Friday, February 22, 2013

{ learning the language }

Dear Friends & Family,

Again, I apologize for not writing as often as I should...
I've been trying to post pictures through Instagram, but the last two posts have been of food. While John is at work, I spend a lot of time on Pinterest looking for new recipes. Since our fridge is so small, I have to organize our meals ahead of the time, and I usually go to the store every other day. My favorite thing to have in the fridge that has been versatile is tomato/mozzarella salad. It was originally for a caprese couscous recipe that I make a lot, but I've also used it for baked avocado topped with bread crumbs mixed with Parmesan cheese and lemon juice. It's also great tossed with spaghetti and truffle oil.

Tomato/Mozzarella salad:

1 cup of chopped fresh mozzarella
2 cups of chopped tomatoes (I use cherry tomatoes)
1 garlic clove minced
1 small shallot minced (emphasize on small)
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp olive oil
2 tsp balsamic vinegar

Combine all ingredients. Refrigerate for 20-30 minutes.

{ baked avocado }

{ spaghetti tossed in truffle oil with Hasselback potatoes & roasted broccoli }


Yesterday I went to Kaisers for ingredients to make honey garlic chicken with couscous, fresh tomatoes, and cucumbers. I used Maggi instead of soy sauce. If I had it, I would have used Bragg's Liquid Aminos. Less sodium, but it tastes just like Maggi.
As I was bagging my items, I was preparing myself to say bye in German. There are a few ways, but the two informal ways are "Tschüss!" or "Tschau!" (sounds like cheers and ciao). Earlier I successfully said "cheers!" to the clerk at DM (a CVS without the pharmacy). Well, when I took my receipt from the clerk at Kaisers, the words out of my mouth were not what I expected. I was so focused on saying cheers that I said "prost." Prost means cheers in German. My brain is working a little too hard; I don't know how people can speak more than two languages and not get mixed up. I am proud to say I can count in five languages...though not very high. English is so tricky...just kidding. 

xoxo,
The Prindles.


Sunday, February 10, 2013

{ new phone }

Dear Friends & Family, 

John and I now have German phone numbers...and I got a new phone. My iPhone is still under contract, so I got the Samsung galaxy S3... for 1 euro! I'm still adjusting to a new phone, but I can actually post pictures and write blog entries directly from my phone now. 

So this picture was taken earlier today with my new phone and with a new photo editor. I'm also posting this from my phone. These will be shorter entries most likely because it's not that easy trying to write on a small screen and keyboard. Although this phone allows me to just swipe across the keyboard to type. 

I can still use my iPhone with WiFi for messaging and FaceTime though.

xoxo,
The Prindles.

Friday, February 8, 2013

{ snow day }


Dear Friends & Family,

I found a way to post a blog on my phone through a photo app, so I can post a photo a day type of thing.

Today John went to work for a few hours, and this photo was taken when I was walking towards the U-Bahn to meet him. We hadn't had snow since Sunday, and there was something beautiful about the fresh layer of snow.

We went to the Museum für Fotografie and saw Helmut Newton's exhibit. Unfortunately we were not allowed to take photos.

I will post another entry soon with more photos and another update. This was more of a testing out blog entry...

xoxo,
The Prindles

*...okay the photo didn't actually post through my phone, so that was a fail. I had to upload it to my computer and reattach the photo.

Thursday, February 7, 2013

{ ¡hola! }

Dear Friends & Family,

Sorry it's been awhile. I will try to keep in touch more often. John and I were in Dresden over the weekend with Cat, and I've just been in routine with going to the store, cleaning our home, and making dinner. I do other stuff too, but those three have been my main focus. Going to the store gets me out of the house, and it's a nice 15 minute walk to Zehlendorf. I think we're getting used to the cold weather..as long as it doesn't get any colder. Dresden felt much colder than Berlin. I promise to write about that and post photos...soon.

There are a lot of things we are starting to really miss back in California. There are things we wished we enjoyed more before we moved. I wish it hasn't been so long since I've had a Nick's Breakfast Burrito.

We've mentioned before that we've had good Mexican food in Berlin. Well, we found another place that we tried last Tuesday. We met Cat at Santa Maria in Xberg on Oranienstraße, a popular street with restaurants, bars, cafes, and boutiques. The place was packed, and we realized it was "Taco Tuesday." Glad to know some things do not change overseas. We put our name down and went across the street to grab some beers. Half hour later we returned to the place still packed. As we waited for a table all I could hear were people conversing in English. It was the first place we'd been to where German was a second language. Even the server spoke English. Cat said her German was pretty bad when she tried talking to her. It has to be legit if the Americans come here. That, or they are desperate for anything that resembles Mexican food. Twenty minutes later I would discover that I was hooked. The food may not have the same presentation as Mexican food served in California, but the flavors were all there. What made us feel even more at home was sitting next to three gossipy American girls out on a Tuesday night enjoying Taco Tuesday and margaritas. We thought they were from California by their "valley girl" like behavior. As we left, I had to ask where they were from....Boston. Not even close to California but closer than Germany. 

Now if only we can find a German version of In-N-Out...

xoxo,
The Prindles. 
{ chalkboard menu }

{ german::english::spanish }

{ enjoying his corona }