I am slightly lazy, so if there is a way for me to make one dish that could serve as breakfast, lunch and dinner- I’ll do it.

This Calzone is just that. It’s like like a bread with built in sandwich qualities, in other words- awesome. What I like about this recipe is that it allows you to be creative and adjust it to your liking- adding your favorite ingredients as the filling of the Calzone.

Ingredients:

• 1.5 cups white flour
• 0.5 cup warm water
• 1 portion of active dry yeast
• 1 tbsp olive oil+ some oil to drizzle on top
• .5 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• dried herbs to your liking (I used some basil and oregano)
• about 150 gr cooked bacon bits (I fried them up)
• 100 gr Mozzarella (or your favorite cheese)
• 1 bell pepper, or any other vegetable to your liking (I once used mushrooms and it was also great)
• coarse salt for sprinkling

The making of the Calzone:

• Mix warm water and sugar with yeast in a bowl and let sit in the bowl for 5 min to activate the yeast.
• Add half a cup of lour and and mix, then add 1 Tbsp olive oil, a tablespoon of herbs and salt, mix again. Add the rest of the flour gradually while mixing. You can mix using a mixer with a dough hook, or use a wooden spoon.
• When all is incorporated- and the dough is pulling away from the bowl- kneed the dough for 2 more minutes of a floury surface. Then oil up a bowl, place dough in the bowl and cover. Let the dough sit for an hour or until doubled in size.
• Heat up your oven to 200 degrees Celsius. Take the dough out onto a floured surface and flatten it into a rectangle about 30\40 cm in size.
•  place your filling ingredients in the middle and pinch both edges together to close the calzone up.
• place the calzone on a baking pan lined with baking paper and sprinkled with corn meal\flour (optional).
• Drizzle some olive oil and sprinkle some herbs and coarse salt on top of the Calzone.
• Let bake for 20 minutes- half an hour.

Enjoy the wonderful taste of a homemade Calzone

Home Made Calzone is a post from: Synthetic Elegance | Follow on Twitter | Bloglovin' | Tumblr | Pinterest

Clutch- zappos.com, buckle shoes- Topshop, snake skin shoes- karmaloop.com, velvety coat- alexandalexa.com, scarf- oasap, leggings- alexandalexa.com, Jeffrey Campbell shoes- karmaloop.com

I saw this girl waiting for the train last Sunday at my home station. She looked super chic and was dressed to kill. This outfit features pretty much everything I’m liking right now- square heel booties, velvet, navy blue and a clutch for daytime. Though I must admit that taking the underground while clutching on to your clutch must be a bit uncomfortable, so I’m not going to try that soon. This outfit really warmed up my last days of winter.

Fashion on the U- Velvety Coat is a post from: Synthetic Elegance | Follow on Twitter | Bloglovin' | Tumblr | Pinterest

Last  Sunday was the official day of the beginning of Spring here in Berlin, or at least the first day the weather generally agreed with the fact it’s supposed to be warmer by now. I went out of my house and walked along with lots of other Berliners to Hasenheide park, where traces of snow could still  be seen. In the center of the park there is a petting zoo and also some Llamas. Walking through the leafy park was great, relaxing and also pretty muddy. I continued my Sunday walk by going to Tempelhofer field, a former airport in the middle of Berlin, built by the Nazis as the gate to the city, that has ceased to operate in 2008 and now serves as a big park. Such a big open space in the middle of the city is indeed something special, even though I feel that Berlin has more nature than any other big city I’ve ever visited.

The field was full of people biking, skating, running and I just felt that the sky was nearer than ever.

End of Winter Walk is a post from: Synthetic Elegance | Follow on Twitter | Bloglovin' | Tumblr | Pinterest

Granted, this cheesy bread dish will not bring you closer to your target weight (unless you are trying to gain weight), but it’s delicious, simple and filling.

Ingredients for the dough:

• 1.5 cups white flour
• 1 teaspoon of yeast (I used one little bag of dry yeast)
• a pinch of sugar
• 0.5 cups of warm water
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 0.25 tsp salt

For the cheesy filling you can use whatever cheese and herbs you want. I used grated Mozzarella and chopped Camembert, sprinkled with dry Oregano.

- Combine 0.5 cup of warm water with yeast and a pinch of sugar. Let the mixture sit for 5 minutes or so for the yeast to start working.

- Add 0.5 cup of flour to the mix, combine well.

- Add the salt and olive oil. Mix to combine.

- Add the rest of the flour. Combine well and mix until the dough forms and starts to pull away from the bowl.

- Take the dough out onto a floured surface and kneed it well until elastic (about 5 minutes).

