australian food recipes: September 2011

Mogli, my love.

Awww, my little doggy baby has grown so fast and I still love him so much! <3
Before we decided for getting a dog, we have been thinking about it for more than one year. Then, we regularly visited the local pet shelter and took several dogs for a walk to see how it feels like spending time with a dog and to get used to the new kind of responsibility. After we had decided that we wanted to have a dog, we were searching for a good dog breeder and found a wonderful woman who raises her dogs with a lot of love and has lots of experience and knowledge. We visited her and then decided to wait for the next litter. Then, we first saw Mogli when he was 4 weeks old and this was the day we have chosen him to live with us. We fetched him when he was 8 weeks old. Now, more than 4 years have passed and we can't image living without him. It's so crazy how people give their hearts to animals and include them in their lives, right? :)

This is how he's sometimes sitting in his dog basket. :D Like a little sailor on his boat. ;D

Isn't he cute? :) When he's looking at me with his blue eyes, it's so heart-warming! :)
Do you have any pets? :) I grew up in the countryside, having cats, chicken, a turkey, geese, lots of ducks and 3 goats. It was wonderful to spend my childhood having animals at home, but I really missed this when I moved out after school and then Flo and I started thinking about having a dog and this was definitely the best decision. <3

What inspires me.

Hello! :) Here's a new list of things I love and which inspire me. I'm still busy with planning lots of details for our new apartment; I'm painting old furniture, preparing decor, I'm making little presents for the lovely friends who are going to help us and I'm making birthday presents for some friends. :) Much to do. :)
So here are the pretty things I found on the Internet:
1. I love those paper lanterns so much, this is such a good idea and adds colors to every white room. I've already bought tissue paper in three different colors and then I will decorate our paper lanterns as soon as we have moved. :)
2. This is a great idea, isn't it? This lovely fabric wrapping project makes coat hangers look prettier.
3. Although I have already found a way to store my jewelry, I like this idea for a jewelry organizer
a lot. Maybe I will make one like this, too, I have lots of jewelry to store. :)
4. When I created my account on Pinterest, I found this awesome idea for using crates as tiny shelf. Until yesterday I wasn't able to find crates in a good condition, but then I got the advice to go to a certain enoteca in Berlin where they sell these crates for 2.50€. I was so happy and I bought one, although I had to carry it home on the train all the way home. I'm currently painting it white and I intend to use it in my new room, either above my desk, or above my sewing table. :)
5. I'm in love with the colors, the light and the atmosphere in this bright and pretty bedroom. <3
6. Awwww, those paper garlands are too pretty to be true! Yesterday I bought a hole-puncher with a huuuuge hole so that I do not have to cut out every circle by myself. Can't wait to make tons of pretty paper garlands in all different colors to decorate the whole apartment. :)

Shop Update: Hot Water Bottle Cover.

Hello! ;) This new hot water bottle cover can now be found on DaWanda. :)

Valley of Flowers, Pune Warriors and Aamby Valley City!

N has his month long vacations going on! (Yes the kids have to be at home for a month!) And so I decided to spend some time out of home with family surrounded by more people so that I wouldn't go crazy!!!
And we have been having an awesome time. Spent about a week in Pune - met family we haven't seen in a long time :) Loved it.

We went to this place called Valley of Flowers near Satara. It is situated on Kaas/Kas Plateau and is nature at its best. It has slopes and fields for as far as you can see, covered with flowers - pink, blue, white, yellow! They grow naturally and look pretty! Supposedly some rare species of flowers grow here. See for yourself -

The lilac/blue velvety flower

The pinkish purple ones

Pretty yellows! We couldn't take too many pictures of the vast expanse of flowers - it started raining and became misty - perfect to enjoy the place but not to take pics :)

The valley, plateau and clouds floating by! Ah! Bliss!

There were fields and slopes covered with flowers like this one above!

Heading back home after a long and mesmerizing day!

The Pune Warriors stadium under construction near Lonavala on the Pune Mumbai expressway.

N wanted to wish them victory! and maybe play here someday ;)

A relaxed boat trip in a man made lake at Aamby Valley City, Lonavala

It was a fun fun trip!! Looking forward to many more such trips :)
Hope all of you are doing great! What plans for the Dussehra holidays?

Linking this in to Patty's Weekly Party. Happy Monday!

Pretty fabric bunting for the bedroom.

