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just a girl living the expat life

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Archives for October 2014

Happy Halloween + some Friday facts

October 31, 2014 filed under: Friday Facts, holidays

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I completely failed to acknowledge that my niece (and god-daughter) Greta turned 6 last week. I wanted a picture to go along with the occasion and then forgot, because I didn’t get any pictures from her actual birthday. So you get this recent one of her snuggling with their new kitty.

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I wish my Mom had dressed us half as stylish when we were that age. Hah. Either way. I can’t believe she’s six. How is that possible?

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I half-heartedly followed the World Series this year. My Boston Red Sox sucked balls this season and didn’t even make it to the playoffs. What’s a girl to do? I rooted for my 2nd favorite team — the SF Giants — and they didn’t disappoint and won in a 7-game run against the KC Royals. Congratulations, Giants! Fun side note: everyone is cracking up about Mad(ison) Bum(garner)’s name. Honestly, there wasn’t so much to laugh about if they hadn’t “anglicized” an originally German last name B(A)UMGAR(T)NER (which literally means ‘tree gardener”).  There’s your language lesson for the day. You’re welcome.

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It’s Halloween and I am looking forward to a cozy weekend.. As mentioned in previous years, I have an ambivalent relationship with Halloween. I love me some candy (who doesn’t?) and I enjoy kids halloween movies. I am not so much into the whole dressing up as slutty _____ (fill in the blank)-business and or real horror movies. I promised J I would watch (pssst, it’s going to be “semi-watch” for me) one scary movie with him, but other than that, I am planning to stay in my PJ’s, light some candles, drink copious amounts of coffee and knit.

I repeatedly get asked, if we have Halloween in Germany. The term Halloween, and its older spelling Hallowe’en, is shortened from All-hallows-eve, as it is the evening before “All Hallows’ Day” (also known as “All Saints’ Day”)” which we do celebrate in Germany on November, 1. Halloween itself isn’t really a holiday. There was no trick-or-treating or dressing up when I was little, but Germany has undoubtedly adopted Halloween traditions like carving pumpkins and scary movies, as well as the opportunity to throw parties and get drunk in recent years, especially considering that  the next day is a holiday  and people can nurse their hangovers. How very convenient. We Germans won’t leave out any opportunity to throw a party ;)

TGIF! What are your plans for Halloween?

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October Favorites

October 30, 2014 filed under: lists!, love, monthly favorites

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1.) Trader Joe’s Spicy Hummus Dip. Oh my goodness, where has it been all my life? I am embarrassed to admit that I never really wanted anything to do with hummus (please don’t even ask why, I have no logical answer!), but now that I tried this, I am hooked. So, so good.

2.) I’ve been using the Sebamed Moisturizer  for quite a while now and really like the texture and smell of it. It’s not greasy and keeps my skin hydrated, even during the winter months.

3.) I am pretty sure I am not the only one who has an obsession with coffee mugs (admit it!). I think coffee just tastes that much better out of a pretty mug and my latest favorite is Ikea’s Tillbaka Coffee Mug which, you know, must have snuck its way into my shopping cart during my latest Ikea trip. No idea how that happened.

4.) I have this Alternative Women’s Scoop Neck Tee in grey already. I ordered it last year, because I needed an extra item for a “minimum purchase” to get free shipping at Amazon (before I got Amazon Prime) and I liked it , because it was perfectly priced and it’s a tee with thumb holes (which seem to be hard to come by). Turns out, it became one of my favorite winter tees and so I recently ordered this one in black in hopes that winter is just around the corner. (Well, it’s supposed to be in the low 60’s for Halloween. I am hopeful.)

5.) This month I am so very excited about this little craft adventure of mine that I started with a friend by opening up our little Etsy shop, Four Hands Creations. It’s an interesting project and fun endeavor. We’ll see where it takes us.

6.) Kerri raved about her Old Navy’s Diva Skinny Jeans in her last month’s swoonage post and even though I am not the greatest fan of skinny jeans, I felt intrigued by her positive review. I had to go and at least try them on. Well, let’s just say they fit perfectly, were super-comfortable and Old Navy had a sale I couldn’t pass up. Convincing enough, right?

What was one of your favorite things this month?

