Last Sinterklaas post - promise.

Here some peeks of our Sinterklaas evening. Now I have to say goodbye to Sinterklaas and welcome Christmas. With a short break to celebrate my birthday.

Sunday - Breakfast - Sinterklaas Edition

Yesterday Roberto and I celebrated Sinterklaas, which is to be celebrated this evening actually, but since we won't be together this evening and he will be 200 km away, we did it yesterday.
We had lots of fun in the afternoon baking Pepernoten and Taai taai. Those are two Sinterklaas treats. Since we live in Italy and it would be a miracle to find them in the store, we baked them.
It was an adventure because, they had to be like I have always had them, since I was a child. I am an expert ^^.
We spent wonderful moments together (I will post some photos in another post) and had much fun.



This morning we woke up hearing my neighbours quarelling as every day (it's getting annoying after two years), but we had a smile on our faces. There were some Pepernoten left so we ate some of them. I made fruit tea and a banana shake. Yesterday morning Roberto had surprised me with chocolate because it is a tradition having a chocolate letter (the initial of your name) for Sinterklaas, and I was a bit sad, because I love traditions, and I want to hold them tight. Obviously we hadn't got a chocolate letter, so he bought some chocolate for me. And he ate the last bit this morning =).

If you want to try this traditional Dutch recipe here you have the recipe of Pepernoten. If you like Gingerbread and spicy cookies I warmly suggest you to try them out. They're so yummy!


Pepernoten.

250 g (8,8 oz) flour
125 g (4,4 oz) brown sugar
100 g (3,5 oz) unsalted butter, softened
2 TBS Speculaas spices (*see ingredients below)
3 TBS milk
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
salt


Preheat the oven at 150 °C (300 F).
Mix all the dry ingredients (flour, sugar, spices, baking powder, salt)
Add softened butter (I used molted butter) and milk.
Knead until a soft ball is formed (it's quite a thick dough)
Form small balls and place them on parchment paper, press a little.
Bake for 20 minutes.
Allow to cool afterwards (unlike other cookies they're much better if tasted cold).
Oh, and try them with a glass of cold milk! =)

Speculaas spices
I went to a herbalist's shop for these, with my father. I suggest you to do the same because it's cheaper, it's better and you will remember the nice smell of the shop.

30 g (1,05 oz) cinnamon
10 g (0,35 oz) cloves
10 g (o,35 oz) nutmeg
5 g (0,17 oz) white pepper
5 g (o,17 oz) aniseed
5 g (0,17oz) coriander seeds

Mix all the spices together in a jar and close. You cak keep these spices for a long while.


I can tell we had the best weekend. It was so cold outside but we managed to do so many nice things.
In 4 days I'll be 21, I am thinking of making a "21 before 22 list" and I am pondering if starting a 365 project this year (tha last one is almost sure)

Thursday - Loves

Brrr it's getting cold outside. I am an active person, I like to walk, take the bus and the tram as little as possible, I like to go for a ride on the bike. But when it gets cold like this I am so happy when I close the door behind me, coming back from University.
Today I hadn't a special day, it was just a normal one, I am getting ready the last things for Sinterklaas.

Here are the things I loved this week.

[Things that make you feel that Christmas is getting nearer] (I haven't got the stress of the gifts, so I can enjoy Christmas even more)

(source)

[Warm, organised shelves]

(source)

[Romantic settings]

(source)

[Holland]

(source)

[Christmas treats]

(source)


(source)

[Real Mail]

(source)

Tomorrow I'll see Roberto, and I am so happy. We are going to celebrate Sinterklaas on Saturday and I feel like a little girl. I am so happy!!

Juliette

Sinterklaas is coming to town

Hello! December is here, Welcome!!

As I told you last week, this year I am going to celebrate Sinterklaas with Roberto for the first time. It has been a family tradition since I was born, and it will continue being it.
Although I have much to read and study I find the time to write the poems that will go with the presents, organize the treasure hunts and get every other thing done (making puzzles that R will have to do before opening his gift, looking for recipes of the traditional sweets, and so on).
I am so happy and I am feeling the day coming nearer almost as if I were a child.

This is the reason I didn't write yesterday. There was also another reason, a more important one. I attended a demonstration against the University Bill that parliament had to debate yesterday. It's a complete mess and Italian University is nearing its end. But I don't want to talk too much about this in my blog. You all live in other countries and this is a blog about my free time, my passions, so I won't bother you too much.

