Dream of Home Tonight

Speak at Home Tonight

2017-04-19T01:28:00.000+02:00

If you'd like to see what I'm up to now, head on over to my new website, Speak at Home Tonight. Follow me on Instagram and leave me a comment if you came from here! Feel free to say hi on Twitter and if you're interested in language learning, translation, editing, or other language services, get in touch!

Where to Live Stream the Superbowl

2015-02-01T13:15:00.000+01:00

Unotelly is seriously THE BEST company ever. Basically, UnoTelly is allowing people to stream the NFL Super Bowl for FREE today, Sunday, February 1, regardless of where they live or whether they are UnoTelly subscribers!

Are you in Europe or anywhere else and scrambling to find a bar or somewhere to watch the big game? UnoTelly is offering free access to media stations (NBC Sports, Channel 4 and more) that will be broadcasting the Super Bowl for free. Visitors will not be required to sign up for a subscription, but simply need to submit their e-mail address. How easy is that?

Check out their Super Bowl page for more information!

No matter what, a Croatian coach will be winning tonight. Enjoy the game and if you are having a hard time figuring out the time difference, this site is a lifesaver!

Heebie Jeebies!

2012-09-18T23:09:00.002+02:00

I am too excited! You know the feeling you get when there's tons of energy rushing to your fingertips, your heart is pounding and full of love and you can feel excitement building through your whole body? It's that feeling that can only come from one thing - travel plans! Feeling way too happy and excited about everything right now, and Croatia just became that much more appealing because I just booked my flight to Paris! Tomislav has a work training in Paris at the beginning of next month. Of course, the weekend before his training is my birthday. And the Monday after is also a holiday in Croatia so it's a non-working day. Obviously, this means that... we'll be spending my birthday in Paris!!! Yay! I'm so excited, I really can't hide it! As much as we've been through here and as many times as I say that I miss the States, at this time I have to be so happy and thankful that I'm here.

So proud of my handsome hubby :) and so happy he works for a French company! Yay babe!

My whole life I dreamed about what Paris would be like and I felt like the luckiest girl in the world that we got to go this past February (thanks to HHI for funding that little pre-wedding honeymoon of ours!) but now that we get to go again?! Ah the butterflies and excitement are rushing through me, I cannot wait to see Paris in the fall. I need to start planning my outfits strategically because it'll be much warmer than last time so I have so many different warm weather options now.

I can't wait to go to Paris! Time to start back up that Rosetta Stone: French! "Un homme. Une femme." Anyone ever do Rosetta Stone? I'm a big fan for anyone who wants to learn a little bit of a language and quickly!

I also can't wait for the:

1. Food (obvi):

Street Food in Paris - Falafel!

Mmmm love croissants!

My favorite thing to do

Steak Tartare is something Tomislav introduced me to, this one was absolutely delicious!

Escargot - garlicky snails yum!

Such a pretty set up of the fresh seafood

Mmm I love seafood

Fromage!

Long line waiting for a table at Le Comptoir du Relais - probably for their excellent Croque Monsieur!

Dessert - Macarons, of course

Pretty, fresh vegetables at the Sunday market

The BEST Crepes EVER! So much cheese, the way to be!

2. Facades - I just love those quintisentailly Parisian buildings, so gorgeous

3. Fun!!!

I love the Eiffel Tower so much, I had to get cheesy with it just this once!

Shopping!

Cute little shops filled with unique jewelry

Love to stroll!

Mon Amour <3

Paris feels magical, even just thinking about it. It is one of my absolute most favorite places I've ever had the chance of visiting (I'm a food and wine fanatic who loves shnuggling and romance..duh!). I am so happy we have the chance to go again! Must go practice some Francais now ;)

À bientôt!

Welcome Baby Tortilla Sushi to the World!

2012-09-16T02:30:00.000+02:00

I pinned this the other day and after a quick trip to the market with one of my real-life blogger friends, Elaine, I decided to try it out. Look at how cute this is!

It's like tortillas and sushi got married and had this delicious baby! That sounds a little weird but it's amazing, fresh, crunchy, and a great idea for lunch or dinner!

Here's what I used:
4 Tortillas (ours were on the small side but whatever you've got will work!)
2 Chicken Breasts, poached (I poached mine a few days ago in chicken stock with a little curry powder seasoning)
1 Cucumber, sliced into matchsticks (seeds scooped out)
2 Large carrots, sliced into matchsticks

For the Cream Cheese:
A couple Tbs cream cheese
Fresh herbs, like dill or basil
1 garlic clove minced
S + P

Mix everything for the cream cheese together (if you have scallions on hand, I'd include them too!). Spread a decent amount on each tortilla, all the way to the edges. The cream cheese acts as the glue to the "sushi."

Shred your chicken (you can also use ham or turkey slices, or make it totally vegetarian and use lettuce, or any other veg you have onhand!) Layer the shredded chicken, with the cucumber on top of that, and carrots all the way on the top. Make sure it's all lined up in the middle of the tortilla.

Then wrap the tortiallas as tight as you can. Cover them with plastic wrap and stick them in the fridge for an hour (or as long as you can wait!). Then slice them in half and slice each half in half again!

So fresh and tasty! I love this and will definitely make it again, it'll make such a fabulous lunch at work!

American Grandma's, Fur Coats, and Texas

2012-09-14T21:13:00.003+02:00

My Grandparents - Mom's Parents :)

My grandparents live in Poland but ever since I was little, I was lucky enough to have an American Grandma too. Below, you can see my Uncle Eddie and his sister, my American Grandma, Aunt Angela. She is an amazing angel and I love her so much and am so happy to see how well she looks. She's turning 91 soon! And here they are with my Mama watching our episode of House Hunters International! I love it.

When my parents first came to the States, they didn't speak a word of English but they did have some letters from some of their relatives in Poland who wrote back and forth with their family who had moved to the States. My Dad had some of those letters with him. After they moved from Texas to New Jersey (can you imagine people from North Poland in the sweltering heat of Texas? When they first arrived, they were wearing fur coats! My Mom had 2 on because she brought one for her friend who had moved earlier from Germany to Texas).

Anyway, my parents knew about these relatives of theirs who, they later realized, lived in New Jersey! So, they looked them up in the phone book (as you did then) and decided to take a drive on over there! They came armed with letters and photos and since they were still young and wild and craazay, they knocked on Uncle Eddie's door and said, "Hi! We're your family!" Well, to be honest it was more like, "Dzień dobry jesteśmy twoja rodzina!" because they spoke to them in Polish. Eddie was confused and didn't understand (his Polish isn't as good as Aunt Angela's), so he called her to come over and she translated and they looked through the pictures and letters until they ̶b̶e̶l̶i̶e̶v̶e̶d̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶m̶ realized my parents were legit! They weren't some beggars pretending to be family, they were actual family!

