rosemary secco spritzer

Because it only makes sense to follow a paleo recipe with a cocktail recipe. Naturally.

Mr. Bama is out of town for a few weeks, so after a Sunday filled with rolling up my sleeves up and deep cleaning my kitchen (a monumental task. Grime. Hides. EVERYWHERE) I took the evening to sit back and just relax. I had a pretty stressful week at work, so I did something I never do: I made myself a cocktail. And a pretty darn fantastic one at that.  I'm normally a French 75 fan when I do make myself cocktail, but I decided to take advantage of the rosemary growing like crazy in my garden.  I adapted an old Real Simple recipe, originally formulated to serve 8. Since I was not having a party, nor am I capable of drinking 8 servings myself (no matter how hard I may try), I adjusted the recipe down to one. Voila, new snazzy cocktail! 

Rosemary Secco Spritzer

Ingredients:

• 3 tsp sugar
• 3 tsp water 
• 2-3 springs of rosemary
• Prosecco

Method:

1. Heat the water in the smallest sauce pan you have on high. Once boiling, stir in the sugar  and 1 sprig of the rosemary into the water until the sugar is completely dissolved.
2. Strain water/sugar mix into a collins or highball glass. 
3. Fill rest of glass with Prosecco.
4. Garnish with rosemary spring and enjoy!

I promise next post will be less food, and more some other random topic.  Til then, Prost!

stop & smell the roses

The flowers are blooming in full force around these parts of Germany.  It was a long, cold and grey winter (longest AND coldest since 1945 actually) and finally everything is in bloom. Case in point: my garden.  It was full of grey and brown dead "stuff" over the winter that it was hard not to be depressed when leaving the house very morning.  Finally, 2 weeks ago the sky perked up, the sun started to shine and everything just bloomed overnight. It's just proof that when life seems to be stressful, grey and depressing, beauty can be right around the corner.

bayreuth + a year

It's been a while since my last visit here, and while its been 10 months since my last post, honestly, not much has changed.  Lots of trips, a job (that keeps my crazy busy), some new opportunities and a a visit from a few friends is all that has changed.  I'm still in Germany, and we have about year left, so I've pledged to sit down and blog more so I don't forget anything.

For instance, we went to Bayreuth this weekend for my big 3-0 birthday.  It was a complete surprise, where I didn't know where we were going until we were about an hour into the drive there.  Do you have any idea how hard it is to pack without knowing where you're going?  It's impossible!

top: Trashy Diva, skirt: Trashy Diva, cardi: J.Crew Jackie Cardi (n/a, similar ), beer: Bayreuther Beirbrauerei

Top, cardi & skirt (see above), purse : Kate Spade Nicole Kent ( n/a, similar), sandals: Sseko

three

What a wonderful roller coaster it's been and a fantastic adventure.  It's all I thought it would be plus so much more.  You can relive the fun that was our wedding here and here

On an interesting note, remember how I wrote THIS disclaimer at end of last year's anniversary post?

"let's just hope next year we're in the same country!"

Well guess who had to go to France for business this week?  Yup!  But no biggie, we're waiting til he gets back (and the detox is over) to celebrate three years of wedded happiness!

(please don't) pour some sugar on me

Mr Bama and I have been MIA, but it's been because this month has been a little hectic. Adding to the craziness, we decided September would be "Sugar-Free September."  This means:

• no carbs
• no sugar-based anything
• no sweeteners (ie, honey, molasses, maple syrup, etc)
• no fruit (!)
• no starches
• no alcohol (unhappy face)
• lots of meat and happy, healthy fats
• I can still drink coffee!!

