Croatian Style

Slowly getting back into the swing of things Croatian style. First of all, I can't believe I've been here over a year already. That is just crazy to me! I really can't believe that. I didn't know at this point last year that I'd be staying this long but that's life and I've certainly gotten used to certain aspects of Croatian life. Since we were traveling with our family and friends, some Croatian habits were made so much more noticeable to me around other people. Tomislav (and I have to admit I'm also guilty of this) drinks his coffee "Croatian style" which means leisurely and at a very relaxed pace so that one espresso lasts an entire hour long break. I've gotten so used to the coffee here (which I used to complain about!) but I love that I don't have to drink a huge ass mug to get my caffeine fix, just one, bitter but delicious espresso does the trick! Since we came back to hot hot heated up Zagreb last week, we decided to settle back in the Croatian way, which obviously means a weekend trip to the seaside!

The beautiful island of Krk - the perfect place for romantic strolls

Yesterday I was driving to the supermarket and listening to the radio. Well, really I was half listening because I usually don't concentrate enough to try to understand what the radio DJs are saying in Croatian, but I got interested upon hearing "zaručnik" and "vjenčanje" obvi (which mean fiance and wedding) and realized that they were talking about the movie "The 5 Year Engagement." I wanted to see the movie so I started really trying to concentrate and I realized it was some kind of a movie ticket giveaway so I heard you had to send a text to nula-šest-dva-dva-pet and I can't match the actual numbers to the words right away in my head so I kept repeating nula-šest-dva-dva-pet, nula-šest-dva-dva-pet to myself until I got to the supermarket. I texted the number and I won the free tickets! We saw it last night and it was so funny! It made T-Slav and I realize that maybe we should play some more of those kinds of SMS games/giveaways. He won a year's supply of Fisherman's Friend candy a year or two ago because of one of those contests. Oh yeah Cro Cro, what up small population = bigger chances of winning!

Finally, check out my kulinarskoj mudrosti (culinary wisdom) over here on Mrkva.hr's blog! I wrote about the recipe you thought you knew, but you didn't a while back after Tomislav urged me to share the way I make hard boiled eggs. Something so simple, but many people don't know the simple and perfect way to make eggs every single time. Translated into Croatian! So neat! I will have to show my mother-in-law that one :)

Shopping Anxiety

I have extreme shopping anxiety. It's a fact. Shopping is really difficult for me sometimes. If I'm in the mood for it, it can be a fun experience but most of the time, I absolutely dread it. Spending money stresses me out, shopping trips need to be carefully planned and sometimes even the slightest thing can pull me right out of the mood and after 5 minutes in the first store, I turn around and go home. I think about an item for a long time before I buy it, maybe even go to the store 3 times to check it, sleep on it, and eventually decide to buy it. Still after I buy it, I try it on, reconsider whether to return it and whether it was truly a good buy.

Nothing is better to me than scoring a great bargain and my Mom has definitely taught me the best ways to find a good deal but I still have to say, I relate more to my Dad because of my shopping habits. My Mom is so stylish and she knows all the trends way before I do, especially because she works in a store. She helps me a lot (unknowingly) to curb my shopping anxiety by buying me clothes that are super cute (and most of the time on super sale!). I'm really lucky because it's so hard for me to go shopping. If I'm not feeling it, I really can't force myself. Having a fiance who likes fashion and loves to shop does not help with my anxiety but I totally think T and my Mom should go shopping together sometime.  

 

I have only met one person in the world so far who seems to have similar shopping habits and it felt amazing to hear his experiences that were similar to mine. I don't think he knows how groundbreaking it was for me to hear about what his shopping trips were like and how much it's stuck with me ever since! 

Last weekend, we got psyched up to go shopping at the Palmanova Outlets between Trieste and Venice, Italy. When I saw that Venice was only 100 km further, I was like, forget shopping! Let's go to Venice for the day! I didn't realize Venezia was so much closer with the car (rather than the train which is how we got there a couple years ago). But alas, we had shopping to do. We're looking for T's outfit for our wedding and I'm happy to say that I behaved myself pretty well. I almost had one breakdown while there but an espresso and gelato break helped with that and we continued shopping throughout the evening.

Espresso always reminds me of my old coworker, David, who is Italian and taught me the importance of good coffee and how espresso is absolutely required after lunch!

 

You KNOW things must have been going well if I was trying on feathered dresses for fun ;)

 

Tomislav found this cutie scarf and showed off his American pride!

Do any of you out there have shopping anxiety? Any tips for me? My idea was that if things got really tough shopping and I wasn't able to go on, to stop and have a glass of wine to help me carry on!