Februarys musings

Perfumes i enjoyed were Halston EDT, Scherrer plus some of my old favorites like L´Air de Rien and Roma.

Music: I forgot to mention the last month that i went to the Opera the first time since Covid. The Stuttgart Opera was doing John Adams „Nixon in China“, which is a rarely played opera and mostly known to lovers of Minimal music (Phil Glass etc). I really loved the costumes and the inscenation and also the music was very good. I think i should go there more often. I had a seat in the third rang, but a very good view for a whopping 9Euros, this is crazy cheap, much cheaper than a visit to the cinema

Cinema:

We went to see „Perfect Days“ by Wim Wender. The main character was soo lovely and it was a great acting performance, even if there was not much spoken in the film, but his face expressed Everything!

Knitting:

I finally finished the „A good cigar“ cardigan designed by Hyggestrick. It was nearly finished last year but i procrastinated for a year to finish the i-cord binding. I like the cardigan a lot, its classic, very lightweight and not too warm. And although there is a strand of alpaca in it, it is almost not itchy. Yarn is by Holst, a mix of one strand Supersoft and Ticicaca Alpaca.

Now i started a new cardigan for the boyfriend, the saddle shoulder attempt did not work out, so i am now knitting the „Don‘ t ask“ cardigan by Isabell Krämer.

Cooking: I still cook mostly all our meals. Interesting recipes this month were a Udon Stir-fry, filled pumpkin, chinese chicken and chestnut pot plus an asian inspired frittata.

Reading:

I read the whole Trudi Canavan- Guild of the black magicians. The Winsor Knot as a bit of light reading (The queen as a detective, this was a fun idea). A bit strange and disturbing was Han Kang- The Vegetarian, some scenes still pop up in my mind.

Crying in H-Mart was not a chick-lit as i thought i would be, but a well-written story of a mother-daughter relationship and loss. Plus it made me crave Korean food….

Audio:

I listened to the whole Monster 1983-series by Ivar Leon Menger, a bit generic and lots of reverences to Stephen King, but well made. I always enjoy some horror stories….

Other:

Biking season has started again, as it is a really warm spring outside. Sadly i have to rest for 2 weeks now, because i had a small surgery and am not allowed to work out.

Is January nearly over?

Just a quick recap of my most worn perfumes of last year…. I am still a chypre fan, which is reflected in my choices. I wore Scherrer EDT, Roma, Givenchy III, Aromatics Elixir and Fidji the most of all scents.

This week it was L Air de Rien, Perles de Lalique, Agent Provocateur, Lovely Sheer and Paradoxe. I tested Tiziana Terenzis Dionisio, but this would have been a scrubber, if it had been scrubbable. This scent did not want to leave me! I had high hopes of a nice musky vanilla note, but it was a super-woody oudy mess with a bit of vanilla on my skin. And i am not a lover of wood. I guess it will go to another home soon.

I got my knitting mojo back and finally finished the boyfriends cardigan, that i knit during the summer holidays. The pattern is the „Mille for men“ and the wool is some swedish superwash that i bought for cheap on the net. The boyfriend was grumbling, because he had to sew on the buttons himself.

I have now started another cardigan for him, a topdown saddleshoulder construction, that i am designing myself. Hopefully the swatch didnt lie and my numbers are right. This will be the first time doing a topdown set-in sleeve, wish me luck.

I am doing a book challenge for myself this year, hoping to finish at least 40 books (audiobooks included). I dragged myself along to finish Gideon the Ninth, which was described as lesbian necromants in space in a castle, but did not enjoy it. The world-building was not explained early enough and left me guessing too much, and there was too much fighting and gore for my taste. I also disliked the end after slugging along for at least 50pages of the final battle and will certainly not read the next part.

But i am listening to Stephen Kings 11/22/63 in the german version. The story is a great time-travel theme, and there are often references to his other works, especially IT, which is another one of his books i really like. Even people who dont love the horror genre could enjoy this, and the description of the late 50s and early 60s is very good and makes me a bit nostalgic, although i was only a baby in 63…

My kitchen mojo is not what it used to be, but i made a big pot of borscht yesterday and oven baked vegetables with gorgonzola.

Maybe i will switch to a monthly format for the next time and do something extra if the need arises. The weekly format is stressing me out too much at the moment.

After long silence- a quick recap

We went to Narbonne again for the holidays and spent three weeks there relaxing, biking, cooking and going for walks. As always it was much too short and we were sad to return home…

Then my mother finally decided to move into assisted living, so we had to spend some time sorting things out, deciding what to take or leave. Thankfully the house is our own, so we can leave the remaining things there for now and can decide later what to do with them….

The first part of the move was in the biggest snowfall Munich has seen for the last 10years, we had to shovel for nearly two hours to make a parking space for the moving van. This was my car after the snowfall….

The second part of the move was two weeks later, we moved my mom and her essential things into the tiny apartment in the North of Munich. It was heartbreaking to see her leave her house she lived in for the last 40years. She did not even turn back, just got into the car and stared ahead. Thankfully it was a sunny day without snow and she has a nice view.

The next weeks will be also stressful with christmas ahead and all, so i apologize in advance for the blogging hiatus that will surely happen the next weeks. I hope to get back to it next year….

But i still enjoy my perfumes and wear them daily. I even discovered a small independent perfumer in Narbonne, France and bought a travel spray of a scent called Sixties, a pepper/plum/labdanum and incense concoction, that is really good in the cold weather.

Weekly musings

Perfumes this week were What I did on my Holidays, Mitsouko, perfect for grey drizzly weather. I like the EDT much better than the EDP. Dryad for another rainy day, then Joy EDT, Lady Rose Lion. Saturday was cold and drizzly again, so Chypre Mousse was a perfect fit. Sunday was Fidji, as i dreamt of nicer weather again, in reality it was 15C outside and pouring rain!

On my plate i had a big buffet on monday at work, that i brought for the collegues (Focaccia, lentil salad, sausage salad, bavarian cheese, tuna cream and a bit of mascarpone cream), a poutine a la mexique at our local festival, pasta and zucchini, more zucchini. Saturday was salmon with sweet potato puree and tomato salad and sunday i made soba noodles with dipping sauce and porc loin

I biked to work only one time, but hit the gym twice. Sunday i spent sewing the bikini top, i wanted to make some weeks ago plus another biking longsleeve top, which is now nearly finished. I also cut new biking leggings, which i hope to finish this week. I finally ordered some bike pads too, so i can make my own padded bikewear, because i hate wearing underwear, padded undershorts and leggings together, which means three layers of elastic around the waist…

Weekly musings – 60th birthday

Perfums i wore were Cabotine, Mitsouko EDT, Scherrer EDT, Aromatics Elixir, LADDM, Eau de Lancaster and Dryad.

a great wine, my new Miss Piggy birthday girl outfit and decorations plus a buffet at work

On my plate – mostly tomatoes and sandwiches, but the BF made stuffed zucchini and a nice baked fish on sunday. Friday i was treated to a big buffet at work with salads, bread, and even homemade mochi filled with anko

I turned 60 last friday, but as we are living 4hours drive away from friends and relatives there was no party, just a quiet evening for two with an excellent wine from South Africa. But my coworkers surprised me with the fun present of a Miss Piggy wig (because i often say – Moi?) and arranged a lunch buffet with homemade foods. One of my coworkers came in with a lady holding a feather duster, wearing a red bow around her waist. This was my present…. her cleaning lady, that would do a day of cleaning in my apartment!!!

Weekly musings

I lost my blogging mojo the last weeks, but there i am. So my perfumes of last week were What I Did On My Holidays, Memoire d une Odeur, Fidji, Tea Rose, Eau de Rochas and Batucada.

We had a week off, but did not cook very much, just some pasta and even a takeaway Doner kebab, but finally our first tomatoes had ripened, so a big tomato salad was our first meal we made with them.

We visited my boyfriends father, because he had his 88th birthday in july, but there was nothing to do there besides sitting around, eating a bit and talk a bit. We spent some time and money at IKEAs and finally found a small butchers block for the kitchen, perfect for a small nook. I did some sewing and finally made a new Gilbert blouse and new bike shorts in a quite 80s like colour combo, but i will be SEEN, whilst riding my bike! We also went to the Cindy Sherman exhibition in Stuttgart, that was a really good one, although i hoped so see some earlier works of her too. The boyfriend was not so enthusiastic, no wonder, a lot of her works were artistic fashion photographies, which did not interest him as much…

Weekly musings

This weeks perfumes were First EDT, Eau de Lancaster, Eau de Rochas, Camelia Chinois (the bottles has some drops left, but nearly empty, but i will not buy this again), Coriandre/Tea Rose, Memoire d´une Odeur and Roma

last weeks bike tour impressions and a new skirt

I lived mostly of leftover frozen meals and sandwiches during the week, because i was really tired. Saturday i managed to make greek Gemista and red cabbage slaw, sunday was green been salad, fake tuna salad (chickpeas and algae) plus gnocchi and zucchini (from our alottment garden).

