Freitags-Füller 16

Heute könnte ich mich ganz zurückziehen, Tee trinken, Beth Gibbons oder Nick Cave hören und einfach nur schön herbstlich-melancholisch sein.

Es heißt, ich sei manchmal doch sehr direkt. Kann ich mit leben ;-)

Bald können wir endlich wieder Weihnachtssüßigkeiten kaufen - im Gegensatz zu den Medien bin ich der Meinung das es jedes Jahr wieder später wird. Ich meine, fast September und noch kein Stollenkonfekt? Pah!

Es ist nicht immer leicht den Spagat zwischen England und Deutschland gekonnt hinzukriegen.

Berlin mag ich sehr. Bin mir manchmal nur nicht sicher ob ich es wirklich so toll finde oder ob meine "Blogger-Nerdbrille-Parka-Theaterstudent-Frozen Yogurt"- Seite die "Idee Berlin" einfach anbetet.

Vor langer Zeit habe ich neonfarbene Lycra Radlerhosen in der Schule getragen.

Was das Wochenende angeht, heute Abend freue ich mich auf nichts besonderes, mein Woche war voll gepackt und ich genieße das "für mich" sein, morgen habe ich auf den Markt gehen, Hähnchen essen und zum Theaterfest gehen (mal sehen wie sich meine Kamera bei Bühnenfotos so anstellt) geplant und Sonntag möchte ich mit zwei Freundinnen frühstücken gehen die ich ewig nicht gesehen habe obwohl wir nicht weit entfernt voneinander wohnen und die ich trotzdem immer noch zum engsten Kreis zähle!

innocent fortune telling

In school, when we all were about 16 year old, my best friend and I went through a phase of obsessing about our future. We had clear ideas how all the other people would end up living and it culminated when we started writing a fictional cv for each other.

Now, nearly 14 years later, I found this letter in my desk again (I knew it was there and had a look some years ago so it wasn´t as dramatic as it sounds) and can´t help but comparing life and fiction. Being 30 is a very good point for doing so, I guess...:-)

According to my friend I did an apprenticeship, then studied and now I´m a stage designer at our local theatre.
2000 I meet my future husband, a 1,77m tall Swabian car-mechanic that works as a fire man now, has dark curly hair, is not exactly thin and is born on the 8.7.77. His hobbies? Hiking, bike tours and playing chess. 2005 we moved together, 2008 we got married. 

On the 9.9.2010 our daughter gets born who loves music, behaves well and later studies biology. On the 12.3.14 we have twins - two rowdy boys who love football and maths. One ends up working in a bank, the other one becomes a pilot.

We all live in a big old maisonette flat with high ceilings and huge windows, apparently we have two sinks in the family bathroom. We drive a VW Golf until it becomes vintage and a Sharan.
The flat we share with our two cats, Maunzi and Schnufi and the two budgies, Helmut &Friedrich.

Our joined hobbies are eating out, going to musicals, visiting family and going to Scandinavia in the car every few years.

Some things have come true, some not but all in all I´m surprised how true some things have been predicted (and don´t laugh about details like the two sinks  - in my cv for her I predicted she would own a yogurt maker...).
My husband, the cats, the taste in cars...not thaaat wrong really. The apprenticeship? What I should have done instead of going to uni straightaway! The kids? Well, running a bit late with the girl and NOT looking forward to the football boys lol

This makes me sentimental and thoughful but it amuses me at the same time. Life was great at 16, we just didn't know it...youth is wasted on the young.

Glossybox 8/2012

Returning to Germany my Glossybox was already waiting for me.

I pretty much got the products I wanted and can use them all which is good. But counting together all the prices 15€ seems ridiculously overpriced. Still wondering what to do...

• Catrice Glamour Doll Volume Mascara (I´m not such a mascara maniac as most other people seem to be but a useful product)
• Figs& Rouge Balm (love the tin, will use it - shame I just bought this on asos a while ago)
• Kenzo MadlyKenzo (smells nice but such a tiny sample is simply embarrassing)
• Lancaster After Sun Tan Maximizer (know it, like it but a) summer is nearly over and b) it´s tiny!)
• OPI Nail Lacquer (one of the new Germany collection colours...like it a lot)

The stupid GlossyMag is as superfluous as always and the little neon bracelet as an extra is nice but doesn´t turn my overall mediocre impression around.

How long will the Glossybox last on the market you think?
And, most important question, WHERE IS THE FULL SIZE MAXFACTOR FOUNDATION THAT WAS PROMISED LAST MONTH AFTER THE SAMPLES IN THE BOX HAD REACHED THE EXPIRATION DATE???

it´s a new day, it´s a new life

Since I was in secondary school I have always used a proper calendar for organizing my dates, keeping flyers and tickets and making notes - some years the books look really busy, some years they look more blank. I keep them all on a shelf in my bedroom.
Every year around June the new calendars slowly get onto the market again. Every year I promise myself to wait until the variety is bigger but each year I crumble and get my new baby in August, at the latest.
I´m such a victim when it comes to beautiful stationery...

And here is my choice for 2013... apple green, hand-made, larger than A5, flexible and with charming yellow tinted smooth paper...

