Things that make you go mmmmm...

... Waffles!

Like I promised...

...here's the photo of the finished advent wreath! Tadaaa

Fun at the office...

On Saturday a colleague and I spent a good few hours making an advent calendar for the office. We really wanted to make it a surprise for everyone, and had planned to go in early this morning to finish it off, so you can imaging how disappointed we were when two of our colleagues were already there!
Never mind, it was so much fun making it and I think the others like it too! Unfortunately, I don't have a photo of the little parcels hanging, I'll make sure I take a good one tomorrow. But for now, here is a few making of photos...

When I leave the house...

...It's still this dark. It makes getting out of bed in the morning so much harder and I find it hard anyway!! Plus it's usually raining because the snow doesn't settle! And it's soo cold.

Getting out of bed has never been my forte but now I have a really good reason to hate it!

Advent has come...

Here's the beginning of our Wreath

All about snow

I went walking this morning with a friend of mine up at the Bärensee and there was soooo much snow! It was lovely but really really cold and my new nose hurt a fair bit. For those of you who don't know, I recently had an operation on my nose to straighten my nasal septum and so I'm not yet used to being able to breath properly and often get brain freeze!!

Look what arrived in the post today!!!

Snow in October!

We woke up this morning to this!!! I'm not 100% sure if I'm happy about it but from the warmth of my central heated flat, it looks lovely!!

Things that make you go mmmm

I got a little parcel from my sister in the post yesterday. And in it was peanut butter m&m's and Reese's peanut butter cups. I'll be honest, I'm not the greatest fan of peanut butter cups but the m&m's are to die for!

So thank you big sister, you are amazing! And I miss you

Lunch

A good old 'chip butty'! Mmmmmm

Tools of the day

Distractions...

I'm really trying to get some work done this afternoon, I promise! But everything else suddenly seems either more important or more interesting then what I'm supposed to be doing!

My latest distraction (in a string of many) is my hipstamatic iPhone app and a cup of tea in which I'm attempting to cloud-watch! If that doesn't make sense I'm sorry but it does to me!! I love Saturdays!

Yoda lives...

So walking through the city today I happened apon this guy... I just had to stop and take a photo for you guys, to prove that Yoda lives!

Oh and guess what? Tomorrow is Friday! Enjoy your weekend!

Old man

Sitting across from me on the tram is an old man doing sudoku. He is so concentrated on his sudoku, totally oblivious to everything going on around him. He has his Walkman on and is tapping the beat with his foot, which is perfectly in time with mine. I don't know this man but somehow there is a connection, although he doesn't know it. In this hectic city it's refreshing to see someone who still has time to enjoy the music.

I don't know you old man, but thank you for reminding me that people are people and not just machines!

Have a good day everyone xxx

Street artist

I went to the city today out of pure boredom... I wasn't getting anything done at home so I thought, why not go shopping?

It wasn't all that successful, I only bought myself a mint green nail polish but I saw some nice things on the way. Like this street artist on könig strasse, his trousers and arms were totally covered in black chalk dust as he was sitting in the middle of his artwork. He had a massive crowd around him but he was a professional when it came to ignoring them.

This really was one of those times when I wish I had had my good camera with me.

First European championship match...

And I'm working! But at least its not Germany who's playing! And next Friday it's England's turn to kick ass! And guess what? I'm working then too! I'm sure I'll get loads of stick but after the world cup two years ago - I can take anything! Time to get my England t-shirt out! Wait, I have to buy one first!

Cake

It's Corpus Christi today so in Germany we get a Bank Holiday! Oh and guess what? It rained. So I made a cake. Well when I say I made a cake, I mean I made the jelly stuff and cut the strawberries! It doesn't matter tho because it's my favorite kind of cake and it will taste great. Now I just have to whip the cream and after my last disaster I'm not looking forward to it. I'll get P to do it, he seems to manage it every time, even if there is a storm brewing!

It rained today...

...like everyday at the moment! But tomorrow is a bank holiday so everything's good! I saw this plant on the way home and it looked so beautiful with water drops all over it. Just wanted to share it with you.

Homesick

Today is just one of those days when the only place I would like to be is curled up beside the fire at home - well my mums place. (I guess I really should get used to calling this place (Germany) home.) I think the weather is feeling with me because it's chucking it down out there and don't call me weird but I actually do love a bit of rain. It reminds me of home.

Elderflower Cordial

So like promised, here is the recipe for Elderflower cordial:

Prep time: 20 Minutes
Cooking time: 10 Minutes
Level: Easy

Ingredients:
20 fresh Elderflower heads, stalks trimmed
1.5 Litres water
2.5 Kg Sugar (granulated or caster)
2 Unwaxed Lemons
85g Citrus acid (Edible)

Method:
1. Put the sugar and water into the largest saucepan you have. Gently heat, without boiling, until the sugar has dissolved. Give it a stir every now and again. Pare the zest from the lemons using a potato peeler, then slice the lemons into rounds. 

2. Once the sugar has dissolved, bring the pan of syrup to the boil, then turn off the heat. Fill a washing up bowl with cold water. Give the flowers a gentle swish around to loosen any dirt or bugs. Lift flowers out, gently shake and transfer to the syrup along with the lemons, zest and citric acid, then stir well. Cover the pan and leave to infuse for 24 hrs. 

