Quick berry cake

I felt like baking a cake today, so I called my parents if I should come round in the afternoon for coffee and cake. What a stupid question! As long some sweets are involved, my dad is in for everything, so of course they said yes.
I had some currants in my fridge, which were too sour for me taste to just eat them like this so I knew I have to use them for baking or so. When I had a look into one of my favorite baking books I came across some Raspberry and white chocolate slices and decided to try it with the currants.

It was the first time I tried blindbaking and it didn't really worked out as I used not enough beans. So make sure that you'll get enough heavy stuff on top of the pastry to keep it flat! My substitute grandparents by the way wash stones of apricots or plums and use them instead of beans for blindbaking.

You'll need for one small cake, perfect for 4 servings:
150 gramm of shortcrust pastry - I found one that is already in a small baking dish so there is no additional work
300 g currants, raspberries, blueberries or whatever berry you'd like
200 g Philadelphia
50 g yoghurt
50 g sugar
50 g grouned almonds
50 g white chocolate, in small pieces
1 egg
Some sliced almondes
Some lemon zest if you like

Preheat the oven to 160°. Put the pastry in a baking form (or take one that is already in a form as I did.... Lazy version...), cover with a baking sheet and fill with beans or whatever you take for blindbaking. Bake for 10 minutes, take the beans and the paper away and bake for another 5 minutes.
In the meantime mix the Philadelphia, yoghurt, almonds, sugar and egg till smooth and season with some lemon zest if you like. Cut the chocolat in pieces, wash the berries and gently stirm it into the mixture.
Fill the mixture into the dough, sprinkle with a handfull of sliced almonds and bake for 25 to 30 minutes until golden.
Allow plenty of time to cool down, preferably in the fridge.

Friday again

I had a Friday again ready this morning but deleted it accidentally.

My bestie shocked me quite a bit when she told me about her moving plans last week. But now I've decided that it is time for a new flat for me was well and so I'm busy thinking about it.

Only one working week till my holidays! I'm looking forward to a nice and relaxing week at home and time to do some things.

My neigbours dogs drive me nuts at the moment with their constant barking. I love dogs, but at the moment it is a bit too loud.

I'm still stitching like mad in order to get my mums present ready for her birhtday. I worked for 40 hours on it and will most likely still need arround 20 more... Crazy!

One of the first things I'll do when I've moved is getting a cat. Really love to have pets and cats are just adorable animals! I really love my sisters cat-gang ;-)

Playing minigolf when it is 32° in the shadow isn't much fun.

Cardis are my blazers

I love outfits with blazer though I just don't have the shape for it... They look ridiculous when I wear them so I stick to cardigans. Black cardis may not be as elegant as a blazer, but hey, I don't have to be overdressed!

Sunday again

*seen* Hair tutorials. A Swiss movie, "Liebe und andere Unfälle" *heard* "Bonjour Papa" by Vanessa Redgrave. "Oh boy" by Buddy Holly. "Ha ha said the clown" by Manfred Mann *read* The winter rose, finally finshed it. *done* Watched the thunderstorm from the balcony with my bestie. Visited my parents. Went to an open air cinema with my sister and her boyfriend. Went for a drink with my boss when we were both down on Wednesday evening. *eaten* Too much unhealthy stuff. *drank* White wine sprizer. *thought* That a great time will end soon (well, not that soon) but that moving on won't be bad and other great times will come. *been glad* that my bestie gave me a good imput *been sad* That storm killed two trees in my parents garden. *smiled* after I've almost cried. live will go on. *bought* small stuff *clicked* www.ikea.ch

The shell seeker

I really like the movie "The shell seeker" with Vanessa Redgrave. This dress somehow remembers me of the movie and I guess that Penelope would have worn something similar. So it is my shell seeker dress. I bought it in a small shop in Brighton and really like the unusual polka dotts.

Keep calm and....

I thought my bestie needs some cheering up and so I spontaniousely created a card/bookmark for her yesterday. I found the pattern for the crown online and created the writing myself. I know it is not really like the original but I didn't found a smaller crown and coulden't make bigger letters cause I was affraid it wouldn't fit on a post card.

It was quite quickly done, I guess one of the quickest card ever. It took me half an hour to stitch the card and about 45 for the writing. Well, plus about 15 to correct a great writing mistake.... As stitching is much easyer from right to left I started with the last letter of each word and stitched my way to the first one. After stitching the two G I somehow lost track and added an E and a R.... Regger...! I only noticed it when I wanted to cut the fabric to the right size....

