Archives for April 2015

April Favorites

April 30, 2015 filed under: monthly favorites

1.) OhEmGee. I found Lifeway Frozen Kefir at our local Co-op and it is so delicious, you guys. You need to try this immediately. It only has half the calories of regular ice cream and it’s so refreshing. I prefer plain kefir with its tart and tangy flavor. Yum.

2.) Well, baseball season is upon us and how else are we going to survive the days at the office if it wasn’t for the MLB’s At Bat App that keeps you up-to-date on all the baseball-related happenings!?

3.) I received a complimentary subscription to Runner’s World Magazine when I renewed my Runstastic Gold Membership earlier this year and I thought, oh, why the heck not? And I must say, I quite enjoy this magazine.

4.) It’s maxi skirt season, finally! I bought this Mossimo Maxi Skirt at Target last year during a sale and it’s been my go-to, comfortable skirt every since.

5.) I haven’t had queso dip in forever and part of me wishes I hadn’t bought the Tostitos Queso Dip on a whim at the grocery store a couple of weeks ago. Now I am hooked on this stuff. Well, it’s cheese, what else did I expect?

6.) I recently came upon Mrs. Meyer’s Hand Soap and really, really love it. It smells heavenly, cleans very well and is based on natural ingredients. What’s not to love?

Daily life: Our laundry routine

April 29, 2015 filed under: daily life

Amber started a new blog series called “The World According To Amber (TWATA)”, in which she shares how she (and her husband) do day-to-day things. I love that idea and I love to get a glimpse into other people’s daily routines and habits, so I decided to jump on the bandwagon and start a similar blog series of my own. I will file all post in this series under the category “daily life”.

I’m planning to share how we do things around here and am looking forward to hearing your thoughts on the topics. I think it’s fascinating to find out how other people manage their daily lives (it’s something that doesn’t necessarily come up in a conversation) and maybe some of you find it interesting how we manage ours. At the very least, you might learn something new about me, at best we’ll exchange ideas and thoughts on how to do things better or more efficiently.

I’m going to start today with our laundry routine. Don’t know about you, but I love to hear how other people manage the ‘mundane things of life’.

I’ve extensively complained about the fact that when we moved into our current apartment, we thought that we would be able to have a washer + dryer in our unit. It was high on our list of priorities when we moved and something I didn’t want to compromise on. (Just FYI, not having your own washer and dryer is something basically unheard of in Germany. Everybody owns at least a washer. I know that laundromats exist in bigger cities, but I never knew one single person in Germany who ever had to use a laundromat.)

Anyway, we found out post-move in that the outlet on our back porch only was an 110V outlet and only supported very small stackable washer + dryer sets (which are a) expensive to buy (comparatively speaking) and b) not very efficient) and there was not much room either. Our landlord wasn’t willing to upgrade the outlet (except if we wanted to pay for it. Hell to the no!) and so we teeth-gnashingly went back to visiting the laundromat.

My own washer + dryer is one of the top priorities again when we move and our laundry routine will ~~probably~~ most definitely (!) change, but for now, we’ve found a routine that works well for us under the given circumstances.

One thing you’ll probably be “jealous” about is that we do laundry… wait for it… every three weeks. That’s right. We don’t have weekly laundromat visits (which, if we had to do that, would drive me literally insane!) and I am very happy about that. I like clean and fresh laundry, but not bad enough that I’d sit at the laundromat every single week just for fun. Well, and besides, don’t worry… we have enough clean clothes for that time. Otherwise, we wouldn’t be able to stretch the time in between visits that far.

The perk of the laundromat is: if you go at the right time (Friday late afternoons for us), the place is almost empty and you can do as many loads at a time as your heart desires (for us it’s usually 5 loads). Which in turn means, we get 5 loads of laundry done in about 2 hours (give or take). I ~~can live~~ made my peace with 2 hours of laundromat time every three weeks.

