Thanksgiving

We had a great Thanksgiving again this year....even if we did celebrate a little late on Saturday! We wanted our friends to be able to come and Thursday is not a holiday in Germany,  which is mildly shocking considering just about every other day is...see post here for more about that!

I went with a more modern eclectic table setting this year that sprung off my new 9.00 Euro teal Ikea tablecloth. It was on sale and I couldn't resist the stripes and the material is nice and durable. The mustard color is actually really pretty too...maybe next time! 

GLÄNTA tablecloth from Ikea

A while back I visited a local park and picked up some large bark pieces and decided to incorporate those in as well. I dried them in the oven and then added some gold paint to lighten the wood and add some interest. With candles we had and some orange lanterns (real branches given to me by our landlord) I think it turned out okay.

This year I simplified the menu a little, but it was less stressful and to tell you the truth Germans have no idea what you normally eat on thanksgiving so they didn't miss the sweat potatoes or green bean casserole. I decided on a new spanjer favorite "roasted broccoli" and then just stuck to the classics including homemade cranberry sauce  which is really easy to make and tastes way better than the canned version. We used Alton Brown's brining and turkey cooking recipe thanks to my parents suggestion and it turned out great! I think an improvement from last year and a lot shorter cooking time.

Stephen did the honors of cutting our little bird to pieces

and we finished the night off watching Men In Black 3. It was a fun night of friends, family, and lots of eating! Hope you had a nice Thanksgiving! 

Sicily in Picture

The last week in March Stephen and I took a short trip to southern Italy to get away before the start of the crazy summer months. We rented a little bungalow off the coast of Sicily for 4 days and tried to soak in the relaxation. There are three small islands that belong to Sicily and we stayed on the smallest of the three (population of 70...yes, I think we met them all while on the island) Levanzo. Here are some pictures from the trip.

The city of Levanzo and the Port.

Stephen carrying up our groceries...it was a really steep hill.

View from our bungalow...it was on the other side of the island and was about a 12 minute drive by dirt road from the town center. 

The water was really blue....but also really cold!

After our 30 minute hike to the beach....do you like the socks?!

We took a day trip to one of the other islands, Favignana. Squid and Octopus for sale!

We rented bikes for the day and road around the island stopping at all the pretty beaches.

Stephen did some rock climbing.

Lots of the houses had rock cut outs in the back year....we are not sure why but it made a cool picture. 

You can see Levanzo in the background.

My sandals were giving me blisters so Stephen traded with me...he is a good husband!

Catching the 6 am ferry to the mainland on the morning we left. 

Good Bye Levanzo!

NIC Christmas

..I only said it might be the last one! This one really is! Just wanted to post a picture from our Christmas Eve Service at NIC. We had a great group and even some new visitors. Until next year...

1st Spanjer Christmas...in February

I know it is a little late for christmas, but I wanted everyone to see our first christmas together in Germany. Unfortunately, I left my camera here on our trip to the States...hence, christmas in February. 

We did our best to decorate our little apartment and hang our stockings over the mantel, I mean radiator! Our stockings were extra warm on christmas morning!

We also received this smoking Santa  Weinachtsman from our landlords, it puffs out scented smoke. 

I made our first christmas skirt with inspiration from pinterest.....so addicting. I am pretty happy with the way it turned out and am glad that I can mark that project off for many years to come.

You may recognize some of the material from the lazy-boy....trying to get rid of scraps!

I was unaware that the advent wreath is such a huge tradition here, but it is. I was invited to make one with a friends family and must say it is a fun tradition. We got to light a candle every sunday leading up to Christmas and the greenery we used made the house smell wonderful.

Now to the good stuff, Christmas Day! We tried to start some Spanjer traditions, but it is extra hard when your husband is a pastor and has to work on Sunday. So we settled for a taco dinner after the christmas eve service (don't be too horrified....that tradition might not stick) and then started christmas around 1pm on Sunday. It was a bit anti-climatic but we did the best we could.

First we opened our stockings and then ate a "breakfast-lunch" so it seemed like christmas morning.

Can you tell who's wrapping is who's? Boys and their camo!

It was a great 4 hour celebration (we had to take all our decorations down that night before we headed to America the next morning) and did just the trick. I am looking forward to next year. 

Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree...

It was not easy or convenient but we have a christmas tree!

Pictures with it decorated to come!

Merry Christmas Eve Eve!