Tag: cooking

Weekly musings in Vienna

Perfumes this week were mostly decants and testers because of travel. Mandarine Basilic ( did not like it), 5th Avenue NYC, Rose Flash, Lovely Sheer and Orangers en Fleurs. When i came home i wore Meet me on the Corner, later Silances and Cabotine for sunday

Secession building, Yoshitomo Nara and Klimt plus Dobostorte

I went out eating ecery day in Vienna, so i ate a Donburi at Doburi restaurant, a big pizza napoletana, Hunan pork belly and later a but sushi for dinner. Just sandwiches for my two days of traveling, pasta and tomato sauce, asparagus salat with trout and tirtilla and later soy sauce chicken on sunday

Tube entrance, the famous Frankfurt kitchen, pork belly and artwork

I visited the Klimt exhibition at the Belvedere, which was really good. So much great art to see and also the picture frames were exquisite! I went to the Albertina Modern. They showed Yoshitomo Nara, an unknown artist to me, but i really liked his works a lot. My last day at Vienna i visited the Naschmarkt in pouring rain and cold, so mot much fun. Later i went to the Museum for Angewandte Kunst. They exhibited the famous Frankfurter Küche, which was the first modern kitchen, designed in the late 20s and built nearly 10000 times for workers quarters in Frankfurt city.

Went back to germany on thursday with a stopover in munich to visit my mother and drive her at an assisted living facility, that she wanted was maybe interested in. Every few weeks she changes her mind about what she wants, can’t decide, this is really stressful….

I was glad to get home late on friday, spent my saturday cleaning and sunday to work out and do some knitting. Do you have elderly parents that cant get around on their own but refuse to get help??? What did you do?

Weekly musings

Perfumes this week were Scherrer, Niki de Sainte Phalle, Fidji (a blind buy that i really love! A tropical chypre! And cheap as chips!) twice, Iris Rebelle, Doe in the snow and Choc de Cardin

some food, a handknit cardi and an old firefighters ladder, horsdrawn at our local firefighters may festival

On my plate i had salad from fennel and oranges, which i really came to love, asparagus and fish steaks, pasta with broccoli and anchovis, chicken with eggplant and potatoes, salted lemons and ras el hanout and a nice birthday dinner for the boyfriend at our local greek. I had the baby calamari above, they were perfect!

I managed to go to the gym twice, as is my plan, once for yoga, because i am feeling really stiff and once doing weights. Sunday was spent at home sewing. I made a Fehrtrade Duathlon legging and a Cashmerette Brattle top, because i wanted some new workout clothes. It feels a bit silly, but those things motivate me to workout. I hope i can post some pics later.

Weekly musings

Spring is finally there, so my scents reflected that, at least a bit… I wore Synthetic Jungle (sadly a bit too screachy lily of the valley on me, otherwise it would be great. But well, money saved, the decant will be enough…). Covet, Patou Joy EDT (inspired by Portia and OldHerbaceous), topped up in the evening with a drop of Salome, a first wearing of my new bottle of Fidji EDT (would love to smell the vintage version), First EDT, Aromatics Elixir and Eau de Rochas for sunday.

Cherrys are blooming!!

My voice was so bad, that i was on sickleave after monday, because i was not able to talk to my patients at work. So i had time to cook some nice meals. As the BF is working from home, he always appreciates a nice lunch. I made japanese inspired roasted bellpeppers with rice, pasta with leeks and minced meat, a big pot of lentil soup, using up some parmesan rinds to cook into the soup. Friday i had time to go to the farmers market, so i made fried liver with onions and mashed potatoes and a dinner with asparagus and swabian herbed „pancakes“ called Kratzete.

I spent lots of time knitting, so my blue cardigan is nearly finished. I just have to knit the icord edging (which i hate to do), so instead i cast on another project, a thin TShirt for summer wearing in a cherry pink wool and cotton yarn from Holst. Plus i had time to binge another series on Disney, The Resident, which i really liked. My BF is always making fun of me, that i like those hospital drama series, but being a doctor, this is really fun to watch, because it has nothing to do with a real hospital.

I also joined the local gym again after a three years hiatus. I decided that although the cycling is good for my cardio exercise, i also should try to build up some muscles, now that i am nearing my 60th birthday. I had my first trainer session on saturday, so now some very unknown parts of my body still hurt. Tomorrow i will try the yoga practise….