Happy Sunday!!! :) Here's one of my latest projects, a pretty bunting for our bedroom. :) Since we are going to move soon, I wanted to give the bedroom a fresh look and wanted to prepare some things which I can then use to decorate our new home. We have lots of bedclothes in all shades of blue and yellow, so I thought that the colors of the bunting would be pefect. How do you like it? :) I'm currently preparing things for the new apartment nearly every day, I'm painting furniture, ordering things, preparing home decor and I'm looking for home inspiration on Pinterest. Today we are going to get our new kitchen cabinet from the 50s which I bought from a furninute conservator a week ago. I will have to refresh the paint, but apart from this, it's in pretty good condition and I love the old look so much! :) Can't wait to share before / after photos after we have moved. :)
Do you have any special plans for today? Apart from collecting the kitchen cabinet from its seller, I will finish a birthday present for a friend of mine who is going to celebrate her birthday next weekend and I will paint a little shelf I bought a few days ago. <3
Love, Lu

Shop Update: New pouches.

Hey! :) I added some new pouches to my German shop. :) What have you been doing? :)

DIY: From picture frame to jewellery holder.

Hi! :) Today's time for another DIY project. :) As you know, I recently painted my kitchen table and I still had some paint left, so I was wondering what to use it for. Last week I bought a kitchen cabinet from the 50s for our new apartment and where I bought it, there were sooo many other old things, I didn't know where to look first. :) I got this old picture frame for just 1€ and I cleaned it and rubbed it down. :) Here's how I turned it into a jewellery holder:

1. You need:
- An old picture frame
- Some paperboards
- Paint for wooden furniture, a bit more than the size of the frame
- A brush and some finish to paint your frame
- Scissors and sticky tape
- Lace
- A stapler

2. Paint the picture frame in the color of your choice (I painted two frames, because I wanted to give another old, blue frame a new, fresh look) and let it dry. How long you need to let it dry depends on the type of paint you use.

3. Take some paperboards, adjust them to the size of the frame and tape them together.
4. Next, cover the paperboards with the fabric and tape the endings onto the back of the paperboards.

5. Use the stapler to fix the lace onto the paperboard which is now covered with fabric. The lace will later hold your jewellery.
6. Finally, put the paperboard onto the back of the frame and use the stapler to attach it. That's it! :) Do you like it? :)

Giveaway Winner!!!

And the winner of this giveaway is (drumroll please) - is MeRu from MeRu's World!!!!

CONGRATULATIONS MERU!!! :) Yay!!

People go on and check out her lovely and cheerful blog :)

Meru - Please send me your address at simrand@gmail.com. I will send across the gift :)

All the other participants - thanks a lot for dropping by!!! Hope to see you all in many more giveaways :) I will be back soon with a post on my travels!

Shop Update: Crocheting for fall and winter.

Hello! :) Here you can see what I've been doing during the last weeks, I've been working on a lot of cotton wool hats for fall and winter and I even crocheted a cozy loop scarf. :) I always do that during train rides or while watching TV in the evening and I love all of the colors I've chosen this year. :) Which hat is your favourite? Today Flo and I took photos and they can now all be bought on DaWanda. :)
Love, Lu

24 New Recipes // Number 9: Chocolate Cake with Nuts and Apples.

Yummy, here's a new recipe I tried out today. Since it was such a rainy day, I wanted to bake a cake to better enjoy staying inside all day. :)

Here's what you need:
A loaf pan
180g / 6,3oz flour
250g / 8,8oz sugar
200g / 7oz margarine
4 eggs
2 tea spoons of vanilla sugar
3 table spoons of cocao powder
3 tea spoons of baking powder
100g / 3,5oz walnuts
100g / 3,5oz almonds
100g / 3,5oz hazelnuts
Some chocolate coating
2 apples

The recipe:
Preheat the oven (180°C / 356°F). Mix all of the ingredients apart from the chocolate coating and the apples. Then, hack the apples into pieces and add them, too. Grease a loaf pan with margarine, fill the paste into the loaf pan and let the cake bake for about 60 minutes. After the cake has cooled down, smear it with the chocolate coating. :) Soo tasty! :)

My life in fake polaroid pictures. :)

Hey! :) It's time for some new fake polaroid photos! :) They were all taken during the end of summer, either in August, or in September. The beautiful flower garden is in Potsdam on a small island on the river close to the city center. On the second photo you can see Potsdam's world famous castle 'Sans Souci', the city's main tourist attraction, and finally there's one of my beloved, colorful outfits. :)

I love the quote, saw it in Berlin. I found the old typewriters in the Wall Park in Berlin when I went to the flea market with an old friend a few weeks ago and afterwards we ate frozen yoghurt. Mine was with fresh strawberries and strained lemon cake. <3

A pretty, green bike in Berlin, a sunny day with Flo at the lido and my mother's dining-room table with fresh, homemade plum cake when we came to visit her. <3

This photo was taken Kassel, the town where I grew up. There are some beautiful fields and forests next to the fringes and there's a huge area for dogs. My best friend and I went there with Mogli and as you can see on the next photo, we met two pugs. Although Mogli is much bigger than they were, he was afraid of them. :D The pretty flower decor is on my mother's window seat.

