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just a girl living the expat life

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Archives for February 2014

February Favorites

February 28, 2014 filed under: love, monthly favorites

FebruaryFavorites

1.)  Last month, “Parenthood” made it on my favorites’ list. This month, I am putting the other series on here that we’re currently watching: “Breaking Bad“. I must admit, it’s a little intense for me… I am constantly on the ‘edge of the couch’, but I am really enjoying the show. Have you watched it? Possibly finished it?

2.) Someone on Twitter recommended Trader Joe’s Coffee á Cocoa and naturally, I had to try it. I personally love the ‘mocha’ flavor and am really in love with this coffee. Unfortunately, J is not a big fan, so I have to save this for special occasions for me.

3.) I have a little bit of an obsession with Washi Tape lately, but please honestly tell me, who doesn’t? Washi tape is cute and versatile and I’ve been using it a lot with my Life planner. It’s just a fantastic addition to pretty much EVERYTHING.

4.) In an effort to move over to a little bit more natural (and environmentally friendly) skincare, I recently bought the Avalon Vitamin C Cleanser and the smell (think: fresh oranges!) alone is worth the purchase. A little bit goes a long way, it leaves my skin really soft and I also use it with my Clarisonic Mia2.

5.) J and I have been Thai food fans for a long time, but recently I especially enjoy the  Tom-Kha soup, a spicy hot soup made with coconut milk, galangal, lemon grass, kaffir lime leaves, and chicken, and often contains straw, shiitake, or other mushrooms, as well as coriander leaves. It’s delicious. The only downside is that I have to pick out the coriander leaves, lemon grass and galangal pieces, because I just cannot eat them.

6.) I am not big into lip color in general, but I’ve recently been enjoying the Rimmel Stay Glossy lip gloss. It’s affordable, comes in a range of pretty colors and doesn’t dry out my lips at all. I actually keep it in my purse and re-apply occasionally during the day and that is something that has never happened before.

4

A SoCal weekend

February 27, 2014 filed under: California, travel, weekend

Untitled

Last weekend, we went down to SoCal to spend some time with J’s family and on the beach (because who doesn’t love the beach!).

We started off with an awesome brunch at the “Galopping Hen” (ha, I love that name!) and in the afternoon I helped J’s Dad set up his new computer (and was repeatedly asked “how do you know these things? Haha!) and went out to dinner at the Ventura Pier.

galopping hen

On Saturday, I got to meet up with my sweet friend Maegan for a day of girls’ talk and antique-shopping. I don’t even want to think about the fact that it had almost been a year (!) since we had seen each other last. Luckily, she’s so easy to be around and we could pick up right where we left off last time :) Much fun was had and I hope we can do this again soon!

Maegan and San

Pyramid Lake

We had drinks at the Watermark in the evening followed by an awesome dinner at the Winchester Grill & Salon. Not pictured is the super-delicious Kerby burger (ground turkey with hot wing sauce and crumbled blue cheese) which I simply gobbled up too fast, it was so good.

Watermark

On Sunday, we had breakfast at the “Busy Bee”, a 50’s diner in downtown Ventura (and one of the places that J took me when I visited his hometown for the first time) and then went on a spontaneous trip up the coast to Santa Barbara with J’s Mom.

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SB

pier

The weather was beautiful, quite warm and sunny. We strolled around on State Street, went down to the pier and hung out at the Santa Barbara Roasting Company.

Santa Barbara Roasting Company

Monday we finished our trip with lunch at “Tony’s pizzaria” (which was on our agenda, for sure. It’s a ‘must-have’ when in Ventura and I highly recommend it if you should happen to be there!), coffee from the “Sandbox” coffeeshop and 2 hours at the beach.

Tony's pizza

Emma Wood State Beach

long-billed curlew

sea urchin

beach

… and how was your weekend?

