Our Amsterdam Adventure 2016 I VIDEO

This summer my sister and I went to Amsterdam for a few days in order to explore the city with its channels, beautiful architecture and bicycles everywhere. I actually totally forgot about the fact that I filmed quite a lot of the trip so I was able to put together a whole video of our time in the Netherlands.

I hope you enjoy this very unprofessional but with memory filled video of our trip!

Have you ever been to Amsterdam? And what did you think of the city?

Lots of love,

Nina 🌍⛵️✨

Vegan Cake in a Cup Recipe

There was a time where my sister and I were obsessed with cakes in a cup. Just because you usually don't need a lot of ingredients and after putting it in the microwave for a few minutes you had a cake ready to eat. We loved it! And then I kind of forgot about it but this morning I had to think of it again and really wanted to make a cake in a cup again - a walk down memory lane in a sense!

Just mix together:

0.5         ripe and mashed banana

3 tbsp    coconut flour (normal flour would surely work as well)

0.25 tsp baking powder

2 tsp      coconut sugar (or brown sugar)

3 tbsp    milk (soy, almond, coconut,..)

and        chocolate drops to decorate

After mixing all ingredients together in your cup, you just have to put it in the microwave for about two minutes (I checked every 30 seconds how the texture is) and then your cake in a cup is ready to be eaten! Enjoy :)

BEING AN AU PAIR - One of the best experiences of my life

About two years ago I was on the other side of the world - collecting memories, living my life to the fullest and having a new exciting adventure ahead of me every day while being an au pair in Australia.

But before I could call myself an au pair of an adorable 6 years old girl who endlessly loved dinosaurs and a 2 years old boy who could give the best cuddles in the world, I had to go through all the organization stuff.

The decision that I wanted to organize everything myself and not go over there with an organization was quickly made since my sister already run through all this two years before me and in general every single person around me told me that I wouldn't necessarily need an organization. So first of all I jumped on a website called 'Au Pair World' where I created a profile and it didn't take too long until I had my first skype interviews (interview always sounds so serious... but it was actually just a relaxed conversation to get to know each other). The family I ended up with (and I couldn't have been more lucky!!!) send me a message on my birthday that they would like me to come over there to be their au pair. I couldn't have asked for a better 18th birthday present :) After that I only had to book my flight, get a visa, pack my stuff and I was ready to go ✈️ Kangaroos, Koalas, hot weather - here I come!

I spent July until December in a small town close to Melbourne with my lovely second family, in my second home and I had such a happy time full of experiences.
I didn't have to work too much (only 5 days every two weeks) so I also had plenty of time to discover Melbourne, meeting other au pairs, driving along the Great Ocean Road, attending a surf course, spending a day on Phillip Island and feeding kangaroos hahah. Beforehand I already planned that in December my friend Lisa from Germany would come over there so we could backpack together up the east coast and explore more of Australia. But being an au pair was such a great start to my whole stay abroad. I had a safe place to stay, could earn some money (which I used up pretty quick though, so I could go on trips etc, but I wouldn't have wanted it any other way), make new friends but most of all I was learning so much. Not only about their culture but also about life especially from the kids who taught me a lot. They filled my heart with so much happiness and still are!

If you would like to know more about my work as an au pair or about the preparation part or anything else please just ask and I would be more than happy to share my experiences with you :)

Also.. sorry for the crappy quality of the photos but most of them were taken with my phone and I still wanted to share them with you because they hold a lot of meaning for me.

If anyone of you is thinking about being an au pair or not I can only recommend to go for it. It has so many benefits and you will definitely grow as a person (and actually see how stressful it can also be to take care of kids). But I can definitely say that it has been one of the best experiences of my life which I am so thankful for!

Acai Bowl with Coconut Water

Today I started my day and also the new week off with an Acai Bowl. There are so many delicious looking pictures floating around on Tumblr or Instagram that made me really crave one this morning and maybe my bowl can't compete look wise with most other acai bowls but it was super tasty and that's what matters right? :)

For the base I blended together one normal and one frozen banana, just a few frozen berries, a teaspoon of acai powder and some coconut water (just add a bit in the beginning and if the mixture is too stiff you can always add a bit more).

Once you poured the mixture into the bowl you can add whatever you can find in your kitchen and whatever you feel like. I really liked the combination of kiwi, granola, nut and shredded coconut.

Fall in love with as many places as possible*

Traveling is one of my absolute biggest passions. I love the excitement to plan a trip, book a ticket and to have an adventure ahead of me. And every continent, country and place I've been to had its own magic and inspired me in its very own way. There are places that touch me more than others but I think that's normal that we feel more connected to certain places than to others.

