Sunday, January 31, 2010

What next?

So and now enough about me – of course I won’t stop bothering you with stories of my life, but I think you know enough about me now so I can move on to other interesting topics as well.
My plans for this blog look like this at the moment. I will have a few regular posts – so you can look forward to a specific topic ;-)

Oh Baby, it’s Monday!
Every Monday I will post something related to babies: inspiration, craft projects, baby news, and discoveries I have made in this new and exciting world for me. I hope you come along on that rollercoaster ride with me.


Wedding Wednesday
On Wednesdays I will share everything wedding with you: tips, projects, organisation, photos, faux-pas, fun things and golden rules I have ‘learned’ from my own wedding. I feel I need to give something back to the fabulous blog community who helped me stay sane and enjoy every second of my ‘big day’.



1st of each month: Fernweh/ Wanderlust
At the beginning of each month I want to show you places where I’d rather be at that very moment. As you know I am constantly either travelling or dreaming of travelling and I want to share my favourite bars, restaurants, hotels, cities and countries around the world with you. And I am looking for your recommendations for my next trips.


12th of each month: 12 on the 12th
My favourite blog initiative ever. On the 12th of each month, bloggers around the globe take 12 photos of their daily life and post them. Not only great for getting to know other bloggers but also as a personal visual diary. So please join the fun here: http://www.draussennurkaennchen.blogspot.com/


15th of each month: My Top 5 books
As reading is one of my passions, I want to share my 5 favourite books in a number of categories with you on every 15th of the month. There will be cook books, children books, magazines, thrillers, coffee table books and and and... I hope you give me also some advice on what to read next as well.







 Besides all these planned posts, there will be, of course, also a lot of spontaneous blogging.

About things that inspire me.

About things that make me laugh.

About things that happen in my life.

About discoveries.

....

And about everything else you are interested in.

So please let me know

• what you like

• what you find soooo boring

• what you would like to hear more about

• what I should stop talking about

• and what is missing in my blog


If you have any other questions about me, please just ask them, either via email or comment and I will answer them as honestly as possible.

Hope you had a great January 2010 and look as much forward to February as I do!

Saturday, January 30, 2010

My Shopping Mania


Image from here

Online:

- Etsy – for everything handmade and creative, but in particular for accessories

- Dawanda – for everything handmade and creative in Germany

- ebay Germany / ebay Australia – for occasional bargains

- amazon Germany / amazon International – for books, dvds, music and more books

- Itunes– for music, music, music



Offline:


Image from here

Specialists:

- kikki k. – stationary heaven (

- Olga Berg – affordable handbags of all shapes, sizes and styles

- Elk, AUS – fashion jewellery with stylish natural appeal

- Kinky Gerlinki, Acland Street, St.Kilda, AUS – quirky fashion and flattering accessories

- Luxus International, Kastanienallee, Berlin, D – gifts, independent artists can rent cupboard space to set up their own mini-shop



Image from here

All-rounders:

- Muji, all over the world except AUS– everything beautiful, everything practical

- Spoilt, Melbourne, AUS – wonderful presents, hand bags, jewellery, baby stuff and amazing cards

- Urban Outfitters, UK & USA – fashion, books, interior decoration

- Lagerhaus, Hamburg, D – gifts, fashion, kitchen ware, wine, hair dresser and cafe all under one roof

- Beck, Munich, D – beautiful fashion, gifts, stationary, craft equipment and great Japanese food on the top floor




Cheap & cheerful:

- H&M, everywhere except AUS – latest fashion and very affordable basics for customising
- Primark, UK – the cheapest and hippest fashion store ever, but with the most doggy store display

- 2-Dollars-Shops / 100-Yen-Shops/ 1 Euro Shops, all over the world – so cheap that you buy things you never thought you need (and probably you will end up loving them to death)

- Mauerpark flee market, Berlin, D – real bargains, real characters and great coffee

- Century 21, NY, USA – %%% on last year’s designer wear, a shop that prints the savings you made on the recipe



Image from here

Craft heavens:

- Spotlight  AUS - everything you can imagine for all types of crafting

- Tokyu Hands JAP - everything you ever dreamt of and much much more

- Idee Creativmarkt D - great choice of craft material and great inspiration via classes

- Kiwiquilts NZ - wonderful fabrics with a great online shop

- Frau Tulpe D - beautiful fabrics in the nicest colours and patterns

Friday, January 29, 2010

My monthly online readings


Image from here

Online Women’s Magazines:

although I prefer the paper version, but better than the 3 months old versions of the German magazines I get at my local newspaper agent ;-)

o Brigitte, D

o Frankie, AUS

o Petra, D

o Real Living, AUS

o Vice, AUS



Image from here

Online Fashion Magazines:

to know what to wear and not to wear this season, to ‘steal’ ideas for my next sewing session and enjoy the view of virtual high-gloss paper

o Vogue, D

o Elle, D

o InStyle, USA

o Shop til You Drop, AUS




Blogs:

even more ideas for my crafty self, stories to remember, interior design ideas for my dream house, party inspiration and new cooking adventures