Yes, it’s annoying to have to schlep all our laundry there. No, I don’t particularly enjoy hanging out at the laundromat when I could use that time for other chores at home. But: at least we’re highly efficient when we go. We always have full loads (which is environmentally friendly and the right thing to do!) and since we can do all loads at the same time and it takes the same amount of time regardless of wether we do two or five loads of laundry, I feel like we’re using our time efficiently as well.

We found this really clean and well-kept laundromat 5 minutes from our house. We drive there, wash + dry + fold, and drive home – all within 2 hours. Try to beat that! Plus, I bring a book, my laptop (they offer free Wi-Fi) or some knitting and use my waiting time there productively that way.

Obviously, it’s not the most comfortable place to hang out and I’d much rather sit at home, but we’re making it work – for now.

What’s your laundry routine? Is it a chore you enjoy or despise?

Girlfriend time at the spa

April 27, 2015 filed under: friends, girl time

A few weeks ago, my friend Susi texted me with a Travelzoo Deal for a day at a spa, including a 60-minute relaxation massage and a glass of champagne, that we couldn’t pass up. Since a girls’ getaway was long overdue, we jumped on the deal and made reservations for the 24th of April, which was Friday.

Susi and I met up early at the Willow Stream Spa at the Fairmont Mission Inn in Sonoma, CA. It’s about half-way between our respective homes and seemed like the perfect place for a getaway. I know, the destination alone might evoke envy in some of you (and I can’t blame you), but the Spa itself could have been anywhere and it would have been fantastic by itself. But going to a spa in Wine Country sounds extra fancy, doesn’t it?

We both left early and arrived at the Spa at 8:30 a.m. to get an early start and take advantage of the day. Our morning began with an hour of water yoga. I had never done water yoga before and it was a pleasant experience, especially the relaxation at the end (where we were floating on two of these pool noodles with underwater music soothing our ears). I might or might not have asked Susi to come get me three hours later! Ha.

Next up, champagne in the hot tub. The epiphany of a spa day, right? It felt indulgent and marvelous (and definitely well deserved) and some good conversations were had.

Our 60-minute relaxation massage was scheduled for 11:30 a.m. and, OMG, it was the most glorious thing. I can’t even remember if (or when) I had a massage in the past and I kept saying that this is definitely something I could get hooked on.

Diane, my masseuse, was wonderful. She knew where to apply the pressure and could tell from my tight spots that I work a desk job (yes!) and use the mouse a lot (also correct). Amazing! I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of the massage and I felt completely relaxed afterward.

We had lunch poolside and just enjoyed the beautiful and relaxed atmosphere.

In the afternoon, we explored the Bath House and used the Bath Ritual. The Willow Stream Spa sits atop an ancient mineral spring and all the pools are all filled with the mineral waters. The Bathing Ritual features an exfoliating shower, two mineral water soaking pools, an herbal steam room, a dry sauna, and cool down showers.

The facilities are supposed to be a gadget-free zone and we (mostly) appreciated and stuck to that rule, but obviously I had to make an exception to snap some quick pictures for my ~~scrapbook~~ blog. You’re welcome.

The Spa was wonderful and luxurious and it took me a little while to not feel completely ‘out of place’ since I had never been to a spa before. But, by the end of the day, we were basically ‘spa-pros’ and Susi and I decided that we absolutely have to do this again. The day went by way too quickly (as good times do!) and we finished up this amazing day with some coffee in the hotel lobby.

I had a wonderful time unplugging from the daily grind in some lovely company (what could be better than catching up with your girlfriend?) and highly recommend it to everyone.

Surprisingly, I was dead tired by the time I got home and felt like I had run a marathon or something. I went to bed at 9 p.m., slept like a rock through the night and woke up sore the next morning. Comfortably sore, I might add. I guess my body had (passively) done more over the course of the previous day than I thought.

If you ever get the chance (especially if you find a good deal online – spas are not cheap, especially in this country, or so it seems), I urge you to enjoy a spa day some time, if you haven’t done so before (please tell me that I am not the only one who has never indulged in that kind of way!?). Either way, it was totally worth it and just a great experience all around and the only question I have left is ‘When can I do this again?’

