Life Lately January 2014

Hello 2014!

I am sitting by my Christmas tree in all it's glory and looking at my nativity all lit up.  Today is the 12th Night of Christmas, Feast of the Epiphany, Little Christmas, January 6th, and my first day back to work since December 20th.  Tomorrow will be a sad day when I unplug my exterior lights as I walk out to my car.

Last day of Christmas

I am not one for resolutions but I am working on a goal list for 2014.  I for one am looking forward to a better 2014 than 2013.

Here are a few:

- Make a suit jacket out of Crown Royal bags.  It has been my husband's dream to have a jacket made out of Crown Royal bags since we saw this guy at Mardi Gras a few years back (I wish I took a picture) and I am starting the project.  I bought 130 bags on ebay and we have a few of our own.  I will be doing a blog post on the project because I have scoured the internet and have not found a tutorial.  I have sewn one whole jacket before and I have never quilted.  This will be a combination since I need to quilt the squares and then cut the pattern.  Wish me luck!

Photo Credit I want to improve upon this design with rectangular patches - not so "bag" like.

- Create a vlog, or a few : )  I have a few drink recipes that I would like to video in the pub and we will see where we go from there.  Maybe a few on how to cook with the pizza oven...

- Buy domain names for our blogs YouTube channel.  (Check out my husband's blog on our ghost hunting vacations at Haunted Holidaze and our YouTube channel HitchhikerGhost where we share our paranormal evidence.  I can check this off my list because I did this tonight!  Now what to do with them.

- I hope to start to post and sell items in my Etsy shop. I created the shop months ago and it sits empty. Let's see if I still like to sew after hopefully completing the jacket.

- Complete a 30 day challenge.  I am trying the 30 day squat challenge and I have made it through day 6 and I hope I can make it through the end of the month. 

Do you make New Years resolutions or goals?  Or an item on your to do list that moving it's way up to the top?

Cheers,

Amy

I am linking up with Treasure Tromp's Treat yo' self link up

Hohenschwangau Castle - King Ludwig II's Childhood home

Today we awoke in the town of Schwangau at the Landhotel Guglhupf bed and breakfast and set off to visit two of King Ludwig II's castles.

Hohenschwangau translated literally is "High Swan County Palace" and was built by King Ludwig II father, King Maximilian II in the 19th century as a vacation home.  This area must of had a large population of swans for quite sometime because the first fortress built on this site in the 12th century was called Schwanstein.   

This map shows the ticket center, Hohenschwangau, Neuschwanstein and the paths to reach each one.

 The town of Hohenschwangau has a few restaurants, hotels and a May Pole.

Tickets are purchased at the Ticket Center located in the middle of Hohenschwangau.  There is a slight discount if you decide to see multiple castles or the museum in one day (ticket prices and hours) and there are parking lots near by that you can leave your car for 5 euro a day.  If you were staying at a hotel in Hohenschwangau you could walk but since we were 2 miles a way in Schwangau, and raining, we drove.  You can also take a bus from the Fussen train station.  The staff is quite helpful to help pick times of tours if you are seeing both sites.

We opted for a carriage ride up to the castle for 6 euro, downhill is 3 euro, and is paid directly to the driver and takes about 15 minutes.

A view of the castle from the gardens.

A gorgeous neo-gothic archway marks the entrance to the castle with quatrofoils and a crest of the Bavarian lion.

A well in the courtyard with a painting of the Virgin Mary, a lion's head spout, a crest of Bavaria and a crest of a swan which pertains to the area around the Schwangau region.

A fountain with four Bavarian lions.

Photos are not allowed inside of the castle unfortunately.   I found these beauties on line.  I love the gold and purple room! 

Maximilian II's study

swan chandelier in dining room

King Ludwig II would observe construction of Neuschwanstein from Hohenschwangau with a telescope.  This is a view from the garden courtyard.

I borrowed my Dad's Bavarian hat for our trip to Germany - you will see it many more photos in future blogs.

History on the Wittlesbach family:
Ludwig II mother Marie was Prussian and his father Maximilian II was Bavarian. Bavaria was an independent kingdom until 1870 when Ludwig II joined the German Empire after the Franco-Prussian Wars. Ludwig II withdrew even more from politics after joining the empire and became quite the recluse.  If you are interested in more information on Ludwig II's life check out this biography.

Being beer connoisseurs we had to try the local brew, Konig Ludwig Dunkel.  It was amazing and I wish I could get it in the states.  Very smooth and not hoppy - high drinkability factor.

Up Next: Neuschwanstein

Check out aerial photos of King Ludwig's castles in the snow from the Rococo Roamer

Have you visited the castles of King Ludwig II?  What were your thoughts on the style?

Cheers,

Amy

Other posts about our trip to Germany:

Cologne, The Rhine River by ferry and train, Burg Rheinfels - traveling the Rhine, Marksburg Castle, Burg Eltz, Heidleberg , Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Linderhof Palace

Homemade Irish Cream Recipe

I love Irish Cream - more commonly known as Bailey's!  I love it in my coffee, on the rocks, by itself, or in mixed drinks.

We made Limoncello in 2012 and gave bottles as Christmas gifts and I wanted to make a different liquor to continue the tradition.  I came across this recipe on Pinterest and gave it a try.  After doing a side by side taste test with Bailey's we tweaked a few ingredients and came up with:

Tipsy Terrier Irish Cream

Yield: 6 cups, 20 minutes cook time and 20 minutes of letting the mixture cool.

Line up of ingredients

• 1 cup strong coffee (if I had coffee I would add a teaspoon of instant espresso to it, if not a heaping teaspoon to a cup of water)
• 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
• 1 Heaping Tablespoon dark cocoa (I used Ghirardelli Ground Chocolate Cocoa)
• 1 Tablespoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon honey
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1  14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
• 2 1/4 cups Irish whiskey (I used Jameson or Bushmills)

1.  Bring the coffee to a gentle simmer in a medium saucepan.
2.  Add the cream, cocoa, sugar, honey and extracts, and whisk thoroughly.
3.  Simmer over low heat for about 20 minutes, whisking frequently, until the mixture begins to thicken.
4.  Remove the saucepan from the heat;  whisk in the sweetened condensed milk.
5.  Transfer the mixture to a heat-safe bowl, and set aside to cool for a while (approx. 20 minutes)
6.  Whisk in the whiskey until completely blended.
7.  Store in the refrigerator in a lidded container or decorative bottle.  Serve over ice, straight up, or in   coffee.

Reminder:  This beverage has no preservatives and isn’t shelf stable.  It must be kept refrigerated and shake well before serving (the chocolate has a tendency to settle to the bottom.)

The Bailey's recipe is quite guarded so this is our best guess based on taste.  The recipe that I modified included a 1/2 teaspoon of almond extract and overpowered the taste.  I scratched it from recipe and increased the chocolate and the whiskey.  Our version is much smoother than Bailey's and I believe that it is because of the high quality whiskey.  I considered using a lower shelf whiskey but I could not find one made in Ireland and I wanted to stay true to "Irish" cream.

How do you like to drink Irish Cream?  Have you made a liqueur before?

Cheers,

Amy


I am linking up with Beth at Home Stories A to Z
and