Weekly musings

This weeks scents were Womanity, Batucada, Gucci No3, Eau de Lancaster, Aromatics Elixir (which seems to get my signature scent), Dryad, which was perfect for a rainy early autumn day and Meet Me On The Corner.

Cutting on leopard print shorts and a wearable muslin of the Anning Dress

On my plate this week was lentil soup, Tiramisu (that i ate too much of, but it was good! a coworker made it…), sausage salad, pasta alla Norma, tomato and mozzarella salad, minestrone from all the veggies in the frigde and a Poulet au Riz, from a french cookbook,

I biked to work thrice this week, so i put in another 135km. Friday we had a summer party at work outside on the roof terrace with a barbecue catering, and i was totally stuffed afterwards. Saturday i spent watching the last parts of Stranger Things and have now begun The Sandman.

I finally finished my first try at the Marilla Walker Anning Dress, but this one came out a bit big. I did a Full Bust adjustment for my measurements, but this is really roomy. Next time i either do a size smaller or simply use the B-Cup drafted front. I would like to make one for winter in a fine blue needlecord.

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Weekly diary

This weeks perfumes were more summery, because the weather finally was very warm. So i wore Untitled L´Eau, Chanel L´Eau, Aromatics Elixir, Perles de Lalique, What I Did On My Holidays, Cristalle Verte and Eau de Lancaster.

Different homemade outfits for MeMadeMay

We started to try to eat more veggies, so we had cauliflower with a lentil vinagrette with raisins, gnocchi with spinach, asparagus with pork filet, tuscan peposa with a lot of braised fennel and pasta with zucchini and trout fillet. We really like meat a lot, but with enough greens our meals get a bit lighter and it also feels good to get more nutrients in our food. This will get better, when our alottment starts to produce our summer veggies, although you will hear me complain soon of zucchini overload. We also planted lots of tomatoes, but of those i rarely get tired eating them.

I spent the whole weekend sewing a shirt (the checkered one right and below) and nearly finished a shirtdress from the same pattern . Just some hemming and buttonhole, then i will be finished too. After sewing again for two years i am starting to understand why some clothing does not fit, and where to make some alterations to make them better. That is something i did not know, when a was a young student, so i can make better fitting clothes now. It is funny, because lots of my female patients comment on my nice dresses and think they are something special. Maybe it is just because not many women wear dresses often and spend their time wearing jeans and tshirts.

Weekly diary

I did not have time to blog last week, but this week i made time again. Soo…

Perfumes worn were Scherrer EdT, Pour La Belle, Cafe Tuberosa, Mitsouko EdT (finally a Mitsouko i can love), Empreinte, Tea Rose, Lovely Sheer and Roma for a sunny sunday.

Views from my week, Gemista, Snoopy boxers, bikewear in progress and some selfmade bikewear i wore this week

On my plate this weeks cooking was a bit erratic. Some asparagus frittata, cole slaw with pulled pork, gnocchi with chard, pancakes with herbed quark and a big greek gemista with bellpeppers and rice.

I biked to work three times this week, so 135km in total. I was quite exhausted after this weeks biking, i even rode on friday in the rain and felt quite proud of me… But it helps with getting fitter and loosing some more weight (and gasoline is very expensive too at this time, so its a win in all categories).

I also took some time for sewing. I promised my boyfriend some new boxer shorts and he chose a Snoopy print! So i gladly (and with some silent giggles) i ordered Snoopy fabric and finished the first two boxer shorts plus one in checkered jersey. I have three more to finish, but this is at least a fun project. I am always happy, if i can sew something for him, but mostly he is content with his wardrobe.

I also made another set of biking clothes, this time a spring set of long leggings and a longsleeved shirt in turquoise and grey leopard fabric. If i knew that activewear is so easy to sew i would have started this much earlier! I can really recommend Activstoffe.de in Berlin, they have a great selection of quality fabric, mostly fashion industry remnants for a great price. In all i sewed three sets of bikewear (shirt and leggings) for a whopping 80Euro in fabric, and there is some left to do more…

Sewing sportswear- finally!

Since my friend Petra gifted me a book about Sewing Activewear i contemplated on sewing my own sports clothes, especially because most of the bike clothes do not really fit me. it seems, that every woman on a bike has to be very slim and small-busted. Most of the ready-to-wear things often do not even come in my size, which is really frustrating. And mostly i have problems to fit my D-cup sized bust into normal clothes.

I started with the basic pattern of Melissa Fehrs „Sewing Activewear“ book and first did a muslin of some leftover swim fabric, some bike shorts and a longer legging. As this all went well and without problems i ordered some interesting fabrics from a German seller called „Extremtextil“. I bought a very nice and thick stretch with merino plus some thinner fabrics for summer shirts and shorts.

As i wanted a raglan top, because this fits often better in the shoulders i finally bought the „Surf to Summit Top“ from Fehrtrade plus the Rouleur leggings for biking base clothes. The leggings were made from the base pattern of the book. For the top i first made a muslin with a thin t-shirt fabric to wear under it, then i finally cut into my good warm fabric.

Basic leggings and the Surf to Summit top plus my trusty ebike

I printed out the pattern at home and had no trouble to assemble it, all fit perfectly. Also the sewing of the different parts is really easy and the pieces fit together well. There were enough notches for putting together and the sewing part took maybe an hours time. Instructions were good, with text and pictures and easy to understand.

The only thing that i changed was the collar opening. I thought about inserting a zipper, but with the bulky fabric i did not like the idea after sewing a mockup on a fabric scrap. So i just cut the front part not on the fold, sewed it together leaving a slit and did a contrasting collar lining, that i folded under and stitched in by hand.

