The Owl mug

In the past few months I saw many pins on pinterest about plain mugs painted with Sharpie.

I loved the way some mugs have come out!

1. The style of this one is very simple and delicate! I love the spots on the handle.

http://artchoo.com/sharpies-kids-make-great-art/

2. These two mugs are fantastic!!
It is a very original and personal idea: well done to Elsie ;)  Now, if I had to follow this idea, both mugs would be about coffee..no green tea in my house!

http://abeautifulmess.typepad.com/my_weblog/2012/06/his-her-sharpie-mug-diy.html

3. This mug is beatiful! My first thought was "the person who made this has a lot of patience!" I couldn't be that good!

Jenny Starks - Pinterest

After so much inspiration I decided to create my own personal mug!

I bought this mug for 35p:

You see "The baking book"? mmmmh :) I can't wait to start working on it!

Back to the mug:

I have realized I didn't have any owl themed mug (!!) so I had to create one.  I'm not going to write a step by step process since you can find it everywhere;)

This is the final result after the mug cooled down (remember you have to bake it at 350F/200°C):

There's more.....

Ta-chaa

Do you like my two love owls?

Until next time,

Daniela

Food to Crave for: Tiramisú

Few days ago I have asked on my Facebook page, what I should have baked for my next blog post. Sandra suggested I should make Tiramisú, and since she is my dear dear colleague, I've decided to please her ;)









Also, Tiramisú is Stefano's favourite dessert... so, I made him happy too!


Here you have the recipe:

Prepare some coffee, pour it in a bowl with 2 teaspoons of Rum and let it cooling down.

Mascarpone cream:

Mix the egg yolks with sugar until the texture is creamy. 

Add the Mascarpone cheese first, then the whipped cream and mix everything together.

Proceedings:

Now, soak the ladyfinger biscuits in the coffee and place them in the baking dish (don't let them soak for too long or they will come apart!).

Once you have covered the bottom of the dish completely, spread some of the Mascarpone mixture over the ladyfingers and add another layer of biscuits.

Finish the dessert with another layer of Mascarpone mixture and sprinkle some Cocoa powder on top.

Refrigerate for 2 hours and  enjoy :)

Until next time,

Daniela

Nail Polish Cabinet

Almost an year ago, I went shopping in a second hand market near my place. 

A nice lady was selling some wood furniture and I bought what looked like a spices cabinet for the kitchen.

Unfortunately I don't have any picture of the cabinet before my painting :( - but I can confirm it was a plain wooden cabinet.

What I can say is that I forgot it in my storage room for months (eh - ehm), until we moved into our new place and I didn't know where to place all my nail polish bottles! I turned around and I saw it: a perfect Nail Polish cabinet!

I didn't like the colour so much, and since I'm decorating the bathroom with white stuff, I have decided to paint it in white as well:

Since the cabinet had never been painted before, it was easy to give that antique style I wanted - without using any sanding block. 

While the cabinet was drying I started organizing my pretty nail polishes:

This is the final result:

Me likey!

I have also added some lipstick, and...

Did I say I was obsessed with owls?

I am very happy about the outcome, especially the way I organized them (by colour)

Hope I have inspired you!

Until next time,
Daniela

Flash Back Friday : Marrakech

Few years ago, Stefano and I spent 5 days in Marrakech, Morocco.

Koutoubia

Marrakech's medina is very peculiar and chaotic! The suq (market)is busy and colorful:

Suq

Suq stand

They sell so many nice things you will want to buy everything! I was well aware of this, and brought an empty luggage with me ;)

The monuments and buldings are typical moroccan:

happy with my new bag ;)

Museum wall

At night, we used to have dinner in the main square - Jāmiʿ el-Fnā - where all the food stands are located:

Jāmiʿ el-Fnā square

The food is very good and cheap!


Last but not least, the place I'll never forget is the Hammam "Les Bains de Marrakech":

http://www.lesbainsdemarrakech.com/

We had 1 hour massage and the typical moroccan bath. Between each session we rested in a lounge area with mint tea and fresh fruits.

We spent 3 hours in the SPA and when we got out we were the most relaxed couple in the whole world :)

Until the next flashback,
Daniela

Liebster Award Nomination!!

Gloria from simplygloria.com has nominated me for the Liebster award ;)



Thank you Gloria for your nomination!

What is the Liebster award?

The Liebster award is given to up and coming bloggers who have less than 200 followers.  What is a Liebster?  The meaning: Liebster is German and means sweetest, kindest, nicest, dearest, beloved, lovely, kind, pleasant, valued, cute, endearing, and welcome.