Hihi, this is me, do you recongnize me? :) Those childhood days photos are so cute, aren't they? :) I took a photo of them hanging on my mother's wall. I especially love the one with the handmade flower garland on my head. :) Ohhh, and those pretty matryoshkas, they are on my mother's window seat, too. :)

Now it's time for a relaxing Saturday evening! :) Do you have any plans? Yesterday I bought an old kitchen cabinet from the 50s which is in extremely good condition and it was a steal at its price. :))) Can't wait to share photos! :) Moreover, I've already prepared a new DIY project, I hope I'll be able to share a few photos tomorrow! :)
Have a nice evening / day! :)
Lu

Colorful kitchen table makeover.

Hello! :) As I already annouced yesterday, Flo and I are going to move to another apartment soon and I'm busy preparing and planning everything. :) Inspired by this beautiful turquoise kitchen table, yesterday I painted ours, too. :) I'm sooo happy with the result! :) Although it looks a bite more like blue on the photos, it's really bright and turquoise in reality. Can't wait to paint our future kitchen white and then see the table in it. :) Now I'm painting one of my small IKEA tables, because I've got some finish left. :)
Happy afternoon!

What inspires me.

Hello! :) Today I wanna introduce a new blog category, because from time to time I'm planning to show you what inspires me. I recently stumbled upon Pinterest and I must admit that I've become addicted. :) Flo and I found a new flat and we're going to move soon. Since I was searching for some pretty DIY furniture and home decor ideas, I found soooo many great projects on Pinterest and I feel the urgent desire to share them with you. :) Here are a few of my current favourites:

1. Just the moment when I first saw this kitchen with its AMAZING turquoise kitchen table, I knew that I wanted to paint our own kitchen table, too. :) I bookmarked this photo a short time ago and today Flo and I went to a DIY superstore and bought sand paper and some finish. I painted the table this afternoon and it looks sooooo great, I absolutely love it! :) I'm glad I've already painted it, so it's done before we move. :) I'll share some photos the following days. :)
2. These vases are so pretty, aren't they? So simple and still so beautiful! I love the idea and will definitely make those one day.
3. I love doilies and they look so good on this table, such a nice DIY idea! I can totally imagine such a DIY table runner on my new, bright, turquoise kitchen table with some pretty, floral plates and dishes. <3
4. Ohhh, this is such a beautiful canopy, especially because of the patchwork technique! I recently learned how to make a patchwork blanket and now I'm planning to make one myself. I love the idea of making a patchwork canopy and I extremely like the bright colors in this one. In our old flat we had a simple canopy, too, but now Flo has a house-dust allergy and we can't have one above our bad anymore. :(
5. This is an awesome idea, isn't it? I still have some embroidery hoops left and I will definitely use them to make some of these pretty embroidery hoop pockets myself. :)
6. This is again a DIY idea which is so simple and still extremely pretty! I just have to find out where to get an old drawer (or I'll buy some planks and make one myself ;)) and then I can paint it and use it as an idea board or as a little shelf.
7. Which lady doens't have the problem where to store jewellery? :) Well, I recently bought myself a pretty jewellery tree, but it's rather small and this DIY idea of using an oven rack is much better. :) I'm going to buy one and paint it in a nice color. :)

Which DIY idea / project is your favourite? :)
Love, Lu

Fun at Sanctuarry!!

No I did not make a spelling mistake with the spelling of Sanctuarry!! It is the name of a place where we took N along with our friends last weekend. We were about 8 adults and 4 kids. And boy we had so much fun, it was crazy. The kids loved it thoroughly and so did the adults who became kids :)

If you have been to the Gerry Martin Farm in Bangalore then you can relate Sanctuarry to it, except that Martin Farm has more animals and Sanctuarry had more activity fun stuff to do.

There were sheep, goats, rabbits, roosters, birds, ducks and geese.

One could feed them bundles of leaves and carrot sticks. The children loved doing this :)

There were bullock carts too.

They have a large open area with lots of trees. And a tree house too - perrrfect for kiddies. They loved going up the stairs and playing with all the stuff inside.