All things considered i am quite content with my new bike clothes. The sizing of the pattern is a bit on the looser side, so if you want it tightfitting, maybe size a bit down. I did cut a size M, although i am a 14US or a 16UK size, so even a bit more curvy ladys have the chance to make nice fitting workout clothes with Fehrtrades patterns. Plus- Melissa seems to be a really nice person too. I had a problem with my order and she sorted it out in just a few hours (on Easter weekend!).

My psychedelic wearable muslin of the basic leggings

Weekly diary and Easter holidays

Thankfully this week was a shorter one because of the holidays. The weather got nicer every day, so i wore more fresh and springlike scents. Starting with Sens & Bois, Pour La Belle, Womanity, my special mix of Tea Rose and Coriandre ( you should try this, soo good), Chypre Siam, Scherrer and Doe in the Snow

Views from a very long walk around Ludwigsburg

On my plate I had pasta with turkey-tomato-sauce, lots of leftovers from the freezer, a Falafelburger on our long walk plus icecream and a burger with fish fingers and salad. Saturday was pasta again, this time with shrimps, miso butter and bottarga. Sunday we ate lots of braided easter bread with ham and hardboiled eggs plus persian celery-beef ragout with lots of parsley and mint.

This time we stayed at home over the easter holidays, so we just relaxed, watched videos, took some walks. The long walk on Good Friday was nearly 18km, so i was really exhausted and went to bed very early. I also took some time sewing some sleep shorts from a green seersucker fabric and finally started with my bike-clothes in earnest. I also managed to bike twice that week to work, which is not a bad thing, because this means nearly 90km biked!

Morning view on my bike commute, cold, but sunny

Weekly diary

This weeks perfumes were a bit of a mixed bit, because the weather was very april-like. It started with warm weather, so out came Patou Joy and Cabotine, then it got really cold and it started to snow on saturday, so my cold-weather scents got an outing. It was Sens & Bois, Fourreau Noir, Dzing!, Vanille Absolument, Calligraphy Saffron and Theo Fennel.

Blossoms in spring with and without snow

As i had time at home, because of a bad case of laryngitis i could not really speak at all and therefore could not go to work, i had more time to cook. Thankfully i felt not bad or sick, just lost my voice and was not allowed to speak. This was something my boyfriend found really funny, i am sure he enjoyed the silence!

On my plate i had bulgur patties with broccoli, a greek Avgolemono-chicken soup, a soup with Maultaschen plus an old-fashioned potato soup with sausages. I made some Japchae, greek filled bellpeppers with rice and miso noodles with broccoli and salmon for sundays lunch.

I also spent some time at my sewing machine and made a long warm bike leggins from some very nice polar stretch with merino, which i hope will keep me warm on my bike. I also finally tackled the Metra Blazer from Lovenotions in some pinstriped ponte, that came out very nice and also made a matching skirt. No pictures yet, but i will post some later..

Weekly diary

Vintage Zen EdC and my first try at Tteobokki

This weeks CP on NST war female perfumers so i was wearing only those. I started with Coriandre- Jacqueline Coururier, Sens & Bois- Celine Ellena, Dryad – Liz Moores, L´Air de Rien – Lyn Harris, Vintage Zen – Josephine Catapano, Doe in the Snow and Meet Me On The Corner- both by Sarah McCartney. I finished the sunday in lots of C&A First EDT, not a female perfumer, but it was what i was craving…

On my plate this week there was a lot of pasta, on monday with sardines and ricotta, friday with leeks and sausages and sunday with a tomato-turkey sauce. I made Kitsune donburi with some leftover aburraage (fried tofu pockets), some salmon with sesame-cabbage salad and a cauliflower soup with sausage and curry. The boyfriend cooked venison fillets with a nice sauce and pasta (again). And i make my first Tteobokki with gochujang and spinach, really easy and the nice heat of the gochujang paste was great on a cold spring day too.

I finally gave the book „ Sew your own activewear“ a go and sewed a prototype of biking shorts, which fit really nice, after i tweaked the inseams at the crotch a bit. I think i will sew a new biking wardrobe for this season. I am imagining a biking skort, because i feel a bit exposed in those short biking shorts and think it looks nicer with a bit of a skirt over it.

Weekly diary

Perfumes of this week were Vol de Nuit EdT (I am still not overwhelmed), Scherrer One Love, Vintage Shalimar, Reve d’ Ossian, Friday a layering of Occur and Musks Khoublai Khan. Saturday I wore Botrytis and Sunday was lots of Theo Fennel.

Lentil dhal with the trimmings and the first finished sock

On my plate I had lots of leftovers and cold meals for dinner. A coworker made a great lentil dhal with freshly baked Naan and raita for lunch. Friday I had oven baked Hokkaido pumpkin with Miso butter. We made a huge pork cutlet, that weight over 700g with Fennel and gnocchi on Saturday and had slow-cooked pulled turkey with Pasta for Sunday dinner with leftovers for the next day.

This week I managed to go for a long walk four times, once with a friend, the other times with my boyfriend. This gives us time to relax and to chat. At home we are much too often absorbed in the internet etc, so we try to take walks on most evenings.

I finished the first sock for the boyfriend and also finished my Hope dress from Style Arc patterns plus a new Raglan shirt with big pink dots.

Usually I am not much into pink, but as my hair is rapidly going white, I must admit, that this color looks nice on me and lends me some color. Sadly I look washed out in my beloved black, if I don’t put on makeup and a bright lipstick. Things always change, so maybe I will embrace this new colorstory.

Weekly diary

Perfumes I wore this week were vintage Zen, Aromatics Elixir, Bottega Veneta, Ambre Russe, Fils de Dieu, Scherrer EdT, and Rochas Femme. Sunday I wore Fourreau Noir, which was fitting for a cold and grey day.