When my sister was an Au Pair in Canada I went there to visit her over New Years and even though this is now probably 4 years ago I still feel so connected to Canada and will definitely go back there to explore more one day! This state necklace is from a beautiful etsy shop called IvyByDesign. Maybe a great christmas present idea for a friend or family member that is also in love with traveling? :)

Hope you all are having a beautiful autumnal Sunday :)

Self Made GRANOLA

I would like to share one of my probably favorite recipes so far. Yesterday I was actually just trying out to make granola myself for the very first time and I wasn't actually planning to write a blog post about it yet. I just wanted to see how I go but when I was finished I was so surprised how good it turned out. It's really easy and maybe you already noticed that I prefer easier recipes because as much as I love cooking and baking I feel like it doesn't always turn out that nice as it looked in the recipe.

Just know that you can use any ingredients you want and just switch it up to your tasting.

DRY INGREDIENTS

3 cups oats
chopped almonds and walnuts
pumpkin seeds
chia seed
goji berries
dried cherries and cranberries

→ Combine all dry ingredients and put it in the preheated oven (180°C) for around 10-15 minutes (stir occasionally).


WET INGREDIENTS

1/2 cup honey
2 tsp melted coconut oil
cinnamon
vanilla extract

→ While the oats are toasting, combine the wet ingredients and once the oats mixture is ready, drizzle the honey mixture on top of it, mix it and put it again in the turned off oven for another 5-8 minutes and let it cool off afterwards.


I hope you liked the recipe and let me know if you tried it out and if you're also such a cereal love like me!

Nina :)

Vegan Chocolate Chip Muffins

Time for another delicious recipe!

This time I baked, as you can already see in the photos, some vegan chocolate chip muffins while using this recipe!

All you need:

4 ripe         bananas

1/2 cup      dairy free milk (soy or almond for example)

2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

1 1/2 tsp    baking powder

1/2 cup      coconut sugar (https://kulau.de/bio-kokosbluetenzucker-pure-150-g)

1/4 cup      coconut oil

1 tsp          vanilla extract

1/2 cup      chocolate chips

Step 1 - Combine the bananas and the milk until smooth

Step 2 - Combine the flour and the baking powder, then add banana-milk-mixture

Step 3 - Add the other ingredients (chocolate chips last)

Step 4 - Bake for around 20-25 minutes (180°C) and let them cool off afterwards for a bit

It serves 12 muffins and I think it's also a perfect snack for school, uni or work!

Enjoy and let me know if you tried them out :)

THE OPPOSITE OF LONELINESS by Marina Keegan

I have seen people talking about "The Opposite Of Loneliness" on blogs and a general enthusiasm and interest in this book so I thought I would also grab this book when one day I was browsing through a book store looking for a new book for me to read. I won't give you any spoilers but just my personal opinion of this book. First, Marina Keegan was a Yale student from where she graduated in 2012, tragically five days after graduation she died in a car accident. This book is a collection of essays and short stories she wrote and all in all just very different topics, fiction as well as nonfiction, which makes it interesting to read and doesn't get boring. However some of my favorite chapters were "Cold Pastoral"and "Stability in Motion".

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Blogvorstellung von  Cleo

Blogvorstellung von Hanna

"You attract the right things when you have a sense of who you are!"

Yesterday evening I stumbled across this quote and I really wanted to share it with you guys.

What I feel like I have learnt within the past weeks (where I to be honest probably had more downs than I have had in a long time and just got challenged by life which can also be a good thing) is that we will probably never know 100% who we are. There are things like your name, background, appearance, ... - all things that define you in a way of who you are but obviously there's so much more to us especially our inside qualities. If you feel like you don't exactly know who you are then just remember that probably most of us don't, well at least I don't and I won't stress myself with finding that out because in the end I will continue learning about myself and growing as a person every single day and maybe the steps will be little but I will always keep on stepping to be the best version of myself I can be - without copying anyone but being inspired and in the end when we just try our best and just be happy with who we are the right things will gravitate towards us. Life is a journey - a really exciting one!

PORRIDGE - My Favorite Breakfast

My go to breakfast is, as the blog post title says, PORRIDGE! It's such a quick and healthy meal onto which you can add whatever fruits, nuts, eat you feel like. And it's super cheap as well so perfect for students ;)

As a base I usually add water and some milk to the oats which I heat up in the microwave just because it's easier and less dishes to clean up than heating it up in a pot. But I guess heating it up in a pot makes it more creamy so if I got enough time I would also grab a pot from time to time. After that I add some cinnamon and honey which makes it smell and taste delicious. Now it's time to get creative. I think you can never go wrong with bananas and chia seed or some berries.

Porridge fills you up perfectly and gives you great energy in order to start your day!

Any other porridge fans out there? :)

Blogvorstellung

Rise and Shine

It feels so good to realize that the things you might think you need to be completely happy are already there. Just look around you and see the people, moments, opportunities, nature's beauty, food, new places, feelings and emotions - it's all there and we are in charge of our own happiness and nobody or nothing else.
Sometimes when we for example buy something new it makes us really happy for the moment which is of course 100% fine and sometimes just what we need and what will cheer us up. But true happiness is already deep inside us and it's up to ourselves to let it shine out of us, to just smile and to appreciate what life has to offer. We don't have to wait for something that will complete our happiness because it's already there and we should embrace it.
I feel like sometimes the things we take for granted are the things that bring most happiness to us.