Friday, September 30, 2011

Just a quick post, I have so much to do today! This is a just a few things from my busy week...I was so lucky that I got to do some of my most favorite things! :) Coffee, sushi, a little bit of shopping...ah! So happy. And I got a surprise package in the mail from one of my most missed friends...can't wait to post pictures of it! Now time for the big Husker game tomorrow against Wisconsin, I wish I was going to be up there. Black out! It's going to be a fun weekend.

Also, I am remodeling my room and could use ideas on places to buy furniture, or a place to find a good comforter...suggestions please!







Wednesday, September 28, 2011

oktoberfest.

This last weekend was Oktoberfest at the Crescent Moon/ Huber Haus in Omaha. It's always a pretty big event, and I only got to go for a really short while last year. Meaning...I was super excited to go this year! There were so many people I had to wait in line about a half hour, but it was definitely worth it! I bought a Spaten stein (liter) to drink my beer from. There was so many different types of beer to choose from, but I ended up drinking a Spaten Dunkel- so yummy! They also had shots, wine, and Jaeger, but since I had the liter of beer, that was really enough for me. :) I met up with a few of my friends, and of course my German-speaking friends Beau and Igor. Also got to see my friends Julie and Nick, who I haven't seen in forever! Such a nice surprise. It was a really fabulous time, lots of fun music, some delicious food (pretzels and cheese noodles...yum), and great beer. The night ended with a run to Burger King for some fries and ice cream, pretty classic. :) But the whole night made me wish I was in Munich for the real Oktoberfest...well, maybe next year!





Tuesday, September 27, 2011

so pinterested.

So I have been seeing tons of people posting and talking about Pinterest all over, and I finally decided I had to see what the big deal was about. Well...it's a-mazing!! It's like being able to organize your brain right in front of you on multiple bulletin boards. The best part is that you can share things that you like or are inspired by, and you can see what inspires others..and then, if it inspires you, you just "re-pin" it to your board. The DIY projects that I have found so far...to die for! Especially this cute doily lamp that looks so easy to do. I think that it's definitely a "girly" website, if you will, with all the fashion, DIY projects, and quotes...:) I am getting so many ideas for my room, which I am going to change here soon. So I'll give you a little peek of what I've got on some of my boards! Of course, feel free to look me up if you want to see more :)







Pictures from this weekend's Oktoberfest at the Crescent Moon tomorrow! :)

Monday, September 26, 2011

the hills are alive with the sound of music...



After my really fun weekend in Vienna, my friend Markus drove me out to Salzburg, the home of the movie "The Sound of Music." I was pretty apprehensive about staying here because I decided to stay for three nights even though I wasn't exactly sure what I could see out there, but I had heard it was an amazing city. Another big problem...I had never seen "The Sound of Music." Ever. But when I got to my hostel (which was actually really amazing, more like a hotel than a hostel), there was a showing of the movie that night so I finally got to see it. Kind of a surreal moment, to be in the place this movie was shot...






The next day I got a lot of little things done...went and explored the Altstadt for a while by myself, and finally did a huge ton of laundry that I had needed to do. I mean, at this point I had gone about two weeks without doing any laundry and everything smelled like suitcase...terrible. But in the process, I met some really cool people from the States that I hung out with, and also two English girls, Alice and Eleanor. We went and explored the city the next day, seeing the all the sights from the movie, also getting some amazing view from the castle. Of course we found a nice place to drink beer on the way up to see the castle. :) We also decided to go to this convent/church that had a beer garden with it...it was ironic, and funny, and really fun all at the same time. We walked through this really beautiful park...one of the best things I loved about Austria, there was a lot of nature to be seen compared to some of the other cities (Rome, London, etc.). There was also so much stuff related to Mozart because Salzburg was his birthplace!






On our way down from the castle the second time, we saw this really hilarious enlarged chess set (which of course reminded us of Harry Potter) and what looked like a man standing on top of a moving ball...but it turned out to statue. Embarassment ensued...haha :) Then we went to this really cute Afro-cafe that I loved, it had the most delicious mixed drinks and food! We walked the streets for a while, which really made me see Salzburg in a more...local way, I think. Even though it is a little smaller than a city I would ever actually live in, it was still definitely one of the most fabulous cities in Europe- in a way, it reminded me a little bit of the Midwest. Just a feeling. Anyway, then I came back to the hostel and hung out for a while with my new American friends.!




The next day, I headed back to Munich to do some more exploring!. :)

Thursday, September 22, 2011

homemade oreos.

So I had one of my get-the-urge-to-bake-around-midnight moments again, and I ended up making some really delicious homemade Oreos with vanilla creme. :) They seem to be pretty popular so far. I'm going to post the original recipe that I worked off of, and then just some small changes I made along the way...you can decide how you'd like to make them!