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Photo of the week: Pumpkin

October 29, 2014 filed under: photography

Foto der Woche

Hello photo friends! It’s Halloween time and what would be more appropriate than choosing a picture of a pumpkin for this week’s ‘Foto der Woche‘. Here’s my Glücklichmacher for this last week, #43:

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Pumpkin (taken October 26, 2014)

As mentioned in my previous post, we went to the pumpkin patch last weekend. It’s a must in October and right around Halloween. We didn’t carve any pumpkins this year, but got some for decoration!  I just loved the color of this one in contrast to the hay and the sky! Do you celebrate Halloween?

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Girl time and a visit at the Pumpkin Patch

October 27, 2014 filed under: weekend

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This weekend flew by (like so many lately), but it was a good one. One that I’d call ‘fall appropriate” (it being the end of October and all). On Friday, I went to the Bay Area to spend some girl time with my friend Susi.  It was her birthday last week and as a busy mom, her birthday wish was to get away for a few hours and hang with a girlfriend! I happily complied! We went to 4th Street in Berkeley, walked around, had coffee, delicious lunch (including dessert!) at Zut! and got caught up on the last few weeks! It’s so nice to have at least one of my girlfriends close by!

Saturday, we got some much needed rain. I didn’t get up until later in the morning (it was just too cozy in bed!) and besides running some errands and doing our weekly grocery shopping, we stayed at home and I got some creativity flowing in the afternoon. Stay tuned for more!

Yesterday was a beautiful fall day and J and I finally went to the Pumpkin Patch! It really was the last opportunity before Halloween and I am so glad the the weather was cool, but sunny and just perfect for the occasion. We hung out with the pumpkins for a while, then went to a coffee shop for some afternoon caffeine and good conversation.

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Other good things this weekend:

Farmers Market ♥ yoga ♥ afternoon naps ♥ crafting ♥ phone calls with my family ♥ tea ♥ candles ♥ knitting ♥ Target run ♥ vegetable stew ♥ fresh bread ♥

How was your weekend?

6

2014 in pictures: week 43

October 26, 2014 filed under: a year in pictures

2014 in pictures: week 43

our shop! • new knitted scarf • one pot meal •
girl time • Real Simple• Farmers Market •
coffee• Pumpkin Patch • Veggie Soup •

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(Non-existent) bucket list check: Devils Postpile

October 23, 2014 filed under: photography, USA

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I already gave you a little sneak peek the other week when I posted this first picture as my ‘photo of the week’. My supervisor had sent me into the field for a week and me and my co-workers work by the principle “work hard, play hard”. We put in some long-hour days, but that also left us with some extra time to explore the area in which our field work was happening this time. We worked on the east side of  the Sierra Nevada and had the opportunity to go visit Devils Postpile National Monument.

I do not really have an actual bucket list of places that I want to visit (maybe I should start one?), but if I had one, Devils Postpile would definitely have been on the list! I’ve seen a similar (much smaller, mind you!) formation in Germany before when I was on a field excursion with my geology class way back when. I remember it well and always wanted to see other formations like that around the world.

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I just love how impressive the scale of this thing is! How beautiful it is! Places like this make me fall in love with my field of work all over again. I am simply in awe of Mother Nature!

Devils Postpile is the result of volcanic activity in the area and the name refers to a dark cliff of columnar basalt.  Devils Postpile started out as a lava lake. About 100,000 years ago, hot basaltic lava came to the surface and formed into a lake. As the lava flow ceased, the lake began cooling into solid rock and started to contract. The cooling process developed cracks, also called joints, that reached deep into the formation and the big network of fractures results in the formation of vertical, (mostly) hexagonal columns.

Devils Postpile used to be much taller than what we can see today. Powerful erosive forces have been at work during the last 80,000 to 100,000 years carving, shaping and demolishing remnants of the lava flow.

The columns average 2 feet (0.61 m) in diameter, the largest being 3.5 feet (1.1 m), and many are up to 60 feet (18 m) long. f the lava had cooled perfectly evenly, all of the columns would be expected to be hexagonal, but some of the columns have different polygonal cross-sections due to variations in cooling. A survey of 400 of the Postpile’s columns found that 44.5% were 6-sided, 37.5% 5-sided, 9.5% 4-sided, 8.0% 7-sided, and 0.5% 3-sided.

Interesting facts! Sorry for geeking out here a little bit! Go read the survey if you’re interested to learn more about the forming of these columns! (Highly recommend!)

