s with our holidays two years ago, I was lucky enough to spend this Christmas with my visiting mother. Unfortunately, as with last year, a white Christmas eluded us. While the lack of snow was disappointing, it's hard to complain when you have family from halfway around the world to spend the holidays with.

We made sure to include some of our favorite holiday things, like trips to our favorite Weihnachtsmärkte (Freinsheim for Portugiesisch Glühwein and Erfurt for Hungarian Lángos, not to mention the amazing setting) and baking more cookies than we could possibly eat by ourselves, but this year brought some new things as well, including:

A new addition to the tree decor, courtesy of an afternoon craft project with the Italian girls.

Homemade caramel apple (my favorite!) ornaments from mom.

A new Weihnachtsmarkt favorite: apple beignets from Freinsheim (oh, so good...).

A random drunk guy encounter that will go down in history. First, he photobombed my mom trying to get a shot next to this cute Erfurt elf (that orange coat barely seen on the left would be her). Then, realizing we were American, kept slurring that his English was 'shit', asked us to come to a party where would be lots of.. (here he mimed tossing back a bottle of spirits in the apparently internationally-recognized symbol for drinking), and referred to my mother several times as a 'MILF' (if you don't know, look it up - I'm not informing you here). After finally ditching him and his only-slightly-more-sober friend and making our way around the Markt, we came to a stage where a woman was singing Christmas songs for a crowd, only to discover, in true, only-in-the-movies fashion, this happening: 

That's right. Our drunk friend had made his way up the steps of the stage and was at first encouraging audience participation, only then to end up singing into the microphone with her. The singer allowed it for one song and the audience played along, but the awkwardness was palpable. Germans are notorious for being able to hold their drink and I've never seen such a display from a German before, intoxicated or not. We laughed about it all the way home.  

A new Christmas cookie based on Land's End's sensational holiday ones, using Ming Makes Cupcakes recipe for Thin Mint cookies, but topping it with peppermint-tinged white chocolate and crushed candy cane. Divine!

What started as just an easy Christmas Eve dinner (in light of the massive, Thanksgiving-like feast we were preparing for the following day) was such a hit, we may repeat it every year: the warm, comforting classic of grilled cheese and tomato soup. Thank you Rebecca of The Daily Muse for an amazing roasted tomato soup recipe. I am in love - and have made it again already and plan to keep it in regular meal rotation. 

A new Christmas breakfast: Sugar-crusted egg nog French toast (a variation on this recipe). I subbed egg nog for the cream to make it more Christmas-y and served it with sautéed cinnamon apples. It was the perfect Christmas flavors, not to mention easy to just take out of the fridge and stick into the oven in the morning. (tip: be sure to separate the bread and get the egg mixture between each slice - ours wasn't soaked through, even overnight, because it was packed so tight)

Christmas Eve and New Year's spent enjoying wine from our neighbor's winery they just bought (check it out here). Not only are they fantastic, but I now see a summer holiday in Bordeaux in our future... 

We had all agreed to a more modest Christmas this year (my mom and I have an especially hard time with things like budget where holidays are concerned), but we were certainly spoiled all the same. 

My stocking was chock-full of American goodies, not to mention a good part of the OPI Skyfall/ James Bond collection (The World is Not Enough - spectacular color!).

Not only was I spoiled with this gorgeous and chic hooded wool coat (the J.Crew stadium-cloth duffle), in which my glasses are fully protected and I do not resemble a giant black nylon rectangle, as I do in my other hooded winter coat,...

...but my husband surprised me with this red Maison Scotch stunner that was a frivolous want, as I had been dying for a red coat for no other reason than the bright, happy hue during our many (many) months of grey. I've since discovered that I share this same coat with a French fashion blogger I follow, who I always look to for style. That's an extra stamp of approval in my book. Also note the fabulous scarf my mom scouted out for me... from Target! Man, I miss Target...

And the pièce de résistance: my custom studded Chucks. I feel like such a bad-ass when I wear them (not to mention get a pretty good leg workout from lifting all those metal studs!). I think I might have the coolest mom ever.  

Bailey-dog had a pretty good Christmas as well. In addition to her plethora of treats, grandma brought her usual present: a stuffed toy. This year, an adorable and winter-worthy stuffed penguin. She's been getting this particular brand of 'indestructible' (ha! do they know my dog?!) plush toys for a few years now, and the limbs of ones from years past litter our home. She never chews or eats anything she's not supposed to (not furniture, not candy out on the coffee table and no, not even shoes, good dog that she is), so it's quite a treat for her to have something that she knows is all hers, with the sole purpose of proving her destruction skills. Here's a little photographic timeline of her process (all within hours of receiving it):

As you can see, a lovely holiday was had by all, especially Bailey. And not to worry: Penguin will continue to get all kinds of love, with years of more limb removal and chewing to be had.

Often forgotten, overlooked or just outright wrapped into Christmas, my husband's birthday comes at that difficult time between Christmas and New Years, when everyone is thinking of other things. I try to do what I can to make him feel special. This year, a massive Martha Stewart chocolate cake was involved (using her spectacular dark chocolate frosting).

