"Hors de Prix" was translated as "Priceless" and I wanted to blog about this French movie, starring Audrey Tautou and Gad Elmaleh, a long time ago, but kept forgetting. Finally, I remembered today.
I had lots of fun watching this movie!
...life abroad yesterday, today, tomorrow & inbetween
13 Nov 2013
11 Nov 2013
Dual & multiple nationality
Earlier this year I heard that there could be some possible changes regarding the nationality legislation of the Czech Republic and it is now confirmed.
It will definitely make my life abroad much easier!
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"Starting from 1 January 2014 Czech nationals will be permitted to have dual and multiple nationality. In line with the trend prevailing in the EU, the Czech Republic will no longer insist on single nationality. ...Czech nationals will no longer automatically lose their Czech nationality upon obtaining foreign nationality." - mzv.cz -
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Here you can learn more about new Czech nationality legislation
It will definitely make my life abroad much easier!
_____________________________________________________________________________________
"Starting from 1 January 2014 Czech nationals will be permitted to have dual and multiple nationality. In line with the trend prevailing in the EU, the Czech Republic will no longer insist on single nationality. ...Czech nationals will no longer automatically lose their Czech nationality upon obtaining foreign nationality." - mzv.cz -
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Here you can learn more about new Czech nationality legislation
7 Nov 2013
Teeccino
I was out of Pero, so I was going to get some the other day..... I guess I should explain what is Pero. It is a name of the product under which is my favourite Caro imported to the US.
So, what is Caro? If you live in Germany, I am quite sure you know it. It was introduced in Germany in 1954 and is manufactured by Nestlé. It is a brand of caffeine free roasted grain beverage, basically a coffee substitute made of roasted barley, malted barley, chicory, and rye.
I am not really trying to avoid coffee as I am not one of the heavy coffee drinkers at all. I simply like the taste of it, especially with a little bit of milk.
So, I am in a store looking for my Pero and it is nowhere to be found. I was really angry because I traveled to that particular store to get that one item, and they just dare not to have it. Unfortunately you can't find it here in the US in almost every store like in Europe. Well, I was determined to get some barley, chicory, rye.....anything really but coffee beverage, and.... Bingo! Here it is - a full shelf of Teeccino, a new product.
I got Vanilla Nut flavour described as Creamy vanilla accented by golden roasted almonds, slightly sweet from dates & figs....doesn't that sound wonderful? Not only that, it tastes great and comes with many health benefits.
There are other flavours and you can purchase a 8 Flavours Sampler as I have just discovered.
I am going to try some of them for sure.
So, what is Caro? If you live in Germany, I am quite sure you know it. It was introduced in Germany in 1954 and is manufactured by Nestlé. It is a brand of caffeine free roasted grain beverage, basically a coffee substitute made of roasted barley, malted barley, chicory, and rye.
I am not really trying to avoid coffee as I am not one of the heavy coffee drinkers at all. I simply like the taste of it, especially with a little bit of milk.
So, I am in a store looking for my Pero and it is nowhere to be found. I was really angry because I traveled to that particular store to get that one item, and they just dare not to have it. Unfortunately you can't find it here in the US in almost every store like in Europe. Well, I was determined to get some barley, chicory, rye.....anything really but coffee beverage, and.... Bingo! Here it is - a full shelf of Teeccino, a new product.
I got Vanilla Nut flavour described as Creamy vanilla accented by golden roasted almonds, slightly sweet from dates & figs....doesn't that sound wonderful? Not only that, it tastes great and comes with many health benefits.
I am going to try some of them for sure.
- Hazelnut
- Almond Amaretto
- French Roast
- Java
- Original
- Mocha
- Chocolate
- Vanilla Nut
6 Nov 2013
The Voice
It began in 2011 and I have been watching it religiously. It is a great entertainment!
There are so many talents this season, but you have to watch the performance of this 16 year old girl - Jacquie Lee.
It is from yesterday, she was singing "I Put a Spell on You " a 1956 song written by Screamin' Jay Hawkins. I think she is amazing.
5 Nov 2013
P.F. CHANG'S
Last weekend my husband and I were doing some shopping in Lombard area and decided to have lunch at P.F. CHANG'S. It is one of my favourite places to eat out. It is a Chinese casual dining restaurant chain and you can find 204 locations around the world. So, if you find yourself in one of these countries you can try what P.F. Chang's China Bistro has to offer.
I like the atmosphere as well as the interior design of this place. As for the exterior you are usually welcomed by a statue of a grand horse that symbolizes the original Forbidden City of China built for China's first emperor Qui Shi Huangdi.
This time I had a Kung Pao Chicken, but I ALWAYS have Crispy Green Beans as a starter. The beans are lightly battered and served with spicy dipping sauce. It just tastes so good!
I also enjoy their Dragon Eye Oolong tea, and can't not mention the desserts. The good news is that they also serve mini desserts, so you can always enjoy one without feeling guilty :-)
And if you don't happen to have P.F. Chang's in your area, why don't you try their Frozen Menu. I sometimes do when I am really desperate or lazy to cook Chinese myself ;-)
I like the atmosphere as well as the interior design of this place. As for the exterior you are usually welcomed by a statue of a grand horse that symbolizes the original Forbidden City of China built for China's first emperor Qui Shi Huangdi.
This time I had a Kung Pao Chicken, but I ALWAYS have Crispy Green Beans as a starter. The beans are lightly battered and served with spicy dipping sauce. It just tastes so good!
