LECKER SCHENKEN

Na, ihr Lieben, fragt ihr euch auch noch, was ihr so zu Weihnachten verschenken könnt? Sabrina von "Lecker Schenken" hat mir geschrieben und mir ihre Webseite und die tollen Leckereien darauf vorgestellt.

Sie beschreibt die Geschenideen auf "Lecker Schenken" so:

Ganz im DIY - Do It Yourself Trend steht die Aktion, das heißt selber machen und ganz besondere und persönliche Geschenke verschenken. Es muss ja nicht immer die Massenware aus den Kaufhäusern sein, sondern mit den selbstgemachten Köstlichkeiten kann man den Liebsten zeigen, wie viel Mühe man sich nur für sie gemacht hat und verschenkt somit noch mehr Freude. Dabei werden aus den kleinen Naschereien auch noch besonders umweltfreundliche Leckereien, wenn man auf regionale, saisonale oder biologische Produkte zurückgreift, denn somit verleiht man ihnen ganz einfach einen nachhaltigen Touch, der sich auch darin äußert, dass diese dann ohne schlechtes Gewissen verputzt werden können.  Die Rezepte von Lecker schenken sind alle vegetarisch und einige sogar vegan und glutenfrei, sodass bestimmt für jeden Geschmack das Richtige dabei ist. 

Zu einem leckeren Rezept kommt man ganz einfach in drei Schritten: 

1. Was soll gezaubert werden? Soll es etwas Süßes, Pikantes, Flüssiges, Glutenfreies sein oder doch lieber Gebäck oder Aufstrich. 

2. Profi oder Anfänger? Nicht nur die geübteren Köche finden hier Rezepte auch einfache und welche, die schneller gehen lassen sich hier finden.

3. Wer soll überrascht werden? Soll das Geschenk für eine Frau, ein Kind oder einen Mann gezaubert werden? 

Wenn alles ausgewählt wurde, schließt sich der Deckel und es wird einmal kräftig gemischt bevor dann auch schon eine herrliche Geschenkidee erscheint. Das Rezept hierfür kann natürlich ganz kostenlos als PDF heruntergeladen werden und jede Datei enthält auch noch eine Verpackungsidee, die ganz einfach nachgebastelt werden können. Immer noch vorm Bildschirm? Na dann aber ab in die Küche und der Kreativität freien Lauf lassen: Mit Lecker schenken eine kleine Köstlichkeit für ganz liebe Menschen verschenken und ein Lächeln in ihre Gesichter zaubern. Viel Spaß beim Nachkochen! 

Ich habe die Seite natürlich direkt ausprobiert und das Mini Amerikaner Rezept bekommen.

Das werde ich auch nächste Woche probieren und euch dann erzählen, wie es war.

Also, wenn ihr zu Weihnachten etwas selbstgemachtes verschenken wollt oder noch eine Kleinigkeit für die Weihnachtsfeier sucht könnte "Lecker Schenken" genau das Richtige sein.

Einen schönen 2. Advent euch allen!

READING.

1

Today is one of those days where I have so much to do, that I decided to do nothing and just finish my book instead. I know it is going to haunt me tonight when I will have to do all the things I pushing away right now but if it is between reading and anything else, reading will win. I have been obsessed with books ever since I was a little girl. My favorite Disney movie is 'Beauty and the Beast',  not only because I can identify with Belle but because I always wanted a library with that many books. I read every day, not only for school but for me. I carry at least one book with me at all times.

Right now I am reading:

- The Silver Star by Jeanette Walls

- Cultural Migrations and Gendered Subjects by Silvia Borrego and Maria Ruiz

One of the many reasons why I love reading so much is the fact that you can leave reality and become someone else...

I totally need to paint something like this on my chalkboard.

On my current reading list are these books:

- The Memory Keepers Daughter by Kim Edwards

- Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

- The Book Thief by Markus Zusak (this is actually on my night stand at home waiting for me)

- To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee (Again and again and again)

- Let's Pretend This Never Happened by Jenny Lawson

As you can see I read almost everything. I do enjoy a good love story as much as a thriller, or satire...It's all about how well it is written. It's a good sign when I stop eating real food and think that sleep is less important than reading 10, 20, or 50 more pages...

