Although my husband’s Oma came from a wealthy family with an onstaff cook & had only one child herself (his mom), she still had her own special recipes in kitchen. Oma passed these culinary traditions down to my mother-in-law who in turn gave them to her only child…my husband…and so I present to you Oma’s Wuerstchen & Kartoffelsalat (Sausages & Potato Salad): Read the rest of this entry ?
Archive for July, 2011
Oma’s Wuerstchen & Kartoffelsalat
July 31, 2011Simply Delicious Carrot Cake
July 30, 2011
Summertime on the farm meant a lot of hard, dirty work but Grandma always managed to steal some extra time to make birthdays & other occasions special with her unique Garden Parties. With her own flock of kids joined by school mates, cousins & other youngsters from the area frolicking in the garden, Grandma would be busy in the kitchen whipping up a feast of treats! Here’s a quick & easy garden party favourite that’s yummy for Moms & Dads too (especially on rainy days)! Read the rest of this entry ?
The Toy Nanny
July 28, 2011Here’s a super simple idea to keep your little one’s toys from escaping!
The Toy Nanny keeps toys safe & clean. Attach one end to the car seat, stroller, baby carrier, shopping cart or high chair, and the other end to the toy, that’s it! Easy! It’s great for sippy cups & pacifiers too! Here’s how to make one:
How to (not) get married in Germany
July 27, 2011Speaking from experience, (as a non-EU citizen) trying to get married to a German in Germany is as impossible as it is frustrating. The mountains of completely unnecessary paperwork; running from this office to that office; getting all of the certified documents within a specific timeframe; trying to get a Ledigkeitsbescheinigung - a certified letter from a government office in your home country confirming your single status – something that the German authorities insist on having BUT does not actually exist outside of Germany, the list is as confusing as it is endless. This video made by the talented & clever Andrew Bossum (aka rewboss) illustrates all of the insanity perfectly (although rewboss is an EU citizen & had to jump through a few less hoops than those of us without EU passports)
The Scarfigan
July 26, 2011I have a bit of a scarf fetish.
In our house this is known as Scarf Corner (Schal-Ecke in German) & is where my 40+ “in rotation” scarves live (I have more in my don’t-wear-but-can’t-bear-to-part-with trunk). They all hang on a funky hand carved coat rack that our great-aunt brought back from Africa in the 70′s. One day, as I was strolling around scarf corner I had a glimmer of an idea, grabbed a scarf, sat down at the sewing machine & my version of the Scarfigan was born!
From Russia with love…
July 26, 2011My package from Russia has finally arrived!
I ordered a fantastically wonderful doll from the Puppen-Shoppe (created by 2 theater artists from St. Petersburg – Tim Belinskas & Lyubov Polyakova). The Russian & German postal services took their sweet time delivering it but it was definitely worth the wait! From all the stickers & stamps added by customs security you’d think it contained something rather more dangerous than this:
Isn’t she awesome?! An adorable little Matryoshka that looks just like our little girlie! I do believe I must order one made of hubby & myself as well!
One shade whiter in just 1 week?
July 25, 2011I’ll admit it, I’m a sucker for teeth cleaning products but hey, who doesn’t want a fantastic smile? I’ve always prided myself on my naturally straight healthy teeth (inherited from Grandma – at 83 she still has her full set!) and lovely smile. From my experience, Europeans aren’t as concerned about having a Hollywood smile & the toothpaste selection is sorely lacking so when I heard about a groovy new toothpaste available here I toodled out and bought a tube.
Colgate Max White One promises 1 toothshade whiter in 1 week. I put it to the test for 2 weeks, brushing 3 times/day for 2+ minutes each time. Here’s the results:
Before After
Other than my lipstick colour & smile-type, I honestly don’t see any difference between these photos. unfortunately I would have to give a thumbs down to the whitening power of Colgate Max White One however when comparing it to other toothpaste on the market here I give it positive marks for “that clean feeling” & at €2.85 per tube it’s not cheap but also not unreasonable. (hygiene products in Germany are super cheap – normal toothpaste ranges from €0.49 – €1.29 – makes you wonder why there are so many stinky people on the train…)
Open Face Apple Pie
July 25, 2011
Grandma & her brood
You know when you have a craving for something but don’t realize you haven’t enough ingredients until you’re almost done making it? That’s exactly how Open Face Apple Pie was born!
Kleines Süßes Kleidchen (Lil’ Sweet dress)
July 24, 2011Our little darling has a long torso & outgrows onesies at an alarming rate. They still fit easily over her head but are too short to snap closed at the bottom. I came up with a sweet n’ simple solution:
Boring to Funky in 1 hour
July 24, 2011We have a few duvet covers…one of them was ridiculously boring until it became friends with some knots & fabric dye. (I also dyed a really blah coloured vest).
Really blah….
Tied a bunch o’ knots in the duvet cover & pillow cases
Chucked it all in the washing machine & added the dye
an hour (or so) later….and the results are awesome!