She's been in my life since I was a little girl and I love her. I'm so happy my Dad sent this to me and it reminds me to go send her a letter now!

Get in touch with someone you love this weekend who you haven't spoken to you in a while! You'll both feel better and so much happier to have reconnected. I think it's time for me to go call my Babcia :)

Panera Style Broccoli and Cheddar Soup

2012-09-12T17:39:00.001+02:00

After talking with my Mom yesterday and hearing how chilly it's been getting back in PA in the evenings (I'm sure Pistol is gonna get the fireplace going soon! Right Dad?) I was thinking about one of my favorite soups, Broccoli and Cheddar. Mmmmm. You all know I'm totally obsessed with broccoli (and am happy to have passed that obsession along to some friends!) so any chance I get to eat broccoli, I'm a happy girl. It's still very warm and summery here though but today the weather has taken a turn and the air pressure is heavy. We're expecting big rain tomorrow. Am I even speaking English? I can't tell anymore if we say "big rain" in English or am I just totally mixing up all my languages? It's the air pressure that is making that happen, you know! OK, I realize I'm totally turning Croatian with my blaming the weather on everything. Anyway back to the soup! I'm not usually one for soup when it's warm out but when it comes to broccoli and cheddar - it's cozy, heart warmingly familiar, and so many of my favorite flavors combined in one!

You can be eating this amazing bowl of comfort in about an hour. In about an hour and 5 minutes, you'll be addicted to this soup. This recipe makes 4 servings so I suggest doubling it because I know we would've loved to have some more of this and I definitely will make more next time!

Here's what I used:

1 tablespoon melted butter

1/2 medium diced onion

1/4 cup melted butter

1/4 cup flour

2 cups milk

2 cups chicken stock

1 head of fresh broccoli (or a bag of frozen, defrosted)

1 cup carrot, sliced/julienned

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese

salt and pepper

Here's what you do:

Sautee onion in butter. Set aside. Then, put remaining butter and flour in pot and whisk over medium heat for 3-5 minutes. Stir constantly and add the milk. Add the chicken stock. Simmer for 20 minutes. Add the broccoli, carrots and onions.

Cook over low heat for another 20-25 minutes. Add salt and pepper. I pureed mine in a blender at this point but you don't necessarily have to. Then, return to heat and add cheese. Stir in nutmeg.

You know how Rachael Ray always describes nutmeg as that thing that makes people just go "Mmmmm, what is that?" Well, I served this to my in-laws and they loved it and were trying to guess what "that thing" is and in the end, my mother-in-law figured it out! This one will please even the pickiest of eaters, so try it out! And bonus - it tastes just like the one from Panera (and it's made without the heavy cream!)

Free Entertainment - Being Nerdy Encouraged!

2012-09-11T13:24:00.003+02:00

Tomislav and I have a lot of random expenses that have drained our bank accounts over the years (so many plane tickets, visa fees, and a million and a half copies at the copy center across from MUP), that and our love for good food and treating ourselves to fancy lunches every once in a while has left us to be creative with finding ways to entertain ourselves at home. I'm talking about fun games to play at home for 2 people (no board games needed)! So, if you live alone, call someone to come over and get nerdy like us!

1. Play Country/City! You probably played this as a kid (but on paper...we used white boards). You know- you write down a bunch of topics and then one person says the alphabet in their head and whatever letter they land on, you have to come up with a word for each topic!

Our Categories: Country · City · Animal · Plant · Car · Movie · Name

We score this way, 15 points if you get something and the other person doesn't (they get 0 of course), 10 points if you both came up with something, and 5 points if you wrote the same thing!

I kicked his butt, but we were playing in my native language (and not his!) although ever since I played Taboo in Croatian, I feel like I could do anything in Croatian!

2. NERD ALERT - If you guys are nerdy and competitive (like some of us), print out a couple worksheets from Math-Aids (like the 5 minute challenges), set the timer, and see who finishes first!

3. Grab your books and go outside and read! Go to the park, go on your balcony, or just lay on the couch and get immersed in your imagination. I'm currently reading One Pink Line by Dina Silver on my Kindle. Tomislav is finally getting to The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo.

4. Cook something together! If one of you knows how to cook and the other doesn't, teach each other. I feel very overprotective of my (small) kitchen space because I feel like it's totally my zone so I'm trying to get better about sharing the space. Feel like you don't have anything at home? Try one of my recipes! Use whatever you've got onhand already and if cooking's really not your thing, then mix up some cocktails!

I made this awesome (super quick) fried rice for my hungry hubby on my non-stick pan with a tiny drop of sesame oil and all my leftovers. A little leftover ground turkey that had been sauteed with garlic and onion, seasoned with curry powder, a red pepper, the last egg, and brown rice. I seasoned it with ground ginger and soy sauce. Delicious!

5. Daydream/start planning your next vacation so you have something to look forward to! Look up information about a place you guys would both like to visit, check out reviews, prices, and figure out a way to make a day or weekend trip happen! People in Europe tend to go away for weekend trips a lot more (without a concrete reason like a wedding or baptism), just to visit places. If you're in the States, you should do it too! There are so many places to see and if you have a car, even better. Or get on the bus and go! T-Slav loves doing research and we both love to travel so this is a great one for us. We're daydreaming about trips to Sarajevo, Amsterdam, and Paris right now. And when we're back in the States, we want to visit Boston because T's never been (and a ton of other places too!)

Amsterdam

So what are some things you guys like to do at home that don't involve watching TV/Movies or spending money?

Ej brate idemo van! AKA: Going Out in Zagreb

2012-09-10T16:07:00.000+02:00

The great thing about living in Zagreb is the fact that it's the capital city of Croatia! That means that on any given night, there is bound to be something going on somewhere. Tomislav and I have talked about it so many times how different our lives would be if he was from a tiny village in Slavonija or something and how I probably would never have moved here if that was the case (job promotion or not!). Now the debate on whether I'd move if he were from the seaside? That one is not as much of a debate because I just love the Croatian coast! So today, following this super fun weekend, I've decided to share with you some of the places that we go out to in Zagreb! These are not the typical touristy places, but rather places we actually go to on the regular! And remember, my man is a native Zagrebian so he knows his stuff!

For when you're feeling hipster-y - Krivi Put

if it's raining, then Mocvara is definitely the big runner up

Krivi Put is right across from the University of Zagreb's student center. Everyone first starts going there as students and keeps coming back for the affordable drinks and good atmosphere. You can tell it's a bit on the hipster side from all the bikes parked right outside of the bar ;)

As you can see, seating is outside so it's definitely more of a warm weather type of place. Go early if you want to get a table, because by 11 it's gonna be totally packed and you can either stand inside the bar area or squeeze into someone else's table and make some new friends.

