3rd advent

Perfumes this week were Knowing, Chypre Mousse, Perles de Lalique, Lady Rose Lion, a mix of Musk Tonkin and L Air de Rien, Dryad on Friday, Calligraphy Saffron and vintage Shalimar for Sunday. I am still debating buying van Cleef and Arpels First, although it’s a soap bomb on me, but I love a Chypre in nearly all its forms

Christmas lights, a nice salad and a walk across the fields

Sadly I finally am on a diet, as I faced my scale and found that I gained nearly 7kg since my covid-19 infection, because I did not dare to work out. Now that I am cleared with a lot of tests, I have nothing to worry about, so I can finally do some cardio. I started to track my food intake,but this does not mean I want to eat food I don’t like. Thankfully my boyfriend will eat the same as I, so I think I will get on track without problems.

We had pasta with Ricotta and spinach, savoy with fried fish filet. I even went to the company’s Christmas dinner and had a nice meal with salad and smoked duck breast, ramen soup with shrimp and a nice piece of beef with spaetzle and potato salad. We had filled pumpkin with bulgur and a tomato and borlotti sauce and miso aubergine with rice and braised rabbit. Luckily it did not feel much like a diet at all.

We managed two longer walks this week, Sunday for two hours and I watched two sentimental Christmas movies.

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First advent week

Perfumes this week were Agent Provocateur, Cleef and Arpels First (still undecided on this), “Arpege, Scherrer EdT, Felanilla, Attaquer Le Soleil, Cardin Paradoxe and Theo Fennel.

Advent wreath and view from our hometown

We were visiting with parents, so we mostly ate what was offered to us. We had leftover sushi on Monday with Miso soup, Pasta with tomato sauce at my mother’s, spaetzle and Rouladen twice at my boyfriends parents. When we returned we made broccoli soup, pasta with spinach and Ricotta and a big roast chicken with baked pumpkin slices for Sunday.

Our holiday week went over much too fast, most of it was spent driving, sitting and talking with our parents and a bit lounging in front of the TV. But I managed some walks and finishing the second Olympia dress, that I had cut out since some weeks ago.

Weekly Diary

Perfumes this week were Rochas Femme, Fourreau Noir, Felanilla, Bottega Veneta for a day I was in a hurry and it was in the front row. I wore Papillion Perfumery Salome for a friday at work (not work appropriate, but I don‘t care. Saturday was Larmes de Desert and later Musks Khoublai Khan and lots of L´Ambre de Merveilles for the first advent sunday.

We did not much cooking this week. We had some leftover pulled turkey with pasta, a nice lentil dhal with rice, a big pot of minestrone. Friday i had half a day off and make pasta with pulpo. Sunday we had shakshuka and lots of sushi for dinner, because a friend went to a cooking workshop. We did the dogsitting for her and got the leftover Sushi in turn.

I had my post Covid tests this week, including a CATscan, an echocardiogramm and a complicated lung function test. All came out in the normal range, so i am really happy, because this means i can finally train again without worrying. As i gained some kilograms this year, this is good news. The bad news is, that i am now officially on a diet. And as i had a reaction to the contrast fluid, i have to get steroids for every new CATscan.

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 in this week were Fille en Aiguilles, Lady Rose Lion etc…, Eau Sacrée, Bulgari Black (I am still trying to love it, but it’s not easy), Essence Ambre, L Air de Rien, followed by Cardin Paradoxe and a sample of Cleef and Arpels First. This perfume is a bit odd to my nose, but I must keep on sniffing. It’s such a big wave of floral soapiness at the beginning , but dries down really warm and beautiful.

Homemade ramen soup and my two twsbi pens

On my plate I had a biiig pot of Poulet en riz, which lasted 3 days. I made a new lentil soup recipe from TheKitchn blog, that was a big hit, Friday was homemade ramen broth with onsen eggs and chashu. I made a roasted cauliflower and Gorgonzola pasta, a cake with chocolate dough and a cheesecake filling and sunday we had wild boar with red cabbage and spaetzle.

I did not do anything special this week, just working, going to the dentist and some shopping. I also splurged on some items from Galen Leather, to organize my fountain pens and my bullet journal and ordered some Japanese stationery. I will do a review, when I get my order.

