July Favourites

I have to say I am pretty sad to see the end of July. July was probably the best month of the year so far. I spent most of it in Germany, where I got up to tons of fun things, and then the last few days of July were spent at home with my family and my cousin who lives in Holland. We even managed to fit in a two day trip to thorpe park (a big theme park in the UK). Anyway, lets get on with my favourites from this month.

More Than This by Patrick Ness
I was given this book as a birthday present, and was really pleased to receive it, since I remembered thinking about buying it a couple of times while I was browsing Waterstones. I really enjoyed it, and it is very well written. I would definitely recommend it.
I won't give too much a way, in case any of you are thinking of reading it, but basically what happens is that at the beginning of the book a boy drowns. He then wakes up somewhere else, where it seems as though there is no-one but him.



Hot Chocolate
It took me a while to remember how to say 'hot chocolate' in German, but now that I know what it is I have been drinking so much. If you're wondering what it is, it is "heisse schokolade", which should have been obvious really, since that is literally the words hot and chocolate translated. You never know though, because in Dutch it is "warme chocolademelk", which translates to warm chocolate milk (although you probably already worked that out for yourselves).

Catfish the TV show
My cousin introduced me to this TV show, and it has been on a lot lately. People who have been talking to someone online get in contact with the guy from the catfish movie (which I haven't actually seen), and then he helps them to find out if the person is real. It is pretty entertaining.

I think that is all for this months favourites, I hope that you all enjoyed July as much as I did.

Freya x

Goodbye Germany

On Saturday I am going to be leaving Germany and heading back to the UK. I can't believe how fast time has gone, and I am going to be so sad to go. There are so many things I will miss - my host family, the city, practicing my German, my fellow au pair friend, the amazing ice cream shops... I could go on and on.

I have had an amazing time here. I have not only had massive amounts of fun, but I have also gained a lot from the experience. I was out with my friend today, and she said that she thinks I have become much less shy - something which I definitely agree with. We have only known each other a few weeks - we met when I started au pairing - but I think that this just shows how much more confident I have become.

Moving to another country, even if only for a few weeks, has been really good for me. And I would urge anyone reading this to do something similar. Not necessarily going off to another country, but just to step out of your comfort zone, do something new, go on an adventure.

Freya x

Victoria Sandwich Cake

Yesterday I decided to introduce my host family here in Germany to the most classic of British cakes: the victoria sandwich cake. I made it with my host kid, and despite me making up quantities myself, it turned out really well. Normally you would have two layers of cake sandwiched together, with cream or buttercream and jam or fruit. But we chose to do four layers. It was huge, and cutting it without it toppling over proved to be quite a task.

Ingredients:

400g caster sugar (or 300g caster sugar and 100g Brown sugar - this is what we used, and I think that the Brown sugar was really nice in it)

400g butter

400g plain flour

6 eggs

1 sachet vanilla powder (I don't know what this is actually called, but we couldn't find vanilla extract so used this instead. Obviously you could use 1tsp vanilla extract).

1 sachet baking powder

A splash of milk

400ml double cream

Strawberries

Method:

1. Cream the butter and sugar. This will be easier if the butter is soft, and if you cut it up into smaller chunks. 

2. Add the eggs and half the flour, and whisk until they are mixed in. 

3. Add the rest of the flour and whisk. 

4. If the mixture is too thick add a bit of milk, and mix again. Continue doing this, until it looks about the right thickness. 

5. Add the baking powder an vanilla, and mix. 

6. Divide the mixture between four cake tins. We only had two, so we did two rounds of cooking. 

7. Cook at 175 degrees Celsius for about 20 minutes. A skewer inserted into the cake should come out clean. 

8. Leave the cakes to cool. While you are waiting, whip the cream and chop the strawberries. 

9. Once the cakes are cool, spread cream onto the first cake, and then put strawberries on top. Put the next cake on top and then do the same. 

10. Sprinkle a bit of icing sugar on top of the top cake

Freya x

Nordic Walking and the Opera

Today was a day of firsts - my first day off (as an au pair), trying nordic walking for the first time, and my first trip to the opera. If you don't know what Nordic walking is - I didn't either - you basically just walk normally, but with a pole in each hand (they remind me a bit of ski poles) which I am still not entirely sure what you are supposed to do with. My host mum goes every week with a group of five other people, and she asked me if I wanted to come along. We went for a one and a half hour walk, but it really didn't feel that long, and it was really nice because I got to see some areas that I hadn't been to yet. We walked up to this huge park, and I definitely want to go back to take some photos because it was so pretty. 

This evening I went to the see an opera called rigoletto. It wasn't the full thing though, it was the "kostprobe", which is sort of like a dress rehearsal before the opening night, which they let people go to. I looked up what it was about beforehand, which was good since all the singing was in Italian so I didn't understand a thing. I can barely understand opera in English. I still enjoyed it though, and it was really nice to have an evening out. 

I hope that everyone is having a good summer (unless you are still at school - in which case, poor you).

Freya x

Sometimes the Internet can be an amazing thing

As you may know, I am au pairing in Germany at the moment. I have been here a week, and so far I am really enjoying it. My host family are great and I am in a lovely area. The only problem is that I haven't met any other au pairs, or anyone else my own age. Until today that is.

