hello norway

everytime i wear some combination of red, dark blur and white people tell me i look so norwegian. now i wonder where that notion comes from... anyways, here is today's version of fashionable norway:

























skirt: zara
turtleneck and shortarmed blazer: h&m
belt: thrifted
necklace: six
tights: gina tricot
shoes: vagabond

sunday day and evening

for yesterday i had planned to sew, mostly. i didn't get as far as i wanted with the dress, but at least i got started and will finish it today and tomorrow i hope. so, for sewing during the day i wore this:

























shorts: h&m
t-shirt: monki
hat and brooch: thrifted
belt: ma mother's old one
shoes: skopunkten

the hat i am wearing is the hat i bought on the fleamarket on saturday. i like it so much! it only cost me 1,50€ and fits perfectly.

























in the evening i went to the thalia theatre in hamburg together with my friend rana. she had given me the ticket as a present for my birthday, and it really was a good choice. at the moment there is no regular program but a kind of theatre festival (autorentheatertage) with many different companies from other cities. the play by rene pollesch was called "fantasma" and to describe it is almost impossible. it was about theatre, philosophy, politics, society, film, but most of all about love. i would also call it total mindfuck. we had a lot of fun seeing it, but it also had depth and i feel like it still has to settle a bit before i can talk more about it.

and of course i dressed up a little:

























little black dress: h&m, altered by me
tights: h&m
shoes: ebay
belt: accessorize
hat: thrifted

fleamarket

yesterday i went to a fleamarket at the other end of my town which i had never been to before, though it seems to take place regularly during summer. there were only private sellers which was great, and i made some great finds:















more fabric! the two white ones (one with blue flowers, one with red dots) are actually bedlinen, but i guess they'll end up being skirts or dresses...























some porcelain: i have been hunting for an etagere for muffins for quite some time now and got this one for 1€! the vase (or what it is) totally screamed "iittala taika" at me, though of course it is not. it has birds and trees in the same style on it... and of course, i couldn't leave without another little 50s saucer...























and then, an unread 50s book with a lovely coverdesign, some (nautical) scarves and a belt, though the belt i thrifted at a thrift store some days ago, together with a leather bag which i'll show another day.. i also found a fantastic hat which will be part of my next post!

moxie

i have the best boyfriend in the world. really, i do. he had to go to england (cambridge) yesterday, on business, and i asked him to buy tampongs and panty liners for me there. and guess what, he did!

now, you probably think i'm totally nuts to have him bring me tampongs from england, but those i wanted are a little special. both little rascal and miriams kafferep have blogged about moxie earlier: they come in very cute little retro design tin boxes with stripes, polka dots and a black bow on them, and even if they probably won't make having your period any more fun at least they look pretty in the bathroom:
















so, thank you a.!!

this weekend's task

the main task for this weekend to finally get some sewing done and make this dress (which i would like to wear next weekend on my uncle's wedding anniversary):



















it is a butterick retro pattern which i bought last summer. i will make the full skirted version, but short as i am i guess i'll have to shorten the skirt by at least 20cm. the fabric i'll use is.. well, sheets from ikea. i love the dark-red flowerpattern, and i think it will be just great. at least i hope so...

a day in the park

this morning is so grey i just have to remind myself that we've already had loads of spring and sunshine during the last weeks. and it's supposed to get better as well. so, as a compensation for an outfit post of today, two pictures my favourite person in the world took of me when spending sunday afternoon in the park with icecream, good books and beer:
























can you see how i'm enjoying the sun?
























dress and tights: gina tricot
cardigan (and jacket): h&m
shoes: deichmann

selfportrait in a trench

the german fashion blog "stil-los" has had (well, hopefully still has, because i want to take part) during the last weeks a series of posts called "Selbstportrait im Trenchcoat", selfportrait in a trench, inspired by a spread in an old italian vogue. they asked fellow german bloggers (which i am, even though i post in english) to send in either links fo blogposts or pictures of them in their trenchcoats. of course i was intrigued by the idea and wanted to take part in the project, but alas, the time ran away, so it is first today i do my post.

