Weekend away

Happy Friday everyone!  Peter's running a race this weekend (an Ultra Marathon...50K!) in a town called Schwäbisch Gmünd, about 3 hours from here.  We are staying the night and going out for a big pasta dinner this evening.  I can't wait!  I am sure he will do well. 

This (above) is my cozy desk at the moment.  What do you do to make your home cozy for Autumn and Winter?  It can get pretty bleak here, so I try and fill mine with lots of warm color and candles.  Last year my mom bought me these pillows and this blanket for my couch (see photo below).  They definitely help.  I'd love to paint a wall of our living room (that back one with the sail boat poster on it) but I am not sure how long we will stay here.  I am thinking navy blue or gray would be pretty.  What do you think?

Have an excellent weekend and enjoy your Autumn weather...whatever it may be!

New blog love

Good evening from Germany.  Yesterday and today have been cold and cloudy.  I have been bundled up in my house, enjoying the coziness...and eating.  It's been comfort food heaven in here: chocolate, grilled cheese, mashed potatoes (with caramelized onions and garlic, yum) and tea.  And I cannot forget the great company.  Peter has been home all day and Nico, who is still in town from last weekend, came over for dinner for a second time this week.  It doesn't matter that I feel a bit like I am getting sick--life is grand, ain't it? 

All this cold weather and tea has left me with a little time to do some perusing of other blogs.  In addition to my usual favorites (here, here and here), I discovered a new blog and I absolutely LOVE it!

The Daybook

The blog is called The Daybook and is written by Sydney, an adorably pregnant graphic designer from Virginia.  No, seriously, she is so adorably pregnant that she makes me want to be pregnant...if only so I can look as cute in my clothes as she does in hers. 

The Daybook

She has an excellent sense of style--if you ask me--and is creative but tasteful.  She's not afraid to take a bit of a risk but always looks classy doing it.  And the best part about it?  She's nifty thrify.  While many lifestyle blogs I read feature clothes that are out of reach and very Hollywood, Sydney's looks are totally attainable.  Many of her items are from Target (what a relief to find out that someone else wears nothing but Target leggings...take that American Apparel and your $40 leggings) and Forever 21.  And, she uses drugstore makeup!  See, I told you you would love this girl.   Check it out and get some creative inspiration.  Just be prepared, you'll want to be pregnant afterwards, too!

The Daybook

Amazing people + amazing weather = amazing birthday!

Hello friendies!  I hope you are having a great week.  I am... and I had the best weekend ever!  It was my...gasp...25th birthday!  Yeah, I know, right?  BIG DEAL.  I had worried going into it--worried I would feel old, worried I would miss home, worried I would find even more gray hairs.   And although to some extent all of those worries did come true (I found 2 grays that day, and how can I not miss home, my family and friends?), I had one of the most memorable weekends of my life.  It was full of kindness, friendship and more love than I knew I had. This weekend reminded me what was important in life, what makes it good.  Here are some pictures. 

My "in-laws" ringing in my 25th year.  After the ballet.  :-)

Beautiful breakfast my lovely man made me. 

The two of us together at Schloss Rosenau. 

3 people I love who made my birthday what it was. 

A beautiful Fall scene.

It was a beautiful day!

We relaxed in the sun, German style. 

Love.

My friend Nico surprised me on my birthday, coming all the way from the Netherlands.

Santhy and I having a drink in the evening.

Blowing out my birthday candles for cake and coffee with my "in-laws."

The good life

Scenes of Autumn

Apple trees at the end of September.

Early October color.

Castle.

A pleasant little valley.

Flame red foliage.

Apple trees.

Tree-lined path.

A beautiful view.

Yellow and blue.

Apple tree at the castle.

More color.

My front door.

Fall's comfort food: 3 great recipes

Some cinnamon rolls I made two weekends ago. 

Liebe Freunde!  It's been a couple of seriously rainy, cold and cozy days here in Germany.  The clouds seem to have gotten trapped above our sleepy little valley and are emptying out all of their contents on our heads.  The streets and pathways are strewn with fragrant, wet, fallen leaves and smoke rises from the chimneys of all of the houses.

The newly cool weather and gray skies have left me craving all things autumn and in the mood to cook and bake.  Pumpkin, which I had to buy at an American store over the internet, has been my secret weapon.  It has always been my favorite and an autumn staple; but, after realizing it was impossible to find canned here last year, I had to settle for an entire year without it.  I am still trying to use it sparingly, as one can costs about 4 EURO (about 6 dollars) plus shipping.  But, I have been able to make pumpkin bread, pumpkin and ricotta stuffed shells and pumpkin breakfast bars with just one large can!

