Sunday - Breakfast

Why Sunday breakfast?

Well, there only one day a week (or maybe two) when I really eat a proper breakfast, sitting down, enjoying the morning, getting ready for the day.. and that’s Sunday.

Every week I will try to take a picture of what has been devoured this time and maybe share some recipes.

I have a list of the sweetest things I want to bake and I know that if I don’t “have to” write a post about it, I should always find an excuse not to try them out.

And if I dream of opening a bakery, I have to bake on!

So, let’s start with..

Oat cinnamon cookies (they looked great, didn't they? Until..)

I love oats and I love cookies which are not too sugary and I adore cinnamon, so what better than these cookies. There were a semi-fail because the oven I have here is, I don't know why, I son't know how, hotter that the one I have home, at the same temperature. I rally don't understand those things. But. They "browned" a bit more on the edges and sticked together (I had to cut them). Shall we call it fail insted of semi-fail?
But they were yummy and I gave Roberto a huge box with the ones we left. So he has cookies for this week ^^.
I found the recipe here and used less sugar and no lemon zest because I didn't have. So here's my version:
Ingredients.
250 gr oats (8,8 oz)
50 gr almonds (chopped)
100 gr sugar (3,5 oz)
100 gr butter (3,5 oz), softened
2 eggs
2 teaspoons cinnamon
8 gr baking powder



In a large bowl combine oats, almonds, sugar and softened butter.
Add the two eggs and the cinnamon and at last add baking powder.
Knead the dough with your hands until the ingredients will be well blended.
Make a lot of small dough balls (around 15 gr each, 0,5 oz) and place them on a baking tray covered with baking parchment at a huuuuge distance one from the other because I did it and they melted anyway until meeting eachother in a big mess.
Place in the oven for 20 minutes at 180 °C (360 F).

(insert saaad face here ) =(

That was not the best beginning for a new section in this blog, but I hope you'll enjoy my disadventures.
Have a great sunday!

Juliette

Dreaming of..a house.

It's a bit lame that yeasterday I told you I would make a sort of schedule for my blog and now I start with a "random" post. But. There's a reason. Today it's Saturday and it's the only day I can entirely spnd with Roberto, so I don't have much time on Saturdays.
Tomorrom, however, my first schedules post will be written. Promise.

So..

I am dreaming of buying a house one day. This dream is getting bigger and bigger even if “I’m only 20 years old”. And I live in Italy. I mean. I am sure you’ve heard about the “mammoni”.

Typical Italian children go to live on their own around their 30-35 birthday, and “on their own” means with the wife who cooks for you and does the laundry.

Ok. It’s not even that true. We cannot generalize and I met many people who are not like that at all, and we have to highlight the fact that in Italy salaries are low and costs are high, so it’s getting more and more difficult for young people to go and live on their own.

But I was saying. I now live in this small apartment with my roommate. I once dreamt of going to live with her, enjoy University, stay up until late, organise parties, get drunk. That never really happened, sometimes I go out, I enjoy my University time with my friends and we laugh as crazy, but I never did the typical thing students do (except for collecting the bottles of wine we drunk on the fridge).

Roberto and I have been together for 3 years and 3 months now and we are really planning to go to live together. It’s still a faraway dream, but we both like interior design and home decoration, so we love looking for things we would buy for our “home”. This is one of the things we do most often. I also follow many blogs which deal with these themes and when we see each other I always show him the “peeks of the week”. I think It’s one of the few things where we share the same taste.

(images from weheartit)

Probably we will try to live in the Netherlands, at least for a while, trying to see what’s different, if there are more possibilities and so on. And maybe then, when we’ll have experienced both sides of our cultures we can finally begin to make our dream come true. I am looking forward!

Juliette

What about this blog?

I think I have to blog on a more regular basis. There are days that I would write hundreds of posts, when I fill my notebook with ideas which read when I come home don't sound so attractive anymore.
Other days I really really don't know what to write. And even if I know I simply don't do it, not because I am lazy, but because I have no time or, most of time, I am too insecure and think no one would like what I write.
Last night I thought of a sort of index to fill almost the whole week. I picked up the idea from all the other girls of the blogs who do this thing.
It keeps you motivated and gives variety and regularity to the posts.
So, stay tuned to hear from me more often and maybe I'll have interesting things to share.

Juliette

Tuscan Bean and Pasta Soup - Delia

I receive a fantastic book by my parents' friends a couple of years ago. It's Delia's Vegetarian Collection by Delia Smith and there are many many interesting recipes divided in sections, such as Main Dishes and Salads, Eggs, Soups, Desserts and so on. I have had the book for several years and used it only two or three times, I definitely have to improve this.

Roberto and I tried the Tuscan Bean and Pasta Soup which we changed a bit only because I am a bit absent-minded and because we bought whole wheat pasta. So here's the recipe we made (I found the picture on Internet because I forgot to take one).