As for Mocvara, it's name translates to be the "Swamp" place, named so because of it's location (close to the river banks). They always have different theme party nights there, from reggae night to 80's parties. We went there last year for Halloween and it was a lot of fun! It's the kind of place that you definitely want to wear flats to and can expect your feet to get stepped on a lot. But again, the drinks are on the way more affordable side.

Last Halloween at Mocvara...can you recognize the lovely 'bride' in the middle? Hint!

When you feel like wearing heels - GreenGold

Saturday night, Tomi and his boys wanted to go to hipster-ville Mocvara (which naturally includes pre-gaming in a nearby park, because that's what Croatian boys like to do. A frisbee is almost always included in these plans). Luckily, a quick text begging one of my girlfriends to come with led to her letting me know that the girls were in town so it was time to put our heels on and go somewhere where there is no smoking inside! Yes!

Elevators always have mirrors in them in Cro Cro!

It was my first time being at GreenGold and I really liked it a lot! It's very open and airy which is so nice and drinks weren't as expensive as I thought it would be since it's definitely on the fancier side of bars/clubs in Zagreb. It's very new also...I'm just hoping that in the future, there will be more super fun songs playing after 2am. Because when it's that late, all you really wanna do is dance your heart out and sing along to some Spice Girls, David Guetta, Rihanna...I mean let's be honest here people!

When you want to to wear flats and jeans but still want to dance the night away - Purgeraj

This is an old pic but Purgeraj is one of those places that if you're in the mood for some good, fun music and an international crowd of couch surfers, backpackers, and friends of foreigners, this is definitely the place to go. It's close to the center of town and another affordable place. This is also a great Thursday night spot!

And for a sure-to-be-a-great-night thing to do for families and friends alike:

go to a Medvescak game! Hockey is huge in Zagreb so the fans are wild and tons of fun. Tickets are affordable (around 40 kuna or $7) and win or lose, it's just a great way to spend your afternoon, cheering on the Bears! You'll pick up on the chants and songs pretty quickly because throughout the game, seasoned fans keep up with the cheers throughout the whole game!

My first Medvescak game a couple years ago

Zig Zag Medvescak!

Yesterday's first home game of the season!

So there you have it! Now you know where you can find us out and about in Ziggity Zag.

Where do you like to go out in Zagreb? If you've never been here, which one of these places would you most like to check out?

Top 5 Things to Bake This Weekend (for the non-baker!)

2012-09-09T13:27:00.001+02:00

I'm so happy it's the weekend! Gives you the perfect opportunity for some odmor (one of my favorite Croatian words and something very important to Croatian people! Rest and relaxation) and it also gives me a chance to prepare some yummy food for the week! Living here, I can't buy certain things (like the number 1 item on this list!) so it's totally worth it for me to spend 3 hours to make them! (worth it) Sometimes I'm in the mood to have a fresh baked good quickly so I have a couple go-to's for that. Trust me, if you live in a country where everything is closed on Sundays, you'll want to keep a few of these on hand when you're craving something bready.

Here are my top 5 favorite things to bake and I seriously recommend you try them! And I say for the non-baker, because I don't consider myself a baker but with a little measuring (and patience to let the yeast do it's thang), you get to have your whole house smell warm and inviting and make your Sunday that much more enjoyable and relaxing. You will be so thankful you did when you're inhaling the sweet smells of freshly baked cinnamon bread or smearing jam or butter on a warm, freshly baked biscuit. So, so, so worth it.

#5 Cinnamon Bread - If you want to impress your boyfriend, girlfriend, hubby - make this! It is delicious perfection and will make anyone fall in love with you (or at least serious lust). That warm, soft, just sweet enough bread - mmmm! (I've since made it again - look how much prettier it turned out!)

#4 Naan Bread - this homemade version is so good and pretty easy to recreate at home in your own oven or even on the stove! I love to add yogurt to my dough and chopped garlic (well, I love to add garlic to everything so no surprise there.) They're versatile too - perfect to go with any curry, or to dip into some hummus, or you can even use them to make french toast (like we did with a 2nd batch that had been accidentally forgotten in the oven for a few minutes too long...oopsies)

(via)

#3 Butter Biscuits - I learned a lot from one of my old roommate's in college. Sam made me feel like girls can do absolutely anything! Whereas I wouldn't even attempt to install an air conditioner on my own (I would much sooner call Pistol then even try to lift it myself), Sam wouldn't hesitate a single second. (Now, I know I can do anything) Looking at her, you might not realize her strength straight away because she's tiny and absolutely gorgeous but she is one of the toughest chicks I've ever met and I'm so thankful for all that I learned from her and it's way more than she even knows! So one day, I came home and she was making butter biscuits and I nearly died. I didn't know much about cooking yet (besides boiling pasta) so seeing her baking these, I was absolutely floored and impressed. Now, I use this super simple go-to recipe (without shortening) to make flaky and delicious drop biscuits totally inspired by Sam!

(via)

#2 English muffins - I am obsessed with making these! You will not believe how easy it is to make your own English muffins at home, with all the nooks and crannies! Yum yum yum, this makes me so much happier for my breakfast options here in Zagreb!

and my #1 is... Bagels! - Do yourself and your loved ones a favor and make these sometime! I am really proud of myself for making my own bagels that were seriously delicious. The mystery is out - I know how to do it now and I think with more practice, it'll get easier to make them! It's not super complicated, but it is a little time consuming the first time around so commit to being at home for a couple hours to make these babies happen. Oh they are amazing though and they make me so so happy. Expect more bagel talk in the future. Oh man, I need to make these again. I just love a warm bagel with cream cheese.

Yes, I do!

P.S. Just so you guys know, after I write these, I immediately get the urge to go make something again. Last week, I stopped mid-post to make English muffins again. I think I'm going for the flaky, butter biscuits. Mmmm!

The Time I Wore Fake Eyelashes on Only 1 Eye for 3 Days

2012-09-06T15:41:00.002+02:00

Once upon a time, I lived through a fairytale wedding and all of my wildest dreams came true. I felt like a beautiful princess on my big day and if I could, would relive that day again and again.

The next day, day 2 of our wedding, in a different dress than I had originally planned (since I didn't expect it to be so freakin' hot in my 6 layered wedding gown and insisted on wearing my day 2 dress by midnight at the reception) I felt completely overdressed (not to mention high maintenance) being at our garden party and around Tomislav's 92 year old Grandma with my va va voom fake eyelashed look.

Luckily, I had my amazing girlfriends there ready to save the day and provide insight into how to remove said falsies!

They're still on both eyes at this point, at least some of them.

