homemade waffles

There is little of decent nutritional value on this plate. We've got white flour, oil, butter, and Vermont Maid syrup (which is chock full of HFCS). It was a lot of empty calories, which is so not how I roll, but it tasted like home.

1 3/4 cups flour

3 t baking powder
1/2 t salt
2 eggs
1 1/4 cups milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
a splash of vanilla extract

Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Stir in the eggs, milk, oil, and vanilla. Mix well.

Bake on a hot waffle iron. Viola! Fresh homemade waffles :)

I could've made these a bit healthier by using egg whites, 1/2 whole wheat flour, substituting applesauce for the oil, and topping with anything that doesn't contain HFCS and obscene amounts of fat. But sometimes, for the sake of happiness and inner peace, I need to forget all of that and savor a taste of something from home, exactly as I remember it.

I miss diner breakfasts.

gerbera daisies

My favorite flower. My favorite color. My favorite Tiffany vase.

I thought they were beautiful. Opie thought they were lunch :(

thrifted red coat

Aside from a few designer pieces, most of my wardrobe is secondhand/vintage, but secondhand clothing bargains are few and far between in Denmark.

However, I was in the right place at the right time yesterday, and I scored this practically new coat for 120 kr! (about $23)

Red is one of my favorite colors :)
Perfect.

copenhagen shoes & vintage

Yesterday was an amazing day in Copenhagen! I went early, stayed late, and the whole day focused on two of my favorite things... vintage shops and shoes!!!

I didn't actually buy anything, but I did see some lovely things...

A pink Valantino suit with black polka dots, which was love at first sight, but honestly, where would I ever wear such a thing?

Then there was a vintage Birkin bag... I covet The Birkin, but accept that I'll never own one. And besides, it was tan and if I were going to pay a king's ransom for a handbag, I'd pick a sensible color like black or red. Not that tan isn't sensible, but *yawn*.

One shop had a whole section of vintage wedding dresses, which were amazing, especially the flapper style one that was still in great condition.

There was also a silk Diane von Furstenberg dress that would've been a steal had it not been too big in the waist.

And a turquoise robe with beautifully decadent ruffles, worthy of Hollywood royalty, but alas, made for someone much taller than me :(

On the shoe front, there were of course Manolo Blahniks and Jimmy Choos, but no matter how beautiful they are, Sex and the City sort of beat them to death and I refuse to succumb to product placement.

So the highlight of my day was the Christian Louboutin shop. It was like a shoe museum... or a church, but unfortunately, they were sold out of my size in everything I liked. They offered to waitlist me for a pair of black patent leather pumps, but I passed because I really, really wanted the red pointy-toe pumps and they didn't have a waiting list for those, just a very long wait. Oh, how I long for those red soles! *sigh*

All of the shoes and vintage goodness reminded me of this photo:

From a vintage shop in Siena, Italy.

SAD

I've been firmly in the clutches of seasonal affective disorder (SAD) since mid-December. It's been dark here about 18 hours a day. I go to work in the dark, I come home in the dark. Even when it's light, it's often a dark light that makes me feel like I'm living in von Trier's Melancholia world. And it rains or drizzles a lot.

This is a frustrating condition because I'm completely content with my life. I'm not depressed, I just feel "off" and I'm not able to enjoy things as much as I'd like and my creativity has all but dried up. At least depression sometimes leads to great creativity, but SAD has lead to nothing but wasted time.

It gives me insomnia, which means I'm exhaused, so I drink too much coffee to make it through the day, and then I can't sleep, and the cycle never stops. Once I'm asleep, I'd gladly sleep all day, but I won't because I will not surrender to this.

I've tried as much as possible to live my life as I would if I wasn't having this issue, but it's a haze that I haven't been able to completely escape. I've started light therapy and it seems to be helping. The past few days have almost felt "normal," which is a huge relief.

Anyway, that's where I've been all this time. Off, sitting in front of a lightbox in the happiest country in the world :)

But good things are coming... I'm going to Copenhagen on Saturday, I'll be guest blogging at Unplugged Sunday in few weeks, and winter's darkest days are behind us for now.

I'll be back soon :)