a girl with horn-rimmed glasses

a bit of TV for everyone.

2012-01-09T10:10:00.000-08:00

You might have noticed that I'm a total TV show nerd. Here are three shows I have enjoyed lately, other than my usual shows. What are you watching at the moment that you love? I'd love to hear. Have you ever watched any of these three?

American Horror Story. A horror series.
If you're easily spooked and hate horror stories, don't watch this. If you enjoy the thrill and a show that has ongoing storylines and characters, makes you ask a lot of questions (and answers most of them) and has a couple of interesting guest stars – watch. Don't get spooked by the opening credits, I fast forwarded through them almost every time, so creepy! ;)
Please don't spoil yourself before watching though, it takes away so much fun, especially with this show!

30 Rock. A comedy series.
Let me tell you that it took me a couple of tries to get into this. We watched the pilot twice and tried to watch a few of the season 1 episodes, but it was so disappointing. I'm a fan of Tina's and I enjoy SNL very much, but this was… so not funny. Then I read Tina Fey's book "Bossypants" in which she also talks about this show – her baby – and writes the first season was really bad. Especially the pilot. Oooookay, thought I, and started watching season 2. That did the trick. We're right now in the middle of the third season, and it's still so very good and addicting. (At least 2 episodes a day, please!)
The cast is lovely, especially Jack McBrayer – how is it possible for him to look like a happy puppy ALL THE TIME?! There are a lot of awesome guest stars, some of them of course SNL veterans, but also other movie and TV stars.

Sherlock. A crime series.
Sherlock Holmes in today's London? Why? How can this be good at all? To be honest, the only reason I started watching this was because the show's creator is also showrunner at Doctor Who. The first series tends to be a bit long at times, but the series 2 premiere last week was so good I have to urge you to watch it! Benedict Cumberbatch's Sherlock is a genius that comes close to autism while Martin Freeman's Dr. Watson is a war veteran doctor who blogs. See? It's awesome. Watch! (Not sold yet? Irene Adler is a dominatrix. Seriously. Watch.)

treat yo' self.

2012-01-08T02:14:00.000-08:00

That's what I thought when I treated myself to the newest Benefit face powder (aka blush) called Hervana. I've been lusting for it ever since it's review on Temptalia (seriously gals, temptalia.com is my bible when it comes to cosmetics – if Christine gives a bad review, I won't buy a product).
On Monday I went to the counter to try it out, and then immediately ordered it online (coupon… you have to use every discount you can get for a product that expensive). It arrived on Wednesday and I've used it every day since then. It's a great neutral blush for fair-skinned, cold types. But I guess this will work on almost everyone.

Quick review:
+ Packaging (so cute)
+++++ Product
– Price
– I wouldn't need that little brush that comes with it

films 122/100 – 127/100

2012-01-02T09:45:00.000-08:00

2011 came to an end, and so does this feature. I will continue to watch movies in 2012 and post about it, but it's not mandatory for myself to finish a hundred.

Seven Years in Tibet (1997)

Let me quote a dear friend to begin with this one: "There are two kinds of people: Those who have seen this movie a thousand times, and those who have never seen it because THEY'RE NOT THE LEAST BIT INTERESTED IN IT." Guess which one I am? Right, the second one. Until I was forced to watch this movie while it was on TV – on a women's channel. The "true story" part and the historic events were interesting, but let's be honest: Most of the people who watch this watch it for the eye candy they get from Brad Pitt. Meh.

The Sure Thing (1985)

The good old 80s rom-com: College student goes on a trip to get laid, but might he become more interested in the girl he takes the trip with? Hmm, one will never know, unless you watch this movie. (This should have been in the 30–50s movie numbers, but I plain and simply forgot to post it. Deed done now.)

Ice Age 3: Dawn of the Dinosaurs (2009)

I didn't watch this because I find the series that good, but because I have to watch everything that has dinosaurs in it. :) This was nice family Sunday-afternoon fun, but nothing more.

Drive (2011)

One of the most-hyped movies of the year, leading several best-of-lists. It will sure get a heap of nominations, the soundtrack (although very 80s-sounding) was very good. Cinematography was brilliant. The actors were brilliant. Two things: This is not a romantic movie, and be prepared for blood. (Which I wasn't. It's very graphic.) I have one thing to say about the movie, the one thing that – IMO – the movie lacked to be truly "perfect": character development. What can you expect when the protagonist is simply called "The Driver" on IMDB?

Senna (2010)

This is a documentary about Ayrton Senna, the last Formula One racing driver to die in a race. Of course we all know about this fact. I can even remember sitting in the living room with my dad watching this. But after 1 1/2 hrs of getting to know Ayrton, his view on god, life, fears, I still got caught in hysterical sobbing when we finally see the footage of his death.
It's a great movie, you don't have to be interested in Formula One to like it. What I found special for a documentary was that we don't once see people being interviewed for it. We do hear thoughts on certain moments, but all of the video footage is old.

Star Wars (aka Star Wars IV: A New Hope) (1977)

One of the greats to finish the movie year with it! This time we watched the remastered version, and I am to believe they changed a few scenes as well as the CGI (of course). I liked the cleaned-up look of the movie (well lit, bright colors). No need to say more to this, right? It's a classic.

gugls.

2012-01-01T02:13:00.000-08:00

I wish you all a happy new year! Isn't it crazy how fast 2011 went by?

A belated birthday gift I made myself for christmas was taking my birthday voucher for a bookstore and get a rather special book. You might know that I've developed a passion for baking intricate things last year (last year, it's already 2012! Weird!). And so I treated myself to this book:

"Der Gugl" is a miniature "Guglhupf", and is sold in delikatessen shops for big money. This book comes with recipes for these "cake pralinés", and also a silicone baking tray – in pink!
I've tried my first recipe already, chocolate & red wine Gugls. And they were so delicious! Going to make another batch today because I have to many left of the ingredients (18 little tiny cakes don't need much of any ingredient). Aren't they lovely? Of course, not perfect yet (why those little holes?), but I'm working on it. ;)

my kindle.

2011-12-30T01:57:00.000-08:00

Beware: This post will be both a love letter and a serious review. I hate it when people give 1 star on Amazon but when you read their reviews, you will see that they're just too stupid to set up this device. Here's to those people, maybe I can help you with your problems in this entry.

1. Yes, that's all there is – the packaging.
The Kindle comes in an Amazon parcel. And that's it. No pretty packaging. It's ecologically pretty good, but for a person who loves packaging design, it's pretty much a disappointment. I also don't like that the parcel that gets send by post says "Kindle" on it.

2. This was a gift, so it's registered to a different account.
This shouldn't even be a problem. You all know how to google, right? And guess what? Amazon also has a forum set up which helps you solve Kindle problems. Before I even got the Kindle, I knew what I had to do to get it set up to my account.
See: When a person buys you this as a gift, they can either mark it as a present to your account, or they just buy it. (See, that's what parents tend to do. They know Amazon, but they don't know Amazon THAT well.) But that's no problem. Just log into the buyer's account, go to the Kindle section, and delete the Kindle from this account. See? Just took you about 30 seconds. Then you log in to your account and just add the Kindle (the serial number is in the Kindle and also on the package) to your account. Easy-peasy.

3. I need to buy books – or: how do I get books on that thing?
See the Kindle section on Amazon. They also offer Guttenberg books, meaning FREE BOOKS. All those classics you never read because they have what feels like a thousand pages in old English, now they're all yours! Yes!

4. Refreshing the pages aka the annoying blackout.
One thing that I thought would annoy me, but doesn't so much. But that's basically because I found the button that made it go away for 4 pages in a row. Every few pages, your screen will refresh which results in a mili-second of a black screen. In the settings you're able to determine if she screen should refresh itself after every page or not. I chose "not".

5. Why is there no keyboard?
Because you just bought a 99€ reading device that's for READING, not typing. There are 3 tasks you will need that keyboard for: 1. searching for words/sentences in a book, 2. searching for something in the Kindle store because you're too lazy to do it on your computer, 3. sorting your books by collections. And seriously. You've lived with cellphones and iPods for years before everything had QWERTY, did you lose the ability to type with a non-physical keyboard yet?
The keyboard was the thing that always made me go "well, except for…" with the other Kindles. I'm glad it's gone, I really hardly ever have to use it.

6. Pages full of books. My OCD dislikes.
There you have it. After downloading all these free books, you have pages and pages full of unsorted books. That's when my OCD kicked in. This is where collections come to the rescue. You can make "folders" and fill them with your books. So that everything has it's order, and your home screen looks all nice and tidy. Sigh.

7. Every time there's another picture – or: The screensaver.
Yes, there is. There should be about 20 different images. And it looks pretty neat. Don't hate.

8. It's naked.
Yeah well. We're all born naked. Though wool hats and washcloths make great selfmade covers, you should prefer to protect your new love with a proper case. Because you will put it in your purse, or your uni backpack, and it probably won't be alone in there and other items might scratch your precious Kindle.
Get a case! I won't tell you which one. The original Amazon covers look nice (purple!), but they're also quite expensive and lack one thing I felt was important: You can't really "close" them. After getting high on Lebkuchen on Christmas Eve, I went online to look for a better case than the Amazon one. Problem: Most of them were SO UGLY. But then I found this one "normal-looking" one, which you could order directly from the manufacturer: GeckoCovers offers cases for all the popular e-reading devices, and they offer free world wide shipping. My delivery from the Netherlands (lucky) took 2 days to arrive. It's fake leather (but doesn't smell at all), has two little pockets on the inside and an elastic band to properly close the case and protect the Kindle screen. The leather straps and bands that hold the Kindle inside aren't as pretty as the original Amazon case, but hey, it's 15€ cheaper as well.
The outside is of smooth fake leather (while the inside is all smooth) and has a little gecko imprinted on it. (Hate big logos, this one is kinda cute!) The case closes to the back. I'm really happy with it.

9. Go enjoy your favourite new gadget!
I certainly did. It's great. The reading experience is good (no problems with the eyes), the Kindle is light and small and great to handle. It's not as intuitive as an Apple gadget, but almost. I actually love that it doesn't have a touchscreen but that you flip the pages with buttons. It's beautiful as well – of course! I've already read 1 1/2 books.

Feel free to ask me if you have any more questions. ;) Do you have a Kindle or another e-reader? Do you love them as much as I do?

christmas blessings.