Then comes the big moment of defloration...I love and fear it at the same time.
Love to go through all birthdays and already scheduled weddings etc, love to remember things and make a clean sweep...fear it as I tend to make a typo directly on the first page (this year I started particularly bad - first wrote in the wrong work schedule of my husband and then slipped into the wrong month when writing down birthdays, buuuh).
A new calendar always gives me the feeling that a new, fresh and promising start is lying ahead...organized, tidy, colourful and with endless time.
Definitely one of my favourite parts of the year, one of my rituals - how about you?

Divas and Dreams Photo Challenge: Pink

Freitags-Füller 15

Was wäre wenn man wirklich aussteigen würde um um die Welt reisen, vollkommen frei und ungebunden...wäre es ein Traum oder Alptraum?

Meine Mathe Note in der Schulzeit war meistens ungenügend, gekümmert hat es mich jedoch wenig.


Warum sammelt sich nach einer längeren Abwesenheit immer dermaßen viel alberner, lästiger und ärgerlicher Alltagsscheiß zu erledigen an?

Freundlichkeit an den Tag legen gegenüber Behörden ist wichttig, auch wenn mir das schwerfällt .

Wann werde ich endlich unseren Urlaub geplant haben?

Letzte Woche bin ich im TV mal wieder auf alte Mr. Bean Folgen gestoßen und ich habe sehr darüber gelacht.

Was das Wochenende angeht, heute Abend freue ich mich auf nix wirklich- bin wieder in Deutschland und muß mich daran erst gewöhnen, morgen habe ich meine normale Mainz Runde inkl. Thai Mittagessen geplant und Sonntag möchte ich hoffentlich wieder halbwegs in Deutschland "angekommen" sein!

memories of Heidelberg

A few weeks ago we made use of the lovely sunny weather and the fact we had the car with us and drove down to Heidelberg for the day.
First we investigated the Thingstaette up on Heiligenberg (a must if you studied theatre really...and/or history) , then we wandered through town and took the train up the mountain to the castle to enjoy the view. After a little bit of shopping and more walking we had lunch at MoschMosch and some ice-cream...perfect!

BP Portrait Prize 2012

If you come past the National Portrait Gallery in London, go in and have a look at this years BP Portrait Award exhibition (you should go in anyway as it is a fantastic museum which always has amazing portraits - old or contemporary - on display, can't stress that enough).

As every year I was amazed again by the talent.
Some paintings make you wanna touch them as your mind simply can't get that it's not a photo!
All tell their own stories and you can't help but thinking about that person you see, who are they, what did they feel while being painted? Seeing a human face is something everyone can relate to, it's not too abstract or boring, a face always draws all attention to it.

The admission is free and it is still on until the 23rd sep 2012.

Forever 21

Last year a hype started in the (British) blogging world - American fashion chain Forever 21 opened up a flagship store on Oxford street.
I went in a few weeks later, had a look around...and found everything quite ordinary. Fairly reasonable prices, nice things, a huge selection of jewellery but nothing I hadn't seen before in all the other shops.
Irritated by the doorman ("Thank you for shopping with us") I left and forgot about it.

Last week I ended up on their website, no idea why. And found their plus size range (don't think they have it in store, at least not this particular one)...and fell in love.

Fantastic pieces that look stylish without being too bland and tent like. The prices are low, the sizing is easy to understand and what I like a lot: the models on the website are actually big!!!

 I ended up ordering a few things and then had a "quick" look through the jewellery section. OK, I'm lying. With 100 items on each page I had to click my way through 50 (!) pages!!!

Last week the parcel arrived and I'm really happy with all the things I got. Definitely will have a look again and, no matter what size you are, check it out!

more things about me

Part of being a blogger is talking about yourself so I grabbed another tag from lovely Miss W.

What do you like for breakfast?
It varies...when I was a teenager I didn't really do breakfast but now I never leave the house without. Can be a muesli with lots of fruit, could be a nutella sandwich, rarely it could be bacon and eggs or a bowl of porridge...but always with something hot to drink, in the morning preferably tea.


Which colour do you wear on your nails right now?
China Glaze "Cream Puff"

What do you usually order in a bar?
I can be horribly stingy when it comes to (alcolholic) drinks: A cocktail if there is a happy hour, if not maybe a glass of rose wine or, if I'm in Hesse, apple wine...but normally I stick with latte macchiato or diet coke.

Which are your favourite pair of shoes?
at the moment: brogues in any shape or colour. Stylish, comfy, tidy and a liiittle bit edgy.

What is your favourite spaghetti dish?
Unfortunately I love nearly all of them.

Which is your favourite colour?
in general greens and violets. But always the muddy, dusky and sort of "impure" shades, never the clear and bright ones. Apart from that I love a pale ballet shoe pink.

If you could chose one supernatural power, which one would it be?
Turning invisible whenever I want to - means never paying for flights or concerts again and sneaking around other peoples houses, hehe.


What is your signature dish?
I love cooking and cook nearly everyday so it would be a bit sad to reduce this all to one single dish. But if I had to pick a failsafe one - Spaghetti Bolognese with little meat and loads of vegetables.