I was so tired on saturday, that i lay down twice over the day to rest, which was quite unusual for me. Thankfully i felt rested on sunday, so i tackled the cleaning of the flat and also managed to sew a new skirt. It is the Designerstitch Paige skirt, a nice A-line with big set in pockets at the front. I used a dark denim, so this will certainly get lots of wear, because everyone needs a denim skirt!

The Paige skirt is a really wellmade pattern, the pockets are a real eyecatcher and practical too. The instructions were really good, so i had no difficulties at all making it. I also made a wearable toile in a white linen-cotton mix to wear at work. Maybe i will even make a third one in corduroy for winter wear. I really like making my staple wardrobe items in some different fabrics

a bit crinkled, but the pocket detail is great!

Last week we did a nice bike tour along the Glems river to Besigheim. Along the river there are lots of active and inactive mills to see. Mostly the bike lane goes along the riverside, so there was a bit of shade and beautiful views. When we got hungry we discovered an opened „Besenwirtschaft“, which is a sort of pop-up farmers restaurant. They are allowed to open only a few weeks a year and mostly serve their homegrown specialties. We had a big portion of potato salad with pork and potatoes with herbed quark. Plus some icecream at our destination in Besigheim.

Weekly musings

Perfumes i wore were Roma (i nearly thunked the small bottle, ordered another!), Givenchy III, Odeur 53, Chanel No19, Beachy, lots of Arden Green Tea and went scentless on sunday

We had dinner in Turckheim with tripes in a riesling sauce and veal kidney with mustard, tarte flambe in Eguisheim. Back at home there were bellpeppers with chorizo and tomatoes, korean inspired pig belly, saturday we went out and ate a big Wiener Schnitzel in the summer heat and sunday we had a tortilla. espagnola with green bean salad and homemade focaccia with asparagus.

I sewed the Peppermint pocket skirt, but did not like it much on myself, it looks better on other people who are slimmer at the waist than. i am. I also tried a new skirt pattern and think i have produced at least a wearable muslin. Otherwise i spent some time playing on my phone, relaxing and watching Big Skies on Disney.

Weekly musings

Perfumes i wore were Eau de Lancaster, Meet Me On The Corner, Tea Rose, Batucada, Fiore dell´Onda, Scherrer, What I did on my holidays and Aromatics Elixir

We did not too much cooking that week, but had a salad with smoked trout, a vietnamese rice noodle salat with veggie mince and sunday i made a huge pot of persian beef stew with rhubarb and saffron (Khoresht-e-rivas). I had many leftovers to freeze for lunch at work, so that is always a plus.

I did 120km bike commuting this week plus two times to the gym, so i am really proud of myself. I also finally sewed a cardigan in frenchy terry fabric, that was on my list for more than two years. Its the Harper Cardigan from Sinclair pattern, a free pattern too, so that is a plus. And it fits really nice. A great item to trow over, when it gets a bit chilly. I think i will make another in a plain color to combine with my other clothes. And i played some minigolf with a friend, great fun, but the course was terrible to play…

Sincla

Weekly musings

Perfumes this week were Scherrer, Givenchy. III, Aromatics Elixir followed by Chypre Siam, Fiji, topped up with Cabotine, Coriandre plus Tea Rose and Batucada for a sunny sunday

bavarian breakfeast for lunch, asparagus and Kratzete for dinner

On my plate i had greek gemista, risotto with broad beans, green beans with tomato and bratwurst, Hunanese pork belly, a bavarian breakfast with weisswurst, sweet mustard, brezeln and weissbier and asparagus for dinner.

I did lots of biking this week, thrice to work plus two times to the gym for lifting (sadly i am a bit unfit, but i hope i will improve). I got some time knitting on my Hør No15 teeshirt, but the fine wool takes time knitting. Sunday i cut out a new dress in a nice navy. and white viskose fabric, hope to get it finished on monday.

Weekly musings in Vienna

Perfumes this week were mostly decants and testers because of travel. Mandarine Basilic ( did not like it), 5th Avenue NYC, Rose Flash, Lovely Sheer and Orangers en Fleurs. When i came home i wore Meet me on the Corner, later Silances and Cabotine for sunday

Secession building, Yoshitomo Nara and Klimt plus Dobostorte

I went out eating ecery day in Vienna, so i ate a Donburi at Doburi restaurant, a big pizza napoletana, Hunan pork belly and later a but sushi for dinner. Just sandwiches for my two days of traveling, pasta and tomato sauce, asparagus salat with trout and tirtilla and later soy sauce chicken on sunday

Tube entrance, the famous Frankfurt kitchen, pork belly and artwork

I visited the Klimt exhibition at the Belvedere, which was really good. So much great art to see and also the picture frames were exquisite! I went to the Albertina Modern. They showed Yoshitomo Nara, an unknown artist to me, but i really liked his works a lot. My last day at Vienna i visited the Naschmarkt in pouring rain and cold, so mot much fun. Later i went to the Museum for Angewandte Kunst. They exhibited the famous Frankfurter Küche, which was the first modern kitchen, designed in the late 20s and built nearly 10000 times for workers quarters in Frankfurt city.

Went back to germany on thursday with a stopover in munich to visit my mother and drive her at an assisted living facility, that she wanted was maybe interested in. Every few weeks she changes her mind about what she wants, can’t decide, this is really stressful….

I was glad to get home late on friday, spent my saturday cleaning and sunday to work out and do some knitting. Do you have elderly parents that cant get around on their own but refuse to get help??? What did you do?

Weekly musings

perfumes this week were Azurée, Womanity, Dryad ( perfekt for a coolish spring), Sens & Bois, Chanel No19, Memoir Woman and a Elisabeth Ardens 5th Avenue from a small tester.

vienna impressions, Prater, Schnitzel, Hundertwasser house, vintage body scale

On my plate i mostly had frozen leftovers, but also smothered fennel with fried salsicchia, wine and appetizers from the opening evening at the congress. As i am in Vienna i also ate a big Wiener Schnitzel with potato salad and sunday evening i went to a traditional Gasthaus and had a huge plate of Schweinsbraten ( roast porc) with a dumpling and sauerkraut. And a beer of course!

Sadly i overate a bit and woke up at night with heart palpitations and fast pulse. this happens sometimes to me, but it took over an hour to get better, before i could try sleeping again. So i am feeling a bit meh this morning and had to skip the first lectures. Hopefully they will be online later.

I found a nice AirBnB near Prater with an operatic singer, she is really a lovely person, and it feels a bit Bohème in her flat. Also her dresses are a bit dramatic. I like that! I also spent the last two evenings windowshopping and eating oit with a nice collegue from one of my last jobs, so i had nice company too. On my list for this week: Klimt exhibition, maybe perfume shopping, visit the Prater, because i only saw it from outside…..

Weekly musings

Perfumes this week were Scherrer, Niki de Sainte Phalle, Fidji (a blind buy that i really love! A tropical chypre! And cheap as chips!) twice, Iris Rebelle, Doe in the snow and Choc de Cardin

some food, a handknit cardi and an old firefighters ladder, horsdrawn at our local firefighters may festival

On my plate i had salad from fennel and oranges, which i really came to love, asparagus and fish steaks, pasta with broccoli and anchovis, chicken with eggplant and potatoes, salted lemons and ras el hanout and a nice birthday dinner for the boyfriend at our local greek. I had the baby calamari above, they were perfect!

I managed to go to the gym twice, as is my plan, once for yoga, because i am feeling really stiff and once doing weights. Sunday was spent at home sewing. I made a Fehrtrade Duathlon legging and a Cashmerette Brattle top, because i wanted some new workout clothes. It feels a bit silly, but those things motivate me to workout. I hope i can post some pics later.

Weekly musings

Spring is finally there, so my scents reflected that, at least a bit… I wore Synthetic Jungle (sadly a bit too screachy lily of the valley on me, otherwise it would be great. But well, money saved, the decant will be enough…). Covet, Patou Joy EDT (inspired by Portia and OldHerbaceous), topped up in the evening with a drop of Salome, a first wearing of my new bottle of Fidji EDT (would love to smell the vintage version), First EDT, Aromatics Elixir and Eau de Rochas for sunday.

My voice was so bad, that i was on sickleave after monday, because i was not able to talk to my patients at work. So i had time to cook some nice meals. As the BF is working from home, he always appreciates a nice lunch. I made japanese inspired roasted bellpeppers with rice, pasta with leeks and minced meat, a big pot of lentil soup, using up some parmesan rinds to cook into the soup. Friday i had time to go to the farmers market, so i made fried liver with onions and mashed potatoes and a dinner with asparagus and swabian herbed „pancakes“ called Kratzete.

