14/52 Tuscan Bread Salad

Time to catch up with the recipes again! The weekly update post is almost more challenging than the challenge itself. Strange. But here it is: The (almost) weekly update! This time we very much enjoyed making and eating a Tuscan bread salad. We spent a fortune for fresh organic vegetables (for the upcoming week as well) because where exactly can I get one carrot, one lemon, one red onion and one stick celery? I feel like we can eat from the leftover vegetables for weeks. If the food stays fresh, that is...
But back to the topic. Bread salad. Pureed red onion, garlic, basil, parsley (Both from my self-grown herbs on the window sill!), lemon juice, salt, pepper, mustard and olive oil. Chopped celery, cucumber, tomatoes, Italian olive bread, romaine lettuce. Baked Italian olive bread. Fry Italian olive bread with garlic and olive oil. Mixed everything together. Enjoyed!

Etsy Love

Just some things I've been liking on Etsy lately. Now that spring is here, the bright colors are sneaking into my wishlists. Oh how nice this lamp shade would look in my living room! Love the lamp shade. Love the felted bowl. Love the wood brooch. Love them all!

1- Coin Purse by oktak
2- Mini Planters by Wind & Willow Home
3- Rain Cloud Wood Brooch by cabin and cub design
4- Sugar Bowl by So Yesterday So Cool
5- Geometric Necklace by Joanna Felt
6- Felted Bowls by The Yarn Kitchen
7- Lamp Shade by Mood Design Studio

Friendship Bracelets Part 2: Forward Knot and Chevron Bracelet

Finally. Part two of the friendship bracelet series is here! This time I'll show you how to do a forward knot and how to make a chevron friendship bracelet using only forward and backward knots. Easy! And for those who are bored with that easy chevron pattern, I added instructions for turning the direction of the chevron pattern from upwards to downwards and back. With all these information you'll be able to make a chevron friendship bracelet just how you like it.

For the backward knot and an even easier pattern for a friendship bracelet, check out part 1 of the friendship bracelet series!

The Forward Knot

[1] You start with two strings next to each other. The right string should be held tight all the time while you work with the other string (the working string).
[2] Using the left string, form a loop over and around the right string. Pull the string through the loop from behind.
[3] Now hold the right string tight and pull the working string to the right. It is easier if you use your right hand for that. You now have something that looks like a tiny knot, but that's only the half of it.
[4] Repeat steps 2 and 3. Afterwards, there's a knot in the color of the string you worked with and the working string moved to the right.

Striped Friendship Bracelet

Material:  Embroidery thread in different colors (I recommend this. Every color you can think of in one box!), Scissors.

Preparation:
Choose the colors you would like to have in your bracelet. For a symmetric chevron pattern his could be up to 5 different colors, as you have to have 10 strings of embroidery thread.
Then choose an ordering and place the threads next to each other like in the picture above. The color ordering is mirrored in the middle (1,2,3,4,5,5,4,3,2,1). The colors will appear from outer to inner. When you have an ordering, tie a knot at about 5 inches from the top. Tie the short end to a chair or a table or to anything that will resist some pulling. Reorder the strings.

[1] Take the first two threads from the right and make a backward knot (bk) like in part 1. You will have a knot in the color of the outermost string (which is now second from right).
[2] Take the next two strings (number 2 and 3 from the right) and make a bk which then should have the same color as the knot before. Repeat for the next three string (until you reach the middle) and you have your first half of a chevron. It probably looks not straight at all but that's normal. Just continue!
[3] Now take the first two threads from the left and make a forward knot (fk) like described above. You will see it's just like a bk but only that you work from left to right with this one.
[4] Continue with the fk up to the middle and finish the first chevron stripe by making a fk over the thread in the middle (which has the same color).
[5] Start from the right again and repeat steps 1,2,3 and 4, resulting in a second chevron stripe. Continue the chevron pattern.

