Sunday lunch

How was your weekend lovely ladies and gents?

Mine was wonderful.

On the Saturday I made my husband a big batch of one of his favourite meals. He just loves my spaghetti Bolognese and generally attempts to eat at least 4 servings in one sitting. I use a recipe my mother taught me and let it slow cook for at least 4 hours.

Then we had a glorious Sunday with friends. I cooked and baked properly for the first time in months. It was fabulous!

We had delicious artisanal British cheeses from my favourite British cheese supplier in Zurich to start. Followed by crispy skinned, roast pork belly, roast vegetables (parsnip, purple carrots, potatoes, cherry vine tomatoes and garlic), a red wine and rosemary gravy, decadent garlic mashed potatoes (they contained double cream and butter) and finished the meal off with a gluten free roasted strawberry & ginger, baked ricotta cheesecake.

I think I can honestly say I’ve got my appetite and much of my energy back. Hurray!

Though I was flagging pretty badly by the end of the afternoon. We had Meriel and her gorgeous little girls come for afternoon tea after lunch. Lily gave her approval to the dessert and then demanded pencils and paper for ‘drawing time’. It was great fun. Meriel told me both of the girls fell asleep on the way home, I wasn’t far behind them!

I apologise for the poor quality of the photos. I was so concerned with feeding my guests and not allowing baby brain to destroy the meal to allow myself any more than about 10 seconds for photos. And I completely forgot them for the dessert! Hence the reason you’re looking at the remnants of dessert, photographed when I realised this morning. But as I’ve plans to tweak the recipe a little bit more and post it online for you later this week, I’ll have ample opportunity to take more for you then.

The reason things have been a bit quiet around here lately

Late last year DM and I were in a quandary. DM had been applying for jobs, none of them based in Switzerland. And it was starting to look like we were going to be moving to Singapore in the near future. I was all prepped for big changes and mentally writing to-do lists.

Then DM was promoted within his current job, sealing our fate, we were staying in Lausanne for a few more years. We’d never intended to be in Switzerland longer than 3 years so it was a bit of a shift in view. Then, as the celebration finished and the euphoria started to wear off, we had a day of ‘what now?’

That lasted all of a day.

Photo ©Jennifer M. Howell via http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/324517

Then we I found out I was pregnant*.

Perfect timing! All of a sudden we knew just what we’d be doing and the few more years here are a blessing. I’ve got great health cover here, Switzerland’s health system is amazing and the stability we have here surrounded by fabulous friends all make having a child a much less scary prospect.

I’ve started writing lists of all the fabulous things I want to make and do for the new addition to our family. Our annual Summer Party in August is now to be a very relaxed ‘Hey We’re Having a Baby BBQ’, I’ve a nursery to decorate (when we find out the sex) and I’ve got onsies to paint, birth announcements to make and sooo many other things to knit, bake, make, sew and print! All of which I’ll share with you.

But I’m still going to be making non-baby things. Hand on heart I promise not to turn this into a baby blog.

But this doesn’t really explain why I’ve been quiet. Basically it comes down to exhaustion and nausea. The dreaded morning sickness hit me full throttle. They lie, in my case it’s more ‘all the time sickness’. Then, just as I was starting to feel more normal and to commence eating a little more whilst we were in San Francisco, I caught a gastic virus on our way home. Which combined with jet lag has wiped me out all over again! So I’ve spent rather a lot of time in bed and on the couch. Thankfully the lovely DM has done a wonderful job of looking after me and cooking for himself (as even the thought of food has made me go green lately).

On the plus side, I can still do up the buttons on my jeans (other than the super skinny ones) and I’ve been told by the doctor that baby is fine. And I’m really happy to hear that now that I’m at 12 weeks, I can soon expect a boost in energy and for the morning sickness to stop. Then the blog will pick up again.

So here’s to many more baking and craft posts!
I’ll be back to my making-self soon

Nicx

*Yes, the little one was planned. But we didn’t expect he/ she to come along quite this quickly!

In print…

I opened my letterbox yesterday and did a little jig on the spot. Even the subsequent trip to the print shop, where I had to deal with the staff who have successfully avoided ever being friendly or helpful in the two years I’ve gone to them for my printing needs, couldn’t dampen my spirits. Giving the grumpy assistant a big grin and cheerful ‘au revoir’ as I left the store seemed to only deepen her scowl.

But what did that matter to me?! I’m in print!

I know that in instances like this I’m supposed to play it cool and to calmly share my news whilst pretending it doesn’t matter and that I don’t care about it in the slightest. But I’ve discovered it’s loads more fun to grin like a toddler who has just been given a lolly pop bigger than my head and to dance (privately I should note) around the dining room in a manner that would lead you to assume the toddler had managed to consume the entire lolly pop and was experiencing a sugar induced fit.

My recipe for Gluten free chocolate cupcakes with fleur de sel Swiss meringue chocolate buttercream and photography has been included in the latest issue of Cupcake Heaven Magazine! I’ve been told it’s also out there in the Danish, German and Dutch editions of the magazine. Oh and it’s available for download via their iPad app.

I’ve a craving for cake…

A bit of a delay

Right now, I’m looking at the finalised versions of my new tea cup design and the new lid design for Paper Tea Cup #1. They’re really pretty and I’m quite proud of them. But they’re not photographed yet.

The time I had allocated to these projects was spent recovering photos after my blog crashed when I tried to do a WordPress update.

And the rest of my day has disappeared in a whirl of doctors appointments, grocery shopping, private projects and trying to tidy up my messy abode before our guests arrive tonight.

So I’m going to have to upload the projects a little later on. Hopefully I’ll have a productive weekend and they’ll be here on the blog waiting for you on Monday morning. I’m very sorry for the delay.