I spent lots of time knitting, so my blue cardigan is nearly finished. I just have to knit the icord edging (which i hate to do), so instead i cast on another project, a thin TShirt for summer wearing in a cherry pink wool and cotton yarn from Holst. Plus i had time to binge another series on Disney, The Resident, which i really liked. My BF is always making fun of me, that i like those hospital drama series, but being a doctor, this is really fun to watch, because it has nothing to do with a real hospital.

I also joined the local gym again after a three years hiatus. I decided that although the cycling is good for my cardio exercise, i also should try to build up some muscles, now that i am nearing my 60th birthday. I had my first trainer session on saturday, so now some very unknown parts of my body still hurt. Tomorrow i will try the yoga practise….

Weekly musings

This weeks perfumes were Perles de Lalique, Dryad, Silences (lovely, but the new version is very fleeting, thankfully it is cheap!), Mitsouko EdT, Chypre Mousse, What i did on my holidays and i finally wore a tester of Vintage Ivoire. I liked this scent very much and was sad that it is discontinued, like many of the chypres of older times….

On my plate i had lamb ragoutwith carrots, Moussaka, that a coworker brought, pasta with cauliflower, anchovies and breadcrumbs. Sunday i had rice, first with fish and broccoli, later with fried yuba knots. They are made from dried tofu skin and really taste a bit like dried meat.

I also finally finished two cardigans and sewed on the buttons. The blue one is made out of sock wool and i used a pattern from the 1940s. The red one is the Timepiece cardigan from an Ailbiona pattern. This was knit topdown from a sportweight swedish wool. I really like the shaping if the compound raglan sleeves. I knit the longer version, maybe i make another shorter one next year.

I had troubles with my vocal chords last week, so much that i could hardly speak and had to practice silence for the weekend. It is still not better, so i will see a doctor tomorrow.

Weekly musings

Perfumes i wore this week were Calligraphy Saffron, vintage Shalimar EDT, Narciso, the white cube, Givenchy III (sadly not the vintage, but the current one is not bad, but a bit shortlived IMO), Aromatic Elixir, vintage Chanel No19 EDT and Theo Fennel for a grey and cold sunday. I had some sniffing time in the perfume shops this week, but nothing current caught my attention. There is a new version of my beloved Roma, but it is a nondescript flowery amber with pears. I also tested a Bon Parfumeur, i think 202 with apple and quince, which was a really fun scent and brought back memories of the green apple shampoo everyone was crazy about in the last 70ies…. Is it really so long ago, that i went to school???

Stuttgart museum view, a finished boyfriend hat, a current cardigan in progress and a nice bento dinner

I did not cook very much this week and relied on frozen leftovers from my freezer, but i made a fennel and orange salad, baked pumpkin with herbed quark, savoy cabbage with a paprika bratwurst and pasta with lentil bolognese. I also had a nice business lunch at a japanese restaurant in Stuttgart, with a salmon bento and miso soup. I was good, not crazy levels of good, but a nice treat anyway.

I did a lot of knitting lately, so i finally finished a hat for the boyfriend. I used a wonderful yarn, that a coworker gifted me, the BC Loch Lomond tweed, which is a soft merino tweed. I would have liked a hat for myself, but the yarn color really washes me out. It looks much better on my redheaded boyfriends. I cast on the Timepiece Cardigan by Ailbiona, and i am really pleased with my progress. The pattern is well written and i hope the fit will be fine. I am using the Järbo swedish wool i bought at the Eddna sale. It has a rustic feel, but knits up nicely. The boyfriend cardigan has got knitted buttonbands, but is still lacking a collar and the sleeves need to be sewn in. Hopefully i will manage to do this the next week. I hate the finishing!

Weekly musings

Perfumes this week were inspired mostly by the NST community project, so out came my rose scents…. Lady Rose Lion, Tauers Rose Flash (a bit too jammy for my taste), Perles de Lalique, Joy ( there must be a rose in all those flowers???), Agent Provocateur, because i don ´t mind to smell like an (expensive) slut in office, Paloma Picasso EDT. Plus a bit of Scherrer and Givenchy III for the weekend.

korean food, sunrise in Stuttgart and progress on the boyfriend cardigan

On my plate there was mostly leftovers from the freezer, but i managed to make a nice napa cabbage salad with nuts and dry ramen noodles, called YumYum Salad. This was really good. And because of leftover salad i tested Maangchis recipe for Daktoridang, braised chicken with with potatoes and onions. I made it less hot than the original recipe, because 1/4 cup of Gochugaru flakes is more than i can take. We really enjoyed this meal a lot and look forward to the leftovers for tomorrow.

I did not do much more than work, commute and knit a bit this week, mostly i was really tired and went to bed before 9pm. Plus i had problems with the pressure in my right rear tyre, which turned out to be a screw, causing a hole. So i have to get a new one. This month turns out to be really expensive, because the biannual car service will be 800€ on top of that! Luckily i am not under financial pressure, but driving a car is turning more and more into a luxury.

Weekly musings

Perfumes of the week: Iris Rebelle, Cleef and Arpels First EdT, Biagiotti Roma, Reve d´Ossian, Dryad and Niki de Saint Phalle for Sunday. I just wore the remains of Dryad on saturday, because i was too tired to choose a new scent, nevertheless it still scented my scarf and sweater nicely.

fresh baked Brezen, made by. the boyfriend!

On my plate i had indian chicken tikka at work, because i treated my coworkers to a nice lunch, to celebrate the new maskless freedom at work, thanks to the new laws!!! I also invited the boyfriend to a nice pizza dinner on friday, because his work week has not been very nice. We ate greek rice and lemon soup, pasta with a tomato-salsiccia sauce and fried salsiccia with gnocchi and red cabbage for sunday. And fresh baked pretzels for dinner. Those are much better than from the bakery, but making them is a bit more difficult, because they have to be cooled to stiffen up a bit, before getting into the lye bath, so we can only make them in winter, the fridge is not big enough.

I spent lots of hours knitting the boyfriends new cardigan, just managed to finish the first sleeve, so i got only one sleeve, the collar and the buttonband to finish. Plus sewing it together, which i hate, but sadly cannot avoid. On the other hand i am itching to cast on a cardigan for myself. I am still debating what to knit, but i think i will try to make the Timepiece cardigan by Ailbiona from the red Järbo wool, that i bought in december. I would really like a classic v-neck oversized cardigan to wear at home, and this seems to be a great pattern. Plus- its topdown, so i don ´t have to sew the pieces and i can try it on.

I had a breast exam this week because of a diffuse slight induration, but thankfully there was nothing on the sonogram. I think i will do an MRT to be totally sure (will have to pay it by myself sadly), but if i get the bad thoughts out of my mind by this, it will be money well spent. Hopefully i get an appointment soon.

Weekly musings

This weeks perfumes were Aromatics Elixir, Chanel No19, L´Air de Rien, Sens & Bois, Gucci No3, Ambre de Merveilles, Covet and Cardin Paradoxe.

We did not have much time to cook, so i mostly ate selfmade leftover freezermeals. The boyfriend made a pasta with cavolo nero and garlic. Saturday i made pasta again, this time with some pulled pork, tomatoes and capers. Sunday was a big pan of tteokbokki with gochujang sauce and broccoli. But i went for dinner with my ladies from work and had a really lovely japanese dinner. They even had takoyaki on the menu and i had a huge tempura sushi roll with shrimp and avocado. It also looked fantastic and they had very nice plates too.

I spent some time more knitting and nearly finished a second sock. I also sewed the first parts of the boyfriend jacket together, so i can tackle the sleeves next. I think i will try knit in short row sleeves, a technique i never tried before, but i will have to do some more research on this first. But i can always rip them out, if they dont look good and knit them as separate pieces…. I also sewed in the first sleeve in my vintage cardigan, but the second one will have to wait for the next time, when there is daylight. Doing this in the evening with only the dinner table light is too much for my aging eyes and my bifocals.

I am still debating, which cardigan to knit with the blue plötulopi unspun yarn, that i bought on a whim, just cannot decide if i knit the Lone Kjeldsen Growing or the TincanKnits Harvest cardigan. I also have an eye on the Timepiece cardigan by Ailbiona, its such a classic and relaxed style. Decisions, decisions! Otherwise nothing really happens here besides working, knitting and cooking. I hope the weather will get more like springtime, because i am itching get back on my bike regularly.

Weekly musings

This weeks perfumes were Dzing!, Bottega Veneta, Botrytis, Femme de Rochas, Coriandre and Calligraphy Saffron for a snowy sunday.

food, wine and knitting, whats not to love!

