Uncategorized - Petite Haus

Angelina November 10, 2014 Appetizers and Sides

Healthy Cauliflower Mashed Potatoes

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With Thanksgiving just around the corner, I’ve been looking for some healthier alternatives to Thanksgiving Dinner. While I LOVE mashed potatoes, I know they are full of carbs and fat. I have been playing around with some cauliflower mashed potato recipes and came up with one that I think is really good AND could fool your guests too!!

Healthy Cauliflower Mashed Potato Recipe

I think the secret to this mashed cauliflower recipe is that it actually includes potato with the mashed cauliflower. So many of the recipes that contain only cauliflower don’t quite taste right.

Ingredients:

1 small head cauliflower that is trimmed, cored, and cut into small florets.
1-2 small red or golden potatoes, chopped
1 tbsp fat free sour cream
2 tbsp skim milk
1-2 tbsp light butter
salt and pepper to taste

Directions
1. Bring a pot of water to boil. Add the cauliflower and potato to the water.
2. Reduce heat to a simmer. Cover and cook for approximately 20 minutes until vegetables are cooked through.
3. Drain well and move to your food processor. Process until smooth.
4. Return the cauliflower/potato puree to a hot pan on medium high heat. Stirring frequently, you will need to cook off the excess liquid. This takes about 5 minutes or so. Once excess water has evaporated, stir in the sour cream, milk, and butter.
5. Add salt and pepper to taste. Then garnish with green onions, rosemary, or thyme! Enjoy!

My husband wasn’t too keen on this “faux” mashed potato recipe when we were making it. Then he ended up liking it when we were done! The great part it is that it tastes good and you won’t feel guilty with seconds!

Linking up with these fabulous link parties: The Scoop!, Inspire Me Tuesday,Wow us Wednesdays!Foodie Friday

written at http://peoniesandorangeblossoms.blogspot.com

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Angelina November 8, 2014 france

Dreaming of E Dehillerin in Paris

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As I start to think about all of the holiday baking that lies ahead, I find myself daydreaming about my trip to Paris next Spring.

Yes! I’m headed to Paris! Yippeeeeeeeeeeeee!! I am so very excited to head to my favorite city in the whole world. The last time I was there was in 2003. Practically pre-internet days, especially in Europe. This time though, I am armed with the knowledge of the internet and have added many little shops to my to do list that I previously didn’t know about!

One store I’m particularly excited to go to is E. Dehillerin in Paris. It’s a store that famously sold Julia Child her copper pans. The name is pronounced “Uh-duh-il’rin”

*the* store pic source

The shop is the oldest cooking shop in Paris… over 200 years old! They are famous for their large bounty of products from Mauviel copper to knives to pans to every type of mold ever needed!

They have things like… a butter curler! TSA doesn’t approve but I do!

I think I will be picking up a madeleine pan here so that I may start my madeleine baking journey next year. I think I’ve mastered the macaron. On to something new…

madeleine pan from France j’adore… source

Don’t you just want to take all of this home?

love this copper Coq source
A copper tatin mold for the perfect tarte tatin

from their website

I will also need to pick up a few of these little pans so that I can bake the remaining recipes in Laduree’s Sweet book…

tart molds, loaf pans, financier molds! source

Maybe some silicone molds… At least I know these could go on the plane!

Source

E. Dehillerin is at 18 rue Coquillère, 75001 Paris … which is only a 10 minute walk from where we’ll be staying. How convenient!

I thought this blog post here had a nice tour of the store.

Have you been to E. Dehillerin in Paris? What did you buy?! Leave me a comment, I have some planning to do!

If you’ve missed a Paris post, catch them ALL RIGHT HERE on my new Paris Trip Round-Up!

Written at http://peoniesandorangeblossoms.blogspot.com

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Angelina November 6, 2014 Desserts

Oh My, Apple Pie!

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We went apple picking not too long ago. The intention was to pick apples and then use the apples to bake an apple pie. Well… there were no baking apples left! Apple pickin’ in Southern California is not like apple pickin’ in Washington (remember… Washington is a major apple growing state!).