Here are a few photos of these days. Wrapping, writing, making bows..

Sinterklaas

He comes every year, and this year he will come too. On the 5th of December he will bring us gifts, but that's not the important part. The atmophere which my family has always created, the warmth, the love, everything is just perfect on that evening. And the month passed writing poems and wrapping gifts is totally worth it.


This year unfortunately my parents decided they didn't want to celebrate it anymore. I felt horrible, because it's the one day I love, the one da that I wait for for the whole year, the one day that I feel home and loved like nothing could ever go wrong.
You know when you keep one small thing as if you were a child, because it's comforting, nice, and makes you happy.
But they don't know what to give, what to do, and.. the other families have stopped celebrating it when the children were 12.
Sorry but I don't give a damn about what other families did, didn't you teach me not to give a damn?


Roberto and I decided that this would be our first year celebrating it together. He never celebrated it before and it so difficult to explain the traditions, the feelings to someone who hasn't felt it since he was a child. Fortunately he celebrated Christmas, and the two festivities obvioulsy have someting in common.

When I think of Sinterklaas I think of songs sung at evening before going to bed to put you shoe under the with a carrot for the horse in it.
The day after find sweets instead of the carrots.
Hearing Sinterklaas walking around the house and thinking that he's hearing you sing.
Waiting for that day more and more, being full of hope.
The happiness I felt when I woke up because I was sure I would find something in my shoe.
Unwrapping the gifts not before having read the poem which "he" had written (it seemed he actually did know what I did most time of my life!haha).
Eating Spekulaas from the Netherlands and the Letter of Chocolate.




I have so many memories. I think only good ones. This was the best day in my year, and now I will have to built it anew, recreate it, with someone else. I am pretty sad about it, even if a love celebrating it with Roberto. We are not in "our" home, we haven't got the time to see eachother and decorate the house, I won't put the shoe under the fireplace. But it's going to be special. I am sure.

I am sorry if the images are small, but the first ones are my favourite from a book of my childhood. For the sources click on the image.
Juliette

Wish list

In less than a month it will be my birthday. I didn’t have many wishes until someone asked me what I wanted. I’ve been signing on my notebook cute things when I see them in shops and now.. I’ve a long wish list ^^

I’ll show you just some photos I found on the net not to make it all too boring.

1. "A Piece of Cake" by Leila Lindholm. It's called differently here, but I saw it at the bookstore, I looked at the recipes and the photographs and all I could so was smile and long to read and look at every detail of it.

2. Go to Leiden, live the Sinterklaas and/or Christmas atmosphere and feel at home.

3. Gingerman Cookie Cutter, I had this on the list until I met the supercute cookie cutter of Ikea. It's a gingerman with a hat, or better, I see that, I think it actually is a gnome.

4. Colorful or white headphones.

5. All stars, I miss them so much.

6. A big, warm, woolen scarf

7. All sorts of paint, canvases and pencils, and other crafty things

I going to read and et ready for Sinterklaas (our Christmas) which will be on December the 5th, and I will celebrate it for the first time with Roberto, whom I have taught the essentials. I really hope I will be able to get him into the Sinterklaas mood, he has never experienced this magical day before!

Have a great day!

Juliette

Hoor de wind waait door de bomen..

Hallo!!
The title means "hear the wind blowing through the trees" and it's the beginning of my favourite Sinterklaas song.
Yesterday we celebrated Sinterklaas, and it was sooooo much fun! When you celebrate sinterklaas you have to write rhyming poems with every gift. And with some gifts you have to invent something, like, for example, a treasure hunt.
The day before yesterday Roberto and I made cookies with nutella, confectioner's sugar and chocolate:


Yesterday I made cupcakes:


Then, I prepared the "surprises" and wrapped up the gifts.


Miele, in the meantime, was making noise and eating up all the coloured feathers.


Finally, "Sinterklaas" arrived and he brought a lot of gifts!


We enjoyed our evening together and our "surprises"..


(the cactus was because sometimes I go mad for no reason, but, after all, it's normal, isn't it? XD. the cupcake was, obviously, because I looove cupcakes!! and I received a lot of decorations for them.)


It was really a fantastic evening! And I have to thank my parents, who are always very creative and have so much funny ideas!
A superhappy Froggy..