Homemade Oreos

For the chocolate cookie:
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened Dutch process cocoa
*I used Hershey's natural unsweetened cocoa, and they tasted yummy anyway.
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups sugar
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) room-temperature, unsalted butter
*I ended up adding 1 more tablespoon of butter, mine just wouldn't come together without it.
1 large egg

For the vanilla creme:
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) room-temperature, unsalted butter
1/4 cup vegetable shortening
2 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
*I put in another 1/2 teaspoon...vanilla flavoring is my favorite and I think it helped balance out the strong chocolate flavor in the cookies.

1. Set two racks in the middle of the oven. Preheat to 375°F.
2. In a bowl of an electric mixer, thoroughly mix the flour, cocoa, baking soda and powder, salt, and sugar. While on low speed, add the butter, and then the egg. Continue processing or mixing until dough comes together in a mass. *This can take a while for it to actually start to stick together, so don't be discouraged if it's 10 minutes before it all starts coming together.*

3. Take rounded teaspoons of batter and place on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet approximately two inches apart. With moistened hands, slightly flatten the dough. Bake for 9 minutes, rotating once for even baking. Set baking sheets on a rack to cool. *I put some non-stick cooking spray on the baking sheets and it worked out just fine. I flattened the ball between my wet hands before putting it on the baking sheet, it just seemed a lot easier than flattening it on the sheet. If you like your cookies a little bit crunchier like me, bake them for 11 minutes instead.*
4. To make the creme, place butter and shortening in a mixing bowl, and at low speed, gradually beat in the sugar and vanilla. Turn the mixer on high and beat for 2 to 3 minutes until filling is light and fluffy. *It took me more like five to six minutes to reach a consistency I liked for the creme.*



5. To assemble the cookies, in a pastry bag with a 1/2 inch, round tip, pipe teaspoon-size blobs of cream into the center of one cookie. Place another cookie, equal in size to the first, on top of the cream. Lightly press, to work the filling evenly to the outsides of the cookie. Continue this process until all the cookies have been sandwiched with cream. Dunk generously in milk. *Make sure to be a bit generous when you put creme on the cookie...also, instead of using a pastry bag I just used a spoon.*


Now you have deliciousness!! :)



Tuesday, September 20, 2011

weekend fabulousness.


After a really tough week of heavy, tedious reading for my Spanish thesis class, this weekend was just what I needed to relax. Friday was your typical downtown Omaha night...picked up my friend Beau and his brother Grant, went to Loose Moose for just a minute (it was crazy packed) and did our usual downtown places. We went to Stiles and met up with some friends of ours. This girl that I was introduced to gave me a hug, pulled back and said, "Oh my god! You smell like an Herbal Essences commercial! You smell like an orgasm in the shower!" This turned into everyone wanting to smell my hair and talking about brands of shampoo...yes, a super scintillating conversation, as you can imagine. Then we drove over to Whiskey Tango to dance. As much as I love dancing, Whiskey Tango is absolutely the hottest, sweatiest place in Omaha for it...but as of now, the best place for it (note: I haven't been to Capitol yet, which I hear is better). It was super packed, which meant a lot of people on the dance floor...so much fun! Although one of my friends did have his little moment of the night when some girl bumped into us on the dance floor and he may or may not have started yelling "Scheiße!" at her and waving his fists. :)



Saturday was the Husker game in the afternoon. I had to work during the game but luckily it wasn't too busy so I was able to watch most of it. Or maybe that was actually not a good thing since our defense was playing just terribly, but at least we won the game. Two weeks until Wisconsin, yes! I went out to dinner with my baby sister, Jena, after the game to La Mesa. I got to practice my Spanish with the waitress, which made me homesick for Sevilla...lo echo de menos mucho. I ordered this delicious dish called camarones a la diabla, which is shrimp in a spicy tomato sauce with onions and peppers..mmm getting hungry just thinking about it! Saturday night was Billy Frogg's for some pond scum and just having a pretty chill night. We stopped at Pepperjack's Grill after the bars, and (big mistake) I didn't order anything and let everyone else order, but it looked delicious! I've never had it before and it smelled like heaven, I swear. I will definitely be trying that this week.





Sunday was more work and some NFL football. I cooked our family dinner, some yummy Shepherd's Pie (I'll post a recipe later). It's definitely become a family favorite since I started making it a couple of years ago. Anyway, my dad and I are in first heading into tonight's football game, so if the Giants win then we win the pool this week! So I guess that means...go Giants! :)


Sunday, September 18, 2011

Bier und Wein, I mean Wien...


