Perfect Healthy Breakfast Pancakes

I was reading about someone who was trying a sugarless diet for a while. It seems every magazine has an editor trying this and writing about it... I couldn't. Ever.

But I am interested in eating less sugar, and I stumbled on this perfect recipe that looks like a delicious-not-too-healthy breakfast. Yet it is a delicious-very-healthy breakfast! No flour, no milk, no sugar. Just perfect pancakes made of... egg. And they're sweet too!

All you need is one egg, one banana and a few fresh blueberries (or any red fruit you like).
Use a fork to squash the banana and mix with one egg. Stir in a little cinnamon if you like, and add the blueberries. Heat butter in a pan and bake your pancake on both sides until golden brown.

Enjoy!

DIY: banner hanger

I got a cool poster for my birthday recently: a scratch map of the world. I started scratching away all the places I have visited over the years. Although I was a little disappointed about how little of the planet it was, I was also excited about how much more there is to explore. My plan is to keep on scratching.

So to frame it in glass would be a little inconvenient. I figured I wanted a banner hanger and I wanted to make it myself. The cheap way. So I gave it a little thought and decided on self-adhesive baseboards. You can get them at any hardware store for about 3 euro a piece. 

I bought two and used a saw to cut them into 4 pieces of 82 cm (the length of my poster). 

To get the string evenly and firmly attached, I decided I would use small nails I could tie the string around. If you're in a hurry or really clumsy  with nails and hammers, you can use the self-adhesive strips to stick the baseboards together. That's the easy way.  

So I decided to use nails on the top. I taped the poster to the baseboard first. Making sure it's in the right place so I wasn't going to punch any holes in it. Make sure to position the string before you slam the two baseboards together. 

For the bottom I decided to skip the nails and use the self-adhesive strip. I did (paper)tape the poster to the baseboard first, because I want to be able to get the poster out without it being ruined. So make sure the (very strong) adhesive strip of the baseboard is not on your poster.

And voila! My own handmade banner hanger for about 6 euro in less than an hour.. Now I need to go plan a new trip, so I can scratch some more!

Grow-a-card: handmade paper with poppy seeds

My first handmade paper item is for sale at Stoffer + Blik. It is the card with the poppy seeds! It's a beautiful natural thick card made out of handmade paper with a matching envelope.

You have seen a little of the process along the way here at the blog, but now it's finished to perfection! A 3-folded card containing common poppy seeds for you to sow without having to destroy the card. It's a card, a hug and flowers... all in one.

You can have a closer look at the Etsy shop. I only have one right now. So if you want it, you better be quick. 

Victory!

Traveling is great, but coming home is always a pleasure. In the 5 weeks I have spent in crazy India, my patience has been tested thoroughly. I have waited. Waited at airports, in queues for all sorts of tickets, for people to show up, for meals to be served, for change to be returned, for riksjaw drivers to be done chatting to their collegues and for crossing the street without getting killed. It's a good thing I had some time to spend.

It has taken me a little time to surrender to India. But when I did and stopped comparing, it was pretty amazing. As I expected I have been shocked by poverty and slums, I have been delighted by foods and smiles, I have been amazed by Indian kindness, their cutting-in-line-techniques and by how unorganized things seem and yet it works somehow. I have been annoyed by stares and the endless bargaining. I have been inspired by overwhelming nature and incredible architecture. 

I have met a wonderful variety of people, from a French widow to a concerned Indian mother and from hilarious Austrian guys to an all American entrepreneur. I came to India with 10 kilo in my backpack. And then the airport scale was telling me that I have bought at least 5 kilos worth of souvenirs. But the experience I have brought home weighs much more than that. 

I have traveled India solo and I did so without the expected Delhi Belly, I say victory!

And of course, Stoffer + Blik is up and running again! It's good to be back.