In knitting I started another pair of socks for the boyfriend, but I just turned the first heel, so nothing much to show off. I got my second TWSBI pen, this time with transparent green cap and ending, and immediately inked it with Diamine Kelly Green. The other one got inked with Oxblood, so they will go together nicely and it’s a bit of a holiday theme too. I have the TWSBI Swipe inked with Diamine Pumpkin, so that’s a really fun combination of colors for my bullet journal.

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.

Weekly diary

Perfumes this week were mostly loosely based on the NST community project, with Pantones fall colors. So I wore Wazamba, Cafe Tuberosa, Perles de Lalique, Air de Rien, Aromatics Elixir, Champs Lunaires (it’s okay for a tuberose scent, but I am not very into white flowers) and Bois de Vanille for Sunday.

Filled pumpkin before and after

In my plate I had beet salad with Feta and salmon, which was a great combination, a veggie risotto, avgolemono soup, linguine Bolognese. Saturday I made spaetzle with savoy and baked them together with cheese. We had a friend over for the weekend, so spent lots of time eating and talking. My boyfriend made a raisin loaf and fresh rolls for Sundays breakfast.

I managed to bike to work on Wednesday, which was a great sunny fall day and really fun to bike. Maybe I can do it again, if it’s not too cold next week. I also got some knitting time on my Ishbel shawl and also on my socks.

Knitting in progress, it’s fall!

Weekly diary

Finally my perfume choices are getting more interesting, because I can get out the heavy hitters. I started with Roma, Tuesday was Adam Levine, which would be better if I didn’t get this pickles note every time. Ellie Saab Essence Ambre, Ambre de Merveilles, then Theo Fennel for Friday. This was a bit not work conform, but nobody cares while wearing a mask. Saturday was incense day with mb03 and Fille en Aiguilles. Sunday I wore Calligraphy Saffron followed by Felanilla, both saffron scents.

Goats at the farm shop, roast duck and my tiny fall decorations

On my plate I had a huge pot of lentil stew with veggies and sausage, this lasted four days. I made some one pot pasta with anchovies, capers and tuna and linguine with broad beans, bacon and Feta, which came out delicious.

Saturday we went for a farmers shop for the first time and bought duck for dinner, which I accompanied by gnocchi and red cabbage with balsamico. The court of the farmers shop was full of blooming flowers and pumpkins and there were l goats running around plus geese and sweet little donkeys in a porch. A really fun sort of shopping! I also made a Torta di Riso, because my friend showed me how to make it in our holidays. Sunday we’re leftovers and some scrambled eggs with homemade gravlax.

I watched the whole series of New Amsterdam, mainly because I think Ryan Eggold is so cute. I can always relax watching hospital dramas, because it’s so far off of any reality.

I also finished reading Setterfields The Thirteenth Tale, which I liked a lot. It was cleverly constructed and I could not guess the conclusion until the last pages of the book.

Weekly diary

Perfumes this first working week were Lapidus Creation, Scherrer EdT, Iris Rebelle, Bottega Veneta, Agent Provocateur, Fils de Dieu, Cardin Paradoxe and Choc and Empreinte on Sunday.

Ribollita and a sock in progress

We did not have much time to cook and ate lots of leftovers from the chicken in milk, because it was a really big bird, the boyfriend made foccaccia on Friday. Saturday I used lots of veggies from the garden and made linguine with chili, raisins, chards and tinned sardines with Feta plus a big pot of ribollita.

I biked to work on Tuesday and did lots of housework on the weekend. I also had some time to work on my current sock project and also cast on a simple lace shawl, Ishbel from Ysolda, because I bought some new sock yarn and found a nice merino lace yarn in magenta in the shop. I don’t really need a new shawl, but I like to knit them, but I can always gift some of mine to friends, if I don’t wear it.

I started a new Netflix series New Amsterdam, just because Ryan Eggold plays the starring role. But it’s not too bad, hospital series are always fun.

Last week of the holidays

Perfumes were not very interesting, although I finally thunked my decant of Ninfeo Mio, bought a bottle of Fior Dell Onda and was happy to be reunited with my collection, so I wore Chypre Siam on Sunday.

Hot chicken with bellpeppers and a nice apero on the patio

We had more nice meals with salad of borlotti beans, hot chicken with peppers, fish from the oven and frizzante, fegatelli and zucchini, Salsiccia al ragu with pasta. Sunday was Parmigiana di melanzane.