Vienna! One of the most beautiful cities in Europe, even if I didn't get to spend as much time as I liked there. But okay, I am jumping way ahead of myself here. First is breakfast in Kufstein with Markus, whose mother brought me all this food and gave me some water with this...flavored syrup? It was delicious. We chilled for a while at his house, picked up his friend Rene, and drove to Vienna to meet our friend Mathias. The friend of my Austrian friends, Florian, was nice enough to let us stay at his apartment that weekend while we were in Vienna. We took some time to walk around and met up with Mathias. While they were showing me some sights, including the art museums and the main shopping street, we ran into a bachelorette party that wanted to shine the guys' shoes and give a kiss on the cheek for 3 Euro...of course, a couple of them obliged. :)





We went to dinner to get some traditional Austrian food...I finally tried wiener schnitzel, definitely as delicious as everyone says it is, although really filling. The waitress gave me a menu in German, and since none of my amazing, German-speaking friends thought to translate for me, I ordered the only thing I had heard of. :) After a really great dinner (I found a beer I love and miss dearly- Stiegl), we went back to Florian's to take some of the jello shots we made which ended up being really strong and slightly hard to eat. Anyway, we changed and went out to a couple of different clubs that night, including one that had a huge dance floor in the middle playing generic pop music and other smaller dance floors playing different types of music (rap, country, etc.). We got to watch the sun rise over Vienna, which made the buildings look stunning in the quiet morning light. After getting a few hours of sleep, we got back together at Tel Aviv Beach, this great place overlooking the river in Vienna, and I ordered some really yummy falafel and fries.




We didn't have too much time in Vienna the next day because we did have to drive back (Markus was nice enough to offer to drop me off in Salzburg on the way). In Austria, they apparently have these websites where you post where you are driving to/from, and if someone wants to ride with you they are able to message you in order to carpool. It's all about being eco-conscious and saving gas and what not. I thought it was kind of a brilliant idea, but maybe since the US is so big, it would kind of hard to implement. So the car ride was uneventful, other than lots of German being spoken...I was sad to leave my friends, but I knew I'd see them again the next week so I was so excited to get to Salzburg! :)

Friday, September 16, 2011

english obsession.

Heidi and I, being as shopping obsessed as we both are, can definitely vouch for the fact that London had some of the most amazing fashion in all of Europe. Everyone always thinks of Paris and Milan as the fashion capitals of Europe, but London fashion is seriously amazing- sheek, mostly neutral colors, and everyone has great day-to-night looks. I also love that there is so much openness to mixing fabrics, prints, and colors- totally fearless. Eleanor was so super nice and sent me some great suggestions for shopping in the UK, Topshop and Republic. There are so many amazing leather pieces out there which I love, even though I'm always wearing about wearing leather out myself...Eleanor says that it's basically all the rage at H & M.

Also, I just have to specify after talking to Heidi...this clothing doesn't have to be worn as shown in the picture, sometimes you have to use a little imagination to take a plain piece to amazing! Heidi is always hating on some shirts that I buy until she sees how they can be worn, and they magically disappear from my closet...

Obsessed with skirts that I can wear a little higher on my waist, I think that they look really cute with pumps.





I am loving those bracelets on the left, but I seriously wish that they came in gold. And that elephant ring!! How could you even pass that up.


Fall is my favorite time to shop for clothes!


Just a little Heidi-Cayla story...
We were shopping the other day at this shop called Marshall's which sells brand name clothing for less. We decide on 4 shirts- yes, we generally buy clothing together- and when we go to the counter to pay, we split it two and two, one of mine being a white Abercrombie long-sleeve shirt for only $9.99. We get home and are sitting at the table watching TV when Heidi says...

"By the way, you know that white shirt we just bought..."
"...uh, yeah?"
"That was your birthday present."

Yes. The white shirt that I just paid for.
Why was I not even surprised by that. Classic.

Wednesday, September 14, 2011

husker...power!

This weekend went by so fast! It always seems to do that at the beginnining of school, while the weekdays are always dragging, especially when you are reading avant-garde Spanish poetry...yum. Friday night was pretty relaxed, I worked at the restaurant until close, then met up with my cousin Amy for a drink at Arena and my biff Laura at Beer and Loathing in Dundee. Mostly an uneventful night, but it was nice to just sit and catch up with some friends. Saturday, after working all day, I went down to Lincoln to watch the game. We went to the Watering Hole for wings (I don't even like wings-so sinful, I know- so I ordered spinach artichoke dip), and then spent the rest of the night at Brother's. The game was pretty terrible to watch on Nebraska's part, but hopefully we will be able to step it up a bit more next week. The best part was that I got to wear my new sparkly red nail polish, which I am soo in love with.

Now for a week of working, studying, and hopefully finding some time for sushi!