before this year, i only owned a trench once, and that was a jacket i had inherited from my mother. i loved it to pieces and still use it occasionally when i am home. this winter and spring though i totally fell for this kind of outerwear and bought not only one but two fantastic and gorgeous and totally different pieces of trench. i really couldn't decide which one i like best. here they are:

























the trench is the one by comme des garcons for h&m which i presented earlier here. it looks black but in reality is dark blue with huge black buttons.

























trench: comme des garcons for h&m
dress: h&m trend
tights: h&m
shoes: skopunkten

























this trench feels a little more feminine than the other, it has pleats and buttons at the back and is easier to wear over puffy skirts and dresses...

trench: h&m
skirt and scarf: thrifted
tights: don't remember
shoes: deichmann

thank you

a big THANK YOU to all my readers who left a comment congratulating me on my birthday. those comments really made me so happy!!
























of course the list came a little late, but i got so many nice presents anyways. such as, for example, from my parents, a cordless screwdriver and books on how to renovate an apartment. and the most lovely thing in the world, a picturealbum with the best pictures from our trip to moscow from my favourite person in the world. an evening at the theatre from my friend rana. and new bowls for my müsli in the morning from my friend nicole, and from my friend vroni a gift certificate for "mymuesli.com" to mix my own choice of cereal. and no, they did not talk about this beforehands =) from my neighbours i got a cake pan formed like a heart, which i had to put into use directly as you can see...
























dress: orsay
cardigan: gina tricot
belt: thrifted

ein herz für blogs

this is a post on and for german blogs. a very quick post as well, as i plan to finish it before midnight - or otherwise i'd be too late. typically, i first read about this blog-online-event first today (which might not be a good sign..), but still, i'll do my best.








so, stylespion.de had this wonderful idea to do some networking promotion of german blogs on this very day, tuesday 21st of april 2009. the idea is to present your favourite german blogs on your own blog, link to them in your blogroll and hope that the networking spreads. or something like this.

and here are my favourite german blogs:

1. for everybody interested in matters of beauty, make-up and scent: mybeautyblog.de My good friend andreea does not only post regularly but writes also hilariously funny, interesting and well informed posts on perfume and natural cosmetics. and she tests almost everything she writes about, on her own skin.

2. dotti's dots. she really is the cutest german vintage princess there is. and has the prettiest oldfashioned pictures on her blog as well.

- edit: ohhh, i was almost too late. but. i posted and will add the rest now =) -

3. frau liebe for wonderfully playful ideas for everything on earth you might want to craft and do with your own hands. also, she loves to thrift on fleamarkets and in thrift stores and shows the best of her finds making everybody envious. she is now planning on selling a huge part of her fabrics collection, which is eagerly anticipated by her readers..

4. i do not only like beauty stuff and vintage stuff and crafty stuff, but also stuff you can eat. my favourite german foodblog would be fool for food, with loads of interesting recipes and the one or other book review.

5. a collegue in profession and one of my newest blog finds: beating heart baby. very new, very fashion, very pretty. and a great little black dress with cutouts.

6. last but not least, almost stylish. cathy voyage is just as personal and normal on her blog as you and me (and my blog), and that's why i like her so much. a little bit of fashion, a little bit of life, some pictures and loads of nice comments.

birthday

it's my birthday today! the weather is lovely and i'll have to go to work in a few minutes, as soon as the cake is ready. tomorrow my favourite person in the world will come here, and in the evening i'll have some friends over for refreshments, meaning wine, cake and what we in german call "schnittchen". i'm looking so much forward to it!

as the big day is already today it's a bit late for a wish-list, but i thought i'd make one anyways, just in case anybody would like to get me something, or in case i forget what i'd like to spend my money on =)



















