freitag favorites + hello february

Well, after a few months holiday from this space, I now know that after nearly one full week of couch time with a terrible cold I’ll finally make it back here. Since I was last here, we’ve spent a wonderful Christmas holiday home in the US with family, returned to our first snow days in this apartment and in the mountains (including the fog-filled Rigi day at right), and are now looking forward to our first full wintry weekend in the mountains with friends. Unfortunately, I’ll still be toting around plenty of Kleenex, but at least I’m on the mend.

I’ve also had some time to think about more of what I plan to share here this year. Hopefully there will finally be a few more *haus to home* posts about progress made around the apartment. I’m also looking forward to more guests, more time for exploring our beautiful country, and sharing more delicious recipes. I would also love to hear more about what you want to find here as well. Sometimes I think the best stories really end up being told on the phone and are neglected here.

In the meantime, let’s return to some freitag favorites . . .

• Switzerland really is a very beautiful country, but sometimes even our picture-perfect postcards were too good to be true.
• The beautiful world of natural animal patterns and textures (via Martin).
• If I had more time this year,  I would make one a Valentine’s Day tree.
• If the Superbowl had been better timed here, I would have made these delicious-sounding fake frites for our viewing party, but now I just have to come up with another reason to make them.
• Smitten Kitchen’s chocolate meringues look delicious and easy for a Valentine’s treat.

Schönes Wochenende!