LIFE LATELY 12

Whenever the weather allows it, we go outside and enjoy the sun. Last week we were lucky, there was not only the weekly market with all the fresh fruit and flowers but also on Oldtimer Car Show that Russ enjoyed very much.

Both pictures taken from the official website

For my sisters Birthday we went to see the Musical 'Tarzan'. It was absolutely beautiful. I love going to shows and this one was very different from every show I've seen so far. 

My favorite read this past week was:

Calling Me Home by Julie Kibler is a beautiful and heart-wrenching novel on an interracial couple in the segregated South.

I really enjoyed reading this novel, when I asked a friend of mine if she new any similar books she recommended the website What Should I Read Next. You put in the last book you read and it gives you a bunch of suggestions for your next read... 

While looking at sunglasses I feel in love with these two pairs by Marc Jacobs. 1 / 2

LIFE LATELY 11

Fact of the week: Father's Day in Germany was this week, while Father's Day in the US is not until the middle of June. So weird. But anyways, we took my dad out for a delicious dinner at one of our favorite restaurants.

Then my cousind came for the weekend and we had a girl's day filled with even more good food and shopping. I almost lost my faith in Aachen as a shopping city BUT Saturday changed my mind.

Plus the cake is always as treat. 

Some of my favorite reads this week:

Hello Giggles posted 10 words in the German langauge that have no equivalent in the English language.

I love these engagement pictures. They are different, fun and very natural. I want to be wearing a dress for my engagement pictures but I love the locations.

Of course I am always on the lookout for new DIY's and I'm definitely making some of these fabric frames and this flower crown.

Also, next week I am going to talk about hair. My hair. I can already tell you this much: This is NOT my daily hair routine, but it is close.

Happy start into the new week!

RECIPE - WHITE CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

A couple of days ago I found this recipe for White Chocolate Chip Cookies. They looked so good that I had to try them. And sure enough they turned out delicious! The perfect summer cookie, I just love the flavor of white chocolate combined with the crunchiness. You should definitely try it! Hop on over to Almost Makes Perfect for the recipe! 

Vor ein paar Tagen habe ich ein Rezept für 'White Chocolate Chip Cookies' gefunden, dass ich unbedingt ausprobieren wollte. Daher habe ich mir das Rezept geschnappt und es in deutsche Messeinheiten konvertiert. Die Cookies sind super lecker geworden, außen knusprig und innen schön weich. Falls ihr also Lust bekommen habt zu backen hier das Rezept:

Zutaten für 18 Cookies:

250 Gramm Butter, weich
225 Gramm Zucker
200 Gramm braunen Zucker
300 Mehl
2 Eier
2 TL Vanille 
1 TL Backpulver
2 TL heißes Wasser
1/2 TL Salz
300 Gramm weiße Chocolate Chips

Zubereitung: 

Den Ofen auf 180 Grad vorheizen.

1. Die Butter mit dem weißen und brauen Zucker vermischen und gut durchkneten. 
2. Dann die Eier nacheinander aufschlagen und untermischen und das Vanille Extrakt hinzu geben. 
3. Etwas Wasser aufkochen und das Backpulver darin auflösen. Das ganze dann unter den Teig mischen.
4. Salz, Mehl und die Chocolate Chips in den Teig geben und gut kneten.
5. Eine Esslöffel-große Menge aufs Backblech geben.

Wichtig: Genug Abstand lassen, da die Cookies sich ausbreiten. Ich mache 6 pro Backblech

Die Cookies im vorgeheizten Ofen 10-12 Minuten backen.

SEWING A BATHROBE

I am currently starting a gift pile for our nephew. He is just too cute to not spoil with huge amounts of gifts ;)

Since I love sewing and I refashion I decided to sew this Bathrobe out of this months Burda magazine. Here is their version of it:

You can find the pattern here.

