summer and winter

i always wonder why there aren't more terrycloth dresses sold for winter. i mean, yes, i do understand that the usual association with terrycloth is beachtowels and that you usually would use those during summer when going for a swim, with sunshine and heat and icecream and all those nice things that make a great summer, but really: terrycloth is a lot thicker (read: warmer) than most other cotton fabric, so it would make great garments for winter!

just look at this fantastic dress i was wearing yesterday:

























dress: only
turtleneck: new yorker
cardigan: kenvelo
tights and flower: h&m
shoes: deichmann

and no, i'm neither sick nor dead, it's just the camera playing tricks on me. the pictures turn kind of blueish when not using the flash inside..

music to die for

in the beginning of march i'll go see two concerts with my favourite person in the world, in oslo. last year we went to see kaizers orchestra and bertine zetlitz, both norwegian artists, great music and the gigs were amazing. bertine was so enchanting, and kaizers had such an energy. well. i wasn't supposed to write about last year, but this year.

this year we'll see two swedish artists.
the first one will be laleh who is just about to release a new album, and from what i have heard on her myspace she gets better and better. here is a youtube for you with her song "simon says":



the second concert will be anna ternheim just a few days later, and as i still haven't managed to see her live i am just as much looking forward to this one than to laleh. anna has recently released a new album, and as far as i know, this is her newest single, "what have i done":

a new old chair

just between christmas and new year i felt that the two lovely chairs i own proably won't do their duty for so very much longer. so when i discovered this fantastic chair at the fleamarket last saturday for just 10euroinos including transportation to my place i just had to have it:

























it's orange, it's green, it has flowers and it's sooo comfy!

little things

now, while i said i wouldn't show all my christmas presents to you, i thought i'd at least take a picture of the prettiest ones:

























the white tin boxes are from myself (i'll store my muesli in the big one and some tea in the smaller one), and the polkadot one is from one of my best friends, vroni. one can never have enough boxes!
the ornaments (the apples and the silver reindeer) are also from myself - the apples will hang on my christmas tree next year (in case i'll have one, that is)!
then i got this fantastic book from my friend and colleague maryann: "the little black book of style" by nina garcia. loads of tips and tricks and i'll sure come back to this one sooner or later.

and: a new pair of shoes from me to me. they are from deichmann and i've worn them on a previous post, but i like them so much i thought i'd show them off once more. i love the colour (lila!!) and their 20s-style.

all red and books

today i am all dressed in different shades of red and purple (though i will change into a pair of brown boots later on when leaving the house), and i am mostly barricaded behind my books. i'll have my very last oral exam in two weeks exactly and am studying like crazy. this exam scares me a bit, as i still don't have a single clue about one of the two topics. well. i haven't given up hope yet.

























skirt: second hand (h&m)
shirt: hand-me-down from a friend
tights: c&a
shoes: deichmann
scarf: h&m

tonight i'll have to work. i'll go see a movie with my swedish courses. populärmusik från vittula. i haven't seen the film yet, but i read the book a few years ago and never quite understood what was so funny about it. but maybe the film will help. and i always like to see some nice vintage clothing in a movie.

beautiful pictures, interesting stories, stunning atmosphere

here are some films i am so so so looking forward to seeing during the next months:



















the fall - one beautiful, surreal picture after the other. a film about telling a story. about fantasy, and about different perspectives of children and grown-ups.
























revolutionary road - by sam mendes, the director of american beauty and with leonardo di caprio (who is not my type but a great actor. it's always a pleasure seeing him in a movie) and kate winslet, whom i like a lot. and set in the 50s - what more can you wish for?

























last, but not least: the spirit - frank miller goes neo noir. there will be style, there will be gangsters, there will be stunning pictures.

present - from me for me

while i got mostly practical stuff for christmas, i bought some nice little things for myself as well, some of which will appear on this blog during the following days, at least that's what i plan.
first, of course, the most wonderful piece of it all:


























remember when i said i wouldn't stand up in the middle of the night and battle fashionistas to get my hands on some comme des garcons for h&m? well, i never had to. neither did i pay ridiculous amounts of money on ebay for it.

during my stay in oslo in the beginning of december, i found that both stores there who had the collection still had a lot of stuff over, so i couldn't resist at least trying on something. the piece i liked the most was the trench, which fittet perfectly, but 170€ (the norwegian crown hadn't fallen yet) was just about far too much money for me.
now, on my trip to my parents' place just before christmas i stopped by at nürnberg's h&m and guess what i found at the sales-rack: the trench. in my size. in dark blue (the colours on the picture got a bit too dark). 50% off. it must have been meant to be.

eco tagg

det swedish blogger underbara clara tagged basically everyone who wanted, and as i liked the task in question i thought i'd take it to my blog:

list three ecologically positive habits you have and three negative ones, plus list three things you would like to do better in future.

so, three environmentally friendly things i am proud over:

1. i use the bike or walk most of the time, other than that i take public transportation. in other words: i don't own a car.