3. Line a colander with a clean tea towel, then sit it over a large bowl or pan. Ladle in the syrup - let it drip slowly through. Discard the bits left in the towel. Use a funnel and a ladle to fill sterilised bottles (run glass bottles through the dishwasher, or wash well with soapy water. Rinse, then leave to dry in a low oven). The cordial is ready to drink straight away and will keep in the fridge for up to 6 weeks. Or freeze it in plastic containers or ice cube trays and defrost as needed.

Tips:
- Once you have filtered out the flowers and lemons, bring the mixture to the boil again before  bottling it, this will help keep it a bit longer.
- For a refreshing summer drink, mix the Elderflower cordial with sparkling wine and fresh mint leaves. Serve on ice. 

Enjoy!!


Recipe taken from BBC Goodfood, created by Jane Hornby.

Graffiti update...

When I got of the tram this morning... It was gone! Stupid city. Well, back to boring tram stops!

Graffiti

Getting of the tram this morning I was greeted by this (in my opinion) amazing graffiti. How they artist managed it without getting caught is beyond me but I'm glad they managed cos the tram stops here are not the most beautiful places to be - now at least I have something to look at.

 

Summer is here...

Summer really has arrived in Stuttgart, at least the weather says so. It's warm everyday and even If the sun isn't shining, it's nice enough to sit outside without a jacket. I love it. But I'm sure it won't be long till I start complaining that it's far too hot! Let's enjoy it now while it's still bearable!
Last week a friend came to stay and we went for a walk around Stuttgart picking elderflower to make cordial. We found soo much! Im not Even sure if we're allowed to pick it but no one stopped us or said anything so we carried on!
The recipe is so easy, I'll post it later for you all to try. Just remember, it cordial so don't be shocked with the amount of sugar that goes in!! I know I was.
Last night I was invited to a BBQ and as my 'bring something' I took a small bottle of cordial with me. It was an absolute hit! The best way to drink it is with sparkling wine, ice and mint leaves. Unfortunately we didn't have any ice or mint but it tasted great even without it!!

Have a great Monday everyone!

New iPhone!!

I'm sorry but i gave in to the new 'thing'! And after waiting for what seemed like forever- my iPhone finally arrived! Now I can post 'on the go'!! I have no idea how this all works but I guess that's the fun of it all.
See? I can even add photos! This is the view from my desk at home, beautiful! It however does tend to be far more interesting then what I'm supposed to be learning for school.

BBQ season has started

It hard to believe but at the moment the temperature here in Stuttgart is ranging between 16 and 20 degrees, and this is only March! Last week I was at school, which means that sometimes I'm finished at 1 o'clock! I tried to get out as much as possible but with so much to learn for tests etc, I didn't really get the chance to just go and sit in the park. However yesterday we went to Schlosspark to have a BBQ. It was such a lovely day, and everyone and his dog was there to grill and have fun.

I hope you're all enjoying this wonderful weather!

When the Sun shines...

...it makes me happy.

And makes me want to clean.
I'm not sure where Winter went
but about a month ago, it just disappeared
and spring rolled in. Its the best feeling in the world.
I suddenly had the urge to make sure the flat was totally finished,
that meant no more boxes hidden behind mess,
getting rid of all the rubbish on the balcony
and buying a bin.

Changes

I'm changing this blog a little bit, I hope it will make it more interesting for you readers, I'm also hoping its going to increase my motivation to actually continue writing.
I've been a bit lazy over the last year, but to be fair I have been working a lot and just recently I've had my yearly bout of winter blues, but hopefully now with the promise of spring and some fantastic weather, things will become easier to manage again.

P and I moved at the end of last year, from a tiny, freezing cold, ground floor flat to a 5th floor luxury apartment (at least it feels that way), with fantastic views over Stuttgart South, central heating and an open living room. Its amazing.

The best view in the house is, in my opinion, the one out of my office window. It looks out over the roofs of the neighbours house onto a small square with a fairly impressive tower, which is floodlit at night.

Well lets get this show on the road...

New year, new start

Hello, 
2011 wasn't really my favourite year of all time. Don't ask me why, because a lot of things went extremely well but then a lot of things didn't really turn out how I imagined. However, 2012 is going to be different!
For starters I'm going to start Blogging again. Hopefully I'll stick to it this time! And I'm going to start on a few new projects, to keep me busy when I get bored. Although there really isn't enough hours in the day to get bored. I'll keep you posted on what I'm doing and if I actually get around to it...

Also, we've moved house. The old one was just far too cold to live in, you could actually see your own breath when you woke up in the morning, that's how bad it was. Anyway, after lots of stress with the Landlord we have finally handed over the keys and can start settling into our amazing new 'warm' flat. No photos yet as its just a huge mess. Soon!

Standing on top of Gornergrat. Jan 2011

We were in Switzerland last week, in a hut at the foot of Matterhorn. It was amazing because we weren't in a village or even on a road, so you can imagine just how quiet it was at night. The nearest village (with shops) was about 300 Altimeters below us. (Is Altimeters correct?) We had to take a cable car or snowboard down to go shopping.

Furri, Jan 2011

The weather was a bit against us, because out of the 5 full days we were there we only managed to go boarding on two of them. I wasn't that bothered though, because for me, Snowboarding isn't the most 'pain-free' sport there is, I was quite happy to spend time up at the hut building Igloos with Philipp and reading, or playing games. That was my idea of a good time!

Happy New Year everyone!