Views of Maremma

We had a long walk at the pine beaches of Feniglia and spent some time lazing around, reading, cooking and drinking wine. We had another visit of a young fox, which was quite fearless and kept only 1meter distance. Later we found out, that he stole one of my boyfriends new sandals, that were drying on the porch. We never found it again, so we had to throw away a totally new shoe!

Saturday we spent nearly all day driving home, but at least we had a nice dinner in a garden restaurant near Bolzano with tirolean dumplings, mushrooms and icecream with coffee for dessert.

Sunday was all getting housework done, cleaning and preparing for the next workweek. But I am glad we had some weeks of summer in Italy before the bad weather hits us.

Second week in Maremma

Perfumes this week were Untitled L’Eau, Ninfeo Mio, Bronze Goddess Azur and Aromatics Elixir. I had not much choice, so some were worn twice. I still would like to find a nice and more cheapish fig perfume, because I love the scent of this tree. Sadly they turn very woody on me, which I dislike.

A huge tortello and a nice fish dinner for four

As my best friend and I love to cook and eat we made some nice dishes like pork ribs with lots of herbs and Cole slaw, cauliflower soup, panzanella, the fish with tortilla and artichokes and penne with Cavolo Nero, chickpeas and sausage. We went to dinner three times and had tortellomi with fish filling, risotto mare at a restaurant in a camping ground. We went to the local trattoria for tortello Maremmano, zuppa di Ricotta and later some wild boar Ragout and dessert.

But the nicest and cheapest dinner was in a trattoria in the next town. The served a fixed menu, all the tables were outside in the small street and we ate and ate. So we had bruschetta first, then prosciutto and salame. Then two different pasta dishes, one with ragu and one with truffles plus gnocchi with mushrooms and tomato. Then some lemon sorbet. Then two main courses with suckling pig and potatoes and some wild boar with tomato sauce. And after all this there was vin Santo with cantucchini. We were totally stuffed! And not only the menu was fixed, it was also a fixed price which included all drinks.

The restaurant with tables on the street and an Etruscan necropolis

We visited the ruins of Roselle near Grosseto and went to the Etruscan necropolis of Sovana today, with a stopover in Pitigliano on our way back. Friday was the last evening with our friends and after dinner we danced on the terrace under the stars and had a great time. I hope we can meet next year again, because my friend is ill and time may be short. So it was good to see her in good shape and enjoying life. They went back to Germany on Saturday, so it’s just my boyfriend and I for the last week.

Maremma holidays week one

Perfumes are worn, but I just took some decants, so I wore Scherrer and Ninfeo Mio twice, plus Untitled L’Eau, Tea Rose and Aromatics Elixir

We did lots of eating and cooking. We had chicken in milk with polenta, spaghetti with tomato sauce and again with ragu di salsicchia. Minestrone with lots of veggies from the market, Ratatouille with porchetta, homemade Focacchia, eggs Benedict for breakfast, torta di Riso and biscotto and we went of for some nice gnocchi and roast chicken.

We lazed around on our porch with a beautiful view over the sea and hills, read and played board games and went to Saturnia Terme to bathe in the sulfuric springs. Sadly I overdid the bathing and had a tachycardia and cold sweat, so we had to drive one hour to the next hospital. Luckily nothing serious, but I have to get checked when I return home. I gave my friends a good scare, that’s for sure.

Giardino di Spoerri

We went to the Spoerri gardens, where the Swiss artist bought a big terrain and filled it with lots of sculptures from his and his friends works. There are over 100 works in the big gardens and we visited for at least 4 hours.

Weekly diary and finally Italy

This was the last week at work before we went to Italy and mostly summery scents. I wore Aromatics Elixir twice, Orange Sanguine, Pour La Belle, Scherrer One Love for a more coolish day and Bronze Goddess Azur for a sunny sunday on the porch and a late afternoon at the beach.

Homemade pasta with tomato confit, a funny alcohol free beer called Freibier and tirolean bacon and cheese dumplings

On my plate I had homemade pasta with oven roast tomatoes, pork belly Chinese style from the slowcooker, leftovers of turkey leg. We went for dinner in a nice rustic restaurant im Austria and had a plate of cheese and bacon dumplings tirolean style with lots of butter and Parmesan. Sunday we had zucchini fritters and salad for lunch, had a sundowner drink at a beach bar and later a big dinner at a fish restaurant. We had big Antipasti di mare, spaghetti alle vongole and a big frittura mista. Plus lemon sorbet and Café for dessert. We were all totally stuffed…

Went to the Giambella beach on Sunday and had fun playing in the waves. My homemade swimsuit held up really well, even when it got wet and fit nicely. Later we drove to a beach bar and had drinks watching the sunset and went to dine afterwards. The food was so good and we ate until we nearly burst. We are here with two friends of us, and I am so happy to see my girlfriend relatively well and in good shape (cancer sucks). I hope we will all make good memories from this holidays.