I did not have too much time in the kitchen, living with some freezer precooked lunches and sandwiches for dinner. But i had a really big dinner with a friend at a vietnamese restaurant and a Hanoi platter to share, which was delicious. I also had a Doner Kebab, a brussel sprout and carrot soup with dumplings and a very big roast chicken with Ras-el-Hanout, carrots and sweet potatoes. And this fun wine above!

I helped a good friend packing for a move for two days, because i had some days free and did lots of moving things, taking stuff up and down the stairs etc. But as she treated me to this lovely vietnamese dinner, i won ´t complain. Anyway, it was a true workout, so that was a plus!

I made some progress on my boyfriends cardigan and finished at least one sock for my mother plus nearly a pair of baby socks for a friend. I knit some swatches, hoping to decide on my next cardigan project, but will have to think a bit about it. Maybe i can cast on another project next week.

2022 in review

I do love lists and statistics, so i always keep stats on my perfume wear each year. My taste changes a bit each year, new perfume loves appear, others fall out of favor. I did not buy many new bottles in 2022, i think there have been no more than five plus some decants, because i now want to enjoy my collection more and not hunt for the next „new“ (or old and discontinued gem).

The winner was Aromatics Elixir with 18 wears, followed by Sens &Bois with 16 wears. Roma and Scherrer EdT got 15x skin time and even Perles de Lalique got worn 10times. Also worn more than 5x were Eau de Rochas, Givenchy III, Agent Provocateur, Cleef and Arpels First EdT, Meet Me On The Corner and Mitsouko EdT. I feel a strong chypre theme still going on here 😉

I also got a lot of books and audiobooks finished, because i spent a lot of time driving or biking to work, which makes a lot of listening possible for audiobooks. Some of it was „easy listening“ like Harry Potter or a lot of crime stories from Tess Gerritsen or Linda Castillo. But i had a lot of fun with Matt Ruffs Lovecraft Country. I also read Maggie O ´Farrells This must be the place, that i liked a lot for all the interesting feelings linking the protagonists. I also liked Matt Haigs Midnight Library, although it was a bit foreseeable. I found a interesting and funny book from a japanese female author with the title „Butter“, a mixture between a crime story, emancipation story and japanese womens rights. I can really recommend it!

We spent five days on a bike tour along the five rivers between Nuremberg and Regensburg and had a lot of fun plus a good deal of physical activity. A good way to be allowed to eat as much as you like! The second holidays were spent in the South of France near Narbonne, where we mostly relaxed, cooked, drank wine and went on some nice walks. Maybe we will return there next year!

I spent some time at the sewing table and made a few dresses. I also rediscovered knitting, which i never really quit, but mostly only made socks. But that year i also made a 40s jumper, nearly finished another 40s cardigan and i am now knitting a cardigan for the boyfriend at the moment. Must hurry up to finish before it is spring!

Weekly musings

Perfumes this week were Sens & Bois, Narciso for Her, Cafe Tuberosa, Eau Sacree, Agent Provocateur and Cleef and Arpels First EdT

On my plate i had a christmas feast with arancini, lentil soup, salmon, mozzarella sticks and cake of course (everybody brought something for the feast at work), i made a big pot of red cabbage with balsamico and rosemary, served with truffeled salsicchia and gnocchi and some soup with leeks, minced meat and cheese. Sunday was a big pot of gochujang bolognese sauce with melted raclette cheese and penne. And i made enough leftovers for the next week too.

Winter has finally come to southern germany and we had lots of snow and low temperatures, but this will melt the following week, as the temps will go up to a more spring-like 11Celsius. So i hope to get at least one bike commute done next week.

I finally made my christmas dress this weekend. I chose the Designerstitch Camelia dress, because i was attracted to the faux wrap front and the assymmetrical overlay. I used a black and silver lurex ponte fabric i got cheap on Driessenstoffe. After a bit of looking at the pattern pieces i lowered the bust dart about 1,5 cm ( as gravity and age are taking their toll) and graded from a size 5 D-cup to a waist 6 and back to size 5 hips. Plus a small forward shoulder adjustment, because…. age again. These small changes made a really nice fitting dress. I never made one of Designerstitches patterns before, but i have some other still unsewn but printed out. I think i will tackle the Shardee wrap dress next, because i have bought fabric for this last winter (and have not made it yet).

I also made some quick fingerless mitts for the boyfriends from Drops Nord Alpaca yarn. The moths got the last pair. This will hopefully teach him not to leave wollen mitts laying around in the open during the whole summer. At least he is happy with his new ones. The socks for my mother are nearly finished, so i can now concentrate on my 1940s cardigan, there are still 1,5 sleeves to knit!

Weekly musings

Perfumes i wore were Adam Levine, Rochas Femme, Fourreau Noir (powdered lavender mothballs in a fur coat with a marzipan bar), vintage Opium, a maybe vintage Coco (or a good imitation), Felanilla and today L Ambre de Merveilles, because its so easy to wear in winter.

On my plate i had chicken fricassee with anchovies and capers, boiled potatoes with herring, Avgolemono soup with rice and chicken, spaetzle with cheese and onions. I tried a cocktail called snowbunny with eggnogg, amaretto and hot milk, which was really delicious and easy to make.

This week i think i did my last bikecommute for this year, now the temperature is below freezing, so i will commute by car or public transport. Otherwise i cut a dress for the holidays with a black and silver ponte fabric, hoping it comes out as i would want it to. We had snow on sunday, so we took a walk for an hour and even saw a bit of sun, the last week has been really grey and dark, so this was nice and really lifted my mood. I also got a good part of the socks, i want to make for christmas for my mother, i think they will be finished next week. She always loves new socks, so this is a nobrainer gift for her.

Weekly musings

Last weeks CP was Ancient Resins, so i dug out my amber and incense perfumes. I wore Essence Ambre, Marquis de Sade, Larmes de désert, Reve d´Ossian, Fille en Aiguilles, Sens et Bois, Wazamba and finished the week with Lady Rose Lion, which i am really starting to like after a bad start.

evening scene with a meager christmas decoration and filled pumpkin

On my plate there was Soup of the bride Ezo (red lentils, bulgur, rice), red cabbage smothered with balsamico and salsiccia, pasta with miso, bottarga and mushroom pesto. Saturday i spent making lots of filled mini pumkins with a bulgur, minced meat and gorgonzola stuffing plus two turkey legs with curried butter, potatoes and carrots. i also cooked. a chicken soup to use the next days. I have so many leftovers that i have enough for this week.

I did manage two!! commutes to work on bike, although its pitchblack dark for the first 30min of my commute over the fields, but it was a few degrees above freezing, so i bit the bullet and just biked. I felt really good after finishing my commute, but i will not do this, if there is frost on the ground, because i dont have wheels with spikes.

The weather is so depressingly dark, grey and drizzly, that we spend most time indoors, reading, watching Netflix and doing some knitting. I am still working on my 40s blue cardigan out of sockwool, but i finally finished the back and fronts and now i am a third into the first sleeve.

I ordered a box of swedish yarns from Eddna, and after my parcel arrived after getting nearly lost in Lübeck at the other side of Germany i finally got it. I bought a nice swedish DK wool in heathered grey for a cardigan for the boyfriend and a red wool for me. I also bought unspun icelandic plötulopi, maybe also for a cardigan, but this will take a while. Plus some icelandic lace in grey and pink for a shawl (maybe i will knit another Different Lines, because my old shawl is starting to look a bit ratty).

The pattern for the boyfriend cardigan is still not decided, i was thinking about a Elisabeth Zimmermann Seamless Hybrid with some ribbing at the sides, because i saw a project from Jared Flood, that knit this for a friend. But i would have to steek it, which i have never done before. Maybe i will do a steeking swatch and see, if i can do this. I is always appealing to just knit in the round, its wonderfully soothing and i simply dont like to purl.

Weekly musings

Perfumes this week were Eau de Lancaster (office decant stash), L´Air de Rien, Eau Duelle for the burial of my boyfriends mother, Doe in the Snow, Roma, Calligraphy Saffron, Occur and Amira Gold for sunday evening.

pigs trotters soup, cellars and candles, red maple leafs

On my plate this week was a Thai Curry (at the restaurant after the burial), pasta with chards and ricotta salata, pigs trotters soup with glass noodles and chickpeas – an adapted chinese recipe, a curry with sweet potatoes, brussel sprouts and pomegranate seeds, pasta gratin with kale and pumpkin in gorgonzola-bechamel sauce. And the boyfriend made three biig loaves of apple bread.

We went to the burial on wednesday. At least 60 to 70 guests were attending the service and aroud 30 went to the tradiational meal afterwards. Thankfully my boyfriends father coped very well with the situation, still its hard to loose the partner after 62 years of marriage…

On sunday we went to a wine testing at a renowned winery in the Stuttgart region. We tasted at least 10 to 16 different white and red wines and also some sparkling wine. It was interesting to compare wines from the same grapes with different terroirs and we could also test some of the „Grosses Gewächs“, the german version of a Grand Cru. We did not like all of the wines, even one of the most expensive ones was not our taste (neither our budgets taste too!)