I hope you have a wonderful weekend! See you next week!

xNic

A cheesy NYE

How was your New Years? Our was rather quiet as seems to be the norm in Switzerland. There are no big fireworks displays or outdoor festivals in Switzerland to celebrate the arrival of a new year.

Most years we’ve been in Switzerland we’ve had a quiet night in and have opened a bottle of champagne to toast the new year in. But we decided to do something a little different this year. We had a few of our friends around for dinner and games. Read more

I hope you’re all having a wonderful New Years where ever you are located. One full of joy, love and frivolity!

DM and I are having a few friends over this evening, we’ve plans to play games, eat raclette thanks to our new shiny raclette grill and ‘potato beanie’ and to toast in the New Year with French champagne. It’ll be a quiet night, but a fitting end to what has been a wonderful 2012.

As with most of the worlds population, I start to think about the past year and my hopes for the new one around this time. It’s been an amazing year. I’ve learned so much! But I must be getting old. The years just seem to fly by. I’d swear that it was only 2 months ago I was toasting in the 2012 New Year in Byron Bay!

I’m a little sad 2012 has passed so quickly. But at the same time we’ve managed to cram so very much into it! My head spins when I think about all we’ve done and achieved.

With every year, DM and I embark on new unexpected adventures, challenges and steep learning curves and 2012 was no different. We struggled at times to make healthy and balanced decisions. I’m so very glad we’ve discovered that we need to take some down-time to make big decisions clearly and our trip to Egypt certainly helped us clarify where we’d like to be heading with our lives and to create some short and long term goals.

We’re going into 2013 in much the same way we did 2012; with no idea as to if we’ll still be living in Switzerland in 3 months let alone 3 years and surrounded by uncertainty. But this year feels different to 2012 in one big way; I’m learning to embrace uncertainty and not to panic at the though of drastic change but to live my life day by day and to adjust when and if needed. It’s one of the reasons this blog is so great for me, I can take it with me anywhere!

I can’t wait to see where we’ll be this time next year!

I don’t really make New Years Resolutions, I’m entering the new year with the same ones I had last year. I suppose they’re more ‘life resolutions’. Mine are:

To continue to learn, create, grow and explore.

To embrace change rather than fruitlessly fight it.

To jump hurdles and face challenges when they arrive and not to attempt to do so beforehand, it only wastes time and mental energy that could be spent on much better endeavours!

To keep working towards a healthy mind and body.

Did you full-fill your resolutions last year? Have you made new ones for this year?

Thank you for following next to nicx, it’s been a joy to get to know some of you a little better through through the blog and I look forward to getting to know more of you next year! Things will be a little quiet over the next week as we’re taking a bit of a break. We’re doing a bit of work on the studio and are planning a few days off.

Happy New Year, may it be a happy and prosperous one for you!

Nicx

Gorgeously different

During our flying trip through London (we always seem to be taking flying trips through London, one day we’ll really have to stay for longer than 3 nights!) on our way back from holidaying in Egypt, we caught up with our newly engaged friends, Jen and Alex.

My husband and I met Jen and Alex in 2007 at the end of their working holiday through India, Asia and Australia when Jen and I were working for the same company for a little while. Then when Jen and Alex found themselves needing accommodation for a few nights before they made their way back to the UK, they stayed with us for a few nights.

Our friendship was cemented over a love of the absurd, tea, cake and Miyazaki films.

Photo of Jennifer Roberts via The Style Scout

Sham el Sheikh, I love you

We’re back from our vacation to Egypt. We had an amazing time!

My husband and I both adore the heat and so the consistent 37 degrees each day was blissful. It helped of course that we didn’t have to do much!

We spent 8 days eating the fabulous food on offer, drinking (you must ensure you’re sufficiently hydrated!), reclining by the beach and pool, swimming in the Red Sea and looking at the glorious coral and stunning fish whilst snorkelling.

We’re leaving this afternoon to spend 8 glorious nights cocooned in sun drenched luxury in Egypt, followed by 3 nights in London where we’re catching up with friends, celebrating new engagements, buying much needed winter clothing and making new acquaintances.

I’ve created a few tutorials and recipes that will go up whilst we’re away as I know you’re not all on holidays too!

It’s perfect timing; if a little late for a ‘Summer holiday’. We’re exhausted and starting to feel like we’re making decisions based on emotion rather than rationality. We’re stuck looking at the trees, knowing that we’re missing the forest but unable to get clear perspective.

Husband’s work has been tumultuous with months of not knowing if he had a job, as the company he works for made massive cuts; relief when he survived the cull, and then stress and exhaustion as he took on his bosses job for little to no recognition or reward.

So we’ve been facing some pretty big life decisions and changes too. They’re a mix of both exciting and exhausting (generally at the same time).I’ve no idea where next to nicx will be based this time next year, but it’s looking more and more likely that it won’t be Switzerland.

And facing the loss of a loved one has made us think seriously about where we’re heading; both as individuals and as a family unit…

So we’re off to Sharm el Sheikh to spend our time swimming, eating, drinking, chasing fish and squid through the coral reefs, recharging and trying to see the forest.

Every time we’ve taken a holiday like this we’ve come back renewed, with big ideas and new directions. Having had lengthy, passionate discussions about where we want to be, if we’re ‘on the right path’ and what we’re doing to get there.

I can’t wait to discover what we come up with this time!

Photo by Elly Olson

Gluten free chocolate cupcakes with fleur de sel Swiss meringue chocolate buttercream

Today the ladies of the Stitch ‘n’ Bitch celebrated the birthday of one of our members. Welmoed is a fabulously creative lady who makes children’s clothing and does some really lovely embroidery. To commemorate the occasion I made up a batch of gluten free chocolate cupcakes with a Fleur de sel (French sea salt) Swiss meringue buttercream frosting.
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