Archives for January 2014

January Favorites

January 31, 2014 filed under: love, monthly favorites

1.) As I mentioned on Twitter the other day… I think I fell down the rabbit hole that is “Parenthood“. As always, I am kind of late to the party (of yet another TV series that I haven’t watched when it first aired), but I am very intrigued and have already cried through the first 4 episodes. That bodes well for the rest of the (so far 5 seasons), right?

2.) My Erin Condren life planner! It finally arrived last week and I am so excited to get organized. I am one of the people who use every possible device on their fingertips to help stay organized and a paper planner is definitely part of the equation. Do you use a paper planner? Do you have a favorite?

3.) I am back to knitting (and crocheting). For some odd reason, I didn’t find much time during the pre-Christmas season to knit, but right after we came back, I started two new knitting/crocheting projects. It’s such a soothing activity for me to wind down after a long day. Do you knit/crochet?

4.) I bought some rosehip tea when I was in Germany. It reminds me of my childhood, because whenever we went on (overnight) school trips, they’d serve rosehip tea at the youth hostels where we were staying. Most people that I know dislike rosehip tea (for that very reason), but I like it. I get a nostalgic feeling when I drink it (and besides that, I think it’s yummy).

5.) I’ve been using this vitamin fluid from Alverde (a German line of natural cosmetics) for a while and I really love it. It has a really nice texture, soft and fast-absorbing, and I love (!) the smell. Anything with Sanddorn (seabuckthorn) usually smells really good (and promotes the regeneration of the skin).

6.) Since I am not a big fan of traditional oatmeal (especially the “instant” kind), I’ve been playing around with different grains (semolina, oat bran, rolled oats,…) the last few months, but I think I have found my favorite: steel cut oats. I am completely in love with its chewy, slightly nutty texture/flavor and it reminds me a lot of “rice pudding” when I eat it… which basically makes it “dessert for breakfast”, you know, with a healthy kick. (Favorite way to prepare this coming soon!)

On who I am right now

January 30, 2014 filed under: about me, Who I am

I am …

… very grateful for the wonderful time we spent with family and friends over the holidays. It’s always such an intense, but very special time. I still feel a little emotionally jetlegged (is this even a thing?), so bear with me, if I haven’t been on top of my conversational game (I am behind on emails, Whatsapp-convos, Twitter, blogging and blog reading), but I am sure I’ll catch up some time soon.

… looking forward to a knitting class I signed up for with a friend. I technically know how to knit and read patterns, so I don’t need a class, but it (a) gets me out of the house and (b) gives me an opportunity to ask a real person some questions instead of googling YouTube videos when I get stuck!

… so incredibly happy that it finally rained after 50+ days without any precipitation at all. California really needed it (and will hopefully get more).

… enjoying some new skill-related challenges at work (it’s always fun to solve problems and learn something new, right?), but am also still quite frustrated with my overall work situation. I won’t go into it here, but let’s just say, I am not happy.

… finding time to get into not one, but two (new to me) TV series. I am always a little late to (most) TV-series-bandwagons, but I also enjoy the freedom of watching episode after episode at my own pace, without being slave to the TV schedule. Because waiting for a week (or even months between seasons) after ending an episode with a cliff-hanger is just plain cruel.

… so devastated that some of my friends are going through some really rough times right now. I was really hoping that 2014 could start for everyone with a lot of good fortune and happy things to look forward to, but alas, that doesn’t seem to be the case. I know, I know, there is this whole “you can’t enjoy the good times without experiencing the bad”-thing, but you know, the bad could just disappear for a while already. Seriously, ENOUGH!

… really enjoying Miss Kyla’s “Planner Camp” e-course on how to design your own life planner. This is the second e-course that I attended and Kyla is seriously pushing out some awesome e-content right now. I highly recommend you get in on it when the next available opportunity comes around! Hint: new e-courses start this summer!

… looking foward to a getaway to SoCal in February! I need some beach time in my life and pizza from – what I claim to be – THE best pizza beach hut in all of California.

Photo of the week: Street art

January 29, 2014 filed under: my so-called life

Another week, another ‘Foto der Woche‘. This is easily becoming my favorite photo project of 2014 (so far). I am curious to see what made you happy this last week and which photo you chose to share with all of us.