So… we settled for store bought apples.

Check out our masterpiece:

The Best Apple Pie Recipe!

My husband and I have NEVER made an apple pie before. Can you believe we made this??
We used a recipe from Williams Sonoma. I copied the recipe here with the alterations we made:

The BEST apple pie recipe: (printable version here)

For the dough:

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. granulated sugar
16 Tbs. (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch dice
3 to 4 Tbs. ice water

For the filling:

2 lb. Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and cut into slices 1/4 inch
thick
2 lb. Honey Crisp apples, peeled, cored and cut into slices 1/4 inch thick
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg
4 tsp. cornstarch
1 Tbs. fresh lemon juice
1 egg white, beaten with 1 tsp. water
2 tsp. granulated sugar

Directions:

To make the dough, in a food processor, pulse the flour, salt, and granulated sugar together until combined, about 5 pulses. Add the butter and process until the mixture resembles coarse meal, about 10 pulses. Add 3 Tbs. of the ice water and pulse 2 or 3 times. The dough should hold together when squeezed with your fingers but should not be sticky. If it is crumbly, add more water 1 tsp. at a time, pulsing twice after each addition. Turn the dough out onto a work surface, divide in half and shape each half into a disk. Wrap the disks separately in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or up to overnight.

On a lightly floured work surface, roll out half of the dough into a 12-inch round about 1/8 inch thick. Fold the dough in half and then into quarters and transfer it to a 9-inch deep-dish pie dish. Unfold and gently press the dough into the bottom and sides of the dish. Trim the edges flush with the rim of the dish. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

On a large sheet of lightly floured parchment paper, roll out the remaining dough disk into a 12-inch round about 1/8 inch thick. Using leaf pie cutters, make rows of cutouts in the dough, spacing them 1/2 inch apart and leaving a 1-inch border along the edges, to create a lattice appearance. Reserve the cutouts for decorating. Reroll the dough scraps to make more cutouts. Refrigerate the lattice top and cutouts for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the filling: In a large Dutch oven, stir together the apples, brown sugar, granulated sugar, cinnamon, salt, nutmeg and cornstarch. Set over medium heat, cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until the apples are just tender but not mushy, about 20 minutes. Uncover and cook until the liquid has thickened and become glossy, 5 to 7 minutes more. Remove from the heat, stir in the lemon juice and let cool to room temperature, about 30 minutes.

Position a rack in the lower third of an oven, place a baking sheet on the rack and preheat the oven to 400°F.

Let the pie shell, lattice top and leaf cutouts stand at room temperature for 5 minutes. Transfer the apple filling to the pie shell, then gently invert the lattice top over the pie. Trim the edges flush with the rim of the dish and press the top and bottom crusts together to seal. Brush the underside of the leaf cutouts with egg wash and gently press them onto the edges of the piecrust, overlapping the leaves slightly. Decorate as desired with the remaining leaves. Brush the entire top crust with egg wash and sprinkle with the granulated sugar.

Place the pie dish on the preheated baking sheet. Bake until the crust is crisp and golden brown, about 1 hour, covering the edges with aluminum foil if they become too dark. Transfer the pie to a wire rack and let cool for at least 1 1/2 hours before serving. Serves 8.
Williams-Sonoma Kitchen.
Action shots:
Here is our lattice top. Here is a link to the cut outs WS sells this year: here and here

The cut outs:

The Masterpiece:

Closer look at the edge of our pie:

Now top with some vanilla ice cream and enjoy!

Written at http://peoniesandorangeblossoms.blogspot.com

Linking up with these fabulous link parties: The Scoop!, Metamorphosis Monday’s, Inspire Me Tuesday,Wow us Wednesdays! What’s it Wednesdays, Centerpiece Wednesdays, Creative Ways, Treasure Hunt Thursday, Home Sweet Home , Feathered Nest Fridays, Foodie Friday

best apple pie recipe
#applepie
williams sonoma apple pie recipe

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Angelina November 4, 2014 Appetizers and Sides

Autumn Roasted Carrots

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I was shopping at Trader Joe’s and came across these beautiful multicolored carrots in the produce section. I knew I had to take them home and make something yummy with them.