Weekly musings

The colder weather is finally here, so i can wear heavier scents. Vol de Nuit EDT for monday (this sounded soo good, but it is much too powdery vanilla and not enough galbanum, alas…), Femme de Rochas, Dzing!, Memoir Woman, Zagorsk and for sunday i wore Salome (still would like a bottle, but one tiny spritz is more than enough, so i try to empty my decant first).

On my plate i had persian celery ragout with meat, indian tomato chicken curry, a giant pot of hungarian bean and pork ribs soup and some rucola tomato salad.

After i had got a cold 4 weeks ago, finally my dry cough got better, so i was able to get on my bike again on friday. I am not very fit after coughing for weeks, but it was great to get outside again, even in the rain and cold. Thankfully i had bought rain trousers and a rain jacket, and they really kept me dry!

I also found my knitting mojo again after at least two years of failed projects (… okay, i made socks, i can knit them in my sleep) and after finishing my Victory jumper i am well into my 40s cardigan in a navy sock wool. I also made new fingerless mitts, because i lost my old grey pair last winter in a fall in the dirt. Such a nice project to use up the remains of sockwool.

Because of the energy crisis we turned the heating down and wear a lot more warm clothes at home. The boyfriend requested a cardigan, so i ordered some grey heathered swedish wool online at Eddna, plus some icelandic wool and unspun plötulopi in a hopefully nice darker blue. I also bought 2 cardigans worth for me in grey and a „sheer red“, which is hopefully a nice color for me.

While knitting i also had time to watch Locke and Key on Netflix. I really like mystery and sci-fi series. I tried to watch Brand New Cherry Flavor, but gave up on it, because it drifted too much into the horror genre. Maybe i give the whole StarTrek series another rerun afterwards. Any other series that you can recommend?

Weekly musings

Perfumes this week had the theme „Easy to wear“, which can mean something different for each person. My easy scents were Fils de Dieu, Ambre de Merveilles, Mitsouko (but it must be the EDT, i dont get on with the EDP), Agent Provocateur, Scherrer, Sens et Bois and Fille en Aiguilles for a foggy sunday.

The Victory Jumper finally finished, a pizza lunch, a view of Ravensburg and waiting for the train…

On my plate i had some tomato salad with mozzarella, boiled potatoes with herbed quark, pasta with tomatoed miso butter, peas, truffle oil and parmesan ( a really simple dinner, but tasted really luxurious), greek avgolemono soup with rice and sunday lunch at a pizzeria in Ravensburg… i had a half of quattro formaggi and a half of capers and anchovies pizza

On friday my boyfriends mother finally died peacefully at home on the day of her 87th birthday, so we spent sunday traveling to visit his father. We went by train and spent 8h traveling for 4h of a visit…. The town of Ravensburg is not too far away, but it takes 3h by car for 190km and more by train. At least i managed to knit one fingerless mitten on the train ride for the coming winter, as i lost my last pair…

Weekly musings

This weeks perfumes were more intese, due to the colder weather. So out came Paloma Picasso, Dryad, Ambre Russe, Bottega Veneta (should wear this more often), Bois de Vanille for the candy CP on NST, vintage Shalimar and today Monteil Royal Secret, a discontinued and forgottenn gem.

Donkeys at our local farmers shop, focaccia and a walk in the graveyard

On my plate i had beef ossobuco with rugabaga puree, pasta con ragu di salsiccia, a homemade focaccia made by the boyfriend and spaetzle with cheese and savoy cabbage. And oat plum cake for saturdays tea…

vintage knitting from the 40ies in progress

I am still nursing the remainder of my cold, so i spent lots of my evenings knitting. I started this cardigan i think three weeks ago and finished the back, now i am on the first front half. Its not speedy knitting, because its sock wool with 8stitches to an inch on 2,5mm needles. On the other hand i hate thick knitwear and hopefully this cardigan will get a lot of wear, when it is finally finished. I really like the style of the 40s, but patterns in my size with a 40inch bust are hard to find, people were so thin during the WW2…. I also finished the Victory Jumper from the V&A pattern archives, but need to darn in all the yarn ends, hopefully i can post a pic of the finished sweater soon. I am still bingewatching Agents of the Fringe on Prime FreeVee, and i will be sad, when its finished.

Weekly musings

Perfumes this week were Bal a Versaille, Agent Provocateur, Theo Fennel, Mitsouko, Tea Rose for the CP on NST, Chypre Siam and the good old No 19. I am starting to get out more of my heavy hitters, because its finally getting a bit more like autumn, although the weather was really warm this week.

a nice gift from a patient (with sock wool too!), pumpkin-kale ribollita and finally falling leaves

On my plate i had a ribollita with pumpkin, kale and borlotti beans, oven baked veggies with brats, a tortilla espanola, cabbage with curry and coconut milk and minced meat and today a big schnitzel with potato salad

i still nursed the cold i had last week and a laryngitis too, so i went to work , but did not do much, because i could not talk with my patients. Nevertheless my boss was happy that i showed up at all, otherwise we would have to close the practise…

I did a very slow bike ride on saturday, just 12 km, because it was really warm and sunny. So nice to be outside again. I hoped i could get back on the bike next week, but i am still not completely alright, so this will have to wait.

Holidays in Narbonne

Our three weeks in Narbonne, France have passed, so i just wanted to show a few views of our holidays.

Perfumewise there was not a lot to choose, i took two bottles and two decants with me, but wore mostly Roma and Aromatics Elixir.

A visit to Carcassonne and a bike tour alone the Canal de Robine near Narbonne

We did a bit of sightseeing, visited the historic city of Carcassonne, which was still full of tourists and reminded me more of a film set than an actual living city. Still some impressive views to be seen. We also went to the Abbey of Fontfroide and visited a Saline and also bought some nice local salt. And because the Eurovelo bikeway Calais – Istanbul was nearby, we cycled 30km along and enjoyed the views on a nice bikepath near the sea.

View of the town of Lagrasse and the abbey of Fontfroide plus a look at one of the many Etangs and salines

A visit to the Saline de Gruissan and a walk in the morning at sunrise

Weekly musings

This weeks scents were Womanity, Batucada, Gucci No3, Eau de Lancaster, Aromatics Elixir (which seems to get my signature scent), Dryad, which was perfect for a rainy early autumn day and Meet Me On The Corner.

Cutting on leopard print shorts and a wearable muslin of the Anning Dress

On my plate this week was lentil soup, Tiramisu (that i ate too much of, but it was good! a coworker made it…), sausage salad, pasta alla Norma, tomato and mozzarella salad, minestrone from all the veggies in the frigde and a Poulet au Riz, from a french cookbook,

I biked to work thrice this week, so i put in another 135km. Friday we had a summer party at work outside on the roof terrace with a barbecue catering, and i was totally stuffed afterwards. Saturday i spent watching the last parts of Stranger Things and have now begun The Sandman.

I finally finished my first try at the Marilla Walker Anning Dress, but this one came out a bit big. I did a Full Bust adjustment for my measurements, but this is really roomy. Next time i either do a size smaller or simply use the B-Cup drafted front. I would like to make one for winter in a fine blue needlecord.

Weekly musings

Perfumes this week were mostly from the office decant stash… I wore Covet, Givenchy III, Eau de Rochas, Fan di Fendi, Scherrer EdT, Perles de Lalique, Sens et Bois and Mitsouko EdT

New knitting project, homebaked rolls and seelen and a view of the bike race that happened just in our street

On my plate i still have tomatoes and more tomatoes from our alottment garden, and zucchini of course. So we had lots of salad, with mozzarella, raw, as tomatoe sauce with gnocchi and some zucchinifritters and fried ones. We also had a smaller harvest of bellpeppers, so there are bellpeppers simmered with tomatoes and merguez this evening. Saturday i got adventurous and finally tried the vegan ramen broth with soymilk from JustOneCookbook. Its really delicious and although the components take a bit of time, it was really easy to make and perfect for a cooler, rainy day. We also baked lots of rolls and svabian seelen, so i have something to take to work from the freezer. And some chocolate chip cookies, because the oven was still hot….

I managed to bike to work four times, so i put in 180 km this week, which i am really proud of. Plus i finally finished my taxes, because this is something that i always procrastinate, but doesnt everybody else too?

I got some new yarn, that i ordered, because i wanted to start another jumper. I cast on yesterday and hope to wear it in the early fall. The pattern is the „Your victory“ jumper from the 1940s, the pattern is available for free from the V&A Museum in london. The pattern is written for a 32inch bust, oh my, all those skinny ladies of the war times. So i did a bit of research on ravelry and found some hopefully helpful notes for a 40inch bust. My swatch came out okay, but i have to use 2,75mm needles with a thin sock yarn, so this is not a very fast project. But i really like the stripe effect in the stitch pattern and its not very complicated to knit, so i hope it will turn out right.

