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    Two Years and a whole load of Chocolate

    I’m very happy to tell you that yesterday marked the 2 year anniversary of Leather & Abel officially becoming a team! 🙂 Over this time, we have been on many different adventures (like right now in Berlin) and eaten a lot of food – usually involving chocolate. We’re both chocolate fanatics and spent most of a holiday to Belgium popping our heads into each little Chocolatier we came across and sampling their wares. It was fitting then that we got to celebrate our anniversary with  a very special, one-of-a-kind chocolate. A custom made Ritter-Sport chocolate bar! Ritter-Sport is a famous brand of delicious German Chocolate and if you ever visit…

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    Weekly writing challenge – leave your shoes at the door.

    I came across this fun website where there is a weekly writing challenge posted. I like a challenge and this week it was all about imagining walking in someone else’s shoes, so here I go: These boots were made for walking… I could feel a tiny bulge under the cardboard. I had been trying to ignore it for at least an hour. Maybe two. Who was to know how long I had been lying here on the pavement. I had no way of knowing. Time always felt like it stood still. Perhaps it was a small stone. It was so insignificant. But I could think of nothing else. Here I…

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    A remarkable woman: Dinah Abel

    Lady in red… Not such a happy Monday post today, but one I am going to share with you all anyway. Her name was Dinah. She was my great-aunt. My grandfather’s sister. And she passed away on Saturday morning. I will always remember her as one of the tiniest people I have ever met. When I bent down for a cuddle, she barely came up to my chest. I would joke that she was shrinking. At 95, she was one of those remarkable people you read about, but most are not lucky enough to meet. She lived alone. Never married or had children, but she felt like a grandmother to…

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    Flapjack

    Ah brown sugar how come you taste so good… We have been invited to a potluck monthly gathering. Apparently everyone brings a dish of their choice and the crowd is very multicultural, so people try and bring something from their own country. We had been told the kitchen is always a busy place and so if we could bring something that didn’t require an oven or microwave it would be highly appreciated. I thought of my sweet teeth (all 28 of them) and decided scones were the way forward. But as it’s not just me (Jason will also be going), we need two dishes. And what better dessert to accompany…

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    OMG – Michael BublĂ© at the 02

    And in this crazy life, and through these crazy times It’s you, it’s you, you make me sing. You’re every line, you’re every word, you’re everything. So Jason and I have almost been together for two fabulous years and as a treat, he got us tickets to see Michael BublĂ©. For those of you who have spent time with me, you will know all I listen to is BublĂ©’s music. On repeat. All day long. In fact, I am swaying to his music as I type right now… It all started a long time ago. I remember hearing his hit Everything years ago. It was playing on the radio and…

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    Here comes Berlin's famous winter…

    Let it snow (not!!!) So I stepped outside today and slipped and slid all over the place. Jason took two steps out of the office and flew comedy-style, landing on his back. It is beyond icy and with the cold wind, winter has officially arrived. It is impossible to go out without coat, gloves, scarf and hat. Brrrr. Up until this morning, I was wondering what all the fuss is about. People in Germany complain about the winter weather more than us Brits. Everyone moans about the winter: the snow, the dark, the cold, the wind. Up until today however it has been lovely. On occasion it’s cold, but usually…

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    Christmas is over!

    O Tannenbaum, O Tannenbaum… I love the word for Christmas tree in German: Tannenbaum. I remember singing the German song that is now a famous Christmas Carol as a child at the German School in London. We always had a real tree at home when I was little. We would buy a tiny baby plant and it would grow each year and then after lots of watering and loving it would finally grow into a normal-sized tree. It was always placed by the central heating, so it would dry out quickly. Hence the little pine needles would cover the floor, often ruining the carpet underneath it. But it didn’t matter,…

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    Vending machines with a twist!

    To read or not to read… that is the question… There are vending machines everywhere in Japan. If you are hungry, thirsty or even in need of a cigarette (yes, these machines still exist in Japan), you will find a vending machine to fulfil your needs. In fact, according to the Japanese Vending Machine Association (ahem) there are over 5.6 million vending machines in the country. So that would make 1 machine per 23 people. I know! It’s crazy! However, the machines are amazing1 On New Year’s day they will wish you a ‘Happy New Year!’ If you need your caffeine fix why not grab a quick and hot coffee?…

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    Pomegranate Vodka

    I’d like to tell a story and every word is true. It’s all about a substance, a very special brew. It’s not Guinness or Budweiser, Bemish or Murphy’s Stout But if you take a drop too much, it’s sure to knock you out. Oh they drink it in Siberia, it’s dignified and smart. It’s not like auld gassy beer, it won’t make you belch or fart. It keeps the Russians warm where they seldom see the sun. There’s nothing like a vodka boy, a vodka is the one. This is a labour of love, as you will not be able to drink the vodka for at least a week BUT…

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    First post of 2014

    Start as you mean to go on… It’s funny how when faced with the start of another year, we tend to look backwards instead of forwards. People reflect back on the year that’s passed. My Facebook feed was full of precious travel stories, babies born in 2013, weddings… Some friends were wishing the year over as quickly as possible in order to start afresh, having been plagued by poor health or personal problems. And the lists of resolutions were long, from getting fit and eating healthy to resolving never ever to join a gym again. It will be interesting to see how many of these intentions are forgotten by the…