Autumn Roasted carrots- perfect for Thanksgiving

This recipe is nice and simple. These carrots would work really well as a side dish for Thanksgiving or other meals this Fall.

Ingredients

Carrots, approx 3 per person
1tbsp Honey
Butter
Thyme or Rosemary

Directions

Peel the carrots. Cut the carrots in half, length wise. You can leave the green on them if you want; I chose to cut mine off.
Place a pan over high heat with a little bit of water covering the bottom of the pan.
Add the carrots with a little bit of butter into the pan (the amount of butter depends on your personal tastes. I probably added 1 tbsp for 8 carrots).
Add 1 tbsp of honey to the pan (I sort of drizzled it over the carrots)
Cover the pan and let the carrots simmer until tender.
Cook until water almost gone and the carrots look glazed with the butter and honey.
Sprinkle some thyme or rosemary on top and prepare to serve

Tips
I used the multi-colored carrots because they look prettier. You can make this recipe with the regular orange carrots as well. The different colored carrots each have a slightly different taste.

Written at http://peoniesandorangeblossoms.blogspot.com

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Angelina November 2, 2014 tablescape

Thanksgiving Tablescape with Juliska and Pumpkins

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Can you believe that it’s November?! I am about ready to pull out my Christmas decor, but I didn’t want to throw out my cute mini pumpkins I purchased earlier.

I decided to add them to my table.

I like the white pumpkins on top of the plates.

Then I thought, oh! I could fold the napkin and set the pumpkin on top. Which way do you like better?

Then I played around and added an orange pumpkin. Orange seems more Halloween-y. I prefer the white.

About time I say good bye to Fall and hello to Christmas decor! So long, pumpkins! (Except for pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving, of course!)

Linking up with these fabulous link parties: The Scoop!, Inspire Me Tuesday, Wow us Wednesdays!Tablescape Thursday, Home Sweet Home , Feathered Nest Fridays,

written at http://peoniesandorangeblossoms.blogspot.com

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Angelina November 1, 2014 Uncategorized

Upcoming for November 2014

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This month I’m going to be sharing with you some recipes for Thanksgiving.

They include things like….

Autumn Roasted Carrots.
The BEST apple pie.
Healthy Cauliflower Mashed Potatoes
Cheese Gougeres
…and more!

Thanksgiving recipes

Stay tuned!

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Angelina October 31, 2014 Halloween

Halloween 2014 Recap

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Halloween Recap 2014

Here is a fabulous pumpkin festival

I shared this year’s Halloween Tablescape!

We saw some wonderful decorations outdoors with pumpkins

I made this delicious German Pumpkin Soup

The owls landed for the Fall

I made these Scary Cat Chocolate Macarons

My Halloween Table

Then lastly, I shared my Halloween Home Tour

…Now go and raid your kids’ candy tonight. I heard the Snickers are poisonous and need to be tested…

Thanks for stopping by!

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Angelina October 27, 2014 Desserts

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

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I had been hankering for something pumpkin-y that was not a latte. I finally found a recipe on pinterest that I decided to try. And it was SO GOOD I just had to share it again with you all.

pumpkin chocolate chip cookies

The nice (for my tongue, not my waist) part of these cookies is that they aren’t TOO sweet. Which means you can eat more. Gulp.

I’m munching on these as I type this. Better wipe my crumbs of the keyboard…
The recipe is NOT mine. To be a curteous blogger, I will not post the full recipe here. You will have to check out Sally’s Baking Addiction for the full recipe. She made them. She deserves all of the praise. I just had to share them with everyone.

Some tips:

definitely chill these before you bake them.
let them cool down before you eat. They get BETTER with age. Whaaat?
You can eat three. If you make them small enough they’re only like 80-100 calories each. So they’re practically healthy, right??

Pumpkin chocolate chip cookies

Be sure to check out Sally’s Baking Addiction for the full recipe!

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Angelina October 20, 2014 Fall

Fall and Halloween Decor around the House

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There are a few other things I have around the house with that go with the Fall and Halloween theme!