That night, I realized I cannot go on having fake eyelashes to go pay all our vendors (in normal clothes) and then to travel in my comfy clothes down to the seaside with all our friends and family. I tried everything to get them off, soap, lotions, olive oil...my Mom was ripping her own fake eyelashes out at this point but when I was trying, so many of my real ones were coming out. I sent out so many texts (some angry) to my dear hairdresser and make-up artist about how I couldn't get the bloody things off!

"Well," I kept thinking, "at least we're married now. For better or for worse, with our without eyelashes!" This led to lots of googling about whether eyelashes grow back and asking begging T-Slav to reassure me that he'd still love me if I was eyelash-less. I got most of the fake ones (and many of my real ones) off that night, but only off of one eye and that was after over an hour of serious hard work. I was mega exhausted and pretty delirious, plus I knew we had an extremely busy morning ahead of us, so I just went to bed. With one eye full of falsies and one without. Sexy wife. And aren't you lucky that I'm gonna show you just how great I looked:

This is what I looked like to pay all of our vendors, day 3 with the eyelashes. Still didn't feel quite like myself yet. Blasted eyelashes! They were glued ONTO my real ones! Luckily, they made my winking habit so much more fun (and creepy).

I bought a bottle of eye make-up remover and along the 8 hour drive to Dubrovnik, soaked my eyeballs with it until they were burning and stinging and kept showing my 6 year old cousin the eyelashes chunks whenever I was able to manage them out. He wasn't scared or grossed out, right? ;) Sorry Filip! You know I love you!

Well ok, I won't blame him if he was scared of me, but since he's my cousin from my wild family, has 2 crazy ass amazing older brothers, AND he's Polish, I'm sure he'll be alright!

Have you ever had a beauty mishap like mine?!
Do you know how to get fake eyelashes off?

Real Talk: Marriage

2012-09-04T10:19:00.001+02:00

I think it's important to be honest and I've been thinking a lot about marriage and how things change once you've tied the knot so onto some real talk! While wedding planning, it's really hard to look past the wedding day because you're so stressed out and multi-tasking like crazy just to get everything organized and ready for the big day. At least, that's how it was for me. You might not have a chance to step back and really think about what you're doing. Even though Tomislav and I lived together before we were married and were totally committed to one another long before (mega long distance relationship built on trust and knowing we were perfect for each other - check!...And oh yeah, then moving across the world to be with each other? Yup, that's commitment). But still. After you get hitched, it's different. And I hate when people say that it's not because it totally is. You are legally bound to your spouse forever! And that is a huge concept to deal with. Huge! As much as you love and adore your partner, it's enormous pressure and you don't know how to act in certain situations, you think of things totally differently because it's not just you anymore. You're legally bound to your husband or wife and their family, for life! And there are so many compromises ahead of you and so much to consider.

Just like people read tons of baby books before having a baby, I think it's a good idea to read books about the first year of marriage prior to getting married (although I know this is impossible, because there are 50 billion other things to do before the big day). But once you're married and you've settled into that comfy groove of happy and cozy nights in, it's so easy to quickly forget to still date one another. I know people talk about this all the time, but it is true! Tomislav and I have been reminding ourselves of this lately but throughout our long distance relationship, we longed for the day when we would finally be together, be able to sit on the couch and sigh, knowing we wouldn't have to say good bye again. And that is an amazing feeling, to know we don't ever have to be apart again. But now that we are together all the time, we can't forget to continue going out with each other! Even if it's going for a walk around the neighborhood, reading in the park, going out for a coffee or a drink together - it's important to take each other out! We've only been married for about 3 months but I knew things would change once we got married and they definitely did, but mostly for the better. You can take comfort in the fact that no matter what changes in your life, your partner in crime and best friend, will be there with you for life to go through everything with you.

A while ago, my Dad showed us this movie called Fireproof which is basically about a marriage on the outs and figuring out how to save it, no matter how difficult it can be. Caleb's (the main character) father challenges him to do this 40 day experiment to revive his marriage and even though Caleb is totally skeptical, especially once he realizes the 40 day challenge is tied into his parents' new found faith, he nearly gives up. But he continues through and learns about unconditional love, exploring the blessings and challenges of marriage, clean fighting, and choosing love even when it isn't your instinctive response. You can buy the book that was featured in the movie, it's called The Love Dare and I think it's an incredible book for any married couple, from happy newlyweds to people married for many years who may have lost some of that inital spark. It's a great gift to give to someone to a couple you know and an interesting challenge for you to take. It's a 40 day challenge that you do with your spouse and the outcome can only be for the better. If you haven't heard of The Love Dare before, I highly recommend it to anyone and everyone and it's only like $8 so it's a total steal (especially for all of the advice and knowledge you'll receive from it!). The biggest piece of advice that we got before marriage from friends and family (which everyone must know) is "Happy Wife, Happy Life" and I think that's totally true too. ;)

Homemade Sausage Egg McMuffins!

2012-09-03T08:53:00.000+02:00

I have been thinking about and daydreaming about breakfast sandwiches basically since moving to Croatia. The main breakfast food in Croatia is anything you can buy at the bakery. That means dry wannabe muffins, greasy burek, or even a bakery slice of pizza. Yuck. I'm not a fan. I just can't get into the breakfast thing here at all. Plus, I wake up so early that I don't get hungry until I'm at work an hour and a half later. So, the best thing in the world for me would be if there were a food truck here in Zagreb that served amazing breakfast sandwiches and wraps (*note* I want to be the one to start and run that food truck here! Hello to any investors out there!). The next best thing would be the ability to get breakfast food at the only fast food joint in Zg, McDonald's (KFC doesn't count because there aren't any drive-thru's of it here). And can you believe they don't serve breakfast?!

Needless to say, I have had a huge craving for a Sausage Egg McMuffin and I've been working up the courage to make it. I just didn't think I would be able to make my own english muffins. It seemed impossible! I did a lot of research of other peoples' versions of english muffins and what not and I found a lot of them used ingredients I couldn't find here (like evaporated milk). I came up with my own recipes for it and let me tell you, I am so freaking proud of myself. They came out AMAZING! My own version of healthy, whole wheat english muffins, with all the nooks and crannies you hope for!

Take some time on the weekend to prepare this and you will have amazing (not to mention FREEZABLE!) breakfasts for every day of the week! And if you live in a country where you can buy English muffins...all the better! But I do suggest you try to make homemade ones at least once in your life because they came out so freaking delicious. Oh yum, I need to make them again like now.

The first thing I did for my breakfast sandwiches was prepare the ground turkey for the sausage. Now, McDonald's allegedly uses some kind of pork mixture for the sausage but my ground turkey sausages were so amazing. It's all about the spices!

