Archives for May 2012
Proof…
… that I’m not always covered in milk and poop stains with my hair in a sloppy knot and dark circles around my eyes. We left our little lady with her grandmother (they have a lot of fun together, even though the little rugrat refused to drink from the bottle and got a little whiny a half an hour before we got back home) went to the national opera to see the musical “Man of La Mancha” (which was very entertaining, go see it if you can).
I felt very grown up (which I don’t get to do very often) and dressed accordingly.ˇ
Calling it quits: how to take matters into own hands
Lazy days
I’ve had a really busy couple of days (lots of cleaning and doing laundry + baking two quiche’s and a rhubarb cake yesterday) so today turned out to be a “day off”. Me and kiddo have spent most of the day just sitting around cuddling on the couch, I’ve done some reading up on forums and chatting with acquaintances.
Here’s a fun fact I learned a couple of days ago: there are two more babies living in our apartment building, one 3- and one 8-month old. So our little lady is going to have a fun childhood with loads of kids to play with. Plus I learned today that there are lots of really great mummies with kids the same age as ours living in our neighborhood. How awesome is that?
Since the little bug is playing and chatting with her toys in her crib, I’m gonna go wash off a bit, get dressed and then go out for a little stroll before I grow roots. Toodles!
Dressed up for auntie M
CHARANGA dress & bolero (my mum got her those from Spain)
POLARN O. PYRET tights
Sunday at grandma’s
Had a really nice day in the beautiful weather yesterday, we barbecued (I tried marinating my first schaschlik and it turned out the best I’ve ever had), H and grandma A played with their new pressure washer (cars, garden furniture and even an armchair got all clean and shiny) and mowed the lawn, I weeded the garden and got a bit of a tan (no more glowing in the dark, yay), little princess learned how to grab toys and bring them to her mouth, the pooch got on grandma’s kitty’s nerves to the point where she almost got killed. We came home after that. Great day!
Toffee ice cream with Bailey’s-soaked raisins
A few weeks ago we dusted off the old waffle iron and I’ve made hundreds of waffles since. What could be better than some home made ice cream to go with it? This brilliant base recipe doesn’t require an ice cream machine to make and is delicious as hell. Since I can’t be eating my favorite kind of ice cream (the little princess is allergic to me eating chocolate) and plain vanilla is boring as hell, I decided to go for toffee. If you don’t wan’t yours toffeelicious, you don’t need to heat the condensed milk beforehand (just add the condensed milk as it is and finish the ice cream off with any flavor you like).
You’ll need:
6 dl whipping cream (30-36%)
300g condensed milk (sweetened)
Raisins
Some Bailey’s
Start by taking your raisins and soaking them in Bailey’s. The longer they get to soak, the softer and yummier they’ll become (an hour or longer would be nice). Then start heating your condensed milk at a low temperature until it starts caramelizing (this will take longer than you’d expect it to, but be patient, after about 30-40 minutes you’ll have a nice, light brown toffee mass). Take it off the heat and let it cool while whipping your cream to a soft peak. Then mix your cooled condensed milk and the cream, add the raisins and put it in the freezer for at least five hours. It will be the longest five hours of your life, but I assure you, it’s worth it.
Give it a go and let me know how it turns out!
You scream, I scream
I had a very traumatic experience this morning when I went for a stroll with the pooch (involving her rolling around in human feces, people, please stop pooping outside) and now that we’re done cleaning and disinfecting her, I’m going to do something a lot more soothing. I’m going to make toffee ice-cream with raisins soaked in Bailey’s. We have a very special guest coming over tomorrow so we’re making ice cream and waffles to welcome her. 🙂
Pampered
There’s nothing like being woken up to flowers and pretty presents – hey, I’m a woman after all! My adorable H brought me daffodils and a big chocolate brown box to bed…
Nom-nom-nom-nom-nom, thank you, love!
Mother’s day
Today I really am extra appreciative of motherhood and maternal bonds. Not only is it my very first special day, being a mother myself has made me realize how lucky I am to be surrounded by so many beautiful and amazing women. I see how much my mother has given me, how much of who I am is a reflection of her and what she believes in and stands for. She’s a person I’m proud and thankful to resemble because she is strong (like you wouldn’t imagine), intelligent, creative and as caring as a person can be. Thank you for being my wonderful mummy and an even better grannie for my little girl!
This year I have another great lady in my life to thank and cherish: my mother-in-law (not literally, but you get the picture), who has really been here for us and helped us so much there’s not enough words to express my gratitude. She’s the kindest, most considerate person and if she wasn’t the fantastic grandmother she is to our princess, motherhood would have been much more of a struggle for me so far. Thank you, sweet-sweet A, for being who you are!
I can’t help being a little sad on this day, though. I wish with all my heart that my own beautiful grandmother could be here to see how happy I am to be the mother of this fantastic little girl. How I wish they could have met, because they would have loved each other so much. Wherever you are, I hope you see how much we love and miss you.
A special shout-out to all mummies, who, like myself, are celebrating their first year of motherhood (Triinu and Birgit come to mind). Enjoy this day and make sure you get yourself something nice for bringing your wonderful little miracles to this world 🙂