After being nominated for this award, the nominee has to:

*Acknowledge the nominating blogger.

*Tell 11 facts about themselves.

*Answer the 11 questions the nominating blogger created.

*List 11 bloggers who have 200 followers or less (as far as you can tell) , and who you believe deserve recognition and encouragement to continue blogging.

*Post 11 questions for the bloggers you nominated to answer.

*Tell all of the bloggers you nominated that they have been nominated.

*You cannot nominate someone who nominated you.

11 Facts about myself:

1. I am obsessed with owls

2. I own more bags than shirts...(actually, 3 bags are owl themed - please see point 1)

3. I try to hide new pair of shoes from Stefano, so he doesn't know I've been shopping..again!

4. I have a dog Canito and a cat Mozzichino, and they're my babies

5. I'm not good with house plants....I simply forget to water them

6. Chocolate is my best friend

7. I love the smell of Peach...but I am allergic to them

8. I am a fast reader. my house couldn't fit more books so Stefano bought me a kindle....and regretted it the week after (when I wouldn't stop reading)

9. Stefano and I have been together for 5 years

10. I have never broke a bone...so far

11. My favourite subject at school was literature 

Gloria´s questions:

{1}  Why did you start blogging?

I started blogging almost 2 weeks ago because I always wanted to create a blog where I could share ideas, recipes and inspirations with my friends and -hopefully- many readers from all over the world.

{2}  If your blog was a soundtrack, what would your title song be? This is difficult! It would probably be "Be yourself"

{3}  Who inspires you? My mum inspires me. She is the strongest woman I have ever met and I wish I could be so strong one day.

{4}  How would you describe yourself in one word? Determined

{5}  Who would you like to play in the movie of your life? I would  play Miranda Priesly in the devil wears Prada ;)

{6}  What are you most passionate about? I am passionate about many things.. in particulare Life, Family, Animals and Justice.

{7}  What is one thing you want to accomplish in your lifetime? I would like to visit as many places as possible across the world. 

{8}  What is your biggest pet peeve? I can't stand when people eat with their mouths open!!

{9}  What is the farthest you’ve ever traveled? maybe Egypt..I've only visited Europe and Africa continents so far

{10}  What is your favorite hobby? Reading and crafting

{11}  What is your proudest moment? I am proud of many things... maybe the biggest one is beating my fear of driving!

The bloggers I nominate are:

Meghan - www.makesomethingdaily.com 

Sheryl - http://www.wildernesswife.com

Ashley - http://www.ashleysdandelionwishes.com

Jeanne - http://www.idreamofjeannedesigns.com

Christine - http://idigpinterest.blogspot.com.es

Jessica - http://olivesoriginals.blogspot.com.es

Cath - http://www.cathscookerycreations.com

Julia - http://itsalwaysruetten.blogspot.com.es

Lori - http://www.abrightandbeautifullife.com

Lisa - http://creativeraisins.blogspot.ca

Heather - http://lovetobebusy.blogspot.com.es/

And my questions for you are...

1. Why did you start blogging?

2. If you could relive any moment, what would it be?

3. What is your favorite place you have visited so far?

4. What is your favourite treat?

5. Who inspires you?

6. What's your dream job?

7. Do you prefer flat shoes or heels?

8. Do you have any pets?

9. What is your favourite season of the year?

10. What was your first craft?

11. How would you describe yourself in one word?

I have left my nominees a comment, please link back here so I can read your answers :)

Enjoy!!!!!

Until next time,

Daniela

5 Pretty Elements: The Beach

Living so close to the sea makes me spend a lot of time to the beach.

My dog Canito loves going to the beach (I'm sure that's no surprise) where he gets to run non-stop and meet new friends (He doesn't miss one dog...) so, Stefano and I often take him there.

Last Sunday we spent the day in Tarifa, a beautiful place in Southern Spain where Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean sea waters mix together.

5 things I loved about the day:

1. The view

Long and sandy beach, the sound of the waves, exceptional weather and..Canito on the horizon ;)

2. Happy faces

Hi! I'm really enjoying myself!

He greeted each and every dog he encountered on the beach, he seriously didn't miss one! 

Most of the time we had to run behind this:

Bye - Bye!

He runs so fast that he flies away!! I'll tell you a secret, my dog has super powers, as you can see here LOL ;):

Super Canito!

3. Relax

Cuddle time

It is nice to get away from routine and spend quality time in a peaceful and beautiful place like this. 
In general, the beach is the place I enjoy the most if I want to spend a nice day. I couldn't be living far away from it.

