Anthropologie

Anthropologie

(how do you pronounce that right?!? English? German?? Help!)

131 - 141 King's Road
London
SW3 4PW

158 Regent Street
London
W1B 5SW

Ok, this might not be that new and exciting to you as the shop is quite popular, has been featured many times in any available lifestyle mag and is actually way bigger in the US where it originates from.
Anyway, I took a bit longer to discover it (as usual) but fell in love instantly.
Someone described the shop as Urban Outfitters for grown-ups and that's exactly the feel. Lovely clothes, exclusive but quirky toiletries, home accessories and probably the biggest choice of cupboard door knobs I have ever seen ... and thats all I had to take in until I found their tableware assortment.
Amazing I tell you, proper crockery porn I tell you! Could have bought anything but limited myself to one very pretty Portuguese bowl.
Not cheap but not too luxurious to make you feel uncomfortable.
So much more than a shop - an inspiration and haven of beauty.

Sweet Paul

Last week I have won the current edition of the German recipe and food styling magazine "Sweet Paul" at Behyflora´s blog (which I really recommend as her food photos are mouth-watering fantasticand have made me lusting after coconut soup or matcha cookies more than once!)

A magazine that is wonderful to look at and I´m sure I will try some of the recipes soon too!
Thank you very much :-)

Secondhand Treasure X

sometimes you didn´t know that you desperately needed something until you have found it...happened to me yesterday at the fleamarket. Those two weird but beautiful paintings which are congenial to my newly decorated wall.

where: Flohmarkt Wiesbaden Biebrich
price: 5€ for both

Biba and Beyond: Barbara Hulanicki

Yesterday we spent the lovely sunny day in Brighton.
Apart from our usual round (gambling on the pier, shopping, eating something nice, taking photos) I had planned to finally visit the Biba exhibition at Brighton Museum.

In case you have never heard of the fashion label Biba and have a look here and read what the museum´s website says:

"The Biba store, the clothes, the lifestyle and the far reaching influence of this iconic brand. The exhibition also looks at the life and times of the charismatic and talented woman behind the label, Barbara Hulanicki.  It also includes her successful earlier career in fashion illustration and her later achievements in interior design and architecture.

After walking out of Biba in the mid-1970s following the brand’s corporate takeover, Barbara Hulanicki went on to work successfully in fashion in South America, Europe and Japan. In 2012 she is now an award winning and high profile interior designer working on major projects in the US and Caribbean. In the past few years Barbara’s career has come full circle with hugely successful affordable fashion projects in the UK for TopShop and George at Asda.

With its cutting edge yet affordable fashion, Barbara Hulanicki’s iconic Biba store and label transformed the High Street shopping experience in the 1960s and 70s. Young working women shopped alongside models and celebrities, including Twiggy, Cher and the Rolling Stones. Art Deco, Victorian and Hollywood glamour all combined in striking, romantic and sensual designs."

If you like finding out about the career of a designer, this one is for you.
If you like 60´s and 70´s design as well. And if you just love to look at some beautiful clothes and fashion illustrations you are right here too of course.
I enjoyed it a lot, found it inspiring and left feeling sorry that I didn´t own (and wouldn´t fit) any of the original dresses...

The exhibition is on until the 14th April 2013 and costs 6£.

Kringle Candles

For all the scented candle lovers out there. In case you haven't heard it yet, a new star is born:

Kringle Candle

Situated in Massachusetts (as most candle businesses seem to be) and founded by the son of Yankee Candle founder James Kittredge, this brand is just starting to spread to Europe.

Haven't had a chance to try/ sniff them yet but just placed my (enormous) order. Let's wait and see, will keep you posted! Scents like "Citrus and Sage", "Fresh Cut Grass" or "Pancake Breakfast" just sound delicious.

PS: All candles are neutral white and elegant looking...good for all the people who find their favourite Yankee Candle is clashing with their interior design ( see Alice, there might be a solution to your problem coming :-))

My dream house

it´s been a while but here is another "Blogstöckchen" I picked up from lovely Miss W.