2. i just changed my electricity supplier, from e.on to lichtblick. now i get sustainable electricity!!

3. i don't shower everyday anymore but only every other day. the other days i wash carefully, but i don't need as much water. if i shower, i try to keep it as short as possible.

three environmentally not so friendly things i am not so proud over:

1. i do fly pretty often, and i use cheap airlines such as ryanair. the reason is that there are no trains to oslo from here, or rather, i'd be travelling for two whole days to get there but in autumn we plan on moving together, so i won't fly so much anymore then.

2. my computer is on a lot of times when i don't need it. it doesn't use a lot of energy, but it's a bad habit anyways.

3. i still haven't isolated those windows and doors here, so i guess i'm heating a lot for the birds.

three things i would like to get better at:

1. buy more local food and ecological food

2. say no to all those plastic bags you get when out shopping. meaning also: get better at taking my own bags with me when going out for shopping.

3. buy more second hand or, if new, classics of really good quality, instead of cheap stuff which will break after two uses. this is the hardest nut to crack. definitely.

so, i'm tagging dotti's dots, strawberry kitten, om stil, almost stylish and mybeautyblog. there you go!

a little mod maybe

during the last days, i was quite obsessed with this little 60s retro mod minidress i own and haven't worn for months - perfect to start the new year with. so, today, i thought i'd finally do the first wardrobe shot for 2009, but as i haven't yet figured out how to charm my new camera, this rather pale and bluish picture will have to do:

























dress: pimkie
jeans: vero moda
t-shirt, socks and flower: h&m
shoes: deichmann

may i introduce...

it seems to be quite the fashion to show off all your presents, but the thing with the ones i got is, most of them don't really go with what i otherwise show off here, as they are mostly of the practical kind. a good sign for finally growing up is when your parents give you a quality tool kit (so they don't have to come and help you with your furniture anymore..)... i also got a hand mixer/blender to make soups and smoothies, and a toaster (did i tell you that my brother works at bosch??). which i needed. badly.

the nicest thing - of course - i got from my boyfriend. the fashion blogger's dream come true: a new and gorgeous camera for my outfit posts, a lovely canon thingy, great design and according to the reviews, easy to handle. well. i'm still figuring out how to make the thing focus on my whole person and not some random part of the room, but i guess in another week or two i might finally get it =) only joking, but i haven't read the manual yet and that might be a good starting point...

so, instead of showing off all my christmas presents (though i promise i'll show the ones i got for myself..), i thought i'd introduce you to fröken katt, who since a few weeks back lives with me:

























she is, as you might see, a japanese boudoir cat with a love for lace and cherries. also, she is quite two faced, which makes her both interesting and mysterious... and, the picture was taken with the new camera!!

























her history is as follows: a few years back, my aunt, who is an artist, made a series of wooden cats in different sizes, and i always wanted to make one for myself when i was at her place. the thing got forgotten over time until last easter when i remembered it and asked if there where some parts left for me to make one. there were, and i started. after half the cat was done i had to go home and thought i'd finish her the next time i'm there, which wasn't until in december, when fröken katt finally got her dress and make-up and was transported home to where she lives now.

isn't she wonderful?

oh my

it's been ages, again, since my last post. but - i've been busy, real busy. until christmas i was busy writing my last, very last essay for my studies: now it's only one oral exam left (in three weeks and i haven't studied one single minute for it yet, so don't expect to hear too much from me until then) and after that the master's thesis (magisterarbeit), which i hopefully will be able to finish by august.

anyways, since christmas i have been busy doing nothing special but eating cookies and other tasty things. for the christmas holidays i was with my family and enjoyed being home, and during the last week i was back to lüneburg to celebrate the new year with my boyfriend who came down from oslo. we had a really nice and slow time, mostly relaxing, doing some shopping and some good cooking. but. today it's back to business and also back to my blog!!

happy new year everyone!!

kitty, daisy & lewis

it's wednesday again, time for some books, films, music and whatever else cultural products of interest..

lovely betty lou was so nice to tip her readers about this fantastic british teenage band "kitty, daisy & lewis" who will get you swing and dance in no time! treat your ears with a fantastic mix of r&b, blues, country and rock 'n' roll:



sadly enough i don't have too much to add to this wednesday list right now, but i'll go to the movies tonight to see "Brideshead Revisited" and might just have time for a little review afterwards!

made with love by hannah

there is this girl somewhere in the u.s., and she is totally infatuated with everything traditional and folkloristic. such as gingerbreadhearts, cuckoo clocks, the design of polish pottery, fairytales and so forth. also, she designs the cutest prints of such motifs and prints them herself on cotton fabric. AND she makes the prettiest skirts out of that fabric:
























