Color Love: Figs

I took this picture on a lazy Sunday a while back.  The fruit was a part of our brunch. I immediately noticed the beautiful shades of the figs.  I love the deep reddish tones with the golden yellow and rusty purple.

This has inspired me all fall, so I thought it would create a little color palette based on the image.  This would be a perfect color scheme for a Thanksgiving table.  Add a little gold, glitter or glitz and it is extremely festive!

Hope you are having a good week and are getting over the hump.  Weekend, I can see you coming!

Gemütlichkeit is: winter sun and a steaming mug of tea

On Friday, the winter sun came out for a short while.  It was a wonderful break in the fog and the rain.  I watched the shadows dance across the living room and sipped on tea while taking pictures for my blog.  These are the days I love the most--quiet, simple and filled with little pleasures.  

Happy Tuesday!

Food on Friday: Toffee Apple Pie Sundae

Hi guys!  Happy Friday! I hope you are having a fantastic day.

The sun came out here for a couple of hours--for the first time in about 5 days--and it was heavenly.  It felt almost like September again, which is what inspired this delicious autumn dessert!

As I am sure you have noticed this fall, I absolutely adore apples in September, October and November.  This time of the year, I can eat two or three a day, in any way, shape or form, and not get sick of them.  There's something about that tart, juicy flavor--preferably with a hint of cinnamon--that I just can't get too much of.

This dessert is a combination of all things delicious and all things autumn.  Cinnamon roasted apples are topped with ice cream, toffee sauce and a spoonful of oatmeal crumble to make an ice cream sundae that tastes like a buttery, caramel-y pie. 

It would make an absolutely perfect Thanksgiving dessert, especially for those people who don't like pumpkin pie--you know you have one coming to your Thanksgiving dinner.  It would also be great as a dessert at a fall dinner party.  (I can just imagine it following these delicious pumpkin ricotta shells.)

For the toffee sauce, I used Elaine's Toffee Company Toffee Sauce.  Although I am partial (my family owns E.T.C.) I know this stuff is good, because I've had people confirm it.  My friends and boyfriend all think it's heavenly.  The regular toffee is amazing, too.  I once had an English person tell me it was the only English toffee he had ever tasted and liked.  Imagine that!

I definitely think you want to make these sundaes this weekend.  So, here's how: 

Toffee Apple Pie Sundae

makes 4-5 sundaes 

You'll need: 

1. Joy the Baker's Roasted Apples

(I used just bit less sugar than the recipe calls for, since I was going to be adding the apples to other sweet stuff)

2.  High quality vanilla ice cream. 

3. Elaine's Toffee Company Toffee Ice Cream Sauce

4. Oat Crumb Topping

(adapted from Food.com)

1/4 cup butter

1/2 cup brown sugar

2/4 cup oatmeal (not instant) 

1/4 cup flour (I used spelt)

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon salt

In a large mixing bowl combine all the ingredients except the butter.

Cut butter into mixture with a pastry blender until mixture resembles coarse bread crumbs.  Bake at 350 (175) for about 20 minutes or until golden brown (watch them carefully).

5.  Assemble

Layer about 6-8 slices of apple at the bottom of a dish.  Top with ice cream, sauce and crumble.  Place another apple or two on the top as garnish.  

Enjoy and have a fantastic weekend! 

Thankful Thursdays: My city, my home, my job

Last year in November, I started Thankful Thursdays, where each week I posted about what in my life I was thankful for.  Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday and I love the fact that it gives us all a reason to reflect on the blessings in our lives.  (I got the idea from the gorgeous Katie of the blog Katie's Pencil Box.  A year later and her blog is still my favorite!)  

Today, I am thankful for Nuremberg, where Peter and I live.  I am thankful for our home, which is so cozy and comforting.   It's my place to be me and enjoy the small moments.  And, I am thankful for my job, which I love and has improved my life so much!

What are you thankful for today?  Join in on the gratitude and leave a comment or post a Thankful Thursday post on your own blog!

How to deal with homesickness: tips and tricks from someone really far away from home

In my hometown with Peter and my dog. 

A few weeks back, I got an e-mail from an old friend asking how I deal with homesickness.  Ready to embark on a new journey, she and her husband moved from our hometown in California to a midwestern state over the summer.   Despite the fact that moving was exactly what they wanted, she had been feeling a bit homesick.   

It's a conflicting feeling that I know really well.  I chose to move to Germany 3 years ago and most days I love it.  We have seasons (gorgeous, gorgeous fall), churches, 500-year-old houses, castles, castle ruins and so much history.  (Oh, and World War II bomb scares, let's not forget those! ;-)  But my home is a part of me and always will be.  There are times when I have been completely heartbroken with homesickness in spite of the fact that I am living what, for many, seems like a dream.

How could you NOT miss this face?

So, I thought long and hard and I wrote her back.  I came up with more tips and tricks than I knew I had and I realized that, actually, I am pretty happy here.   Then, I asked her if I could share the information with you and she thought it was a fabulous idea.   She's really awesome.

Of course, the only qualifications I have to give this advice is that I live really, really far away from home and have for almost 3 years.  Really, I have no idea what I am talking about and I am just dealing with it on a daily basis like everyone else who has moved far away.

A walk behind our house while at home in California.

Trust me when I say it is not easy and there is no way to really get rid of homesickness.  The only things you can do are learn to accept it and not let it get you down.  Here's what I do:

***

1. Let yourself be homesick.

Don't be too hard on yourself for feeling homesick. When you feel it, indulge it.  It comes from a really positive place--a place of love for your home, your family and friends--so there is no reason to turn it into something negative or beat yourself up over it.  Once I have yielded to it a bit, I just get over it and go about my business here. When I give into the feeling, it passes more quickly.