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.

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.

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.

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 Chanel No5 L’Eau, Chypre Siam, Pour La Belle, Womanity, Scherrer EdT, Camelia Chinois, What I did on my holidays and Dryad, of which I finally got a used bottle. I like Dryad quite a lot, it’s such a great scent with herb notes and a bit of animalic background on my skin.

Cycling on Saturday

On my plate were more zucchini, this time fried and a batch of pickled zucchini. Plus chicken with zucchini and potatoes. I made a lot of Hummus with pumpkin seed oil and Shakshuka on Sunday.

We went cycling on Saturday, this time along the Siebenmühlenweg, the valley of seven mills, then further along the river Aich and then along the Neckar until we reached Esslingen, 48km in all. We had lunch in a nice beer garden and later a big coffee with icecream. Thankfully we decided to go on Saturday, because today it’s raining nearly all the time.

I spent some time working on my handwriting and trying out my new fountain pens from TWSBI, the Go and the Swipe. I like the Swipe a bit better, but both are writing really nice.

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 plus a trip to France

Perfumes worn this week were Memoire D Une Odeur, LADDM, Mitsouko, Meet Me On The Corner, Batucada, Paradoxe and Camelia Chinois topped up with some EA Green Tea

View of Soufflenheim from the car and lots of food

On my plate there were loads of veggies, because of the garden harvest. So I made buttered beans with salsicchia, chicken leg on zucchini and potatoes, rice with smoked salmon, fried zucchini with a bulgur Feta filling and baked potato wedged and herbed quark and a big pizza in Soufflenheim at the restaurant

I finished reading The Left Hand of Darkness by LeGuins and am still listening to the ginormous audiobouk The Stand by Stephen King. Still 18h to go!

We finally went shopping at the supermarket in France again, now that we are both completely vaccinated and can cross the border without problems. We loaded up on cheese, oil, terrines, mustard and vinegar and other nice things and had a big pizza at the supermarket restaurant, which is actually quite good and cheap. We also bought flour for baking at the local mill, so I hope my boyfriend will make some nice baguettes in the future

I fell into the rabbit hole of fountain pens and inks and ordered a new pen plus some pretty ink bottles from Diamine and Waterman and a bullet journal. I hope this will work out okay, otherwise I always work with my trusty moleskine diary again.

I also hope to get more use of my old Montblanc Meisterstück, that I bought in the late 90ies. But I won’t take this to work, because it’s too expensive. At the moment I am using my trusted Lamy Safari pen, but hopefully some new inks will be more fun at work.

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.

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.

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 and finally vaccinated

Perfumes this week were Cabotine, Chypre Siam, What I did on my holidays, Eau de Lancaster, Roma, Meet me on the Corner, Lovely Sheer and I finally got to test Dryad. I can get a used bottle, so I think I will splurge a bit…

Cooking from the garden means lots of beans, beets and zucchini

Our garden produces lots of zucchini and beets, so we have to eat our veggies!

We had zucchini grilled and in muffins. The beets went into hoummous and salad. The beans became a salad with green and canellini beans with tuna and Feta. I also made a Tortellini salad with pesto vinaigrette and ham, kimchi fried eggs and turkish bulgur salad.

Saturday we made BBQ pork ribs and this evening will likely be zucchini again, this time with a minced meat filling.

I finally got my vaccination after having covid-19 in January. The first day was okay, but in the evening I couldn’t elevate my arm, so I was not able to drive the next day and stayed home, feeling very tired and a bit queasy. Luckily it was better the next day.

I spent some time rereading Ursula LeGuins The left hand of Darkness and enjoyed it a lot. It’s an interesting take on the genderism discussions. I also watched the 6th season of Blacklist, while I spent time in the kitchen.

Weekly diary and along the river Enz

Perfumes this week were Beachy, Agent Provocateur, L Air de Rien, Chypre Mousse, which my colleague liked a lot. Cardin Choc, Doe In the snow, Ninfeo Mio, which survived a whole day of cycling and Camelia Chinois after shower.