Weekly musings

This weeks scents were Chanel L´Eau, Niki de Saint Phalle. (such a beauty), Womanity, Chanel No19 EdT from my vintage pressurized bottle, Fille en Aiguilles and later Fils de Dieu, Givenchy III and Paloma Picasso. Sadly the modern Givenchy III has a really short longevity, so i really use 6 sprays to be able to smell it for longer than 2 hours, i had a sample of the vintage, that was holding up much better….

icecream on sunday and a view from my bike commute in the early morning

On my plate i had tomatoes! Again! and lots of them. Plus a nice Gyros in pita bread at the music festival, fried zucchini and feta, a homemade pulled pork burger, lentil soup with parmesan rinds and a turkey curry with coconut milk and spinach. And a big icecream at the icecream parlour.

I had a friend over for a visit at the weekend, because she wanted to sew with me, so we made a pietra shorts for her in a nice blue and white vichy checkered fabric. As she is a blonde, this reminded me a bit of Brigitte Bardot. I also cut a hopefully wearable toile of the Marilla Walker Anning Shirtdress, I hope it comes out nice, because i have plans for a winter version in fine needlecord. Otherwise there was just regular business with nothing special happening.

Festival season

Outside and for free concert with a Depeche Mode cover band

I forgot posting last week, but wore perfume daily. So out came Doe in the snow, Scherrer EdT, Meet me on the Corner, Fan di Fendi, Untitled l´Eau, Batucada and Verveine Cedrat for last week. This week i thunked Orange Sanguine (will need no more of this, its too woody for me), Chypre Siam, Pour la Belle, Aromatics Elixir, Eau de Lancaster, Patou Joy and Fiore dell´Onda.

This weeks cooking was mostly tomatoes in all its forms, as a salad, on a burger, eaten with salt and cooked into a lentil bolognese with pasta to go with it. I made a big batch of pulled pork, so we had homemade burgers for dinner.

We had a music festival at our town in summer, and every Tuesday there is a band playing for free and lots of foodtrucks, beer and wine. This weeks band was playing Depeche Mode, but sadly they were just okay, so we went home early.

Saturday was spent doing taxes, which was no fun and sunday i only managed to sew a bucket hat for a gift. But i finally finished all seasons of Elementary and now i am looking for another series to watch. Maybe i will start over with Stranger Things, because they released another season or maybe the second season of Locke and Key, which i really liked. Any tips for Netflix or Amazon Prime?

Holiday bike tour – Five Rivers – FünfFlüsseRadweg

Perfumes for this week were mostly the same, i just took a decant of Eau de Rochas on tour. But when i got home, i wore Fiore dell Onda, Givenchy III and Fan di Fendi Eau Fraiche

nice historic renaissance houses, the Ludwig-Donau-Main-Channel

the old railway track was made a bike lane, view of the „Steinerne Brücke“ in Regensburg, cooling our feet and river views

drinkable water fountains on the way, the cells in the Fronfeste, typical views. from Frankonia

This week we went on our first longer bike tour, beginning on sunday. We drove to Wendelstein near Nürnberg , parked the car and started our adventure. The first day was a shorter ride to Schwaig, but we visited a bit of Nurnberg city and had some cake and coffee.

Monday was the longest and hilliest part of the tour, 75km in the scorching heat with 36C. Gladly there was a lake, where i took a short swim to cool off. The river we followed was the Pegnitz, which was a lovely meandering river and luckily there was also a bit of shadow. In the afternoon we reached our destination Amberg, where we booked a room in the Fronfeste, a former historic jail. We got the jail directors suite, which was nice and roomy and thankfully also cool! After a beer. and some Schweinebraten with dumplings we were soon fast asleep….

Next day we biked along the Vils river, some part of the tour was an old railway track and it was mostly flat, so the 80km were not to exhausting. After a stop in Kallmünz with some Leberkäs in a bun we finally reached Regensburg, where we had a room in the historic part of the town near the Danube river. We did a bit of sightseeing and had a nice vietnamese dinner.

The next day was a shorter ride, about 55km to Riedenburg along the Danube, the Altmühl and the Donau-Main-channel. Lots of views and old castles to see. Nice meal with Schnitzel and potato salad in a historic town center.

Thursday we went to Neumarkt along the historic old Ludwig-Donau-Main-Channel, built in the late 1800 by the first King Ludwig of Bavaria. In just 10 years they finished over 170km of this channel, its unbelievable! The path mostly went along the channel, so it. was an easy ride. We had a room in the St. Josef cloister, which was simple, but clean. Dinner was indian food.

Friday we rode back to our car, had another Schnitzel in the town where we had parked, bought some lokal sausage (Nürnberger Stadtwurst) and drove home again.

This was really a great tour, that i can recommend. Its not too difficult, mostly flat, no great inclines, great bikelanes and wonderful nature and rivers to see! There are enough beergardens and restaurants on the way, so you cannot starve, although we mostly. bought some buns from the bakery or the butchers for lunch…

Pietra Shorts and catching up

I lost my blogging mojo for some weeks, but now i am back! I still wore scents everyday and even kept tabs, but had no nerve for blogging. This week i wore Cristalle Eau Verte, Scherrer EdT, Untitled L´Eau, my mix of Coriandre and Tea Rose, Tommy The Girl (thunked the decant, a dab of vintage Givenchy III (which made me buy the current version blind, i hope i like it, when the bottle gets there!). Saturday was lots! of vintage Chanel N019 EdT and sunday i wore Beachy.

new Pietra shorts, a vegetarian burger with a black bean patty and a zucchini fritter inside plus a view of the alottment garden

On my plate this week were lots of zucchini, because we have 7!!! plants in the garden. My boyfriend has gotten crazy… So pasta with zucchini sauce, zucchini fritters, yellow beet salad, sausage salad with kimchi, a veggie burger. with homemade bun and Korean chicken wings for sunday evening. We try to eat lots of veg, and with the garden exploding with produce, this time of year it is easy to do.

I got on my bike three days this week, so i managed 135 km, not so bad. Saturday i finally cut and sewed the Pietra Shorts from Closetcore patterns, that i bought some weeks ago. This pattern had really good reviews, and honestly, they are true. I cut a size 12 according to my hips and a 14 for the waist. The pattern pieces came together fine, although there could have been some more notches for the folding of the pockets. But after some headscratching, i also managed this. I liked the. method of inserting the back elastic. The finish was really neat and the fit was good.

Next time i will cut a size 12 without adding to the waist and maybe lengthen the legs a bit. I made smaller low seat adjustment, but otherwise nothing else. I think i will try the view with the tapered legs next for fall.

Weekly diary

This weeks perfumes were more summery, because the weather finally was very warm. So i wore Untitled L´Eau, Chanel L´Eau, Aromatics Elixir, Perles de Lalique, What I Did On My Holidays, Cristalle Verte and Eau de Lancaster.

Different homemade outfits for MeMadeMay

We started to try to eat more veggies, so we had cauliflower with a lentil vinagrette with raisins, gnocchi with spinach, asparagus with pork filet, tuscan peposa with a lot of braised fennel and pasta with zucchini and trout fillet. We really like meat a lot, but with enough greens our meals get a bit lighter and it also feels good to get more nutrients in our food. This will get better, when our alottment starts to produce our summer veggies, although you will hear me complain soon of zucchini overload. We also planted lots of tomatoes, but of those i rarely get tired eating them.

I spent the whole weekend sewing a shirt (the checkered one right and below) and nearly finished a shirtdress from the same pattern . Just some hemming and buttonhole, then i will be finished too. After sewing again for two years i am starting to understand why some clothing does not fit, and where to make some alterations to make them better. That is something i did not know, when a was a young student, so i can make better fitting clothes now. It is funny, because lots of my female patients comment on my nice dresses and think they are something special. Maybe it is just because not many women wear dresses often and spend their time wearing jeans and tshirts.

Weekly diary plus MeMadeMay

Perfumes this week were a bit uninspired, as i had to use some decants i have at work, because i don ´t want to take a whole flacon with me on the bike. So i wore Perles de Lalique, Meet Me On The Corner (which is lovely by the way), Tommy The Girl (sadly discontinued, such a good office scent), Chanel L´Eau, Fiore dell´Onda, Batucada and i finally thunked my decant of Bronze Goddess Azur, which started to grow on me a bit. Maybe i will buy a used bottle of Bronze Goddess this summer, hoping that it is not as sweet as Terracotta, that i sold last year….

