freitag favorites + spring

Hey, it’s me, I’m still here! We’ve got a quiet, Mother’s Day weekend planned filled with lots of family time, hopefully sunny weather, and some more time outside. So, despite my little early spring hiatus, I’m easing back into this space by sharing some of my favorites that have been piling up over the last few months away from blogging. Enjoy!

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freitag favorites + frigid zurich

I meant to post this a few weeks ago, when we were all ending the week a little under the weather, but oops. I mean, how is it even March already? This week is ending about the same as a few weeks ago, with both of us fighting off some late winter congestion. So this weekend we’re laying low, enjoying cuddling up inside and all the snow outside, and thankful that the so-called Beast from the East is on it’s way out. (I can feel my cheeks again!)

We’ve had some good days in the mountains over the last few weekends, even if fairly short and foggy. We’ve been down to Bellwald twice, looked at a couple mountain properties, and are excitedly in the midst of negotiating our own place to be finished this fall if all works out as planned. Even the old barn stall could be ours soon!

In the meantime, I’m pinning and planning like crazy (yay!) and happy for a quiet weekend with more time for sleeping in, reading, and not much else.

Have a great weekend, and enjoy some faves from the last few weeks . . .  Read more

freitag favorites + still california dreaming

It’s been awhile since I shared any freitag favorites, but lately I’ve had a few good ones piled up to share. I had planned to share these before our LA trip but I ended up caught up in other things. So instead of saying “Woohoo!” about 10 days of Southern California sunshine, which I enjoyed even more than expected, I’ll now just say “Brrr” upon coming back to more winter at home. We even had a little dusting of snow this week so it is definitely not shorts weather anymore. However, it is definitely not as frigid as South Korea is right now.

So, I’m off to watch the opening ceremony and try to get more in the Olympics spirit this restful weekend at home. Have a nice weekend, and enjoy my recent favorites . . . Read more

freitag favorites + a little quiet time

Ah, finally the weekend. It’s rainy and cozy at home and thanks to holiday cheer already lighting up all around Zurich, I’m breaking out the Christmas music early this year. Only a few more weeks of a big work project and then I’ll really be in the holiday spirit.

This weekend we’re just laying low at home. Hopefully we’ll also be enjoying some good ol’ pumpkin pie since I finally roasted the beautiful blue/green pumpkin I picked up a Jucker Farm this fall.

So, in the spirit of the holidays, I leave you with a mixed bag of favorite fall sweets, eats, and other cozy and helpful things. Here’s to a wonderful, fall weekend . . .

  • lego man // Wow, a little late now for this year, but this fully functional cardboard Lego costume is very cool.
  • easy dinner // Some form of curry and tofu is usually on our dinner menu at least once per week. This crispy coconut tofu looks delicious.
  • watercolor scarf // I’ve got too many other projects at the moment, but I’m still thinking about getting out my loom for weaving this scarf.
  • hot drinks // Love the colors and shape of these ceramic mugs (now on super sale).
  • pumpkin pie // Now this transparent pumpkin pie is crazy.
  • peanut butter cups // My favorite Halloween candy is definitely a Reese’s peanut butter cup, but in an effort to cut back on sweets, I’m instead thinking about trying this vegan peanut butter chocolate tart or these super butter cups.
  • wall storage // I’m always hesitant about one more item of furniture that needs to be attached to the wall (or even hung); Swiss solid brick/concrete walls aren’t super fun to deal with. This cool wall bar system is really appealing though for easy book storage, climbing, and even in tight entryways.

freitag favorites + vacation is here

It’s been quite a week and I’m happy to say that Friday is here. It started out well with a beautiful hike with a friend on Sunday on the Brienzer Rothorn, a beautiful train ride up and hike down. I’ll share more about that hike soon. It was the positive highlight of a week that, so far, has gone downhill from there.

