Summer Manifesto: #7 Drink Peppermint Tea

On our new health kick, I'm feeling good and trying to limit my coffee intake. It finally gave me the chance to get the peppermint tea back out. I used to drink it a lot but stopped when Isabella was born as it can stop milk production.

It's lovely and refreshing and keeps my water intake up and caffeine levels down!

German Weddings

In the first week of the holidays, some of our friends got married in Nico's home town. For me, it was my first German wedding with the exception of our own where we tried to mix things as much as possible.

When we got there, they were taking photos in the church. There's none of the 'groom can't see the bride before the wedding' here. On one hand, I think it takes some of the excitement away but it also seemed to be less stressful.

After the photos the couple went away. All of the guests lined the path to the church, women on one side, men on the other. The men were all given a buttonhole and guests with cars were given a decoration for their car. This was nice as everyone got to see the couple.

The service itself was similar to any church service.

Afterwards, guests travelled to the reception in convoy. It's normal to beep the horns all the way.

There is a traditional soup at the reception. Then this wedding had a buffet. It's normal to have lots of entertainment at the reception. Family preared various things at our wedding and that was the same here. Apart from the speeches, one group of friends did a special song and dance. The siblings of the bride and groom arranged for guests to make video messages which were shown at the wedding. They also distributed decorated pegs for guests to find random groups of five for a random photo booth shot.

We arrived home at six in the morning. Weddings here are usually later - the service was at three - and the celebrations go on all night until the candle dance. This is another sweet tradition where the happy couple closes the day with a slow dance.

It was really nice to see a traditional German wedding and to celebrate with our friends.

Recipe: Filled Courgettes

 Last week we harvested our first courgettes from the garden. I can't put into words how much better fresh veggies from the garden taste. The only downside is that they don't grow fast enough!

We combined the fresh veg with our new Paleo kick to try this recipe and it was really tasty. It's going into our file for future reference...when the next courgettes come through.

August Goals

Here are my goals for this month:

• Get things on our walls.
• Take a family photo.
• Tidy up the garden.
• Plan the European Day of Languages in school.
• Get Isabella ready for nursery.

I also want to finish the dress and run three times a week.

Make It Monday - Decorative Letter

I recently found a pinterest tutorial for a decorative letter and decided to try one myself for Isabella's room.

My letter is not quite as flat as the example so it was a bit trickier but I like that it was different and the white looks good where it shows through.

I went with the yellow and orange theme from her room and added a little green with the buttons to tie into some other DIY projects I have planned there.

I also have a 'B' but I'm not sure what I want to do with it yet. I'm just going to enjoy this one for now.

Weekly Wisdom

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The Saturday Update

We had a fab week with Nico's family.

The country air and family time did Isabella so much good that she slept...like a baby.

Last weekend we went out for the first time without Isabella. She had a great time with grandma, grandad and her uncle while we watched our friends say I do. It was my first German wedding so it was interesting on that level too.

Isabella also got her first shoes, wellies and cycle helmet this week. I can't believe how quickly she has taken to walking in shoes and boots after the tantrum she threw in the shoe shop. And I feel like I have a real German baby now that she has a first size cycle helmet! I was 25 when I got one!

Apart from that we had a very relaxing week.

Now that we are home it feels like we have the whole summer ahead of us - family visits, bike rides, day trips, craft projects...