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We took a little hike up to the top of the formation a little later and were able to look at the cross-section of those huge columns. A glacier removed much of this mass of rock and left a polished surface on top of the hexagonal columns with very noticeable glacial striations and glacial polish.

Isn’t this amazing? People pay a lot of money for hexagonal tiles in their backyards and here it’s occurring naturally! And look at the diameter of these!

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I am really thankful that I had the opportunity to check this place of my (non-existent) bucket list.

Have you been to Devils Postpile and/or the Eastern Sierra Nevada? It’s beautiful out there! I highly recommend you go visit!

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Photo of the week: Clouds

October 22, 2014 filed under: photography

Foto der Woche

Hello photo friends! What has been going on in your corner of the world? It’s time for another ‘Foto der Woche‘, and here’s my Glücklichmacher for this last week, #42:

Photo of the week: Clouds

 Clouds (taken on October 17, 2014)

Fall is finally here and it has treated us to some pretty skies and clouds in the last few days. I love it when I look up to the sky in the evening and see something that could have come straight from a painting!

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On a little announcement

October 20, 2014 filed under: crafts, Etsy, excitement, news

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Well, if you follow me on Instagram and/or Facebook, you might have noticed that I posted a little announcement this weekend.

Some of you have asked in the past why I’m not selling my handcrafted notecards on Etsy. I always dismissed the thought thinking that nobody would really want to buy my cards anyway. However, the thought stuck like a nagging little bugger in the back of my head and my old-neighbor-turned-dear-friend and fellow crafter D finally gave me the last little kick in the butt that I needed.

We spent many afternoons sipping coffee/tea and crafting and half-jokingly dreaming up a little Etsy shop of our own. Shortly before D moved away this summer, she decided that we should just ‘do it’ and opened an account for us. She thought it would help us keep connected and motivated.

So, let me introduce you to our collaborative craft adventure Four Hands Creations.

We only have a small stock of items right now. I’ve mainly worked on different notecards (you know, that my go-to style is simple, but lovely) and my friend D is making delightful hand-painted burlap banners. I am hoping to add some other crafted items to the shop in the future, but for now, you can expect some Christmas-themed cards to hit the shelf soon. As you know, I am a big fan of sending personal messages via snail mail (is there anything better than to find a beautiful card between all the bills and junk mail in your mailbox?) and this is the time of year when it is especially lovely to brighten someone’s day with a handwritten note.

I’d love it if you checked out the shop and gave us some feedback. I am open to any suggestions and custom orders for personalized cards are totally possible.

Don’t worry, I won’t completely spam this blog (or my private Instagram and Twitter account) with shop related updates, but I will most likely mention it every once in a while if there is some news to share. You’re very welcome to follow us on Facebook, on Instragram (fourhandscreations) and Twitter (@4handscreations) if you’d like to stay up to date.

Phew. Secret’s out. And I am a tiny bit excited.

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2014 in pictures: week 42

October 19, 2014 filed under: a year in pictures

2014 in pictures: week 41

dinner • sunset • Caprese •
Friday morning • Birthday outing • pizza •
Tower Bridge • Kohlrabi• Farmers Market finds •

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October Link Love

October 16, 2014 filed under: link love

LinkLoveOctober1I definitely will be using some of those. Did you know about this stuff? 16 Hair hacks every girl should know.

What to eat when you’re broke. I think we can all take a little bit of advice from this, even if we’re not completely broke.

I am a planner at heart and can definitely relate to Elise’s post on why she sets goals.

This is to be taken with a grain of salt, but there is some truth to it: 6 things to avoid saying or doing in the presence of friends without kids.

Love, love, love this idea of family-pictures-clock-wall-decor. Check it out!

Mmmh, this might be just the right thing for winter: How to make homemade just-add-water instant noodle lunches.

Who likes apple cake?

Confession: I buy certain things at the Dollar Store… because they’re cheap! But there are definitely things that I wouldn’t buy there ever, too. Here’s a good list: 10 Top 10 Dollar Store buys and what not to try.

Flavored butter? With fresh bread? Yes, please.

This one pot meatless Monday recipe looks sooo good!

10 Life lessons for excelling in your 30’s.

Cinnamon Almond Muesli Healthy Cold Cereal. That sounds delicious!

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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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