2011-12-29T09:42:00.000-08:00

I hope you all had a lovely christmas! The holidays have been stressful but wonderful, I was blessed with 3 unbelievable delicious feasts, quality family time and great gifts! (The gifts pictured below aren't the only things, but you're probably not interested in Euro notes, tons of chocolates or bed linen…)

1. M·A·C Studio Fix Powder Foundation, Emerald nail polish, "Pawnee" book (so funny!) | 2. Benefit b!right it's potent eye cream (bought from christmas gift card) | 3. Candy cane and candle in form of a fresh bottle of milk (this particular gift is from someone who will most probably read this entry because she's a blog stalker – thanks again!) | 4. Homemade yogi tea with self-designed label – handmade gifts are so cool!

And my own little christmas miracle happened! I got a Kindle. More on that in a later post. What were your favourite gifts?

hot chocolate on a stick.

2011-12-22T01:53:00.000-08:00

Entertaining myself while being sick and stuck at home isn't the easiest job, but here's what distracted me from the pain yesterday: Making hot chocolate on a stick. You can find recipes all over the internet, but it's basically melted chocolate, plus a bit of unsweetened cocoa and powdered sugar. As a mold, I used plastic shot glasses (but silicone ice cube molds should do fine as well) and the wooden sticks are meat skewers. You can use any kind of chocolate (white, milk, dark) and layer them, or use spices like chili to make a really "hot" chocolate.
Wrapped in transparent foil, these make a great addition to your christmas presents.
(Of course we had to try out of they "work", and they do melt wonderfully. It tasted better than a rather expensive hot chocolate on a stick we once bought at a delikatessen shop.)

films 117/100 – 121/100

2011-12-21T02:47:00.001-08:00

Our Idiot Brother (2011)

When their brother gets released from jail for selling marijuana to a police officer in uniform, three sisters are challenged with having this very special brother in their lives once again. It's a nice dramedy, the cast is amazing (except: who had the idea to dress up Rashida Jones in those glasses?!), it's a fun film to see and there also is a cute dog. ;)

One Day (2011)

Ever since I first heard about this movie, I had a love/hate relationship with it. The book was amazing and I read it after my favorite book seller recommended it (when it was still that huge crappy version of the book), and it's one of those few books that you will always remember reading, especially this one certain moment – everyone who read the book knows what I'm talking about. (And I don't know anything who didn't cry their eyes out.)
So then came the trailer. Don't get me wrong, I really like Anne Hathaway, but why did they choose to cast her? Wasn't their a British actress for the job? Even though I didn't mind her fake accent too much in the movie, when I first saw the trailer I was appalled.
As you might figured out now, I didn't want to watch the movie for a long time. I was scared it would ruin the book (like The Time Traveller's Wife, didn't even bother to watch more than 15 minutes of that shit).
But no, this movie was alright. I liked it. And it made me miss Scotland. Want to go back to Edinburgh!

A Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)

Aka the movie you watch once a year, preferably after Halloween and before christmas. Hasn't lost any of it's charm in the 18 years since it's release. (Oh my god, I am old!)

Good Hair (2009)

It was the third time I have watched this documentary. I am a curious white girl. For years I wondered, I was oblivious, and this documentary told me what the search for good hair is like. Seems like I can be happy to be blessed with the so-called "Good Hair", and don't have the need to put toxic chemicals on my head every 8 weeks, or Indian human hair sewn onto my head. Very very interesting, especially for women.

This is England (2006)

Coming-of-age-story of a young boy who gets involved with a group of skinheads in 1982. Watched this mainly because I got interested in the two mini-series that followed, and because of my new Misfits fav Joe Gilgun. The film felt unfinished, but I guess I have to watch the series' now.

cosmetics for january.

2011-12-19T03:07:00.000-08:00

After blogging about my christmas wishes and finding it really hard to make my man a list (make up by M·A·C, I made 4 different kind of gift sets for the budget and printed him a list), I just now found that there still are a few things I want/need. Let's put them on my must-have list for the next year, shall we?
Here's the Benefit/new list:

Benefit Hervana
As I have very fair skin, I feel like most blushes are too dark for me. I don't enjoy using blush too much, because of said problem. I own 4 blushes that I use on a regular basis: MNY's Orgasm dupe, Blushbaby & Style by M·A·C, and Benefit's Bella Bamba, which is awesome. From the reviews and swatches I've seen, I've really fallen in love with Hervana, and can't wait to try it out at the counter. The one catch: Those blushes are fucking expensive. Will have to wait for some online discount to buy it.

Benefit It's Potent! Eye Cream
As I'm getting older (boo hoo!), I feel in need of an eye cream. Clinique's All About Eyes Rich seems great, but it's very expensive. I've heard a lot of good stuff about the Benefit eye cream, apart from it's beautiful looks obviously! Might want to try this out.

Benefit Eye Bright
This could also be any other nice pink-white eye pencil for waterlining, because pure white looks way too artificial.

A nice blush brush
Again, this doesn't need to be by Benefit, also theirs seems nice as well. I need a proper blush brush. The one I have is weirdly angled and it's very hard to work with it. (It was also a cheap drugstore buy years ago, before I properly started using blush.)
Of course I looked at M·A·C's blush brush, but that's even more expensive. Do you have a great blush brush? Please share any tips!

christmas wishes & tips.

2011-12-18T02:49:00.000-08:00

Christmas is coming, and it's coming soon! Less than a week for us who celebrate on the 24th. Are you still in need of some last minute gifts? This might help you then: 25 handmade gifts for under 5 dollars.
Or are you already in wrapping mode and need some help or inspiration? Learn how to make a gift bow here, and print out some super lovely gift tag printables here.

A lot of people made a christmas wishlist, and I tried too, for the sake of a nice collage. But it didn't really work, because…

What are your christmas wishes?

a visit at kiko.

2011-12-14T05:52:00.000-08:00

There's not much you can't find in Hamburg shopping-wise. We have two Apple stores, two M·A·C stores and various counters, Urban Outfitters, Monki, and so much more. But there are two stores my little hometown has that Hamburg lacks: Gina Tricot, and a newly opened Kiko.
Kiko is an Italian make-up brand and I've read a lot about it online. Most of the items are rather cheap and my fingers were itching to try it out. So when I went to visit my parents last weekend, I shopped a little. As far as I can say so far (have been bedridden this whole week with bronchitis, not really the event to wear make-up to), they are good. The packaging is exactly like M·A·Cs, same color, same die-cuts, at least for the two items I bought.
And here they are:

(Eyeshadow #136 , glamorous eye pencil #403 )

advent calendar win!

2011-12-09T05:09:00.001-08:00

Thanks to Izabella from Mädchenwahn and Nadine from Anmutig for giving away this lovely little bag in Anmutig's advent calendar! I'm so happy to have won, and it's length gave it it's perfect usage: It's going to be my makeup brush bag.

dipped in greenish gold.

2011-12-07T08:26:00.001-08:00

I have a new nail polish love! "Firework" by Douglas Absolute Nails which is a 5€ dupe für Chanel's 24€ polish Peridot. (Well, almost. Those of you who are not absolute swatch-comparing-nailpolish-obsessive people will not notice.)

So pretty, I love it. Would have never guessed I would like a polish like that, but it's gorgeous. The exact right thing for christmas time. (Now I only have to decide between this, white/red/green glitter polish and a red ruby sparkle polish for the holiday…)

films 111/100 – 116/100

2011-12-07T04:50:00.000-08:00

Midnight in Paris (2011)

Whatever Works was the first Woody Allen film I ever watched. I once tried Annie Hall but didn't really get into it. So after it I gave up on Woody films. Until Whatever Works. And then Vicky Christina Barcelona. And You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger. So now to the newest one! I only saw the poster for it but no trailer before I watched it, and was absolutely positively surprised. It's one of those movies that you have to think about long after you watched it. Yes, there is some sort of time travel involved (not in the sci-fi geeky way), which I dig, and you'll meet prominent people from the past. Loved it!

The Change-Up (2011)

Apparently, body-switch comedies still didn't get old. Watched it for Bateman and Reynolds, but it was more of a "Saturday night on TV"-movie than one you would have to go to the theatre for.

Tabloid (2010)

Well. This is a documentary about a former beauty queen who supposedly abducted, imprisoned and raped a Mormon man. You interested yet? Yeah, because of this quick preview, I had to watch it. The story supposedly ruled the tabloids in the 70s United Kingdom, and consists of a series of interview with press people and the woman herself. Also, she cloned her dead dog to have clone puppies. Bizarre but real.

Beginners (2010)

A bittersweet story, beautifully told and illustrated, about a man who needs to get on with his life after his newly-come-out-as-gay father dies, and a woman he meets. The first half was awesome but the second half of the movie was a bit slow. Very good acting from all three major characters, good movie.

Tucker and Dale vs Evil (2010)

Alan Tudyk, a cabin in the woods and the killing of stupid teenagers. I don't want to tell you too much about the story line, but if you liked Shaun of the Dead and/or Zombieland, you will love this! It's a comedy, not a scary horror movie, but you will see gore. It's a new view on the creepy hillbilly. Fun fun fun!

Fright Night (2011)

Never saw the original so I can't tell you how it lives up to it. And it's something I probably wouldn't normally be interested in, the cast was very interesting to me. Pavel Chekov, that killer from In Bruges and the Tenth Doctor. (I will watch everything with David Tennant in, I own is action figure after all.) You can't take this movie seriously, and that's the point. It's fun, it's silly, and no, the vampires do not glitter in the sun, but do the one proper thing a vampire does in the sun: Explode into a million pieces and vanish. Fun movie to watch, but no must-see if you're not a fan of the cast members.

sunday christmas baking.

2011-12-04T08:55:00.001-08:00

And so it begins, the christmas baking. Yesterday, the girls & I made some butter and coconut cookies, but way more important for my man: Widow's Kisses, his favourite cookies which I only make for christmas.

Here's the simple recipe: Pre-heat oven to 130°C. Beat 3 egg whites until stiff. Add 1 pack of vanilla sugar and 175 grams of sugar while keeping on beating. Your result should be a fluffy white mass.
Add chocolate chips (about 100g) and minced almonds (about 220g). Gently fold in the chocolate and almonds, be sure not to kill the sugared egg mass with too much of it. You're free to reduce the chocolate and almonds.
Put teaspoons of the Widow's Kisses on the baking tray and bake for 23 minutes. (Let the cookies cool off for a while before taking them from the tray.)

films 106/100 – 111/100

2011-12-04T01:35:00.001-08:00

No, she didn't stop watching movies. She just forgot to write about them. Watch out for another huge movie post coming soon.