- Oil up a bowl, put your dough in the bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Put it in a warm place and let the dough rise for about an hour, or until double in size.

- Heat up the oven to 220 degrees c. Prepare a baking tray lined with a lightly floured cookie sheet. When ready- take the dough out onto a floured surface and beat it to punch the air bubbles out. Flatten the dough into an oval shape with a thick rim. It’s supposed to look like a boat, or a vagina in my case. Move your dough to the cookie sheet and place your cheese and herbs of choice inside.

- Bake the bread until the cheese is bubbly and the rims are lightly brown.

- Serve and nom!

Carbs for Your Soul- Georgian Style is a post from: Synthetic Elegance | Follow on Twitter | Bloglovin' | Tumblr | Pinterest

Red Coat (similar), boots- Minnetonka, black pants- Asos, Burberry scarf, Bag- etsy

It is safe to say that Asian tourists are some of this city’s best dressers. This girl on the Berlin underground had simply made my day.

Fashion on the U Bahn is a post from: Synthetic Elegance | Follow on Twitter | Bloglovin' | Tumblr | Pinterest

As it so happens, in one of my numerous flea market hauls, I have spotted stacks of old photos being sold. At first I felt a little bad that I couldn’t keep all the boxes of treasure to myself, but then I started to rummage through the old pieces of card documenting people and moments past and spotted a few style gems.

This cute couple, in a photo from 1943 look so happy in their picture perfect outfits. The man is dressed like a young Don Draper with his arm around a smiley girl. I could make up a thousand stories looking at this old photo, but what we are really here for is the fashion, the smiles and atmosphere are just a really cool bonus.

These two dresses are featuring classic 50′s cuts, showing off an hourglass figure.

Don Draper and Peggy were obviously inspired by the happy couple in the photo.

Ye Olde Style- a Friday Treat is a post from: Synthetic Elegance | Follow on Twitter | Bloglovin' | Tumblr | Pinterest

Like the Naschmarkt for sweets that occurred earlier this month, the Handmade Supermarket also took place in Markthalle IX in Kreuzberg. Now, to be honest- I could not possibly buy all the things I liked in this beautiful market.

This beautiful jewelry by est- schmuck is so delicate, I could never catch a good photo of those porcelain pendants on silver chains. The display is also interesting.

These pretty bags were made by a local brand called PackAttack. I especially like the ones that roll up like lunch bags, and I would have considered getting one if the larger ones were also available as back packs rather than shoulder bags, could be perfect for my laptop.

If you are in Berlin, it is worth it to keep an eye out for weekend markets in the Markthalle Neun, as they do host some unique ones. So even if you are short on cash like I am, you can still enjoy the market atmosphere and get inspired.

Handmade in Berlin is a post from: Synthetic Elegance | Follow on Twitter | Bloglovin' | Tumblr | Pinterest

I have my basic essentials to keep me warm, so I pretty much look the same every single day.

Wearing: Quicksilver ski jacket, Accessorize leather gloves, Zara pants (now oil stained! classy), anonymous oh-so-warm snow boots and more things that I can’t really write anything about.

I don’t really know how people who lived in colder climates for most of their lives cope with the gray weather/ same silhouette combo. To me it just seems like something that can surely drive me into madness or depression, but so far it had only pushed me into the kitchen with an undying urge to bake. I guess baked goods are a valid way to avoid winter depression.

Fashion in the Snow is a post from: Synthetic Elegance | Follow on Twitter | Bloglovin' | Tumblr | Pinterest

…and meanwhile, in Berlin is a post from: Synthetic Elegance | Follow on Twitter | Bloglovin' | Tumblr | Pinterest

What I’m wearing: jacket, red shirt (with sailboats!), jeans- Mango; sweater- Illustrated People, shoes- H by Hudson

The past month has been hectic. I have been running around, tying up loose ends and trying to sort all my worldly possessions into two piles: keep and throw away. Many of the other things in my life went through the same filters: thoughts, relationships, habits… Moving to a different country is very cleansing in that sense.

Pictured are a few things I’m going to miss where I am now- cats, beaches and the sun. This move has been a long time coming, holding all of the difficulties of moving to a country whose language I don’t speak fluently. I’m prepared for what’s to come and am embracing the ex-pat’s life with all its bureaucracy.

Once I am settled in my new place you could start expecting  more regular updates. I promise to try and not neglect this blog, which is my “home on the net” no matter where I currently reside. What a strange little place the world’s become.

Last Shots of Israel is a post from: Synthetic Elegance | Follow on Twitter | Bloglovin' | Tumblr | Pinterest