How would you describe your interior style?

a mix of all sorts of beautiful and interesting things, some vintage, much IKEA...I try to avoid things that are simply useful and nothing else.

Is there a colour scheme?

Haha, in my head maybe. But if you have my amount of books, cd´s, tat, clothes, bags, paintings, photos, plants, etc. you can forget about colour schemes.

Is there something you would like to change in your current scheme?

De-cluttering to get a more clean and grown-up look and make it easier to "breathe".

How or where do you get inspired?

Films ("Amélie" for example)...blogs...magazines...books (check out the style of Emily Chalmers). My newest favourite is the German magazine "Couch". 

How do you design your balcony/garden/terrace?

in Germany I have no outside space at all. In England we have a garden that is not so much designed but more our playground to grow as many flowers and vegetables as possible. It´s a new experience for us, it´s exciting.

What do you like about your house/ interior design?
that it is very personal and a sensitive visitor can learn a lot about me by just looking around.

What is important to you when it comes to interior design?
character! A healthy mix of styles, countries, price tags and decades. Not hanging up the 156873rd poster of the Manhattan Steelworkers, not buying an orange zebra print in Aldi cause it is decorative but without having a link to Africa yourself, you know what I mean?

Do you do a lot by yourself?
I paint a lot of walls, recently started sewing my own pillow cases and curtains. In England we try to do everything (incl. kitchen and bathrooms) by ourselves as that´s simply the way it is mostly done there.

How would you like to live if you had an unlimited budget?

Easy ;-) - a charming Victorian cottage in Hampstead, London. 
A cosy and bohemian apartment in 5. Arrondissement, Paris. A generous and arty flat in Prenzlauer Berg, Berlin and a big, colourful and old "dwelling" with a large garden in Brighton or Glastonbury, UK. Basically not one super luxurious home but several charming pied-à-terre in cities I love.

Yankee Candle Union Jack

As much as I dislike items that have any connections to the German flag I'm a sucker for the Union Jack.
Unfortunately it only comes in the large housewarmer jar so there was a bit of a risk in buying it blind...


"Introducing the limited edition Yankee Candle Union Jack Housewarmer Jar, a stunning new fragrance for summer 2012 designed to celebrate everything British. A timeless addition to the 2012 Housewarmer collection, Union Jack is a Yankee Candle exclusive, offered for a limited time only and part of the Yankee Candle Collectable Programme. Infused with pure, natural fragrance extracts, Union Jack is a stunning fragrance reminiscent of British gardens and delicate rose petals, designed with a striking label featuring the Union Jack, Flag. With the London 2012 Olympic Games and Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee ceremony taking place in 2012, Yankee Candle will be paying tribute through the launch of this unique fragrance."

Now I've tried it and know: I don't really like it. It smells of roses, nothing else. And as much as I like roses in the garden, the artificial scent can easily cause headaches. Nevertheless I will use it up now and light it from time to time...at least it looks good :-)

Secondhand Treasure VIII

that lovely picture for my dressing room...I simply can´t resist anything ballet related.

where: Snooper´s Paradise, Brighton
price: 6 pounds

Second Hand Treasure VII

this vintage Hornsea coffee jar that´s a favourite with many people collecting old crockery.

where: Shepperton car boot sale
price: 3 pounds

surround sound

Is it just me or do women just don´t care about expensive sound systems?
My husband is so proud of his dolby surround stuff and all I can think of is how much the speakers ruin the vintage feel of the living room. If I want to listen to music I do this because I like the song, the quality makes hardly any difference to me. So instead of working out how to use the big hi-fi unit I just listen to it on youtube.  If the surround sound is turned on for watching a film (which doesn´t happen often as I get bored and fall asleep too often and, if not, prefer watching Gardeners World or DIY SOS) it irritates me. If a noise suddenly creeps up from behind I get scared and dislike whole idea even more. If I want a cinema effect I simply go to cinema, it´s as easy as that :-)
So tell me ladies if you feel as well that huge speakers and tv screens are simply spoiling the interior design and a waste of money!?

