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July Discoveries

Here are some new favorites of mine that I’ve discovered in the past few months (but for the purposes of convenience, have labeled as July….). First up – food of course!

marzipan

Niederegger marzipan. I have never been a fan of marzipan…until I tried the variety made by the fantastic Niederegger, one of the most famous and oldest (since 1806!) marizpan makers in Germany. Their marzipan is not too sweet, very almondy, and features awesome flavors like pineapple, cherry, mocha and more. I’m now actually quite obsessed with Niederegger and the sad thing is, I cannot find it here in the US! So please if you are lucky enough to be passing through Germany or somewhere else that has this wonderful marzipan, please pick some up for yourself! You won’t be sorry.

Jo Malone Lip Balm

Jo Malone lip balm. This tube was a gift from a friend (hi L!) and the moment I put it on I thought it was one of the best lip balms I’ve ever used (and I’m quite an addict). It smells amazing and feels wonderful on. The only thing not so wonderful is the steep price ($25). I’m not happy about the cost though in all honesty I’ll probably buy another tube when my current one runs out. It’s a small luxury that I use all the time.

 

Journals

Custom leather journals. I recently completed my little set of custom leather journals to write all my little notes down in – I love them! They always get compliments and it feels luxurious whenever I open it up and write on the creamy white pages. I sometimes feel bad for using these to write down my Trader Joe’s grocery lists versus deep lasting thoughts, but I guess that’s just what my mind can come up with. Mine are from Abdel Zaher in Cairo.

Jcrew Swiss Dot Tuxedo Shirt

 J.Crew Swiss Dot Tuxedo shirt. Aside from some basic chino short replacements, I haven’t had any luck at all with J.Crew this season. The lone exception has been this swiss dot shirt, which was quite a surprise. It has lovely details and is the type of material and shirt that will get better as it’s worn and gets “softer”. It’s also a bit less sheer than I expected and a nice top for both work and casual. A keeper!

 

 

These are some of my favorite discoveries so far this summer! Please share yours.

 

39 Comments

  • Reply
    Sonya
    July 22, 2013 at 7:28 am

    European marzipan is far different than in the States. Less sweet, much more almond, a different texture. A substitution you may more easily find is the Ritter Sport bars in marzipan that I see sometimes.

    • Reply
      Katherine
      July 22, 2013 at 10:20 am

      Oh that’s a fabulous idea. I am going to look for Ritter next time I’m out food shopping!

  • Reply
    Kayli Schattner
    July 22, 2013 at 10:10 am

    I want to try that Jo Malone lip balm! I love the Jo Malone scents so I’m sure that lip balm would be equally amazing!

    • Reply
      Katherine
      July 22, 2013 at 10:19 am

      I love the lip balm scent and it reminds me of Jo Malone, sweet but not too cloying and overall lovely.

  • Reply
    Ammu
    July 22, 2013 at 11:37 am

    Those journals look amazing. I used to collect beautiful notebooks for so long until I realised how little I used them. Still journaling in a leather journal I picked up on my first summer in London thirteen years ago!
    My favourite discoveries this summer are books. I loved The Wildings by Nilanjana Roy – a gorgeous illustrated fable about cats set in Delhi – whimsical and imaginative. Also, Between Clay and Dust by Musharraf Ali Farooqi – so subtle and evocative, about an ageing wrestler and a courtesan. I also loved The Story of a Widow by the same writer – a charming tale about a middle-aged Pakistani widow who receives a surprise marriage proposal, sending her extended family into shock. All wonderful books!

    • Reply
      Katherine
      July 22, 2013 at 12:23 pm

      Thank you thank you thank you! I love book recommendations! I use Amazon for recommendations for books and never would have found a book like The Story of a Widow, it sadly has no reviews, glad to find it!

  • Reply
    Tabitha
    July 22, 2013 at 12:09 pm

    I can’t bear marzipan but mum loves that brand, I buy her 6 boxes a year!