Donkeys at the farmers shop, pumpkin and my new made clothes

On my plate I had Greek Gemista, some burgers at work, Brussel sprouts with Miso and sausages, stuffed pumpkin with rice and a big batch of beet salad with salmon

I finally finished my socks and cast on some new ones for the boyfriend. I also worked a bit on my shawl, while watching Chicago Med. I really don’t know why I love medical series so much, because it’s the same I do for my living. Just all this medical personnel has so much time for their private life, which I don’t have. Maybe I am too old and just lack the energy?

I spent the Monday sewing and made some nice Ponte pants and an a-line shirt plus a grey raglan shirt from a grey knit fabric. They all turned out great and fit really well. I think there will be more of these in the future.

Countdown to the holidays

Just five days, until we go to Italy!

The weather was cold at the beginning of the week and got better every day so my perfume choices reflect this. I started with Coromandel for a cold Monday, followed by Ambre de Merveilles the next day. Wednesday was better, so I chose Janine D, a vintage cheapie that I discovered at my boyfriends mother. Choc de Cardin for a bike to work day. Friday was Niki de Saint Phalle, Saturday first Batucada, then Beachy and Sunday I wore Camelia Chinois. This bottle will never end… Maybe I will take it on holidays and empty it there.

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Pulled turkey on polenta and a bream at the Greek beer garden

On my plate I had lamb ribs from the oven, tomato salad, pasta with zucchini again, pork steak with tomato salad again, fried Maultaschen with kimchi. Saturday I improvised some pulled turkey with tomato and anchovies on a bed of blue cheese polenta, which turned out exceptionally well with a very nice Riesling to go with it. Sunday we did a spontaneous visit at a Greek restaurant with a nice garden under a huge walnut tree and had sea bream with potato and Feta cream. This was a treat, because we had to go to the emergency practice to have my boyfriends swollen foot inspected. I was fearing a thrombosis, but the just gave him an antibiotic ointment. I am still not convinced. If it’s not better tomorrow I will make him see our own physician.

I finally finished my swimsuit and it fits really well. The fabric is a bit colorful, but I will not get lost in the sea while wearing this.

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It’s the Rhonda Swimsuit from 5 out of 4 patterns. The pieces fit well together and although I had to scratch my head at one step reading the instructions, it came together without any sewing disaster. In all I can recommend the pattern. It also had normal bust and fuller bust pattern pieces, so there was no need to adapt anything. I have a D cup and it’s roomy enough at the breast.

Weekly diary

Perfumes this week had the theme from NST – wear something you would not have worn pre parfumista days. So I wore Amazone, Cabotine, Memoir Woman, Agent Provocateur, Chanel No19, L Air de Rien and Dzing for Sunday. Before getting into perfumes I mostly wore something like Petit Chérie or Eau d’Issey, mostly something lighter and floral. Now I am more into Chypres or something animalic or incense. Because the weather was really cold for August (I even wore panty hose!), I could put on some of my cooler weather scents.

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Luna lounge wear

On my plate I had sausage salad, turkish lentil soup, Tortellini salad, bento with meatballs and surimi, indian chicken in pickling spices with rice, plum cake. Plus we met with friends at the Thai restaurant and had some duck curry.

I made another Love Notions Luna Lounge wear night shirt to take with me in the holidays. It’s a nice and relatively fast sew and can also double as a beach dress. I also started sewing a swimsuit, the Rhonda from 5out of 4 patterns. It’s not completely finished, but I will have something to wear for the beach in Toscana.

Weekly diary

Perfumes this week were Roma, Tea Rose, Aromatics Elixir, Eau de Lancaster, Niki de Saint Phalle, Cristalle Eau Verte, Iris Rebellen from a new decant, lots of Camelia Chinois and still there is something left in the bottle. Sunday was hot, so I wore Beachy, which is sadly discontinued, because the watermelon note is really fun.

Multinational food

On my plate I had lots of zucchini again, as a soup and fried with Merguez. Green beans were used for gnocchi with chorizo and salad. I made a bento with tamagoyaki and salmon to take to work and Spam musubi on Saturday, which tasted great. Sunday was a big focacchia, that my boyfriend made and chard frittata. And we had pasta with fried bread crumbs and tinned sardines, such a simple, but tasty meal.

The weather finally got a bit better, so I biked to work twice. And on the weekend I finished two dresses, so I am quite content with my output. I should have cleaned the apartment, but I decided to take time for sewing….

I also spent some time playing with my new TWSBI eco fountain pen and some nice diamine ink in Sherwood Green and practiced my handwriting, which is frankly a mess. I am a leftie and a doctor, so what do people expect??? Still it begins to be unreadable to me too, so I put in some time practicing cursive, and it starts to look better now.

Writing practice, rewriting a bit of the Narnia Chronicles

Weekly diary

Perfume this week was Dryad, Tea Rose, Elephant, Untitled L Eau, Camelia Chinois (still try to thunk this bottle) and Fils de Dieu. The NST community project was backup bottles, so I wore Covet a d Aromatics Elixir. I could have worn L Air de Rien or Theo Fennel, but it was too warm for them.

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On my plate I had a lot of different foods. A salad with borlotti beans, bulgur and bell peppers. Greek avgolemono soup with rice. Sausage salad with kimchi, green bean salad with Miso and roast sesame. I made pasta with zucchini sauce, zucchini fritters and chickpea cutlets (from post punk kitchen blog). We ate out in a Greek beer garden on the Neckar River and have gyros and salad. Sunday was korean pork belly with rice and kimchi plus a Asian cucumber salad.

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Pork belly with kimchi

We did another bike tour on the Neckar bike route, but this time we rode home another route, which was a bit hilly. I managed most of the inclines, but had to walk my bike on two steeper hills. Still not totally fit, my heartrate goes up too fast.

