Rose hips for Christmas

This year, for Christmas, I'm all about "natural". Somehow I prefer having my decorations as real as possible so I opted for a change in the red plastic small balls which step in every November. Here, they are substituted with rose hips, which, as you can see, look even better. And you can always use them for tea or marmalade after the holidays are over.

They are great for wreaths! For this one we used a metal ring and tied them around it. I hope it can survive the snow!

 Rose hips are also very good for random small bouquets. You can put them in a jar or a small bottle and decorate it as you wish. Here, I put tree wine corks at the bottom of every container and tied a bow around its neck. If you want, you can add other natural twigs or a classic purchased Christmas decor. The possibilities are endless!

Rose hips stay fresh outside to the middle of December, depending on your climate zone, so if you want to have them in your house for the holiday season, I suggest you hurry up!

Making tarallini

 Tarallini are Italian crackers, similar to bread sticks and pretzels in texture. They are with a circumference of 3.8 to 7.8 cm (1.5 to 3 inches) and can be sweet or savory. They are often accompanied by a glass of wine. Once baked, can be stored in an airtight container for several months.

Some weeks ago I bought a small amount of them at a local supermarket and I was immediately sold. Since I prefer eating things in which I know what the ingredients are, the idea to make my own came naturally. Searching the Internet for the right recipe I could only conclude that they consist of flour, olive oil, white wine and seasonings. Beyond these, everything else is experimenting. So experimented I. Here's what it resulted in.

For this recipe (30 to 40 tarallini ) you will need:

• 2 cups of plain flour (you can use any type, really)
• half a cup olive oil
• half a cup dry white wine
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• seasoning of your choice - I used chilli

Preparation:

Put the flour in a mixing bowl. Mix the seasonings and salt with the wine and olive oil in another bowl. Let the salt dissolve and pour the liquid into the flour. Mix very well until a ball of dough is formed. Knead the dough for 15 minutes by hand, cover it with foil and let it sit for half an hour.

While the dough sits, prepare a large pot and your baking dish, lined with paper. Put 2 liters/ 0,5 gallons of water to boil. Add a liiiiitle bit of salt in it, since we already salted the dough. Prepare a big kitchen towel and a slotted spoon next to the pot. Preheat the oven to 200 C/ 392 F.

Once you have all that and half an hour has passed, it;s time to form the tarallini. You can see that it's pretty easy - you cut a ball from the dough, make it into a thick stick, cut the stick into pieces, make each piece into a smaller, thinner stick again and form in into a circle. Basically you repeat this process until all the tarallini are done. 

When you have made about 10, put them one by one into the boiling water and wait until they come to the surface. Take them out with the slotted spoon and lay them on them towel so they remaining water can be absorbed. (see the pictures below)

When you have boiled all the pieces, put them on the baking paper and bake for approx. 30 minutes, or until golden on top. Let them cool and store in an airtight container. Enjoy with a glass of white wine!

Weekly dose of little things.

I think I will make it a tradition to post about daily little things every Sunday. This last day of the week has always been my favorite - it gives you the time to sit back, relax, think and enjoy all the small treasures in your life you don't see while hurring up on daily work tasks.

The things like a hot cup of coffee near the fireplace, your mum's cooking a special dish just because you will go see the family, the chilly air outside corresponding to the warmness of your home, the cat purring next to you, the moment you realize you have what it needs to be completely happy and even beyond. The awareness that your life is absolutely perfect, no matter how often you've thought the opposite, no matter that tomorrow you can again hate it for a small, stupid reason.

So, go to your loved ones today, hug them and appreciate what you have. Be thankful and you will be twice as happy because you can even miss the opportunity to see how lucky you are. Have a nice Sunday and try be as aware of life's little treasures as possible!

Latin sayings

I really love old times wisdom. Sayings and inspirational quotes can get me through a hard day, literally. Here, in Bulgaria, a common practice is to have one with your coffee in most coffee places. Some of the written thoughts really suck, while others are small treasures. 

Here is one of the second type, meaning " Until victory, do not speak about triumph" - an old Latin saying. I think that this is what stands in many people's way to success. 

