1. The lack of slice & bake cookies and ANY sort of pre-packaged MIX: brownies, cakes, or blueberry muffins... all this making it from scratch stuff is great sometimes...but sometimes I just want a quick fix!
2. The SNOW. It was BEAUTIFUL. Still is...but I am ready for it to melt and warm up. This Texas girl is NOT used to 12 degree days... and even our little Loft can't seem to hold out the cold- In fact, we have been storing all of our beverages next door because it is colder in our attic than in our refrigerator right now! Brrrrrr! Oh and we had the whole frozen pipes thing happen a few days ago... Logan had to go all hairdryer on them :)
3. Cabin fever. With this weather, no one really ventures out. The roads are dangerous and honestly its too dang cold for anyone to want to walk around and shop or do any sort of sightseeing... I guess I am just ready to leave the "compound" and go explore, go on walks, and enjoy sipping Bordeaux wine on patios again. March is right around the corner, right? I think I can... I think I can...
4. The lack of craft supplies within reach. I have found all these adorable DIY projects on Pinterest and the closest thing we have to a "craft store" is more like a Barnes & Noble and is 45 minutes away, which means we go there maybe 1x per month at this point? It KILLS me to not have a Michaels and Hobby Lobby around the corner to run get some cute scrapbook paper or a new art journal!
Okay... after reading this post, you probably now realize how ANNOYING it is to read negativity on someone's blog which is why 99% of the time, I refrain and focus on the positive...but DANG, that felt good!
Also... this is SO random, but made me SMILE SO BIG!!! Someday... when we have a child... they shall be a sushi roll for Halloween... how adorable is this idea? Am I crazy?!?! Is it cute or funny or just weird? Regardless, it gave me a chuckle. And now I am craving a California roll...
Happy Hump Day!
Have you looked in the refrigerator section of your supermarket, near the pre-made pie crusts? Most supermarkets carry pre-sliced chocolate chip cookie dough now (it's in a square block instead of a tube). I even used to find them in my small town in Bretagne before moving to Paris three years ago. And they usually have a pre-mixed chocolate cake or cake au citron there too. Sometimes they also have (French) dry mixes for cookies and cakes in the baking aisle too.
ReplyDeleteYou could also try a Lidl if you have one near you - since they are German, they have a lot of foreign products, and I've found blueberry & choc chip muffin mixes, pancake mix, marshmallows, etc there in the past.
Can't help you with the rest though, I've had about enough of the cold/cabin fever myself!
That stinks there are no arts & crafts stores nearby (my pottery ladies wouldn't survive long in Égletons)! And I'm soo glad Ksam shared the pre-made cookie dough secret. However, the effort of making muffins, cookies, etc. from scratch has stopped me more than once and my waste line has thanked me because of it.
ReplyDeleteI think it's allowed to get all venty every once in awhile on an expat blog... because heaven knows this whole living in another country thing is not perfect. No, no it's not.
ReplyDelete1. What grocery store do you shop at? Hyper U and Carrefour have decent international sections and I have found blueberry muffin mix, Dr Pepper, and Hellmans mayo (sometimes)
2. I am SO tired of leaving the taps dripping and living in fear of frozen pipes. SO FREAKING TIRED.
3. My diningroom is essentially a sun room which means it's too cold in winter to even use it. Not only can I not wait to sip wine outdoors again, I can't wait to eat in my diningroom again. AARRGGHH!!
4. You and online shopping will become best friends soon. It's the only way.
WOO! I totally just hijacked your vent. Thanks for that :-)