Sunday was sent on finally making the taxes, which I hate. Although I always get a good amount of money back, so I dont know why I procrastinate. Well, it’s done now and I have time until next summer.

I also bought some new sewing patterns, because I want to try making a swimsuit. This will be interesting.

Weekly diary plus staycation

We had a week of holidays plus a big heatwave, so my perfumes were summery ones.

I wore a mix of Camelia Chinois and Fan di Fendi Eau Fraiche twice, What I did on my holidays, Doe In the snow, Fico D Amalfi, a mix of Tea Rose and Coriandre, which I quite like. I wore Granville, but although I find it interesting it reminds me a lot of a clay ointment for sore throat my mother put ony neck as a kid. Hmmm, strange

Neckar River bike tour

Thankfully we did our bike tour along the Neckar River on Monday, because the next days it would have been too hot. We cycled from Kornwestheim to Zuffenhausen and then down the river to Besigheim. We had a drink outside and then took the train back home. It was the first longer ride on my Brompton and I coped well. At the end of the day we had cycled nearly 50km.

Tuesday we visited a friend in Ulm, ate Pizza outside and had some icecream later.

The next day we drove to Messkirch to visit Campus Galli. There they are building a medieval abbey from the 9th century with historical technology. It was a nice site to explore and maybe we will come again some years later to watch the progress.

Campus Galli

The next days it was really hot, so we had to stay inside and I had time to finish some sewing projects. I made another teahouse dress from embroidered chambray and a Tessuti apron for the boyfriend, because he wanted his own kitchen apron.

Very manly camouflage embroidered denim

I also made a Peppermint pocket shirt from the fabric above, but it was too stiff and a complete fail….

We had more time to cook so we had Risotto with chicken liver, mushroom tortilla and cucumber salad, sausage salad with kimchi, bulgur salad with Feta and peppers, bun noodle salad with minced meat and peanut sauce and homemade Focacchia.

In all, it was a nice week and we got some things done, so I am quite content with our staycation.

Weekly diary

I missed last week, but this week I am back to the blog

Perfumes of this week were Eau de Lancaster, Aromatics Elixir twice, Chanel No5 L Eau, Memoire D Une Odeur, Scherrer, Terracotta and Batucada for a hot summer evening.

I made lots of asparagus, because it’s near the end of the season, so I made quiche, baked asparagus with meatballs and asparagus en vinaigrette with fried salmon. I made a bavarian sausage salad and added kohlrabi kimchi to it, which was an instant hit with my boyfriend. Plus lots of Hummus and cold sandwiches. And not to forget a nice bottle of wine on our balcony.

I finally finished my second bra, after tweaking the pattern a bit for a better fit and now I am quite content. I think there will be more bra sewing in the future. The next one will be with a bit of lace.

I also made a summer linnen and rayon sack dress, the Adeline from Style Arc. I cut a size 16 and it came together nicely. Plus I did some cutting for another dress and a Denim jacket from scraps and some old jeans of my boyfriend.

The next week we are on staycation holidays, but we will visit a friend and hopefully do some cycling along the Neckar River.

Weekly diary

Perfumes of this week were a lot of holiday scents because of the CP on NST. So holidays were Fan di Fendi Eau Fraiche, Bronze Goddess Azur, Batucada, What I did on my holidays, Untitled L’Eau. Not so holiday themed were Cardin Paradoxe, Scherrer, Scherrer One Love and Odeur 53. I really like the Odeur 53, because it smells like a frdry cleaner plus hair salon, totally chemical and really fresh. Such a fun scent.

Bun noodle salad, Korean sssmgyupsal and a lot of junk from our garden

On my plate was homemade hoummous, risotto with broad beans and Mozzarella, lentil salad with Feta and Ras El Hanout and Thai chicken curry with asparagus and zucchini for Sunday.

I finally biked to work again on Friday and made the complete tour and back, thanks to my ebike. I used more of the assisted modes than usual, because I still cannot exercise properly after my infection and should keep my heartrate under 130. So I did some meditative cycling, which was really nice.

We had one of our old garden huts removed in our allotment and I dug out and astounding heap of junk and at least 6 mummified rat skeletons plus a coin. I felt a bit like Carter in the valley of kings, sadly there was no gold to be found. And I started my second bra, but it’s not finished yet. Just have to say that bra sewing is really fun. Now I want to make all the things plus matching underwear. This time it’s violet semitransparent fabric with elastics in a pretty orchid shade.

Weekly diary and a shopping spree

Perfumes of this week were Cabotine, Adam Levine, Untitled, which I finally thunked, Vert de Fleur, Scherrer, Tea Rose, Zagorsk for meditation day, Cardin Choc and L Air de Rien on Sunday

I went on a bit of a perfume shopping spree and bought lots of cheapies, but goodies.

A big bottle of Scherrer and Scherrer One Love, Cardin Choc and Paradoxe, Verveine Cedrat and not pictured perfumers workshop Tea Rose. The Cardins were blind buys, but I really like them. The One Love is not too much my style, but a nice scent nonetheless.

I did not too much of cooking, but we had savoy with brats, swabian lentils with spaetzle and sausage and a tray bake with chicken legs, potatoes and asparagus. And because I hopefully gets warmer now, I made a big batch of Hummus.

I started working on a new dress, but it’s not finished yet plus I tried to make some woven joggers style pant, that came out ridiculously big and made me feel like a clown. This will take some weeks, before I try again, because I am frustrated.

At the moment I am watching Gotham on Netflix. I am not a marvel fan, but this is really entertaining and the villains are the best!