I posted in an au pair Facebook group to see if there were any other au pairs nearby, and found a girl who is in a town about 40 minutes a way. Meeting up with people who you have met on the internet is one of those things that parents and teachers always tell you not to do. I ignored these warnings, and we made plans to meet at the main train station of the city that I am in.

There was a slightly awkward 'are you the person I am supposed to be meeting?' moment at the beginning, but after that it was a really day. Unfortunately the weather was not great, but we still had a good time wandering around the shops, sitting in Starbucks and chatting. We also managed to get a little bit lost on the tram, but when there are two of you, getting lost can be pretty amusing.

Freya x

End of exams

I had my last exam yesterday! I am so glad that exams are over and I no longer have to spend all of my time stuck inside revising. I finally have time to catch up on all of the unwatched YouTube videos in my subscription feed, and to blog, and finish all the half written posts in my drafts. 

Since all of my friends have finished exams as well we had a little celebration yesterday - for the end of exams and my birthday, since I will be in Germany on my actual birthday. 

We spent the afternoon at the beach, and luckily the weather decided to cooperate for once. I live at the beach, but the beach by my house is stony so we decided to go to the sandy beach which is about a 15 minute drive. It is usually packed, but since most people were in school etc it was really nice and quiet. We had a lovely afternoon lying in the sun and chatting, and the sea was actually quite warm. 

After we were done at the beach, we drove back to my house to have some dinner and watch a movie. It was a really nice way to celebrate.

Tonight I had another celebration with my family, for both my birthday and my mum's birthday. All of my aunt's and uncles and cousins came, and it was really nice to see them all. I also tried haloumi for the first time (I didn't even know what it was before today), and it is definitely my new favourite thing! 

I have had a pretty great start to my summer holidays so far! Tomorrow won't be nearly as much fun though - it will be spent packing, since I leave for Germany on Monday morning (a bit last minute I know...). 

Freya x 

The Liebster Award

So first of all sorry for being away for such a long time again! But anyway I am super excited because I have been nominated for the Liebster Award by Beatriz from Bea Boon!

So here are the rules:
1. Link the blogger that nominated you
2. Answer the 11 questions they have written for you
3. Give 11 random facts about yourself
4. Nominate other bloggers with under 200 followers who you think deserve the award
5. Post 11 questions for your nominees

So here are my answers to the questions I was given:

1.If you could switch lives with a celebrity, which celebrity would you switch with?
This is so difficult! I think maybe Emma Watson.

2. Would you rather skin a cat or a dog?
I can't say that I have ever really thought about this before... Am I allowed to say neither?

3. Life Goal?
Totally Cliché, but to be happy.
I don't really have a career goal at the moment, but I know that I definitely want to have kids when I grow up, and I want to travel as much as I possibly can.

4. Biggest Mistake?
I can't really think of any massively terrible mistakes that I have made. Of course I have made mistakes, but I can't think of anything that bad right now.

5. Best thing you've ever done?
I've done quite a few pretty awesome things in my not-very-long-life so far. I'd have to say that the best thing was probably going to Africa for three weeks last summer.

6. Pro or Anti farting?
Definitely Anti farting. If you grew up with three brother's you would be too.

7. If you can change one thing about yourself what would it be? (can't be aesthetic)
I am really shy and quiet, so I think that I would change that.

8. Would you rather be 4ft tall or 7ft tall?
4ft. Can you imagine how hard it would be to find clothes if you were 7 feet tall? If you were 4ft at least you could fit into clothes in the kids section. Also you would never have to worry about not having enough leg room. You wouldn't be tall enough to go on roller coasters though, so that would be annoying, but I'd still say I would prefer to be 4ft than 7ft.

9. What would you tell your 21 year old self if you could?
I would remind myself not to settle for a boring job that I don't really want, to experience as many different things as I can, and to take every opportunity that comes my way. And I guess just to make sure that I really live rather than just existing (I don't know if that makes sense).

10. Favourite book?
Looking for Alaska by John Green. I love that book sooo much, and I am sure I have probably already mentioned that multiple times on this blog.

11 facts about me:

1. I am going to be an au pair in Germany for 5 weeks this summer
2. I will be studying Psychology at University next year (providing I do well enough in my exams)
3. My favourite film at the moment is Pitch Perfect
4. I have a dog. He loves to steal food, especially chocolate - many an Easter egg have been lost to the dog.
5. I have a job as a waitress
6. I drive a Fiat 500
7. My current favourite TV shows are Revenge (although the series actually just finished here) and How I Met Your Mother
8. I will be 18 this month
9. No one would ever believe that I am almost 18 by looking at me - everyone at work always tells me that I look about 15
10. I recently got pinterest, and now I am addicted!

My nominees:

Sarah from A Glimpse of Blue
Sheridan from Sheridankate

And here are my questions for you:

1. If you could be any character from a book, who would you be, and why?
2. What is your favourite meal?
3. What would you do if you won the lottery?
4. Where is your favourite place?
5. If you could travel to any country, where would you go?
6. What is your favourite thing about summer?
7. Why did you start blogging?
8. What was your favourite film as a kid?
9. Do you prefer the city or the countryside?
10. How would your perfect weekend go?
11. What is your favourite personality trait?

Freya x