Tomato soup with grilled cheese from last Friday night.

Typically, I devote this blog to design tips on a small budget but, it was never my intent to stop there.  As the subtitle of the blog states, my goal is to share with you a few of my tips for leading a really rich life, full of beauty, fun, friends, family, experiences and more, without spending much.  I have absolutely nothing that qualifies me to do this, nor do I think that I have any right to give anyone tips.  I just like pretty, fun, happy, wonderful things and want to write about them.

French toast with sauteed pears and nectarines from last Saturday.

 So, I stray.  The point is, I freakin' LOVE autumn.  And I freakin' LOVE pumpkin.  I love autumn and I love pumpkin.  And because I want you to have a wonderful, magical fall, here are 3 great recipes that I have made in the last three weeks.  Celebrate this beautiful, simple, cozy time!

Apple, Walnut, Yogurt and Olive Oil Cake
This recipe is from Cannelle et Vanille originally.

makes 1 bundt pan

Note: these measurements are using a 125 ml container of yogurt.
1 measure (125ml) plain yogurt
1 measure demerara sugar
1 measure sugar
4 eggs (3 if they are extra-large)
1 measure light olive oil
1 vanilla bean, split and seeded
1 tsp ground cinnamon
3 measures gluten free flour mix or all purpose flour
1/2 tsp xanthan gum if using the gluten free mix
1 Tbs baking powder
pinch salt
handful of chopped walnuts
2 pink apples
2 tsp butter
2-3 Tbs sugar
Butter and flour the inside of a bundt pan.

Slice one of the apples thinly. Heat the butter and 1 Tbs sugar in a pan. Add the slices of apple and cook for a minute on each side. The sugar doesn't have to caramelize. Let the slices cool slightly and then line the bottom of the bundt pan with them, overlapping slightly.

Dice the other apples and cook them in the remaining butter and sugar. Let them cool.

In a bowl, whisk together the gluten free flour mix, xanthan gum, baking powder and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together the yogurt, sugars, eggs, olive oil, vanilla seeds and cinnamon. Add the liquids to the dry ingredients and mix. Fold in the chopped walnuts and sauteed apples.

Pour batter into pan and bake in a 350F (180C) oven for about 30 minutes or until done (depending on the size of the pan)

Apple, Walnut, Yogurt and Olive Oil Cake.

After making this, I decided you should double the amount of apple in it.  I would put two layers of apples on the bottom of the cake and one layer of apple on the top (or a layer in the middle).  The apple was the best part.  This is a really moist but dense cake, with an excellent, almost woody flavor.  

*******

Delicious Pumpkin Oatmeal Breakfast Bars. 

Pumpkin Oatmeal Cozy Breakie Bars
This recipe is from Food.com, but I have altered a bit. 


4 cups oatmeal
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg 
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup pumpkin
1 cup milk
1 tablespoon maple syrup
1/2 cup sugar
2/3 cup brown sugar, packed
1 tablespoon vanilla 
1 cup raisins, dried cranberries (or my choice, a mix of the two)  
handful of chopped nuts (I used walnuts)


Preheat oven to 325˚F (or 162˚C).  In a large bowl, combine oatmeal, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg.  Mix in remaining ingredients.  Spread in greased 9x13 pan.  Bake for 40 minutes.  Let cool.  Cut into bars and enjoy! 

*******

Pumpkin Ricotta Stuffed Shells

Image from Country Living.

Adapted slightly from Country Living Magazine

24 jumbo pasta shells (or, small shells or cannelloni)

1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil

2 cups ricotta cheese (the original recipe calls for fat-free but I think it's tastier with full fat)

1 (15 oz.) can pumpkin puree (plus a few scoops if you happen to be using a larger can and then making pumpkin bars...the more pumpkin-y the better)

3/4 cup, plus 2 tablespoons pecorino Romano, grated

1 large egg white

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup fresh basil, chopped

1 tablespoon finely chopped sage

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

1 jar (26 oz.) store bought tomato sauce

Cook pasta shells according to package directions, but take a minute or two off so that they are still al dente.  Drain, transfer to a baking sheet, drizzle with oil and let cool. 

Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, mix ricotta, pumpkin, 3/4 cup of pecorino Romano and remaining ingredients, except the tomato sauce.