7

Photo of the week: Santa Barbara, CA

February 26, 2014 filed under: my so-called life

Foto der Woche

It’s time for the ‘Foto der Woche‘ again and I had a really hard time picking a photo this week, but I did eventually make a decision.

Here is my Glücklichmacher #8

Untitled

Santa Barbara, CA (taken on February 23, 2014)

We spent the weekend in Southern California and a substantial amount of time near the beach. We were gone for four days and spent Sunday in Santa Barbara. I hadn’t been there in a few years, but it was just as much fun as I remembered. The weather was beautiful, the skies were blue and the sun was out. Not really what most people expect in February usually, but this kind of weather actually is quite common for Southern California around this time of year. Not too shabby!

0

2014 in pictures: week 8

February 23, 2014 filed under: a year in pictures

2014 in pictures: week 8

because nachos • friends • breakfast •
Sandbox Coffee • Pyramid lake • friends •
lemon drop • Santa Barbara • hi •

5

Photo of the week: Marble cake

February 19, 2014 filed under: my so-called life

Foto der Woche

Hello lovely ‘Foto der Woche‘ participants! Are you ready to share more beautiful photos? What has made you happy this week?

My Glücklichmacher #7

IMG_3945

Marble Cake (taken on February 16, 2014)

Last weekend, I had a craving for my Mom’s marble cake. It’s a family favorite (except for the fact that my Dad won’t eat cake, only apple tarte, ha!) and whenever I feel a little homesick, I bake something that reminds me of my childhood.

I personally prefer a good (homemade!) pound cake over any fancy cake. Here in the US for a lot of people it’s all about the frosting. Well, marble cake doesn’t have any frosting, just a dusting of powdered sugar, and it’s just perfect that way. Crisp on the outside, soft on the inside and sweet-but-not-too-terribly-sweet.

Perfection in a cake pan.

5

February Link Love

February 17, 2014 filed under: link love

FebruaryLinkLoveIf you’re watching “GIRLS” on HBO, you probably have seen more of Lena Dunham’s naked body than you expected. At first, the seemingly superfluous nudity threw me off  a bit. Not in the “why the hell is she naked kinda way”, but just because it was unexpected. It’s not something you see on TV usually.  Since I grew up in a culture where nudity is not that big of a deal, I didn’t really think about it all that much. Then I read this article about “6 reasons why female nudity can be powerful”. “[A] reporter […] recently asked Dunham why her “Girls” character was “often naked at random times for no reason,” many people seem confounded by expressions of female nudity that are not sexual – because isn’t titillation the whole point of women’s nakedness?”  […read on] Do you have an opinion on this? Where do you stand?

Amber posed a pretty interesting questions in one of her blog posts recently, one that I’ve been pondering for quite some time. What time do you like to work out?

I am not a germaphobe, but a little bit of caution doesn’t hurt: Eight things you should do before anything else in your hotel room.

Another lovely blog post by Dominique about 7 ways to be more frugal. Maybe you have something else to add to this?

Molly has been spot on when she talked about getting comfortable with uncertainty and the in-between.

I really liked this article because it can be applied to every relationship in your life: Save your relationship: ask the right question

It is way too easy to dismiss someone’s symptoms as something to ignore: 6 things not to say to someone with depression

A little bit of outsider love for the city that I call my home right now. A capital sojourn in Sacramento

“Underpromise. Overdeliver.” A two-word commitment that makes everything … better by Alexandra Franzen. Enough said.

10 easy things that will make you happier, backed by science and I’d say they all sound pretty reasonable to me.

Top 10 nutrition facts everyone agrees on. Duh.

My friend Kate put something into words that I completely agree with: I am not responding to your text message right away, and here is why.

I found this disturbing, but highly important: What is rape culture?

I needed to hear this, because I always give people the benefit of the doubt one too many times: 10 types of friends you shouldn’t feel bad about dumping

Fabric Heart Coasters – so cute!

30 things to stop doing to yourself. I especially relate to #4, #6, and #27. You?