ABC Photo Challenge

April 25, 2015 filed under: photography

As I mentioned, I participated in a little photo challenge on Instagram. My blog friend Fee initiated the ABC photo challenge earlier this month and since I hadn’t participated in any challenges lately, I thought it would be fun to document part of this month by playing along. Here are all the photos for my personal ABC.

A is for Azalea. There are some beautiful azalea bushes close to my work.

B is for breakfast. Steel-cut oats with apples. Hmm :)

C is for Chemex and coffee. The best, that’s all.

D is for daffodils. I love those yellow, happy flowers.

E is for Easter bread. I baked our traditional sweet yeast bread for Easter and it was so delicious!

F is for family. My sister’s wonderful family, to be exact.

G is for gray skies. We got some rain earlier this month. Very needed, much appreciated.

H is for home-cooked meal. Turkey-mushroom-spätzle bowl with green beans.

I is for I Street.

J is for Jetta. Our new ride!

K is for (door) knobs in our old, vintage apartment.

L is for lazy baseball Sunday. Go Red Sox!

M is for McKinley Park. Another day, another run at this lovely park.

N is for never tired of these beautiful magnolia blossoms.

O is for Oh, I just ran 4 miles.

P is for pasta. Yummy home-made spaghetti with spicy italian sausage.

Q is for quality time at the beach last summer.

R is for Red Cherry Trees.

S is for Sunday Thai cravings.

T is for (summer-ready) toes and the first pedicure of the year.

U is for unreal. Yosemite National Park is so amazing!

V is for Volkswagen.

W is for water which I am tracking with the new @NalgeneUSA app on my phone. Drinking enough is one of my goals for 2015.

(X)Y(Z) is for (water) yoga at the Willow Stream Spa in Sonoma where I spent the day with my dear friend Susi.

If you want to see some of the other photos of people who participated, check out hashtag #abcfee2015 on Instagram.

A lesson in patience

April 22, 2015 filed under: career stuff, I can't make this shit up

Are you a patient person? Most people say that I am and they’re probably right. I have a lot of perseverance, I don’t give up easily and I can wait for things to fall into place. I am an eternal optimist and always believe that things will work out. Eventually.

Although sometimes, I wish that ‘eventually’ was a little sooner rather than later. I’ve done my fair share of “waiting things out” in my life and sometimes I wonder if that was always the right thing to do.

I know, waiting is usually not a good strategy. If you want things to happen, you have to make them happen (or so they say). But what if you’re pushing and working hard and things get within arm’s reach just to be dangled in front of your face always an inch or two too far to grab? When do you stop reaching?

The last few months have just been mentally exhausting. Actually, the last year and a half has been mentally exhausting. I have talked a few times about this “limbo state” at my work that I have been in for (dare I say it? years!) much too long and after being on the brink of almost being let go at the end of May last year and my head spinning out of control with worry about “where am I going to look for a new job?”, “where are we going to move?”, “what are we going to do?”, things turned around (somewhat) last minute and now it looks like we’re here to stay after all.

However, my job situation is still not resolved. It’s frustrating to say the least.

I’ve been working here for almost 8 years. I have had my citizenship for 3+ years now (the ONE requirement that prevented me from being hired directly by the government agency in the first place), and yet, my contractor status has still not been converted to a more permanent position. I’ve missed out on regular raises, job security and the general feeling of being an equal to my co-workers and I sometimes wonder how and why I have “stuck it out” for eight freakin’ years.

Like I said earlier… “the ‘carrot’ was always dangled right in front of my face” and I have a lot of patience and general optimism, or else I would have quit here a long time ago.

More importantly: I love my job (most days). I like my co-workers. I like my physical work place. These are hard things to let go of when faced with decisions you don’t want to make. I know so many people who don’t like what they do or have horrible co-workers and just dread going to work every day.

That is not me. I enjoy my job and I work hard it. But I also think that I finally deserve some appreciation, too. I honestly can’t believe for how long I have been talking about this.