Tuscan Bean and Pasta Soup

(source)

Ingredients (for 4 persons)

250 g (8,8 ounces) canned borlotti beans (on the book in was dried, but the times were much longer)

2 TBS olive oil

1 big onion

2 cloves of garlic

2 1/2 TBS tomato extract

1 TBS rosemary

300 cl (I think 3 cups) vegetable stock

100 gr (3.5 oz) whole wheat maccheroni (In english it's macaroni pasta right?)

salt and pepper


Directions

Brown the onion and the garlic in a pot.

Make the vegetable stock with a stock-dice and water.

Add tomato extract, beans, rosemary to the onion and garlic.

Stir and add the stock, too. Stir.

Add the maccheroniand let cook for 12 minutes.

Serve with grated cheese (if you're not vegan) and croutons.


Buon Appetito!

Juliette

Lady Gaga - The Monster Ball

I as not a big fan of Gaga, I heard her CDs, I sang her songs, I knew the lyrics, but that was only because my two best friends (they improved their status in these months, haha) loved her. Finally, I knew the lyrics better than them.
So in Febrary they asked me to come with them to her concert here in Turin. My first reaction was "no". Full stop. Then I thought "Well, she's an artist, even if maybe she cannot sing she has her own style, her own way of expressing herself" that became: "Maybe I could go, even if it costs quite a bit", they asked me again and again and eventually I agreed. I followed her "being famous and rebel", loved her, hated her (because of the meat dress) and begun to know her better.

Yesterday was "the" day, and honestly, I was excited. It was not my first concert, and not the one I could hardly wait for, but it was sure to be a super entertaining show, so I was in a happy mood.
Well, it was the BEST show I have seen in my life, the best show I've ever seen even on TV or elsewhere. She is amazing, said very sweet, lovely, wise things and when she spoke Italian she was such a sweetie. I thought she would be the same arrogant b...c she appears to be in her videos. Not at all. She said positive things about gay people, about people feeling different and not worth it.

But most of all: She has an AMAZING voice, just perfect, powerful and she never hit a wrong note. Now, I am a little monster, too. And I think I will be following her more.
Here a few of the photos I shoot.


Juliette

[4 Stories] - Hairdoo's

I have been following Leigh Ann's Four Stories Series for a while now and I thought it would be funny to join her and the other girls. This weekend's topic was "Hairdoo's", so here I am to share my four little stories:


ONE. - Daily braids.

When I was in the kindergarten I was the little, cute dutch kid, with those lovely braids.
Yes. Because my mother used to make one braid on Mondays, two on Tuesdays, three on Thursdays and so on.
It was something that characterised me, and I still love to remind it and tell this story to my friends.


TWO. - The massive braid.


When I was 5 years old I had very long blonde hair. My father is an artist, so he liked to make long braids.
What's new, what's different? you will guess.
Well, he made long brainds which pinted to the sky. He used a wire in order to fix it and used lots on colorful elastics.
I was so proud of my hair, but never wore it outside, on the street.
I used to practice Judo, too. And I stood on my head for hours just to show it everybody.
Obviously I had to choose: or the long colorful crazy braid or showing my talent =)


THREE. - Messy, messy, messy.

I used to have very messy hair when I was a child.
My mum used to comb them, but I was always complaining. The tangles worsened and only my father was allowed to touch my head because my sculp was hurting so much.
One day, we were at a camping in France and I had one enormous tangle (or knot?).
MY parents were convinced that if I didn't let them comb my hair I would have had serious problems doing it later and I would probably have to cut it.
I didn't want to cut it, so I underwent the torture for several hours of cries and pain.
Fortunately my hair got disentagled and I was happy again. Happy ending.


FOUR. - I want straight hair!

When I was a teenager (like 2 years ago, haha). No when I was about 14- 15I still had this unmanageable hair.
I wanted it straight like all the other girls. I tried every product. Ebery remedy and followed avery advice, but nothing. I was despaired, haha.
I really stood hours in front of the mirror wanting that straight hair so much.
Everybody told me I had fantastic hair, so thick, so many, soooo wavy.
After some years of desperation I bought my first flat iron, and I was so happy.
I still use it almost everyday, it's an addiction!

-

Four Stories Details:

- You can read about the 4 Stories Group blog series here (all stories here). Everyone is welcome to join :)

- Feel free to use the header/topic pictures in your weekly post.

- If you participate in 4 Stories, please link back to FN in your post and invite others to participate.

- Find 4 Stories widgets in the right sidebar (if you like).

- Please leave a link to your 4 stories post in the comments so we can read each others :)

Juliette

What makes me feel better?

Hello everybody!

If you read my tweets you know that I finally have done the exam I dreaded so much because it was about so many authors and books, the American literature exam.
I had to arrange some other burocratic things today and then I took the train to come back home. I had my notebook with me, and having to stay 5 hours in the train, I thought I could write something down..

I just wrote it in connection to Kyla Roma's latest post. I am actually being obsessed with her wonderful blog and shop lately, I am definitely going to add one of her necklaces of notebooks to my birthday wishlist.




A sketch I made





Juliette