Pasta with broad beans and trout, memade outfits and a great pinsa romana

On my plate i had a great homemade pinsa romana. The dough is a bit more rustic than a normal pizza dough and has a different bite, no wonder, because it also contains rice flour and chickpea flour. We had baked cauliflower with cannellini bean hoummus, pasta with leeks and chorizo and also with broad beans, miso, bottarga and trout. Asparagus is in season, so there was also asparagus in vinaigrette with omelet stripes. Sunday will be a giant pork chop with braised fennel and a caipirinha for aperitiv.

I did a big batch of sewing this weekend, starting with a white cotton Melody Dolman Blouse pictured above. I tried a first muslin of the Isca Dress by Marilla Walker, but this will have to get another try… Sunday. i made a Camp collar shirt for the boyfriend, a grey leo print steeplechase leggings and another Mayfair dress in a white and cobalt blue pattern. I really like it, if i use the same patterns for more outfits, i like some standard dresses for work, so i don ´t have to think about what to wear. A dress also needs nothing to combine with it, just find some intact pantyhose and shoes, and you are good to go!

Weekly diary

I did not have time to blog last week, but this week i made time again. Soo…

Perfumes worn were Scherrer EdT, Pour La Belle, Cafe Tuberosa, Mitsouko EdT (finally a Mitsouko i can love), Empreinte, Tea Rose, Lovely Sheer and Roma for a sunny sunday.

Views from my week, Gemista, Snoopy boxers, bikewear in progress and some selfmade bikewear i wore this week

On my plate this weeks cooking was a bit erratic. Some asparagus frittata, cole slaw with pulled pork, gnocchi with chard, pancakes with herbed quark and a big greek gemista with bellpeppers and rice.

I biked to work three times this week, so 135km in total. I was quite exhausted after this weeks biking, i even rode on friday in the rain and felt quite proud of me… But it helps with getting fitter and loosing some more weight (and gasoline is very expensive too at this time, so its a win in all categories).

I also took some time for sewing. I promised my boyfriend some new boxer shorts and he chose a Snoopy print! So i gladly (and with some silent giggles) i ordered Snoopy fabric and finished the first two boxer shorts plus one in checkered jersey. I have three more to finish, but this is at least a fun project. I am always happy, if i can sew something for him, but mostly he is content with his wardrobe.

I also made another set of biking clothes, this time a spring set of long leggings and a longsleeved shirt in turquoise and grey leopard fabric. If i knew that activewear is so easy to sew i would have started this much earlier! I can really recommend Activstoffe.de in Berlin, they have a great selection of quality fabric, mostly fashion industry remnants for a great price. In all i sewed three sets of bikewear (shirt and leggings) for a whopping 80Euro in fabric, and there is some left to do more…

Weekly diary plus lots of sewing

The weather definitely turned into spring, so some fresher scents came out of the storage. Camelia Chinois, that i hope to thunk this year, Aromatics Elixir twice, Synthetic Jungle ( a bit too much Muguet for me), Mitsouko EDT, of which i finally scored a used bottle for a good price, Covet, Paloma Picasso, Sense & Bois topped up with mb03, because it was raining all day

a summer cycling combo of Surf to Summit top and Rouleur leggings with a fun animal print

On my plate there was a big burger with a vegan pattie, a curry with chickpeas, sweet potato and broccoli, spare ribs with a nice salad and saturday i wanted to use up a big savoy and finally improvised canelloni with savoy, dried tomatoes, porcini and rosemary with a porcini bechamel and truffled pecorino. This was really good, much better than i thought. Definitely will make it again.

I spent lots of time with sewing, first i cut out and finished my muslin of the Rouleur leggings from Fehrtrade patterns. I used a mix of a grey and a leopard activewear jersey. The pattern came together faster than i thought, and i had no trouble at all with the instructions.

After finishing the leggings i made another Surf to Summit top, this time to match the Rouleur leggings. As i have made this pattern twice before, this was sewn in about an hours time, so a really fast make. I cut of the high collar and did a crewneck instead with contrasting turquoise bands at the neck and arms.

I also made an Axis top by Sophie Hines, but i had to alter the pattern a bit to fit my bust and get a. bit more coverage in the axle area. I also lengthened it a bit to reach my waistline. This might be a good top for going to the gym or for a yoga session, because it stays put and does not roll up.

Sewing sportswear- finally!

Since my friend Petra gifted me a book about Sewing Activewear i contemplated on sewing my own sports clothes, especially because most of the bike clothes do not really fit me. it seems, that every woman on a bike has to be very slim and small-busted. Most of the ready-to-wear things often do not even come in my size, which is really frustrating. And mostly i have problems to fit my D-cup sized bust into normal clothes.

I started with the basic pattern of Melissa Fehrs „Sewing Activewear“ book and first did a muslin of some leftover swim fabric, some bike shorts and a longer legging. As this all went well and without problems i ordered some interesting fabrics from a German seller called „Extremtextil“. I bought a very nice and thick stretch with merino plus some thinner fabrics for summer shirts and shorts.

As i wanted a raglan top, because this fits often better in the shoulders i finally bought the „Surf to Summit Top“ from Fehrtrade plus the Rouleur leggings for biking base clothes. The leggings were made from the base pattern of the book. For the top i first made a muslin with a thin t-shirt fabric to wear under it, then i finally cut into my good warm fabric.

Basic leggings and the Surf to Summit top plus my trusty ebike

I printed out the pattern at home and had no trouble to assemble it, all fit perfectly. Also the sewing of the different parts is really easy and the pieces fit together well. There were enough notches for putting together and the sewing part took maybe an hours time. Instructions were good, with text and pictures and easy to understand.

The only thing that i changed was the collar opening. I thought about inserting a zipper, but with the bulky fabric i did not like the idea after sewing a mockup on a fabric scrap. So i just cut the front part not on the fold, sewed it together leaving a slit and did a contrasting collar lining, that i folded under and stitched in by hand.

All things considered i am quite content with my new bike clothes. The sizing of the pattern is a bit on the looser side, so if you want it tightfitting, maybe size a bit down. I did cut a size M, although i am a 14US or a 16UK size, so even a bit more curvy ladys have the chance to make nice fitting workout clothes with Fehrtrades patterns. Plus- Melissa seems to be a really nice person too. I had a problem with my order and she sorted it out in just a few hours (on Easter weekend!).

My psychedelic wearable muslin of the basic leggings

Weekly diary and Easter holidays

Thankfully this week was a shorter one because of the holidays. The weather got nicer every day, so i wore more fresh and springlike scents. Starting with Sens & Bois, Pour La Belle, Womanity, my special mix of Tea Rose and Coriandre ( you should try this, soo good), Chypre Siam, Scherrer and Doe in the Snow

Views from a very long walk around Ludwigsburg

On my plate I had pasta with turkey-tomato-sauce, lots of leftovers from the freezer, a Falafelburger on our long walk plus icecream and a burger with fish fingers and salad. Saturday was pasta again, this time with shrimps, miso butter and bottarga. Sunday we ate lots of braided easter bread with ham and hardboiled eggs plus persian celery-beef ragout with lots of parsley and mint.

This time we stayed at home over the easter holidays, so we just relaxed, watched videos, took some walks. The long walk on Good Friday was nearly 18km, so i was really exhausted and went to bed very early. I also took some time sewing some sleep shorts from a green seersucker fabric and finally started with my bike-clothes in earnest. I also managed to bike twice that week to work, which is not a bad thing, because this means nearly 90km biked!

Morning view on my bike commute, cold, but sunny

Weekly diary

Perfumes worn this week were L´Air de Rien, Shaliar, Gucci No3, Cardin Paradoxe, Chypre Mousse, Drya, Agent Provocateur, a layering of Lovely Sheer and Tea Rose (nice combo) and Cleef and Arpels First EdT for sunday.

On my plate i had lots of leftover, potato soup, Chicken with gochujang, smothered savoy with brats, shakshuka and i made a braided easter bread.

Otherwise nothing much happened besides of work, taking some walks and spending the whole saturday on renewing my radiooncologic license in an 8hour course plus exam…. I am hoping to have some more time for doing nice things next weekend.

Weekly diary

This weeks perfumes were a bit of a mixed bit, because the weather was very april-like. It started with warm weather, so out came Patou Joy and Cabotine, then it got really cold and it started to snow on saturday, so my cold-weather scents got an outing. It was Sens & Bois, Fourreau Noir, Dzing!, Vanille Absolument, Calligraphy Saffron and Theo Fennel.

Blossoms in spring with and without snow

As i had time at home, because of a bad case of laryngitis i could not really speak at all and therefore could not go to work, i had more time to cook. Thankfully i felt not bad or sick, just lost my voice and was not allowed to speak. This was something my boyfriend found really funny, i am sure he enjoyed the silence!

On my plate i had bulgur patties with broccoli, a greek Avgolemono-chicken soup, a soup with Maultaschen plus an old-fashioned potato soup with sausages. I made some Japchae, greek filled bellpeppers with rice and miso noodles with broccoli and salmon for sundays lunch.

