image courtesy of Country Living

image courtesy of Home Designing

image courtesy of the Kitchen Designer

Kitchens. You can't help but love 'em. No matter their size or design, fullness or flavor, they are usually where the party ends up. It's the smells, sounds, and limited space that make them so loved, especially around the holidays. My eldest son has claimed stake on our little slice of hot plate heaven and cooks with our neighbor once a week. I love watching them exhale after a long day at school as they stir, discuss, and watch things bubble. If I could just get them to claim stake on tidying up, I'd be even happier...

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Chinatown

Somewhat hidden, but so worth taking the time to find is the Asian restaurant, Chinatown. The owner recently told us that he'll be closing his doors in January, so I decided it was high time to recommend going to this hot spot. Every time we've gone, I swear I'm going to try something new, but always end up ordering the "Peking Ente". You have to call a couple days ahead and pre-order this dish, but be prepared...it's addictive! There are four courses and the whole shabang costs about 13 Euro, drinks excluded. Most associate duck with fatty dishes full of calories, but this isn't the case at Chinatown. Traditionally prepared, the Peking Ente is a culinary dish from Beijing that has been filling the bellies of the Chinese since the imperial era. It takes about three hours to get through all the courses and is definitely a must-do in Würzburg, especially considering that Chinatown is closing in January!

I noticed that another blogger in Würzburg also raved about this feast in 2008, so I thought a little reminder wouldn't hurt. Treat yourself before the holidays; it's an expierence you won't forget all too soon. December 6th is just around the corner and maybe you still need a gift? Look no further! Just remember to call ahead and reserve your duck: Barbarastraße 45, 97074 Würzburg. 0931.86942.

Ente gut, alles gut!

There are things that happen when you live abroad; things that saunter so slowly into your everyday life that you never even know they're there until someone from your homecourt calls you on it. I remember one of the first times I wrote home, my sweet mother called me a week later, panicky and somewhat ill at ease. The minute I picked up the phone, she said, "I know now that you're gone, J. I know you're gone for good". Totally confused and still somewhat sleepy, I asked her what was going on, what had happened to make her so sure that I "was gone for good". She took a long, hard inhale and said, "You.spelled.garden.with.a."t"".

My spelling and grammar is slowly going to pot. I hate to admit it, but it's true and I have begun to understand it's inevitable. My folks were huge grammar and spelling fanatics; oddly enough, I loved it. I take care. I proof-read. I wished for dictionaries as a child. Just the other day, though, I commented on two blogs and misspelled the same word twice, two different ways. The first time I typed "h.u.n.g.e.r.y", looked at it, ignored my gut that something was wrong, and pressed enter to send the comment off. The second time I typed "h.u.n.g.a.r.y", looked at it, ignored my gut, clossed my eyes and again pressed enter. I wasn't concerned enough to google it. I mean, seriously, that's like the easiest word in the book! Obviously not so easy as I found out later that night. There I was reading my book and what word jumped out at me?? None other than h.u.n.g.r.y. It killed me. I fully surrendered at that moment, throwing hungary and its sidekick in the corner with garten, schoes, drink it out, ausfart, and I'll pick dich ab. These are the delightful casualities of living abroad; all you can do is look left, look right, and keep on keepin' on!

image courtesy of Virginia via  Mother Baby Earth

image courtesy of Camille via Mother Baby Earth

image courtesy of Apartment Therapy

image courtesy of Red Thread DIY

Tree branches. They gift a room with lightness, back-to-the roots simplicity, and endless possibility. The picture below has had me mezmerized for months and makes me happy every time I look at it. I keep turning it around in my head, loving the bright colors and floating branches.

image of Making Arrangements

Starting to dream of Christmas, of hot wine at the marketplace, of baking cookies with the boys, of decorating the apartment, and seeing bright, smiling eyes as the holidays take hold of the kid inside us.

For awhile now, I've been contemplating what to do with my boys' room and one thing I know for sure is that I'm gonna incorporate maps. There's something about having a country, an ocean, a city at the tips of your fingers and giving your daydreams places to go. Here are some great rooms I've seen lately that I thought I'd share with you on this sunny Sunday:

 bathroom shot taken @ Avoca in Dublin

image courtesy of Design Dazzle

image courtesy of Jackie Kersch via More Ways to Waste Time

image courtesy of Matters of Style

There's no map in this room, but the decor makes me feel like travels are ahead:

image courtesy of Home Base Design

Happy Sunday. Happy dreaming...