Weekly musings

This weeks perfumes were Perles de Lalique, Dryad, Silences (lovely, but the new version is very fleeting, thankfully it is cheap!), Mitsouko EdT, Chypre Mousse, What i did on my holidays and i finally wore a tester of Vintage Ivoire. I liked this scent very much and was sad that it is discontinued, like many of the chypres of older times….

On my plate i had lamb ragoutwith carrots, Moussaka, that a coworker brought, pasta with cauliflower, anchovies and breadcrumbs. Sunday i had rice, first with fish and broccoli, later with fried yuba knots. They are made from dried tofu skin and really taste a bit like dried meat.

I also finally finished two cardigans and sewed on the buttons. The blue one is made out of sock wool and i used a pattern from the 1940s. The red one is the Timepiece cardigan from an Ailbiona pattern. This was knit topdown from a sportweight swedish wool. I really like the shaping if the compound raglan sleeves. I knit the longer version, maybe i make another shorter one next year.

I had troubles with my vocal chords last week, so much that i could hardly speak and had to practice silence for the weekend. It is still not better, so i will see a doctor tomorrow.

Weekly musings

Perfumes this week were inspired mostly by the NST community project, so out came my rose scents…. Lady Rose Lion, Tauers Rose Flash (a bit too jammy for my taste), Perles de Lalique, Joy ( there must be a rose in all those flowers???), Agent Provocateur, because i don ´t mind to smell like an (expensive) slut in office, Paloma Picasso EDT. Plus a bit of Scherrer and Givenchy III for the weekend.

korean food, sunrise in Stuttgart and progress on the boyfriend cardigan

On my plate there was mostly leftovers from the freezer, but i managed to make a nice napa cabbage salad with nuts and dry ramen noodles, called YumYum Salad. This was really good. And because of leftover salad i tested Maangchis recipe for Daktoridang, braised chicken with with potatoes and onions. I made it less hot than the original recipe, because 1/4 cup of Gochugaru flakes is more than i can take. We really enjoyed this meal a lot and look forward to the leftovers for tomorrow.

I did not do much more than work, commute and knit a bit this week, mostly i was really tired and went to bed before 9pm. Plus i had problems with the pressure in my right rear tyre, which turned out to be a screw, causing a hole. So i have to get a new one. This month turns out to be really expensive, because the biannual car service will be 800€ on top of that! Luckily i am not under financial pressure, but driving a car is turning more and more into a luxury.

Weekly musings

Perfumes this week were Sens & Bois, Narciso for Her, Cafe Tuberosa, Eau Sacree, Agent Provocateur and Cleef and Arpels First EdT

On my plate i had a christmas feast with arancini, lentil soup, salmon, mozzarella sticks and cake of course (everybody brought something for the feast at work), i made a big pot of red cabbage with balsamico and rosemary, served with truffeled salsicchia and gnocchi and some soup with leeks, minced meat and cheese. Sunday was a big pot of gochujang bolognese sauce with melted raclette cheese and penne. And i made enough leftovers for the next week too.

Winter has finally come to southern germany and we had lots of snow and low temperatures, but this will melt the following week, as the temps will go up to a more spring-like 11Celsius. So i hope to get at least one bike commute done next week.

I finally made my christmas dress this weekend. I chose the Designerstitch Camelia dress, because i was attracted to the faux wrap front and the assymmetrical overlay. I used a black and silver lurex ponte fabric i got cheap on Driessenstoffe. After a bit of looking at the pattern pieces i lowered the bust dart about 1,5 cm ( as gravity and age are taking their toll) and graded from a size 5 D-cup to a waist 6 and back to size 5 hips. Plus a small forward shoulder adjustment, because…. age again. These small changes made a really nice fitting dress. I never made one of Designerstitches patterns before, but i have some other still unsewn but printed out. I think i will tackle the Shardee wrap dress next, because i have bought fabric for this last winter (and have not made it yet).

I also made some quick fingerless mitts for the boyfriends from Drops Nord Alpaca yarn. The moths got the last pair. This will hopefully teach him not to leave wollen mitts laying around in the open during the whole summer. At least he is happy with his new ones. The socks for my mother are nearly finished, so i can now concentrate on my 1940s cardigan, there are still 1,5 sleeves to knit!