Currently | April

April 20, 2015 filed under: currently

obsessing over my new upcycled surfboard resin charm necklace.

watching a whole lot of Red Sox baseball. We took the plunge and splurged on a MLB TV subscription this season and I couldn’t be more excited.

starting a new Runtastic training plan.

drooling over delicious Thai food from this place.

hoping for some luck in the house hunting process. I never thought it would be so difficult to find an affordable rental house (but I guess it’s partly because the prices for housing have gone up in recent months).

drinking all the coffee.

anticipating the resolution of my job situation. Sigh.

reading To Kill A Mockingbird for the Postal BookClub.

enjoying a couple of extra-long weekends this month.

looking forward to the first pedicure of this summer. Sandals-time has begun!

still loving our new VW Jetta. It’s so much more fun to drive this car!

looking forward to spending some girl time with my friend Susi at a Spa next weekend, relaxation massage included. Hooray!

April Link Love

April 15, 2015 filed under: link love

Happiness is a needle and thread away – the mental health benefits of knitting! There!

How to Program Your Mind to Stop Buying Crap You Don’t Need.

10 Things Everyone Should Learn as a Kid – isn’t that some god-honest truth?

Stop doing shit you don’t like. We’re too old for that.

Things to not say to couples without children. Sorry, but it’s insensitive.

I agree with all of those 22 things to start doing now that will improve the rest of your life.

Apple Crumble Cheesecake. Yum!

7 tips for a happier work life (don’t know if I agree with #4 completely)

Traveling alone is one of the most liberating things I’ve done. Here are 6 reasons every woman needs to travel alone sometime.

Uhm, my next home will have a leaning ladder.

26 blogging tools to simplify your life.

Tips for using Google Maps.

My friend Harriet wrote about blogs and what they used to be and why it matters to write your own story.

6 things to do during down time to help you fully recharge.

My blog friend Amber recently wrote about the real cost of travel and I could very much relate to her post.

If you’re a Target lover, you probably are aware of most of those, but I thought I’d still post the 10 secret saving tips for shopping at Target.

Naps are good for you. I knew it.

Becoming a parent is always going to be a default setting, but it shouldn’t be, says author Meghan Daum. Loved her perspective on why We need to talk about why we don’t want kids.

The ugly word that is controlling your future. Nobody likes budgeting, but here are some good (and important) reasons why everyone should.

I think this is awesome! This grocery store in Berlin was designed for 100% package free shopping.

Dos and don’ts

April 14, 2015 filed under: about me

A long time ago, my friend Nora wrote a fun post about her “dos and don’ts” and I had saved the post idea in my draft folder. Today, I am going to share my own.

I do…

+ hit the snooze button one too many times every morning.

+ have to get back into my Sunday morning visit to the Farmers Market routine.

+ plan to finally make (and hopefully stick to) a monthly budget instead of just tracking my spending (although that has worked well enough for us in the past. We’re apparently naturally living within our means.)

+ need my 9-10 hours of sleep on the weekends. And naps. There is nothing wrong with naps.

+ enjoy good company + conversation over brunch and need it more often in my life.

+ wish that 2015 turns around and will be a good year not just for me, but my friends whose year began with struggles.

I don’t…

+ have to justify anything to anybody and I need to remember this.

+ watch many of the popular TV shows and feel like the guy in the (Netflix?) commercial that doesn’t know what everybody’s talking about.

+ have a good system down to archive and organize my (iPhone) photos. Can anyone recommend something that has worked for them?

+ ever get half the things done that I want to get done on the weekends. I think it’s less disorganization than just trying to squeeze in too many things. Anybody else with this problem?

+ write as much snail mail as I used to and I need to change that ASAP.

What are some of your dos and don’ts?