On my plate I had Borscht from the freezer, gyros with cream sauce and fries, boiled potatoes and herbed quark, sausage and kimchi salad, pasta with zucchini sauce and fried bread crumbs plus tinned sardines. We had a big icecream while cycling and later baked eggplant slices with mozzarella on top.

This weekend we went cycling along the Enz River, went to Mühlacker by train and cycled along the river to Besigheim, where the Enz disappears in the Neckar River. Nice sunny weather and some beautiful scenery. I am quite content with my brompton bike, it’s easy to transport and rides like a bigger bike. It’s not great at hills, but I think this problem would be the same with a regular bike. It’s my legs, that are not in great shape, because I never was much of a biker. But there is always room for improvement, I think. And I still tire more early after my covid infection, so I try not to strain myself too much.

Weekly diary Neckar River cycling

Perfumes I wore were One Love, Covet, Aromatics Elixir, Miss Dior, which sadly wears me and not the other way round, again my mix of Tea Rose and Coriandre, What I did on my holidays and Batucada.

First day along the Neckar

On my plate I had fried zucchini and goat cheese, a red beet quiche, red beet hoummous, burrata with cucumber, lamb brats with potato salad, Krautwickel with potatoes, a big falafel and pasta with zucchini. Yes, it’s zucchini season. We have five!!! plants in the garden.

Second cycling day

We did our first two day cycling tour along the Neckar River from Besigheim to Heidelberg. First day with sunny weather. Had a lunch break in Bad Wimpfen, which has a beautiful medieval center and slept in a small hotel in Hassmersheim after a big dinner at a rustic restaurant. 50 km the first day.

Second day started grey, but thankfully not wet. We had a break for a cone of icecream in Ebersbach and then went along to Neckargemünd, where we had a big falafel wrap. It got sunnier around midday and we reached Heidelberg in sunny weather. The way home we went by train. 66km that day, and I managed all on my Brompton bike. This was really fun, and we are just planning the next weekend tour.

Weekly diary

Perfumes i wore this week were Coriandre plus Tea Rose, Empreinte, Niki de Saint Phalle, Pour La Belle, Bronze Goddess Azur, Beachy, Scherrer EdT, Roma and Fan di Fendi Eau Fraiche.

A walk, a rustic restaurant and a great icecream

On my plate i had pasta salad, ravioli con zucchini, meat loaves, a big schnitzel with fries at a nice svabian restaurant, pasta with tomatoes and tuna and salsicchia with cucumber salad. And i had a nice icecream with pumpkin seed oil and caramelized seeds, that was really great.

I managed to bike to work twice, although the weather was not nice and we visited my boyfriends parents in the Bodensee region for Hits fathers 86th birthday and had a nice dinner in a good restaurant. And inbetween we had a long walk through a beautiful forest and we did some gardening and harvested the first zucchini and beets.

Weekly diary

Perfumes I wore were Covet, Choc de Cardin, Untitled L Eau, Fico di Amalfi, Scherrer, Amazone, What I did on my holidays a d Terracotta.

Rhubarb crumble, our own Berries and chicken with aubergine and Ras El Hanout

On my plate was Greek lemon chicken with lemon potatoes, brats with savoy and gnocchi, Okroschka, Tortellini salad with basil, salmon and Hummus, rhubarb crumble and chicken with aubergine and Ras El Hanout and salted lemons

I had an online congress from Thursday to Saturday and spent lots of time on the screen. I also tried an Appleton dress with scuba, but I hat the fabric, so this will go to the bin, propably. We harvested our first Berries in our allotment, the first zucchini and also lots of garlic. This year will be a good year in the garden, I think

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.

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.

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

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.

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 I wore were Rose d’Arabie, Aromatics Elixir, Gucci No3, lots of Eau de Camelia Chinois, because I want to thunk my bottle. Friday was my favorite spring perfume, so I wore Covet. Saturday was Fan di Fendi Eau Fraiche and sunday L’Air de Rien. Glad I managed to get a backup bottle of this gem, because it’s discontinued.

On my plate I had a freestyle stir fry with meat and pakchoy. I made Dhal with rice and our boss let us order pizza on Wednesday. Saturday I made persian food with celery and chicken and some meatball and bellpeppers bake Hungarian style. We had a big Sunday breakfast with lots of homemade rolls and Seelen plus leftovers to freeze.

I cut a dress and the Stacker jacket as my next sewing projects, but had no time to start sewing.

