A bit of this and a bit of that

Hello! I've been wanting to post some of my latest adventures over the past few weeks but as I sit here attempting to clean my office (that I could no longer stand to step foot in due to the extreme piles covering EVERY surface...), I realized that life has been so crazy that I haven't blogged anything in almost a month. So, this is going to be my "catch up" post to let you know what's been going on!

We had fun at our Summer Market on 6 June, with several people popping by in the morning to see what all was on offer. Here are a few pictures!

One happy customer :-)! 

The weekend of the market was my daughter's 8th birthday. I still find it hard to believe that my baby is now 8 years old... She is a child that is generally always on the move (currently using stilts she received for a birthday present to walk all over the house and beyond...) and is always being silly and trying to make people laugh. It was only fitting that she wanted a circus party! I ordered some amazing invitations and printables from Carla at Paper and Party Love and we had 10 little girls running around our house like circus clowns.  We had a photo booth and various carnival games that the girls seemed to go through in record time (Note to self for future: organize party elsewhere so someone else can entertain and clean up!!). Here are a few photos of the highlights (you can also check out Carla's blog to see the invitations and printables more clearly).

Miss A wearing her new flip flop shirt handmade by Luz Maestro!

Clowning around

Table decorations

Walking around the house on her new stilts!

We've also been taking advantage of the beautiful weather in and around Zurich by going to the Sihltal to play along the river, pick strawberries and cherries at the Sunnehof farm and go hiking with Daddy on Father's day in Brunni. I have to say that I am exhausted and it is not even summer yet... Three more weeks of school and then the real fun can begin!

I wonder why it is that we can never get a picture without someone being silly?? Hmmmmm...

We met a friend along the trail

Panoramic view from top of our hike

She ate too many cherries while picking them and they started growing out of her...

Perfectly ripe and ready to make jam

Hope you are having fun too!

J xx

Cards, cards and more cards!

I'm (still) amazed at how quickly time passes... It seems like just yesterday that I posted pictures of my home decor fabric clutches, when in actuality I posted them three weeks ago! Life has a way of getting in the way sometimes, so I apologize for not posting as regularly as I would like to in my "ideal world". You know this world, don't you? It is the world where you can have cappuccino every morning, stamp or sew for 2 hours without interruptions, get a bit of exercise to work out the kinks from sitting at the desk, have a little nap followed by another coffee or tea in the afternoon, post some of the fun bits that were made in the morning... Aaaaahhh (sigh), if only!

Well, I have been busy in spite of not posting! After a long weekend in Paris last weekend to celebrate our 16th anniversary, I came back feeling inspired and ready to work. It is such an incredible city and would take weeks, not 4 days, to fully explore. One incredible find was a whole area devoted to fabric stores...amazing to see shop after shop stocked full of different fabrics, notions, ribbons and trims...heaven! Unfortunately, I only had a short time to look around and have to admit, I was overwhelmed with the selection, so I only came away with zippers and one piece of fabric.  Guess I'll have to go back again one day :-)! Here's a little collage I made of pics around the Champs-Elysee and Arc de Triomphe.

In honor of Paris, I've been making several cards this week with the Eiffel Tower, bicycles (they are everywhere in Paris) and some vintage, shabby chic ones. Thought I would share a few of my favorites with you.

 

Have a great week! I'll try to post pics of my recent cards and bags to my Flickr site soon.

J xx

Only in Europe...

Only in European countries, such as Switzerland, do they have one to two weeks off school in February for ski holidays.  Mr Z and Miss A had the past two weeks off and we have enjoyed this week in Klosters, a ski resort in the canton of Graubunden in Eastern Switzerland.  We couldn't have asked for better weather for the three days that we skiied  - 2 days of clear blue skies and great snow conditions. I could never get bored of looking at some of the incredible views of the Alps on days where the sun is shining and snowpeaks are glistening in the distance. It was fabulous and tiring at the same time (especially for legs not used to skiing!)! Unfortunately we have to leave tomorrow and head back to reality...

Here are a few photos from our week on the slopes.

