Little greetings {Our little family grew}

Did I mention we share our room with a family? Nope? I didn't? Well here you go.
One of the members is just having a small rest...

You can't see him?

Well isn't he cute?!

He and his family members are free to come and go any time. They prefer our lamps but the clothing line is just as much fun. And sometimes we can here them at night...but they agreed to stay silent for most of the time...and they leave when we have to change.
So much to conversations without speaking the same language. No problem at all, didn't I tell you!?

Leaving to India

As lame as this might sound but right now I'm calming myself with blogs and pinterest. Looking up projects I want to do and scrolling through wonderful pictures...I don't think there is anything else that calms me as good as those two things do (maybe my Harry Potter audio book....no wonder I know the book by heart).
Otherwise I've been busy running around and collecting and packing the last things today. Leaving in the evening feels weird because my whole day seems to be normal except for the fact that I won't go to bed where I would usually. This time I'll sit in a plane (again) thinking of my bed and all the people I left (again) and what will happen just in a couple of hours when I'll find myself in a totally new and foreign environment (again. haha I should be used to it by now...sort of. But this is just different to everything I've done so far.

So just one last note of 'hi's' before I'm off to India. I hope I'll have enough Internet access to keep everyone up to date!!
I'm so giddy, nervous, excited and everything else and I still can't believe I'm just about to leave (and especially because it fells like I just said goodbye when I left to Vancouver...and I definitely just said goodbye when I was heading back to Germany. Quite some movements and changes around here right now).

Hopefully my plants will make it through those two and a half month

Everything's in place

Well...nearly everything

Bye bye Birdie ♥

Hi India

 Wish me luck. The next post will come from a new continent!

My baking addiction {Or the-addiction-to-everything-sweet and some heavenly carrot cake recipe}

The last weeks have been tough (I mentioned that before, didn't I?) but I guess I can really say it's better now. Little girls have to grow up at some point, right?! And as a huge relief I also discovered that it wasn't just my mood and certain things that pulled me down. No. It was the weather. You don't trust me? Well you better do. Because we had the first real sun and blue sky in four weeks TODAY! Say that again in your mind: Four weeks. Four! As in four weeks equals 28 days, as in sun-the-last-time-when-I-was-still-in-Vancouver (huge sight). I never noticed...but that pulls you down.
Anyway. We had sun today and I'm heading towards even more sun, so I guess things are improving right now. (So much for the usual randomness...)
 
To some totally different things....Somehow I sometimes wish I could say I don't like sweets. However.
That's so not true.
Like really.

Because: I love sweets. 

(Seriously. Who doesn't!?) Not sweets as in the kind of gummy bears (I actually really don't like those!) but I love chocolate. And I love frosting. And icing. And moist and gooey cakes, cupcakes, bars, cookies, peanut butter, sprinkles, crumbs, icing, chocolate sprinkles....I think I made my point.
So. Especially recently I spent a lot of time in our kitchen (haha probably way too much). But oh, well.
Here is what happened in our kitchen recently.

Something with peanut butter and chocolate

More peanut butter (this recipe) though it turned out quite moist (super moist that is) and pretty heavy but oh so delicious!

Chocolate and frosting

That was my mums boyfriend's birthday

We had this cake last week

And jep, I totally put my cake pops into our butter! Figure...

Serious stuff I tell you! But I love the whole process of baking just way too much. So it sort of came in handy that it was my grandpas birthday this weekend. (Oh just as a short side note: I'm trying to get some information about my flight, I hate those voice machines...and their music). Anyway back to my grandpas birthday. I, of course, baked something for him. Carrot cake with cream cheese frosting to be more specific. The best I ever had to be a 100% honest. And so I thought (and also because it comes in handy to just give out the link to that post to everyone who asked for the recipe ha!) I'd just go ahead and share it here on my blog. (so much for random side information)

I got the original recipe from here (pinned on my pinterest "sweets♥" wall). It just went as it always does. I was kind of in a hurry to lazy to go out and buy all the stuff I was missing and I'm probably just not good and following recipe instructions. So here is my version of the original recipe.

