Homemade mixed berries jam

I have wanted to make my own fruit jam for a long time, and I finally did it!

I love eating fruit jam on toast. But most jams from the store are way too sweet. You taste the sugar more than the real fruit. It is very hard to find a jam that is less sweet in supermarkets here.

So, I decided to make my own at home.

My Simple Ingredients

For my first try, I used:

• 1 packet of frozen mixed berries

• A handful of fresh mulberries from my garden

• 1 Local gula nisan (palm sugar) for sweetness

• Chia seeds to make the jam thick without adding too much sugar.

Cooking it on the stove smelled amazing!

With 1 whole piece of the gula nisan, the jam still tasted sour.

It made me realize how much sugar must be added into the store-bought jam to make it so sweet. 

Even though it was sour, I was happy with the outcome.

Tips I found online.

If your homemade jam is too sour, here are a few simple ways to fix it without adding cups of white sugar:

1. Add a tiny pinch of salt: A little salt helps cut down the sour taste and brings out the natural sweet flavor of the fruit.

2. Try honey or maple syrup: Mixing a little honey with gula nisan can help soften the sharp sourness of berries.

3. Let the chia seeds rest: Chia seeds take 15 to 20 minutes to soak up the juices and thicken the jam properly. Let the jam sit off the heat before putting it in a jar.

The Sound of the Stephansdom Bells

Vienna, 14 September 2025, 10:08 am, right before High Mass.

This is how a Sunday morning starts in Vienna. The loud, beautiful sound of the cathedral bells fills the air at Stephansdom.

Walking across the busy square on a cool, cloudy morning, you can really feel the energy of the city. People are walking around, and everyone is drawn to the tall towers and the colorful, patterned roof of the church.

The heartbeat of Vienna. Hearing the famous Pummerin bell ring just before the morning church service is pure magic. The deep sound echoes over the stone streets, pulling you in.

Following the crowd past the old stone carvings and walk through the heavy wooden doors. Once inside, the feeling changes completely. The loud noise from outside fades away into a huge, quiet space. You see tall stone pillars reaching up to a very high ceiling, and a special red-and-white floor leads your eyes straight to the front of the church.

The Pummerin (also called the Mary Bell) is the huge, famous main bell of St. Stephen's Cathedral. People call it the "voice of Austria" because it has so much history behind it. When it rings for Sunday service, the sound is so strong that you can actually feel it in your chest.

I really miss this majestic sound.

Handbags from Korea

I keep forgetting when and where I bought my things from.

Looking back at our travel memories, these are the 3 leather handbags that I bought in Korea during our trip back in 2023. Along with them, I picked up an orange purse, a matching orange coin purse, and a black card holder. Every single one is made of genuine leather and are Korean-brand.  Until today,  they are still in great condition.

My most unique and special item from Korea is a pair of olive-colored handmade Korean slip-on leather shoes.

Moving forward, I’m going to share my other handbag purchases and their origins before they all slip my mind. I want to hold onto these beautiful memories for as long as I can.