Weekend In Seattle

As I shared, a couple weeks ago we spent the weekend with my friends from Canada in Seattle. We had an amazing time. We hadn't seen each other in over two years, and since we were going to San Francisco for our meeting we decided to all meet up in Seattle. My friend's sister lives there and she let us all stay at her house for the weekend. We spent our time drinking coffee and having long conversations, doing a bit of site seeing in Seattle, going to a corn maze and pumpkin farm and celebrating Canadian Thanksgiving. It was just what I needed. Time with friends who are more like sisters to me, time to just relax and be together. Whenever we get back together, I feel like I am home and it doesn't matter how long we haven't seen each other it is always like we were never separated. Those are the best kind of friends. I had to share some pictures of our time in the pumpkin farm. It was so much fun, I really felt like I was having a true American fall experience. The pumpkins are so pretty, the farm had a corn maze which was huge and lots of fun and they had the best pumpkin and apple fresh doughnuts! If you are ever in the Seattle area in the fall I highly recommend going to Bob's farm!

Three Moments Of Thanks

{beautiful figs at the market}

This week I am thankful for being back in Israel. For being able to shop for fresh produce at the local market, for being able to celebrate life with friends, for the diverse mixture of culture and food all around me and for having my own kitchen again! Although I love traveling and discovering new places, there is no place like home! Hope you have an amazing weekend! 

{beautiful roses on the way to a friends bachelorette party}

{stuffed peppers}

Lets Talk About Pajamas

I've been wanting to buy new pajamas for the longest time! Do you guys sleep in an actual pj set or just something comfortable? I think there is something really fun about pjs. I especially like silk pajama sets, they look really cute and more special. So I've been looking for a set for a while, but most nice sets are pretty expensive. And lets just say we don't have a lot of money laying around. Last week we were at Forever 21 and I found a really cute silk set with daisies, that was also really affordable! I have been living in them ever since! Here are four other options of really cute pajamas in different price ranges. 

Above: Forever 21, striped, silk set. Cute and affordable. $ 24.80

Equipment, white with stars silk set, if you really feel like indulging. $388.00

Eberjey, simple and cute in a variety of colors. $97

H&M, another affordable set in satin. $ 34.95

Which one would you pick?

I would love to know, do you wear pj sets? If so where do you find cute and affordable ones? 

Apple Pie

As I've mentioned before apple deserts bring back fond memories, and will always have a special place in my heart. My mom and I are both fans of apple anything, and so it was most appropriate that for her birthday I would make her an apple pie. This was my first attempt at an apple pie with no one around to help me. Thankfully it was a huge success! Not only did it turn out beautifully, but it was really delicious and most importantly it passed my mom's approval! 

Recipe below,

Apple Pie

Recipe from this Israeli cookbook (only in Hebrew)
9 1/2 inch (24 cm.) pie plate

For dough:
280 grams (2 cups) all purpose flour
150 grams salted butter
80 ml. (1/3 cup) cold water

For filling:
1 kilogram. granny smith apples
100 grams (1/2 cup) sugar
100 grams (1/2 cup) brown sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
3 1/2 Tbsp. all purpose flour
1 Tbsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice

For topping:
A bit of milk or egg for brushing
1 Tbps. sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon

Make the dough:
Add flour and butter in a mixer until crumbly. Add cold water gradually until dough forms into a ball. Cover dough and let rest for an hour in fridge.

Make the filling:
Peel and cut apples to slices of 1/2 cm. Mix apples with both sugars, cinnamon, flour and lemon juice.

Preheat oven to 180 C. (350 F.)

Assemble:
Part the dough in two. Roll one half of dough to a 30 cm. (12 inch) disk, transfer dough to pie dish. Pressing down to the sides of the pie dish (I pierced the dough with a fork a few times to get out air bubble as well). Spread the apple filling evenly in the dish. Roll out the second half of dough into the size of the pie dish, and cover the dish. Use a fork to press down sides. Make a few cuts in the center to let out steam. Brush the top with the milk or egg, mix the sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl and spread over pie.

Bake the pie either on the bottom of the oven for 45 minutes or until golden.

Wait until completely cool before slicing. Best served with vanilla ice cream!

Three Moments Of Thanks

{my grandma's cookie jar}

This week I am thankful for family treasures, a great friend who loves baking (especially bread) as much as I do, and the bright moments in life. I was finally able to bring back from Canada my grandma's cookie jar. This is really special to me since it is the cookie jar she had while my dad grew up, and it is the only thing I have of his. It is now on my kitchen table full of delicious oatmeal cookies! I hope your weekend is off to a wonderful start! 

{in the park}

{the most delicious bread}

Etsy Finds: Bags

Backpacks are everywhere lately and I love it! They are really stylish but a lot more comfortable than purses. While we were in Bolivia I bought a beautiful leather backpack, which I love. The only downside is that it is really stiff and structured, and the straps leave stains on my sleeves (if anyone knows how to fix that please let me know!). I still love using it, but I have been eyeing other backpacks that are a bit more for everyday use. I found this shop on Etsy called Inconnu, look at their bags! They are beautiful, I love the combination of the canvas and the leather straps. I personally love the backpacks, especially the one pictured on the top left.

(Pictures from their Etsy shop: Inconnu)

Three Moments Of Thanks

Having fun in a huge corn maze

We just got back from a very short trip to the States. We went there for an interview with our ministry and we were accepted! We could not be happier, the best part is that we got to spend a weekend with my best friends from Canada. They are the kind of friends that it doesn't matter how long it has been since you last saw each other, when you get back together it's as if you were never apart. We spent the weekend in Seattle, and it was wonderful! I'll share a few photos of the trip in the next few days, but until then I am very, very thankful for these two friends and the time we where able to spend together.

Oh the berries in America

Cute tiles in a great ice-cream shop