I also spent some time at my sewing machine and made a long warm bike leggins from some very nice polar stretch with merino, which i hope will keep me warm on my bike. I also finally tackled the Metra Blazer from Lovenotions in some pinstriped ponte, that came out very nice and also made a matching skirt. No pictures yet, but i will post some later..

Weekly diary

Perfume theme of this week was samples and decants, so i wore Rochas Femme, Azurée, a sample of vintage Givenchy III (very nice!) and vintage Amazone. I got a new decant of Synthetic Jungle, that i wanted to try since it came of. Its an interesting green-lily of the valley scent with an enormous staying power. I think i will gladly use up the decant, but will not need a bottle of this. I tried Splendiris, but this was much too powdery and sweet for my taste, plus it had too much of a violet note to agree to my nose. It also reminded me of the cheap L´Oreal lipstick i own, so this is a definitive dislike for me. Sunday i wore Iris Rebelle, which is a bit more of a clean smelling white powdery iris, not too special, but at least nice to wear. I also wore Covet, because i love this in spring weather.

Biking along the Neckar river with a beergarden visit plus icecream, because we have earned this.

We had lots of nice meals this week on our staycation holidays. We were on the way home from my boyfriends parents and stopped to have dinner at a vietnamese place for some bun noodles and duck plus spring rolls. Next day was Gyoza. We had gyros with fries and greek salad at a nice beergarden at. the Neckar river and some icecream 20km later. I made pasta ricotta e spinaci and a dinner of baby chicken and cauliflower from the oven plus cheese-filled gnocchi. I tried a recipe for Peposo, a tuscan beef stew with lots of wine and pepper, that. turned out great and was served with polenta. Sunday i made pasta with veggies, lentils and ricotta plus a big salad for dinner.

The weather this staycation week was really warm and sunny, so we finally started biking again to get out in the sun. Our first tour this year was 50km along the Neckar river. It was not crowded, because it was wednesday, so we were often the only ones on bikes. The next day we wanted to dine in France at a Michelin star restaurant for lunch, but i felt an infection coming plus i got a contact warning on my Covid app, so we sadly had to cancel our lunch. But luckily my test came back negative, so it was just a bit of laryngitis, but its much better now.

Weekly diary

Perfumes this week were mostly themed by St. Patrick´s Day, so i was wearing the green (scents) mostly this week. I started with Eau de Lancaster (green and herby with a bit of vanilla), Vert de Fleur (florist shop, sadly its prohibitively costly), Chanel No5 L´Eau (not green….), a sample of Macaque (i disliked the cedar note), Niki de Saint Phalle, lots of Arden Green Tea plus sampling Climat, which i am still undecided on. I have a problem with violet, and this note is too strong for my taste. Sunday was Zagorsk, very nice for a great sunny spring day

On my plate i had lots of frozen leftovers, but i made a barley-tomato-cavolo nero soup with parmesan, which tasted quite good, some spaghetti with cavolo nero and japanese Kare raisu (Rice with curry sauce, meat and carrots). Sunday breakfast was a big bowl of Congee with egg, lunch was Sauerbraten with Spätzle at the in-laws to be.

Spaghetti with cavolo nero plus truffle oil, because everything is better with truffle

We visited my boyfriends parents in Weissenau. They live just at the entrance of the psychiatric clinic, where the Nazis deported the patients to the gas chambers. Luckily its now a better place with a nice park around it.

We are planning a biling trip next week, the weather forecast is great so we maybe try another part of the Neckar bikeway….

Weekly diary

Perfumes this week were a combo of Fils de Dieu and Roma (works great), Scherrer EdT, Sens & Bois, Chanel No 19, Aromatics Elixir, Choc de Cardin, vintage Janine D and Untitled L´Eau for a warm and sunny sunday.

My Brompton Mortimer got his first spring outing today

We did not spend too much time in the kitchen, because we had some leftovers, but we had red cabbage with balsamico and ducks breast, scrambled eggs with kimchi, fresh truffle tortelli with salsa ai funghi plus a big salad of fennel and oranges, some other pasta for sunday and tete de veau with sauce ravigote and potatoes.

I tried to get my ebike to work again, sadly the display did not work anymore, the battery is too old now. So we ordered a new battery and hope we can repair it ourselves. Otherwise i have to buy a new display control panel for 100 euros, which is not so nice. We ´ll see how it goes. I was hoping to commute by bike next week with the milder temperatures, but this will have to wail.

My fitbit Versa also tried to die on me, because the display was falling off the housing, but my boyfriend managed to glue it back in place, so it still works, but i am looking for a new tracker, maybe this time a Garmin, i am still undecided.

Weekly diary

Vintage Zen EdC and my first try at Tteobokki

This weeks CP on NST war female perfumers so i was wearing only those. I started with Coriandre- Jacqueline Coururier, Sens & Bois- Celine Ellena, Dryad – Liz Moores, L´Air de Rien – Lyn Harris, Vintage Zen – Josephine Catapano, Doe in the Snow and Meet Me On The Corner- both by Sarah McCartney. I finished the sunday in lots of C&A First EDT, not a female perfumer, but it was what i was craving…

On my plate this week there was a lot of pasta, on monday with sardines and ricotta, friday with leeks and sausages and sunday with a tomato-turkey sauce. I made Kitsune donburi with some leftover aburraage (fried tofu pockets), some salmon with sesame-cabbage salad and a cauliflower soup with sausage and curry. The boyfriend cooked venison fillets with a nice sauce and pasta (again). And i make my first Tteobokki with gochujang and spinach, really easy and the nice heat of the gochujang paste was great on a cold spring day too.

I finally gave the book „ Sew your own activewear“ a go and sewed a prototype of biking shorts, which fit really nice, after i tweaked the inseams at the crotch a bit. I think i will sew a new biking wardrobe for this season. I am imagining a biking skort, because i feel a bit exposed in those short biking shorts and think it looks nicer with a bit of a skirt over it.

Weekly diary

As this week was sample week at NST, I dug out some samples from my box. So i tested Heeley Chypre 21 ( not a Chypre at all, just powdery green almondy on my skin), Superstition No13 ( nice incensy amber), Houbigant Orangers en Fleurs (not too bad for a white flower scent, orange blossom and tuberose, but not cloying) and TDC Sens & Bois, which was a sample favorite. A nice woody and peppery scent with a bit of ginger and citrus, perfectly good for everyday wear. I wore my beloved Aromatics Elixir on Tuesday , Scherrer EDT for saturday and a combo of Felanilla and Calligraphy Saffron on sunday ( there is not too much saffron for a perfume, is it?)

I also managed to train on my crosstrainer 5times a week plus a long walk with the boyfriend. I also made some progress on knitting the first sock for the boyfriend, doing a variation of the Kai-Mei pattern of Cookie A, just because i find the construction a bit more interesting than plain vanilla socks. I am still reading a crime novel placed in WWII, The Unexpected Return of Josefine Fox, its not bad of a Prime reading book, but i had better crime novels, still want to finish it.

I made more time in the kitchen this week, so we had baked parsnips with a pumpkinseed-oil herbed dip, a big pot of turkey curry with tomato, a barley risotto with braised kale and miso plus brussel sprouts with soy sauce and omelett. I made a pot of lentil soup with tomato and anchovis. Some gnocchi with feta and salsify, a salad of yellow beets and ducks breast with teriyaki sauce, oven-baked pumpkin, gomasio and rice. Not a bad week for cooking on a diet, i must say….

Weekly diary

remnants of a roman road, just before a fall in the mud

Perfumes this week were mostly rose-centered, so i wore Perles de Lalique, Lady Rose Lion+ Mitsouko, Patou Joy EDT, Coriandre+Agent Provocateur, Rose d´Arabie+Musks Khoublai Khan, Knowing+Paloma Picasso and Fils de Dieu plus L´Air de Rien after a shower, because i lost my footing in the mud…

On my plate i finally made my first Kare Raisu, a simple japanese curry with pork, carrots, potatoes and curry cubes. This was a really simple meal, but very nice. Reminded me of our stay in Japan, when we went into a curry shop. I tried a savoury curry porridge with some remains of the curry plus egg for breakfast and liked it a lot. We had orecchiette with ricotta and broccoli and another day with broad beans. Friday was a pot of shakshuka. Saturday i made Khoresht-e-Rivas, a persian beef shin ragout with saffron and rhubarb and lots of herbs and sunday was a ducks breast with asian cole slaw and gnocchi.

I managed to work out every day of the week, either taking a walk or on the crosstrainer with a 2hour walk in splendid sunshine on sunday. We went to the remains of an old roman road, but sadly i slipped in the mud and went down, but nothing was hurt, but my pride… I finished a pair of socks, but must weave in the ends.