Surely cannot post about last minute gifts for her (see last post), without giving some ideas for him, right?
Well, without any further due, here is a list of ideas what you can gift to your significant other, father, brother, best friend, uncle, etc.
My two absolute favorites are most likely the whiskey glas set and the espresso glas cups – a cute present and something stylish for the home. And who doesn’t love a sneaker cleaning kit?
water bottle, keeping your drinks cold for up to 24h, warm for up to 12h; find it here
The gifting season is just around the corner and once again I receive all so many questions. Most of them sounding somewhat like “What do you want for Christmas?” or “Any idea what I can gift my mom/sister/best friend for Christmas?” It’s definitely not easy – especially when you wan to gift a little something, say thank you and come to the party with more than just a smile. Yet, that is exactly what most people want: people being happy, thankful, and most all – healthy. Remember that gifts do not need to cost anything, can be made yourself (there are some great DIY ideas out there) and some people really don’t expect anything.
If you still feel that you want to gift a little something, however, I have made a small list below ranging from low budget prices to higher pricing – and I can guarantee you will surely find one idea that everyone might like!
Last week was my dads birthday. Since seemingly forever, one of his all-time favorite cakes is the so-called Linzertorte. My mom used to bake it for him every year at least once for his birthday; sometimes just in-between during the winter season. It’s also a traditional Christmas season cake in Germany. This year my dad was in Zurich for his birthday – mom joined, too. Because they arrived the night before his birthday, I decided to bake the cake a day before and surprised him in the morning with it and a lit candle.
Even though I am not the biggest fan of the cake, I must say it did go pretty well. The only thing I would note down for next time – the jam: it was too sweet for my taste. It really is important to find a good jam too add to the layer – or, make one yourself. Perhaps something I can do the next time around. For now, however, I wanted to share the recipe with you.
What you need
250 g soft butter / I used plant-based margarine
200 g brown sugar
2 medium-sized eggs
1 egg yolk
200 g grounded almonds
200 g flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
knife tip of clove powder
250 g of your favorite jam (I used raspberry – the traditional receipe idea)
more flour
coconut oil
What to do
1) In a large bowl, mix the butter with the eggs and sugar until nice and soft 2) add in the almonds, 200g of flour, cinnamon and clove powder – keep mixing 3) heat up the oven to 180°C 4) spread coconut oil (best to use a cooking paintbrush) all over the baking tin (diameter around 26 cm) 5) add ⅔ of the dough into the tin, spread it equally and add jam on top of it (leave 2 cm free towards the edge) 6) add in more flour to the ⅓ of dough – so much, until you have a thicker cookie-dough like mixture 7) spread this dough onto transparent film, roughly 0.5 cm high – and place it min. 45min into the fridge 8) once fully cooled down, take out the dough and cut it into long strips, around 1cm wide 9) you’re ready to now place them onto the jam in any weaving-style you want 10) once done, whisk up the egg yolk and brush it onto the dough (this prevents the cake from burning and turning too dark) 11) now off into the oven – 40 min straight baking
E voila – there you have it! You’re (perhaps) first Linzertorte! Actually easier than it looks on the photo, I swear!
Note: I was inspired by the German-written recipe on the Betty Bossi website (though slimmed-down the recipe slightly) – though feel free to check out this one, too!
Since I have Zaphira in my life I started going for walks so much more; naturally, of course. Yet, I get bored quite easily if the routine hits too hard and seeing the same scenery daily really doesn’t boost my imagination nor creativity. I likewise noticed, sadly enough, that I don’t know Zurich as well as I wish I did. I thus decided to try and find new walking routes at least once a month. This Sunday I started with taking Zaphira to the Wildnespark (Wild Animal Park) in Zurich. It’s really quite the nice walk in autumn – calm, quiet, not too many people but still oh-so-many smells that kept my little fur-friend fascinated at all times. I especially loved that dogs are allowed in the area – at least when kept on the leash. Likewise, there is no entrance fee – which was also nice. The parking (when arriving by car) did cost 10,- Swiss francs; though because this money is used to support the wild park I really didn’t mind the fee (it’s a one-time pay for the whole day). For those that want to go more often, one can also purchase a parking ticked for the whole year (for 100 Swiss francs).
I absolutely loved this new scenery (and loved seeing the Moose!) and will absolutely go back – especially to see the park throughout the different seasons!
If there is one thing that can always sweep me off my feet – it‘s the breathtaking beauty of nature. Whether it is art, design or fashion; us humans usually try to replicate the beauty we see out in nature. Photography, is one of the greatest tools invented. The fact that I can capture certain moments in life and be able to re-visit them in years from now, is something we need to appreciate. Yet, no photograph in my opinion, no piece of art or painting, captures the actual roughness, the raw beauty of what nature has given us. It is our memories together with the moments we capture that take us back in time.
Yesterday I drove up from Zurich to Saas Fee for to attend a training program by a large law firm I work with. The drive up was already breath-taking; absolutely fascinating. The higher I went (almost 3000m above sea level) the more snow was around me. Not the fluffy snow we know, however, it was parts of the glacier, leftovers from the previous winter. Hard blocks of ice slowly melting in the sun with 16°C temperatures barely being able to move the ice. Together with the greens of the grass, the brown tones of the earth slowly warming up to summer and the blues of the sky – the colors couldn’t have been more harmonizing, more inspiring, more motivating.
Saas Fee is a fairly old town in Switzerland with a great history in regards to cars. Cars are used a lot to getting to Saas Fee, but have been forbidden for generations within the actual town. Shortly after entering the town, we stood introns of a huge parking space to leave the car. Every couple of meters there are cute little oldschool phones to call the hotel one will stay at – or the regular transportation service. Shortly after we called our hotel, a small electro-shuttle came to pick us up. I couldn’t stop myself from smiling – and being impressed. This environmentally friendly approach, which so many praise these days and try to incorpate into our lives, has been with Saas Fee for so long.
We then arrived at our hotel – the Fletschhorn. It is an absolutely cute hotel, with great servicing, amazing breakfast and very spacey rooms. I can only recommend it. The wine cellar is huge, the cook received a Michelin star and the view from the balcony of the room, is simply stunning (second photo below).
Today my day is mostly consisted of a conference and team-building exercises. My personal goal is to exploring the area just a little more before leaving again Friday morning!
Surely cannot post about last minute gifts for her (see last post), without giving some ideas for him, right?
Well, without any further due, here is ...
Happy belated Birthday via this blog, dad!
Last week was my dads birthday. Since seemingly forever, one of his all-time favorite cakes is the so-called Linzertorte. ...