For the Turkey Sausage:

Combine about 1 pound of ground turkey with a whole bunch of spices - fennel seed (if you have it, use it. I didn't know what it was called in Croatian so I bought "kim" which turned out to be cumin, which I needed anyway so that worked out), garlic powder, onion powder, cumin, cayenne pepper, a little paprika, sage, thyme, a little nutmeg (the perfect secret ingredient that really does make a difference!), and of course salt and pepper. Crack one egg into your turkey mixture and mix it up to combine everything together. Put it in the fridge for about an hour to chill everything (you can make your English muffins during that hour but if you have to skip the chilling, you can do that too).

Now, I have an awesome nonstick skillet that I used for my sausages. I used an ice cream scoop to scoop out the meat and then flattened them a little. Pan fry them for 4 or 5 minutes on each side until they're not pink anymore and voila - perfectly flavored and lean breakfast sausage! (You could also bake them on a baking pan at like 400F for 15-18 minutes.)

For the English Muffins:

I used -

2 Cups of Whole Wheat Bread Flour
2 Cups of Whole Wheat All Purpose Flour
1¾ cups of 2% milk, warm
2 tbsp unsalted butter
1¼ tsp kosher salt
1 tbsp sugar
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp instant yeast

Instructions

Heat the milk and butter until the milk has warmed and the butter melts
Combine the milk & butter mixture with the egg and sifted dry ingredients and mix until a dough forms. This can be done in a stand mixer or by hand with a considerable amount of upper body strength
Once dough comes together, allow the dough to rise for at least 20 minutes but 40 minutes would be optimal.
Once the dough has risen, either roll it out and use an English muffin ring or a large canning jar lid to cut out rounds. I just used my handy-dandy ice cream scoop to take about 1/4 cup of dough at a time and shaped them myself into rounds.
Using a cast iron pan on low heat, or a non-stick skillet and cook the English muffin dough for about 5 minutes on each side until brown and crisped
Transfer muffins to a 325° oven for 6-8 minutes so they can continue to dry out.
Cut open and enjoy! They will keep for 2 weeks in an air-tight container (but I'm sure you'll finish them in a day or two!)

For the eggs:

To get my eggs perfectly round so they'd fit onto my English muffins, I lightly greased my muffin pan and cracked 6 eggs in the middle of the pan (that's how many I was making). Stick the muffin pan in your pre-heated 350F (about 175C) oven for 10-12 minutes until you see they're perfectly cooked!

I put my egg, sausage, and a slice of cheddar cheese into my English muffin and enjoyed them straight away. You could freeze these though! Assemble them and put them in the freezer for about an hour to get rid of some of the moisture (you can put them in straight on a baking sheet). Then take them out after an hour (no more than 2, you don't want freezer burn!) and wrap them individually in plastic wrap and/or foil and store them in a freezer safe plastic bag. They'll keep for a couple of weeks. Ideally, you'll reheat them in the oven (they might get soggy if you heat them up in the microwave). Again, I just ate them straight away but I've read about people freezing them quite easily! Give this one a try, people! These are absolutely incredible and one of my favorite things that I've ever made!

Big Brother, Hübsche kleine Lügnerinen, Nikki Kitty and $500!

2012-09-01T09:04:00.001+02:00

Last time on Biiiiig Brother! Well, that's my best typing impression of the BB voice over guy. Sometimes Tslav and I do our best versions of BB voice over guy vs the voice over guy from Chelsea Lately. "Tonight, Nikki makes an amazing meal: will Tomislav want to have her muffins? It's Chelsea Handler!" Yeah, we are silly. But ever since we've gotten UnoTelly, we have been able to keep up with our favorite shows! So first off, my poor sweet fav houseguest Britney (who looked so cute in her eviction dress!) left the BB house this week (and Shane voted to evict her. Lame. Super annoyed that Danielle is still around. I thought she was sweet but now I feel like producers are making her seem more stalker-ish). Dan pulled off the impossible this week and I can't believe it actually worked! Love seeing all the amazing game play this season, I just can't get enough! But now without Britney, I don't know who will make fun of all the house guests and make smart comments on everything. I loved the way she could see through everyone's fakeness and it's a bummer she lost this game again. At least we still have her in the jury house. It was so cute to see the Brigade last night though (Meow Meow lol!)

via

So now who's it gonna be in the end? We still have Jenn (who may still have some other tricks up her sleeves?) and Joe (he hasn't had any DR time lately thank goodness so no yelling!), Ian (wonder what his next move will be!), Shane and Danielle, and Dan and Frank. We shall see! Who will win the endurance HOH? For some reason I think Dani might pull this one out. Maybe even Ian idk! But the summer is winding down so it's game time now!

Also this week in my favorite TV shows was the Pretty Little Liars summer finale. My sister is finally watching PLL (if you're not, start immediately it is so addictive!) so I won't spoil anything for her. I will say that during my middle school German class, I heard one of my students talking about it and I gasped at the mere mention of it's name and proceeded to make them translate the title into German. See, it's relevant in class after all! Hübsche kleine Lügnerinen!

Tslav and I are also big Gleeks and we saw this little snippet about the new characters this season and the one that stood out to me is the one who is named after my old nickname, Kitty! I miss being called Nikki Kitty :) remember when I dressed up in my makeshift Hello Kitty costume for Halloween? Not as a child of course but as a grown ass woman. What up.

Scared Kitty

Hello Kitty and Superman :)

So yesterday, I was telling you all (ya'll, yous guys, vi) about how you should enter contests because you might win! Well, awesome ass UnoTelly is giving away some sweet prizes (cash money baby!) just for commenting on your fav social media sites about UnoTelly. If you're living abroad and you don't have it yet...what are you waiting for?! You can watch any shows on any websites from around the world, all unblocked and ready for your viewing pleasure, no matter where you are!

There are different points levels for each comment, like 3 points for twitter and FB comments and 1 point for a blog reply comment! So if you comment on this post, you earn one point straight away! Just submit your comment to contest@unotelly.com and there's no limit to how many times you can repeat the process. And the best part? The prizes of course!

Gold Prize - 1 winner

$500 USD cash payable via Paypal
+ 6 month of UnoTelly subscription
+ 6 month of Netflix USA subscription

Silver Prize - 1 winner

$100 USD cash payable via Paypal
+ 3 month of UnoTelly subscription
+ 3 month of Netflix USA subscription

Bronze Prize - 5 winners

$10 USD cash payable via Paypal
+ 1 month of UnoTelly subscription
+ 1 month of Netflix USA subscription

Pretty sweet right? For more about the contest see here. It's a rainy Saturday here in Zagreb. We were hoping to check out Spancir Fest in Varazdin today because it's the last weekend it's going on and it looks like so much fun! Lets hope the rain clears up later :) For now, it's time to enjoy my totally homemade Sausage Egg McMuffins (homemade english muffins, homemade sausage...and this is the best thing I've ever put in my mouth. Seriously.)

YUM!