You can make a whole friendship bracelet in this way. But if you want to know how to spice it up a little bit, keep reading!

Change of direction (downwards to upwards)

[1] For a turnaround start like normal with bk from the right but stop after three knots for the first color, two for the second and one for the third.
[2] Using fk go back to the right, making two knots with the second color (orange in my case) and three for the third color (red).
[3] Repeat step 1 and two for the left side. Always go right with fk and left with bk.
[4] Now take the innermost strings. With the left one go left with bk and with the right go right with fk. You have your first chevron in the opposite direction!
[5] Continue making chevrons starting in the middle with a knot (bk or fk) and continuing from the middle outwards with bk to the left and with fk to the right.

Change of direction (upwards to downwards)

[1] For a turnaround from upwards to downwards start like normal but only go three knots to the right and left with the first color (blue), two to each side with the second color (light blue) one with the third (orange) and do only the one knot in the middle for the forth (red).
[2] Now work inwards again. With the right orange thread to a bk to the left, with the left orange thread do two fk to the right.
[3] With the right light blue thread: two bk to the left. With the left light blue thread: three fk to the right.
[4] With the right blue thread: Three bk to the left. With the left blue thread: four fk to the right.
[5] With the next thread start following the normal chevron pattern instructions again (see above).
[6] To finish your bracelet, untie the knot at the top and braid both ends.


You can design your chevron bracelet as you like it and take as many turns as you like or no turn at all. The result looks quite amazing and much more difficult than it is. So don't be afraid of all the instructions. It's easier than it looks!
If you try it, please send me a link or a picture, I'd love to see your version of the chevron friendship bracelet!

Edit: I got quite a lot questions about that Disney bracelet on the very first picture. So for anyone who's interested in that: I bought that bracelet quite some time ago at the H&M children's department. I couldn't resist :)

13/52 Sea Bass With Gremolata

Here's another recipe I'd like to share with you guys! Sea bass with gremolata is one of those easy recipes with incredibly few ingredients and a preparation time of about 15 minutes that - on top of it all - tastes amazing! But if you (like us) can't find any sea bass fillet anywhere and have to buy frozen fish with heads and bones, the preparation time can easily be multiplied.
So we had to wait for the sea basses to defrost, learnt on YouTube how to fillet a sea bass, and performed the filleting quite successfully before we could continue with the recipe as it was supposed to be. The extra work was sometimes a bit disgusting to be honest (Ever tried to behead a fish? Yuck!) but we had great fun!

Sea Bass With Gremolata

Gremolata
1 untreated lemon
1 handful flat-leaved parsley
2 cloves garlic

Fish
4 sea bass fillets (ca. 140g each)
salt
freshly ground pepper
2-3 tablespoons butter


Wash and dry the fish fillets and season with salt and pepper. Fry them with medium heat for 5 minutes on their skin side in a pan with butter.

For the gremolata grate the lemon zest and press out the juice. Chop both parsley and garlic.
When the fried fillets are ready, mix together the lemon zest, parsley and garlic and spread it on top of the fillets. Sprinkle with lemon juice, cover the pan and let rest for 2 minutes.

Serve with fresh white bread or/and an arugula salad.

Enjoy!

Flea Market Finds

Yesterday the boyfriend and I had a great time enjoying the sun, eating fried twisted potatoes on a stick, listening to amazing musicians, while strolling over one of the local flea markets. And of course we didn't leave empty handed! At the end of the day we took home two wooden boxes, a carved wooden donkey,  a small box disguised as a sweet little house (I absolutely adore this one!) and a vintage fold-out sewing box still filled with lots of sewing stuff!
Days like these make me want to go to flea markets more often.

I hope you had a great weekend, too!

Seed Balls - Bring Color To Your Hometown!