One is this beautiful cat topiary I picked up at one of my favorite stores, Roger’s Gardens.

The Martha Stewart pumpkin vase found it’s way out of the closet again. Filled with mums!

I picked up this pumpkin wreath at Homegoods this year. I think it’s pretty cute and fun!

Then I have my owls out, which were shared in an earlier post!

My scary cat Halloween table is still looking the same!

Still have my Halloween table set as well!

I just love decorating for Fall, don’t you?

Written at http://peoniesandorangeblossoms.blogspot.com

Linking up with these fabulous link parties: The Scoop!, Inspire Me Tuesday, Wow us Wednesdays! What’s it Wednesdays, Centerpiece Wednesdays, Creative Ways,Treasure Hunt Thursday, Home Sweet Home , Feathered Nest Fridays,G’day Saturdays,

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Angelina October 16, 2014 Halloween

Halloween Table

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I’ve decorated my buffet table with a Halloween theme. I have pumpkins, mums, scary black cats, and a friendly pumpkin bear.

In the background you can see the vintage Halloween postcards.

I like how these scary black cats mimic the shape of the scary black cat in the postcard behind them! I’ve placed mums in the tulipiere.

These are real pumpkins. Frankly, for $1 each, I think they are the best looking pumpkins around. Fake pumpkins typically look… fake. They are pretty pricey too!

I hope you enjoyed my little Halloween table!

Written at http://peoniesandorangeblossoms.blogspot.com

Linking up with these fabulous link parties: The Scoop!, Inspire Me Tuesday, Wow us Wednesdays! What’s it Wednesdays, Centerpiece Wednesdays, Creative Ways,Tablescape Thursday, Treasure Hunt Thursday, Home Sweet Home , Feathered Nest Fridays,G’day Saturdays,

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Angelina October 9, 2014 Main Courses

Delicious German Pumpkin Soup Recipe

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Ever since I went to that fabulous pumpkin festival in Germany that I keep talking about, I have been just dying for some pumpkin soup. The pumpkin soup I had there was the BEST pumpkin soup I’ve ever had. I have been searching for months trying to find an authentic German recipe that I think was very similar to the soup I fell in love with. I read recipes in German and English. I came up with my own, which is a combination of about 10 recipes I read!

*THE* pumpkin soup I’ve been dying to eat. Guess I need to go back to Germany??

German Pumpkin Soup recipe, authentic Kürbissuppe rezept
Get the PRINTABLE recipe here

Ingredient

1-2 small baking pumpkins*** (see notes)
1 large potato, cubed largely about 1×1 inch
1 large onion, large cubes as well
2 tbsp salted butter
1 liter water
4 cube vegetable broth bouillon
1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
5 twists of cracker pepper
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup heavy cream (optional)
pumpkin seed oil****
pumpkin seeds

Directions

Cut off both ends of the pumpkin. Then slice pumpkins in half and scoop out the seeds. If it is too tough to cut, we microwaved each half in the microwave for approx. 3 minutes until the pumpkin was cooked. You will only need to do this if your pumpkin skin is inedible or too tough to cut.
Take butter and melt in pan or stock pot. Place sliced potatoes and onion inside the pan. Place lid on pan and cook on medium heat for 15 minutes.
In a separate pot, add the the liter of water with 4 vegetable broth bouillon cubes and bring to a boil.
Add pumpkin to the potato and onion. Next, add the pumpkin pie spice, salt, and pepper. Stir together, then allow to cook for 5 minutes.
The water should be boiling now. Once it is boiling, pour into the already cooking vegetable mixture.
Cook on medium heat for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Purée your soup either in a normal blender or a handheld immersion blender.
Stir in cream.
Top with pumpkin seed oil (this really makes the dish). Garnish with pumpkin seeds.

***Notes on pumpkins
The Germans tend to cook with Hokkaido pumpkins, which are readily available there. The nice thing about that pumpkin is you can eat the skin. Here, I hadn’t found any Hokkaido pumpkins. I did find a golden nugget squash, which appeared very similar. It tasted about the same. Regular baking pumpkins should be fine too. Just remember, if it’s a “pie pumpkin”, it may be a little bit sweeter. I have not tried this recipe with canned pumpkin.