I also used to let myself confuse homesickness with many other feelings, like discontent or uncertainty about my relationship, but they are not the same thing. Remind yourself of that and don't let yourself start to overanalyze the feeling. 

2. Keep yourself busy and involved in the place that you live. 

Since I have been here, I have gone through periods that are better and ones that are worse. They range from being totally happy here, to being content but homesick to being completely miserable.  I find those feelings are directly related to how busy I am.  There is nothing worse than having too much time to dwell on things.  Being alone in a house all day also isn't good.  Those things will cause homesickness and blow it up into a huge deal.  Don't let that happen.  Fill up your days in any way possible, preferably with other people. 

Hometown at night.

3. Establish rituals where you are.

Part of homesickness is missing that feeling of familiarity and comfort.  These are what rituals and traditions provide.  Establishing new rituals in your new home provides the same feeling of familiarity, but one that is associated with the here and now. We've started Christmas traditions here, for example, that mean a lot to me and actually make it hard for me to go home for Christmas now.   Although I will always miss home, I know now that I can create a life elsewhere that I will then miss when I leave it.

4.  Make your house a home.

As you all know, having a warm and cozy space is extremely important to me.  Even in college, when I moved just about every year, I always put a lot of effort into making my room the perfect sanctuary. If it looks temporary it will feel temporary and you will reminisce about the good old days when you had a cozy place to take refuge from the world in.  One of the biggest parts of feeling at home is actually being in a space that is a home.

These dinner are one of the things I miss most.

5.  Home is where the heart is.

Cliché, cliché but oh so true.  My heart is here with Peter.  He is a home to me in a way that my hometown could never be and I know that because I wouldn't be here otherwise.  When I get homesick, I remind myself of that a lot.  Then I ask him for a hug and he makes me laugh by pretending to be a sloth or a panda bear.  It works wonders...and is a bit weird. 

6.  Make good friends who you can rely on.

This took me a long time to establish over here, but now that I have, my homesickness has decreased considerably.  I still miss everyone I love at home, but with people to keep me laughing and smiling here, I am reminded how lucky I am to have people I love on two continents! 

Sister.

Parents.

7. Have a plan to return.  

Although expensive and difficult, I try to always have a time in mind when I will be able to go home next.  A booked flight is even better.  With the sweet relief of home near and the promise that I will see my parents, sister, dog and best friends soon, I get less homesick and can enjoy my time in Germany more. Each time you are at home, figure out a good time to go again--even if it is 6 months or a year in the future. 

8. Don't romanticize or idealize home.  

I spent most of my life wanting to get out of my small California cow town.  I dreamed of bigger, better places where going to the movie theater or Baskin-Robbins wasn't the only thing to do on a Friday night and where people had minds that were open to different people, races, religions, sexualities and world views.  I went to Berkeley and didn't want to move back to the foothills (which I visited frequently during my time there) after I graduated.  I still wanted to see more. 

So why is it that as soon as it became difficult to go home (a 13-hour, 1,000-EURO plane flight), I started thinking it was the best place in the world?  (My theory, if you really want to know, is that it's a little bit like having to go pee pee at the beginning of the movie in the theater--it seems urgent right as the movie is starting and you won't be able to go for another two hours and then you go to the restroom and...nothing!)

It's easy to idealize home when you only go there on vacation and for a week or two.  But all places come with their downsides and difficulties, as long as you are dealing with real life.  It's important to remember this and to realize that it wouldn't be all roses even if you moved back.  You would probably just want to leave again anyway.  

***

In the mountains, where I grew up. 

You need to work hard and have experiences and time to make a place a home.  It's not going to happen overnight.  It's okay to feel homesick and it doesn't mean you are unhappy.  It's normal, a part of growing up and moving on.  And, hey, nothing is permanent.  If you don't like it after some time (my belief is that it really takes 2-5 years) you can always go someplace else.  

Web inspiration on Election Day

From French Larkspur.

I hope you are having a fantastic Election Day and that you got out and voted (if you are a U.S. citizen)!  I faxed in my absentee ballot yesterday and I have to say voting really does lose some excitement when you don't get a little "I voted" sticker.  

I will be eagerly awaiting the results tonight (or tomorrow).  Until then, I have some pretty pictures from the web to keep me entertained.  I hope you enjoy them, too!

From French Larkspur

From Design Sponge

From Inspired by Tamar

From Inspired by Tamar

From French Larkspur.

Awesome kitchen from Dustjacket

Evening

 

This morning I found an unfinished list in the drawer next to my bed.  It was a list of things to do in autumn, places to go, things to see and experiences to have.  Looking at it, I felt sad.  Time is flying so quickly and thus far this autumn I have done next to nothing on the list. 

But after staring blankly at the paper for a minute, I realized that I have nothing to be sad about at all.  I have had a fantastic autumn.  I have been places and done things.  They may not have been the things on my list, but I have seen them and done them nonetheless.  And sometimes, the best experiences are the ones we have not planned or even hoped for.  

Take this walk for example.  It was like others I have taken this fall, but this time Peter was with me.  It was yesterday, after a nice long weekend together and it felt very simple yet perfect.  The crisp, damp air felt good despite my cold and cough and the colors popped against the darkened sky.  

When time runs too fast and it's impossible to get everything done, sometimes it's the small moments that you haven't planned or put on your to do list that show you how sweet life actually is.