    • Reply
      Katherine
      July 22, 2013 at 12:24 pm

      So jealous, it seems to be available all over Europe but incredibly hard to find in the US! I even looked through my travel plans to see the next time we’ll be routed through Frankfurt, it’s my only way to get these bad boys for now..

  • Reply
    Marlene @ chocolatecookiesandcandies
    July 22, 2013 at 1:08 pm

    Now that you’ve mentioned it, I’ll have to try out the marzipan. BTW, I did some googling and Niederegger marzipans are easy to find over here. Email me your postal address and I’ll ship some over for you!

    • Reply
      Katherine
      July 22, 2013 at 3:02 pm

      You are too kind! I feel bad putting you through the trouble but may contact you if I get desperate! I’m hoping for a friend here to visit Europe soon 🙂

      • Reply
        Marlene @ chocolatecookiesandcandies
        July 22, 2013 at 3:42 pm

        It’s no trouble at all. The post office is just minutes away and online shopping makes ordering anything so easy these days. Give me a shout when the craving for marzipan takes hold of you 😛

  • Reply
    Alyssa
    July 22, 2013 at 1:24 pm

    Custom leather journals… oh my… now that’s something I would splurge on. Those are gorgeous!

  • Reply
    Beau
    July 22, 2013 at 2:09 pm

    Hi Katherine! What are the dimensions of these divine looking journals? I like quality creamy pages.

    • Reply
      Katherine
      July 22, 2013 at 2:43 pm

      Hi Beau, they are 17×12 cm – Abdel makes a bunch of different sizes and you can also customize. Hope that helps!

  • Reply
    Ann
    July 22, 2013 at 6:41 pm

    I remember seeing a lot of this brand of marzipan at Cardullo’s in Cambridge, MA when I was in college. Online, they seem to only have loafs but I think you can call and ask for the assortment:
    http://www.cardullos.com/category/view/candies-confections

    • Reply
      Katherine
      July 22, 2013 at 11:02 pm

      Hi Ann, thank you for the tip! And it’s a bittersweet reminder as I used to go to Cardullo’s all the time in grad school for their amazing sandwiches – I wish I had known about Niederegger then, I’d definitely be stocking up!

  • Reply
    Anonymous
    July 22, 2013 at 8:12 pm

    I’ve seen Niederegger at Cost Plus. Another place to check is the Gourmet Haus Staudt Store in Redwood City. They import lots of German products (candies, chocolates included) and there’s a German beer garden in back. I agree, German marzipan is great! 🙂

    • Reply
      Katherine
      July 22, 2013 at 11:00 pm

      I’ve heard about Niederegger at Cost Plus but I’m a brat and want the flavored versions! I will definitely check Gourmet Haus Staudt though, and I’ve heard great things about their pretzels! Thank you 🙂

  • Reply
    Lynn
    July 22, 2013 at 8:55 pm

    Those journals are absolutely gorgeous!! I’ve been looking for a nice leather journal for travelling. Would you mind sharing how much they are approximately? Thanks so much!! 🙂

    • Reply
      Katherine
      July 22, 2013 at 11:01 pm

      Hi Lynn, I forget the exact price but with the currency conversion maybe around $10 US or so. They do lovely work and unfortunately Cairo’s tourism is down a lot right now for obvious reasons so not many people are stopping by.

      • Reply
        Anonymous
        July 28, 2013 at 4:10 pm

        That’s incredibly reasonable for such beautiful craftsmanship. I will certainly look into it!! Thanks so much 🙂

  • Reply
    christine brightside
    July 23, 2013 at 1:51 am

    If you are craving for Niederegger, drop me a line @Katherine. I can get it in every supermarket and especially in autumn, a lot of “winter/christmas editions” are in the stores! I love Niederegger as well, the best marzipan label I know! 😉

    • Reply
      Katherine
      July 23, 2013 at 11:35 am

      Oh I remember you lived in Germany, you are so lucky! THank you for the kind offer, I am currently trying to get a seller from Germany to ship to me, LOL! What are your favorite flavors?