Weekly musings

Perfumes i wore were Adam Levine, Rochas Femme, Fourreau Noir (powdered lavender mothballs in a fur coat with a marzipan bar), vintage Opium, a maybe vintage Coco (or a good imitation), Felanilla and today L Ambre de Merveilles, because its so easy to wear in winter.

Advent wreath and commuting views

On my plate i had chicken fricassee with anchovies and capers, boiled potatoes with herring, Avgolemono soup with rice and chicken, spaetzle with cheese and onions. I tried a cocktail called snowbunny with eggnogg, amaretto and hot milk, which was really delicious and easy to make.

This week i think i did my last bikecommute for this year, now the temperature is below freezing, so i will commute by car or public transport. Otherwise i cut a dress for the holidays with a black and silver ponte fabric, hoping it comes out as i would want it to. We had snow on sunday, so we took a walk for an hour and even saw a bit of sun, the last week has been really grey and dark, so this was nice and really lifted my mood. I also got a good part of the socks, i want to make for christmas for my mother, i think they will be finished next week. She always loves new socks, so this is a nobrainer gift for her.

Weekly musings

Last weeks CP was Ancient Resins, so i dug out my amber and incense perfumes. I wore Essence Ambre, Marquis de Sade, Larmes de désert, Reve d´Ossian, Fille en Aiguilles, Sens et Bois, Wazamba and finished the week with Lady Rose Lion, which i am really starting to like after a bad start.

evening scene with a meager christmas decoration and filled pumpkin

On my plate there was Soup of the bride Ezo (red lentils, bulgur, rice), red cabbage smothered with balsamico and salsiccia, pasta with miso, bottarga and mushroom pesto. Saturday i spent making lots of filled mini pumkins with a bulgur, minced meat and gorgonzola stuffing plus two turkey legs with curried butter, potatoes and carrots. i also cooked. a chicken soup to use the next days. I have so many leftovers that i have enough for this week.

I did manage two!! commutes to work on bike, although its pitchblack dark for the first 30min of my commute over the fields, but it was a few degrees above freezing, so i bit the bullet and just biked. I felt really good after finishing my commute, but i will not do this, if there is frost on the ground, because i dont have wheels with spikes.

The weather is so depressingly dark, grey and drizzly, that we spend most time indoors, reading, watching Netflix and doing some knitting. I am still working on my 40s blue cardigan out of sockwool, but i finally finished the back and fronts and now i am a third into the first sleeve.

I ordered a box of swedish yarns from Eddna, and after my parcel arrived after getting nearly lost in Lübeck at the other side of Germany i finally got it. I bought a nice swedish DK wool in heathered grey for a cardigan for the boyfriend and a red wool for me. I also bought unspun icelandic plötulopi, maybe also for a cardigan, but this will take a while. Plus some icelandic lace in grey and pink for a shawl (maybe i will knit another Different Lines, because my old shawl is starting to look a bit ratty).

The pattern for the boyfriend cardigan is still not decided, i was thinking about a Elisabeth Zimmermann Seamless Hybrid with some ribbing at the sides, because i saw a project from Jared Flood, that knit this for a friend. But i would have to steek it, which i have never done before. Maybe i will do a steeking swatch and see, if i can do this. I is always appealing to just knit in the round, its wonderfully soothing and i simply dont like to purl.

Weekly musings

Perfumes this week were Eau de Lancaster (office decant stash), L´Air de Rien, Eau Duelle for the burial of my boyfriends mother, Doe in the Snow, Roma, Calligraphy Saffron, Occur and Amira Gold for sunday evening.

pigs trotters soup, cellars and candles, red maple leafs

On my plate this week was a Thai Curry (at the restaurant after the burial), pasta with chards and ricotta salata, pigs trotters soup with glass noodles and chickpeas – an adapted chinese recipe, a curry with sweet potatoes, brussel sprouts and pomegranate seeds, pasta gratin with kale and pumpkin in gorgonzola-bechamel sauce. And the boyfriend made three biig loaves of apple bread.

