theinbetweenismine

just a girl living the expat life

Archives for April 2017

April favorites 

filed under: monthly favorites

1. I was looking for a sleeve for my iphone (since my old one didn’t fit anymore and was also falling apart) and I came across this super-soft and cute CORNMI leather pouch. It has three card slots two openings to hold your phone and cash. It also has four magnetic button closures as well.

2.  I’ve had MAC’s Pro Longwear Paint Pot (in soft ochre) for a while, but never mentioned it here before. WHY? It’s such a great eyeshadow primer // slash// neutral eyeshadow and while a bit on the pricey side, it lasts forever!

3. I haven’t used it that much yet, but I think my friend Susi introduced me to Apple Pay and it’s genius. It’s nice to know that I always have a ‘way to pay’, even if I just go for a run with just my phone in my pocket. Oh, the conveniences of modern life.

4. I really didn’t need new jeans, in fact, I should probably get rid off a few that I haven’t worn in ages, but I just couldn’t walk by these Old Navy Mid-rise Built-in Sculpt Rockstar Jeans in stone lake (gray). I only had blue and black jeans (so far) and the gray color just called to me. It is such a nice color for pants to pair with a variety of other colors. Besides, they were affordable and are so comfy.

5. I love my new Brooks Ravenna 7 running shoes that I got last month. I’ve put some outdoor miles on them and they’re really comfortable and so pretty.

6. I picked up this Bumble and Bumble protective hair primer at Sephora a few weeks ago and then was pleasantly surprised to see that my (new) hair dresser was using it as well. It  detangles, softens, and silkens hair, has UV and heat protectants to keep hair healthy and moisturized, and it tames frizz. I love it.

What was one of your favorite things in April?

Currently | April

filed under: currently

 

looking forward to seeing and spending time with my whole family and eating all the food in  a couple of weeks — hooray!

reading No one cares about crazy people: the chaos and heartbreak of mental health in America by Ron Powers. Oh boy, I am in for a rough ride, I suppose (I am only two chapters in).

watching SNL. I hadn’t watched SNL in a long time, but started to watch it again shortly after the election. Melissa McCarthy and Alec Baldwin are so funny. I also really love Kate McKinnon. She’s hilarious (and she reminds me a little bit of Anke Engelke (who my German friends will know!) with her versatility).

working on my second half marathon training. I am in week 4 now and it’s going well so far. I’ll be talking about the plan and how it’s going a little more in a separate post. 

enjoying the warm spring weather (when it’s not raining- ha!).  We’ve had a mixed bag of spring weather so far, but it’s been nice.

listening to this contemporary piano piece by Mark Pinkus (actually his whole album is wonderful!). I love it.  I’d love to learn how to play this (I miss my piano!). If you clicked on the link, what did you think? Do you ever listen to piano music? 

contemplating if it is going to be too late to plant some vegetables and fruits after I get back from Germany at the end of May? 

eating all the pasta.

drinking Arnold Palmers (iced tea with lemonade). It’s delicious and refreshing.

loving my new hair cut + color. I was so overdue, so it was marvelous to go in last Saturday and have my head pampered for two hours!

feeling guilty that I didn’t attend the ‘march for science’ on Saturday. It wasn’t on my radar when I made the hair appointment and since I had been putting that off for so long already, I didn’t want to cancel or postpone it, because of my upcoming trip home. I am glad that so many people turned out for the march in our city though! That was nice to see.

not so happy that we owed taxes this year for the first time ever. I always try to be on top of our regular deductions, but sometimes it’s hard to figure out. Meh.

What’s going on with you currently?

5 ways to pamper yourself

filed under: my so-called life

 
Self-care is so important and I am a big proponent of some pampering. Especially when we’re stretched thin during a very hectic time in our lives or when we’re in race training. Sometimes pampering yourself can be a matter of an hour to yourself.

Here are my favorite ways to pamper myself:

1. A pedicure — It’s always a treat for me. And ever since I started running, my feet need all the help they can get! Haha.

2. Reading on the couch — I am usually a busy-body who needs to do at least three things at the same time (because ‘OMG, so much to do, so little time!’ ), but I’ve recently rediscovered the joys of just focusing on a book (or magazine) and not feeling guilty about not doing anything else at the same time! It’s been glorious.

3. A massage — I don’t get massages very often (I know, other runners get them regularly), but it’s a special treat after a race or for a special occasion.

4. Yoga — I haven’t been to yoga in a while (ahem!), but when I manage to go, I usually really enjoy it and feel really relaxed and calm afterward. (Note to self: Go back to yoga already!)