Weekly diary

It finally got warmer here, so I wore more spring scents. Monday started with Meet Me On The Corner, I wore Scherrer EdT and finally ordered a big bottle, because it’s really cheap. Pour La Belle and Empreinte. On my day off it was Cristalle Eau Verte and Friday Aromatics Elixir. Saturday I wore Lovely Sheer for garden work and sunday was 6 sprays of Roma.

Homemade pizza

We ate some leftovers this week, but had Kimchi pancakes and homemade pizza. My boyfriend made a bavarian sausage salad and I cooked a big batch of chicken in pickling spices. Sunday was linguine with lemon, garlic and asparagus and semolina pudding for dessert.

I finally finished the Pinup Girls Classic Bra on Saturday. It was easier to make, than I thought and although the fit is not perfect, it is absolutely wearable. Maybe I will use other wires next time to improve the fit.

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The finished bra

I used the video workshop on Craftsy, which made the sewing a lot easier, because I could see, what I had to do. Totally can recommend it. In all, it was a fun sewing experience.

Weekly diary and finally spring

I was on holidays this week, but sadly the weather was cold and wet until Saturday. But it was nice to relax at home, so not too bad.

Perfumes were Camelia Chinois twice, because I want to thunk my bottle. Fils de Dieu, Café Tuberosa, Perles de Lalique, Reve d’Ossian a d Bronze Goddess Azur.

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I had lots of time for cooking, so I made Gimbap rolls, a sea bream with ginger and garlic Asian style. I made a slow cooked korean pork belly with gochujang, gnocchi with mushrooms, turkish lentil soup, fried green asparagus and asparagus frittata and Afghan yogurt chicken on Sunday. And I tried a Italian lemon cake called Ciambella, that turned out really nice.

Because of the bad weather I had time for sewing, so I finished the Stacker jacket, just needs buttonholes. I sewed two dresses and finally started sewing my first flbra. It’s not finished yet, but looks okay.

In, all I am happy with completing so many projects plus getting lots of appointments done in a week.

Weekly diary

Perfumes this week were mostly more of the chypre kind, because they are great for spring. So I wore Orange Sanguine, Amazone, Scherrer, Azurée. Friday was spring flowers day on NST, so I wore Cabotine. Saturday was grey and cold, so I put on Absolue pour le Soir and sunday was Untitled and later I wore Cabochard

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I did a lot of cooking this week, so we had beef cheeks I need wine sauce, Vietnamese summer rolls with omelet. I made salmon with fresh spinach and gnocchi, a cream of broccoli soup and a Udon noodle soup with shrimp, cabbage and miso. Later oven baked chicken legs with aubergine and sunday a kimchi spaetzle bake with cheese and fried onions.

This week I took my new Brompton out for my first commute, that finally worked out okay after encountering a dead end because of works and a much belated train because of problems with electricity. Still it was nice to finally get to cycle again. I am still not fit, after my Covid infection, but it got a bit better in the last two weeks.

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My folded bike waiting for the train to come

And because it’s MeMadeMay, I started another project with the Stacker jacket, a design from Papercut Patterns. It’s coming along nicely, hope to finish it tomorrow.

Weekly diary

Perfumes of this week were Scherrer (worn twice), Vintage Opium, Black Gemstone (good, but not something I like to wear), Fils de Dieu for Friday, Occur, Calligraphy Saffron and Vintage Miss Dior and later Narciso white cube, because they share the gardenia note.

Nina Lee dress, one pot pasta and the persian Nowrooz meal.

On my plate I had some Indian chicken legs with rutabaga puree, that was really nice together… I made Khoresht e Karafs, a persian stew with celery and meat plus lots of parsley and mint on Nowrooz. On Sunday there was one pot pasta for lunch, because we were hungry and I just wanted some simple pasta. The boyfriend made beef cheeks simmered to perfection in its own juices. We nearly ate this with a spoon. And we had a great red wine from Montalcino to accompany the meal. Plus I baked egg nogg cake, for the weekend.

I finished the dress from Nina Lee patterns and like it a lot. Sadly it is too thin to wear now. I also made boxer briefs for my boyfriend and started the Gilbert top from Helen’s Closet.

Sewing underwear

I made two jersey boxer briefs for my boyfriend in the last days. This is the John boxer briefs pattern from Pattydoo, and I have made them before. They fit really well and are quite easy to make.

You need just half a meter of jersey and some elastic. The front of the briefs is lined, so it does not scratch the skin.

This time I also sewed them on request, because he really likes to wear them. Sadly he did not want to pose in them, so I have no pic how they look worn…

Weekly diary

Perfumewise I started the week with Zagorsk and Covet. I am on the last drops of Tommy The Girl, but it’s still not thunked. Wednesday I wore L Air de Rien, Friday a combination of Rose Flash plus Coriandre to make the rose less jam like. Saturday was lots of Roma, because it’s such a no brainer for me. Sunday started with Eau de Lancaster and later What I did on my holidays.

Easter cookies, the old shoe factory, the grain mill I shop at and a new Rivermont dress I made

On my plate I had pasta with spinach and Gorgonzola, homemade burgers, marinated pan-Asian chicken legs with cauliflower, sausages with savoy and spaetzle and on Sunday I made Seelen, a svabian bread roll, Persian rhubarb Ragout and a cake for tea.

Svabian Seelen, which means Souls

I did a lot of sewing and cutting out fabric and finished a dress from Nina Lee patterns, the Mayfair dress, that I plan to wear to work tomorrow

Mayfair dress

Weekly diary

This week the NST project was Absinth, so I wore some absinthe related scents like Niki de Saint Phalle, Chypre Mousse, Jil Sander No4 and Memoir Woman. I also wore Evoke, Perles de Lalique, Cabochard, Dzing, Ambre de Merveilles and tested Lebretons Grimoire today. I like cumin, but this was a bit much.

