.SOMETIMES RAW.

Hello and Happy Thursday!

I love to try new things and when I found out about Blue Tée I had to try it. I am not a big tea drinker but I do enjoy my cup of Winder Castle English Breakfast Tea every morning. Blue Tée is something special, something not only for the taste but also for the eye. With its mild flavor and this awesome bright blue color this tea works great in cocktails or just for a wow-effect. A friend visited me the other day and I made a pot of Blue Tée and she was amazed and loved it. Even Petit Joel tried a sip just because “it changes to reeeeed”. Picky Eater. This tea is also very high in Anthocyanin Antioxidants. Enjoy some insights and pictures of my recent tea ceremony. Stay a while and drink a cup. 

What is Blue Tée?

“Butterfly Pea (Clitoria ternatea) is a climbing vine native to Thailand. Its vivid blue flowers have been used int rational food and medicine for centuries. Traditionally served as a special iced tea to welcome guests in Thailand called Nam Dok Anchan. It is made how with 1/2 teaspoon honey, 1/2 teaspoon sugar and 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice, allowed to cool & served over ice. When the lemon juices is added it magically changes color from vivid blue to royal purple! If you add more lemon it will turn bright pink. This color change is from the powerful Anthocyanin Antioxidants which change color depending on acidity. In water, they are bright blue, in sour drinks they are bright pink. You can learn more online www.b-lure.com. In Thai herbal medicine Butterfly Pea is used for improving memory, circulation & eyesight. The floral extract is also used to color rice, deserts and crepes. This butterfly pea is sourced from a family owned farm in central Thailand where it is lovingly grown using traditional techniques without the use of pesticides or chemicals”.

When the lemon is added you will see the tea magically change from vivid blue to royal purple. If you add more lemon it will turn bright pink! Adjust honey/sugar to taste.

Are there different options to drink this tea? 

You bet! There are so many. I tried both recipes described on the tea box. You can even color rice with blue tée. And freeze the tea and use it as ice cubes. The traditional recipe: 

Nam Dok Anchan

Add tea bag to 1 cup boiled water

Add 1/2 teaspoon honey

1/2 teaspoon sugar

1/2 teaspoon lemon juice

 Blue Ice

Infuse 2 teabags in 250 ml hot water, allow to cool. Add to ice tray and freeze. Add lemon and watch the blue ice melt to pink. Great for lemonades, mojitos or any other cocktails.

You wonder that this vivid color cannot be achieved through sun dried butterfly pea flowers (Clitoria ternatea) alone? Read more about the tea and order here if you are inspired. They claim to be 100% organic and use 100% pure butterfly pea flowers! You can also order the Liquid flower extract. Just add a few drops to your drink. Flavor and Color your water of cocktails. Enjoy! 

Hello and Happy Monday!

First of all, look at those eyes! Okay, now we can start.  Before I had my son I looked at other moms who put their children in front of the TV or gave them an iPhone, iPad in a café or restaurant with a skeptical side-eye. “If I ever have a child, I will never ever let him/her play with those things. They need to be entertained otherwise; through the mother or father,” I thought while taking a big sip of my Campari Soda that sat in front of me while I waited for my lunch. 

When I became a new mother, I did not have any thoughts on media use, apps and whatnot anymore. Later, I occasionally loved to read what is going on in the world while I nursed my son to sleep. I rather listened to his breath  however. I just thought I have some time before all these gadgets become of any concern for my son. Well, I was wrong. In a world of virtually living on our iPhones I clearly underestimated the power it would have on Petit Joel. He was/is more than aware of what is going on. Babies mimic their parents and of course when seeing us with the gadgets in our hands or pockets all the time, my son wanted to discover what the commotion is all about. Initially, he pressed the on/off button for fun but unlocked the phone in no time. I think he was around eight months old when he fell in love with my iPad mini (that has been transferred into his iPad mini – spoiled son!) and I started to download some educational apps for him. We raise our son bilingual and by now he is fluent in English and German but most of the apps are in English so he can practice while to him I speak German most of the time and my husband is away on mission. 

My son is turning three! in October and I would like to share some apps we currently use and he enjoys. With these apps he learns the alphabet, counting to ten, drawing, shapes, colors and so much more. We are not solely using electrical gadgets obviously, but he can play with them at least once or twice a day. Usually after lunch or dinner. On the other hand, my opinion about this particular mother at the restaurant changed. I always take either my phone or iPad with me when we plan a restaurant visit. You know, it is nice to have the phone charged and ready for those moments when you really need it. Let’s just keep it real, there are just those times when I feel embarrassed when Petit Joel has his tiny tantrums and loses it in public. [Thankfully, this almost never happens!] Mostly and these days, I take my son wherever I have to go during the day. Cafés, lunch dates with friends with a toddler are not a problem but if they do turn into one, I am prepared and have something up my sleeve. With these apps, I keep his attention at bay and they teach him something while I have tea and scones with my friend. 

Dr. Seuss. 

Petit Joel loves this app and it is one of the best book apps I have found so far. There are great Dr. Seuss books for babies and toddlers. My son is a bookworm already and he loves to listen, click on things and discover what comes next. This is an app you can use together with your child and read to him/her/them. Read to him if he cannot read yet but he discovers where he needs to click to find out more. There is also a “Read it Myself” option available. I highly recommend this app. 

TINY HANDS. 

These educational apps all work for my son. He is easily solving 3+ level and has so much fun with it. Kids learn about shapes, stacking things, colors, counting and so much more. Most of the apps are free for the first and second level. Get the app here. 

ZOOPER. 

“Learning the alphabet should be a fun experience, and Zooper ABC Animals has plenty of fun bits to keep kids engaged in the activities offered by the app. Animations and sound effects are maximized to bring a joyful experience. Worth a look if you’ve been looking for an alphabet app that can deliver more than just a list of animals, fruits, and common vocabulary”. Get the app here.