 

Hope you've had a great week too!
Jxx

Ahhhh...the wonderful taste of Italy

There are certain things about Italy that can make you wonder how in the world people can live there. For instance, the roads. The roads are terrible in many of the regions, filled with potholes, so many twists and turns you can't begin to count them and, of course, the crazy Italian drivers who think 1) they are Mario Andretti and 2) they do not need to obey any normal rules of the road. Next you have the opening times for the shops. Only in Italy can you work from 9am to 12pm and then again from 4:30pm to 6pm and call it a full day. Finally, not many other countries in the world all head to the beach for the first two weeks of August. This results in massive traffic jams on the highways and completely booked out beach chairs with umbrellas in spite of the beach being half empty.

However, saying all that, there is no place I would rather be to to enjoy amazing meals that could feed an army rather than a family of four and delicious wines and olive oils from local vineyards. We just returned from a week in the Marche region of Italy which borders Tuscany on the west and the Adriatic Sea on the east. It was our first time in this region and will definitely not be our last! La Tavola Marche is a wonderful little gem hidden in the hills of northern Marche about 45 minutes to 1 hour from the Adriatic coast. It is run by two wonderful American hosts, Jason and Ashley, and has 5 apartments you can rent by the day or the week. Jason is a spectacular chef and offers courses on making fresh pasta and sauces as well as many of the specialty dishes of the region, sourcing most of the veggies straight from his garden. It was a much needed break from the real world and brought back some of the things I have been missing since taking on a much more challenging position in the firm I work for.

Here are a few pics from our adventure:

Views of La Tavola

Playing at the beach, eating gelatti and wishing we could have been sitting under the umbrella that was unfortuntately "reserved"...

Just a few of the amazing meals and fresh veggies from Jason's garden

Homemade pasta (that I made!!!) with a fresh green bean and tomato sauce...mmmmm good!

 Hope you are enjoying your summer too!

Jx

Chocolates and cheese

Miss A with her cupcake

Birthday cupcakes with Washi tape flags

Chocolate and cheese ... who can resist these two things??? I feel for those people out there who have allergies to milk and cannot enjoy the luscious flavor of chocolate (dark, being my flavor of choice) or the variety of cheeses available in Switzerland.  We love chocolate and had a great opportunity this week to enjoy it multiple times - birthday celebration early in the week and a visit to tour a chocolate factory on the weekend. Miss A helped me make the best ever chocolate cupcakes for my birthday on Monday. I absolutely LOVE Wacky Cake which has no eggs and can be mixed up in the dish/pan you want to make it in. So easy and honestly one of the moistest cakes I have ever had. For the frosting on the cupcakes above, I just melted some dark chocolate and added a couple spoons of sour cream and a little powdered sugar - deeeeeeelicious!

On to our next chocolate expedition... Mr Z and his friends started a book club in the Fall and read several of the Roald Dahl books, including Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. The kids read the book, watched both versions of the movie and, of course, had to tour a real chocolate factory at the end of the session! We drove to the French region of Switzerland to a little town named Broc to visit the Callier chocolate factory (a branch of Nestlé). Kids had a fabulous time and by the end of the tour, had eaten enough chocolate to last for a month :-)! Here are a few photos of the tour:

The Golden Tickets!

Duh?!?! All the time!!!!

Mr Z stuffed full of chocolate - looks a bit like the squirrels that Veruca Salt wants in the movie!

Gruyére cheese is one of the most famous cheeses in Switzerland and is used in everything from fondue to quiche to slicing and eating plain with bread for dinner. The Callier chocolate factory was only about 10 minutes from the town of Gruyére, a gorgeous old village that sits on top of a hill surrounded by incredible mountains. So, of course, we had to stop and check it out! The day was beautiful and the kids enjoyed running around the open cobblestone streets (no cars allowed!). Unfortunately, we didn't have a chance to eat there as we had 5 rowdy kids, 4 adults and only a few restaurants to choose from who could not (or would not) want us partaking in their overpriced cuisine! However, we can now say we've "been there, done that" and have some great photos of the day. Here are a few of Gruyére:

 

Have a great week!  I'll see you again soon!

Jx