Heavenly carrot cake with cream cheese frosting

• 2 eggs
• 1 cup (225gr) brown sugar 
• 3/4 cup (170gr) butter 
• 1 cup (120gr) flour 
• 1/4 cup (60ml) buttermilk (or, since we never have buttermilk, simply use milk, add some lemon juice and let it stand for a couple of minutes)
• 1/2 flask vanilla essence
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• pinch of salt
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• pinch of nutmeg
• 2 cups (~260gr) carrots
• 1/2 (75gr)cup currants or raisins (I used currants)
• 1 cup (~140gr) chopped hazelnuts

For the frosting (which I actually followed step by step...except you'll need half of it. So you'll end up with:)

• 1 stick butter (115gr)
• 12 oz. cream cheese (340gr)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla essence
• 2 cups icing sugar (220 gr)

1. Preheat oven to 350°F/180°C
2. Beat together butter and sugar. Add eggs and vanilla essence.
3. Whisk together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, salt and nutmeg.
4. Add flour mixture to your butter mixture alternating with the buttermilk.
5. Add the end, fold in: Freshly shredded carrots, currants and your finely chopped hazelnuts.
6. Pour into your form and bake for 60-75 minutes (I did 70).
7. Let your cake cool down (important!)
8. Make your frosting by beating together the butter and the cream cheese. Add the vanilla essence and in smaller servings your icing sugar.
9. Cut your cake into to disk.
10. Spread icing on your first disk, apply your top disk and cover the whole cake with the remaining frosting. Decorate with chocolate, or nuts or whatever comes to your mind. 

The cake tastes best if you put it into the fridge for another couple of hours (or best: Over night) but I know myself just too well...so if you can't wait: Go ahead and enjoy ;)
(There are sadly not that many pictures...but you get an idea)

And I'm not too bad with cake toppers, am I?!

Otherwise it was nice to get together with everyone and get all the talking and story-exchanging done. It's family after all ;)

We weren't too lucky with the weather on our way to my grandpas. Snow, fog and darkness.

The fog stayed as well as the snow. At least for day one.

Alice in Wonderland comes true at my grandpas. Love it.

But even with all the snow and the fog...we had entertainment on hand

A lot of entertainment to be honest (Cat kisses ♥)

And some more distant relatives. But cute ones

She took over my phone with the camera...and did quite a good job (me sporting my cousins empty cupcake form haha)

At least a better one than she did on her plate (Meant are the photo and the unfinished cake cream...it was not my cake though....just so you know...)

So, now I'm off again to do things I'm actually supposed to do. Like pack. Or write down addresses. Or sew myself a bag...instead I'm writing on my blog. Priorities. Duh!
(Sorry for so many me-time-pictures...there are others as well...I'm just not too sure how happy their 'inhabitants' would be on making an appearance on my blog...so just me-time-pictures this time. Oh well)

12 von 12 {Februar 2013}

12 pictures during every 12th of every month. Here we go:

Waking up earlier to meet my dad for breakfast and get all sort of things done before that...lists, nails, showers...cuddling with my cat!!

A yummy caramel latte accompanyed my croque monsieur breakfast...we'll see what's going to happen with this coffee addicted person in India!!

Found on some post box...

And bought that for tomorrow

We always seem to end up at the same places...but they are good ones!

We also made it to the museum...I actually start to get into it...this whole staring at pictures can be fun...shocking! I know.

Colors and patterns (though it was not part of the whole art...that was architecture...I guess. Haha who can tell!)

Lunch together

And back home for some light reading and a fruit smoothie ♥

I went to see a friend of mine and to talk about all the things that needed to be talked about...oh and we had cheesecake...more on that tomorrow ;) (with the sauce pictured here...sooooo good! Trust me! You have to come back tomorrow! Like totally!!!)

Long icy walks because, obviously, there still was a lot to talk about ;)

And coming back to my room after some fun family dinners, even more stories and more laughing...and more stories (Since this is so surprising around here ;) ) ...And apart of all the stories, I think my day way pretty much just eating...or is this just me?! Haha oh well...

 

 

Everyone else can be found here and I hope your day was just as wonderful as mine was...because even with ups and downs, uncertainty and fear...life can be beautiful.

Life right now {whining, ups and downs and India }

Life is all but a bit complicated right now.
I thought I might just admit it. Duh!
The last half a year has brought I few major changes for me, and I find myself a bit lost when I see old stuff that meant the world to me before and which I'm more than happily throwing away now (To be honest...I've been throwing away so much stuff that I'm down to a few rare memory things, my clothes, my sewing stuff and my books. Done) and also people who I went along with so well before and now...well I feel a bit lost and out of place.
There are times where it's pretty hard to adjust back...or just accept the current situation, and times where I'm disgusted by myself (for all this self pity. Serious. I hate self pity!).

So I guess it's sort of time to get a move on.