First, it was a few tough days of deadlines and quickly finishing tasks for handover at work. Martin was gone Monday-Tuesday for some coaches training and, on top of all of this, Reese’s small cold turned into a nasty fever starting Monday night. I wasn’t sure how we were going to make it through to Thursday, let alone the flying home. Read more

freitag favorites + resting up

Thank goodness for a free Friday (after working Tuesday) with nothing to do and some extra time to catch up on rest already before the weekend. Martin and I have both been feeling tired this week, probably mostly due to staying up late watching track and field over the last week, but then he woke up not feeling well and with a nasty headache, so it was a good day to just be home and resting inside with dark, rainy weather outside.

Tomorrow we plan to head to Basel to check out the Wolfgang Tillmans exhibit at Fondation Beyeler and then meet some friends for a coffee. Perhaps we’ll also be able to squeeze in another hike on Sunday.I’m still reveling in the awe and beauty of last week hiking above the Oeschinensee (another view from the trail is above).

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend. I’ll leave you with this week’s favorites, and I hope to see you back here next week . . . Read more

freitag favorites + hiking above the heat

The weekend is finally here and after another hot, muggy week I’m especially happy to be heading back up to the mountains tomorrow for our first mountain/lake hiking adventure tomorrow, where hopefully it will be at least a bit cooler than here at home. (Above is a photo from last weekend on Hoch Ybrig. It was still hot and humid at 6k feet.) We’re planning to visit a new part of Switzerland and one of the spots from my summer hiking goals. With work, the heat, and visitors, summer is just flying by and I want to capture every extra minute for fun.

In other news, next week Reese starts the three-week transition into Kinderkrippe part-time which is kind of like a combo of daycare and pre-school. She is very excited and I know she will love playing with all the other kids and new toys. Today when I asked her what she is doing next Monday she said, “School. Kinder.” Followed by this: Reese: Kinder has a slide? Me: Yes. Reese: And a sandbox? That sounds good (between bites of her corn on the cob). It is so fun to have started to reach the helpful and conversational toddler phase.  I’m sure she’ll also be thrilled to have the opportunity to wear her backpack somewhere outside the house.

This week she also taken up calling us by our first names when she really wants our attention. She started first with Martin (most likely because I use his name more often) and then Martin reminded her of my name and now it is particularly hilarious to hear: “Mama? Mommy? Kate? KATE!” from her crib in the morning.

It’s time to watch some summer track & field (and Mo Farah) at the World Championships, so I’ll leave you with my other favorites from this week: Read more

freitag favorites + summer bucket list

Summer is officially here, and it’s seriously scorching. As always this time of year, I have a new appreciation for air conditioning. Work is almost more enjoyable as it’s cooler in my office than at home, in the front of a fan, with a damp cooling towel (like right now). Despite careful, strategic shade and window shutting/opening, the steady temperatures mean that after a week of heat, it’s been around 81 degrees in our apartment most of the day and it’s not cooling off too much at night. Ugh.

So, while I’m off to cool off under the hose, I’ll leave you with my summer bucket list, and a few other favorites from this week. Read more

freitag favorites + ☀️☀️☀️

Happy Friday, friends! The arrival of the weekend is especially nice this week after several really busy days at work. At least I finally had enough time to catch up on projects and really clean out my inbox. Now I’m thrilled to be looking forward to some warm, sunny days (hopefully followed by cool evenings) with lots of time with my sweet girl at the park, by the lake, or exploring town.

Until then, enjoy this week’s favorites . . . and Schönes Wochenende!

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freitag favorites + cinco de mayo

Another week has flown by, and I’m happy to look forward to a quiet work-free weekend out with my two favorite people. Hopefully the sun will come out at some point, especially as we missed our opportunity for grilling and good mexican food for Cinco de Mayo tonight and are hoping nice enough weather for Seis de Mayo fish tacos instead. We’re also looking forward to the arrival of Martin’s sister and brother-in-law on Sunday afternoon for several weeks of fun. On that note, I’m off to bed, and I’ll leave you with this week’s favorites . . .

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