Kaiserslautern Weihnachtsmarkt, 2012.

A few weekends ago, we enjoyed a lovely Sunday at the Kaiserslautern Weihnachtsmarkt with friends. The market there isn't large, but we have enjoyed it two years in a row now and we quite like it. I think the snow made for lovely photos! We may not have had a white Christmas on Christmas, but we got to enjoy snow leading up to Christmas, so that was very nice. 

J and I are currently finalizing plans and an agenda for our trip to Barcelona to ring in the 2013! I am so excited. This is definitely a dream come true, to be able to visit Spain. I can honestly say that the last year and a half has allowed me to do and see things I never imagined would ever be attainable and I am so, so thankful. 

I hope you all have a safe and happy 2013 and that your best years are to come!

A Little Fall Decor

I LOVE fall! Fall in Germany brings cooler weather, gorgeous color, & fall festivals. J and I went to a couple of fall festivals, one of which was in our little village. We found some little gourds and little Chinese lanterns, as well. We have displayed those on one of our living room tables, along with our New York books and Empire State Building miniature. 

I also put to use a wine box that we have been trying to figure out how to use. I had stacks and stacks of magazines, creating clutter. I dislike clutter, so I have been slowly ridding and finding new ways of displaying or having things easily accessible. So, now the wine box resides on the rug beneath our tables in the living room with all my fall magazines filling it up.

We also have our fall Yankee Candles out and we have been burning those up a storm! We are burning Farmer's Market in the foyer and Spiced Pumpkin in the living room. Mmmm! 

//one: my new magazine container //two: gourds as decor that we picked up at our village fall festival //three: a stein from burg eltz filled with autumn colored flowers //four: gourds //five: a sweet little boyd's bear from friends //six: foyer fall decor

A (Small) Kitchen Mishap..

Man, oh man. Some days it just feels like nothing is going right.

Case in point: I decide to make a recipe from Raw Energy, a recipe book I picked up at the library yesterday. My recipe called for walnuts, coconut, honey, sea salt and vanilla. Easy enough. Or so I thought..

I put all my ingredients in our food processor (which we never use and I remember why, every time I try again..), fought with the honey; as always, it never wants to come out of the measuring cup easily. Then bits of food started flying out of the side of the processor, which obviously isn't supposed to happen. I got one good pulse out of the processor and it was done. Apparently, it is on strike, likely from lack of use. 

So, then, I figure I will try the blender. I scrap my messy-mess out of the food processor and plop it in the blender. I turn on the blender, which proceeds to get stuck, because there is not enough liquid in my recipe for it to work out so well in the blender. So, I pulse and scrape the sides. Repeat a good ten times. No bueno. It did not work. 

So, I say, fine, I will just put it in a bowl and hand mix it as best as I can. After fighting with the ingredients that are now stuck in the bottom of the blender, I realize my bowl is too small and I make a big mess trying to mix and roll this mess into balls, which then, fall apart. I managed to get some of them to stay together and put them into a plastic container bound for the (tiny German) refrigerator and go to put its lid on. Wouldn't you know, I picked the one container for which we do not have a lid. Perfect. Plastic wrap it is. Only, my plastic wrap kind of stinks and it gets stuck together and somewhere in there, I began yelling and throwing the plastic wrap. Eventually, I managed to get a large enough square to cover my container, cleaned my (multiple) messes, put the balls in the refrigerator and washed my loads of dirty dishes in my (tiny German) sink. 

Woo. Glad I'm done with that little project. ;) I wish I could say this doesn't happen often, but it does, ALL THE TIME. I have been off my game in the kitchen since moving to Germany. Odd. Well, I'm nothing if not persistent. Off I go, back into the kitchen..

VERONA, Italy: Juliet's House.

After lunch in Verona, Jason and I visited Juliet's House. The Capulet family, from Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet were fictional, but some think that the Capulet family were based on the actual dell Capello family who did own the house for a time. The house was built in the 13th century, but the balcony was added in 1936. Nevertheless, people flock to this house with its tiny courtyard and balcony, pledging their love to each other or writing letters to Juliet to find their true love. 'Letters to Juliet' was partially based upon this writing of letters to Juliet. 

Once in the courtyard, we saw letters left in a basket for Juliet and love locks. There were signatures on every available space; walls, signs, gates. The gift shop next door embroidered little colored hearts that you could take home as a souvenir. The actual stitching process was done by a machine, controlled by a foot pedal and a hand dial, and the people creating them were so fast and efficient! 

A bronze statue of Juliet also stands in the courtyard. Supposedly, rubbing Juliet's right breast will bring good luck. I don't know about that, but I did pose for a photo with her. Maybe I will have good luck anyway. ;)

What Happens in a Year?