About our specific pumpkins used in this recipe: Each pumpkin uncooked was 1 pound. We used two golden nugget squash. The skin was very tough and we had to microwave the pumpkin halves in order to slice them.

The Hokkaido pumpkin, AKA red kuri squash

the golden nugget squash, AKA Oriental pumpkin

****Notes on Pumpkin Seed Oil

This REALLY makes this dish in my opinion. You NEED to get some. Here’s where I got my Pumpkin Seed Oil and I can say it is delicious. This is not something you can easily find here in the US. I searched 6 grocery stores (specialty ones included) and had no luck. It is hard to get here because it is grown and made in a very specific region in Austria. It’s everywhere in Germany and Austria… but not here! Boo!

the amazing Pumpkin Seed Oil

!

This soup isn’t like your American version of pumpkin soup. It’s WAY better. I don’t really even like pumpkin soup… but this is delicious. Especially with that pumpkin seed oil!

Authentic German Pumpkin Soup Recipe

Oh SO delicious!!

Linking up with these fabulous link parties: The Scoop!, Metamorphosis Monday’s, Inspire Me Tuesday,Wow us Wednesdays! What’s it Wednesdays, Centerpiece Wednesdays, Creative Ways, Treasure Hunt Thursday, Home Sweet Home , Feathered Nest Fridays, G’day Saturdays, Foodie Friday
Written at http://peoniesandorangeblossoms.blogspot.com

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Angelina October 6, 2014 Halloween

Halloween Tablescape

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I’ve had fun this year setting up my tablescape for this Fall and Halloween 2014.

New additions to the table setting include these wonderful napkins that my Mom made! She got a new fancy sewing machine that allows her to do this fancy embroidery on it! I picked the fabric out when I was 600 miles away from home… I think I did a good job guessing which purple would go best with the plates and goblets!

Look how great these napkins look!

Also found a set of new chargers from Homegoods. I’m loving the look of everything with my velvet pumpkins, pumpkin napkin rings, and pumpkin plates!

Here’s a look of the pumpkins that are all in the center without any distractions of plates in the way!

I wanted to show a close up of one the plates… they are by Juliska. There are four different scenes. The one I focused on today for the Halloween table has witches dancing in the center.

Plates and goblets – Juliska

Charger – Homegoods

Napkins – MBM (made by Mom!)

Velvet pumpkins – Hot Skwash

Burlap placemats – etsy

Napkin rings – Pier 1 (they still have them there this year)

Linking up with these fabulous link parties: The Scoop!, Inspire Me Tuesday, Wow us Wednesdays! What’s it Wednesdays, Centerpiece Wednesdays, Creative Ways,Tablescape Thursday, Treasure Hunt Thursday, Home Sweet Home , Feathered Nest Fridays,G’day Saturdays,

Written at http://peoniesandorangeblossoms.blogspot.com/

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Angelina October 1, 2014 Fall

Pumpkin Animals

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Last year I blogged about a fabulous pumpkin festival I went to in Germany. Each year, they have different themes for the festival. I found some pictures from one year when they did a farm animal themed festival. Let’s take a look!

horses

I love these black and white cows.

Each year they move the various sculptures around to different parts in Germany/Austria/Switzerland… this is moved to somewhere along a lake.

How cute is this tractor?

Of course a German cow would have a cute bell! Also, like how the udder is made of gourds?

I think this goat is just adorable!

A pig and piglets!

How cute is this??

One more cow to end…

I thought this festival was so incredibly cute! I wish I had gone during that year instead of the sports themed year last year. Which one is your favorite? I think I like the goat the best.

Be sure to check out my trip last year. They have over 450,000 pumpkins!!

Written at http://peoniesandorangeblossoms.blogspot.com

Of note, I saved this pictures a while ago on my computer and unfortunately don’t have the sources. If you recognize these pictures as yours, please let me know and I am very happy to give you credit!!