Horrible Bosses (2011)

Fun fact: In Germany, this movie is called (yes, the title is still in the English language) "Kill the Boss". Yeah. Don't ask me. I watched this movie for Bateman and Sudeikis. It wasn't as bad as I expected, but it lacked logic at some points. You know, these moments when you just want to scream at the person at the screen "don't do that, that's stupid!". Better wait until this is shown on TV to watch it.

Zombieland (2009)

Welcome to Zombieland! Welcome Jesse Eisenberg, the awkward male in his early 20s, before you invented Facebook. Welcome Emma Stone, girlcrush with a raspy voice. Since it's release, I have seen this movie 3 times. That should speak for itself. A must-watch if you have liked Shaun of the Dead, also if you're a Bill Murray fan. A fun road movie – with zombies. Watch!

Red State (2011)

This is one of those movies that is hard to describe without spoiling too much of the story. Let me say this: It's not really what I expected, disturbing at times, definitely weird and creepy. But very good nonetheless. I would have wished for a different ending, the current one seems unsatisfying. It's not an easy watch, but if you're interested, you won't regret it.

Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (2007)

This was on TV and I was forced to watch. Alright special effects (except for Jessica Alba's wig, har har), lame story, completely uninteresting to me.

Pirates of Silicon Valley (1999)

Some of you may never have heard about this movie, I didn't either. The most famous fact about it is that Noah Wyle took his impersonation of a young Steve Jobs to another level when invited to fool the audience at an Apple conference. Both Wyle and Anthony Michael Hall as Bill Gates do great jobs. Good Sunday afternoon movie.

desktop calendar: december.

2011-12-01T05:12:00.000-08:00

New month, new desktop calendar. Thought you might be interested. :)

Click on the picture to have it expand and then save on your desktop.

advent is here.

2011-11-27T01:26:00.000-08:00

Last minute advent calendar preparations.
All you need is 24 kraft paper bags (you can get them in 24-pieces sets at idee Kreativmarkt), the free printables from Oh Happy Day, and something to fill the calendar with. (I used sweets and notes, and self-written coupons for nice things.)
Did you make advent calendars for your loved ones?

exciting owl news.

2011-11-22T10:08:00.001-08:00

(Every kind of owl news is exciting. Never mind the title.)

There was a package with an owl on it in my letterbox today. And guess what? Inside was an owl as well! I did a little gift exchange with the lovely Laura from Blue Eyed Night Owl, and today my owl arrived. Don't you just miss getting actual things in the mail these days? Loved the cute little note, tea & my new owl brooch, which by the way doesn't only look cute but has THE PERFECT size to wear? Love it so much. :)

In other exciting owl news – while we're at it –, yesterday I bought another pair of owl earrings.

sunday book love & giveaway winner.

2011-11-20T02:37:00.000-08:00

Currently reading #1, still trying not to feel like a complete idiot but to understand what #2 is teaching me, drooling over #3 and so glad I could finally buy it. What are you reading?

We have a giveaway winner! The bird print will go to Paula, as picked by random.org, based on the comment number. Paula, you've got mail! :)

owlies.

2011-11-19T09:29:00.001-08:00

Been busy making owlies, basically. :)

lazy november.

2011-11-16T22:44:00.001-08:00

Wow, that was a lazy blogging month so far. I'm sorry for the lack of updates, but there was a lot to do elsewhere. Here's what I've done.

1. Encountered autumn fog. | 2. Drew some silly feathers.
3. Bought mini-advent-calendars at Butlers. | 4. Had a birthday and got a new on-the-go mug. (Mine broke almost a year ago and with the cold weather coming up, I'm really happy a got a new one. And it's so pretty!)

5. Realized you can find Hagelslag in Germany if you look for it. | 6. Drew a seamless pattern for Photoshop.
7. Met a dove. (Which made me think of Sheldon in one of the latest TBBT episodes.) | 8. Went underground. (See the blurry One Day movie poster on the right? I'm still torn if I should watch the movie or not.)

9. Dabbled in owl-making. This is my first try, so please excuse the inaccuracies. I'm planning on doing more and giving them away as "gift tags"/christmas tree ornaments on christmas.

Thanks to Laura for posting about our little trade. I will post about it soon as well.

Don't forget: The giveaway is still open until Saturday evening!

diy: rubber stamp.

2011-11-08T01:26:00.000-08:00

I love DIY stuff. My Pinterest DIY board is full of great and easy ideas. Yet, I've never done any of them. Until now. Because this week, I made myself a mustache stamp.

It's really easy. You need a rubber, a cutter knife (I used linoleum print knives) and an idea of what should be on your stamp. Draw it on a piece of paper, cut out the paper, put on backwards on your rubber and draw the outlines. (I colored the whole rubber to be sure to cut right.) Easy, right?

giveaway: 5x7'' calligraphic bird print.

2011-11-06T02:18:00.000-08:00

It's giveaway time!

Inspired by Laura, I decided to do another giveaway, and I hope you like it. You have the chance to win a 5x7" glossy calligraphic bird print.
It features a zen quote ("With the song of the bird, the mountain grows even more quiet.") in German. The art work and hand-lettering was done by myself. The print is one of 3 prints in the first edition, numbered and signed.
This giveaway is international and you have a maximum of 3 entries. (See below.

How to enter:
1. Post a comment to this blog telling me where you would put the print.
2. Tweet about this giveaway, mention me so I can see it (@juliemarques).
3. Mention this giveaway on your blog. (Also post a comment to this post with the link to your blog.)

You can enter until Saturday, November 19th, 11pm CET.

pretty things: studio fludd.

2011-11-02T03:46:00.000-07:00

Do you know the feeling when you remember knowing a shop/website/whatever and you KNOW that you have the name written down/bookmarked/whatever somewhere? You just can't remember the name and can't find your info.
I spent two days looking for a shop I once found until finally – thank Pinterest – I recovered the info.

This happened with Studio Fludd. I once found pictures of their Materia Prima collection, the following image to be precise, and fell in love. The wodden gem, the packaging, the colors, I loved everything about it.

But, as I fall in love with things on the internet on a regular basis, I didn't buy it. (Thanks to that sense of self-restraint, my appartment is not yet stuffed with wall art, jewelry and other pretty things like whale tissue holders…)
After my re-discovery of the shop I had to discover that they're currently on holiday from their Etsy shop. (Cue: Ooooooh.) I really really really hope they will still have the collection after the re-opening of the shop, or I will figuratively bite myself in the behind. Aren't they so pretty?

happy sunday & autumn blog party.

2011-10-30T01:25:00.000-07:00

Good morning, I hope you all will have a nice Sunday today! To assure you will, Laura from Blue Eyed Night Owl decided to throw a blog party on this wonderful day!

What's a blog party? Well, this party is an Autumn-themed blog party, which means lots of posts by different contributors sharing articles, tutorials, freebies & more. All posts will have something to do with autumn, and yours truly shared a desktop calendar for November. (See it here!)
You can find all the party posts here, look out for the desktop calendar and all the other exciting stuff to be posted sometime today.

ben & jerry's dream flavors!

2011-10-27T09:23:00.000-07:00

Sadly, the following TV-show-inspired Ben & Jerry's flavors aren't real. Wouldn't it be great to have them, though?

the animal print shop.

2011-10-25T09:24:00.000-07:00

The Animal Printshop is a lovely online shop I've found on my Bloglovin reading list. Sharon Montrose is a commercial animal photographer who makes the most stunning prints. I really love the simplicity of the backgrounds in combination with the detail in the animals. Her newest series of prints is called "Little Darlings". Of course those are the cutest prints because baby animals melt everyone's heart.

I know I say this every time I find a great artist, but I could really picture one of her prints in my living room. Now we only have to decide on one, which makes it hard because all of her pictures are gorgeous. Here are a few of my favourites. Which ones do you like? Make sure to visit The Animal Printshop website for the whole collection of prints.

hello handmade market.

2011-10-23T09:15:00.000-07:00

The great day did finally come! The Hello Handmade Market was today, and might I tell you how wonderful it was? It got more space than last year which made the waiting line way shorter and gave you a little space to breathe inside. :)

It was great to see all my favourite Etsy and DaWanda sellers and artists and it inspired me very much seeing their amazing work. I might feature a few of them here in the coming weeks, there were a lot of pretty business cards to take home. (Hey, I'm a print designer, I basically went there to get business cards, lol.)
I also bought a brooch by the wonderful Nice Design and 2 stamps from bastisRIKE. It was a little awkward seeing people in real life whose blogs you read and with whom you've exchanged quick words in comments or emails. I was too shy to tell them we "knew" each other, and I guess those gals have a load of emails and comments to read each day, they probably won't remember. Once again I saw this beautiful necklace from Snug which I saw last year, didn't have enough money on me and bought a brooch instead. Now I saw it again and again, I didn't have any more money on me. It's a curse. I took a picture to show you all how lovely it was!

Here are a few impressions.

1 Kampnagel exterior | 2 The prettyprettyprettygorgeous necklace!
3 Sofa owl by TanteTin, I have a grey one living with me | 4 Kampnagel interior
5 All that I took home, way too many pretty business cards | 6 What I bought :)

mousepad is golden.

2011-10-22T02:59:00.000-07:00

Just a quick update from the front here, I should be doing some research and editing for uni, but I missed blogging so much when I was away that I have to catch up. Plus, I've found these really cool mousepads from Freshly Picked via Black*Eiffel (make sure you visit this blog, it's great!).
I haven't used a mousepad in ages, but these look really good next to the Apple gadgets. :)

hello handmade! (hamburg)

2011-10-21T02:59:00.001-07:00

Wer am Wochenende in Hamburg ist, sollte sich den hello handmade markt 2011 auf keinen Fall entgehen lassen! Lange mussten wir warten, dass er wieder ins Kampnagel kommt (ein Jahr), aber jetzt ist es endlich so weit. Bin schon sehr gespannt.

etsy finds: illustrations by nan lawson

2011-10-20T09:25:00.000-07:00

Welcome back to another feature about great Etsy finds!
This time I'm proud to show you the works of talented illustrator and Etsy seller Nan Lawson. She's doing lovely cute quirky & nerdy art, you can buy her lovely illustration prints at her lovely Etsy shop.