Thanks to the 21 Day Sugar Free Detox, via Balanced Bites my eyes have been opened to just how much sugar most Americans eat.  Even if you're like me, someone who doesn't drink soft drinks, really doesn't have a sweet tooth, and isn't a fan of baking, you eat amazing amounts of sugar in your bread, your fruits, and even in some of your veggies.

image via

I thought this would be a breeze, but boy was I wrong. I can't find a ton of the ingredients used for many of the 21- Day recipes either at our tiny commissary or on the German economy (apparently Germans don't like coconut flour?) so it's been particularly frustrating.  We've ordered coconut and almond flour from Amazon, but their estimated delivery times are in October, after the detox is over. And I really didn't think this through before dedicating September as THE month to do this.  Because our anniversary falls during the detox and I MAY have to break it to have the customary celebratory champagne.

image via

14 days in and here are my pros/cons list

Pros:

• I'm eating more veggies than I ever have before.  I actually like squash and avocados!
• Bacon is not your enemy, it's your friend
• coconut butter smells so much better than olive oil.
• most 21-day detox approved recipes are insanely simple, 5 ingredients MAYBE.  My kind of cooking.

Cons:

• no real weight loss, but no weight gain. 
• total lack of energy.  I have no desire to work out.  AT ALL. I'm exhausted, un-enthused and find that any energy I do I tend to think about my chocolate or popcorn cravings and how much i miss them.
• Going out with friends can be uber- frustrating, as in Germany most stuff is breaded and fried or potato-based.  When I ask for items without "brot" or "kartoffolen"I get the oddest looks.

Here's hoping that as I start my third and final week of the detox I get a little kick in energy and the benefits start to show up.  Otherwise I'm afraid that come day 21 I will just bury my head in a mound of croissants and never look back.

UPDATE (9/17):  So this weekend I went to Ramstein and bought the commissary out of their coconut and almonds flours just to tide us over until the Amazon orders arrived.  Then I go to the mail room this morning and what do I find?

Thats 5lbs of almond flour there baby, bringing truth to the saying of "it's either a feast or a famine."  That should make crust for oh, about 10 paleo pizzas.

house o' rama (pt 1)

In honor of our recent housewarming party I have decided to post some post-move picts.  I finally had everything hung, vacuumed, swept and straightened to a point where I was happy enough to take pictures.

So, here we go. Enter the foyer:

My poor vase didn't make it 24 hours in the foyer, as "husband who forgot there is now a table in the foyer" ran into it on his way up to bed last night, sending water, flowers and glass shards everywhere.  Oh well, it was pretty while it lasted.  

Take a left at the end of the foyer and you get to the hall:

To the left is a giant hall closet, the square on the wall is a laundry chute (!!).  

Go straight ahead and you get to the kitchen

 Didn't think I'd ever be able to match the size of the NOLA kitchen, but alas, I've been proven wrong.

do a 180 turn and then you're in the dining "room."

To the right of the dining room table is the bar.  I pretty much copied the design I had back at the old house (seen here) b/c it is so perfect for above the bar. 

Keep turn to the right and you are in the living "room."

This is probably the most incomplete area of the house, mainly b/c we NEED a 3-seater couch.  Right now we just have the love seat Mr. Bama bought before we were married (seen in the very foreground of the picture).  If we were in states we'd have this badboy sitting in our living room. However, I refuse to spend money that could go to the above couch in order to buy a cheap European sofa (they are SO uncomfortable!). So love seat and oddly unfinished living room it is for now.

Tomorrow: onto the upstairs.

The irony of the party was that none of it actually took part inside the house, hence it should have been properly called a yard-warming party by the sheer fact that so much time was spend in our yard. We're so lucky that we do have such a wonderful and large yard. And someone worked incredibly hard to make sure all of the libations and food was top notch!  Thanks Babe!

back from paradise

Exhausted and happy.  A full run down is to come, but here's my summery -

1. Corfu: total letdown
2. Santorini: a-freaking-mazing (minus the donkeys)
3. Mykonos: beaches from heaven
4. Izmir/Ephesus: a nice Turkish surprise
5. Venice: better the second time around, but still kind of overrated.