1

2014 in pictures: week 7

February 16, 2014 filed under: a year in pictures

2014 in pictures: week 7

Kiwi • keyboard • sunset •
V-day • Real time and Ice-cream • Saturday morning •
sweet mail • Sunday • marble cake •

 

2

Things I love Thursdays (on a Friday)

February 14, 2014 filed under: TILT

Untitled

…because it’s Valentine’s Day and I don’t really ‘do’ Valentine’s Day, so I am very happy to express my love about anything and everything else today, but my husband (who, don’t you worry, I love very much, but we have mutually agreed to boycott Valentine’s Day and do something fun this weekend instead!)


This week I’m loving…

…  knitting, coffee and “Parenthood”. Anyone agree?

… also “Breaking” Bad. We’re in season 3.

… some good progress on my project at work. I am (temporarily) working on a project for a different supervisor and I was kind of worried how that was going to go, but it’s actually working out great and it’s a fun project. Yay!

… my on loan keyboard. I am sorry that I am repeating myself from yesterday’s post, but it has just made me smile all week.

… chocolate chip cookies.

… the really great test results that came back from the blood work I had done last week. I used to have severe anemia 11 years ago (which even landed me in the hospital) and after being on iron supplements on and off for the last 10 years, my iron levels are finally back to normal. Also, I have great cholesterol which – after the nurse said that at my age (what’s that supposed to mean??) we should start checking it – made me really, really happy. She had me worried there for a second (like “all people your age have high cholesterol” or something. Don’t laugh. You’ll get there eventually, greenhorns!).

… Thai food. Who doesn’t love Thai food, right?

… my new workout-armband for my iPhone. My old one was technically too small for my upgraded iPhone and I always had to slide it in upside down (because they changed the headphone jack to the bottom).

… sweet memories of my great-aunt, who died a little over a year ago. It’s hard to believe that it has been that long. Sometimes I still wait for her to call me on the weekends and catch up with me on the previous week. It was just so comfortably predictable. I miss her.

… my (neighbor)friend, who is such a sweetheart and who I feel so blessed to have in my life. It’s not just nice to have great neighbors, who we can trust and leave our keys with when we travel, but to have found a real friend in her, too. I always wanted to live next door to a friend!

What are you loving this week?

 

5

Photo of the week: Not quite a piano

February 12, 2014 filed under: my so-called life

Foto der Woche

Hello, hello! This Wednesday I am really excited to share with you my  ‘Foto der Woche‘, because  I really can’t stop smiling. I think I haven’t been as excited about something in quite a while. Without further ado, I present you my Glücklichmacher #6

IMG_3930

Keyboard (taken on February 9, 2014)

You might not know this about me, but I play the piano. I took lessons from when I was 10 until I was 25 and then I practically stopped playing ‘cold-turkey’, because I moved to the US and didn’t have my piano anymore. I started learning to play on an old piano that my parents had bought because I wouldn’t stop bugging them about wanting to learn how to play the piano. Later, I bought myself a Yamaha piano when I was 18 (I had saved up for it and it was a lot of money at the time for me) and now it sits at my parents’  house and I only get to see (and play) it when I am there to visit once a year.

The truth is: I miss my piano and I miss playing it. So, fast-forward to somewhere before Christmas when I mentioned to my (neighbor-)friend that I am so excited to go home and play my piano and she casually mentions that she has a keyboard sitting in her closet and that it is “not quite a piano, but better than nothing” and that she was willing to lend it to me for an indefinite period of time. I couldn’t believe what I was being offered! I set up the keyboard last weekend and what can I say: I am the happiest!

10

Things you wouldn’t know: The thing about middle names

February 11, 2014 filed under: Expat stories, Germany, Things you wouldn't know, USA

I started this series “Things you wouldn’t know” a while back, because as an expat, living in a different country away from home, you encounter a whole lot of things that are just different from what you’re used to. Some things are significant, others barely noticeable. After 10+ years, I am pretty much used to most things in the US and I hardly ever bring up when something is different from back home. Every once in a while though, you strike up a conversation and while you’re talking about something, you realize that your counterpart is giving you this strange look of non-comprehension. You can find the archives here.