Illustrating started as just a hobby for me. I studied filmmaking in college. So while I went to "art school" drawing wasn't a major part of what I learned. After I graduated from college my Boyfriend and I moved to LA in the hopes of putting our Film degrees to good use. While working at a pretty un-creative job as a temp at a major television company I started using my Etsy shop as a creative outlet. I managed to quit that job about a year and a half after opening my Etsy shop I was able to quit that job and work as an artist full time.

Self portrait (Nan Lawson)

I really love Nan's style of illustration, and I quite dig the pop culture characters she re-creates! See below: The Pie Maker (Ned from Pushing Daisies) & All the Bacon and Eggs (Ron Swanson from Parks & Recreation). Look out for Doctor Who and Harry Potter art in the shop as well. You can even get 20% off at the moment.

A lot of my drawing takes place in my living room on my couch! But I do have a work space where a lot of the less creative work is done. Packing orders and shipping orders, answering e-mails, etc. etc. My workspace is a tiny little closet located under the stairs to the second floor apartment in my building. I just recently redecorated it which I am really excited about. I love how that little cupboard turned out - it's an inspiring little space.

Nan's workspace, a closet under the stairs. Isn't this so cute and romantic? Totally digging the Hogwarts print on the right. ;)

As a fellow creative, I'm always so nosy about other people's workspaces! Nan does most of her drawings on the couch, and she usually hand-draws everything, although she now draws digitally on a graphic tablet.
It's hard to make out a favorite of all those pretty prints, but I think I found my personal favorite. Mostly because I love the sweater and it looks a little like me with the hair length and color.

What inspires artists like Nan?
I'm inspired by so many things. I get a lot of my inspiration from the blogs I read, the television or films I watch, or even just around the corner in my neighborhood of Silver Lake. I love just browsing Etsy to see what is on trend in design and fashion in general as well.

For the ones of you interested in getting to know Nan a little more, here a few links:
Nan's Etsy Shop · Nan's Tumblr · Website & Portfolio

Thanks to Nan for providing me with a lot of information about herself and her artwork.

Pictures: © Nan Lawson

back in town.

2011-10-19T09:14:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the lack of updates this week, but I went on a short trip to Denmark for a few days and didn't have time to prepare a post to say goodbye. Hope you're not mad about it. What I did do before I went to Denmark is prepare a major post that's coming up tomorrow. Be excited, at least I was while preparing it. :)

Here's a few hints to what I did in Denmark.

films 101/100–105/100

2011-10-12T01:24:00.000-07:00

Citizen Kane (1941)

This usually is one of the first few movies in hit lists of the best or most iconic movies of all times. So I guess I felt that I had to watch it. Why not during this challenge?
The work with music and the cinematography is very innovative in this one, seeing as most of the movies that were made in the 40s worked differently. It's an interesting movie to see, and Orson Welles is fantastic in it. Still, I wasn't as awed as I probably should have been. I know what or who Rosebud is, though.

Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story (2004)

Had seen parts of this a few years ago when it was on the TV, but I never saw the whole movie. It is ridiculous, of course. And pathetic. And obvious. But it's also very funny. Very very funny.

9/11 (2002)

Two French brothers went to New York to make a movie about rookie firefighters. In the late summer of 2001, they begin filming at a New York firehouse. One day one of the brothers, who wants to practice is camera skills, goes on a tour to check a gas leak on the streets of New York, when he suddenly hears airplane noise and is one of the very few people to film the first plane hit the World Trade Center.
This movie is tragic and sad, but it's not pretentious. It's a documentary about the work of the firefights on that horrible day.

Attack the Block (2011)

Aliens invade South London. A gang of teenagers fights back, and accidentally kills one of them. The best place to hide a dead alien? Well, the marijuana plant apartment, of course. This is a low-budget and completely new take on what will happen if aliens invaded London today. I didn't care that the aliens were black fluffy wolf things with glow-in-the-dark teeth. I rather loved it. Better this than badly animated ones that look cheap! Great and fun movie! Must-watch!

Soul Kitchen (2009)

There was a lot of fuzz about this movie when it came out. As much as it was hyped, I really expected something more. I liked it only because it was shot in Hamburg and I recognized a lot of places. (Feeling patriotic!) But the story lacked depth and a lot of characters behaved rather unlikeable. Sorry, I was disappointed by this movie.

how about new glasses?

2011-10-11T02:02:00.000-07:00

Two years are over. It's time to get a pair of new glasses. Do I really need to? No. Would I love to have a second pair? Oh yes! Especially after I saw those gorgeous Ray Ban glasses at the optician's!

inspiring mondays #7 watercolor illustration.

2011-10-10T04:43:00.000-07:00

I'm about to start a new adventure at uni this semester: Illustration. I can't wait to start, yet I'm so very scared, especially when I see inspiring images as these: Watercolor illustration paired with Photoshop. So pretty, right?

Images via Pinterest.

easy sunday treat.

2011-10-09T03:11:00.000-07:00

What do you do on a Sunday with a spare egg? Make macarons, of course! But I don't have anything to make ganache or filling with. And I don't really want to spend hours waiting for it to set. Well, I have an easy way out of that.

This morning I woke up with an urge to bake and a spare egg. Did my macaron skills last, now that I haven't made a batch in a month? They did, I can assure you with pride. They didn't turn out perfect, but I made the circles too wide and ended up with really big macarons, which is my own fault.

My problem was that I didn't have anything to fill them with, but my boyfriend suggested taking Nutella (chocolate/hazelnut breadspread) or peanut butter. Easy, right? If you don't want to awe people with your sick ganache/filling skills, this is just as tasty. And much easier.

Just prepare your usual macaron recipe and fill. And enjoy!

penguin audio books.

2011-10-07T10:02:00.000-07:00

Love these new ads for the Penguin Classics audio books by Y&R Malaysia!
A bit phallic though.

goodbye, iGod.

2011-10-06T09:53:00.000-07:00

I have no adequate words for the saddest news of today. We all knew this day would come sooner rather than later, but I'm still stunned about it. To be honest, I can't really say anything about it except that it's incredibly sad.
My condolences go to the Jobs family. We might have lost an incredible salesman, CEO, entrepreneur, but they lost a father, a husband, a loved one.



THE nail polish post.

2011-10-04T09:41:00.000-07:00

So, most of you who read this blog know that I'm a nail polish addict. And some of you recently asked me which my favorite brands were and what I use. So here's a post dedicated to the great subject of nail polish. :)

Routine: I ALWAYS wear nail polish. I don't go outside with nail polish on. Even if it's just some base coat. But I feel naked and un-polished (pun intended) without wearing some. I usually do my nails twice a week, because I am horrible at maintaining a perfect manicure and I hate tipwear. (A little OCD there, too. Cannot go out with bad tip wear.)

Combo: Always use a base coat first to not get stained fingernails, especially when you're using bright reds, yellow or blues/greens. Who am I kidding? Every polish except maybe for nudes stain the nails. Then one or two layers of nail polish and most of the time a top coat. (Both top and base coat are drugstore brands at the moment, but I hope to receive the Essie Good to Go top coat soon.)

OPI.
It's my favourite brand. About a year ago, the lovely C. started my addiction to OPI by giving me my very first OPI ever: Malaga Wine.
You see, in Germany, you can only get OPI in on store, and because of that, they sell it for 16€ a bottle. Ridiculous, right? I would fully encourage you to order your bottles online to save money. Why should we pay almost three times the price the Americans have to pay for theirs?

So Malaga Wine started my addiction. Not only because it was a beautiful color, no. The application with OPI's brush is the most perfect one you could wish for. Haven't seen it before on polishes, though German drugstore brand Catrice covered it and has similar brushes now. They're really nice and broad. You can cover your nail with 2 strokes. I also noticed at getting off the color from my nail with polish remover, it was easy to remove and didn't smear onto my fingers. I have this problem especially with reds, and cheap polishes always stain my whole fingers.
In a year, I aquired 8 other ones which sets my OPI count on currently 9 bottles.

Favs: The It Color, My Adress Is Hollywood, Malaga Wine, Guy Meets Gal-Veston.

Essie.
Essie is my second favourite brand, I love how good you can hold the bottle between your fingers when lacquering (even though it might not look that way). The only downside is the brush. If this had OPI's brush, those two brands would share their victory with me. But the brush annoys me at times.
We have the same pricing problem with Essie as we have with OPI in Germany, 13€ a bottle. But hey, online shopping FTW, right?

Favs: Turquoise & Caicos (my first!), In Stitches, Angora Cardi, Merino Cool.

China Glaze & Orly.
See, I'm not at all an expert on those two brands. I only have 2 of each. From China Glaze, it's Pelican Grey which I hate on myself, and the pictured Party Hearty, which doesn't really count because it's a glitter coat only.

From Orly, I have two metallics which change color depending on the angle you watch them from. They're lovely! I bought them in late 2010 after my fellow nail polish addict S. told me about those colors which were dupes for the MAC Disney's Villians collection. I like that the top of the bottle is rubber, it's great to hold.

Favs: China Glaze – Party Hearty, Orly: Space Cadet, Galaxy Girl.

Drugstore: Essence, P2, Catrice.
Whoof, we all know the situation of standing in front of cheap lacquers and taking them just because they're cheap and kinda cool? Yeah.

I don't really recommend Essence polishes, and most of the colors aren't for me. Although I do buy limited edition colors or special toppers. Pictured are cheap dupes of unavailable or too expensive other polishes: Deborah Lippmann's Happy Birthday & Chanel's Paradoxal.

P2 has great colors, mostly cream finishes. They're nice to apply and last a good time.
I have to say that my favorite drugstore brand is Catrice. As mentioned above, they have a brush that comes quite close to OPI's, they have great colors and last a long time. They have a range of nudes as well. Here too you can find cheap dupes for hyped colors, like the pictured dupe for one of Katy Perry's OPI lacquers. The bottles change with limited editions, which I like. (The print on the bottle on the right for example.)

So, I'm excited to hear which your favorite nail polish brands are! Which one do you like best? Can you recommend any brands I didn't mention?

inspiring monday #6 horn-rimmed glasses.