"scherenschnitte skirt"

























"polish pottery skirt"
























"snow maiden matryoshka skirt" and "winter woods skirt"

especially the white "winter woods skirt" is right on top my current "i wish i wish" list. i so would like to have one and am determined to keep my money together so that i will be able to get one of them in january.
the girl i write about is called hannah, and she both has an etsy shop and her own web shop, and above all that, she has a blog called "knick knacks & ric rac" where you can get a peak behind her shop and every now and then she features lovely little prints for cards to print out for yourself or other diy ideas. have a look!!

the sniff experience

now, as you can imagine from the title (and from reading some of my previous posts), i have not been idle during those last two weeks of non-posting. indeed, i have been haunting different perfume stores (mainly the big turquoise one, but also three or four different ones in oslo, which actually were not sorted well - one of the ladies there didn't even know hermès! now, i don't expect somebody working in a perfume store to know every single fragrance in the world and every perfume house in the world, but hermès is not the smallest amongst them and doesn't exist only since yesterday... well. mainly they featured celebrity stuff and the general j'adore by dior and the one or other chanel.) and sniffing loads of bottles. i did also test quite a few on skin, most of them after reading a review or two, and i'll try to give you some of the highlights - and some of the failures...

after this post i was recommended to test dolce and gabbana's "light blue" and also chanel's "chance eau fraiche". i personally think that chanel fragrances smell of old ladies with pink poodle hair, and while i don't have anything against these ladies, i just can't stand the smell on my skin. "chance" started off with a nice fresh note, but the rest felt just unbearable..
"light blue", on the other hand, also started nicely and fresh and stayed fresh - and turned into an ugly air-refreshener's smell (think a blend of "sea breeze" and "green apple") after half an hour on my skin. which was sad as i liked the opening a lot. not such a promising beginning maybe..

the next fragrances i turned to was bvlgari's "eau parfumé au thé ..." series, and as the red one didn't appeal, i tried both thé blanc and thé vert. while i don't really recall the blanc version as anything remarcable, i love the warmth of "thé vert". it feels simple and elegant, it is not sweet at all and just perfect for winter. the bad news here was the lasting power: it vanished after an hour, as it is an eau de cologne with a very light concentration. the good news is that there is an "extreme" version which stays an afternoon plus half an evening and even survives a flight from oslo to hamburg (i applied some at the tax free on my way back). so this one is definitely something i will want to own!

what came next? i had read about this one norwegian perfume, "laila", which at some points had been recommended as a nice substitute for an everyday floral such as "j'adore" (which i actually like). i took the chance to try it on spot in norway, and was way disappointed. it was boring and had a weird buttery tone inbetween which i didn't like at all..
the same day though, i tried prada's "infusion d'iris" which turned out to smell special and soft and powdery and had a lovely wooden base. it felt very well balanced and gave me a feeling that you can have after a nice bath with some lovely soap. it felt really clean. lovely.

as i know that i sometimes do like "male" perfumes just as much as "female" ones (or even more), i thought i'd try the male version of the prada fragrance. what a desaster. the review said that "infusion d'homme" contained the same ingrediences as "infusion d'iris", but in different amounts. thus, i found out that i do not like too much incense in my scent. the thing smelled buttery and ugly, well, in the way that cold incense smells. ush. another iris-scent which went just the same way (though i don't know if there is any incense in it) was hermès "hiris". nothing for me...

so. enough perfume for today. there sure is more to come!

it's been a while...

... since i posted something here. i don't even know why it took me so long, but i guess i needed a break from all the writing and taking pictures. winter is definitely here and it is, at times, both refreshing and depressing. i do have loads of stuff to do for school which stresses me out quite a bit, but then christmas is approaching and that's a treat.

i just came back from a prolonged weekend in oslo at my favourite person's place. it snowed a little, but mostly it was just cold and we went to the park. the park seemed literally full of music, it was so enchanting! this little girl was so sweet playing the violin, and she seemed so lonely, so i put a little money into her box. she was so absorbed in her playing, i think she didn't even realize me approaching her..

















here is one of the most famous sites of oslo, the monolith at vigelandsparken, taken by my favourite person. with me right in front of it, in my favourite white winter coat and matching hat:

















other than enjoying ourselves in the park, we spent our time on the sofa, eating good food and playing video games. or rather, a. played and i sat besides watching. for me it's like watching a movie, i actually prefer watching him play than play myself.

he had two new games for his x-box, fable 2 which is a weird blend of ancient english myths and the victorian times with some whiffs of steampunk in between, and mirror's edge, based on doing parcours. both are very well done, and while fable 2 was engaging in the tale that is told and your choices between good and evil, mirror's edge got my pulses racing just by watching the player jump between skyscrapers and onto helicopters. if you want to face your acrophobia, there's your chance.