      • Reply
        Anonymous
        July 26, 2013 at 2:43 am

        Orange is my fave flavor… and I am also craving pistachio 😉

  • Reply
    Anonymous
    July 23, 2013 at 4:02 am

    Hi Katherine! Check out the Blythe silk blouses by Jcrew. I have them in 6 colors, love them so much, especially now that they’re on sale too! I’ve tried so many lip balms but always find myself going back to the Burt’s Bees pomegranate one, although other brands have much more delicious scents such as Tokyo Milk. Lastly, they have online mail forwarders which forward your mail for $5-10 per package, it’s how I get some of my stuff since a lot of companies don’t ship to my “country”.

    • Reply
      Katherine
      July 23, 2013 at 11:33 am

      Thank you! I ordered the Blythe before but the size was wrong, I should give it another try! I love Tokyo Milk scents, was just sniffing away at the spa this weekend 🙂

  • Reply
    chanello
    July 23, 2013 at 10:41 am

    Johnny’s Mustard from Sweden. it’s sweet strong. AMAZING on any kind of grilled meat, fried anything, actually, it’s just good on anything. Not available at Ikea 🙁

    http://www.scandikitchen.co.uk/products/Johnnys-senap-500g.html

    • Reply
      Katherine
      July 23, 2013 at 11:35 am

      Yummy!! Where did you find it? I also like the Italian mustard you can find at Angelo’s in Napa!

      • Reply
        chanello
        July 24, 2013 at 12:15 pm

        via a swedish friend who smuggles it back by the case. I put in an order to be delivered at end of month.

  • Reply
    DSK Steph
    July 23, 2013 at 1:30 pm

    I need to get my hands on that lip balm! 😀 Thanks for sharing!!

  • Reply
    Naaj Rona
    July 23, 2013 at 2:45 pm

    I love the Jo Malone Lip Balm and those Journals. I’m not a big fan of marzipan, but i should it give it a try i guess.

  • Reply
    annie
    July 23, 2013 at 4:11 pm

    i never knew jo malone had lip balm! i’m going to have to look into this one 😉

  • Reply
    audrinajulia
    July 23, 2013 at 4:50 pm

    what a deliciously photo from your marzipan.:) Wonderful to know that Jo Malone have a lip balm, their cologne scent is amazing. I just hope there’s an spf component. I will try to find it here when I go to beauty store but I bet this will cost a lot of money here, double than what you’ve said.:( My favorite recent purchased is an argan oil. A haven in a bottle.:)

    <3,
    Angie
    Audrinajulia.blogspot.com
    om

  • Reply
    TC
    July 23, 2013 at 8:08 pm

    have you tried the jo malone vitamin E hand lotion? it’s in a similar looking black tube. it’s expensive as well but really wonderful – moisturizes, not greasy, a citrusy scent.

    i like natural ice lip balm. super cheap but keeps my lips soft even when skiing in blizzard conditions and it’s not a vaseline-like goop.

    • Reply
      Katherine
      July 23, 2013 at 10:02 pm

      I’ve never tried natural ice! I have to add it to my list. And yes I always put on that Vitamin E lotion in stores….it’s very nice! I have a huge stash of MOR body butters that I am currently working through, though they are a bit greasy.

  • Reply
    Julie
    July 24, 2013 at 9:14 pm

    I wanna try out the Jo Malone Lip Balms. I love lip balms that is why this have caught my attention. Hope that its scent is not too overwhelming.

  • Reply
    tanya
    July 26, 2013 at 3:52 pm

    Is this box on amazon the same? Not sure if it’s made in the US or imported http://www.amazon.com/Niederegger-Marzipan-Assortment-400g-14-0/dp/B003XNQ8C0/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1374879009&sr=8-5&keywords=niederegger+marzipan

    • Reply
      Katherine
      July 26, 2013 at 4:04 pm

      Yes it is! I already found a friend to bring me a box back at London , or else I would be ordering! Thank you Tanya 🙂

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