5. Skip a workout — I usually don’t like to think of it as ‘skipping’, but rather postponing a workout. Sometimes, you just have to listen to your body and take a rest day when it really wants one (not when the training schedule says you should take it). 

What’s your favorite way to pamper yourself?

I am linking up with Running on Happy and Fairytales and Fitness for the Friday Five 2.0 Linkup.

Friday Five

April Link Love

filed under: link love

APRILLinkLove

In an effort to organize my monthly link up posts into a more easily digestible format, I’ll try and split up my links into categories from now on.  Let me know if that is helpful.

 

Around the Interwebs

Please stop forcing your favorite TV show on me

Have you heard of Resistbot? It turns your text messages into daily letters to Congress— in the simplest and easiest way possible. You can text ResistBot what you want to say and it will be faxed to your representatives (senators and local representatives). So easy to get involved!

He swapped email signatures with a female co-worker, and learned a valuable lesson. This is slightly appalling to say the least.

How do I raise a son in the age of Trump? The same way we should always be raising all of our children: By giving them a view of a complex world. By refusing to engage in reductive binaries. By refusing to hide from ugly truth. By being accountable to them for the world we made. By making ourselves uncomfortable in giving and in loving. So that when it comes time for them to take over, they don’t waste any time, and can get straight to work building something better. Couldn’t have said it better. (Also, sometimes I am glad I don’t have to raise children of my own.)

America’s Cult of Ignorance – and the Death of Expertise. Something to contemplate.

10 free things to do in SF

That’s a good one. A little attitude goes a long way. Hate To Break It To You But You Are The Reason Your Life Sucks So Much

Good news for the California drought. Awesome photos, too.

Where is the knitting emoji?? 69 new emojis.

A timeline of my life.

 

Around the blogosphere

Do more things that make you forget to check your phone

The power of your words. I loved this. We could all do with giving out compliments more often!

Bullet journal supplies (I am not on the bandwagon yet, but I soon might be!)

 

Craftiness 

Learn to hand-letters: 20 fantastic resources for beginners Some day I will have the time and peace of mind to sit down and learn this!

Knit-Front-Slip-Back – another way to work an increase in knitting.

The ultimate yarn weight cheat sheet (← try to say that three times fast!)

 

Deliciousness

These kinds of compound butters are staples at German BBQs. Try them on your bbq’ed meat or baguette.

Ultimate BBQ chicken quesadillas. Yum!

I love oven dishes during the winter months, they’re just so warm and soothing. This one looks so good: Chicken Tetrazzini

 

Share a good link with me in the comments!

Recipe | Sweet Plaited Yeast Bread

filed under: recipe

Here’s the recipe that I promised you yesterday! I think I have shared the recipe before, but it’s been a while and I thought I would share it again for my new readers.

Like every good German, I am slightly obsessed with bread (surprise!) and if you’ve been around this corner of the Internet, you know that I traditionally bake a sweet plaited bread for New Year’s and Easter. It’s a tradition in the Rhineland and for me, it doesn’t feel right without it.

Do you have traditional Easter baked goods or other dishes that you always make every year? 

Sweet Yeast Bread

  • 500 g (4 cups) flour ( (all-purpose or bread flour))
  • 1 pkg dry yeast
  • 70 g (1/3 cup) sugar
  • 250 ml milk
  • 80 g (1/3 cup) soft butter
  • 1 egg
  • 1 pinch salt
  • 1 egg yolk
  • pearl sugar (optional)

  1. In a large bowl, combine flour and yeast; stir well.

  2. Combine milk and butter in a small bowl; heat (in the microwave) until milk is warm and butter is softened but not melted.

  3. Gradually add the milk and butter to the flour mixture; stirring constantly. Add the egg, sugar, and salt and knead thoroughly until smooth and elastic.

  4. Cover with a damp cloth and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 1-2 hours (or over night).

  5. Deflate the dough and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide the dough into three equal size rounds. Roll each round into a long roll and form a loosely braided loaf.

  6. Connect both ends and seal the ends of the wreath together.Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

    Place loaf on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and cover loosely with a damp towel. Place loaf in a warm place and let rise again for 30-45 minutes.

  7. Brush risen loaf with egg yolk. Sprinkle with pearl sugar*, if desired.

    Bake in preheated oven for 30-35 minutes, or until golden.

This is best enjoyed fresh with butter or some jam. I also love it with a soft-boiled egg or some liverwurst or cheese. 

*Pearl sugar seems to be hard to come by. I haven’t been able to find it at regular grocery stores and have bought some and brought it back from Germany. But I googled again and found some here and here. (I’d better not tell you that 8 oz cost less than 1 € in Germany. I guess, I’ll keep importing it.)