OOTD - Only Because My Students Liked My Skirt

2012-08-31T13:33:00.001+02:00

Walking home from the tram, I passed by this building that has super-mirrored windows and I thought I should snap a pic of my outfit before I ran home to change out of those shoes and into flip flops and cozy shorts! Getting used to waking up at 6:15am has been a little rough, mostly because I can't get to bed early enough. I'm pretty good at early mornings though, being the morning person that I am. It's been fun dressing up again but after this day of wearing these wedges (which are normally super comfy) for 10 hours, running up and down stairs, and walking all over the place, I'm so done with them. I've decided to only wear heels on days where I'm driving to work. It's just too much. This led to my high school students asking me if I've always been this short. They hadn't noticed the heels before but now I'm craning my neck to look at them!

My favorite foldable sunnies, skirt is from Ann Taylor (how cute is it?!) and my basic white top (with really cute gold details on the shoulders that you can't see) and necklace are all courtesy of my Mom. She brought me the top and skirt when she came to Croatia and I'm so thankful for her and her great fashion sense. I stole the necklace from her a while back and it's great to dress up any outfit! I'm way too lucky to have a Mom who knows what clothes look great on people and she works in retail so she's got the inside scoop on discounts!

Anyway, school is going great and I'm slowly getting back in the swing of things. I'm so ready to just relax this weekend though! I've got a great new episode of Eat at Home Tonight coming up this weekend that I need to finish editing but look out for it. I was inspired to film it after making the perfect make-ahead lunches (and dinner). Also, I'm super excited because laser eye surgery may finally be in my near future and my eyesight might finally stop ruining my youth! I won a free consultation with Optical Express here in Zagreb, thanks to their Facebook page, and I can't even imagine that it could actually be happening this year. I'm near tears already at the thought of being able to see without contacts or glasses! If you've got good eyesight - appreciate it please! My eyeballs are rough. And sign up for contests guys! You might win, and it never hurts to try!

Happy weekend everyone! It's Fridayyyyyyyy!

Temporary Insanity AKA Back to School!

2012-08-27T16:47:00.000+02:00

I haven't been thinking about my dear blog the past week or so because after 2 glorious months (that went by way too fast), it's back to work for me!

I'm crazy tired, haven't worked this hard in months and classes don't officially begin until tomorrow, but the preparations and endless meetings are exhausting after being on break for so long. You get out of the routine so quickly and those 8 weeks of giving your brain a break are just totally necessary. I can't wait to see the kids tomorrow. They are the greatest part of my job and I'm so thankful for them. They remind me of what is important in life, make me laugh all the time, and teach me things too sometimes! So, forgive me if I'm a bit neglectful of my baby (my blog) for the next few days, just know that I'm busy being an awesome teacher to a great group of kids!

Or, this is happening.

Either way, good luck to all my fellow teachers! Here's to a great new school year!

Eat at Home Tonight - MY version of Hamburger Helper

2012-08-22T16:54:00.000+02:00

I've been needing a lot of comfort food lately. I don't have to worry about fitting in my wedding dress anymore, bikini season is pretty much over, so when I want a great bowl of comfort, it's on. This is another great fridge-cleaner-outer-recipe so it's super practical too.

This one is so good, so comforting and even if it's not my healthiest dish, hey -it's all about moderation anyway, there are veggies in here! This is my version of homemade hamburger helper casserole. When I was little, we never had hamburger helper. We always ate healthy at home and my Mom always made us delicious Polish food but that didn't stop me from missing American food! I'm the girl who loved school lunches, remember? Anyway, those days when you're feeling homesick, or just need some a super-feel-the-love kind of comfort dish, use what you've got in your fridge to make this amazing casserole!

Check out my video here!

Here's what I used (but feel free to substitute whatever you have on hand to make this dish):

For the Alfredo sauce:
3/4 Cup of Heavy Cream
3/4 Cup of Butter
Couple of Tbsp Parmesan Cheese

1 Pound of Shell Pasta
About 3/4 lb Ground beef (or ground turkey)
1/2 Cup - 1 Cup leftover Gazpacho (can substitute jarred tomato sauce or even just used canned tomatoes)
2 large tomatoes diced
1/2 large zucchini - diced

Melt the butter in a small suacepan, add the heavy cream to the butter and stir often for about 10 minutes. Add the parmesan cheese to the saucepan. Take it off the heat and set aside.

In another pan or skillet, brown your ground beef. Season it with salt and pepper. You can add garlic and onion at this point if you'd like but since I was using my leftover gazpacho, it was garlicky enough already :) Once it's browned, add in your diced tomatoes and zucchini (and any other vegetables you're using) and sautee them for a few minutes. Then, I poured in the gazpacho (again, you can use tomato sauce) and brought it all up to a boil. Once it boils, turn down the heat and simmer for about 10 minutes. Then add your alfredo sauce to the mixture in your pan. Stir it up to combine and continue to cook for another 5-10 minutes.

Give it a taste and see what other spices you might like to add. I added a bit of paprika to mine to give it a little something extra. Then, pour over your warm, creamy, and decadently meaty sauce onto your pasta. Eat immediately (you probably won't be able to wait to bake it up) but you can bake it for a few minutes in the oven (with some cheese on top) on 350F or 175C. The leftovers are EVEN better (if that's even possible!) but trust me, the leftovers won't be around for long. You'll want to eat this one for dinner and then breakfast, if there's any left. Amazing!

Please try this one next time you're feeling down and need a pick-up because this calming remedy will do just the trick!

Forgive-Me-Cinnamon-Sugar-Bread!

2012-08-20T16:25:00.001+02:00

We're all human and we all make mistakes sometimes. What better way to say sorry to your man (or sister or Dad, or boss, dog-walker, baby-sitter, whoever!) than with the perfectly chewy and incredibly addictive taste of warm, freshly baked cinnamon bread? Nothing. There is nothing better. It is so amazing, all the love that they'll taste in this bread (Ok, it's so good, it ought to be called cake!) they'll be bound to forgive you in an instant!

via

This bread is so comforting and delicious, I have to warn you again. It is addictive. You will eat half of it in the blink of an eye and won't even know what happened to it. Then, you'll have to hide it somewhere or leave the house immediately, as not to eat the rest before you can give it to your hubby.

Thank you Olivia for the idea and for inspiring me with your beautiful picture and sending me this recipe.

My attempt at the pull-apart motion did not go as planned. In fact, I tried to film this one for Eat at Home Tonight and it just got too messy. I'm still new to the baking game, but when I have time, I love to try stuff like this out! Plus, when it's that good, it really doesn't matter what it looks like.

Mine ended up getting layered horizontally with the cinnamon spread, so it looks more like a loaf of bread. It's not the prettiest, but the taste is UNBELIEVABLE! It's just so freaking good. And you can see, it didn't last long enough to get a proper picture. But, I'll be making this again very soon! You don't have to only be asking for forgiveness to make this cinnamon-pull-apart bread, it would make a great gift to bring to someone's house, or just for yourself when you need some good ol' comfort food!