On a side note: we came home very, very early this morning to find a dead bird in our house (no I didn't get a picture, eww).  Figuring that all the windows were closed, who knows how this poor little fellow managed to get into the house.  Oh nature can be so weird.

on the agenda

So heres what we have for the month of July:

1. Host and throw BBQ for hub's company.  Yeah.
2. Move.  By ourselves.  I really hope this goes smoothly, b/c moving usually brings out "ugly, mean, irritated" Mrs. Bama.  Must remember to breathe, that I love our new house and my husband is here and can help. That is until one of us throws our backs out trying to haul the monstrosity that is our desk down three flights of stairs and up one.
3. Pack for our cruise while moving.  Yes, you heard that correctly.
4. Go on said cruise. Massive house move followed up by a Greek cruise.  This is either a GREAT idea or a terrible idea.  It could go either way.
5. Did I mention our new car that was paid for in April is being delivered while we're gone? They say anticipation is half the fun, but after Bruno's driver side window has broken for the second time in 6 months (at $500 a pop to fix) and we're borrowing a VERY generous friend's car so Mr. Bama can drive, that anticipation has definitely lost its luster.  Three months from placing your downpayment to actually obtaining the car is slightly irritating, but c'est la vie.

In 10 days I'll be sitting on a boat drinking some kind of alcoholic drink.  My only job til then: remaining sane and remembering that if all else fails, this is why God invented wine.

happy early birthday to me

Look who is home...

I Love

absolutely everything on this tumblr.

(source)

Props to these ladies for trying to bring back an age of beauty, etiquette and everything elegant.

Back from the Dead

I've got a lot of  'splaining to do.  It's been a busy few months - getting back to Germany from the states, running around Bavaria with Misa (and her hubs) from Park & Belmont, and then playing webmaster filling in for a friend at her job while she vacationed.

Oh, and did I mention we're moving again?

The 40 minute drive is killing our budget and I can only imagine the damage it will do once Mr. Bama gets back (which will happen in a matter of weeks!!!).  That being the case, I sucked it up and started looking for a new home to move to that was less than 20 mins from his work.  After the terrible time we had trying to find a house this time last year, I was just dreading the whole process.  Every house I found either was against having pets, housing Americans or was already rented out. It seemed like it was to be a repeat from last year.

And then by total divine intervention, we stumbled upon this beauty:

This house doesn't look like much, but trust me, it's wonderful.  A bit smaller than where we're living now, but it has two huge things:

number one:

A HUGE yard.  The building on a left is the outdoor kitchen for
  outdoor entertaining.  Yup we have 2 kitchens

number two:

this kitchen is amazing and has everything.

Also not shown in the pictures: the laundry chute and the CENTRAL vacuum.  What WHAT!?  Yup you heard it right. We do NOT deserve this house, but it actually found us (a friend of a friend needed someone to rent it...) The style of the house is a little too "Italianate" for me, as I like things a bit more simple and streamlined, but beggars cannot be choosers in the German real estate game.  I feel like my life has been a bit Househunters International of late, but at least I can look forward to moving into this place come July.

Oh July, how crazy and insane of a month you will be.  Since we've already been moved by Mr. Bama's "company"once, we'll have to do the move ourselves.  Did I also mention how much I HATE moving? I may have mentioned it here and here. So not only will I be planning the company-wide Barbecue come the last weekend of June, but we'll also be doing a self-move that the first weekend of July, mere weeks after Mr. Bama is back from being away for a year.  Then a week or so later, we're packing up and going on a Eastern Mediterranean cruise, for relaxation.  We will most definitely need the relaxation by this point. Phew - I'm exhausted after just typing all of that! There's actually much more I haven't even touched on coming down the pipe, so stay tuned for one heck of a ride...

I'm back, but that's not the point of this post.

This is:

(photo court of agrarian by Williams-Sonoma, found here)

Williams-Sonoma recently launched their new DIY home horticulturist and farmer line.  It's official, getting your hands dirty and growing your own stuff is now chic. This agrarian line allows you to order a mushroom growing kit,  purchase canning supplies, even buy yourself a W-S approved chicken coop for your back yard (that is, unless you live in Virginia Beach, VA).  My mom's reply when she saw this in the most recent W-S catalogue was "What?  This is like depression-era tech"  No mom, it's recession-era tech, and it's very "in" right now.

Anyways,  the thing that really gets me excited about this new line are three words: DIY Kombucha Kit.

