Splendid week-end in Brussels

I've never been a fan of Brussels really but more and more of my friends are moving there so I am going there more and more often. And this city is starting to grow on me somehow, maybe because of the fact that every time I happen to discover something new as each of my friends makes me see this city through their eyes so I have very versatile impressions and get to see Brussels from diverse angles. One thing is for sure - there are so many things to see and love.

It was a beautiful week-end I spent in Brussels visiting my friends. A week-end of warmth, friendship and delicious food :) ...

... A week-end of long walks in the beautiful parks of Brussels... 

... and a week-end of many inspirational things and events.

One of my friends and her husband are renting an amazing apartment. Here is a little sneak-peek as I promise to come back with more when they will install properly and when I will be visiting them again in Brussels.

Kūkotava

Photo from www.baltictraveling.lv

 "Kūkotava" is one of my favourite spots in Riga. I am there almost every time I  go back home. The name is catchy and is actually kind of a word game - "kūka"  in Latvian means "cake", but "kūkot" means either "cuckoo bird's calling" or "loafing/idling" so all together - a place for idle cake eating :) And the cakes there - DELICIOUS, as well as pastries, cookies, candies, bread and salads. The atmosphere is very nice, you can observe bakers working just behind the counter, interior is rustic and cosy, and it is definitely a place to meet your friends who have a sweet tooth over a piece of cake and have a nice chat :)

Photo from www.baltictraveling.lv

For those of you who understand Latvian I can recommend the cooking show hosted by the owner of "Kūkotava" - Liene Tomsone on LNT (you can watch it online also on YouTube) called "Lapsa virtuvē" - "Fox in the Kitchen". She reveals many great recipes.

So have a nice and tasty w-end!

Boring Life of Hair

I know I am a bit out of season with this post as it looks that soon the season of hats will kick in and life of hair is never easy under a cap but I am just having another boring day in the life of my hair so I thought I might share with you in case you are facing the same problem :) Already back in summer I had a conversation with my hairdresser complaining that my hair live such a boring life, that I'd like to experiment more and learn how to style them easily (as I am now in growing-long-hair period again). So she suggested to look up a lady called Lilith Moon on YouTube. And this lady really seems to know A LOT!

CinEast

Dear cinema fans in Luxembourg, it is the last week of CinEast festival. Check out the programme and don't miss out as it is not common to get so many opportunities to have an insight of the contemporary cinematography of this part of Europe.

SockBox

Photo from www.anii.lv

Recently I read an article about another vibrant, active and bright Latvian woman Inese Krūmiņa, who used to work as an economist but after facing existential crises of a 30 year old she decided to open a sock and stocking boutique. It was considered to be a madness by people around her as it happened exactly at the time when financial crises kicked in but she made it and blames exactly the right timing for the success as she started to design the stockings and socks herself to vary the assortment of the shop. 

Being a full time mum she is also a successful designer, business woman and founder of an interesting enterprise called SockBox, she has started designing clothes and frequently cooperates with different fashion designers of Latvia and helps out as a stylist to some famous people in Latvia. She herself claims to be changing her outfit several times a day or change the dislocation of the clothing pieces, let's say a skirt can become a dress, or a shirt becomes a skirt in a course of the day :)

Wishing her all the success and a lot of inspiration in the future!

And talking about stockings autumn is exactly the right season to wear a beautiful  pair of stockings or socks to show off. And as I was checking out the collections of SockBox no wonder this became my favourite pair (is there some kind of psychological characteristics for people who choose the same pattern over and over again? :S the only consolation here is that it would mean me and Coco Chanel might fall into the same group of individuals :))

Model called "Tiramisu" from Chocolate Dreams collection

Autumn

The Indian summer days are over, so not only on paper has it come, but its everywhere - the air is crisp, the first frosts set in, leaves are starting to fall and cover the streets, people are wearing knittings and suede, the world is adjusting to autumn's saturated and earthy colour pallet. It is time of a very particular sensation, some kind of bitter-sweet melancholia, like what evening is for the day - time for reminiscence. The season of harvest and transition.

Apart from the flu (I am being a victim now) I love everything about autumn. It is time for long walks, cups of hot chocolate, pies and stews, pumpkins and apples,  golden-daisies and rowan-tree berries, ponchos and berets, cosy evenings at home crawling under the tartan blanket, reading a great, thick book or watching a nice movie. Yes, movies by the way - which is your autumn movie? Mine is "You've got Mail" for some reason (though it actually covers all the seasons but for me it is an autumn movie).

And speaking of stews, here is the recipe of a very tasty vegetable stew I made yesterday:

• carrots (approx.8)
• cabbage-head (medium size)
• potatoes (1 kg)
• canned green peas
• sweet cream (200 ml)
• flour (1 table spoon)

 (of course the proportions depend on the mouths you want to feed and you can always improvise with the ingredients)

So you chop carrots, put them in a pot and add some water (not too much, remember it is not a soup we are making), after a little while add the chopped cabbage-head and mix every once in a while so that it doesn't get burnt, add some more water if needed. When carrots and cabbage is almost done, add chopped potatoes and after a while peas. Don't forget to mix it and check the water level, add some salt, pepper if you want and some sugar to make the taste milder. When all the veggies are ready, pour the liquid from the pot into a bowl and add the flour and mix it well, then pour this liquid back in the stew and add the sweet cream. Mix it all in, keep on the range for a little more and your stew is ready. Healthy, tasty and rather light food.

So,  bon appetit, be inspired and enjoy this beautiful season!

500 Days of Summer

And the soundtrack is just YES as well:

Moments

Reminiscing over the conversation I had today with my friend on the essence of life I came to a conclusion once again that perfection of life often appears to us in those little moments, even if it's just about the way the sunlight plays on the wall of our bedroom...

Sweet dreams and have a great week!

Valērija's Apple Pie

Returning from another Saturday at the Apple Festival I wanted to share  the  recipe of this tasty apple pie, which I learned from Valērija, hoping she would not mind :) So here we go:

• 2 eggs
• 250 g of sugar
• 250 ml of kefir or Greek yogurt
• 400 ml of flour
• vanilla sugar
• baking powder (one little package of Dr. Oetker's)

You need to stir it all, pour it into a greased baking pan and lay slices of 5 apples on the top of it. Then top it with stirred:

• 3 table spoons of sour cream
• 2 eggs
• 1 tea spoon of sugar
• 2 pinches of cinnamon

After pouring this over the apples' slices you can still spread some cinnamon on the top of it. Put it all in a pre-heated stove at 200 degrees and let it there for 25-30 min. And there you go - enjoy the delicious apple pie! And, Valērija, thank you on behalf of everybody! :)

P.S. Concerning the information given in the previous post about the fact that apple cider equals apple wine I have to withdraw it as tested on me, myself and I - NO, IT IS NOT THE SAME THING. But still tasty :)