L'artisan parfumeur - Thé pour un ete Eau de parfum



























trashy diva - trixie2 dress in red

























iittala - the taika series, especially the mugs and bowls. in dark blue and in white with coloured print.
























swiss chocolate skirt by made with love by hannah
























poppy pod necklace from elizabteh scott botanical jewellery on etsy

























some alfred hitchcock is always welcome. especially parts of the hitchcock-collection series. like for instance this one. or the one with psycho. or the one with marnie. those i don't own yet.
























a kitchen aid, preferably in cream, but red is also great. a girl can dream, can't she?

chocolate truffles

on monday i went for a long walk. it's amazing how just a few minutes from here feel like a totally different world, with the river and forest. it was warm, so warm that i took off my tights later on. it also was the first time i took out my pair of converse this year..

























blouse and belt: thrifted
shoes: converse
tights and shorts: h&m
bag: 70s vintage

this year i had decided not to buy any chocolate for easter but to make my own chocolate truffles. i used a recipe from mia öhrn (who is also the publisher behind josefin ekman's "pyssel deluxe") and they turned out wonderful! i forgot to take pictures and they are almost gone now , but at least i thought i'd give you the recipe:

for 20-30 truffles you need:
150g dark chocolate, finely grated
150g nougat, chopped into small pieces
150ml cream
2 teaspoons of honey

200g dark chocolate for topping/dipping

bring the cream to a boil together with the honey, take it quickly from the heat, put the grated chocolate and chopped nougat into it and stir quickly so it melts. let cool down to room temperature and put it into the fridge over night. the next day, take it out of the fridge and roll small balls or eggs, put them back into the fridge to cool down again.

melt the chocolate either in a microwave or over boiling water and dip the truffles into the melted chocolate. place onto a plate with baking paper and let cool down. enjoy!

happy easter!

it's a beautiful day today. perfect to hang out in a garden or park, do almost nothing other than eat, drink and relax. perfect to take out my new dress again and to sport my newish white socks in my newish red shoes (no, i still think it's a bit too early in the year to go totally barefoot - you have to content yourself with a peek at my pale legs).

























dress, socks & necklace: h&m
top: indiska
belt: vintage
shoes: deichmann

i had a great, tasty, and quite typical german easter breakfast:





















two different sorts of bread (a good tasty farmer's bread and a sweet one with raisins, icing and almonds), three different sorts of ham (well, ok, turkeybreast and two different sorts of ham), selfcoloured eggs and butter. and my usual black tea. what a heavenly breakfast!! and no, i did not eat up everything yet, there's enough left for the rest fo the week..

i'll be off to a friend's place soon, she has her godchild over easter and her own daughter as well, so we'll have to entertain two soon-to-be teenagers. for this purpose i made some carrotcake-cupcakes:












and later on we'll barbecue!!

salt

i discovered some amazing food blogs during the last weeks and months, amongst others the swedish one "krinolinas kök" (krinolina's kitchen). there i found interesting recipes and ideas, a few of which i have already tried out. the first one i did was my own herbal salt after krinolina's directions, which is what i want to share with you here. it is really easy and tastes so much better than the stuff you can buy at the stores!

























the general rule is to use roughly the same amount of herbs and salt. chop the herbs into really really small pieces and, if you have different sorts of herbs for the same salt, blend them well. then mix the herbs with seasalt (1 dl salt + 1 dl chopped herbs) and put the mixture into a well closing container. the salt will get a little moist as it draws the aromatic oils out of the herbs. according to krinolina it can last for a good 2 years as the salt conserves the herbs. well, in case you don't use it up before..

i chose one bunch each of parsley, lemon thyme, chives, wild garlic, rosemary and sage, plus one or two cloves of garlic. i think i got four smaller glasses plus the tiny and the large on on the picture out of this, and gave away three of the glasses as presents already.
basically you can chose whichever herbs you like, it also depends on what you'd like to use the salt for. for example i am planning on making some basil salt soon for my beloved tomato sallad.