4. Healthy walks

I got to do exercise 6 out of 7 times last week!!! I still don't believe it..must be because of Spring time (and the upcoming swimsuit season...he-hem).

5. The treasures....

Oh yeah! The beach was full of these beauties! some shells were so deteriorated that the mother of pearl was the only thing left! As soon as I saw them, many craft ideas came up to my mind  - please imagine my eyes with a big DIY stamped on them - and I'm looking forward to start working on it.

How was your weekend? I hope you have spent some quality time in your favorite place, like I did!

Until next time,
Daniela

Organized places, Organized minds: Grocery List

I believe that organization is very important for our peace of mind. 

Since a few months I decided to have a better organized life and started arrange many documents in binders/folders, and also set up some tables for monthly budgets, accountings and... grocery lists.

Something I really don't like is going shopping with some messy grocery list:

I am sure I would end up forgetting something in the shop and wouldn’t realize until I really needed it ;)

Since I am a excel affectionate, I have created a grocery list which helps me keep a clean and clear record of all the things I need to buy.

I’ve divided the list in the most common articles we general buy: Bread&Cereals, Meat & fish, Fruit &Vegetables..

I think it is very functional because:

1. When I go to the shop I know already the sectors I have to visit;

2.   While filling it, I check the kitchen cabinets and see if I’m running out of some articles/products and directly note it down (one section per time).

The grocery list happily reigns in my kitchen command center:

Small but functional! :)

Do you need a functional grocery list? Below you can find my free template ;)

Grocery List pdf Free Template

If you don't have a google account, click on the below image and save it:

Until next time,
Daniela

Food to Crave for: Chocolate & Walnuts cake

On Easter day I have invited some friends over for coffee. In Italy we have a traditional cake called Colomba (dove) and even if I wanted to serve it with coffee, I wasn´t able to find it anywhere here in Spain L.

That hasn't really demotivated me - I got down to work and started baking a Chocolate & Walnuts cake ;o) 

I have written the below recipe - I didn't copy it from anywhere..so if you see something is not understandable, please let me know :)

Cake:

Break the chocolate bar in pieces and melt it with butter in a small sauce pan over a low flame. Chop the walnut in big pieces and add them to the melted chocolate.

Now separate the yolk from the egg whites, and beat the egg whites until stiff. 

In a separate bowl, mix the three egg yolks with sugar and, when the texture is creamy, add the stiffen egg whites and mix everything together.

Mix the baking powder with the flour and add the mixture to the egg yolk composed on small doses.

Finally, add the chocolate and walnut cream and mix everything together.

Pour the mixture in a cake pan – I suggest you to cover the pan with oven foil: the cake will be lighter and there are less chances it gets burned ;o) – and put the cake in the oven at 180c / 356f for 30 minutes.

Cream:

The filling and coverage is very easy!!

I have simply mixed fresh whipped cream with Nutella! 

I suggest you to buy fresh cream you can easily whip yourself - the flavour and the texture is much better.

Cover the cake and, as a final touch, add some walnuts and chocolate on top of the cake!

_________

It was a success!! Everybody absolutely loved it and even asked if I would take orders :)

Do you have a favourite cake recipe? Let me know about it! ;)

Until next time,

Daniela 

Chevron Wall Art..for free!

Hi all,

Welcome to my blog!!

I am pretty excited to start this new adventure with my blog – a space I have dreamt of for a long time :).

Few weeks ago, I decided I had enough of my boring lounge and wanted to add something colorful that included one of my favorite statement of the moment:  “You are not the mistake you have made”… (Stop and think about it: it's a nice statement, isn't it?)

  

And.. What's better than the trendy “Chevron” pattern to start with? 

Googling around few blogs and websites I found the following one, and I immediately fell in love with it:

If you like Chevron patterns, I highly recommend you to check the other versions at Doodlecraft :) They’re free and a-m-a-z-i-n-g!!!!

Since I’m no professional designer nor a photoshop amateur, I tried to work with the tools I had... cough cough...meaning Microsoft Office [I know, I should be ashamed of myself but wait to see the result!!].

I have copied the pattern on a Word file and created a text box. That was easy peasy, but then I started to check fonts.. and there I spent almost 2 hours because I couldn't take a decision!

Finally, the font I used is "Brush Script MT" and I still like it a lot. 

I am pretty proud of the outcome:

 

When I feel down I look at the picture and I feel much better and in peace. We do make mistakes, we can’t change this, but we learn from them and we can become better people day by day – mistakes do not determine our personality.

What about you? Are you passionate about chevron patterns? Do you have a favourite statement that helps you relax and find peace? 

Until next time,

Daniela