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| Kung Pao Chicken |
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| Crispy Green Beans |
I also enjoy their Dragon Eye Oolong tea, and can't not mention the desserts. The good news is that they also serve mini desserts, so you can always enjoy one without feeling guilty :-)
And if you don't happen to have P.F. Chang's in your area, why don't you try their Frozen Menu. I sometimes do when I am really desperate or lazy to cook Chinese myself ;-)
4 Nov 2013
Fenced in
Finally, we have a fence. It took 6 weeks to arrange! We are members of a HOA * and it took them 3 weeks to approve our fence proposal. We also needed a city zoning certificate and building permit which was another 2 weeks of waiting. Luckily I managed to schedule the installation within one week, so here we are surrounded by cedar.
We have also made big mulch beds around our trees, so we are ready for winter.
TIP: if you want to change a large grass area into a flower bed etc. and avoid digging out the grass, before you spread the mulch on it, cover the area with many sheets of newspaper or even better with cardboard as we did. That way you can be sure that the grass is not coming back - it will decompose and at the same time feed your plants during the process.
So, the Phase I of our landscaping project has been completed, Phase II is planed for the next year :-)
* HOA - Homeowner Association
"In the United States, a homeowner association is a corporation formed by a real estate developer for the purpose of marketing, managing, and selling of homes and lots in a residential subdivision.
It grants the developer privileged voting rights in governing the association, while allowing the developer to exit financial and legal responsibility of the organization, typically by transferring ownership of the association to the homeowners after selling off a predetermined number of lots. Membership in the homeowners association by a residential buyer is typically a condition of purchase; a buyer isn't given an option to reject it. Most homeowner associations are incorporated, and are subject to state statutes that govern non-profit corporations and homeowner associations. State oversight of homeowner associations is minimal, and mainly takes the form of laws which are inconsistent from state to state. Some states, such as Florida and California, have a large body of homeowner association law, and some states, such as Massachusetts, have virtually no homeowner association law.
Homeowners associations first emerged in the United States in the mid-19th century. Their growth was limited, however, until the 1960s, when several factors led to a period of rapid national growth, including, a push towards large scale residential development by the Federal Housing Authority and the Urban Land Institute; an increasing cultural preference for architectural uniformity; a decline of readily available land; rising construction costs; and a modification of federal mortgage insurance rules to include cooperatives and condominiums.
A HOA provides people with shared neighborhood values, an opportunity to enforce regulations, consistent with overarching statutory constraints, to achieve a community representative of such values. In doing so, an HOA inherently restricts the rights that would otherwise exist for its members based on municipal codes. For instance, a degree of conformity is often required in exterior appearance of single family homes and there are often time limits and/or restrictions to activities generating noise........" - Wikipedia
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| before and after |
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| before and after |
We have also made big mulch beds around our trees, so we are ready for winter.
TIP: if you want to change a large grass area into a flower bed etc. and avoid digging out the grass, before you spread the mulch on it, cover the area with many sheets of newspaper or even better with cardboard as we did. That way you can be sure that the grass is not coming back - it will decompose and at the same time feed your plants during the process.
So, the Phase I of our landscaping project has been completed, Phase II is planed for the next year :-)
* HOA - Homeowner Association
"In the United States, a homeowner association is a corporation formed by a real estate developer for the purpose of marketing, managing, and selling of homes and lots in a residential subdivision.
It grants the developer privileged voting rights in governing the association, while allowing the developer to exit financial and legal responsibility of the organization, typically by transferring ownership of the association to the homeowners after selling off a predetermined number of lots. Membership in the homeowners association by a residential buyer is typically a condition of purchase; a buyer isn't given an option to reject it. Most homeowner associations are incorporated, and are subject to state statutes that govern non-profit corporations and homeowner associations. State oversight of homeowner associations is minimal, and mainly takes the form of laws which are inconsistent from state to state. Some states, such as Florida and California, have a large body of homeowner association law, and some states, such as Massachusetts, have virtually no homeowner association law.
Homeowners associations first emerged in the United States in the mid-19th century. Their growth was limited, however, until the 1960s, when several factors led to a period of rapid national growth, including, a push towards large scale residential development by the Federal Housing Authority and the Urban Land Institute; an increasing cultural preference for architectural uniformity; a decline of readily available land; rising construction costs; and a modification of federal mortgage insurance rules to include cooperatives and condominiums.
A HOA provides people with shared neighborhood values, an opportunity to enforce regulations, consistent with overarching statutory constraints, to achieve a community representative of such values. In doing so, an HOA inherently restricts the rights that would otherwise exist for its members based on municipal codes. For instance, a degree of conformity is often required in exterior appearance of single family homes and there are often time limits and/or restrictions to activities generating noise........" - Wikipedia
3 Nov 2013
Mochi
If you have ever seen or had Mochi it probably looked like this.
Mochi is a Japanese rice cake made of michigome - a short grain glutinous rice.
I love these cute little cakes, and have tried them in many forms :-), but the other day I found a product with the same name in the dairy isle at Whole Foods by accident. I am not quite sure why it was right there, but it caught my attention, and since I had not seen it before I was wondering what I had discovered.
It is produced by Grainaissance. Apart from Mochi - a rice snack made from whole grain brown rice - which I purchased, they also make a product called Amazake. It is a dairy-free shake made from 100% organic whole grain brown rice. I will see if I can find the shake as well.
Their Mochi is all-natural, made without additives, preservatives, colourings, and is wheat and gluten free.
I was surprised how versatile this product is. There is an endless list of recipes on the company's website that you can try. I simply just baked it in an oven as suggested and sampled it with honey and also peanut butter as a dessert. I will try more recipes next time.
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