I also did a little bike tour on my new Brompton bike, just 10km, because I still cannot exercise a lot after my covid infection, but it was really fun in the sunny weather.

Weekly diary

Perfumes of this week were Roma, Pour La Belle, Empreinte, Covet and Salome for the cleaning community project on NST, as I chose the glamorous take on cleaning via a maid, but this sadly did not happen… I wore a mix of Avon Nearness plus Arpege on Saturday morning and Theo Fennel in the late afternoon. Sunday was lots of vintage Chanel No19.

On my plate I had Maultaschen in soup and later fried with eggs. I used some of last week’s spiced butter to fry some eggs. Saturday I used the last of the spiced butter for a pasta with asparagus and salmon and turmeric yogurt. This was a bit improvised, but really good… The boyfriend made Sauerbraten frankonian style with special Lebkuchen for sauces and potato dumplings. Sunday I did a bit of baking and made banana bread plus something called Quarkschnecken, pictured above.

I finally got my new car, a Skoda Fabia Combi in red. Now we can take our bikes to vacation, if we are allowed sometimes in the hopefully near future.

Amd I finally made all the buttonholes on my denim jacket and on the Gilbert top. So I now contemplate what to do next. Maybe the Stacker jacket….

Weekly diary

Perfumes of this week were Scherrer vs Vintage Miss Dior, Ambre de Merveilles, Wazamba, Dzing!, vintage Chanel No19, Private Collection from the oldest bottle I have, which is a mini from a gift set, I got from a patient in the late 90ies. Saturday was Cristalle Eau Verte followed by Niki de Saint Phalle and sunday I wore Eau de Lancaster.

On my plate I had lentil soup on Easter Monday plus lentil salad with tuna and fermented lemons. The first ramps went into a cream sauce for linguine. I made asparagus risotto on Saturday and a huge Indian Masala chicken with roast potatoes and spices. Sunday was a big tray of homemade lasagna. I also made the pasta sheets. So we luckily have leftovers for next week to eat.

I finally got my brompton bike, that I ordered last August and biked a short round, sadly I am still not very fit, so 5km were enough for the first try.

Weekly diary

My perfumes this week were Covet, Perles de Lalique, Chypre Siam, Doe in the snow and Aromatics Elixir. I tried Shem El Nessim, but it reminded me of Hubba Bubba chewing gum with extra neroli.

Easter lamb cake, walk along the Isar River and driving home on Easter sunday on the highway

We did not much cooking, but we had homemade chicken soup with rice, egg and vinegar. I made linguine with broad beans and smoked salmon in cream sauce. The rest of the noodles were eaten with Miso butter. The last head of savoy was made with minced meat and mograbieh. Friday we had takeout in Munich from our favorite Vietnamese restaurant and Saturday my brother made fish with potatoes and fresh spinach. Sunday we had our traditional Easter breakfast with a big sweet raisin loaf, butter, smoked ham and hardboiled eggs.

After my covid infection I had an increased resting heartrate, luckily my ECG was normal, but my physician diagnosed me with long covid. So I am not allowed to do harder exercises, just taking walks and slow cycling. This is really sad, because I wanted to cycle to work again regularly.

Weekly diary

Scents I wore this week… Agent Provocateur, Pour La Belle, Memoir Woman, L’Air de Rien, Untitled L’Eau, Doe in the snow, Cristalle Eau Verte and Aromatics Elixir.

I finally bought a Backup bottle of L’Air de Rien, because it now seems to be discontinued on the Miller Harris site and the prices are going up.

Harrison shirt and views from the train Bridge on historic wagons

We did not do too much cooking and ate some freezer meals. But I made tortellini with mushroom sauce and filled bellpeppers on potatoes, made a bundt cake and chicken soup from scratch. The boyfriend made Fennel and tomato veggies with Feta and we had homemade burgers with fish fingers.

I did some sewing this week and started the Gilbert top from Helen’s Closet. I wore my memade Harrison shirt to work, but I think I need to tweak the pattern a bit. It fits okay, but there is room for improvement. And I started another sock for the boyfriend, this time with greyish pastel selfstriping yarn.

We did a long walk in the sun on Sunday, watched the train tracks from a bridge and looked at the historic train wagons. And we had some ice cream on our way home.

