I think that I should never tire of streets and markets lined with vendors offering everything that is fresh. From colorful flowers, fruits, and vegetables, to cheeses and deli meats from around the world, there is no need for the "one stop shopping" concept. 
My favorite food season of the year... white asparagus and strawberries. Between April and June almost every restaurant in Germany serves some variation of these seasonal favorites, and every market and grocery store is filled with this tasty produce. 
For years I have been secretly annoyed at the amount of parking spaces I missed out on at the grocery store or Wal-Mart, because someone was too lazy to return their cart. When I first moved to Germany, I found this simple concept of having to pay for a cart brilliant on so many levels. One simply uses a 50 cent, 1, or 2 Euro coin, just like many of the airport carts, but the great thing is that you get your money back when you return it.
I love how "green" Germany is... you always see people using foldable boxes, baskets, or fabric bags instead of the disposable plastic bags, and why not walk to the market or take a bike? 
Our favorite home improvement has it all... lumber, lighting, tools, bakeries, deli meat stands, fresh apples from the land,... and a kitchen sink all in one stop.
Unlike the new and uninteresting malls that I was used to frequenting before in the U.S., beautiful old buildings with character add to the total shopping experience...
For all you "shopaholics", visit Jane at Spain Daily for a world shopping spree...
I realize that April is over and that "Project Month" should be too, but I have one last post to complete my series. Several months ago my husband and I stopped at a roadside flea market on the way to visit his parents and found some really comfy vintage chairs... and of course I couldn't resist a good reupholstering project.
First I removed the padded seats from the chair base. Since I wanted to add a little extra comfort to the chairs I purchased additional fleece and cut it slightly larger than the chair seat.
I layered the padding between the existing chair seat and the fabric I had chosen for my project, making sure that the pattern was lined up correctly.
When reupholstering, it is important to first start with a securing tack on one side and then make a tack on the opposite side, keeping the fabric tight. Continue with a few staples on the first side and then a few on the opposite side, working your way out. This keeps the fabric from being pulled too much on one side and keeps the pattern of the fabric even.
My particular chair seat is curved at the edges and I needed to gradually ease the fabric around the curves.
Additionally at the front of the chair I had to staple a notch in the corner.
When I finished, I simply trimmed the excess fabric.
Dining room chairs are a great "beginners" project and it is so much fun to see neglected treasures transform into something fantastic. If you are a little unsure of yourself, just step out and do it. Search a local thrift store or a flea market, and find a "bargain" chair to experiment on. It really is amazing how updated fabrics can add pizazz to vintage finds. My highest suggestion would be to make sure that you choose a good stapler... it saves a lot of time and headaches. My husband pointed out to me that in this case, since the chairs were such a deal, that the fabric cost almost as much as the chairs... and that is all four of them. I just love a great find.
Oh... and for all you vintage savy people out there... here were the markings on the chairs... any ideas where I might be able to find four matching chairs?
What is it about a man in an apron that makes him almost irresistible?
I think it is hardly fair that I should be the one having all the fun for "Project Month", so I thought I would let you have a little peek at one of my husband's recent projects. Even though fabrics and such are not his medium of choice, it still amazes me at the creative things he can come up with.
Last year when my husband had to work at a tractor and farming show for the weekend he came back with quite a surprise. He had fallen victim to the clever marketing strategies of an electric food processor exhibitor, who created the tastiest concoctions to tempt potential buyers... oh, boys and their toys. But I thoroughly enjoyed the kid-like expressions and excitement on his face when he showed me all the "bell's and whistle's" of his new machine... this thing can do everything except take out the trash! I have to admit that I rolled my eyes and was quite skeptical at first, but I have thoroughly come to enjoy fresh berries ice cream, soups, and breads that his "toy" can make.