2011-10-03T05:08:00.000-07:00

It's not just a hipster thing for me. When I was about 15, I got my first set of glasses because I had trouble seeing stuff on the blackboard in school. It took me a long while to get used to them, and only when I got my next pair of glasses a few years later I figured out what it was: Those plastic studs that sit on the nose annoyed me so much! And with most of the horn-rimmed glasses you don't have those. I've worn them ever since. (Blue, violet, and now brown with lighter specks of brown.)

Images via Pinterest.

doctor who 6x12 the wedding of river song

2011-10-03T03:59:00.000-07:00

Badass photoshopped promo picture welcomes you to the second to last post about Doctor Who episodes this year. (Last being the Christmas special, you know?)

(Highlight to read. Spoilers.)

· I find it really hard to rate this year's finale. We're used to big two-parters that bring out a classic baddie, most of the time add old companions or the complete destruction of the earth. I'm glad it wasn't a "it's all over"-"no, the Doctor comes and poof it's good again"-play. Well it was. But it made sense, which a lot of RTDs finale didn't to me.

· I liked the alternate timeless world. Emperor Churchill, eyepatch!Amy and badass!Rory. She had an office. In a train.

· The Silence weren't as scary this time. It was a little big too unspectacular actually.

· The reference to the Brigadier: I didn't get it. But I've never seen any episodes with the Brigadier either. Nice thing to do. I hope we will get a Sarah Jane mention in one of the future episodes as well.

· Bearded!Doctor like the one in the beginning of this season. Why though?

· Pyramid Area 51. Nice.

· I like how River's time line makes absolute sense. I like how it fits together. Her moment with Amy was so precious. Daughter telling Mom that the Doctor is still alive.

· Oh yes. The Tessalector. I called it when I saw the mention of it in the "previously on" segment. Too easy. (Well, I thought it would be too easy and threw away the thought, actually.)

· Little!Doctor inside the Tessalector's eye! Hee!

· So, there actually was a wedding for River Song in this episode. I don't see it counting really though. And didn't we all think River was the Doctor's Wife when we saw her for the first time? Oh, how I hated her. But now I actually like her. Tricky Moffat making us think this would be too easy, again. I was SO SURE the episode title would be a red herring.

· The question is "Doctor Who?". Well, that's self-irony, huh? Kinda funny. Those skulls in that cave though – creeeeeeeeepy.

Is that enough of a review for you, M? (Who made me write this post.)

new shoes.

2011-10-02T09:26:00.000-07:00

Guess who spontaneously bought a new pair of shoes for just 20€?

craving a kindle.

2011-10-01T00:15:00.000-07:00

Happy 1st of October, guys. I'll be going out in sandals and a summer dress today because we will have 25° C, in Hamburg of all places!

It's October. Which means one month until my birthday and two months until christmas. And guess what? I've found the perfect gift. (Dammit I already turned in my b-day wishlist a week ago! It's the thing: I'd rather hand out a wish list with stuff than getting stuff I don't know what to do with. But: I have never returned a gift. Well yes, I did. A sperm-colored kettle. But I got another kettle for it and everyone was okay with it.)

Why is she going on about this stuff, you ask? Well, here we are: A few days ago I got an email from Amazon that there's a new Kindle out. I've been eyeing the Kindle for a while, no other e-reader interested me to be honest. But first, you couldn't get it in Germany, and when you finally could, it was expensive as hell. The new model is 99€, which is an okay price I think. I've never liked the keyboard on the older models, and it's gone, yay.

I have once in London seen a woman with a Kindle sitting next to me reading. The ebook looked so good! I can't describe it, but that was the first time that I thought to myself "yes, I'd actually love this". You see, I have a little OCD when it comes to books, call me a book-nazi. I only buy perfect-looking books. And then I read them, and they still have to look brand new afterwards. Add to this that I mostly own paperbacks.
Another point is that I mostly read during my tram/tube rides every day. Taking a book like King's "The Dome" with you every day and try to read it without breaking the spine, it's nerve racking. I haven't finished it and am still sad about this fact.
All these problems would be solved by having a Kindle. I would still buy books – I love print and pretty book covers way too much not to do it – but it would ease up my reading habits having a Kindle.

And yes, I would go all the way and buy a cover with reading light too, isn't it cute?

What do you think about e-readers? Do you have one? Do you have a Kindle? Do you like it?

open days – an expo.

2011-09-29T23:09:00.000-07:00

After every semester, my uni has an expo featuring the graduation projects and assorted projects from all the other semesters. Everyone is invited to come, parents, friends, students, people who like design, headhunters.
In addition to the projects presented, there are also picture frames with the best of a course's work down the halls. I was very lucky this year because I was featured in the expo with 2 projects, and also in the frames with 3. I'm very happy I got the chance to be seen and am really proud.

Here are a few pictures of my stuff.

Left: Illustrated quote, handwritten typography. Right: Ad Campaign for Penguin Books.

Above: Personal Corporate Design.

Above: Brochure, poster and printed tote for a fruit company.

martha marcy may marlene.

2011-09-28T02:36:00.000-07:00

I'm rather in love with the promotional poster campaign for the upcoming and already very hyped thriller Martha Marcy May Marlene introducing Elizabeth Olsen. Loving the blend in the first one, and I like the use of the QR code in the third. What do you think? Do you want to watch this?

fall fashion: animal rings.

2011-09-26T09:54:00.000-07:00

If you've read this blog for a while, you might remember last year's animal ring craze. Things didn't chance. I still go nuts for animal rings. Just recently, I found the first two rings on The Cabinet of Fashion and it had me checking eBay. But no, I need to stay strong. Even after I've already ordered the third ring (little bird! need!) at H&M.

Images via Pinterest/H&M

These are the animal rings I have so far. The owl I found at SIX last fall, and the quartet of forest animals (stag, fox, hare, owl) I found at Louise's blog Super Duper and she was a darling and got a set for me. (They were available at H&M, but not in Germany.)
Are you a fan of animal rings?

Images © me

doctor who 6x11 closing time.

2011-09-25T03:48:00.000-07:00

The Doctor – here to help! – welcomes you to the post.

(Highlight to read. Spoilers.)

· Hi Greg, hi Sophie! Nice to see you again.
· I really have divided feelings about this week's episode. I thought that I would hate it, which I didn't.
· The Doctor and Greg reuinited. Such a funny double act. Those two together are brilliant.
· Stormageddon! The Doctor speaks baby, of course. So funny.
· The Doctor working in a shop!
· Did you guys also think of the episode "Rose" in the beginning? Department store, alien things going on, or was it just me?
· "Am I your baby?" Lol.
· The Ponds! How did Amy become some kind of a model? And why does the perfume's say "for the girl tired of waiting". I mean yes, nice pun, but is there a deeper connection?
· Cybermat, so cute though. (Without the teeth, of course.)
· The actual Cybermen story with them wanting to turn Greg and that whole "kill them with love"-thing brought a little secondhand emberassment. It would have been a nice episode without aliens. Especially Cybermen, it was so random.
· The ending was a little weird. Is River some kind of sleeper? Great visuals and creepy nursery rhyme, again.

day one.

2011-09-24T05:15:00.000-07:00

This app is looking sooooo good. Not really sure that I would need it (rather as an iPhone app than a Mac app I guess, and it's cheaper), but it looks so good. Day One is a journaling app that lets you keep notes. So very minimalistic, love it. I looked at other journaling apps, but most of them are too crammed and wannabe-design-y for me.

P.S. I just downloaded the iPhone app from the app store.

nice surprise for the weekend.

2011-09-23T07:58:00.001-07:00

Finally, our big nail polish order arrived. Sadly only two of these pretties are for me. I got jealous the second I saw the other bottles though. ;) My girls have excellent taste in nail polish. :) Can't wait to get them on, will try the violet one first.

owl things.

2011-09-22T08:16:00.000-07:00

In honor of a certain blogger, I bring to you my owl things! Blue Eyed Night Owl has a recurring feature called "Owl Things Considered", where she posts pictures of various owl things.
As I love owls in every shape, especially jewelry (I have 2 rings, a necklace, earrings), I bring to you my owl things: Left, a bowl of pretzel owls, on the right, a belt I got as a present from a friend today.

toy stories.

2011-09-21T08:46:00.000-07:00

Haven't posted pretty art lately, here it comes now. A few weeks ago I found a picture on Pinterest that made me chuckle, but it didn't have an original copyright notice. Yesterday, I found another one of the pictures and could find out who was responsible: Artist Aled Lewis! The series is called Toy Stories and you can buy prints at inPRNT.See a few of the Toy Stories:

paper crown / a call for the blogroll!

2011-09-20T02:28:00.000-07:00

Thankfully, I've never seen Laguna Beach or The Hills and only know Lauren Conrad for her participation in The Beauty Department, as an author and designer. And well, I think her line's Paper Crown lookbook for Fall 2011 has actually wearable pretty pieces in it. Maybe not for me, but for other "normal" gals. I like the flowing and light fabrics, the matte colors and the overall looks. What do you think? Here are a few of my favorite looks.

Now onto something completely different:
Here's a call for the blogroll!
Do you also have a blog that might interest me or the readers of this blog?
Do you know a blog that's so awesome it should be featured here?
I'd like to include it in a special blogroll post that might become a recurring feature.
Please leave a comment with the blog URL and maybe a short description in the comments. It would be great to know if the blog is yours or someone elses as well! I'm excited for your comments!

inspiring mondays #5: workspaces.

2011-09-19T01:26:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite parts of interior design is creating a comfy yet inspiring home office. It also needs an iMac. For now, as a student, I'm fine with my MacBook Pro, but when I'm all grown up, I want to have a beautiful desk with my own iMac. :)

Images via Pinterest.

finally: my macarons.

2011-09-18T04:52:00.000-07:00

I really hope you're not yet annoyed by the amount of macaron posts this week. This obsession had me tight in its grip this week as I tried to make the perfect macarons to give away to my family as presents. I started with making shells on Monday, but didn't have luck until Tuesday. Made another batch on Wednesday. Then on Friday, when I was filling the shells with ganache, I had so much ganache left that I made another batch of shells to use it up. :) Everything went really well, they tasted really good and looked penomenal. I got a lot of positive feedback from the people who saw my jars of macarons. See for yourself.