Writing Wizard. 

It is still too early for my son to learn how to write but he loves to play around with his app. “This app trains kids to write more accurately in smaller and longer forms. It features a replay mode and detailed reports to aid parents in monitoring their child’s progress. Parents can create multiple user profiles and add custom words. The latest update has features for accented letters and support for French, German, Italian, Spanish, and Swedish”. Get the app here. 

Intro to Colors. 

“Inspired by Montessori color tablets, the app uses RYB color model to teach kids about primary and secondary colors and basic color mixing. Kids also learn about shades/gradients with the help of musical tones. The app supports several languages including French, German, Spanish, and Chinese”. Get the app here. 

Pepi Doctor. 

My son was terrified of doctors. He was afraid to get injections and stethoscope, ear, nose and eye examinations – forgetaboutit. With this app, he is getting more comfortable about doctor visits. Barely cries. Check-mate! “An adorable role-playing app where kids can play doctor and cure common ailments. Along the way, they learn about hygiene and first aid. The games are intuitive and text-free, suitable for toddlers”. Get the app here. 

Maybe this gives you some inspiration. What toddler apps can you recommend? I would love to hear from you. 

Hello and Happy Friday!

So we sat in the car to visit my sister in Cologne. It is a pretty long drive from here – five hours + with all a bunch of construction everywhere. You think you can drive as fast as you want on the German Autobahn? Well, there are certain areas and you can speed for sure and will feel that you are going pretty fast but Racer X is still faster. Check out Tom Hank’s take on the German Autobahn. Hilarious but true. My son is pretty good in the car, so while singing Wheels on the Bus we thought to change things up a bit. There were no odes to windows, wipers and whatnot because boring, and we spiced things up while celebrating a bus full of animals. Fishes and doggies, and sheep, and horses, you get the point. The damn fish on the bus go……(picture me making my best fish face while my eyes are crossed). We sang this song for quite a while. My son loves fishes so this song was requested the most which gave me just a slight headache after I repeated it for the 50th time. It is still a pretty small price to pay if you consider that he is such a great travel companion otherwise. I bet this song is rising in your ears now 🙂 If you would like, read what I have been up to otherwise. 

Reading: This week I focused more on writing and am still reading Nora Ephron’s The Most of Nora Ephron. I enjoy it a lot. I also started The No Nonsense Guide to Green Parenting by Kate Blincoe on my Kindle. It is light, inspirational and funny. Currently, on my to-read list is Margaret Atwood’s book Wilderness. 

Watching/Listening: I remember a great evening when le husband and I spent an amazing evening having dinner, went back home and watched Betty Blue. This movie is very special to me and I can re-watch it a million times. Muhammad Ali’s death last week made me sad. I am not into watching sports but I do enjoy to watch boxing once in a while. When le husband and I were in Cancun for the first time a couple of years ago Muhammad Ali stayed at the same place one week later to take part in a dolphin therapy that was offered at the hotel. I wish I would have met him. He was amazing. I saw I Am Ali the other day and was in awe. The Greatest who flew like a butterfly and stung like a bee. I listened to this recent amazing interview on NPR with Philip Roth. 

Discovering/Learning: The other day I bought myself a Fjäll Räven bag and I am so in love with it.

This magical bag turns into a backpack; le husband will love this. I love the straps on the bag because you can carry it like a briefcase, you can also sling it nicely over your shoulder or you just slip the straps through themselves and make a backpack. Awesomeness! Since I purchased it, I take it wherever I go. Great for shopping, my notebook and computer – everything nicely in place. I just cannot say enough good things about this bag. Get yours! If you are in Germany, click here. When it comes to purses and bags, I am not a typical woman I guess. I have four purses. Le husband bought me a Coach Purse that I adore. My Vuitton that I use mostly and that is really great when traveling with Petit Joel and two Longchamp bags but that is it. I also learned to really enjoy Windsor Castle English Breakfast Tea. When I visited The British Corner and had scones, clotted cream, strawberry jam and a cup of cream tea I was hooked. Ever since, I make my own cup of tea at home and it is so good. Here is how I enjoy my tea: I always use fresh water. I rinse the tea pot with hot water for preheating. Dosage: One teaspoon for each cup and one teaspoon for the tea pot. Pour boiling water over the tea laves and choose a stepping time of 2-5 minutes. For Green Tea have the water cooled down to 80 degrees Celsius and choose a steeping time of 1-3 minutes. Done! 

Looking forward to: Visiting my sister. Even though we had a rough couple of years, arguing and fighting, I love her a lot. The other day I sent her a picture of my dad, her and I all tangled up while I held a book in my arms. This book is a very special book. Zauberer Sausebraus and Stories and we loved it when we were kids. I read to my brother and sister a bedtime story every single night – and usually from this book. It was not easy to find it but my sister bought herself one copy and sent one to my parents house for me. I had tears in my eyes. Sister Love, even though sometimes we had a hard time showing how much we appreciate each other. I am also looking forward to see A Clockwork Orange next week in the Landestheater in Coburg. It is most certainly not easy stuff to watch and take in if you remember the book or the Stanley Kubrick’s movie, but I think overall it will be very interesting to see, considering this is a very violent play, how they will transform it all into a ballet. 

Thinking about: Traveling soon. We were supposed to be in Canada already but things are just delayed. Patience is a virtue and I enjoy every single day I can spend here with my family in Germany. It is all good. This week was stuffed with meeting my friends and hanging out for coffee and cakes and so much talking. I know that this time here will end at one point and something else is around the corner. Something new and exciting. I am open for something new and not sad to leave all this behind. I know I will be fine and my parents are just a plane ride away. 

Have a great weekend.