Forgive Me Cinnamon Bread

Makes: one 9x5x3-inch loaf

Recipe adapted from HungryGirlPorVida via Joy the Baker

For the Dough:

3 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 cup granulated sugar

2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 ounces unsalted butter

1/3 cup whole milk

1/4 cup water

2 large eggs, at room temperature

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

For the Filling:

3/4 cup granulated sugar

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon fresh ground nutmeg

2 ounces (about 60 g) unsalted butter, melted until browned

In a large mixing bowl (I used just the bowl of my stand mixer) whisk together 2 cups flour, sugar, yeast, and salt. Set aside.

Whisk together eggs and set aside.

In a small saucepan, melt together milk and butter until butter has just melted. Remove from the heat and add water and vanilla extract. Let mixture stand for a minute or two.

Pour the milk mixture into the dry ingredients and mix with a spatula. Add the eggs and stir the mixture until the eggs are incorporated into the batter. The eggs will feel soupy and it’ll seem like the dough and the eggs are never going to come together. Keep stirring. Add the remaining 3/4 cup of flour and stir with the spatula for about 2 minutes. The mixture will be sticky. That’s how it's supposed to be.

Place the dough is a large, greased bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and a clean kitchen towel. Place in a warm space and allow to rest until doubled in size, about 1 hour

While the dough rises, whisk together the sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg for the filling. Set aside. Melt 2 ounces of butter until browned. Set aside. Grease and flour a 9x5x3-inch loaf pan. Set that aside too. I didn't even have a proper loaf pan (mine broke a couple months ago in an unfortunate dropping-incident) but it still came out amazing. So then, deflate the risen dough and knead about 2 tablespoons of flour into the dough. Cover with a clean kitchen towel and let rest for 5 minutes. (**this is the part of the recipe, where I started to rush because it was taking longer to make this than I anticipated so I rushed through this next part) On a lightly floured work surface, use a rolling pin to roll the dough out. The dough should be 12-inches tall and about 20-inches long. If you can’t get the dough to 20-inches long… that’s okay. Just roll it as large as the dough will go. Use a pastry brush to spread melted butter across all of the dough. Sprinkle with all of the sugar and cinnamon mixture.I didn't use all of mine that I made but I don't like things too sweet so if you've got a sweet tooth, slather it all on there.

Slice the dough vertically, into six equal-sized strips. Stack the strips on top of one another and slice the stack into six equal slices once again. You’ll have six stacks of six squares. Layer the dough squares in the loaf pan like a flip-book. Place a kitchen towel over the loaf pan and allow in a warm place for 30 to 45 minutes or until almost doubled in size. (**Yeah, this didn't work out so well for me. I layered the dough out in long layers onto my glass pan and spread the cinnamon mixture over each layer until I was out of dough.)

Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Place loaf in the oven and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until the top is very golden brown. The top may be lightly browned, but the center may still be raw. A nice, dark, golden brown will ensure that the center is cooked as well.

Remove from the oven and allow to rest for 20 to 30 minutes. Run a butter knife around the edges of the pan to loosen the bread and invert onto a clean board. Or if you're like me, just let it rest for as long as you possibly can (10 minutes, if you're me), and then either grab a chunk of it or attempt to slice it nicely.

Yum.

The Most Magical Place in Eastern Europe

2012-08-18T12:19:00.000+02:00

Plitvice Lakes National Park is absolutely out of this world and I cannot believe it's been here this whole time in Croatia and I haven't seen it yet. At first, it felt almost like we were at Six Flags or Dorney Park or something with all the lines we had to wait in (for tickets, to take the boat across the lakes) but it was so worth it. It literally felt magical being there among nature. The hikes were so much fun and there was so much to see. It's hard to live in the moment sometimes but this is one place where you want to constantly look around and be aware of what you're seeing. You just have to visit because it's nature at it's absolute finest and it's the kind of place where you literally have to stop and just appreciate the views.

Calm and peaceful

So beautiful

We just loved it

3 Amigos!

My brother-in-law: totally in his element

Straight after the boat ride across the lakes - so happy and relaxed!

You don't swim at these lakes though (that's what keeps them so clean and beautiful, I guess!) but we did dip our toes in at one point on our way to the big waterfall :)

Look at all of these fish hanging with the duck so close to the surface and to the edge of the lake!

Tomislav feeling the soft water (and carrying all of our stuff while he's at it!)

Oh yeah, there are caves too!

The big waterfall - Veliki Slap looks different all year long!

Brothers :)

I already cannot wait to go back! The entrance fees to the park seem kinda pricy at 110 Kuna for adults (that's about $18 and only 80 or $13 for people with a student ID) especially when you see that parking is so expensive in the park but it is totally worth it. Totally. It's an amazing place to visit with families, friends, or your love (because it's just that fun and romantic and beautiful!) I just wish my friends and fam could have seen it on their trip here this summer but that just means they'll have to come back! I mean, that picture from the other day? Look how gorgeous it is in the winter!

And because seeing is believing, check out my essential tips for visiting Plitvice:

So add this one to your bucket list if you haven't already!

Croatians and Their National Holidays!

2012-08-15T03:00:00.000+02:00

It's no secret that Croatian people love to relax and have a good time. It seems like every couple of weeks there is a random national holiday or religious day of obligation which means, no work! So, today is one of those days. It is the Assumption of Mary and this beautiful Catholic country celebrates that day. We are headed to Plitvice Lakes today and I couldn't be more excited! It's my first time going there and it's one of those places that has been nominated to be a natural wonder of the world! It's gorgeous all year long. I mean, just look at this picture of the lakes all frozen in the winter time!

Of course, it won't look like that today but I'll be sure to show you how the lakes and waterfall look during the summertime! Adventure time with the Prša brothers!

Have you ever been to Plitvice Lakes in Croatia?

Eat At Home Tonight - Summer Gazpacho

2012-08-14T12:53:00.003+02:00

Savor the summer and the fresh veggies with this fresh and cool summer soup!

Check out my video with my gazpacho recipe to hear what is so great about chilled soup!

And what's maybe even the best part of making a gazpacho is the leftovers! It is the perfect light lunch or even a super-healthy starter to a dinner (that takes less than 10 minutes to make!). But if you do end up having any leftovers, you can turn your gazpacho into a marinara sauce in a snap. Or my personal fav? Pour your gazpacho over a little vodka, add a pickle and a celery stick to your glass and you've got the best brunch drink ever - Bloody Mary's! Try this one out and let me know what you think!