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 I am slowly recovering I had more time to wear perfume, so I often topped it up in the afternoon. A lot of them got skin time. Calligraphy Saffron, Absolue de Osmanthus. Ambre de Merveilles, Chypre Mousse. I tested Mitsouko EdT vs EdP and liked the EdT more. L Air de Rien after the Mitsouko wore off. I tried a decant of Vol de Nuit EdT, but disliked the vanilla guerlinade in the end. Saturday was sunny, so Chypre Siam it was. Sunday morning started with a headache, so I started with Fan di Fendi Eau Fraiche and topped it with Camelia Chinoise.

On my plate i had lots of different dishes, because I was still home recovering and had time to cook. I made Inarizushi with tamagoyaki, roast brats with Brussel sprouts. The rest of the tofu pockets became Kisune Udon soup. I roasted turkey legs with herbed butter and carrots and made red lentil Bolognese with linguine. As we had some homemade burger buns left, we had them with fish fingers, mustard and mayo. Saturday we had Shakshuka with eggs and sunday fried Maultaschen with Sauerkraut.

I did some walking with the boyfriend in the sun and felt a bit better, although I am tired still. I finally had the energy to sew another York Pinafore dress, this time in a bright red corduroy. Plus I cut another Rivermont dress.

But most of the time I bingewatched The Expanse a d after I finished this I started on Saving Hope, a medical series. I was a bit amused that one episode was about a coronavirus outbreak in the hospital, although the series is from 2013. I will start working tomorrow, hope I can cope with the workload

Weekly diary and recovering

I started to wear perfume daily, so I wore some roses for valentine week like Coriandre, Perles de Lalique, Lady Rose Lion and Une Rose de Kandahar. Aromatics Elixir for the year of the Metal Ox and on the weekend Scherrer plus No19 and Narciso for her EdT layered with Bottega Veneta. I tested Tralala but did not like it.

First outings in the sun after quarantine, homemade burger buns plus cheesecake

I felt a bit better, so I managed to cook a bit. We had a big pot of lentil soup with sausage, roast chicken legs on Fennel and Brussel sprouts with Gorgonzola and pasta. Friday the boyfriend made pizza and he baked burger buns, that we had with some nice organic beef patties. I managed to bake a cheesecake for valentines day and dinner will be salmon with sushi rice and leeks Japanese style.

I still have a bad cough from my covid infection, but it’s getting better slowly. Saturday was the first time in three weeks I was outside. We did a short walk around the cemetery and the pond and I was half as fast as usual. Some very old ladys with sticks were much faster than me and I was really tired afterwards. Still it was nice to be outside in the fresh air and feel the sun.

I finally finished all seasons of Criminal Intent on prime during my illness, because it was all I could manage. Reading was much too tiring for me. Now I started The Expanse, that I like okay, it’s a bit too political for me, but well made.

Coping with Covid-19

Two weeks ago I felt a bit like the flu and two coworkers went home with fevers. Turned out we all got covid-19, one of the with the British mutation, so we others surely got it too. I went home the next day after a positive rapid test and got a PCR test the same day.

My partner and I had to stay at home in quarantine for 10 days, but I filled up the fridge after the doctor visit, so we got by without asking our neighbors to do our shopping.

The next day I felt well enough to sew a pinafore dress for work, but after that I started getting fevers around 103, runny nose and a bad cough. I also felt really weak and could just lie on the sofa watching endless episodes of Criminal Intent. I just hobbled around between sofa, toilet and bed. I had a bad stomach and nearly no appetite and everything I ate made me feel queasy. This lasted more than a week.

Finally the fever went down, but I still have a bit of elevated temperatures every day and am still coughing like mad. I can eat again and regained a bit of my appetite, but still feel unwell after two weeks with this disease. Thankfully my boyfriend is asymptomatic or he did not get it. And I never lost my sense of taste and smell, which also makes me happy.

The last days I started wearing perfume again. Something simple like Roma, Ninfeo Mio and Cristalle Eau Verte.

Now that we don’t have to stay isolated any more, I will try a short walk outside today. But no work, until my temperatures are normal again and I don’t cough my lungs out.

If this was a milder form of Covid, I would not wish anyone a more severe version of it.

Weekly diary

Worn this week were Aromatics Elixir, L Air de Rien, Zagorsk, SJP Covet, Doe In The Snow, Civet and vintage Miss Dior.