New Years was low-key with visits to friends and then a wine and cognac-filled night with our neighbors and their amazing wine-scents game. We were so distracted by the late, but very delicious lamb dinner (second dinner for us, actually - but I'm not one to turn down good food!), we let midnight come and go without going out to light a single firework. I did not, however, forget to wear some festive attire (note sequined skirt, above). 

So we begin 2013 with recent memories of my mom's visit, my two fabulous new coats and even more fabulous shoes, freshly chopped locks (thanks, Mom!) and a plan to move. Moving in Europe, Germany specifically, is quite expensive (hello, having to buy your own kitchen?! not to mention the hefty deposits and massive fees for rental agents), so it's going to take us some time, but bear with us. Hopefully, we will have a whole new adventure and new things to blog about later this year. 

Happy 2013 to all!!

Daily Drop Cap by Jessica Hische

The pot (or in this case, domes) of gold at the end of the rainbow? Wiesbaden (literally). Ahhh.... I love where we live.

et me be up-front in admitting I've never been much of a New Year's Resolutions kind of girl. I've never understood why I should even consider something like working out when I hate the gym or swear off overindulging at friend's dinner parties so I stop stumbling home afterwards (although I'm sure much to the enjoyment of the youth hanging at the kebap shops at two a.m.), just because these are supposed to make me a 'better person'. I quite like the curve of my hips - not to mention the treats that get them that way - and the great wine and conversation I get to enjoy with friends. I also hate the idea of making promises to myself that I know very well I won't keep. 

But seeing as my new life here in Germany leaves me with a fair amount of, shall we say, downtime, I realized it wouldn't hurt to inject an aspiration or two (or six) into my rather unstructured existence. I think the serious malaise of the holidays culminated at the start of the year with an intense desire to get shit done - starting with some apartment projects I insisted we do on January 1st. While my project is still half done - in the form of still-to-be-filed piles of paperwork and junk I don't need - it did inspire me to put pen to paper and start a list of the things I hope to do in 2012. With any semblance of a professional career 'on hold' and my now-deep immersion in Hausfrau status, I think having some goals for myself will do some good. Publishing it for all to see will hopefully guilt trip me into actually doing it.

1. Improve my German!
I realize this is kind of a no-brainer, but when I really sat down and thought about how much I did not study the language of my new home last year, I was really disappointed in myself. Sure, I can now calm my brain enough to actually focus on - and lo-and-behold, actually understand! - what other people are saying to me and can even attempt unrehearsed conversations without crapping myself, but I've still got a loooooong way to go. My confidence has definitely enjoyed a boost by just floating along and just taking in all the German around me, but my vocabulary (and grammar - oh, heinous German grammar!) will never improve without an active attempt on my part. And so, I'm going to take charge of my German language education this year with more German TV (so good for more realistic conversational vocab), more Pimsleur and other audio lessons and (finally!) finishing my workbooks from the courses we bailed on after they began digressing too much each time a new student started the class. I might not be able to call myself fluent in 2012, but I'm going to try my damndest to make serious improvements!

2. Improve my French!
This is in particular in response to two things that happened at Christmastime: (1) the concert tickets for a show in Paris my husband gave me as a Christmas present, and (2) our trip to Strasbourg which was full of me starting interactions with "je voudrais..." only to end them with "bitte" or "dankeschön". It's very clear that years and years of study done a lifetime ago do not a fluent (or let's face it, even remedial) French speaker make. Being around all that French also reminded me of why I chose French as my foreign language in school all those years ago, unlike most of my contemporaries who took Spanish: it's an incredibly beautiful language. So I'm dusting off my study materials from *gulp* over a decade ago and focusing on Pimsleur French for the next couple months, so that when it comes time to hang out in Paris, I don't sound like just another ignorant tourist.

3. More trekking/exploring
This one's twofold, really: I'm a creature of habit and tend to do the same things over and over again if you let me. There were so many new things about our very own town that we discovered last year, I couldn't believe we still had so much to learn about Wiesbaden and the surrounding countryside. So I'd like to get out more and challenge myself to see new things, but also just to get OUT and do more walking around. Being one of those anti-gym people, I prefer to get my exercise in just getting outdoors and getting things done (walking the dog, walking to the grocery, walking into town for errands...). I want to see more of what our little part of the country has to offer, not to mention walk off the overindulgence of holiday treats that have taken up permanent residence on my thighs.

4. Get my German (EU) driver's license
Honestly, this one scares the bejesus out of me. My 'temporary license' that automatically exists upon coming over has long since expired and now it's officially illegal for me to drive here. So if I want a good-for-life EU license (2013 is when they're making the switch to having expiration dates), the time is now. I've always been a good driver and have been driving some form of motorized vehicles since I was about seven years old, but the idea of going through all the steps of getting a license in a country where I do not fluently speak the language and has a whole new (and much more strict!) set of traffic laws terrifies the perfectionist, well-established driver in me.