spring weather

yesterday we had such lovely weather. it's the same today as well, so i'm planning to take a longer walk this afternoon.

my friend nicole and i spent yesterday's afternoon and evening together, first taking a stroll through town, eating some icecream, then cooking dinner together and emptying a bottle of chardonnay. in short: we had a great day.
nicole took a picture of me for the blog (thanks!) after the icecream part. as you can see, it was very sunny and a little windy, and i am very pale from the long winter.

























dress and cardigan: h&m
tights: c&a
shoes: deichmann
bag: vintage

i'm also wearing my grandmother's old watch again which she gave to me several years ago. the leather wristband was worn out so i think i haven't used it for two years or so at least, but now i got a metal-wristband for it on ebay and wear it again, as a memory of her. two days ago it was one year since she died.

bathing suit

i was so disappointed when i saw that the 50s high waisted dark blue with white spots and white buttons bikini by h&m was basically sold out in all the stores i checked. then i browsed some racks with random stuff, and - happiness!

























no, it was not said bikini, but a black bathing suit with white polkadots and ruffle and a skirt sewn over the hips! there was exactly one left, and in my size, too! now summer can come.

monki monki

last autumn, the swedish brand monki had this wonderful tapestry skirt, which i fell in love with as soon as i saw it:
















of course when i finally made it to sweden again, it was sold out, but i did not give up and hoped to find something similar or even find some similar fabric and make one myself. and who would have thought it, during my last stay in oslo i was lucky, and at fretex also where i usually never find anything worth of notice: a vintage pencilskirt in a thick fabric, apparently handmade and it fit like a glove. here it is, yesterday:

























skirt: vintage
t-shirt: monki
tights and necklace: h&m
shoes: deichmann

pyssel

i love crafting, but i never take enough time for it, and often i'm really uninspired. but. this is to change, at least i will do my very best, and so i ordered these two great swedish crafting books:



















pyssel deluxe by josefin ekman (who, by the way, runs the fantastic blog "dear martha" (in english!!) with even more crafty ideas!) features fun ideas such as felt slippers and self made coffee-cup candles, plus some great recipes for cupcakes and macarons.

korsstygn på nytt by annika huett is all about updating the old art of cross stitching. i think it's a great and easy way of upgrading boring t-shirts and old skirts and i'm so much looking forward to trying it out!

dirty dancing

this song is going on repeat on my spotify right now:



ever since i saw frida hyvönen live i've come to appreciate her more and more. and i really have to see dirty dancing again. it's been a while since last time.

porcelain finds

on saturday i went to our local fleamarket again and found some lovely things for very little money. i would so much like to change my boring white china to a mixture of different 50s style plates and cups.. it will take some time, especially as i prefer graphic patterns to all those flower designs, and they are not as easy to find on fleamarkets. now, i like flowers as well, but it might just get a little too much. anyways, here are my finds:























a bunch of doilies (what i'll do with those i'll show in another post), two matching plates for cakes, four small saucers with lovely 50s designs, and another plate in an interesting form. i also found a shirt-dress which i'll turn into a blouse.

here is a closer look on the 50s-saucers:
























letters and flowers
























a bird in a cage
























tobacco and playcards

awards

half a month has passed since my last post, i'm back to germany, have been at my parents' place last weekend and have had my first swedish lesson for this term yesterday. i have loads of stuff to do and don't know where to start. there are dresses i want to make, books that need to be written, movies i'd like to see... so much to do, so little time!

also, i have recieved two awards, one already a month ago (i'm really bad at responding to tags and things like this) from neniel which made me so so happy! thank you! i will only pass this one on to my friend at mybeautyblog.de, she really deserves it!!












a few days ago i got this nice comment that i was featured on "look 10" and might take the following award for my blog. what a nice surprise!!











now that the weather is really a lot more like spring and the sun is shining i will try to get myself together and post more outfits again..