Jason and I have been living in Germany almost a year and a half now. Honestly, most of the time, it seems like we just arrived.

The anticipation of moving here was so intense for me. I had a lot going on in my mind and life, at the time. Then to put an overseas move atop all the craziness in my mind, it was pretty overwhelming. The first couple of months were definitely a trying and learning experience in so many ways. Thankfully, we were able to get settled and into a routine and really take in this experience and enjoy all that it has brought into our lives.

I say all this to say, it has been largely wonderful to live here and experience this country and all the other places our travels have taken us. 

Living here has allowed me time to figure out who I am and what matters to me. 

I am learning to relax and not worry so much about the things I have no control over. One thing I know to be true, is how short life is. I have a couple of 'mottos' I live by, and one is you get one life, make it count. I don't want to waste mine.

I am not the same person I was a year and a half ago and I think that's a good thing. I have learned so much about myself. I have had to make tough decisions regarding people in my life that maybe didn't need to be in my life anymore. Friendship, to me, is about sharing your life with someone, mutually. I feel that if that is not what is going on, then, sometimes it is best to let your paths unwind and go each in a separate way. It is not a hateful thing, it's just a part of life. At some point, people change and sometimes the people you become don't work well together, anymore. 

On that same note, I think it is so important to spend time with people who make you better, who inspire you. And, I want to be someone who inspires others, as well.

AND..I just want to say that this is how I feel right now. You might read other things on this blog and see how I may have felt during a particular time in my life and that may not be where I am today and it might not be how I believe or what I believe any longer. I think that's important to note. 

Okay, that's enough of seriousness. I hope to post some more of recent trips and such this week and I hope everyone enjoys seeing the photos!

VERONA, Italy. Part 1.

Back in September, J & I took a little trip to Italy. J had some work stuff there and I was able to tag along. Prior to this trip, I thought Italy would be cool, but since it wasn't a for sure trip while living in Germany, I didn't plan to ever go there. So, this was an AMAZING surprise!

We found a villa, far cheaper and far nicer than any of the hotels and spent a little over a week in Italy. We fell in love with Italy!

Our first little sightseeing adventure was Verona. Three of Shakespeare's plays are set in Verona: Romeo and Juliet, The Two Gentlemen of Verona & The Taming of the Shrew. The movie Letters to Juliet was filmed in part here, as well.

We spent the first part of our day in Verona walking around, shopping and enjoying their market; complete with Venetian masks and the like. We found a little cafe overlooking the market and enjoyed a pizza, topped with the local Veronese fare. 

CALIFORNIA, Throwback Tuesday.

Two years ago, Jason and I were living on 2 separate continents. He returned to the states for a bit, mid-way through a year overseas. The location of a training, allowed us to be able to spend almost 2 months in California. Our hotel was lovely, right on the beach, complete with an amazing continental breakfast every morning and a happy hour with complimentary drinks. Seriously? Wonderful! :)

[These are the only photos I can get to at the moment, as my external hard drive with the majority of this trip as well as most of the photos I have taken our first year of living in Germany might or might not be done-zo. Either way, I can't access the photos. Boo!]

Anyway, while in California, Jason and I toured as much as possible during his time off. We ate pizza (some of the best pizza I have ever had, to this day!) and seafood; glorious, delicious seafood! Cupcakes and ice cream. We visited Disneyland! Ah! We spent a day in Santa Monica, walking along the pier, taking in the sights and sounds. We lunched at a delicious little Mexican restaurant at the end of the pier. The atmosphere and view was amazing! We spent a day on a boat, on a whale watching excursion, no whales were spotted; we did see dolphins, sea lions & some stunning views of the water and islands around us. We spent a couple of hours in Hollywood. We were both sort of bummed by Hollywood. It was nothing like either of us imagined. It was cool to see the stars and the theater, though. I got to shop at Kitson, LA and DASH, in Calabasas. We spent a lovely day in Santa Barbara. We loved Santa Barbara. The city and the people. It was such a pretty little place. We found an awesome Mexican restaurant that we had to sample one more time. ;) We also fell in love with In and Out and their fresh burgers and fries! I had my first legit fish taco. We saw movies at the local theater and tried loads more local restaurants. I love California! I miss the water!

 Samoa cupcake, Crumbs in Hollywood.

 Reese's cupcake, Crumbs in Hollywood.

 Santa Monica, CA. Santa Monica Pier.

 Santa Monica, CA. Santa Monica Pier.

 Santa Monica, CA. 

 Santa Monica, CA. Santa Monica Pier.

 Santa Monica, CA. Santa Monica Pier.

 Dolphins, seen from our boat on our Whale Watching Excursion.

Ventura Harbor at night.