Spring has finally (I couldn't write the word 'finally' often enough to express how I feel) arrived! At this moment I just enjoy the first bits of green, the first tiny flowers, the birds singing in the backyard, the sun and first of all: the absence of snow.
Now is the perfect time to bring some color to the streets of your hometown, too! The seed balls are small and easy to carry around in your bag. Wherever you see a spot of bare earth that could need some color, drop a few seed balls and let the rain and the sun do the rest. A few weeks later you will find the most beautiful flowers!

Supplies: Potting soil, clay (If you, like me, have difficulties in finding clay: Healing clay works just fine and can be bought here.), water, flower seeds (Please use only seeds of native plants!), a large bowl, a cup, a baking tray.

This project is going to be messy! You will get your hands dirty. You have been warned...

[1] Fill one cup of seeds into the large bowl, add 5 cups of clay and 5 cups of potting soil. If you have less or more than one cup of seeds you can scale it down or up, of course.
[2] Combine thoroughly and add water (slowly!) until the mixture is smooth but not too watery to be formed into balls.
[3] Roll small balls between the palms of your hands. This is the fun part! It's like making cake pops with mud, haha! Place the seed balls on the baking tray and allow them to dry for at least a day (better 2 or 3).
[4] Put the completely dried seed balls into a canvas bag or an egg carton and off you go! Time to make the city more colorful!

I take some seed balls with me everywhere I go and already dropped a few here and there... I'll try to keep an eye on them and report any progress.
And if you happen to live in the countryside with loads of greens and flowers: Seed balls are also great for easy sowing in your own garden.

Happy gardening!

11/52 Roast Rabbit With Rosemary And Vegetables, 12/52 Pasta With Green Asparagus And Ham

It's time to give you a little update on our weekly challenge! We had a roast rabbit a few days before Easter and it was both tasty and strange, because it felt a bit like eating the Easter bunny. Haha! And that must be why I forgot to take pictures. Stupid girl Kathie!

Then we had pasta with green asparagus and ham. Yummy! During this challenge I found that I LOVE Parma ham. I could eat it every single day. When it came to the pictures we chose to fill the pasta in a bowl just like they did in the picture on the recipe card... but somehow it doesn't look the same. But well... it tasted great!

Friendship Bracelets Part 1: Backward Knot and Striped Bracelet

Do you remember the 90's when everyone was crazy about friendship bracelets? I used to make all kinds of friendship bracelets when I was a kid. The results where great but I remember enjoying the process the most. Precisely following a pattern, making all knots neat and tight, and bringing up the patience to stay with it until it's done. Yeah! But friendship bracelets aren't only for school kids. These colorful bracelets are cute and really bring you in the mood for spring and summer! I like to wear a few of them at once or combine them with some "metal" bracelets. You can even make one for every outfit you have!

For those of you who never made a friendship bracelet we'll start with the easiest pattern one could think of. You only have to know how to do a backward knot. Easy peasy. And the result is quite nice! So let's jump right in and start knotting!

The Backward Knot

[1] You start with two strings next to each other. The left string should be held tight all the time while you work with the other string (the working string).
[2] With the right string form a loop over and around the left string. Pull the string through the loop from behind.
[3] Now hold the left string tight and pull the working string to the left. It is easier if you use your left hand for that. You now have something that looks like a tiny knot, but that's only the half of it.
[4] Repeat steps 2 and 3. Afterwards, there's a knot in the color of the string you worked with and the working string moved to the left.

Striped Friendship Bracelet

Material:  Embroidery thread in different colors (I recommend this. Every color you can think of in one box!), Scissors.

Preparation:
Choose the colors you would like to have in your bracelet. This could be up to 10 different colors, as you have to have 10 strings of embroidery thread. But you can also choose only two. Or five. or eight.
Then choose an ordering and place the threads next to each other. The colors will appear from right to left. When you have an ordering, tie a knot at about 5 inches from the top. Tie the short end to a chair or a table or to anything that will resist some pulling. Reorder the strings.

