Day Trip to France!

Well hello lovelies! How was everyones weekend?? Ours was great, busy, but fun! And we got to relax some too, which is always a plus!!

This time of year there are Christmas festivals all over Germany, and of course we've stopped by several over the last year and a half. But, we were recently told about the Christmas Festival in Strasbourg, France. After hearing about how great it was, we loaded up on Saturday and headed to France. We weren't sure the weather would pan out for us, but it did! It was cold as all out, but the sun came out a couple of times, which was SO nice.

Here are some pictures of our day trip to Strasbourg:

We really enjoyed Strasbourg and the Christmas Festival! I look forward to going there again, maybe next time when it's a little warmer so we can explore more of the city. I hope you enjoyed the pictures.

Have a fantastic Monday!!

Dreaming of...........

Fall, My most favorite time of year.
I never thought I'd say this, (due to the extremely LONG fall and winter here in Germany,) but I am REALLY looking forward to fall!

I am dreaming of:

Orange, Red and Yellow Trees

Homemade Pumpkin Pie

Fall Decorations from Pottery Barn

Halloween and Vests!

Stews, Soups and Chili

Scarves

Thanksgiving

Camping and Hiking

And last but DEFINITELY not least

OKLAHOMA FOOTBALL!!!
I can't wait for the season to start!

Fall couldn't get here any sooner!

Hope ya'll have a great Thursday! The weekend is almost here!!

Weekend Update

I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter weekend! Ours was great! On Easter we met up with several friends and had a nice lunch.

During holidays it makes Jon and me realize how much we do miss our families. I was so sad to miss my nieces and nephew hunting Easter eggs and getting together with my family at my grandparents for a big meal. I missed putting together an Easter bunny nest (a tradition in Jon's family) and waking up Easter morning with lots of wonderful goodies.

But the fact that I have Jon on this Easter in Germany means more to me than anything. I am very lucky to have him in my life.

Well, all the gooshiness aside,
Saturday Jon and I decided it was time to buy some much needed things for our home.

When we first moved here we bought a new dining room table but had trouble finding chairs that we liked. So for 6 months now we have been without dining room chairs. We used fold out chairs and our computer chair to sit on.

This weekend we decided it was time to get out there and find the perfect chairs for our table. (nothing says redneck like an old rolling computer chair at the dinner table!)

We went to Ikea and found nothing suitable for a dining room table. But we did find a rug for our living room.

I think it matches our place spot on.

With no luck at Ikea, we headed for Mann Mobilia knowing we'd probably have a better chance of finding a more suitable set of chairs.

And we did.........
We completely lucked out, these chairs were on sale and I really think they go perfectly with our table. Plus they are super comfortable to sit on.

Nothing like a little furniture shopping to make your entire weekend.
I feel like our house is finally coming along. There are only a couple more pieces of furniture we need to make our home complete. Now if I could only just blink and my entire house be clean, that would really make my day complete!!

I hope you all have a great week!

Hiking in Johanissberg

Last Saturday Jon and I met with our friends Ben and Tara and went on a 10 mile hike in Johanissburg.

Here are a couple of pictures from our trip.

Hope you all enjoy your Easter weekend!

Spring in Germany

Today is the 4th day of spring in Germany and look at the lovely weather we are having!

Aw well, it's really not that bad. I actually enjoy snow, I think it's really pretty. But I do not enjoy the cold temperatures, nor do I enjoy driving when it's snowy. I am sure it won't stick for long, since we have had several days in the 40's/50's.

It's so strange how we had some sun and I captured a picture of a rainbow that I posted about yesterday, and now it is snowing. I feel like I am back in Oklahoma where the weather changes at the drop of a hat. Kind of feels like home ;)

I was tagged by Anniebannanie at This Momma's Musings! This was so funny and I enjoyed doing it! Thanks Anniebannabie! I had to go into Google and type "my name" and then the word "needs" into Google search engine. Then list the first ten responses that make sense.