We went to the burial on wednesday. At least 60 to 70 guests were attending the service and aroud 30 went to the tradiational meal afterwards. Thankfully my boyfriends father coped very well with the situation, still its hard to loose the partner after 62 years of marriage…

On sunday we went to a wine testing at a renowned winery in the Stuttgart region. We tasted at least 10 to 16 different white and red wines and also some sparkling wine. It was interesting to compare wines from the same grapes with different terroirs and we could also test some of the „Grosses Gewächs“, the german version of a Grand Cru. We did not like all of the wines, even one of the most expensive ones was not our taste (neither our budgets taste too!)

Weekly musings

This weeks perfumes were more intese, due to the colder weather. So out came Paloma Picasso, Dryad, Ambre Russe, Bottega Veneta (should wear this more often), Bois de Vanille for the candy CP on NST, vintage Shalimar and today Monteil Royal Secret, a discontinued and forgottenn gem.

Donkeys at our local farmers shop, focaccia and a walk in the graveyard

On my plate i had beef ossobuco with rugabaga puree, pasta con ragu di salsiccia, a homemade focaccia made by the boyfriend and spaetzle with cheese and savoy cabbage. And oat plum cake for saturdays tea…

vintage knitting from the 40ies in progress

I am still nursing the remainder of my cold, so i spent lots of my evenings knitting. I started this cardigan i think three weeks ago and finished the back, now i am on the first front half. Its not speedy knitting, because its sock wool with 8stitches to an inch on 2,5mm needles. On the other hand i hate thick knitwear and hopefully this cardigan will get a lot of wear, when it is finally finished. I really like the style of the 40s, but patterns in my size with a 40inch bust are hard to find, people were so thin during the WW2…. I also finished the Victory Jumper from the V&A pattern archives, but need to darn in all the yarn ends, hopefully i can post a pic of the finished sweater soon. I am still bingewatching Agents of the Fringe on Prime FreeVee, and i will be sad, when its finished.

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.

Weekly musings

Perfumes this week were mostly from the office decant stash… I wore Covet, Givenchy III, Eau de Rochas, Fan di Fendi, Scherrer EdT, Perles de Lalique, Sens et Bois and Mitsouko EdT

New knitting project, homebaked rolls and seelen and a view of the bike race that happened just in our street

On my plate i still have tomatoes and more tomatoes from our alottment garden, and zucchini of course. So we had lots of salad, with mozzarella, raw, as tomatoe sauce with gnocchi and some zucchinifritters and fried ones. We also had a smaller harvest of bellpeppers, so there are bellpeppers simmered with tomatoes and merguez this evening. Saturday i got adventurous and finally tried the vegan ramen broth with soymilk from JustOneCookbook. Its really delicious and although the components take a bit of time, it was really easy to make and perfect for a cooler, rainy day. We also baked lots of rolls and svabian seelen, so i have something to take to work from the freezer. And some chocolate chip cookies, because the oven was still hot….

I managed to bike to work four times, so i put in 180 km this week, which i am really proud of. Plus i finally finished my taxes, because this is something that i always procrastinate, but doesnt everybody else too?

I got some new yarn, that i ordered, because i wanted to start another jumper. I cast on yesterday and hope to wear it in the early fall. The pattern is the „Your victory“ jumper from the 1940s, the pattern is available for free from the V&A Museum in london. The pattern is written for a 32inch bust, oh my, all those skinny ladies of the war times. So i did a bit of research on ravelry and found some hopefully helpful notes for a 40inch bust. My swatch came out okay, but i have to use 2,75mm needles with a thin sock yarn, so this is not a very fast project. But i really like the stripe effect in the stitch pattern and its not very complicated to knit, so i hope it will turn out right.

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 plus MeMadeMay

Perfumes this week were a bit uninspired, as i had to use some decants i have at work, because i don ´t want to take a whole flacon with me on the bike. So i wore Perles de Lalique, Meet Me On The Corner (which is lovely by the way), Tommy The Girl (sadly discontinued, such a good office scent), Chanel L´Eau, Fiore dell´Onda, Batucada and i finally thunked my decant of Bronze Goddess Azur, which started to grow on me a bit. Maybe i will buy a used bottle of Bronze Goddess this summer, hoping that it is not as sweet as Terracotta, that i sold last year….

Pasta with broad beans and trout, memade outfits and a great pinsa romana

On my plate i had a great homemade pinsa romana. The dough is a bit more rustic than a normal pizza dough and has a different bite, no wonder, because it also contains rice flour and chickpea flour. We had baked cauliflower with cannellini bean hoummus, pasta with leeks and chorizo and also with broad beans, miso, bottarga and trout. Asparagus is in season, so there was also asparagus in vinaigrette with omelet stripes. Sunday will be a giant pork chop with braised fennel and a caipirinha for aperitiv.

