Britta's Geburtstagsbox

Tomorrow is February 1^st, which means, Britta is counting down the days until it is her birthday.  I do not even think Elle was aware of birthday parties (or at least the “big deal” of birthday parties) when she was turning three.  But like so many other things, Britta is growing up quicker due to having a big sister.  She has been looking forward to her birthday for months (after Matt’s birthday, she knew that her birthday was next).  For some reason, birthday parties are a BIG DEAL with Elle’s age group (i.e. the theme, who is invited and who is not, the location, cake flavor, etc.), thus Britta has overheard these conversations and CANNOT WAIT for HER party!  We have the cake ordered, the indoor amusement park reserved (or I should say a table at the indoor amusement park reserved:), decorations and goodie bags bought, AND her Geburtstagsbox filled…what is left, Britta asking almost daily, “is my party ever going to be here???” 

What exactly is a Geburtstagsbox?  Thanks to Britta and Elle’s friends Leena and Taryn, we learned all about a Geburtstagsbox.  The German children often create these boxes prior to their birthday parties.  Prior to their party, they go to the toy store and “load up” on a variety of different gifts that they would enjoy receiving from their friends and family.  Then, prior to the party, friends and family visit the toy store and pick out the gift(s) from the child’s Geburtstagsbox that they would like to give to the child at their party!  It works out for everyone!  Children receive gifts that they personally chose and people give gifts that they know the child is going to love!!  Britta definitely enjoyed filling up her box!

As Britta’s Mommy, all of this birthday prep has been bittersweet.  I could not be more proud of the little girl Britta is becoming; she is kind-hearted, funny, spunky, curious, intelligent and beautiful.  I just cannot believe my little “baby” is going to be three.  For some reason, I accept Elle growing up better than I do Britta.  I know that soon Britta will be saying good-bye to her pacifiers and good-bye to her nighttime diapers and though these are all positives (and yes, I know they are a part of healthy development), for some reason, my heart is very saddened.  I guess I must just embrace & enjoy these next chapters of my life- my babies are growing up.

Britta fell asleep on the way to pick up Elle today...she is so big and yet, so very little.  I love her so much.  

My Weekend Getaway for Polish Pottery

 The first pottery store we hit, as soon as we got into Boleslawiec.

 My first, of many, purchases!!  I just "had" to make one purchase at our first stop!

 There were at least 25+ stores similar to this one.  Since this was Julie and Lynette's third visit, they knew the stores to hit and the ones to miss.  We shopped for 6 hours on Saturday and 2 hours on Sunday.  The majority of stores were like this one--pottery EVERYWHERE.  At first, it was completely overwhelming, especially since I did not come with any sort of list of what I "needed" or was really shopping for.  I was mainly looking for various platters to serve tapas, a large vase, a water pitcher and a few coffee mugs.

 Standing outside of our LOVELY hotel; a hotel that is located in a restored 18th century barn.

The Legend of the Blue Beetroot:
In Poland around 1791 the fields of Lower Silesia were all planted with beetroots.  One of the most popular uses for the beetroot was moonshine!!  The strong alcohol was secretly brewed in the cellars of the barn.  Only a few locals knew that the cart of beetroots coming from the barn hid a secret stash of moonshine below.  The story goes that one winter as the farmer left the yard the horse bolted and slipped badly on the icy road.  The whole lot, farmer, cart, horses, moonshine and the beetroots fell into the pond.  Despite dredging, everything mysteriously disappeared without a trace.  The story passed down by locals for generations says even now a single blue beetroot will occasionally float to the surface of the pond, it is a strange blue color and of course it is completely impregnated with alcohol!!!

 The inside of the hotel was quaint and beautiful with its chunky wood beams, traditional vaulted ceilings and hand made furniture.

 The restaurant was located in the old stable.  As soon as we checked in, we settled in by the wood-burning store with a glass of Pinot Noir.

 We scheduled facials and pedicures for 5PM.  Staff from a local spa came to our hotel to pamper us!!  