My Glücklichmacher #4

Maverique Style House – Sacramento, CA (taken on January 27, 2014)

My hair stylist switched work places and I am a loyal customer, so I followed her to a new (to me) hair salon. I love the street art on their building front, especially the scissors and hair comb. Neat, right?

January Birchbox

January 27, 2014 filed under: beauty

When I came back from my trip to Germany, one of the things that was waiting for me in the mail was my Birchbox subscription. This month I received box #61.

Here’s what I received (*calculated value of the samples in parenthesis):

Wish Three Wishes Body Butter ($0.15) I haven’t ventured much into the world of ‘body butters’, but this smells really good. I just hope it’s enough for one full body application.

100% Pure Fruit Pigmented Mascara ($7.71) For the size, this a hell of an expensive mascara. Well, it’s all-natural and organic and separates and glosses with fruit and black tea pigments, while oat and wheat proteins condition lashes, helping them grow stronger over time. We’ll see if it’s any good.

Serge Normant Meta Revive Dry Conditioner ($9.38) We all know dry shampoo (it’s one of my best friends), but this is a dry conditioner that goes onto the ends, instead of on the roots. I am very intrigued.

Paula’s Choice RESIST BHA 9 for Stubborn Imperfections ($3.70) Supposedly it works on bumps, spots, redness and wrinkles. Skeptical is my response right now.

Ahmad Teas Assorted Teas ($0.53) Since I am a tea lover, I always love to try new teas. However, there could have been a few more pouches. Ha!

The total for this box came to $21.47. Not too bad and I am excited to try all these products.

What was in your January birchbox?

2014 in pictures: week 4

January 26, 2014 filed under: a year in pictures

dinner • sunrise • knitting •
sunrise • planner • coffee and sunshine •
planning • breakfast • finished •

This was Christmas

January 23, 2014 filed under: family, holidays, home

I wonder if I’m ever going to catch up on the last couple of weeks, if not now. Christmas, Germany, family time – this all seems so long ago again. I am really not a fan of how fast the ‘vacation feeling’ wears off once you get home and are thrown back into everyday life.

Our trip, 3-weeks long (and yes, I am very appreciative of that much time off in one chunk!), was simply wonderful. We got to see so many people!

The weeks leading up to our trip were stressful as I was trying to set dates and times with everybody we wanted to see. Do people not realize what a huge organisational undertaking it is to coordinate so many people in a three-week window (not to mention with holidays and family obligations strewn about in between)? Yeah.

In the end, (almost) all worked out. We had stuff going on pretty much every single day, but it was so worth it. I saw friends that I hadn’t seen in a few years, we saw dear friends that we miss having around during the year (and wished lived closer) and we spent some real quality time with my family.

You want proof? You got it.

The only person that was missing this year was our Ina. She passed away a year ago last Sunday and coming home and realizing that she would be missing at our Christmas Eve dinner table was… hard. It was just not the same without her. I had a similar feeling the year when my Granddad passed 4 years ago. It’s weird when chairs are suddenly left empty where somebody sat and smiled and laughed only a year before. Loss is a strange thing.

My Dad worked up an incredible Christmas Eve dinner again this year. He had me fall in love with savoy cabbage all over again. I know, it sounds like a pretty un-fancy vegetable for a fancy dinner, but seriously, bear with me. I am a big fan of cabbage as is, but they way it was prepared (with creamed horseradish) was absolutely divine. Here’s the whole order of courses (that will make your mouth water, I promise):

Cod with leaf spinach

Beef filet with creamed horseradish savoy cabbage and root vegetables

Lava cake with vanilla sauce, caramelized apples and pears and vanilla ice-cream

We took turns giving and opening presents (even the kids patiently participated), ooh-ing and aah-ing over the exchanged gifts.
As much as I don’t want to buy into the “Christmas-consumerism”, I do take great pleasure in finding and/or creating and giving gifts to people I care about. They don’t have to be extravagant and expensive. It’s just a sign of love and appreciation. Of course, time spent together is the most sought-after commodity during our short visits and I try to enjoy every second to the fullest.

Greta being silly

my sweet sister and I

my beautiful Mom

… also the world’s greatest Dad

Basti and I

my parents and my aunt

I have way too many pictures and stories to share for one post, so there are a couple more recaps to come (if you don’t mind). Stay tuned.