From what I understand, I can take the test in English (which I felt incredibly guilty about, until I learned it's upwards of 1,000 questions - egads!), but all the courses would be in German. For my fellow expats here - as well as anyone who's even visited and driven on the Autobahn - you know how serious the Germans take their driving. The thought that I might miss something in class or mix up a translation of some rule has me quaking in my boots. I've seen the little chart of traffic violations and their resulting monetary fines/points deducted from your license (which result from even the most minor of infractions) - it's no joke.

Since no one else I know has had to go through this (my German friends don't have their licenses and the expats I know have all been able to just 'convert' their licenses; disclaimer: my husband did have to take a first aid course in German to do the conversion, but that was all. No test required. Damn him.), I feel as I'm the lone ranger going out into uncharted territory. What if I screw up? What if I fail the test too many times and I can never get a license? What if they insist I drive a manual (which I can manage only if my life depended on it) for my driving test? I suppose all I can do is take the first step...

5. Apartment projects
We still have apartment to-dos that have been on the list since the first day we walked into this place. It's seemingly unending. Again, I sense fellow expats will feel me here. It seems that apartments are much like the American fixer-upper home, only we don't own these places and never intended on funneling so much money into a space that, at the end of the day, belongs to someone else. *sigh..* We learned this the hard way when we had to wait weeks and weeks to be able to buy our fridge, washer and dryer upon our arrival in Germany, because you can't make purchases here with a credit card and - of course! - your apartment doesn't come equipped with such things. Now that we know we must save diligently and pay cash, I've got my sights on a few projects this year, including buying a new kitchen countertop (that's not infested with mold), getting a small couch for our TV room (to encourage the watching of more German television, of course), investing in some helpful and much-missed appliances (how have I possibly lived this long without a blender for margaritas?!) and finally (finally!) repaint the hallway in a color that I actually like. Seems like not a lot, but then there's this to consider...

6. Plan travel for the year
After going travel-crazy our first year here and then having this last year's budget taken up mostly by our trip back to the states, I'm ready to get back into exploring our new continent (and hopefully, beyond). Changes with Russ's job have also shown us that this wonderful opportunity we have to be here may not last forever (please, don't let it be so!), so we're going to to make the most of it. Aside from the spring trip to Paris that was part of my Christmas present, we've got a couple other trips on our wishlist, including finally getting to Thailand and back to the Med. Balancing between all the apartment needs may prove challenging, but I'm doing my best to keep my eye on the prize and be a better saver this year to get there. *dreaming of toes in the sand...*

And so with that, I set off into 2012 with high hopes for myself. I just hope I can live up to it all...



*Daily Drop Cap by Jessica Hische

It has been a great New Year so far here in Germany (aside from Russ working so much!). We were very generously invited to the home of Russ' coworker Ziad's flatmate for NYE - an architect who's place is her huge, beautiful converted office (see background of photo above). Rita welcomed us into her intimate dinner party of nine and were immediately served things I was told were "German speciality," including some kind of sausage and potato salad. Included in the dinner fare was some of Ziad's Lebonese (via Nice, so he speaks French and Arabic; impressive) specialities as well - and this was just the first course. Then there was the cheese course and two cakes - a spice one and an amazing lemon one. Intermixed was an adundance of wine and champagne. German, French and English flew around the table and everyone was getting up to dance when their favorite songs came on.

When the countdown was close, we all went out to the balcony with glasses of champagne, preparing to watch, unbeknownst to us, an amateur fireworks display by adults and 3-year-olds alike. We counted down, in German of course, and kissed our fellow party-goers while the warzone began beneath us. We watched as fireworks shot up and bounced between buildings, then exploding in the trees. How every house on the block (or at least our little balcony) did not go up in flames was beyond us. Russ' British coworker probably summed it up best: " Those Germans are bloody mental!" See some of the craziness below.

(The street filled with fireworks being set of, rockets shooting past our perch on the 4th floor and small explosives being set off just across the street)



It's worth noting that on our way to the "club" (really just a small cafe with tables pushed out of the way), we witnessed a very small child leaning directly over over a rocket set into a bottle to light it. We anticipate that said child will untimately end up with the playground nickname "patchy" due to loss of an eye.


With everything closed on January first, we decided to go sight-seeing to Köln (Cologne to you Americans), with at least seeing the Kölner Dom on our list - the largest and most impressive cathedral in Germany. Thanks to our handy German guidebook, courtesy of Tara and Chris, we also located some places to eat nearby. I even called to ask if they were open for the holiday and whether they allowed dogs - all in German (go me!). Since it was snowing pretty hard all day and the Boss wasn't allowed in the cathedral, we did just a little bit of walking, had dinner (inside, with Bailey dog!) and a hot chocolate and headed home.



The ornate entryways to the great cathedral

The massive organ pipes high on the cathedral walls


The height of the cathedral was amazing!

One of the many beautiful stained glass windows

Looks like the snow is back with us for a while, with the radio claiming "richtig winter" (real winter) is finally upon us. Bailey is adjusting to the snow nicely, especially now that she's discovered it's edible! Today was a perfect Sunday in the park, the trees all white, kids sledding and making snowmen. I'm already a convert to "seasons" - and fully embracing the farewell of year-round CA sunshine. I'll leave you all with some lovely shots from Nerotal from this morning ...