100 happy days :: day 37

new converse. because you can never have too many. 

100 happy days :: day 35

dunkin' donuts. in the us, i would definitely not go out of my way for them. but make it so that i have to drive 3 hours to another country to get some and yes, bring 'em on!

100 happy days :: day 34

a friend and i decided to have a little shopping outing in germany on wednesday - she brought along her son and i my daughter and my daughter's friend. our intention was to hit the outlet mall in neumunster and head on to hamburg for the more funky stuff (e.g. urban outfitters and american apparel). on a kind of high to be getting away, along the way, we discussed staying overnight and extending our stay by a day. we even talked of going on to berlin, but in the end, decided hamburg was enough. while eating dinner, we jumped on booking.com and booked some inexpensive accomodation that looked pretty cool in the pictures. i have only been in hamburg once before and it was work-related, so i didn't really know the place. so, when i booked, i only looked at how close the hotel was to the center and how it looked in the photos, i didn't really notice the address. which happened to be on the reeperbahn. the most infamous of hamburg streets. we were taking three impressionable teenagers to the heart of the red light district. and it gave me a serious case of the giggles. i called husband to tell him and i laughed hysterically.

the hotel was called pyjama park hotel & hostel. it looked funky and modern in the photos on booking.com and best of all, it had reasonably-priced rooms that could accomodate 5 people. what they didn't mention was that it was situated between a strip club and the erotic boutique bizarre. we pulled up out front and made the children wait in the locked car while we went in. we went up the stairs to find the night clerk behind the desk. he was a real character, dressed in a leather vest, with longish hair and a necklace with bone beads, the type of guy who looks like he's been around a bit and was perhaps slightly worse for the wear. but, he was super good natured and helpful and quickly had us laughing and feeling comfortable. the lobby had cool custom wallpaper and was inviting, so we decided to go for it, despite the neighborhood.

we were so glad we did! the room was spacious, freshly-painted, clean and, being on the top floor, was away from the noise of the street. breakfast the next morning was served in the cutest little breakfast room. there was cereal, boiled eggs, bread, a variety of cheeses, pate, juice and lattes, all served in the cozy breakfast room, where it was so nice, we could hardly drag ourselves away.

despite the location in the heart of hamburg's red light district, i'd go back to the pyjama hotel in a heartbeat. you never know what you might find, if you're open to looking for it.

100 happy days :: day 33

two cool exhibition spaces. two engaged, interested teenagers. 

100 happy days :: day 32

a shopping trip. a change of scenery. another country. and a bit of spontaneity. so much happy.

the view from sunday night

another 4-day weekend. i love the cycle of spring holidays in denmark. aside from a windy saturday, the weather was largely glorious. we really do mostly benefit from the global warming here in our northern climes (aside from when those storms blow through and take out the odd building). since we're preparing for sabin's big party in a couple of weeks, we bought a lot of beautiful flowers and i filled the entryway with them. last year, i had tomatoes there, but we've put the greenhouse back together, so the veggies are out there. amazing how a few plants make coming into our falling-down farmhouse much more inviting.

i used to think of germany as a boring place where people wear weird socks, but the more i pop down to border town flensborg for gin and proper groceries, the more it grows on me. the harbor was just gorgeous clad in friday's sunshine. there were booths selling all manner of fun things...from smoked salmon to hats to handmade soap.

there were strolling musicians entertaining along the quayside (note the weird socks). but on the whole, it seems to much more ok to be a little different in germany than it is denmark, where the pressure to conform is almost oppressive. (tho' i continue to resist that whole dress with jeans thing they've had going on for over a decade.)

there was a regatta happening and i guess this beauty was one of the ships involved. just lovely to see. days like this will keep us coming back to germany (tho' the variety of gin helps as well).

now we're all stocked up and ready to make cocktails for all of our summer visitors (yes, that's two bottles of St. Germain and two bottles of Aperol). (and yes, they are important enough to use capital letters.)

sabin had about 8" of hair cut off on saturday. she was cool as a cucumber about it, tho' our hairdresser was quite shocked and even tried to talk her out of it. she wanted her dip-dye gone, so i guess that fashion moment is over now. i was pretty proud of how sure she was about what she wanted. if that continues, she's going to be just fine. she had a good friend over all weekend and they had several photo shoots. i'm also hoping the desire to do that continues. love the docs with her confirmation dress. and it is a super cute cut, tho' it makes her look older. i suppose it's now that looking older is a good thing, tho' i don't think that was her goal. i think she just wanted to go back to her natural hair color and have healthy non-bleached ends again. she's a sensible kid. i guess she gets that from her dad.

* * *

is email dead? (let's hope so.)

* * *

minifigs make even risqué comments sound ok.

* * *

poignant and beautiful. a rather lovely thing.

* * *

check out my new super(heroes) board on pinterest. 

i'm a little in love with batman. 

gin soaked

i found a new premium gin today - it's called whitley neill. i hadn't heard of it before, but i was won over in a second when it said "inspired by africa. made in england." because we all know how much i love cape town. on top of that, they give 5p from each bottle to tree aid, so you might even say it's green gin. it has a spiciness that's different from the coolness of usual gin. a cinnamony ginger undertone. it's absolutely perfect with my homemade tonic.

because yes, i made tonic! i followed this recipe. i had to order cinchona bark powder. i was very pleased with the quality (as little as i know about it as of yet, but there's no bitterness that some of the comments complained of, so i interpret it as good quality) and how quickly healthy village sent it. one pound of it will last me a long time, so i'm pleased with it. homemade tonic ends up rather reddish in color because of the cinchona bark, but once i strained it (several times through coffee filters), it got quite clear, even tho' it was still red. it's just something we have to get used to.

and it's so delicious that it's easy to get used to. we served it to guests the day we made it and they wanted a second cocktail, so it must have been good. and the slightly stronger taste is really gorgeous with the whitley neill gin.

the gin blog recommends trying it with honey, so that's next on the list, since, as you know, we have our own honey (45 kilos we recently harvested!). 

cheers!

posh gin

i went to the doctor today (remember that cough i had? i still have it) - it was only a hop, skip & a jump from germany, so i slipped over the border to a proper (read: has tapas, yogurt in jars, black beans, quinoa, amaranth and a whole wall of olive oil) grocery store. and i picked up this whimsical looking little gin. geranium gin. and am i ever glad i did!

while it's nothing like hendrick's (loved by a small handful of people, all over the world), it is definitely in the same category poshness-wise. i'd never stick a cucumber in it, like i do with hendrick's, as it's too gently floral for that, but it's just gorgeous - modern, light - precisely how a gin should be anno 2012.

the gin blog did a great review/history of it that you must read if you're at all gin-interested (and if you're here, i assume you are). it was actually developed by a danish guy and his father, tho' it's made in the UK. it's no ubiquitous grocery store gin, so you'll not find it everywhere, but look for it, you'll likely be able to find it in posh liquor stores or the duty free, or the finer(?!) border shops in your area. well worth the hunt.  and the 179kroner ($25) pricetag.