Photo of the week: Dawn

January 22, 2014 filed under: my so-called life

Hey fellow photography lovers, it’s time again for the ‘Foto der Woche‘. I am so excited to see where your camera lens took you this last week. If you’re late to the party, read this post (or click the image above) to find out what this project is all about. Juli and Fee make us share our “Glücklichmacher” (= our favorite photo of the week that makes us happy and fills our heart with joy) every week throughout 2014.

My Glücklichmacher #3

Dawn over Guy West Bridge (taken on January 22, 2014)

I get to work pretty early (sometimes too early for my taste), but at least I get to enjoy beautiful sunrises (especially during the winter months when the sun is just peeking up beyond the horizon when I get to work). This was actually taken this morning when I realized ‘Oh my, it’s Wednesday!’ and frantically searched my mind for a picture that I wanted to share this week. Well, this opportunity lent itself to me naturally.

2014 in pictures: week 3

January 19, 2014 filed under: a year in pictures

truth • American River • (almost) full moon •
waiting for laundry • coffee break • dinner •
breakfast • one year ago we lost our Ina • planning •

January Link Love

January 17, 2014 filed under: link love

I am guilty of using the snooze button, but here is how the snooze button effects your sleep.

Fear Choice vs. Love Choice, which will you choose? This is so simple and true, but I sometimes need to be braver.

10 eating rules most French children know (but most Americans don’t). I dont think this is just true for the French, but yeah.

I really enjoyed Dom’s openness and honesty about how she got out of debt. Debt free: a retrospective.

7 things you didn’t know you could buy at Trader Joe’s. I swear by those reusable kitchen cloths!

I love when bloggers are honest, open and when they make themselves vulnerable. Like my friend Brittney did with this post: Me at the moment… the very honest edition.

I really want to start journaling more and Grossstadtprinzessin has shared her journaling routine. It’s pretty neat.

Caiti has started a series on her blog that I am really interested in, because I’ve been thinking about this myself lately: Going Natural: Why bother?

14 printable 2014 calendars. You know, for the planners among us.

Not enough? Here are some more Free 2014 printable calendars.

I am a little bit obsessed with oatmeal (I am using this as a general term, a separate blog post to come) and here’s a little inspiration: 4 ideas for overnight oatmeal.

Restaurant Style Salsa anyone?

Alexandra shared her favorite {free} tools of the year for writing, creativity, self-expression + whatnot. Useful.

This just looks insanely yummy. The blog is in German, but I translate the recipe for you, if you’re interested. Die weltbesten Buchteln.

Goodbye 2013, hello 2014.

January 16, 2014 filed under: Germany, holidays, travel

Hi friends.

January is half over and I haven’t even properly wished you a happy new year.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

I hope your holidays were lovely and the start into the new year blissful and full of great expectations.

We had a truly wonderful time in Germany with family and friends, but I have yet to put down some coherent thoughts on our long-anticipated, badly needed trip. I always find it so hard to get back into the swing of things after returning from an overseas trip. It’s not as much jetlag as it is a distinct sense of knowing that I will not see my family for a long time again that makes it so difficult. You’d think it gets easier with time, but that’s not the case.

You know, I’ve traveled back and forth across the ocean a myriad of times now and yet, I always feel a bit odd when I get on the plane over there and then (a few hours later – give or take) get off over here.
Rationally, I know that I’ve been on the plane for multiple hours crossing countries, border and timezones, but emotionally I can’t wrap my mind around the fact that one second I was there and now I am here again. I find it very challenging to even put these feelings into words that really would make sense to anyone but me (which is once again testament to the limits of language as they’re no proper words to describe certain things), but: internationally traveling friends, please tell me that I am not the only one.

I’ve been pretty ‘unplugged’ from social media over the holidays and it’s become a regular, quite welcome digital sabbatical at the end of each year. I sometimes get to the point where I feel overwhelmed and sometimes even a little annoyed by being so connected. It’s nice to swap online interactions with real life, face-to-face time with family and friends and recharge my emotional tank.

I’ve been back at work for a little over a week and it definitely has helped adjusting back to our life here, but I don’t think I’ll stop missing my little munchkins (up there) any time soon.