[1] Take the first two threads from the right and make a backward knot like described above. You will have a knot in the color of the outermost string (which is now second from right).
[2] Take the next two strings (number 2 and 3 from the right) and make a backward knot which then should have the same color as the knot before. Repeat for all 10 strings and you have your first stripe. It probably looks not straight at all but that's normal. Just continue!
[3] Start from the right again and repeat steps 1 and 2, resulting in a second stripe.
[4] Repeat steps 1 and 2 until your bracelet reaches the desired length.
[5] Untie the knot at the top of the bracelet, braid both ends and tie a knot at the ends.

That's it! Pretty easy, huh? You can do it, let's go!
I'm planning a second post about friendship bracelets with a bracelet that is a little harder, so please practice this one while you wait and you will be well prepared!

Edit: I got quite a lot questions about that Disney bracelet on the very first picture. So for anyone who's interested in that: I bought that bracelet quite some time ago at the H&M children's department (It's a little tight around my wrist but I love it anyways!).

Renovations

This weekend the boyfriend and I started a second renovation offensive in our new apartment. Our living room isn't quite the same with piles of freshly assembled black boxes in one corner, big bordeaux-ish spots on one wall (I tried to find out if I liked the color or not.), a pallet in the middle of everything (more to that later). And - Ah yes! - a new rug that somehow looks lost between all that chaos and new plants on the window sill. And I'm sitting here on our sofa that I now share with a chair, 3 shelves and a construction site spotlight. It's crazy but totally fun! I can't wait to see our apartment with painted walls, hung up shelves and with everything in it's place!

fabric envelope to store recipe cards

As you know, the boyfriend and I are on a 52-weeks-challenge this year. We prepare a different Italian meal every week, following (more or less) the weekly recipes from a calendar we bought. Since we already made about 12 different dishes, I had collected 12 postcard-sized recipe cards but didn't really know where and how to store them properly. I was okay for the moment, but it would be a problem in the end with all 52 cards to store somewhere.

This fabric envelope is perfect to store recipe cards, postcards or letters. I added a green ribbon to be able to close it and protect the cards from falling out. And for the looks, of course. For the embroidered words I chose "Buon Appetito", which is Italian of course, but the words can be changed to whatever you wish. In case you want to use the same embroidery pattern I used, you'll find it here.

Supplies: White cotton fabric, embroidery thread, scissors, embroidery needle, a sewing machine, a pencil, some ribbon (I used green shoe laces), an embroidery hoop.

[1] Place one of the cards you want to store inside the envelope on top of the white fabric and trace the outlines. Add 1-2 inches (depending on how many cards you plan to store) to each side, trace again and cut the fabric to size. Cut a second piece the same size.
[2] With the pencil, draw the embroidery pattern onto the fabric. Place the fabric in the embroidery hoop and start stitching! I worked with three strands of embroidery thread and used a simple backstitch for my design.
[3] To sew the envelope, fold down the top of the front piece by about an inch (fold to the back of it) and fixate it with your sewing machine. Repeat for the other piece. This will be the opening of the envelope in the end.
After that, put the two pieces on top of each other, right sides facing, and sew it close. But leave the opening open!
[4] Sew the ribbon onto the envelope and then turn it right sides out. Put in cards. You're done!

Have a great week!

Knitting: Scalloped Hats

After seeing these adorable knitted hats with scallops here and here and with a brand new set of wooden knitting needles at hand I decided to go for my first knitting project in years. I tried different projects before but hardly ever finished anything due to a bad lack of patience.
For my scalloped hat I adapted the pattern on Muita Ihania a little bit. I found myself having so much fun that I finished the first one the same night (I worked until 3am!) and made a second one only a few days later! Maybe I'll jump into the next  knitting adventure soon, who knows?
And... what can I say... these hats are so darn cute! Thank god we still have snow in Berlin so they won't have to wait until next winter to be worn. Wait. What did I just say? Really, winter, go away. Now.