The price of beauty:))))

 We still had room for more, but thought it was time to head back to Germany.

Yesterday was my sisters 25th birthday!!  Though we celebrated in Paris, I could not pass up buying her a cross and magnet--two things she collects.  I love you Sis!!

 My purchases...a little of this and that.  I intended to leave everything boxed up and be surprised when I unpack in the USA, but I could not resist evaluating and admiring all of my unique and beautiful purchases.

A treat for Elle and Britta.

This is one of my favorite platters.

My vase.

 And yet another surprise/treat for my little sweeties...a miniature tea set!!

 It was such a FUN and relaxing weekend. And, Matt and the girls had a fun and special weekend together.  They visited an indoor amusement park, had "movie night," attended church and made one trip to Mc.Donalds.  Though I enjoyed some shopping and pampering, I was so happy to see my three sweethearts last night and be back in Germany.  

All in all, Boleslawiec had beautiful pottery, but the town itself was very industrial and "thugish."  I definitely observed some shady behavior amongst some of the locals, but we always stuck together and there were never any problems.  If I/we ever make it back to Poland, I will definitely want to see more of the countryside and not this industrial town again.  Though, I know many girlfriends who would love a weekend getaway to Boleslawiec for pottery; so, if my arm was twisted just right, I would probably go back for more:)!! 

Countdown to my "Girls Weekend!"

What a week it has been.  We have been battling colds, stomach bugs and an overbooked schedule.  I am officially behind on laundry, emails, scrapbooking, blogging and a million other things.  I am glad that tomorrow (at 4:00AM!!), I get to leave it all behind and head to Boleslawiec, Poland to go pottery shopping!!  A girls weekend filled with shopping, scheduled facials and pedicures, wine and uninterrupted meals- perfect.  I will post pictures Sunday night!!  Happy Weekend friends and family!

Quick Weekend Getaway

This weekend, we ventured off to Solingen, Germany; around these parts, Solingen is known as the “City of Blades.”  Since moving to Europe, Matt and I have had a few "must purchases"before moving back to the USA; we both wanted to purchase some quality German knives.  Solingen is filled with knife manufacturers.  After reading various consumer reports, we decided on purchasing Zwilling J.A. Henckels.  Henckels is one of the largest and oldest manufacturers of kitchen knives, scissors, cookware and flatware; they were founded in 1731 (so yeah, they have been around for awhile:).  Matt and I enjoyed looking at all of the selections, while Elle & Britta colored in the small children’s play area.

After purchasing some knives and utensils, we traveled back down to Cologne (Köln), Germany.   Cologne is a city that is famous for it beautiful Dom Cathedral (Kölner Dom).  The Dom took 200+ years to build and thankfully it was not destroyed during World War II even though Cologne endured 262 air raids during that time period.  The civilians of Cologne covered the Dom with a white tarp, making it difficult to see from the air.  It is truly amazing that this beautiful structure was seemingly undamaged.  The Dom was the tallest structure in the world from 1880-1884.   And trust me, the Dom did not disappoint; it was overwhelmingly powerful in appearance. 

Unfortunately, the weather here in Germany remains very snowy and icy.  We intended to tour the Lindt Chocolate Factory Sunday morning, but due to the weather we woke up and immediately got on the road.  We said a lot of prayers while driving, and thankfully, we arrived safely at home 3.5 hours later (usually takes 1 hour and 45 minutes).  Maybe someday we can venture back to Cologne.  But, we did get our knives and saw the Dom.  It was a fun, family get away…even if the snow did get in the way of our sightseeing.  

When we arrived to Cologne, we found a restaurant that said, "Chicago-style dining."  We could even see Michael Jordon decor from the sidewalk.  We were hoping for "Old Chicago" food and instead, got mediocre food.  Oh well...what we were expecting, we are in Germany:)!

Elle waving to me:)!!  The Dom was literally across the street from our hotel, which worked out great since it was VERY cold outside. 

Elle taking a picture of the ceiling:)

Time to go home...you could barely see out of our window is was snowing so hard.