I somehow like this card and guess I'll create some more like a "Keep calm and knit on" for my mum. But I won't copy this one as it is just for my bestie.

Friday again

We had the most enormous thunderstorm yesterday. My bestie was at my place for dinner and we sat on the balcony watching rain, lightning and storm.

Unbelievable that it is already weekend again!

My Zalando order arrived on Wednesday but a lot will go back. Their dress sizes are smaller than usual.

I was in the mood for writing two or three times this week bit when I sat down to start I had no idea what to write.

I'm quite into trying new hairdos at the moment.

The bigger the mess in my flat the more likely it is to find me stitching or reading.

I just found out that there are posters with a picture of Winston Churchill and his phrase: "Keep buggering on!" love it! KBO at all times, Sir!



You might wonder why the pic is so blurry. It is, but it wasn't much better in real live! We were almost not able to see the neighbors house!

Braided Gibson Tuck

I love put-up hairdos as they keep all the hair out of my face which isn't too bad now that it is so hot. My favorite for quite a while is a Gibson Tuck and I'm quite glad that my hairs is long enough to do it again. It ended up a bit too short after I've had it cut last time and so it wasn't long enough for it.
I also love braided hair, but I'm not really able to do so. But today I tried it once again and it ended up quite good. My bestie took a picture of it but as we've been out on the balcony during an enormous thunderstorm the minute before, my hair is a bit wet.

It is quiet a quick and easy hairdo, all you have to do is braid the front sections of your hair to both sides and fix it behind your ear with some clips. Then you create a low Gibson tuck (if you don't know how, there are tutorials on youtube) and when the braided parts are fixed into the tuck securely you can remove the clips.

A small trick about Gibson tucks. When you're only having shoulder lenght hair you may find your tuck being a bit small. But when you're using a thick hairband it fills up a bit and looks much better.

Something old, something new....

I talked about it last week and now I'm just going to do it. Post a picture of what I wore somewhen last week. I'm not skinny, no! I've never said I am. But I don't see why we not-so-skinny-but-still-happy girls shouldn't have fun with fashion!

The first picture is taken with Hipstamatic just for the sake of it. I added the second one from my normal camera as well, so that my hands don't cover the bolero too much.

The bolero by the way was a nice surprise. I haven't wore it since I  came back from the UK last summer and it still smelled of the washing liquid my host-mum uses...
As I wore a new tunic, a rediscovered means old bolero and blue jeans I almost had the something old, something new thingy....

Meet Mrs R

I always like to see the makeup of others as it is a nice inspiration and I always learn something new. But unfortunately I'm not able to get a nice picture of my own makeup. Don't ask me why, I tried it with all my cams and in various lights but it never worked and you don't see any colour on the pictures... So I decided to try it with makeup charts and been creative for a bit.

Sunday again

*seen* Road Runner. A history of Britain. Footie England/Sweden, but missed all the goals.... *heard* Radio *read* The winter rose. *done* Spent time on my balcony enjoying the sun. Went walking with a friend. Had Chinese dinner and ice with friends. Went to IKEA with another friend. Visited my family. Tidied my wardrobe. Been creative. Stitched. *eaten* Ice. Ice. Ice. Tiramisu. Pork sweet and sour. The biggest icecream ever. Melon with ham. Cheese'n'Mac (or the Swiss version of it) *drank* Eve's temptation. Apple juice. Coffee. *thought* That some people just behave so... No words for it! *been glad* that summer is finally back *been annoyed* By my incredible slow computer. *smiled* Because of a nice compliment and cause of the baby daughter of a friend. *bought* a black tunic. Finally! *clicked* http://luziehtan.de/ what an inspiring blog!

 The biggest icecream I've ever seen!

 Gonzo who lives in my parents garden

 Lovely roses outside our house

 Finally wore earrings I bought a year ago... As they 

contrast with my hairs I put them up there for the picture

 Tidied up my wardrobe

 Polised my nails with the Collection 2000 Lemon Soda

Friday filler

I'm on the way to meet with friends for Chinese dinner. It is already the 3. time we meet this year. Usually it is once in 3 months or so. We're good!

Still trying to finish reading my immense SUB.

