I vowed not too...

...enter any shops in general and drugstores in special for a long long time but..I failed. I'm simply a person without the slightest hint of discipline. So what, that's what I gathered within the last 3 weeks :-)

Adidas Running shoes so I can start my new fitness regime as soon as I´m in England again (we will see...did I mention that I have no discipline ?!)
H&M sunglasses
H&M thin scarf
H&M flowery towel (was on sale for only 3€!)
essence Nail Art Remover (after reading on several blogs about it)
essence sun club eyeshadow box
essence eyeliner brush (god knows how I will master to use this one...looks scary)
essence liquid eyeliner in "London Baby"
essence eyeshadow fairytale "Humpty Dumpty" (on sale too)
Catrice eyeshadow in "Grey´s philosophy"
Catrice Blush in "Coral Sand" (don´t really use blush...but it was half price ;-))
Catrice Compact Powder (on sale too)
Bonjour Blus "Lilas D`or" (with the cutest product design ever)
p2 black crackling top coat (love it!!!)
...and my husband read my blog, thought I needed a treat again and got me the Marc Jacobs Eau so fresh "Daisy" I wanted for a while but never got round buying :-)

Return to sender II

A thing I forgot to mention in my last post but got noticed by another fellow England/Germany commuter is the fact that not only the Brits don´t put their address on envelopes, no, they don´t have their name written next to the doorbell. Outside a house or a block of flats nothing gives away who actually is living inside. So if you want to visit someone and don´t know the exact house or flat number (or even more posh, the name of the house like "Lavender Cottage" or so) you are fucked.
But the problem doesn´t end here. So you are prepared, don´t only know the name of the person but even the house number and then: you can´t find the house number written anywhere! Doesn´t apply to all houses but many don´t give away their number or name...I don´t see the point, wonder how those people ever get any post or visitors and remain German.

www.centersandsquares.com

Return to sender

One of many things about the UK that I probably will never be able to understand is that they never put the senders address on a letter. What is the point?! They remain more or less anonymous, yes, but what happens to mail that does get lost (and having had enough bad experiences with the Deutsche Post and the Royal mail I know that mistakes and lost items do happen a LOT)???
So I will remain German and always put my name and address on the top left corner of a letter and will forever hope for the best...

www,gutefrage.net

Kokowääh

www.positiv-web.de

So finally last night my friend convinced me that I wanted to see this Til Schweiger film. I´m not a big fan of him, don´t hate him either - I liked "Barefoot" and I didn´t understand the hype about "Keinohrhasen".
The story is about Henry (Til Schweiger) who is a notoriously broke scriptwriter and a womanizer. He lives a chaotic life in his über-stylish loft in Berlin until he finds a charming, 8 year old girl standing in front of his door. Quite predictably little Magdalena is the daughter he never knew off....his love life, the life of the Tristan (who so far thought he was her father) and of Henry´s ex7new girlfriend are getting mixed up. And of course they all lived happily ever after.
The film was with 126min really long so I had too much time wondering about several things:
Why does Henry always wear the same clothes? Why does he own such a posh and stylish flat when he is supposed to be the one with no money? Why must pretty much everyone in the film be so filthy rich?  Why are the fire sirens you hear throughout the film all American and not German? Why does his kitchen look perfect one day after a big fire? Why does he always take a English style Taxi - in Berlin? Why does Tristan in one scene say he has to leave for the airport and does the same one day later?

Not a bad bad film but too long, with too many mistakes and very stereotypical characters. The only one I liked and who convinced me mostly was Tristan ( Samuel Finzi -a mix of Rubens Barrichello and Mikhail Baryschnikow).

The proof of the pudding is in the eating...

my weekly questionnaire created by Miss Winkelmann :-)

What is your favourite food?
 too much to write down...but all time favourites are Red Thai Curries, beef roulade, onion bhajees, pasta with bolognese or green pesto, frikadellen and nearly everything with couscous, olives or melted cheese on top

What food do you hate?
sea food, fish with the skin still on, more adventorous meats, peanut biscuits

Do you count calories?
no, never...and it shows...:-)

What is your favourite flavour?
varies...but I love really hot and spicy food and I don't like sweet and sour too much

What is your favourite cuisine (absolutely no idea if I translated that right or not)?
Thai, Italian, Indian...German, Chinese and quite often even English

Favourite desert?
depends on how full I am already. I like pretty much everything from rice pudding to fruitsalads. The best desert I ever had (at least that's how I remember it) was a white chocolate mousse with a plum and cinnamon compote.