Kuku with broad beans and a Denim jacket

We did cook a bit and made pasta con le sarde with saffron and raisins, some homemade pizza. Saturday was Kuku, a sort of persian frittata with broad beans and parsley and today I am still in the process of making pork shanks with a nice crust plus savoy and potatoes.

I finally nearly finished a denim jacket that I started last summer. The pattern is from Itch to Stich and it’s the Atenas jacket. Now it only needs some buttons and I need warmer temperatures to wear it….

And I got new summer ballerinas. I think this color is a neutral, goes with everything! And very comfy too.

Weekly diary

I tried starting work again, but was sent home after 2 hours. So I spent more time recovering and of course wearing perfumes. As the weather was mostly sunny and springlike, I was craving fresher scents. So I wore Covet, Roma, Eau de Lancaster, Margiela Untitled and nearly thunked Tommy The Girl. Friday I wore Meet Me On The Corner plus Niki de Saint Phalle in the evening. Saturday was lots of Empreinte and today I wore SJP Lovely Sheer and Cabotine in the afternoon.

Covet, a part of my Saturday walk and my Sunday dinner

On my plate I had chicken with Ras El Hanout on savoy cabbage with Kurkuma and barberries. I made bavarian cabbage with oven potato chips and spicy brats and a sheet cake with sour cream and apples, which turned out nice. Sunday I made Koresht e Rivas, a persian beef Ragout with saffron and rhubarb. This sounds a bit strange, but is delicious. And I like the smell and taste of saffron. Plus I baked a grain and rye bread. Usually my boyfriend does the bread baking, but he mostly make French style country bread and I had a craving for a dark rye.

I was still very exhausted at the start of the week, but got better on Friday. I even managed a 6km walk with the boyfriend without needing to rest on the sofa. And today I felt like my old self again, maybe a bit more tired, but I got things done like vacuuming and sweeping the floors. I even got a whole dress cut and finished today, it was not a very complicated one, but nevertheless.

After five weeks of being sick, it will be nice to get to work again tomorrow. I hope this time I will cope.

Weekly diary

As the community project this week at the NST blog was yellow or gray, I wore some grey scents like Full Incense, Fourreau Noir, Attaquer Le Soleil and mb03 by Biel plus some yellowish scents like Eau Duelle and Felanilla. Sunday I had a craving for something more citrussy, because we finally had some snow and put on Lovely Sheer and later Cristalle Verte.

I did not have too much time to cook, so it was a big batch of chicken paprikash, baked pumpkin with Feta Creme and Hummus and salmon with Miso butter pasta and steamed broccoli. And I made congee, to see if this could be something to eat for breakfast.

I spent a lot of the weekend on my sewing machine and made a pinafore for a friend who loves to cook. I also cut and finished a wearable muslin of the cashmerette Harrison shirt with short sleeves. It was not as complicated as I thought I would be. Maybe it still needs some minor corrections after a test wear.

Weekly diary

For the week of Christmas I wore mostly cuddly scents, so Rose de Petra, Ambre de Merveilles, Absolue pour le Soir, Fille en Aiguilles for Christmas eve, Kenzo Amour, L Air de Rien and Calligraphy Saffron on Sunday.

Because both of us were on holidays, we had more time to cook. So we had loup de mer with spinach, stifado with a puree of potato and rutabaga, pizza with radicchio, lardo a d Gorgonzola, homemade pasta with mushroom sauce, pumpkin soup with meatballs and a great ossobuco with risotto milanese for Christmas dinner.

We spent Christmas at home and did not visit our parents, because of Covid and a lockdown, but it was not bad, because usually we have to drive at least 8 hours to do our rounds, which is a bit stressful if you have to do this in 4 days… Instead we had a quiet celebration for two with good food and wine and watched ‘Love Actually’ afterwards. It even snowed at midnight.

I also finally finished my corduroy Ellis skirt and another Rivermont dress from a fun lipstick print.

Weekly diary

Perfumes i wore this week: Untitled, Cabotine, Kenzo Amour, La Pausa (dislike), Iris Poudre (too elegant), Zoologist Elephant plus testing some fig perfumes like Premier Figuier, Ninfeo Mio, Figue Blanche and Fico d´India. I am still undecided, maybe i just stick with a few decants and don’t buy a FB. Sunday scent was Pour la Belle by Schlossparfümerie Stuttgart, a very classic and mossy chypre.

On my plate: Lamb and potatoes, oxtail stew with Semmelknödel, smothered fennel with gorgonzola and salsicchia, sausage salad, quark dumplings with rhubarb compote and tete de beau (veals head) with sauce gribiche and potatoes, raw broccoli salad with cheddar, peanuts and barberries. I made some “Seelen”, a typical Swabian bread roll for breakfast, soo good!

Creative: i did a lot for sewing preparation on saturday and cut two dresses, one nightshirt and a muslin for a denim skirt. I finished the nightshirt and also finished my mashup Concord/Plantain T-shirt from a special fabric with little sushi rolls.

I think the pattern now fits really good, so i finally have a good fitting t-shirt pattern. Next time i will shorten the sleeves a bit.

I wore a lot of remade clothes this week, because i try to participate in “memademay”, where sewists all over the world are wearing their own creations this month. Its also inspiring to look at all the photos at instagram.

Weekly statistic

Perfume: L´Air de Rien, Felanilla, Incense Flash, Fils de Dieu de Riz et des Agrumes, Oriental Lumpur, Bottega Veneta, Attaquer Le Soleil -Marquis de Sade. Neu gekauft: Les Années 25 Bis. I bought a mini of Tauer Les Années 25 Bis.

