Make 52: Week 6

Every Sunday, for 52 weeks, I will share what I have made that week.

6. A.  A little reminder...
Not that I drink coffee at night, but I am really trying to curb my sugar intake. I was inspired by this song by The Guess Who. It was stuck in my head.

6. B. A pear.
This is the first pattern that I've made up. I love how it turned out.

6 . C.  I made a vegan dinner!
This delicious cauliflower and dal recipe came from Food 52. A squeezed lime really heightened the flavor. It was nice to make something different from the veggie bag this week. 

6. D. And finally, a new calendar for March.

Wow! Time really flies when you are having fun. 

Today's Stella Artois Tour

The Stella brewery on the edge of town, this photo is from 2010. 

When we lived here in 2009-2010 we always meant to visit the Stella Artois brewery, but it didn't happen. Today we finally got our wish. 

Read more after the jump...

Il Papiro

I'd like to share something special Jon did for me while we were in Florence, and it's fitting that I tell you today because today is the day before our the one year anniversary of our legal marriage ceremony. And, if I told you the story tomorrow, it would be too late because tomorrow is the day after our one year anniversary of our legal marriage ceremony. Do you follow?

It's me - the bride!

We got married legally one year ago on February 29, 2012, but we had our ceremony later that year in June. I am a lucky girl who gets TWO wedding anniversaries. Well, technically I get two anniversaries once every 4 years. Anyway, the traditional gift for the one year anniversary is paper, and that is exactly what Jon got for me in Florence - a tour and workshop at offices of Il Papiro in Florence.

This is the original preserved façade of the first Il Papiro.

New Routine = New Projects

Hallo allemaal!

This week I made a decision: I stopped taking Dutch. I guess you could say that I quit, but I don't see it that way at all. I made room for some bigger things in my life, and also some sleep. I am happy with the Dutch fundamentals that I've learned and use them everyday. But, I just don't have the time to devote to my classes AND be successful. I don't want the extra stress in my life right now. We've only got about six more months left in Belgium, and I really want to enjoy my time here while I can. I'm still keeping up with my French course, and learning Dutch through reading beautiful books and magazines. However, now I can make dinner, use up my yarn stash, write in my journal, read books, get some exercise, eat more waffles and friets, learn French without my Dutch words getting in the way, and learn Dutch through my beautiful books and magazines. And, I'm ok with that.

Alle is goed met mij. 

365 Photos: Day 49 - 55

Every Monday I will post 7 photos for my 365 Photos project. All of my photos are taken with my iPhone, until I can save some money for a nice "real" camera. Let's see what this iPhone can do...

Day 49: Feb 18

Monday morning walk/ride to school along the Muntstraat.

Day 50: Feb 19
Coffee break during my Dutch class. For  0.70 it isn't half-bad.

Day 51: Feb 20
I stopped by a mini-mart on my way to class and found a few bottles of Dr. Pepper at the bottom of the fridge.
I was excited to taste my old favorite, but it wasn't the same.
Gross! I will not be doing that again.

Day 52: Feb 21
I am a ball-knitting-machine!

Day 53: Feb 22
I took myself on a date to see Les Misérables. I'm glad I saw it, but also glad I spared my loved ones. 

Day 54: Feb 23
Rondou, the best butcher in town. A visit here means the best quality meat, but a long line is guaranteed.

Day 55: Feb 24
I woke up craving pancakes. Then later at my friend Kaat's house, I ate them!

Pisa and Lucca

It still looks like it's leaning, even from this angle. 

Pisa is about an hour and a half west of Florence. And after taking the bus to Siena, we thought it best to travel by train. It was fast and inexpensive. We had heard that there wasn't much to do and see in Pisa except for the Leaning Tower, so we planned to see Lucca, another Tuscan town about 30 minutes north of Pisa.

We thought this warning sign was so funny! 

This is another long post about our trip to Italy earlier this month. Most of the bold text links to wikipedia in case you're interested in learning more about the sights and history of Pisa and Lucca.

More after the jump...

Make 52: Week 5

Every Sunday, for 52 weeks, I will share what I have made that week.

5. A. I made a 22.5/40 on my test. More than 50%. Believe it or not, this pleases me, but I know...

Ik moet studeren.

5. B. I made beet soup with pretty much all of the veggies in the groentetas this week.

I used this recipe, and it was pretty good! We blended the leftovers to try something different, and I prefer the blended version of the soup.

5.C. I made a ball.

It's been a while since I've made one, but I've still got it! I made it in less than three hours which made my shoulders hurt a bit the next day. Because I knit it so fast, the loop at the top came off. I am told that the baby loves to play with it and prefers it as a ball, and not an ornament. Yay!

5. D. Chocolate mousse with whipped cream.

From scratch!

5. E. Flemish sausage with red cabbage.

I didn't make the sausage, but I made the everything else.

Outtakes from Italy

Mouth of Truth...

 It's early Saturday morning: 1:11

I've had a busy couple of days... I went to school (French and Dutch), experienced some art in the city, made some stuff (which I will write about on Sunday), and I watched some great films: Les Miserables and The Intouchables. That makes three this week, which is three times more than I watch in a normal week.

Am I boring you?

I had wanted to write about Pisa and Lucca, and I will... just not tonight and maybe not this weekend.

Here's some pretty fruit. Just because. 

Ciao!

Starting with Siena*

We took several day trips from Florence.

San Giovanni Battista or dell'Autostrada del Sole [Church of the Highway], just outside of Florence.1961.
We made a special trip to this church because of the unique organic design of the architecture. Of course.
*I actually start this post with a church that is not in Siena, nor in a town per se.
It is actually a church built for travelers of highway A11, which goes no where near Siena. Oh well.

Half of our trips were by train, and half were by bus.

I get so nauseous on bus trips. It started when I lived in Mexico and has since stayed with me. Short trips are fine, but longer ones make it hard for me to hold my lunch, or breakfast in most cases. We took the bus to Siena because it was shorter and less expensive - but I'm not sure it was worth it. At one point I didn't want Jon to talk to me, or touch me. It was that bad.

But I made it! This is another long post and most of the bold text links to wikipedia in case you're interested in learning more about the sights and history of Siena.

More after the jump...

Photos of Firenze [Florence]

The duomo peeks above buildings in Florence.

After spending a short time in Milano we took Trenitalia south to Florence. It's about a two and a half hour train ride with one stop in Bologna. For the rest of our trip we had a home base in Florence and took day trips to Siena, Pisa, and Lucca. We had exactly one week in Florence/Tuscany - which was a nice amount of time, but we still have lots to do when we go back again. (I can hope, right?)

I LOVE Italy! and this trip was MAGIC! Three years ago, we went to Rome and Orvieto. After studying about the Renaissance and art history in college, I HAD to go to Florence. I was really disappointed that we didn't make it to Florence that trip, but Jon promised we would go some day. And he made good on his promise and Florence did not disappoint. I was so impressed with the city - the size, the architecture, the history, the food and the art was just so... wow... MAGIC. 

This post is only about Florence, and is quite long. I've added a jump to save blog space. Also, the bold words mostly lead to wikipedia, in case you're interested in learning more about the sights and history of Florence.