All Day I Dream About Food

2012-08-11T17:19:00.002+02:00

In the States, I'm always so happy to see a salad of leafy greens with apples, cranberries, nuts, and feta on a menu and today I decided I had to have it! I made this salad with a mix of endive, romaine, and baby spinach with juicy crunchy apple slices, fresh cucumber, dried cranberries, sunflower seeds, almonds, and feta cheese and a super simple balsamic vinegarette. Perfection! You've got your savory, your sweet, your sour, your bitter, even umami! It's just the perfect balance of everything. Crunchy, juicy, delicious, and totally filling! The dressing is just a splash of sunflower oil with 1 to 2 Tbs of balsamic vinegar whisked into it.

This is what I was dreaming about today, but I know spaghetti bolognese, stuffed zucchini, mac and cheese, and corn on the cob are all in my near future. Because in dreaming about them too! Is this normal to think about food all day long? ;)

Excuse the poor quality pic - I had to dig in straight away!

New Favorite Summer Hair

2012-08-10T07:30:00.000+02:00

I love bloggers who do hair tutorials! I was always good at french braiding my own hair but I never went beyond to try and figure out too many other ways to style my hair but people like Amber, the Barefoot Blonde, and photos on pinterest make it so easy to do you hair in ways you never imagined! My hair is at a real in-between length and it's quite fine (and very straight) but my new favorite way to do my hair came out looking so cute!

The first time I did a fishtail braid was for "Dress Up as Your Favorite Book Character Day" at school and I went as Katniss (duh) but since then, the Barefoot Blonde introduced me to pulling your braid apart to make it look thicker. This was such a duh moment for me, but it makes such a big difference! And this photo series I pinned is just the perfect explanation for a how-to do a 'do.

Now, look what I did :)

Have a fabulous, good-hair day Friday!

The PERFECT Bowl

2012-08-09T13:24:00.005+02:00

Hubby is gonna be so happy tonight. So, I literally JUST joined Pinterest and I know it's taken me forever but I was honestly scared that I'd get addicted to it and now I really know why! So when I saw this recipe for Laksa (using only 5 ingredients), I thought it'd make the perfect lunch.

So, I made it as described but when I tasted it, I thought it was really missing a few things. So this is my Thai Coconut-Malaysian Laksa Noodle Bowl!

Here's how I made it and what you should use:

3/4lb (350g) noodles (rice, spaghetti, whatever!)
1-2 Tbsp Thai green curry paste
1 large can (1 1/2 cups) coconut milk
2 cups of boiling water (chicken, vegetable, or beef broth could be substituted)
2 cups mixed chopped vegetables (I used red and green pepper and zucchini)
1 clove of garlic
1 Tbsp freshly grated ginger
handful fresh basil leaves
handful of chopped scallions
Juice of 1 Lime
Soy Sauce (to taste)

This is a super quick meal to make too! Boil your pasta or noodles or whatever you're using. Then heat up a little bit of vegetable oil on high heat in a saucepan. Add the Thai curry paste to it and stir fry for about a minute. Then add the coconut milk and boiling water. At this point, I put in my ginger and garlic to flavor up the broth. Once it starts boiling, toss in your veggies and leave them for about 2 minutes. Your noodles should be done by now so put them in a bowl and pour your broth and veggies over the top. Tear up some basil leaves and place them on top of your noodle bowl along with the chopped scallions. I squeezed the lime juice right over my dish at the last second.

It is literally perfection in a bowl! I like to eat mine with about half the broth sort of ratio to the noodles but you can eat it straight soupy. It's so fresh and delicious and it's one of those foods that just make you feel so happy! Happy food makes for a happy wifey :)

P.S. This is the best hangover cure ever!

The Case of the Missing HHI DVD

2012-08-08T10:40:00.001+02:00

Did anyone else watch Mary-Kate and Ashley's Mystery series? Writing that title reminded me of the cases they used to crack. Loved those videos! And speaking of nostalgia TV, I'm totally jealous of everyone in the States who gets to see the old school Nickelodeon shows! I heard they're on at night and I'd love to catch a night of All That and what not!

Anyway, after over 600 minutes of uploading time (YouTube takes foreeeeeeeeeever! Especially when it's a 22 minute show lol), I've finally uploaded our episode of House Hunters International and you can find it here. It's been such an adventure just to get our hands on the DVD of it! We never got our copy of the DVD from HGTV (as promised and confirmed) so finally one of my sister's besties, Jen, who is so awesome, recorded it and put it on a DVD. My family brought us a couple of copies of the DVD so we could give it to Tomislav's parents too. Well, in the hustle and bustle of the wedding, we managed to bring it on our Familymoon with us (and naturally, played the drinking game in Dubrovnik - BUDGET!). Then, the DVD was supposed to make it's way to Poland with us so we could show my Grandparents and friends and family there. Unfortunately, it was nowhere to be found. Somewhere between the 2,000 km of driving, we totally lost it. Fast forward a couple of weeks, when my parents got back to the States, they found our copy of the DVD as they were unpacking! So, Pistol Pete sent it over to us right away and I finally got my hands on this baby and I'm not letting it go! So, that is the long story of why it's taken forever for our episode to be on YouTube. But now it is! Woohoo!

So play the drinking game tonight! (Or today, it is summer after all so day drinking is allowed) Listen for my super awkward washing machine comments that I had to say and see if you can guess (or remember) which apartment we chose :)

Blazers!

2012-08-07T14:03:00.001+02:00

For the past year or so, I've been searching for the perfect blazer. Something cute that can be worn out and to work. Tough feat but a few months ago, I saw this white number at Zara that I fell in love with. The price? Not so much. So I drooled over the blazer for a while but as the weather got warmer, tried to make myself forget about it.

Love at first blazer

Luckily, one random evening, I headed into Zara and to my luck there was a huge sale going on! Now, I've told you all before about how much I dislike shopping (I know, I'm weird.) but when there's a good deal around, I'll go to the next level and bring 10 things into the fitting room and go a little cray cray. Now it all happens very quickly because I'm sure to change my mind at any instant that I've had enough of shopping, so after not being able to decide which one I loved the most, I did something a little nutty. I bought 5 blazers. I knew I would bring them home, try them on comfortably, and then return the rest.

Loved the zippers on this one

Practical black

I just loved the buttons on this one

But the blazer...not so much

So, I ended up keeping 2 of the blazers I bought, thanks to my hubby's approval and I'm a happy girl :) One white, and one black! They've been waiting in my closet for the cool weather to come so they can be worn. I'm not complaining about the sunshine though! But my blazers are totally ready to come out and play. I just love the texture on both of them!

Here is the original blazer I fell in love with! And it's all mine :)

And now I finally had the chance to show you all my purple sparkly phone case that I just love (which was like $2 on Amazon! And everyone said it would fall apart straight away but nope, it's perfect.).

So, have you ever deliberated over shopping like me? Are you lusting over any fall clothes yet?