Auf dem Teller: Broccolisalat, Kimchi-Suppe mit Tofu, Tex-Mex-Bohnensalat, Hühnerschenkel auf Curry-Blumenkohl, geschmorter Wirsing mit Fleischpflanzerl, Fish and Chips vom Foodtruck und selbstgebackenes Apfelbrot.

On the plate: Broccoli salad, Black bean and corn salat with bell peppers, chicken leg with cauliflower sheet pan, smothered savoy cabbage and meatballs. We had fish ´n chips from a food truck and some homemade apple bread (swabian winter specialty for christmas)

Buch und Film: “Boys Life” fertig gehört, eine Geschichte über die Kindheit in den 60ern, teils mit etwas surrealen Einsprengseln, aber trotzdem sehr Hörenswert. Den Fantasyband “AO” habe ich nach dem ersten Band abgebrochen, war einfach zu schlecht erzählt. Serienmässig bin ich wieder mal im Star Trek Universum gelandet und reise nun mit Captain Janeway, leider für mich die schwächste Serie… I finished the audiobook “Boys Life”, which was a nice story of a childhood in the 60ies with some surreal Stephen King-esque add-on. Nevertheless a good story. Tried to read a german fantasy “AO”, but had enough after the first book – a waste of my time. I started Star Trek Voyager this week, although its not my favorite one.

Wir waren auf der Stuttgarter Herbstmesse, ein teurer Besuch, denn ich habe eine neue Nähmaschine bestellt, die Elna 680. Fast 200 verschiedene Stiche und andere Gimmicks…. Einweisung und Abholung sind dann hoffentlich nächste Woche. Nachdem ich 30 Jahre lang meine alte Bernina sport 702 hatte, ist das ein Sprung ins Computerzeitalter. Ich bin gespannt. We went to the Stuttgart autumn fair, which was a very expensive visit, because i finally tested some new sewing machines and ordered a ELNA 680 with almost 200 different stitches and gimmicks. I sewed 30 years on my old Bernina, so i am now entering a new level of technique. 

Reiseplanung: Nächstes Jahr soll es nach USA gehen, auf jeden Fall nach San Francisco,Yellowstone, Grand Canyon und Vegas. Die Planung läuft! We are planning next years vacations in the USA and pondering our route. San Francisco, Yellowstone, Grand Canyon and Las Vegas are on our list.

 

Weekly statistics

Getragen/Worn: Bottega Veneta, MM Untitled L´Eau, Batucada, Fils de Dieu de Riz et des Agrumes, Covet, Felanilla, Calligraphy Saffron

Auf dem Teller: Zucchinisuppe, Kimchi Fried Rice, Tomatensalat, Koreanischer Schweinebauch mit Kürbispüree, Kalbskopf mit Sauce Gribiche, Griessnockerlsuppe, Linseneintopf.

On my plate: Zucchini soup, Kimchi fried rice, tomato salad, Korean pork belly with pumpkin puree, veals head with sauce gribiche, soup with semolina dumplings, lentils with tomatoes and meat

Kreativ: Das Hemd für den Freund ist fertig. Und noch ein Pembroke Dress aus einem supergünstigen Stoff vom holländischen Stoffmarkt. Und dazu senfgelbe Strumpfhosen! I made another pembroke dress from a cheap jersey i bought at the Holland Stoffmarkt. Now wearing mustard pantyhose for some color!

 

 

Wardrobe by me – Tropical Shirt

Nähen für Männer ist ja nicht immer einfach, schon alleine, weil die Herren ihre ganz eigenen und meistens nicht sehr modischen Vorstellungen haben. Nachdem ich meinen Poloshirt-Träger zu Sommerhemden überreden wollte, fand dieses Schnittmuster dann doch Zustimmung.

Die Anleitung ist von Wardrobe by Me, eine Indie-Schnittmuster-Firma, die übrigens noch diverse andere hübsche Anleitungen hat. Vernäht habe ich einen dünnen Seersucker, damit das Hemd auch schön luftig ist. Schöner Nebeneffekt: muss nicht gebügelt werden. Das erste Hemd hat schon ohne Änderungen recht gut gepasst, hier habe ich die Schulterpartie minimal verschmälert.

Vom Nähprozess her war die Anleitung wirklich sehr gut und übersichtlich, unklare Beschreibungen gab es eigentlich gar nicht. Sogar unterschiedlich grosse Brusttaschen für verschiedene Grössen waren im Schnitt angegeben, inclusive genauer Platzierung der Taschen.

Stoff für ein drittes Hemd habe ich schon daheim, diesmal in einem dunkelblauen Karo…

Sewing for men is not easy, mostly because they want functional clothing and nothing fancy. I managed to persuade my guy to try some summer shirts instead of his usual polo shirts and he really likes them and WEARS! them.

The pattern is from Wardrobe by me, an indie pattern company. I made it from seersucker, because it is light and airy and doesn’t need to be ironed – always a plus! The pattern was well constructed and the instructions were easy to understand. It even had different sized breast pockets for bigger and smaller sizes! 

The pattern fit quite well without alterations. For the second shirt i made a small narrow shoulder adjustment, and now the shirt fits even better. A third shirt is in the making. 

Retro-Shorts John

Von der John Retro-Unterhose habe ich inzwischen schon zwei Stück genäht und es sind noch mehr in Arbeit. Der Schnitt von Pattydoo ist wirklich recht einfach zu nähen, das einzige was mir immer noch zu schaffen macht ist die Burrito-Technik, weil ich die Schnitt-Teile gerne mal falsch zusammenstecke. Nach ein bisschen Nachdenken und Kopfkratzen geht es aber wirklich sehr schnell.

Ich nähe die Shorts immer mit eingezogenem Gummiband, dann sitzen die schön angenehm, und kein Gummi kratzt auf der Haut. Die Säume werden einfach mit der Zwillingsnadel abgesteppt. Das geht sogar auf meinem 30 Jahre alten Nähmaschinen-Schätzchen….