So, less speaking, more action, guys! :)

Wood slices

Since I saw these on Pinterest five months ago I immediately decided I should have some in my home. My father was kind enough to make plenty of them, different in size and thickness. My personal favorites are these on which I can put a cup of hot coffee or a vaze of roses, as you can see :)

They are pretty easy to make - you just need a piece of wood for a fire place in desired diameter and shape (round, preferably) and the right instrument (ask your man for these ha-ha). Then you need to preserve the slice with wood lacquer in order to kill the bugs inside and to have it shiny for a long time. 

After that it's finally in to you for what purpose you will use them - coffee server, as I said, hot dish pad, decoration feature, etc. I now plan to incorporate them in my Christmas themed decoration, the beginning of which you can see on the last picture.

Do you like these types of natural decorations and do you have wood in your interior?

The coat!

May I now present a coat that my mother sewn for me! 

I am very proud of her and sooo thankful! This is my favorite color, the forest green one - as you can see I even named my blog after it.

So this coat is half the price of the same one you can find in stores ( not to mention that we rarely find a complete perfection out there, which covers all our fantasies ). This is basically what this one does. It is knee length, straight in shape with a big collar for the chilly windy days. I couldn't even ask for more of a piece of clothing! Thank you, mum, you are a treasure!

It's all in the little things

This picture pretty much sums up the perfect Sunday afternoon - coffee, a book, cozy home and rainy weather. I will add a bed and your beloved one to complete the picture. Life is all about the little things! I guess we all now that but a little reminder won't hurt. 

Have a magnificent weekend!

Balayage hair

This is the very successful experiment I did with my hair couple of months ago. I present you balayage - it is a technique with witch you can highlight you hair in a way that won't look bad when the hair starts to grow and you won't need to constantly dye it again and again. I LOVE the result! 

It looks like I've bean spending some time in the Caribbean sun :)

What do you think?

Potato and spinach balls with yogurt sauce

For approximately 20 balls you need:

8-10 potatoes, peeled

400 g./ 14 oz fresh spinach

half cup plain flour

2 eggs

2 teaspoons of oil

grated parmesan cheese

basil

salt

black pepper

other seasoning of your choice

For the sauce:

300 g. / 10 oz creamy Greek yogurt

garlic

chopped dill

black pepper

salt

Preparation:

First, cut the peeled potatoes and put them in boiling water. 

While they are boiling, clean and cut into small pieces the spinach. Prepare a frying pan on the heat and pour the oil in it. Put the spinach in the pan for about 5 minutes until it gets soft. 

Boil the potatoes for 15-20 minutes, take them out and make them into a puree. Mix the puree with the chopped, soft spinach, add the 2 eggs, the flour, the parmesan and the seasonings. Mix it very well and add more flour, if needed. You need the consistency of a bread dough. 

Then, with wet hand, make balls with the size of a walnut or a little bit bigger. Line the dish with baking paper and put them in. Bake until they become hard and golden on top, about 35 minutes, depending on your oven.

For the sauce you just need to mix the ingredients in a bowl and enjoy with the balls.

One place - three seasons

May I present you The National Theater of Bulgaria - Ivan Vazov. This a very famous and beautiful building, often visited by a lot of tourists and locals. It is in the center of Sofia City, the capital of Bulgaria, where I live. The theater is surrounded by a beautiful garden with a very long fountain, which you can see in the photos below.

The building is named after a respected, famous Bulgarian writer, who wrote some of the best novels and poems during the time, when our country was under Turkish enslavement.

People often meet there for coffee, beer or cocktails, to watch some old men playing chess (their traditional place is the garden around the theater) or just to sit on of the many benches, play the guitar, talk and watch people go by.

This garden is so full in the summer, that it's hardly possible to find a bench for yourself. I pictured it in it's rush hour in spring school break, in a warm summer night and last week on a cold November afternoon. As you can see, it's always beautiful. 

Do you have a famous, enjoyable by all, garden in your city?

Jewelry

Do you like to display your precious jewelry? How do you maintain its condition?

I'm not a very big fan of jewelry plates or hangers, find them pretty awkward. These are not something to brag of. I prefer hiding them at home and showing them in public - that's why this little marble box is a very favorite item of mine. It was my mother's, she bought it on her honeymoon and gave it to me two years ago and it the center of my dressing table, along with a bouquet of fresh flower. Roses, preferably.