On my plate I had congee with ramen egg, Korean japchae with chicken, which I made for the first time a mnd I turned out great. We ordered pizza at work on Friday and I had my beloved anchovy and capers pizza. Saturday I made fried liver with apple, onions and smashed potatoes and baked a libanese orange cake. Sunday was homemade ramen with egg and chashu, all made from scratch.

We are still watching Criminal Intent, so many seasons to watch, we are just in number 4…but this gives me more time to knit some socks for my best friend in Berlin. We did some planning for our allotment garden and have sowed the first bellpeppers and artichokes.

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

Scents worn this week were Doe In The Snow, Aromatics Elixir, Botrytis, Meet Me On The Corner, Ambre de Merveilles, Chanel No19 and Memoire d’une Odeur. Funnily my sense of smell felt slightly enhanced this week, although I had a thankfully not Covid viral laryngitis.

On my plate I had red cabbage plus brats, pasta with tomato sauce and another one with truffeld pesto plus linguine with mussels. The boyfriend made roast Goose legs with spaetzle and red cabbage and sunday we had chicken noodle soup made from leftover carcasses, that we usually collect in the freezer until we have enough for soup.

I finished reading City of Girls, that I enjoyed a lot, although I had some problems to believe that a young woman in the 40ies could get from virginity to a threesome in just one year. What I liked was the description of the wartime NYC and the showbiz. It was a highly amusing read and I I can recommend it. Now I started Pachinko, but cannot say too much about it.

Most worn scents of 2020 plus diary

I tracked my daily scents in 2o2o with the Memento app, which worked very well.

With 12 wearings each Fils de Dieu and L’ Air de Rien took first place. Second place was What I did on my holidays by 4160Tuesdays with 10 wearings. Third place with 9 wearings were L’ Ambre de Merveilles, Aromatics Elixir, Chypre Mousse and Roma. Calligraphy Saffron and Empreinte got on my skin 8 times and Niki de Saint Phalle and Covet got worn 7 times.

This week I wore Doe in the snow, Cabochard, I thunked Rose de Petra, wore Chypre Siam for New Years eve and started the new year with L Air de Rien. The next days I decided on Agent Provocateur and Larmes de Desert.

My boyfriend was on holidays, so he had time to cook. We had lots of delicious food. Pumpkin soup Thai style with meatballs and fish sauce, dorade with cauliflower gratin. On new years eve we had octopus salad with burrata and homemade tagliolini with mushroom and truffle pesto. The first of January we ate svabian lentils with Spätzle and sausage and this evening there will be homemade pizza.

The only firework allowed during lockdown

I hope all of us will have a better and less stressful year in 2021. Stay sane, safe and healthy!

2020 Reading list

I managed to read or listen to audiobooks more than i thought. I listened to my audiobooks mostly on my commute, and with biking a lot this summer and autumn i got at least a bit more than 2 hours of it on my bike commute.

I read a lot of series that year, beginning with the “Blossom Street” series of Debbie Macomber, which is a very light reading, but it is also very relaxing. I also like Stephen King, so i listened to the Mr. Mercedes series on audible, read by my favorite reader David Nathan (sorry, its in German).

I started the Harley Merlin series, but gave up after the fourth book, i could not find myself in this alternate universe, although i am a diehard Harry Potter fan. I thought the series lacked a bit of charm, and there was too much fighting for my personal taste.

I also heard the complete “Into the Wilderness” series by Sara Donati, that was not too bad and then dived into the Sumpflochsaga (Amuylett series in the english translation). Usually i am not a big fan of Fantasy, but this self published series was quite good and i read it to the end. Note, that the sequels get longer and longer, so the later ones were more than 1000pages long.

I read “The Fifth Season”, but did not enjoy it much, which astounded me, because i usually like SF. I also really disliked “Rosewater”. The best SF i read was “Children of Time” by Tchaikovsky, because of its really special perspective, written from the view of a strange arachnid people.

I listened to Richard Russo´s “Empire Falls”, that is a great book, although a bit depressing and “Behold the Dreamers” from Mbue, that made a great impression on me. I also finally listened to “The Help”, that i gave up on some years ago. This time i managed to get into the dialects better, but sometimes it was a hard listening for a german native.

I am still listening to “100 Years of Solitude” by Garcia Marques and in the beginning of “City of Girls” by Elisabeth Gilbert, which is a really great fun read.

Alltogether i read and listend to 42 whole books (i did not mention all of them..) and have to finish two more. I hope i will keep up my reading list that long for this year too.

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.