Monday 8 December 2014

Despite the mess...

- we still managed to squeeze some time in to do Christmas Baking with the girls - twice :-)

First time was on Thursday, where they made some "peppernuts" with Granny (pepper, because it's one of the ingredients and nuts, because that's how they are shaped). And as a demand by my little girl it had to be nursery's recipe we used.

Peppernuts or "pebernødder" as they are called in Danish is one of the oldest Christmas Cookies dating back from the 1700's - and I think most families have there very own recipe. It is a must-have for Christmas (which is a bit of a problem as ours have already gone...) and it was one of the eatable things they used to put in little cones on the Christmas Tree.






If you would like to try them yourself, here is what to do:

375g of butter
375g of sugar
850g of flour
3 eggs
1 tsp ground ginger
2 tsp ground cardamom
1½ tsp ground cinnamon
2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1-3 pinches of white pepper

Kneed it all together until you have a uniform ball of dough. Take a piece of the dough and roll it into a long snake-shape about ½ inch thick and then cut into ½ inch pieces (see 2nd picture of the girls). Roll each piece into a ball and bake for 10-12 mins. at 200 degrees.

If you would like them really crunchy, put then all back in the oven once it has been turned off, whilst it is cooling down.

I really hope this makes sense :-)


Happy Baking

Gitte x



Tuesday 2 December 2014

Time to JYD...

- so going down town earlier today I was on a mission to find something I could use for my Christmas Journal for 2014.

Since I haven't managed to do one for '12 and '13, it's very important for me to get one done for 2014 - but I am also aware that there are lots of other thing going on, so I have set up a few criteria:

  • I have to use a finished book - i.e. a notebook or a folder.
  • I need to find a set colour scheme.
  • Most of my embellishments etc. have to be pre-made.
  • It will mainly be a photo journal with a few comments supporting them.
  • I aim to get each day done the following morning.

I knew exactly where to go. We have this great store called "Søstrene Grene" where you can get anything from interiors and toys to candles, napkins and crafty bits and pieces at very reasonable prices.

And they didn't disappoint - and this here is what I found:


So now it's just getting started :-)

Have a fantastic day.

Gitte x

Tuesday 25 November 2014

I just can't wait...

- to get started on our new cushions after having partly bought and partly dug out these fantastic fabrics.

I simply love the colours - they just seem to make me happy which can never be a bad thing :-)

I made the embroidery of the reindeer earlier in the year. I've made embroideries since I was a very little girl and always loved it, but haven't really found the right purpose for it - for me it's something my grandmother put on her wall. So I'll try to incorporate it in a cushion, maybe in some kind of patchworky pattern (which is new to me) - maybe it will work, maybe it will not...




 

The painter has started today, and I am already much calmer :-)

Have a great day!

Gitte x

Monday 24 November 2014

Ready for...

- the painter to start. 

My lovely hubby has been working all weekend to get ready for the painter to start his work tomorrow, and last night at 9 he was done - only to to realise that the drain for the shower was blocked. After three hours of trying to unblock it, at midnight we had to call it a day...

Oh the joys...

But back to the important bit - WE ARE READY - and here are a few pictures to prove it :-)

Living room:



 Hall:


Oooh - I have also been fabric shopping, but more about that later. Have a lovely day :-)

Gitte X

Wednesday 19 November 2014

It's amazing to...

- see what you can actually achieve when you put your mind to it - and when you have a bet going on with your neighbor of course :-)

I am very proud to announce that all the cabelling in the living room is done and almost ready for connecting to the mains - all by me...

Didn't think I had it in me :-) 



Have a great day.

Gitte x

Friday 14 November 2014

Just thought I'd share....

- todays finds.

The colours for the livingroom will be...


So now I have something to work from when I go fabric hunting - I can't wait :-)

Gitte X

Cushions, Cushions, Cushions...

- I don't really think you can have enough of them...

Work on the living room and hall is moving forward - slowly but surely (maybe a little bit too slowly for my liking :-)) and as much as I would like to go and buy some new sofas, my bank account doesn't really agree.

My next project is therefor to make some new cushions and renew the furniture that way.

So last night I went on Pinterest and spent a couple of hours hunting for inspiration.

I already know that the colour scheme will be yellow and grey tones (which I have yet to convince my hubby about, but I know he'll come round) - and here are a few things I found:


You can see the rest of my cushion board here.

So I guess today's task is to go find some of those pantone colour things you can get in the paint departments and start planning - can't wait to get started :-)

Oh - and Jane, that blanket on the back of your sofa is exactly what I'm looking for, so watch out :-)

So my weekend will spent hunting for fabrics at stof og stil and maybe start to do some sewing - it's a hard life :-)

Have a lovely weekend.

Gitte x

Friday 7 November 2014

Luckily there is still time...

- to do some of the thing I really enjoy whilst trying to project manage everything that are going on around the house.

I have finally had time to finish off my new hand towels for the kitchen (I only started when we went camping in July...)

It's interesting, because last night when I was reading Jo's post about why I read other blogs it made me realise why (apart from being nosy of course :-): To get inspiration. Sometimes it's for specific things and sometimes I just come by things I like the look of. And then I take a little bit from here and a little bit from there and end up with my own version of something. And that's what I love about it.

And this is exactly what I have done here. When we went camping in the summer I wanted to make something I could sit and do at night when the girls were asleep. So I found this post from Tusindfryd with the titel "Turn off your brain knitting" and just knew I was on the right track. I loved the way she'd she used the contrasting colours round the edges and was actually excited about trying to crochet...

So on our arrival I found this local yarn place called Isager where I got the wool for my towels - in the three contrasting colours I wanted in my kitchen: Turquoise, Green and Petrol.