So here's what "Steph needs...."

1. Steph needs some help.
(So true if someone wants to come help me do my dishes and laundry, well actually all my housework, that would be a BIG help.)

2. Steph needs someone to control her.
(Because you know how wild and crazy I get..... not)

3. Steph needs to go to the bathroom real bahhd.
(that's just gross, why would someone put that on Google.)

4. Steph needs a prince.
(Already found mine!!)

5. Steph needs another new start.
(No, thank you, I just had a brand new start about 7 months ago. I think one brand new start is all I can take for at least another three years.)

6. Steph needs a makeover to get Eric back.
(Who's Eric?)

7. Steph needs hug
(I sure do)

8. Steph needs a new pair of pajamas.
(Who doesn't need new pajamas? My pajamas usually consist of Jon's boxer shorts and a tank top.)

9. Steph needs to buy us all tivo's.
(If I could I would.)

10. Steph needs rhinoplasty surgery.
(Ugh, now that hurts. I didn't think my nose was that bad.)

I'm tagging....

Jenny Lee
Christy at Confessions of an Impulsive Addict
Allison at The Displaced Texan
JLC at French Kiss
Kebi at Hanging by a Thread
Erica at just a girlfriend is just fine with me
d.a.r. at Just Another Day in Paradise
Lindsey at Learning to be a Wife
Shannon at More Wine Please
Melissa at New Girl On Post
Mrs. Guru at Off the Beaten Path
Abbie at Satisfy My Soul
Chase at Taiwan Drift
And last but definitely not least Young Traveler!

Enjoy......I think it will be funny to see what everyone comes up with!

It's Wednesday, two days until Friday!
Have a great one!

Cookin' On a Hot Stone

So Jon and I have found the neatest thing ever, a hot stone! While we were at Mann Mobilia last weekend we purchased this hot stone because we really liked the idea of using it to cook with. Plus it came with two burners which we need for our fondue set. (We lost a burner in the move.) This weekend gave us the perfect chance to use this neat contraption. We ran to our local grocery store, bought what we thought was chicken (it actually turned out to be turkey) and gave the hot stone a try.

Our marinated turkey

Jon checking out the flames

The turkey cooking away.

Mind the puzzle pieces, we still haven't finished this darn thing but refuse to put it away until we've completely mastered said puzzle. We just set up shop on our coffee table and cooked right there, given the limited counter space in our kitchen.

The turkey turned out perfect. We have now found our favorite tool to cook with and plan on using it A LOT. We think steak would be an amazing thing to cook on the hot stone and can't wait to give it a try.

This weekend we also bought some greenery to have around our place and some flowers to plant because it is now officially SPRING!!! And I can't begin to explain how happy I am that it is going to be getting warmer here in Germany. I can't wait to see the sun shining. As I am writing this, the birds are chirping away, and even though it is a gloomy day, it such a wonderful sound! Spring is finally here Time for hiking, time for biking, and time for being outdoors, my favorite things in the world!

Here are some of the plants we bought.

My favorite plant! It looks like hair, which is the perfect plant for me.

Yellow Calla Lilies

Jon's little bitty Bonsai tree. Isn't it precious?

Some flowers that we will be planting

Lavandula. It smells so good.Flowers to plant around our potted fig tree.Not too bad to start out with. Once we get everything planted, we can decide what else needs to be added to make our balcony rockin for our daily morning coffee ;)

And in other very big and exciting news!!!!

We bought Twilight this weekend. I've been dying to see it! After reading all four books several months ago, I knew the Twilight DVD was definitely a buyer and I was so happy we purchased this. The movie was GREAT! I had heard so many things about the movie, that it wasn't as good as the book, etc. etc. but I thoroughly enjoyed it, and so did Jonny. I can't wait to watch it again!

Hope you all had a great weekend! Ours definitely flew by..............