I did a big batch of sewing this weekend, starting with a white cotton Melody Dolman Blouse pictured above. I tried a first muslin of the Isca Dress by Marilla Walker, but this will have to get another try… Sunday. i made a Camp collar shirt for the boyfriend, a grey leo print steeplechase leggings and another Mayfair dress in a white and cobalt blue pattern. I really like it, if i use the same patterns for more outfits, i like some standard dresses for work, so i don ´t have to think about what to wear. A dress also needs nothing to combine with it, just find some intact pantyhose and shoes, and you are good to go!

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…

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

Perfumes this week were mostly themed by St. Patrick´s Day, so i was wearing the green (scents) mostly this week. I started with Eau de Lancaster (green and herby with a bit of vanilla), Vert de Fleur (florist shop, sadly its prohibitively costly), Chanel No5 L´Eau (not green….), a sample of Macaque (i disliked the cedar note), Niki de Saint Phalle, lots of Arden Green Tea plus sampling Climat, which i am still undecided on. I have a problem with violet, and this note is too strong for my taste. Sunday was Zagorsk, very nice for a great sunny spring day

Memorial of the grey buses

On my plate i had lots of frozen leftovers, but i made a barley-tomato-cavolo nero soup with parmesan, which tasted quite good, some spaghetti with cavolo nero and japanese Kare raisu (Rice with curry sauce, meat and carrots). Sunday breakfast was a big bowl of Congee with egg, lunch was Sauerbraten with Spätzle at the in-laws to be.

Spaghetti with cavolo nero plus truffle oil, because everything is better with truffle

We visited my boyfriends parents in Weissenau. They live just at the entrance of the psychiatric clinic, where the Nazis deported the patients to the gas chambers. Luckily its now a better place with a nice park around it.

We are planning a biling trip next week, the weather forecast is great so we maybe try another part of the Neckar bikeway….

Weekly diary

Perfumes this week were a combo of Fils de Dieu and Roma (works great), Scherrer EdT, Sens & Bois, Chanel No 19, Aromatics Elixir, Choc de Cardin, vintage Janine D and Untitled L´Eau for a warm and sunny sunday.

My Brompton Mortimer got his first spring outing today

We did not spend too much time in the kitchen, because we had some leftovers, but we had red cabbage with balsamico and ducks breast, scrambled eggs with kimchi, fresh truffle tortelli with salsa ai funghi plus a big salad of fennel and oranges, some other pasta for sunday and tete de veau with sauce ravigote and potatoes.

I tried to get my ebike to work again, sadly the display did not work anymore, the battery is too old now. So we ordered a new battery and hope we can repair it ourselves. Otherwise i have to buy a new display control panel for 100 euros, which is not so nice. We ´ll see how it goes. I was hoping to commute by bike next week with the milder temperatures, but this will have to wail.

My fitbit Versa also tried to die on me, because the display was falling off the housing, but my boyfriend managed to glue it back in place, so it still works, but i am looking for a new tracker, maybe this time a Garmin, i am still undecided.

Weekly diary

As this week was sample week at NST, I dug out some samples from my box. So i tested Heeley Chypre 21 ( not a Chypre at all, just powdery green almondy on my skin), Superstition No13 ( nice incensy amber), Houbigant Orangers en Fleurs (not too bad for a white flower scent, orange blossom and tuberose, but not cloying) and TDC Sens & Bois, which was a sample favorite. A nice woody and peppery scent with a bit of ginger and citrus, perfectly good for everyday wear. I wore my beloved Aromatics Elixir on Tuesday , Scherrer EDT for saturday and a combo of Felanilla and Calligraphy Saffron on sunday ( there is not too much saffron for a perfume, is it?)

Sunday scent combo

I also managed to train on my crosstrainer 5times a week plus a long walk with the boyfriend. I also made some progress on knitting the first sock for the boyfriend, doing a variation of the Kai-Mei pattern of Cookie A, just because i find the construction a bit more interesting than plain vanilla socks. I am still reading a crime novel placed in WWII, The Unexpected Return of Josefine Fox, its not bad of a Prime reading book, but i had better crime novels, still want to finish it.