While in the states (more on that later) I drank a whole bottle of kombucha almost every day I was home.  I knew my precious time w/ my favorite fermented drink was numbered, so I made sure not one bottle went to waste.  I even emailed GT Dave's to inquire about overseas sales (No dice.)  I began to accept that the rest of my stay in germany would be yummy and healthy Kombucha free.

Now, this changes everything.

GOODNESS I hope they ship here...

NOLA on my mind

On Wednesday I returned from a week long "vacation for my soul" in NOLA -  intentionally missing the crowds of Mardi Gras, while still getting the happy-go-lucky vibe of the Carnivale season.  Rather than write a long summery, I figured I'd just let my instagram photos sum up the week.

the skyline so bright

I adore everything in this hotel

my fave: a French 75 in the Sazerac Bar

newly renovated Carousel Bar in the Hotel Monteleone

best roast beef po-boys in NOLA, hands down

baby's got a new pair of pink shoes.

Valentine's Day at the Saturn Bar in the Bywater

I miss this everyday Uptown street vista

a list of things

image via  

Bear and I are heading back to the States for a few months this weekend - after some recent events, I realized how much we needed to be back there to be with family and give my soul a much needed rest.  While driving to meet some friends the other day, I got really excited about some things that I had missed from home in the almost 9 months since moving to Germany. Namely:

• Kombucha
• stores open on Sunday
• a yard for Bear
• Television + movies in English
• being able to watch YouTube (darn you GEMA)
• lack of a 19% VAT tax
• not having to drive 40 mins to see friends
• going shopping 
• T.J.Maxx & Target
• free Wi-Fi!
• having a reliable car
• family
• being able to read labels in stores
• not having to check conversion rates (instantly followed by a feeling of depression)

But then I realized there's a lot I'm also going to miss

• not having to worry if your food has GMOs in it
• not having to worry if your meat has growth hormones and antibiotics in it
• alcohol not having a negative connotation 
• the autobahn and lack of a speed limit (my lead foot will miss this the most)
• the ice cream, coffee and baked goods
• taking Bear into restaurants / clothing stores / etc. and no one being afraid of him
• feeling enjoyment in the smallest things: i.e.: while I may not being able to read labels in stores, I am sure as heck able to sing along with Justin Timberlake or Lady Gaga playing on the speakers in perfect English.  Small victories.

I've been frustrated a lot with our situation of late, mainly because the distance (from friends here, from family in the states and from my husband 3,00 miles the other direction) has made life pretty boring.  We're ready to go home, and I can't wait. 

remember when...

I went on vacation?  I mentioned a little something about it here.  Well, here's a little recap over at the Trashy Diva blog.  Enjoy!

yup, the vacation indeed involves a camel

what a vacation sounds like

While watching Portlandia for the first time this weekend (and drinking hot toddies, all in the name of cold care) I couldn't help but wonder who is behind the awesomely awesome song for the opening credits. Well I did a little research and I came up with Ernest Greene

image via thesoundmedium

He's more than a guy who looks like a frat boy from an SEC school.  He's the mastermind behind Washed Out, a chill wave project that's been featured in Adult Swim, and of course, Portlandia.  Interestingly enough, he's kind of a success story for the recent economic situation - He's my age and when he found himself with a college degree, unemployed and living at home with his parents, he decided to pursue his true passion for music.  He set up a studio in his bedroom and posted his recordings on his Myspace page (didn't think anyone still had one of those...).  Fast forward to 2012, when he's signed to a record label and released an album this past July.  And I thank you, Wikipedia, for all of that information.

Listen to the full version of the Portlandia opening theme ("Feel It All Around") here 

To listen to more of Washed Out's music, go here

In my opinion, if Washed Out's music were an image, this would be it:

view of Maspalomas from our Balinese sunbed in the Canary Islands.  Bliss

Could be why his stuff has been on a constant loop round this house as of late... it's grey and cold out and his music makes me think of blue skies, a warm breeze, sand, sun and my hubs not being 3,000 miles away.