London, part one

We are back! I've loved this city ever since I was 16 and on my first "grown up" holiday - two weeks in London taking a language course to improve my speaking practise. (But I was too shy to open my mouth most of the time.) If I could choose where to live - London would be my first choice. So here a couple of pictures in more or less random order... I wrote down so many things and places I wanted to visit and hardly got anything done!


Our friend Kathrin just recently moved to "Little Venice" (even so it reminds me more of Amsterdam). Absolutely beautiful.



There were boats covered in flower pots (not this one obviously) and it is just so quiet and peaceful.



Sad, but it cracked me up anyway...the cat is probably too mortified to come home. They even underlined the "very".



I hope the roses are hers... She was walking right in front of me when I set out from Little Venice to Portobello Market on Saturday.



Portobello Market. I think half of the tourists coming here are just looking for the famous blue door and the travel book shop...there are even guided tours to show you all the other famous spots from the film ("Notting Hill" was shot in 1999...almost 10 years ago!)



No...not a Sherlock Holmes themed bathroom...the Baker Street tube station is tiled with the likeness of the famous detective. (I'm a huge nerdy fan.)

I think I'll need seperate posts to describe Tate Modern and my shopping experience...I was browsing mostly...really...I've been very good...

natural beauty

This is the Italian home of German designer Katrin Arens. The furniture made from mostly recycled materials are her own design.


My favourite room. I love the headboard and the knitted blanket...um...love the whole room.


The book cases!


The cabinet doors and concrete work top...sigh...try doing that when you are renting....


Salmon is usually not one of my favourite colors, but it looks quite pretty here...


Beautiful dining table with Arne Jacobsen chairs and I really like the cupboard. It's closed with a...branch?

(Pictures: brigitte.de, where you can find more pictures and read about Katrin Arens and her beautiful home. In German.)

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I'm still interested in your favourite London hang outs...so...please keep'em coming...! :)

london, baby!

london june2006
Ursprünglich hochgeladen von litchi7.

We are leaving for London in a couple of days, so I'm curious...do you have a favourite place there? Sights? Shops? Restaurants? West End shows? Parks? Whatever it is - I'd love to hear from you!

powerless...

I wanted to show you a picture of my latest project, but my camera ran out of juice and I can't find the charger...it's been so long that I can't remember where I left it. Aging rapidly.

Thank you for your suggestions on the adjusting-sewing-patterns-that-really-don't-fit-me-topic - I'll look into it!
In the meantime I found this fancy gadget - a sewing ruler by Prym that more or less combines all the curves, angles, etc. you might need for constructing or altering a pattern. Oh yeah... and it does buttonholes, too. Pretty pricey at 50 euros, but of course I really really want one...



Speaking of wanting something badly...why oh why does target.com not ship internationally??? Not even a teeny, tiny top? Le sigh.

headbands...got you covered!

If you do a search for "headbands" on etsy, it comes up with 14,253 items...and that's just the handmades. I love headbands because they are almost like little hats...they spice up boring outfits and save bad hair days. Simple or daring...so many possibilities!
I dug through all 14,253 headbands and here are my favourites (so far):

Monarch Butterfly Crown Headband by charm school design.

This would be lovely for a wedding paired with a simple black dress...but try not to outshine the bride.

Wide Peacock Eye Feather Headband , also by charm school design.

Oh yes...I really need one of these. The feathers are simply stunning. In fact all of the charm school design headbands are so beautiful, it's hard to actually pick a favourite.

sparkle headband by the candy thief.

They are custom made according to your color preference and remind me of fall leaves. Autumn might actually be the perfect season to wear one...

Last but not least: grey mod pod flexible headband by Precocious.

I actually ordered this one. Covered with Amy Butler's "Midwest Modern Martini" fabric it's simple but cute.

(photos: respective etsy sellers)

girl crush (and a red pepper hummus recipe)

So happily married, I have to admit - I have a huge girl crush on Nigella Lawson. She is funny, intelligent and I absolutely adore her accent. That she's a great cook goes without saying. I really like her fuzz free recipes. Her show is not on TV over here (which might be a good thing as they tend to lipsync everything to death), but luckily I found her on youtube. I can watch Nigella for hours, the only downside is that I get hungry almost instantly.
She's also amazingly beautiful (I wish I'd know how she does her eye make-up!) - without being a stick insect. Watching her sabotages every notion of mine to diet myself back into a size 4. Because let's face it - I was always cranky and miserable back then. Constantly nervous. Easily irritated. That's what living on tofu and only the tiniest amount of carbs will do to you. Nigella just seems so confident in her own body (and men seem to like her too). I truely believe the world could be a better place if we all released our inner Nigella. :)

So...I'm back!

Hi everyone, I know, I know...it's been a really long time, but I hope you are still there...thanks for your sweet comments during my absence, I guess I just never thought anybody would actually miss me (no no, not fishing for compliments here...swear). I started two posts (Lori, thanks for tagging me - if you're still interested, I'll answer your questions with pleasure!), but somehow I never got up the energy to actually finish them. I'm taking multivitamins now, hope this will help. :)

Berlin has cooled down a lot, I'd say this July (so far) is the rainiest and coldest we've had in years. Good thing when you are on the fifth floor...thank god the balcony is huge, we use it as an outdoor office in summer.

So what have I been up to? I've been working, traveling a bit and lately I've become obsessed with sewing. Really obsessed. Unfortunately the obsession with sewing goes hand in hand with an obsession for fabric and sewing patterns (mostly vintage and not in my size...hope to find a tutorial that helps me alter them)...I've become an Etsy junkie. Eek!!!

This was my first dress and I'm ridiculously proud that it actually turned out to look like a dress:


I bought a collection of the "Built by Wendy" patterns and her "SEW U" book and it has been a huge help. I've learned sewing 20 (can this be right???) years ago and made trillions of pillow cases and curtains since then, but not really anything remotely fit to be worn out on the street. There is a HUGE pile of fabric on my desk just waiting to be turned into dresses...hope I can graduate from Wendy to other patterns soon.

XXXOOO and thanks again for your patience...