I made more time in the kitchen this week, so we had baked parsnips with a pumpkinseed-oil herbed dip, a big pot of turkey curry with tomato, a barley risotto with braised kale and miso plus brussel sprouts with soy sauce and omelett. I made a pot of lentil soup with tomato and anchovis. Some gnocchi with feta and salsify, a salad of yellow beets and ducks breast with teriyaki sauce, oven-baked pumpkin, gomasio and rice. Not a bad week for cooking on a diet, i must say….

Sunday dinner

Weekly diary

This week i wore mostly incense scents. So i put on Larmes de Desert, Eau Sacrée, Eau Duelle, Memoir Woman (not much incense, but a great perfume), Fille en Aiguilles and finally tested Mystic Incense by Merchant of Venice. I wore Salome to remember Colettes birthday on friday for the NST community project, i think Colette would have liked this bold and feminine scent a lot.

I did cook a bit more this week, starting with shakshuka and eggs, some split pea soup with veggies and a pasta with tofu bolognese. Saturday we had a giant pork chop, weighing 500g to share with savoy cabbage and today i tested a persian recipe with chicken breast, saffron, lots of dill and broad beans, because we had so much of beans in the freezer from a rich harvest last year. This was delicious.

I finished another book, a medieval history romance, which was okay to read, but nothing special. Now i started Geoff Ryman ´s The Child Garden, because one of my first reading preferences was SF. My uncle read lots of it and always left me his books, when he visited us. So i started reading SF at the age of 10 or so and never stopped liking it.

Weekly diary

Perfumes this week were nearly all chypres, so i wore First Edt, Paloma Picasso, Chypre Siam, Azurée, Scherrer and Paradoxe. I wore a sample. of Dior Grand Bal for the NST community project, but did not like it at all. The sample got thrown in the bin…

Finished Ishbel shawl, design by Ysolda Teague

We are still trying to loose some weight, but thats no excuse for nice meals. So i made Pasta with mushrooms and feta, potato with turkey, oven-baked veggies with herbed quark, Maultaschen with sauerkraut and sausage and a big pot of vietnamese beef ragout and rice on sunday. On thursday a coworker brought chili and tortilla wraps plus toppings for lunch, this was really nice of her.

I finally finished and blocked my Ishbel shawl and its getting much wear in the cold. We managed some nice long walks, today we went out for nearly two hours and i helped a friend packing up things for her move. I finished reading a romance novel, but it was so bad, that i wont even mention the title. I am now listening to the 5th Harry Potter book, read by Stephen Fry, which is a delight to listen to. Plus i started another book, this time a novel set in medieval times. Hope this is better than the last book. Anyway i get more reading done.

Weekly diary

I didnt post last week, but now i am on track again. Perfumes were Eau de Lancaster on a cold monday, because i had a craving for a green and fresh spring feeling, Tuesday was Calligraphy Saffron. Wednesday was Roma, then Bottega Veneta, Fils de Dieu, Dryad und lots of Agent Provocateur on Sunday

Wating for the booster shot, sesame chicken with spinach and a nice view of the public gardens

On my plate there was fish fillets with broccoli, a fish finger burger with a homemade brioche bun, sesame soy chicken from the. slow cooker (easy and delicious). The leftover rice was made into tuna sushi plus miso soup. I tried to bake sweet potatoes in the slow cooker, which worked nicely. Saturday i made a big pot of brussel sprout and potatoe soup with ham plus slow baked legs of turkey. with lots of paprika and caraway seeds plus smothered savoy cabbage. Lots of leftovers for sunday and also next week.

We had our booster shot on tuesday and were both a bit knocked out. The boyfriend had a very sore arm and was tired. I also had the chills and sore muscles, so i stayed at home for two days to recover. Thankfully i was okay again on friday. Most of my sick days were spent watching Emergency Room while lying on the sofa. But i also finally finished my first book of the year – The ten thousand doors of January. If you like supernatural fiction, this is not a bad read. It took some time to get into the plot, but then the story progressed nicely. I now started a novel about some australian settlers, but have not read much of it yet. Plus i finally finished my Ishbel shawl, that is blocking right now on my carpet. I hope i can wear it tomorrow to work.

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.

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 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

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

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

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 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

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.

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

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

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.