October 2016 #gratitudejournal

Today is the 1st of November and I'm excited for a new month (and for christmas to get closer hehe). But I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to capture and talk about some special moments of last month and I think it would be kind of nice to continue doing this every month ahead of me because I'm sure it would be great to look back at it in a few years or even just in one year time.

So October was actually a new start in so many ways and especially because I started my university course which was really exciting. I met new people, attended my first lectures where I wasn't 100% sure what to expect and I did also spend more lunch hours in the crowded cafeteria again which I kind of missed haha I'm grateful for the decision I made to change uni courses and that I finally feel I enjoy what I'm doing. And apart from uni I also had lovely autumnal days walking through parks, going to the movies, dressing up for halloween, meeting new people through work, stumbling across new songs I fell in love with, going to the market, donating blood for the first time, seeing my babysitting girl turn 2 and having my morning coffee before bundling up to go outside.

What has been a special moment for you in October?

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 :)