The jar tags were a free printable from Paper Crave via Cottage Industrialist which I modified myself.

doctor who 6x11 the god complex

2011-09-18T00:39:00.000-07:00

Ugly and photoshopped promo picture for this week's episode welcomes you to the post.

(Highlight to read. Spoilers.)

· First, I was really glad the things one saw in the trailer didn't scare me too much. How I hate these puppets, clowns & the weeping angels!

· I liked the setting. The hotel was eerie and creepy. Those pictures in the hallway were also a nice touch.

· The cast: I have to say all the hype about David Walliams was unjustified. He played a mole. Seriously? I was more intrigued by the crazy gambler, the nerd and the Indian nurse. She was great. So sad the died, she would have made a lovely companion. Her and the Doctor had such great chemistry. Also: Wouldn't it be rad if the Doctor would have a companion nurse?

· Again, it was all about Amy. And also little Amelia, nice to see you again!

· At least a mention of Melody!

· That minotaur's last sentence. Oh. ;_____;

· Okay. Now. The Doctor saved the Ponds. (Did you hear he said Amy Williams for the first time ever?) He brought them home in one piece, without a major trauma (well except for that daughter thing…), he got Rory his dream car, everything's lovely, right? For the first time, the leaving companion(s) isn't heartbroken, lost all her memories about the travels or is stuck in another dimension. And: Both of them are alive. Isn't that something? Well. I was so sad. Realizing this was it. Aren't they in the finale either? That would suck. I need a proper goodbye.
Rumor has it they will return for a few episodes next year. That's a consolation. But still. Changing companions is almost as hard as changing Doctors. I was heartbroken after rose. Didn't care too much about Martha though. Was so sad about Donna. And now Amy. Dearest, lovely, stubborn Amy. You've been with us for two seasons and you might have been my favorite companion. :(
· One last question, what do you think the Doctor saw in his room? The man says he saw a Dalek. I would guess either that, or himself, or little Amelia or Rose. River? Any guesses?

lacey nails.

2011-09-16T07:27:00.000-07:00

A few days ago I found these pictures of one of the cutest nail arts I've ever seen (and I'm usually not really into nail art). White lace nails. So gorgeous! I wonder how blogger Gennine did it?

I tried to copy the look, but gave up the lace after 1 failed nail. The colored tips are pretty but the reds looked like my finger was bleeding. Hmm. Well, certainly not a hidden talent.

(Macaronnage update: Made a fully perfect batch of violet – yes, I did the food coloring job this time – macarons yesterday.)

marilyn and michelle.

2011-09-15T01:00:00.000-07:00

Michelle Williams will play the unforgotten Marilyn Monroe in the upcoming My Week With Marilyn. She also posed as Marilyn for Vogue US in this photoshoot. What do you think of the photoshoot? Does she fit the role?

the 2011 fall schedule.

2011-09-14T03:12:00.000-07:00

Which shows do you watch? Anything you can recommend?

naked.

2011-09-13T08:39:00.000-07:00

Feeling so naked today! (This is one coat of base only. Nothing else.) How about you polish addicts out there, how often do you go out of the house "naked"? I did this in the hope my new nail polishes would arrive in the next few days. Which are your favourite colors for the fall?

In case anyone cares about my new obsession, I made another 2 batches of macarons today. The first one had completely burst shells and no feet, the second one had 1/3 of burst shells and 2/3 of perfect macaron shells. :)

inspiring mondays #4: macarons.

2011-09-12T05:25:00.000-07:00

Macarons. I'm currently obsessed with (making) them. They're so gorgeous as well as tasty.

Images via Pinterest.

doctor who 6x10 the girl who waited

2011-09-11T02:24:00.000-07:00

My ramblings about this week's episode.

(Highlight to read. Spoilers.)

· Okay, let's start with things that bothered me: Why no mention of Melody again? It's your bloody child. Why didn't the episode start of with a quest for searching her, and that's why you landed on that planet? No, it was just another happy holiday on some planet.

· I liked the episode, my man didn't. This doesn't happen often in our household. If an episode sucks, we both think so. Another standalone episode that didn't get us anywhere nearer to the question what will happen with Melody and the Doctor.

· Things we learned: Always keep a lipstick in your pocket in case you have to write something on stuff.

· The episode was very "pretty". Visually, this planet is by far my favorite of all those in-the-future-on-a-planet-episodes. Everything was so clean and white and pretty.

· Oh future Amy. Bitter, badass Amy. I liked her. Karen did wonderful playing her older self, and the prosthetics weren't that bad.

· Rory also rocked this episode. I liked that it was centered around him, and he looked really hot with those glasses. The giant magnifying glass though? Not so much.
· Future!Amy naming her pet robot Rory? Adorable.
· Normal!Amy talking about Rorys inner beauty? Adorable-r.
· I'm not sure how I feel about the Doctor making Rory choose an Amy, leaving the horrible decision to him. Of course, Rory now knows how the Doctor must feel (and I liked we saw a darker Doctor again), but it was very heartbreaking.

films 96/100–100/100

2011-09-10T05:01:00.000-07:00

Friends with Benefits (2011)

I really enjoyed this one. It was way better than the FwB-movie with Natalie Portman and Ashton Kutcher. Also, this one starts of with cameos of my two favourite actors at the moment: Emma Stone and Andy Samberg. Would have never thought I'd one day associate Justin Timberlake with acting more than with singing. He's doing really good.

Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971)

#1 in this double feature of Roald Dahl's famous story is the 1971 movie starring Gene Wilder as the titular character. I find the Oompa Loompas highly disturbing in this one. As I do the chocolate river and the boat ride. Any guess where this movie was shot? Munich, Germany. Who would have guessed? Well, we did. Right after the first scene, my man said "this looks oddly German". And it did. The architecture, the road signs, German magazines on a magazine stand, the cars driving on the right side of the road being the most obvious signs.

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005)

In 2005, Tim Burton remade the movie and kept a lot closer to the book. For example, Charlie's family, the movie title, the Oompa Loompas using most of their singing lyrics from the book. Even though they made up the Mr Wonka being a dentist stuff, it didn't annoy me, because it fitted. You might say Burton's version is darker, spookier, but it really isn't. There weren't as many "uhm, alright, wtf" moments in his version. The 1971 movie crept me out a little at times.

Kokowääh (2011)

Script writing womanizer Henry is speechless when he suddenly has a young girl on his doorstep, a letter telling him she's his daughter, conceived in a one-night-stand. This is an adorable movie, Til Schweiger is good but the real star of the movie is his real-life daughter playing his daughter in the movie. (Weird movie title? "Kokowääh" is what the girl thinks Coq au Vin is.)

The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
Being #1 on the IMDB Top 250 Movies list, we decided this would be a worthy #100 to watch. I had never seen the movie, and to be honest, didn't intend to. A prison movie? Meh.
But: It is a very good movie. Rather long but I wasn't bored while watching. It tells the story of Andy Dufresne, convicted of killing his wife and her secret lover in the late 30s. Andy comes to Shawshank prison serving two life-sentences, and this movie chronicles his years in prison. ~~God~~ Morgan Freeman is also in the movie.

The #100! We made it! Even though it's only September. Of course I will continue to watch movies and to write them up in this segment, I want to know how many it'll be at the end of the year. Happy that I made the 100.

voilà, les macarons.

2011-09-09T07:13:00.000-07:00

Finally. I tackled the macarons. First two batches didn't come out looking like macarons at all, but the third (I used another technique of measuring the rest of the ingredients after you weighed your eggwhites) came out looking perfect! (Well, almost, a few of them aren't perfect circles.) I have to admit I was a little impatient with the ganache and didn't let it cool enough. (It's white chocolate ganache, btw.)
So excited to try out more flavors. And will also use food coloring next time. Did you guys ever try making macarons?

guerlain belle de nuit

2011-09-09T01:22:00.000-07:00

I don't own any Guerlain make-up and I probably will never, simply because I would never invest that amount of money in make-up. But that's okay, as long as I am allowed to drool over the pretty packaging of some of their products. Look at these images from the Belle de Nuit collection: They're so delicate and pretty. (But who would ever actually use that powder, only to destroy the beautiful pattern?)

catrice colour infusion long lasting lip stain.

2011-09-07T19:00:00.000-07:00

Whoof, that's a long name, isn't it? Doesn't matter. They're awesome. Finally a cheap alternative with pretty colours (I have "020"), so that I caved and bought a lip sharpie. Does the packaging look familiar? Looks exactly like MAC's lip stain packaging.Did you try them out? What did you think of them?

cupcake love.

2011-09-07T07:29:00.000-07:00

Don't they look yummy? I love making cupcakes, and I love it even more when they come in a ready-made box that also provides a piping bag and decor. :) The new Dr. Oetker cupcake sets do that, and after trying out the chocolate ones, I definitely will make the other two some day. Yum.

films 91/100 – 95/100

2011-09-06T01:09:00.000-07:00

Death at a Funeral (2007)

This is a film with very bizarre dark humor. Describing the storyline will sound a little weird: Everything goes wrong at a family patriarch's funeral. It all starts with the wrong body being delivered to the ceremony and ends with… things way too weird to tell you. You have a nervous Matthew McFadyen, Alan Tudyk on drugs (hilarious!) and Peter Dinklage as mystery guest who has had a secret relationship with the deceased. I laughed very hard watching this.

Poliwood (2009)

Documentary about a couple of actors who mingle with the politic activist crowd. It shows how the political camps within Hollywood affected the Obama vote. I expected a little more of this. It was okay, but not a must-watch.

United (2011)

A BBC movie about the tragic airplane accident that killed 8 Manchester United players and a lot of the team's staff in the late 50s. To be honest, I watched this for David Tennant, and he was brilliant as always. A very sad film, I mean, you obviously know what will happen before you watch it, but that doesn't make it less sad.

Monte Carlo (2011)

Country girl saves all her money to go to Paris after graduation, accompanied by her waitress best friend and her estranged step-sister. Why is this movie called Monte Carlo then, you ask? Well, because they somehow to there too, after finding out the country girl is a dead ringer for a British socialite, who – COINCIDENCE, COINCIDENCE – happens to be in Paris/Monte Carlo too. It's a light girl's roadtrip meets rom-com.

