New Survival Gear

Yesterday, after a long, cold, and rainy trip to school and back I looked out the window and got a big knot in my throat....winter has arrived....not really, but to an Alabama girl it has! We spotted the first traces of snow on the mountains not far from us and suddenly it dawned on me...I don't actually own real winter clothes. I own "Alabama Winter Clothes." You know what I am saying, short sleeve turtlenecks, cute wool shorts and skirts that you wear tights with, and the occasional long sleeve sweater, but not the snow shoveling, windshield scrapping, freezing outside kind. 

So what is a girl to do....head to Ikea! Just kidding, it is not the answer to all things, but luckily for me the clothes version of Ikea does live in Germany and it's name is H&M. Before living in Germany I had only been in H&M a couple times since they are hard to come by in Montgomery, but they are ever so delightful if you are in need of some cheap yet stylish new clothes. 

Here are the purchases from today:

Basic Cream Sweater: 9.99 Euro.

Mustard Colored and really comfortable: 9.99 Euro

Light Heather Greyish Sweater Dress: 19.99 Euro

Cream Wool Hat: 4.95

Girls Size 14+ Knee Length Puffy Jacket: 39.99 Euro
(Stephen found this one and we started laughing when we realized it was a child's size,
but I am glad I tried it on b/c it fits perfectly and was cheaper)

I am sure you will see me sporting these in the future and until then send along any winter tips you may have for this wimpy Alabama girl.

Baking with Tia

Last week I had the pleasure of entertaining the ever delightful Tia. She is a girl that goes to our church and her mom often translates for Stephen when he preaches. Tia's mom is German and her dad is American so she speaks both languages perfectly...lucky girl!

Andy (her Mom) had been sick for about a week so I invited Tia over to bake and do a little craft. In August she came over and helped me make chocolate cupcakes with peanut butter Icing (always a winner) so we decided to do it again. We tried a healthier recipe that does not have eggs, butter, or oil and as much as I want to say you couldn't tell, it ended up being pretty gross. Next time I will just stick to the fattening stuff!

While our cake was backing we painted pumpkins in honor of fall. It turned out to be pretty fun, 

even though my pumpkin looked like this....bless you little pumpkin. I think I was a bit ambitious for a 20 minute painting session with only two colors!

Tia did the icing for us (the only good part about the cake),

and then we sat down for a "Tea Party" or in our case a "Not so Delicious Cake and Milk Party"!

Oh and did you see Tia's shirt? I know you are thinking she looks younger than 30. Some of our German friends gave it to Stephen for his birthday a couple years ago!

Alright, happy baking and let me know if you come across a healthy chocolate cake recipe that actually tastes good.

Dinner with Sophie and Leo

Two of my favorite girls were home for about a month from College so we decided to celebrate with dinner. It was great to just talk and catch up. Sophie is on the right and studies Economics and International Business about 2 hours from Neuenburg, while Leonie is on the left and we are still not really sure what she is studying! 

So pretty!

Just kidding, it is a mix of South American Cultural, Spanish, Portugese, and "a tribal language of choice" whatever that means. She is really happy with it though so "press on little Leo!"

that about sums up Leo, "you taking a picture of me?"

Sophie got some cool new glasses, you know European and all so Claudine and I gave them a shot. Is it just me or do my eyes look strangely huge in them?

I kind of think she looks good in them?!?

Anyways, just a night in the life of an American in Germany with a friend who wants to be South American!

Ikea Hacking

So as you know living in Germany limits your resources for buying home goods, there is no Target, Restoration Hardware, or Pottery Barn and with the outrageous prices/euro to dollar ratio most non-chains are a little pricey. Well what is a girl to do...go to Ikea!

I am sure you have realized by now that almost all of our home accessories and furniture, except the stuff left from Grandma are from Ikea. It is a relatively inexpensive solution to most decorating needs. Sometimes it is not the cutest solution I have ever seen, which brings me to the point of this post. I have been making a few alterations and what I like to think of as improvements to my Ikea products. (For more inspiration of "Ikea Hacking" check out this website: http://www.ikeahackers.net/)

First off, our bedroom trash can. A simple white wicker basket that I got for about 5 Euros. It did the job, but it felt a little cheap because the wicker is semi-plasticy and shiny.

Before Ikea Basket

So I decided to add a little fabric (I bought a cheap fitted sheet in France that I have used on 3 baskets) and some ribbon that I got on sale when a fabric store was closing!

After

Here is where she sits. Not bad for a trash can.

Bedroom Corner....the Bedroom MakeOver is coming soon...just have to finish the pillow for the bed!

Next up are two cork boards that you have seen before in the Guest Room MakeOver. They were a cheap office solution for 4.99 each, but they lacked a little something.

Before Ikea Cork Board

To blend them in with the room I decided to paint the wooden frame green and add some fabric (that I also got when the fabric store was closing for 3 Euros a yard). To get a vibrant green I first primed the frame with white and then added a second coat of the green. I am pretty happy with the result.

Sorry for the poor lighting, I took these at night!

Once I got rolling with the "hacks" I couldn't stop myself. I picked up a cheap serving tray from Ikea last time I was there for 8 euros and decided that there was too much wood in our apartment already.

Wooden Ikea Tray Before

Solution: paint it and add fabric (are you seeing a pattern here?). I went with light grey since we had it leftover from the bathroom and added a striped fabric that blends the colors from our living room together. I still need to do a light sanding on it and glue the edges of the fabric down, but you get the idea. 

After

Thanks Doziers for the great cups, I use them all the time!

I am not sure the fourth "hack" really counts but I will share with you anyways. First I have to confess I am semi-obsessed with Pinterest and got this idea from there, so I am not taking credit. I was looking up fall decorations and came across a great wreath tutorial that looked semi easy so I gave it a try. I did not have any linen fabric (that is what the tutorial called for), but I did have some leftover Ikea curtain material. I decided I would try it first with material I had since it could turn out really ugly and I did not want to invest to much on a DIY project.

I started with a wire hanger and bent it into a ring (this was not as easy as you would think). Next I ripped my leftover white fabric into 3 inch strips (approximately) and started making the wreath. Basically no skill is required, all you do is punch the fabric onto the hanger making 3 inch folds back and forth. As I was going I started twisting the fabric in between folds and decided I liked the texture better along with needing less fabric to fill up the wire. After about 15 minutes my wreath was assembled and I added another scrap of material as a bow. Not the greatest thing I have ever made, but not bad for scraps!

FinIshed Wreath: sorry for the poor picture quality again (night time).

Well hope you enjoyed the Hacking and let me know if you come up with any of your own.