There is a sand pit and cycles for kids. A few tents are put up all over the place with fun stuff in almost each of them - alphabet floor puzzle in one and sleeping bags and chairs in another.

Some trampolines which are super fun. There were hammocks tied up and swings and charpoys too.... super relaxing and quiet atmosphere.

And they have loads of other free activities - mind games, table tennis, mini sports series as well as paid stuff. We chose wall painting for kids. It was a paid activity and each kid got a bowl full of colour and big brush. They were made to wear aprons yet they managed to get themselves dirty :) And had a wonderful time painting their own masterpieces on the wall!

And yes for all you foodies out there - there is a Cafe on the go with a limited menu and fresh stuff :) However there is also a full scale menu if you want to pre order stuff.

Ooh and how can I forget the cute lil kiddies bathroom. They have kid sized low stuff in the bathroom so that the li'l ones can use them on their own. The walls outside are painted in nice and bright colours.

We had an awesome time and plan to go again sometime!!

Sanctuarry is located close to the Forum Value Mall in Whitefield on the opposite side behind Fab India. See address and other details on their FB page. You can ask them for details about activities, food and timings. It is better to call and go rather than walking in.

If you are googling them make sure you use the double r in the spelling :)
Let me know if you would like to know more about our experience at Sanctuarry!

Linking this in to Patty's Weekly Party!! Happy Monday!

NOTE - I will be out for almost a month starting today - travelling and visiting relatives (N has a month off from school) so the posts might be infrequent or a quick scribble! But keep visiting and I promise you loads of lovely pictures :)

P.S. - Did you participate in the giveaway sponsored by The Orange Bicycle? Not yet. Go here!! Hurry it is open till 19th Sep only :)

The prettiest giveaway from Amy Is The Party.

Awwwww, today I received a pretty package full of beautiful jewellery by Amy, I won her giveaway some weeks ago! :) Thank you again, Amy, I love everything, especially the swallow necklace and the cute embroidery hoop sticker. :) Your package made my day, especially because we thought it got lost on its looooong way from California to Germany. The first time ever I got mail from the sunshine state! <3 Visit her blog Amy Is The Party to see her pretty decor ideas and jewellery. :)

Lots of new loop scarves.

Hey again! :) As I already told you yesterday, I've been sewing all Monday and have been making 14 new loop scarves. :) Here are the 9 different types, you can buy them on DaWanda. :) If you're from abroad and want one, too, just let my know which scarf you like and I'll list it on etsy, too. :)
Which is your favourite? :)

Tiny shop update.

Hello! :) This pretty, handmade pillow is now available on DaWanda. <3

What a great late summer weekend!

Hello! :) Did you have a great weekend? :) Mine was awesome and here are a few fake polaroid photos I took with my mobile phone. :) On Friday, Hanna and I spontaneaously went to Berlin Kreuzberg to a Turkish market. There were so many interesting people, lots of exotic food and pretty fabric. Of course I couldn'r resist buying some. :)

Later, we sat in a beergarden in the sun and had a cold beer. :)

Afterwards, we drove to IKEA where I even bought more fabric and had much fun looking at pretty funiture. On Saturday, I sewed myself a pretty, floral skirt with some fabric I bought at work.

Moreover, I made another gamepad pillow for an American customer who ordered it via etsy. :) On Sunday there was a huuuuge fabric market in Potsdam and I bought even more fabric. The pile on the photo above is my fabric loot of the whole weekend. :) Yes, I'm addicted to buying fabric and creating something with it.

On Sunday in the afternoon, Flo, a couple we are friends with and I went to the Mauerpark (Wall Park) in Berlin. Each Sunday there's a huuuge flea market and in summer the park is full of street artists and there's even a fantastic open air karaoke. We saw lots of pretty things, sat in the sun and enjoyed the last hot day of the year.

I love all the little treasures on can find on flea markets, I always don't know where to look first.

We enjoyed the awesome weather all afternoon, took lots of photos and listened to the people singing karaoke. <3

These two ladies have amazing knapsacks, haven't they? :) At the end of the day, before we ate the most delicious frozen yoghurt to end this perfect day, we listened to some drummers who were drumming the most amazing rhythms and watched all those people dancing. I love that there are always people of any age and from all walks of life and being at the Wall Park on Sundays in summer is always like being on a huge open air party. <333

I bought these 3 pretty floral plates on the flea market, each for 1€. :) Aren't they pretty? Today I sewed 14 loop scarves, using the different kinds of pretty fabric I bought on the weekend. :) I'll list them on DaWanda soon. :)
Did you also have a great weekend? What have you been doing? :)
Lu