Linking up with these fabulous link parties: The Scoop!, Metamorphosis Monday’s, Inspire Me Tuesday, Wow us Wednesdays! What’s it Wednesdays, Centerpiece Wednesdays, Creative Ways, Treasure Hunt Thursday, Home Sweet Home , Feathered Nest Fridays, G’day Saturdays,

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Angelina September 26, 2014 oktoberfest

Funny German Words

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My Favorite German Words (Meine Lieblingswörter)

In honor of Oktoberfest this month, I thought I
would put together a list of my favorite German words. These are my
favorite words for two reasons: 1.The Germans have one word that takes a whole
sentence to explain what it means. 2. The word makes more sense than our
English equivalent. And most of them are fun to say as well!

Words that come with a long explanation:

Drachenfutter – Translation: ‘dragon food’. What it
means: the gift that you bought your significant other when you’ve
done something wrong. You are literally feeding “The Dragon”.
Be sure to NOT mention the fact that the gift is drachenfutter in front
of the dragon.

yes, this is a REAL candybar that can be purchased!

Kummerspeck – Translation: ‘grief bacon’. What it means: it
is the weight that you’ve gained after emotional stress eating.

are you an emotional overeater gaining kummerspeck?

Torschlusspanik – Translation: ‘door close panic’. What
it means: It is that feeling you get when it occurs to you that you’re
getting older and haven’t accomplished what you meant to in your life.

Treppenwitz – Literally ‘stair joke’. What it means: It
is that witty remark you think of as soon as you leave the room or a few hours
later and you wish you could’ve thought of it earlier!

Wish I would’ve thought of that earlier!!

Schadenfreude. Literally “harm joy”. What it
means: having pleasure from the misfortune of others. Why I like
it: They have a word that means you laugh at things that shouldn’t be
funny. Here’s an example: when someone falls down or runs into a door, you
laugh. Yeah, I heard you laughing when I fell. Thanks.

Falling is always funny

Ohrwurm. Literally “ear worm”. What it means: a
song that gets stuck in your head. Why I like it: having a
song that’s stuck in your head would be like having a worm stuck in your ear!

Wanderlust: literally “enjoyment of hiking”. What it means:
well, it’s also an English word. The desire to travel/wander.

Backpfeifengesicht – Literally “back whistling face” What
it means: A face that begs to be slapped.

slap his face

Klugscheißer literally “clever shitter” What
it means: a person that consistently corrects other peoples’ mistakes
in writing, speaking, etc. aka “a wise ass”. Why I like it: well,
I had to include a word on this list that used the “ß”, so I thought this word was perfect.

shitting cleverness

Verbs and miscellaneous
words I wish we had:

Umsteigen literally “to change buses/cars/planes/trains” or other
modes of transportation. Why I like it: We don’t have an exact
equivalent in English. In English we have to say, we will take the yellow
line to stop 3 and then get off and switch to the red line and get off at stop 6. In German you could just say yellow line to stop 3 and umsteigen to red line and get off at stop 6.

umsteigen from the green to the red line here.

Vorgestern – literally “the day before yesterday”. Why
I like it: Because they have one word to describe the day before yesterday.
Way more efficient.

Übermorgen – literally the day after tomorrow. Why I like it: Just
like vorgestern, it’s the day after tomorrow… but in one word.

Gondolieren. literally to ride a gondola. Why
I like it: In English we have to say “we took a gondola ride in
Venice.” In German, you can just say “we gondola-d in
Venice”. See? Way better.

we gondola=d in Venice!

übernachten. literally to stay overnight. Why I like it: Instead
of saying “We stayed overnight in Triberg” you can say “We
overnight’d in Triberg”.

I’ve uebernachted at this hotel… it was nice!

Fun Words

Leckerschmecker. Literally: “yum yum”. What it means: the
literal translation is pretty self-explanatory. They are tasty
treats. Why I like it: This is my favorite word. Say it super
fast. It’s fun!

goats think anything is tasty

Krankenwagen. Literally “sick wagon”. What
it means: an ambulance. But what does ‘ambulance’ even mean? I’d
rather ride in a sick wagon than an ambulance.