Preheat over to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).  Spread sauce into  9x13 in. baking dish.  Fill each pasta shell with about 3 tablespoons of ricotta-pumpkin mix and arrange in pan. Cover pan with foil and bake for 30 minutes. 

Remove foil, sprinkle shells with remaining pecorino and bake uncovered for 15 minutes more.  

I made these when I had company last weekend and I absolutely love them.  The original recipe calls for a half of cup more ricotta but I didn't have that much.  I left it out because my mom made them with the correct amount of ricotta and she said they weren't pumpkin-y enough.  Mine were perfectly cheesy, pumpkin-y and tasty.  Yummm.  

*****

So, get cooking, invite over some good friends and enjoy this cozy time! 

Easy entryway art

Happy Monday, friends!  Today I have a quick and easy project for you.  This is a wonderful way to decorate an entryway or any other room.  Plus, it is cheap and easy.  Now, that is my kind of project. 

I just LOVE old keys, or any keys for that matter.  I have a set of (new) skeleton keys on my wall in my living room.  They are from Pottery Barn and were from my very wonderful (and tasteful) mother.  I have pictures of keys on my walls and a little pad of paper with a key on it on my desk.  And, while I was home in the US for three weeks this past September, I procured 6 or 7 real vintage keys. 

My mom and I went to the Sacramento Antique Fair together (with her wonderful friend Kathy T.) and spent a good 20 minutes sifting through old keys, locks and other such hardware.  My mom bought many old drawer pulls metal accents and I bought my keys.  I got 3 skeleton keys--I will tell you what I did with them a bit later in this post--and 4 fancy old keys in the more modern shape.  The more modern shaped ones have flat heads and sharp edges like a new key, but have intricate and beautiful designs cut into the head, instead of the name of the manufacturer of the key.  Those are the keys that I used for my project.

My mom and I at the Sacramento Antique Fair.  So much fun and why I love being home.

You could use any type of key, really.  You could use old skeleton keys or regular keys, it doesn't matter.  Just find keys you love and get to work.  Here is what you need:

They keys and the frame.

A set of keys (I used four but you could use more)
An old picture frame without the glass. 
Small decorative nails (I suggest brass if you are using brass keys)
A hammer
A level
A ruler or measuring tape
Pencil

Here are the procedures:

1) Layout the frame on the floor and place your keys inside.  I like all my tops to be level and the sharp edges facing the same direction.  Space them out evenly.  You want them grouped in the middle  slightly and there shouldn't be too much space between the keys.  As a rule, there should always be more space along the outside edge of the outside keys than there is between the keys.  This rule works the same for matting or hanging art.  

2) Once you are satisfied with your positioning, measure the placement of the keys with the ruler. 

3) Decide where you want to hang your keys and frame. 

4) Using the level, with a pencil mark the positioning of two nails to hold the upper right and upper left corners of the frame. 

5) Nail the nails into the marked places.  Hang the frame. 

6) Measure where the keys should go based on where the frame is now hanging on the wall.  Your keys should have some sort of hole at the top.  Put your pencil mark through there.

7) Now remove the frame (it is likely to get in your way or fall off the wall) and hummer the nails for your keys into the wall.  If the hole is large enough, you can slip your keys over the nail when you are finished.  If the nail head is larger than the hole in the key, be sure to put your key through the nail before you hammer it in. 

8) Repeat for all keys.

9) Rehang frame.

10) Admire your new piece of art! 

I think this works really well for an entry hall because of the keys.  But, you could really put it anywhere to incorporate vintage, industrial pieces into your decor.  I have also seen a really adorable spin on it where people use keys to all of their previous houses instead of vintage ones.  Imagine how cute it would be to collect all the keys from the houses you have lived in with your partner or spouse and then hang them all on the wall, with a little note about the address and maybe what happened there (i.e. 617 Main St. First Place Together; 23 Maple St. Got Engaged; 1456 Post St. Had Baby Markus).  You may need a shadow box to include all that information, but it would be so cute and a great anniversary, Valentines Day or housewarming gift for your wife or husband. 

The finished product, in my entryway. 

As for my skeleton keys, I put two on a key ring to use as key chains.  I kept one and gave one to my best friend Danu.  I put the third one, which was a golden color, on a long gold chain to wear as a necklace.  It looks great hanging under scarves, which I will be wearing from now until April 2012.  (Hello German Winter!) 

I hope you are enjoying your Monday and that this serves as a bit of inspiration for you!  Cheers!