So of course my curiosity was peeked when my husband offered to wash all the veggies that we had brought home from the market one day... sure, it's one less thing for me. Typical evening... e-mailing, blog hopping, drooling over fabrics and then I hear a noise coming from the kitchen. Since the noise continued, it again peeked my curiosity enough to explore. "What exactly are you doing?!?", I asked quite puzzled... What my brilliant husband was doing was using our "do-it-all" machine to shred up the leftover scraps of the freshly cleaned vegetables we just bought, and blending it with a bio micro organism solution to make a super rich fertilizer for the garden. He then blended it with animal straw bedding to remove the moistness and then it sits in the garage for some time. The really amazing thing is that this is essentially the same principle as sauerkraut or silage that they make for animal feed... totally organic and totally ingenious.
That's just one of the many reasons that I love that man... that and the apron.
Of course, it goes without saying that there are cars in Germany, some of the best, in fact... Mercedes, BMW, Audi, Volkswagen, just to name a few. The autobahns are world famous and provide a nice adrenaline rush for the race car driver at heart who is allowed to drive at record speeds, but one is not limited by cars only to get from point A to point B here...... And since Germany is very traditional in many ways, why not get to where you are going the old fashioned way... Walk.
Of course people walk... isn't that everywhere? But I find is that it is more a part of the general culture here than in the U.S. People walk to work, to the store, to the bakery... walking has a purpose other than just exercise. When the weather is nice the streets are literally packed with people out to get some fresh air, enjoy family time together, or just move after having eaten a large Sunday morning brunch. In fact, I found this to be one of the most stressful things when I first started driving in Germany is that I always have to be on the look-out for pedestrians... on every corner.
At every shopping center, bank, grocery store, home improvement store, and even at Ikea, you will always find parking sections lined with bikes. I love it to see a 3-year old riding their miniature version of a bike with Mama close on their tail, only to be followed by an 80-year old grandma just coming from the grocery store.
Within the cities, and often in the country, one can find a bus station on just about every corner. What I hate admit with some sense of shame, is that many times public transportation in the States is for those who cannot afford a car... for those who are a little less well off, to put it delicately. But public transportation here is not limited to race or financial status, in fact it is completely common place and for people-watchers like myself, it is interesting to see the variety of people on a bus.
How many times have I expressed my love for old architecture... again and again have I exclaimed my sense of wonderment and awe for buildings that are older than I can imagine. What is always a treat for me is that some of the most fantastic buildings out there are used for subway and train stations. Can one really tire of such masterpieces?
...curious about other methods of transportation around the globe? Visit Jane at Spain Daily for a "Corner View" and a world travel adventure.
The lovely and talented Kay, at Kaylovesvintage, shared several pieces from her favorite vintage pastel pottery collection... and what a treasury she has! This avid and knowledgeable ceramics collector is quite curious to learn more about ceramics in other parts of the world. Many of the vintage pieces that I own are firstly not pastel and secondly not from the U.S. So, Kay, as you may have already noticed from the rest of my blog... this is as pastel as I can do.
However, I especially wanted to share this because it is very recognizable in the U.S., very collectible, and made in my home state. Fiestaware was somewhat of a new concept when it was first introduced in 1936, and the bright colored mix-and-match concept was a welcome change to the Victorian inspired china that was produced at the time. Despite World War II, and drastic reductions in production, the West Virgina based company boasted strong sales and became a status symbol for the 1930's & 40's middle class. The colors changed over the years with some of the original colors in red, blue, light green, yellow, ivory, and light turquoise, to offering more pastel colors such as rose, gray, and chartreuse. The yellow glaze is the only color that was produced throughout the rise and fall, and rise again of Fiestaware's popularity.
For your fine-tuned eye, Kay, you may have noticed that this piece is not vintage, and is a reproduction of a vintage piece, but I just could not resist sharing... since you asked.
In our new house the rooms are laid out so that our living room and dining room are combined, and since the two rooms are now combined, I am finding that many of my table linens that I have just do not look as nice as when the two rooms were separate. My favorite painting from my dad connects the two rooms, and I wanted to pick colors that made the two rooms flow, and what better way to do that than with Anna Maria Horner fabrics.
Again, a quick and easy project to spruce up a room. I simply cut strips of coordinating fabric, stitched them together, added some decorative stitching, and used a light weight iron on interfacing on the front side of the place mat and the backside. I then placed right sides together, stitched leaving and opening, turned them, and did a quick finishing stitch to close the opening... and there you have it. A project that is fresh, fun, easy, and full of color.