Tricky Tag

Again I didn´t get tagged officially but I like tags and I like the subject, so here is my tricky tag about "living" (as in accomodation). Found here.

In Germany I live in a small flat downtown in the house I grew up in. It doesn´t have a kitchen anymore but it is my castle where I can do whatever I want nearly all the time. Love that freedom and love the fact I have two places to store things...and two bathrooms to fill with my vast DM/Rossmann/Superdrug/Boots collection.

Speaking about castles - not many people have been invited into my flat yet. Reason number one is that I find my flat is quite a personal and intimate place and I feel uncomfortable sharing this with too many people. You see what books I read, what perfume I use, which photos are on display, which are not, which clothes I wear, what music I listen to...and you see the mess I live in which leads to:

I´m an extremely messy person, not a hoarder (but nearly). I used to hate that as I never could invite friends round when I was a child/teenager but now I embrace it as part of my personality. I just own too many things and have interest in too much so everything is constantly on the floor. 50% of my life I seem to be searching for stuff but most of the time I´m happy sitting in the middle of my dusty mess of lovely things.

My first years of spending time in England with my friend then boyfriend then fiancé then husband was spent in another flat in the country. Nicely cut, two bedrooms, nice view but awful neighbours (huge dogs, drug dealing, dirt and rubbish everywhere). Never minded being there but felt good to leave it

During our house hunting period I looked at 13 houses in total, my husband at over 20. Some were nice but we weren´t in a position to buy yet, others were shitholes. Can´t be said different. The excitement of looking at real estate wears off quickly...

Now we live in a four bedroom semi-detached house in a small city just outside of London. English people consider the size to be gigantic, the German in me finds tiny. Upside: I have a dressing room. Downside: still so much work and decorating that needs to be done.

For years and years I wanted to become an interior designer. I never tried it cause the entrance examination scared me off. Silly really, should have tried...I´m sure I would have been very happy in that job. And probably even happier as a stage designer...

If you wanna get a taste of how my dream design looks like then check out the work of English designer
Emily Chalmers . A huge inspiration and pretty much 100% what I want everything to look like (and, I can say that with some pride - achieved it in some corners).

Second Hand Treasure VI

This old plastic head (the wig is my own btw)

where: a shutting down carneval equipment shop in Mainz
price: 30€

Secondhand Treasure V

In autumn friends of mine bought a house which still had some of it´s old furniture in it. They wanted to get rid of the most and I was in the lucky situation to a) have my husband and our van with me at this time and b) to shout "here" first when some photos turned up on Facebook.
So I ended up with two lamps and a armchair. The chair and on of the lamps are in my German bedroom now looking gorgeous and giving the room that certain something. I love my treasures - thankyou :-)

where: in the middle of nowhere in Hesse
price: a thankyou...and the offer to come and visit us in England as soon as our house is ready :-)

a crackling fire...

...for beginners.
If you like candlelight, have a thing for scented candles especially, dream of having your own crackling and cozy fireplace at home but either your building or your budget doesn't let you - help is near!
Woodwick Candles!

I came across them a while ago and first didn't get at all why they were supposed to be special and so damn expensive. Unfortunately the "bakery cupcake" smell was so delicious that my husband went back to the shop and got me my first Woodwick Candle. As the name tells you, the wick is made of wood here...initially I thought of that as just some sort of gag to make them stand out but then I lit the first one:
the burning wood creates a crackling noise. constantly. like a real fire...a miniature real fire.

I love this effect but it can get a bit irritating for some sensitive people I'm sure so maybe think about that before going on a shopping spree.
The smell of both candles I tried so far is wonderful but on the stronger side as well so nothing for people who might already have developed a dislike in Yankee Candles or similar.

