Sunday, December 28, 2014

Christmas plunder

Every year around Christmastime I get completely spoiled by family and friends, and I thought I'd share a few of my favorite goodies that I received this year.
 Anyone that knows me knows that coffee mugs are a sure fire way to give me a gift that I'll get good use out of. This year, I got spoiled by these two: firstly, this monogrammed "A" mug from Target from my mom and secondly, this amazing handmade Tina mug from my sister. This is probably my favorite present that I've EVER GOTTEN EVER. I don't even have the words to explain how excited I am about this, but I can say that my life will be infinitely better now that I can have Tina Belcher by my side everyday. It's actually not quite done, my sister still plans to add a speech bubble that spans across the rest of the mug that says "Ughhhhhhhhhhhhhhh."
 A beautiful pair of handmade earrings that my mom got for me from the Minnetonka Art Center, as well as a few gift cards from different family members that I'll be sure to use before heading back to Germany.
 Defiitely another favorite this year--a Portlandia cookbook. 50% delectable looking recipes and 50% complete Portlandia nonsense, I can't wait to dig into this --my current cooking skills seriously leave something to be desired, but I'm convinced I'll get there at some point.

I hope you all had a lovely holiday weekend filled with quality time with friends and family and way too much food!
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Tuesday, December 23, 2014

Gingerbread

My first full day home consisted mostly of something I specifically requested to do with the family once I was home: decorate a gingerbread house, because yes--I am still 5 years old. My mom was thrilled to hear this and wholeheartedly agreed, so we spent our Sunday evening pouring our soul into this little house. And I've gotta say, we're pretty proud of the result.

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No Place Like Home for the Holidays

There's really nothing like coming home for the holidays after being away at school or, say, in a foreign country for a few months. I absolutely love my home, every nook and cranny just feels so warm and inviting. Our house during the Christmas season is especially warm with the Christmas tree (complete with presents from Santa), a huge fireplace and other decorative goodies.
We also like keep pictures around of ourselves as kids sitting on Santa's lap, so that we can always be reminded of how adorable we are.
Lacy missed me. She didn't necessarily say it in so many words, but this look on her face says it all.
REAL FOOD!! Fish and greens!! Sorry Deutschland, but your food just can't charm me the way my parents' food can. My dad makes the best salmon, with a honey glaze...mmmm.
(photo props to my dad for this "artsy shot").
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Monday, December 8, 2014

More Christkindlmärkte! (Friday night adventures)

This weekend we spent our Friday night meandering around several Christkindmarkts with some of our students and mentors. We started at the the Mitttlealter market, then moseyed on over to the one in der Rezidenz, next to the one at Rindermarkt (my personal favorite), and finally to the big kahuna at Tollwood. Several cups of Glühwein and Feuerzangenbowle were consumed, many laughs were had, and many shivers (and general laziness) unfortunately kept me from documenting a good part of this evening. But here are a few good shots I got throughout the night!The Rindermarkt Christkindlmarkt definitely had the most stunning decorations--if only we had a little snow too!
How visually appealing is that display of ornaments? And this soap? I mostly just wanted to stare at it, but I took a sniff of the lavender scent and I have to say, the smelled as good as they looked. These are just a few of the many wares at the Mittelalter, Renaissance-style Christkindlmarkt.

I'm starting to get extremely excited about Christmas, and especially coming home and seeing my family. 12 more days! Sending good Christmas/Holiday vibes to you all!

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Saturday, December 6, 2014

Nam Nam Thai Food


This Friday afternoon called for some Thai food before our Kunstgeschichte class at the Neue Pinakothek museum, and we settled on the Nam Nam Thai restaurant just a block or two away to get some tasty nom-noms and study a little bit for our upcoming quiz on Baroque and Rococo paintings in the 17th and 18th century--(do I sound like I know something about art? Don't be fooled, I really don't.) I forgot to document our Thai Coffees at the end of the meal, but trust me: they were delicious.
Showing off our Kunstgeschichte notes and our sad attempts at studying.
Good food, good drinks and good company makes for a good Friday.
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Tuesday, December 2, 2014

Christkindlmarkt at Marienplatz

The first weekend after Thanksgiving means the Christmas markets are finally open! My friend Elizabeth and I headed to Marienplatz on Saturday for the afternoon to explore a little and buy some classic winter treats.


Glühwein (or mulled wine), is a traditional German Christmastime drink and shows up everywhere around this time of year. I tried my first sip the other night, so I decided I should give a full cup a try. I got the Rotwein and Elizabeth got the Weißwein--it's not something I would necessarily be dying to get again, but my taste buds did start to get used to it a little bit more as I got closer to the bottom of the cup (that could also have just been the alcohol taking effect).

Surprise, surprise, we saw a crepe stand that we just couldn't resist. And HOLY HOLY, they were soo tasty. I got Eggnog and Nutella and Elizabeth got Baileys, Banana and Nutella. 'Nuff said.
 
We have plans to go explore some more Christkindlmarkets on Friday with our mentors in the program as well as take a Christkindl-themed tram tour around the city on Saturday! It's just the most wonderful time of the year, isn't it?

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Saturday, November 29, 2014

My Indigo: My savior amidst the rest of German food


There have been many parts of moving to Germany that have required some getting used to, but I have to say, German food and I really don't seem to get along too well. Lots of bread, cheese, sausage, and other things that don't always make my stomach super happy. But some of my friends and I happened upon this place, My Indigo, within the first week or so of being here, and it quickly became our go-to option for eating out. It's healthy and filling comfort-food, and the student discount (no matter how small) doesn't hurt either!

(Also, shoutout to my friends Devon and Elizabeth for their guest appearance.)
Rice bowl with "red thai chicken", avocado, and a little bit of spice.





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Friday, October 3, 2014

Berlin

After the end of our Vorsemester, we took a little a 5 day trip to Berlin. I absolutely loved the city; you can just feel the history and creativity around you. It definitely had a very different vibe than Munich, much more citified and a little more abrasive. But one of my favorite parts was definitely the amazing graffiti; it was really just mesmerizing to look at. I experienced one of the best chai tea lattes I've ever had; it was much more sweet than a true chai tea latte, but mmm it was so good, especially paired with those blueberry vanilla crepes. We also happened upon a nice little Irish Pub near our hostel where we met THE CUTEST little puppy; I wanted to take her home with me. Now it's back to Munich, where I'm just going to chill and regroup before classes start on Monday.

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