Nikkilooch

This morning an electrician came by the house to fix something so our internet can be installed next week. Since our landlord is paying him I thought I’d ask him to look at a light that stopped working since we moved in.

Electrician: I am finished.
Me: Great, can I ask you a favor since you’re here?
Electrician: No.

Then he left.

image from collageorama

• This breakfast of a baked egg boat looks amazing.
• Y’all know I love scones.  These cinnamon roll ones just took it to the next level.
• Aguadito.
• This Winter wellness guide gets it just right.

• We sent our stuff to Germany in the beginning of December.
• It is the middle of February and it’s still not here.
• They sent our stuff to Bamberg.
• We live in Kaiserslautern.
• Then they said it was here.
• Then it wasn’t.
• Then it could be delivered Monday.
• Then they needed a permit to block to street all day for unloading and that would take at least 2 days to get.
• Then a little bit of stuff was here.
• Then it wasn’t.
• The internet can be installed this week, just wait for a call.
• Never got a call.
• Now the internet can’t come until Friday.  Next Friday.
• You want satellite TV? Psh.

*Throws hands in the air*  Such is the army life.

It’s not all bad.  I’m currently at a very nice library with a very kind staff.  I went to a program called the lending closet and got dishes and cook-ware and got treated very nice.

I’m trying to keep a good attitude.  I am sleeping on a mattress covered in plastic that makes me sweat even when I’m not hot, however.  But at least I have a bed and a home cooked meal.  It’s the little things.

This is our new house. It was love at first sight. We’re moving in this week. I’m not sure when we’ll have have internet so please be patient with me and follow me on twitter, since I’ll be updating there regularly from my phone.  I’ll post as soon as I can.

image from lovelife3610

We’re getting in the moving spirit and I can’t wait to get my stuff in my house and set up and ready to go.  I’ll be sure to share pictures of the process along the way and keep you updated.  The favorites!

• Fluffernutter cornflake stuffed french toast. There are no more words.
• Melt in your mouth pantry cookies.  Use up all those pantry staples when it’s just crumbs on the bottom on the jar.
• These Valentine cornmeal cookies look perfect for a Tuesday Valentine’s day.
• Deep fried Elvis raviolis.  These contain peanut butter and bananas.  Sold, Virginia
• My quest for salty sweet snacks might be complete in these cookies: potato chip cookies.
• Heather says these are the best scones ever.  Challenge excepted.
• Dear Heart…

Happy, happy weekend!

I had never heard about Laduree until I started researching what to eat in Paris.  This pastry shop kept popping up again and again.  Apparently it’s world famous?  It has even graced the sliver screen of Gossip Girl.  A show I’ve never seen.  I’m not sure about why these macaroons were on the show but I do know why they are world famous.  Delicate and delicious.  I didn’t buy a whole box because I didn’t want to take out collateral on my husband, but I did get 5 different flavors: milk chocolate, pistachio, coffee, rose petal and orange blossom.

Before the match we needed some fuel to help keep us warm and get us to dinner.  A crepe stand next to the metro entrance offered crepes with egg, chicken, cheese and mushrooms.  Yes, please!  Hot, filling, crispy and mobile. Perfect.

The morning we left it was snowing. My response was, “It’s snowing! How magical and romantic.” My husband’s response was more along the lines of, “It had to be f-ing snowing when we’re trying to leave.” After pulling my wheely suitcase along behind me in the snow for a few meters I tended to agree with his school of thought. It’s amazing how a warm croissant and a hot cafe can change your outlook back to magical and romantic.

I’ve been a follower David Lebovitz’s blog for a long time.  In researching the eating portion of our weekend trip my first stop was David’s My Paris section of his blog.

Le Trumilou hit all the criterion I had set for a restaurant for this trip:

1. Near the sights we wanted to see.
2. Classic french bistro.
3. No pretense.
4. Delicious.
5. Reasonably priced.
6. Open 7 days a week.

I chose the fixed menu, which is very common in Europe.  What it basically means is that for a set price (20 euro in my case) you can choose 3 courses from a menu with 3 choices for each course.  In general, these menus are the best choice for fresh good food.  They are constantly changing depending on what the restaurant has.

I started with artichoke. It was cold, which threw me for a loop at first since I’ve never had a whole artichoke served cold before. But it didn’t detract from its artichokey goodness. Plus they served it with a tangy mayonnaise based dipping sauce that made my initial surprise melt away quickly.

Next came beef bourguignon. I ordered this dish for 2 reasons: I could read and understand it from the french menu and I was freezing cold in desperate need of warming up. The beef was fork tender and the broth not too salty. Everything I look for in a dish like this.

Finally, I finished with cafe. While I like a lot of things about Germany, I haven’t been able to find a good cup of coffee since I moved here 2 weeks ago. Le Trumilou answered a question I didn’t know I was even asking with this espresso. Superb.

We ended with a very happy table.

This past weekend, my love and I took the fast train to Paris. A mere 2 hours and 25 minutes after a late boarding we arrived in a freezing city. 30 degrees Fahrenheit and -1 Celsius. The Parisians were bundled tighter than anyone I’ve seen in Kaiserslautern even though it was 11 degrees Celsius colder in K-town.

On game day we put first things first and headed to the pub. Even though we already had on long johns under our jeans, we still brought a bag of extra clothes to change into before heading to the Stade de France.

In the surprisingly clean bathroom I put on another long sleeve shirt under my sweater, added a thick pair of wool socks over the thin wool ones I already had on, and tied an extra scarf around my neck. In my purse I had wool gloves to wear inside cotton mittens. As soon as I worked my way out of the tiny bathroom stall I started sweating. Good sign.

We were the only Italy supporters in our whole section.  The Azzurri made a valiant start and played well the whole game.  We looked like a completely different team.  Even though we lost (30-12), I can’t wait to watch us smash England in the ground this weekend in Rome.

Dai ragazzi.

I have to be honest with you, February.  Even though you contain Valentine’s day (one of my favorites), typically you’re not my favorite month.  But this time is going to be different.  I’m in my new town with fresh snow on the ground.  Hello, new German house that far far exceeded my expectations.  Can’t wait to move in this month.  Hello, downtown living.  I’ve never been a city girl before.  Straight from the suburbs born and raised.  Hello, warm coats, hats, scarves and mittens.  Before you were just cute accessories.  Now you’re cute and doing a good job of keeping me warm.  Hello, Paris.  I’m going to eat all your pastries this weekend.  Hello, Europe.  I’m so glad we’re back together.  Let’s make the most of it.

I know it’s list time, and I have some good links for you.  But can we first talk about my new phone?  If you follow me on twitter, you know I’m over the moon about it.  I’ve never had a smart phone.  Yes, it’s 2012.  Yes, I am under the age of 30.  We just… never got them.  We lived in the States for such a short time we got cheap no-contract phones and in Italy we had the same phones we always had.  Not no more.  Expect a ton more tweets with pictures in them from me. I can’t wait.

• Elise’s blog on staying inspired, especially concerning blogging, inspired me.  Mission accomplished, Elise.
• I’m always looking for new ways to make fish.  Andrea’s butter crumb baked cod looks perfect.
• Veggie burgers make a regular appearance in my lunch rotation.  As soon as I get back in a kitchen I’m going to try these apple sage chickpea burgers and these eggplant ones.
• I NEED this frosting in my life.
• Maybe on top of this chocolate chip cookie pie?
• I love this travel art journal.  Just beautiful.