Coconut Lemon Cake

Thanks for stopping by today. The boys and I decided to make a welcome home cake for their daddy who's been away for two weeks. We had great fun measuring and mixing everything together and once the cake came out of the oven the boys were so impatient about eating it we didn't end up decorate it.

This is what you'll need:
115g soft butter
175g fine sugar
3 eggs
175g desiccated coconut
115g self-raising flour
85ml sour cream
2 tsp grated lemon rind

Cream butter and sugar, slowly add the eggs one at a time. Mix in all other ingredients and mix well.
Bake at 180 degree celsius for about 1 hour until the top is golden (this depends on the type of baking dish you use and how deep the cake is)

You can eat is as it is or drizzle the hot cake with lemon syrup (heat 30ml lemon juice with 100g sugar and 85ml water in a pan, bring to the boil and simmer for 2-3 min before drizzling the syrup over the warm cake)

Tschüss...

IKEA live Magazine

I am sitting all wrapped up with a cup of coffee enjoying a lazy Sunday morning. It's been really quite cold and I am struggling a little with the lack of central heating. Germany has made me soft. At least I can dig out my nice Merino jerseys which were too warm to wear inside our old place in Koblenz.

Talking about our old apartment. Two days ago I received a little surprise package containing two copies of the latest IKEA live magazine. I was asked to submit some photos months ago and hadn't really thought about the feature for some time. It's nice to have a reminder of our old apartment "officially" printed and forever treasured in my growing pile of interior magazines.

I have been all consumed with trying to sort this place out a little more. The windows here are huge and the first thing I did when we moved in was take down all the horrible curtains - which now leaves me with blank windows everywhere. I have started buying fabric to make roman blinds for some of the windows and am waiting on an order of curtains from Germany. I know that seems a bit crazy but I just couldn't find what I wanted over here so back to good old IKEA. New Zealand doesn't have one :-(

I do feel like we are settling in very well though. My oldest boy started kindergarten and my youngest has two mornings in daycare which he is enjoying very much and gives me some time to myself - which is something I haven't had since they were born.

Tschüss...

Citta Design

I think one of the best things about moving to a new place (or returning after you've been away for a while) is discovering new independent shops and companies that have emerged. New Zealand has always made it pretty easy for people to set up small businesses, compared to Germany. That results in a great range of independent shops and businesses with unique products - particularly in fashion and interiors.

I have recently discovered Citta Design, a home ware and accessories design house based in Auckland, New Zealand. Each new collection takes its inspiration from far away places and allows us to bring some of the flair, textures and colors of those particular destinations into our home.

Their current collection has a South American Influence. I really like the fresh color palette that will bring a hint of exotic vibrancy to any home - Viva Cuba!

 

Above is a selection of my favorite products in their range, don't they give you an instant summery feel? 

For their full range and list of retailers you can go here or visit their blog for great inspiration and updates.

  

(images: Citta Design)

Weekend Escape

Happy Monday to you! I feel energized and happy after a wonderful weekend away for the first time since moving. We escaped to a small bay two hours north of Christchurch. It's the perfect spot to unwind, with no phone or internet to distract. In fact the boys had so much fun they managed to go for an entire weekend without begging for an iPhone once :-)

The little holiday home is a typical kiwi bach, very basic with a wonderful beach-y feel. The decoration there inspired me to add a little coastal feel to my own home. 

We ate fresh salmon and enjoyed a nice bottle of local wine - it doesn't get much better than this...

I am thinking of everyone struggling through the cold temperatures in Europe. I hope these images give you a little summer feeling.

Tschüss...

Last night I went for a walk down to the beach and had some time to let my thoughts drift. 

I am often asked what life is like being back here in New Zealand. I don't think my happiness has ever been directly tied to one place or another. Life is busy and most of the time we go about our day to day business and we don't consider our surroundings too much. Then you get those moment when you feel a deep connection to a place - and for a short time your life is perfect and beautiful because of where you are right at that moment. I love the ocean and living so close to it fills me with happiness.   

I don't think I will ever get used to this view from our new home - it feels like a reward for the heartache of not having my family and close friends nearby. Obviously it also helps in luring people in to coming to stay with us - that's if they don't mind the occasional jolt. New Zealand was always known for it's adrenaline sports - now you just have to sit around and wait for a decent earthquake to get your heart rate up :-)

Tschüss...

The missing piece

I hope you are all having a wonderful weekend. It is a public holiday here in New Zealand on Monday so we get to enjoy a long weekend. Unfortunately the weather isn't quite playing the part but that means more time inside to work on making this place homely.

I left Germany with a little regret that I never ended up purchasing an older style piece of furniture. I had been looking to take something back here, knowing that what we in Germany refer to as "Gründerzeit" pieces are hard to come by. In the end I ran out of time and just didn't find anything for the right price.

Luck was un my side when I spotted this lovely piece on a local auction website. It was brought back from Switzerland by it's last owners 10 years ago and I managed to get it at a very good price. I am so pleased about it and it puts a smile on my face every time I walk past. It gives me a feeling of home and is a great addition to our mostly new furniture. I know what you'll be thinking: is she going to paint it white? I will not it's perfect just the way it is :-) 

This lamp below is also a new addition to our home. I purchased it on an auction as it reminded me of TineK's lamps - which I love. I sprayed the base white and added a simple white shade. 

Thank you so much for your lovely comments on my last post. It's nice to have people from home reading this blog too. Maybe I need to think about making this a bi-lingual blog? 

Tschüss... 

Summer Fruit Tart

Today I want to share a recipe that is super quick if you ever get stuck needing to whip up something at the last minute. I am not a great baker and on a number of occasions had to resort to this as a back-up because the baking I had planned to serve to guests turned out either burnt or undercooked :-)

Tomorrow I will show you a few new things around here that I am really excited about.

Tschüss...

(images: by me)