Mine is going to be made out of this old towel:

And this cute whale fabric:

It is still in progress. I still have to sew on the pockets and finish all the seams... But here is what i have so far:

And off to this weeks Creadienstag :)

DISPOSABLE CAMERA CHALLENGE - MY PICTURES

A while ago Katie posted this 'Disposable Camera Challenge' on her blog Skunkboy. I have been following Katie for quiet some time and I really love her pictures, they are so real. I don't know a better way to describe them. So when she posted this challenge I knew I had to be a part. My first camera was a disposable camera and I remember the excitement when I first held my newly developed pictures in my hands. I'm excited to be able to feel this way again. So I joined the challenge and what you see here is the outcome. I got some great shots of my family and friends and I will make sure and frame them :)

LIFE LATELY 09

This week is basically all about Russell's Birthday. We are having his favorite dinners, going out with friends, and enjoying life. We went back to cake day and munched on so much more cake and then I couldn't resist and gave him one of his presents early. It is the 'Epic Meal Time' cookbook. I am THE worst about presents, once I have something it is just too hard to keep it to myself. So I buy multiple things and try to keep the most important one for the actual birthday. A bit more about that in the next post...

Then this happened. I ordered Falling man by Don deLillo on Amazon. I was so excited to read the book, I opened it and there is a Star Trek novel inside. What? Yeah. That really happend. Amazon reimbursed me, but I still missed out on the novel.

Also: I have been getting back into New Girl. I love that show. It is just quirky and fun and I love Schmitt. Yay Schmitt! I'm in Season 2, anybody else watching it?

Then there is Buzzfeed. If I had nothing to do in my life this would still keep my occupied, right now it is just keeping me from doing things I really need to do. My little OCD brain is literally going crazy right now.

Did I ever mention that I love pugs? love.love.love.

Yesterday I stumbled up on this DIY. I am in love! I have these wood slates laying around from a project I never even started, so I am using at least one of them for this. 

Have a wonderful Sunday and a good start into the new week! 

LIFE LATELY 08

I started liking Sushi. WEIRD. I always thought I wouldn't like it but I actually do. Russ ordered this platter full of goodies after coming off a cold and it just looked so appealing. So I tried the salmon and the cucumber and I liked it. That's it. I like Sushi now. This explains the pictures.

It was my best friends birthday. Russ made American Style Burgers, we had rosemary potatoes and a brownie cake. It was fun spending time together. The next day I worked at the EURAXESS event at my university and they brought a Photo Booth. YAY!

I also wanna share some of my favorite reads this week:

20 Weird Things About America That Americans Don't Realize.
I absolutely can relate to this. While I still don't understand the whole taxing thing I love free refills. I could add on to this list, but you get the point.

I also got around to reading one of the books that has been on my reading list since last year. I even mentioned it in this post. 'Me talk pretty one Day' by David Sedaris is just a blast! I had to chuckle quiet a bit and every story is so interesting to read.

Not really a read but still very enjoyable. The Fine Brothers put on a show on youtube, where they let children react to things. This time it was a walkman. Realizing that there is people that do not know what a walkman is or how to use it is just crazy to me.

I saw this DIY for vacation memory boxes on a Pair and a Spare and I wanna do this. It still have stuff my Russ and my trips to Amsterdam and Barcelona. What do you think? Have you done anything like this?

Last but not least, I found these recipes for P.F. Chang's Lettuce Wraps, Tomato-Mozarella Grilled Cheese Sandwiches, Pesto Stuffed Chicken, and 13 Nutella Recipes - OMG!

LIFE LATELY 05

This past week was so much fun, I can't wait to share all the details with you!

There was an Easter package in the Mail for us, containig our favorite Easter candy (Bordeaux' from See's - YUM), cute place mats and a bunny cookie plate. So I invited my mum and sister over for breakfast and made french toast bake.

Also the monthly Antique market is back! The pause over the winter so last Sunday was the first one in a while and I found some gens. 

Did you read my post on the Monster Plush? I made another one! His name is Skully.

I've started looking at Easter stuff on Pinterest...I love these strawberry carrots and bunny clay bowls.

Another thing I've been looking at are hats. I am still searching for the perfect hat. I got some inspiration from Amanda. I think I need to order from Forever21 online, I just love their hats. I never thought I'd miss them when we moved to Germany, but the do have some fun things.

Hope you have a good start into the new week!