Did you miss the post for the blog giveaway/gewinnspiel? One day left...the winner will be announced tommorrow Friday, April 24th.Blog Gewinnspiel vergessen?!? Es ist noch ein tag zeit... der Gewinner wird morgen, am 24. April bekannt gegeben.
Each day I realize just how small our world is. Somehow it is not as vast as I once thought, that we are more interconnected than we know. Jane at Spain Daily, who writes about what her daily life is like in another country, recently started with several other bloggers sharing what it is like in their part of the world. This week's theme is breakfast...So how could I talk about breakfast in Germany without first starting the sentence with "bread"? Of course Germans love their beer. They love their potatoes. They love their butter. But most of all Germans love their bread. I do have to admit that our light, flat, unhealthy, tasteless toast cannot even begin to be compared to the fresh, yummy, chewy, perfectly crusted bread that lines the shelves in every corner bakery.
One phenomenon I think I will never understand of German breakfast "must haves" is... Nutella. What perplexes me the most is that many Germans find your typical American cake with sugary sweet icing to be rather disgusting, but have no problems with loading their favorite bread for breakfast with this super sweet, chocolate and hazelnut sugar bomb. Tasty it is, but please not on my bread.
For many Germans, lunch is usually the warm meal of the day, and most evenings are a simple, light meal of sandwiches with the addition of carrots, cucumbers, or tomatoes. But what I find to be very unusual is that practically the same thing that is put out for dinner is the same thing that was put out for breakfast... salamis, prosciutto hams, and cheeses, etc. This took some getting used to because I would have never imagined pulling out the sandwich toppings at least until lunch time.
It is much more common to use nice china and dishes at your average morning breakfast than the quick eat-it-on-the-run, I'll-take-it-in-my-styrofoam-cup American style. My husband's aunt made this teapot and matching Stövchen (teapot warmer), which I had never owned, or needed, until I moved here.
A Northern German favorite of my husband's is sugar beet syrup. This molasses tasting spread is an alternative to maple syrup. He could also be very partial to it because of the fact that my husband's family also grows sugar beets. Eggs in egg holders are also a treat for me, and I can't really recall having ever eaten them this way before. My German family asks me, "well, then how do you eat your eggs?"... peeled, I guess. Usually scrambled or fried eggs beat out hard boiled eggs for breakfast.
Even though my husband is the native German in the family, it is me who does not drink coffee. Somehow it never sunk into my head that our country had boycotted tea all those years ago. So my coffee-loving husband, who I sometimes doubt just how German he really is, usually gives his Sunday morning breakfast a little American twist... and what says American breakfast like Starbuck's? 
When I stop and think about it, and compare the Amercian breakfast table with the German breakfast table, it is quite easy to pick out the similarities. The differences are actually not that drastic or extreme, but I think it takes the eye of someone who is not a native to distinguish the subtleties that lie just below the surface.
Visit Jane's blog for the rest of the "breakfast" world tour...
My favorite food season of the year... white asparagus and strawberries. Between April and June almost every restaurant in Germany serves some variation of these seasonal favorites, and every market and grocery store is filled with this tasty produce.
For years I have been secretly annoyed at the amount of parking spaces I missed out on at the grocery store or Wal-Mart, because someone was too lazy to return their cart. When I first moved to Germany, I found this simple concept of having to pay for a cart brilliant on so many levels. One simply uses a 50 cent, 1, or 2 Euro coin, just like many of the airport carts, but the great thing is that you get your money back when you return it.
I love how "green" Germany is... you always see people using foldable boxes, baskets, or fabric bags instead of the disposable plastic bags, and why not walk to the market or take a bike?
Our favorite home improvement has it all... lumber, lighting, tools, bakeries, deli meat stands, fresh apples from the land,... and a kitchen sink all in one stop.
Unlike the new and uninteresting malls that I was used to frequenting before in the U.S., beautiful old buildings with character add to the total shopping experience...
For all you "shopaholics", visit Jane at Spain Daily for a world shopping spree...
