On vacation...

We've been off exploring the coast and hopefully soaking up some vitamin D. See you soon!

*collage photos via Darss travel site, strandkorb photo via kai:bln

Cutest coat ever, by Belle and Boo

This coat by Etsy seller Belle and Boo has pretty much got to be one of the cutest child's coats I have ever seen. I wish I could buy two of these for my adorable nieces. (Update: They have sold out of this coat and I'm not sure if they'll be making more.)

I was thinking it would be sweet to have a child's portrait painted while they were wearing this, but I'm pretty sure people would only ever look at the coat!

Speaking of artwork, check out the darling prints and wall decals also for sale in this shop. They look like they're straight out of the pages of your favorite children's book! (PS - she also writes a blog!)

My unstyled life: summer twilight

I've written about my unstyled life before and I wanted to share some images I caught around the house the other night. I find that the sunlight can really be different here in Europe, so here are some glimpses of it filtering through our home (and yes, the pom is still getting tossed around!).

*Disclaimer: I'm not trying to be 'arty' here, just trying to capture something I enjoy -how the evening sunlight paints our home. I find myself wishing I had a camera better suited to low light situations, but you get the idea!

The sun rises on one side of our house and sets on the other and I just find it so interesting how different the light can look at any given point in the day in a certain room. I like noticing the subtle changes in color as the sun sets a little more. See how the orange deepens ever so slightly after a few seconds? Do you ever notice this in your own home?

Do you notice changes in the light when you travel? I totally do. I wonder if it's a real-deal-scientific-fact thing, or just perception...do you know?

Easy candle wrap DIY (part 1)

I made some of these a while ago for a little event, but then decided to re-use them at home as well as try some new variations. They're a fun way to use up things you may already have at home.

What you'll need:
- Translucent paper
- tape (I used some Japanese masking tape)
- scissors
- measuring tape (optional)

See? It's a short list! Even grabbing a sheet of vellum won't set you back too far, so see if you can find a color that suits your fancy. I already had some green at home, so I just used that.

Measure the circumference of your candle holder and tear a piece of tape that length + a bit extra to overlap. Cut a strip of translucent paper the same width and attach to tape and then wrap around candle holder. Finished!

I trimmed the tops of some to look like grass for the little spring event I helped decorate, but I also used some random shapes cut from the translucent paper to try some other variations. One looks a little like a crown and the other reminds me of an aloe plant, ha. I found overlapping little bits of translucent paper to be kind of fun, so see what you come up with!

* Caution: paper + open flame = could be scary, so use good judgement here!

Balcony love

Some of the seedlings have finally made their way up our DIY privacy screen and have finally bloomed. Hurray! Of course this means there's no more room to hang up the fabric panel, but that's ok.

Instead it makes an appearance as a table cloth as we snack outside one evening. Green tea, olive bread and soft cheese...delish! Notice the little elephant cutting board? That was my husband's Frühstücksbrettchen when he was a child. It used to host his morning Brötchen (bread roll w/meat and cheese), but now we use it primarily as a small cutting board or cheese board.

How is your garden blooming?

Fast chilled soup with 3 ingredients

Are you looking for a fast, easy and healthy summer meal that won't heat up your kitchen? I was. At the time I was also looking to avoid things possibly carrying E-HEC (thank goodness that's all figured out!). I happily remembered the chilled soup concept and went to see what one of my favorite cookbook authors, Rozanne Gold, had for recipes. Sure enough, I found a recipe for "roasted beet-orange soup with creme fraiche".

Rozanne is all about minimalist cooking, which is probably a topic for another time, but suffice to say her recipes only have 3 ingredients (water, salt & pepper don't count). I love her recipes and have many I make regularly. Sometimes the ingredients may be hard to find or the recipe may involve time-consuming steps, so be sure to read ahead. However, this recipe is super fast and uses things that are pretty easy to find. Bonus: I spent maybe 4 Euro to make this meal!

You'll need:

4 medium oranges (1 cup juice + 2T zest/240ml Saft + 2 Esslöffel Orangenschale)
8 oz/250g creme fraiche
1 lb roasted beets/ 500g röstete Rote Beete (I buy the packaged pre-cooked beets for 1.30 Euro)

Assemble your ingredients and blend or puree until smooth. I used my food processor and it took maybe 5 minutes. 

Notice how there's no photo of the end result? No pretty bowl of pink soup with a little garnish? It was so good I forgot to take a picture of it when I sat down to enjoy a bowl...and it lasted for a few days! 

I really love this easy recipe and will be making it often. I even find that it tastes a little bit like a dessert thanks to the natural sweetness of the orange juice. I think you'll like this, even if you say you don't like beets! (our neighbors LOVED it!)

What about you? Any favorite cold soups or other easy summer recipes? Share in the comments so we can all try something new!
 

Retrieved: Thread

We're in business. I now have thread in the correct colors. Minor miracle. Too bad I forgot a color....sigh. So now I have nearly everything I need.

Stay tuned for some balcony fun and an easy recipe!

A little beach music

Have you seen Black Eiffel's Music Monday column? I love it. Tons of top tunage to tickle your ears. Here's a favorite find: Lover Lover singing 'Freebirds'. It sounds so summer-y and beachy, doesn't it? I can't wait to go the beach this summer; I really miss living on the water!

She's so right when she says this quote on their Facebook page sums them up:

"If Beach House met the Eurythmics on a late-summer’s road trip, it might sound like this, all polaroid-faded and sunset-red with the wide-eyed innocence of a John Hughes film." 

What music are you loving lately?

5 DIY's from Pinterest

Because I haven't been able finish any projects for like ever.
Because I need more supplies.
Because most supplies are apparently nowhere to be found in my provincial little university town.
Because the supplies that are to be found involve parking in an ancient little parking garage made for miniature cars.
Because I don't drive a Smart Car.
Because my husband and I are both too swamped with work to make a trip there together and I have no time or patience for the bus schedule.
Because I'd like to post something...fun...useful...and that perhaps involves supplies you already have on hand...

I give you 5 DIY projects I've found on Pinterest:

1. Paperclip fabric bookmarks from Life Through the Lens -so fast and practical. Why have I not made these yet? I actually have everything...huh.

2. Washi tape drink labels from Liebesbotschaft -perfect for summer parties.

3. Fabric scrap napkin wraps from Sewing in No Man's Land.

4. Continuous petal paper flowers from Martha Stewart - they ask for crepe paper, but I'm going to bet tissue paper will work as well (only because there is no crepe paper in my town, ahem).

5. Fast and easy green pea soup recipe from 101 Cookbooks - I like this because it uses frozen peas, has an easy-to-make base, and doesn't use anything that might have E-HEC (What is UP Deutschland?! The produce aisle freaks me out!).

Don't you just hate it when you're missing that ONE LAST THING?! Maybe you'll have enough on hand for one of these cute projects!  =)

Sew Inspired: Handmade Greek Lace Film

This video views like a National Geographic article. I first saw this on designer Anna Maria Horner's blog and thought it fit perfectly with the Sew Inspired series here. Filmed and originally posted for Etsy, I think this is a moving short film (~5 minutes) worth watching.

Lacemaking in Lefkara, Cyprus from Etsy on Vimeo.