DIY - TYPOGRAPHIC STYLE POSTER

I haven't done a DIY like this in a while so it was twice as fun. I saw this DIY by Mandi on A Beautiful Mess and decided on making something similar but with a different touch. Instead of a random compliation of letters I decided on a play of words with Russ and my name. 

You will need:

Spray Adhesive

White paper

Old magazines

Scissors

A photocopier

Here are the steps I followed:

One. Cut letters out of magazines, I used old Instyle and Elle's, sind they have nice big lettering. Choose large headings that you can cut up and use. It's up to you if you would like to use different fonts or stick with similar looking letters.

Two. Take the white paper and choose which letters you want to use. Put the letters on them. You can arrange them however you want. Be creative!

Three. Use the spray adhesive to glue the letters onto the white paper. Photocopy them. I decided to keep the same size that I started with. But of course you can blow it up or make it smaller. I want to buy an all black frame and hang this little gem on our gallery wall.

Let me know what you think and check out more creative fun over here!

LIFE LATELY 04

I found this on pinterest, unfortunately I do not have a source so if you do, let me know!

I chose the picture because this week has been all about planning our trip back home this summer. So I felt like this was appropriate. We have been in Germany for a good 8 months now and we definitely feel at home. But there is this part in my that longs for endless summers, sun, lounging by the pool, and stuffing my face with In-N-Out...

While I dream of my home far away from home, like always, here my favorite posts from this week:

Mandi shares a DIY for cute earrings on A Beautiful Mess. She decided on thunderbolts but you can go with any shape whatsoever. I think I'm gonna try this, anyone have experience with this kind of clay?

She&Wild is a blog I recently found and I really like Bex' posts. This one is about her Sunday. Since I love markets as well, I wanted to share this awesome post and picture with you guys.

Vera of Livera posted an awesome leather pouch for pens. It is in German, however the pictures are pretty self-explanatory and then there is always google translate. Also planning on making one of these. I've never worked with leather before so this is another first.

Other inspiration from this week:

Best shower in the world!

Who doesn't love bacon?

You need to check out these info graphics:
If the world were a village of a 100 people. Wow.

That' it from me. Hope you are having a great week!

LIFE LATELY 03

It is officially spring in Germany! My sister and I spent the day outside and did some tie dye, so watch out for the tutorial coming next week. I also bought some new art that I want to hang in the living room. And I love my Frida pillows more every day!

This week I want to share some tattoo inspiration with you. I've been thinking about getting another tattoo for quiet a while and here are some pieces I love by tattoo artists I follow on instagram. You can find them on instagram under their names that I left on top of each picture.

I hope you had an amazing week.

LIFE LATELY 02

Watch out because for all the crazies (the good kind)! It is 'Karneval' in Germany. It is basically a five day long Halloween with parades and tons of public drinking. If you enjoy dressing up and partying this is YOUR holiday. I was not in the mood for dressing up or drinking this year, so I skipped out on the whole 'festäng'/ thing. Instead Russ and I spent a day in Brussels. It was our two year anniversary last week and since we haven't really gone anywhere lately we decided to hop on the train to Belgium.

I also want to share some of my favorite reads and finds again:

PostSecret. You are probably already aware of this blog, but in case you are not, go check it out. I have to admit I get a tingly feeling reading other peoples secrets, there is something about it...

Jessica of How about Orange doesn't only create a mean Oscar Bingo but she also helps you to shorten your time waiting for the Oscars to start with a bunch of quizzes and other fun stuff. Do you watch the Oscars?

9 Practical Party Planning Tips for the Unpopular and Awkward. Yes. When it comes to parties I am awkward. Nights before I can't sleep because I fear that nobody shows up. What would be even worse if nobody showing up? Inviting tons of people and only 2 or 3 showing up. So if you're with me on that read this post.

Then there is this:

Thrift Core on Etsy does not only sell awesome Vintage 

they also have this amazing poster to go with it.

Frida Broche by And Smile. 

I am obsessed with Frida Kahlo, in a good way of course.

The perfect vintage summer dress. 

I hope you all had an amazing week! Any good finds or reads you want to share? I'm all ears :)