Using a double seed stitch (2 knit, 2 purl instead of one of each) I started with 70 stitches. I made them as long as I found suitable and finished off be crocheting a border using the pattern of a granny stripe.

And this is what I ended up with, using a leather strap as a hook:




So now I have added a few more items to break the whiteness of my very white kitchen.



And with that I wish you all a lovely weekend.

Gitte x

Tuesday 4 November 2014

Novembers project...

- has now been kick started, why rest on our laurels and get bored 
:-) And let's just say that we are no less ambitious this time than we were with the window project.

So the plan is to revamp the living room and hall - with a goal to finish no later than 1 December for Christmas to kick in, so no pressure...

This, among other things, means strip off old wallpaper, take down a wall, redo the electrics, brick up old doorways, break down the door to the basement, get the painter in to do up the walls and ceilings, get the floor man in to sand down the floors etc. etc....

We have of course cheated and started already, and then today we realised that the electrician we wanted wasn't going to make it... Not good when you have booked the painter to start on Monday :-)

Luckily we are not the first ones in this area who have done up a whole house (perhaps the most optimistic and unrealistic, but haven't we all been there...), so we called one of our lovely neighbors and knowing what we are going through, he was here fifteen minutes later. So even though my husband definitely thinks I am slightly mad, I am still optimistic :-)

So here's the starting point - and then you just have to wait until 1 December for the result (I wish...)


So until next time...

Gitte x


Thursday 23 October 2014

Project Window Done...

- I still can't believe how quickly they have managed to put in 9 windows, 3 patio doors and a front door.

The transformation is amazing - both inside and out. 

The lack of draft and noise from the windows has made such a difference - it's quite nice not getting a cold breeze on your neck and back when sitting on the sofa knitting :-)

I thought some before and after pictures was appropriate, so here they are:

Before

After


So whilst preparing the next project, I wish you all a lovely day.

Gitte x

Friday 17 October 2014

It's raining outside...

- so what's better than having a great afternoon indoors, with hubby on the guitar, the girls playing with LEGO Friends and drawing on the walls (next room to be done up) and myself knitting kitchen towels.




Not bad at all :-)

I wish you all a lovely weekend.

Gitte x

Wednesday 15 October 2014

Apples Apples Apples

The apple season is over us, and I have been given lots of cooking apples from a lovely neighbor - like two shopping bags and a big bucket lots :-)

The thing is - I just can't turn down an offer like that, so what to do...

I have tried to do different thing with them - diced and halved some for the freezer, ready for crumble and pie, cooked some with sugar and vanilla to serve with crushed macaroons and whipped cream and finally I made 2.5 liters of apple squash, which is different but nice.

So tonight, since the in-laws are here and it's the girls autumn half term, I found a recipe for apple pie here, but since it's in Danish I thought I'd just translate :-)

Sweet pastry
You need 2 portions, one for the base and one for the lid:
100 g butter
150 g flour
1½ tsp sugar
pinch of salt
½-1 egg

Mix butter, flour, sugar and salt until crumbled, then add the egg and bring it all together. 

Filling
5 apples, halved
4 tbsp sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
egg for egg wash
sugar for sprinkling

Roll out one portion of the pastry for the base. 



Place the apples on the pastry, round side up. Mix sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle over the apples

Roll out the lid and place over the apples and join with the base at the edge. Cut some holes to allow the steam from the apples to get out.


Finally, bake for 25-35 mins. on 180 degrees and Ta-daaa...


Enjoy :-)

Gitte x


Tuesday 14 October 2014

It's amazing...

what you can achieve when you have family and friends - and someone who knows what he is doing - around you.

All the windows and doors on one floor are already in - and only with one broken glass (on one of the old windows...)

The big moment was when they managed to lift out the big front windows without braking it. It took 4 grown men - and 4 girls of various ages to cheer - to do it. It is now up for grabs for free, as long as you take it away yourself... With about 400 lbs and a measurement of 113x62 inches I really hope someone bites as I don't how else we'll get rid of it :-)

Before                 During                        After
         




I can't believe what a difference it has made to the house, both inside and out. I absolutely love it and can't wait until the last four goes in next weekend.

And with this photo and with the smell of hot chocolate and waffles I wish you all a lovely afternoon.


Gitte x 



Thursday 9 October 2014

It just took me back...

Hi all

Having taken the girls to school and nursery and walked the dog I sat down in my favorite chair with a nice warm cup of coffee and my phone - so nothing new there...

The only difference is that I pressed the Pinterest button on my phone, which I haven't done for a long, long time. And suddenly I was back at Louise's, sat in her kitchen with Sarah, Karen and Jackie, Scrapping and chatting (normally mainly chatting...), realizing that I haven't done ANY since we moved back to Denmark last year.

Don't get me wrong, it's not that I haven't done anything creative at all. I've starting sewing again and in the winter I love knitting. This means that the girls have a constant supply of new clothes and my dear husband has finally got his Icelandic Sweater he's wanted for years.

- Oh, and then there are obviously all the things round the house.

And suddenly, for some strange reason, I felt the urge to some blogging, not that I have previously been very consistent or anything... So here I am, back at the computer sharing with you all the project that I am filling my life with at the moment.

Making an anorak for my husband, using his dad's old Tenson one from the 70's as a pattern. 
(Slightly worried that it will turn out looking a majorly home-made)


Getting our new utility room ready for painting by scraping off all the old terpentine based paint so the walls can breathe 
(not my favorite job, but very excited about getting it done)



Putting in all out new windows and doors that arrived just yesterday.
(VERY excited about that one)


So as you can probably guess I am not bored...

Have a lovely autumn day everyone.

Gitte x