A new ride

April 10, 2015 filed under: excitement

So, we did something crazy last week. We got a new (to us) car. Ok, it’s not really that crazy, but it felt crazy to me (and I hope some of you might understand the feeling). Let me just say upfront: I am not a car person. I don’t know much about cars, I don’t care much about cars, and as long as they safely get me to where I need to go, I’m pretty happy. And I promise, I am the last person who would go on and on about their car, but I am – surprisingly and kind of unexpectedly – more excited about it than I thought I would be.

The last (and only) time I bought a car was in College and back then I shared the car with my sister (both financially and physically). It was a small car, too, so while it felt like a big purchase at the time, it didn’t really feel like a big, grown-up purchase. This time, it felt different.

I know it’s ridiculous. People get cars all the time, I mean especially in this country, what’s the big deal? I tell you what the big deal is: having driven a (now) 17 year-old car for the last decade that was graciously handed down from my in-laws, but which has long-since started falling apart at the seams and trading it in for an (almost) brand-new car is a huge deal (at least to me).

I mean, it was necessary. No, really. The exterior and interior were deteriorating (although J and I both really didn’t care that much about the looks, as we did about the fact that it got us from A to B) and we’ve started to see more problems pop up over time. You know, if you drive on the freeway and keep hoping that you’re not going to break down right then and there, that is some scary shit. We couldn’t really take the car on long trips anymore anyway. Oh, and did I mention that the A/C stopped functioning about two summers ago? Yeah, you don’t really want to be without A/C during the Central Valley summers. Just sayin’.

So we decided last week that it was time. Time to say our goodbyes to our good old (mostly reliable) Saturn and time to look for a new (well, new to us anyway, pre-owned) car. We had been talking about it for a while, but had kept our hopes up that we could wait just a little bit longer. We probably could have still waited a few more weeks or even months. Who knows? We honestly did try hard to squeeze the last little bit of life out of this car, but we also really didn’t want to tease our luck and wait until the car fails on us while we’re in it.

We once broke down with a flat tire on the freeway and let’s just say that I don’t recommend it and that it doesn’t remotely come close to anything I would consider ‘fun’.

So, long story short, we decided to get … *drumroll* … a black Volkswagen Jetta. You know, Das Auto – with me being German and all.

I am so excited. I’ve never owned a fancy car like that. I actually feel like I am driving around in a rental right now. Hasn’t sunk in yet that we get to keep this one.

You know what’s funny though? My biggest worry now is that something might happen to the car while it’s parked in the back alley or at work. I never worried about this stuff with our beat-up 17 year-old Saturn. Go figure!

Awkward & Awesome

April 9, 2015 filed under: awkward & awesome

This is a regular feature post on my blog. See the archives here.

AWKWARD

Bad communication. OMG. It’s like the most awkward (and annoying) thing in the world. I don’t know or understand how some people navigate their lives without clear communication, but alas, here we are.

All the series we were watching (on actual TV) ended (The Newsroom, Girls, The McCarthy’s…) and we have resorted to Netflix for now. Strangely, I kind of miss having a show to look forward to on a specific day of the week (says the girl that always claimed to be a big advocate for watching shows on her own time after they come out on Netflix!).

I’m frustrated with my knitting project (my cardigan) and need some pep talk to finish the sleeves. Help!

AWESOME

I finished my 6-week Runtastic training plan (‘Run 50 min after 6 weeks’) yesterday and am happy to report that this has really helped me get back into a running routine. I wasn’t really concerned about pace or distance at this point, but was positively surprised when I finished my ‘race’ (= last day of the training) with a PR last night.

J asked me if I was going to take a break from running now… haha. Uhm, no, this was just the beginning! I want to try and keep this up!

I have the next three Mondays off (I need to take some vacation days, before I hit the limit of allowed vacation hours and won’t earn any more) and I am not mad about it. Extra-long weekends? Yes, please!

Baseball season is upon us! I’ll be going to a SF Giants game this summer (when my family is here) and I am so excited. Also: Go Red Sox!

Salted Caramel Macademia Clusters. Get in my bellah!

A new coffee shop in our neighborhood. I see coffee dates + park walks with J in our future.

Tell me something awkward and awesome about your week!