (probably depends where you end up working). These days, I am working as a geographer and I love my job. I’ve always been fascinated by geography/geology, so it’s fitting.

8. Did your way of blogging change over time?

Oh, absolutely yes. When I first started out, I didn’t really know what I was doing. Ha (well, maybe I still don’t know what I am doing, but I am better at it.) I used to just write for family and friends and didn’t put much thought into posting on a somewhat regular schedule, adding photos to my blog posts, trying to share more personal thoughts than just mundane day-to-day happenings. I do think though that not just my blogging has changed, but that the whole blogosphere has made a huge shift over the last decade.

9. Which three things can’t be missing for a perfect breakfast?

Coffee, fresh rolls, gouda cheese.

10. When and where do you like to blog most?

I usually jot down ideas wherever they come to me (online or in a notebook), but I mostly blog at home over the weekend. Sometimes I finish blog posts the night before I want to post them. I don’t really pre-schedule blog posts.

11. What were your New Year’s resolutions for 2016 and are you still following through with them?

I really don’t make any New Year’s resolutions (because I feel like any time is a good time to make resolutions), but I have set some tentative goals for 2016. One of them is beating my running mileage from last year (more than 425 miles) , which comes out to running at least 36 miles/month (of course, more is always better). I’ve also committed to writing more handwritten letters/cards again this year and to read 24 books (about 2 per month). So far, I am on track to making these things happen. We’ll see how it goes.

I am nominating:

Chrissy from The Brave Wanderer

Lisa from Lisa’s Yarns

Nora from Walking with Nora

Kristen from Life by Kristen

Stephany from Stephany writes

Here are the questions for you:

1. What is your favorite beauty product?
2. If you could pick any place/city to move to for a year, where would you want to go?
3. What is the one thing you like best about your home?
4. What are your favorite pair of shoes?
5. What is your favorite travel destination?
6. If you could have one do-over, what would it be?
7. What is something you are currently struggling with?
8. Breakfast, lunch or dinner?
9. Who is your celebrity girl crush?
10. Why did you start blogging?
11. Tell me about one of your plans for this summer.

 

Friday Facts

filed under: Friday Facts

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To be quite honest, I am still dealing with the (mostly) emotional jetlag that comes with my visits with family. It’s never easy to go from  60mph to literally ZERO in a matter of hours. I always find the transition from being there and “all of a sudden” being here again difficult (yaddah, yaddah, I know there is a 11-hour transatlantic flight in between). And then, BAM, 10 days have gone by and it’s like I didn’t notice.
Needless to say, I am still re-adjusting to daily life,  processing, sorting through photos, trying to wrap my head around what just happened and putting that in coherent blog posts. Patience, my friends.

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Related: I have yet to get back into my work-out routine. Travel always throws me off and then I was sick for a few days upon my return and yeah, let’s just say my head is ready to get out there running again, my body hasn’t been. But today it’s happening! Mark my words.

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My co-workers took me out to a fun belated birthday lunch this week. They were going to take me out during my birthday week at the beginning of March already, but German that I am, I told them that there is no way that they can take me out before my actual birthday (and I was already on annual leave that day) because that’s bad luck.  So they had to wait… but it was a nice “welcome back”- gesture!

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I baked those overnight spelt-rye rolls last weekend, because I was missing German breakfasts already. They turned out great and were so tasty.

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This weekend, I am planning to go out and buy a few plants for my vegetable garden. I know, I am almost a little late in the game, but since I do finally have a backyard now, I want to take advantage about it and try my hand at a vegetable garden again. I am planning on getting some tomato, zucchini, cucumber and strawberry plants and maybe a few herbs. What have you been planting this season?

Happy weekend!

Daily life: 9 of our favorite weekly meals (winter edition)

filed under: daily life, recipe

A while back, I shared some of the regular meals that we eat during the summer months. I thought I’d also share some of the dishes that we’ve made repeatedly this winter. Since I eat both breakfast and lunch at work (and it’s mostly simple things and/or leftovers), we cook a full meal every evening.

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1. Barley Soup – It seems like not too many people know about barley soup, but it’s tasty and filling. It’s the perfect soup for the cooler season.

2. Brown rice pasta casserole – I’ve been raving about our brown rice pasta casserole quite a bit, because it’s so easy to make and so delicious. We buy the brown rice fussili from Trader Joe’s, throw them in a casserole dish with spinach, mushrooms, carrots and some cheese on top and use a blend of water, cream and spices to pour over. Bake for 40-45 minutes and you have a supertasty warm dinner. It’s our favorite right now.

3. Vegetable Red Curry –  if you like some Thai food at home, this is a really easy, basic recipe and it’s so good. I am going to share this recipe in a separate post.

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4. Poule au Pot – I am a fan of soups during the winter months and nothing taste better than chicken broth made from scratch. This recipe adds leek, carrots, beets and potatoes into the mix and makes a really yummy dinner.

5. Steak with oven fries and vegetable side – We don’t make steak very often, but when we have a craving for a nice juicy piece of meat, we usually make a ribeye steak (sometimes with fried onions), oven fries and either a wax been salad or side of vegetables.

6. Pork or Turkey Geschnetzeltes with Spätzle and green beans – Popular (and delicious) German dish. I can’t help but cook some German dishes every once in a while.

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7. Spaghetti with meatballs or bolognese sauce – This is a weekly staple. We alternate between the meatballs and the bolognese sauce right now and haven’t gotten tired of it. So good. We’re using Mezetta Pasta Sauce (made in Napa Valley), which is so, so good. Expensive, but worth it (I try to buy them on sale when I can.)

8. Pork belly with fried potates and green beans – As I previously mentioned, I found fresh pork belly at a local butcher shop and couldn’t be more thrilled. Pork belly is a regular cut of meat in German cooking and so delicious. (Not everything has to be turned into bacon ;)).

9. Tomato soup and baguette – if we’re not in the mood for cooking, but I want something warm, I quickly whip up a tomato soup and it hits the spot every time. Some baguette on the side and I am good.

What do you cook on a regular basis? Share some cooking inspiration with me.