DIY: Holidays Gift Wrapping

Dear readers,

Here is a new gift wrapping idea (still remember this one and this one?) made entirely with recycled materials. This time I wrapped a Christmas present for a friend.

Oh, and if you're interested in the content beneath the wrapping paper, I filled a beautiful box with the friend's favorite sweets:)

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Recipe: Emina's Birthday Cake with White Chocolate Shards and Pomegranate Seeds

Dear readers,

I love to make a fuss over my birthday and start annoying everyone about it a week in advance:) I also love surprises, I love to make surprises and to be surprised. As for the latter, I can't be thankful enough for the great people I'm surrounded with and who made this year's birthday special. You already read about the surprise birthday breakfast that Nerma, our brother, and my best friend prepared for me.

Nonetheless, I could not skip my annual tradition to make a special cake for the occasion. Do you still remember my last year's birthday cake? This year I surprised my colleagues at work with this beauty.

Although not visible at first sight, this is the simple tipple chocolate mouse cake that we have already made several times and that everyone loves. You have already seen it here (our Gossip Girl Cake) and here (our New Year's Eve Cake). 

Without further complicating the cake recipe, we recommend you to watch the video instructions from the cooking blog Dulce Delight. The girl behind the blog is so cute and her sweet recipes are just amazing.  

I have, however, added one alternation. In addition to the three layers of chocolate mousse, I added a crunchy crust.

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Happy Birthday, Emina!

Dear readers,

I had the most wonderful birthday morning! Nerma, Ajla, and Nerko, thank you for the beautiful surprise:) 

Nerma made 26 carrot cupcakes for my 26th birthday because she knows I'm nuts about cupcakes:)

One is never too old to be excited about wrapping up birthday presents:)

Love,
Emina


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DIY: The Perfect Wedding Gift - Stitch their Wedding Song and Date

 Dear readers,

The first girlfriend in our little group of girls hanging out since University got married recently. It was a big event for all of us and I wanted to give the happy couple a little handmade something: I stitched the title of their wedding song and the wedding date. I hope it will help the groom not to forget their anniversary in the future:)

The gift was the perfect excuse to finally start experimenting with stitching. I was planning on getting myself an embroidery hoop (in Bosnian: Djerdjef) for months and now I finally had the motivation.

I learned some basic stitching techniques back in primary school and for my first stitching project I just used the simple basic "backstitch" and added some improvisations.

Here comes the complete tutorial including preparing the stitching for framing:

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Recipe: Bucket full of (Apple) Roses

Dear readers,

Maybe you have seen pictures of "French rose tarts". There are all over Pinterest and really look adorable.

Nerma wanted to make something similar for a surprise picnic with her boyfriend. She found a cute makeover of the original tart recipe and the result are these amazing cupcakes/muffins topped with a delicious caramel sauce.

Here they are just before putting the tray into the oven.

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Recipe: Bosnian Baklava with a Special Chocolate Twist - Eid Mubarek!

Eid Mubarek!

Eid is a special guest in our home and there is no Eid without Bosnian baklava. 

As long as we can remember our mother always stayed long after midnight the night before Eid, making baklava and preparing traditional dishes for the early Eid lunch next morning.

It has been two years since she passed away and Eid is no longer what it used to be. With the time passing Nerma and I are trying to replace her as much as possible. This also includes taking over the Eid preparations.

When it comes to baklava, I think it is safe to say that we have mastered it! 

This Eid I was in charge of making baklava from scratch since Nerma wasn't home. I used the opportunity to add a special twist which Nerma would have probably been against: I added chocolate to the filling! The outcome is delicious - approved by Nerma and everyone else who tried it:)

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DIY: A special congratulation card and gift wrapping for Nerma's graduation





Dear all,

 

After six years of dental school, Nerma has finally graduated yesterday, making the 8th of September 2014 one of the happiest days for our family.

 

I used the opportunity to make the day even more memorable for her. I explored old photo albums searching for one particular photo: the photo of Nerma's first day in primary school!

 

I used the photo to make a special congratulation card. The photo's colors also inspired me to wrap her graduation presents in a special way.



 

 

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Something blue for a special friend (DIY Brooch)

Dear readers,

One more post before we finally fly off for the summer holidays.

A friend living far away is about to get married and I wanted to give her something special.