Die Passform ist echt super, der Mann trägt die Dinger tatsächlich freiwillig. Zumindest solange ich mich mit der Stoffwahl zurückhalte.

This is the second pattydoo John pattern, that i made for the boyfriend. The pattern is really easy to make, only the burrito method of sewing together the padded front makes me think long and hard. After that it is sewn together really quick. I do a a tunneled elastic, so nothing scratches. The legs are just finished with a twin needle (even my old 30year old sewing machine works with a twin needle!).

The fit is really good, the boyfriend is wearing them without complaints and lets me make more of them (as long as i choose the right fabric design ….)

Acacia – Megan Nielsen

Nachdem ich inzwischen mit der Verarbeitung von Jerseystoffen ganz gut zurechtkommen, habe ich mich nun an einem Resteprojekt versucht. Da bietet sich Unterwäsche förmlich an, denn hier wird meist nicht sehr viel Stoff benötigt. Ausserdem kann man neue Unterwäsche immer brauchen!

Bei Megan Nielsen gibt es das Schnittmuster umsonst, wenn man sich für den Newsletter anmeldet. Zuschnitt und das Zusammennähen der vier kleinen Teile war ruckzuck erledigt. Leider dauert dafür das Annähen des Falzgummis deutlich länger. Wenn man aber geduldig viele Stecknadeln zum Fixieren verwendet, lässt es sich dennoch problemlos nähen.

Der Schnitt sitzt wirklich gut, die Höschenteile umfassen wirklich das Hinterteil und kriechen auch beim Tragen nicht woanders hin. Der Stoff war ein Rest vom Stoffmarkt, aus dem Stoff selbst wurde ein T-Shirt für meine Mutter.

I finally made my first underpants. The pattern is Acacia from Megan Nielsen, and it is free, if you sign up for the newsletter. A perfect project for small remains of fabric. I used some remaining fabric from a T-Shirt for my mother….

Cutting the pattern and sewing the parts together was done really fast. But sewing on the folded elastic was a bit fiddly. But if you use enough pins for fixating the elastic, it is not difficult, just takes some time. The fit is really fine, the back part is big enough, so it does stay where it is supposed to stay. No creeping towards the middle!

Weekly statistics

Getragen/Worn: Fils de Dieu de Riz et des Agrumes, Camelia Chinois, Fille en Aiguilles, SJP Covet, Coriandre, Roma, AC Jasmin Angelique, Sel Marin, Montale Intense so Iris

Gekocht/Gegessen: Linsen und Würstchen, gebratene Zucchini aus eigenem Garten mit Burrata, gebratene Sardinen mit Tomatensalat, Schweinebraten italienisch mit Rosmarin und Knoblauch, Nudeln mit Spinat und Mozzarella

Cooked: Lentils and sausages, fried homegrown zucchini with Burrata, fried fresh sardines with tomato salad, pasta with spinach and mozzarella, roast pig shoulder Italian style with lots of rosemary and garlic. Went for dinner on Tuesday for some pasta.

Gesehen/Watched: Deep Space Nine ist fertig, nun beginnt die Suche nach einer anderen Serie. I finally finished all series of Deep Space Nine, now i am searching for another series, still undecided.

Gereist: Ein Wochenende in München, teils aus nicht so schönem Anlass, aber dennoch hatten wir einen netten Tag im Eiscafé, am Flaucherbiergarten, ein bisschen Füsse in einem Zufluss der Isar gekühlt und ein tolles Essen im HaNoi in der Au. Last weekend we went to Munich and had a nice Vietnamese dinner with friends, went to the Eiscafé and the Flaucher Beergarden and cooled our feet in a small stream near the Isar.

Kreativ/Creative: Der Teahouse Dress ist endlich fertig, aber Fotos kommen erst noch. Dafür habe ich mich im Unterwäsche-Nähen versucht und sowohl für mich als auch für den Mann je eine Unterbüx genäht. I finally finished the Teahouse Dress, but i have not made photos yet. And i tested underwear patterns and made some underpants for me and the boyfriend.

Weekly statistics

Getragen/Worn: Fils de Dieu de Riz et des Agrumes, Camelia Chinois, Eau de Merveilles Bleue, Jicky, Dune pour Homme, White Musk, SJP Lovely Sheer

Gegessen und gekocht/Cooked and eaten: Risotto mit grünem Spargel, Pizza mit Kapern und Sardellen, Hummus, Johannisbeermuffins mit Eierlikör, Linseneintopf mit Rhabarber, eine riesige Platte beim nachbarschaftlichen Griechen. We had Asparagus Risotto, homemade Pizza with capers and Anchovis, Hummus, a lentil soup with rhubarb, i made redcurrant muffins and we were dining out at our local greek and ate a huge meat platter.

Gelesen/Gesehen: Deep Space Nine, immer noch. Audiobook Stein und Flöte von Bemmann, nur was für Märchenfreunde, da ein bisschen langatmig. Still watching Deep Space Nine on Netflix. On Audiobook is Stone and Flute from Hans Bemmann.

Im Garten wurde der Kirschbaum beschnitten und aus den Kirschen haben wir eine Maische für Schnaps angesetzt. 120l Kirschen gepflückt! Ein bisschen Jahrestag feiern auf dem Balkon mit Cremant von Herrn Mullenbach aus Niedermohrschwihr. Und der Lenox-Shirtdress wurde fertig! Und es passt….

We had our cherry tree cut, because it was much too big and then plucked 120l of cherries to make cherry spirits. A litte feast on the balcony for our anniversary with a lovely cremant from Mullenbach. And i finally finished the Lenox shirtdress. It fits!