We started to decorate our office with small post-it-figure. Today we created Perry the Platypus out of a green post-it-note.

My boss told me that I look quite confident with the way I dress. So I'll maybe post some outfits here soon.

Tomorrow I'll go to IKEA with a friend. Mainly because of meatballs. I don't really need something from IKEA bur will spend a lot for sure.

Eve's temptation

Summer is finally back and what is better than sitting on the balcony with a beer, a glass of wine or a drink?

You need for one glass
50 ml white Martini
50 ml apple juice
50 ml sparkling water
10 ml eldenflower sirup

Mix everything together in a champagne glass and decorate with a slice of lemon. Cheers!

After a rainy day

Day was rainy today though the sun came out every now and then. And this is the lovely result of it.

Sunday again

*seen* Are you being served. A history of Britain *heard* Piano music by Ludovico Einaudi *read* The tea rose. The winter rose. *done* been incredibly lazy. Looked after my sisters cat. Went to Uetliberg with a friend. Taken tons of pictures. Had a sushi evening with my bestie.  *eaten* Sushi. Sandwiches. Toast Hawaii. Cake. Ice. *drank* Coconut Frappuchino *thought* That I spend too much money for things I don't actually need. *been glad* when we finally reached our destination after a 30 minutes downhill walk.  *been annoyed* By the fact that nobody seems to be interessed in our class reunion. *smiled* Because of a little boy who asked very nicely if he could try the bell next to our counter and asked my why we need one. *bought* not much beside groceries.

Friday filler

Had a good laugh when somebody tried to tell me that Sweden can't be in the EU as they don't have the Euro...

Really loved yesterdays thunderstorm and heavy rain. I mean, when you're inside it is fin

My todays dinner is a can of peas and carotts...

We (two friends and me) try to organise a class reunion though nobody seems to be interessted. What do we learn from this? Never organise something....

Spent a lovely afternoon (if we can call 45 minutes afternoon) at Starbucks with cheesecake and coffee. That's somehow my Friday-afternoon treat. We had dessert almost every evening at home, though it was "only" chocolate or a cookie during the week. But on Friday we used to have something special like cake, doughnut or so.

I'll look after my sisters cat during the weekend so I'll go over there tomorrow with a book and enjoy a hour or two cuddling with Sir James of Cuddleton.... The most cuddly cat I've ever met.

Yesterday I needed something to cheer me up so I watched some Pink Panther episodes but ended up watching Road Runner in the end. Good fun!

What an inspiring couple!

This might be an unusual post, though I really like to do one about Winston and Clementine Churchill. When I was small, my grandad told me storys of historic events and for him, Churchill was the hero who saved Europe. So ever since I'm a small child I'm interessted in WWII and also in Churchill. Well, maybe also because I'm born on 30. of November.
About two years ago I watched The gathering storm because of Vanessa Redgrave who plays Clemmie and so I realized what a strong bond it must have been between Mr and Mrs Churchill. I also have the book "Speaking for themselve" with some of the letters they wrote to each other and it is such a joy to read them. One of them also found it's way into "Love letters of great men" we all know from Sex and the city.

via

 

via

 

via 

There is a lovely story behind this picture. She welcomed him back from a conference in Moscow. When they kissed, the journalists tactfully turned away.

P.S: As always when I post pictures of which I don't own the rights, you can find the source when you follow the small "via" link underneath the picture.

Dior 999 Red Royality

My bestie introduced me to Dior nail polish. She has the Red Royality and I tried it out while on holiday and really liked it. Not only the colour but also the fact that it stayed on my nails for two days without flaking and only started to look a bit demolished after I've tried to get the cover from my iphone without much of a sucess. So when we went to Macy's I went to the Dior counter and bought two of the nail polishes. Thought it took me two weeks now to wear one of them for the first time. Been to lazy before.

The colour is just lovely and goes with almost everything and it is quite easy to apply and dries in no time. In fact I think it dries quicker without a fast-drying top coat!
It will for sure become one of my absolute favorite nail polishes!

Fear no more the heat of the sun

I bought a straw hat on Saturday. I had one when I was a small child and ever since wanted to have one again, but somehow never bought one. Now I did and I just have to wear it now....

Nilpfi (which means hippo), my toy hippopatamus played model. Thanks Nilpfi, you did a great job! You'll for sure be the next Kate Moss!