o A Beautiful Mess

o A Little Hut

o Adventures in Renovating a Brooklyn Limestone House
o Bliss

o Cannot Stop Making Things

o Craft Werk

o Delicious Days

o Design Sponge

o Heart of Light

o How about Orange

o Ich werde ein Berliner

o Little Glowing Lights

o Maedchen mit Herz

o Making Chicken Salad

o Not quite vintage

o Oh Hello Friend

o Poppytalk

o Rearranged Design

o Sparkling Ink

o Sparrows & Oranges

Thursday, January 28, 2010

My Melbourne


Palm Trees at Beaconsfield Parade



Characters and lama on Acland Street



‘Little Audrey’ on Victoria Street



Fresh fish and seafood on Carlisle Street



Sunset at Elwood Beach

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

My first day at work

The first day in a new job always feels like the first day at school to me. You don’t know the other people. You don’t know who is going to sit next to you. What the teacher will be like. Whether you will find friends quickly or not. You don’t know the place. You don’t know where your desk will be. You don’t know exactly what is expected from you. What you should do straight away. What you should avoid altogether. It is extremely exciting!!!!

Anyway, my first day at school aehm work today was good. My colleagues are nice. My boss is also nice. I got my own desk in a sunny office. I have a phone and the computer will be set up hopefully tomorrow. I got my first project. I have a to-do-list for tomorrow. I am back on solid ground.

And my little one also feels comfortable. I got lots of happy kicks from her today.

Life is good.

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Australia Day



Happy Australia Day, fellow Aussies!

I love Australia! I love that you here celebrate the nation’s day like so many other celebrations – in a very warm and unpretentious way. All you need is a good BBQ, a couple of beers and a friends and family around you!

Monday, January 25, 2010

Passion No 12 - all simple & clever ideas

I ♥ easy-to-make heart paper clips


Idea and picture from here


I ♥ chandeliers made of plastic service ware


Idea and picture from here


I ♥ un-kitschy tea light holders


Idea and picture from here


I ♥ beautiful geeky fridge magnets


Idea and picture from here


I ♥ simple & sophisticated jam


Jam and picture from here

Sunday, January 24, 2010

Passion No 11 - fireworks

I ♥ red sparklers




I ♥ golden fountains




I ♥ colourful balls




I ♥ silver rains




I ♥ sparklers


Saturday, January 23, 2010

Passion No 10 - Audrey Hepburn

I ♥ her as Holly Golightly. I just cannot help it, Breakfast at Tiffany’s is my favourite movie. Ever!



I ♥ her as Princess Ann in Roman Holiday



I ♥ her as Sabrina



I ♥ her as Nicole in How to Steal a Million



I ♥ Audrey as herself



All photos from here

Friday, January 22, 2010

Passion No 9 – accessories

I ♥ earrings


all shapes, all sizes, all colours

I ♥ hats


the bigger the better

I ♥ necklaces


yes, there is a red theme going on

I ♥ bags


easy to tell from the look on my face

I ♥ rings


every girl should have a Tiffany's ring - I bought myself one in NY and will treasure it forever

Thursday, January 21, 2010

A new job

I got a new job today! I am so excited about it. It is really a dream come true. The team seems to be lovely, the job is basically doing what I love and the office is really close to where I live. It is a 3-months contract, which is perfect, because it gives me the opportunity to work while I feel great (and quite restless at home) and to have a bit of time off towards the end of my pregnancy.

I am starting next Wednesday and until then I will make to most of my remaining free days: Go to the immigration museum. Spend a lazy evening at the beach. Get my hair cut. Go and have lunch with a friend. Sleep in without feeling guilty. Finish all the baby projects I have started over the last couple of weeks. Ride my bike...

Isn’t it funny that you seem to appreciate your free time much more when you know that it is soon over? Stupid, really, but that is the way it is for me anyway. I always seem to need the next step in sight to appreciate what I have now.

Anyway, I am going to celebrate with a glass of preggie champagne aka sparkling grape juice now!


Wednesday, January 20, 2010

My favourite TV series

The Office is my favourite TV series ever since I have ‘discovered’ it about 1.5 years ago.



It is hilarious! It is sad! It is funny! Frightening! It is clever! Stupid! It is so over-the-top!

And it is all so true!

What a great reminder for everyone staying or working from home what it is really like to work in an office! What ‘wonderful’ ideas your boss sometimes has. What useless meeting you often have. How bitchy the girl sitting next to you can be. What goes on behind closed doors. How the copier always breaks down when you need it most...

In case you haven’t seen any episode yet (shame on you) or it isn’t on air in your country (shame on your TV stations) here is a little teaser:




In case you have seen it before and love it as much as I do, you can here watch all episodes of all seasons again.

Happy watching!

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Passion No 8 – fabrics

I ♥ fabrics!

I ♥ the different textures of fabrics. Their softness. Their stiffness. Their colours. Their plainness. Their patterns. Their weaves. Their sheen. Their shine. Their mattness. The possibilities they offer you.












These are my latest treasures from Spotlight. As you can see I now really get into baby colours, although I try to stay away from an all pink colour scheme. I am not entirely sure, yet, what I will make of each of those beautiful fabrics, but I will definitely show it to you in the next couple of weeks or months.

Monday, January 18, 2010

Passion No 7 – paper

I ♥ paper dolls


Image from here


I ♥ stationery


Image from here


I ♥ thick books


Image from
here


I ♥ origami



Image from here


I ♥ notebooks


Image from here