heiligabend.

Lovis helped me make creme bruelee.

Würstchen und Kartoffelsalat. A traditional German Christmas Eve dinner.

And yes, midnight mass at the Sankt Elsiabethkirche. We were all soooo tired. This family is most definitely not good at staying up late. Well with the exception of Ethan. :-)

sissi kapelle on christmas eve.

Perfect, perfect, perfect afternoon.

christmas eve breakfast.

I found this recipe on dashandbella

BAKED BAGUETTE FRENCH TOAST

serves 4

You can soak this overnight but the texture will be more like a soufflé. If you do it 30 minutes before baking, it's a bit crunchier. But both techniques work well. You want the baguette to be stale but not as hard a a rock. You could save scraps in the freezer for a few weeks until you have enough for this dish. 

ingredients:

1 baguette, a bit stale

3 tablespoons butter

3 eggs

2 cups whole milk

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 tablespoons orange juice

1 teaspoon orange zest

pinch of kosher salt

3 tablespoons turbinado sugar

powdered sugar for the top

directions:

Preheat oven to 375°F.

Trim 1/2 inch off of each end of the baguette and feed scraps to the dog. Slice baguette in half. Cut into serving-size pieces (4-5" long). Place bread cut-side up in an ovenproof dish and butter the top of each piece. Don't overlap the bread.

In a medium-sized bowl, whisk the eggs. Add milk, vanilla extract, orange juice/zest, and salt. Whisk until foamy. Pour over bread. Flip the pieces around every 10 minutes or so to make sure both sides are soaking up the liquid . Leave in the liquid for about 30 minutes total. You want the bread to be wet but not soggy and falling apart. When you bake it, the bread should be resting in a small pool of the liquid but not drowning in it. You might need to pour off a few tablespoons of the liquid if the bread doesn't soak most of it up.

Make sure all pieces are cut-side up. Sprinkle turbinado sugar all over the top. Bake until the bread is puffed up and golden (30-40 minutes). You might need to throw it under the broiler for optimum crispy crunchy caramelized beauty. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and eat right away (but it does reheat nicely).

little things in november.

I spent much of November/December in bed with morning (all day) sickness. It was pretty awful. Ethan had to travel and right during his trip the nausea hit me hardest. Nothing like the other pregnancies but just unfortunate that it hit when he was out of town. My friends (Julia W., Hanni and Julia M.) came to the rescue when I was at my lowest and I will forever be grateful for their kind and selfless service. It reminded me of what I love most about my faith community, the opportunity to serve but also to be served and to feel Christ love through other people. Even though the month was hard and bleak at times we managed to squeeze in a few good activities.

Laternelaufen with primary at church.

  Ethan took me to see Cat Stevens at the Stadthalle and it was so good. I was feeling sick and low and his songs were just what I needed to remind me that this will pass. He surprised us with a voice that didn't match his age and he was so likable in his humble way.

Thanksgiving in Lovis class:

 Thanksgiving at home (made us so homesick for family and friends).

what I'm craving: Schwedenbomben. There is a factory store right by Lovis school and the hospital I have to go to too often. :-)

The annual cookie decorating party at Demels put on by our friends Cindy & Johannes.

 Very few people know how ill I have been since we have been holding out on telling people about this pregnancy until a little later, but someone must have felt inspired. One day the door bell rang and we found this Adventskranz and a box of Lebkuchen in front of the door but no one to claim the thank you that we felt!

 This day felt like such an achievement because I managed to clean the house to get ready for tehe Christmas season.