To summarise: lovely powerful scents, burns long, stylish glasses, a surprisingly pleasant, satisfying and fascinating crackling noise. Unfortunately not cheap at all but, for me, worth the money...

http://www.woodwick-candles.com/

German Internetshop

PS: If you are after the acoustic effect but can't stand scented candles - they come in fragrance free too!

Ice Lanterns

It´s cold in Germany, damn cold. Fortunately without snow (so far) so the streets are all in good walkable conditions...everyone that knows me knows that I´m pretty resistant when it comes to temperatures, nearly in a British way wearing t-shirts in autumn, but the constant well below freezing temperatures are not for me...but it has one plus, you can finally create a few of those wonderfully cheap, stylish and romantic ice lanterns!

Put a smaller cup or tea light holder in a bigger cup or bowl, put some stones in the smaller one to stop it from floating and fill the gap around with water. Let it all freeze and finally dunk it in cold water to losen up the moulds. Perfect for your balcony or garden, and with a weather like that will last you a while...

housework

still loads more to do in our house but at least one corner after the other is getting a certain something to make it feel like home (and yes, I know some of the frames are still empty - waiting for some photos to be developed)

Yankee Candle Christmas Rose

"Invite the festive spirit into your home this Christmas with the Yankee Candle Christmas Rose Scented Votive Sampler. Christmas Rose encapsulates the authentic perfume of delicate rose petals with a hint of pine."

Another wax tart out of my gigantic order from www.scentedcandleshop.co.uk
I don't know what I expected when I read about christmas roses but I somehow didn't think it would be quite so "rosy". It is basically a very powerful rose smell which seems to get even stronger through the combination with the pine. Filled the whole house with its fragrance in no time...but was more on the headache-causing side for me. So not something I need to re-buy...but maybe something for you if you love roses and very flowery smells.

my cup of tea

Only a few more days and we will be living in our house for one year again already. First we thought everything would be decorated, done and finished by now...now we know better and can proudly say that we roughly managed to finish 50%. Another year and we might be getting somewhere...I don´t mind living on a building site too much so things could be much worse.
One of my absolute favourite things to do is deciding what to put up on each wall and generally how to decorate things. A tricky subject as well as we own an awful lot of stuff and therefore have to be careful with decorations just for their own sake. As most of the furniture is not in it´s final place yet, I have been hesitating to put up pictures yet...but every now and then you come across an object that you simply HAVE to have. So this is what I´m going to get. Might go into the dining room, might not, but it´s going to be lovely anyway :-)

you can find it on www.next.co.uk for 50pounds

Yankee Candle Garden Sweet Pea

"Light a Yankee Garden Sweet Pea Wax Tart and enjoy beautiful spring fragrance and sunny relaxation any time of year."

That´s what the website says about this Yankee Candle scent, a pretty no-describt sentence if you ask me. I love sweet peas but I honestly have never smelled them...so I guess this one is basically a made up scent cause it just sounds nice. Anyway, it is quite a pleasant mix of flowery and fruity but nothing special and impossible to describe. Directlyx after melting it smells nearly a bit overpowering but unfortunately, and unusual for Yankee Candles, it fades away fairly quick. Not a very long lasting way to make your house smell like a spring garden...and not a very convincing tart too. Let´s kep on trying different ones...

Indahouse

Inspired by Miss Winkelmann's recent post I took a detailed pictures of things in our house in England.


The vase came from an indoor fleamarkets in Brighton (Snooper's Paradise, the best shop in the world). It caught my I, picked it up and oh wonder: it is from a German manufacturer, from 1982 aka my birthyear and from the "Daniela" series...three good reasons to buy and one of those magical shopping moments)

A fun sign from Brighton in front of my beloved shabby feature dining room wall (which no one else understands, pah).

My husband collects Lego, no further comment needed...

Some everyday products which sneaked out of the bathroom ending up in the bookcase, I'm such a messy person.

A decoration thingy dangling from the curtain rail.

IKEA mirror in the hall.

The master of the house...in front of the vintage train sign we haven't found a place to put it yet.