I’d rather take a sick wagon to the hospital

Handschuhe. Literally “Hand shoes”. What
it means: gloves! But aren’t hand shoes the perfect way to describe
what gloves really are? They’re shoes for your hand! Possibly one of the cutest
German words there is.

my hands have shoes

Kindergarten Literally “Children’s Garden”. What it
means: well, it’s actually an English word too. Except we spell it
“Kindergarden”. Why I like it: you send your children to
the garden(aka school) to let them grow.

Baumschule: literally “tree school”. What
it means: nursery. It’s funny because trees go to school and
children go to the garden. I guess it’s because you train your trees to grow,
but the children grow in school.

Liebling literally “darling or favorite”. Why
I like it: because if you add an ‘s’ at the end of the word, you can
put it in front of any word if it’s your favorite. Also, it’s one of the
sweeter terms of endearment in German. Examples: Is that your
favorite handschuh? Ja, that is my lieblingshandschuh. Bonus, you get to say
another favorite word again. Example 2: WHOA they have lederhosen here? Those
are my favorite! now, with liebling: Whoa die haben lederhosen hier? Das it
mein lieblingslederhosen!

Doch: literally nevertheless, still, yet. What
it means: well, there’s not an *exact* English translation which is
one reason why this word is so good. We could use it! I can’t really explain
it, other than it’s pretty much the perfect retort to everything.
Check out this long post that explains it.

Regenschirm literally “rain shield”. What
it means: umbrella. Rain shield makes way more sense than an umbrella.
I vote we switch our words.

rain shield keeps you dry

Schmetterling literally “something that gets
smashed”. What it means: butterfly! I think this word is
funny because Schmetterling sounds so angry (but it’s fun to say) to describe a
beautiful butterfly.

Kartoffelpuffer literally “potato puffs”. What
it means: potato pancakes. Why I like it: Because it’s fun to say! And I
loooove Kartoffelpuffer!

Mein lieblingspotato!

Pfeffernüsse. Literally “pepper nuts”. What
it means: spice cookies. These are the little spice cookies that
are frequently seen around Christmas time.

I confess, I don’t like these cookies but they’re fun to say!

Eichhörnchen literally “little oak horn”. What
it means: squirrel! This word is just fun. To think that squirrels
are little oak horns is kind of funny

i have a funny name

Schneeeule literally ‘snowy owl’. Why I like it: there are 3 e’s in a row.

I have 3 e’s in my name

Ausfahrt: literally ‘to drive off’. What
it means: to exit (for cars). Why I like it: because
it’s fun to say! Do you know what “entrance” is? Einfahrt! bahaha.

let’s ausfahrt right here

einfahrting is forbidden

Geschwindigkeitsbegrezung: meaning speed limit. Why
I like it: well, I don’t. Must this word
be so long?

Donaudampfschifffahrtsgesellschaftskapitänsmütze meaning the Danube steamboat shipping company’s Captain’s
hat. Why I like it? This is one of those great German compound
words where you can keep adding things onto the word. And, there’s a set
of 3 ‘f’s in a row.

check out my hat!

What’s your favorite German word? Leave a comment!

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Angelina September 25, 2014 Fall

Decorating the outdoors with pumpkins

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I love pumpkins. I love decorating with them. I love pumpkin in everything… lattes, breads, cakes, soup, cookies, etc.

I had to share these pretty displays from Roger’s Gardens this year.

I wanted tons of pumpkins like this to come from my own garden. Sadly, 7/8 of my planted pumpkins have died. The last one is barely hanging on.

You could place some pumpkins in a birdbath or outdoor pot to spruce the outdoors up with Fall!

Ok, so not a pumpkin, but how cute are these doggy topiaries?

And these scary black cat topiaries!

I also love these blue pumpkins and the white pumpkins. Some day soon when I move to the Central Valley of California (where everything grows like magic), I will plant my own pumpkin patch with all of these pumpkins! How fun would that be?!

Written at http://peoniesandorangeblossoms.blogspot.com

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Decorating the outdoors with pumpkins

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