Thor (2011)

Being a comic superhero movie, I expected way less of this movie. Thor on earth dealing with humanity was actually quite funny. It was nice to watch.

inspring mondays #3: mustard.

2011-09-05T02:30:00.000-07:00

Mustard. It's one of THE colors for fall, don't you think?
Images via Pinterest.

doctor who 6x09 night terrors

2011-09-04T04:22:00.000-07:00

Another week, another two cents…
(Highlight to read. Spoilers.)

· Before I watched it, someone already told me how scary it would be. And it was. I've been creeped out by Blink, and this was similarly creepy. Dolls with no eyes?! I mean please. Other than clowns (how NOT excited am I about episode 11?), there's almost nothing scarier.
· I immediately thought that Amy and Rory were in some kind of doll house. Go me.
· The little (alien) boy, so cute, wasn't he? And where did I know his dad from? Some other show? He looked familiar.
· The Doctor making a house call. Hee.
· Stolen tidbit, credits to lovely J.: Apparently this episode was scheduled to run earlier in the series, that's why there's no mention of River/Melody, and a remark the Doctor makes about meeting Amy "in the flesh".
· Nothing more. It was a standalone episode, which I usually don't fancy too much, but it was good.

the ultimate ginger.

2011-09-02T09:16:00.000-07:00

Guess what I'm up to tomorrow? The picture board's a little hint.
Wish me luck that the chemicals will work alright.

Picture via Pinterest.

two.

2011-09-01T09:04:00.000-07:00

Have you heard of Czech-Australian singer Lenka yet? I have a feeling everyone has heard her song The Show, it was the first single of her first album. The album was really lovely. The songs are retro-pop, with a beautiful melody and beat. It's just so girly and fun, I loved it.
Now the sophomore album is out, titled Two, which is currently on sale at Amazon.de for just 5€. No need to mention I immediately bought it. Hope it doesn't disappoint. The promo pictures certainly don't. Gosh, that girl is PRETTY.

touring america.

2011-08-31T08:26:00.000-07:00

OPIs new collection was one to make my swoon again. I only got my first OPI lacquer about a year ago, from the lovely C. who is an addict herself (or more like: OPI guru). The brush, the texture, the ingredients, the colors, the longlasting: I love everything about this brand. It's my favourite lacquer brand now, even though I "only" own 7 or 8 bottles yet.
Their new fall collection, Touring America, brought us an array of lovely fall lacquer colors. I stayed strong and only ordered 2, Honk If You Love OPI (violet, top row, second from the left) and My Adress Is Hollywood (pink with a little bit of glitter, bottom row on the right). :)

What's your favourite nail polish brand and why?

fall fashion: snoods

2011-08-30T07:38:00.000-07:00

From a weather change of 37 °C on the weekend to 14 °C today, I get the feeling fall is slowly creeping nearer. One of the things I look forward for in fall/winter is wearing scarves every day. A special kind of scarf I fell in love with last year is the snood. (See pictures.) I have a grey thick woolen one from WE (they also have it this year, in the Men's Department though), and this weekend, I'll get a new lighter woolen one from Gina Tricot. It's mustard yellow and I can't wait to wear it. (We don't have a store here, so my mom was so lovely as to buy me one where my parents live.)

Do you like scarves/snoods?

Images via Pinterest.

inspiring mondays #2: calligraphy.

2011-08-29T02:02:00.000-07:00

Calligraphy. The art of handwriting. I wish I could do this.
Images via Pinterest.

doctor who 6x08: let's kill hitler

2011-08-28T04:50:00.000-07:00

My favourite show is back. Allow me to stan a little, please? Here's my two cents on the last episode. (Highlight to read, because of spoilers.)

· So. Mel aka Melody. I didn't see that coming at all. The car coming in the corn field I thought was River, and was disappointed when some random girl we've never seen before turned up.
· The flashbacks were actually pretty cute. Amy growing up thinking Rory was gay? Spot on.
· Mel being Melody being River = really good.
· Hitler in the cupboard! What happened to him? Did he stay in the cupboard all day? Lol.
· "So I was on my way to this gay gypsy barmitzvah for the disabled and I suddenly thought... the Third Reich's a bit rubbish!" Best. Quote. Ever.
· The whole episode was really good. Left a few questions unanswered, but answered most of the questions we had after Demon's Run. Excited for next week! It'll be shit scary!

frankie diary 2012.

2011-08-26T01:36:00.000-07:00

I can remember it was the biggest craze last year: the Frankie Diary 2011 journal. Everyone was blogging about it, everyone wanted to have it. They were sold out pretty soon. I was so happy that I got one, but being pretty doesn't make the perfect calendar, not for me that is, sadly. I used it for about 2 1/2 months, and since then, it's sitting in one of the bookshelves, looking pretty. It was too precious to write in to, it's width too wide for me, didn't have a rubber band. I'm more a Moleskine girl.
But the Frankie journal is still a very pretty and wonderfully illustrated book. For those of you who didn't get it last year and want to try again this year, you can order it in the Frankie online store.

vincent, a lodger, and a ginger godess.

2011-08-25T08:37:00.000-07:00

Starting off my Who countdown by (re-)watching two eps from series 5 with my friend tonight. She needs to catch up on the eps, and I love to rewatch. So bye bye, I'm off adoring the ginger godess that is one of my favourite companions of all time.

films 85/100 – 90/100

2011-08-25T05:39:00.000-07:00

The Greatest Movie Ever Sold (2011)
Can't describe it better than the official description: "A documentary about branding, advertising and product placement that is financed and made possible by brands, advertising and product placement." Morgan makes a film about going to people asking them to finance his film. Hilarious, interesting, simply great!

Made in Dagenham (2010)
A movie about the women's workers strike for equal pay that stopped production at the Ford plant in Dagenham. This is actually pretty good. Germany, please don't let yourself be stopped by the German title (which is an alternative English title, are you kidding me?) "We Want Sex". They don't want sex. They want sex equality. Duh.

Cropsey (2009)
The truth is terrifying. – This is the subline on the movie poster which shows an abandoned old building. This documentary revolves around the urban legend of Cropsey, a person (sometimes a mental patient) coming back to the grounds of an old mental hospital, who hunts down children. The makers of this documentary find out they both grew up with these stories in Staten Island, and take a look at the grounds of an abandoned mental facility and school for the mentally challenged, Willowbrook State School. They then find out about a true story that matches the urban legend somehow… This is SCARY AS SHIT. Children were abducted and died. Film also shows scenes from the report "Willowbrook – America's last disgrace". Images I will never ever forget. Please don't google it if you have a weak mind. This is utterly disturbing and sad.

True Grit (2010)
Why do people in Western movies always have to mumble? I didn't understand about 1/3 that Jeff Bridges said. It's a very long movie, that doesn't give you any surprises, the story is rather plain. I was actually a little disappointed after watching this. The actors are good and everything, but this isn't as phenomenal as I was expecting it to be.

Free Rainer (2007)
This could have been very good. The story description looked promising. It wasn't though. I was bored as shit and only finished it because it was on TV. Meh.

Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay (2008)
This title doesn't need a description. The guys escape from Guantanamo Bay after being arrested on a flight and suspected of terrorism. It's not a very intelligent movie, but it's fun to watch, plus there's more NPH in it. And unicorns.

bangs.

2011-08-23T04:15:00.000-07:00

Really missing my bangs right now. It took such a long time to grow them out and it's much easier to do my hair being on length, but… still.

Images via Pinterest.

inspiring mondays #1

2011-08-22T09:33:00.000-07:00

Welcome to a new weekly feature: Inspiring Mondays!
No one likes Mondays, so an extra dose of inspiration helps you start the week creatively.
This week's theme is Kitchenware.

Left: Floating ladle, lovely for party punch. Right: NudiTea.

Images via Pinterest.

What do you think of the feature? Looking forward to it or "meh"?

etsy finds: le animalé

2011-08-21T00:34:00.000-07:00

I used to do the favourite etsy finds feature every week, but it just got too random after a while. Now here comes something I've discovered about a week ago, on another blog (kill me, I once again forgot to bookmark where). I fell in love immediately, so I wanted to share.

Le Animalé is the etsy shop of Laura Johnston, artist from North Carolina and animal lover. You can find a lot of pretty stuff in the shop, but the little guys that caught my eye were the animal totems.

I've always loved miniatures and I've always loved animals. But I wanted them to be more than just a cute little animal; I wanted to tell a bit of a story with each one. So I settled on character 'stats' because they are quick & easy to digest, and give you enough insight into your totem while leaving a little room for your own interpretation of the animal as well.

The totems are totem hand sculpted from polymer clay, hand painted and finished with a clear protective varnish. Every totem comes in a little sack in a box. So pretty. Learn more about how the totems are made on Laura's blog. Laura studied music and worked as a photographer before her sister gave her the idea to give it a go and start an etsy shop.

I have broad interests in general and I'm using those to diversify my totems. I like jewelry-making so I have started creating totems on necklaces; I like rocks & minerals so some of my totems are embellished with crystals, and I have many other ideas for future totems.

Thanks to Laura for providing me with a lot of information about herself and her pretty totems.
Pictures: © Laura Johnston/Le Animalé

what i'm reading.

2011-08-20T11:05:00.000-07:00

Steampunk? Yes, really. Book lover K. read this and as I always trust the Thalia booksellers, I bought the first of the five-book-series The Parasol Protectorate. Also, they look pretty. See? Have any of you read the series as well? No spoilers, please!

packaging: b!right radiant skincare

2011-08-19T10:12:00.000-07:00

I'm always a sucker for pretty packaging, as you should know by now. Benefit is a good example for luring me into buying stuff (the Bella Bamba is still one of my favourites, as for the Lee Lee, I have to say I don't like it too much anymore – sad). I won't buy any of these, but wanted to point out the pretty packaging.

The b!right radiant skincare line is very clean and simple, so displaying the cleansing effect of its products. The product packaging is nice. I like the freshness of the whites and blues, but the outer packaging is even more beautiful. Especially love the Ultra Radiance, Remove It and Moisture Prep come with a lovely box featuring a… what is it exactly, that thing? I don't know either the German or English name for it and therefore can't find it in any craft stores. Help me? What do you think of the design? (Did you also spot the Photoshop Disaster in the second picture? ;))

InstaWall

2011-08-18T11:10:00.000-07:00

I need to do this…!