What annoys you most?
Way too many things which can make life challenging sometimes...people around me eating noisily or licking their fingers is my pet hate

If you could go back in life, which period would you like to live in again?
Not sure, painful question...good that this option is not available really.

Which loyalty cards are in your wallet?
I'm a sucker for loyalty cards but have tidied them a lot and now only have those that I really use. In my German wallet are the Paypack card, the IKEA family card, the Miles&More card from Lufthansa and several stamp cards from my favourite coffee shops.
In my English wallet there are cards from Tesco, Nectar (Sainsbury's),  Boots, Superdrug, Matalan,  Waterstones, Costa Coffee and loads of Caffe Nero stamp cards. Trust me, this IS the state after the big tidy!

What item was the last you repaired?
...that's the reason why I got married...;-)

Divas and Dreams Photo Challenge: Cake

Freitags-Füller 14

Bei diesem Wetter geht es mir nicht anders als sonst auch, diesen Hype ums Wetter kann ich nie nachvollziehen, kann doch eh nix dran geaendert werden.

Die Tatsache mehrere Tage nicht zum Bloggen gekommen zu sein, verursacht mir Unbehagen.

Ich habe gehört, dass Prince Philip wieder im Krankenhaus liegt. Hoffentlich geht es nochmal aufwaerts.

Nicht viel hilft gegen Mückenstiche, zum Glueck haben wir hier so gut wie keine rumschwirren.

Eiskalte Getraenke sind nicht so mein Ding, wenn ich waehlen kann dann alles immer ohne Eiswuerfel.

In wenigen Tagen ist die schoene Zeit in England schon wieder vorbei. Aber ich komme ja wieder :-)

Was das Wochenende angeht, heute Abend freue ich mich auf zum zweiten Male den Buckingham Palace zu besichtigen, morgen habe ein ganz besonderes Blind-Date in London geplant und Sonntag möchte ich auf den groessten Car Boot Sale der Umgebung und schauen was sich diesmal so findet!

Divas and Dreams Photo Challenge: Ice Cream

Glasto!!!

Between wandering through Bath and exploring Bristol we went to the famous Glastonbury.
Normally a pretty small village, every year during THE festival the centre of the music world.
I fell in love instantly and violently...a charming cosy village, hardly any chain stores but fascinating new age shops heaving with incense, cheap independent cafes and the streets full of old hippies, gurus and...cats.
I decided to move there one day...and I mean it.
Inside of me is a hippie wanting to come out :-)

Boxhagener Platz

Regie: Matti Geschonneck
Jahr: 2010
mit: Gudrun Ritter, Michael Gwisdek, Horst Krause, Meret Becker, etc.

Story: Ost-Berlin 1968, Holger besucht häufig seine Großmutter Otti Henschel, weil sich seine Eltern häufig streiten. Otti hat im Laufe ihres Lebens schon mehrere ihrer Partner überlebt, auf dem Friedhof bändelt sie mit dem ehemaligen Widerstands-Kämpfer Karl Wegner an. Als sie dies ihrem aktuellen Partner Rudi gestehen will, stirbt der kurz darauf. Auch der Fischhändler Winkler interessiert sich für Otti. Die nimmt zwar seine Fischgeschenke, zeigt ihm aber sonst die kalte Schulter. Kurz darauf wird Fisch-Winkler erschlagen aufgefunden. Die ermittelnde Volkspolizei verhaftet Wegner...

mir gefallen: skurile Typen, Berliner Schnauze und diese besondere "Flair" das Filme die in diesem Setting spielen eben so haben (z.B. die Einrichtung, Spleen von mir...).Ich sehe auch Meret Becker und Michael Gwisdek sehr gerne.
mir nicht gefallen: teilweise war die Berliner Schnauze so stark das ich Otti kaum verstanden habe! Generell konnte ich mit Gudrun Ritter nicht sonderlich viel anfangen und ihre Anziehungskraft auf die Maennerwelt bleibt mir raetselhaft.

Fazit: "Was hat er denn?" - "Nuescht hat er, tot is er"
Ein recht ruhiger Film den ich mir gerne angeschaut habe aber der mich auch nicht tiefer beruehrt hat.

achat en gros

Last tuesday we drove the long way from Germany back to England again. Not without stopping in Belgium to buy a few things and dip my feet into the north sea once again...and certainly not without shopping at Carrefour, Calais.You probably already know that I have a thing for foreign supermarkets - I find them entertaining, I end up buying too much cause I'm curious or the packaging is nice and I love comparing them to the supermarkets at home. France of course is not really that new and exciting to me but still...we left with two very full bags and with 85Euros less.

Cheap wine and champagne (yes, in the 2litre plastic bottle), fun shaped pasta, exotic jams and bread spreads, my beloved Mr. Propre "Savon de Marseille" floor cleaner, some lovely macarons (only to take a picture for the blog really ;-)), two "Le Petit Marseillais" shower gels smelling of white peach and lilac,...

...and of course tons of cheese, biscuits, yogurts, tabbouleh for the addict, more cheese etc.
Vive la France!