i love

"travelling"


to the places that i've never been in. and i also love re-visiting them. 
these days i'm so busy i can't even escape for a couple of days. but i miss vacations. backpacking, summer vacations, winter vacations or retreat getaways... it doesn't really matter. 

entering italy

prague through a glass of wine

bratislava

basel

berlin

i want

"to bake macarons"


it seems like there are many stories about the birth of it. one of them says the italian chef of catherine de medicis created macarons. catherine was married to duc d'orleans at the time, who then became the king of france(king henry II). so it is how it find its way to france. 
another story is that italian monks made it first. another one includes italian jews. 
i don't really know about history that much and i'm not into it either. but what gets me is that it had a little or no change in the recipe 'till today. the main ingredients are the same.
it's basicly made out of almond flour, sugar and egg whites. well, it is the shells. the filling could be anything like: mascarpone, jam, ganache, buttercream... the color variation -which makes macarons much much more appealing and cute- can be a result of the flavors added(like raspberry and pistachio) but it's usually done by food coloring -which i wouldn't prefer i suppose.
i really want to try to bake some at home...

i love

"marc jacobs earrings"

i'm listening

"vanessa paradis"


i always liked her style and looks. but i didn't know that she was also a singer. i found out by chance, and i'm glad that i did find out.

listen: emmenez-moi, l'incendie, il y a, que fait la vie...

i want

"beer & pretzel"


while i was travelling in germany, pretzels were my favorite snack. in a beer garten and with beer of course...
but i don't really know why i did not think of baking some at home. 
today i'll go back home, and my friends will be back too on monday. the first cooking to do will be: pretzels! and we'll have a beer & pretzel night. maybe with some dips. and a fun movie. 

ps: i don't know who kate lord is, but i found this photo on the web. kinda old but i think these are paperclips with cyristals that she designed. great, right?

i love

"travelling"


only when it leads me to the places i want to go. if not, it turns into a nightmare. it turns into a redundant time that i wait for it to waste away, yet feel uncomfortable thinking of the things that i could've done, places i could've been in meanwhile. 
this summer i was travelling along the aegean side of turkey. it was great! so peaceful... the summer before that it was interrailing in europe.
these days i miss that kind of a relief and get-away so much... sometimes i want to be in a rural village where it's quiet and no responsibility awaits, except some cute animals to feed maybe. 
or i could be in a nice city in europe - maybe paris, florence or venice. in a part where it's alive yet calm and slow. i could rent a small flat and live there for some while. go out for a walk afternoons. come back with some fresh flowers, watch the city from my window.

i love

"garance doré"


i really like her style and her blog. and i love that she is in Istanbul right now, where i actually lived until i got into the university. 
she says:  "imagine the noises of the seagulls, the horns from the boats in the distance, the city murmurs in the distance and the warm and salty wind in your hair"
I believe she started to get to know Istanbul in a very short time.


ps: i missed Istanbul so much...

i have done

"nothing"


but lay down for the last 2 days. i don't know how or why but i got sick and could not eat or even get up. luckily i have a great person nearby me, who takes care of me when i'm in need.
at last, today i could stand up without a headache or a nausea. i even had breakfast and came to the library to start on my take-home exam.

i love

"my top 3 fashion icons"


i sometimes realize that all these marketing and advertising efforts about clothing just make me lean towards the stuff that i don't really want and i don't even like at all. unlike my taste in fashion, the quality and the elegance is usually not there when it comes to the affordable fashion. maybe instead of assuring the quality, focusing on the advertising is much more easy for them. i don't know. 
but when i'm feeling like i'm leaning to the "other side", i just get some inspiration from my fashion icons and wait & look for the worthwhile outfits.


#1 Audrey Hepburn

 #2 Grace Kelly

#3 Jane Birkin

edit: well i think there is a reason hermes named 2 of its bags kelly and birkin.

i cooked

"ricotta-spinach ravioli"


remember i even had a post, i wanted a pasta maker? well, i bought it a few days ago. but 'till today i couldn't find spare time to play with it(:
at last i prepared some spaghetti and fettuccine. after i put them aside to give them some time to dry, i made some ricotta-spinach ravioli. with some tomato sauce and grated parmessan, they turned out to be great!

dough for pasta and my lovely atlas

  

fettucine and spaghetti drying

filling for the ravioli

cutting

not ready yet...

buon appetito!

by the way: plural: ravioli / singular: raviolo

i'm listening

"camille"

recommended tracks: la demeure d'un ciel, janine 2, vous, pour que l'amour me quitte

i love

"having no plans for the day"


today i woke up without the alarm of my phone. i did not rush to catch my classes.
11am or so, i woke up. then i took a shower and prepared myself a breakfast. now i'm listening emilie simon and sipping my espresso. 
a great way to start a day!

i cooked

"for everyone yesterday"


after a long time (for me) i found some time to cook yesterday. and i really did the most out of it(:
right after my classes, i went to the market to buy the things that i needed and to get the little shrimps that i've ordered. however the order was delayed for another day, so i just cancelled and bought some jumbo shrimps. and some seabass. some fresh herbs too of course(:
here is what i prepared and cooked for the night: grissini, bread with fresh rosemary, roasted eggplants and paprikas, herb butter and olive oil with herbs, parmesan-arugula salad, tomato soup, shrimp with vegetables, seabass en papillotte, tiramisu.
we also had some good wine and some beer.
it took some time to do all these of course(: but not as much as it seems to be.

a nice dinner with fabulous people!

dough of the bread

herbs for the butter

olive oil ♥

shrimps

en papillotte

i want

"billingham SLR bag"


i can't really say that i want to get it because i have no intention of buying it-it's kinda expensive for me. but i'd like to possess it somehow(: 
i found these great bags while i was searching for some chic bags for SLR cameras. it's kind of disappointing to see that there is nothing! i mean it. nothing! as a chic, nice slr bag. they are all so dorky. i understand that for very professional photographers they are a need, but not all of the people who have a camera are in need of these multi-functional, very comfortable but still dorky bags.
i especially liked the ones that i posted.

i love

"the campus"


especially in fall. the rain, gloomy sky and clouds do not make me feel my best but it looks so good on it. 

-click on the photo for full size-