I'm so looking forward to India as in experiencing some more major and huge changes. I'm guessing it won't be easy but I'm looking forward to it nevertheless. So ready to bring the adventure on. And I'm more than ready to bring life on after that. Major things are going to happen! Yay! (Quite major around here right now...)

On to the really importing things!
India (as mentioned above) is getting closer ans closer and I'm starting to really get into the whole packing, list writing, buying, planning, freaking out...nah I'd NEVER would do that, right...?, organizing kind of trouble.

That's going to be it

Adding to that I just got an email informing me that there might be a general strike in India right around the time of my arrival. It could either effect my flight from Deli to Calcutta or me travelling from Calcutta to my village. So right now I'm preparing myself to a) a stay in Deli for one or two days or b) a stay in Calcutta for one or two days or c) traveling by myself with a taxi to the village (which would be the best option after all).
I do admit this makes the whole thing quite more...well...uhm, interesting. But since I got the message early I'll have time to prepare myself mentally for the whole thing. Preparation! Do it! Now!...anyone wants to come along with me? 

And while all this is bugging my mind and keeps me short on sleep time will just move on and before you know it I'll be posting happily from India, informing you all that it was a piece of cake and I'm enjoying my time. Right? Right?

Otherwise, I've been... 

...been shopping for some plants with my mum (love those shops...maybe I should change my career plans...just kidding)

It's too cold for running right now (well, at least it's too cold for me) but it's just right for long and beautiful walks

Past little frozen ponds (Can you see those amazing snowflake patterns...I actually don't even think it's a snowflake but more just like a frost flower)

And more wonderful snow flowers (but don't let you trick into believing the sky is actually blue...it was...for like 10 minutes. But who doesn't love this all time consuming dull gray we're sporting right now...psh)

And Mr. Peter the plant is adjusting quite well I'd say

 
So much to my home/mind state and current situation!

A sneak peek on reality {and some color}

One of my friends made a comment on how my blog doesn't reflect my real life right now. Apparently I'm 'ways' (sorry for little insider grammatical mistakes) more down than I pretend to be.

Ok. I'm probably quite a lousy person to be around right now. All whiny (I hate whiny people). So I guess pretending I'm not on my blog just helps me focus on what I should actually focus on (that means: I'm still looking into a lot of Visa stuff and possible solutions to work abroad, I'm taking a closer look into TESOL diplomas, at the same time I'm also looking for Universities in Germany (and possible cities I could also be happy with), I got my India Visa today (and I'm starting to seriously freak out about that! Seriously! One second I'm so excited and can't wait to go, the next I'm freaking out and asking myself why I actually ever signed up for this. Why did I? Ah right...all this self experience thing....)) And all in between I get weak seconds and just start crying. Let's put it all on those female hormones. Right.

So here you go with a more honest post on what my life actually looks like right now.

And because the weather (with all this gray) doesn't help to improve things, I made myself some edible drinkable color ;)

Energizing color smoothie

Blend together in a mixer:

• 1/2 pear
• 1 handful fresh pineapple
• 1 cup mixed frozen fruits
• 1/3 cup orange/mandarine juice (mine was freshly pressed. Normal one works as well)

Soak up some vitamines and color and keep your head up! ;)

My Monday {baking with the girls}

It's getting warmer here, so while I took a 2 hours night walk yesterday (accompanied with ice rain) everything was slowly starting to defrost today. (Yay for the chance to get outside for runs again!)

So much for a random start. Anyway, we had scheduled a girls baking afternoon today.
There is nothing more fun and relaxing than friends in a kitchen, some tea and time to talk and gossip about everything that's going on in life (and stuff that's supposed to go on. Maybe more on that later).

Two teas and one coffee. Girls stuff to talk about. One recipe and heaps (tons :P) of chocolate

Beloved people starting to get organized for some serious sweet stuff (No joke here. The recipe turned out as sweet as probably nothing I had made before!!)

A lot of white chocolate was involved...that's just part of it...

Haha me studying the recipe (Am I the only one or do those angles make you feel weird about yourself..guess it's because I don't get to see myself from this perspective that often...)

More talking. More chocolate.

Oh excuse me. Butter, honey and chocolate it was.

And because we're an impatient bunch....the cake was sentenced to an outside stay to cool down faster. Quite mean I know. (There was still enough snow for that as you can see.)

I guess we could/should have waited longer...but oh well ;)

Our result: Chocolate with chocolate and chocolate on top (and some minor quantities of oats, honey and cream)

 I wish you all a beautiful Monday and an awesome start into your week!!