I made this brooch with beads in several shades of blue. Beside the obvious symbolism, the vintage style of the brooch also says a lot about her. She will understand:) 

Unfortunately, I somehow managed to erase all the step-by-step pictures from my camera. Therefore, I hope you will at least enjoy the pictures of the final result.

I wish you all warm and sunny holidays. We'll be back in a month.

Love,
Emina


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Recipe: Mini Bruschetta in No Time

We could eat bruschetta every day anytime, as a side dish, main dish, doesn't matter:) We also love to make bruschetta when we have a lot of  friends coming over.

 There are of course thousands of recipes out there. We would like to share with you the recipe we use most of the time. It is pretty basic, fast and yummy:)

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Recipe: Mini No Bake Cheesecake with Raspberries

I found a great summerish and fresh alternative to the classic baked cheesecake and I am happy to share it with you.

 The best part about it is that it will not take you more than 20 minutes to make it. It does however has to stay in the fridge for an hour or two (over night is even better but let's be honest, who has time to wait so long?:))

As a starting point, I found this great tutorial on youtube for a normal sized cake and adjusted it a bit so that I could make three of these mini sized cakes. I will not bug you with details as the video tutorial is pretty self explanatory. Therefore, here are only my adjustments:

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DIY: Moustache Like a Sir (for Nerma's Graduation Party)

This year first our little brother graduated from high school and last night Nerma celebrated her graduation from university. I am a truly happy and proud sister of two future dentists (our brother will enroll in Dental School the same year Nerma graduated:))

Nerma's graduation party was all about the 9gag "like a sir" meme and I was asked to organize a moustache workshop, as they needed a suitable accessory. With the help of Nerma, Amar and Dunja, we made over 40 of these fancy moustaches and if you are planning to spice up your next theme party, here comes the tutorial:)

Nerma dressed up for the party in a long red dress.

The moustaches in action. Copyright by Arnej Misirlic Photography

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DIY: Party Rope Necklace

Dear readers,

I was in the mood for a cool party necklace so I picked up sparkling beads and sequins, some rope and faux leather, a golden chain. I am in love with the result.

All I need now for the next night out is to combine my cool new necklace with my favorite red nail polish, red lips and sexy high heels. I might wear it with a little black dress but let´s keep that for another post:) Now enjoy the pictures and, as always, learn how to make it yourself:)

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Please Help Bosnia and Herzegovina

Dear readers,

Today is mourning day in our country.

Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia have been victims to the most catastrophic floods ever recorded in our history.

In Bosnia and Herzegovina the floods have caused over 3000 landslides in which houses were completely destroyed. As if all that was not enough, the landslides have moved some of the estimated one million land mines left over from the war in the 1990's.

Now thousands of people have lost everything they had for the second time in their life. Many have been injured. Many didn't survive.  As an aftermath, infectious deceases are spreading in the collective centers filled with people who are losing hope and perspective. Over one million people will be affected by the events.

Students from the University of Sarajevo helping in cleaning the streets and houses.

This blog is about the little everyday things that make us happy. What makes us happy these days and gives hope are the helping hands of so many good people in Bosnia Herzegovina and abroad.

Emina took these pictures in one of the affected cities, Maglaj. After the water level has sunk, hundreds of people from all over the country and abroad are helping the victims to clean their houses. Unfortunately, other cities are still under water. 

Translation of the holy book Koran found in the mud while all furniture in the children's room was being thrown out.

All that is left from what used to be a living room.

We are calling you to get involved and help in any way you can. Millions of even the smallest deeds will result in one big impact. Please donate. Please volunteer. Please spread the word.

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Recipe: Twisted Bun with Homemade Marmelade

It has been raining for weeks over here which made me desperate! Although everyone thought the bad weather would ruin the 1st May celebrations, today we surprisingly had an almost rain-free and sunny day!

 I got woken up pretty early by the sunshine (I thought I was dreaming!) and used the opportunity to make twisted buns for breakfast before anyone else got out of bed (thanks to the public holidays Nerma and I managed to escape the city for a few days and spend a prolonged weekend with our family).

Everyone loves these buns, especially when I make them with Nerma's homemade plum marmalade (she really made it from scratch!) and walnuts.

The rest of the morning was just picturesque: sitting in the garden filled with the scent of my favorite flower, lilac, reading my book and enjoying warm twisted bun with a cup of milk. I wished there were more of these moments:)

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