Instagram wall via Pinterest.com

films 80/100 – 84/100

2011-08-16T02:19:00.000-07:00

Euro Trip (2004)
A friend recommended this. I had never heard of the movie but it sounded weird enough to be funny. Well, it's extremely funny! Yes the humor is a little bit immature and every cliché about Europeans is in it, but it's extremely funny. Look out for a very special cameo you wouldn't expect. They also speak very good German. (I always hate seeing a foreign film where somebody talkes German but as a German I can't understand a word they say.) The only thing I dislike is a very rude Nazi joke (which is cut and not in the German version of the movie).

Bad Teacher (2011)
Diaz is charmingly bad, Timberlake funny and Segel absolutely adorable. Watch, it's good! Really! Fun, a little bit rom-com-y, simply a fun movie to watch.

Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (1988)
Ruprecht! Classic fun Sunday afternoon movie, Michael Caine and Steve Martin are at their best. Fun fun fun fun!

Harold and Kumar Go To White Castle (2004)
I'm one of the few people who hadn't seen this movie yet. I honestly thought I wouldn't enjoy it a bit, but it was really funny and fun to watch. NPH is in it way not enough though. Was he playing an early version of Barney Stinson as himself? Will watch the sequel.

Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011)
Another one of these? That was my first thought. But after the trailers came out I was sure that we had to see it. And I was right. This is a new beginning. This movie is GOOD. The actors are good, the story is good and the special effects are supreme! ~~Gollum~~ ~~King Kong~~ Andy Serkis is marvellous as motion-actor for Cesar. Go see this movie, it's a must-see, it's so perfect. Side-effect: I'm kinda scared of apes now and don't have the least urge to go to the zoo in a while.

haunting portrait.

2011-08-15T02:11:00.000-07:00

I took this portrait of a friend during our visit to a design exhibit a few weeks ago. The wall color matched her eyes so perfectly it was the perfect photo op. Sadly the light was bad and I didn't have a flash with me. Still. I really love the picture. You just look at it and can't turn your eyes away. I have the feeling that you can look into her soul in that picture. Can't explain the charm of it. (Sorry for the bad scan, but it's an analogue print originally.)

What do you think?

encyclopedia of fruits.

2011-08-14T03:26:00.000-07:00

Encyclopedia of Fruits.
(Brochure including poster, tote bag.)
Client: Fruit-delivery service. | Uni project SS2011.

blogs worth reading #1

2011-08-14T02:33:00.001-07:00

The Beauty Department

Happy Sunday blogreading, guys!

films 72/100 – 79/100

2011-08-13T01:01:00.000-07:00

Hobo With A Shotgun (2011)
Did you enjoy the Grindhouse movies? Machete? Then this is for you. If not, do not watch this. It's gore-y, has lots of stupid dialogue and a very unrealistic story: The perfect grindhouse movie. You know what to expect with that title, so don't complain afterwards.

Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants 2 (2008)
No movie poster picture for this one. I as a professional feel shame when I see the bad Photoshop that is the poster. Couldn't get the cast together for a poster? DO SOMETHING ELSE. DO NOT PHOTOSHOP PEOPLES HEADS INTO POSITIONS THEY WEREN'T IN, TO BODIES THAT PROBABLY AREN'T THE REAL ONES.
Poster sucks. Movie sucks a little. I guess it's nice when you do a girl's night or are bored to death or do something else like work on an uni project and just listen to the film. Otherwise, you've been warned. Not my type of film.

Fuck (2005)
A short history of our favourite swear-word. Documentary. Funny. The word does not stand as an abbreviation for "fornication under the concent of the king".

Pulp Fiction (1994)
This has been my third try at watching this movie and the first time I finished it. (After 2 breaks, though.) Damn, this is long. Doesn't mean it's not worth it, but it's LONG. I'm sorry, I still can't get the "best movie ever" vibe. It's good. But it's not at all competing in my top 25 favourite movies.

Labour Pains (2009)
It was on TV. I had work to finish in the first third of this. Also, a documentation I wanted to see was on right after this. Enough excuses? I also used to have a huge girl crush on Lindsay, Mean Girls era. The trainwreck waiting to happen began right after. So sad because she had such potential. Bad movie. I guess she took any work she got.

Your Highness (2011)
A prince's love (hilariously stupid: Zooey Deschanel) gets taken by a ridiculous-looking wizard (Justin Theroux, aka the guy who fucks Aniston). The prince (James Franco) asks is idiot brother (Danny McBride) to join him in the rescue mission. Somewhere along a very disturbing fight in the woods, they meet a mysterious beauty (Natalie Portman) who's also on a mission to kill the wizard. Good for a Sunday afternoon. Not exactly Saturday night theatre material.

Hanna (2011)
Can't tell you any part of the story without giving too much away. Very good movie! They speak really good German. The abandoned amusement park Spreepark in Berlin is so eerie, and perfect location for the film. (That is the only spoiler you will get from me.)

Something Borrowed (2011)
Really liked the novel (although I normally hardly read any chick-lit). My favourite character from the novel is played by Jon Krasinski, the one I most dislike by Kate Hudson. Whoever cast these two, thanks for having my dream come true. I don't like Kate Hudson (sorry, nothing personal), and hate every single one of her movie characters (well, maybe except the one in Almost Famous which I slightly dislike). Nice chick movie, even my man made it through it.

obsession: printed totes.

2011-08-10T09:53:00.000-07:00

One of my obsessions are printed tote bags, I have way too many of them.
On one of my pinning sprees, I stumbled upon this book via Pinterest. If you like totes, you're going to love this book!

I also made a tote for one of my uni projects. Picked it up today and love it.

Pin It

what I'm reading.

2011-08-08T09:31:00.000-07:00

Pin It

films 66/100 – 71/100

2011-08-03T00:29:00.000-07:00

No Strings Attached (2011)
See, the story about watching this movie is this: This is actually film # thirtysomething. But it has made such an amazing impression on me that I forgot to list it. Enough said? You thought maybe Natalie Portman and Ashton Kutcher can save this cheap rom-com? They couldn't.

Jane Eyre (2011)
Had really high hopes for this one. Finally a new Jane Eyre movie! Great cast! Maybe they'll do everything right this time! Sadly, they didn't. Jane's early life takes such an important part in the book, and again we see about 3 minutes of childhood material before she comes to get to know Rochester. The cast was good, especially Wasokowska and Fassbender, who played their roles fantastically. But the story lacks so much, as usual. Maybe someone could make a mini-series out of this one? No wait, we already had that. Lost cause. Read the book, people!

Trust (2010)
A young girl finds a friend on the internet, a guy with the same hobbies, 2 years older. But then it turns out he's not what he said he was. This movie tells the story of cyber-grooming, and does so without any bad clichés. It's haunting, it's real, it's scary. (See the bedsheets? They're from IKEA. I have the same ones, they're my favourites.)

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (2011)
The end! After 10 years of movies and many more years of growing up reading the stories of a young wizard and his friends, it all comes to an end. It felt surreal watching the last movie and knowing this was the end. Fuck the 3D, seriously Warner Brothers, did you need to make even more money by ripping off moviegoers for bad 3D effects? We could have done without it.
I liked the movie, even though they changed a few things, which I didn't necessarily noticed while watching. The epilogue was kitsch-y, but it needed to be.

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1939)
After seeing Wicked during our London trip, I needed to see this classic again afterwards. Turns out I mostly remembered the first half of the film (maybe I never finished the VHS as a child) and forgot about most of the singing. And the over-acting. Watching this is like watching a theatre play. I don't want to criticise this because it's a classic and it's one of my favourite movies ever. But it's really… camp. The effects are great for 1939 though, right? Also, the film is much better than the actual book. Sorry, L. Frank Baum.

Submarine (2011)
Classic coming-of-age movie. I didn't read the book so I can't compare it. The film's nicely shot, I liked the concept. The actors were good, the story was good also. It was a little long though.

my favourite shower companions.

2011-08-02T12:20:00.000-07:00

Especially Pear&Lemongrass and Cucumber&Mint. Body Shop shower gels are my favourite in general, I've mostly used Pink Grapefruit before the Earth Lovers range was released.
Do you know this range? What's your favourite?

Pin It

it's almost august.

2011-07-31T08:25:00.000-07:00

In August, I need to… Im August muss ich…
· finish all of the uni projects before the 18th bis zum 18. alle Unisachen fertig haben
· prepare my portfolio for this semester meine Mappe dieses Semesters machen
· go to gym at least twice a week mindestens 2x die Woche ins Fitnessstudio gehen
· save money Geld sparen

In August, I want to… Im August möchte ich…
· have a barbecue – the summer cannot be over already! grillen – der Sommer darf nicht schon zuende sein!
· buy new tights neue Strumpfhosen kaufen
· buy yellow ballerinas gelbe Ballerinas kaufen
· relax entspannen

In August, I'm not allowed to… Im August darf ich nicht…
· buy any make-up Make-Up kaufen

What are your plans? Was sind eure Pläne?

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friday treats.

2011-07-29T07:32:00.000-07:00

Lovely minimalist fairytale posters by Christian Jackson. Great, right? | Hübsche minimalistische Märchen-Poster von Christian Jackson. Toll, oder?

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norway.

2011-07-25T11:20:00.000-07:00

My heart is with the people in Norway.
I've tried to write this post for 2 days and I'm still speechless about the horror the people had to endure.

a facelift.

2011-07-22T12:00:00.001-07:00

This needed a new look. Hope you guys like it.

phonewear.

2011-07-20T11:38:00.000-07:00

It's a fact. The hottest iPhone cases are available at Society6.com! Here are 6 of my favourites. Couldn't yet decide on which one to get, but it's a safe bet I will order one!

I'm a little bit fixated on the bright-colored animal theme, as you might have noticed. There are also plenty of cases for pop culture, illustration & typography fans.

Es ist ein Fakt. Bei Society6.com gibts die hübschesten iPhone cases! Hier seht ihr 6 meiner absoluten Favoriten. Noch konnte ich mich nicht für eins entscheiden, aber klar ist: Irgendeins davon werde ich bestellen!
Ich bin ein bisschen fixiert auf die bunten Tierchen wie euch vielleicht aufgefallen ist. Es gibt auch eine Menge Cases für Fans von Popkultur, Illustration & Typographie.

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new book.

2011-07-18T05:44:00.001-07:00

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