For years, I've been complaining about the weather in Germany. Sorry folks, but it's true. Don't get me wrong, I adore Germany and its four seasons, but the long winters with rain in the spring do occasionally force me to turn to alcohol come mid-March. Considering my aversion to rain and my respect of the cold winter ahead, I was a bit nervous about willingly packing up my things and heading to Ireland, smack-dab into five straight days of rain and drizzle. Yes, we checked the forecast ahead of time. I not only surprised myself by not being bothered by the weather (high fives for growing up and not caring), but I was pleasantly surprised by the Irish and their take on the rain and its relatives, wind, cold, drizzle, and mugginess. Their attitude was nothing less than "damnit if we're gonna let this cheeky 'ol rain get in our way of havin' fun and lookin' sassy". Their get-go attidude toward the cold, windy weather was delightful and it kept my spirits high. Check out these pics. Please notice our winter gear; it was darn cold, folks!

No rubber boots here! Stayin' sassy with Christian Louboutin's hot shoes!

I

loved

the umbrella-fashion! Talk about makin' lemonade...

Most pubs had their own "umbrellas" with gas heaters so their guests could sit outside year 'round!

In Galway, folks swam in the Atlantic as if it were a hot, sunny day. Respect!

See, they're doing laps. No screams, no rushing in and out, just peaceful exercise in freezing cold water.

The people swimming in the Atlantic really got us feeling a little, well actually a lot, whimpy. There we were in jackets, scarves, and hats freezing our tushes off, wishing we were brave enough to swim so we could get some of the soul-warming hot whiskey they were serving in the dressing room, and there the Galwayans were, swimming in bathing suits, doing laps, laughing as they leisurely walked into the frigid ocean water. Seriously, if I could give the Irish an big, fat award for making the most of the weather and livin' it up despite the rain, I would. But, in the end, I guess the big 'ol spirit in the sky already did:

 

 

The luck of the Irish and the gold at the end of the rainbow! They deserve it!!

In celebration of living like every day is summer and being reminded that life is what you make it out to be...

Central, Würzburg's newest arthouse theater, needs YOU!

My little "bitte" for this sunny Wednesday. There's a new arthouse movie theater in town and it goes by the name of Central. It's the only arthouse theater in Bavaria that is owned by a "Genossenschaft" or co-op and we've been patiently awaiting its opening in Würzburg since Corso Kino closed down last December. It is one of the three initatives nominated by Bayern2 for this year's "miteinander" award that recognizes volunteer group projects in Bavaria. This coming Friday the winner will be announced; although all three canidates for this prize will receive money, the 10,000 Euro that will be awarded to the first place winner would definitely give this newly-born cinema something to shout about. Please click on the link below and vote for this amazing initiative that Würzburg is so lucky to have. Your vote will get us one click further to solidifying Central's future in this great town.

Just go to this link. There you will see three pictures of the three different initiatives nominated for this award. Würzburg's Central Programmkino is in the middle. Click on the little circle next to the picture and viola!, we're one step further. Thanks for your help!!

In celebration of not being arthouse-cinemaless any longer...

I decided to take a break from the amazing fall weather we've been having here in Germany (call me crazy) and headed to Ireland for a couple days. I was a little scared because I usually chase the sun and don't run away from  it. But, alas none of the stuff that usually kills me on vacation -pretty constant rainy drizzle, forced umbrella-usage, heavy duty rain showers, madly windy hurricanes that come every thirty years, frizzy rain hair, veryvery little sun, and actually having to wear the warm clothes I packed- didn't bring me down at all. The five days were heavenly and Ireland was a hoot. Strangely enough, some of the things that set us off giggling the most were the signs or sayings on portable toilets, the backs of busses, on trash cans, and coffee cups. Here are a few of my favorites:

Interesting...a three-in-one port-a-potty. Efficiency at its best! Gotta love the drying room...

The port-a-potty gets a second pic, just so you don't think I'm pulling your leg.

Yet another good idea, but seriously, in a country that only has 1503 hours of sunlight per year?

So, the daily duties call. Hope all is well in your neck of the woods!

In celebration of good belly laughs...

Going to the movies in Germany. Sweet popcorn, not salty, is the rage over here. Ticket prices vary depending on where you sit in the theater. Usually a Langnesse ice-cream commercial is run before the film starts; way back when, less than a decade ago, the lights would be switched on after the commercial and someone would come in selling ice-cream. You can drink beer in the movie theater. When I first came to Germany, you could even smoke while watching the newest flick. If you are going to Cinemaxx with a friend and wanna go all out, ticket plus treats, it is surprisingly cheaper to buy the "Geschenke Box 2010". In the bigger movie theaters, there is usually salty and sweet popcorn, but at the smaller, privately-owned theaters, there's usually only sweet. Foreign films are more often than not dubbed over. If you wanna see a film in the original language, look for "OV" (original Version) in the program.

Happy Tuesday.