Last week, Doni and I had the following exchange on  Twitter:

Screen shot 2014-02-09 at 1.01.29 PM
Screen shot 2014-02-09 at 1.01.41 PM
Screen shot 2014-02-11 at 9.06.24 AM

An interesting conversation ensued after that because as it stands, in the USA it is very common to have (a) middle name(s). In fact, I don’t think I know anybody (you?) who doesn’t have a middle name. Whenever I say that I don’t have a middle name, people are surprised (as was Doni).

So, I thought it would be a good idea to shed some little light on the differences between middle names here and in Germany, because technically there is no such thing as middle names in Germany. Well, I am not saying there aren’t any names that are placed between the given name and surname  in Germany at all, because there are, but it all works a little bit differently.

Most European countries (as far as I know) use middle names, which are, however, often referred to as second (or third) given names followed by the surname. In Germany, first, second and third names are legally equivalent, therefore the parents get to decide which name the child actually goes by. Other than in the US, it’s not common practice to use the surname of a relative as a middle name in Germany, in fact, using a surname (e.g. the mother’s or grandmother’s maiden name) is not even allowed, unless that name is also officially accepted as a first name. (I’ll explain that later.)

My Dad, for example, has the same three given names as his father (and his grandfather and great-grandfather). He goes by his first name. My Mom only has a first and second name and also goes by her first name. My aunt, however, has a first and second name and goes by her second name. Ah!
In my parents’ generation, those second (and third) forenames were traditionally picked from the names of relatives (this is, however, not necessarily true anymore).

In the 70’s (when I was born – spoiler-alert!) middle names seemed to have gone out of style a bit. My sister, myself and many of my friends do not have second (or third for that matter) names at all (although some do!). Both, my niece and nephew, also don’t have middle names, although the practice of giving more than one name seems to have come back in recent years.

In general, naming laws in Germany are pretty strict. If you chose a name for your child that is considered unisex (e.g. Robin or Kim), at least one additional, unambiguous name must be chosen. I don’t know if they keep a list at the Standesamt (German civil registration office), but you also can’t just choose just any name for your child (as you can here). If the name is not accepted as a legal first name or if it is a name that is likely to expose your child to ridicule or bullying, you’ll be prohibited to use it. You also can’t use names that are surnames as either first or second names. (J’s middle name – which is a compound word (!) made up of both his grandmothers maiden names – would have been so not acceptable!).
Foreign names are generally allowed if you can establish that the name is actually used somewhere else in the world.

When I got married, I thought about keeping my maiden name as a middle name. I have a very (!) common German surname and I was not particularly (but a little bit!) attached to it and I liked the idea of having a middle name and be able to keep my cultural heritage. However, since my maiden name is not accepted as a proper first name, the German Standesamt didn’t allow it. Stupid, ey?
I could have decided to keep a hyphened “double-surname”, but a) my maiden name in combination with J’s surname just didn’t sound good (two one-syllable words) and b) I really didn’t want the hassle of a double-name.

I also could have decided to have two different legal documents – a California ID with my maiden name as my middle name and a German ID without it. But I feared that that would make things unnecessarily complicated.

So there you have it. It’s always interesting to learn about different countries, cultures and traditions, am I right? The more you know.

Share your middle (or second) name(s) in the comments! Or leave any questions that you still might have!

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Hi, I am San – German native, dual-citizen living in beautiful Northern California. Runner. Knitter. Crafter. Reader. Writer. Proud aunt, sister, and friend.

I’ve been blogging since 2004 and don’t intend to stop any time soon. If you are looking for personal content and making a  genuine connection, you’ve come to the right place.

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