Do you enjoy cooking?
yes, a lot. Love the shopping bit, the preparations, everything apart from filling/emptying the dishwasher. So I cook pretty much every day.

and do you think you are a talented chef?
I'm surely not the most innovative cook but yes, I think I'm talented (wooo, I'm not normally such a show-off)

Describe your cooking style?
inspired by recipes but changing them in the way I want and experimenting quite a bit

Do you love baking?
I didn't use to and still prefer cooking but it's a great way to spend a whole evening sometimes and the family always seem to enjoy it

What inspires you?
Nicely done food photography...Jamie Oliver...hunger

Do you collect recipes and/or cookery books?
yes, I keep bits out of magazies which look like they could be useful and I buy books from time to time

What do you usually cook for guests?
which guests!?

Biggest kitchen desaster?
several...using salted butter for muffin dough, using fat reduced cream and wondered why I couldn't whip it, etc.

best insider tip?
always have enough ingredients in storage so you can be more spontaneously. Ok, not a real insider tip really :-)

Love actually

I don't know how many times I have watched this film...it must be at least 30 times and I'm still not the tiniest bit bored of it. People know it, yes, it regularly turns up at cheap dvd offers and the yearly christmas tv program, but: I think it always stands in the shadow of "Four weddings and a funeral" or "Notting Hill" (both films which I don't really like).
I saw it for the first time in cinema and fell instantly in love with all the different stories, how the tie up together and of course all the more or less lovely actors with their cute accents and eccentric behaviour. Back then I was still far away from finding my "destiny" in England...
Since then many things have changed, I fell in love with my husband and we together fell in love with this film again and again. The last scene at the airport is something we can so easily relate to as we still have to fly in order to spend time together again.

www.geekshow.us

We know all the lines, I can't listen to "Love is all around" on the radio without daydreaming and we always think it is incredibly funny to say "Table! Ohhh, it's the same".
So one of my favourite films of all times, "our" film and now even our wedding bands say "Love actually is all around"...Kitsch? Maybe...but who cares :-)

behind the bathroom door...

Miss Winkelmann has tagged me in her post about her daily skin- and haircare regime. As I always love to see what other people are using I now tried it as well (and it is my first collage so forgive me the shitty layout). I'm in the fortunate situation to use 4 bathrooms (don't wanna show off, honest :-), just two in Germany and England) so use a lot of different products alltogether. But here is what I use right now at home in my flat.

hair:
Rossmann Yung Asia Shampoo (unfortunately not available anymore, I simply take too long working through my hoard)
Rossmann Isana Seidenglanz Conditioner (lovely product and outstandingly cheap with 0,69Euro for 300ml)
Rossmann Isana Seidenglanz Spray Conditioner (great for detangling and not weighing down fine hair)
Lee Stafford Hair Growth Treatment (doesn't do miracles but is a nice hair mask smelling of "Angel"...and the thought is what counts after all)

body:
Balea Costa de Mexico Shower Gel (was a limited Edition last summer so a one off again)
8x4 Heavenly Roll-on (again, limited but love all 8x4 deos really)
there should be a body lotion...but I confess, I'm too lazy at the moment...

skin:
Sebamed Soap (cheap, a classic product, smells healthy and soothing and works wonders on my skin)
Rossmann Rival de Loop Skin Tonic with gingko and cucumber (refreshing and not harsh)
Boots Originals Vanishing Face Cream (part of their retro-range, unfortunately not in stock anymore. A real shame as it has a lovely glass pot, smells perfectly old-fashioned and leaves my skin moist but without any greasiness)
Rossmann Alterra Wildrose Night Cream (the line for youngish skin with the first tiny wrinkles appearing...oh well)