When Nilpfi saw my workers scarf yesterday she wanted to have a similar one though it looks more like a turban! (yes, I love to dress up my plushies and I also have a doll which has a whole wardrobe of baby clothes. And yes, I am childish! And yes, I don't mind!)

7 things I did today

German blogger Frau Liebe writes about the things she does like crafting, cooking or about her fleamarket finds. On Sunday she posts: "7 things I did today." Seven things she used her hands for, no matter if for five seconds or five hours. As I really like the idea, I'll do one today as well.

Tried to do a victory roll hairdo with scarf. I think I still need some practice cause it didn't really worked. Though I had the perfect music for it; Calling all workers....

Cooked chocolate pudding. And ate a lot of it

Had a healthy lunch with salad and chicken. No, it isn't burnt, it just looks so cause of the marinade

Worked on my mums birthday present

Wrote a bit - though on the computer and not on my old typewriter, but it looks much better like this...

Polished my nails

Sunday again

Time for Sunday again, this week with a new point, smiled. There are so many things that make me smile, so why not share them with you here?

*seen*Becoming Jane. The eagle has landed. *heard* Old music from the 40ies such as Calling all workers *read* Still "A titanic love story" *done* spent time with a friend. Visited my substitute grandparents. Called my parents. Went for a ship tour on the lake. Stitched. Wrote a letter to a friend including something typed on my old typewriter *eaten* chocolate pudding. Fondue. Strawberrie cream. *drank* coffee. Homemade peppermint tea. *thought* That I must be crazy. *been glad* to have so many nice friends.  *been annoyed* by a "lady" who "haven't seen" me and just queue-jumped. By my own stupidity to go into town without sunscream. *smiled* Because of one of my favorite costumors who came in for a chat on Tuesday *bought* a straw hat  

Ship ahoi!

I spent the day in town today, having a stroll over the flea market - unfortunately without finding something but I'm sure that I'll be lucky the next time which will hopefully be soon - then cappuchino and cheese cake at Starbucks and later on I went for a tour on the lake, as I felt so like it. There are some small tours round the lower part of the lake which take arround one and a half our and though the ship was crowded it was good fun. Should do it more often, I mean, the lake is so close but somehow you don't do these things when you're not a tourist. Maybe you feel like doing it sometimes but as you can also do it next weekend, and the one after next and and and you postphone it and never do it.

Really enjoyed my day out and will have another one soon! Sometimes we should start to see our home town from a tourists point of view.

Augustinergasse. Just some steps away from Bahnhofstrasse, a different and quiet world

 A rose outside a flower shop

 Walk from Bürkliplatz to Bellevue

 

A short break at Starbucks

 Ship ahoi!

 

 Back at Bürkliplatz...

 ... overlooking the lake

Back home and stitching like mad

I took the pictures with the Hipstamatic-app which I really like! There is just one negative point, you can't zoom though this was like this with many cameras in the past I guess.

Saturday morning filler

I have a favorite Saturday breakfast. Yoghurt (prefarably greek yoghurt with honey), cinamon-apple cereals and an apple. Yummy! Sunday breaky is toast with philadelphia and lemon curd. So you see, I love my weekend ritual.

I'm stitching like mad a the moment cause I notices that there are only six weeks till my mothers birthday. I'm working on the picture since March but haven't done much yet, so it is full steam ahead as I calculated that it'll take 30 to 40 hours to finish it....

Visited my "substitute grandparents" yesterday and really enjoyed the evening. Haven't been there for at least half a year and somehow missed it. It is so nice meeting them, as it is always great fun and as they are both wonderful cooks and we always have something really tasty.
After dinner we watched some strange TV-movie about two guys who were driving arround on their mopeds but didn't came far as they spent hours in almost every restaurant that came their way.... But it was good fun as we were always comenting on the whole thing. In the end it was half past eleven till I went home.

Plan for today is a visit to the flea market, but I have to clean and tidy up first, as otherwhise I won't do it at all.

Weather is still great, the bad weather they've annonced for the next day the whole week long is finally postphoned to tomorrow. But I guess by tonight they'll say that it will be nice tomorrow and rainy on Monday....

I wish I could go to a streetparty this weekend! Or celebrate the Jubilee in any other form! But that's the problem when you feel English but don't live there...

As we're already talking about England.... Another picture of Brighton, and once more the walled garden at Preston Park. Exactly today a year ago. Miss it, miss it, miss it!