The picture above shows that pretty corner of our apartment. What does your pretty corner consists of?

Protein smoothie/ice-cream

This is a creation of mine, which I eat after working out. It's super rich in proteins

and low in carbs. If you are a clean-eater, this is exactly for you. 

Here's what you need:

300g / 10 oz cottage cheese (low fat, if possible)

a small cup of frozen berries of your choice

1 scoop protein powder, any flavor, but not chocolate

Preparation:

Mix all the ingredients in a blender and add water, if it's too thick for the machine. I don't add, because I like to eat it with a spoon, like melted ice-cream. You can put it in the fridge for an hour, stirring it from time to time and you have perfectly creamy, healthy, delicious and low-calorie ice-cream.

You can make a chocolate version of this one, just skip the berries and use chocolate flavored protein powder.

Enjoy!

Apple chips

Here is an idea for a healthy substitution to the fried potato chips. 

When you've baked something, just don't turn off the oven. You just need apples and some free time!

Slice as many apples as want (preferably more than 10, because they shrink in size, once baked), lay then on a sheep of baking paper and bake them at 60 C/140 F until crispy and golden. You will need to flip them over once. Depending on your oven it should take around 2 hours. After they are ready you can sprinkle them with cinnamon while warm and let them cool before tasting.

As you can see, I usually bake 3 layers of apples in the oven, which are enough for two people for a week. 

Enjoy it with a good movie!

Wine & cheese

I've always been a dedicated lover of everything French, to begin with cheese. It's literally a thing I can eat endless amounts of. A cheese plate dinners are something usual in my family and the frindge always hides a cheese of some sort.

The most famous ones are:

Brie - soft, white cheese

Camembert - soft, white, similar to the Brie, but with a different smell and fuller taste

Blue - soft cheese with a typical blue mold

Chevre - goat cheese, usually soft one

Munster - strong cheese with a typical odor, soft

So, what's the anatomy of the perfect cheese plate?

First, cheese, of course - you can mix a lot of cheese or you can choose 3 types - it's recommended to put a cheese of every type - soft, hard, blue. You can of course add cheese from Italy (mozzarella, parmigiano, etc.) Switzerland, Germany and so on. Most of the cheese reveal their true aromas and tastes after staying in room temperature for at least 30 minutes, so don't forget to take them out of the fridge before dinner.

Once you have you cheeses set, you need fruit. You can use fresh or dried. Pears, figs and grapes are the perfect companions, but there's nothing wrong with trying our own alternatives like peaches (good with mozzarella) or apples ( good with blue cheeses).

So we have cheese and fruit, now we need crackers or bread. Here the choice is entirely up to you,there are no rules. Maybe just don't pick very seasoned crackers and you won't lose the taste of the chosen cheeses.

The last thing for the perfect cheese plate are the nuts - walnuts, preferably. Of course, nothing is mandatory here, you can choose whatever you want. In addition, olives are also a good company in this plate.

Now hat you need to do is to open a bottle of wine, light the candles / fireplace, take your loved one and enjoy a romantic and very tasty dinner. Cheers!

Fall uniform

Have you noticed that every year when the weather changes you are drown to a certain type of look, or a particular garment, which stays the whole season? Yes, me too. I go sporty, elegant, masculine or casual and stick with my choice.

This autumn I definitely am relying on this fur vest to get me through the cold mornings and pretty warm days. It is so easy to be dressed up with heels or dress and down with jeans and striped tee. As I said, this fall I'm dressing down to be casual. Here is my favorite combination which I lived in the last month.

David Austin Roses

I'm sharing with you here a small passion of mine, which I inherited from my mother - the love for flowers, especially roses! As Emma Goldman has one said "I'd rather have roses on my table, than diamonds on my neck." That pretty much sums up all my thought about this topic. 

All these roses which you are David Austin's breeders. They are so classy, elegant and romantic! When looking at them I can only picture renaissance times, palace gardens, ball gowns and aristocracy.

What about you? Do you picture yourself back in time looking at them?

                                           I love а rose bouquet as coffee company in the mornings :)